Post by pip on Jul 5, 2021 20:57:51 GMT
Murder at the Diogenes Club
by Gerald Lientz
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Do not read further if you don't want this gamebook to be spoiled for you.
This series is known for its great writing, atmosphere and stories, but tends to divide critics when it comes to gameplay. I thought figuring out the best paths and analysing the luck factor in this series would be interesting.
For the purpose of this walkthrough, I will consider the game is lost if you are offered to try again, even though the book acknowledges partial successes and also allows you to just give up and read the solution.
This first entry has you investigate on two entirely different cases, the only entry to do so (except for book 8 which was never published in English). The first case is about a rigged horse race, the second case is the titular murder at the Diogenes Club. Overall, I find this to be an enjoyable book, even though author Gerald Lientz would refine the formula in his subsequent efforts.
CASE 1
Important note:
In this case, when you reach the final meeting with Holmes, you can choose to either name the culprit, or review the evidence. If you choose to name the culprit and if you get it right, you will win without ever being asked if you have checked a specific clue or deduction, so it’s possible to succeed by just guessing. If you choose to review the evidence (“hard mode”, I guess?), you will still need to pick the right culprit, but in order to win you will also be required to have found specific clues to back up your claims.
Method 1: name the culprit
You don’t need to follow any of the walkthrough, just do absolutely whatever during the whole investigation, until your final meeting with Holmes at section 480. Choose to name the culprit. John Oliver drugged the horse. Lord Hampton was pulling the strings.
Method 2: review the evidence, with a confession
You will need to find clue G, representing John Oliver’s confession, as well as clues U and X to incriminate Lord Hampton. You will need good luck with the dice here in several tests involving all of the skills except Scholarship and Observation, which are never used for anything useful in this particular case. I don’t really have skill boost recommendations here: Intuition is used the most, but the hardest test will be in Communication, and you'll also need to pass an Athletics test. You also shouldn't neglect Artifice in case you fail to obtain a confession and need to rely on the next method. In other words, you’ll need to be lucky no matter what. Refer to the walkthrough below.
Method 3: review the evidence, without a confession
You will need to find clues H and I to incriminate John Oliver, as well as clues U and X to incriminate Lord Hampton. This is a much easier method. You can also resort to it if you failed to get a confession from Oliver. Boost your Intuition and Artifice skills. You won’t need the others, so downgrade them all and put those extra points in Intuition and Artifice. Refer to the walkthrough below.
Walkthrough
Chapter 1: Introduction (start: prologue)
Holmes and Watson will test your sleuth skills with a little game, serving as a tutorial for this book. It doesn’t matter whether you succeed or not, it’s really just a tutorial.
Chapter 2: The case begins (start: section 442)
During this chapter, the famed horse Irish Star will perform unexpectedly poorly and lose a race, and you will begin investigating. If you want to go for Oliver’s confession:
- Begin by asking Watson about Irish Star, to get a chance (Intuition 8+ test) to find clue T, which will make things (slightly) easier for you later on.
- If you spy on Roscoe and get caught, don’t fight him as that may at worst make you lose -1 Athletics, at best not make you gain anything.
The only other decision that matters here is who you ask Stanly, the irregular, to watch, as it will impact your chances to obtain clues H and I later on. I recommend to watch Oliver (Decision 3), as that gives you more wiggle room with the dice rolls:
- Roscoe (Decision 1): You will later on get a chance to find clue H based on an Artifice 8+ test (or after passing a bunch of other tests to get Oliver’s confession). If that fails, you won’t get another chance to find clue H, and you will be unable to solve the case. Thanks to Stanly, you are guaranteed to find clue I.
- Fitzhugh and Bowser (Decision 2): You learn nothing and you will be unable to find clue I, meaning you cannot solve the case unless you pass a bunch of tests to get Oliver’s confession.
- Oliver (Decision 3): You will later on get a chance to find clue H based on an Artifice 8+ test (or after passing a bunch of other tests to get Oliver’s confession). If that fails, you are guaranteed to find clue H anyway thanks to Stanly, and you’ll then have a roughly 58% chance (not tied to any skill) to find clue I. If you found clue H without Stanly’s help, you are instead guaranteed to find clue I thanks to him.
