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Post by a moderator on Nov 13, 2022 21:33:30 GMT
I played the Yearbook variant of Rogue Mage, primarily because getting the book off the shelf was less faff than digging through a stack of old magazines. Glad I did, though, as one of the changes made to the reissue improves on the original's Gascoignishly poor handling of Provisions. Not that it helped, as having a 2 Skill lead on the Scitalis didn't keep it from crushing me to a pulp.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,470
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Nov 16, 2022 9:41:03 GMT
Assassins of Allansia Sk9 St20 Lu10 I've never explored Blacksand before in this book so decided to see what could be found there. Unfortunately, all I found was a beggar who turned out to be an elite swordsman who stabbed away my last 2 Stamina points.
I assumed you start with no provisions so probably should have taken the Potion of Strength rather than the Potion of Skill. I had the recollection that it's easy to lose Skill points in this one, but I avoided losing any while finding a lot of items that would increase my Skill should I have lost any. Oh well.
Kills Knife Fighter Giant Sea Snake Worm Dog x3 Dark Elf Priestess Thief x2
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 16, 2022 17:24:23 GMT
Assassins of Allansia Skill 10 Stamina 21 Luck 10 Very good scores. I thought I would take a victory. But noooo. Kills: Knife Fighter and Sea Snake Charged the dragon and got my head crushed. End of story.
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Post by vastariner on Nov 18, 2022 10:34:20 GMT
Rogue Mage, hardcore Warlock stylee.
Sk 10 St 19 Lu 11
Victims: Goblin Goblin 1 Goblin 2 Goblin shaman Imitator Scitalis Bandit Giant beetle Galthazzeh (escaping) Slime figure 1 Slime figure 2 (3 times each) Galthazzeh (dead) Slithering horror (tentacles x2)
Loot: Spear Dagger G-rune medallion Double axe pendant Bone dice Fish potion (turn to 177) Firestorm spell 7 GP 2x25GP gems Gold amethyst thing MAGIC SWORD!!! (+1 attack 'chance') 2x25 GP gems Sword 2 meals 2 daggers 20 GP Map
Info: G's strength is in a touchstone
***
A success. Astonishingly enough. With St of 1 and (against the horror) luck down to 6. A normal Provisions rule would have made this quite easy with a high Skill.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 19, 2022 0:25:07 GMT
23½-hour warning for peasantscribbler and thealmightymudworm.
Week 47 This century - Shadow of the Giants Last century - The Dark Chronicle of Anakendis (Warlock magazine 6)
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Post by terrysalt on Nov 19, 2022 0:53:57 GMT
Using Pip's guide as a proxy as I don't own Shadow of the Giants:
skill: 9 stamina: 20 luck: 9
items: 5 gold, 8 provisions, potion of skill, dragon sword, silver medallion, bat balm, spider oil, picklock, brass lamp, potion of healing, ring of the zombies, helmet, elven boots, ring of entanglement kills: wraith, spider hag, cobrax, gorgon (2 rounds) info: 18 snakes
This was staggeringly easy for an Ian book! I won almost effortlessly.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Nov 19, 2022 20:18:06 GMT
For this week's adventure, I chose the Warlock magazine version of Rogue Mage.I finally won again (it seems like it has been a long time). I think that finding the Potion of Fortune was the key for me. I had chosen a Potion of Strength as my starting potion.
Initial Stats: Skill=10, Stamina=15, Luck=10
Fights Won (22) Goblins X6 Goblin Shaman Bandit Giant Beetle Imitator Scitalis Antmen X2 Galthazzeth Clone Slime Slime Figures X6 Slithering Horror
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Nov 19, 2022 23:58:32 GMT
Took a shot at Assassins of Allansia, which I bought at FFFest4 along with Secrets and Shadow but haven't tried before this week.
SKILL 11 STAMINA 19 LUCK 11
I didn't follow a solution for this, beyond seeing that Champskees suggested a potion of strength, which I never used in the end.
Having I made it all the way to Fang, I was able to truthfully answer 'odd' to the pendants question, but unfortunately only '11' to the follow-up. I do note, as others have, that it seems that technically lying would get you the win here, but I imagine that argument would not have been greeted with enthusiasm!
