vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Aug 26, 2015 22:47:42 GMT
Mccaig and Harvey's art display some real dynamism which really brings the picture to life. Absolutely Fantastic Iain Mccaig, undoubtedly the number 1 ilustrator ( City of Thieves is the number one FF book in terms of ilustrations by a million miles).
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 9, 2015 15:02:32 GMT
How I long to walk through those forests, dry fields, swamps and mountains shortly. Amazing book. Tremendously realistic. A masterpiece! It is interesting however that despite being a fabulous walk, a fabulous book, i do not feel the epic feeling i have in every moment of "Crypt of the Sorcerer".
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jun 11, 2019 17:15:12 GMT
A shame. An almost fatal blow in this book. An extremely fantastic gamebook, an extremely fantastic story, an extremely fantastic atmosphere, almost destroyed by a poor, an awful and an untasteable paragraph 400. A shame.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jun 12, 2019 9:26:58 GMT
A CHALLENGE THIS GAMEBOOK IS FANTASTIC, ALMOST TOTALY DESTROYED BY THE PARAGRAPH 400. CAN ANYBODY HERE IN THIS THREAD REMAKE THE PARAGRAPH 400 OF THIS BOOK?
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jun 12, 2019 11:06:20 GMT
PARAGRAPH 400
In his death sigh, he looks at you and says: "Our little plan was perfect .. How did you find out?" (he whispers, feeling death approaching) "the will for power is hard to resist. Morgaine seduced me with her idea of an alliance. Yes.. Nobody would be able to resist us if..." And dies. You got it. But in your success you are overwhelmed by a feeling of emptiness when you see the traitor dead at your feet. Thanks to your success, The Masks of Mayhem will not be released in your lifetime.
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 12, 2019 15:27:08 GMT
ok. apart from the obvious, that was actually not too bad!
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jun 14, 2019 8:35:21 GMT
I need to know a different opinion. Who do you think was more powerful - Morgana or Ifor Tynin? Who do you think seduced the other with an alliance for power?
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,457
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jun 14, 2019 12:44:39 GMT
I need to know a different opinion. Who do you think was more powerful - Morgana or Ifor Tynin? Who do you think seduced the other with an alliance for power? I think Ifor was kinda hoping you'd kill off Morgana for him then he'd stab you in the back after. Of the two, Morgana is the tougher opponent by far and has the other eleven golems at her command so I would imagine she was the senior partner of the two.
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 14, 2019 21:31:49 GMT
See this is why I love this book, it has a proper developing story throughout and interesting unanswered questions like that one at the end!
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jun 14, 2019 22:50:22 GMT
See this is why I love this book, it has a proper developing story throughout and interesting unanswered questions like that one at the end! YES. It's a very, very good book. It has everything. It would be a solid top 10 or even a top 5 if it wasn't that 400 paragraph. That only paragraph almost destroys the book. That's why I ask here before for someone to remake that paragraph 400, because I believe this is a book that deserves that change.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jul 26, 2019 17:13:17 GMT
Correction. This is not such a great book. Good map. Two wizards. Very good. But juja is a little stupid and vashti is not very good also.
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Post by schlendrian on Jul 26, 2019 17:30:04 GMT
Would it be a great book if it had three wizards?
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Post by schlendrian on Jul 27, 2019 10:01:49 GMT
A call for help: I acquired my copy of Masks of Mayhem via a library sale, and it is missing a page. Could somebody give me the basic outlines of what happens from paragraphs 248-254 (perhaps via PM to avoid spoilering others in this thread)?
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Post by Wilf on Jul 27, 2019 12:04:08 GMT
A call for help: I acquired my copy of Masks of Mayhem via a library sale, and it is missing a page. Could somebody give me the basic outlines of what happens from paragraphs 248-254 (perhaps via PM to avoid spoilering others in this thread)? 248: Galrin razes the village to the ground and calls you an idiot. You may not call on him again. You gain a crystal mirror, a magic bow, arrows adding 1 to your Skill (even above Initial value), and 30gp. To look in the mirror, go to 209. Otherwise go to 115.
249: "The she-devil took my husband, the farmer." Go North to 336 or North East to 323.
250: To go East turn to 142, or West to 284.
251: Elves approach. To greet them, turn to 334; to back away, turn to 195.
There is a particularly good illustration of two Blackhearts on the next page.
252: Dead.
253: You survive the fire at a cost of 2 Stamina points. Turn to 10.
254: Fight two Blackhearts together. Skills 6 and 7; both have Stamina of 10. If you win, to stay the night in their camp, go to 269. To leave, go to 367.
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Post by schlendrian on Jul 27, 2019 12:28:31 GMT
Ah, that works as well. Thanks so much!
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Post by schlendrian on Sept 6, 2019 14:08:35 GMT
Another thing on translations: in the German MoM, Hever's castle is called Brachtal, which is clearly meant to sound similar to the German translation of Rivendell - Bruchtal (seeing as it's also the presumed last safe haven on the journey). Is there a similar allusion to Lord of the Rings in the original?
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Post by a moderator on Sept 6, 2019 18:16:23 GMT
It's Fallow Dale in the original.
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Post by schlendrian on Sept 7, 2019 22:27:16 GMT
Ok, then it's a word by word translation and I interpreted more into it than there actually was.
