The coming of DestinyQuest – a choose-your-own adventure blog

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You hear that Gollancz are going to publish a new book called DestinyQuest Book 1: The Legion of Shadow in May 2012. Described as Fighting Fantasy meets World of Warcraft, this is a gamebook for the new millennium.

If those details are all you need to place a pre-order, go to 7

If you are intrigued by this concept and want to learn more, go to 10

If you feel you can judge a book by its cover, go to 12 and then return here.

If the whole idea fills you with depression and you just aren’t interested, because you prefer science-fiction or can’t stand making your own decisions, go to 6

 

2

There is no such thing as a time machine, you idiot. The world has ended. It was your fault. Your adventure ends here. You should have ordered the book.

 

3

‘Well,’ says the strange man who claims to know the secrets of The Legion of Shadow, ‘what would you like to know? The ancient mysteries of DestinyQuest have been passed down through the generations, and now I am their sole keeper. Ask and you shall be told’.

If you would like to read the press release from the publisher, go to and return here when you’re finished

If you want to see the book’s website, with bonus material, an active forum and loads of goodies, go to and return here when you’re finished.

If you want to read the 20 five-star reviews currently on Amazon UK, go to and return here when you’re finished.

Once your curiosity has been sated, go to 5

 

4

‘Hardbacks? Pah. I don’t need a hardback,’ you think to yourself. ‘A paperback is the book for me.’ http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/books/the-legion-of-shadow-paperback And as a thank you for being prepared to take a punt on this remarkable book, Gollancz would like to reward you. The first twenty people who email Marcus.gipps@orionbooks.co.uk with confirmation of their paperback pre-order will receive an exclusive bookmark, featuring a bonus item that will help you in the game (this offer is not open to anyone who has entered the similar giveaway on the DestinyQuest website). You may add a bookmark to your character sheet – go to 12 to see an example. Congratulations. You have won (but not quite as much as if you’d ordered a hardback).

 

5

‘Well?’ says the bespectacled editor, suddenly looming closer. ‘What do you think? Will you buy a copy? Please?’ You feel a cold chill come over you. Perhaps this man is more dangerous than you thought.

If you want to flee the encounter, like a coward, go to 6

If you want to be sensible, bow under pressure and agree to buy the book, go to 7

If you want to attack the editor, go to 8

 

6

Disaster! Your craven unwillingness to place a pre-order for the book has unforeseen consequences. The ragged madman who claims to be the book’s editor has a massive mental breakdown, and subsequently all of the inhabitants of the mysterious GollanczTowersvanish, never to be seen again. Without their colleagues at Gollancz, Orion Publishing falls to the hordes of barbarians at their gates, and the knock-on effect brings about the end of the publishing industry as we know it. Without decent books, it does not take long for the entire civilisation of mankind to fall back into darkness. Soon you are forced to eke out a meagre living, reading only the backs of tattered cereal packets and self-published ‘romance’ novels, quietly bemoaning the day that you caused the end of the world. But none can ever know your true secret – that you were the cause of all this misery. ‘If only I had a time machine’, you think to yourself, ‘I would go back and pre-order that excellent book called The Legion of Shadow’.

Roll a six-sided die.

If you roll a 6, go to 9

If you roll a 1 to 5, go to 2

 

7

‘I’m convinced,’ you say to the editor. ‘How can I get hold of a copy of this magnificent book, and what benefit is there in me doing so?’

If you would like to pre-order a copy of the hardback, and claim your two free gifts, go to 11

If you would like to pre-order your copy of the large-format paperback, and claim your free gift, go to 4

 

8

With a swift movement, you thrust the grimy man backwards and pull out your sword, which you totally had all along even though it hasn’t been mentioned up until now. Stumbling, the bearded publisher regains his balance and pulls out his secret deadly weapons – a pen and a rejection letter! You must fight to the death!

 

EDITOR                                              You

 

Speed:              5                                              4

Brawn:             4                                              6

Armour:            3                                             5

Health:              20                                           25

 

Editor’s Special: Rejection Letter. The EDITOR wields his special item. The first time you would cause damage to him, he rejects your work and returns it to you, causing you to lose 4 Health, ignoring armour.

How to fight: Roll two dice for you and add the total to your SPEED score. Do the same for your opponent. Whoever has the highest total wins the round. If the result is a draw, start again. The winner then rolls a single die and adds it to his BRAWN score, and then subtracts his opponents ARMOUR score. The final figure is the damage done to the opponent. When a HEALTH score reaches zero, the combatant is dead!

If you win this battle to the death, you will soon learn never to argue with your editor. Go to 6.

If you lose this battle, then your quest ends here.

 

9

With a puff of smoke, the bearded madman appears beside you. He hands you a small, quite unlikely device. ‘Here is your time-machine,’ he says, winking. ‘Go back to before you refused to pre-order the book, and save the world!’

You may start your adventure again.

 

10

The Legion of Shadow’, you murmur to yourself. ‘That sounds intriguing. I want to learn more about this book. Now, I wonder where to begin…’ As you are pondering your choices, an overly-hirsute man with the cold dead eyes of an editor jumps out of the bushes nearby. ‘Ah, The Legion of Shadow,’ he rasps, trying to pull his ragged clothes around his emaciated body. ‘I can tell you all about that.’

If you want to hear the madman out, go to 3

If you want to flee, your heart in your mouth and your wallet firmly closed, go to 6

 

11

Oh, what a lovely hardback you have selected! More than 600 pages of exciting fantasy action. And as a thank you for being prepared to take a punt on this remarkable book, Gollancz would like to reward you. The first twenty people who email Marcus.gipps@orionbooks.co.uk with confirmation of their hardback pre-order will receive two exclusive bookmarks, each featuring a bonus item that will help you in the game (this offer is not open to anyone who has entered the similar giveaway on the DestinyQuest website). You may add two bookmarks to your character sheet. Go to 12 to see an example. Congratulations. You have won.

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