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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 22, 2017 23:55:21 GMT
It doesn't seem to be available online, so I've put it here. Lordomnibok, I also wrote the mini-adventure in Fighting Fantazine 9, and that's a more recent example of my writing style. Thanks Spiny, if I get time I will definitely check it out
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 22, 2017 23:43:56 GMT
I seem to be gradually stumbling across Mudworm's back catalogue. I read Hovel to give myself a break from The Temple of Flame, which I have been stuck on for some time. I probably liked Hangover & Festivities better than Hovel, due to their original concepts and great humour, but I still very much enjoyed this one too. Warning: Spoilers ahead. I particularly liked the butterflies, that was unexpected, and the entire 'monstrosity' sequence was fantastically grim! The main naughty of the book was also totally badass, and I loved that final conflict. I played by the rules with dice, so it took me a good few attempts to get through it. Hynreck, I hope you weren't too dismayed about finding the word puzzle hard, I was also totally baffled by that part for a while as well, so you wasn't alone. The first time I successfully completed Hovel, my battle lust didn't quite feel quenched: I like to play barbarian style, so I attempted it again by just grabbing the sludge and then rushing straight for the bad guy. I wanted to smash him into oblivion as fast as I could. I completed it in that fashion without using luck, though I did have max stamina & skill, and that satisfied me. Good ending, and a great final sentence; read my mind. The only problem you have now Mudworm is that I'm going to have high expectations for everything you write. Have a nice evening all. Back to The Temple of Flame now, then I hope to check out Greenspine's stuff, if I get time.
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 22, 2017 9:03:35 GMT
Greenspine, I couldn't find Trial of Treachery. Have you got a link to it, I'm just curious to see your writing style
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 19, 2017 21:10:20 GMT
Thanks. I like your additional idea too. Who knows, maybe old Sukumvit's next dungeon will look like that, not that we will probably ever find out. If it gets any more devious though he will have to start calling it Trial of the Doomed.
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 18, 2017 23:27:38 GMT
Back on topic - a way of making the rules of Blood of the Zombies fair without making the storyline even more ridiculous than it already is, would be to introduce body armour. I have worked out a way that it could be deployed so as to make the book winnable, but still with a level of challenge. Here are my changes to the rules: 1) If the player makes friends with Boris and Gregor, then Boris gives the player character some body armour in the store room, which halves the stamina damage that the zombies do to the player character in battle (rounding fractions up). 2) The flak jacket should reduce the total stamina damage the player character receives in battle by a third. So if they already have body armour, then this would mean that the stamina they loose in battle or to zombie knives, axes or fists etc. is only a third of what it states in the text. Fractions should then be rounded up or down to the nearest stamina point. 3) The player character should keep all grenades attached to their belt and be able to use them at any time, except in the struggle against Yurr. This is just tidying up the ambiguously presented rules about grenades in the text. Sometimes the player character can clip the grenades to their belt, other times the game forgets about this. The player should be allowed to use a grenade against zombie Roznik and his colleague, because that unsavoury pair had not wrestled the player character to the ground like Yurr does. With these changes to the rules the player character can prevail, but it is still not certain that they will. My first way of making it winnable was by making the player character's initial stamina ridiculously high, but that would be very silly. It would mean that the player was Ben Grimm or the She-hulk or something. I certainly like rule change 1 & 3. Lots more health regeneration opportunities would also have been great, but I'm not even sure this goes far enough. I think gamebooks should be easier the more linear they are, so as to offset the reduction in replay value. I think this book should have been VERY easy, but instead I just got slaughtered trying to play by the rules. So on that basis I think that (on top of your idea) Boris should have just told me where all the zombies were, loaded me up with enough weapons to make Schwarzenegger gasp, and THEN sent me on my way.
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 18, 2017 18:19:23 GMT
Whoops! Haha. I just corrected that, I'm going to blame that one on my phone's predictive text, but hey, if browsing stools keeps them occupied then I'll try not to judge them.
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 18, 2017 10:11:04 GMT
The surprise of the crowd when you re-emerge would seem to suggest they have no idea what's going on in there. Which makes one question why they get so excited to see people walk down a tunnel (probably) never to re-emerge. Im just responding to this old post as it reflects some thoughts that have lingered in me since I was a kid. I loved this adventure, but I thought it would have been cool if the dungeon had been interspersed with pits here and there that were open to the sky. I imagined that the crowd would browse stalls & enjoy entertainment whilst waiting to see which contestants made it to the first pit, then a battle with a monster would take place before the contestant/s could continue into the next part of the unseen labyrinth. The crowd would then wait to see who emerged later into the second pit and so on. That would have added a rolling spectator sport element (similar to the gruesome roman arenas) without compromising the main, secret sections of the maze. Regardless of whether anyone agrees with me on that idea, I still think it is great when a book inspires me to ponder so much about its intricacies.
