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Post by Wilf on May 4, 2022 16:54:28 GMT
I had a look at a dictionary myself, and it defined 'alliteration' as 'the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words', so Citadel qualifies on the 'same letter' front.
These are just the first six that came up on Google - there may be many others.
Fortunately for the purpose of this round, this one is academic!!
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Post by Wilf on May 4, 2022 16:55:25 GMT
(Checking stuff like this is why I tend to submit my answers close to the deadline - Phantoms Of Fear (accompanied by one of the above links) was my first answer before the clarification was posted, and Citadel certainly crossed my mind as a potential answer before I did my checks.)
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Post by CharlesX on May 4, 2022 17:05:11 GMT
Fortunately for the purpose of this round, this one is academic!!
Not "technically", because I was seriously considering Phantoms Of Fear Crown Of Kings etc., however, Peter specifically ruled out certain books and ruled in others, presumably primarily reckoning gameplay trumps accuracy, which doesn't seem unreasonable to me, although your speech doesn't, either .
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Post by Wilf on May 4, 2022 17:15:40 GMT
Fortunately for the purpose of this round, this one is academic!!
Not "technically", because I was seriously considering Phantoms Of Fear Crown Of Kings etc., however, Peter specifically ruled out certain books and ruled in others, presumably primarily reckoning gameplay trumps accuracy, which doesn't seem unreasonable to me, although your speech doesn't, either . I will bow to the quizmaster's ultimate decision, of course. But I see nowhere that ruled in The Citadel Of Chaos. The clarification stated that "the alliteration has to be the same letter". That rules out Phantoms (not the same letter) but it doesn't rule in Citadel (because it's not an example of alliteration, same letter or no)!
I look forward to the discussion about Question 10, though, which must surely generate more replies than a non-score-altering point of pedantry like this!!!
Also, I really must pull together a list of questions, because I think I need to be on the receiving end at least once!
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Post by Peter on May 5, 2022 8:18:17 GMT
Half way through. At least 5 unique answers for every question so far – will that trend carry on? Will anyone manage to avoid high-scoring pitfalls? Let's continue.
Question 6. In many books, YOU are joined by a companion for part of the adventure. Their assistance may be significant or it may be quite trivial. Sometimes these colleagues stay with you for a long time, sometimes the partnership is quite brief. Name a book in which you can have a companion who travels with you and then dies. Also please name the companion.
Correct answers (caution: spoilers)
Battleblade Warrior (Katya gets staked): 3 – Sylas, Wilf, Thealmightymudworm
Island of the Lizard King (Mungo gets pirated/crabbed): 1 – Terrysalt
Creature of Havoc (you save Grog, but not permanently): 1 – Tyrion
Spectral Stalkers (Barogkaz, whoever he turns out to be): 1 – Gabe Fandango
Siege of Sardath (Istu the spirit fights for you and can die for you): 1 – Vastariner
Return to Firetop Mountain (Zoot Zimmer and his eagle hit the deck): 1 – Greenspine
Curse of the Mummy (Jerran Farr doesn't go far): 1 – Kieran
Howl of the Werewolf (Ulrich doesn't last long): 1 – Philsadler
Blood of the Zombies (Amy and you get shot by the same mad scientist): 1 – Petch
The Gates of Death (Brother Tobyn): 1 – Bloodbeasthandler
Sorcery 4: The Crown of Kings (Jann get spelled out): 1 – Charles X
It looked like we were going to get exclusively unique answers here, but not quite. I had no idea there were so many when I set the question; I was expecting a major shuffling of the leaderboard here, but only 3 people slipped down.
Nobody picked poor Throm – too obvious? What about the children who travel with you at the start of The Crimson Tide – do any of them die in the book?
Leaderboard after Q6
1. Charles X, Tyrion – 7 points
3. Petch – 8 points
4. Bloodbeasthandler, Vastariner, Sylas, Thealmightymudworm – 10 points
8. Philsadler, Greenspine, Gabe Fandango – 11 points
11. Terrysalt, Wilf – 12 points
13. Kieran – 13 points
The board is starting to spread out a bit now, but it's still tight in the middle.
