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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 22, 2022 19:20:52 GMT
I tried Slaves of the Abyss this week. I didn't really get too far. I died when I looked up when exiting a burning building through a window. What actually killed me is a bit of a mystery (fun one, though, for fans of this book).
Initial stats: Sill=11, Stamina=14, Luck=11
Fights Won (3) Second Black Elf Third Black Elf Wretch
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by vastariner on Dec 22, 2022 22:44:33 GMT
Crown of Kings.
Starting with:
Sk 11 St 19 Lu 14
Wearing: skullcap, leather gauntlet (re-roll on one a/s die if St <5, locket, serpent ring, bracelet of bone, sun jewel, green-haired wig, chainmail (5/6, no St damage)
Wielding: +1 a/s broadsword and +2 a/s armband, bow/silver arrows, hewing axe
Bearing: tinderbox/torch, Sleepless Ram phial, holy water, locket, key, 2x lucky talisman (-1 on Lu/no -1 on failed Lu), crystal orb, stone dust, yellow powder, crystal orb, oak sapling, 2GP
Food: 5 Prov, snakebite antidote
Gains:
Parchment: -20 for translation (given to She Satyrs) Hardwood spear: duly blessed Fire water Nose plugs Holy water Strength potion Another bloody skullcap 2 GP (1 given to beggar) Big key 20 GP Ring of green metal Sand Glue +3 prov Holy water Luck necklace Bracelet of bone Goblin teeth 5 GP 10GP (spent 3) Birdman whistle Candles Key -17 Black facemask
Gen:
Colletus is at the Groaning Bridge -92 for the secret passage door -100 if kill Sight-monsters Need password from Valignya Naggamanteh and "one other" for the Throben keys Seek out the Samaritans of Schinn Alaralatanalara 399 for door no. 2 Farren Whyde's secret door -111 for Farren Whyde again
Victims:
2 drunk guards First Guard Second Guard 3 sightmasters (with spear) Mucalytic Netherworld demon (via spell)
Other:
Init luck to 15 Init luck to 16
***
In the end, a fairly easy run-through. A book that probably needs more instadeaths for characters that have gone all the way from the start. In CoK, with Sk11, plus a +3 set of attack strength bonuses, I was basically Dumbledore crossed with Rambo.
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 23, 2022 20:41:20 GMT
Skill: 9 Stamina: 19 Luck: 8
items: 5 provisions, spell of life kills: gryphon info: cyphers, secret cyphers, sword tempered in Heartflame, Orghuz weakness - left knee
The dice gods are fickle and cruel. I rolled a 10 in my first one-strike combat which would have been great had my opponent not rolled a 12.
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Post by nathanh on Dec 24, 2022 14:20:39 GMT
I don't have either of next week's books, so I played Chasms of Malice from the solution.
I lost to the second one-strike combat.
I doubt this will be sufficient to get me to the closest to victory, and my stats are better than terrysalt, so it looks like we will have an exciting finish to the competition.
Sk 11 St 18 Lu 11.
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Post by hallucination on Dec 24, 2022 18:02:04 GMT
Slaves of the Abyss
Skill 7, stamina 15, luck 8
The dice were on my side for picking up Spitting Fly, but against me during my duel with the two guards @242.
Fights won: nil
Items: pomander, riddler’s bottle, ghulsh, blowpipe, buckler
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 24, 2022 21:06:38 GMT
The Crown of Kings – I don't own or know this book, far less have I successfully played through all the previous Sorcery! books
SKILL 7 STAMINA 17 LUCK 9
Details pending – might be a while.
So I was smart enough not to swing on a rope without checking with HOW first (though why not SUS?) but the note purporting to be from Colletus gave me false confidence in the groaning bridge – enough to think that as a landmark it wouldn't vanish, at least. Zero fights won, naturally – I think that's the first time that I haven't even begun a single fight.
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Post by juniorhornet on Dec 25, 2022 21:58:24 GMT
Hi All, Am I being stupid or is there an error in Slaves of the Abyss if you stay to defend the city? From reference 174 if you still stay behind it leads to an incorrect paragraph?
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Post by juniorhornet on Dec 25, 2022 22:09:16 GMT
Slaves of the Abyss Skill 10 Stamina 16 Luck 9 Rode East and got killed by the Priests in Hasrah. Another short adventure!
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,470
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Dec 25, 2022 22:14:11 GMT
Hi All, Am I being stupid or is there an error in Slaves of the Abyss if you stay to defend the city? From reference 174 if you still stay behind it leads to an incorrect paragraph? It's not incorrect, but it only implies what happened when you stayed to defend the city rather than spelling it out: Kallamehr is destroyed and the only thing left of you is your Fangthane Sword which has been looted from the ruins.