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 16, 2017 20:16:01 GMT
Sorry about any offense, none was meant. I was hoping that a past or present police officer that either works or worked in A Police Force's Drugs or Narcotics Squad might browse through this, see it and be able to help I didn't take offence JM, it just seemed like a funny question. Good luck with your book, I hope it works out well.
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 13, 2017 0:31:27 GMT
Hey thanks Mudders, that's very nice of you, I appreciate the tips
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 11, 2017 9:02:27 GMT
The one set in Oxford, based on Colin Dexter's books? I've seen a few of those, by no means all. Did you watch the original Morse? I lived in Oxford for a bit. Sometimes it was a bit puzzling watching that because the characters would go for a drink and walk up to the door of a pub, and then you'd see them drinking in a completely different pub. This probably gets done a lot in other shows and cities, where the director likes the look of the outside of say, The Eagle and Child but find they can't fit the cameras in it and finish the scene in The King's Arms. To me though it just looked like teleporting. I intend to visit Oxford for the first time this year, as its not exactly far from me. Looks lovely. Morse, Columbo... I used to watch a few of these types of programmes. I have also seen these "teleporting" occurrences in films set in my area. But perhaps worryingly, I also seemed to pin down geographic locations pretty accurately because of pub scenes: "This isn't set in my area, flippin' liars, I don't recognise any of these places! Oh wait, there's The George, oh yeah I know where that is."
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Post by lordomnibok on Jun 4, 2017 22:27:25 GMT
Two questions The 1st is as follows... what is the rough value of high grade, very high quality cocaine weighing 2.54 tons The 2nd is as follows... My friend wants suggestions for 1st contact, proving the truth, making friends with each other and convincing the rulers of Sommerlund and countries it is allied to of the truth Sorry but this made me laugh. Regarding question one. Erm, what type of website do you think this is? Haha. If someone on here comes swiftly back with an answer for that one, I'm going to be worried about them. You could try PMing the author of the absolutely amazing Spectral Stalkers though, I think he might have been on 2.54 tons of the stuff when he wrote that one. Regarding question two: At work I teach my students the necessary skills so that they can bring their creative ideas to life, but the ideas themselves must come purely from them, otherwise it is not their work. I wish him luck on his mind-mapping journey.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 28, 2017 9:56:37 GMT
I don't have my copy to hand, but isn't there a death in Creature of Havoc where you fall into the Bilgewater, and have to test your luck - and if you're lucky you are unconscious when you die? Well, if that wasn't in COH, it should have been. It's a good demise if it can make me laugh and grimace at the same time. I'm concerned at sounding a little sadistic suddenly... but anyway, I also liked your ending Greenspine.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 22, 2017 1:04:58 GMT
The in-story rationalisations are irrelevant. One of my biggest issues with the Lone Wolf series is that several of the books include unavoidable random chances of automatic character death. The instance of it that I hate most is in book 13, where it occurs right at the end of the adventure. A nd in most of them it's only a 1 in 10 chance of failure. Ending on a 'randomness says you die because reasons' with even worse odds is never going to appeal to me. I suppose the only argument against this is that any end of game boss fight is a potential roll wrong and die situation, but I know where you are coming from and I still agree with your statement. Out of curiosity, if there was an end of game dice roll of the type you loathe, but the risk of death could be totally avoided if you had a certain artifact, for instance, would you find that acceptable? I personally don't mind these type of non combat roll/potentially die situations as long as they are avoidable in some manner, but if there is no way to avoid or mitigate the threat, that is too harsh in my opinion also. Especially at the end of an adventure.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 19, 2017 16:30:00 GMT
The front door bit on House of Hell is very ill thought through. You walk up and open the front door of the House you are trying to escape and FREEDOM!!! However to your horror there is a 1 guy with a goats head stood at the door. He wants to get in but hasn't thought to knock on the door as you would have heard it and someone would be about to answer the door. In fact why is there no one about on the ground floor when there are more guests to arrive?? So you slam the door in his face (which nobody hears even though those same people can hear you drop a set of keys in the kitchen) and run back into the cursed house. Could you not fight the 1 man with a goat head, or even push past him or even bluff your way past him?? I'd have even taken an insta-death here rather than you run back into the house you are trying to escape from. I read this when I was very young; the book creeped me out as a little kid, and I really did want to get out of that house. I also seem to remember being exasperated by not being able to fight my way past the goat head guy. I kept thinking, "to hell with this place! I want an option that says smash a window and run for it." In the absence of such options, I eventually gave up. I will try it again in the near future though... I'll probably appreciate it more now.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 18, 2017 10:24:52 GMT
