Saturday, February 29, 2020

The Sorcery of Sorcery! 2: Khare - Cityport of Traps

This is the second in a series of posts investigating how useful the various spells in the Sorcery! epic actually are, and where the different spell components can be found. I'm covering the second book, Khare - Cityport of Traps in this post, but I've already covered Book 1 previously. As before, this post is chock-full of spoiler, so scroll down at your own risk.

SPELL COMPONENTS

Below are listed the spell components that can be found within the cityport of Khare.

  • Beeswax for the RAZ spell - bought from the shop in the dwarven quarter, and the back-alley gnome shop. Both are enough wax to last the entire quest.
  • A Bamboo Flute for the JIG spell - bought from the back-alley gnome shop
  • Goblin Teeth for the GOB spell - 6 can be bought from the back-alley gnome shop
  • Giant Teeth for the YOB spell - 1 can be bought from the back-alley gnome shop
  • A Vial of Glue for the GUM spell - found in the chainmaker's shop
  • A Medicinal Potion for the DOC spell - gifted by gnomes, and found in the chainmaker's shop
  • Pebbles for the POP spell - 3 may be gifted to you by gnomes
  • Sand for the MUD spell - A bag may be gifted to you by gnomes, or bought at the shop in the dwarven quarter
  • A Cloth Skullcap for the TEL spell - found in the chainmaker's shop
  • A Black Facemask for the GAK spell - may be gifted to you by Vangorn the murderer, or found after killing some Black Elves
  • A Gold-Backed Mirror for the KIN spell - found in the Flayer's house, or stolen from the Firemaster's tent
  • A Sun Jewel for the SUN spell - found in the Mantis Man's locket
  • A Bracelet of Bone for the KID spell - found in the Mantis Man's hut, and the Cabinet of Fortune)
  • A Green-Haired Wig for the RAP and YAP spells - gifted to you by Lortag the Elder

The components above duplicate nine of those found in The Shamutanti Hills - those for RAZ, JIG, GOB, YOB, GUM, DOC, POP, MUD and TEL. The nose-plugs needed to make NIF safe to cast are so far only found in The Shamutanti Hills. The spells GAK, KIN, SUN, KID, RAP and YAP are made available with components found in Khare. Including those spells that don't require a component, this means that 36 spells may be cast out of a possible 48. Given how you can loop around in the early stages of Khare, I do believe it's possible to pick up most of the components in that book. The major exceptions are the items gifted by the gnomes, who give you a choice of one out of three, but those are all items you can pick up in book 1.

The spells that still can't be cast are: GOD, PEP, ROK, NIP, HUF, FIX, NAP, ZEN, YAZ, ZIP, FAR and RES.

SPELL USES:

There are a dozen spells unusable due to lack of material components, which leaves 36 at the player's disposal. Below I've grouped these spells by the number of times they are useful during Khare - Cityport of Traps.

Spells Used 6 Times:

  • DOC
    • Restores your Stamina to its initial level at the crypt entrance.
    • Restores your Stamina to its initial level in the Shrine of Courga.
    • Restores your Stamina to its initial level before fighting the Barbarian.
    • Cures Vangorn's poison.
    • Restores your Stamina to its initial level in the Gnome's shop.
    • Restores your Stamina to its initial level inside the crypt.

Spells Used 5 Times:

  • TEL
    • Reveals that Vangorn is trying to poison you.
    • Reveals that the Mantis Man is not a statue.
    • Reveals that the Firemaster's hut is trapped.
    • Allows you to recover your most valuable possession from the Orclings.
    • Warns you of the nature of the Red-Eyes.

Spells Used 4 Times:

  • MUD
    • Allows you to flee from the Bronze Statue
    • Kills the Red-Eyes but also makes your stolen gold irretrievable.
    • Kills the Chainmaker.
    • Lets you safely take the gold piece from the fish fountain.
  • SUS
    • Allows you to safely escape the home of Vangorn the Murderer.
    • Gets you safely past the trap at the entrance to the crypt.
    • Warns you of a trap in the Shrine of Courga (but given that you can't fall into this trap it probably shouldn't count),
    • Warns you that the Mantis Man is dangerous.
  • YOB
    • Summons a Giant to fight the Bronze Statue
    • Gets destroyed by pursuing Red-Eyes, but still allows you to escape them
    • Summons a Giant to fight the Barbarian in your place.
    • Summons a Giant to free you from  the Chainmaker's net.

