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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 17, 2022 14:33:13 GMT
How I wish Question 2 also has a section specification like Question 4....that book also has 2 different ways of ending with the PC being turned to stone (Medusa encounter and failing Trialmaster's quiz), so that might have given me a slightly higher chance of getting a Unique.
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Post by Wilf on May 17, 2022 14:49:48 GMT
Gah! I was so close to going with Forest Of Night, too! Curses!!!
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Post by adrius on May 17, 2022 14:56:17 GMT
Question 5: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which, on a successful attempt at the book, you cannot avoid being locked or chained up.Correct answers:House of Hell: 2 (bloodbeasthandler, Gabe Fandango) Mater of Chaos: 2 (kieran, thealmightymudworm) Blood of the Zombies: 2 (petch, sylas) The Shamutanti Hills: 1 (Peter) Rebel Planet: 1 (wilf) Trial of Champions: 1 (vastariner) Beneath Nightmare Castle: 1 (Tyrion) Incorrect answers:Appointment with F.E.A.R.: 1 (Adrius) (couldn't think of an answer): 1 (philsadler) Aww snap … I guess my (mis?)interpretation of "on a successful attempt" was along the lines of "on [any one/one of the] successful attempt(s)", as opposed to being necessary on all true paths. Ah well ... was still an interesting reading exercise.
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 17, 2022 14:58:20 GMT
For the forest question, I thought the "obvious" answers would be Darkwood, Affen and Night...but ended up choosing the one that was also picked by someone else. Would have scored best with either of the others.
Although at least I would have scored the exact same for question 5 if I'd gone with my first choice (Beneath Nightmare Castle).
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Post by CharlesX on May 17, 2022 15:56:06 GMT
Question 5: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which, on a successful attempt at the book, you cannot avoid being locked or chained up.Correct answers:House of Hell: 2 (bloodbeasthandler, Gabe Fandango) Mater of Chaos: 2 (kieran, thealmightymudworm) Ah, yes, Mater Of Chaos, a particularly obscure FF in which the PC attends a Chaotic Evil magic school !
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 16:17:55 GMT
Question 7: Name or otherwise identify a character who is depicted in at least two full-page illustrations in the same Fighting Fantasy gamebook (please specify the book and the sections with the illustrations).
Correct answers:
Mungo (Island of the Lizard King 1 & 211): 1 (philsadler)
Brigand Leader (Scorpion Swamp 79 & 235): 1 (thealmightymudworm)
Franklins (House of Hell 277 & 318): 1 (Gabe Fandango)
Lord Kelnor, the Earl of Drumer (House of Hell 277 & 318): 1 (Peter)
K'rllk (Sword of the Samurai 138 & 294): 1 (petch)
Lothar (Clash of the Princes: The Warlock's Way: 1 & 440) (kieran)
Madhaerios (Slaves of the Abyss 344 & 397): 1 (wilf)
Katarina (Vault of the Vampire 34 & 400): 1 (Tyrion)
Feior (Black Vein Prophecy 20 & 276): 1 (Adrius)
Korin (Legend of the Shadow Warriors 158 & 362): 1 (vastariner)
Radu (Moonrunner 74 & 114): 1 (bloodbeasthandler)
Oriana (Night of the Necromancer 268 & 448): 1 (sylas)
Incorrect answers:
None
This question was inspired by someone at another forum erroneously claiming that the Brigand Leader from Scorpion Swamp, Mungo, your opponents in Deathtrap Dungeon, and a few of the residents of House of Hell are 'the few FF characters to have multiple illustrations in one book'. The fact that all answers given to this question are unique (and no entrants even mentioned DD) gives some indication of how wrong they were.
Lothar from CotP is a bit contentious, as the second illustration only shows his hand, but if I were to rule out pictures that don't show the whole person, a lot of the other answers given would also become wrong.
Radu is an interesting case, as he's actually (spoiler alert) Karam Gruul in disguise. Still, the question said 'name or otherwise identify' (to allow for the Brigand Leader and non-Throm DD opponents), and 'Radu' does clearly identify the character, so the answer goes through on a technicality.
Adrius also suggested Bezenvial from Prophecy 51 & 389, but ended up going with the less ambiguous Feior.
Other permissible answers include Shekou from House of Hell, the Tatsu, Gargantus and Eleanor the Enchantress from Sword of the Samurai, and Senyakhaz from Beneath Nightmare Castle. I'm glad nobody went anywhere near the can of worms that is Razaak using an illusion to disguise himself as Yaztromo in Crypt of the Sorcerer.
