|
Post by Peter on Jul 14, 2021 7:53:30 GMT
I have just done this one! I will try to find time to do a write up.
|
|
|
Post by Peter on Jul 27, 2021 9:52:55 GMT
Successful playthrough of In Search of the Mungies' Gold
Starting Stats: Skill 12, Stamina 18, Luck 11 (several attempts with lower stats ended in failure)
Special Skills selected: Aim, Climb, Sneak
Summary:
- Go to markets.
- Purchase bow and arrows, skeleton key, 5 provisions.
- Lucky, avoid old man.
- Release the flying fish (I've learnt from previous playthroughs to discard the stinking thing).
- Lucky, keep my boots on.
- Finish off the Madman.
- Go left into the valley.
- Stop to collect some Jubalani fruit, take on the Skunkbear.
- Take its paw and attempt to remove its scent gland, fail and wear the the most foul-smelling pus imaginable, start earnestly looking for baths or pools.
- Notice the footprints, follow them.
- Look inside, take the food, bow and arrows, and dagger (don't recall why I didn't score the spare pair of boots).
- Sneak off and take the other trail.
- Spot the ant-wrens and follow the ants.
- Approach the hut.
- Talk to the witch, offer her the skunkbear paw and a jubalani fruit.
- She offers me a bath (how did she know?) and a feed.
- Accept her task to find a poisonous frog (why not, it couldn't be worse than the skunkbear, could it?).
- Climb the tree, find a frog, catch it (the dice didn't let me down here), return to the witch, get the poison concoction, read the instructions several times to make sure I understand them.
- Spot the narrow path through the undergrowth, follow it and encounter an unfamiliar man who may or may not have worked for the United Nations.
- Talk to him to find out where the gold is and how to deal with Chali the Champaque.
- Investigate the noise, end the Shield-Maiden's misery to get her shield.
- Shoot the Quetzal Bird to get some tail feathers.
- Have another bath (can't hurt, that skunkbear pus really stunk!), then head upstream.
- Say hellooo to Chali (thanks, UN General Secretary) and move on.
- Head towards the rounded bare top (thanks again, former South Korean diplomat).
- Encounter a horde of Mungies (in fact, only eight, which I easily distract with two of my shiny feathers)
- The treasure! And the Manticore! Here goes: o Climb a tree, o Fire a poison-coated arrow, make it howl with pain and rage, o Fire a second arrow, but unluckily miss, o Get knocked from the tree, but luckily survive, o Fight it at Skill 11 Stamina 15, while I have Skill 10 (-1 AS for first round) Stamina 13, o Survive long enough to see the poison deplete its strength, then finish it off.
- Hello Sansas. Cooperate.
- Grab a sword and fight the Mungie and the henchman, before running away and avoiding the flying arrows.
- Jump across the ravine but then Disturb a pair of Forest Goblins. Dispatch them.
- Head towards a rocky outcrop, enjoy a refreshing drink (resist the urge to take another bath).
- Follow the stream, encounter the Shield-Maidens, think that I know the password, choose "Valashka". [This is a dodgy point: according to the letter of the law, I am correct here. I am asked if I "think I know the password", not if I have been told the password. Then I am asked: "What password do you want to try on them?", not what the password is. I think I know, and I want to try "Valashka".]
- Meet Jilani, enjoy his hearty breakfast, set off across the lake.
- Hello again Sansas. Cooperate again (I learnt how to navigate this encounter through trial and error – what a tricky end-game!).
- Mercilessly leave his henchmen to their fate, shake hands with the a-moral double-crosser, and head back to Khare with half a fortune!
A slightly unappetising way to end it, a very challenging adventure, not at all typical, many surprises.
Apologies for the lack of prose; I know this is not an exciting read.
|
|
kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,547
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
|
Post by kieran on Jul 27, 2021 10:56:58 GMT
Well done Peter, once again I think time got away from the rest of us!
You can set the next challenge
|
|
|
Post by Peter on Aug 14, 2021 6:26:58 GMT
If anyone is still keen, I will pick the next Fantazine adventure, Bones of the Banished, by Brett Schofield.
