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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:06:57 GMT
From TUFFF... This one's another new book for me. I remember it a bit from my youth, nothing serious, don't even remember picking it up to browse or something. Maybe it was the cover's lack of appeal?
But looking at it now I don't find it bad at all. In fact, I'm finding John Sibbick illos pretty interesting and well done, most of the time. Except for human faces. I'm not sure what it is, but every time it's supposed to depict a young person, all I see is some old, ugly and twisted character. But the rest is great. As for the book itself, well, it's one hell of a far-fetched story, especially when you know the twist at the end, but long before that, I was already wondering how in the hell the Thieves Guild managed to get any new member. Cause surely no-one this side of superhumans could survive the trials? But when you reach the end it gets even more ridiculous... As pointed out by many, the book is also full of mistakes and/or strange decisions, like the easily missable noose, the useless clues that should have been used to hide the Eye of the Basilisk location in the text instead of using the section numbers from each of them (or you know, more than one section number to up the difficulty and make you start at different point of the treasure hunt...) or the lack of info on backpack items and weapons limits...
One of my early favorite was meeting the gargoyle and being offered to try "something else" (or close) instead of two other useless and dangerous options... So, trying something else I ended up being offered to choose between three object to use, none of which I had at the time. This left me no other option but to cheat (meaning it would lead everybody to cheat, not just me), either by choosing something from the list I didn't have, or by going back in time to the last section and choosing another option. Really annoying. Otherwise, surprising or not, I still enjoyed the story and the settings. I wish I'd visited a bit more of Port Blacksand - that's what I expected - but instead found myself thrown into a pretty linear dungeon. Still the dungeon part was nice with a blend of new and old and all my skills were - somewhat - tested. It lacked a good climax with the silly punchline, but it flowed smoothly enough and the writing wasn't bad, so all in all, good read. Though I'm pretty sure playing it is a different matter, but I'll find that out another day. Speak in extremes, it will save you time. |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:08:02 GMT
From TUFFF... I've always enjoyed Midnight Rogue, despite it's silly ending. The draw of Blacksand is, for me, always alluring... It's like getting the chance to explore Ankh Morpork! And I don't know why, but for me this book seems less linear than City of Thieves. In CoT I felt as though I walked up a couple of roads from one end to the other, explored the docks, and then that was pretty much it. In Midnight Rogue it just felt more open... It helps that I am a HUGE fan of Thief: Deadly Shadows, and I suppose the climbing over roofs and picking locks helps with the freedom illusion. More than just walking down a street deciding which store to enter anyway; but that's Livingstone for you!
I'd have been interested to see what kind of story the author would have concocted, given another chance to write an adventure. ~ Vae Victis! ~ |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:08:44 GMT
From TUFFF... ***THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD, BUT WHILE THERE'S MOONLIGHT AND MUSIC AND LOVE AND ROMANCE...*** Such a great shame. The idea of writing an adventure which allows you to play a thief is brilliant just in itself, but the story is too bland and the investigative aspect is even weaker than what we were offered in The Rings of Kether. As Masterchief mentioned, there are some uncanny similarities to a series of computer games called Thief - I wouldn't be at all surprised if the developers had used Midnight Rogue as their initial inspiration. I might write some musings on the parallels between the two and post them onto the forum next week. It was the chance of playing a thief which grasped my attention back in '87. The list of special skills alone was enough to make me look forward to sneaking through the shadows of Port Blacksand to steal some loot. I had pleasant memories of this book, but having played it recently I regret to say that my memory has cheated me. The first problem concerns looting: there's so little to take. There are only two areas of town which provide looting opportunities before you reach the end dungeon - even then, none of it's too difficult to pinch. A better approach would've been to cut down the size of the dungeon and to have included two further town sections instead, to allow more opportunities for nefarious naughtiness. Looting isn't actively encouraged in the game, which is odd considering who you're playing. It wouldn't have been difficult to have made it an extra objective, either by insisting that you loot a minimum quantity (in a Seas of Blood-type fashion) or even just a 'vanity' score similar to HERO points in Appointment With F.E.A.R. The next problem is the way that the special skills are managed. I like the idea behind each of the seven skills, but some are vital to success (although you can acquire more skills by finding certain items) whereas others are seldom used (I was only asked if I had the pickpocket skill once). I would've envisaged that a guild of thieves