CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Nov 26, 2021 17:04:33 GMT
When you summon a warrior (don't think this is on 'true path') why is the Ninja really bad in terms of Skilll and Stamina, easily the weakest (one) with like Skill 7 Stamina 6 or something (I don't have the book anymore to check)? You'd think he'd be the strongest. Is he a non-black-belt ninja ?
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Post by a moderator on Nov 26, 2021 17:21:02 GMT
The whole 'summon a warrior' thing is a mess. Quoting from the Caverns playthrough on my blog: Sometimes Ian Livingstone really didn't think things through.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 26, 2021 20:25:06 GMT
[And the post to which I was replying has been deleted. Well, I'm not following suit, so ] Deathtrap Dungeon's Ring of Wishes is even worse, as it could also be used in a variety of non-combat situations. I've written an overlong rant about that for possible inclusion in a future Fantazine (not issue 17). As for the warrior-summoning ring, restricting its use to certain arbitrary situations would still be a pain. A better approach would be something like: When you get the ring, you are told that when you want to use the ring, you should make a note of the section you're on (just like whenever you encountered a wandering monster in the Maze of Zagor - this wasn't a foreign concept to FF writers even in 1984) and then turn to 313 (almost any section number would do, but that's the one for using it in the book, so keeping that as it is cuts down on unnecessary rewriting). 313 would include the random warrior summoning table that's already there, and then have instructions for ganging up with the warrior against a single enemy (using a die roll to determine whom your opponent attacks each round, like in Citadel section 205), and for fighting alongside the warrior against two opponents that would otherwise be ganging up on you (like the Zombies at 262 or the Trolls at 13). Since Ian uses the 'roll separate Attack Strengths against each enemy' variant for fights where you're outnumbered, there wouldn't even be any more rolls than normal if using the ring to make a fight two-on-two. That's all it would take. No need to rewrite vast chunks of the book to cover a multitude of contingencies where you might want to use the ring. And instead of being wasted on the optimal path or virtually useless if you do manage to use it, the ring is now an asset that, used wisely, could even tip the balance between success and failure.
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Nov 26, 2021 20:42:14 GMT
[And the post to which I was replying has been deleted. Well, I'm not following suit, so ] Deathtrap Dungeon's Ring of Wishes is even worse, as it could also be used in a variety of non-combat situations. I've written an overlong rant about that for possible inclusion in a future Fantazine (not issue 17). As for the warrior-summoning ring, restricting its use to certain arbitrary situations would still be a pain. A better approach would be something like: When you get the ring, you are told that when you want to use the ring, you should make a note of the section you're on (just like whenever you encountered a wandering monster in the Maze of Zagor - this wasn't a foreign concept to FF writers even in 1984) and then turn to 313 (almost any section number would do, but that's the one for using it in the book, so keeping that as it is cuts down on unnecessary rewriting). 313 would include the random warrior summoning table that's already there, and then have instructions for ganging up with the warrior against a single enemy (using a die roll to determine whom your opponent attacks each round, like in Citadel section 205), and for fighting alongside the warrior against two opponents that would otherwise be ganging up on you (like the Zombies at 262 or the Trolls at 13). Since Ian uses the 'roll separate Attack Strengths against each enemy' variant for fights where you're outnumbered, there wouldn't even be any more rolls than normal if using the ring to make a fight two-on-two. That's all it would take. No need to rewrite vast chunks of the book to cover a multitude of contingencies where you might want to use the ring. And instead of being wasted on the optimal path or virtually useless if you do manage to use it, the ring is now an asset that, used wisely, could even tip the balance between success and failure. Indeed, as I thought my post was not even worth posting, let alone replying to, it seems it was more successful than I expected. My point was something like, the ring is comparable to The Ring Of Wishes in Deathtrap Dungeon. I personally would have rather had a sentence imaginatively saying "your ring shines brightly, indicating it might be used here". Enough clip show.
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Post by vastariner on Dec 19, 2021 10:27:11 GMT
Something that the discussion of first FF books that has come to mind.
I got CotSW for Christmas, must have been 1984. It was only the second green spine. I therefore spent the morning reading it.