Leaderboard after Q7:
1. vastariner - 9 points
2. Tyrion - 11 points
3. Gabe Fandango, kieran, Peter, thealmightymudworm, wilf - 12 points
8. sylas - 13 points
9. petch - 15 points
10. Adrius - 21 points
11. bloodbeasthandler - 24 points
12. philsadler - 35 points
JAT after Q7:
6: Peter
3: Gabe Fandango, Tyrion
2: Adrius, philsadler
1: bloodbeasthandler, kieran, petch, sylas, thealmightymudworm, vastariner, wilf
Question 8: Name a character you can fight in a Fighting Fantasy gamebook whose first name and surname are given within the book (please specify the book).
Correct answers:
Fog Farkin (Sky Lord): 2 (vastariner, wilf)
Ben Borryman (City of Thieves): 1 (petch)
Mustapha Kareem (Appointment with F.E.A.R.): 1 (kieran)
Marcus Buletta (Appointment with F.E.A.R.): 1 (Peter)
Yoro Ginsei (Sword of the Samurai): 1 (Gabe Fandango)
Grognag Clawtooth (Creature of Havoc): 1 (Adrius)
Quimmel Bone (Creature of Havoc): 1 (Tyrion)
Katarina Heydrich (Vault of the Vampire): 1 (philsadler)
Conrad Zaar (Moonrunner): 1 (thealmightymudworm)
Silas Gallows (Blodbones): 1 (sylas)
Tunku Yang (Assassins of Allansia): 1 (bloodbeasthandler)
Incorrect answers:
None
In contests like this, the term 'Zeppo' (after the Marx brother) is sometimes used for an answer that turns out not to be as obscure as people think. Fog Farkin would appear to be a Zeppo.
Both answers from Appointment are the real names of villains you may fight (the Mummy and Dr Macabre), but I deliberately phrased the question so as to allow the use of supervillains' civilian identities. Richard Storm (the Tormentor) and Sylvia Frost (the Ice Queen) would, thus, also have been good answers.
Leaderboard after Q8:
1. vastariner - 11 points
2. Tyrion - 12 points
3. Gabe Fandango, kieran, Peter, thealmightymudworm - 13 points
7. sylas, wilf - 14 points
9. petch - 16 points
10. Adrius - 22 points
11. bloodbeasthandler - 25 points
12. philsadler - 36 points
JAT after Q8:
7: Peter
4: Tyrion
3: Adrius, Gabe Fandango
2: kieran, philsadler
1: bloodbeasthandler, petch, sylas, thealmightymudworm, vastariner, wilf
I'm out for part of the evening, so the last two questions and final scores will have to wait.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 16:22:48 GMT
Wouldn't Mater of Chaos be cool? How would you get locked up? Punishment for being a good boy and eating all your vegetables?
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Post by Wilf on May 17, 2022 16:53:21 GMT
Buggeration! Deliberately picked an answer from Sky Lord because I figured fewer people would be familiar with it, what with it being so very unloved!
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Post by philsadler on May 17, 2022 17:16:13 GMT
I challenge anyone to score lower than me in the future.
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Post by tyrion on May 17, 2022 17:18:56 GMT
I though beneath nightmare castle would have been more popular for the locked up question, but maybe it seemed too obvious and went in my favour.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 20:15:18 GMT
Question 9: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook which has been published with a colour map inside the front cover.Correct answers:Creature of Havoc: 2 (Peter, Tyrion) Chasms of Malice: 2 (philsadler, vastariner) Clash of the Princes: The Warlock's Way: 1 (sylas) Clash of the Princes: The Warrior's Way: 1 (wilf) Daggers of Darkness: 1 (Gabe Fandango) Portal of Evil: 1 (kieran) Fangs of Fury: 1 (petch) Dead of Night: 1 (Adrius) Black Vein Prophecy: 1 (bloodbeasthandler) Keep of the Lich-Lord: 1 (thealmightymudworm) Incorrect answers:None Nothing much to argue about here. I almsot phrased the question as 'was originally published with a colour map', but in view of the omission of the map of Ashkyos from certain early printings of Master of Chaos, decided to be less specific. And then nobody picked Master anyway. Other books that would have been right but weren't chosen include Masks of Mayhem, Crypt of the Sorcerer, Battleblade Warrior, Armies of Death and Tower of Destruction. Leaderboard after Q9:1. vastariner - 13 points 2. Gabe Fandango, kieran, Tyrion, thealmightymudworm - 14 points 6. Peter, sylas, wilf - 15 points 9. petch - 17 points 10. Adrius - 23 points 11. bloodbeasthandler - 26 points 12. philsadler - 38 points JAT after Q9:8: Peter 5: Tyrion 3: Adrius, Gabe Fandango, philsadler 2: kieran, vastariner 1: bloodbeasthandler, petch, sylas, thealmightymudworm, wilf To build tension, I'm posting question 10 and the final scores separately from question 9. With only 10 possible answers and 12 participants, there must be some non-unique answers, but how will they affect the rankings? Can vastariner hold on to the lead he's had since question 2? Kieran has crept from joint last to joint second, but will first place continue to elude him? Is Peter's high JAT going to force him into a costly shared answer? You'll find out in a little while.
