kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 16, 2022 20:47:47 GMT
... how utterly random! That must be a misprint, surely? I think it's intentional to compensate for the extra damage guns do. It does seem odd that all your opponents have such low Stamina in comparison though!
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 16, 2022 21:40:21 GMT
That was my reasoning too. The car's armour is determined the same way so I find it doubtful that it was a mistake.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 18, 2022 11:59:50 GMT
One slight modifier to the ruling about fighting Conrad in Moonrunner: the fight against him in Maniac Guard mode at the mill can only be counted once. Any subsequent encounters with him in different locations count like any other fight, but you may not inflate your kill count by looping through multiple iterations of 'win a fight against him - take an ineffective course of action when he reanimates - fight him again'.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Jan 21, 2022 13:45:24 GMT
I tried both of this week's adventures, resulting in two embarrassingly early instant deaths. Moonrunner went a little better. What a wasted opportunity. I have won this book relatively recently with relatively mediocre stats. This time I ate poisoned food at Craven Asylum.
Starting Stats: Skill=11, Stamina=19, Luck=11, Gold=20
"Enemies" defeated (3): Furneaux First Guard Second Guard
Items gathered: 25 gold pieces letter of introduction to Dr. Welsch
Information learned: Conrad Zaar is a spy for the cabal
Didn't use a guide.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 21, 2022 16:02:19 GMT
I tried both of this week's adventures, resulting in two embarrassingly early instant deaths. Moonrunner went a little better. What a wasted opportunity. I have won this book relatively recently with relatively mediocre stats. This time I ate poisoned food at Craven Asylum.
Starting Stats: Skill=11, Stamina=19, Luck=11
"Enemies" defeated (3): Furneaux First Guard Second Guard
Items gathered: 25 gold pieces letter of introduction to Dr. Welsch
Information learned: Conrad Zaar is a spy for the cabal
Didn't use a guide. Can you remember what you rolled for gold during character creation?
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Post by philsadler on Jan 21, 2022 17:58:24 GMT
I have won this book relatively recently with relatively mediocre stats. This time Starting Stats: Skill=11, Stamina=19, Luck=11
That's your idea of 'relatively mediocre stats'? I guess they would be compared to someone who had 'rolled' 12/24/12.
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Post by CharlesX on Jan 21, 2022 18:28:30 GMT
I have won this book relatively recently with relatively mediocre stats. This time Starting Stats: Skill=11, Stamina=19, Luck=11
That's your idea of 'relatively mediocre stats'? I guess they would be compared to someone who had 'rolled' 12/24/12.
I have rolled 12 24 12 and 7 14 7 quite a few times, which is statistically unlikely even testifying to the ridiculous and excessive time I have spent playing FF. Really, it's another reason to use computers instead of antique, tatty 'dice'.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 21, 2022 19:23:55 GMT
I have won this book relatively recently with relatively mediocre stats. This time Starting Stats: Skill=11, Stamina=19, Luck=11
That's your idea of 'relatively mediocre stats'? I guess they would be compared to someone who had 'rolled' 12/24/12.
The 'relatively mediocre stats' were on a previous, successful attempt. On this occasion he failed in spite of getting better rolls.
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Post by nathanh on Jan 21, 2022 22:38:14 GMT
Let's see if I can remember how to play Moonrunner. Skill 12 Stamina 21 Luck 9 Gold 18
With these stats I can do some unnecessary fights along the way. Unfortunately I choose my skills slightly too efficiently and therefore miss the chance to get some kills in, and then Gruul takes away my Tracking skill so I can't even score any extra kills right at the end. But at least I won.
Ending equipment: Letter of Introduction, Poison Antidote, Inmate's Locket, Hand of Glory, Skull of Mora Tao, Angevin Shroud, 58gp, 4 provisions.
Special Skills: None (started with Disguise, Sleight of Hand, Lock Picking, Acrobatics, gained Tracking later, lost them all at the end).