Question 7. In some books there are situations where YOU find yourself vulnerable to potential attack from a number of different foes. Name a book where you need to roll a die (or dice) to determine which of several creatures you must fight. Please help by also stating the reference number.
I was thinking of wandering monster rolls for this question, but people came up with several situations I was unaware of (mainly from the later books). Some of them involved turning to another page, which was not disallowed.
Reviewing the question now, I see there could be debate about the "must fight" phrase, and I realise I have admitted answers that don't meet the most direct interpretation of this.
Correct answers
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (wandering monster table on ref 161): 2 – Gabe Fandango, Tyrion
Island of the Lizard King (during the climactic battle): 2 – Greenspine, Kieran
Deathmoor (wandering monster table on ref 287): 2 – Petch, Wilf
Creature of Havoc (determining which of the party of adventurers you attack): 1 – Philsadler
Phantoms of Fear (wandering monster table on ref 50): 1 – Terrysalt
Spellbreaker (in the final battle): 1 – Sylas
Bloodbones (jungle encounters on ref 192): 1 – Vastariner
Crystal of Storms (Boreas' conjurings on ref 208): 1 – Charles X
Sorcery 1: The Shamutanti Hills (wandering monster table on ref 123): 1 – Thealmightymudworm
Sorcery 2: Khare – Cityport of Traps (you roll to see which part of the Living Corpse you fight each round): 1 – Bloodbeasthandler
Again, I had no idea there would be so many answers. I was anticipating a quiz full of high scores, but like Q6, this question was almost exclusively unique answers.
Island of the Lizard King, Bloodbones and Crystal of Storms are essentially the same as a wandering monster table, you just turn to a different page to find out which one you fight. Creature of Havoc had another option aside from Philsadler's answer – at the very start you roll dice to determine your direction of travel, leading to different potential battles. Khare – Cityport of Traps was a clever answer; I would have given half-points to Bloodbeasthandler as a bonus if that was in the rules.
Blood of the Zombies would not have counted, as you only roll dice to determine which and how many zombies you kill each round, not which ones you are fighting.
Leaderboard after Q7
1. Charles X – 8 points
2. Tyrion – 9 points
3. Petch – 10 points
4. Bloodbeasthandler, Vastariner, Sylas, Thealmightymudworm – 11 points
8. Philsadler – 12 points
9. Terrysalt, Greenspine, Gabe Fandango – 13 points
12. Wilf – 14 points
13. Kieran – 15 points
Question 8. Remaining unrecognised or undetected is often a desirable objective in adventures. Disguises of varying sorts can sometimes be adopted. In some books you need to impersonate somebody else, while in others you simply want to avoid being noticed. Name a book in which you can disguise yourself or alter your appearance, to make yourself unidentifiable. Include a description of the disguise.
I changed the wording of this one several times. Initially I was looking for attempts to hide your identity. Having changes forced upon you, or accidental changes, weren't going to count.
Then I decided to reward innovative thinkers, and include accidental changes, unwilling alterations, and time-related changes. So The Crimson Tide would have counted, as you may be unidentifiable when you encounter your nemesis because your appearance has been altered by time.
I also decided to include invisibility as an alteration that makes you unidentifiable, which opened up a lot more possibilities for answers. In the end, nobody chose this (except the Dark Veil Talent in Dead of Night).