And thought it was a bit short and insubstantial, with not much of a plot. I assumed I had overlooked a paragraph as to why I was trying to avoid the effects of a spell and wondered why it finished so quickly.
I then found out I had got a reference wrong and skipped two-thirds of the book...
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Dec 19, 2021 12:29:43 GMT
Something that the discussion of first FF books that has come to mind. I got CotSW for Christmas, must have been 1984. It was only the second green spine. I therefore spent the morning reading it. And thought it was a bit short and insubstantial, with not much of a plot. I assumed I had overlooked a paragraph as to why I was trying to avoid the effects of a spell and wondered why it finished so quickly. I then found out I had got a reference wrong and skipped two-thirds of the book... Who hasn't turned to the wrong reference when they were just a kid and gamebooks were new? If you're dyspraxic like I am that probably doesn't help.
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Post by a moderator on Dec 19, 2021 13:30:05 GMT
My worst 'turn to the wrong section' instance was in Temple of Terror. It never even occurred to me to wonder how the desert had suddenly transformed into an underground passage, but I did get puzzled when discovering a letter of the alphabet cost me Stamina.
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kieran
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Post by kieran on Dec 20, 2021 11:57:52 GMT
My worst "turn to" mistake was in Deathmoor because I repeated it in multiple playthroughs: After finding all three keystones and using them in the door to Arachnos' lair, I made an error in my calculation when working out which section to turn to. This meant I turned to section 335 rather than 325. Since 335 starts with "The door slides open" and being confronted by the three ogres, it made perfect sense and so I didn't question my calculation. I was then asked if I was wearing a helmet with an A on it, an item which can only be found in Arachnos' lair. I didn't and so was killed. On repeated playthroughs, I never found this helmet and rather than recalculate the puzzle, I kept turning to 335 out of memory and then being killed. It was only when looking for the helmet and accidentally stumbling upon the secret back entrance to the lair that I realised the helmet was in the lair itself and recalculated, realising the error I had been making. On the plus side, it really helped me get the most out of the book.
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Post by nathanh on Dec 21, 2021 9:39:22 GMT
In Rebel Planet I got the code slightly wrong but the paragraph I ended up at was something like one reference after the one where you actually get the code right, so it make enough sense for me to continue. Unfortunately, I think in the one reference I missed was the way to the winning choice...
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Post by vastariner on Jun 14, 2022 18:00:03 GMT
Little thought about the summoning warrior with the copper ring.
Wouldn't that be a nice gamebook wrinkle? You're popping along with your own mission, then suddenly you're grabbed out of the adventure and parked before an ice dragon, with orders to kill it, and if you do, you get transported back instantly...
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Post by kieran on Jun 14, 2022 18:02:59 GMT
Little thought about the summoning warrior with the copper ring. Wouldn't that be a nice gamebook wrinkle? You're popping along with your own mission, then suddenly you're grabbed out of the adventure and parked before an ice dragon, with orders to kill it, and if you do, you get transported back instantly... Or in the case of that particular warrior, almost certainly end up dragon fodder.
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Post by a moderator on Jun 15, 2022 0:31:05 GMT
For a Jacksonianly cruel twist, write a series of books, provide such a ring in book 1, and give a code word for using it against a particularly nasty opponent. Then, towards the end of the final book, if you have the codeword, you find yourself transported into to the fight you used the ring to evade near the beginning of the saga.
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Post by adrius on Jun 16, 2022 8:50:35 GMT
For a Jacksonianly cruel twist, write a series of books, provide such a ring in book 1, and give a code word for using it against a particularly nasty opponent. Then, towards the end of the final book, if you have the codeword, you find yourself transported into to the fight you used the ring to evade near the beginning of the saga. Though (I assume) the adventurer will get to keep all the notes, inventories & skills they obtained throughout the long detour ... if enacted poorly it could end up something like Keep of the Lich-Lord.
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 16, 2022 12:43:02 GMT
For a Jacksonianly cruel twist, write a series of books, provide such a ring in book 1, and give a code word for using it against a particularly nasty opponent. Then, towards the end of the final book, if you have the codeword, you find yourself transported into to the fight you used the ring to evade near the beginning of the saga. Though (I assume) the adventurer will get to keep all the notes, inventories & skills they obtained throughout the long detour ... if enacted poorly it could end up something like Keep of the Lich-Lord. Kind of reminds me of the Assassin's Dagger from Knights of Doom, which isn't quite as cool as it might seem at face value - if you have Banish Spirit it's done away with easily, and if you don't (which is very much non-true path) you can get it halfway through the adventure or die at the end. Green also has a few things which sound as though they might do the trick, but just make things worse.
