sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,678
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Oct 24, 2016 19:26:40 GMT
can't remember too well but i think it was something like a glass globe containing vapours you have to inhale to protect you against Razaak's fire attack.
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Post by philsadler on Oct 24, 2016 19:36:27 GMT
can't remember too well but i think it was something like a glass globe containing vapours you have to inhale to protect you against Razaak's fire attack. Could be. Not that it would help you in the slightest against the most disgusting and unplaytested 'boss' in FF history.
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Post by lordomnibok on Oct 24, 2016 22:57:28 GMT
can't remember too well but i think it was something like a glass globe containing vapours you have to inhale to protect you against Razaak's fire attack. Could be. Not that it would help you in the slightest against the most disgusting and unplaytested 'boss' in FF history. Hi Phil. Every time you mention Razaak, I get the feeling that he might have ruined your childhood. Joking aside though, I agree that it is amazing that any book of this ilk could be published without a proper play test of AT LEAST the one true path. That said, I still enjoyed Crypt, even if I was eventually forced to cheat like a maniac to get through it. P.S. Hats off as always to Champskees for his walkthroughs.
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Post by a moderator on Oct 25, 2016 23:01:14 GMT
The essential globe is elsewhere. There's nothing essential in the Rad-Hulks' cave, but the right armour can be useful. Especially if you've lost Skill to the Harpoon flies - but if you have, your chances of defeating the Rad-Hulks and getting the armour are significantly diminished.
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Post by champskees on Oct 26, 2016 6:39:07 GMT
Is it really necessary to fight the rad-hulks when you can avoid them and get to the burning village anyway? There doesn't seem to be any benefit in fighting them except a +1 Skill bonus, and fighting two Skill 10 foes is hard, especially if you have lost some Skill with the Harpoon Flies. Am I missing something? It is a little counter intuitive, but the solution is designed to give you the best chance of winning and assumes you are using max stats. Basically the fight with the rad hulks is pretty straightforward. If you lost a skill point, you need to get it back here, otherwise you'll just die later on anyway. A sk12 character should get through fairly easily, and any damage you take can be recovered with healing tots. But the main thing is the chainmail armour. Later on, you will find that luck points are sparse and they are used frequently. You need as much luck as possible to stand a decent chance with Razaak. There is a box later on that you need to open and if you don't have the armour, you have to Test your Luck. Which means you lose a precious luck point. So ultimately, my thinking is that you can fight two 10/10 opponents and recover your hp quite easily with healing throughout the rest of the first half of the adventure, or you can ignore them and have one less luck point at the end. That luck point will assist in every luck roll towards the end, and give you an extra chance to do more damage against Razaak at the end. I don't know if I have explained myself very well here, but I am confident that it is the best thing to do as a 12/24/12 character.
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Post by 123 on Oct 29, 2016 11:04:41 GMT
Is it really necessary to fight the rad-hulks when you can avoid them and get to the burning village anyway? There doesn't seem to be any benefit in fighting them except a +1 Skill bonus, and fighting two Skill 10 foes is hard, especially if you have lost some Skill with the Harpoon Flies. Am I missing something? It is a little counter intuitive, but the solution is designed to give you the best chance of winning and assumes you are using max stats. Basically the fight with the rad hulks is pretty straightforward. If you lost a skill point, you need to get it back here, otherwise you'll just die later on anyway. A sk12 character should get through fairly easily, and any damage you take can be recovered with healing tots. But the main thing is the chainmail armour. Later on, you will find that luck points are sparse and they are used frequently. You need as much luck as possible to stand a decent chance with Razaak. There is a box later on that you need to open and if you don't have the armour, you have to Test your Luck. Which means you lose a precious luck point. So ultimately, my thinking is that you can fight two 10/10 opponents and recover your hp quite easily with healing throughout the rest of the first half of the adventure, or you can ignore them and have one less luck point at the end. That luck point will assist in every luck roll towards the end, and give you an extra chance to do more damage against Razaak at the end. I don't know if I have explained myself very well here, but I am confident that it is the best thing to do as a 12/24/12 character.
