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Post by a moderator on Jan 29, 2022 1:42:23 GMT
I decided to take on Battleblade Warrior. I got off to a decent start, but it all ended rather abruptly. One failed Skill test, and I ended up inside a freaking T. Rex! I died the same way (though thanks to a failed Test your Luck) when I tried playing Battleblade Warrior yesterday. So I'll be sticking with my more successful performance at Island of the Lizard King.
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Post by schlendrian on Jan 29, 2022 9:55:53 GMT
Like Mungo, I died at the hands of the pirate captain, who now doesn't need to share his iron bars with anyone:
Sk 8, St 21, L 7 Enemies defeated: 2 Pirates
Really not much to add, I already rolled abysmally bad against the pirates
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 29, 2022 9:59:54 GMT
I went with Demons because I knew it was pretty easy. Starting stats: Skill 9 Stamina 18 Luck 12 Final stats: Skill 11 Stamina 18 Luck 13 Items: Crystal of unmelting ice, lucky charm Knowledge: How to summon skeletons from black pearls Fights: 3 barracuda, 2 skeletons, 1 statue, 1 kraken and two rounds against a grouper Guide: Champskees Hotel: Trivago
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Post by a moderator on Jan 29, 2022 13:53:05 GMT
I went with Demons because I knew it was pretty easy. Starting stats: Skill 9 Stamina 18 Luck 12 Final stats: Skill 11 Stamina 18 Luck 13 Items: Crystal of unmelting ice, lucky charm Knowledge: How to summon skeletons from black pearls Fights: 3 barracuda, 2 skeletons, 1 statue, 1 kraken and two rounds against a grouper Guide: Champskees Hotel: Trivago Was the Skill increase a reroll or a bonus?
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 29, 2022 20:12:04 GMT
It was from Cyrano's fencing lessons.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 29, 2022 22:16:19 GMT
Tried Battleblade Warrior, barely got out of Vymorna Skill 8 Stamina 18 Luck 9
(more details pending)
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Post by a moderator on Jan 29, 2022 23:09:46 GMT
Tried Battleblade Warrior, barely got out of Vymorna That suggests that you won fewer than 26 fights, so I think I can figure out the scoring without the specifics. Week 4 scoring1st: greenspine - 16 (stats bonus 1 + most fights won bonus 5 + victory bonus 10) 2nd: terrysalt – 5 (stats bonus 5) 3rd= schlendrian – 4 (stats bonus 4) 3rd= thealmightymudworm - 4 (stats bonus 4) 3rd= vastariner - 4 (stats bonus 4) 6th= nathanh - 2 (stats bonus 2) 6th= peasantscribbler - 2 (stats bonus 2) 8th: kieran – 1 (stats bonus 1) Running totals1st: greenspine - 32 2nd: terrysalt - 26 3rd: nathanh – 23 4th: kieran - 17 5th: schlendrian - 14 6th: thealmightymudworm - 13 8th= peasantscribbler - 12 8th= vastariner – 12 Well, the combination of high stats, strategy, and occasional reckless self-endangerment paid off for me this week, but we're only a month into the year, so there's still plenty of potential for things to change.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 30, 2022 1:48:12 GMT
An unexpected success at Return to the Icefinger Mountains! (Major spoilers in my write up) Sk8 St20 Lu12
As I suspected in my previous attempts, there was a trick to translating the message on the coffin. To be honest, I'm not sure I found all the necessary hieroglyphs to really make sense of the message (or possibly I just failed to recognise some of them) as what I was able to translate told me nothing much but it did tell me to turn to 144. Not sure if I inadvertently cheated but the text only says I have learnt enough to know Denati isn't being fully truthful which I guess is accurate. Anyway I tumbled the witch's coffin down the ravine which seems to be a success of sorts.