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Post by CharlesX on Jun 16, 2022 16:04:23 GMT
For a Jacksonianly cruel twist, write a series of books, provide such a ring in book 1, and give a code word for using it against a particularly nasty opponent. Then, towards the end of the final book, if you have the codeword, you find yourself transported into to the fight you used the ring to evade near the beginning of the saga. Though (I assume) the adventurer will get to keep all the notes, inventories & skills they obtained throughout the long detour ... if enacted poorly it could end up something like Keep of the Lich-Lord. Or Gates of Death - my apologies for the reminder about it!
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Post by slloyd14 on Jul 9, 2022 11:02:01 GMT
[And the post to which I was replying has been deleted. Well, I'm not following suit, so ] Deathtrap Dungeon's Ring of Wishes is even worse, as it could also be used in a variety of non-combat situations. I've written an overlong rant about that for possible inclusion in a future Fantazine (not issue 17). As for the warrior-summoning ring, restricting its use to certain arbitrary situations would still be a pain. A better approach would be something like: When you get the ring, you are told that when you want to use the ring, you should make a note of the section you're on (just like whenever you encountered a wandering monster in the Maze of Zagor - this wasn't a foreign concept to FF writers even in 1984) and then turn to 313 (almost any section number would do, but that's the one for using it in the book, so keeping that as it is cuts down on unnecessary rewriting). 313 would include the random warrior summoning table that's already there, and then have instructions for ganging up with the warrior against a single enemy (using a die roll to determine whom your opponent attacks each round, like in Citadel section 205), and for fighting alongside the warrior against two opponents that would otherwise be ganging up on you (like the Zombies at 262 or the Trolls at 13). Since Ian uses the 'roll separate Attack Strengths against each enemy' variant for fights where you're outnumbered, there wouldn't even be any more rolls than normal if using the ring to make a fight two-on-two. That's all it would take. No need to rewrite vast chunks of the book to cover a multitude of contingencies where you might want to use the ring. And instead of being wasted on the optimal path or virtually useless if you do manage to use it, the ring is now an asset that, used wisely, could even tip the balance between success and failure. Ian Livingstone's items were only useful in a specific situation even if their name and function suggested that it would be useful in other situations. The warrior ring is an egregious example as you say - it could be used against any opponent. As it is, it can only be used against an opponent that would curb stomp the warrior.
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Post by a moderator on Jul 9, 2022 12:41:40 GMT
Ian Livingstone's items were only useful in a specific situation even if their name and function suggested that it would be useful in other situations. One of the rare exceptions is in this book. If you assume that, having used the sling and iron balls against the Frost Giant, you won't be needing them again, and discard them in order to make room for more of the Snow Witch's gold, you'll be in some trouble when you get to her globe.
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Post by slloyd14 on Jul 9, 2022 14:00:57 GMT
Ian Livingstone's items were only useful in a specific situation even if their name and function suggested that it would be useful in other situations. One of the rare exceptions is in this book. If you assume that, having used the sling and iron balls against the Frost Giant, you won't be needing them again, and discard them in order to make room for more of the Snow Witch's gold, you'll be in some trouble when you get to her globe. Ah yes. It wasn't always the case. I think it got worse in his later books as Island of the Lizard King had 2 uses for the gold ring as well.
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Post by scouserob on Nov 3, 2022 0:52:33 GMT
I remember never getting out of those Caverns alive as a lad. Now decades later whilst mapping behind myself, I have still not gotten out of them after at least fifteen more attempts.
This one is BRUTAL!
I think I’ve got a decent route through to the Snow Globe now, when I can remember most of those left and right turns.
Thanks to rolling up a Skill 12 Stamina 20 beast, I managed to crack it (the globe) getting further than ever before and what does she do?
