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Post by peasantscribbler on Aug 21, 2021 12:16:42 GMT
I'll vote for Yaztromo. Unlike with Astragal, I'm not filled with confidence in Yaztromo's competence, but I think he has just enough juice to beat Shareella. Basically, what natwa said.
Also, I'll vote for Balthus Dire under sylas' reasoning. I think the Portal would stand a good chance against BD.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Aug 21, 2021 12:24:07 GMT
Shareella isn't rammed into every single book Shareella because Yaz is overused. Blimey, that's harsh. I mean, name me a Paul Mason book that doesn't have the Riddling Reaver in it! I didn't know that RR was in Magehunter until I read it in this thread. He was pretty spectacular in Slaves of the Abyss though. Hard to miss him in that one.
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 21, 2021 12:50:20 GMT
Yaztromo doesn't have an entire book (Fighting Fantasy) where he is the primary antagonist throughout; plus his role as 'friendly, powerful sorceror' was often shared with Nicodemus, who sadly didn't make the cut. Watching Yaztromo under-perform as he's doing now feels like watching Dumbledore be defeated in Top Trumps; 'nice guys finish last'.
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Post by daredevil123 on Aug 21, 2021 16:46:54 GMT
Shareella isn't rammed into every single book Shareella because Yaz is overused. Blimey, that's harsh. I mean, name me a Paul Mason book that doesn't have the Riddling Reaver in it! The thing is, there are four Paul Mason books but far more Livingstones!
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Post by a moderator on Aug 21, 2021 17:06:36 GMT
Yaztromo doesn't just appear in Livingstone books, either.
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Post by petch on Aug 23, 2021 15:35:32 GMT
Despite a late fightback by Yaztromo, he couldn't accumulate enough votes to overcome the deficit and in what I think qualifies as an upset is sent tumbling out of the competition by Shareella. The Snow Witch keeps the flag flying for the fairer sex as the last woman standing amongst the remaining contenders as she wins 6-4.
Belgaroth and the Titanium Cyborg fight to a stalemate, drawing 3-3. I'm going to plump to send Belgaroth through to the round of sixteen - I think the climactic encounter with him in Knights of Doom is one of the most thrilling conclusions to a book in the series.
Balthus Dire matches Carnuss's 9 vote record, crushing Horfak with ease 9 votes to 1.
Winners: Shareella, Belgaroth & Balthus Dire
Prime time matchup from the next lot of fixtures is the all-undead vampire versus lich faceoff between Heydrich and Mortis.
Reiner Heydrich vs Lord Mortis
Captain Cinnabar vs Karam Gruul
The Ancient vs Feior
Normal deadline service is now resumed; the next one is 4pm Weds 25th.
Edit: On reading through the thread again have only just realised that Lord Carnuss had previously scored only 8 votes, not 9 as stated above. Therefore at this point in the competition Balthus Dire has the standalone record for most votes.
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Post by philsadler on Aug 23, 2021 16:05:12 GMT
I like both Reiner Heydrich and Lord Mortis, but I have to give the nod to Reiner because Mortis was far too easy to beat.
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Aug 23, 2021 16:09:58 GMT
Reiner Heydrich
Karam Gruul
The Ancient
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 23, 2021 17:36:06 GMT
Reiner Heydrich is infinitely cooler than Lord Mortis.
The others I've only played one of the two gamebooks.
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Post by tyrion on Aug 23, 2021 18:29:35 GMT
Heydrich
Gruul
The ancient
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sylas
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Post by sylas on Aug 23, 2021 21:48:55 GMT
Reiner Heydrich
Karam Gruul
The Ancient
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Post by Peter on Aug 24, 2021 7:43:19 GMT
Shareella isn't rammed into every single book Shareella because Yaz is overused. Blimey, that's harsh. I mean, name me a Paul Mason book that doesn't have the Riddling Reaver in it! I have always preferred to read these books as separate, individual stories, not linked together like episodes in a series. Part of the excitement of each new book was seeing what new story, plot-line, background, setting, etc, the author had created for the game system to be used in. So when I see the wizard re-appear to help me in another book, it makes me feel like the author was short of ideas so he just said "oh, I'll shove in the old Yaztromo as a plot device". I realise this is not true, in fact they deliberately used familiar characters and settings because most of the fans wanted it. But I didn't, so that is the reasoning behind my vote.
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Post by sleepyscholar on Aug 24, 2021 8:11:27 GMT
I'm actually going to vote in this contest.
I go for Lord Mortis for no better reason than that I am a Dave Morris fan.
Karam Gruul, because Moonrunner is fantastic.
And The Ancient, even though I haven't read the book, because it's a cool name, and Feior definitely deserves as many votes against him as possible.
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Post by petch on Aug 24, 2021 10:02:22 GMT
And The Ancient, even though I haven't read the book, because it's a cool name, and Feior definitely deserves as many votes against him as possible. We have Mencius vs Bythos coming up in a few days...you'll have to think of a creative way to self-sabotage in that one!