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Post by 123 on Oct 29, 2016 11:06:13 GMT
Thanks for clearing that up Champskees, I forgot about the box. To be honest, I don't see that it makes much difference - without cheating, the book is impossible anyway.
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Post by lordomnibok on Oct 29, 2016 17:47:44 GMT
Thanks for clearing that up Champskees, I forgot about the box. To be honest, I don't see that it makes much difference - without cheating, the book is impossible anyway. Although I agree with this, i do have a different perspective on your comment. Crypt does mirror real life, if only in the sense that it presents some challenges that seem beyond the limits of the individual to overcome. As long as the reader knows that the book's odds are stacked against them, the challenge then comes from seeing how far you can legitimately get before dying or cheating. i.e. There is still a satisfaction in giving your hero all the best possible chances for survival.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 29, 2016 19:06:55 GMT
Thanks for clearing that up Champskees, I forgot about the box. To be honest, I don't see that it makes much difference - without cheating, the book is impossible anyway. Although I agree with this, i do have a different perspective on your comment. Crypt does mirror real life, if only in the sense that it presents some challenges that seem beyond the limits of the individual to overcome. As long as the reader knows that the book's odds are stacked against them, the challenge then comes from seeing how far you can legitimately get before dying or cheating. i.e. There is still a satisfaction in giving your hero all the best possible chances for survival. In other words there is no chance of survival so it is true to life. Second if you follow the logic of what Champskees is saying then the 0.3% chance of survival he offers on his route is perfectly rational.
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Post by philsadler on Oct 29, 2016 23:27:55 GMT
Could be. Not that it would help you in the slightest against the most disgusting and unplaytested 'boss' in FF history. Hi Phil. Every time you mention Razaak, I get the feeling that he might have ruined your childhood. Joking aside though, I agree that it is amazing that any book of this ilk could be published without a proper play test of AT LEAST the one true path. That said, I still enjoyed Crypt, even if I was eventually forced to cheat like a maniac to get through it. P.S. Hats off as always to Champskees for his walkthroughs. Well I'm kind of sore even after all of these years that I played the book without cheating right the way to the end. Imagine my disappointment to then finally discover that it was all for nothing because the final boss was unbeatable. It just felt like a kick in the teeth when I had already spent so long playing fair with such an unfair book.
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Post by lordomnibok on Oct 30, 2016 0:32:55 GMT
Hopefully it didn't sound like I was legitimising the difficulty level of this book, I just meant that I still found some enjoyment in surviving for as long as I could via the rules, despite the inevitable doom that awaited. I fortunately had the advantage of knowing that Crypt was unbeatable when i first played it, so my ambitions towards it were set differently from the start. Botz also seemed insanely hard to me, so hopefully Livingstone will ease back on the overpowered mandatory fights in his next book. Botz 2 featuring Razaak would not be on my Christmas wish list.
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Post by alziel on Apr 17, 2017 9:41:08 GMT
Hi all - old-time newbie here (new to the forums at least :-)).
I just wanted to thank Champskees for these solutions. I'm currently recollecting all the FF books (still missing the ultra-rare 'Magehunter' and 'Revenge of the Vampire') and I'm playing through them in order - and without cheating at all (took me 56 attempts to beat 'Masks of Mayhem' for obvious reasons :-)). The only house rule that I have is this - whenever I roll my strongest character so far for any book, I will use that character for each attempt from that point on - but I will still roll stats at the beginning of each attempt and if any of my rolls are better than what I already have, I replace the old stat with the better one. Anyway, once I think I have the best route through a book worked out, I like to come here and compare with Champskees solutions to see if we synch up (mostly we do!).
I think I'll be on Crypt of the Sorcerer for a while yet (maybe even forever!), even though I now know the correct route through (and my character currently has stats of 12/22/12) - but there is one point in Champskees' solution where we don't synch up...