Firstly, she somehow summons Zombie clones of my incapacitated companions, which I guess she had tucked away for just such an occasion. 🤷🏻♂️ OK, so I dealt with them though I had only 2 Provisions remaining and next up is some random 🪨 , 📄 , ✂️ like game with disc shapes. 🤔 A one in three chance of dying in round one and… I’m dead. 🤦🏻♂️🤬.
I do like the trap of getting the Spear and Warhammer. You quickly find out that the Spear is worth having and so you always choose to get it until you finally discover that the Warhammer being the only weapon to harm the Crystal Warrior is a poisoned chalice.
I’m not as engaged as with the previous 8 books. (Even Starship Traveller!!) Perhaps the ❄️🥶 environment is not for me, though so far it also seems quite a bit more rushed and impersonal than usual.
Here’s to hoping I enjoy it more when/if I ever escape those caves. I remember that Banshee picture terrifying me and am looking forward to meeting it.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Nov 3, 2022 15:24:27 GMT
I remember never getting out of those Caverns alive as a lad. Now decades later whilst mapping behind myself, I have still not gotten out of them after at least fifteen more attempts. This one is BRUTAL! I think I’ve got a decent route through to the Snow Globe now, when I can remember most of those left and right turns. Thanks to rolling up a Skill 12 Stamina 20 beast, I managed to crack it (the globe) getting further than ever before and what does she do? Firstly, she somehow summons Zombie clones of my incapacitated companions, which I guess she had tucked away for just such an occasion. 🤷🏻♂️ OK, so I dealt with them though I had only 2 Provisions remaining and next up is some random 🪨 , 📄 , ✂️ like game with disc shapes. 🤔 A one in three chance of dying in round one and… I’m dead. 🤦🏻♂️🤬. I do like the trap of getting the Spear and Warhammer. You quickly find out that the Spear is worth having and so you always choose to get it until you finally discover that the Warhammer being the only weapon to harm the Crystal Warrior is a poisoned chalice. I’m not as engaged as with the previous 8 books. (Even Starship Traveller!!) Perhaps the ❄️🥶 environment is not for me, though so far it also seems quite a bit more rushed and impersonal than usual. Here’s to hoping I enjoy it more when/if I ever escape those caves. I remember that Banshee picture terrifying me and am looking forward to meeting it. I have posted a new solution for 12/14/7 and a have new solution for 12/24/12 which I have not posted yet. I have taken the radical decision to take the spear and war-hammer to trade for 100 gold pieces otherwise it is a wasted journey. Also my reasoning is the 84% chance of fighting the Yeti at 10 skill gives you a crushing advantage. The Crystal Warrior fight is not too brutal as you have a 1 attack strength advantage and should have a reasonable reserve of stamina. I have used the matrix to try and generate a plausible use of provisions. I think this book is much fairer than his later books as there are skill bonuses to restore the rather crushing skill penalties. If you roll 1 or 2 and then somehow manage to roll a double 6 then it becomes difficult to say the least. I would suggest lottery tickets. My reasoning now is to use the Potion of Fortune to give you the best possible chance to pass the double luck roll where the consequence of failing both rolls is lethal.
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Post by scouserob on Nov 5, 2022 18:33:56 GMT
I have taken the radical decision to take the spear and war-hammer to trade for 100 gold pieces otherwise it is a wasted journey. I'm up to this Gold grabbing point in my mapping and I think you should be able to safely get 250 Gold Pieces by dropping the following 5 items Garlic (Isn't used up by the Snow Witch smelling it.) Jar of Ground Minotaur Horn ("You sprinkle some..." So there should be some left in the jar.) Cloak (You can get the Cloak and choose whether or not to perform a second Luck Test if you fail the first in the Ice Demon cavern. So there is no reason not to get it.) [Edit: OK, this is false. You can forego the cloak and have no Luck Tests and either run or fight.] Copper Ring (I haven't mapped the whole game but I'm guessing that there is no further use for summoning a disappointing warrior.) Gold Ring (I’ve been pretty much everywhere in the Caverns now and I’m guessing that the Resist Cold property will not come in useful once outside. It almost certainly isn't worth 50 Gold Pieces so you should swap that as well to up your total to 250 Gold Pieces. (The price of magic rings in City of Thieves and Shadow of the Giants, for example, are all under 11 Gold Pieces.)
