The ''Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks'' are a series of {{Gamebooks}} written by Dave Morris and Jamie Thomson (who would later go on to create ''Literature/TheFabledLands'' series), set in the same world as the tabletop RPG ''Dragon Warriors'' and ''Literature/BloodSword'' (also by Morris). It was released in the '80s, but was slightly more intricate than many similar series of the time. The player was required to manage statistics like health and agility as well as the items they found on their adventure. Notable in that one score the player ''didn't'' keep track of was their warrior prowess, as the difficulty of battles hinged more on the relative strength of the player's opponent. Combat was resolved by rolling two dice and consulting a chart. For instance:
* 2: The giant scorpion stabs you with its stinger. Its venom races through your system and you die within seconds.
* 3-5: The giant scorpion stabs you with both claws. Lose 6 VIGOR.
* 6-9: The giant scorpion stabs you with one claw. Lose 3 VIGOR.
* 10-12: You hit the giant scorpion. It loses 3 VIGOR.

Only six books were produced for the series.
* ''Crypt of the Vampire''
* ''The Temple of Flame''
* ''The Lord of Shadow Keep''
* ''The Eye of the Dragon''
* ''Curse of the Pharaoh''
* ''Castle of Lost Souls''

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!!''Golden Dragon Fantasy Gamebooks'' provide examples of:

* AnAdventurerIsYou: The series is somewhat unique for the time by actively encouraging the reader to imagine themselves as a specific character they come up with, even though this has no real effect on gameplay. The American versions went a step further with [[KidHero kids wearing armor and wielding swords on the covers]]. Subverted in a few of the books, where your character's a knight of the realm or something, as part of the book's plot.
* AllForNothing: Subverted at the end of ''The Temple of Flame'': even though you have slain Damontir, you realize that you cannot take the Idol you were looking for with you and decide to leave it there... only for the Idol to teleport you back to your ship with a generous amount of treasure.
* AlreadyUndoneForYou: In ''The Temple of Flame'' certain guardians or traps have already been destroyed or deactivated by Damontir and his Nightmare Guards.
* AncientEgypt: The fifth book has you adventuring inside an Egyptian-like pyramid.
* AndIMustScream: Downplayed example in ''The Lord of Shadow Keep'' in the Inn outside of the Keep: a knight who previously braved the perils of the fortress but was forced to flee is stuck inside, his armor rusted to the point that he cannot move and he's forced to endure the taunting and the mockery of the local ruffians. If you're willing to help him, he'll quickly avenge himself.
* AndroclesLion:
** In ''Castle of Lost Souls'', you meet an actual lion who has a thorn in its paw. The lion [[spoiler:actually talks (in a well-mannered way, even) and will ask you to take it off. If you do, it will give you important information.]]
** In ''The Temple of Flame'', right at the beginning, you will meet a monkey being threatened by a snake. Helping it is a good idea.
* AntiMagic: The idol of the god you've been seeking in ''The Temple of Flame'' acts like this, suppressing the effects of your magical gear in his presence. Thing is, the villain you've been pursuing for the whole book is an EvilSorcerer whose magic gets suppressed too, and instead of retreating you hurl yourself at him, realizing this is the best shot you'll possibly get.
* AttackBackfire: In ''The Lord of the Shadow Keep'', Werewolf Wine will usually knock out anyone who drinks it, no matter the size, but for the Weretiger is just a refreshing drink which buys you some time to leave her room.
* BeastInTheMaze: Shadow Keep has a Maze where a Minotaur lives. [[spoiler: He's actually harmless if you throw him a bone, while his young master is more dangerous.]]
* BlackSwordsAreBetter: ''The Eye of the Dragon'' describes your sword as being black, although the significance or origin thereof is never delved into.
* CameBackWrong: Sulsa Doom was resurrected by Damontir's necromantic arts. After defeating him, you resist the temptation to look under his mask.
* CaptainErsatz:
** In ''The Temple of Flame'', you face a boss who is called... "[[Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian Sulsa Doom]]"?
