Caverns of the Snow Witch (preview) - Attempt 2

It's time to take a second crack at the preview of Caverns of the Snow Witch from Warlock magazine #2.  Last time I was done in by a bad Luck score.  Hopefully the dice are kinder to me this time around.

CHARACTER CREATION
I rolled a Skill of 11, a Stamina of 20, and a Luck of 12.  This is a great character, and only in the balls-hardest gamebooks (cough*CryptoftheSorcerer*cough) would you be disappointed with score like these.

THE ADVENTURE
Ice!  Caravans!  Yeti murders! Yes, the time has come for me to strap on my sword and venture into the frozen north to hunt down a murderous beast for a big sack o' gold.  Let's do it.

The first decision in the adventure is whether to cross an ice bridge.  Last time I had ignored it, but this time I decided to cross.  I had to Test my Luck to cross safely; the roll was successful, and I never discovered what would have happened had I failed.

After crossing the bridge, I was attacked by a pair of hungry Snow Wolves.  This being an Ian Livingstone joint, I had no option but to fight them one at a time.  One wolf managed to bite me twice (reducing my Stamina to 16), but they were otherwise unable to match my prowess.

(The choice at the beginning of the book seems to be a decision between a branch where you have to fight two monsters of low-to-medium difficulty, or a branch with a monster of medium-to-hard difficulty.  In most cases I'd opt to fight the medium-to-hard Mammoth, just because the fight is over more quickly.  Besides, if you can't beat the Mammoth you probably won't beat the Yeti either.)

Some surprisingly well-fed Snow Wolves

A blizzard sprang up, threatening to freeze me to death, but rather than build a shelter I decided to tough it out.  (Besides, who could ever carve an igloo with a sword?  What an absurd notion!)  The blizzard worsened (reducing my Stamina to 14) but still I pressed on.  This was a bad idea.  I had proven my manliness, but at the cost of getting frostbite in one arm.  A failed Luck test (against a Luck of 11!) meant that the frostbite was in my sword-arm.  This reduced my Skill to 8, my Stamina to 10, and my Stupidity to 8 billion.

After the blizzard ended I found a fur trapper's hut and went inside.  With little regard for the trapper's privacy I ate some stew, and also stole a warhammer and a spear from under his bed.  (The stew restored my Stamina, and I ate two more provisions to bump my Stamina back up to 20.)

Upon leaving the hut I followed the trapper's footprints, and found him just as he was being murdered by a Yeti - the same Yeti I had been tracking!  (How does the hero know that this is the Yeti he's searching for?  It's a bit of a stretch.)  Due to the frostbite in my arm I wasn't able to throw my spear at it, so I closed for hand-to-hand combat.

I'm afraid this one was a massacre.  I hit the Yeti once, and managed to strengthen the blow with a successful Luck test, but that was the peak of my success.  The Yeti slaughtered me, and I assume that my corpse is now hanging by the ankles in its lair Skywalker-style.

THE POST-GAME
I blame it all on the blog.  Because I need to write about my adventures, I feel obligated to explore new pathways.  That's why I crossed the ice bridge, and that's why I decided to plunge headfirst into a blizzard.  It's not smart play, but a quick game means a quick write-up, so it's not all bad.  Now I can go play some Legend of Zelda instead.

Caverns of the Snow Witch (preview) - Attempt 1

I realise that I've been stuck on Warlock magazine #2 for over a month now, but I have one more thing to cover before I'm done with it: Caverns of the Snow Witch.  Caverns of the Snow Witch will eventually be published as the ninth book in the main Fighting Fantasy series, and I'll be getting to that eventually.  But before it was expanded into a book it appeared as a short (190 paragraph) adventure in Warlock.  I'm not sure how this adventure was developed; was it intended to be a book, and included in Warlock to whet the appetites of the readers?  Or was it published in Warlock before Ian decided that since it was already half-written he might as well make some money off of it?  I suspect the latter, but it's impossible to know without asking the man himself.

At a glance it appears that there's little difference between the book and magazine versions.  The magazine covers about half the length of the book.  It also features different illustrations, by Duncan Smith of Scorpion Swamp fame.  I'm perhaps being overly thorough by covering this one,  but thoroughness is one of the goals of the blog.  No gamebooks left behind!

