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Post by thealmightymudworm on Apr 11, 2017 3:24:54 GMT
It's so embarrassing when that sort of thing happens to one at work.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Apr 11, 2017 2:25:40 GMT
Just to give lordomnibok 's idea (of FF or gamebook titles that probably shouldn't be given the go-ahead) a start… Yaztromo's Underground Castle Keep Secret Negotiations of Gallantarian Sorceresses Far Analand's Ruinous Tempest Some of these seem likely to be rude – hopefully not beyond the rules of the forum!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Apr 11, 2017 2:05:39 GMT
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 27, 2017 21:59:20 GMT
A younger Ian Livingstone might have been adventurous enough to propose an 'of'-free title, but these days the lure of familiarity must be strong. Besides which he's already written a book called The Demon Spider. I'm happy enough with the title – even if it is only four letters from Portal of Evil. Let's just hope PoP starts with a bang and doesn't go flat.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 3, 2017 5:36:43 GMT
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Mar 3, 2017 4:43:44 GMT
I can't say I've ever listened to music much whilst playing FF. I can see the temptation though. Perhaps something like Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse for general, dreamy adventuring or Saint-Saens's Aquarium for an underwater adventure like Demons of the Deep - with John Williams's Duel of the Fates (here via the Simpsons) for final showdowns:
However, for the all too familiar experience for most of restarting an FF book after dying for the 20th time and trying to play by the rules in the blind hope that this time you will somehow reach 400-style success despite not feeling as though you're making any progress whatsoever…? I'd suggest that The Beautiful South's Good as Gold has that feeling pretty spot on: (I'd much prefer to have the audio for this alone, but that doesn't seem to be an option.)
Good as Gold lyrics: Don't know what I'm doing here I'll carry on regardless Got enough money for one more beer I'll carry on regardless
Good as gold, but stupid as mud He'll carry on regardless They'll bleed his heart 'til there's no more blood But carry on regardless
Carry on with laugh Carry on with cry Carry on with brown under moonlit sky
I want my love, my joy, my laugh, my smile, my needs Not in the star signs Or the palm that she reads I want my sun-drenched, wind-swept Ingrid Bergman kiss Not in the next life I want it in this I want it in this
Got one note to last all week I'll carry on regardless The hill to happiness is far too steep I'll carry on regardless
Dried his mouth in the Memphis sun He carried on regardless Tried to smile and he bit his tongue But carry on regardless
Carry on with work Carry on with love Carry on with cheering Anything above
I want my love, my joy, my laugh, my smile, my needs Not in the star signs Or the palm that she reads I want my sun-drenched, wind-swept Ingrid Bergman kiss Not in the next life I'll have it in this I'll have it in this
I don't want silver, I just want gold Carry on regardless Bronze is for the sick and the old But carry on regardless
I want my love, my joy, my laugh, my smile, my needs Not in the star signs Or the palm that she reads I want my sun-drenched, wind-swept Ingrid Bergman kiss Not in the next life I'll have it in this I'll have it in this
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 20, 2017 2:12:19 GMT
Now you've clarified the point, I think 9A must be Elves If it's not that, I'm stumped. Did that cryptic clue about my previous puzzle help you at all? That's the one. Not yet - it may have been unrealistic of me to expect to understand given the holes in my knowledge. In particular my grasp of Sorcery is very poor and I don't know/can't recall what the last guardian is.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 19, 2017 19:20:19 GMT
There's probably a good case for greenspine being declared the solver of this puzzle whoever gets the last clue (9 across), but let's get it tied up anyway... Hints: 'Point' can mean compass point, giving the letter N, E, W or S The clue gives you the singular, but 'these' suggests plural Anyone will know this word, even if they've never read any FF.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 17, 2017 23:07:32 GMT
Got most of them, though I'm not 100% sure about 7A, and 9A eludes me entirely. Across 4 Dryad 6 Mandrake 7 Lich 8 Elemental 9
Down 1 Caarth 2 Werewolves 3 Gark 4 Demons 5 Pixies A cryptic clue about the one that's still baffling you: Confused as to glory. Everything you have so far is right - impressively quick. The remaining clue suffers slightly from the singular/plural issue the other one does, (but the correct version is implied rather than flatly contradicting the clue).