Other notes and info: Lishek's warning, Conrad Zaar is at Weathern Mill, Rosy Chalice are at the Last Octopus, Rosy Chalice are a front for the Cabal, codeword Rotkod.
Enemies defeated: FURNEAUX, two GUARDS, ZEN-VIPER, Four INMATES, two PROVOSTS, the SHOCKER. A brief scuffle with KILMARNEY and HOGG.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 21, 2022 23:31:21 GMT
I tried both, and did appallingly at Six-Gun Friday. As for Moonrunner...Sk 9 St 19 L 11 GP 18
Fights won: Furneaux 2 Guards 4 Inmates Dark Elf Assassin Argolis Zombie Slave Eviron the Landlady Rat Man Brician Warlord Orc Stoat-Strangler
Listing equipment and clues is only really necessary to help determine who was closest to success if nobody wins. Since two players won the book, I won't bother going into detail. Suffice to say that one item I did not possess was the Skull of Mora Tao, which turned out to be what I needed to keep from being swallowed up by the blob which Gruul summoned.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 22, 2022 0:06:14 GMT
I also tried both but both went badly. I'm not sure which to post. I got about halfway through Six-Gun Friday before dying to an opponent with lower Skill and Stamina than me. I barely got anywhere in Moonrunner but I beat more opponents and had abysmal stats so it's probably worth slightly more points: I got the snot beaten out of me by the city guards at the start. Limping away with 1 Stamina point and feebly scoffing provisions, I fell into a pit then drowned.
Stats: Sk7 St17 Lu7 Go17 - Combat, Sneak, Lock Picking, Climb
Combats: Guard Furneaux Guard
Items: None (not sure I actually took the dagger)
Information: Dagger from Lugosh's forge at Priestgate
Didn't use a guide
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Post by a moderator on Jan 22, 2022 0:10:36 GMT
Just under 24 hours for schlendrian, vastariner and thealmightymudworm to post results for week 3.
Week 4 The randomiser seems to be in the mood for some saurian slaughter, as there's a definite theme common to both of this week's picks.
This century - Island of the Lizard King Last century - Battleblade Warrior
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 22, 2022 8:18:46 GMT
Back to my usual luck. I rolled skill 7 stamina 17 luck 9 in Battleblade Warrior. I killed 5 goblins and died to the 6th. Inventory was just starting equipment.
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 22, 2022 8:37:05 GMT
Not sure if it's already been addressed but with the Jon Green books that were rebalanced in the Wizard releases, are people with the Puffin copies compensated for the increased difficulty at all? Or is it assumed that even rebalanced, they're absurdly difficult so everyone's dying quickly anyway?
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Post by vastariner on Jan 22, 2022 11:26:51 GMT
Tried Six Gun Friday. SK: 10 ST: 18
Skills: fast draw, perception Gun: S&W
Codewords: Scorpion (subtract 50 re Black Dinah) Nest Sidewinder
Stuff picked up: 10-gauge Remington shotgun, a .44 Winchester rifle and a Knuckleduster revolver; canned food, two full canteens of water, medical supplies, $35 dollars cash and a change of clothes.
Fight: slumlord
Aaaand he killed me. Again, not even one successful fight. I enjoyed the writing in this, but it suffered a bit from Dever-itis, in that there are limited choices and you end up in a similar position anyway. Plus there were a LOT of no-choice paragraphs. You just read through three or four very long ones and they direct you to another paragraph. Indeed there are some natural choices that you're denied, e.g. the slumlord fight that killed me - there was no option for gun-drawing, which might have led to an interesting alternative.
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Post by schlendrian on Jan 22, 2022 13:05:22 GMT
Six Gun Friday as well, short one, didn't kill a single foe: SK: 8 ST: 18
Skills: fast draw, tracking Gun: Colt
Codewords: Asp
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Post by vastariner on Jan 22, 2022 19:43:33 GMT
Island of the Lizard King, for sentimental reasons; it was the first one I bought.