It's the Chameleonites. I NEVER dab the blood on my skin because I think it is riskier to do so than not. The only time you need to check if you have dabbed yourself with the blood is when you meet the Gargantis and it tries to swat you. If you have the blood dabbed on, you avoid the swat easily (which is great) but if you do not have the blood dabbed on you, then you lose 2 Stamina and must test your Skill to avoid certain death. Now, considering at this point that your Skill should be 11 or 12 it seems to me that the chances of surviving the swat with just a loss of 2 Stamina is much better than the chance of avoiding a losing penalty (by rolling a 1 on 1d6) after dabbing on the Chameleonite blood (and is also better than the -1 Skill and -4 Stamina penalty from rolling a 2).
Would it be worthy correcting the solution to account for this or am I missing something in my analysis?
Anyway - great work here! I shall continue to do my comparisons as I proceed through each book (assuming I ever manage to beat Crypt of the Sorcerer of course! :-D)
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 17, 2017 11:50:02 GMT
Hi all - old-time newbie here (new to the forums at least :-)). I just wanted to thank Champskees for these solutions) His solutions are excellent, and I also compare mine to his once I have completed a book. I play by the rules too, but if I am still floundering after 15 goes I usually peek at these walkthroughs to find out what on earth is going on. I am impressed by your 50+ attempts on Masks, very admirable resolve. Good luck with your current quest - unfortunately you will need insane amounts of it on this one - and welcome to the forum. I hope your resolve stays strong through the whole series.
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Post by philsadler on Apr 18, 2017 15:27:55 GMT
Hi all - old-time newbie here (new to the forums at least :-)). I just wanted to thank Champskees for these solutions. I'm currently recollecting all the FF books (still missing the ultra-rare 'Magehunter' and 'Revenge of the Vampire') and I'm playing through them in order - and without cheating at all (took me 56 attempts to beat 'Masks of Mayhem' for obvious reasons :-)). :-D) Hey. I'm always interested in any statistics regarding FF books. Would it be OK for you to post a list here of how many attempts it took your for each book?
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 18, 2017 19:33:24 GMT
Hi all - old-time newbie here (new to the forums at least :-)). I just wanted to thank Champskees for these solutions. I'm currently recollecting all the FF books (still missing the ultra-rare 'Magehunter' and 'Revenge of the Vampire') and I'm playing through them in order - and without cheating at all (took me 56 attempts to beat 'Masks of Mayhem' for obvious reasons :-)). :-D) Hey. I'm always interested in any statistics regarding FF books. Would it be OK for you to post a list here of how many attempts it took your for each book? Agreed, I would be interested to see that too if you can recall the stats / if its not too much bother. You could set up a new thread to show your number of attempts per book & update it as you progress through the series. I might compare my results to your own.
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Post by champskees on Apr 21, 2017 10:38:23 GMT
It's the Chameleonites. I NEVER dab the blood on my skin because I think it is riskier to do so than not. The only time you need to check if you have dabbed yourself with the blood is when you meet the Gargantis and it tries to swat you. If you have the blood dabbed on, you avoid the swat easily (which is great) but if you do not have the blood dabbed on you, then you lose 2 Stamina and must test your Skill to avoid certain death. Now, considering at this point that your Skill should be 11 or 12 it seems to me that the chances of surviving the swat with just a loss of 2 Stamina is much better than the chance of avoiding a losing penalty (by rolling a 1 on 1d6) after dabbing on the Chameleonite blood (and is also better than the -1 Skill and -4 Stamina penalty from rolling a 2).Would it be worthy correcting the solution to account for this or am I missing something in my analysis? A fatal flaw with several of my solutions is that I tend to 'learn' things as I playtest an adventure which become hard to unlearn. I completely agree with you on this one and will amend the original solution when i've got some spare time. Always interesting to see that edge get just a little bit bigger.
