vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 10, 2015 13:10:52 GMT
EXTREMELY MAGICAL FIGHTING FANTASY BOOKS: Crypt of the Sorcerer - Deathtrap Dungeon - City of Thieves - Trial of Champions - House of Hell - Talisman of Death - Vault of the Vampire - Slaves of the Abyss - Howl of the Werewolf - Night of the Necromancer. My believe, all these 10 books, plus some other philosophy books, will accompany me for granted until the end of this life and during the beginning of the next.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2015 18:21:48 GMT
What about Midnight Rogue? If you enjoyed City of Thieves MR is truly sublime.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 10, 2015 21:03:47 GMT
What about Midnight Rogue? If you enjoyed City of Thieves MR is truly sublime. I do not agree. City of Thieves is pure magic. Midnignight Rogue is little more than banal to me. Not comparable.
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Post by champskees on Sept 10, 2015 21:20:50 GMT
Vagsancho, have you played any other gamebook series outside of FF? If so which ones & what did you think of them?
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 12, 2015 15:24:27 GMT
Ive never played Keep of the Lich Lord, Island of the Undead, and Stormslayer. From these three, which one is the best?
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Sept 12, 2015 16:20:11 GMT
I think you would find Island of the Undead magickal, and give it a note of 16.
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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 Sept 12, 2015 18:53:43 GMT
i'm surprised Vags loves Howl of the Werewolf and Night of the Necromancer. they're so...forgiving.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on Sept 12, 2015 22:11:10 GMT
I think all three are good but flawed.
Keep of the Lich Lord has a lot of fun sub quests but they feel a bit superfluous and the whole thing is perhaps a bit too easy.
Island of the Undead has a nice sense of mystery and some great moments but it's a bit long and overcomplicated.
Stormslayer is colourful and fun but the whole Mount Pyre section is a bad misfire.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 14, 2015 18:05:21 GMT
i'm surprised Vags loves Howl of the Werewolf and Night of the Necromancer. they're so...forgiving. The level of dificulty is not relevant for me.
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Post by hynreck on Sept 14, 2015 18:24:54 GMT
That's the difference between reading and playing, I guess.
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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 Sept 14, 2015 18:47:53 GMT
i'm surprised Vags loves Howl of the Werewolf and Night of the Necromancer. they're so...forgiving. The level of dificulty is not relevant for me.i seriously reccommend Black Vein Prophecy and Knights of Doom in that case.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2015 20:18:09 GMT
Surprisingly two books I don't own or have read. But here in Canada I think Knights of Doom is very hard to get.
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Sept 25, 2015 23:29:05 GMT
I ask God to give me, with entire peace of mind and entire agape, the oportunity to play, and feel Crypt of the Sorcerer, at least, one more time!
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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 Sept 26, 2015 0:55:06 GMT
you don't need god for that. just ask a hypnotist for a mind wipe.
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revenant
Squire
Posts: 21
Favourite Gamebook Series: Zork (just kidding)
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Post by revenant on Oct 19, 2015 12:45:33 GMT
Some of my favorites: Forest of Doom (the first one ever read), Shamutanti Hills (I enjoy the bucolic atmosphere, as with Forest of Doom), House of Hell, Island of the Undead (got a Rolemaster mini-campaign out of it), both the Vampire ones.
I enjoy the atmosphere and illustrations more than the gameplay. I just like rambling around Allansia, interacting with the weird denizens, imagining the landscape.
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Post by misomiso on Oct 30, 2015 11:18:02 GMT
Deathtrap Dungeon - the best overall, with good game design, writing and plot (simple but effective). Sorcery! 1-4 - The whole series is epic, and the world feels a lot different to other FF books. Armies of Death - this isn't a very popular one, but I always liked the idea of commanding armies. Freeway Fighter - again not one that always springs to mind, but it had a very evocative world. Dead of Night, Legend of the Shadow Warriors, Moonrunner - the Stephen Hand trilogy. All good and a bit different, but I prefer the first and last the best. Warlock of Firetop Mountain - interesting to see how the whole series started Vault of the Vampire - I found it quite confusing, but it has a very good mood. Howl of the werewolf - there's a reason this gets a lot of praise as being one of the best later books. Well designed. City of Thieves - its just like living in London House of Hell - incredibly hard, but great setting. Creature of Havoc - the fan favourite. Almost impossible.