So I should know it by now.
Sk: 9 St: 18 L: 9
Mr Average.
Potion of luck.
Kills: two pirates
But those two pirates reduced me to 2 St. And the pirate captain won the first attack round. And I rolled 11 against luck.
Bloody hell.
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jan 22, 2022 23:55:43 GMT
Took a shot at Moonrunner, made it all the way to the Tower before being crushed by what I know to be the Ectoplasmic Lurker, though my character never got to see it.
Inital stats: Skill 8 Stamina 17 Luck 10 Gold 15
Special Skills: Con, Sleight of Hand, Sneak, Lock Pick
Not sure any other details matter. I took a very gentle route through, killing a mere four inmates (I was always going to free them anyway! As it was I had to roll for LUCK to survive and then last another five rounds on a STAMINA of 1) and a zombie in combat. Final details: Gold 65 Provisions: 4 Inventory: letter of intro to Asylum, inmate's locket, Rosy Chalice brooch, Hand of Glory (deduct 1 point from opponent Skill, but -1 to your Stamina in battle), Skull of Mora Tao, Angevin Shroud (can use to restore STAMINA to inital) Notes: Zaar is a traitor (Weatherbeaten Mill 93), Rosy Chalice Last Octopus, inmates freed, Cabal all war criminals led by Gruul, Fraternity front at the tavern, Rotkod, Q'yann
If I'd turned left instead of right, I think I'd have had a good chance of winning: a probably quite manageable fight, a Test of SKILL (prob the biggest risk), facing Gruul with three wards including the crucial Hand and Skull, an irrelevant STAMINA roll and on to victory.
I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't get on with things in time to also have a shot at Six Gun Friday as that's one of very few of the Fantazine adventures I have played (and won) before, and I remembered it as being good.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 23, 2022 17:07:48 GMT
If I'd turned left instead of right, I think I'd have had a good chance of winning I picked Tracking as one of my Special Skills to be sure of not making that mistake. Week 3 scoring
1st: terrysalt – 14 (stats bonus 4 + victory bonus 10) 2nd: nathanh - 12 (stats bonus 2 + victory bonus 10) 3rd: greenspine - 9 (stats bonus 4 + highest kill-count bonus 5) 4th= kieran – 5 (stats bonus 5) 4th= thealmightymudworm - 5 (stats bonus 5) 6th= schlendrian – 4 (stats bonus 4) 6th= vastariner - 4 (stats bonus 4) 8th: peasantscribbler - 2 (stats bonus 2) This does illustrate one of the limitations of the system for establishing stats bonuses: thanks to the rounding off of fractions, vastariner scores the same as schlendrian depite a two-point Skill advantage. Not much that can be done about that, short of devising a significantly more complex algorithm. Running totals
1st = terrysalt - 21 1st = nathanh – 21 3rd = kieran - 16 3rd = greenspine - 16 5th = peasantscribbler - 10 5th = schlendrian - 10 7th: thealmightymudworm - 9 8th: vastariner – 8
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Post by schlendrian on Jan 25, 2022 9:40:47 GMT
I might have overlooked it, but when exactly is the due time? Will likely be able to do Island.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 25, 2022 11:16:26 GMT
Midnight (GMT) on the threshold between Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th January.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 25, 2022 12:57:40 GMT
I decided to take a punt at Island of the Lizard King. Sk 11 St 23 L 11 - pretty much ideal for the challenge:
Fights won: Giant Crab 3 Headhunters Hydra (left head) Hydra (right head) Giant Water Snake Giant Lizard Spit Toad Crocodile Delirious Prisoner Lizard Man Lizard Man Lizard Man Orc Guard Hill Troll Cave Woman Hobgoblin Styracosaurus Mutant Lizard Man Hobgoblin Cyclops Shapechanger Two-Headed Lizard Man Black Lion Lizard King
No need to list items held or information learned, as I won. Good thing I chose a Potion of Strength at the outset, or I'd have died by attrition. Time permitting, I might also have a go at Battleblade Warrior for completeness' sake, but I doubt that I'll do better at that.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 25, 2022 13:05:31 GMT
Not sure if it's already been addressed but with the Jon Green books that were rebalanced in the Wizard releases, are people with the Puffin copies compensated for the increased difficulty at all? Or is it assumed that even rebalanced, they're absurdly difficult so everyone's dying quickly anyway? I'm not sure the edits to Spellbreaker make enough of a difference to matter. Curse tones down an early fight, which could affect progress and kill count, so any player who only has the Puffin edition will be allowed to fight the affected opponents at Wizard edit level (as long as they can prove that they already know what a telescope does).
