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Post by CharlesX on Oct 7, 2022 12:36:04 GMT
Thanks scouserob this is a brilliant map. It reminds me of the pencil-and-paper one myself and my brother made years before even our GCSEs. We must have played Creature Of Havoc a hundred times or something, with the missing reference words just never occurring to us. If that was indeed not a printing error but surrealism, it was dark and out-there!
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Oct 7, 2022 12:55:49 GMT
These are fantastic though mind-boggling to take in.
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Post by misomiso on Oct 9, 2022 6:58:15 GMT
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Post by scouserob on Oct 19, 2022 19:38:45 GMT
The Seven Serpents Map
The only Sorcery book I had as a lad.
I like the fact that by now we have a good selection of spell items and the fake spell names have been trimmed away. It gives you more spell options to consider the potential effects of in each situation, which adds to the fun.
The Baklands portion is fantastic with the Deathwraith fake out (hot on the heels of that tricky real encounter in Kharé), the grand entrance of the Moon Serpent, the creepy Snake Charmer, the Caravan (possibly my favourite part of the entire book) and the EPIC battle against the Earth Serpent.
The Forest of the Snatta, whilst shorter has some good stuff with the eponymous, dangerously invisible Snattacats, a damn good encounter with the Fire Serpent and Fenestra and the twist with the Sun Serpent.
Then things get rather rushed and rather too easy with the Lake and the Marshes. The Air Serpent scenes are good and the do or die Luck Test with the Water Serpent is intense, especially after almost three books with the same character. The Time Serpent encounter is brilliantly sinister if you don't have the means to defeat it.
I'd place it third out of the first three Sorcery adventures but that is like being third out of Federer, Djokovic and Nadal.
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by scouserob on Oct 24, 2022 15:42:57 GMT
Shadow of the Giants Map
Now that was great fun.
The Sword choices add a lot to the game as can be seen in the Solution Thread, where each the following have been suggested: Fire Sword/Serpent Sword Vampire Sword/Dragon Sword Rune Sword/Serpent Sword Rune Sword (My Preference)
The majority of the adventure takes place in Hamelin, which is reminiscent of Port Blacksand in the City of Thieves, though nowhere near as deadly. Hamelin is much more geared towards shopping, so get ready for your backpack to get a LOT heavier. One downside of this is that on the Rune Sword path you do not have a single fight until over half the book is completed, which can make restarting a bit of a grind.
However, once you meet the Spider Hag and travel to the Gorgon's Tomb things really pick up. The final scenes with Goose and the Iron Giants were fantastic and really tense.
The characters you meet are rather fun and you get to travel for at least a small while with Higgly, Hoggett, Binny Brogan, Marik Om-Yash and Goose.
Goose is a damn useful companion and his presence makes the fights against both Cobrax and the Gorgon a whole lot easier. In fact he is so likeable that it was an easy decision to risk the quest for his wellbeing on multiple occasions.
Just for interest I noted how the adventure is structured in terms of paragraph count: 6%: Leave Anvil with Higgly. [22/400] 8%: Giants released, set off to Hamelin. [31/400] 19%: Start of Hamelin/Meeting Binnie Brogan. [76/400] 50%(ish): Beginning of Silver Street in Hamelin. [198/400] 66%: Leaving Hamelin with Goose. [265/400] 91%: Leaving the Gorgon’s Tomb. [366/400]
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by scouserob on Dec 11, 2022 15:59:09 GMT
Caverns of the Snow Witch Map
A Tale of two adventures. I found the first of these adventures, in the frozen climes of the Icefinger Mountain and the titular Caverns of the Snow Witch, a little rushed and impersonal. It is also VERY difficult indeed to progress out of the those caverns.
The second adventure out in the countryside, initially with Redswift and Stubb was much more to my liking.
I had great fun trying to find the best route through this book.
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by scouserob on May 12, 2023 11:44:55 GMT
The Crown of Kings Map
The end of the Sorcery saga and what an adventure to finish on. (And what a challenge to map it!)
