Post by a moderator on Nov 24, 2013 16:18:49 GMT
Salvaged from the 'Books in Order' thread:
I responded to Chasms of Malice in much the same way as Phantoms of Fear - indeed, I borrowed it at the same time that I did PoF. My readthrough left me unaware of the extreme harshness of the One-Strike Combat rule, but then I reached the arbitrary Instant Death-heavy endgame, and got rather fed-up. As with Seas of Blood, I've played it quite a bit comparatively recently in order to research a challenge on the other forum, but I'm still nowhere near having memorised a route that minimises the number of OSCs I must fight.
Sk 9
St 22
L 11
Probably Khuddam-fodder, if nothing else gets me first.
I don't recall whether or not the book ever reveals the fate of Azleff, whose disappearance gets a mention in the Background. My position prior to being identified as the blood heir is a bit silly, but some of the 'rewrites' performed on that detail by fans go too far the other way. It would be no less absurd to suggest that the rabbits in Gorak are particularly vicious, and can only be killed by skinning, so even assistant rabbit skinners need to be good fighters.
Anyway, off I go. After a little wandering around, I find a metal collar, and am nowhere near daft enough to put it on. Some Orcs turn up, and I'm into my first fight. Strangely, the third one waits until I've killed its fellows before grabbing the collar and running off, and apparently I just stand there and let it.
A while later I come across a claw sticking out of the ground, and for some mad reason I choose to tug at it. What could possibly have caused a bird-like creature such as the Griphawk to develop a strategy which involves burying itself to wait for prey? And why do I stand around dithering while it digs itself out prior to attacking? A second volume of Out of the Pit which included Luke Sharp's creations would have contained a lot of wacky fauna.
Eventually I reach a subterranean Inn (it took me a long time to realise that most if not all of the action in this book takes place underground, as the various roads and huts and taverns and so on don't really come across as being any different from the sort common on the surface). I live in Hull, so I know that trying to help people who've collapsed outside pubs is just asking for trouble. Inside, I find that the clientele are mostly Orcs (not too dissimilar from some of the local establishments), and then a black-cloaked figure comes in and takes an immediate dislike to me based on where I'm from (still very close to the real world). Not wishing to get involved, I make a break for it, and get clubbed into unconsciousness by an Orc just outside the door.
Coming around on a cart, trussed up and alongside several other prisoners, I find my sword returning to me. Attempting to escape when a mob of Trolls is plodding along behind the cart doesn't look too clever, so I bide my time. That results in my being taken across the lava river. I've never been able to figure out whether there's some magical aspect to the stepping stones, so the formula for crossing is the same from either side, or if the instructions need reversing and mirroring from the other side. Are the Trolls smart enough to do the workings? Or do they have a separate mnemonic for when going the other way, and if so, how many have got the chants mixed up and fried themselves?
Imprisoned alongside a female Gaddon, I find her dress sense off-putting, and do not respond to her attempts to chat me up. A wise move, as she's actually a Khuddam, and has me taken for collaring to establish my identity. It turns out that Azleff is alive and not looking too healthy and working as a blacksmith in Stalag Khuddam. At least until I'm taken in to him, at which point the cuteness of my cat causes him to fight back and free me (does this count as one of my nine uses of her powers? The book doesn't make it clear). Fleeing in a random direction, I find my sword, dodge a thrown spear, and run into a Troll. Fighting may delay me until the Khuddam scorned can catch up with me, but running away did me no favours in the Inn, so I risk attacking.
Returning to the lava moat, I face the challenge of the stones. The first one is the same whether I'm going by what the mnemonic says or coming at it from the opposite side. If I'm to abide by the Trolls' chant, the next step is sideways. If I'm reversing the directions, it's forward and sideways. The latter would leave me close to the opposite bank, leaving no reason to complete the sequence with a further side-step when I could just go straight ahead onto solid ground, which leads me to suspect mystical trickery. Then again, why am I trying to work things out logically in an early Luke Sharp book? Trust in the essential stupidity of Trolls... And I fry.
Sk 9
St 22
L 11
Probably Khuddam-fodder, if nothing else gets me first.
I don't recall whether or not the book ever reveals the fate of Azleff, whose disappearance gets a mention in the Background. My position prior to being identified as the blood heir is a bit silly, but some of the 'rewrites' performed on that detail by fans go too far the other way. It would be no less absurd to suggest that the rabbits in Gorak are particularly vicious, and can only be killed by skinning, so even assistant rabbit skinners need to be good fighters.
Anyway, off I go. After a little wandering around, I find a metal collar, and am nowhere near daft enough to put it on. Some Orcs turn up, and I'm into my first fight. Strangely, the third one waits until I've killed its fellows before grabbing the collar and running off, and apparently I just stand there and let it.
A while later I come across a claw sticking out of the ground, and for some mad reason I choose to tug at it. What could possibly have caused a bird-like creature such as the Griphawk to develop a strategy which involves burying itself to wait for prey? And why do I stand around dithering while it digs itself out prior to attacking? A second volume of Out of the Pit which included Luke Sharp's creations would have contained a lot of wacky fauna.
Eventually I reach a subterranean Inn (it took me a long time to realise that most if not all of the action in this book takes place underground, as the various roads and huts and taverns and so on don't really come across as being any different from the sort common on the surface). I live in Hull, so I know that trying to help people who've collapsed outside pubs is just asking for trouble. Inside, I find that the clientele are mostly Orcs (not too dissimilar from some of the local establishments), and then a black-cloaked figure comes in and takes an immediate dislike to me based on where I'm from (still very close to the real world). Not wishing to get involved, I make a break for it, and get clubbed into unconsciousness by an Orc just outside the door.
Coming around on a cart, trussed up and alongside several other prisoners, I find my sword returning to me. Attempting to escape when a mob of Trolls is plodding along behind the cart doesn't look too clever, so I bide my time. That results in my being taken across the lava river. I've never been able to figure out whether there's some magical aspect to the stepping stones, so the formula for crossing is the same from either side, or if the instructions need reversing and mirroring from the other side. Are the Trolls smart enough to do the workings? Or do they have a separate mnemonic for when going the other way, and if so, how many have got the chants mixed up and fried themselves?
Imprisoned alongside a female Gaddon, I find her dress sense off-putting, and do not respond to her attempts to chat me up. A wise move, as she's actually a Khuddam, and has me taken for collaring to establish my identity. It turns out that Azleff is alive and not looking too healthy and working as a blacksmith in Stalag Khuddam. At least until I'm taken in to him, at which point the cuteness of my cat causes him to fight back and free me (does this count as one of my nine uses of her powers? The book doesn't make it clear). Fleeing in a random direction, I find my sword, dodge a thrown spear, and run into a Troll. Fighting may delay me until the Khuddam scorned can catch up with me, but running away did me no favours in the Inn, so I risk attacking.
Returning to the lava moat, I face the challenge of the stones. The first one is the same whether I'm going by what the mnemonic says or coming at it from the opposite side. If I'm to abide by the Trolls' chant, the next step is sideways. If I'm reversing the directions, it's forward and sideways. The latter would leave me close to the opposite bank, leaving no reason to complete the sequence with a further side-step when I could just go straight ahead onto solid ground, which leads me to suspect mystical trickery. Then again, why am I trying to work things out logically in an early Luke Sharp book? Trust in the essential stupidity of Trolls... And I fry.
