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Post by a moderator on Dec 10, 2022 0:21:44 GMT
24(ish)-hour warning for nathanh, peasantscribbler and thealmightymudworm.
Week 50 It's taken an implausibly long time (if I've calculated it correctly, the odds of it not happening until now are a little under 0.3% - perhaps I should have another go at Crypt or Zombies now) but finally the RNG has come up with a 1.
This century - Howl of the Werewolf Last century - Scorpion Swamp
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Post by nathanh on Dec 10, 2022 11:41:22 GMT
A policy of "do almost nothing" took me to victory in Prey of the Hunter
Sk 11 St 23 Lu 7 Kills: 2 AQUANARIANS
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Post by a moderator on Dec 10, 2022 15:12:31 GMT
Just to clarify what constitutes victory in Scorpion Swamp: Sections 175 and 158 are obviously the win endings for the Selator and Poomchukker quests. If you take the greater challenge of Grimslade's quest, you can claim victory if you pass through section 194 and either get paid in full or kill Grimslade and survive the aftermath.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 10, 2022 18:33:58 GMT
I played prey of the hunter for the first time. I thought it was a clever design, and I enjoyed playing it. I eventually failed a Trail check, and I was killed by Omoz.
Initial Stats: Skill=9, Stamina=20, Luck=12
Fights Won (3): Robber First Silazian Second Silazian
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 10, 2022 19:35:42 GMT
For Howl of the Werewolf, will you want to know just our initial Skill score or what we actually rolled to get it?
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Post by a moderator on Dec 10, 2022 23:30:27 GMT
Just the Initial score will do.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 10, 2022 23:36:45 GMT
Had a go at The Rings of Kether, which I don't own. WEAPONS STRENGTH 9 SHIELDS 2 SKILL 11 STAMINA 18 LUCK 11 I made a bit of a horlicks of it really. Followed a guy to a warehouse, was too ambitious continuing to search after getting a clue, got captured, kicked guys off a platform, tried to meet up with Clive Torus, killed someone, got captured again, escaped again, met his wife, got blown up and ran out of clues. Kills: Gunman (blaster battle)
I have to note one of the most extraordinary choices I've encountered in a gamebook. Before meeting Torus's wife I checked round the area for enemies (choosing to do this rather than stride up seems a no-brainer itself, but I suppose a delay might be critical) and spot a suspicious car and a sniper. I'm then asked whether I would like to take him out or ASSUME HE'S HARMLESS AND JUST GO TO MEET MRS TORUS ANYWAY. It reminds me of the Mitchell & Webb Professor Death sketch in which the Prof sunnily explains that his giant robotic scorpion "...fires helpful bullets."
The most galling thing about it is that I've checked back and ignoring the sniper is actually the least worst option . Just sauntering into the cross-hairs of the gun on the assumption that it fires bubble mixture costs 1d6 STAMINA; shooting at him and missing costs 1 SKILL point while shooting and succeeding costs 2d6 STAMINA. Identical choices follow.
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Post by a moderator on Dec 11, 2022 15:12:08 GMT
Week 49 scoring 1st: terrysalt – 14 (stats bonus 4 + victory bonus 10) 2nd: nathanh - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 3rd: hallucination - 7 (stats bonus 2 + most fights won bonus 5) 4th= kieran – 5 (stats bonus 5) 4th= vastariner - 5 (stats bonus 5) 6th= juniorhornet - 4 (stats bonus 4) 6th= King Gillibran - 4 (stats bonus 4) 8th= peasantscribbler – 2 (stats bonus 2) 8th= thealmightymudworm - 2 (stats bonus 2)
Running totals 1st= nathanh – 453 1st= terrysalt - 453 3rd: vastariner – 331 4th: peasantscribbler - 267 5th: thealmightymudworm - 245 6th: kieran - 221 7th: hallucination - 107 8th: The Count - 85 9th: schlendrian - 52 10th: King Gillibran - 38 11th: juniorhornet - 12
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 11, 2022 20:47:02 GMT
Skill: 10 Stamina: 19 Luck: 10 Starting Gold: 13 Guide: Champskees
items: 12 provisions, signet ring, wulfen sword, silver mirror, ebon wand, bloodstone amulet, garnet ring, elixir of expertise kills: black wolf (2 rounds), 4 wolves, black werewolf, werebear, wolf-were (down to 4 stamina), lurking horror, regenerating tentacle, the malice, moth-man, crone (down to 2 stamina), arch lycanthrope, wolf-demon info: avokez, shiversprite, night creature (don't need lantern), quickening (+1 initial and current skill), -50 in map room
Despite having the highest possible starting skill, the beginning of the book was brutal. I even needed to use luck to survive against a 7/7 black werewolf! I did survive though and once I got the quickening skill, the rest was a clear run to the finish.