I know nothing about this one so I won't set any restrictions. I intend to tackle it soon though, so I will be able to assess its suitability then.
Should we say two weeks from today? August 28th?
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 16, 2023 4:06:01 GMT
I've decided – ignoring necromancy warnings as usual – that this thread is due a resurrection. My justifications are: – If there's one thing that Charles X's polls on this forum show it's that most of us haven't played as many of the amateur adventures as we could have done
– It's Christmas
Perhaps I should have played Bones of the Banished again, but I'm not going to get round to it before Christmas now. In any case the form for this thread was that if no one had actually won an adventure after a given time, failures were considered, and I carried out a perfectly mediocre failure on last year's frenzy.
With the shameless self-promotion that I go in for at this time of year, I'd like to ask anyone interested to play
The aim is to get the best win, that is via the highest bracket of Comfort & Joy points which will get you to the equivalent of para 400 in this 62 para adventure. The first win posted after noon on Boxing Day (26th) takes the glory and gets to set the next challenge. If no such win is posted by noon on New Year's Day, the best failure (or suboptimal win) will take it instead. Failures can be posted at any time.
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 16, 2023 5:52:02 GMT
Since this is being resurrected, I think there was some confusion about why it isn't allowed to post a win immediately if it's before the miniumum time. The idea was just: people should be able to take part in this whether they've played the adventure in question or not. However for some of them, FoF included, if you know it reasonably well you can probably win in 1 go or at most 2 and could probably win on the same day the challenge is set. If people are playing for the first time but are determined, they get time to play 3, 4 or 5 times and win. The requirement to remember exactly when to post is a bit arbitrary but I don't have any better ideas.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 4, 2024 15:55:04 GMT
So, has thealmightymudworm been PM'd or is the amateur adventures challenge dead? I'm wondering whether the challenge was too festive. Either way, may I suggest the winner of the Amateur Adventures poll with a phenomal(-lly underwhelming) 3 votes Tales From The Bird Islands:
A winner being the first to post a victory after January 15th 12:00, or to have gotten the closest to one, will have the honour of suggesting another challenge.
Edit: Now played Tales From The Bird Islands a few times. Doesn't have enough birds .
|
|
|
Post by a moderator on Jan 4, 2024 21:27:50 GMT
Now played Tales From The Bird Islands a few times. Doesn't have enough birds . Do you now regret having chosen it as a favourite without having first read it?
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 5, 2024 0:54:18 GMT
So, has thealmightymudworm been PM'd or is the amateur adventures challenge dead? I'm wondering whether the challenge was too festive. Either way, may I suggest the winner of the Amateur Adventures poll with a phenomal(-lly underwhelming) 3 votes Tales From The Bird Islands:
A winner being the first to post a victory after January 15th 12:00, or to have gotten the closest to one, will have the honour of suggesting another challenge.
Edit: Now played Tales From The Bird Islands a few times. Doesn't have enough birds . With respect, this is not how the challenge in this thread works. The person who gets to set the next challenge is the person who wins the previous one. Until there is a winner the challenge remains open indefinitely.
PMs are not relevant. An account of any attempt should be posted on the thread, though with spoilers as appropriate (and claims of wins after the initial deadline which has passed for this one). The idea is partly to help people find out about/discuss the amateur adventures in question.
Winning attempts are considered first, then if there are none the least abysmal failures are considered. As there are currently none of those, all you or anyone has to do is make one fresh attempt at FoF and write an account of the playthrough. No matter whether you win or lose or how badly you play, you will win the challenge by default at this point. But declaring a new challenge without bothering to attempt the previous one is taking the piss.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 5, 2024 8:16:50 GMT
So, has thealmightymudworm been PM'd or is the amateur adventures challenge dead? I'm wondering whether the challenge was too festive. Either way, may I suggest the winner of the Amateur Adventures poll with a phenomal(-lly underwhelming) 3 votes Tales From The Bird Islands:
A winner being the first to post a victory after January 15th 12:00, or to have gotten the closest to one, will have the honour of suggesting another challenge.
Edit: Now played Tales From The Bird Islands a few times. Doesn't have enough birds . With respect, this is not how the challenge in this thread works. The person who gets to set the next challenge is the person who wins the previous one. Until there is a winner the challenge remains open indefinitely.