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Post by alziel on Apr 22, 2017 11:29:29 GMT
Hey. I'm always interested in any statistics regarding FF books. Would it be OK for you to post a list here of how many attempts it took your for each book? Agreed, I would be interested to see that too if you can recall the stats / if its not too much bother. You could set up a new thread to show your number of attempts per book & update it as you progress through the series. I might compare my results to your own. Funnily enough, I actually DO have a record of all my attempts so far (I record each playthrough on Notepad and save each time) - so I could indeed post up my stats for each book played thus far. Note that I didn't start using the 're-roll stats per attempt - keep highest stat/replace others' method of play until Crypt of the Sorcerer (which I am still playing - 22nd attempt just starting) but I will use that method for all books going forward. I am also going to start treating weapon and armour Skill bonuses as Attack Strength bonuses for my further attempts at Crypt of the Sorcerer (the chances of having to face Razaak with a Skill of 11 is too high because of the necessary encounter with the Iron Eater - only a 1 in 6 chance of avoiding the Skill loss?? With no chance to get it back again before meeting Razaak?? That's too cruel. Even when facing Razaak with a Skill of 12 you have a low chance of beating him... and I want to finish Crypt so I can move on to Star Strider - which I have never played!). Anyway, I'll dig up my 'saves' and post in another thread here as suggested. PS: Having just completed the 'stats' thread, I realize that my poor memory caused me to unintentionally lie about my Masks of Mayhem attempts - it was 36 attempts, not 56!! Sorry!
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Apr 30, 2017 23:05:50 GMT
Manifestly 12/24/12 is necessary. 10.10.21 -5 tots of healing potion -If you would rather follow the river north up into the hills -If you wish to keep heading north - 1d6 1-2=-4 stamina. -1 tot. 3-4=-6 stamina. -2 skill. -1 tot. 5-6=start again(if stamina <17 use 1 tot) -If you wish to cross the river to look at the cave -If you wish to enter the cave -If you wish to try lifting the lid -Fight the Rad-Hulks - 1st Rad-Hulk sk10 st5 2nd Rad-Hulk sk10 st6 -If you wish to break the crate open -Try on the chainmail suit - +1 skill -If you wish to go and see what is causing the smoke -If you wish to see if he is still alive - +1 stamina. Gold nugget 10gp. Knife. Holy Water. If you wish to put the chain around your neck(if stamina <18 use 1 tot) -Crystal of Sanity - 2d6 <=skill=ok >skill=2d6 <=luck=-1 stamina >luck=start again - 1st Chameleonite sk7 st7 2nd Chameleonite sk6 st6 3rd Chameleonite sk7 st6(+2 a.s if horse-back) -If you would rather spur your horse on further east -If you wish to approach him -If you wish to attack him -Bonekeeper sk5 st6. -3 luck 9L -Try on the Skull Ring -If you would rather ride east out of the Valley Of Bones -If you wish to dismount and examine the words -If you wish to release the reins to allow your horse to drink - +1 stamina -If you wish to charge down the hill to attack them - 1st Goblin sk5 st5 2nd Goblin sk5 st6 3rd Goblin sk6 st5 4th Goblin sk6 st6 - 2gp. Cracked mirror in silver frame. If you want to eat it - +2 stamina(if stamina <13 use 1 tot) -If you wish to ride towards the wood - 2d6 <=skill=ok >skill=If you possess a hunting-knife Wood Demon sk9 st10(-2 skill for duration) - Wood Demon sk9 st10(if stamina <13 use 1 tot) -If you wish to tie your horse up to a tree and trudge through the thick undergrowth -Examine the silver rod -Rod 37 -open the backpack - 4gp. Candle. If you wish to open the scroll and read the writing -If you would rather return to your horse -If you would rather ride around the edge of the clearing -Werewolf sk8 st9(if stamina <13 use 1 tot) -Griffin sk10 st10(if stamina <13 use 1 tot) -If you wish to ride over to investigate -If you wish to take the shield - +1 skill. +1 luck 10L -If you wish to open the box -If you wish to take the doll -Clay Golem sk8 st9. 1d6 1=Unless your blow has just killed the Golem start again(if stamina <13 use 1 tot) -If you wish to put the ring on your finger -Centaur sk10 st10 -If you would rather ride off without the talisman -If you wish to ride to the knoll -If you wish to cut her down -If you want to swallow some of the powder - +1d6+2 stamina(if stamina <19 use 1 tot) -Attack him with your sword - 1d6 1-2=start again 3-6=ok -Hill Giant sk9 st10(if stamina <19 use 1 tot) - 1gp. Copper bracelet -search the Giant’s cave after placing the gold and bracelet in your backpack -Break the globe - +1 luck. You may now either open the chest 11L -If you still wish to lift the lid -If you are wearing armour -Parchment 66. Leave the cave -If you wish to ride over to the fire -Will you reply ‘Lawful’ -If you trust this man and agree to do as he suggests - +2 stamina. If you would rather ride around them(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -If you wish to stop to investigate -Suma 11. If you wish to ride north into the forest -Demonspawn sk6 st6(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -or setting off now - +2 stamina. 