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 17, 2017 17:34:27 GMT
A quick cryptic crossword featuring various entries from Encounters lists. Sorry to have taken a while in coming up with it. I don't know how many of you do cryptics, but perhaps johnbrawn1972 will be tempted to have a go if no one else does. Apologies for any errors - either FF- or crossword-related. E.T.A: Dammit, there's a singular/plural snafu in 2 down. I thought I'd fixed that. I used the crossword maker on Puzzle Maker.com to help make this. By the way, I'm still clueless about greenspine's last puzzle.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 17, 2017 12:25:33 GMT
These are really good. I can easily imagine these brightening up (or darkening up) the pages of an FF book. The firey demon is probably my favourite.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 15, 2017 1:06:09 GMT
This is essentially more look-at-me-I-follow-Ian-Livingstone-on-Twitter news. "According to industry veterans Ian Livingstone and Rick Gibson, we need a new government body for the UK games industry. The duo in fact proposed such an organisation, dubbed the British Games Institute, to government at the end of January. It is modelled on the British Film Institute (BFI) with Livingstone and Gibson hoping that the BGI will achieve similar results for the games industry." Do we need a BGI?Why we need a BGI
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 12, 2017 16:57:07 GMT
Two were possessed by Yaztromo Zagor and Feior had one The same was true of Zanbar Bone While Zharradan Marr had none 'O's?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 9, 2017 1:10:42 GMT
Borderline off-topic, but an anecdote that advertising guru Dave Trott told on the radio recently reminded me of the discussion about intrinsically evil books here, so I thought I'd repeat it. (Quoted from memory so not word-for-word accurate.) "There used to be books which went round the office. At one point we were all reading The Exorcist. This guy came back from his holiday and said: 'That is the evilest book I've ever known. It's just brimming with evil. I couldn't stand it. I just took it and threw it off the end of the pier.' "Anyway at lunchtime I nipped out to a second hand book shop, bought a copy of The Exorcist, ran it under the tap, and slipped it into his desk drawer when he wasn't looking."
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 9, 2017 0:21:24 GMT
Cool Although as Greenspine worked out what you were getting at and I just supplied some details (and not completely on the money details either), maybe he should set the next puzzle? In general I reckon it should probably be the person who posts a more or less complete answer to a puzzle who posts the next one, no matter how big or small the assist they've had, just to save time on working out who's doing what. (I'd think differently if there was money on offer, but sadly no one is sponsoring this thread yet. *Looks hopeful* ) That said, if you don't have one ready and greenspine does, we should go with that.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 7, 2017 2:21:38 GMT
Taking a few paces down the path, Wilf senses the ground beneath him shifting slightly…. Suddenly the path collapses! A narrow but deep hole appears under your right foot and only a successful LUCK roll few moments of desperate scrambling prevent you from sliding into it. You presume that wasn't made by the earthworms… [The coat isn't relevant on this occasion. I don't have any specific plans for items you pick up, so if people want to use them in their puzzles that's fine.] _________________ kieran edges carefully along the path, moving between the contraption and the stick-figure*. It's impossible to avoid touching all the sticks, and one of them triggers a mechanism causing the horseman to tip in your direction! But the horse's hooves land on your head with only modest force, whilst on the other side of the figure the ground collapses with a great whoomph. You take the honey pot-figure with you (note it on your Adventure Sheet). As you reach the edge of the path a door to a side passage with a step up to it comes into view. You pause at the cloaked figure and tug off the red drape. Beneath is a skeleton which is glowing due to luminescent paint. You knock its skull off, which splits to reveal a key …and a drawing of an unhappy stick man falling down a trapdoor in front of a door. Turning the key in the side-gate and – carefully avoiding the booby-trapped step - you enter the side passage. *You were pretty much spot on except that you are supposed to get yourself kicked unconscious by a horse whilst protecting your friend. This is so you end up spending the night alone and hopefully meet Death's Messenger if you remember which way to fudge the dice your vision is not totally clouded by a crimson tide. Your friend's name is Hani, so the honey is silly wordplay. Your go.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 6, 2017 16:31:16 GMT
What does he mean by newbies ok? I think he means it's OK to suggest artists who've never done FF books before.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 6, 2017 13:39:18 GMT
Aww, can't see anything mudworm, I'll try from the house, I guess. It's just another embedded tweet from Ian. The text reads: "My new Fighting Fantasy book nearly written. Now I need your help. Please nominate three artists for the interior illustrations. Newbies OK."