PMs are not relevant. An account of any attempt should be posted on the thread, though with spoilers as appropriate (and claims of wins after the initial deadline which has passed for this one). The idea is partly to help people find out about/discuss the amateur adventures in question.
Winning attempts are considered first, then if there are none the least abysmal failures are considered. As there are currently none of those, all you or anyone has to do is make one fresh attempt at FoF and write an account of the playthrough. No matter whether you win or lose or how badly you play, you will win the challenge by default at this point. But declaring a new challenge without bothering to attempt the previous one is taking the piss.
I do not understand what winning is, especially in your adventure where a whole range of outcomes are considered victories. I think you mean only the maximum best in terms of points is winning? I believe I misunderstood and thought the object was to post a win asap, rather than the best possible win over an indefinite\unspecified period of time.
I will post my quick nominal attempt here, just as no one else has. This has a terrible outcome but gets through the game. I guess if a long time passes and no other outcome has been posted we can go ahead with my suggested challenge sequel; there is no upper limit about posting outcomes.
Edit: As I kind of implied before might help to post an upper limit on outcomes. I suggest Tales From The Bird Islands has to have had outcomes by Saturday January 20th 12 p.m. or any outcome at all wins by default.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 5, 2024 8:19:10 GMT
Now played Tales From The Bird Islands a few times. Doesn't have enough birds . Do you now regret having chosen it as a favourite without having first read it? No, that would be sensible.
Actually it's pretty well-written if a bit hard.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 5, 2024 10:35:08 GMT
So, has thealmightymudworm been PM'd or is the amateur adventures challenge dead? I'm wondering whether the challenge was too festive. Either way, may I suggest the winner of the Amateur Adventures poll with a phenomal(-lly underwhelming) 3 votes Tales From The Bird Islands:
A winner being the first to post a victory after January 15th 12:00, or to have gotten the closest to one, will have the honour of suggesting another challenge.
Edit: Now played Tales From The Bird Islands a few times. Doesn't have enough birds . With respect, this is not how the challenge in this thread works. The person who gets to set the next challenge is the person who wins the previous one. Until there is a winner the challenge remains open indefinitely.
PMs are not relevant. An account of any attempt should be posted on the thread, though with spoilers as appropriate (and claims of wins after the initial deadline which has passed for this one). The idea is partly to help people find out about/discuss the amateur adventures in question.
Winning attempts are considered first, then if there are none the least abysmal failures are considered. As there are currently none of those, all you or anyone has to do is make one fresh attempt at FoF and write an account of the playthrough. No matter whether you win or lose or how badly you play, you will win the challenge by default at this point. But declaring a new challenge without bothering to attempt the previous one is taking the piss.
Yes, I'm sorry I got a bit over-excited and hope my post above is an adequate attempt. So far as discussing Festivities of Fury goes - I have completed it with the best outcome before (unsurprisingly that was after a few goes). It's a good fun adventure that has some depth and difficulty (as well as humour) without being a nightmare.
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 6, 2024 1:37:17 GMT
With respect, this is not how the challenge in this thread works. The person who gets to set the next challenge is the person who wins the previous one. Until there is a winner the challenge remains open indefinitely. PMs are not relevant. An account of any attempt should be posted on the thread, though with spoilers as appropriate (and claims of wins after the initial deadline which has passed for this one). The idea is partly to help people find out about/discuss the amateur adventures in question. Winning attempts are considered first, then if there are none the least abysmal failures are considered. As there are currently none of those, all you or anyone has to do is make one fresh attempt at FoF and write an account of the playthrough. No matter whether you win or lose or how badly you play, you will win the challenge by default at this point. But declaring a new challenge without bothering to attempt the previous one is taking the piss.
I do not understand what winning is, especially in your adventure where a whole range of outcomes are considered victories. I think you mean only the maximum best in terms of points is winning? I believe I misunderstood and thought the object was to post a win asap, rather than the best possible win over an indefinite\unspecified period of time.
I will post my quick nominal attempt here, just as no one else has. This has a terrible outcome but gets through the game. I guess if a long time passes and no other outcome has been posted we can go ahead with my suggested challenge sequel; there is no upper limit about posting outcomes.