** The Malagash demon from the same book is a barely disguised [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Balrog]].
* CatGirl: You find a cute werecat girl in ''Temple of Flame''. And a seductive tiger lady in ''Lord of Shadow Keep''.
* ChasedByAngryNatives: It may happen to you in ''The Temple of Flame'' if you run afoul of them, but you can avert this by helping the caged Werecat or by forcing them to get motherless drunk before leaving.
* ChekhovsGun: At the beginning of ''The Lord of Shadow Keep'' you'll be given a special ring. If you hold onto it, it powers you up for the boss fight.
* ClockworkCreature: ''Castle of Lost Souls'' has a robot enemy at one point, but if the player doesn't beat it within a certain number of rounds, it runs down and goes inert all by itself.
* CoolSword: Book 2 and Book 4 have you starting from the very beginning with an enchanted sword of sorts: in the former is a magical broadsword with a blue aura, in the latter a cool, black sword. ''Castle of Lost Souls'' lets you potentially find a special sword that does extra damage.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: The opening of the sixth book has you proving your worth to a wealthy benefactor by demonstrating superhuman perception and effortlessly flooring his hulking bodyguard. Given how characters are rolled up in this game (even the most formidable possible character has a 25% chance of whiffing skill rolls, and you usually have about a 50/50 chance or lower of scoring a hit in combat), chances are good you'll find yourself doing nowhere near that well during the actual adventure.
* DealWithTheDevil: In ''Castle of Lost Souls'', all who made a deal with the demon have their souls trapped inside his castle.
* DeathByAdaptation: Oddly, in the French version of ''Castle of Lost Souls'', the witch that the protagonist rescues from the dungeons dies after she gives him some items, while she just fainted in the original text.
* DemBones: What, were you [[GenreBlindness NOT expecting]] to meet several of them to fight? There is at least one exception, though: a gold-plated skeleton who will let you cross a river in exchange of a Black Pearl.
* DoorToBefore: Upon successfully surviving the ''Curse of the Pharaoh'', part of the outer wall of the room will crumble to reveal that you're in the tip of the Pyramid and that the "hill" you saw at the beginning of your excursion into the maze was actually the sand-covered Pyramid, allowing you to leave unharmed.
* DualWielding: Done by Sulsa Doom in ''The Temple of Flame''.
* DurableDeathtrap: The traps inside the temple (2[[superscript:nd]] book) and pyramid (5[[superscript:th]] book) are still functioning after many years unattended.
* EliteMooks: The phantoms known as Nightmare Guards are this to Damontir the Mad.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Heck, the very first enemy fought in the series is [[spoiler:an iron GATE!]]
* EvilSorcerer: Damontir in ''The Temple of Flame''.
* EyeScream: In ''Eye of the Dragon'', you can blind the Kappa Leader (whose eyes, like the rest of his kin, are made of pearls) by throwing vinegar at him.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: In ''Crypt of the Vampire'', there's a part where you start to sink into the floor. Any attempt to flee will result in death, while standing still will safely bring you to another level.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: ''Curse of the Pharaoh'' takes place in a fantasy land that is, obviously, very similar to ancient Egypt. ''The Temple of Flame'' is in a sword-and-sorcery version of an ancient Mesoamerican culture.
* FeatheredFiend: A Zombie Falcon in ''The Lord of Shadow Keep''. And a Phoenix in ''The Temple of Flame''.
* GiantEnemyCrab: The Kappa employ giant, ravenous crabs as hunting dogs.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Averted. Part of the reason this series is somewhat known for its difficulty is a scarcity of healing sources in most books.
* GottaCatchEmAll: ''Castle of Lost Souls'' has you hunting for a collection of magic items right off the bat, though subverted a little as [[PlotCouponThatDoesSomething each has a practical use]].
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler: When you master the Eye of the Dragon and force the Kappa to leave, before departing the Kappa Leader will bow to you and admit that "[[WorthyOpponent you were a worthy opponent]]".]]