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Post by terrysalt on Jan 25, 2022 19:17:25 GMT
Okay, cool. Thanks.
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Post by nathanh on Jan 28, 2022 17:38:23 GMT
I came close to the end in Island of the Lizard King but eventually lost to the BLACK LION... Stats: Sk 11 St 15 Lu 12
Enemies vanquised: 2 PIRATES, PIRATE CAPTAIN, 3 HEADHUNTERS, GIANT LIZARD, SPIT TOAD, DELERIOUS PRISONER, LIZARD MAN, LIZARD MAN, BEAR, HILL TROLL, CAVE WOMAN, RAZORJAW, HOBGOBLIN, STYRACOSAURUS, LIZATRD MAN, MUTANT LIZARD MAN, CYCLOPS
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Jan 28, 2022 18:04:15 GMT
Attacking that poor delirious STAMINA 5 prisoner?
You lot ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
I bet you used a LUCK point on your second hit just to make sure you killed him stone dead didn't you?
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Post by a moderator on Jan 28, 2022 19:00:33 GMT
If you reread section 87, you'll see that he attacked us.
I certainly didn't waste a Luck point on him.
About 29 hours to go, kieran, schlendrian, peasantscribbler and thealmightymudworm.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,458
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Jan 29, 2022 0:15:44 GMT
I tried Battleblade Warrior, assuming it would give me a better chance at combat. Oh well... Sk10 St23 Lu11 Pretty good stats. Unfortunately the first battle I had was a clash with a hobgoblin fanatic while trying to break out of the city. Despite his 3 Skill disadvantage, he won two attack rounds in a row so managed to disarm me before I was brought down by his chums.
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Post by a moderator on Jan 29, 2022 0:29:07 GMT
Just under a day to get results in for week 4 if you haven't already.
Week 5 The randomiser picks two adventures with more than one way to win.
This century - Return to the Icefinger Mountains (Fighting Fantazine 9) Last century - Demons of the Deep
In Return, reaching section 49 or 275 will be considered a victory.
A few points regarding Demons: If you take advantage of the opportunity to reroll your stats, you must list both sets of rolls. If you fight Cyrano, you may not count the fight as a win unless you are first to strike three blows (even though that produces a less favourable outcome). Reaching section 189, 236, 238 or 277 will be considered a victory.
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Post by peasantscribbler on Jan 29, 2022 1:27:25 GMT
I decided to take on Battleblade Warrior. I got off to a decent start, but it all ended rather abruptly. One failed Skill test, and I ended up inside a freaking T. Rex! It was by far the coolest death of my Fortieth Frenzy campaign so far. I shot dead one Swamp Goblin with an arrow prior to taking on the remaining five hand-to-hand, but I'm not sure if it counts for my kills stat.
Starting Stats: Skill=10, Stamina=21, Luck=8
Enemies defeated (5): First Swamp Goblin Second Swamp Goblin Third Swamp Goblin Fourth Swamp Goblin Fifth Swamp Goblin
Items gathered: Bow and 3 silver arrows Healing balm
Information learned: Nothing.
Didn't use a guide.
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