I'm assuming that you do not recover the Rune Stick from the Snow Witch's remains.
Counter to this there is the fact that the items are specified to be removed from your backpack, which may rule out the 2 Rings and the Cloak if you are wearing them but still leave the Garlic and Jar of Ground Minotaur Horn to trade for 100 Gold Pieces.
What do you think?
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Post by nathanh on Nov 5, 2022 19:30:53 GMT
I do like the trap of getting the Spear and Warhammer. You quickly find out that the Spear is worth having and so you always choose to get it until you finally discover that the Warhammer being the only weapon to harm the Crystal Warrior is a poisoned chalice. I think it's even more evil than that: if I recall correctly, if you have the Warhammer against the Crystal Warrior you don't even find out that there is another way to defeat the Crystal Warrior. So you might just assume the "if you don't have a Warhammer, turn to x" reference is bad and never explore it.
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Post by philsadler on Nov 5, 2022 21:43:18 GMT
I do like the trap of getting the Spear and Warhammer. You quickly find out that the Spear is worth having and so you always choose to get it until you finally discover that the Warhammer being the only weapon to harm the Crystal Warrior is a poisoned chalice. I think it's even more evil than that: if I recall correctly, if you have the Warhammer against the Crystal Warrior you don't even find out that there is another way to defeat the Crystal Warrior. So you might just assume the "if you don't have a Warhammer, turn to x" reference is bad and never explore it.
I assumed that very thing and always thought you had no other choice.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Nov 9, 2022 15:42:39 GMT
I have taken the radical decision to take the spear and war-hammer to trade for 100 gold pieces otherwise it is a wasted journey. I'm up to this Gold grabbing point in my mapping and I think you should be able to safely get 250 Gold Pieces by dropping the following 5 items Garlic (Isn't used up by the Snow Witch smelling it.) Jar of Ground Minotaur Horn ("You sprinkle some..." So there should be some left in the jar.) Cloak (You can get the Cloak and choose whether or not to perform a second Luck Test if you fail the first in the Ice Demon cavern. So there is no reason not to get it.) Copper Ring (I haven't mapped the whole game but I'm guessing that there is no further use for summoning a disappointing warrior.) Gold Ring (I’ve been pretty much everywhere in the Caverns now and I’m guessing that the Resist Cold property will not come in useful once outside. It almost certainly isn't worth 50 Gold Pieces so you should swap that as well to up your total to 250 Gold Pieces. (The price of magic rings in City of Thieves and Shadow of the Giants, for example, are all under 11 Gold Pieces.)
I'm assuming that you do not recover the Rune Stick from the Snow Witch's remains.
Counter to this there is the fact that the items are specified to be removed from your backpack, which may rule out the 2 Rings and the Cloak if you are wearing them but still leave the Garlic and Jar of Ground Minotaur Horn to trade for 100 Gold Pieces.
What do you think?You do give reasons so maybe in your solution you could say these are my reasons but you can make your own mind up. My example would be the Who is the Lord of Valsinore? question in Night of the Necromancer where I realised I was applying autistic rigidity. The easing of that rigid approach was much more plausible when considered afresh. Here it is a bit more subjective and raises the question of whether once you take the ring off should you lose a luck point? People will have to make their own mind up.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 10, 2022 12:04:06 GMT
Here it is a bit more subjective and raises the question of whether once you take the ring off should you lose a luck point? People will have to make their own mind up. I don't see why the question should be raised. The Luck bonus was for having found a potentially useful item, not inherently tied to the ring - the text doesn't say 'Add 1 Luck point for as long as you wear the ring' or words to that effect. I could potentially see a Luck penalty being applied if you were in some way forced to remove the ring from your inventory, but that would be covered by an explicit direction in the text. Voluntarily choosing to relinquish it in favour of something you consider more valuable does not constitute any form of misfortune - unless you've been conned or made an error of judgement, but all indications are that the gold for which you would be exchanging it is exactly what it appears to be. People accept it as payment, you are not subject to any curse or penalty for taking the money, and IIRC once the Sentinel is dead the gold is only made out to be a bad thing if you fall into a river and its weight and lack of buoyancy increases the risk of your drowning.