* GuideDangIt: Finding items can be tough and failure to do so often results in instant death at key points. A more specific example is that you ''cannot'' skip the introduction story parts to jump straight into the adventure, because in several that's where you're given an extremely important item.
* HeelFaceTurn: You can do that to [[spoiler:The Zombie Falcon]] with Shamboll's staff in ''The Lord of Shadow Keep''.
* IAmAHumanitarian: A surreal bad ending in ''The Lord of Shadow Keep'' has you joining a Ghoul dinner and become one of them upon gorging yourself on maiden's meat.
* ImplausibleDeniability: In ''Eye of the Dragon'', the odd wizard Chu won't believe that you parted peacefully with Lord Mantis if you're wearing his Silver Gauntlet, which can only mean that you killed him.
* InfinityPlusOneSword:
** In ''Crypt of the Vampire'', you can find a blue glowing magic sword. Defeat the [[FinalBoss vampire lord]] with it and he'll not rise again. Has no actual combat bonus, though.
** In ''The Eye of the Dragon'' you can get a magical gauntlet by killing a certain enemy. It increases your rolls in combat, but if you roll double-6's with the gauntlet equipped it means you automatically finish off your enemy in that hit.
* ItsPersonal: The protagonist of ''The Temple of Flame'' already wants to defeat Damontir for a variety of reasons, but he becomes even more enraged at him when [[spoiler:Damontir kills his newly acquired pet monkey sidekick]], which motivates him into killing him for good.
* KickTheDog: Damontir, the BigBad of ''The Temple of Flame'' is one nasty piece of work. And to prove it, he isn't above [[spoiler:shooting to death your pet monkey with his magical ring]] just to annoy you.
* KnightInShiningArmor: In ''Castle of Lost Souls'', you must find a piece of armor from a noble knight. [[AntiHero You can steal the piece from an armor collector]] or pry it from the cold dead fingers of a brave knight you've just slain. Of course, the easiest and most honest way is to simply ask the noble knight, who gladly hands over a piece of his armor when he hears about your quest to slay a demon.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Killing the old witch doctor you took as hostage in ''Temple of Flame''? It will NOT end well for you, but you're supposed to be a KnightInShiningArmor who conducts himself with honor.
* LivingWithTheVillain: In ''Crypt of the Vampire'', there's a benevolent monk in one of the bedchambers. Using his knowledge of vampirism, he safely lived in the manor for years and repel any of the vampire's attacks. He helped many adventurers who passed to his place and hoped that you can finally defeat [[FinalBoss the lord of the manor]].
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: You can find a shield in ''The Eye of the Dragon'' and use it. Should you roll a 6, damage done to you is blocked.
* MagicCarpet: You can buy one at the beginning of ''Curse of the Pharaohs''. It's almost out of magic, so you can only use it once, but it can save you from having to deal with some of the book's most dangerous stuff.
* MagicKnight: Your character in ''The Eye of the Dragon'' is a warrior-mage, and the game includes a simple magic system.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: In ''Castle of Lost Souls'', the demon will wear a mask to protect his remaining eye.
* {{Mayincatec}}: You venture inside this kind of temple in ''The Temple of Flame''.
* MindControlMusic: In ''Crypt of the Vampire'', there's a band of skeletons playing an orchestra. If you didn't take precautions, you'll be listening to their music until you die of thirst and starvation.
* MirrorMatch: In ''Temple of Flame'' you will fight a doppleganger created after you have had several events take down your HitPoints. WordOfGod says the correct way to [[http://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2017/04/winning-smart-way.html beat this]] is to wait for the doppleganger to be created, and ''then'' use a Ring of Healing to completely heal yourself.
* MoneyForNothing: A lot of the earlier books don't bother at all, but almost all of them spend the majority of their space in locations where money is of no use. ''Curse of the Pharaoh'' literally begins with you interacting with a curio dealer with a selection of magic items to sell, and there's no reason not to buy him out, or to go into the local gambling den to try to win more money because there's really nothing else to spend it on. ''Castle of Lost Souls'', the final book in the series, is a little better about this as the first part of the quest takes place at a town and fair.