I do not know if this is a strange question but why are there only solutions from Champskees and me on the board. The regular posters seem to have remarkable knowledge so I would have thought there would be rabid posting from all concerned. One answer might be the early books especially seem fairly linear(1, 2 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 21 as a first stab)so this renders multiple postings redundant. One thing that might have happened more is responses to Champskees solutions but these seem only sporadic. Is there a reason for this? I wondered if it might be the case Champskees is the first responder then there could be many replies followed by a super-solution which might be 0% different or 100% different if the interpretations invert his ideas. I know the essential book mechanics must be the same otherwise it is madness. An example might be my 7/14/7 Night Of The Necromancer 'cascade' solution which goes off in a completely different direction to Champskees help guide/solution(I still love his help guide because it makes apparent what the consequences are for certain options or failed dice throws which I would suggest is invaluable to anyone who wants to break into it). Are people protective of their own solutions or is it more prosaic where we let Champskees do all the hard work and then most disagree privately? Some might be so 'prejudiced' they could not agree to a super-solution but I suppose it depends on peoples dispositions? Who would adjudicate? Headache? I can't speak for anyone else here, but in my case, I don't really like to play the books with an ideal solution in mind, I even quite like forgetting the optimal route at times because it keeps the book fresh. Of course if I spot a mistake in Champskee's or someone else's solutions I'll comment - for instance I pointed out that it is quicker to skip the entire basement section of Citadel of Chaos. Usually though I'm either happy with Champskee's solution or don't know the book well enough to disagree and have no interest in analysing it to come up with an alternative. Heck, I don't even know the optimal route through some of my own gamebooks! After completing a book, I always compare my walkthroughs with the ones on this forum. I posted an alternative route for Deathmoor because I felt that there was a definite need for it. The reason I haven't posted others is simply because I am usually very satisfied with the ones that have already been done. If I wasn't, I would certainly mention it.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 14, 2017 2:09:30 GMT
Thanks for the thorough response Alex. I have now been forewarned.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 13, 2017 23:35:45 GMT
Through to mid-May, new films for the first time: Cinema: The Lego Batman Movie (2017) The Fate of the Furious (2017) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Alien: Covenant (2017) Blu-Ray: Catch Me If You Can (2002) Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama (1987) Possession (1981) DVD: Death Wish 3 (1985) Off the Back of a Lorry, No Questions Asked: Student Bodies (1981) The Room (2003) Alien I loved. Aliens mesmerized me. But Prometheus left me with an unimpressed expression to say the least. Any thoughts on Covenant, Alex? If you like messed up Japanese action sci-fi films, I stumbled by chance on Gantz:0 (2016) last night. Thought that was pretty cool.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 13, 2017 18:54:56 GMT
It is clear that the main advise here is to start smaller. But if you do decide to jump straight in at the deep end, just keep in mind some of the tips given in this thread. At the end of the day, we don't know your skill level so you might well just pull it off. Just be aware that it's going to take a long while to complete and it will require a lot of determination & stamina.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 12, 2017 8:48:05 GMT
1.) House of Hell (only FF to scare me when I was young but I still loved it so much that I wrote my own sequel). 2.) Deathtrap Dungeon (very unfair but not because of stupid dice rolls but rather stupidly tough monsters such as two skill 11 opponents - really?! - but still such a great book. So just 'roll' a very tough character and enjoy. I also wrote my own prequel to this). 3.) Dead of Night 4.) Night Dragon 5.) Midnight Rogue (so different from the 'normal' FF books. I would consider a sequel to this) Honourable mentions: Caverns of the Snow Witch (ludicrously tough and unfair towards the end but still nice and devious and not too much in the way of 'roll a certain number or die, nor test your luck or die. I would also consider a sequel to this). Revenge of the Vampire (bugged I know, but so lovely and tough and great illustrations and memorable monsters) Phil, you forgot Crypt of the Sorcerer ;D
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Post by lordomnibok on May 12, 2017 8:25:51 GMT
JMISBEST - you want some advice? 1005 paragraphs is insane, especially if you haven't written any FFGs before. My first amateur adventure only had 25! Seriously, an FFG of that length is a monumental task and one which I don't think you'll be able to complete. I agree with DareDevil. 1000 (and 5?)is huge, so test the waters with a really small gamebook first; check out thealmightymudworm's great mini adventures. Greenspine & Philsadler's comments are also very good. The only thing I would add is; make sure you have a really well thought out and written up two to three page synopsis before you start, you won't regret it. And "mazes?" I get why you suggested against it Phil - many are done poorly & they can be really bad - but I think it is still possible to create an interesting maze if it is properly thought out and not just slapped in for no good reason - so I'd put that one in the subjective box.