BACKGROUND
The hero begins the adventure as a caravan guard in the icy regions of northern Allansia.  This might be the most logical opening to an FF adventure yet.  Most adventurers in Allansia seem to just wander around aimlessly, but this guy has an actual job, and comes across as a functional human being.

During an expedition, the caravan comes across an outpost that has been destroyed, and its inhabitants slaughtered by some enormous creature.  Big Jim Sun, the caravan leader, asks the hero to hunt down the creature, and we're off to the races.  I'm not entirely sure that the reward of 50 gold pieces is worth it, but it's a living I guess.  Any adventurer willing to hire himself out for guard duty is probably a bit low on ambition.

Big Jim Sun

CHARACTER CREATION
This adventure uses the standard FF rules, so I can get straight into it.  I rolled a Skill of 12, a Stamina of 19, and a Luck of 7.  That Luck score is a worry, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to compensate with a Potion of Fortune.  Hang on, wait!  There are no potions in this adventure!  And you only begin with five provisions!  This is going to be more difficult than I thought.

THE ADVENTURE
By the time I returned to the outpost, snow had covered the bodies and obscured the creature's tracks.  With nothing to guide me, I set off north towards the Icefinger Mountains.  After trudging through knee-deep snow for a while, I came to a crevasse that was spanned by an ice bridge.  Now, a wooden bridge I can get behind.  Stone I'm fine with.  An ice bridge?  Over a crevasse?  Bugger that for a game of soldiers.  I decided to leave the bridge and walk around.

The wind started to howl, and out of the snow came an enormous looming shape: a Mammoth!  It attacked me without provocation, and I had no choice but to fight it.  (Yep, this is an Ian Livingstone adventure all right.)  The Mammoth hit me once (reducing my Stamina to 17), but I was soon able to kill it and continue on.

I think Snuffleupagus got lost

It took about half an hour to reach the end of the crevasse, and I was then able to climb further up the mountains. The snow started falling harder, and I was pretty sure that this was the beginning of a blizzard.  Rather than press on I decided to dig myself a shelter, and in complete defiance of all logic I "hurriedly cut blocks of ice out of the mountainside and built a makeshift igloo".  With a sword.  This is some seriously hardcore shit.  If I ever get trapped in an arctic wilderness, I want Ian Livingstone there as my right-hand man.  Either he's the hardest man alive and he'll save my life, or I get the satisfaction of watching him freeze to death, a fitting punishment for having written Crypt of the Sorcerer. Either would be fine.

I sheltered in my igloo until the storm blew over, but I had to consume two of my provisions to regain my strength (without any addition to my stamina).

Further on I found a hut sheltered beneath an overhanging rock.  Footprints led away from the hut and up the side of the mountain, but I chose to ignore them for now and enter the hut.  Inside I found the belongings of a fur trapper, and some cold stew in a pan.  I put some logs on the fire and heated up the stew (restoring my Stamina back to 19).  As I was leaving I spotted some weapons under the bed: a warhammer and a spear.  I took them both with me and followed the footprints.

As I climbed higher, the air became thinner (reducing my Stamina to 18).  I heard the cries of a human mixed with a ferocious roar, and I ran to investigate.  A fur trapper was being menaced by a huge bear-like beast with vicious claws and teeth - a Yeti!

THE YETAY!  (One for the wrestling fans.)

Before attacking the beast I hurled my spear into its chest.  The creature was wounded but not killed, and I had to fight it with my sword.  It wounded me once (reducing my Stamina to 16) before I could kill it.

I went to the fur trapper's aid, but it was obvious that he would not survive his wounds.  With his dying words he told me about his search for the legendary Crystal Caves, where dwelt the evil Snow Witch and her followers.  She was apparently planning to use her magic to bring an ice age so that she could rule the world.  The entrance to the caves was hidden with an illusion, but only yesterday the trapper had found it, and marked it with a piece of fur.  He implored me to find and kill the Snow Witch, and as an incentive he mentioned the great treasures frozen into the walls of her domain.  Then he died, and I was left with a choice: return to Big Jim Sun with evidence of the Yeti's death to claim my reward, or undertake a dangerous adventure in the Crystal Caves?

Apparently there was no decision to be made, as I was too excited to pass up the prospect of further adventure.  I set off, looking for the entrance to the caves.  While searching I was almost caught in an avalanche, but a successful Luck test (reducing my score to 6) ensured that it passed me by harmlessly.