I loved it, especially the courtyard section between the first and second set of Throben doors.
In fact the Throben doors themselves made great little waypoints to split up the journey through the fortress into sections, ensuring that the adventure didn't become a seemingly endless grind.
Here is how the adventure is structured in terms of paragraph count: 5.1% (41/800): Past the Caves 10.9% (87/800): Past the Birdmen/Satyrs 14.7% (117/800): At Mampang Fortress Courtyard 19.3% (154/800): Inside Mampang Fortress 25.9% (207/800): Inside the 1st Throben Doors 50.6% (405/800): Inside the 2nd Throben Doors 72.4% (579/800): Inside the 3rd Throben Doors 82.8% (662/800): Inside the 4th Throben Doors 85.9% (687/800): Inside Archmage’s Tower 97.4% (779/800): Archmage Unmasked
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by scouserob on May 30, 2023 10:50:54 GMT
House of Hell Map
OK, House of Hell was fantastic!!!!
I’ve finally completed House of Hell and, by gum, it took a while.
I love the layout of the adventure (and thus the eponymous house) and the addition of FEAR.
Your FEAR score acts as an effective stress factor, marking out certain rooms and routes as high risk and adding to the tension as it climbs towards that fatal maximum. (I would imagine almost everyone who plays this ends up gaining a couple of FEAR points and having to fight a Zombie, whilst unarmed, on their first go.)
After mapping the place out fully, I appreciate how a reasonably linear wander around two floors of a house, its cellar and some secret passages are disguised as a fiendishly difficult maze. (At least it seemed that way to me until I had fully explored.)
The adventure can be split into the following sections and each objective must be met in order to complete the adventure:
Ground Floor I - Objective: Retain Consciousness and Courteousness A Battle of Wits and Manners. I love this section with the opportunity to gather background lore from eavesdropping, paintings and polite conversation. You get the feeling that the Earl would love to just overpower you and bundle you off into a holding room but that would be bad form. So, to keep a level of decorum, we have to play a game of What's Your Poison. In retrospect all the clues were there to avoid the cheese and white wine from the paintings and the combinations given.
First Floor - Objective: Obtain the location of the Secret Room Who is Mordana, the lady of the house? The Earl's Mother? His Wife, perished of old age whilst he lives on forever young? A masterclass in location design. Wondering around the balcony becomes a mini dungeon with the rooms and corridors presenting opportunities for clues, lore, weapons, FEAR, and death. Mainly FEAR. (Just look at all that black in the lower half of the map!)
Ground Floor II - Objective: Obtain some Brandy and find the entrance to Shekou’s Room. Read the letters for some interesting background about the Earl's mate Pravemi, which shows that this cult is international in its reach. Is that Prevemi in Shaitan, here for the rites? Is he the Earl's brother in law? Do you cut off two heads of this dragon if you succeed? Did he recruit the Earl? Don't go into the kitchen.
Cellar - Objective: Obtain the Kris Knife Some great information to be gained from the oldest prisoner. The games with the torturer, along with the punishment for failure, really stuck with me from playing this in my youth.
Ground Floor III - Objective: Obtain the Golden Key Don't go into the kitchen. Again.
Secret Passageways - Objective: Obtain the Iron Key When following the true path your stay here is short. If you wonder you are lost but at least you get to experience some of the most unsettling content the book has to offer.
Ground Floor IV - Objective: Destroy the Master So Franklins becomes a Hell Demon no matter who you target, but was he always the Hell Demon in human form? Was he perhaps often the host for the Hell Demon who is summoned by the sacrificial rites? Is this a first time possession of him to remove a dangerous pest? Is it the combination of the sacrificial rites, the Red Room, and the Kris Knife that evokes him? (No, not the Kris Knife, as he appears whether you have that or not.)
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by CharlesX on May 30, 2023 12:25:29 GMT
Thanks scouserob just as great as your others! I agree House Of Hell is extremely well-written, and reminiscent of the best eighties horror films, John Carpenter, and gothic works (even if having to roll 3 or higher for FEAR is unfair).
