Run away!!
Tower of Destruction is the 46th entry in the Fighting Fantasy series of gamebooks, written by Keith Martin.
You're returning home from Zengis, pondering about your life in the dull, northern reaches of Allansia, only to witness a terrible catastrophe: your home town is destroyed by a mysterious black orb which can fly in the sky and rain fire and death from above. Determinated to avenge your fallen comrades and your home, you arm yourself and follow the trail of death of this mysterious sphere, crossing the treacherous snowlands of the Icefinger Mountains, unaware that said path will eventually lead you into a fierce combat against the insane demon-worshipping wizard Zeverin, his demonic servants and his terrible Tower of Destruction.
Tower of Destruction follows the same style of many other books from Martin, featuring both linear sections and others that you can freely explore, gathering items required for the endgame (and a Magic Sword as usual) and facing both enemies and puzzles along the way. Along with the three usual characteristics you also have an Honour score, which determines how other characters will react to your hero.
Tower of Destruction provides examples of:
- Actually a Doombot: As you're told soon enough, Zeverin often leaves magical simulacra of himself to watch over his minions without risking his life firsthand.
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: The elven ghosts you can help to cross to the Afterlife.
- The Atoner: Aliades, the wizard you can help in the Sphere used to be Zeverin's pupil, before realizing his plans...
- Big Bad:
- Zeverin, the insane, immortal wizard, who is building the titular Weapon of Mass Destruction, appears to be this at first. But it is eventually subverted.
- The real Big Bad is in fact the Night Demon Relem, who is using Zeverin for his goals, fuels the titular Tower that breaks down after you banish him, and serves as the Final Boss.
- Big Damn Heroes: During the Post-Climax Confrontation, Elokinan's ghost appears to banish Zeverin once and for all, saving you from certain death.
- Big Good: Elokidan the ghostly elven Archmage. In the Ice Palace, he will provide you with an invaluable power-up, whose scale depends directly on your Karma Meter. He will also help you in the Post-Climax Confrontation, saving you from Zeverin, banishing the demented warlock once and for all, and finally putting a spell on you which will keep you safe forever from Relem's vengeance.
- The Blank: Night Gaunts encountered inside the Tower have blank and featureless faces.
- Bow and Sword in Accord: In this book you get to use a sword and a Crossbow, which you can use to hunt your food or to exchange shots with enemy archers.
- Call-Back: The art for the Ice Demon and the Fire Demon greatly recalls to mind their first appearences in Caverns of the Snow Witch and The Forest of Doom respectively.
- Cool Sword: Almost literally, you can obtain a sword made of magical Ice. If you find the ghost of Tassakil, he can bless the sword and make it extra-effective against demons. If you do so, it serves as an Infinity +1 Sword mandatory against the Final Boss.
- Death from Above: Both the Tower and the Sphere are equipped to bombard their targets beneath them.
- Deceptive Disciple: Zeverin trained under Elokinan and his elven mages, managing to hide his evilness until it was too late. He repaid them by killing them all and cursing them with ghostly undeath. What a nice man...
- Demon Lords And Arch Devils: The Man Behind the Man is Relem the Night Demon, one of the lesser Demon Princes, and The Dragon to Sith, the Snake Demoness and Greater-Scope Villain.
- The Dragon: Zeverin is revealed to be this to Relem. Relem needs his expertise to build the Tower of Destruction he needs for his Evil Plan, but it is made quite clear that he is the one calling the shots and fuelling the Tower. It is even implied that Zeverin owes most of his power and immortality to Relem.
- The powerful Dark Elf Sorcerer fought in the Ice Palace appears to be this for Zeverin.
- Relem himself is acting on behalf of Sith.
- Doomed Hometown: The story begins with Zeverin's Sphere of Destruction burning your village to the ground, starting your Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: If you have a dog-pulled sledge when you approach the Sphere, the dogs will notice the evilness and refuse to approach any further.
- Evil Plan: Zeverin used the Sphere as a prototype to the Tower of Destruction: not only it serves as a flying base and siege weapon, but he plans to use the carnage to fuel a demonic ritual to merge Titan with the Pit.
- Evil Sorcerer: Zeverin, The Heavy, is one who reincarnated several times, each more powerful and evil than the previous one, to keep spreading evil.
- Evil Tower of Ominousness: The titular Tower of Destruction is also a flying device and a powerful bomber-like weapon to wreak havoc on the world.
- Foreshadowing: You learn pretty quicky that Zeverin works for a powerful demon, first from a dying hermit and second from a Dark Elf Sorcerer at Zeverin's command. Said demon appears to be none other than one of the Demon Princes.