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Post by vastariner on May 17, 2022 20:44:29 GMT
I though beneath nightmare castle would have been more popular for the locked up question, but maybe it seemed too obvious and went in my favour. I could only think of 2 books for this one - the one I chose and Kharé - and those only stand out because you start off incarcerated. Thought Citadel of Chaos might have been one but couldn't recall if it were a necessity.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 21:09:14 GMT
Question 10: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook by the British Steve Jackson which you have not already mentioned while answering questions 1-9.Correct answers:Kharé - Cityport of Traps: 4 (Adrius, bloodbeasthandler, sylas, thealmightymudworm) The Shamutanti Hills: 2 (Tyrion, vastariner) The Warlock of Firetop Mountain: 1 (Gabe Fandango) The Seven Serpents: 1 (petch) The Crown of Kings: 1 (Peter) Appointment with F.E.A.R.: 1 (wilf) Creature of Havoc: 1 (kieran) Incorrect answers:Secrets of Salamonis: 1 (philsadler) Available answers varied from player to player. Nobody was careless enough to name a book they'd already mentioned, but philsadler's deviousness backfired on him. I did refer players back to kieran's original list of eligible titles, which limits Scholastic-exclusive titles to 'The 4 new books published', so the 2 due to come out in September don't yet count. Those of us who can remember Warlock magazine reporting on forthcoming books such as Assassin, Superheroes and The Aliens of Arcadion know that announced titles are not necessarily definitive. Leaderboard after Q10:In reverse order... 12. philsadler - 51 points 11. bloodbeasthandler - 30 points 10. Adrius - 27 points 9. sylas - 19 points 7. petch, thealmightymudworm - 18 points 4. Peter, Tyrion, wilf - 16 points 1. Gabe Fandango, kieran, vastariner - 15 points A 3-way tie at the top. Traditional Rare Entries contests multiply participants' scores rather than adding them, so totals can range from a perfect 1 up to hundreds, thousands, potentially even millions or billions, depending on number of participants and wrong answers. Out of curiosity, I calculated what the scores would have been if calculated 'old school', and it would have made a difference at the top. Gabe Fandango would have come in 3rd with 32.
Vastariner would have been second with 24.
Kieran would have snatched victory at the last moment with 16.
But I didn't change the rules back when I set the questions, so officially it was a tie. JAT after Q10:9: Peter 6: Tyrion 4: Adrius, Gabe Fandango 3: kieran, philsadler, vastariner 2: bloodbeasthandler, petch, sylas, thealmightymudworm, wilf I'd be interested to know if reading question 10 did inspire anyone to go back and change their first choices. So, congratulations to our winners, and commiserations to the rest. I hope you all enjoyed playing and reading the results.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 21:15:21 GMT
I though beneath nightmare castle would have been more popular for the locked up question, but maybe it seemed too obvious and went in my favour. I could only think of 2 books for this one - the one I chose and Kharé - and those only stand out because you start off incarcerated. Thought Citadel of Chaos might have been one but couldn't recall if it were a necessity. It's not. You can leave the library after reading just the book that tells you the combination, and proceed straight to the dining hall. You'll miss out on the mirror, so your options in the final confrontation are limited to ones that don't lead to Balthus Dire turning himself into a Gorgon, but that still leaves straightforward combat and the ESP/Levitation/curtain combo at the very least.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 21:33:49 GMT
Question 5: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which, on a successful attempt at the book, you cannot avoid being locked or chained up.Correct answers:House of Hell: 2 (bloodbeasthandler, Gabe Fandango) Mater of Chaos: 2 (kieran, thealmightymudworm) Blood of the Zombies: 2 (petch, sylas) The Shamutanti Hills: 1 (Peter) Rebel Planet: 1 (wilf) Trial of Champions: 1 (vastariner) Beneath Nightmare Castle: 1 (Tyrion) Incorrect answers:Appointment with F.E.A.R.: 1 (Adrius) (couldn't think of an answer): 1 (philsadler) Aww snap … I guess my (mis?)interpretation of "on a successful attempt" was along the lines of "on [any one/one of the] successful attempt(s)", as opposed to being necessary on all true paths. Ah well ... was still an interesting reading exercise. Sorry about that. The paradox that the book contains four mutually exclusive 'true paths' throws up some interesting quandaries. If that had occurred to me, I'd have worded the question more carefully. Nevertheless, the fact that it is possible to win the book without getting locked in the ejection chamber (as long as you go for Super Strength, Psi-Powers or ETS) takes precedence over the inevitability of getting locked in en route to victory when you have Energy Blast. You'd have shared first place with the top 3 if that answer had passed muster.