Kills: Snow Wolf Toa-Suo Orc Zombie
No guide used
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Post by a moderator on Jan 30, 2022 2:07:32 GMT
An unexpected success at Return to the Icefinger Mountains! (Major spoilers in my write up) Sk8 St20 Lu12
As I suspected in my previous attempts, there was a trick to translating the message on the coffin. To be honest, I'm not sure I found all the necessary hieroglyphs to really make sense of the message (or possibly I just failed to recognise some of them) as what I was able to translate told me nothing much but it did tell me to turn to 144. Not sure if I inadvertently cheated but the text only says I have learnt enough to know Denati isn't being fully truthful which I guess is accurate. Anyway I tumbled the witch's coffin down the ravine which seems to be a success of sorts.
Kills: Snow Wolf Toa-Suo Orc Zombie
No guide used Congratulations. Good work on managing it with just 8 Skill. If you knew enough to be able to translate the hidden direction, it's reasonable to assume that your character was able to spot that Denati had translated 'and' as 'unless' (and that the glyphs for the two words were too dissimilar for that to be a genuine error).
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Post by peasantscribbler on Jan 30, 2022 14:59:03 GMT
Playing Demons of the Deep, I had my best run since week one. I didn't win, but I didn't die. I ended floating on a plank in the middle of the sea. The text seems fairly optimistic that I could survive.
Starting Stats: Skill=10, Stamina=22, Luck=12
Enemies defeated (9): First Barracuda Second Barracuda Third Barracuda First Skeleton Second Skeleton Moray Eel Lion Fish Bloodworms Kraken
Items gathered: 5 gold pieces 9 black pearls lucky charm pendant
Information learned: Seek out the black pearls. Derd-nu-Heno is the code word to make skeletons from black pearls. The pirate ship is anchored in a cove that forms the 'mouth' of a fish-shaped island.
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by vastariner on Jan 30, 2022 16:04:24 GMT
Let's go back to the Icefingers.
Sk: 7 (oh God) St: 17 (oh God) Lu: 11 (evidently a thief)
Things picked up: paper that I can read at lunch (turn to 156) which turns out to be an exegesis of some sort of gladiatorialesque contest and a hint to ask a god something 2 sets of winter clothing Rope 2 lanterns Blanket 7 Provisions
And I lose stamina to rats, some rampaging giants, lose the first attack round to a blind shaman, and lose EVERY SINGLE OTHER ATTACK ROUND against him. Even two successful Luck tests to reduce damage do not help.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 4, 2022 13:19:42 GMT
I tried Demons of the Deep. Skill 9 Stamina 20 Luck 9 - about as average a character as you can get. So I took a chance on visiting the Mer-people's sauna, and became... Skill 8 Stamina 17 Luck 7
Fights won: 3 Barracuda 2 Skeletons Moray Eel Sharkspear Sea Spider Bloodworms
And I got killed by the Devilfish.
No need to list equipment and information gained, as terrysalt and kieran have logged wins for this week. Hoping to fit in an attempt at Return to the Icefinger Mountains (and to do better at that one), but I'm logging this outcome regardless so I can also remind nathanh, schlendrian and the almightymudworm that the deadline is less than 35 hours away.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 4, 2022 17:35:59 GMT
I'm going with Return to the Icefinger Mountains as my entry for this week's challenge. Sk 11 St 21 L 12
Fights won: 2 Snow Wolves 2 Toa-Suo Snow Owl Orc Zombie Servant of the Snow Witch
I gained the knowledge necessary to translate the crucial inscription, and shoved the Snow Witch into the chasm before she could be raised. This week alerted me to a potential issue with one aspect of the challenge that should be resolved before we go any further. If I'd gone with my attempt at Demons of the Deep, I would have tied with peasantscribbler for highest number of fights won (unless there's a last-minute-ish entry with an even higher score). It's quite possible that at some point during the year, there will be a tie in that category. The simplest thing to do in such a circumstance would be to give the bonus to all the tied players. However, it would also be possible (though more work) to compare the lists of fights won (assuming they're not identical) to work out which player faced a greater challenge, and give just them the bonus. For example: Peasantscribbler and I mostly fought the same fights, the exceptions being that he fought the Lionfish and the Kraken, while I fought Sharkspear and the Sea Spider.
Sharkspear and the Lionfish both have Sk 9 St 12, but the fight against Sharkspear is not to the death.