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Post by juniorhornet on Dec 25, 2022 22:56:53 GMT
Thanks, re read it properly now, just felt wrong so i rode out east instead. Too much 'Christmas Spirit' today haha! So in reality I died even sooner than above!
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Post by vastariner on Dec 28, 2022 11:17:26 GMT
Chasms of Malice.
Sk 7
St 18
Lu 12
Finds:
+2 prov +2 fuel
Gen:
Block on the right, one across left, one diagonal left
First fight, Khuddam Churka, only won one Attack Round.
Well, that was stupid.
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Post by hallucination on Dec 28, 2022 15:41:10 GMT
Chasms of malice
Skill 12, stamina 19, Luck 8 Used champskees guide Lost my first One Strike Combat
Fights won: gryphon
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Post by a moderator on Dec 29, 2022 19:01:47 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!
Does 'ran Through' mean you didn't use dice to generate Attack Strengths when killing them? Were any of these kills achieved instantaneously by using the blessed hardwood spear?
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Post by King Gillibran on Dec 30, 2022 7:47:10 GMT
Does 'ran Through' mean you didn't use dice to generate Attack Strengths when killing them? Were any of these kills achieved instantaneously by using the blessed hardwood spear? I meant stabbed while they slept. and none where done with the blessed hardwood spear.
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Post by King Gillibran on Dec 30, 2022 7:59:46 GMT
Chasms of Malice
Skill 9 Stamina 20 Luck 11
Kills Gryphon.
Died to one strike combat (1st one)
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Post by a moderator on Dec 30, 2022 16:49:17 GMT
Apologies for the delay in updating the scores. I had no internet access for a week, and then there were complications with determining who got the kill-count bonus. Once non-combat kills were excluded, King Gillibran and nathanh both had 11 kills. From two different books, just to add to the fun. Nevertheless, four of the opponents fought in Crown had the same stats as four of the opponents fought in Slaves, so they balanced each other out. Pairing the remaining opponents off, weakest to strongest, King Gillibran’s three easiest fights were marginally tougher than nathanh’s, but nathanh’s four most dangerous opponents were more of a threat than King Gillibran’s, significantly so when comparing the Maijem-Nosoth and Ogre to the toughest Guard and the Mucalytic.
Week 51 scoring 1st: nathanh - 17 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10 + most fights won bonus 5) 2nd= King Gillibran - 11 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 2nd= terrysalt – 11 (stats bonus 1 + victory bonus 10) 4th: vastariner - 10 (stats bonus 0+ victory bonus 10) 5th: hallucination - 7 (stats bonus 7) 6th= juniorhornet - 4 (stats bonus 4) 6th= peasantscribbler – 4 (stats bonus 4) 6th= thealmightymudworm - 4 (stats bonus 4) 9th: kieran – 2 (stats bonus 2)
Running totals 1st: nathanh – 486 2nd: terrysalt - 476 3rd: vastariner – 345 4th: peasantscribbler - 275 5th: thealmightymudworm - 253 6th: kieran - 234 7th: hallucination - 118 8th: The Count - 85 9th: King Gillibran - 61 10th: schlendrian - 52 11th: juniorhornet - 18
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,470
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Dec 31, 2022 0:06:52 GMT
Chasms of Malice Sk8 St22 Lu12 I thought I was doing OK, managing to kill two of the Khuddam and stick my sword in the Heartfire. Sadly, my Skill was reduced to 5 in the Caves which made me easy prey for the Evil Spirit I inadvertently summoned.
Kills Khuddam Churka Khuddam Friankara
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Post by a moderator on Dec 31, 2022 0:12:09 GMT
24-hour warning to juniorhornet, peasantscribbler and thealmightymudworm.
There are only two FF books that haven't yet been selected for this challenge. For the benefit of anyone who hasn't been keeping track...
Week 53 This century - The Warlock of Firetop Mountain Last century - Daggers of Darkness
To discourage misuse of the Wandering Monster table in TWoFM, you may only visit it once from each section that points to it. When listing kills of wandering monsters, include the number of the section from which you were sent to the table for each separate encounter. Additionally, each monster on the table can only be claimed once: if you roll the same number twice, the second fight gains you nothing.
While there's less of a voluntary aspect to repeating fights in parts of Daggers, you may likewise only count the first instance of any such 'rematches' when listing combats won.
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 31, 2022 4:17:03 GMT
Are we allowing mid-combat potion drinking in Warlock?
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Post by a moderator on Dec 31, 2022 10:34:51 GMT
The book allows it (and doing so enabled my Skill 8 character to survive against the Iron Cyclops when I played it today), so I'm not going to forbid it.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 31, 2022 15:16:43 GMT
Took a shot at Chasms – early by my standards given the date.