Spells Used 3 Times:

  • DIM
    • Reduces the Skill of the Bristle Beast.
    • Allows you to steal from the Flayer.
    • Has a chance to take one Harpy out of the fight.
  • DUD
    • Gets you past the guards at Khare's north gate.
    • Can be used to trade with the Gnome shopkeeper.
    • Frees you from the slave ship.
  • GAK
    • Causes the Bristle Beast to faint from fright.
    • Allows you to get any stolen gold back from the Red-Eyes and escape.
    • Allows you to escape the Red-Eyes.
  • HOW
    • Warns you to run from the Mantis Man.
    • Gets you safely past the trap at the entrance to the crypt.
    • Lets you know that the fish fountain is not dangerous.
  • WOK
    • Reduces the Living Corpse's Attack Strength by 2.
    • Reduces the Flayer's Attack Strength by 2.
    • Reduces a Harpy's Attack Strength by 2.

Spells Used 2 Times:

    • DOP
      • Opens Khare's south gate
      • Frees you from the south gate prison.
    • GOB
      • Summons a Goblin who will investigate the Mantis Man or his hut.
      • Summons Goblins to help you fight the Harpies.
    • GUM
      • Allows you to easily kill the Bristle Beast.
      • Lets you escape from Vangorn the Murderer.
    • JIG
      • Allows you to escape from pursuing Red-Eyes.
      • Allows you to escape from the Slime Eater.
    • KIN
      • Allows you to get any stolen gold back from the Red-Eyes and escape.
      • Allows you to escape the Red-Eyes.
    • NIF
      • Allows you to escape from pursuing Red-Eyes.
      • Breaks up the fight between the Sprite and the Pixie (which probably shouldn't count because it's pointless).
    • POP
      • Damages the Living Corpse
      • Frees you from the south gate prison.
    • RAZ
      • Increases damage dealt when fighting your painted double.
      • Increases damage dealt when fighting the Chainmaker.
    • SAP
      • Reduces the Skill of your painted double.
      • Reduces the Skill of the Chainmaker.
    • SIX
      • Distract's the Living Corpse's head.
      • Allows you to recover up to six stolen possession from the Orclings.
    • ZAP
      • Frees you from the south gate prison.
      • Frees you from the slave ship.

    Spells Used 1 Time:

    • DOZ
      • Reduces the Skill of the Slime Eater.
    • DUM
      • Reduces the Attack Strength of your chosen fighter in the fight at the festival, but there's a chance you might cast it on the wrong one.
    • HOT
      • Gets you through Khare's south gate.
    • KID
      • Gives your chosen fighter a free attack in the fight at the festival.
    • LAW
      • Allows you to get the Mantis Man's locket and safely escape.
    • MAG
      • Protects against the Firemaster's trap and allows you to steal his treasure.
    • SUN
      • Reduces damage dealt to your chosen fighter in the fight at the festival.
    • WAL
      • Lets you escape from Vangorn the Murderer.
    • YAP
      • Gets you past the guards at Khare's north gate.

    Spells Used 0 Times:
    • FOF
      • Can be cast numerous times, but is never useful.
    • BIG
      • Can be cast numerous times, but is never useful.
    • FAL
      • I don't think this is ever given as an option.
    • FOG
      • I don't think this is ever given as an option.
    • RAP
      • Never used, although there aren't a lot of places it would come up after you obtain the green-haired wig.
    • ZED
      • Doesn't come into play until the very end of the series.

    Looking at the six spells that the book calls out as the best to memorise, it's pretty obvious that this is a load of hokum. ZAP gets used twice, FOF isn't useful at all, and the other four are all useful in exactly one situation. Steve is somewhat redeemed though, as he remembers the existence of SAP this time around: it wasn't given as an option at all in The Shamutanti Hills, but here it's used twice.

    Spell Usage Across All Four Books:

    Below I've added the amounts of times that spells are useful in both books 1 and 2. I'll be keeping a tally for the whole series.