Chapter 3: Colonel Stuart’s interrogation (start: section 174)
Choose to interrogate Stuart. Don’t ask him about his employees first, instead start by asking him about Irish Star’s loss. On a successful Intuition 6+ test, you find clue U. If that fails, you will have another chance to find that clue later on.
During the rest of this short interrogation, if you want to go for Oliver’s confession, do not ask him about Oliver (which gives you a chance to find clue F (Stuart vouching for Oliver), which will actually make things slightly harder for you later on).
Chapter 4: Oliver’s interrogation (start: section 481)
If you don’t want to go for Oliver’s confession, just conduct the interrogation in any way you like and move on to the next chapter.
If you want to go for his confession:
- If you have clue T, ask him what he told his brother. You will then have to pass the following tests: Communication 8+, Intuition 8+, Communication 10+, Athletics 7+. If you fail the first Communication test, see below. If you fail any others, you will be unable to get the confession, so move on to the next chapter.
- If you don’t have clue T, or if you don’t pass the first Communication test above, ask him how Irish Star trained. You will then have to pass the following tests: Intuition 9+, Intuition 9+, Communication 10+, Athletics 7+. If you fail any of them, you will be unable to get the confession, so move on to the next chapter.
If you passed all of these tests, you get Oliver’s confession and find clue G. Do not call the police. You will find clue H. At this point, you can either call the police and move on to the next chapter (but there is no point), or persist in not calling the police and directly move on to chapter 6.
Chapter 5: Raines’s interrogation (start: section 309 or 336)
The questions you ask Raines do not matter. At some point, you will be asked if you want to search the stables.
If you already have clue G (Oliver’s confession), you didn’t call the police and also found clue H, so there is nothing for you to find there, meaning you can decline and move on to the next chapter.
If you don’t have clue G, ask to search the stables. Search the groom’s room. If you pass an Artifice 8+ test, you find clue H. If that fails, you will only get another chance to find it and be able to solve the case if you’ve taken decision 3 earlier. After that, stop searching and move on to the next chapter.
Chapter 6: Lord Hampton’s interrogation (start: section 298)
If you already got clue U from Stuart, you don’t need to talk to Hampton, so move on to the next chapter.
If you don’t have clue U, talk to Hampton. You get one last chance to find clue U by at some point passing an Intuition 7+ test and asking about the report. If that fails, you won’t be able to solve the case.
Chapter 7: Wrapping up (start: section 212)
At some point, you will be asked if you want to talk to Irish Star’s jockey. Don’t talk to him, as, at worst, with some unlucky dice rolls, you will get knocked out and miss the rest of the chapter, making you unable to solve the case, and, at best, you will learn nothing.
This is where the decision you took back in chapter 2 will matter. If you picked:
- Roscoe (Decision 1): If you have clue H, you will find clue I. If not, you will be unable to solve the case.
- Fitzhugh and Bowser (Decision 2): You learn nothing. Unless you have clue G, you will be unable to solve the case.
- Oliver (Decision 3): If you have clue H, you will find clue I. If not, you will then find clue H and have a roughly 58% chance (not tied to any skill) to find clue I. If that fails, and if you don’t have clue G either, you will be unable to solve the case.
Following that, assuming you are still able to solve the case, you will necessarily have clue H, and you will notice a veterinarian nearby. Ask him about the drug and pass an Intuition 9+ test to find clue X. If that fails, you will be unable to solve the case.
Chapter 8: Final visit to Holmes (start: section 480)
As explained above, if you choose to name the culprits (Oliver and Hampton), you will win without being asked anything.
If you choose to review the evidence, in order to win, you will need either clue G or both clues H and I to incriminate Oliver, and you will need clues U and X to incriminate Hampton.
Mandatory tests for the easiest path (if you review the evidence)
Clue H and I: Artifice 8+ ; if you fail, you get another chance later with a random 58% chance test
Clue U: Intuition 6+ ; if you fail, you get another chance later with Intuition 7+
Clue X: Intuition 9+
Best skill configuration AFAIK: boosting Artifice and Intuition to +3 by downgrading all the other skills to -2 gives you a 67.1% success rate, although you can just choose to name the culprit for a 100% success rate.
by Gerald Lientz
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Do not read further if you don't want this gamebook to be spoiled for you.
