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Post by philsadler on Apr 22, 2016 18:37:11 GMT
Johnbrawn I simply cannot believe how unfair Ian's books were. I mean, starting off with a skill 10 opponent? Surely even the most basic understanding of game design should be that(a) it should be fair and that (b) it should start easy and get more difficult. What I'm trying to say is, what's the point of starting with a dangerous skill 10 and then (a bit later) throwing in a couple of worthless skill 7s?
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Post by philsadler on Apr 15, 2016 22:12:33 GMT
Just watched It Follows and I thought it was really good, even a little bit original and scary (!). I was amused to read a review after I watched it that pointed out that the "it" is a bit T-1000 like in its relentless pursuit! But with less clothes on most of the time (!)
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Post by philsadler on Apr 15, 2016 7:39:47 GMT
Just watched It Follows and I thought it was really good, even a little bit original and scary (!).
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Post by philsadler on Apr 10, 2016 8:08:22 GMT
Maybe there's a way to lose it?
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Post by philsadler on Apr 5, 2016 9:17:49 GMT
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Post by philsadler on Mar 26, 2016 9:14:59 GMT
Thanks for that!
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Post by philsadler on Mar 25, 2016 23:40:13 GMT
Could never understand the adulation that this one received. All I can remember of it is: having to fight and kill children (!) having to fight FIVE guards each time you start the book, and very poor artwork. Do seem to remember some nice gory deaths though.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 25, 2016 9:10:42 GMT
Hey, Champskees, I've always wondered where you've got that laughing man picture? I've seen it many places but I don't know where it originally came from.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 24, 2016 22:54:46 GMT
I like the fact that the first question I'm asked is "Is Foxglove with me"? Well, I can't remember because it was 30 years ago. Suffice to say that Smith and Thompson said the book was only good if she was with you. In that case I'm going to assume that she wasn't because I remember Inferno being short, easy, unsatisfying and ... awful.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 24, 2016 18:08:47 GMT
That sounds fair to me.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 24, 2016 17:30:14 GMT
I was never the biggest fan of this book either because I had the 'bugged' version and so I just wandered around and around until I worked out that the book was 'broken'.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 24, 2016 17:29:09 GMT
Well I'm pretty sure that Revenge of the Vampire had a number of errors, but I'm not so sure that "a lot of the books past 41" did.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 23, 2016 20:08:26 GMT
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.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 19, 2016 21:23:27 GMT
I had the Dracula one and all I remember about it was the Vampire Apple. I closed the book shortly after that.
PS. I've just finished reading the 'real' Dracula and thought it was rather boring and pompous, not a patch on Frankenstein.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 17, 2016 20:32:27 GMT
That actually all sounds very fair and the complete opposite to Ian Livingstone.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 14, 2016 10:16:55 GMT
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Post by philsadler on Mar 13, 2016 23:22:21 GMT
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
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Post by philsadler on Mar 13, 2016 17:22:13 GMT
Thanks. I'm interested to know what the skill ratings for those 5 unavoidable opponents are?
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Post by philsadler on Mar 12, 2016 20:35:50 GMT
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
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Post by philsadler on Mar 9, 2016 22:38:41 GMT
Oh God I remember these: I think I died in them more times than any other game books. Was Joe Dever copying Ian Livingstone or something? Pity, I loved the inventory management and the fact that it had ... guns :-)
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Post by philsadler on Mar 9, 2016 22:36:38 GMT
I tried the first one of these because I was so interested in the 'choose your way on the map' system, until I found out how limited it was. A great idea really gone to waste. Apart from that I hated the idea that if you died in the game you just started off from more or less the same place again, rather like in one of those awful console video games. Now, the only thing I can remember about the book is a blatant rehash of the Red Riding Hood story. Such originality!
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Post by philsadler on Mar 9, 2016 22:29:18 GMT
I remember these a little bit. I only played the first because I always play a series in order until I complete them all. I never completed the first. As I remember I always died in combat to just about anyone or anything. Also, the already mentioned 'taking a hint' system was a big pile of shit.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 9, 2016 22:18:57 GMT
Anyone remember this series? I only played the first one a few times (Monsters in the Marsh I think it was called). All I remember is getting lost all of the time, wandering around flipping coins and getting bored. Was I just unlucky and are the books actually worth playing?
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Post by philsadler on Mar 8, 2016 21:57:22 GMT
I once tried that with the awful Crypt of the Sorcerer on some old webpage somewhere. I came up with a list of about 24 things until I realised that the book was basically broken and a waste of time. That would be a pretty difficult one to start with! I imagine you've seen Champskees's calculator for surviving that with, eg, max stats? weapon, but oh, here come twenty zombies. I'll see how many I can blast away in this round in one go. No. I never saw that, but those odds are staggering! I wonder what on earth was going through Ian's mind? Anyway, from that, it's clear that you should get rid of the 'Roll a dice and maybe die' options (Cave Golem, Giant, Harpoon Flies ... maybe others). Of course you should lower Razaak's skill to 8 or 9 and get rid of his special ability.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 8, 2016 8:19:25 GMT
You could probably slay Razaak with a STAMINA of 1000. No you couldn't because his ridiculous special ability would kill you every time!
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Post by philsadler on Mar 7, 2016 8:29:51 GMT
Mar 7, 2016 2:21:27 GMT thealmightymudworm said: The cons outweigh the Kong then? Yes, was it Sylas who came up with a set of rules called Escape from Zombie Castle (after the alternative title for the book)? I've been thinking of starting a thread asking how people would tweak all the unfair books in the series to make them, well, fair. I once tried that with the awful Crypt of the Sorcerer on some old webpage somewhere. I came up with a list of about 24 things until I realised that the book was basically broken and a waste of time.
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Post by philsadler on Mar 2, 2016 21:00:31 GMT
Resurrecting an old thread ...
It's a terrible book that's for sure, maybe almost as bad as Eye of the Dragon. I'm disappointed though that you didn't mention the very worst thing about it at all: the fact that Ian Livingstone has managed to dumb down Fighting Fantasy! Now, instead of Skill, Stamina and Luck, we have ... Stamina.
What a joke!
Also, there's a zombie Elvis for crying out loud! Yet apart from him almost every enemy in the book is just a normal zombie. What about mutant ones, giant ones, two-headed variants, or zombified animals or other creatures?
Such a crushing disappointment and it's not even as unintentionally funny or groan-inducing as Eye of the Dragon.
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Post by philsadler on Feb 29, 2016 11:41:38 GMT
Any opponent that has a skill of less than 7 should have an ability to make up for it or it just becomes a worthless fight.
Any opponent that has a skill of more than 9 should have a way to weaken it or it just becomes to difficult for an average player.
Pointless TYL rolls: Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, nothing happens. If you are Unlucky, someone tickles you with a feather. Lose 1 Stamina point due to laughing.
References with no options.
Death by random dice: roll a die - did you roll a 4? You are dead.
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Post by philsadler on Feb 29, 2016 10:42:04 GMT
That sounds very good to me! By the way, here is a slightly updated version with changes to the anagram puzzle and the encounter with the Lord's son (the first post has been updated to reflect these updates): House of Pain.doc (907.5 KB)
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Post by philsadler on Oct 13, 2015 18:45:08 GMT
The trouble is that people seem far less inclined to play the normal 'book' version than the automated one. In any case I'm just glad that it can get a bit more exposure some where ... anywhere!
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