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Post by OverDrone on Nov 17, 2015 17:54:09 GMT
Yep, the Sorcery! series for sure, for the reasons given by misomiso above. Dead of Night, House of Hell, Deathtrap Dungeon, Midnight Rogue, Demons of the Deep and Vault of the Vampire are also on my list. I also have a soft spot for Scorpion Swamp since it was one of my first and I liked the mapping aspect. I see it doesn't appear too popular here, though. I like Seas of Blood too... I also loved Sky Lord back in the day, sorry haters That one is off the hook. It's the best sci fi book that I've played in the series, although I haven't tried Star Strider yet admittedly. Anyway, it's difficult to choose just one, and it's been a while since I played a lot of them - maybe my opinions will change as I delve back in. But if it had to be just one, it would be Khare Cityport of Traps. Urban adventures don't get much better than this IMO.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 29, 2015 14:50:25 GMT
I've only speed-read this thread, but I'm surprised and disappointed there appears to be no love for Siege Of Sardath here. It has a place in my top three alongside Creature Of Havoc and The Crimson Tide.
Basically, I love books that are beautifully written and whose extreme difficulty comes from being intricately constructed - the True Path, once found, should be achievable on minimum stats.
Other favourites include, unsurprisingly, House Of Hell and Appointment With FEAR.
Citadel, Deathtrap, Slaves, Spellbreaker, Knights, and the Sorcery! series all get rave reviews from Adventuring Wilf, too.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 29, 2015 15:27:03 GMT
the True Path, once found, should be achievable on minimum stats. Other favourites include, unsurprisingly, House Of Hell Oh, the irony.
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Post by deadshadowrunner on Nov 29, 2015 15:56:59 GMT
I agree with you actually,wilf,Siege of Sardath is excellent,a debut such as that should have warranted Kieth Phillips a few more books.
I have no dislikes of any of the books,not even sci-fi,and many appeal to me,as such I have no clear-cut favourites.Hence a list of some that stand out from the rest.
Deathtrap Dungeon:The book that epitomises FF
Appointment of FEAR,Creature of Havoc,Black Vein Prophecy,The Crimson Tide,Siege of Sardath:The top 5 True Path books in my opinion
Dead of Night,Legend of the Shadow Warriors,Moonrunner:Good writing,atmosphere,gameplay and illustrations
Rings of Kether:Good to read without playing,the FF book most like a CYOA book and fun detective noir stuff as well
Spectral Stalkers:Imaginative and varied worlds
I'm sure I've left many out,but time is short,perhaps I'll continue another time.
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Post by Wilf on Nov 29, 2015 16:59:15 GMT
the True Path, once found, should be achievable on minimum stats. Other favourites include, unsurprisingly, House Of Hell Oh, the irony. I did say "should" not "must"! I think there's only about ten books for which the minimum stats thing is actually true, and I'm not going to mention Starship Traveller on this thread, am I?
Well, apart from just then.
Tide also has two Skill 6 battles on the True Path, too, IIRC...
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vagsancho
Knight
Posts: 809
Favourite Gamebook Series: CRYPT OF THE SORCERER
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Post by vagsancho on Nov 29, 2015 18:27:25 GMT
Other favourites include, unsurprisingly, House Of Hell and Appointment With FEAR. A Masterpiece - the first one. A very weak piece - the second.
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Post by a moderator on Nov 29, 2015 20:41:37 GMT
I did say "should" not "must"! I think there's only about ten books for which the minimum stats thing is actually true, and I'm not going to mention Starship Traveller on this thread, am I?
Well, apart from just then.
Tide also has two Skill 6 battles on the True Path, too, IIRC...
I was just amused by the juxtaposition of the two sentences. Especially as House is (AFAIK) the only FF book which is undeniably impossible to beat on minimum stats. Sure, the likelihood of a 7-14-7 character surviving the likes of Deathtrap Dungeon is negligible, but given lots of incredibly flukey rolls, it could happen, whereas the minimum number of Fear points that can be acquired on a successful attempt at House exceeds the lowest possible Fear score.
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Post by coppertop71 on May 31, 2016 11:17:43 GMT
If I was a merchant I'd set up shop at the dungeon's entrance, at the very least. THAT would seem like a good business plan.
If I was a Merchant, I wouldn't set up shop anywhere near a dungeon! I'd do it in a nice shiny shopping centre next to the pound shop. .
Also my favourite books are house of hell & city of thieves but I also quite like The Rings of Kether
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Post by thealmightymudworm on May 16, 2018 2:59:02 GMT
I'm not well placed to do this myself, but I thought it might be interesting to see how people ranked all the books which have come after the series' original demise in 1995 from best to worst.