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 5, 2017 22:52:43 GMT
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Feb 2, 2017 15:18:28 GMT
It's Mr. Greenspine's duty, as he has won the challenge. Another question: should we stay with four books? People seem to have some trouble to battle through four books during a month. And another question: IS IT POSSIBLE TO CORRECT THAT TYPO IN THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD? :^( Have you tried editing the post (edit button at top right)? I just tried that with a thread I started and it looked like the title could be changed. If not, Greenspine will be able to help. I am still intending to post a full set of results btw (sorry for lateness), but I'm not likely to beat Greenspine.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 28, 2017 4:29:28 GMT
I think I'm going to break my promise of delaying the next Sid puzzle as there have been a couple of non-Sid ones (and a three month break) since the last one.
You exit into the garden. It is now nighttime - long after you intended to leave - and cold enough to make you tug your new coat closer around you.
You are confronted with a lawn, though not one in very good condition. Suspicious, you pick up a stick and poke at random areas in the ground. Sure enough, one prod in a wet area results in a nail jabbing up whilst a jab in a drier area results in a shower of sparks as if from a firework. Probably nothing lethal but you don't feel like testing things out.
There are two paths across the lawn which curl round the side of the house.
One of them has little on it except at one point the ground is all churned up. It seems that Sid has sprayed the ground with washing-up liquid to bring earthworms writhing to the surface. Around that point is also a reddish stain. Hopefully Sid achieved this with food-colouring.
The other path has a much weirder feature. A wooden post stands a head taller than you in the middle of the path with a number of thin wooden rods branching out from it. It seems impossible to pass the post without touching some of the rods or stepping off the path. No doubt one or more of them will trigger a response.
On top of the post is a large, crude, mock-up of a mercenary on horseback. The horse is reared up on its hind legs. It looks precarious and heavy, as though its front hooves might land heavily on someone.
On one side of the post is a smaller post almost as tall as you. There is a figure made with twigs, bits of paper and, oddly, based around a pot of honey. If the mounted mercenary does topple over, it might crush the figure, unless you were walking round that side of the post in which case you would block it.
The path then winds back round the side of the house. Just before it reaches there, you can make out something like a mannequin with a red sheet covering it. You think you can make out something glowing white beneath.
What do you do?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 26, 2017 20:07:47 GMT
Well, Ian seems inspired by television, last time it was The Walking Dead (perhaps), now it could be Game of Thrones... In that case I just hope he hasn't been plonking himself down in front of The Great British Bake Off. We could spend half the book looking for a special sort of self-raising flour, which for some reason can only be found in a crow's nest in a forest you have no reason to visit.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 20, 2017 22:16:58 GMT
Did he confirm Yaztromo? Sounded like fan wishes to me. That one seems pretty certain, yes.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 18, 2017 18:57:44 GMT
A few more tweets discussing the book. Ian's tweets start with a dash. 29th Dec Mark Hardisty: @ian_livingstone many happy returns of the day, Ian! Hope you have enjoyed a restful festive period! Are we to return to the Forest of Doom? -Thanks Mark. You'll definitely be in Allansia. 7th Jan -I've been writing my new Fighting Fantasy book for 10 days. You start in Chalice. Where next? Let me know! Jonathan Delgado: Curious to know about your workflow sir @ian_livingstone Paper planning all the way? Twine? Other tools? -Paper planning all the way. Nothing has changed since the 1980s in the way I construct the adventures. Adam Casalino: @ian_livingstone @the_T sewers! Always sewers! -More sewers? Weren't the ones in City of Thieves and Blood of the Zombies enough? Stuart Lloyd: Yaztromo's tower. Always good for a shopping trip. Or maybe an evil sorcerer's crypt in the Moonstone Hills? Andrew Bartlett: slloyd14 @ian_livingstone Shazaar. Actually, a proper tour of Allansia, for old times' sake. -A tour of Allansia it is then! 8th Jan -Chalice is a bustling town on the north bank of Silver River, a wide, twisting river which flows gently down from the Moonstone Hills...#FF 15th Jan -Who would like to see Mungo from Island of The Lizard King make an appearance in my new @fightingfantasy book? David Metcalfe: "I thought he got killed by a giant crab!" -He did, poor man. But the new book could be set at a time before his tragic ending occured on Fire Island. Wayne Arnold: @ian_livingstone Return of the Lizard King? -I have no plans for him coming back. Rob: @ian_livingstone @fightingfantasy How about Trumble the Dwarf? He could be complaining of back problems after being pushed off a log. -No, sorry. He didn't make the cut. Will Doyle: @ian_livingstone @robob_76 @fightingfantasy Bigleg? -I'm afraid not.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 18, 2017 15:34:03 GMT