    • HOW - 7 times
    • DOC - 7 times
    • SUS - 7 times
    • WOK - 7 times
    • ZAP - 6 times
    • YOB - 6 times
    • FOF - 5 times
    • LAW - 5 times
    • DOP - 5 times
    • RAZ - 5 times
    • GOB - 5 times
    • TEL - 5 times
    • HOT - 4 times
    • BIG - 4 times
    • SIX - 4 times
    • JIG - 4 times
    • GUM - 4 times
    • MUD - 4 times
    • DIM - 4 times
    • DUD - 4 times
    • WAL - 3 times
    • DUM - 3 times
    • DOZ - 3 times
    • POP - 3 times
    • GAK - 3 times
    • MAG - 2 times
    • NIF - 2 times
    • SAP - 2 times
    • KIN - 2 times
    • FAL - 1 time
    • FOG - 1 time
    • SUN - 1 time
    • KID - 1 time
    • YAP - 1 time
    • GOD - 0 times
    • PEP - 0 times
    • ROK - 0 times
    • NIP - 0 times
    • HUF - 0 times
    • FIX - 0 times
    • NAP - 0 times
    • ZEN - 0 times
    • YAZ - 0 times
    • RAP - 0 times
    • ZIP - 0 times
    • FAR - 0 times
    • RES - 0 times
    • ZED - 0 times

    NEXT: My next post will be an Exploring Titan on Khare, then it's on to the wrap-up posts for The Seven Serpents.

    Sunday, February 23, 2020

    Kharé - Cityport of Traps: Final Thoughts


    Kharé - Cityport of Traps, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Blanche, is the second installment in the Sorcery! epic. As such, it's kind of difficult to know what to say about it that I didn't already get to in my look at The Shamutanti Hills. Yes, the magic system is fun and innovative. John Blanche's illustrations provide exactly the right tone and feel. The ability to take the same character through all of the books gives it an added dimension over the regular Fighting Fantasy series. All of that was true for The Shamutanti Hills, and it's still true here.

    I guess the thing to do is focus on what makes Kharé different to its predecessor. The most obvious thing is the setting: whereas the first book was a travelogue taking the protagonist through hills and villages, this book is set in a city that's full of thieves, murderers and traps. The plot is similar, in that the hero is just trying to get through to the other side of the city, but this time there's more to it than just walking: Kharé's north gate is wizard-locked, and only by finding all four lines of the spell are you able to pass through.

    What sets it above The Shamutanti Hills is that Steve Jackson starts to let loose with his more bizarre sensibilities. Strange characters and situations abound, and there's a palpable sense that everyone in this book is perhaps just a little bit mad, like living in Kharé has warped their minds. John Blanche joins in with the fun here as well, letting loose with some illustrations that are full of fun background details. He's not quite operating on the same level as Iain McCaig was in City of Thieves, but there's not a huge gulf between them.

    The book is well-balanced, and finding the right path through shouldn't take too many tries. Lortag's puzzle is perhaps a bit too obscure, and the kissing ritual of Courga perhaps too deadly, but it shouldn't take more than a few tries to get through this one, especially with a character who has already been through book 1.

    Overall, Kharé displays all of the strengths of The Shamutanti Hills and turns them up. The magic system is just as good, but applied to more interesting situations. The setting and characters and more flavourful. The illustrations have a little more inspiration. It's a bit more of a challenge to get through. The Shamutanti Hills was a really solid gamebook, and Kharé is that little bit better in just about every way.

    COOL STUFF I MISSED
    Despite passing through this book in excess of a dozen times, I didn't do all that much exploration, because I was deathly afraid of missing the lines to the North Gate spell. So I missed quite a bit, especially in the first part of the book: the Mantis Man, all of the activities at the market, Honest Hanna's Mystery Box. The sad thing is that I could have done all of this stuff, because the book is designed so you can loop around and catch most of it. But like I said, my focus was on getting through, so much of what the book has to offer was missed.

    MISTAKES AND RED HERRINGS
    There don't seem to be any major errors in this book. I found a few items that seemingly have no use: a vial of poison, some essence of bark, a golden locket (which is worth 8gp, so it at least has some value), a piece of moldy goat's cheese, a tinderbox, a snake-bite antidote, and a serpent ring. Those last three I know for certain are useful in the next book.

    As for the unused items from the last book, I found a use for the gaoler's key and the key to  Kharé's south gate.

    BEST DEATH

    Surprisingly, this book only has 13 instant death passages, and most of those are from saying the spell wrong at the end; I had thought it was much deadlier than that. This here is my favourite.



    S.T.A.M.I.N.A. RATING

    Story & Setting: Let's get this one out of the way: the premise of this book is kind of ridiculous. A city whose north gate only opens to a spell known to one person? But there are four prominent citizens who know one line each? I dunno, it's kind of far-fetched and impractical, but it is a pretty good set up for a city adventure. It's dumb, but I like it, what can I say. The setting is where this book really shines, leaving behind the more grounded elements of The Shamutanti Hills and diving into that Steve Jackson weirdness that I love. Kharé is a crazy place, full of cults and murderers and odd monsters, and I find it a bit more flavourful than Port Blacksand. Rating: 5 out of 7.

