The Way of the Tiger is a series of adventure

gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...

s by Mark Smith and Jamie Thomson, originally published by Knight Books (an imprint of

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

) from 1985. They are set on the fantasy world of Orb. The reader takes the part of a young

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

, named Avenger, initially on a quest to avenge his foster father's murder and recover stolen scrolls. Later books presented other challenges for Avenger to overcome, most notably taking over and ruling a city. The world of Orb was originally created by Mark Smith for a

Dungeons and Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). ...

game he ran while a pupil at

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

in the mid-1970s. Orb was also used as the setting for the 1984

Fighting Fantasy ''Fighting Fantasy'' is a series of single-player role-playing gamebooks created by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. The first volume in the series was published in paperback by Puffin in 1982. The series distinguished itself by mixing Choos ...

gamebook ''

Talisman of Death ''Talisman of Death'' is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Jamie Thomson and Mark Smith, illustrated by Bob Harvey and originally published in 1984 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2006. It forms part o ...

'', and one of the settings in the 1985 Falcon gamebook ''Lost in Time'', both by Smith and Thomson. Each book has a

disclaimer A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship. In contrast to other terms for legally operative langua ...

at the front against performing any of the ninja related feats in the book as "They could lead to serious injury or death to an untrained user". The sixth book, ''Inferno!'', ends on a cliffhanger with Avenger trapped in the web of the Black Widow, Orb's darkest blight. As no new books were released, the fate of Avenger and Orb was unknown. Mark Smith has confirmed that the cliffhanger ending was deliberate. In August 2013, the original creators of the series were working with Megara Entertainment to develop re-edited hardcover collector editions of the gamebooks (including a new prequel (Book 0) and sequel (book 7)), and potentially a

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

based on the series. The two new books plus the six re-edited original books were reprinted in paperback format by Megara Entertainment in 2014, and made available as PDFs in 2019.

Books and publication history

The original series comprises six books: * ''Avenger!'' (1985) * ''Assassin!'' (1985) * ''Usurper!'' (1985) * ''Overlord!'' (1986) * ''Warbringer!'' (1986) * ''Inferno!'' (1987) The sixth book ended on a cliffhanger, which was not resolved until 27 years later. Interviewed in 2012, Mark Smith explained: "Our publishers Hodder and Stoughton originally had signed for seven books but they cancelled the last in a fit of pique, which is why ''Inferno!'' ends so unsatisfactorily – they re-wrote the end themselves to kill the series. The story here is that the then CEO of Hodder, Eddie Bell, left to become CEO of Harper Collins ... He took us with him so that we could write the DuelMaster series for Harper Collins and Hodder revoked the contract for Book #7 in revenge. They said it was for commercial reasons, but the series was still successful and reprinting." ''Ninja!'' (a prequel by David Walters) and ''Redeemer!'' (by all three writers) were added in 2014. File:Wayofthetiger book1.jpg, Knights Books edition cover of ''Avenger!'' The books could be played in sequence or as standalone adventures, although playing them in sequence preserves the continuity of the storyline. If played in sequence, any abilities, bonuses, penalties or special items Avenger had acquired carried over to the next book. The expanded eight-book series consists of the following titles (the first and the last having been printed many years after the original six): #

''Ninja!'' by David Walters #''Avenger!'' by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson #''Assassin!'' by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson #''Usurper!'' by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson #''Overlord!'' by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson #''Warbringer!'' by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson #''Inferno!'' by Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson #''Redeemer!'' by David Walters, Mark Smith & Jamie Thomson

Features

The series featured a combat system based on unarmed fighting moves with colourful names, such as the Cobra Strike punch, or Leaping Tiger kick. Avenger could also choose from a list of ninja skills such as Acrobatics or Poison Needle spitting, and used a variety of appropriate weaponry, such as a garotte and

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were ...

. Luck also played in part in the form of Fate tests to see if

Fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

smiled on you, or turned her back. Avenger could also enhance his skill by using "Inner Force", similar to qi energy. During the series Avenger could learn new skills, such as "Shinren," a means of understanding people's intentions by observing subtle clues.

Characters

The books had a large number of opponents and recurring characters.