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Post by scouserob on Jul 15, 2023 9:38:16 GMT
Talisman of Death Map
My memories of this book had faded to nothingness. I was even convinced the Messenger of Death was in this one rather than Temple of Terror? 🤷🏻♂️
A different style from any of the previous three, more of a high fantasy, reminiscent of Dungeons of Dragons and Tolkein.
An adventure in three parts. The second portion in Greyguilds on the Watch is fantastic, filled with the greatest selection of characters I've seen in a Fighting Fantasy so far. (Hawkana, Tyutchev, Cassandra, Thaum, Lillantha, Apothecus, etc, etc.)
So many factions in the city, each with their own agenda. (Good, evil, knowledge, power, profit.)
I love the fact that you are forced to lose possession of the all important Talisman, not to Death but to a secondary villain, Hawkana. To get it back you have to go to the pub (I can manage that), tease out the location of the Thieves' Guild, survive Tyutchev and Cassandra's eagerness to start a bar fight, convince the thieves to help you and then it is heist time in the Temple of Fell-Krynla.
Hawkana is formidable. Magical pillar of flame attacks and a top tier Skill 12 fighter to boot. I like the scene where you lose to her spirit, she helps you to your feet and you walk together into the Valley of Death, a nice bit of unspoken mutual respect between the two great foes who will probably get to spend eternity together ... Nope, we are told this is temporary companionship and you will wander alone until the end of time. Grim.
The final section is just dripping with Tolkein, attacks by mounted Wraiths around a campfire, glowing words appearing on the McGuffin which has a tendency to get heavier and exhaust the bearer on their way to the mountain to remove it from the world.
I pretty much loved the second non-founder adventure in the series. The World of Orb was a fun place to visit.
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by vastariner on Jul 15, 2023 11:49:16 GMT
Talisman of Death Map
An adventure in three parts. The second portion in Greyguilds on the Watch is fantastic, filled with the greatest selection of characters I've seen in a Fighting Fantasy so far. (Hawkana, Tyutchev, Cassandra, Thaum, Lillantha, Apothecus, etc, etc.)
One reason being that at least Tyutchev and Cassandra were PCs which Smith and Thomson had used in D&D for some years.
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Post by scouserob on Jul 15, 2023 12:05:23 GMT
One reason being that at least Tyutchev and Cassandra were PCs which Smith and Thomson had used in D&D for some years. Cool. 😎👍🏼 They must have had some great campaigns. I imagine that little details like Cassandra's unexplained Ice Blade come from there. I like the fact that there is no final battle where you slay them, as though you are just passing through the world, one of the many of the adventures and encounters that they've had. Their decision to include them in Talisman of Death worked a treat. Along with Hawkana they really help bring the adventure to life.
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Post by vastariner on Jul 15, 2023 21:37:40 GMT
I imagine that little details like Cassandra's unexplained Ice Blade come from there. I like the fact that there is no final battle where you slay them, as though you are just passing through the world, one of the many of the adventures and encounters that they've had. And of course you can't kill them off when they're still starring in Way of the Tiger at the time. Would be like Hilda Ogden stabbing Seth Armstrong to death.
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Post by a moderator on Jul 16, 2023 20:10:44 GMT
You can't kill them in Way of the Tiger, either (unless book 7 contains a twist of which I'm unaware).
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Post by scouserob on Sept 17, 2023 9:15:30 GMT
Space Assassin Map
Another book which had almost completely faded from my memory. The only thing I remembered from my youth was that provisions were called Pep Pills.
It was a pleasant surprise.
The rule variations work well, in general. The weapons/armour choice is interesting and the gun battles are fun to play. The zing that they have to them really sells a fast paced shoot out.
The tank battle mini-game is a creative and intricately planned out diversion. I found it a little bit clunky to play with pencil and paper (or excel sheet and keyboard) due to having to keep track of the status (and position) every move. It does however lend itself well to a computer adaptation where such things are automatically tracked.
The true route through the book has plenty of interesting gun battles, and a nice bit of hand to hand combat against an enormous mollusc.