Yes as you said it's not a great attempt but it is an attempt nevertheless. As we're passed the day I specified for considering unsuccessful attempts (New Year's Day) this suffices to close my challenge and yours can now be considered live.
My gamble that there was enough time for people to enjoy a festive adventure by/on Christmas/Boxing day (possibly with their kids) didn't pay off, so I will take the minimal satisfaction that my resurrection of this thread hasn't completely died on its arse.
I'm a bit hesitant about diving into the Tales from the Bird Islands now that I see it has a stonking 925 paragraphs but we'll see how it goes. Does anyone know it well enough to say whether there is one or more well-defined wins in it? That's not always the case with collaborative gamebooks.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 6, 2024 13:00:14 GMT
I do not understand what winning is, especially in your adventure where a whole range of outcomes are considered victories. I think you mean only the maximum best in terms of points is winning? I believe I misunderstood and thought the object was to post a win asap, rather than the best possible win over an indefinite\unspecified period of time.
I will post my quick nominal attempt here, just as no one else has. This has a terrible outcome but gets through the game. I guess if a long time passes and no other outcome has been posted we can go ahead with my suggested challenge sequel; there is no upper limit about posting outcomes.
Yes as you said it's not a great attempt but it is an attempt nevertheless. As we're passed the day I specified for considering unsuccessful attempts (New Year's Day) this suffices to close my challenge and yours can now be considered live.
My gamble that there was enough time for people to enjoy a festive adventure by/on Christmas/Boxing day (possibly with their kids) didn't pay off, so I will take the minimal satisfaction that my resurrection of this thread hasn't completely died on its arse.
I'm a bit hesitant about diving into the Tales from the Bird Islands now that I see it has a stonking 925 paragraphs but we'll see how it goes. Does anyone know it well enough to say whether there is one or more well-defined wins in it? That's not always the case with collaborative gamebooks.
Actually having played it a bit Tales would seem to have over 1000 paragraphs. And it's hard. And yes, I don't even know it has well-defined wins or is just a Fabled Lands-esque sandbox game.
We could alter the challenge as I'd rather it be fun than something people don't either enjoy or participate in? I've heard good things about Outsider! so we could do that instead? The challenge hasn't started and won't until 15th January 12:00 through 21st January 12 p.m. Or am I misunderstanding the rules? Edit: How about this: A challenge to get as good an ending as possible in Outsider! January 15th 12:00 - January 21st 12 p.m. at the same time as a challenge to play and get the best ending possible in Tales From the Bird Islands January 15th 12:00 - January 21st 12 p.m. ?
|
|
|
Post by a moderator on Jan 6, 2024 13:53:24 GMT
Going by memories from 15+ years ago, Outsider! is also lengthy and difficult, so your suggested change is a bit like saying, "No, Spellbreaker is too hard. I think we should make Crypt of the Sorcerer an alternative option."
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 6, 2024 13:54:01 GMT
Going by memories from 15+ years ago, Outsider! is also lengthy and difficult, so your suggested change is a bit like saying, "No, Spellbreaker is too hard.I think we should try Crypt of the Sorcerer instead." D'oh.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 6, 2024 14:06:09 GMT
I'm keen to get people actually playing, so I suggest Hovel Of The Vampire which is a mere 37 references long with outcomes to be submitted between January 15th 12:00 and January 21st 12 p.m. If anyone is feeling very brave they may mention if they complete or read Outsider! or even Tales From The Bird Islands but that will not affect the challenge (i.e. it would be in a discussion capacity, probably on Amateur Adventures thread).
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 6, 2024 16:08:01 GMT
I'm keen to get people actually playing, so I suggest Hovel Of The Vampire which is a mere 37 references long with outcomes to be submitted between January 15th 12:00 and January 21st 12 p.m. If anyone is feeling very brave they may mention if they complete or read Outsider! or even Tales From The Bird Islands but that will not affect the challenge (i.e. it would be in a discussion capacity, probably on Amateur Adventures thread).