Fights won: Knife Fighter, Giant Sea Snake, 3 x Worm Dog, Dark Elf Priestess, 2 x Goblin, Gretta Morg, Garanka Vassell, Ninja Warrior, Dax the Axe, Blackthorn, Red Ruth, Tunku Yang, (Urzle Ironface) <––bracketed because you're not allowed to defeat him, only survive and wait for Throm.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 20, 2022 16:50:36 GMT
Week 46 scoring 1st: peasantscribbler – 19 (stats bonus 4 + most fights won bonus 5 + victory bonus 10) 2nd= nathanh - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 2nd= vastariner - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 4th: terrysalt – 5 (stats bonus 5) 5th: hallucination - 4 (stats bonus 4) 6th= kieran – 2 (stats bonus 2) 6th= King Gillibran - 2 (stats bonus 2) 6th= thealmightymudworm - 2 (stats bonus 2)
Running totals 1st: nathanh – 412 2nd: terrysalt - 411 3rd: vastariner – 312 4th: peasantscribbler - 259 5th: thealmightymudworm - 227 6th: kieran - 208 7th: hallucination - 87 8th: The Count - 85 9th: schlendrian - 52 10th: King Gillibran - 16
There may be changes to one or two scores if thealmightymudworm gets aroud to revealing the outcome of his attempt at AoA, depending on how well he fared.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Nov 20, 2022 17:40:40 GMT
Sorry everyone , post now edited. I really should remember to stop cutting this fine. (I wish there was a clear embarrassment smiley.)
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 21, 2022 9:52:38 GMT
Using Pip's guide as a proxy as I don't own Shadow of the Giants: skill: 9 stamina: 20 luck: 9 items: 5 gold, 8 provisions, potion of skill, dragon sword, silver medallion, bat balm, spider oil, picklock, brass lamp, potion of healing, ring of the zombies, helmet, elven boots, ring of entanglement kills: wraith, spider hag, cobrax, gorgon (2 rounds) info: 18 snakes This was staggeringly easy for an Ian book! I won almost effortlessly. Much more interesting if you actually have the book. And a lot harder without the guide.
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Post by hallucination on Nov 21, 2022 22:17:44 GMT
Shadow of the Giants Skill 12, stamina 20, luck 8, and a win! Items - potion of luck {x}, 10 provisions, 103 (+200) gold pieces, vampire sword {x}, dagger, gold key #3 {x}, silver medallion dragon head, horse {x}, clover leaf charm {x}, dragon sword, skulls, bird bones, ring of strength, bat balm, spider oil {x}, trolls’ gold necklaces, hourglass, iron key, picklock {x}, leather gloves {x}, brass bell {x}, lamp w/ Twixle, potion of healing {x}, ring of zombies, ring of mind control, helmet, elven boots, black silk handkerchief {x}, silver hairpin {x}, ring of entanglement, ring of healing, wooden box of rust beetles, gold idol
Fights won - wererat, wraith, bonehead, toady, weezle, spider hag, lich, cobrax, gorgon (2 rounds)
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Post by terrysalt on Nov 22, 2022 3:54:25 GMT
Using Pip's guide as a proxy as I don't own Shadow of the Giants: skill: 9 stamina: 20 luck: 9 items: 5 gold, 8 provisions, potion of skill, dragon sword, silver medallion, bat balm, spider oil, picklock, brass lamp, potion of healing, ring of the zombies, helmet, elven boots, ring of entanglement kills: wraith, spider hag, cobrax, gorgon (2 rounds) info: 18 snakes This was staggeringly easy for an Ian book! I won almost effortlessly. Much more interesting if you actually have the book. And a lot harder without the guide. I should hope the book is more interesting than the guide! My point was more that most of Ian's books are insanely hard even with a guide so I was surprised that the die rolls required were quite easy to achieve.
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 23, 2022 10:38:37 GMT
Much more interesting if you actually have the book. And a lot harder without the guide. I should hope the book is more interesting than the guide! My point was more that most of Ian's books are insanely hard even with a guide so I was surprised that the die rolls required were quite easy to achieve. Yes it is. I would say it is around City of Thieves difficulty. And it is a return to that quality of adventures.
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 23, 2022 10:48:25 GMT
Shadow of the Giants Skill 9 Stamina 18 Luck 11
Monsters killed: Wererat, Wraith, Bonehead, Toady, Weezle, 3 Rats, Emerald Dragon, Spider Hag, Lich, Screaming Demon, Cobrax, Gorgan, 4 Iron Giants.
Victory!!! (Goose Survived)
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,470
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Nov 24, 2022 10:42:21 GMT
Shadow of the Giants Sk11 St23 Lu11
Nice stats but I somehow managed to lose 6 Skill points and only recovered 2 (though I did also find an item that boosted my Attack Strength by 1). Anyway I faced the Iron Giants with 7 Skill, 3 Stamina and 7 Luck. One of them gave me a quick boot in the ribs and that was the end of me.