would train its rookies in all of the basic skills. Sure, you might be better at some than others, but the book treats you as if you are completely unskilled in an area if it's not on your list. A more convincing and satisfying approach would be to roll different skill scores for each of the different talents and then to ask you to roll against them, just like you would do in a standard SKILL score test. Considering that the aim of the game is to locate a specific treasure, it's surprising how little thought has gone into how the investigation itself unfolds. All you should really need is the location that the Eye of the Basilisk is hidden in, but - illogically - the book asks you to find this out twice. The clue that you find in Brass's house tells you nothing of consequence that the clue in the Merchants' Guild does not. Just as bad is the clue at the Noose, which simply directs you to the other two clues. Adding up the reference numbers where you find the clues is a weak way of resolving the investigation. The narrative itself is passable, with text that is clipped, but not disinterested. The mission itself lacks credibility once you discover what is really going on. Considering what the Eye of the Basilisk is, Brass must have been in on the set-up with the Thieves' Guild, but would a wealthy merchant really get involved with such scum? The set-up also seems overly elaborate for what it is testing and the risk that must have been involved in populating the dungeon with deadly creatures would also be going a tad too far. Why not just send the apprentices to steal something in town which requires no preparation on the part of the guild masters at all? Presumably the test given to all budding thieves (or at least a slightly modified version of it), but how can the guild be sure that no one will blab about it? People talk... If the test is exactly the same for each apprentice, can you imagine how pissed off Brass's wife would get after the twentieth hooded criminal has sneaked into their bedroom? I have dwelt a lot on the negative so far. Whilst the book does have lots of let-downs it is not an absolute failure like that Livingstone adventure was. On the plus side, the air of anxiety is put across well as you try to find your clues undetected. This works particularly well in Brass's house, where you have to avoid waking up the household as you sneak about, pickpocket keys, etc. There is also a narrow squeak when you're spotted by the City Guard, which the book gives you plenty of options for dealing with. The most imaginative moments in the book concern traps, my favourite of which is a concealed floorplate that causes a small panel in the wall to fly open and release a Jib-Jib. Losing an attack round to one of these loud creatures may be unlikely (not to mention embarrassing), but I was quite taken with the notion of using one as a burglar alarm. One last acknowledgement to tick off on the book's stronger aspects is that there is always a wide variety of approaches that can be taken to enter your target buildings. For example, the Merchants' Guild section suggests: bribing the guard; sneaking past him; trying a side door; climbing a drainpipe or tackling the footpads who have gathered around the building's rear. John Sibbick's art is mostly fine, usually managing to convey an eeriness to the night-life of Allansia's most notorious city. The sleepwalker (45), hallway (254), sleeping Brass (261) and footpads (271) all manage to do this. Some illustrations are critically lacking in the background department though, with bare, featureless walls making do, such as the sleeping ogre (328) and the bats (280). All in all a book with a really cool character premise which is let down by sloppy plotting and gaming elements which don't work too well. I still feel that there's so much potential for a future thiefy gamebook to become one of the best in the range. |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:09:26 GMT
From TUFFF... I like Midnight Rogue, it's too bad it doesn't live up to everyone's approval. I don't think it was mean't to appeal to older audiences. I didn't like the ending either, I felt cheated. Good review. The more beautiful and pure FF is – the more satisfying it is to corrupt it. |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:09:58 GMT
From TUFFF... Should've swapped around references 275 and 400... |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:10:53 GMT
From TUFFF... Somehow that illustration of the sleeping 'girl' in the bedroom leaves a very haunting memory. Almost as creepy as the House of Hell zombie. Two Words |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:12:15 GMT
From TUFFF... Somehow that illustration of the sleeping 'girl' in the bedroom leaves a very haunting memory. Almost as creepy as the House of Hell zombie. You got that right. I used to always dread catching a glimpse of it when flicking through the book as a young un. |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:12:48 GMT
From TUFFF... The girl or the Zombie, or both?  Two Words |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:13:51 GMT
From TUFFF... The girl or the Zombie, or both? The girl. I was about 18/19 when I first played House of Hell so the zombie didn't bother me. Actually I think the goat-headed guy at the door is creepier. |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:15:43 GMT
From TUFFF... I was playing this last night. So much potential, but so many flaws... I enjoyed wondering around Port Blacksand, and the allusions that were made to City of Thieves.