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 24, 2021 11:19:23 GMT
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Post by sleepyscholar on Aug 24, 2021 11:28:21 GMT
And The Ancient, even though I haven't read the book, because it's a cool name, and Feior definitely deserves as many votes against him as possible. We have Mencius vs Bythos coming up in a few days...you'll have to think of a creative way to self-sabotage in that one! It's not self-sabotage. I just don't like Feior. I'll happily stand back and watch Julian and Bythos slug it out. 'Rarity' vs 'classic' -- should be interesting.
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Post by The Count on Aug 24, 2021 16:59:20 GMT
Reiner Heydrich has a coach that can eat you
Captain Cinnabar sounds like a seasoning you might put on a hearty porridge instead of a watered down version
The Ancient was, in some circles, a cruel nickname for an irrelevant former pop star who hasn't had a good song since 1996
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Post by petch on Aug 25, 2021 16:11:46 GMT
Mortis, Cinnabar and Feior all on the wrong ends of a series of hidings there; Feior fails to register a single vote (to the Ancient's 5), while Mortis and Cinnabar only pick up one apiece (to Heydrich's 6 and Gruul's 4 respectively).
Winners: Reiner Heydrich, Karam Gruul & The Ancient
In the previous round, Jann's magic-negating aura helped him to overcome the Dark Elf Sorcerer, but how will the minimite fare against a non magic-using foe in Laskar? Plus, both Charavask brothers are in action...will one manage to claim bragging rights by outperforming the other?
Laskar vs Jann the Minimite
Lord Carnuss vs Rannik
Unthank vs Baron Sukumvit
Deadline is 4pm Fri 27th.
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Post by nathanh on Aug 25, 2021 16:19:08 GMT
Edit: tool late
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CharlesX
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 25, 2021 16:29:42 GMT
Rannik, partly for having the audacity to send you on a tremendous quest for a 10-a-penny bauble, don't feel strongly enough about the others.
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Post by philsadler on Aug 25, 2021 17:41:12 GMT
Quite like Jann the Minimite and have never heard of Laskar.
Baron Sukumvit.
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Post by The Count on Aug 25, 2021 18:57:04 GMT
Laskar is not as annoying
Rannik isn't as petty
Baron Sukumvit will win the round anyway
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Aug 25, 2021 18:57:53 GMT
Hard to choose between these pairs..
Jann the Minimite Rannik Unthank
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Post by tyrion on Aug 25, 2021 19:48:59 GMT
Jann
Carnuss
Sukumvit
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Post by daredevil123 on Aug 25, 2021 23:10:28 GMT
I've never got far enough into The Crown of Kings to meet Jann in that book, but I think the Minimite's role in The Shamutanti Hills is enough to win my vote. I've never found Laskar that interesting.
I like Lord Carnuss, but I've never played Midnight Rogue, so I'll abstain there.
Sukumvit is undoubtedly more iconic than Unthank, but I feel the latter has more depth and is more satisfying to triumph over. For that reason, the chamberlain gets my vote.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Aug 26, 2021 0:00:22 GMT
I was going to sit this round out, but after I saw all the votes coming in for Jann the Minimite I decided that I'd better register a vote for Laskar. More anti-Jann than pro-Laskar though.
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Post by kieran on Aug 26, 2021 13:08:52 GMT
Jann because he's adorable Carnuss because he's a git Sukumvit because he's iconic
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sylas
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Post by sylas on Aug 26, 2021 14:26:12 GMT
Jann Carnuss Sukumvit
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Post by petch on Aug 27, 2021 19:25:42 GMT
Jann beats Laskar 6-2. I don't especially want to dwell on this much longer, as this particular encounter was essentially equivalent to an old man and a small child being forced to fight to the death, which even by Allansian standards seems spectacularly cruel.
Carnuss and Rannik fight to a 3-3 draw. This result surprised me a little; I expected Carnuss to do a lot better after his stonking 8 vote victory in the first round. Perhaps I underestimated Rannik's rakish appeal. However, my casting vote is going Carnuss's way, partly for resilience shown by battling back from 3-0 down, and partly because it seems somehow appropriate that the creator of the Arena of Death should perform well in this competition, being as it is a series of deathmatches.
Sukumvit wins bragging rights over his brother for now though, with a much more comfortable 5-2 win over Unthank.
Winners: Jann the Minimite, Lord Carnuss and Baron Sukumvit
And so on to the final set of encounters of the round. As before, one extra battle is included to complete the bracket, and what a battle it is, as two memorable villains from Mr Mason slug it out. Elsewhere some very iconic characters from the series also feature.
Abdul the Butcher vs Zagor
Zharradan Marr vs The Archmage
Grimslade vs Orghuz
Mencius vs Bythos
Last deadline of the round is 4pm Sun 29th.
Edit: incorrectly stated that Carnuss scored 9 votes in the first round
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Post by CharlesX on Aug 27, 2021 20:29:12 GMT
Abdul the Butcher is strong but up against Zagor he is like a bronze medal winner against a gold medal winner. Zharradan Marr is arguably more iconic than The Archmage, but there's definitely something in the Archmage, so it's a tough one. I'm going with the Archmage, sizing the two up like Trial Of Champions, The Archmage comes earlier in the alphabet . Grimslade all the way. Don't know a lot about Bythos but Slaves Of The Abyss is phenomenal, and Mencius never touches my heartstrings the way the best FF villains do, so Bythos.
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