I soon found the entrance to the caves in a wall of ice and entered.  Predictably, the first thing I encountered was a T-junction.  I turned right.

The tunnel ended at a cavern.  In the centre of the cavern was a plinth of ice, bearing a bowl full of yellow liquid.  I took a drink, and was rewarded with a feeling of warmth: the liquid had been enchanted by the Snow Witch to protect her followers from the cold.  It restored my strength (returning my Stamina to 19), and would have cured frostbite in my sword arm if I had suffered any.  I returned to the junction and took the other path.

The tunnel turned to the right, and I bumped into a Mountain Elf wearing a hood and a collar around his neck.

Who does this arsehole think he is, Drizzt Do'urden?

I tried to give him a nod as I walked past, but a failed Luck test (reducing my score to 5) meant that he stopped me and asked why I wasn't wearing my obedience collar.  I replied that I had put on weight recently, and my collar was being widened (because how could I not choose such an absurd option?).  The Elf laughed at my joke, and was about to give me some information when he started screaming and clutching at his own collar.  Soon he was dead (which reduced my Luck to 4), and I decided to press on.  I got no time to cry over dead elves.

I came to a fork in the tunnel.  I could hear footsteps coming from the right, so I turned left to avoid them. Unluckily for me I fell in a pit trap (reducing my Stamina to 17), and even more unluckily two Goblins appeared at the top of the pit, intent on my capture.  They lowered a rope, and I had little choice but to climb out.  (I could have tried grabbing the rope and pulling them in, but I had a suspicion that this would leave me with no means of escape.)

Pretty handsome for a Goblin.

The Goblins motioned me forward with their daggers, but instead I decided to take them on bare-handed.  I was able to quickly subdue one goblin, but the other lunged forward and cut me with his dagger (the result of a failed Luck test, which reduced my Luck to 3).  With my Skill reduced by 3 due to lack of a weapon, the goblin was able to wound me again, and by the end of the fight my Stamina was 13.

Looting the goblins I found two daggers, some salted fish (no indication if this counts as a provision or not), a candle, and 2 gold pieces.

I decided to continue along the tunnel rather than retrace my steps, and it soon opened out into a large cavern.  There I saw two steaming pools, with a weapon protruding from each: a sword and a spear.  Against the wall was the frozen corpse of an orc, with its arm pointing at the sword.  There was also a rhyme carved into the floor:

"Sword or spear

Strength or fear

How to choose

Win or lose"

Say what you want about Duncan Smith, but his fidelity to the text is impeccable

All signs pointed to the sword as being the better option, so I pulled it forth.  It was a magical Sword of Speed, and I was able to add 1 Skill point.  (This is another example of poor implementation of the FF rules.  I would expect my prowess to be improved by wielding a Sword of Speed, but going by the rules it grants me no bonus whatsoever, as I can't improve my Skill beyond my initial level. I wonder how much of this is deliberate, and how much is Ian Livingstone cocking it up.)

I searched the Orc's backpack, and found a pair of sandals, a stuffed rat, and a loaf of mouldy bread. I decided to eat the bread, but when I broke it open I found an iron key inside (restoring my Luck to 4).  I thought better of eating the bread, and walked through the far tunnel.  (I didn't bother adding the sandals or the rat to my inventory, which may be akin to suicide in a Livingstone adventure.  I'm not sure what I was thinking.)

The tunnel turned right, and I came to a cave entrance from which I could hear music.  The entrance was partially covered by a tattered animal skin, but I could see a man's legs wearing green and purple hose and red slippers.

A contender for the most pointless gamebook illustration ever

I went inside, where I encountered a Minstrel. I asked him about his music, and he was so pleased that he played a song that healed my wounds (restoring my Stamina to 17). I thanked him and left.

In the distance I could hear chanting.  Soon the tunnel opened into a large cavern, where ten of the Snow Witch's followers (a mixture of Goblins, Orcs and Neanderthals) were kneeling in worship before the effigy of an ice demon.

I tried to cross the cavern without them noticing, but without an adequate disguise I was accosted and asked why I didn't stop to sing the praises of the Frozen One.  Without an adequate excuse, I decided to make a run for it.  One cracked his whip while another hurled a dart at me.  I failed my Luck test, and the whip wrapped around my legs and tripped me.  (I rolled an odd number on my failed Luck test. Had I rolled even, I would have been struck by the dart. Either way, my Luck was reduced to 3).

