Astranon & Loboto's Fireside Adventures II

In the spirit of Astranon's Fireside Adventures, this guide seeks to highlight well-crafted adventures focused on story-telling, puzzles, and creative level design that offer more than just grinding for levels and loot.

I. Introduction

Welcome adventurers!

I (DrLoboto) started playing Fight the Dragon at the end of 2015, and after being somewhat skeptical at the beginning, I soon got drawn in due to the custom created adventures made by the community.

Unfortunately, the adventures that the game picked for me at random varied greatly in quality, and the gallery of adventures to choose from felt overwhelming with the sheer number of creations and the lack of helpful information to preview about each title. It was a real challenge to find adventures that could entertain me with more than the simple gameplay mechanics of fighting, looting, and leveling - something with a nice story, something with witty NPC dialogue, something that would make exploration feel rewarding, due to beautiful level design, secrets and puzzles.

At the time, Astranon's guide Fireside Adventures helped me in finding what I was looking for, and apart from the adventures it listed, I also tried other maps by the same creators, and they did not disappoint. I'd like to say thanks for that by sharing my own discoveries.

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II. The Guide

Spotlight on new authors

I assume that you're familiar with the original Fireside Adventures guide, all the authors mentioned on it, and that you already follow the adventures by those whose work you enjoyed most. So I'm going to skip recommending maps by the same creators that were already featured on Astranon's list. Instead, I'd like to focus on the work of authors that haven't been in the spotlight that much yet. Some of them you might have heard of, nevertheless - but I think there are also a few hidden gems here that didn't get the attention they deserve. I restricted the recommendations to a maximum of three maps per creator, but it might pay off to just search for the authors' names and also check out their other adventures.

How to Find the Adventures

Fight the Dragon makes it easy for players to find specific adventures. At the World Map screen, bring up the Gallery. Located at the top of this window is the Search feature. Remember to click the "By Creator" or "By Adventure Name" button before hitting "Go."

Before You Play

If you play an adventure listed in this guide and enjoy it, please leave a comment letting the creator know. By doing so, you create your own legend. You may also want to look up that creator in order to discover even more legendary adventures. Who knows? They may even return the favor!

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III. The Adventures, A-O

ABSURDIA by SHAZAI

🌠 Help out the townsfolk of an eccentric town in order to meet the mayor and travel onward. How can slug ale be a thing? Isn't it poisonous?


🌠 Features: Slug ale, rat infestation, orc alienage, undead family, strange mayor

THE BLACK KNIGHT by ARSLESMETEN

🌠 An experimental "2D" sidescrolling adventure, drawing inspiration from Castlevania.



🌠 Features: A sinister castle, ghouls & ghosts, a boss fight with different stages

BRIGAND ESCAPE! by FERONIUM

🌠 Fight off scores of bandits and navigate winding corridors to escape a sprawling brigand base. Karen, come show me the way out! This place is huge.


🌠 Features: Karen the Unlucky, lever puzzle, secret passages, starving victims

CAMPFIRE GUILD by ARSLESMETEN

🌠 Can you manage to solve all the quests and become an exalted member of the Guild?



🌠 Features: Open world, free exploration, white lies, wolf pit, wizard tower, Hemet Nesingwary

DEATHS TRIALS by TALENTS

🌠 Prove yourself by passing three trials no other adventurers have managed to survive. Does it count as intuition if it's trial and error? On to the next door!


🌠 Features: Death himself, boss fights, teleporter puzzle, lava puzzle

GOOD TO BE BAD by EAU L MER

🌠 Embark on an adventure to show the world just how bad you can be as a bandit. Sorry to have to do this, folks. It was just no fun playing the hero.


🌠 Features: Butch the mercenary, pillaging, arson, lich's curse, royal caravan

GREENBURG SIEGE by DRAGONOVITH

🌠 Topple the fortress of a count who has wronged your client. But we have the same goal, Rat Lord! Maybe we should team up?


🌠 Features: Siege camp, hidden entry, watery dungeon, traitorous court wizard, enemy hordes

ICECOLD DRINK by FERONIUM

🌠 Survive the nightly snowstorm at an inn where a series of unexpected events begins to unfold. Cut it out up there! We can hear you all the way downstairs.


🌠 Features: Snowed-in guests, a curious commotion, a grisly scene, following clues

LOST SINDEL by PANDUR

🌠 Help a baffled ghost unravel the mystery surrounding her death. Edna Caren...are you home? Hey, she left something cooking.


🌠 Features: Funeral, illusions, Sindel Hantry, unsolved death

ONE MONTH LATER by KRISTY_SUNSHINE

🌠 From the Calrissian Book of Prophesy, for Day 13 of the 19,790th Lunar Cycle: "Something Really Bad".


🌠 Features: Experiment gone wrong, humor done right, malicious fog, time travel, wraiths in swimsuits

OH, MIASMA! by ZEPH GREY

🌠 Evil invaders have spread a poisonous red mist in the capital's streets. The only way to reach the palace now and save the day is across the rooftops.


🌠 Features: Your very own henchman, necromancy, a city viewed from above, library, throne room

IV. The Adventures, P-S

THE PATH by MUENNICH

🌠 The journey is the reward, but at the end of the path, you can visit ARGODUR in the eponymous campaign.


🌠 Features: Pink crystals, tacky costumes, unnatural rockslides, instructions to build your own safe house

PINACLE PORT by REMERANT

🌠 Rid a bustling port town of its criminal enterprise to protect your treasure and continue onward. This adventure is a sequel to SUNNYDALE ISLAND.