5 tots healing potion -If you decide to investigate - -1 tot of healing potion. +1 luck. If you are wearing a bone ring with a skull etched into it 12L - 1st Skeleton sk6 st5 2nd Skeleton sk6 st6 3rd Skeleton sk5 st6 -If you wish to pull the rod out of the grave - 2d6 <=luck=ok >luck=-1d6+3 stamina. -1 skill 11L -turn 50 -Rod of Paralysis. +1 luck 12L -If you would rather ride into Stonebridge - +2 stamina(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -The Western Flatlands - 2d6 <=luck=ok >luck=If you wish to walk north 11L -If you wish to turn right - 1st Doragar sk9 st9 2nd Doragar sk9 st10(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -Bronze key. If you wish to continue along the tunnel -If you wish to investigate -If you would rather walk up to the Zombies -Number 5 tattoo -If you would rather walk to the junction and try the other passage - 1d6 1-5=-1 skill. Iron-Eater sk4 st5 6=ok -If you would rather keep on walking - 2d6 <=luck=ok >luck=-1d6 stamina(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) 10L -Cave-Troll sk8 st9(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -Alternatively, you can either tip up the cart -If you wish to open the large box -If you want to rest a while and let Borri read the book -If you wish to go right - 2d6x3 all <=skill=ok any >skill=start again -If you wish to pass between the statues -If you have not - -2 stamina. 2d6 <=skill=ok >skill=start again -If you are wearing a translucent crystal around your neck on a gold chain -If you wish to use something else -A silver rod -A Rod of Paralysis -A rabbit -Gargantis horn. 2d6 <=luck=ok >luck=2d6 <=luck=If you wish to hide in the alcove Rat Man sk5 st6. -2 skill attack strength 1st round or >luck=1d6 1-3=-2 stamina. Rat Man sk5 st6 4-6=Rat Man sk5 st6 4-6=Rat Man sk5 st6. If you wish to eat the nuts. +1 stamina 9L - 2d6 <=skill=ok >skill=2d6 <=skill=ok >skill=start again - 1d6 1d6=1-5=ok 6=-2 stamina -If you wish to continue the conversation -turn 11 -If you wish to walk to the edge of the hills to sleep - +2 stamina. If you wish to wait to meet whoever is approaching(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -If you wish to talk to him -If you wish to reply that you intend to slay Razaak -If you have a piece of parchment with strange writing on it -If you would rather walk by -If you wish to wait for a servant of Razaak to appear -Demonic Servant sk8 st7(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -If you would rather press on to find Razaak’s crypt -If you wish to squeeze through the crack -If you would rather walk down the narrow tunnel -If you would rather walk through the archway and into the tunnel beyond it -If you want to go left -If you wish to wait to see if anybody comes along to replace the candles -If you wish to attack the Zombie -If you have a phial of holy water - 1d6=-1 to -5 damage Zombie sk6 st6 6=ok(if stamina <21 use 1 tot) -Copper identity tag 283 -If you would rather turn back -If you wish to sit on the chair -turn 283 -However, if you do have a key and wish to do as the sign says -If you wish to answer -turn 35 -turn 119 -turn 5 -turn 108 -turn 184 -If you are not wearing a talisman -If you are wearing a gold ring -If you have inhaled the smoke -turn 66 -If you are carrying the Defender -Razaak sk12 st20(use 3 luck for extra damage) If wins 2 consecutive attack rounds=start again(if stamina <6 use 1 tot) -If you would rather leave the crypt as quickly as possible(If stamina <6 use 1 tot) -stamina >5=ok <6=start again
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Post by Molve on Feb 26, 2019 22:26:24 GMT
As I see it, if it really is true the probability of success is 0.3% - or rather, higher than zero but still not "trivial" (like, say 25% or even 2.5%) then... ...hats off to Livingstone who obviously DID do the math, ensuring the shot at success was as low as possible while still not nothing! Just a different perspective
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Feb 27, 2019 13:18:04 GMT
As I see it, if it really is true the probability of success is 0.3% - or rather, higher than zero but still not "trivial" (like, say 25% or even 2.5%) then... ...hats off to Livingstone who obviously DID do the math, ensuring the shot at success was as low as possible while still not nothing! Just a different perspective It is a 1/200 chance of success. Think of all those months rolling dice. What more do you want? Starship Traveller.