The followers picked me up and dragged me before the effigy.  Of course it came to life, and I found myself in battle with the Ice Demon.  It only wounded me once, but it also had an icy breath which it blasted me with quite a few times.  By the time I destroyed the Ice Demon my Stamina had been reduced to 10.  It's followers fled, in awe of my power, and I was able to restore my Luck to 4.

At the next junction I could hear cries for help coming from the left, so I went to investigate.  The tunnel ended at the edge of a deep pit.  At the bottom of the pit was a Dwarf, and from high above large boulders were being dropped on him by followers of the Snow Witch.

I reached down and helped the Dwarf to scramble out of the pit.  The Dwarf was quick to leave me, as he wanted to escape back to his village, but he left me with a sling and 3 iron balls.  He also shouted a cryptic message: "Beware the White Rat!"  Thanks a bunch, mate.

The next cavern had three path forward, one carved in the shape of a giant skull.  This looked ominous, so I quickly ate a meal (restoring my Stamina to 14, and leaving me with 2 provisions). As I finished eating, a man carrying a glass prism stepped out of the mouth of the skull.  He commanded me to turn back, as only the Snow Witch's personal servants were allowed any further.

Weird, it's like the man and the skull have the same haircut

I responded by drawing my sword.  The man sneered and rubbed his crystal, and suddenly there were three identical images of him before me.  I struck out at the one to the right, and was rewarded with a scream.  The false images faded away, but the man stood up and laughed, his wound completely healed.  My sword was obviously useless here, so I smashed his prism instead, and he ran fleeing back into the skull mouth.  The shattered fragments of the prism formed into a Genie, who rewarded me with the power to become invisible just once.

Normally I would pursue the wizard, but I was reluctant to enter the skull.  Instead I took the path to the right.  An iron grille crashed down behind me, and another blocked the far end of the passage.  I was trapped!  Behind the grille I could see a knob, which I figured must raise the grille.  I couldn't reach it with my sword, so I tried to throw a dagger at it.

Unfortunately, this was not a test of Skill but a test of Luck.  My Luck was 4, and I failed at both attempts.  I was trapped in the Crystal Caves, condemned to eventual capture and slavery.

THE POST-GAME
I was right about that low Luck score, as it turns out.  There's a genuine problem with the Luck system in Fighting Fantasy, I feel.  Once your score drops below a certain point, it becomes useless.  The Downward Luck Spiral, as I call it.  Whether you succeed or fail at Luck tests, your score always goes down, and it's rare that adventures grant enough Luck bonuses to balance this out.  Eventually you'll get to a point where every Luck test is a failure.  Without the Potion of Fortune it's even worse.  I've often thought that the system would be improved if your Luck went down on a successful Luck test, and up on a failed Luck test.  That's not the system, though, and I was done in by a low score from the outset.  I just have to hope for better rolls next time.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (revised) - Final Thoughts & Exploring Titan 7

FINAL THOUGHTS

There's not a lot to say here that I didn't already cover in my entry for the book version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.  Given that the revised version is mostly identical, pretty much everything I said still applies.  It's a fun, iconic adventure that perhaps makes little sense but compensates for that with atmosphere and mystery (and perhaps a bit of nostalgia).

The idea of revising Warlock is a good one.  I doubt many buyers of the magazine hadn't already read the book, so changing a few details and mixing the keys around to create a different path to victory is a good way of giving them their money's worth.  I can't help feeling, though, that not enough was changed.  Aside from switching the keys, Ian and Steve have left the adventure much the same as it was.  Initially it was fun, as I enjoyed the uncertainty of no longer knowing the exact path to victory.  Once I found the path I was a little disappointed though, as one of they keys was in exactly the same location as the book, and another was very easy to find.  I suppose I was hoping that there would be more variance.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VERSIONS
The differences between the book and magazine versions are mostly in the locations of the keys.  In the book, the keys are located as follows:

    Key 99 - In the snake box
    Key 111 - Inside the Iron Cyclops
    Key 9 - Carried by the Ogre
    Key 125 - In the room with the gas trap
    Key 66 - In a drawer in the Boat House
    Key 111 - Guarded by the Minotaur

In the magazine, they are switched around as follows:

    Key 125 - In the Orc Chieftain's chest
    Key 111 - Guarded by the Werewolf
    Key 111 - Guarded by the Minotaur   
    Key 66 - In the room with the gas trap
    Key 99 - Inside the Iron Cyclops
    Key 9 - Carried by the Giant

This switching of locations means that some places which once had keys now have different treasures.  The snake box now contains 6 gold pieces instead of a key.  The Ogre now has 3 gold pieces.  And best of all, the drawer in the Boat House now contains a silver dart, which can be hurled at enemies before battle begins.  It's also useful in battling the Wight.