Is another puzzle on its way or should I be coming up with a stop-gap?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 18, 2017 15:32:05 GMT
I haven't got very far yet, but as the forum is deafeningly quiet atm here's a WIP: Masks of Mayhem: Rolls: 3+6+1+1= 11 (therefore 4 points?) Bonus mission: Yes (I gave her a bit of a slap. That fixes all women and TV sets.) Kills: 6 I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've ever played this book. Might comment on it in its thread. Could have gone worse - I picked up an obviously essentially iron sceptre before being burned to death in a fire - but I'm pretty sure some crucial things had passed me by. Never really recovered from being duffed up by a kraken. Score: 4+5+6=15 Belated edit: Final results for the other three: Master of Chaos Skill 7 Stamina 19 Luck 8 Considering how well I used to know this one, this was pretty disastrous. Beat up a tentacle, sold a boat and calmed a mule with a flying hug. However, due to overcautious delaying of gaining notoriety points I ended up heroically scrambling upstairs after a footpad only to realise that I'd forgotten my fighting kit and had to do it in my vest and pants. He probably had to stifle sniggers after gutting me like a fish. Score: 10/4 = 2.5 (round up to 3? So 4 points?) Kills: 1 No win or bonus Total = 5 points Black Vein Prophecy Skill 7 Stamina 21 Luck 12 Can't remember playing this before. Didn't have much clue about what was going on for the first bit. Skimming Champskees's solution afterwards it doesn't seem I was too far off the path (at least I correctly fondled the horseman), but was doomed from the start once I'd rolled a LUCK of 12. Anyway I killed bubble boy but then yielded my sword to the bandits, which was probably a stupid decision. It was quite depressing going into battle with decent STAMINA against something with a Skill of 6 (Shael Beast) knowing that with an effective SKILL of 3 I had no chance. Scores: 6, 4, 5, 1 = 4, therefore 2 points Kills: 1 Bonus: yes (my one kill) Win: no Total = 8 points Spectral Stalkers Skill 12 Stamina 22 Luck 8 I haven't played this this millennium but I remembered liking it. Met Mr Prank at the library but made no attempt to travel straight from there. Encountered Syzuk, the evil innkeeper, the potter, the conjurer, the dark age elves and the haunted tower before getting very annoyed with the maze of Semeion. Finally thanks to advice, the clown ball and Baratcha's sacrifice I triumphed. In this case having a high SKILL and high STAMINA was very useful, whilst a mediocre LUCK score was no problem at all. Rolls: 6, 4, 6, 2 all ÷ 4 = 4.5 (so round up to 5? 1 point) Kills: 6 (skeletal warrior, Syzuk, two goblins, two elves) Bonus: no Win: yes Total = 17 points Overall total: 45 points
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 9, 2017 5:41:14 GMT
I was interested - just didn't have any idea what the solution was. (I don't own a copy of HoH and don't know it well enough.)
Glad it's been solved at last. Is wilf setting the next one?
(Has anyone heard from DSR recently btw?)
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 31, 2016 19:39:31 GMT
A few parodies of this year's extra instant... Demons of the Leap Second
Night Drags On
The Keep on for a bit Lord...and one for the deadliness of 2016: Phantoms of Year Happy New Year everyone!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 30, 2016 1:51:26 GMT
That was very interesting. (Must admit I hesitated to click on a mystery link from a guest poster for a while!) Thank you. Assuming that you are the Graeme Davis in question, did you have an idea that you might be writing an FF book (Midnight Rogue) when you were writing this?
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 28, 2016 13:29:33 GMT
I'm not sure how many people are getting new info when Ian Livingstone's tweets are quoted here, but here's one more anyway: "I've started writing a new Fighting Fantasy book to celebrate the 35th Anniversary in 2017. Lots of old friends to meet, including Yaztromo."
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