Yes my only objection to the switch was going to be that people should get a few hours grace to declare "Grr! I've already spent 4 hours in that there Island of Bird Tails and all for nothing!". No objection whatsoever to another of my adventures being used . (Though it means I won't put in an entry unless perhaps there are none by the last week of January.)
Perhaps all of my adventures will feature in this thread before long as I absolutely intend to set the Aleff at some point (although of course that is a group effort, not mine alone).
Maybe to draw people's attention to it, it would be worth you putting a link in the Frenzy II thread...? That's just finishing and people might be up for a new (yet gentler) challenge.
|
|
|
Post by Per on Jan 6, 2024 21:16:49 GMT
Birds of the Island Tales is indeed one adventure in the same sense that Fabled Lands is one adventure, but since it appears the gamebook tool linked only gives you one entrance point, the original Isle of the Cyclops, a victory condition of sorts could be getting enough gold to get off the island and head into some other sub-adventure. (Titannica a little confusingly claims it uses "the game system created by Per Jorner for his non-Fighting Fantasy based amateur adventure Mansion of Maleficence which in turn is partly based on the game system of the Fabled Lands", when it should be saying IotC is derived from both of those two systems separately. I don't suppose there's anywhere to download the non-French version of MoM any more?)
Outsider! is indeed voluminous (section numbering to 1000, although there aren't that many) with long stretches of reading, and I seem to remember the author said he didn't balance the mechanics at all, although that may not be disqualifying in the challenge if there's no requirement that someone must win (and read through all the dialogues).
Is there any reason the challenge can't begin right away? I mean, I could do a playthrough here and now and write down the result in a spoilered post, but by the 15th my carcass might be picked clean by ravens.
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 6, 2024 21:51:04 GMT
Birds of the Island Tales is indeed one adventure in the same sense that Fabled Lands is one adventure, but since it appears the gamebook tool linked only gives you one entrance point, the original Isle of the Cyclops, a victory condition of sorts could be getting enough gold to get off the island and head into some other sub-adventure. (Titannica a little confusingly claims it uses "the game system created by Per Jorner for his non-Fighting Fantasy based amateur adventure Mansion of Maleficence which in turn is partly based on the game system of the Fabled Lands", when it should be saying IotC is derived from both of those two systems separately. I don't suppose there's anywhere to download the non-French version of MoM any more?) Outsider! is indeed voluminous (section numbering to 1000, although there aren't that many) with long stretches of reading, and I seem to remember the author said he didn't balance the mechanics at all, although that may not be disqualifying in the challenge if there's no requirement that someone must win (and read through all the dialogues). Is there are reason the challenge can't begin right away? I mean, I could do a playthrough here and now and write down the result in a spoilered post, but by the 15th my carcass might be picked clean by ravens.You can certainly start a playthrough right now, and if it's a failure post it ASAP too, preferably in spoilers. The (my) thinking for the thread was that challenges should be open both to people who know the adventures well and those who don't. If someone plays an adventure, knocks it out of the park in half an hour (e.g. because they know the best route) and posts a winning playthrough straightaway, nobody else gets a chance. Of course I have limited authority here! Anyway welcome to the thread.
|
|
|
Post by Per on Jan 6, 2024 22:48:56 GMT
I do agree there should be some mechanism so it's not just about sniping the announcement, it's just that waiting a whole week is perhaps not necessary (and doesn't that mostly mean that the contest becomes posting the fastest after 12.00 on the 15th, if "having a chance" means being super competitive). An alternative proposal:
1. People can start whenever they like, but any entries in the first week should be spoilered,
2. Any entries in the second week may or may not be spoilered,
3. And after the second week, if there are multiple winning submissions, the winner is decided randomly among them regardless of submission time, or if there's none, an oracle is consulted to identify the least bad loss.