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Post by daredevil123 on Feb 27, 2019 20:24:09 GMT
As I see it, if it really is true the probability of success is 0.3% - or rather, higher than zero but still not "trivial" (like, say 25% or even 2.5%) then... ...hats off to Livingstone who obviously DID do the math, ensuring the shot at success was as low as possible while still not nothing! Just a different perspective Pity he didn't bother when he wrote Blood of the Zombies.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 27, 2019 21:58:23 GMT
According to Champskees' number-crunching, the odds are between 0.1% and 0.5% if and only if you roll a 6 when calculating your Skill, so unless you fudge character creation, the actual odds of winning are closer to 0.05%.
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Post by electricwater on Mar 4, 2019 9:04:09 GMT
I too have been playing my way through the books over the last couple of years. I semi-fudge my initial rolls, rolling 4 dice and then assigning them to Skill, Stamina and Luck as I see fit.
Predictably enough, my enthusiasm for re-reading the books had waned at the same point as when they originally came out: I merrily rattled through 1-25 over a few months, but Crypt was unpleasantly difficult, to the point of annoyance (and I ask myself why I’m bothering to read this if I’m not enjoying it).
Then Chasms of Malice ruined things entirely. Back in the day, this experience meant I only bought 10 more carefully-chosen FF books on publication, rather than every one.
Over the last year I’ve plodded through 31-39, my dented enthusiasm further weakening with Skylord, Daggers and Fangs (each of which I avoided when first published). I now own all the books, but have yet to read 40 onwards. Please tell me things improve!
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,453
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Mar 4, 2019 10:54:07 GMT
I now own all the books, but have yet to read 40 onwards. Please tell me things improve! The 40s is in my opinion the strongest run for the series: - There's 3 books by new author Stephen Hand (Dead of Night, Legend of the Shadow Warriors and Moonrunner), all of which are fair, well-written and allow for a fair bit of variety. - Then there's Spectral Stalkers by Peter Darvill Evans (author of Beneath Nightmare Castle and Portal of Evil), a really weird and wonderful book, that's very fair and allows for multiple playthroughs. - If you like Steve Jackson books, Siege of Sardath by Keith P Philips is as close to Jackson as you can get without being Jackson. - Keith Martin (author of Stealer of Souls and Vault of the Vampire) has a couple of books in a similar vein to his previous: Master of Chaos and Tower of Destruction - they're a bit of a slog but have their moments. How much you like them will probably depend on how much patience you have for record keeping. - There's Keep of the Lich Lord by Dave Morris (his only FF book but he's a very prolific gamebook author otherwise) and Jamie Thomson (co-author of Talisman of Death and Sword of the Samurai). It's... fine. It's a very forgiving gamebook, perhaps too forgiving. - And then the marmite of the series Paul Mason (co-author of Slaves of the Abyss) has two books, Black Vein Prophecy (with Steve Williams) and The Crimson Tide on his own. They're very unconventional and not very fair but they are also quite thought provoking in a way FF generally isn't. After the height of the 40s, the 50s is a bit of a backward step IMO. A by-the-numbers Livingstone dungeon adventure (Return to Firetop Mountain), 4 record-keeping heavy behemoths by Keith Martin (Island of the Undead, Night Dragon, Legend of Zagor and Revenge of the Vampire), 3 books by new author Jonathan Green that are well written but compete with Crypt of the Sorcerer when it comes to unfairness, Paul Mason has another interesting but unfair book in Magehunter, and then there's Deathmoor, a very old school FF book by Robin Waterfield (author of Rebel Planet, Masks of Mayhem and Phantoms of Fear) that feels more like the books of the teens and 20s. The post-revival books are a mixed bag. Eye of the Dragon is a very old school Livingstone dungeon adventure (I like it, but I quite enjoy such things as a rule). Bloodbones is Jonathan Green at his sadistic again but I actually really enjoy it and it's slightly fairer than his previous efforts. His following books (Howl of the Werewolf, Stormslayer and Night of the Necromancer) show that he really took criticism on board as all 3 are mostly fair and have some great ideas. Blood of the Zombies is pretty awful, a repetitive, linear and incredibly unfair book that doesn't even feel like FF. Port of Peril is much better, even if it takes a while to get going, it's got some early Livingstone charm. Gates of Death is incoherent and all over the place and feels like the author didn't quite understand the rules.