Correct answers
Appointment with F.E.A.R. (changing into the Silver Crusader): 2 – Kieran, Wilf
Dead of Night (Dark Veil Talent): 2 – Philsadler, Charles X
Legend of Zagor (zombie powder): 2 – Bloodbeasthandler, Sylas
Caverns of the Snow Witch (the Mountain Elf offers you his cloak): 1 – Greenspine
House of Hell (you don a cultist's outfit to blend in): 1 – Gabe Fandango
Talisman of Death (a black cloak of death-worship): 1 – Thealmightymudworm
Moonrunner (a zombie disguise): 1 – Tyrion
Siege of Sardath (drink a potion of dark-elf-resemblance-causing): 1 – Terrysalt
Knights of Doom (a green cloak and hood): 1 – Vastariner
Sorcery 3: The Seven Serpents (use KID on the Klattaman tribe): 1 - Petch
I never thought of Appointment with F.E.A.R., but it is hiding in plain sight – adopting a disguise is central to the plot. Well done Kieran and Wilf, bad luck for doubling up; I would have given you the halved-point reward for ingenuity as well.
Leaderboard after Q8
1. Charles X, Tyrion – 10 points
3. Petch – 11 points
4. Vastariner, Thealmightymudworm – 12 points
6. Bloodbeasthandler, Sylas – 13 points
8. Philsadler, Terrysalt, Greenspine, Gabe Fandango – 14 points
12. Wilf – 16 points
13. Kieran – 17 points
Still a close fight at the top. Now for the controversial ones…
Question 9. There are many places where YOU may need to figure out a puzzle or unravel a conundrum to determine the best (or only) way forward. Some of these challenges require mathematical ability, some call on your powers of logical deduction, while others reward your observational skills. Name a book that has a code that you need to decipher in order to progress in the adventure. (This does not include situations where you simply learn a secret number, there must be some actual puzzle-solving.) Provide some details of the code as well please.
I changed this one as well. I initially wanted a book where cracking a code was essential for victory, but then I decided that "essential" could be debated.
Correct answers
Vault of the Vampire (the forward-and-back code for Siegfried's armour): 3 – Terrysalt, Gabe Fandango, Tyrion
Portal of Evil (little soft felt elf): 2 – Sylas, Thealmightymudworm
Moonrunner (to get Belthegor's mask): 2 – Greenspine, Bloodbeasthandler
Rebel Planet (it's what the book is all about): 1 – Vastariner
Masks of Mayhem (Ifor Tynin): 1 – Charles X
Chasms of Malice (Gaddon counting system): 1 – Petch
Tower of Destruction (in the Rainbow Tower): 1 – Philsadler
Island of the Undead (the round symbol): 1 – Wilf
Deathmoor (Otis' age): 1 – Kieran
Some changes at the top there! Justifications for these: Rebel Planet – the first part of the combination is encoded within a song. Possibly the entire combination could be called a code as well. Masks of Mayhem – Ifor Tynin needs to be deciphered to find the reference number to turn to. Portal of Evil – the page to turn to is encoded within the phrase.
Leaderboard after Q9
1. Charles X – 11 points
2. Petch – 12 points
3. Vastariner, Tyrion – 13 points
5. Thealmightymudworm – 14 points
6. Philsadler, Bloodbeasthandler, Sylas – 15 points
9. Greenspine – 16 points
10. Terrysalt, Gabe Fandango, Wilf – 17 points
13. Kieran – 18 points
Question 10. The original formula for Fighting Fantasy included the instruction "turn to 400" to indicate the successful completion of the adventure. Any other ending was considered to be a failure. However, this feature was not maintained throughout the series – some books end on a different paragraph number, and some even have multiple "victory" endings. Thinking of these books, and considering what constitutes victory, name one book that has more than one successful ending. Most endings are clearly divisible into success or failure, and the questionable ones have been debated enough that there should be little argument about which books meet this requirement. If possible, provide reference numbers of some endings so I can check.
Initially I intended this to be clearly about the books that have more than one "ending paragraph" where you achieve the main objective. There are very few books that fit that definition, so this would have led to a lot of high scores that would have shaken up the leaderboard, creating an unpredictable conclusion. But then I realised that if anyone had used the justification "because the author himself has specifically said so", I would not be able to refute that, so I had to accept The Crimson Tide. This book is different because you are not trying to save the world from a tyrant, you are just trying to avenge your father's death, so becoming a monk and devoting your life to helping others and promoting peace is a good ending (becoming a basket-weaver, less so).