    Toughness: Survival in this book is less a matter of statistics, and more one of finding the correct path. At first I was going to ping it for being a bit too linear, but having discovered how many paths you can take at the start and still win, I can't really do that. For the most part the book takes you past the places you need to go, and for those it doesn't it gives you some extra chances (particularly for those who've finished book 1). My main issue with the book is Lortag's puzzle, which to me just seems to come down to guesswork. Maybe there is someone out there who figured it out from the illustrations, but I've never met them. Rating: 5 out of 7.

    Aesthetics: The book shines here, with John Blanche's depictions of the splendour and squalor of Kharé being particularly vivid, and Jackson's prose an able companion to those. If I have one complaint, it's that I don't really love the cover; it's not all that representative of the tone or contents of the book. Rating: 5 out of 7.

    Mechanics: Sorcery! continues to push the envelop in this category, with the magic system still being employed to great effect, and some items with unique combat rules being introduced. Sometimes those items can get a little over-complicated, but they're still mechanically sound, and on the whole the basic FF system is used in this book to good effect. Rating: 6 out of 7.

    Innovation & Influence: The systems being used in this book are innovative, particularly the magic, but it's nothing that wasn't already brought in by The Shamutanti Hills. Rating: 4 out of 7.

    NPCs & Monsters: This being a city adventure, it's full of memorable characters: Flanker the assassin, Vangorn the murderer, Slangg, that one innkeeper who tries to chop you up for stew. It even manages to bring in some fun new monsters: the Mantis Man and the Red Eyes are particular standouts. If it's missing on thing, though, it's an antagonist; I know the plot doesn't really call for one, but it still feels like the book is missing a character or force to work against. Rating: 5 out of 7.

    Amusement: Kharé is full of interesting encounters, and all of them provide plenty of options; there's nothing less fun than an encounter that leaves you with no choices beyond combat. It's also much less linear than I had thought, meaning that a player can actually experience most of them as they go through the city. I look forward to tackling this one again one day, now that I know I'm not locked into a single path. Rating: 6 out of 7.

    Kharé gets the bonus point. The above scores total 37, which doubled gives a STAMINA Rating of 74. That puts it even with City of Thieves, sitting equal 5th, a pretty good showing.

    NEXT: My current plan is to update on Sundays, so next week I should have the next installment of The Sorcery of Sorcery. Hopefully if I can keep things up I'll have an Exploring Titan up the week after that.

    Friday, February 14, 2020

    Exploring Titan 11: The Shamutanti Hills

    And so, I come to it at last: an in-depth dissection of the setting of the Sorcery! epic. It's taken me a while to get going with this, because let's face it - it's daunting.  The Sorcery! gamebooks are the most complex in the series to date, and there's a lot to unpack.  Sadly for me at this moment, a lot of that unpacking is front-loaded in the first book, The Shamutanti Hills.  This post isn't going to write itself though, no matter how much I wish it would, so there's nothing for it but to roll up my sleeves and get to it.

    THE OLD WORLD

    Sorcery! is set in the continent known as The Old World, although I don't believe it's ever called that during the series; I suppose that it gets that name in either Out of the Pit or Titan. We learn quite a bit in the Introduction of The Shamutanti Hills.  The empire of Femphrey is the largest in the "eastern world". (East of what? Allansia, perhaps? I'm not sure that there are any concrete connections between this series and the rest of the Fighting Fantasy books.)  Neighbouring Femphrey are the kingdoms of Ruddlestone, Lendleland, Gallantaria, Brice, and Analand.  Together these nation-states make up the Femphrey Alliance. And nearby, separated from these peaceful kingdoms by mountain ranges and a wall, is the lawless land of Kakhabad.