SKILL 11 STAMINA 20 LUCK 8
It's a long time since I played CoM. I've usually been inclined to accentuate the positive about it. It has some nice ideas to it in spite of the OSCs, and if tasked with fixing a book it doesn't seem like a bad one to have a go at.
However, the bit of the book which did for me was "You are in a place. Nothing fancy, just a place. You can go North-West or North-East or backwards" *repeat* *repeat* *repeat* Test LUCK, fail, dead. That is feeble. It is also a bit galling to be told glibly that there are "patterns which have no meaning" to me, when I've just been told loads about funny patterns. How many patterns can there be?
Fights won: Scavenger Orc, Drunken Troll, Khuddam Geshrak, Fang Spider, Shadrac
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Post by a moderator on Dec 31, 2022 16:13:08 GMT
I ran into one of those endings, too. Just out of interest, how exactly did you die? While crawling up a hole I got my face clawed off by an unidentified furry creature that defeated Tabasha in combat.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 31, 2022 17:07:32 GMT
I tried Chasms of Malice, and I died in exactly the same way as greenspine describes above. It's hard to tell, but I think I got further in Blood of the Zombies, so that's what I will count for the frenzy. I died opening a box that said 'do not open'. I guess that's on me.
Initial Stat: Stamina=27
Fights Won (9)
2 Zombies 8 Zombies 3 Zombies 4 Zombies 15 Mutant Sewer Rats 2 Zombies 1 Zombie 12 Zombies 17 Zombies
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Dec 31, 2022 18:15:10 GMT
I ran into one of those endings, too. Just out of interest, how exactly did you die? While crawling up a hole I got my face clawed off by an unidentified furry creature that defeated Tabasha in combat. Probably something like this: In my case I was in a cave in which huge icicles were dropping and one of them hit me. Not to be confused with an earlier cave in which sharp pieces of stone were dropping and I dodged them, or a later cave in which blades have been strung up and then start dropping.
The gamebook could really use a 'concrete umbrella' cheat code.
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Post by nathanh on Dec 31, 2022 18:48:31 GMT
I didn't record which ref I fought the wandering monster from, but I only fought one so I don't think it matters. I won, though it was very tight on occasions.
Sk 8 St 19 Lu 10 Kills (24): ORC, SNAKE, 2 ORCS, 5 ORCS, 2 GOBLINS, IRON CYCLOPS, BARBARIAN, WERERAT, 4 ZOMBIES, 4 DWARFS, MINOTAUR, ORC
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Post by terrysalt on Dec 31, 2022 19:23:34 GMT
Since random.org remembered that it hates me, both my attempts yielded a skill of 7 and neither attempt was successful so I offer you the one where I had slightly worse stats. Daggers of Darkness Skill: 7 Stamina: 19 Luck: 8 items: 10 provisions, potion of skill kills: none info: Nathan wins! I died to the first screecher. The dice gods toyed with me by allowing me to pass the no doubles and 3+ tests but then had me lose 19 stamina before I could remove 8 from an equal skilled opponent. Que sera sera. Thanks to Greenspine for running the event. Congratulations to Nathan for winning and I hereby renounce the dice gods.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Dec 31, 2022 21:01:11 GMT
I wanted to close out the Fortieth Frenzy with a win, so I chose The Warlock of Firetop Mountain and went for it. I rolled low Skill and high Luck, so I figured I'd have a chance if I didn't take on any unnecessary combats. I passed a Luck test to get past the sleeping Orc sentry, and I bypassed the room with the other sleeping Orc. I opened the box in the next room, fought the Snake, and collected my first key (gaining 1 Luck point). I opened the next door and fought the drunken Orcs, here suffering my first Stamina loss as they won a single attack round between them. I memorized the Dragonfire spell and proceeded to the next junction, where I turned east. At the next junction, I went north. I tried to open the door with the old man prisoner, but I failed the Skill test and had to move on (losing 1 Stamina point in the process). I passed the Skill test to open the next door, but I had forgotten that you have to give up an item to take the shield. I left the shield behind because I didn't have anything I wanted to give up. I bypassed the next door and arrived at the first portcullis. I never remember which lever to pull, and I chose the wrong one. Here the dice helped me out (not for the last time), and I lost 1 Skill point and 2 Stamina points because I used my non-sword arm to pull the lever. After the portcullis, I turned east and rested at the resting bench to eat a provision. This restored 1 Skill point and 5 Stamina points, bringing me back to my initial scores. I went North, then East, then opened the door to face the Iron Cyclops. Here the dice came through