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Post by daredevil123 on Jun 1, 2018 21:13:32 GMT
House of Hell is very hard if you don't know the correct route. Will you be counting the Kris knife as an Attack Strength boost?
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 3, 2018 9:25:37 GMT
Well, I doubt I'll get to the point where I can use the Kris knife! - but what does everyone else do?
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Post by daredevil123 on Jun 3, 2018 11:20:06 GMT
Most people treat it as an AS boost, which is slightly dubious but more in line with the way Steve Jackson designs his books. The final combat is unfairly difficult if you play completely by the rules.
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Post by bloodbeasthandler on Jun 3, 2018 16:29:40 GMT
Most people treat it as an AS boost, which is slightly dubious but more in line with the way Steve Jackson designs his books. The final combat is unfairly difficult if you play completely by the rules.
Right!
And from now on when told to add SKILL points, that’s what I am going to do.
So the blacksmith’s chainmail in City of Thieves [all 20GPs’ worth of it] IS going to ADD those SKILL points, by Telak!
Fire swords, such as those in Island of the Lizard King should increase your fighting ability shouldn’t they?
There are examples all the way through the gamebooks of this sort of thing. The confusion was made worse by some books [Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Demons of the Deep] specifically mentioning increases to Initial SKILL, while most of the rest do not.
I reckon the writers forgot their own rules or else the editors did not pick up on it. Wish I’d realised this from the start.
It might make it actually possible to complete some more books as a SKILL 7 or 8 weakling.
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Post by a moderator on Jun 3, 2018 19:38:26 GMT
I've won House of Hell twice without converting the Kris bonus to Attack Strength (I even listed the rolls for the attempt chronicled here), so while it is tough, I wouldn't classify it as unfairly difficult. |
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on Jun 3, 2018 19:42:29 GMT
Most people treat it as an AS boost, which is slightly dubious but more in line with the way Steve Jackson designs his books. The final combat is unfairly difficult if you play completely by the rules.
Right!
And from now on when told to add SKILL points, that’s what I am going to do.
So the blacksmith’s chainmail in City of Thieves [all 20GPs’ worth of it] IS going to ADD those SKILL points, by Telak!
Fire swords, such as those in Island of the Lizard King should increase your fighting ability shouldn’t they?
There are examples all the way through the gamebooks of this sort of thing. The confusion was made worse by some books [Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Demons of the Deep] specifically mentioning increases to Initial SKILL, while most of the rest do not.
I reckon the writers forgot their own rules or else the editors did not pick up on it. Wish I’d realised this from the start.
It might make it actually possible to complete some more books as a SKILL 7 or 8 weakling.
There is no easy answer to this. Champskees obeys the rules in the solutions as do I but you can always take the content given and say this is what it must mean to make sense. In any challenge you can always set a precedent to interpret in an optimistic fashion if it improves the gameplay. Your radical interpretation is fine in private but on here it is probably better to tell us. If your Crypt chances suddenly improve from the true figure of 1/200 to about 1/10 then we might suspect you are not obeying the rules on the solutions pages. |
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Post by daredevil123 on Jun 3, 2018 21:06:52 GMT
I've won House of Hell twice without converting the Kris bonus to Attack Strength (I even listed the rolls for the attempt chronicled here), so while it is tough, I wouldn't classify it as unfairly difficult. It's definitely possible, but having to beat an opponent whose Skill is at least 2 higher than your own is pretty mean. In a Livingstone book it wouldn't be surprising, but having looked at champskees' probabilities for Steve Jackson books I strongly suspect the author's intention was an Attack Strength increase. |
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 5, 2018 18:12:45 GMT
Interesting viewpoints a'body, however, so far I don't think I'll get as far as getting the Kris knife (as I suspected!)
1st Shottie - stats 12/18/10 with fear 9 , I had a feeling this was a particularly stinky fear score , so I wandered aboot the house with gay abandon, trying my best to map it (and buggered the map up already!) , anyone, I decided to have a wee blether with a vampire and got killed...
2nd shottie - stats 8/22/8 and fear 9 - Stats even worse! I'm either hopeless at mapping (I would imagine this to be the case) or there are some errors in the directions?? Anyway, I tried some more wandering and discovering stuff and got chewed up by a pair of Great Danes!
3rd Shotties - 11/16/11 fear 8 I went to lots of places this time (and made an even bigger mess of my map!) This time I manged not toget drugged at the beginning and met the hunchback. I also spoke to Mordana and she told me about the grey man. I went under the cellar stairs, guessed the password correctly and got stuck in a wee room forever!!
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 6, 2018 18:49:13 GMT
Oh dear
4th try - 12/16/12 -I really dinny ken what I'm doing. I wandered around getting totally lost and ended up in the kitchen which as you all know (and I started to remember from when I played this book a lot as a wee laddie!), its a deadly place whatever you choose.
5th try - 7/22/8 - Hopeless skill, so i was killed by the great danes
6th try - max stats - Well, probably I should have attempted a fresh map a couple of shots ago because I got totally lost (although I met the grey haired man this time - fat lot of use he was) and eventually ended up in the kitchen again!!!!