I haven't read every post of these three pages, but it doesn't seem like the major issue has been a flood of entries, so if my point 3 should become impractical, it would only be because things were going so well.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 6, 2024 23:51:18 GMT
Birds of the Island Tales is indeed one adventure in the same sense that Fabled Lands is one adventure, but since it appears the gamebook tool linked only gives you one entrance point, the original Isle of the Cyclops, a victory condition of sorts could be getting enough gold to get off the island and head into some other sub-adventure. (Titannica a little confusingly claims it uses "the game system created by Per Jorner for his non-Fighting Fantasy based amateur adventure Mansion of Maleficence which in turn is partly based on the game system of the Fabled Lands", when it should be saying IotC is derived from both of those two systems separately. I don't suppose there's anywhere to download the non-French version of MoM any more?) Outsider! is indeed voluminous (section numbering to 1000, although there aren't that many) with long stretches of reading, and I seem to remember the author said he didn't balance the mechanics at all, although that may not be disqualifying in the challenge if there's no requirement that someone must win (and read through all the dialogues). Is there are reason the challenge can't begin right away? I mean, I could do a playthrough here and now and write down the result in a spoilered post, but by the 15th my carcass might be picked clean by ravens.You can certainly start a playthrough right now, and if it's a failure post it ASAP too, preferably in spoilers. The (my) thinking for the thread was that challenges should be open both to people who know the adventures well and those who don't. If someone plays an adventure, knocks it out of the park in half an hour (e.g. because they know the best route) and posts a winning playthrough straightaway, nobody else gets a chance. Of course I have limited authority here! Anyway welcome to the thread. Concur, no reason not to.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 7, 2024 9:01:58 GMT
Birds of the Island Tales is indeed one adventure in the same sense that Fabled Lands is one adventure, but since it appears the gamebook tool linked only gives you one entrance point, the original Isle of the Cyclops, a victory condition of sorts could be getting enough gold to get off the island and head into some other sub-adventure. (Titannica a little confusingly claims it uses "the game system created by Per Jorner for his non-Fighting Fantasy based amateur adventure Mansion of Maleficence which in turn is partly based on the game system of the Fabled Lands", when it should be saying IotC is derived from both of those two systems separately. I don't suppose there's anywhere to download the non-French version of MoM any more?) Outsider! is indeed voluminous (section numbering to 1000, although there aren't that many) with long stretches of reading, and I seem to remember the author said he didn't balance the mechanics at all, although that may not be disqualifying in the challenge if there's no requirement that someone must win (and read through all the dialogues). Is there are reason the challenge can't begin right away? I mean, I could do a playthrough here and now and write down the result in a spoilered post, but by the 15th my carcass might be picked clean by ravens. I say if people feel keen (b\c it is a short Amateur after all) people can start posts now and the challenge can be over by the opening date. Like others here I don't see why there should be any waiting period between the declaration that challenge is live and completion posts, the only exceptions being big holidays like Easter and Christmas.
|
|
|
Post by Per on Jan 7, 2024 17:49:51 GMT
OK, here I go with my first attempt at this ever, it's a total slam dunk. Or is it!? Read on if you dare etc. >prancing through the countryside with my sword >killed a "young" giant spider recently >I'm just oddly vicious I guess >suck at archery though >arriving at Slumberdown there's a giant crack across the whole valley >and also people aren't out in the streets >the latter of these circumstances being more concerning to me for some reason >there's some people at the inn though >no sooner have I entered than someone decides to "recite doggerel" >well yeah there are too many syllables in the last line >and it suggests I need to fail a Luck roll to win or something >anyway can I please go kill the mighty vampire in the sage's house >I say well not sure about my tight schedule, also archery >more doggerel >I stand my ground >they look at me pleadingly, even the cat >OH GOD the cat >fine >so I'm at the hovel >doors left and right, up and down >huge crack outside might be where I'm going when I'm done in here >so if they'd sent the cat at least we could have split up and covered the attic and basement at the same time >guessing at which options won't close off others, I try left door >animated suit of armour says no >it's the only thing in the hovel that's gleaming apparently >so now I know where the tin polish from Fortress Throngard went >there's an inscription by the door and do I have any idea how to solve this puzzle >in fact I do have a super intelligent solution >add five to my number and check this paragraph >nope >try putting a five after the digit I was thinking of and check this >nope >maybe I can get back to this later >check the other door instead >I'm in the sort of L-shaped kitchen >do I want to leave or investigate >"turning the corner" of the L I find a huge warrior >is this the sage or the vampire or what >I wait to see what he does, nothing much >gamebook suggests I should drink with him >opening bottles labelled "spirits" in a sage's