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Post by electricwater on Mar 5, 2019 14:14:59 GMT
I was expecting a simple yes or no response, but thank you for your detailed reply. I’m glad to hear things pick up again. I did read and enjoy Dead of Night and Legend of the Shadow Warriors back in the day, so was hoping they weren’t lone blips. My enthusiasm is re-kindled!
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Post by Akharis on Aug 31, 2019 14:41:14 GMT
I always liked this game book. In fact, it was one of my Ian Livingstone favourites. The first time I played it; I was killed about half-a-dozen references into it! Great book. The Howling Caves and balloon ride were fun!
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Post by Akharis on Oct 11, 2019 14:11:17 GMT
I always liked this book quite a lot. I enjoyed the two adventurers you hook up with, Borri and Sym. Exploring the caves of the Gargantis beast was fun too.
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Post by Sergio on Aug 29, 2020 18:06:41 GMT
I must say the linear true path of this adventure isn't good enough to justify its difficulty. But what I do is I use loaded dice for the chamelonite blood roll, and I use the gauntlet, bracelet and helmet from the forest of doom, as well as an enchanted breastplate from citadel of chaos to raise my attack strength to 17 only against Razaak. I also retain two luck potions so I can do him in five hits. What I always do is retain the possibility of using stat rolls from previous adventures to build as strong a character as possible for max stat adventures. Though I prefer to complete adventures that offer a 50% chance of completion on their minimum stats which could be 10 20 10. I roll and add on to retain for min. stats to complete the adventure at least. But just like Masks of Mayhem, use a loaded dice for this one. Its the writers own fault.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Aug 29, 2020 18:13:20 GMT
I must say the linear true path of this adventure isn't good enough to justify its difficulty. But what I do is I use loaded dice for the chamelonite blood roll, and I use the gauntlet, bracelet and helmet from the forest of doom, as well as an enchanted breastplate from citadel of chaos to raise my attack strength to 17 only against Razaak. I also retain two luck potions so I can do him in five hits. What I always do is retain the possibility of using stat rolls from previous adventures to build as strong a character as possible for max stat adventures. Though I prefer to complete adventures that offer a 50% chance of completion on their minimum stats which could be 10 20 10. I roll and add on to retain for min. stats to complete the adventure at least. But just like Masks of Mayhem, use a loaded dice for this one. Its the writers own fault. "You're goddamn right". The most perfect fighting fantasy book!
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,678
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on Aug 31, 2020 14:45:44 GMT
I must say the linear true path of this adventure isn't good enough to justify its difficulty. But what I do is I use loaded dice for the chamelonite blood roll, and I use the gauntlet, bracelet and helmet from the forest of doom, as well as an enchanted breastplate from citadel of chaos to raise my attack strength to 17 only against Razaak. I also retain two luck potions so I can do him in five hits. What I always do is retain the possibility of using stat rolls from previous adventures to build as strong a character as possible for max stat adventures. Though I prefer to complete adventures that offer a 50% chance of completion on their minimum stats which could be 10 20 10. I roll and add on to retain for min. stats to complete the adventure at least. But just like Masks of Mayhem, use a loaded dice for this one. Its the writers own fault. "You're goddamn right". The most perfect fighting fantasy book! Dude, the guy is literally saying he had to house rule half a dozen things and use loaded dice in order to win. And you're agreeing?!
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