But I felt that this meant I also had to accept any book where you can fail to win as originally intended but finish with some other success instead. This allowed a lot more answers. In the end, I decided to reward creative thinking. Unfortunately, this led to higher scores for people who decided to be non-controversial and play it safe.
Correct answers
The Rings of Kether: 3 – Bloodbeasthandler, Vastariner, Wilf
Scorpion Swamp: 2 – Greenspine, Kieran
Robot Commando: 2 – Terrysalt, Tyrion
Freeway Fighter: 1 – Charles X
Creature of Havoc: 1 – Philsadler
Crypt of the Sorcerer: 1 – Gabe Fandango
Magehunter: 1 – Petch
Black Vein Prophecy: 1 – Sylas
Vault of the Vampire: 1 - Thealmightymudworm
Justifications: The Rings of Kether - on ref 400 you arrest Blaster Babbett and smash the drug ring, on ref 391 you blow up the asteroid and evidently destroy the operation. Scorpion Swamp - three different quests, even if one of them is dodgy (you have succeeded in your quest, but "did you do the right thing?"). Robot Commando - win by swording the alien leader to death, fighting it out in supertanks, or by spraying a potion around. Freeway Fighter - save New Hope OR save New Hope and rescue Sinclair. I thought I had eliminated this as an option, as it is all on the same page, but Charles X pointed out that it meets the criteria. Ref 380: "you are given a hero's reception … if you also managed to rescue Sinclair, consider your mission a triumph." Two distinct endings. Innovative thinking that proved crucial. Creature of Havoc - becoming Zharradan Marr's Commander-in-Chief (ref 74). You are just a monster, still not fully aware of your former existence. "…One thing is for certain: your aimless life will finally have a sense of purpose". Crypt of the Sorcerer - you die on ref 58 but still save Allansia. A noble death. Magehunter - you can end up occupying your enemy's body (ref 101), but you have destroyed him all the same. At least you saved the world. Black Vein Prophecy - instead of defeating your brother, you take his place and rule the land. Controversial again, but fulfilling your destiny is successful, even if you were born evil.
Final scores
1. Charles X – 12 points
2. Petch – 13 points
3. Tyrion, Thealmightymudworm – 15 points
5. Philsadler, Vastariner, Sylas – 16 points
8. Greenspine, Bloodbeasthandler, Gabe Fandango – 18 points
11. Terrysalt – 19 points
12. Kieran, Wilf – 20 points
So congratulations to Charles X, 8 out of 10 answers unique, just a single point ahead of Petch (also 8 out of 10). Very close for the minor placings. Legend of Zagor proved too obvious for the different attributes question, being the only answer scoring 4 points. And commiserations to those at the back – they were all good answers, just too many were not unique.
In hindsight, I think it would have been better if I had kept question 10 as "achieving success as defined in the blurb". With only 4 or 5 books to choose from, it would have made for an unpredictable conclusion. Charles X would probably still have won, with his careful scrutinising of the wording.
When I set the questions I thought they were straightforward, but there you go. I gave people feedback to try to clarify issues when they queried things, but I could have just told everyone to read the question carefully then issued the rulings afterwards. It was hard to find a balance here. Having fewer correct options, and more incorrect answers, might create a more exciting competition.
Alternative results, if the following were ruled out: Q7: the situations where some rolls result in no fight, so Phantoms of Fear and Deathmoor are out. Q9: the puzzle in Portal of Evil (not really a code) Q10: becoming evil is not a success, so Creature of Havoc and Black Vein Prophecy are out.
1. Charles X – 12 points 2. Tyrion – 15 points 3. Vastariner – 16 points 4. Greenspine, Bloodbeasthandler, Gabe Fandango – 18 points 7. Kieran – 20 points 8. Petch – 24 points 9. Phil Sadler – 28 points 10. Terrysalt, Wilf – 31 points 12. Thealmightymudworm – 38 points 13. Sylas – 39 points
Obviously this doesn't allow for people making safe choices instead of asking for advice from me, and the resulting increases in other people's scores. But I still credit Charles X with victory. Tyrion and Vastariner deserve credit for doing well without making controversial choices.