    THE FEMPHREY ALLIANCE & THE CROWN OF KINGS

    The kingdoms of the Femphrey Alliance are at peace now, but only centuries ago - in a time known as the Dark Ages - whole regions of the world were undiscovered, with mere pockets of civilization that had their own races and cultures. This changed when Chalanna the Reformer discovered the Crown of Kings. The Crown's origin is unknown, but it has magical powers, bestowing upon its bearer supernormal qualities of leadership and justice.  Some have said that those powers are divinely inspired, and others that they are all in the mind.  Regardless, with the crown Chalanna turned Femphrey into a powerful, prosperous empire.  But rather than conquer his neighbours, Chalanna decided to forge alliances, passing the crown from ruler to ruler. Thus the Femphrey Alliance was born, and Ruddlestone, Lendleland, Gallantaria, and Brice all benefitted from their four years in possession of the Crown. Analand was next in line, and had the Crown for two years before it was stolen. (If each of these nations held the Crown for four years, and Analand had it for two before it was stolen, Chalanna found the Crown at least 18 years ago. Add in the time it took him to strengthen Femphrey and it could be 22 years or more.)

    ANALAND

    What we know about the countries of the Old World is scant, except to say that they seem to be more civilized than Allansia. Analand, being the kingdom that the protagonist hails from, is the one we know the most about. Even the details we get here are pretty thin though. The kingdom was peaceful and prosperous, but since the Crown was stolen law, order and morale had broken down, the King had lost the confidence of his subjects, and the neighbouring kingdoms were looking suspiciously across their borders, to the point that there were rumours of invasions.  Some other nuggets of information:

    • It's people give prayers to Libra the goddess of Justice.
    • The Shamutanti Wall separates Analand from Kakhabad. There's an Outpost Settlement not far from the Cantopani Gate, which is the only doorway through the wall. The wall is guarded by Sightmaster Warriors, who are chosen for their powers of telescopic vision. The origin of these powers is not revealed, although the illustrations do indicate that their eyes are larger than those of a regular human. They are commanded by a Sightmaster Sergeant.

    THE MAGIC OF ANALAND

    Those who are learned in magic are called Grand Wizards, and one who knows all 48 spells is an Imperial Sorcerer.  Given the "imperial" moniker I'd say this extends throughout the Femphrey Alliance. It seems likely that if they are friendly enough to pass around an artifact like the Crown of Kings, they'd also be happy to share their magical knowledge.

    The magic of Analand doesn't have to be prepared in advance like the spells taught in the Forest of Yore (from The Citadel of Chaos); nor do they rely on spell gems, like those handed out by the wizards of Fenmarge (from Scorpion Swamp). The spells cast in Analand draw directly on the strength of the caster: they can cast their spells as many times as they like, so long as their stamina holds out. Some spells require a special object or material focus, and these spells are not as taxing on the caster as others.

    Here are some other tidbits gleaned from the spell descriptions:

    • The ZIP spell requires a ring of green metal. This green metal is said to be mined from the Craggen Rock. Craggen Rock is the highest peak in the Craggen Heights, and the site of Balthus Dire's Black Tower (where The Citadel of Chaos happens). This is the only direct reference I've found that indicates Sorcery! is set in the same world as the other Fighting Fantasy books. (I've noticed in maps of the Old World that there's a mountain range called the Cragrock Peaks. These apparently come from Steve Jackson's Tasks of Tantalon, so it's possible he was thinking of these mountains for the location of this green metal.)
    • The ZED spell is mysterious, and beyond the powers of concentration available to most minor conjurers. It's only ever been cast once, by a Necromancer from Throben. (Where Throben is isn't clear, but given some references in the final book it's probably not far from Mampang.) The Necromancer was never seen again, but his notes on the spell were later found. To this day, no wizard knows what the spell does. Book 4 reveals that this spell allows the caster to travel backwards in their own timeline, with the ability to change things from that point forward.

    KAKHABAD

    Kakhabad, also described as the Verminpit at Earth End, is a haven for all manner of lawless creatures and evil men. It's sheltered from the civilised lands by various mountain ranges (the Zanzunus and Mauristatia, also known as the Cloudcap Mountains) as well as the Shamutanti Wall.

    Several warlords have tried to rule Kakhabad over the centuries, but none have succeeded. While a dangerous land, it poses little threat to the kingdoms surrounding it. With no ruler it had no army, and the lawless inhabitants were prone to internal struggles. The closest thing it has to a ruler is the Archmage of Mampang Fortress, and now with the Crown of Kings at his command he has the power he needs to unite Kakhabad and become a major threat to the Femphrey Alliance.

    What other knowledge the protagonist learns about Kakhabad is told to him by the Sightmaster Sergeant:

    • Beyond the Shamutanti Hills is Khare, a cityport on the Jabaji River.
    • Beyond Khare are the Baklands, which are unknown to the people of Analand. It is said that day and night are controlled not by the sun but by supernatural forces. (I'm not entirely sure this pans out. As far as I can recall, day and night pass in a fairly standard manner during The Seven Serpents, but I could be wrong.)