But the first part of the adventure - that contained by far the most interesting characters and situations - was - also too quick and simplistic. It is over far too quickly and the location choices are very limited. You find out you've taken the wrong choice very quickly, often within a single paragraph. The second part of the adventure, under the barrow, is also rather annoying as it's just a standard dungeon-crawl, and really implausible at that - once you find out what the reason behind this quest was after all. It is also obviously impossible to get far with this adventure unless you can pick-locks - you would never have got the clues to reach the Barrow in the first place, and would never have been able to complete the first part of the adventure - so why does the narrative keep asking you if you have pick locks again, many times, once you get to the underground section of the adventure? This seems a very derivative and ill-thought-through adventure on the whole. And derivative of both Jackson and Livingstone... |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 13:18:37 GMT
From TUFFF... This book is set in Blacksand. However I don't feel like this is Blacksand at all.You can only explore three main places. Why not let us explore more of Blacksand? If the book let us explore more of Blacksand it would be more fun and harder to track down the clues, and would increase replay value too. The clues are silly too, with two being the same and one leading you to the other two. Also, why do you need a special skill to hide? Surely everyone knows how to hide? And when you get lock picks you immediately know how to pick locks. And the secret signs skill:surely the guild will tell you the secret signs? Also what is the point of gold pieces anyway? It is hardly used at all. And one last point:how come in the chamber with the Crystal Warriors, after you have defeated one Crystal Warrior, you cannot smash the inanimate one with your hilt first? So that even if you touch the wire, nothing will happen. Okay, I have probably been way too harsh.There are some interesting points, such as the Jib-Jib burglar alarm which Oakdweller pointed out.However, I still prefer the original Blacksand adventure, City of Thieves. |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 16:40:01 GMT
This was originally from a different thread - reviews from someone playing the books in a random order. But they only seem to have got as far as playing one.  From TUFFF... 29. Midnight Rogue Whilst I like the idea of playing as a thief, I never really got into this book. I enjoyed it, as I enjoy (nearly) all FF books, but this one just didn't seem to work as well as it could have. My main problem with the book is that Port Blacksand doesn't feel like it did in City of Thieves. I know its night, and its a different writer, but I felt like I was in a generic city. I'd imagine I could have forgiven this a bit more had the individual encounters been more compelling, but they mostly felt uninspired. I also take issue with the dungeon. It just doesn't fit with the rest of the book. Its also overkill as far as security for your gems go, being as Brass would surely get killed in any attempt to retrieve it for himself. What I would have liked to see would be a longer section involved with finding the location of the Eye of the Basilisk, followed by a series of clever puzzles instead of some fights with various lethal monsters. I'm also in two minds about the ending. Whilst it explains the lethality of what you've been through, it still makes no sense, in that, unless the Thieves Guild has extremely high standards, their initiation test is ridiculous. It also raises the question of the set-up of the whole thing. Presumably Brass is in on it all and just keeps his mouth shut, but I can't imagine the fact that its all staged could be kept secret that well. But maybe they just find another test every so often. One last gripe is the clue system used see whether you have sufficient knowledge to locate the Eye in the first place. The clue from the Noose amounts to 'Look in the other two places you've already been told you need to look.' and the information from these two places, whilst useful in its own right, is the same from both places. Basically, you can't complete the book without reaching three specific references, despite only one of them being useful. Well, I've complained enough, though I would like to re-iterate that, for all its faults, I still enjoyed playing through the book. Now for the outcomes. 1: Killed by a Ghoul
2: Completed it! So, pretty quick, though I'd expect that, given that I'm not even starting without a rather good character. Next up: Island of the Lizard King |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 28, 2013 16:43:49 GMT
From TUFFF... One last gripe is the clue system used see whether you have sufficient knowledge to locate the Eye in the first place. The clue from the Noose amounts to 'Look in the other two places you've already been told you need to look.' and the information from these two places, whilst useful in its own right, is the same from both places. Basically, you can't complete the book without reaching three specific references, despite only one of them being useful. Yep. And it's doubly annoying that if you don't visit the Noose first, you aren't given the option to go there later for no apparent reason. |
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Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2013 16:15:21 GMT
Salvaged from the 'Books in Order' thread:
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Post by cyranotheswordfish on Apr 6, 2015 10:03:32 GMT
My write-up on this one from a few years back is just up the page, so I'll just leave some brief musings on how my opinion on this one changed now I've revisited it. In summary, my opinion of 29 - Midnight Rogue as moved from 'decent enough' to 'pretty good'. The style of the writing now appeals to me more than it did previously and I now don't mind (perhaps I even appreciate) the fact that Port Blacksand feels different here than in City of Thieves as not only is it night, but you're playing as someone who already knows the city pretty well as opposed to a complete outsider. I did feel rather like a thief on this playthrough, which is a credit to the writing. I'd also like to say that I find the special skills to be rather well implemented - I know some are more useful than others, but on the whole I feel that a good job was done in making each skill useful and not punishing the player too harshly for not having a particular one.