Final thought: nobody picked Demons of the Deep for any question. It was the second book by Steve Jackson USA, it has an alliterative title, you can have a companion – the dolphin – who travels with you and can be involved in a battle (correct me if I'm wrong here), and it has more than one ending.
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kieran
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Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 5, 2022 8:47:11 GMT
Well done Charles, deserved for that Freeway Fighter answer alone.
And last again for me but at least I took Wilf down with me this time!
And thanks for running Peter!
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 5, 2022 9:07:55 GMT
Question 10. Freeway Fighter - save New Hope OR save New Hope and rescue Sinclair. I thought I had eliminated this as an option, as it is all on the same page, but Charles X pointed out that it meets the criteria. Ref 380: "you are given a hero's reception … if you also managed to rescue Sinclair, consider your mission a triumph." Two distinct endings. Innovative thinking that proved crucial. This is definitely the big surprise answer...but since you're also accepting endings with the Hero sacrificing himself to fulfil his mission, wouldn't the ending where the Hero succumbs to the rat bite have been acceptable too anyway (in which case this book is still a valid answer either way). Interesting that no less that 6 players (almost half) would have plunged to the bottom section of the scoreboard if this had been judged by the more conservative way. But a well-deserved win for Charles X, since he would have topped in the scoreboard in both cases.
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Post by CharlesX on May 5, 2022 10:03:57 GMT
Thanks Peter for running this, and this amazing close win! I think I chose the Orc Disguise for Dead of Night not Dark Veil. I PM'd Peter in an effort to get him to recognise getting the gold statuette in Temple Of Terror as an alternate ending - it wasn't going to happen, because cool though it is to get the thing rather than leave without it, it isn't game-breaking enough, specifies "if you succeed in your mission", and isn't mentioned on the last ref.
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Post by a moderator on May 5, 2022 11:23:05 GMT
I'd question the acceptability of Masks for question 9. All the other answers are explicitly puzzles requiring solving within the adventure, but I doubt that Ifor's parents named him with the intention of concealing a number.
The list of justifications for answers to question 10 is missing Vault.
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Post by Wilf on May 5, 2022 13:15:58 GMT
Ouch!
Thank you for running this, Peter, and congratulations to... well pretty much everyone else!!!!
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Post by CharlesX on May 5, 2022 13:25:53 GMT
I have to agree with Greenspine, I deliberately chose a very obscure puzzle over a more technically correct one and Peter leniently accepted the answer. The table about alternative scoring doesn't allow for what we would have chosen if our answers had been disallowed, or course. I'm glad Peter might think I would win regardless, but I'm not half as into FF as many others here - perhaps that means I'm double-guessing less. Interesting no one seems to have chosen incorrect answers, guess we're being more thorough.
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Post by a moderator on May 5, 2022 15:30:49 GMT
It could have been worse. Luckily for you (and me), I rejected The Rings of Kether as an answer for question 10 on the grounds that too many other players were likely to think it a clever one.
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,679
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on May 5, 2022 15:57:06 GMT
Started average, ended average. Oh well.
Thanks for doing this Peter and well done CharlesX.
I didn't think Katya would be that well known as a doomed companion. I nearly went for the other Katya in Howl of the Werewolf and did consider Zoot Zimmer but I couldn't justify him being someone who has travelled with you since all he does is leave a room and dies.
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Post by a moderator on May 5, 2022 16:07:05 GMT
I [...] did consider Zoot Zimmer but I couldn't justify him being someone who has travelled with you since all he does is leave a room and dies. He transports you from Kaad to Firetop Mountain on the back of his giant eagle.
