LONE WOLF was a series of gamebooks back in the Eighties, penned by Joe Dever. (The first 8 were illustrated by Gary Chalk.). Similar to Choose Your Own Adventure or Endless Quest gamebooks, Lone Wolf (named after the titular character) books were more sophisticated, and interconnected. Set in the unique world of Magnamund, Lone Wolf as played by the reader gained in ability over the series.
Beyond the gamebooks, Magnamund was brought to the realm of roleplaying games by Mongoose and later Cubicle 7. We’ll take a look at these at the bottom of the post. Returning to the maps, these gorgeous pieces are the work of artist Francesco Mattioli. They made a brief appearance in the 2010s, and are hard to find today. I have several I’m selling at auction of behalf of a collector.
The Maps of Magnamund Collection come in packs of 4. Each is printed on cardstock, measuring approximately 9 x 13 inches. Scale is roughly 1″ = 50 miles. They are printed on both sides, the front being the color regional map, and the back showing its placement on the continent, as well as almanac info and adventuring ideas.
Here are the links to Ebay:
- Set 1: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166925608898 (Ended $200.01)
- Set 2: https://www.ebay.com/itm/135199425476 (Ended $110.50)
- Set 3: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166925609866 (Ended $137.51)
- Set 4: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166925610241 (Ended $154.50)
- Set 5: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166925610496 (Ended $159.50)
- Set 8: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166925611008 (Ended $199.50)
- Set 10: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166925611281 (Ended $305)
Set I (1): Sommerlund, Durenor, Vassagonia, Dessi
Set II (2): Kakush & Valerion, The Galdonlands, The Stornlands, Talestria
Set III (3): Bor & The Hammerlands, Lencia, The Drakkarim Homelands & The Hellswamp, Ixia & The Hardlands
Set IV (4): Western Darklands, Central Darklands, Eastern Darklands, Eastern Kalte
Set V (5): Northern Shadaki, Central Skadaki, Southern Shadaki, Shadakine Occupied Territories
Set VIII (8): Kasland, Starn, Boden & Ilion, Central Tentarias, Midsea & Eastern Tentarias
Set X (10): Northern Sadi Desert, Southern Sadi Desert, Western Kalte, Central Kalte
Lone Wolf in the RPG World
The Books
There were 31 books, including spin-off series. I saw them all the time in used book stores back in the day. Now, they are hard to find. Rights to republish have passed through a dizzying array of publishers, all of whom printed only a subset of the volumes.
The Magnamund Companion
The US edition dates to 1988, released by the same publishing house as the gamebooks, Berkley. Not an RPG, strictly speaking, but a prospective GM would have been well-served by this companion back in the day. Maps, characters, history chart, a solo adventure, board game, and a giak dictionary.
Mongoose Publishing
Mongoose published the Lone Wolf RPG (2004-5) during the D20 era, so these use the OGL ruleset.
Cubicle 7 Entertainment
Cubicle 7 Published their Lone Wolf RPG 2015-17 (as well as the maps that feature in this article).
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