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Post by scouserob on Nov 10, 2022 13:08:24 GMT
Here it is a bit more subjective and raises the question of whether once you take the ring off should you lose a luck point? People will have to make their own mind up. The Luck points gained for obtaining the two rings both seem to be added for being fortunate in getting a good item rather than being an inherent Luck Charm like property of the rings themselves. I'd have no compunction with chucking them away without a Luck penalty. 😉 [Edit: I took so long in writing this that Greenspine beat me to it! 🐌]
I've made my mind up. Paragraph 171 states: "However, for each 50 you take, you will have to remove one item from your backpack and leave it behind."
I'm wearing the cloak and both the rings at this point, if I choose to get them, so I'm only getting 100 gold in exchange for the Garlic and Jar of Ground Minotaur Horn.
Something that bothers me (though I don't remember it doing so when I was younger) are the instances during this book when: YOU are the aggressor.
Putting aside the poor old Frost Giant whose efforts at tidying up his lair can be rudely interrupted by a, possibly fatal, iron ball to the noggin. [You could argue that this is a case of proactive self-defence, if you didn't know how successful running past him would be. You can also choose to forgo the 2 Luck points from the Rings and leave him be.]
The act of violence that is most unsettling is in the kitchen where, despite being rude, the Gnome notices that you are tired/injured and offers you some Stamina boosting cake. This is despite you turning up 2 hours early for dinner whilst he's struggling to cater for the Snow Witch's slave/servant workforce with obviously substandard staff.
Yet to avoid certain death in the future you HAVE to attack them and kill the "dull-witted" Neanderthal. From the adventurer's point of view, and without the benefit of hindsight, surely this death could be avoided without any detriment to the quest. I don't like it.
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Nov 10, 2022 13:16:38 GMT
Here it is a bit more subjective and raises the question of whether once you take the ring off should you lose a luck point? People will have to make their own mind up. I don't see why the question should be raised. The Luck bonus was for having found a potentially useful item, not inherently tied to the ring - the text doesn't say 'Add 1 Luck point for as long as you wear the ring' or words to that effect. I could potentially see a Luck penalty being applied if you were in some way forced to remove the ring from your inventory, but that would be covered by an explicit direction in the text. Voluntarily choosing to relinquish it in favour of something you consider more valuable does not constitute any form of misfortune - unless you've been conned or made an error of judgement, but all indications are that the gold for which you would be exchanging it is exactly what it appears to be. People accept it as payment, you are not subject to any curse or penalty for taking the money, and IIRC once the Sentinel is dead the gold is only made out to be a bad thing if you fall into a river and its weight and lack of buoyancy increases the risk of your drowning. I have just seen the post below as well so there are two points one being general and one being specific. I think your reasoning is right here. The rings have a specific inherent function and you are given an independent luck point for that lucky find. It is not a helmet with an inherent +1 attack strength function. The issue is still a bit subjective as you might want to keep your rings in your backpack? This is splitting hairs somewhat but it raises issues of what it is reasonable to assume. The function of a ring is to be worn on your finger but you might keep them safely stored in your backpack. This leads into the reasoning of the post above.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 10, 2022 13:52:35 GMT
You have to put the rings on to discover their effect and gain the Luck bonus, and the relevant sections both open with the words 'You are now wearing a magic ring which...' Additionally, section 223 says 'If you are wearing a copper ring...' and 'Unless you are wearing a gold ring...' so the authorial intent is clearly for you to be wearing them rather than carrying them in your backpack.
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Post by scouserob on Dec 3, 2022 13:09:47 GMT
Finally, after over 20 attempts, I've completed and fully mapped The Caverns of the Snow Witch. I only needed to reach the outdoors twice, probably because to get out there in the first place I had to have such a big set of Statistics that even that surprising Skill 12 Bird-Man didn't seriously challenge me.
I enjoyed the post Caverns third of the adventure much more than the sections in the Caverns and the Icefinger Mountains. I like having travelling companions, getting into scrapes, then checking after battle whether they are OK.