- Final Boss: The Night Demon Relem: a highly powerful enemy with 14 in skill and 25 in stamina, exceeding the normal maximum. He unleashes powerful blasts of lightning before fighting, and his claws deal 3 points of damage instead of two. As per Keith Martin's tradition, facing him without the Infinity +1 Sword makes it close to a Hopeless Boss Fight, but with said sword, and a few other trinkets, it becomes much easier.
- Ghostly Advisor: The long dead elves of the Ice Palace can help you, provided that you can find them and that you're virtuous enough to deserve their help.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The Snake Demoness Sith sent Relem on Titan, and he is acting in her name. But Sith is only mentioned once, and has little to no influence in the story itself.
- The Heavy: Zeverin is the one who built the Sphere and later builds the Tower, who cursed the Ice Palace, who destroyed your Doomed Hometown, and whom you fight several times throughout the story.
- Hell on Earth: Sith's and Relem's ultimate goal is to use the destruction spread by the tower to open a gateway between the Pit and Titan, in order to terraform Titan into a second Pit and let the demons flood in, wiping out all mortal life so that Sith can take over both.
- Heroic Second Wind: If your STAMINA drops too low fighting Relem but you hit him at least twice, you get one of these to increase your STAMINA and SKILL for a few rounds of combat.
- Ice Palace: Half the story is set in one, which originally was inhabitated by Elves. There you can explore freely and gather magical artifacts and weapons, as well as fighting the various Dark Elves patrolling the place.
- Immortality Immorality: Via reincarnation, Zeverin lived several lives, each eviler than the former.
- It's Personal: You're not alone to crave for Zeverin's head mounted on you wall, Elokinan is understandably pissed at his wretched disciple for killing and cursing him and his people. Quite fittingly, Elokinan is the one to finish Zeverin off once and for all at the very end.
- Relem as well becomes enraged at you after you defeat him and thwart his plan, it is implied that Zeverin returns after the Final Battle because the Night Demon have revived him to get revenge on you. Fortunately, Elokinan plays Big Damn Heroes and saves you from both, in gratitude for helping his people cross to the Afterlife and defeating the demented wizard.
- It's Personal with the Dragon: Killing Zeverin to avenge your village is your primary motivation throughout the story. You only face Relem as a necessity to save the world from the Tower of Destruction, but Zeverin remains your primary target until the bitter end. At first, Zeverin only sees you as a minor nuisance, but it's becomes personal for him as well after you "kill" him, destroy his tower and banish his lord.
- Lightning Bruiser: The Great Golem can hover above the room's ground and move at incredible speed, and crush stone with ease.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: You can find a magical Shield that will protect you from Relem's magic.
- The Man Behind the Man: Sith is this for Relem, who in turn is this for Zeverin.
- Multiple Head Case: Relem has two reptilian heads, side by side.
- Mooks: The Dark Elves serves as this for Zeverin and his armies.
- No Fair Cheating: The book will call you out if you try to say you've accomplished something that's higher than mechanically possible at one point.
- Our Demons Are Different: A vast variety of enemies are demons of various types, including Stone Demons, Ice Demons, Smoke Demons and Fire Demons. Relem is a Night Demon appearing as a tall, muscular Winged Humanoid with two reptilian heads.
- Our Dragons Are Different: You can run into a ravenous White Dragon looking for a lunch. You can talk your way out and persuade him to attack some Ice Ghosts instead (which, apparently, he likes a lot).
- Our Zombies Are Different: Zeverin is using necromancy to turn barbarians into "Ice Ghosts", which are essentially icy zombies with cold, hard bodies which are resistant to blades.
- Plot Coupon: A series of items you must recover from the Ice Palace in order to fight Relem and reach the tower.
- Post-Climax Confrontation: After sending Relem back to Hell and destroying the Tower you have to deal with Zeverin permanently.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
- Your primary goal is to find and destroy the Sphere and Destruction that destroyed your village, and everyone behind it.
- Relem swears revenge on you after you banish him, but in the end Elokidan protects you from his vengeance with a spell that will keep you away from his wrath.
- Shock and Awe:
- The Dark Elf Sorcerer and Zeverin use Thunderbolt spells.
- Relem blasts you with demonic lightning before facing you, dealing crippling damage that can make the already tough Final Battle even deadlier if you lack the right protection.
- Super Smoke: Both the Smoke Demon and the Smoke Wraith are half-gaseous entities and can manipulate smoke at will.
- Talking the Monster to Death: You can persuade the White Dragon to spare you and even help you in exchange for the chance of a better meal.
- Weapon of Mass Destruction: The Tower of Destruction and the Sphere are meant to be this, which in turn allows Zeverine to use the victim's souls to fuel his magic.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: It is strongly implied that this is what Relem has in store for Zeverin after the titular Tower of Destruction serves its purpose.