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Post by vastariner on May 17, 2022 21:41:09 GMT
I didn't change any answers after seeing Q10 - went for number 1 as that's usually pretty overlooked.
Got lucky with the Shadow Warriors stone because I knew it had two full-page pics that looked nearly identical, and, when flicking through it, saw the petrification...
Female magic user was an interesting one. First thought was the Sham, but assumed that was a nickname. Then thought of Eleanor but thought she would be well-known.
First choice for wood though was the Sacred Grove in Talisman of Death...then Chawberry Wood but didn't fancy making the case that you "entered" it.
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Post by Wilf on May 17, 2022 21:45:59 GMT
The Sham's name is Dintainta IIRC.
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Post by Wilf on May 17, 2022 21:47:38 GMT
Thank you for running this round, greenspine, and congrats to kieran, vastariner, and Gabe Fandango.
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Post by Wilf on May 17, 2022 21:51:15 GMT
My gut instinct is to avoid books by Steve and Ian - particularly the famous early ones - unless there's a particularly obscure bit in one of them that I think might be overlooked. I foolishly thought Balthus Dire turning into a Gorgon was sufficiently sneaky, but clearly not. I changed none of my answers, and settled on Appointment With F.E.A.R. after thinking most of the Firstname Surname answers would have come from that book.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 22:08:12 GMT
First choice for wood though was the Sacred Grove in Talisman of Death... Based on the definition of 'grove', and the description of the forest in Talisman, I think the Sacred Grove is a specific area within a larger forest. And while books from other series are questionable sources of FF data, the maps of Orb in the front of The Way of the Tiger books 3-5 appear to label the wooded area between the Rift and Greyguilds-on-the-Moor as 'Forest of Passing'.
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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 17, 2022 22:24:28 GMT
Forever destined to linger in the mid-tier. Congrats winners and thanks for this round Greenspine.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 17, 2022 22:37:49 GMT
Well wasn't expecting that placement after the first few questions! I didn't change any of my answers following Q10.
Thanks for running, Greenspine.
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Post by vastariner on May 17, 2022 22:59:42 GMT
The Sham's name is Dintainta IIRC. Was that in The Seven Serpents though? I think it's in Titan.
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Post by a moderator on May 17, 2022 23:09:13 GMT
The Sham's name is Dintainta IIRC. Was that in The Seven Serpents though? I think it's in Titan. '"I am Dintainta," she starts, "Dintainta of the Steppes. Though some call me The Sham."' The Seven Serpents p290. I'm pretty sure that Titan is the only source of the Snow Witch's actual name, though.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 17, 2022 23:22:22 GMT
Was that in The Seven Serpents though? I think it's in Titan. '"I am Dintainta," she starts, "Dintainta of the Steppes. Though some call me The Sham."' The Seven Serpents p290. I'm pretty sure that Titan is the only source of the Snow Witch's actual name, though. I have a feeling it's mentioned in the 10 Year Anniversary book but I could be mistaken.