Enemies

*Tyutchev, Cassandra and Thaum - A trio of chaos worshippers, who revere the chaos god Anarchil. They are recurring antagonists of Avenger throughout the series. Those three characters are also featured in ''

'' book 11, ''

'', where they oppose the player for the titular item. **Cassandra - A warrior noted for her beauty, speed and swordsmanship. Wields a magical coldsword and wears a patchwork armor suit. **Tyutchev - This thief wears a magical cloak that blends with the dark, and wields a bastard sword taller than he is. His hair is dyed a bright corn yellow. **Thaum - a master of magic and especially illusion. "Devious looking" and wears a large gold earring. *Olvar the Chaos Bringer - A chaos-worshipping barbarian warrior and friend of Tyutchev, Cassandra and Thaum. His death at Avenger's hands (after an unprovoked attack by Olvar) leads to the feud between Avenger and the chaos worshippers. Wears a magical headband that can fire lightning bolts, and feels no pain in combat due to his

bloodlust Bloodlust may refer to: *Homicidal ideation * Human hematophagy * '' Bloodlust!'', a 1961 thriller film * ''Bloodlust'', the home video title of the 1981 film ''Docteur Jekyll et les femmes'' * ''Bloodlust'' (1992 film), a 1992 Australian vampire ...

. *The Monks of the Scarlet Mantis - An order of evil monks who worship Vile, Kwon's evil brother. Like the followers of Kwon, the members of the Scarlet Mantis are consummate martial artists. **Yaemon, the Grand Master of Flame - Head of the Monks of the Scarlet Mantis, an order of monks opposed to the monks who follow Kwon. At the beginning of the series he has been Grand Master for more than twenty summers. He slew Avenger's foster father Naijishi and stole the Scrolls of Kettsuin. Possibly the most deadly martial artist on Orb, Yaemon is allied to Manse the Deathmage and Honoric, the leader of the Legion of the Sword of Doom and in the first book, Avenger, your quest calls for you to defeat Yaemon and so avenge the death of your father. **Aiguchi the Weaponmaster - A monk of the Scarlet Mantis and a master of weapons, he challenges Avenger to a duel in the Ring of Vasch-Ro to avenge the death of Yaemon. Expert with the bow,

naginata The ''naginata'' (, ) is a pole weapon and one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades (''nihontō''). ''Naginata'' were originally used by the samurai class of feudal Japan, as well as by ashigaru (foot soldiers) and sōhei ( ...

and

nunchaku is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person wh ...

. *Mandrake, Guildmaster of Assassins - Worships Torremalku the Slayer, the patron god of assassins, and is the most deadly assassin on Orb. "No-one has ever survived his attention." Master of disguise and acting. *Manse the Deathmage - An evil sorcerer and worshipper of Nemesis, Manse can cast many different spells, including the nearly always fatal "Finger of Death". Has been known to practice child sacrifice. In the prequel ''Ninja'', he also appears as a behind-the-scenes antagonist, plaguing Avenger and his fellow contestants with his evil magic. *Honoric, Grand Marshal of the Legion of the Sword of Doom - One of the most feared military commanders and most evil men on Orb. A peerless swordsman, it is said he once slew a storm giant singlehandedly. Wields Sorcerak, an intelligent magical sword forged by his patron deity that dispels magic, causes fear in its wielders opponents, and enables its wielder to fly. *The Ninja of the Way of the Scorpion - A group of evil ninja who worship Nemesis and follow the Way of the Scorpion, an evil counterpart to the Way of the Tiger. Unlike the disciples of the Tiger, the Scorpion Ninja specialize in the use of various weapons. **The Grandmaster of Shadows - The leader of the ninja who follow the Way of the Scorpion. Uses deception, trickery and his ability to create magical darkness in combat. **The Impostor - A Scorpion Ninja who is sent to Irsmuncast to establish a rule of evil while Avenger is absent on a quest in the Rift. Equipped by Irsmuncast's priests of Nemesis with two magical items which formerly belonged to Mandrake. *Everyman - A

golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

bodyguard which is stolen and sent to kill Avenger. It is said that he must be killed one hundred times before he can die. *The Fiend - Sent by the gods of evil to capture Avenger's soul. *Astaroth, Seventh Duke of Hell - "The Usurper", the ruler of Irsmuncast nigh Edge who seized power after Avenger's real father (the rightful ruler of Irsmuncast) was slain by Yaemon. *Foxglove - The beautiful leader of the Order of the Yellow Lotus and priestess of Nemesis in Irsmuncast. Cunning and manipulative, she at times attempts to seduce the Avenger, but is not to be trusted. In ''Inferno!'' and ''Redeemer!'' she has become a slave of Nullaq in the Rift.