house could lead to you being in the bottle >nice try gamebook >cake is not a drink >lemonade would take ages to prepare probably >tea seems as good as anything >warrior isn't impressed by result and neither am I >first indication the gamebook uses anything like a rules system >I roll up stats for a standard FF guy so I can lower them >warrior meanwhile falls asleep from boredom >as I leave, I get to pick up a bottle I can use if someone demands I show them my rat ashes >options suggest I won't get another go at the armour >up or down, which is least onwards >try up >do I have holy water, not to my knowledge >whoa vampire >he won't let this end without me hearing his story >he's been "summonsed" >he floats slash skitters towards me >do I have a mammal of holy water, if so, code >cow is not the right species, this knowledge may help in future games >for those of such bereft, only swordfighting is left >vampiric regeneration rule is a little unclear but anyway he doesn't need it >the end I guess
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 10, 2024 2:53:00 GMT
I do agree there should be some mechanism so it's not just about sniping the announcement, it's just that waiting a whole week is perhaps not necessary (and doesn't that mostly mean that the contest becomes posting the fastest after 12.00 on the 15th, if "having a chance" means being super competitive). An alternative proposal: 1. People can start whenever they like, but any entries in the first week should be spoilered, 2. Any entries in the second week may or may not be spoilered, 3. And after the second week, if there are multiple winning submissions, the winner is decided randomly among them regardless of submission time, or if there's none, an oracle is consulted to identify the least bad loss. I haven't read every post of these three pages, but it doesn't seem like the major issue has been a flood of entries, so if my point 3 should become impractical, it would only be because things were going so well. Many or most people may prefer this method – we can leave it up to whoever's setting a given challenge. (Although I'm not quite sure I understand why it would be OK to have unspoilered posts in week 2...?) I think paradoxically although the original method enforces an embargo on winning posts I like the idea of people hurrying to get the first successful playthrough in time to be the unique winner as compared to it being chosen at random. Of course a pile up in the seconds after the opening time would be tedious but that hasn't happened yet. Either way I agree that having too many potential winners would be a nice problem to have.
OK, here I go with my first attempt at this ever, it's a total slam dunk. Or is it!? Read on if you dare etc. >prancing through the countryside with my sword >killed a "young" giant spider recently >I'm just oddly vicious I guess >suck at archery though >arriving at Slumberdown there's a giant crack across the whole valley >and also people aren't out in the streets >the latter of these circumstances being more concerning to me for some reason >there's some people at the inn though >no sooner have I entered than someone decides to "recite doggerel" >well yeah there are too many syllables in the last line >and it suggests I need to fail a Luck roll to win or something >anyway can I please go kill the mighty vampire in the sage's house >I say well not sure about my tight schedule, also archery >more doggerel >I stand my ground >they look at me pleadingly, even the cat >OH GOD the cat >fine >so I'm at the hovel >doors left and right, up and down >huge crack outside might be where I'm going when I'm done in here >so if they'd sent the cat at least we could have split up and covered the attic and basement at the same time >guessing at which options won't close off others, I try left door >animated suit of armour says no >it's the only thing in the hovel that's gleaming apparently >so now I know where the tin polish from Fortress Throngard went >there's an inscription by the door and do I have any idea how to solve this puzzle >in fact I do have a super intelligent solution >add five to my number and check this paragraph >nope >try putting a five after the digit I was thinking of and check this >nope >maybe I can get back to this later >check the other door instead >I'm in the sort of L-shaped kitchen >do I want to leave or investigate >"turning the corner" of the L I find a huge warrior >is this the sage or the vampire or what >I wait to see what he does, nothing much >gamebook suggests I should drink with him >opening bottles labelled "spirits" in a sage's house could lead to you being in the bottle >nice try gamebook >cake is not a drink >lemonade would take ages to prepare probably >tea seems as good as anything >warrior isn't impressed by result and neither am I >first indication the gamebook uses anything like a rules system >I roll up stats for a standard FF guy so I can lower them >warrior meanwhile falls asleep from boredom >as I leave, I get to pick up a bottle I can use if someone demands I show them my rat ashes >options suggest I won't get another go at the armour >up or down, which is least onwards >try up >do I have holy water, not to my knowledge >whoa vampire >he won't let this end without me hearing his story >he's been "summonsed" >he floats slash skitters towards me >do I have a mammal of holy water, if so, code >cow is not the right species, this knowledge may help in future games >for those of such bereft, only swordfighting is left >vampiric regeneration rule is a little unclear but anyway he doesn't need it >the end I guess - enjoyed that. Yes, sorry it doesn't start by saying: standard stats roll-up; only possession is sword. I only remembered to specify that later in the thread. (You may also have missed out on my beautiful cover art .)