Kills: 15 Wraith Bonehead Toady Weezle Giant Rat x3 Emerald Dragon (why didn't my Dragon Sword give me a bonus here?) Gremlin x3 Spider Hag Screaming Demon Zombie x2
I'm assuming Cobrax doesn't count as Goose did 60% of the damage to it, including the killing blow.
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Post by vastariner on Nov 24, 2022 16:01:29 GMT
Finally got around to looking at my copy of Shadow of the Giants. First playthrough.
Sk 8 St 19 Lu 12 Potion of Skill in that case. Gets: Vampire sword Dagger Higgly - NOT FOR LONG Crown of chaos Harold Hoggett’s necklace Victor’s lucky charm Gold/silver/brass mini-skulls Bird bones Ring of strength Goblin earwax Dragon’s tears blue orchids Ruby’s ruby All the loot on 245 - Snake amulet twixle Black handkerchief Ring of entanglement Silver hairpin Goose 2 boxes of rust beetles Idol
Knowledge: Eyes of the dragon are the gems on its head, green = life, red = dead Go to Marik Om Yash Yash is something of a reclusive widower Pay respects at grave (basketweaver, age) Watch for card sharps Faye Bibble and the blue orchids Info about Marik’s house on 185 3 troll necklaces Potion of healing Potion of wisdom Ring of zombies Ring of fire Ring of mind control helmet +1 as rust beetles in the gorgon’s tomb …directions at 316 18 snakes on head
Wins: Wraith Bonehead Toady Weezle 3 giant rats Emerald dragon Spider hag Cobrax (gorgon with help) And, overall...a win! I cannot remember the last time I won on a first playthrough; I assume it must be Robot Commando.
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Post by juniorhornet on Nov 25, 2022 11:16:48 GMT
Shadow of Giants
Skill 10 Stamina 17 Luck 10
Wererat,Wraith,Bonehead,Toady,Weezle,Giant Rats,Emerald Dragon,Cobrax,Guardian of the Gate.
Squashed by the last Iron Giant
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Post by a moderator on Nov 26, 2022 0:11:17 GMT
Welcome aboard juniorhornet. 24-hour warning for nathanh, peasantscribbler, thealmightymudworm, and anyone else who wants to jump aboard as we start the final dozen titles. Week 48
Both books start with the same word, and it isn't 'The'. This century - Night of the Necromancer Last century - Night Dragon
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Post by terrysalt on Nov 26, 2022 0:16:43 GMT
With the 2 bonus stat points in Night Dragon, do we report the stats we roll or the stats we actually start the adventure with?
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Post by terrysalt on Nov 26, 2022 0:36:04 GMT
Also, do the dream dragon and night dragon skull count as the night dragon in terms of the bonuses from sword and armour?
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Post by a moderator on Nov 26, 2022 2:15:54 GMT
With the 2 bonus stat points in Night Dragon, do we report the stats we roll or the stats we actually start the adventure with? List the stats you rolled, but say which stats you boosted with the points. Yes, unless anyone can come up with a compelling reason for them not to.
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Post by terrysalt on Nov 26, 2022 6:35:39 GMT
Skill: 10(+1) Stamina: 20(+2) Luck: 8 Starting Gold: 8 Guide: Champskees items: 9 provisions, lantern without oil, 6 gold, silver key, steel mirror, ice pick, spiked boots, bottle of catstink, armour (12), crossbow and bolts, magic sword (80), magic amulet (1 charge), magic mirror (100) - 2 charges, sphere of light (244) kills: 2 thugs, 3 assassins, 2 snow wolves, stone dwarf, massive dwarf statue, mountain basilisk, skeleton, wizard-wraith, chillshadow, bone stalker, mirror image, mirror demon, wraith horde, woodland ogre, dream dragon, stone juggernaut, bone stalker-mage, night dragon, night dragon skull info: stormdrake pass, shopkeeper neville, night dragon -2 skill, +1 stamina, 2 free hits, -1 attack strength for 5 rounds I won fairly comfortably, the fight with the night dragon was more precarious than I'd have liked but overall it was an easy enough adventure.
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Post by nathanh on Nov 26, 2022 13:35:45 GMT
Shadow of the Giants. Only my second attempt and I didn't make any notes during the first attempt, and amazingly for a Livingstone book I won. Very fair book. Leaves an excellent impression.
