Post by pip on Jul 17, 2021 11:07:31 GMT
The Dynamiters
by Milt Creighton
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Do not read further if you don't want this gamebook to be spoiled for you.
In this book, new author Milt Creighton disregards most of the conventions established in the previous entries, and I, for one, am not a fan of this new gameplay. Instead of spending most of your time examining physical evidence and questioning witnesses, you will mostly try to infiltrate a secret society and go through some action sequences, making the book a lot more like a traditional Fighting Fantasy book than a Sherlock Holmes book. You will still be checking clues and deductions as usual, but very few of them matter, as you can reach the good ending even if you miss important clues that help you understand the case.
Skills
For this adventure, I recommend downgrading your Intuition skill and giving the extra point elsewhere. Observation may be used for something optional, but never for anything mandatory, so you may choose to also downgrade that one. I would spend the extra points in Artifice.
Walkthrough
We will focus on reaching the good ending as quickly and as safely as possible, without bothering to find clues that are not necessary gamebook-wise.
Chapter 1: Introduction
On a successful Scholarship test, you will get to question one of four people. If you passed the test, question Bosworth, the only one who has nothing useful to say (talking to anyone else will net you a clue that will just end up wasting time, gamebook-wise, later on). If you failed the test, choose to investigate elsewhere (for the same reason). After a brief meeting with Holmes, you will be asked for your next move. Choose to investigate the crime scene.
Chapter 2: Crime scene
Here you will ask the police for permission to examine the scene right away, which might be allowed depending on the results on a random roll (not tied to any skill), possibly followed by a Communication test, but ultimately it doesn’t matter as you will always end up being able to examine what interests us here. Don’t inspect the evidence bag if you are offered to do so (more time wasting clues to find here), just keep examining the scene on your own. Ultimately, you will take an Observation 6+ test. If you pass, you will check Clue L, otherwise you will check Deduction 19.
Chapter 3: Dillon’s office
If you have Deduction 19, you will go straight to Club Leonidas (next chapter).
If you don’t, then you’ll necessarily have Clue L. What follows is an attempt to get Dillon’s business card so you can avoid a mandatorily successful roll in the next chapter. There is no other point.
Tell Holmes you are suspicious of Dillon. You will have to succeed with a random roll (not tied to any skill) of 9+, followed by an Observation 7+ test. If you fail either roll, you will go to Club Leonidas (next chapter). If you succeed, choose to search Dillon’s office. Try to enter normally, and you will succeed if you pass a Communication 7+ test. If that test fails, you have another chance with an Artifice 6+ test. If that also fails, you will go to Club Leonidas (next chapter).
If you made it, you will be in Dillon’s office. Search the desk. If you pass an Observation 6+ test, examine the stationery box and, when you are asked if you believe the stationery is important, say it is. Take a business card and go to Club Leonidas with the card (next chapter). If you failed the Observation test, you may try again, but be aware this comes with a bunch of other tests and a small risk of getting a game over. Otherwise, you can just leave and go to Club Leonidas (next chapter).
Chapter 4: Club Leonidas
If you don’t have Dillon’s business card, try to break in. You will need to succeed with an Artifice 7+ test, or the game will be over. Attend the reunion, then do absolutely whatever, as long as you never choose to leave the club if you are offered to do so. Eventually, you will be captured (next chapter).
If you do have Dillon’s business card, try to enter the club in any way you like, just never choose to go back to Sherlock Holmes or the game will be over. Eventually, you will either succeed (choose to attend the reunion, as described in the above section), or be captured (next chapter).
Chapter 5: Captured
It doesn’t matter what you tell Mores. Eventually, you will get to escape. Even though you may have figured out Mores is a spy, the correct choice here is to take him with you, so do that. Go to Baker Street.
Chapter 6: Final sequence
At some point, Mores will attack and you will have to take an Athletics test with multiple outcomes. If you score 6 or less, it’s a game over. If you score between 7 and 9, you will succeed and Mores will die. If you score 10 or more, you will succeed and Mores will be alive.
If Mores is dead:
You will have to take a Scholarship 7+ test, but it doesn’t matter if you make it or not. You will then have to pass a Communication 6+ test, followed by an Artifice 5+ test. If you pass both tests, you will win. If you fail either, it’s a game over.
If Mores is alive:
You will have to pass a Scholarship 7+ test, followed by an Artifice 5+ test. If you pass both tests, you will win. If you fail either, it’s a game over.
Note that acing the earlier Athletics test with 10 or more thus makes things slightly harder for you, as the first mandatory test will be Scholarship 7+ instead of the slightly easier Communication 6+.
Mandatory tests
- Artifice 7+ to break into Club Leonidas (or a long string of other tests for a chance to get Dillon's business card)
- Athletics 7+ to fight Mores
- Communication 6+ and Artifice 5+ OR Scholarship 7+ and Artifice 5+ to reach the ending, depending on the result of the Athletics test above
Best skill configuration AFAIK: boosting Artifice to +3 by downgrading Intuition and Observation to -2 gives you a 60.9% success rate. Note that I considered you do not try to go for Dillon's business card again if you got to make an attempt and failed, as it frankly involves more programming than I care to do for this, but going for this route involves passing so many tests instead of a single Artifice test at the club that I doubt it's worth it.
by Milt Creighton
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Do not read further if you don't want this gamebook to be spoiled for you.