This series is known for its great writing, atmosphere and stories, but tends to divide critics when it comes to gameplay. I thought figuring out the best paths and analysing the luck factor in this series would be interesting.
For the purpose of this walkthrough, I will consider the game is lost if you are offered to try again, even though the book acknowledges partial successes and also allows you to just give up and read the solution.
This first entry has you investigate on two entirely different cases, the only entry to do so (except for book 8 which was never published in English). The first case is about a rigged horse race, the second case is the titular murder at the Diogenes Club. Overall, I find this to be an enjoyable book, even though author Gerald Lientz would refine the formula in his subsequent efforts.
CASE 1
Important note:
In this case, when you reach the final meeting with Holmes, you can choose to either name the culprit, or review the evidence. If you choose to name the culprit and if you get it right, you will win without ever being asked if you have checked a specific clue or deduction, so it’s possible to succeed by just guessing. If you choose to review the evidence (“hard mode”, I guess?), you will still need to pick the right culprit, but in order to win you will also be required to have found specific clues to back up your claims.
Method 1: name the culprit
You don’t need to follow any of the walkthrough, just do absolutely whatever during the whole investigation, until your final meeting with Holmes at section 480. Choose to name the culprit. John Oliver drugged the horse. Lord Hampton was pulling the strings.
Method 2: review the evidence, with a confession
You will need to find clue G, representing John Oliver’s confession, as well as clues U and X to incriminate Lord Hampton. You will need good luck with the dice here in several tests involving all of the skills except Scholarship and Observation, which are never used for anything useful in this particular case. I don’t really have skill boost recommendations here: Intuition is used the most, but the hardest test will be in Communication, and you'll also need to pass an Athletics test. You also shouldn't neglect Artifice in case you fail to obtain a confession and need to rely on the next method. In other words, you’ll need to be lucky no matter what. Refer to the walkthrough below.
Method 3: review the evidence, without a confession
You will need to find clues H and I to incriminate John Oliver, as well as clues U and X to incriminate Lord Hampton. This is a much easier method. You can also resort to it if you failed to get a confession from Oliver. Boost your Intuition and Artifice skills. You won’t need the others, so downgrade them all and put those extra points in Intuition and Artifice. Refer to the walkthrough below.
Walkthrough
Chapter 1: Introduction (start: prologue)
Holmes and Watson will test your sleuth skills with a little game, serving as a tutorial for this book. It doesn’t matter whether you succeed or not, it’s really just a tutorial.
Chapter 2: The case begins (start: section 442)
During this chapter, the famed horse Irish Star will perform unexpectedly poorly and lose a race, and you will begin investigating. If you want to go for Oliver’s confession:
- Begin by asking Watson about Irish Star, to get a chance (Intuition 8+ test) to find clue T, which will make things (slightly) easier for you later on.
- If you spy on Roscoe and get caught, don’t fight him as that may at worst make you lose -1 Athletics, at best not make you gain anything.
The only other decision that matters here is who you ask Stanly, the irregular, to watch, as it will impact your chances to obtain clues H and I later on. I recommend to watch Oliver (Decision 3), as that gives you more wiggle room with the dice rolls:
- Roscoe (Decision 1): You will later on get a chance to find clue H based on an Artifice 8+ test (or after passing a bunch of other tests to get Oliver’s confession). If that fails, you won’t get another chance to find clue H, and you will be unable to solve the case. Thanks to Stanly, you are guaranteed to find clue I.
- Fitzhugh and Bowser (Decision 2): You learn nothing and you will be unable to find clue I, meaning you cannot solve the case unless you pass a bunch of tests to get Oliver’s confession.
- Oliver (Decision 3): You will later on get a chance to find clue H based on an Artifice 8+ test (or after passing a bunch of other tests to get Oliver’s confession). If that fails, you are guaranteed to find clue H anyway thanks to Stanly, and you’ll then have a roughly 58% chance (not tied to any skill) to find clue I. If you found clue H without Stanly’s help, you are instead guaranteed to find clue I thanks to him.