There's one other difference that switching the keys around brings: you can't win the adventure with the Eye of the Cyclops.  In the book you never have to fight the Warlock on a successful play-through, because you'll always have the Eye and can blast him into oblivion.  Here you have to battle him, and consequently the book is slightly more challenging, and less of an anticlimax.

COOL STUFF I MISSED
It's difficult to think of cool things I've missed while playing this adventure, because I've literally played through every paragraph of the book.  (I do mean literally; I spent a few weeks circa 2000 playing the book over and over again until I had legitimately covered every single entry.)

I guess I've missed some things for the blog though, in my coverage of this and the book version.  The major path I never covered is one that goes through a room of magical darkness, which you need a blue candle to get through safely.  This path also contains a magical iron helmet, and an enchanted sword by the riverbed.  Oh, and a giant spider.  It's too bad that in neither version can you take this path and still win.

MISTAKES AND RED HERRINGS
There are quite a few items in this book that serve no purpose.  The black silk glove, the Y-shaped sticks, and the book from the vampire's coffin spring immediately to mind.  The glove ties into a rumour about Zagor's power, albeit a false one, and I guess it comes in handy as an item you can discard in order to pick up the shield.  The sticks and the book do nothing except take up room in your backpack.  Like the shield, you need to discard an item to pick them up, so perhaps the purpose they serve is to tempt you into dropping something that's actually useful.

There's one entry of this adventure that can't be accessed from anywhere: 192.  It's supposed to be one of the entries you go to by adding up the numbers on your keys when unlocking the Warlock's treasure chest, but there's no combination of keys that adds up to this number.  No doubt it was added in there to bump the number of entries to 400.

Speaking of key combinations, all of the possibilities are accounted for even though you can never get to the end with every key.  There are three keys that you can always find: the one in the Orc Chieftain's chest, the one guarded by the Werewolf, and the one guarded by the Minotaur.  As for the other three, you can only get one on any adventure.  The Iron Cyclops, the Giant and the room with the gas trap are all on mutually exclusive paths, which means that you can finish with four keys at most.  As such, entries 174, 186, 200, 219, 233 and 290 can't be reached legitimately.

BEST DEATH
I've already covered my genuine favourite in my entry for the book: being eaten alive by the Ghoul.  None of the other deaths quite match up, but for this entry I'll provide a solid alternative.

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

I was tempted not to give this a STAMINA rating, as it's so similar to the book, but what the hell.  Here it is for the sake of completeness.

Story & Setting: Looking at the book version, I see that I gave it a rating of 5.  That is super high, and I really don't know what I was thinking.  I was going to rate this a point higher, because the Background section is a genuine improvement that ties Firetop Mountain much more directly into the FF setting.  But I can't in honesty give this a 6.  So I'm giving it the same score, and I still think it's too high.  Rating: 5 out of 7.

Toughness: It's the same well-balanced adventure as before, and garners the same score.  Rating: 5 out of 7.

Aesthetics: The writing is the same, and most of the illustration have that same Russ Nicholson goodness.  Many of the illustrations are smaller, though, and much of the detail is lost.  Nicholson provides two new illustrations, but they're in a different style.  Some time after The Citadel of Chaos Nicholson started using thicker lines, and his work looks busier and more cluttered.  I've never liked it as much as the delicate linework of Warlock and Citadel of Chaos.  Throw in the ugly frontispiece illustrations from Tim Sell (that have little relevance to the adventure at all) and I have to knock this down a few points.  Rating: 4 out of 7.

Mechanics: There's no significant difference between the book and the magazine versions.  Rating: 5 out of 7.

Innovation & Influence: Given that this is revising the original, I can't mark it as highly.  It's hard to know just how to rate this one to be honest, so I'm going to split it down the  middle.  Rating: 4 out of 7.