* MsFanservice: Quite a few of the illustrated female characters.
* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: The vaguely humanoid Blood Fiend is a monstrous crocodile monster who enjoys butchering people and gorge on their blood and flesh.
* NintendoHard: As success in combat relies more on luck than your character's skill in battle, and the relative scarcity of healing, ''Golden Dragon'' is generally remembered as being harder than similar books in the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' or ''Literature/LoneWolf'' books.
* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: Why your character agrees to turn over the titular MacGuffin to the [[WizardingSchool academy of mages]] at the end of ''The Eye of the Dragon''. If he kept something that could fell entire armies like that, adventuring wouldn't be exciting anymore.
* NonStandardGameOver: In ''Castle of Lost Souls'', you can spot one of [[GottaCatchEmAll your items]] floating in the air. If you decide to check your backpack for the rest of the items, you'll notice they are gone. You then report back to your employer who unhappily dismisses you for failure. You then leave town in shame. [[GuideDangIt The correct path was to ignore the floating item and continue onward on your journey, as it was just an illusion.]]
* NoSell: In ''The Eye of the Dragon'', trying to destroy the animated bronze statue will not end well for your sword.
* OlderThanTheyLook: HotGypsyWoman Gayl is implied to be that thanks to BloodMagic in the last book.
* OneWingedAngel: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''Castle of Lost Souls'': if you manage to kill the BigBad and don't have the Holy Man Ashes to spread on his body, he will rise up again... except his second form is much weaker than the original.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The vampire lord is the last opponent to defeat in the first book.
* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Two of them!
** You meet a wild girl in ''The Temple of Flame'' who is locked in a cage. If you free her, she will reveal herself to be a werecat and help you as you are ChasedByAngryNatives.
** There's a seductive werecat in ''The Lord of Shadow Keep''. She is not as friendly.
* PalatePropping: You can avoid a fight with a particular monster in ''Eye of the Dragon'' if you jam its mouth open with something.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: In ''Curse of the Pharaohs'', if you fail to find the other piece of the cartouche, any paths you take at the end will cause your death.
* PuzzleBoss:
** It is possible to fight and defeat Lord Tenebron the Vampire with a Magic Sword, but [[spoiler: if you have a Crucifix you can just run away from him, which leads you in the chamber containing his coffin. At this point, the character will automatically throw his lantern at the coffin to set it ablaze and destroy the Vampire behind them.]]
** [[spoiler:Slank, Lord of the Castle of the Lost Souls, can be fought normally, but if you have all the required items and know how to use them you can make short work of him without even using your sword.]]
* QuicksandSucks: Right in the beginning of The Temple of Flame, you will [[spoiler:die sinking in quicksand if you don't help (and follow) the monkey]].
* ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Oh come ON... whether they are made of stones, giant, half-human or just regular slitherers, reptiles are not part of your fanclub.
* RingOfPower: The villain of ''The Temple of Flame'' wears one as his trademark, the Ring of Red Ruin.
* SadlyMythtaken:
** In ''The Eye of the Dragon'', your enemies are Kappas, who are traditionally turtle-like creatures in Japanese mythology. In this book, they are humanoids made out of ''coral'' with pearls for eyes. The only similarity is the aquatic theme.
** In the same book, the mythological monster Nuckelavee appears, but has been elevated from just a terrible creature to the demonic ruler of the ocean. His very presence can block even the magic powers of [[TheArchmage a master sorcerer]] like the player's supposed to be! To give some idea, the book also has an encounter with the [[PhysicalGod literal]] "demigodess of despair," but the player can use one of their spells to rather easily fend off her powers.
* ScaryStingingSwarm: The player has a spell to conjure one in ''The Eye of the Dragon''.
* SchmuckBait:
** In ''The Temple of Flame'' you can find a secret compartment holding a treasure chest along with the remains of an unfortunate adventurer who came before you. If you try to go for the treasure, soon there'll be ''two'' skeletons in there.