That doughnut shape planet was ... challenging to map and has made the entire thing rather unsightly.
Cyrus' attempts to wriggle out of capture are pretty amusing. Not sure any competent assassin would fall for the old poisoned Antares Red trick, never mind the compulsive gambler who needs to get his pack of cards out of his desk drawer.
The Pan-Dimensional Homing Device was a pretty cool addition. An instant killer even more powerful than those disintegrators you can never get your hands on. It has a well balanced price for its use as well. It also has a couple of good personal instant deaths, with Cyrus having inventing his own counter measure, and, my favourite that gave me a good chuckle after using it against those black spheres. 🤦🏻♂️⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by CharlesX on Sept 17, 2023 10:15:35 GMT
Forgive me because I don't have Space Assassin to hand and also for a brief exchange here rather than in the Space Assassin solution thread, but does Champskees solution make use of the bearings which deduct 1 from Cyrus Skill, and also whether it is best to fight Cyrus by hand or by Gun?
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Post by scouserob on Sept 17, 2023 10:38:20 GMT
Hi Charles
The Ball Bearings are on the route with the 8 Portabots and Deity fights and not on Champskees’ route. (they are both reasonably dangerous fights and you also miss out on 30 STAMINA points worth of energy bars and tablets going that way.)
I believe the fight against Cyrus is assumed to be a gun battle and the option is not given to fight him hand to hand. (Unless you’ve paid for the Homing Device uses with all your guns.)
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Post by scouserob on Dec 14, 2023 22:51:54 GMT
Secrets of Salamonis Map
Wow, the two most recent Fighting Fantasy books both turned out rather well!
Excepting Sorcery, Secrets of Salamonis is a contender for my third favourite, so far. It is certainly in my top 5. (Deathtrap Dungeon and Creature of Havoc are 1st and 2nd respectively whilst City of Thieves and House of Hell would also be top 5.)
First the Bugbear in the room. Errors and omissions. The Docks, Guttery, Goldenway looping, whilst annoying, is certainly not game breaking. The V _ _ _ S spell in Bu Fon Fen just needs to tell you to miss off the S when calculating. (The Oracle doesn't like plurals?) The biggest problem on a first play through is the hidden training quests and the lack of instruction on when to do them. Just one line explaining that you can do them only when offered other training quests would have solved this issue. Everything else is just minor.
I love the structure of the adventure. It soon became clear after some grand, but doomed, initial adventures that the main aim of the pre-Quest Board sections should be to accumulate enough Amonour to increase your Initial Skill up to 12, which is just about possible without looping. You have to forego the Lucky Special Skill to get there but becoming a 12 Skill bad boy is well worth it. (Finding this path was a damn fun challenge.)
The Quest Board part of the adventure becomes a quest to rack up as much Gold as possible to kit yourself out for the biggest and nastiest bosses in the game. (Again, finding a path to the riches needed to become a 13 Skill (+1 Attack Strength), Shield bearing Archer was ridiculously enjoyable.)
By the time you are successful enough to begin the Shivering Man quest you should have picked up enough hints on your adventures to be able to have a damn good guess at: The Shivering Man's identity (at least his family group) The person who cursed him. The person behind the person who cursed him. Where the Shivering Man is located. The items needed to cure him.
Great stuff.
So there it is, a classic tale of a farmer, travelling to the big city in search of adventure, enduring initial hardship before joining a band of Adventurers, gaining experience (cue training montage), saving the day, and finally cementing their renown and the love of the people by being ceremoniously honoured.
Here is how the adventure is structured in terms of paragraph count: Part 0 - The Dream: 16/480, 3.3% Part 1 - Reclaim Backpack: 75/480, 15.6% [Total: 91/480, 19.0%] Part 2 - Training: 51/480, 10.6% [Total: 142/480, 29.6%] Part 3 - Quest Board: 298/480, 62.1% [Total: 440/480, 91.7%] Part 4 - The Shivering Man: 40/480, 8.3% [Total: 480/480, 100.0%]
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by scouserob on Jan 28, 2024 12:52:05 GMT
Freeway Fighter Map
It is Mad Max time as you have to cross a treacherous wasteland to deliver some grain and bring back some petrol, forging an alliance with another peaceful community in the post apocalypse.