I'm still not sure about the disappearing Noose, the clue system, the dungeon (though it's fun enough to play through) or the ending, but Midnight Rogue has moved up my rankings considerably. It took my two tries to win, the outcomes being - Decapitation by crystal warrior
- Success!
25 - Beneath Nightmare Castle next! |
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809 
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Jul 23, 2015 14:40:52 GMT
Not one of my favourites. Not very realistic. A million times less magical than the absolutely magic City of Thieves. (one of the other Port Blacksand Books)
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Post by hynreck on Jul 23, 2015 14:52:31 GMT
But it's still magic, right?
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IoannesKantakouzenos
Traveller
Being slowly eaten alive by a Ghoul
Posts: 105
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy (Aventuras Fantásticas)
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Post by IoannesKantakouzenos on Jul 27, 2022 10:32:44 GMT
So, the results of my playthrough, mimicking greatlordofthedark 's approach (because I just love it): Alexios Comnemos (9-16-10): gets the clue from the Noose, enters Brass's house, wakes up the servants and gets jailed. Note to self: Sneak may be important. Basilios Vatatzes (10-21-9): foiled again at Brass's house, this time by entering the girl's room (the picture doesn't do her justice, btw); dismayed by his failure, he decides to kill himself by attacking Lord Azzur's palace. What a drama queen. Constantinos Angelos (10-16-12): finally, opened Brass's safe! And gotten the final clue from the Merchants Guild! This is going flawle- Giant Spider? Oh, crap! Paralysed by its venom and eaten later. Hope he gave it some heartburn afterwards. Demetrios Laskaris (11-19-10): all three clues, gets into Barrow Hill, fails to find a map and starves to death in a maze. Eusthatios Palaiologos (9-22-10): killed by a Possessor Spirit. Didn't like him anyway. Georgios Dukas (11-23-12): three clues, Barrow Hill, finds map, faces one Crystal Warrior, disregards chest ("certainly nothing that I need will be here, so close to the Eye!"), then gets burnt to a cinder trying to pull off a Raiders of the Lost Ark trick. Never trust what you see in the movies. Ioannes Comnemus (11-21-11): learning from his fallen comrades' mistakes, he gets to the Eye of the Basilisk, balances the obsidian disc just right, then takes the jewe- what? A fake?! But how… Oh, it was all just a test then? I'm given admittance to the Guild? Can't imagine it having lots of members, if the admittance test is that tricky… Personal thoughts about the book: I think it is kind of fun and it works… until the final two paragraphs. The whole "this was all fake" thing doesn't quite cut it for me: I mean, are we supposed to believe that the Thieves Guild is supposed to control Possessed Spirits, Crystal Warriors and the like, just to test one person? Doesn't make sense for me. Also, we see very little of Port Blacksand: if it weren't for John Sibbick's illustrations, this could have happened at some other city, like Tak, Shurrupak, or God-knows-where. The city's map is deemed irrelevant because of it - also, where's the key? Lots of numbers there, are we supposed to guess what they mean? And it is kind of silly we need to choose to understand the Guild's secret signs: shouldn't we know them anyway? The two cheat-proofing sequences are amusing to have, but just that, and there is no point in asking if we have some skills when we could only reach that point of the adventure if we had them. But it's fun to read, anyway. If taken with a grain of salt, it's a fun adventure. |
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,453
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Oct 13, 2022 14:26:15 GMT
After replaying this book for the Fortieth Frenzy, I think I've been a bit harsh about it in the past. It does a good job of making you actually feel like a thief and there are really a ton of options and approaches in the first half. The dungeon is pretty linear, but it still gives you a few creative options and opportunities to use your skills.