** In ''The Lord of Shadow Keep'', right before the FinalBoss, a ghostly woman appears and offers you a gauntlet of armor in order to face Darkrobe. [[spoiler: It actually weakens you if you fall for it.]]
* ShockAndAwe: If you hung onto the ring you got at the beginning of ''The Lord of Shadow Keep'', it'll charge up your sword for the end boss fight and let you do a lot of extra damage if you roll high.
* ShoutOut: One the reader's spells in ''The Eye of the Dragon'' is called "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E9DaggerOfTheMind Dagger of the Mind]]".
* SinisterScythe: Arkayn's weapon of choice is a scythe that can cause extra damage if it strikes you in a vulnerable spot.
* SnakesAreSinister: A very dangerous and unavoidable fight in ''Curse of the Pharaoh'' is against Ipo, the Coiled Shadowy Horror. A demon that looks like a giant snake.
* SpookySeance: The hero of ''The Eye of the Dragon'' has a spell that lets them summon the ghost of someone they know, or at least whose dead body they've seen. One ending even has them finding out how they died when another wizard summons their ghost using this spell. The description warns against using it to summon an evil spirit, which can be extremely dangerous.
* SummonMagic: The most powerful spells the player's characters has in ''The Eye of the Dragon'' involve conjuring up various creatures to fight in the wizard's place.
* SundialWaypoint: The noon sun opens the door to the tomb in ''Curse of the Pharaoh''.
* SupernaturalRepellent: The demon in the 6[[superscript:th]] book can be repelled with belladonna.
* SwissArmyTears: In ''Castle of Lost Souls'', you have to throw the tear of your quest-giver's sister at the (remaining good) eye of the BigBad. It will burn it and make him completely blind.
* ThematicRoguesGallery: Unsurprisingly, the strongest guardians of the Temple of Flame are all fire-themed monsters: phoenix, salamander, dragon, demon.
* TooDumbToLive:
** In the first book, taking a nap in a bedroom... inside a manor inhabited by a vampire. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong
** In ''The Eye of the Dragon'', casting ''Deadly Swarm'' spell against [[InsectoidAliens Lord Mantis]]. He just laughs at you and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard orders the hornets to turn against you]].
* UnreliableIllustrator: In ''Curse of the Pharaohs'':
** When you stay at an oasis, a monster comes out of the water to attack you. The oasis is isolated at a desert. The illustration shows the monster crushing several statues and pieces of architecture despite those not being mentioned in the text.
** You meet the demon known as the Heart-Devourer. If you have a crystal eye on your back, you can see him coming towards you. The text describes him as holding a dagger in one hand and a human heart in the other. The illustration shows him just holding a dagger. Maybe they didn't think they could get that kind of imagery past parent groups.
* ViolationOfCommonSense: The best path to be taken in ''The Temple of Flame'' is, when fighting Sulsa Doom, to [[spoiler:take a LeapOfFaith in the shaft below you. Just hope you took a cape of feathers with you. Haven't? Enjoy your hot, HOT bath!]]
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Both in ''The Temple of Flame'' and ''The Eye of the Dragon'' if you missed the "required" MacGuffin to reach the final confrontation, you can still use a shapeshifting item to turn into a bird and just fly to said location. It means you'll have to survive another fight before making it to the FinalBoss, though.
* WeHaveReserves: Damontir's solution to the temple's deadly traps is to send first his men and Nightmare Guards. By the time you reach him, he's left alone.
* WitchDoctor: The shaman in the second book. You can even take him hostage after you defeat him.
* WorthyOpponent: The kappa leader calls you this if you best him at the end of ''The Eye of the Dragon''.
* WreckedWeapon: You probably don't need anyone to tell it to you, but trying to smash open a man-sized block of ice with a sword doesn't work.
* ZergRush: Used in ''The Temple of Flame'', where you can send a group of zombies after a stone golem. They all die (again), but they do a lot of damage before going down.
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