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Post by lordomnibok on May 1, 2017 19:15:11 GMT
Appointment With F.E.A.R. had a couple of immersion breakers. My character had a physique that would have made Super Man jealous - a massive power house who could fly faster than a jet... Yet a few pages in I was accidentally kneed in the thigh by a jostling granny (by the look of the picture) and I collapsed to the floor in pain. Thank goodness the police came to help me up. (Lose one stamina!?!) Urm... Good job no nefarious villains were watching or that could have been embarrassing.
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 28, 2017 12:08:32 GMT
I got a pdf copy of the newest edition, here, at my job. So I could probably look up if those have been changed, if you point me in the right direction... I understand if you are avoiding spoilers for our friend, here. Thankyou all for your advice, I may not have purchased that first book had it not been for your review. I'll buy the reprint of the second & hopefully I'll be okay with the difficultly level (I am pretty persistent). I'll let you know how I get on. Cheers again
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 28, 2017 10:59:08 GMT
I don't think I could choose my top five ff books. I'd find it borderline impossible, as each book has its own unique high points, plus its subjective. But if you want: - dark moody books with great atmosphere: Dead of Night/Vault of the Vampire - Something unique and totally crazy: Spectral Stalkers A book to play by the rules, with excellent game design above all else - Citadel of Chaos But there are so many good ones that I'd say just dive in and read them all
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 24, 2017 15:50:20 GMT
Hmmm... That sounds ominous. I'll give the reprint a go then, as the last one worked out so well. Thank you Greenspine
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 22, 2017 13:56:46 GMT
Here are my attempts for this book. If anyone else has played this one and wants to compare number of attempts/manners of demise, I'd be interested to see it. Played without cheating. Attempt 1: killed climbing the gate at the start. Attempt 2: Ensnared by the skeleton chair. Attempt 3: Slain by the bat horde. Attempt 4: Gem teleportation; death by Hell-Hound, (I knew my greedy curiosity would be a bad idea at this point.) Attempt 5: Slain by the Vampire Lord. Attempt 6: Success. His reign of terror is over and I am ready for my next adventure!
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 22, 2017 13:49:59 GMT
I thought it would be nice to have a thread just for people to put down their journeys through each gamebook, so that the number of attempts and causes of demise could be compared. I, for instance, am curious at to whether I got lucky with this one or if my success rate is average for this book. I will put two of these threads up for now - each for a different book - to see what response I get; if it is good maybe more could be created. Note: if you cheat - insta-win all fights, for example - that should be noted clearly, as it will obviously effect the stats. Played through without any cheating. Attempt 1: Enslaved by the Lady of Maun, one page away from completing the book! Attempt 2: Success; I am ready for a new adventure. (Was I lucky, or is this average? Post your own attempts.)
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 22, 2017 12:31:33 GMT
As per recommendation, I got the edited paperback version of D.M's Crypt of the Vampire, where the elves and such were removed and replaced with characters that fitted the author's original intentions. I'm glad I did. I really loved this book. Despite several attempts at it, it maintained a very non-linear approach which added great replay value. I felt that it was not overly harsh with insta-deaths and I even grew to love the simplified fighting rules and the fact that the surrounding world and backstory remained a mystery for me to fill in. The excellent style of writing felt more accessible for an adult audience, which I wasn't expecting at all. Maybe this was because of the edits, I don't know. Was the story original; maybe not... Was it well done; definitely! (As previous advice on this thread was so great, shall I keep as high hopes for the next book? And shall I buy the newer edited paperback version of that one too, or revert to the original?) This was a really good book.
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Post by lordomnibok on Apr 19, 2017 20:48:14 GMT
Especially looking for reviews of: Sorcery! 4 (inkle Studios app) Fighting Fantasy Colouring Books (you can review all 4 in one review) The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (TMG app) (Edited ot add:) Oh, any in need of an artist to do some artwork to got with a mini AFF adventure. Hi Alex. I sent you a private message regarding this. Let me know your thoughts when time permits. Have a good week.
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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 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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