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Post by petch on May 5, 2022 16:09:48 GMT
Gah, so close, damn you Charles! (Actually it was a very well deserved win, I think 8 unique answers is a record that will take some beating however many more rounds of this are run!) I just couldn't quite recover from choosing the most popular answer in the very first question.
Thanks for running Peter, great questions that really needed some thought and research on the part of the players.
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sylas
Baron
"Don't just adventure for treasure; treasure the adventure!"
Posts: 1,679
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on May 5, 2022 16:29:25 GMT
I [...] did consider Zoot Zimmer but I couldn't justify him being someone who has travelled with you since all he does is leave a room and dies. He transports you from Kaad to Firetop Mountain on the back of his giant eagle. Does he? Didn't remember that part. I would have clashed with you anyway.
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Post by a moderator on May 5, 2022 17:02:32 GMT
The journey is described in sections 71 through 166.
I'm glad you didn't choose that answer, but since you were effectively questioning its validity, I thought I should explain why it qualifies.
If you had gone with it, I'd have been kicking myself for not choosing Bloodheart from Talisman of Death (one of the thieves who accompany you when breaking into the temple, who gets in the way of a volley of crossbow bolts just as he's about to try and knife you - but a companion right up until his sudden but inevitable betrayal). As with Rings for question 10, I thought it too sneaky an answer not to get seized upon by a few clever players, but I was wrong about that one.
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Post by Wilf on May 5, 2022 17:49:43 GMT
I didn't think Katya would be that well known as a doomed companion. I didn't think Battleblade Warrior would be that memorable a book!
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Post by Wilf on May 5, 2022 17:52:48 GMT
It could have been worse. Luckily for you (and me), I rejected The Rings of Kether as an answer for question 10 on the grounds that too many other players were likely to think it a clever one. I picked it as an answer for questions 1, 2 *and* 10! I struggled to justify any other book (that wasn't by Other Steve Jackson) as a valid answer - I wanted to be sure I had an indisputably correct answer, as I felt sure there would be a lot of wrong ones!
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kieran
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Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 5, 2022 18:12:42 GMT
I didn't think Katya would be that well known as a doomed companion. I considered her for my answer too (a rare instance of me being right to go against my gut). On the surface, she seems like a good answer - she's in a book no-one talks much about and you may not even encounter her. But she's also quite memorable in that her death is pretty graphic and grim and there is no way of preventing it.
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Post by a moderator on May 5, 2022 18:30:02 GMT
I didn't think Katya would be that well known as a doomed companion. I considered her for my answer too (a rare instance of me being right to go against my gut). On the surface, she seems like a good answer - she's in a book no-one talks much about and you may not even encounter her. But she's also quite memorable in that her death is pretty graphic and grim and there is no way of preventing it. It's also memorable because of the extreme stupidity involved: if you're trying to hide, screaming is not a wise course of action. Well, not unless the beings from which you're hiding are unable to see and use echolocation to find their victims, and you're somehwre with a good echo. But that's not the case in this instance, so Katya is no better at not being seen than the first couple of people featured here:
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Post by Wilf on May 5, 2022 18:30:24 GMT
My single biggest memory of Battleblade Warrior is that it's got two characters in it called Katya and Laskar, names which appear to be snaffled from an old Marvel Star Wars comic.
You needed to know this.
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on May 5, 2022 19:59:27 GMT
My single biggest memory of Battleblade Warrior is that it's got two characters in it called Katya and Laskar, names which appear to be snaffled from an old Marvel Star Wars comic. You needed to know this. You are absolutely right. I did need to know this. Quite why, I'm not sure, but it amuses to me to know these things. I even went and found them so others could see.
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Post by Wilf on May 5, 2022 21:48:37 GMT
SPOILER: This Katya is doomed, too!
