Death Jelly

Death Jelly is most likely the creation of the last wizards, designed to patrol their tombs and guard their secrets. They also provide the function of dungeon cleaning, keeping flagstones free from dirt and grime whilst emitting an agreeable lemony aroma.

Death Jelly is known to come in two varieties:

Green Jelly 
Green jelly is a highly corrosive substance. If caught inside the jelly, organic matter is slowly digested. Non-organic material is excreted, albeit a with a nice smear-free shine.

Pink Jelly
Pink jelly is mostly harmless and tastes of strawberry, a favourite at goblin birthday parties.

Reader / Character separation in an interactive comic

Fighting Fantasy gamebooks traditionally adopt a second person narrative mode. You are the hero, and you choose what happens next. This has meant that we get information only from the protagonists point of view. What if we played with this established convention? Would we break the magic gamebook formula?

There has of course been exploration of the subject, but most of this examines the scope for text based interactive fiction and does not fully explore the potential for visual storytelling techniques.

The videogames industry has been debating the pros and cons of first person versus third person camera for years, and there are certainly insights we could glean from their discussions, but mostly this centers on game mechanics and playability which is only partially relevant to the Mysterious Path project.

Mysterious Path will employ a comic book format and so already separates the reader's experience of the game world from the characters, as the 'camera' looks in on the action rather than through the eyes of the main character (although possible, a first person only view would be difficult to sustain). Therefore, Mysterious Path should seek to exploit and celebrate this separation in perception of reader and character to create a unique experience.

Well, that's the dream.

Zagor

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is 30 years old.
Thanks for the memories (and the inspiration).

Fan art based on the awesome Russ Nicolson interior illustration.

Trolls

Trolls never stray to far from water. They prefer to remain submerged and snatch their hapless prey from river banks and bridges. At night, and when food is scarce, they have been known to travel inland. When on these excursions they wrap themselves in kelp/seaweed capes to remain cool and moist. Troll capes actually became a trend adopted by fashion conscious goblinoids, but was short lived as it turned out ogres particularly liked the taste of goblin sushi.

When not hunting for food, trolls will sometimes sit and shout provocative and inflammatory messages at passers-by in their ancient and unfathomable tongue. If this happens it's best to ignore them.

Dragon Brew

Originally a dwarvern liquid explosive used in mining operations, Dragon Brew has become a popular refreshment for Dungeoneers. No one really knows who first discovered the concoctions full-bodied flavour, but the cry "Make mine a flagon of Dragon!" is now common in taverns across the kingdom.

This extremely volatile liquid will ignite when agitated.  This property has allowed the drink to be gainfully employed in the construction of incendiary weapons and, of course, for starting the legendary dwarven barbeques.

As any safety-conscious dwarf will tell you, hairy-faces and flaming drinks are not a happy combination. This fact has not gone unnoticed and, traditionally, Dragon Brew is consumed through a 'brew flute'. Often mistaken for some sort of wind instrument, the flute effectively keeps the beverage away from combustible facial hair.

A popular drinking game, involving taking a swig of Brew and jumping up and down on the spot, has resulted in many fatalities and the destruction of several drinking establishments. As a result some publicans have refused to stock the beverage, opting instead for the non-flammable rival brand Dungeon Dew.

The Temple of Chance

In days of yore, before heroes chose their own adventures, life and death was governed by luck. The icosahedron stands as testament to the ancient rule of chance.