How many Instant deaths are there in each book??

[Paul Mc]

Would like to know which has the most/least and what is an average number.
So I know how many I should be doing.
*For this I'm calling any unsuccessful ending an instant death.
I've written one gamebook and it had 39 (in a 400 reference)

[deadshadowrunner]

39 would be nearer the high end of the spectrum;for comparison Masks of Mayhem has around 43.(Note:Count stolen from Per Jorner) I would estimate there are roughly 20-25 per book on average.

[Wilf]

Titannica will answer this question for most of the books - the individual entries for each book usually include the number of instant failure paragraphs.

I'll let you look them up for your own research, but here's a starter for nine:

Warlock has 6, 3 of which are incorrect combinations of keys to the chest. Citadel has 19; Forest 3; Starship 13; City 10; Deathtrap has a whopping 31; Island 10; Scorpion Swamp 20; and Caverns 24. House Of Hell is unusual in that Titannica doesn't enumerate its deaths.

[kieran]

I think Titannica took those details from Demian's reviews so they only have instant death info for the first 9. Demian did review House of Hell eventually and apparently it has 20 endings (including victory).

I imagine Luke Sharp, Robin Waterfield, Martin Allen and Paul Mason's books probably have the highest tallies of instant deaths. Those guys were stone-cold killers.

[vastariner]

Chasms of Malice seems to have one every other paragraph. A lot of them are hidden. Things like "roll two dice. If the numbers are the same, you die. Otherwise, read on."

[philsadler]

I've got the information from my own books handy if you like:

Hellfire:
499 Refs
14 Unavoidable fights
42 Possible deaths


Riders of the Storm:
400 Refs
16 Unavoidable fights
37 Possible deaths


House of Pain
499 Refs
19 unavoidable fights
39 Possible deaths

Deathtrap
499 refs
15 Unavoidable fights? (it varies because there's some leeway in how you play it)
28 Possible  deaths

[Paul Mc]

I thank you for that philsadler, have a little game of satan's academy and see if you like it.
There is 39 possible deaths however there are not many fights and mostly they are avoidable. In fact to complete the book using the best route there are only 5 unavoidable fights. (Thuggish boy, boy, demonic imp, guard and the headmaster)

[philsadler]

Thanks. I'm interested to know what the skill ratings for those 5 unavoidable opponents are?

[philsadler]

Worked a few more out:
FIGHTS
Deathtrap Dungeon: 15
Temple of Terror: 20
Island of the Lizard King: 20

DEATHS
Deathtrap Dungeon: 32
Temple of Terror: 24
Creature of Havoc: 47

[philsadler]

Just read this blog: ffreviewermalthusd.blogspot.com.es/2013/03/30-chasms-of-malice.html

and he mentions that the appalling Chasms of Malice has no less than 50 instant deaths! Surely this is more than any other FF book ever?

[a moderator]

It's possible that, what with having 800 sections, The Crown of Kings may beat Chasms for number of Instant Deaths, but from a proportional perspective, Chasms probably outdoes all other candidates.

[Paul Mc]

Phil Sadler, in answer to your question... the unavoidable 5 have varying skill. One has a skill of 7, one a skill of 8, one a skill of 9, one a skill of 10 and one a skill of 11.
The one with a Skill of 10 though I'm going to change it to a skill of 8 because it's the first battle you come across in the adventure. Bizarrely enough the final boss who you fight actually only has a skill of 9.
Although the guard you fight to get to him has a skill of 11 however you need another companion to complete the adventure and you have him by the time you get to the guard so you are both fighting him. It's like fighting 2 people but in reverse.
I punish stupidity with harder battles. If you find you are battling someone with a Skill of 10 then the chances are you should have avoided that fight. If you are battling someone with a Skill of 11 or 13 before the final part you have quite probably doomed yourself.

[philsadler]

That actually all sounds very fair and the complete opposite to Ian Livingstone.