The Noose thing still bugs me, but it's hardly a major flaw.
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Post by CharlesX on Oct 13, 2022 18:20:31 GMT
Midnight Rogue was easily a top half FF for me in spite of its linearity and typical-for-the-series slightly excessive difficulty level, not only because it was one of the first FFs I bought growing up but for its sense of atmosphere, skill and sophistication in what was actually a very limited format (comparable to making a five-star game on an 8-bit computer). As Kieran remarks it did a wonderful job of making you feel like a thief, which returning to my previous analogy only presaged some of the well-written Thief PC games (in a good way, that is).
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Post by paperexplorer on Jul 22, 2023 4:50:06 GMT
Just sharing what Graeme Davis wrote on his blog about this book (didn't see it mentioned previously). Interesting that the dungeon was only added after feedback from Penguin. It seems Graeme had a very different view on how his book should have been.
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Post by CharlesX on Jul 22, 2023 6:45:42 GMT
Thank you paperexplorer for something that was thrown together after Puffin ordered it the dungeon section was rather well-written, I'm probably not the only person who thinks it's at least as good as the opening section (which as Puffin points out does not have risks or fighting). I wonder why Puffin did not question or challenge Starship Traveller or maybe Eye Of The Dragon in the same rigorous manner?
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Post by The Editor (Alex B) on Jul 22, 2023 19:15:18 GMT
Thank you paperexplorer for something that was thrown together after Puffin ordered it the dungeon section was rather well-written, I'm probably not the only person who thinks it's at least as good as the opening section (which as Puffin points out does not have risks or fighting). I wonder why Puffin did not question or challenge Starship Traveller or maybe Eye Of The Dragon in the same rigorous manner?
Well Puffin wouldn’t have challenged “Eye of the Dragon” as it was never published by them. Up both instances are by the series creators who likely had a lot more clout. |
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,453
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jul 22, 2023 19:50:43 GMT
Damn, now I want the "director's cut" of Midnight Rogue.
The dungeon sequence has grown on me a bit. It's very linear but the encounters are fairly detailed and allow some experimentation as to how they should be handled.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jul 24, 2023 19:03:18 GMT
Interesting... I started writing the following post for this (long-buried) thread due to petch's rankings before paperexplorer posted that blog. It does suggest that a couple of the problems mentioned weren't the author's fault.
This isn't a particular favourite of mine. It's a mixed bag and a middling book, but for me the faults drag it a bit further towards 'mediocre' than 'solid'. Possibly I didn't encounter it at the right age. Mostly the pros and cons have been touched on: It's a neat premise, the special skills are fun to apply and there are nice sequences here and there.
On the negative side, the detective work bit at the beginning doesn't make a lot of sense and the later dungeon feels a bit like something from another book. I felt Blacksand was a bit hazier than it had been in CoT. The twist at the end is sort of clever, but feels unnecessary. Instead of the giant gem, we get a moral, which is presumably: "Maybe the real treasure is the friends we made along the way, all of whom are obsessed with actual treasure and would gladly kill me for a jewel that size if it were genuine."
One thing which hasn't been mentioned much is the role or lack of it of the reader's intelligence. For me, part of what makes a gamebook good or bad is that at least some of the time using your noggin helps when making choices. Whether that's to do with solving explicit puzzles or comprehension of the text (like the Eyes of Telaak in Battleblade Warrior, or the location of the pirates in Demons of the Deep) or just common sense judgments. Just overall if a bunch of smart people and a bunch of morons play a book, the morons should be taking more goes to finish it on average.
There are a couple of sections which appear to apply a very low-grade intelligence test but go nowhere with it. You are told in the short Background that Brass's symbol is a coin. When you go to break into his house, you either enter the house with a big coin symbol outside or one with an oar. That's subtle. But if you break into the oar house you face no consequences. Nor could you be doing this for potentially logical reasons (e.g. raiding an easier target for provisions and perhaps equipment-money before tackling the main mission). No, the text has you being explicitly puzzled that the house contains a letter to someone who isn't Brass. Even if you insist on gormlessly continuing to search, the book just railroads you into thinking better of it and leaving without consequences. So it's just a waste of paragraphs.