    Finally, we have this map which is probably much more useful than anything the Sightmasters have to say:



    THE ARCHMAGE

    The major villain of the series, the Archmage, is something of a blank slate at this point. We know that he lives in Mampang Fortress high in the Zanzunu Peaks, and that he has a number of subjects, including the Birdmen of Xamen. We know that he has an ambition to rule over Kakhabad, and that he has stolen the Crown of Kings to give him the power to do so. Otherwise, he's not described. We're in generic evil wizard territory for now.

    THE SHAMUTANTI HILLS

    These hills, in the southern regions of Kakhabad, extend from the Shamutanti Wall north to the Jabaji River and the Cloudcap Mountains. They are far less dangerous than the other areas of Kakhabad, and are inhabited by relatively peaceful folk. The protagonist can pass through six villages on his way to Khare:

    • Cantopani: Situated about an hour's walk from the Cantopani Gate, this is a settlement of traders. According to the Sightmaster Sergeant most of them are thieves, and sure enough there are bandits who try to rob the protagonist on the village's outskirts.
    • Kristatanti: This village has an ale-house, and little else to speak of, except to note that the villagers all wear their hair long and piled up on their heads.
    • Dhumpus: Again, there's nothing out of the ordinary about this village, which has little more than a market and an inn. (I almost forgot, the protagonist can get a job digging cesspits here.)
    • Plague Village: In this unnamed village, everyone has the plague, and they try their best to hide from travellers so as not to pass it on. I'm tempted to name this village Gorretanti; it's one of the wrong options given when the hunchback Vancas asks you about villages you've passed through. There's no other place with that name, so I'll happily apply it to the one nameless village in the book.
    • Birritanti: This seems to be the biggest village in the Shamutanti Hills (although I think that's more of a gut feeling on my part than anything that's confirmed in the book). When the protagonist visits, it's in the middle of the festival of the young, a time when the village's children are allowed free reign. Not far from Birritanti is a Crystal Waterfall that will heal all wounds and ailments. (The people from the plague village really ought to visit this place, it's only a couple of hours away at most.)
    • Torrepani: This is the village of the Svinns, a race of half-orcs, situated not far from Khare.

    Monsters of the Shamutanti Hills

    This book has a decent selection of standard fantasy creatures and animals (a wolfhound, giant bats, werewolves, goblins, ogres, hill giants, a troll and a manticore), but it also provides quite a few new types which I'll discuss below.

    • There are some green squirrel-like creatures that eat the protagonist's provisions. They're not really notable outside of their colouring though.
    • Elvins - a race of mischievous imps - are new, but I'll talk about them in their own section below.
    • Skunkbears are a hybrid creature, with the size and strength of a bear and the spraying stench of a skunk. At least one tavern serves them up as food, so it seems they are edible.
    • Pilfer Grass grows in the Shamutanti Hills. The grass is mobile and seems to be at least somewhat sentient, having an inexplicable habit of stealing artifacts from passing travellers.
    • The Spirit of Mananka is a malevolent being that is found trapped in a chest in the Elvin village. It will curse anyone who releases it, unless they can defend themselves with magic. It's pretty similar in appearance and behaviour to the Nanka, a creature that will appear later in Out of the Pit, so there's probably some sort of relation there.
    • Red-Eyes are mentioned in this book, by a blind beggar who implies that they were the cause of his blindness. More on them when I cover Book 2.
    • The Bird-Men of Xamen are also mentioned, as servants of the Archmage who made off with the Crown of Kings. They'll be dealt with in more detail when I cover Book 4.
    • The Svinns are a breed of Man-Orc, that live in the village of Torrepani. More on them below.
    • Minimites are a small, fairy-like creatures who negate magic in their immediate vicinity. A Minimite named Jann attaches himself to the protagonist, making things quite difficult if they happen to be a wizard. (I get why a wizard would get rid of Jann, but why can't you keep him if you're a warrior? Especially since you're planning to go up against the Archmage, a portable anti-magic pet seems like a pretty good thing to have.) Jann is quite cheerful, and also quite annoying, but he seems to mean no harm. More on Jann in Book 4.
    • Finally, there's a mysterious two-tailed serpent that can turn invisible, who will guide you through the wilderness, and give you a cheeky wink when he's done. Nothing else is said about the creature's nature, and it's never met again in the series. The encounter has some of the dream-like strangeness of the Seven Serpents confrontations from Book 3, but given its general benevolence it's probably not connected. Given that it's encountered in the Vale of the Elvin, I'm inclined to say that it's an Elvin giving you a bit of help.