NPCs & Monsters: Again, this is little different from the book. The villagers in the introduction are a little more fleshed out, but not enough to affect the rating.  Rating: 5 out of 7.

Amusement: I gave the book the full rating in this category, but if I'm being perfectly honest I enjoyed this version more because it's new to me.  I can't rate this higher than a 7, though, and it doesn't feel right to rate it equally to the book. It's enjoyable, but I can't see myself going back to it any time soon. Rating: 5 out of 7.

No bonus point for this, as it's not different enough to warrant it.  The above scores add up to 33, which doubled gives a STAMINA Rating of 66. It's a strong variant, but it can't match the influence and iconic power of the original.

EXPLORING TITAN 7

This is going to be a short one, because most of this adventure has been covered in Exploring Titan 1.  The details are mostly the same as the book version, and I've covered them already.

What is different, and greatly so, is the Background.  In the book version, the adventurer follows some rumours to a generic village, stays there for a short time, then ventures off to Firetop Mountain.  It's serviceable, but that's about it.

Now, with the setting of Allansia firmly established, Ian & Steve can rewrite this so that it fits better.  It begins with you meeting an old man while wandering the Pagan Plains.  The old man tells you that his village's crops are failing, and blames it on the evil Warlock who lives in nearby Firetop Mountain, which looms over the Moonstone Hills.  The villagers sent their bravest men to face the Warlock, but only one returned, and he was a shadow of his former self.  Not only does this tie the book into Allansia better, but it also gives the hero more motivation than simple treasure hunting.  In the book, the Warlock is just minding his own business until the hero breaks into his house and tries to murder him.  In this, he's a little more explicitly sinister, and whatever it is he's doing in Firetop Mountain is having an adverse effect on the nearby village.

The village is named explicitly as Anvil, which solves a mystery that's been bugging me for decades.  I had always known Anvil from the map in Out of the Pit, but couldn't find which book it came from. I suspected that it was supposed to be the village from Warlock, but I had also gotten the idea that it was populated by Dwarves (from the name, I suspect).  Nope, it's populated by human farmers, and it is indeed confirmed here to be the village near Firetop Mountain.  At least I was half right.

As for where this adventure fits in Fighting Fantasy "continuity" (such as it is) I have two ideas.  The first is that it's a parallel reality from, one where the keys are simply in a different place.  Of course the idea of there being any solid continuity for Fighting Fantasy is absurd given the nature of the adventures.  But if there is one, then alternate/parallel realities must be a given.  Everyone's experience of the books is different, and every play-through is unique, so there must be thousands or perhaps millions of subjective realities in the FF multiverse.

That said, I prefer something that at least ties the magazine to the book.  Rather than the book and magazine realities running in parallel, I prefer the idea that the magazine branches off from the book under specific circumstances.  In this case, the circumstances would be the Warlock killing the hero, then redistributing his keys in different places.  It's perhaps a bit laboured as an explanation, and it's absolutely unnecessary, but it's also the sort of thing obsessive nerds like me enjoy thinking about.

NEXT: I'm still mired in Warlock Magazine #2, as I'll be tackling the preview of Caverns of the Snow Witch.  Gah, I haven't done a main series Fighting Fantasy since November!

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (revised) - Attempt 3

I've rather enjoyed revisiting The Warlock of Firetop Mountain over the last few weeks, and this revised version has given me an experience that I haven't had with this adventure in many years: failure.  Twice I've defeated the Warlock, but both times I've only had two of the three keys needed to unlock his treasure chest.

I have an idea where the third key might be, though.  There's only one key that shows up in the illustrations, and it's in a dead-end room protected by a poison gas trap.  Finding that key is my goal for this attempt, and hopefully it's the one I need, because if it isn't then I'm all out of ideas.

I made some stellar rolls for my character this time around, and managed Skill 12, Stamina 21, and Luck 11.  If I fail on this attempt, there'll be no blaming it on poor stats.

I began my adventure with a concrete goal in mind, and I set my sights on it with a laser focus.  I stuck to the corridors, ignoring the many side-rooms, and I was able to make it to the portcullis without having any encounters at all.  I've never realised just how much of this book you can skip if you really want to, and how inessential most of the encounters are.  The only items that are required for victory are the keys, so there's a level of freedom to this book that a lot of later ones in the series lack.