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Post by King Gillibran on Dec 12, 2022 13:22:11 GMT
By the way is there a disadvantage if you use a guide. Because I noticed Terrysalt is tying for first place but is there a point minus for using a guide or a point plus for not?
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Post by nathanh on Dec 12, 2022 17:51:22 GMT
By the way is there a disadvantage if you use a guide. Because I noticed Terrysalt is tying for first place but is there a point minus for using a guide or a point plus for not? General feeling was that it isn't worth bothering with a limit or penalty to using solutions, since having rules you can't enforce isn't a great place to be.
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Post by nathanh on Dec 12, 2022 18:46:18 GMT
Although Howl of the Werewolf is a great book, it suffers a little for the best path being relatively do-nothing. I strayed off the do-nothing path occasionally to net a few easy kills, and won comfortably.
Sk 9 St 21 Lu 10 Gold 15 Kills (21-24): BLACK WOLF (1 round), 5 WOLVES, BLACK WEREWOLF, WEREBEAR, SPECTRAL WOLF, TABLE, CHAIR, WOLF-WERE (2 rounds), LURKING HORROR, REGENERATING TENTACLE, THE MALICE, MOTH-MAN, 2 WEREWARGS, CRONE (to 2), 3 WOLF BRIDES, ARCH-LYCANTHROPE, WOLF DEMON
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 12, 2022 19:17:09 GMT
By the way is there a disadvantage if you use a guide. Because I noticed Terrysalt is tying for first place but is there a point minus for using a guide or a point plus for not? General feeling was that it isn't worth bothering with a limit or penalty to using solutions, since having rules you can't enforce isn't a great place to be. Plus using a guide carries it's own inherent penalty. It ensures you won't miss any essential items or stumble into any instant deaths but it also means you won't get nearly as high of a kill count as someone who knows the book well enough to know which additional risks are worth taking.
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Post by nathanh on Dec 12, 2022 20:02:44 GMT
Yeah it makes it easy for me to slip in some extra kills so terrysalt finds it difficult to pick up the 5pt bonus.
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Post by vastariner on Dec 13, 2022 11:34:33 GMT
Scorpion Swamp.
Sk 10
St 16
Lu 9
Selator mission. Gains:
Init Luck +2 Wolf word Sword tree seeds Luck gem Friendship gem (used) Red cloak
Spells:
St x2 (1 used) Bless (used) Illusion Friendship (used) Ice (used)
Wins:
Sword trees Thief 3 swamp orcs
The big defeat: Eaten by a crocodile...
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Post by King Gillibran on Dec 13, 2022 11:48:35 GMT
Yeah it makes it easy for me to slip in some extra kills so terrysalt finds it difficult to pick up the 5pt bonus. Okay thanks.
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Post by hallucination on Dec 13, 2022 19:24:05 GMT
Scorpion Swamp Skill 10 Stamina 17 Luck 7
Fights won - Sword Trees
Also snapped up by a crocodile
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,471
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Dec 14, 2022 0:18:51 GMT
Scorpion Swamp Sk12 St22 Lu11
With stats like those, I figured I would go on a murder spree. Like Donald Trump, I didn't quite drain the swamp however. I limped back to Poomchukker with 2 Stamina points and his precious map. My first win in a while.
Kills: 18 Bear Pool Beast Master of Spiders Crab Grass Swamp Orc x3 Giant Frog x2 Eagle Giant Wolf Brigand x2 Giant Scorpion Thief Unicorn Sword Trees
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Post by King Gillibran on Dec 14, 2022 12:06:59 GMT
Scorpion Swamp
Grimslade Quest
Skill 10 Stamina 20 luck 10
Kills 16: Goblin Statue, Bear, Pool Beast, Master of Spiders, Crab Grass, 3 Swamp Orcs, Thief, Unicorn, 2 Sword Trees, Dire Beast, 2 Wolves, Master of Wolves Victory!
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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 15, 2022 18:52:22 GMT
I rolled bad stats for both adventures this week, but Howl of the Werewolf went somewhat better for me. Though I didn't really make it very far at all. I was killed by the Werebear.
Initial Stats: Skill=8, Stamina=13, Luck=11, Gold=14
Fights Won (7)
Black Wolf (reduced to 6 Stamina) 5 X Wolves Black Werewolf
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by a moderator on Dec 17, 2022 0:10:17 GMT
24(ish)-hour warning for juniorhornet and thealmightymudworm. Week 51This century - The Crown of KingsLast century - Slaves of the AbyssIf the newer players have all 4 Sorcery! books and have the time and inclination to play some or all of the earlier books, they are welcome to take a veteran into Crown (but no skipping intervening titles). Stat listings for any veteran characters taken into Crown should include bonuses gained in prior adventures. Anyone who's been keeping track of what remains to be played will know that we could have an 'interesting' week coming up soon. Imagine if we end up finishing on a double bill of Blood of the Zombies and Chasms of Malice.