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Post by Peter on May 18, 2022 0:09:47 GMT
Question 1: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which you may fight a Werewolf.I suspect that question 7 from the previous round may be a contributory factor to the high profile of the random encounter Werewolf from Hills. While the Werewolf in Vault is perceived as being just a wolf during the actual fight, anyone who contracts Lycanthropy during the fight is clearly told, 'This was no wolf, this was a Werewolf,' so there's no doubt that the book qualifies. Additional Werewolves can be found in The Forest of Doom and Crypt of the Sorcerer, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you may be able to encounter one in Jonathan Green's fifth FF book, though since nobody mentioned it, I didn't feel the need to check. Leaderboard after Q1: 1. Adrius, vastariner, wilf - 1 point 4. bloodbeasthandler, Gabe Fandango - 2 points 6. Peter, philsadler, Tyrion - 3 points 9. kieran, petch, sylas, thealmightymudworm - 4 points
Blast! I could have been sharing the lead if I'd found out a day earlier about the werewolves in the introduction in Night of the Necromancer: "...you survived everything that the forces of darkness could throw at you - from an ambush by a pack of werewolves..."
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Post by Peter on May 18, 2022 0:33:17 GMT
Question 5: Name a Fighting Fantasy gamebook in which, on a successful attempt at the book, you cannot avoid being locked or chained up.Other permissible answers include Kharé - Cityport of Traps (imprisoned with the one-armed sorcerer who tells you about the spell lines you need to find), The Crown of Kings (locked up with Jann) and Spellbreaker (you need to be arrested on the way out of Hallow's Well to get a crucial plot token). I dismissed The Crown of Kings as too obvious. And I thought of Khare, but only the Red-Eye jail, which is not essential. Luckily it didn't matter this time.
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Post by Peter on May 18, 2022 0:37:00 GMT
Question 6: Name a forest or wood you may enter during a Fighting Fantasy gamebook (please specify the book).Correct answers:Forest of Shadows ( Sword of the Samurai): 3 (petch, vastariner, wilf) Darkwood Forest ( The Forest of Doom): 2 (Gabe Fandango, Peter) Knot Oak Wood ( Creature of Havoc): 2 (philsadler, Tyrion) Shamdabag Wood ( The Keep of the Lich-Lord): 2 (bloodbeasthandler, thealmightymudworm) Forest of the Snatta ( The Seven Serpents): 1 (Adrius) Megala Dendra ( Fangs of Fury): 1 (kieran) Wraith Wood ( Night of the Necromancer): 1 (sylas) Incorrect answers:None This time the most obvious answer (the clue is in the title) is not the best, though it's not the worst, either. While I'm not sure it's named in the text at any point, the Megala Dendra is clearly labelled on the map at the start of Fangs, so I have no qualms about accepting it. Other eligible forests include Affen Forest ( Masks of Mayhem and Phantoms of Fear), the Forest of Spiders ( Creature of Havoc and Crypt of the Sorcerer) the Forest of Phantoms (named on the map in Vault of the Vampire), and the Forest of Night ( Siege of Sardath). The Forest of the Snatta was sitting there waiting for a unique answer! The lesson I'm learning here is: more Sorcery answers.
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Post by Gabe Fandango on May 18, 2022 0:41:50 GMT
Female magic user was an interesting one. First thought was the Sham, but assumed that was a nickname. Then thought of Eleanor but thought she would be well-known. Eleanor was one of my secondary considerations. Should have gone with that. Went with Lucretia because I thought she'd fall under the category of "obvious choice to avoid" by others, since she's the very first female magic user created in FF if I'm not mistaken (there isn't any in Warlock).
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Post by Peter on May 18, 2022 0:45:16 GMT
Question 7: Name or otherwise identify a character who is depicted in at least two full-page illustrations in the same Fighting Fantasy gamebook (please specify the book and the sections with the illustrations).Correct answers:Mungo ( Island of the Lizard King 1 & 211): 1 (philsadler) Brigand Leader ( Scorpion Swamp 79 & 235): 1 (thealmightymudworm) Franklins ( House of Hell 277 & 318): 1 (Gabe Fandango) Lord Kelnor, the Earl of Drumer ( House of Hell 277 & 318): 1 (Peter) K'rllk ( Sword of the Samurai 138 & 294): 1 (petch) Lothar ( Clash of the Princes: The Warlock's Way: 1 & 440) (kieran) Madhaerios ( Slaves of the Abyss 344 & 397): 1 (wilf) Katarina ( Vault of the Vampire 34 & 400): 1 (Tyrion) Feior ( Black Vein Prophecy 20 & 276): 1 (Adrius) Korin ( Legend of the Shadow Warriors 158 & 362): 1 (vastariner) Radu ( Moonrunner 74 & 114): 1 (bloodbeasthandler) Oriana ( Night of the Necromancer 268 & 448): 1 (sylas) Glad I didn't go with my initial thought of Franklins/Hell Demon, but instead chose a less obvious one from the same book.
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