MY FIRST FAIL!!!
I did enjoy this book though, and I might have had a better chance if my cartography skills were better. Anyways, i'm away to play Champskees walkthrough coz I want to see all the things I did wrong!
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Post by a moderator on Jun 6, 2018 21:06:34 GMT
I'm not sure it is possible to make a coherent map of the house. The top floor is pretty straightforward, but lower down it all gets a bit confused. I wasted a bit of time trying to make sense of the layout of the ground floor when playing House of Hell on my blog. |
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 11, 2018 19:33:22 GMT
Having a few days off from my marathon.I have many other hobbies to attend to, some of them almost as exciting as playing FF books!!  |
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Post by thealmightymudworm on Jun 15, 2018 1:04:03 GMT
" A woman wearing chainmail and carrying a loaded crossbow bursts into the torchlight followed by three men, panting heavily. A bemused look spreads across the faces of all four as they peer all round the cavern. Then three of them round on the man at the back who carries a spiked mace. "'You said the gods had promised us a Scotsman – whatever the hell that is – to carry this cursed talisman away.' exclaim the Shieldmaiden and the Swordgeezer simultaneously. The Stickweirdo makes discontented noises from behind the non-functional mouth of his mask and waves his arms a bit. "'All right, all right' snaps the Coshvicar, 'I'm sure he'll be along in a bit. Look the Cave Trolls aren't here yet so let's all just have a sit down, OK?' 'Have you still got those sandwiches?' 'Mmmph. Mph-mph.' 'Take that mask off you idiot.' 'I never wanted to be one of the seekers of the Talisman of Doigy, you know. I wanted a job at the Guild.' 'Being a thief is not a real job.' 'Just pass me a cheese one and shut up.'" |
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 16, 2018 16:41:09 GMT
Brilliant!! Starting Talisman on Monday btw
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 19, 2018 6:42:53 GMT
TALISMAN OF DEATH
1st try - stats 11/16/11. For some reason the dice were against me and I kept getting hammered. Losing my sword didn't help and I took too long in a battle with a guard so died - though I'm being resurrected... so am I still on my first try??
I remember the last time I played this book I really enjoyed it, and still do! This book is so well written. Orb feels like a real place, and even the most incidental characters have a believability to them. Another play through tonight, should be good
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Post by stevendoig on Jun 19, 2018 19:31:10 GMT
So, same stats, same game really... Tried it a bit differently which meant I kept my sword and indeed the Talisman for longer. Managed to struggle through the battle with Hawkana using my luck. It got a bit less interesting once I left the city, but I managed to find the dragonspear and then had it oot with the dragon - and killed him (again using my potion of fortune to help me out) and won the day!! Really enjoyed that - deserves a few more playtthroughs |
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Blackheart
Squire
Formerly known as Symm. Razaak raised me from the dead.
Posts: 42 
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by Blackheart on Jun 25, 2018 9:51:51 GMT
Wonder if this might be a good place to resurrect the challenges threads? The ones where you score points based on how low your stats are and whether you complete a bonus mission?
I'd come along!
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 9, 2018 19:54:01 GMT
OK, work was getting in the way and my mind wasn't engaged, but time to resume my marathon!
Book 12 - Space assassin
NB - I hate the sci fi gamebooks......
1st try - 10/19/9 - I pressed the wrong button and activated the self destruct button.
there are lots of wrong buttons to press in this book.
2nd try - 10/20/11 - I pressed another wrong button and died (different place)
3rdtry - 12/14/10 - Killed by black round spheres.
Three shotties is definitely enough for tonight, it is such an unengaging book...
Three more goes tomorrow!
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Post by lordomnibok on Oct 9, 2018 23:24:13 GMT
Excellent. I'm glad you're back on this stevendoig. It's interesting.
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 10, 2018 19:52:18 GMT
Cheers!
4th try - 8/20/8 - Killed by mu- masons whatever they may be....
5th try - 8/22/9 - tried a different route, it felt like I was getting somewhere, particularly when I got an armour upgrade! However my stats were still crappy so I was killed by a big scary 'alien deity' thing ...
6th try - MAX stats - Stuck to my previous route, which was the correct descision. With great stats and the armour upgrade, I won through!!
But that really was a chore...
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Post by a moderator on Oct 11, 2018 1:16:09 GMT
4th try - 8/20/8 - Killed by mu- masons whatever they may be.... A kind of unstable sub-atomic particle, nowadays known as muons. Good to see this thread active again. |
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 11, 2018 19:55:30 GMT
Sub atomic eh? Beyond my wee brain!!
Anyways
FREEWAY FIGHTER
twenty references less than the norm yet it just seemed to go on and on...
1st try - 10/30/12 & 8/27 - I went over a bridge and it blew up!
2nd try - 12/28/12 & 9/31 - I ran out of fuel the first time I was asked
3rd try - 10/32/9 & 10/32 - I failed in the blitz race which meant I ran out of fuel a wee while later.
4th try 11/31/10 & 10/30 - SUCCESS! However, it was a struggle! I ended with a luck score of ONE and my armour score was down to 3.
