|
Post by sleepyscholar on Apr 19, 2022 6:48:50 GMT
I wonder is this why Ian got rid of Provisions entirely in his later Puffin books. In theory if you could design your books well enough, the player shouldn't have to manage their own healing with Provisions. Not that Ian's later Puffin books really succeeded in this aspect which could be why he brought them back for Eye, Port and Assassins. The Crimson Tide is a bit odd regarding Provisions. You can keep your initial 2 provisions with you for several years then eat them and they're still fresh enough to restore 4 Stamina points. It's almost as if the author thought the whole Provisions business a load of bollocks, and tried to forget about it, isn't it?
|
|
|
Post by thealmightymudworm on Oct 29, 2022 18:14:37 GMT
I thought I'd bump this as the topic has cropped up again on the General FF thread and so many members have joined since it was created. The trilemma remains: -Eat as many provisions as you like in one reference (which is surely intended to be excluded by the rules) -Eat a maximum of one provision per reference (the somewhat OCD application of the rules which feels technically correct but arguably makes even less sense than the first. The next reference may be the next day or the next second and some, such as one-line checks for items or keywords, require no passage of time at all.) -Invent your own version of the rules, seeking time references in the text (which is in danger of moving beyond nerdish-ness into insanity and which in any case is difficult in the books as the authors may not think to tell you exactly how much time has passed)
Another question might be: how would you fix this, assuming that you want to involve provisions rather than rely solely on potions, herbs, med kits, etc
Here's one possibility, which is not perfect but might be an improvement, prompted by use of food in the Knightmare books. In those, the paragraphs in which you can eat are asterisked rather than you working by the description alone. So maybe you could eat at any time except combat etc but paragraphs could be marked to indicate instead that if you'd eaten a provision enough time had passed for you to be able to benefit from eating another one. The marked paragraphs might even have a double use: that you don't pick up the STAMINA increase from the provision until you reached one. So no more hearing a knock at the door and scoffing a pie before answering it in case there's a fight to be had.
Obviously this would make provisions much less effective as well as more realistic, so anyone writing a gamebook would have to include potions/strength spells etc as well.
|
|
|
Post by vastariner on Oct 29, 2022 19:09:12 GMT
Just treat "provisions" as shorthand for "anything that can get your strength back up and which you can carry". So it might be healing herbs or whatever.
|
|
|
Post by paperexplorer on Nov 1, 2022 2:58:48 GMT
I'm going to admit to eating more than one at a time, even though I openly acknowledge it as wrong. 1 provision restores 4 points - 2 hits. This isn't enough restoration, particularly after heavy combat and you are low. I never feel comfortable walking around with stamina as low as 5 or 6.
|
|
|
Post by Peter on Nov 8, 2022 8:41:44 GMT
I do like the idea of only being allowed to eat when instructed, like in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. But the author has to make it believable, with resting and eating being allowed only in situations where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Also, of course, it needs to be when the character will most need replenishment.
This increases the tension, in the sense that you will have to hang on until you reach a provision point. It makes them almost like "save points" in the game. And it can add realism.
One drawback is that it removes the opportunity for the player to tactically manage their stamina. Nonetheless, I think I would prefer this restriction. It avoids the debate about when and how much you can eat, at least.
|
|
|
Post by CharlesX on Nov 8, 2022 10:07:49 GMT
I do like the idea of only being allowed to eat when instructed, like in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. But the author has to make it believable, with resting and eating being allowed only in situations where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Also, of course, it needs to be when the character will most need replenishment. This increases the tension, in the sense that you will have to hang on until you reach a provision point. It makes them almost like "save points" in the game. And it can add realism. One drawback is that it removes the opportunity for the player to tactically manage their stamina. Nonetheless, I think I would prefer this restriction. It avoids the debate about when and how much you can eat, at least. I agree to some extent, but it has to be well-implemented. For example, I don't think the save points in Battleblade Warrior are either numerous enough or particularly well-positioned, so half the time I disregard the rule (see my post over in the Night Dragon thread about my slightly nuanced interpretation of rules). fightingfantazine.proboards.com/thread/1027/52-night-dragon?page=2
|
|
|
Post by dragonwarrior8 on Nov 8, 2022 19:50:12 GMT
I do like the idea of only being allowed to eat when instructed, like in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. But the author has to make it believable, with resting and eating being allowed only in situations where you are unlikely to be disturbed. Also, of course, it needs to be when the character will most need replenishment. This increases the tension, in the sense that you will have to hang on until you reach a provision point. It makes them almost like "save points" in the game. And it can add realism. One drawback is that it removes the opportunity for the player to tactically manage their stamina. Nonetheless, I think I would prefer this restriction. It avoids the debate about when and how much you can eat, at least. I agree to some extent, but it has to be well-implemented. For example, I don't think the save points in Battleblade Warrior are either numerous enough or particularly well-positioned, so half the time I disregard the rule (see my post over in the Night Dragon thread about my slightly nuanced interpretation of rules). fightingfantazine.proboards.com/thread/1027/52-night-dragon?page=2Battleblade Warrior I think has the worst provisions system from any book I have read yet. It is especially egregious near the end. You rest up in Laskar's cave where he feeds you rabbit stew and you finally get a good night's rest, but get no Stamina recovery nor are you even given a chance to eat any of your own provisions. You even get a provision restock here but unless I am mis-remembering, there is nowhere from here to the end of the book (along the required path at least) where you can eat any. This feels like a massive "oops" on the part of the author.
|
|
|
Post by Wizard Slayer on Nov 15, 2022 16:14:52 GMT
I used to be option 1, but now I'm gradually playing through all my gamebooks without cheating (save a couple of sanity-preserving house rule variants) I'm doing option 3, although the length of time that might have passed doesn't have to be extensive.
Basically it's would I realistically have had time to stop and eat since the last time I ate? If the paragraph describes many hours going by then why shouldn't I cross 3 or 4 off my sheet? But if I've been running from Orcs for five minutes since last eating, probably I get to eat none.
This has the added advantage that finds like healing herbs or brandy that give +4ST actually feel more like a win than just extra provisions, because I can have them alongside provisions or without having to wait (or possibly on the run...!)
|
|