Chapter 3: Colonel Stuart’s interrogation (start: section 174)
Choose to interrogate Stuart. Don’t ask him about his employees first, instead start by asking him about Irish Star’s loss. On a successful Intuition 6+ test, you find clue U. If that fails, you will have another chance to find that clue later on.
During the rest of this short interrogation, if you want to go for Oliver’s confession, do not ask him about Oliver (which gives you a chance to find clue F (Stuart vouching for Oliver), which will actually make things slightly harder for you later on).
Chapter 4: Oliver’s interrogation (start: section 481)
If you don’t want to go for Oliver’s confession, just conduct the interrogation in any way you like and move on to the next chapter.
If you want to go for his confession:
- If you have clue T, ask him what he told his brother. You will then have to pass the following tests: Communication 8+, Intuition 8+, Communication 10+, Athletics 7+. If you fail the first Communication test, see below. If you fail any others, you will be unable to get the confession, so move on to the next chapter.
- If you don’t have clue T, or if you don’t pass the first Communication test above, ask him how Irish Star trained. You will then have to pass the following tests: Intuition 9+, Intuition 9+, Communication 10+, Athletics 7+. If you fail any of them, you will be unable to get the confession, so move on to the next chapter.
If you passed all of these tests, you get Oliver’s confession and find clue G. Do not call the police. You will find clue H. At this point, you can either call the police and move on to the next chapter (but there is no point), or persist in not calling the police and directly move on to chapter 6.
Chapter 5: Raines’s interrogation (start: section 309 or 336)
The questions you ask Raines do not matter. At some point, you will be asked if you want to search the stables.
If you already have clue G (Oliver’s confession), you didn’t call the police and also found clue H, so there is nothing for you to find there, meaning you can decline and move on to the next chapter.
If you don’t have clue G, ask to search the stables. Search the groom’s room. If you pass an Artifice 8+ test, you find clue H. If that fails, you will only get another chance to find it and be able to solve the case if you’ve taken decision 3 earlier. After that, stop searching and move on to the next chapter.
Chapter 6: Lord Hampton’s interrogation (start: section 298)
If you already got clue U from Stuart, you don’t need to talk to Hampton, so move on to the next chapter.
If you don’t have clue U, talk to Hampton. You get one last chance to find clue U by at some point passing an Intuition 7+ test and asking about the report. If that fails, you won’t be able to solve the case.
Chapter 7: Wrapping up (start: section 212)
At some point, you will be asked if you want to talk to Irish Star’s jockey. Don’t talk to him, as, at worst, with some unlucky dice rolls, you will get knocked out and miss the rest of the chapter, making you unable to solve the case, and, at best, you will learn nothing.
This is where the decision you took back in chapter 2 will matter. If you picked:
- Roscoe (Decision 1): If you have clue H, you will find clue I. If not, you will be unable to solve the case.
- Fitzhugh and Bowser (Decision 2): You learn nothing. Unless you have clue G, you will be unable to solve the case.
- Oliver (Decision 3): If you have clue H, you will find clue I. If not, you will then find clue H and have a roughly 58% chance (not tied to any skill) to find clue I. If that fails, and if you don’t have clue G either, you will be unable to solve the case.
Following that, assuming you are still able to solve the case, you will necessarily have clue H, and you will notice a veterinarian nearby. Ask him about the drug and pass an Intuition 9+ test to find clue X. If that fails, you will be unable to solve the case.
Chapter 8: Final visit to Holmes (start: section 480)
As explained above, if you choose to name the culprits (Oliver and Hampton), you will win without being asked anything.
If you choose to review the evidence, in order to win, you will need either clue G or both clues H and I to incriminate Oliver, and you will need clues U and X to incriminate Hampton.
Mandatory tests for the easiest path (if you review the evidence)
Clue H and I: Artifice 8+ ; if you fail, you get another chance later with a random 58% chance test
Clue U: Intuition 6+ ; if you fail, you get another chance later with Intuition 7+
Clue X: Intuition 9+
Best skill configuration AFAIK: boosting Artifice and Intuition to +3 by downgrading all the other skills to -2 gives you a 67.1% success rate, although you can just choose to name the culprit for a 100% success rate.