FF books which can't be completed even 20% wi' maximum stats

[CharlesX]

Why 20%? AI players will resign when their chances of victory drop below 20%.

These FF books are unusual in that it is advisable for a starting character to roll lower scores for some attributes, for that matter, victory is only possible with scores under the maximum:

Black Vein Prophecy
Magehunter

These FF books are difficult, but with some luck, can be beaten with very high stats:

Masks Of Mayhem
Sky Lord

This FF book is insanely difficult to complete even with maximum stats:

Crypt Of The Sorceror

This FF book is advisable to complete with lower than maximum stats, but even then, is absolutely insanely difficult to complete:

Spellbreaker

This FF book is beyond absolutely insanely difficult to complete even with maximum stats, and the app on medium difficulty setting instead of normal:

Blood Of The Zombies

That's not including the technical errors which make Revenge Of The Vampire impossible to complete, and arguably, Gates Of Death, and the printing errors which make the original edition of Creature Of Havoc impossible to complete.

In other words, most FF can be completed with maximum stats, a few are very difficult or are unusual in its advisable to roll under maximum stats, and only 3 (in the series) are unfairly difficult irrespective of your starting statistics.

Edit: I'm not sure whether Revenge Of The Vampire can be completed despite its printing errors, which other books such as Black Vein Prophecy have, as well as, importantly, its technical errors.

[daredevil123]

It's possible to complete Revenge of the Vampire despite its technical errors, although they make it impossible to obtain a certain item.

[sylas]

Black Vein Prophecy cannot be completed if your Luck is 12 as your first Luck test MUST be unsuccessful in order to get the multicoloured scales. Most people house rule that you can choose to fail that particular roll. The rest of the book is quite easy.
The same misfortune applies to Knights of Doom where you must fail a considered vital Skill test, and Spellbreaker where you must lose a battle against two weak guards.

[a moderator]

If you have rudimentary code-breaking skills, there's no need to fail that Skill test in Knights.

[CharlesX]

Sept 4, 2021 16:30:32 GMT sylas said:

Black Vein Prophecy cannot be completed if your Luck is 12 as your first Luck test MUST be unsuccessful in order to get the multicoloured scales. Most people house rule that you can choose to fail that particular roll. The rest of the book is quite easy.
The same misfortune applies to Knights of Doom where you must fail a considered vital Skill test, and Spellbreaker where you must lose a battle against two weak guards.

The Spellbreaker guards fight is particularly poisonous. Champskees algorithm shows the difference in the Spellbreaker solution thread - without the rounds check, the chances are 5.2% you will beat the book with maximum stats (i.e. hard, but not ridiculous). With the rounds check, your chances are .3% at best, making Crypt look easy with .5%.
   Crypt and Spellbreaker without house rules still look like a cakewalk compared with Blood Of The Zombies. Winning the lottery twice straight does.

[tyrion]

If you decide you can voluntarily fail luck or skill tests, and surrender a combat, then black vein prophecy, knights of doom and spellbreaker become easier (although knights and spellbereaker still aren't easy).

There isn't necessarily a printing error in creature of havoc; depends on if you think Steve is being clever or not.

And the dice roll on masks of mayhem; i just glance at the reference number with the alligator and add the digits together instead of rolling dice. 

[sylas]

Sept 4, 2021 17:31:36 GMT a moderator said:

If you have rudimentary code-breaking skills, there's no need to fail that Skill test in Knights.

While this is true, I know a lot of people who really don't like this as a solution. In addition, Jonathan Green himself has stated that he DID intend for the runes translator to be on the correct path - basically admitting he messed up a bit.

[a moderator]

Sept 4, 2021 23:12:23 GMT sylas said:

Jonathan Green himself has stated that he DID intend for the runes translator to be on the correct path - basically admitting he messed up a bit.

Thereby raising the difficulty level of the book from 'harsh' to 'stupid'.

If he wanted to make the runes uncrackable, he should have used something more complex than a basic substitution cypher. Or freed up a section somewhere and used it for a mandatory 'did you find the earlier inscription?' check.

[sylas]

Sept 5, 2021 17:20:33 GMT a moderator said:

Sept 4, 2021 23:12:23 GMT sylas said:

Jonathan Green himself has stated that he DID intend for the runes translator to be on the correct path - basically admitting he messed up a bit.

Thereby raising the difficulty level of the book from 'harsh' to 'stupid'.

If he wanted to make the runes uncrackable, he should have used something more complex than a basic substitution cypher. Or freed up a section somewhere and used it for a mandatory 'did you find the earlier inscription?' check.

That would be a valid solution though I think Jon wanted the reader to go through the process of deciphering the runes. I doubt he expected people to use basic code-breaking techniques to solve it since it was more aimed at teens and other young readers. Jon has since learned from his first few books and the books he produces now are much better balanced without that insane toughness anymore (although I'd say his books are now verging of being too easy at times).

If it's any consolation, the revised copy of Knights of Doom I made does fix the runes problem as well as balancing many other issues the book had.

[a moderator]

Sept 5, 2021 21:47:03 GMT sylas said:

I think Jon wanted the reader to go through the process of deciphering the runes. I doubt he expected people to use basic code-breaking techniques to solve it since it was more aimed at teens and other young readers. 

I can't be certain, because I was already in my twenties by the time Knights was published, but I'm pretty sure I already knew everything I needed to crack that code in my teens. In part thanks to a much simpler gamebook, though that wasn't the only kids' book I'd read that explained the basics. I've seen enough such books to suspect that lots of teens and pre-teens were into basic cryptography.

The 'more complex cypher' could have been something as simple as having a separate character for 'th' - that alone ought to frustrate a lot of amateur codebreakers, as it reduces the likelihood of identifying the word 'the' unassisted (and 'the' is a massive help, as it contains the two most common letters in the English language), but the 'key' inscription would make it clear which symbol is 't', which is 'h' and which is 'th'.

As for the 'additional section and mandatory check for having seen the key' option, that's no obstacle to making the reader translate. Just have the illustration correspond to the section for having found the earlier carvings rather than the one for opening the sarcophagus.