Likewise when you're looking to enter the dungeon at Barrow Hill you can adjust the stone archer in response to the rhyme at its base to point it at the barrow, the house or (correctly) the standing stone. If you get it right, the thing opens. If you get it wrong... nothing happens and you have to try again. If you get it wrong twice... you still just have to pick again. It's already clear that the statue is next to water with piranhas, so having one nip your ankle for 2 STAMINA would be reasonable – or maybe a bonus LUCK point if you get it right the first time. Otherwise it's just more wasted paragraphs.
The following is sort of unfair, because it's in the nature of gamebooks that often the reader is given a range of choices which on reflection don't really make sense. Nevertheless
I was particularly aware of this in some of the writing in Midnight Rogue and found myself idly imagining an extension on this paragraph at Brass's house:
For guidance you cast your mind back to your thievery tutorials.
"Now class, we're nearly at the end of your top-of-the-range larceny course. Do any of you have any final questions?"
"Sir, sir, Mr Rannik, sir!"
"*Sigh* Yes what is it Dwayne?"
"When I'm burgling a house, should I steal valuable stuff or worthless stuff like dust and ashes?"
"Valuable stuff Dwayne – if you're not sure, just go for shiny stuff you can carry."
"OK, and when I've finished getting everything, should I leave a note saying 'I have stolen all your stuff' with my name and address?"
"No Dwayne, that would hugely increase the chances of you dying a painful death in the next dozen hours."
"Oh OK, and finally if I search a room whilst burgling and find a safe, is that the sort of thing that I should investigate, or should I just immediately jump out of the window?"
"Goddammit, Dwayne."
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Post by CharlesX on Jul 24, 2023 19:15:35 GMT
Interesting... I started writing the following post for this (long-buried) thread due to petch's rankings before paperexplorer posted that blog. It does suggest that a couple of the problems mentioned weren't the author's fault.
This isn't a particular favourite of mine. It's a mixed bag and a middling book, but for me the faults drag it a bit further towards 'mediocre' than 'solid'. Possibly I didn't encounter it at the right age. Mostly the pros and cons have been touched on: It's a neat premise, the special skills are fun to apply and there are nice sequences here and there.
On the negative side, the detective work bit at the beginning doesn't make a lot of sense and the later dungeon feels a bit like something from another book. I felt Blacksand was a bit hazier than it had been in CoT. The twist at the end is sort of clever, but feels unnecessary. Instead of the giant gem, we get a moral, which is presumably: "Maybe the real treasure is the friends we made along the way, all of whom are obsessed with actual treasure and would gladly kill me for a jewel that size if it were genuine." < cut >
I liked the ending and got a completely different message  , it seemed to me like the thieves were such cheats, it was more important for them to save the money an authentic gem would have cost, and for you to learn thief skills; I don't remember whether any 'bullshit' message about the value of friendship was sent but I would have thought it wasn't worth the breath it was spoken with like anything else a thief might say. Yes, there are quite a few - too many - of those railroading references, although I do like the hilarious "let's raid Lord Azzur's Palace" option, where whatever you do for the next 5 or so references you die somehow.
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Post by a moderator on Jul 24, 2023 19:34:26 GMT
There are a couple of sections which appear to apply a very low-grade intelligence test but go nowhere with it. You are told in the short Background that Brass's symbol is a coin. When you go to break into his house, you either enter the house with a big coin symbol outside or one with an oar. That's subtle. But if you break into the oar house you face no consequences. Nor could you be doing this for potentially logical reasons (e.g. raiding an easier target for provisions and perhaps equipment-money before tackling the main mission). No, the text has you being explicitly puzzled that the house contains a letter to someone who isn't Brass. Even if you insist on gormlessly continuing to search, the book just railroads you into thinking better of it and leaving without consequences. So it's just a waste of paragraphs. It's worse than that: the book can actually reward your idiocy, since the 'oar' house is where you can get one of the items that substitute for Special Skills. |
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Jan 18, 2024 19:17:19 GMT
An interesting interview with Graeme Davis about some of his RPG and Games Workshop experiences.
The specific talk about Midnight Rogue starts at 51:45 and is well worth a listen.
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, it seemed to me like the thieves were such cheats, it was more important for them to save the money an authentic gem would have cost, and for you to learn thief skills; I don't remember whether any 'bullshit' message about the value of friendship was sent but I would have thought it wasn't worth the breath it was spoken with like anything else a thief might say.