The Sea Spider has Sk 7 St 10, while the Kraken has Sk 10 St 30.
So peasantscribbler won a more dangerous fight, and later defeated a much more powerful opponent, and would thus gain the bonus. Anyone want to express a preference for either option?
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Feb 4, 2022 17:48:00 GMT
Anyone want to express a preference for either option? I would say for the sake of saving on brain power, tied players should each get the bonus.
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Post by nathanh on Feb 4, 2022 17:48:32 GMT
Breaking the ties with the tougher opponents seems fine. I tried Demons of the Deep. Sk 10 (11 from Cyrano) St 18 Lu 12
As usual, I fail to find either of the ways to reach the island, so I go full slaughter mode:
3 BARRACUDAS, SEA SNAKES, GROUPER, STATUE, SEA HAG, SEA SPIDER, SEA OGRE, 2 GIANT CRABS, SEA DRAGON, DEVILFISH, CYRANO
Eventually I get killed by a KRAKEN after some bad rolling during the combat.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 4, 2022 18:13:06 GMT
Breaking the ties with the tougher opponents seems fine. If we go for that option, we also need to figure out how to weight stats to determine toughness when one opponent has a higher Skill but a lower Stamina than the other. For instance, which is the more dangerous enemy out of Captain Bloodaxe (Sk 11 St 12) and the Sea Dragon (Sk 10 St 24)?
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Post by nathanh on Feb 4, 2022 18:34:56 GMT
Since it isn't likely to come up all that often, I'd simulate 1m battles between the tied enemies and see which ones win more often
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Post by terrysalt on Feb 4, 2022 20:30:18 GMT
I saw this posted on the forum before. Assuming the figures are correct, it should work to break the ties.
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Post by CharlesX on Feb 4, 2022 20:45:49 GMT
Taking the earlier example (Captain Bloodaxe versus Sea Dragon), a Skill 10 adventurer might lose 20 Stamina from Captain Bloodaxe, implying that against a 24 Stamina opponent of the same Skill the extra Stamina more than cancels out the Skill advantage (just). Very handy table, I'd have thought intuitively the Sea Dragon's doubling of Stamina at the expense of 1 skill point made it easily the tougher enemy, but it turns out it's barely ahead.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 4, 2022 22:07:28 GMT
Thanks for that, terrysalt.
I'll wait to see if any of the other players want to weigh in on either side of the debate before making a decision.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 5, 2022 0:15:00 GMT
Schlendrian and thealmightymudworm have until midnight GMT to get results in for week 5.
Week 6 The randomiser picks adventures by the credited and real authors of Legend of Zagor.
This century - Trial of Champions Last century - Stealer of Souls
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Post by terrysalt on Feb 5, 2022 5:23:16 GMT
A successful effort at Stealer of Souls! My usual luck with stat rolling got me skill 8, stamina 18, luck 12. Items: ointment, message scroll (350), silver medallion, luck powder (restore 1 luck) x 3, bone dice, chainmail (+1 skill, can exceed initial), bronze ring, platinum amulet, golden flask, 5 provisions, 10 gold pieces Knowledge: 1 dispel fear spell (cast), 2 dispel illusion spells (both cast), speed spell (cast) Enemies killed: 2 giant storm birds, 2 goblins, 3 orcs, 1 dark priest, 1 diadrone, 1 half-ogre torturer, 2 dark elves, 1 death skull, 1 spider illusion, 1 Mordraneth Guide used: Champskees
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Post by schlendrian on Feb 5, 2022 16:06:07 GMT
My effort at Demons was a bit of a risky speed run, as I really just knew the outlines of what to do to win and didn't dare to stray to far from it: Basically I did go: kill two skeletons, go for collecting the bones of that ghost (got a healing potion), jade crown and dolphin, Greylock and then as straight for the ship as possible, where the two skeletons and that throwing dagger for Captain Bloodaxe netted me a narrow victory.