    The Headhunters

    There's a tribe of headhunters that lives in the hills between Cantopani and Kristatanti, not far from the Schanker Mines. The borders of their territory are marked with heads on spikes, and the lands within are full of pits and spike traps to catch or kill unwary travellers. The headhunters are a small, black-skinned people that do not speak the same language as the people of Analand (and the rest of Kakhabad). They are, as genre tropes demand, cannibals.

    It's something of a staple of Fighting Fantasy to have primitive tribesmen living in areas otherwise inhabited by typical fantasy villagers. A lot of this comes from the need to provide a large number of threats, and the way FF mashes up genre tropes, but it's interesting to speculate how these people got there. I'm thinking that they are probably the original human inhabitants of Kakhabad, or at least the Shamutanti Hills. The rest of the humans encountered in this series are conversant with the protagonist, and are probably outlaws and immigrants from the countries of the Femphrey Alliance.

    The Schanker Mines

    These mines are situated in the hills between Cantopani and Kristatanti.  It seems to be a gemstone mine, although the exact type of gem is never specified. The mines are currently being worked by some goblins and an ogre, led by an old blind goblin. It's never made clear who these goblins are working for. It's possible that they're mining for their own gain. The blind goblin has a key on his person that unlocks the door to the torture chamber in Mampang Fortress, so it seems likely at the very least that this group has come from that place. If they're working for anyone, the Archmage seems like the best bet.

    The Elvins

    These creatures live in the Vale of the Elvin, between Cantopani and Kristatanti. They are small, winged, impish creatures that delight in mischief and practical jokes. Although they will fight with short swords when pressed (or even when their hospitality is refused), they also have a number of innate magical powers: they can make their bodies glow, move objects via telekinesis, and become invisible at will.

    The nature of the Elvins' mischief ranges from harmless to somewhat cruel. When they meet the protagonist they might try to give him a fright by vanishing and appearing suddenly in front of him, or pelt him with acorns (which admittedly is capable of killing him). At worst, they will steal some of his items and then release him. They did the same thing to the old man in the tree outside of Cantopani, and they left the witch Alianna locked in a cramped cage for two days (I suspect they weren't going to return to set her free). Generally, though, if their victim keeps good humour or amuses the Elvins with some music or magic tricks, no harm will befall them.

    The Elvin village is a cluster of thatched huts made of twigs and branches, with brightly coloured drapes over the doors. It's found along a river. When strangers approach, it seems as though their defense is to become invisible and lull the invaders to sleep either with enchanted music or smoke from the village's central fire.

    Elvins are known to keep at least one pet or guard animal, a wolfhound.

    The Lea-Ki

    This is the Lea-ki, the domain of the great ones, otherwise known as Hill Giants. It's entrance is through a gate many times larger than a regular man-made gate. Otherwise, the Lea-ki consists of two large caves, one of which houses a giant and the other of which is empty when the protagonist arrives. There are signs that it's inhabitant is simply elsewhere at the time, so it seems that at least two Hill Giants make this place their home.

    Glandragor the Protector

    In Cantopani, the protagonist can buy an axe marked with the following writing: "This axe was crafted in the Year of the Ox for Glandragor the Protector. It's powers may be realized only by its owner.".  It also has the number 233 carved upon it. The axe is well-used, and looks as though it will not survive too many more battles. True to the writing on the axe, it's nothing special when used by the protagonist in battle.

    Glandragor currently resides in Birritanti, living with his wife and running 'Glandragor's Tavern'. He is friendly and happy to talk to strangers. If presented with his old axe, he is overjoyed. Little else is revealed about Glandragor, but the state of his axe suggests that he used it a great deal, and probably earned his nickname of "The Protector". He has many connections in the city of Khare, including an influential man named Vik. 

    Gaza Moon and the Old Man

    Gaza Moon is a witch who lives in a hut between Birritanti and Torrepani. She is hospitable, but may become murderously angry if that hospitality is refused. For those who accept, she will test their trustworthiness with drugged tea, and steal from those who try to trick her. She has a justifiable hatred of Minimites.