In this book, new author Milt Creighton disregards most of the conventions established in the previous entries, and I, for one, am not a fan of this new gameplay. Instead of spending most of your time examining physical evidence and questioning witnesses, you will mostly try to infiltrate a secret society and go through some action sequences, making the book a lot more like a traditional Fighting Fantasy book than a Sherlock Holmes book. You will still be checking clues and deductions as usual, but very few of them matter, as you can reach the good ending even if you miss important clues that help you understand the case.
Skills
For this adventure, I recommend downgrading your Intuition skill and giving the extra point elsewhere. Observation may be used for something optional, but never for anything mandatory, so you may choose to also downgrade that one. I would spend the extra points in Artifice.
Walkthrough
We will focus on reaching the good ending as quickly and as safely as possible, without bothering to find clues that are not necessary gamebook-wise.
Chapter 1: Introduction
On a successful Scholarship test, you will get to question one of four people. If you passed the test, question Bosworth, the only one who has nothing useful to say (talking to anyone else will net you a clue that will just end up wasting time, gamebook-wise, later on). If you failed the test, choose to investigate elsewhere (for the same reason). After a brief meeting with Holmes, you will be asked for your next move. Choose to investigate the crime scene.
Chapter 2: Crime scene
Here you will ask the police for permission to examine the scene right away, which might be allowed depending on the results on a random roll (not tied to any skill), possibly followed by a Communication test, but ultimately it doesn’t matter as you will always end up being able to examine what interests us here. Don’t inspect the evidence bag if you are offered to do so (more time wasting clues to find here), just keep examining the scene on your own. Ultimately, you will take an Observation 6+ test. If you pass, you will check Clue L, otherwise you will check Deduction 19.
Chapter 3: Dillon’s office
If you have Deduction 19, you will go straight to Club Leonidas (next chapter).
If you don’t, then you’ll necessarily have Clue L. What follows is an attempt to get Dillon’s business card so you can avoid a mandatorily successful roll in the next chapter. There is no other point.
Tell Holmes you are suspicious of Dillon. You will have to succeed with a random roll (not tied to any skill) of 9+, followed by an Observation 7+ test. If you fail either roll, you will go to Club Leonidas (next chapter). If you succeed, choose to search Dillon’s office. Try to enter normally, and you will succeed if you pass a Communication 7+ test. If that test fails, you have another chance with an Artifice 6+ test. If that also fails, you will go to Club Leonidas (next chapter).
If you made it, you will be in Dillon’s office. Search the desk. If you pass an Observation 6+ test, examine the stationery box and, when you are asked if you believe the stationery is important, say it is. Take a business card and go to Club Leonidas with the card (next chapter). If you failed the Observation test, you may try again, but be aware this comes with a bunch of other tests and a small risk of getting a game over. Otherwise, you can just leave and go to Club Leonidas (next chapter).
Chapter 4: Club Leonidas
If you don’t have Dillon’s business card, try to break in. You will need to succeed with an Artifice 7+ test, or the game will be over. Attend the reunion, then do absolutely whatever, as long as you never choose to leave the club if you are offered to do so. Eventually, you will be captured (next chapter).
If you do have Dillon’s business card, try to enter the club in any way you like, just never choose to go back to Sherlock Holmes or the game will be over. Eventually, you will either succeed (choose to attend the reunion, as described in the above section), or be captured (next chapter).
Chapter 5: Captured
It doesn’t matter what you tell Mores. Eventually, you will get to escape. Even though you may have figured out Mores is a spy, the correct choice here is to take him with you, so do that. Go to Baker Street.
Chapter 6: Final sequence
At some point, Mores will attack and you will have to take an Athletics test with multiple outcomes. If you score 6 or less, it’s a game over. If you score between 7 and 9, you will succeed and Mores will die. If you score 10 or more, you will succeed and Mores will be alive.
If Mores is dead:
You will have to take a Scholarship 7+ test, but it doesn’t matter if you make it or not. You will then have to pass a Communication 6+ test, followed by an Artifice 5+ test. If you pass both tests, you will win. If you fail either, it’s a game over.
If Mores is alive:
You will have to pass a Scholarship 7+ test, followed by an Artifice 5+ test. If you pass both tests, you will win. If you fail either, it’s a game over.
Note that acing the earlier Athletics test with 10 or more thus makes things slightly harder for you, as the first mandatory test will be Scholarship 7+ instead of the slightly easier Communication 6+.
Mandatory tests
- Artifice 7+ to break into Club Leonidas (or a long string of other tests for a chance to get Dillon's business card)
- Athletics 7+ to fight Mores
- Communication 6+ and Artifice 5+ OR Scholarship 7+ and Artifice 5+ to reach the ending, depending on the result of the Athletics test above
Best skill configuration AFAIK: boosting Artifice to +3 by downgrading Intuition and Observation to -2 gives you a 60.9% success rate. Note that I considered you do not try to go for Dillon's business card again if you got to make an attempt and failed, as it frankly involves more programming than I care to do for this, but going for this route involves passing so many tests instead of a single Artifice test at the club that I doubt it's worth it.