Skill 10, Stamina 15, Luck 12
Enemies defeated (13): 2 Skeletons, perch, statue, shark, anemones, sea ogre, two giant crabs, 4 pirates, Captain Bloodaxe
Edit: Too bad, had I found the barracudas everyone else fought, I would have gotten the kill bonus
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Post by peasantscribbler on Feb 5, 2022 16:36:15 GMT
I can't decide which disastrous results to post for Week 6. I died in my first combats in both Trial of Champions and Stealer of Souls. I guess Trial was objectively a little better because I survived the first trial (the race) before choosing the wrong weapons and dying in two combat rounds to the Bonecrusher. In Stealer, I won zero combat rounds versus the Giant Stormbird. My stats were better for Trial (Sk=9, St=16, Lu=10), but I'm not sure if I would get a low stats bonus for Stealer (Sk=7, St=15, Lu=9) considering that I accomplished nothing and died as quickly as possible.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 5, 2022 17:28:18 GMT
If you play at least one of the adventures and post the outcome before the deadline, you get the stats bonus, regardless of how poorly you fared.
Your lower stats for Stealer would get you a slightly higher bonus, so I'd advise going with that one.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Feb 5, 2022 17:46:17 GMT
How are the stats bonuses calculated?
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Post by vastariner on Feb 5, 2022 18:48:00 GMT
Those who have been clicking on my spoilers will have sussed that I'm playing these hardcore - straight-up first lot of dice rolls for a character, no re-rolling to get one with a chance of success, and not using a guide. And no second goes either.
I'm also mostly playing the ones with which I am less familiar, so this run I've gone with Stealer of Souls, which I keep confusing for Daggers of Darkness.
So my dude or dudess for Sos:
Sk 7 (ugh) St 16 (why even bother...) Lu 11 (hm, another thief)
You have to question the wisdom of those of Lendleland who think such a sprogling would have half a chance on a one-man mission. Is this a complicated form of death penalty?
I mean, the first decision is to flee from a giant bird or to fight it. As I'm meant to be the great hero of the adventure, I've really got to front up. So I do. At least I will have help from the other sailors.
And, guess what, I don't. And I really have to wonder if I have cursed dice. Even when I roll a 10 for Attack Strength, the bloody stormbird rolls an 11. I lose six consecutive attack rounds (St down to 4) before landing a hit. And with St4 I've really got to use Luck to have a chance of winning this fight.
We then exchange attack rounds, it does me another 2 damage (St2), I use luck for a better blow (Lu 9, Stormbird stamina 4), then I win another one, try to make it a killing blow with a mighty lunge but slip and stab a talon instead (me: St 2, Lu 8; SB St 3), lose another AR but (just) pass a luck test (St1 Lu7/St 3), and finally lose the last attack round.
So another adventure ended in the first fucking fight and on the first fucking choice - which, it turns out, was actually the right choice.
You know, I'm thinking that the whole "any player, no matter how weak his or her initial dice-rolls, should be able to come through successfully to the final glory" is a load of old sloblock.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 5, 2022 18:48:28 GMT
How are the stats bonuses calculated? A formula worked out on a previous forum, and reproduced here. When calculating the average, halves round up if Initial Skill is above 9, and down if it's below 10.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Feb 5, 2022 19:09:22 GMT
If you play at least one of the adventures and post the outcome before the deadline, you get the stats bonus, regardless of how poorly you fared. Your lower stats for Stealer would get you a slightly higher bonus, so I'd advise going with that one. Stealer of Souls it is then.
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Post by a moderator on Feb 5, 2022 19:11:16 GMT
Those who have been clicking on my spoilers will have sussed that I'm playing these hardcore - straight-up first lot of dice rolls for a character, no re-rolling to get one with a chance of success, and not using a guide. And no second goes either. Same here. I've had some luckier rolls than you at times, and I played a lot of the books obsessively enough back in the eighties that I can still remember a lot of significant details, but no fudging, no rerolling (except when permitted by the book - which went so well for me in Demons, didn't it?), no guides to help with playing the books (though I might occasionally refer to one to help with adjudication), and only one attempt at each adventure. The fact that I never even mentioned my tries at Sky Lord and Freeway Fighter should give some indication of how well I did at them. Whoever came up with that phrase missed their true vocation as a government spokesperson.
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