🌠 Features: Crude humor, suspicious food, pool accident, secret tavern, arena fighting

THE RATKING by SHAZAI

🌠 Save a village from the onslaught of the great and terrible RatKing.


🌠 Features: Rat invasion, prophecy of doom, Oldo the Turncoat, secret tunnel, trapping enemies

ROOFTOP HIJINKS by NEVRM0RE

🌠 Dustblades keep terrorizing the town from hideouts on the rooftops. Time to bring the fight to them!



🌠 Features: The stairways to heaven, vertiginous stunts, crazy tapestry sales, a bandit in a china shop

THE ROYAL MINES by KEVIN_VDS

🌠 The royal mines are overrun and could collapse at any moment unless a hero intervenes. This adventure is a sequel to TORDIN MYSTERY.


🌠 Features: Captain Liane, notes, trapped miners, decision-making

SHEIKS TREASURE by MUENNICH

🌠 You and your companion try to break into the late sheik's tomb to steal his treasure (not his wives!).



🌠 Features: Sand, traps, Allah switches, some insight into the disadvantages of polygamy

SKELETOPOLIS by EKETH

🌠 Enter a necropolis against the wishes of its citizens in search of treasure. Sorry about invading your home! I didn't know skeletons could experience emotions.


🌠 Features: Skeleton folk, lever puzzle, plate puzzle, cowardly adventurer, optional treasure

STRANGE PLACE by KENT9000

🌠 Enter a mysterious dungeon where the Unknown Man awaits. Will you do as he asks or walk away before the task is complete? The choice is yours.


🌠 Features: Adventurer ghosts, Eddie the Stinky, flying leaps, undeniable wealth

SUNNYDALE ISLAND by REMERANT

🌠 Be the first to unearth the fabled treasure of a beautiful island. Do they have a gift shoppe here? They could make a fortune selling sea turtle plushies.


🌠 Features: Treasure hunters, tavern brawl, treachery, damsel in distress, pirate ship

THE SWAMP OF TUR by NOTAVI

🌠 Unravel the mystery behind a cult of hooded figures terrorizing a nearby village. Did that obelisk make a sound just now? Maybe I better leave.


🌠 Features: Mysterious clues, diabolical mysticism, alien alphabet, bas reliefs

SWAMP ROMP by NEVRM0RE

🌠 Rumors of danger and riches to be found make you take a detour through an unwelcoming marsh.



🌠 Features: Open area, free exploration, swamp hag, snake bites, sunken treasure

V. The Adventures, R-Z

TOL RAKA by PANDUR

🌠 An engine failure quickly turns into a rescue mission in the deep jungle.



🌠 Features: Airship, ancient civilization, barbaric rituals, optional timed challenge

TORDIN MYSTERY by KEVIN_VDS

🌠 Villagers are disappearing from the village of Tordin and it's up to you to uncover the reason!



🌠 Features: Captive villagers, Liane, magical experiments, secret plot

TRICK OR TREAT! by ZEPH GREY

🌠 Fill your bag with all the treats you can find throughout town. Sure, a monster could be around the next corner. But I still want more candy!


🌠 Features: Festive decor, trick-or-treaters, door-to-door visits, a real witch, haunted graveyard

TROUBLE AT HOME by SPACETIMEBADASS

🌠 You return from fighting the dragon only to find your home in shambles!



🌠 Features: A familiar environment, your archnemesis, your trusty ghost janitor, a very short playtime

VENRICKS FJORD by PANDUR

🌠 The land of Venricks Fjord is full of secrets. Can you uncover them all before heading back to your caravan for the night?


🌠 Features: Cannibal cave, elemental fire, lever puzzles, the Hillians, White River Gang

VILLAGE MISHAPS by WERTANDREW

🌠 You got yourself grounded for breaking the mayor's door with a plastic sword. The only chance to redeem yourself is to do five good deeds in the village.


🌠 Features: Your dad, free roaming, five quests, plants & ghosts, a special surprise at the end.

WISDOM STATUE by MUENNICH

🌠 Funny things happen on your way to the Statue of Wisdom. Will you be any wiser at the end?



🌠 Features: A damsel in distress, a mysterious stranger, grandpa, a distinct lack of cheese

WRONGLY ACCUSED by TOILER

🌠 Imprisoned for a crime you haven't committed, you have to fight in the arena to entertain a cruel audience. But then the spectacle gets out of hand ...


🌠 Features: A very decadent man, a very desperate troll, a dark secret, a conspiracy, many explosions


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VI. Dedication

Thank you

I would like to thank Astranon not only for his original guide that inspired me, but also for the permission and encouragement to follow in his footsteps, to borrow his title and some of his tutorial paragraphs, as well as for the good advice, and last but not least for his ample contributions to the list of adventures. He started as an occasional mentor, but this guide is just as much his as it is mine by now. I doubt it would ever have seen a release if it weren't for all his help. Thanks a lot!

I'd also like to say thank you to all the prolific and imaginative creators of FTD maps, the ones from Astranon's guide, the ones from this list, and the ones that we have yet to discover. Without all of you, Fight the Dragon wouldn't be nearly as much fun, despite the impressive groundwork laid out by 3Sprockets! And to you, the players - don't forget to leave helpful comments in-game, after you've played a map, to show that you appreciate the work that's gone into them, and to encourage the creation of more Fireside Adventures!

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[arslesmeten]

Played some of the maps finally and they all had some nice features. Thanks!

[DrPopp]

Very helpful, played the first map already and will play a lot more.
Thank you, awesome guide!

[Rivethead]

Awesome guide, many great adventures!