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 17, 2022 1:39:22 GMT
skill: 9 stamina: 20 luck: 12 Guide: Champskees
items: 50 gold, 4 provisions, broadsword, locket, armband of swordmastery, torch, tinderbox, gauntlet of weaponry, golden locket, sun jewel, green wig, gold backed mirror, lucky talisman, different lucky talisman, large backpack, serpent ring, galehorn, 2 stone dust, chakram, yellow powder, chainmail, serpent staff, 6 pebbles, sand, flask of oil, whistle, lucky charm, parchment, hardwood spear, potion of firewater, sun jewel, pearl ring, nose plugs, brass pendulum, orb of crystal, orange powder, medicinal potion, 2 holy water, skullcap, large key, glue, ring of green metal, bracelet of bones, 2 goblin teeth, silver whistle, candles, key 17, black face mask
fights: 2 guards, 3 sight masters, netherworld demon
info from book 3: 4 guards protect entrance to Mampang, offer no gold to Valignya, don't eat from Throg's larder, beware mutalytic's breath, don't use blood candle, pay respect to torture master, archmage is disguised, start book 4 at 237
info: "the analander" = -40, -20 to ask about parchment, -30 to find Colletus, Colletus at groaning bridge, -92 to open secret door, -100 when tormentors killed, alaralatanarala, 399 to avoid fire, -17 to open door
There was never any real chance of failure. A successful conclusion to our saga!
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Post by juniorhornet on Dec 17, 2022 23:12:20 GMT
Scorpion Swamp Skill 10 Stamina 20 Luck 11
Killed Bear
Very short adventure, too reasonable with the Master of Spiders....dead!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 17, 2022 23:53:17 GMT
Scorpion Swamp
SKILL 11 STAMINA 18 LUCK 7
Perhaps remarkably I lost, hacked down by the second incarnation of the Sword Trees whilst on my way back to Selator with the Antherica berry.
Fights won: Sword trees, thief
Ramble: It's been a while since I played Scorpion Swamp. I didn't want to use a solution, but had a couple of toy playthroughs before the one for this, and did what I've sometimes done and glanced at the starting suggestions on the solution, i.e. what spells to pick. This proved to be a mistake, as I spent the last half of the adventure cursing myself* for not picking a STAMINA spell. No doubt it isn't necessary if you follow the solution but it would have made all the difference for me.
Whilst in general this is a relatively easy book, it has to be said that the book's attitude to restoring STAMINA, especially in the latter half, is harsh and bizarre. Following encounters with sword trees, the thief and worst of all failing a LUCK test and rolling '6' on 1d6 against the eponymous arachnids of the swamp, I am on 2 STAMINA, but this will be rectifiable, right? Well...
- After defeating the Thief, I munch the cheese he was eating. No STAMINA change. - I encounter the ranger who is delighted to help in my mission. He offers healing herbs which restore 1 point of ...SKILL. No STAMINA change. - The giant swears lifelong friendship to me, but fails to, say, offer me a hearty pie or whatever. No STAMINA change. - I find the Ribenaberry Antherica bush, and know that its berries do give a modest STAMINA boost. But of course I need to keep one, and one is all there is. No STAMINA change. - Perhaps most galling is the encounter with the Master of Gardens:
Me: *crawls bleeding into clearing* "Are you the Master of Gardens?" MoG: "That's me – wizard devoted to growing plants in the cause of good." Me: "Such as healing herbs?" MoG: [baffled silence]"...wuh?" Me: "OK, where's the Antherica plant" MoG: "Anticlockwise through the clearings from here – would you like a spell to help you on your way?" Me: "Oh that'd be great. Got a STAMINA one?" MoG: "Ugh, no, that's a disgusting Neutral spell. I only have Good spells." Me: "Oh. So Friendship, Growth or ...Bless?" MoG: "Those are the ones." Me: "Bless spells having a healing effect, but which folk can't cast on themselves, right?" MoG: "Yes, you've handled them before?" Me: "Yes, just earlier today a unicorn with serious injuries crossed my path and I figured it needed help so I cast the Bless spell on it." MoG: "OK great." Me: [...] MoG: [...] MoG: "So do you want one or not?"
*Not with actual curse spells of course, those are not available on this path.