It's probably obvious which author is going to get the best overall result, but some of the rest is less clear.
I think the full list is: Eye of the Dragon Bloodbones Howl of the Werewolf Stormslayer Night of the Necromancer Blood of the Zombies The Port of Peril The Gates of Death
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Post by johnbrawn1972 on May 16, 2018 12:29:23 GMT
It is a bit of a case of stating the obvious. In no particular order
Howl of the Werewolf Stormslayer Night of the Necromancer
roughly together as three of the best in the whole series
Bloodbones
on its own and strictly a bit too difficult
Eye of the Dragon Blood of the Zombies The Port of Peril The Gates of Death
roughly together as somewhat hopeless
I believe some of the others might be able to deliver a strict ranking in the sense of at least giving reasons whereas I am a bit vague. I would select Night of the Necromancer and Stormslayer as exceptional because where true dice rolls are used every game will be different so you need to know the whole book and not just one true path which can become tedious due to the determinacy.
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Post by hynreck on May 16, 2018 12:33:16 GMT
I haven't read The Gates of Death yet, I just bought it from some seller on the marketplace; amazon.ca for some reason don't sell the new books.
So otherwise, let's try this since it's a rather small list (can't help but imagining the brain melt if you try to do the whole series this way!):
(this is my best to worst from gut and bad memory; I've only played each book once and I suppose further playthrough might shift the books around... /disclaimer)
Howl of the Werewolf Night of the Necromancer Stormslayer Bloodbones The Port of Peril Blood of the Zombies Eye of the Dragon
We'll see where GoD slides in eventually...
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Post by daredevil123 on May 16, 2018 15:16:54 GMT
Worst to best: 8. Blood of the Zombies. It's literally impossible to complete (thanks for the maths, Champskees), thus making it the worst-designed book in the entire series. 7. Eye of the Dragon. This book has to have the most ridiculous setting and "plot" of any of the FF books. 6. The Port of Peril. Very linear and dull but not as bad as EotD. 5. The Gates of Death. Need to play this a few more times but so far it plays more like a video game than an FF book. And what's with the bum-faced monster? 4. Bloodbones. Much too hard but the storyline, setting and characters are colourful and fun. 3. Stormslayer. Very well written and designed and (like the best Jon Green books) very replayable. Only real let down is Mount Pyre. 2. Night of the Necromancer. A masterpiece; one of the very best in the series. The whole concept and execution is so clever. 1. Howl of the Werewolf. Writing, design and storyline are pretty much unparalleled. Perhaps my single favourite FF book.
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kieran
Baron
Posts: 2,462
Favourite Gamebook Series: Fighting Fantasy
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Post by kieran on May 16, 2018 16:55:39 GMT
1. Bloodbones. Yes it's far too hard, and yes Howl of the Werewolf is technically better but this one's really grown on me over the years. The Port of Crabs is well designed and bumping into all the crew is fun. If the finale wasn't so unforgiving it would be a contender for my top 5.
2. Howl of the Werewolf. Great gamebook with amazing atmosphere and on a technical level one of the best in the series. Sure there are niggles - the Change score doesn't make that much difference, some of the routes to the end are very brief etc but it is still a great achievement.
3. Port of Peril. I like this one. Too linear and takes forever to get going but very charming.
4. Stormslayer. There's a lot to like here - fun enemies, non-linear design, pretty fair. But I have a few problems with it. Mt Pyre is awful - unfair and dull. And although the days of the week affecting your enemies is a fun gimmick it seems silly that this never happens in any other book. The art also is rushed and unfinished.
5. Eye of the Dragon. Actually a pretty well designed old school dungeon adventure though its absurdity and difficulty hurt it badly.
6. Night of the Necromancer. Some cool gimmicks and good writing but not a fan of books like this and Keith Martin's later works where it feels you have to visit every single section to win.
7. Blood of the Zombies. The streamlined battle system actually fits well with the theme and the writing and art are excellent. Pity it's linear and pretty much impossible to beat fairly.
8. Gates of Death. This book is all over the place and while it has some things to recommend it in places it's pretty awful in terms of consistency, design and fun factor.
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Post by Wilf on May 16, 2018 20:37:43 GMT
1st = Bloodbones 2nd = Night of the Necromancer 3rd = Stormslayer 4th = Howl of the Werewolf 5th = The Gates of Death 6th = Eye of the Dragon 7th = The Port of Peril 8th = Blood of the Zombies
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