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matt
Squire
Posts: 2
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Post by matt on May 9, 2020 6:14:47 GMT
PARAGRAPH 400 In his death sigh, he looks at you and says: "Our little plan was perfect .. How did you find out?" (he whispers, feeling death approaching) "the will for power is hard to resist. Morgaine seduced me with her idea of an alliance. Yes.. Nobody would be able to resist us if..." And dies. You got it. But in your success you are overwhelmed by a feeling of emptiness when you see the traitor dead at your feet. Thanks to your success, The Masks of Mayhem will not be released in your lifetime. Just found this forum and this my first entry here. i just reread my old copy of MoM. I really enjoyed it again, thirty years later. I couldn't remember much about it, but found it to be an interesting plot, in spite of the many flaws already mentioned in this thread. In particular there is not much set-up for the Juja and Vashti paragraphs, perhaps necessary to make finding them a challenge, and to preserve the elusive sense of mystery. But I thought the Vashti realm in particular needed a little more detail - what is this place? Is it a leafy grove, or a room, or some strange other dimension? What does she do there except sit and wait for rulers (who've invested a lot of time and energy amassing a collection of hard-to-find items) to barge in. She utters a sentence, a really important one in terms of exposition, that is clumsy and baffling - "Now, people - those who are types of people - obey the laws of the sigils." I really liked vagsancho's Paragraph 400. I loved the traitor's final words and the acknowledgement of the complicated feelings of the victor. Here is another version: "You have prevailed. Morgana is no more, and her treacherous accomplice lies at your feet. You take a moment to try to understand the vile betrayal that lead you to this forsaken place, and then with relief you begin the long journey home. You reach Fallow Dale after some weeks. Hever is overjoyed to see you, and the bard will ensure that your tale rings down through the ages. After a feast in your honour you make your way back through Affen Forest where the wood elves welcome you and assist in your speedy return to Arion. Before too long you are back amongst your people. The terrible power of the Masks of Mayhem will never threaten your land.
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Post by tyrion on Jun 13, 2020 21:27:01 GMT
I seem to remember enjoying this when it first came out - I have still got my zigzag copy of it. But I probably cheated when I was younger, because the toughness on this is ridiculous. So many tests vs skill or luck, you fail, you die. And not even originality, you just fall down a chasm and die. A random dice roll to get the orb with a 1 in 6 chance. And another pet peeve - mathematical cheat proofing to meet vashti, but in the last encounter, it just says 'did you meet vashti?'
Still, as a story, it reads very well, just like many really tough books - crypt, spellbreaker, knights of doom - are all really well written.
Nice illustrations as well.
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 19, 2021 21:00:37 GMT
I'm going to stick my neck out and tell you I don't agree with these posts saying they liked MOM. I always thought it was quite a poor FF entry. The bare-bones description (I always prefer atmosphere in FF), the absolutely insane \outrageous difficulty level. The Horn Of Hever which is more trouble than it's worth. The dour, black-and-white writing.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,457
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Aug 20, 2021 10:25:54 GMT
I'm going to stick my neck out and tell you I don't agree with these posts saying they liked MOM. I always thought it was quite a poor FF entry. The bare-bones description (I always prefer atmosphere in FF), the absolutely insane \outrageous difficulty level. The Horn Of Hever which is more trouble than it's worth. The dour, black-and-white writing. It's definitely one of the weakest books in the series for me. The whole Fallow Dale segment is great (even if the tiger hunt is ultimately not worth the effort, it is fun), but the rest of the book is pretty bland imo.
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Post by petch on Aug 20, 2021 13:15:00 GMT
Largely agree. There is some nice pastoral imagery towards the beginning, particularly around Lake Nekros and Affen Forest, but otherwise Waterfield’s descriptive prowess that he showcased so well in Rebel Planet and (especially) Phantoms of Fear is largely absent here, making it feel a little dry and bland. Shame, because it had some nice ideas and set pieces - if it was fleshed out a little, it could have been great.
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Post by The Count on Aug 20, 2021 15:07:16 GMT
While it is terse, and seems almost like one idea was abandoned to get the book to meet a deadline which is why having the Horn isn't as useful as implied, I find it does enough to create an atmospheric story - especially when compared to some of the earlier books. Compared to most of those from Phantoms onwards, it does compare less favourably.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,457
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Aug 20, 2021 16:25:49 GMT
I do find the area round the eastern shore of the lake very atmospheric. I even find that arbitrary instant death where you disappear forever in the fog quite poetic.
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Post by petch on Aug 20, 2021 18:57:22 GMT
I do find the area round the eastern shore of the lake very atmospheric. I even find that arbitrary instant death where you disappear forever in the fog quite poetic. Ha, it is quite, thinking about it. It somehow manages to be simultaneously both elegantly written and infuriatingly abrupt.
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Post by pip on Sept 2, 2021 16:39:50 GMT
a poor, an awful and an untasteable paragraph 400. A shame. I don't remember paragraph 400 of this book, but I do remember Crypt of the Sorcerer's. Something along the lines of a slightly longer version of: "You've just saved the world and destroyed absolute evil! Now it's time to celebrate. And celebrate, you will." Epic ending, right?
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Post by a moderator on Sept 2, 2021 17:01:32 GMT
Compared to paragraph 400 of Masks, the ending of Crypt is actually pretty epic.
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Post by petch on Sept 2, 2021 19:03:00 GMT
Champskees' summary of the CotS ending in his solution made me chuckle:
Razaak is defeated. You celebrate with three guys.
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Post by daredevil123 on Sept 2, 2021 22:15:13 GMT
Champskees' summary of the CotS ending in his solution made me chuckle: Razaak is defeated. You celebrate with three guys.It's hilariously flippant, isn't it? I also like his summary of the Trial of Champions ending.
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