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Post by thealmightymudworm on May 6, 2022 22:58:02 GMT
Half way through. At least 5 unique answers for every question so far – will that trend carry on? Will anyone manage to avoid high-scoring pitfalls? Let's continue. Question 6. In many books, YOU are joined by a companion for part of the adventure. Their assistance may be significant or it may be quite trivial. Sometimes these colleagues stay with you for a long time, sometimes the partnership is quite brief. Name a book in which you can have a companion who travels with you and then dies. Also please name the companion.
Correct answers (caution: spoilers)Battleblade Warrior (Katya gets staked): 3 – Sylas, Wilf, Thealmightymudworm Island of the Lizard King (Mungo gets pirated/crabbed): 1 – Terrysalt Creature of Havoc (you save Grog, but not permanently): 1 – Tyrion Spectral Stalkers (Barogkaz, whoever he turns out to be): 1 – Gabe Fandango Siege of Sardath (Istu the spirit fights for you and can die for you): 1 – Vastariner Return to Firetop Mountain (Zoot Zimmer and his eagle hit the deck): 1 – Greenspine Curse of the Mummy (Jerran Farr doesn't go far): 1 – Kieran Howl of the Werewolf (Ulrich doesn't last long): 1 – Philsadler Blood of the Zombies (Amy and you get shot by the same mad scientist): 1 – Petch The Gates of Death (Brother Tobyn): 1 – Bloodbeasthandler Sorcery 4: The Crown of Kings (Jann get spelled out): 1 – Charles X It looked like we were going to get exclusively unique answers here, but not quite. I had no idea there were so many when I set the question; I was expecting a major shuffling of the leaderboard here, but only 3 people slipped down. Nobody picked poor Throm – too obvious? What about the children who travel with you at the start of The Crimson Tide – do any of them die in the book? Arrrgh! This one hurts! With my previous failures to strike unique answers on the stats and maps it felt close to inevitable – if I hadn't gone for Night Dragon it would have been Freeway Fighter or one of the Sorceries, and not many other maps sprung to mind, so I would probably have clashed with someone regardless... But with the companion question I was intending all along to go with Moichi in SotS, but couldn't throw off the idea that it would be popular. Then I thought I'd go with Baratcha in Spectral Stalkers, but wasn't sure how much argument there would be about her as she only accompanies you from one room to the next. Turns out, either would have been a unique answer. It was only as the deadline loomed that I thought "Ooh! Katya and the Caarth! She's quite well known but also despised, so anyone deliberately going for an obvious answer will pick someone else." I don't really see how the puzzle in Portal is particularly controversial as an example of a code.
Not sure whether I considered the dolphin but it seems like a dubious answer. It appears and tries to communicate with you, then a shark attacks. The dolphin might die in that fight, but if so it does so before travelling anywhere with you.
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Post by a moderator on May 6, 2022 23:13:33 GMT
Not sure whether I considered the dolphin but it seems like a dubious answer. It appears and tries to communicate with you, then a shark attacks. The dolphin might die in that fight, but if so it does so before travelling anywhere with you. Good point. The question says 'travels with you and then dies', and the dolphin's possible death and its travelling with you are on mutually exclusive paths, so I don't think it would qualify after all.
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Post by Peter on May 7, 2022 7:26:12 GMT
The Portal of Evil example is more like a word puzzle, rather than a code. But I guess you need to convert the letters to numbers so it has a code element in it. Subtract 11 from you and Sylas in the above table.
Checking Demons of the Deep, you are right - the dolphin doesn't die after accompanying you, its only battle is before you travel together. Subtract nothing from anyone though.
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Post by Wilf on May 7, 2022 8:54:38 GMT
Portal Of Evil also contains the APFIS NEV code, so it would still be a correct answer.
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sylas
Baron
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Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy, Way of the Tiger
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Post by sylas on May 7, 2022 13:00:56 GMT
Portal Of Evil also contains the APFIS NEV code, so it would still be a correct answer. This was the section I referenced in PM rather than the Felt Elf one.
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Post by a moderator on May 8, 2022 22:58:22 GMT
Discussion of Peter's questions and the answers given seems to be dying down. Is it too soon for a new set of questions?
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