    Four days ago Gaza Moon was visited by a traveller who stole a page from her spell book. The traveller took off at great speed when caught, fast enough that Moon suspects him of being a powerful wizard. She cast an Ageing spell upon him as he fled, which eventually transformed him into an old man. Later in his travels the old man was robbed by Minimites, who left him stuck in a tree. The identity of this man is a mystery, and it is odd that he seems to retain no magic to help him get down from the tree. The d20 RPG adaptation names him Alias Gumar, but I'm not sure if those products count as canon.

    The Old Man's Rhyme

    The old man will tell the protagonist a rhyme, which goes as follows:

    'See him though he sees you not;
    The black-eyed creature creeps.
    A guardian once, but now his lot:
    The key to freedom keeps.'

    He mentions that the Elvins are searching for the key in question, so presumably he learned this rhyme from them as well.

    There are two potential candidates for the solution to this rhyme in The Shamutanti Hills. The first is the blind goblin in the Schanker Mines. He can't see, and he does have a key in his possession. That key unlocks the door to Mampang's torture chamber, which is definitely a place from which to be seeking freedom. The only problem here is that it has no connection to the Elvins.

    A better candidate is the blind beggar outside of Kristatanti. His eyes are painted with a dark dye, which definitely marks him as a "black-eyed creature". Years ago this beggar lived in Khare, and watched over prisoners in the gaol, which covers him being a guardian. In his possession he has a key to said gaol, which currently contains an Elvin prisoner. All of these clues add up to the solution to this rhyme.

    Vancass and the Troll

    Vancass is a hunch-backed old man who lives in a hut near a bridge between Dhumpus and Birritanti. He will only allow passage over the bridge to those who can answer his rhyming questions, which tend to be general knowledge questions about the places and inhabitants of the Shamutanti Hills. He is not physically powerful, but possesses magical powers, and can cause pain with a wave of his hand. If the protagonist answers these questions, Vancass rewards him with a rhyme that gives hints about the future dangers he might encounters in the Manticore's lair. It's likely that he has some powers of prophecy or foretelling. As to why he's here guarding a bridge, I have no idea (except that Steve Jackson put him there).

    In the same forest nearby is a Troll, who I normally wouldn't comment upon except that he is described as being a sentry, which implies that he's guarding something. With no other obvious candidates, I'd say that he's a servant of Vancass put there to guard other paths through the woods. It's as good an explanation as any.

    Flanker

    Flanker is an assassin and thief from Khare, who likes to attack wayfarers for combat practice. He seemingly has no compunctions about killing these victims, but if he is beaten and his life is spared he becomes a loyal friend.

    Flanker is on his way to Khare, but will not accompany the protagonist along the way. The obvious question is, what exactly is Flanker up to out here? Is he really just hanging around for travellers to fight? Or has somebody hired him?

    In Torrepani, one of the Svinns mentions that his friend was killed by an assassin's blade. Flanker is the obvious culprit, but random Svinns don't really seem worthy of being assassinated. I suspect that this was a case of Flanker harassing someone on the road for sport.

    One possibility is that Flanker is working for the marauders who kidnapped the Svinn chief's daughter. Maybe he's being paid to kill Svinns, or maybe he did the kidnapping himself. It's all pure speculation, but I do like to fit this stuff together sometimes.

    The Svinns

    The Svinns live in the village of Torrepani, not far from Khare. They are said to be an "aggressive-looking race of Man-Orcs", but to be honest they seem no more aggressive than the other villagers in the area. In fact they seem a little depressed, as the village chief's daughter has been taken by marauders and offered as a sacrifice to a powerful cave demon (actually a Manticore). Apparently there is a prophecy that says that a dreadful scourge will overrun the village should the chief's line end. (It's never said where this prophecy comes from, but one suspects that it's been put out there by the chief's family to stop them being deposed. I also wonder why the chief can't just have another child to forestall the prophecy, but perhaps he is too old. As for the identity of the marauders, they remain a mystery.)

    The chief's name is Proseus, and he has sent several of his own men into the caves; none have returned. Despite his general friendliness, he's more than willing to force the protagonist into rescuing his daughter. The only other notable inhabitant of Torrepani is a healing-priest, who is capable of healing all of the protagonist's wounds, curing any disease he may have caught, and banishing Minimites.

    Lastly, I should note that a traveller passed through Torrepani from Khare two years ago, vowing that he would never return. This traveller left Proseus with his key to the city gates. It's probable that this traveller isn't meant to be anyone specific, but if I had to put an identity on them I would go for either Glandragor or the blind beggar. Both have definitely been to Khare, and neither seems all that likely to go back there.