What was the ambiguity about regeneration?
|
|
|
Post by Per on Jan 10, 2024 21:37:39 GMT
Many or most people may prefer this method – we can leave it up to whoever's setting a given challenge. (Although I'm not quite sure I understand why it would be OK to have unspoilered posts in week 2...?) No real reason not to, that was mostly a concession to how it's been done before. I reckon there might be circumstances where it seems either appropriate to spoiler because everyone else is clearly furiously preparing their own posts or appropriate to not spoiler because there's crickets and everyone's just waiting for anyone to post a game. I think paradoxically although the original method enforces an embargo on winning posts I like the idea of people hurrying to get the first successful playthrough in time to be the unique winner as compared to it being chosen at random. Of course a pile up in the seconds after the opening time would be tedious but that hasn't happened yet. Then I think that would be an argument in favour of either having no deadline - if you see the announcement of the next adventure, you throw yourself into it - or else having a deadline maybe 24 hours after the announcement, but not having a deadline a week or two after the announcement when people might be getting ready to click to post but certainly not at that time hurrying to play. I just can't see how you make it super fair for people in all time zones and at the same time make actual play time matter in that way. What was the ambiguity about regeneration? I'll respond to this in the other thread.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 17, 2024 14:24:47 GMT
I believe a 15th January has been and gone and Per has appeared to be first to post here with a best outcome, if he wishes he can set next challenge or we can do some elaborate RNG between him and victory posts in the Hovel Of The Vampire thread. The rules are still unclear and even arbitrary but my thinking is if we've had several victory posts after a few days after the deadline we can think about the next one? There are an awful lot of Amateur FFs (even if many are long and hard or short and wanting).
|
|
|
Post by Per on Jan 17, 2024 16:07:13 GMT
So it's not running to the 21st? I don't have any special title in mind, so if anyone wants to choose one they can go ahead, or else I can pick some adventure based on the title (and maybe verify it's not a 534-section monstrosity). Then again if I was the only contestant this time and I'm not supposed to post for my own pick, do we even have a challenge?
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Jan 17, 2024 16:52:48 GMT
So it's not running to the 21st? I don't have any special title in mind, so if anyone wants to choose one they can go ahead, or else I can pick some adventure based on the title (and maybe verify it's not a 534-section monstrosity). Then again if I was the only contestant this time and I'm not supposed to post for my own pick, do we even have a challenge? As I keep saying this is arbitrary\informal and no, we haven't had other entries or interest several days in so it doesn't seem unreasonable to declare you the winner, on the basis you got the best outcome long before anyone else, and further that there is no deluge of interest, if there had been at least some more interest or competitor I would have said run until the end but there really has not been (well, I was successful too, which I posted in Hovel Of The Vampire thread, but I posted the last challenge as well as being after you, so).
Nothing wrong\no rule against posting for your own pick, thealmightymudworm posted for his own adventure, after all. Perhaps we could start the next challenge on the 21st and that would give time to make sure the adventure is OK and for a first or second playthrough that will in likelihood be unsuccessful, while continuing gameplay of Hovel Of The Vampire?
|
|
|
Post by Per on Jan 17, 2024 19:53:30 GMT
One issue with picking adventures based on the title turns out to be that a lot of them seem to have lived on the old aff.com and they're not online any more - easily found, at any rate. If it's for instance The Sanguine Wave the author can probably put it on Google Drive or something for us, but if it's Claw of the Fleshless King (closest thing to sounding like it has a genuine SKELETON in the title), who knows how to even check whether it's a 534-section monstrosity?
|
|