[Paul Mc]

Have a little play of it Phil. It is on this site and the FF Project site.
Ive tried to be as fair as possible stats wise but Ive tried to make the game very hard too especially has I have enjoyed writing my arbitrary deaths and I am quite proud of the sinister and interesting ways I kill you off.
Unfortunately if you like the trope "your adventure ends here" you won't find it as I find the phrase too cliche, but believe me you know when your adventure has ended with some blood curdling descriptions of being burnt alive, hanged or just generally having your soul taken amongst some other gruesome bizarre deaths including being hanged by the devil in a painting, being stamped on by a stiletto heel and being eaten alive by a floor pattern.
Please give a review of the game too so I can see if you enjoyed it or not.
Beware on one thing, you can doom yourself in this game without noticing. Im quite bad on occasions where I reward you with attributes for a decision that proves fatal later on.

[Paul Mc]

Actually I have the opponent stats here, you can see if they are fair or not.

UNAVOIDABLE BATTLES
Headmaster: Skill 9 Stamina 15
Demonic Imp: Skill 8 Stamina 11
Thuggish Boy: Skill 10 Stamina 9
Boy: Skill 8 Stamina 8
Guard: Skill 11 Stamina 15

LIKELY BUT AVOIDABLE BATTLES
Prefect: Skill 8 Stamina 10
Angry Pupil: Skill 8 Stamina 9

UNLIKELY BATTLES, EASILY AVOIDABLE
Skeleton: Skill 7 Stamina 6
Teacher: Skill 10 Stamina 6
First Brute: Skill 10 Stamina 10 (Fought together, escapable however you doom yourself if you encounter these and not fight them and complete the battle)
Second Brute: Skill 9 Stamina 14 (Fought together, escapable however you doom yourself if you encounter these and not fight them and complete the battle)
Bagatelle Player: Skill 8 Stamina 8 (Fight ends after 3 attack rounds)

BATTLES AS PUNISHMENT FOR A STUPID MISTAKE
Hall Monitor: Skill 7 Stamina 7
Gargoyle Head: Skill 7 Stamina 4
Weightlifter: Skill 10 Stamina 12 (Escapable)
Caretaker: Skill 7 Stamina 9 (Death if double 1 rolled, Skill Penalty of 2 for 1st 2 Attack Rounds)
AlterEgo: Your Initial Skill and Stamina (Roll die every attack round, death if '1' rolled twice)

BATTLES THAT IF YOU ARE FIGHTING YOU HAVE DOOMED YOURSELF
Girl: Skill 3 Stamina 4
Emo Boy: Skill 5 Stamina 5 (Turns into demonic beast)
Dancer: Skill 11 Stamina 13 (Death after 4 attack rounds)
Guard: Skill 10 Stamina 14 (Death after 3 attack rounds)
Demonic Beast: Skill 13 Stamina 13 (Luck roll on every hit taken, failure = death)

[philsadler]

Mar 23, 2016 14:55:58 GMT Paul Mc said:

Actually I have the opponent stats here, you can see if they are fair or not.

UNAVOIDABLE BATTLES
Guard: Skill 11 Stamina 15

Is there a way to weaken this opponent or to power yourself up for it? At first glance it does seem too strong.

[Paul Mc]

It's a battle right at the end of the book. You will have had opportunities to add to your Skill Score throughout the book.
Also the only way to complete the adventure is to have a certain companion with you, Ill say no more as not to spoil it. But you and the companion both fight him. It's a reverse of fighting more than one opponent.
Just before the battle you will be asked if you have collected an item that will boost one of your stats. It's kinda important to have that item.
If you take it your Skill goes to initial rating +2 and stamina to your initial rating +4
If your companion takes it, he goes from Sk 6 St 6 to Skill 11 Stamina 12. He doesnt take damage in the fight though as he's the 2nd opponent.

[philsadler]

That sounds fair to me.