for me again, and I only lost four attack rounds while winning three (using Luck twice). I collected my second key and the Eye of the Cyclops jewel, restoring 2 luck points. I also ate a provision to restore 4 Stamina points (bringing me to 15). I went back to the last junction and turned north to enter a room with an attacking Barbarian. I couldn't remember if the Barbarian has anything useful, but I was worried about a regression to the mean with the dice, so I decided to Escape during the first attack round (automatically losing 2 Stamina points). I went north and passed the paintings without looking at them. I turned east and stopped at an alcove to eat another provision (bringing me back up to 17 Stamina). In the next room, I looked at the Y-shaped wood, but I left it behind as I didn't have anything I wanted to give up in order to take it. From there, I made my way to the river. Normally, I just pay the Ferryman, but I didn't have any money this time so I just punted myself across using his raft. The raft tried to throw me in the river, but I couldn't fail the combo Luck/Stamina test because my Luck was 12 and Stamina was 17. On the north side of the river, I chose the door directly in front of me, and I was clubbed on the head from behind (losing 2 Stamina points). When I recovered, I had to fight four Zombies. This was a tough fight that brought me down to 7 Stamina. I then scavenged a sword and a crucifix from a dead body in the room. The sword boosted my Initial Skill and current Skill by two points (bringing it up to 9). From here, I knew I only had one real obstacle remaining (the Minotaur). I bypassed the Vampire and the Ghoul and made my way through the maze to the Minotaur's room. The Minotaur won a single attack round (bringing my Stamina to 5), but I won three rounds and used Luck twice to defeat it. I collected my third key and restored 2 Luck points. From there, I made my way through the rest of the maze (avoiding dead ends) and used the Dragonfire spell against the Dragon. I met up with Zagor and pulled out the Eye of the Cyclops to wither him into a heap of nothing. I used my 3 keys to open Zagor's treasure chest and proceeded to section 400 and victory! It was a very satisfying way to close out the Fortieth Frenzy. Much thanks to greenspine and all the other participants. Here's to more adventures in 2023!
Initial Stats: Skill=7, Stamina=19, Luck=12
Fights Won (9) Snake First Orc Second Orc Iron Cyclops Zombie Zombie with scythe Zombie with pick Zombie with axe Minotaur
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 1, 2023 13:57:20 GMT
This week has illustrated why having separate 'closeness to victory' victory bonuses for each book is a good idea. According to my calculations, based on the solution threads, peasantscribbler got just under a third of the way through Blood, while terrysalt, nathanh, hallucination and King Gillibran all got slightly more than a third of the way through Chasms. As the only one of those players to survive the first One-Strike Combat, nathanh just secures the bonus.
Week 52 scoring 1st: peasantscribbler – 9 (stats bonus 4 + most fights won bonus 5) 2nd: nathanh - 7 (stats bonus 2 + closest to victory bonus 5) 3rd= terrysalt – 4 (stats bonus 4) 3rd= vastariner - 4 (stats bonus 4) 5th= hallucination - 2 (stats bonus 2) 5th= kieran – 2 (stats bonus 2) 5th= King Gillibran - 2 (stats bonus 2) 5th= thealmightymudworm - 2 (stats bonus 2)
Running totals 1st: nathanh – 493 2nd: terrysalt - 480 3rd: vastariner – 349 4th: peasantscribbler - 284 5th: thealmightymudworm - 255 6th: kieran - 236 7th: hallucination - 120 8th: The Count - 85 9th: King Gillibran - 63 10th: schlendrian - 52 11th: juniorhornet - 18
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,470
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 3, 2023 23:30:23 GMT
Daggers of Darkness Sk12 St21 Lu7 Sadly my Skill of 12 didn't help me against a Necromancer where I had to rely on my less impressive Necromancer Fighting Skill of 7. It's a bit mean that this is tricky ability to learn yet it still puts you at a disadvantage to any Necromancers you meet. Not all that well thought out. Kills: 6 Grypvulture Orc x3 Marsh Goblin Screecher
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Post by hallucination on Jan 6, 2023 7:24:47 GMT
Warlock of Firetop Mountain Skill 10, stamina 20, luck 12
Bronze key 99, Di Maggio spell, 40 gp [35 remaining], potion of invisibility, glove, Crescent Shield, cheese, Boat House keys, red key 111.
Fights won Snake, first and second orc, orc chieftain and servant, first and second goblin, giant sandworm, dog, werewolf, 4x zombies, ghoul, orc*, troll*, Minotaur, skeleton*, Warlock
* =diceroll baddie. Didn’t note the reference I came from, but only fought one each of the monster types listed.
I did not possess the keys to open the chest. But bested the big bad warlock at least!
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