The wasteland is filled with barmy raiders and other assorted lunatics who mostly want to kill you, steal your car or have races/duels.
This one was a lot fun to play, the vehicle combat was great, and both the overring objective of getting to San Anglo and back along with the more immediate aim of finding enough fuel to keep going, kept the pace and the stakes high.
You also get a short term companion, in Amber, who survives through to the end. The second to manage this after Stubb? [edited to correct embarrassing Dwarf name mix-up] (I'm not counting the crew of the Starship Traveller.) (RIP: Throm, Mungo and Redswift.)
She proves pretty damn useful, destroying most of the Doom Dogs’ vehicles, taking out two of the Doom Dogs in a shootout and then using a spanner to knock out The Animal before he can crush you to death in a massive bear hug.
Great stuff.
Here is how the adventure is structured in terms of paragraph count:
First Fuel Refill: 27/380, 7.1% Second Fuel Refill: 133/380, 35.0% Third Fuel Refill: 261/380, 68.7% Fourth Fuel Refill: 312/380, 82.1%
Anyhow, here is the map:
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Post by a moderator on Jan 28, 2024 13:14:20 GMT
You also get a short term companion, in Amber, who survives through to the end. The second to manage this after Bigleg? (I'm not counting the crew of the Starship Traveller.)
Stubb, surely? Bigleg is the one who dies in the intro to Forest. (It can also be inferred that Stubb dies between Caverns and Forest, since he joins Bigleg's expedition and all indications are that everyone on it gets massacred, but the hero of Caverns doesn't know that, and ends the book believing that Stubb is still alive and well.)[/pedant]
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Post by scouserob on Jan 28, 2024 13:17:15 GMT
Yes, Stubb. 😂🤦🏻♂️ Bigleg would have made a very short lived and rather stationary companion.
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Post by allgs on Jan 30, 2024 12:35:59 GMT
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Post by CharlesX on Feb 1, 2024 10:59:48 GMT
Thank you very much for this scouserob. The Blitz race for fuel always used to throw me when trying to work out the true path, with Ian's technical error (flipped outcomes and paragraphs) exacerbating it.
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Post by misomiso on Feb 24, 2024 19:12:59 GMT
scouserob love the maps, but would you ever want to draw 'naturalised' versions of the maps? Ie more like the dungeon plans of Deathtrap Dungeon that you can find, or some of the sorcery ones that show all the routes you can take - the ones you do are great but are extremely hard to read, and it would be really fun to have maps of books like Talisman of Death that are usually neglected by the FF mapping community! Thank you!
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Post by scouserob on Mar 10, 2024 15:27:58 GMT
Temple of Terror Map
An adventure in two parts.
First we have a trek down south to the lost city of Vatos. Either by land, air and through a desert, or barge, city, sea and desert. Either route is both challenging and fun.
Vatos itself is even better, as you make your way through the underground city to the Temple where, if you survive, you will face off against Malbordous.
This section is a bit of a treasure hunt, as you have to search every nook and cranny for the five dragon artefacts you need to collect. This searching however is what exposes you to uncovering the the letters of the word 'DEATH' that the Messenger of Death has sprink'ed around the place, each one leading to reasonably heavy stamina losses that you really can't afford to endure.
I loved it.
Here is how the adventure is structured in terms of paragraph count:
Journey to the Desert of Skulls: 59/400 (14.8%) Across the Desert to Vatos: 64/400 (16.0%) [Total 30.8%] Through the Corridors of Vatos to the Outer Temple: 194/400 (48.5%) [Total 79.3%] Through the Outer Temple to the Black Curtain to the Inner Temple: 45/400 (11.3%) [Total 90.5%] The Inner Temple: 38/400 (9.5%) [Total 100%]
Anyhow, here is the map:
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