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Post by a moderator on Dec 18, 2022 17:00:31 GMT
Week 50 scoring1st: nathanh - 16 (stats bonus 1 + victory bonus 10 + most fights won bonus 5) 2nd= King Gillibran - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 2nd= terrysalt – 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 4th: kieran – 11 (stats bonus 1 + victory bonus 10) 5th= hallucination - 4 (stats bonus 4) 5th= peasantscribbler – 4 (stats bonus 4) 5th= thealmightymudworm - 4 (stats bonus 4) 5th= vastariner - 4 (stats bonus 4) 9th= juniorhornet - 2 (stats bonus 2) Running totals1st: nathanh – 469 2nd: terrysalt - 465 3rd: vastariner – 335 4th: peasantscribbler - 271 5th: thealmightymudworm - 249 6th: kieran - 232 7th: hallucination - 111 8th: The Count - 85 9th: schlendrian - 52 10th: King Gillibran - 50 11th: juniorhornet - 14 ETA: The thread for next year's successor to this challenge is now open here.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,471
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Dec 20, 2022 9:13:20 GMT
The Crown of Kings Warrior - Sk11 St23 Lu7
I must have said the wrong thing to the she-satyrs because they didn't tell me how to find Colletus and so I ended up falling through the Groaning Bridge.
Kills:0
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Post by nathanh on Dec 20, 2022 14:48:59 GMT
Slaves of the Abyss Sk 10 St 22 Lu 9
I needed the high STAMINA because the MAIJEM-NOSOTH almost killed me. Had to go through the Abyss section with 5 STAMINA and no Provisions. Fortunately my skill was just high enough to make this possible.
Kills (11): 2 GUARDS, QUAGRANT, SIGE THE SILENT, OGRE, GOBLIN, TROLL, CAVEMAN, MAIJEM-NOSOTH, TENTACLES, ANEMORUS
Nice adventure. The winning path is pretty convoluted, but I think it's interesting that you can eventually get in tune with what the authors were thinking and avoid many of the sudden losses. I remember the first few plays just led to constant failures though, so quite frustrating until you get on board. Shame the Spitting Fly is basically necessary but hidden behind a skill test.
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Post by a moderator on Dec 22, 2022 0:00:47 GMT
I'm off to spend Christmas with family, and don't know how much internet access I'll have at the weekend, so I'm posting next week's titles while I know I can. No peeking until Saturday. Week 52 This century - Blood of the Zombies Last century - Chasms of Malice
So my prediction was a week out. Still a pretty unappealing choice - but at least it means there'll be something winnable in the final week.
If you play Zombies, calculate Stamina as 2d6+20.
For the kill count, list groups fought - something like: 2 Zombies 8 Zombies 3 Zombies 4 Zombies 15 Rats 2 Zombies 1 Zombie 12 Zombies (etc) Each fight will count as one 'kill'.
Also note any Zombies that die without you fighting them, but append an asterisk to indicate that they don't count as kills.
Closeness to victory (let's be honest, the odds of anyone getting the full victory bonus this week are negligible) will be determined based on how long you stayed on the 'true path'. For example, player A takes a lot of damage fighting the Rats, and doesn't have enough Stamina left to get through the mob of a dozen Zombies. Player B avoids the Rats (and also the Zombie duo that follows them), and is healthy enough to kill the gang of 12 and several more Zombies afterwards. Player A is closer to victory despite dying earlier, because player B skipped an essential encounter. On the other hand, player B has a higher kill count.
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Post by King Gillibran on Dec 22, 2022 16:28:24 GMT
I love the Sorcery! saga so I went through all four in an astonishing and resounding victory.
Starting stats:
Skill: 6 Stamina: 22 (Yes) Luck: 11
Ending Stats:
Skill: 8 (+ a 2 Attack Strength Bonus) Stamina: 22 Luck: 15 (Ending Sorcery1, Killing Seven Serpents, Colletus and the Woman in the courtyard.)
Kills: 2 Gaurds (ran Through), 4 Gaurds, 2 Gaurds, 3 Sightmasters, Mucalytic, Netherworld Demon
Victory!
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Post by CharlesX on Dec 22, 2022 17:57:14 GMT
I love the Sorcery! saga so I went through all four in an astonishing and resounding victory.
Starting stats:
Skill: 6 Stamina: 22 (Yes) Luck: 11
Ending Stats:
Skill: 8 (+ a 2 Attack Strength Bonus) Stamina: 22 Luck: 15 (Ending Sorcery1, Killing Seven Serpents, Colletus and the Woman in the courtyard.)
Kills: 2 Gaurds (ran Through), 4 Gaurds, 2 Gaurds, 3 Sightmasters, Mucalytic, Netherworld Demon
Victory!
I assume in the vast majority of cases such as these where you don't specify you play as wizard? I like Sorcery! but for the most part I don't think warrior works half as well as wizard, even if I'm in the mood (no idea whether the Sorcery! app, which i don't own, has more content for the old warrior).
Edit: Guess starting out with less than Skill 7 makes it obvious you're wizard .
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