Allies

*Glaivas - A Ranger Lord and excellent swordsman, Glaivas is a friend and ally of Avenger. *Doré le Jeune - A paladin and ally of Avenger. Undertakes regular expedition to the Rift to combat Evilspawn. *The Followers of Kwon - An order revering Kwon the Redeemer, dedicated to combating evil on Orb. The order consists of both monks and ninja, all of them skilled in unarmed combat techniques. Following their banishment from the Island of Plenty during the Black Lotus Rebellion, the order settled on the Island of Tranquil Dreams. **Gorobei - A monk and fellow worshipper of Kwon. Expert wrestler and skilled martial artist, although not as fast as Avenger. In ''Ninja'' and ''Avenger'', he is a contestant for the title of Grandmaster of the Five Winds, the inner circle of the order's supreme masters. **Parsifal - The head monk of Kwon in the city of Irsmuncast nigh Edge. He is murdered by Mandrake, and his likeness adapted by the assassin in an attempt on Avenger's life. **Aiko - A female ninja like Avenger, and a contestant for the title Grandmaster of the Five Winds in ''Ninja''. She is killed by Manse the Deathmage, and her spirit is subsequently captured for a foul necromantic ritual. **Daon - Another contestant for the title Grandmaster of the Five Winds in ''Ninja''. A temperamental young monk who fled the Island of Plenty as a young boy. **Chigeru - An elderly monk of Kwon and another contestant for the title Grandmaster of the Five Winds in ''Ninja''. He is killed during his quest for the Grandmaster title by a demonically transformed creature. **Togawa - A monk of Kwon and a mystic. Has knowledge of extremely powerful martial arts attacks, and can travel to the spirit plane. If Avenger visits him, the monk will teach a powerful new kick, "Kwon's Flail," which proves a valuable attack against enemies inexperienced with the move. **The Spirit Tiger - Kwon's servantess, who aids Avenger from the spirit plane. *Taflur, Thybault, Vespers and Eris - A group of adventurers who Avenger aids in their battle against an undead warlord, who in turn heal him of the plague and come to his aid in a confrontation with the worshippers of Chaos. *Force Lady Gwyneth - Leader of the Shieldmaidens of Dama in the city of Irsmuncast nigh Edge. *The Demagogue - Another faction leader in Irsmuncast Nigh Edge. While neither a warrior or skillful politician, he is a superb orator and crowd-swayer and considers himself the spokesman of the common people. *Csaky - Daughter of a Loremaster of Serakub, and Avenger's cousin, who makes her living as an adventurer using thieving skills (although she dislikes being called a thief, preferring the title "Wanderer"). She appears in ''Redeemer'' to aid Avenger in infiltrating the royal palace of Irsmuncast after it has been taken over by the Impostor.

Others

*Runeweaver - A warrior who can fire magical bolts from his sword. *Antocidas the One-Eyed - Leader of the mercenaries in the city of Irmsuncast nigh Edge. *Golspiel - Corrupt but silver-tongued head of the merchants guild in Irsmuncast. He is a scheming opportunist who sides with whatever party promises him the most bountiful spoils.

Gods

Aside from certain ancient titans called "Elder Gods", Orb is ruled by various deities.

Video games

Two video games based on the books were released. The first, ''The Way of the Tiger'', is a

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

released by

Gremlin Graphics Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

for the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

, MSX ,

Commodore 16 The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was ...

and

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

. This game has Avenger fighting with staves and swords as well as utilizing

unarmed combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

(Avenger rarely used weapons apart from shuriken in the books). ''Way of the Tiger II: Avenger'' is an action-adventure made by Gremlin Graphics in 1986, for the computers Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX. In the game's story, Yaemon the Grand Master of Flame has killed the player's foster-father Naijish and stolen the Scrolls of Kettsuin. To recover the scrolls, the player has to find enough keys to penetrate the Quench Heart Keep, and then kill each of the three guards. The game is viewed from top-down perspective and superficially resembles '' Gauntlet''.

Reception

Chris Elliott reviewed ''Assassin!'' and ''Avenger! for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #71, giving it an overall rating of 8 out of 10, and stated that "Plot and atmosphere may be a bit 'Kung Fu meets ''AD&D''', but both add a few new twists to the adventure gamebook formula, and deserve credit for that. Overall, good entertainment value." In the inaugural issue of ''

The Games Machine ''The Games Machine'' is a video game magazine that was published from 1987 until 1990 in the United Kingdom by Newsfield, which also published ''CRASH'', ''Zzap!64'', ''Amtix!'' and other magazines. History The magazine ran head to head with ...

'', John Woods noted that "the great appeal of these books is the detailed unarmed combat system. The rules have illustrations of the great variety of kicks, punches and throws available, and the player selects the best move to use against each opponent."

References

External links

Video game related

''Way of the Tiger''
at World of Spectrum
''Avenger'' at GameBase64
*
''Avenger'' at Ready64
{{Authority control Books by Mark Smith (author) Books by Jamie Thomson Fantasy gamebooks Gamebooks Ninja fiction Series of books 1986 video games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games MSX games Video games about ninja Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games Japan in non-Japanese culture