Sk 10 St 21 Lu 8 Kills (12): WERERAT, WRAITH, BONEHEAD, TOADY, WEEZLE, 3 GIANT RATS, EMERALD DRAGON, SPIDER HAG, COBRAX, GORGON (2 ROUNDS), GUARDIAN OF THE GATE
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Post by peasantscribbler on Nov 26, 2022 15:04:15 GMT
My first attempt at Shadow of the Giants was ended by a Screaming Demon, apparently because I didn't collect a ridiculous item when I had the chance. I will count my attempt at The Dark Chronicles of Anakendis instead because I think it will give me more points. I didn't win that one either. I was killed by Anakendis because I didn't have a magical weapon with which to fight him. I'm pretty sure I would have failed even if I beat him because I only had one key.
Initial Stats: Skill=12, Stamina=17, Luck=9
Fights Won (9) Macra Astromancer Crystal Statue Traskannd Hand Denrec First Hound Second Hound Third Hound
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by juniorhornet on Nov 26, 2022 21:11:16 GMT
Night of the Necromancer
Skill 12 Stamina 19 Luck 12 Will 9
Death Acolyte,Baron Blood,Grave Golem,Phantasmagoria
Captured by Josef Van Richten
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Nov 26, 2022 23:58:46 GMT
Once again, I haven't opened my FFFest IL-signed Shadow of the Giants until this week. I've had an early poke around, but I'm going in nearly blind
SKILL 12 STAMINA 22 LUCK 9
In spite of only minimal glacing at the solution, unbelievably I won! Obviously the stats helped. Will add more.
Fights won: Wererat, Wraith, Bonehead, Toady, Weezle, 3 x Giant Rats, Emerald Dragon, Spider Hag, Cobrax, Gorgon, Guardian of the Gate,
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Post by nathanh on Nov 27, 2022 13:03:38 GMT
Disaster against the Night Dragon: I lost to the Mirror Demon. Since I only rolled 9 for skill, this meant I couldn't beat the Night Dragon itself. I killed a lot of stuff though:
Sk 9 St 21 Lu 10 -> Sk 10 St 23 Lu 10 Kills (41): THIEF, THUG, 3 ASSASSINS, ASSASSIN, 2 SNOW WOLVES, STONE DWARF, MOUNTAIN BASILISK, 2 STONEMELDERS, STENCH GHOUL, SKELETON, WIZARD-WRAITH, CHILLSHADOW, BONE STALKER, WOODLAND OGRE, WRAITH HORDE, MIRROR IMAGE, GREY ASSASSIN, GREY ASSASSIN, 2 GREY ACOLYTES, GREY ASSASSIN, BLACK ASSASSIN, BLACK WIZARD, HIGH PRIEST, 2 ACOLYTE PAIRS, GREY ACOLYTE, BLACK ASSASSIN, 2 SKELETON WARRIORS, BLACK ASSASSIN, 2 RED STALKERS, FLYING SKULLS, RED WIZARD, DRAGON IMP, BONE STALKER-MAGE.
Hopefully will have some time for Night of the Necromancer, where I've rolled 11 18 12 which ought to be enough to win, assuming my notes are good enough.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 27, 2022 15:01:28 GMT
Recently people have started expressing an interest in participating in a similar challenge to this next year. I’m happy to run another one, but if there’s somebody else here who’d like to organise one, maybe doing some things differently, they are welcome to propose a new contest instead. Discuss here, and if more than one person throws their hat into the ring, let's see if we can work something out.
Getting back to the ongoing challenge, it would help with calculating bonuses if people didn't include non-combat kills in their lists.
Week 47 scoring 1st= King Gillibran - 14 (stats bonus 4 + victory bonus 10) 1st= terrysalt – 14 (stats bonus 4 + victory bonus 10) 3rd= hallucination - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 3rd= nathanh - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 3rd= vastariner - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 6th: thealmightymudworm - 11 (stats bonus 1 + victory bonus 10) 7th: kieran – 6 (stats bonus 1 + most fights won bonus 5) 8th: juniorhornet - 4 (stats bonus 4) 9th: peasantscribbler – 2 (stats bonus 2)
Running totals 1st: terrysalt - 425 2nd: nathanh – 424 3rd: vastariner – 324 4th: peasantscribbler - 261 5th: thealmightymudworm - 238 6th: kieran - 214 7th: hallucination - 99 8th: The Count - 85 9th: schlendrian - 52 10th: King Gillibran - 30 11th: juniorhornet - 4
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Post by King Gillibran on Nov 28, 2022 14:47:12 GMT
Night Dragon Skill: 7 Stamina: 17 Luck: 12 Kills: 3 Pilgrims. Died to Assassins. The End
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