Its been said many times before i'm sure but the illustrations are the crappiest and least exciting I've ever seen, especially the one with the guy giving you a wee wave through his car window - how thrilling! Anyway, a bit of a crappy book. Back to Allansia next!
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 12, 2018 19:58:53 GMT
TEMPLE OF TERROR
Linear as hell
1st try - 9/21/8 - Killed by a shell monster....
2nd try - 11/20/19 - I fell off the giant eagle!
3rd try - 10/24/10 - Killed by that big git of a giant sandworm
4th try - 10/16/10 - Pretty much an identical playthrough as last time, and therefore killed by the giant sandworm
this is a bit predictable!!
2 more goes in a wee whiley!
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 14, 2018 19:46:41 GMT
shot number 5 - 11/19/11 - aha, a high enough stat to get past the sandworm! Once in Vatos, I potter around, find 4 of the dragon artefacts (and two nasty messenger of death thingys) and get steadily worn down , use up all my provisions and get killed by a bunch of dark disciples...
6th try - MAX STATS - The first part of the book (the trip to Vatos) is a real bore after only six tries! anyway, once in Vatos itself its a bit more fun. I relocate the four dragon artefacts and find the final one, fight Malbordus and win the day still with a stamina of 13 and 3 provisions left.
Success again!!!!
an average book, although, as I think I've proved ,to really stand a chance you must have a skill of 12
anyway - Rings of Kether next, I think I've played it two or three times in my life (its one of my most pristine looking gamebooks!) |
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 15, 2018 19:42:01 GMT
RINGS OF KETHER I have very little recall of this book at all. 1st try - 11/9/12 - I ran out of leads and had to go home. 2nd try - 11/22/10 - success! OK, this was a very pleasant surprise- its a very well written witty book (though, obviously far too easy!) I reckon it would have been better without any fighting at all, perhaps just relying on money management only or something. anyways, I'll definitely give this one another shot sometime! That didn't take long - time for a couple goes at seas of blood |
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 15, 2018 19:46:57 GMT
SEAS OF BLOOD
12/18/8 (and 9/14)
1st try - Crew strike was rubbish so me and my my crew got killed by abunch of goblins!
2nd try - fantastic rolls all round! - 12/20/12 and 11/17
Felt like I was doing well, particularly in the gambling den and also get the best price for my slaves. I got a real hiding by the Cyclops (only 2 stamina points left) but unfortunately I only had 767 gold pieces - so close!!!
try again tomorrow!
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Post by a moderator on Oct 15, 2018 21:31:10 GMT
I'll definitely give this one another shot sometime! Good plan. There's more than one route to victory (and more than one 'success' ending), so you can have a largely different adventure and still be in with a chance of winning. Did you experience the car chase on either attempt? |
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 16, 2018 10:02:21 GMT
yep, the car chase was on my second go. it was really gripping, well written with good logical decisions to make!
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 16, 2018 19:51:55 GMT
SEAS OF BLOOD
3rd try - 8/16/10 - crappy stats! However, I wasn't killed in battle, but caused my crew to kill me coz I asked them to do something stupid...
4th try - 12/18/9 (12 & 17) Not bad stats. I ended up going places where I didn't find any booty -it was a nice wee diversion with the sprites and the krell, but probs not worth the bother. Anyway,i ended up trapped by villagers and they killed me when I failed a luck test.
5th try - 8/23/10 I found a hidden temple and I died when I pulled a lever rather than pushing it...
6th try - MAX STATS - Had a bad time in the gambling halls, found quite a bit of booty elsewhere,but my crew got curious toward the end and opened my 'windy bag' thing ,so we never go to our destination in time (although I never had enough money anyway)
RESULT - FAIL
Bah !!!!
onto the next one - I smell another fail!
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 16, 2018 19:57:32 GMT
APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR
I never could get the hang of this one!
anyway, I'm using super strength just now
1st TRY
13/22/12
so many notes !! My flow chart style map is a mess! I find one clue that I reckon is relevant but maybe that pickpocket had one too and i took the wrong item - anyway, I get blasted to death by a laser cannon while looking in a van
2nd TRY - 13/17/12
My flow chart is huge, unwieldly and very rubbish.
I try a few different things, get a different clue this time, and completely fail to work out where FEAR are having their meeting . ach weel.
More tries the morn!
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Post by stevendoig on Oct 17, 2018 19:32:23 GMT
APPONITMENT WITH FEAR - continued
3rd try - 13/19/12 - Tried to take as many different options as possible,I found a different clue (I now have two - time and location) but that's not enough so I lose...
4th try 13/20/10 - Hm, I thought I had enough clues - i.e what looked like a date, a time, the location and also a 'jammer' however, the reference made no sense so i'm presuming i'm misunderstanding somewhere...
5th try - 13/14/11 - Very similar playthrough as before,no new information found.....
6th try - MAX STAT (not that's its been a problem) - Nope, I didn't get any further.
FAIL FAIL FAIL
This book actually annoyed me - I just felt like I wasn't ever progressing! I wish iwas better at mapping / making a flow chart. The sheer amount of notes I was making was getting me down as well.
ah well - time for another.
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