Hill Trolls (the new Lizard Men) become the consistent antagonists for a while, which works well to establish the sense of location and tone, setting up Stubb's departure for the Forest of Doom. I particularly like the fact that the usual decision to fight or avoid them is given to Stubb, who races into battle without questioning whether you and Redswift will back him up. (Stubb becomes the first companion to make it out of an adventure alive. Is his fate on the Darkwood Forest quest known or just inferred from his absence for Forest of Doom?)
Then the final boss of the adventure is: a death spell. Now that sounds naff but it worked surprisingly well for me, with the stakes set when Redswift succumbs and then reinforced by the slow drain on the last vestiges of your stamina as you search for the Healer.
Redswift especially becomes quite a likeable character once outside with his bragging and continued but good natured ribbing when you make decisions that cause trouble for the party. In fact the notable exception to this ribbing is when you sentence him to share a slow and painful death. Despite being fully aware of his fate he never reproaches you, lets the unaffected Stubb leave on his own very personal quest without burdening him with the knowledge of his companions' awful fate, then sets off with you towards the Healer, only telling you all this when it becomes clear he isn't going to make it and you'll have to fend for yourself.After Starship Traveller it is still probably my least favourite of the first nine books but I found a lot to like.
I'm still not sure of the Golden Path with there being probably way over a thousand combinations of potentially decent routes depending on your stats. It'll be fun coding them up.
Here are the choices I'm thinking of from looking at my map but I may have missed some options:
0: Potion Choice: Skill/Stamina/Luck and when to take them. [Stamina need is obvious, Luck is handy for Bird Man fight and other stuff, Skill is tested twice with the Healer but should be at maximum.] 1: Mammoth/Snow Wolf (2 options) [Harder opponent or Luck Loss] 2: Take Weapons/Leave Weapons (2 options) [Almost certainly leaving the weapons is best.] 3: Ice Demon Cave: Cloak→Flute/Cloak→Run/Cloak→Fight (or equivalently Just Flute)/Just Run/Just Fight (5 options) [Good grief!!! All have different potential Luck/Stamina losses.] 4: Frost Giant: Run/Fight (2 options) [Your Skill has to be high so probably the Sling Skill Test and the recovered Luck points is best.] 5: First Choice in search for the Healer: South/East (2 options) [Potentially fatal Luck Tests or guaranteed 5 Stamina lost]
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Dec 7, 2022 14:58:01 GMT
After Starship Traveller it is still probably my least favourite of the first nine books but I found a lot to like.
I'm still not sure of the Golden Path with there being probably way over a thousand combinations of potentially decent routes depending on your stats. It'll be fun coding them up.
Here are the choices I'm thinking of from looking at my map but I may have missed some options:
0: Potion Choice: Skill/Stamina/Luck and when to take them. [Stamina need is obvious, Luck is handy for Bird Man fight and other stuff, Skill is tested twice with the Healer but should be at maximum.] 1: Mammoth/Snow Wolf (2 options) [Harder opponent or Luck Loss] 2: Take Weapons/Leave Weapons (2 options) [Almost certainly leaving the weapons is best.] 3: Ice Demon Cave: Cloak→Flute/Cloak→Run/Cloak→Fight (or equivalently Just Flute)/Just Run/Just Fight (5 options) [Good grief!!! All have different potential Luck/Stamina losses.] 4: Frost Giant: Run/Fight (2 options) [Your Skill has to be high so probably the Sling Skill Test and the recovered Luck points is best.] 5: First Choice in search for the Healer: South/East (2 options) [Potentially fatal Luck Tests or guaranteed 5 Stamina lost] I must admit I had forgotten about the 5 stamina loss option and this might well be a good option for a high stamina avatar. I tend to apply 12/14/7 to try and squeeze but I have also tried 11/24/12 recently. Though the first option is harder these limits are hard to transgress otherwise you are chasing incredible dice rolls. As far as I can tell this book is for 11 or skill 12 avatars as a matter of necessity. There is not doubt I will have to have a think about this as I have forgotten the stamina loss option. I feel this is one of the better books as there are so many permutations even if it is very linear and so in some ways it is closer to the later books. My own personal idiosyncrasy is to take limited luck hits as I tend to play with low luck to create uncertainty. This is why I always fight the Mammoth and never take the cloak. The other thing you raise is whether to try different strategies with the Potion of Fortune and your choice of directions as you specify in 5. I now have a headache.
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