After the portcullis I turned left, and once again proceeded to ignore as many doors and side-corridors as possible.  Soon I came to another junction, where I turned right.  This put me into territory I've yet to cover for the blog, so from here on I'll go into a little more detail.

The tunnel turned north, and I continued north at the next junction until the passage ended at a door.  Inside was a room lined with books, and an old man at a desk.  On his shoulder was a small, winged figure - a Winged Gremlin.

The old man asked me if I was game for a wager.  I had no money, so I declined.  As I was on the lookout for keys however, and I wanted to leave no room un-looted, I drew my sword for a bit of unprovoked murder.  The old man fled through a secret door, but I had to fight the Gremlin, which I killed easily.  I couldn't find the old man's escape route, but in his desk there were 5 gold pieces which I was happy to pocket.

Back at the junction I turned west, and followed the tunnel as it bent around to the north again.  The passageway ended at another door.  The room beyond was large, with a floor covered in a mosaic of tiles.  The most prominent shapes of the tiles were hands and stars.

I wanted to reach the door on the far side of the room, so I walked across.  I suspected a trap, so I was careful to walk only on the star tiles, and avoid the hands.  Nothing happened, and I was able to cross the room in safety.

At yet another junction I continued north, and the tunnel ended at a door with a leather skirt tacked along the bottom.  Inside I found what I was looking for: the room with the key!

I leaped in to grab the key, but the door slammed behind me, and the room started filling with gas.  I had to hold my breath while taking the key, but I was able to escape without inhaling any of the gas.  (This required rolling equal to or under my Skill on two dice, which was impossible to fail with my Skill of 12.)  The key had the number 66 engraved on it.

From there I continued through a couple of junctions until I came to a subterranean river.  I leaped in and was swept downstream, where I was washed up on the shore of the river, and back into familiar territory.

I crossed the river by paying the boatman, and made sure to kill the Werewolf and his Dog in order to claim key 111.  From there I chose the route with the zombies rather than the boathouse, and I mowed through them as well.  Following the zombie fight I chose to search the dead body propped in the corner.  Last time I had taken his sword and crucifix; this time I opted for his armour and gold.  The armour wasn't special, and the gold amounted to 10 gold pieces.  I had hoped there might be a key hidden on this corpse somewhere, but it looks like that's not the case.  (Unless it's in his shield, the only item I've not investigated, but I doubt it.)

I skipped right past the Vampire and the Ghoul, hurrying my way into the Maze of Zagor.  Fighting the Minotaur was a necessity, and he provided me with my first genuine challenge of the adventure, hitting me twice before I killed him.  Afterwards I searched the room, claiming 8 gold pieces and key 111.

It was a simple matter to get through the maze, and soon I was in confrontation with the Warlock's Dragon.  This time I hadn't learned Farrigo DiMaggio's Dragonfire spell, so I found myself in the rare situation of having to defeat the Dragon in battle.  I needn't have worried; it hit me once, but with the aid of a couple of Luck points I was able to knock it off quite quickly.  (This book is very generous with Luck bonuses, so the option of using Luck in battle is well worth it.)

It was time for the final confrontation: the Warlock.  I didn't fancy taking him on in a fair fight, so instead I burned his magic cards.  The weakened Warlock was a pushover, and soon I was standing in front of his treasure chest, ready to test out my keys.

I inserted key 66, and both keys marked with 111.  One by one they all turned, and the chest opened.  Success!  The treasure was mine!  As was the Warlock's book, with all of his secrets, and the rad option of staying to claim his power.  Part of me was hoping for a rewritten final entry; the Background had been redone, after all.  That said, it's an iconic ending, so it's not such a big deal. 

NEXT:

That was fun, but I'm glad it only took me three attempts.  I love this book, but even the greatest of gamebooks needs to be given a rest now and then.  I'll do a couple of quick round-up posts for this adventure, maybe an Exploring Titan, and then I'm going to move on to the preview of Caverns of the Snow Witch from Warlock #2.

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (revised) - Attempt 2

Last week, I failed in my attempt to find the  treasure in the revised version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, as seen in Warlock Magazine #1 and #2.  I had only found two of the correct three keys needed to open the Warlock's treasure chest: one guarded by a Werewolf, and another by a Minotaur.  So I'm back at the beginning, and my plan for this attempt is to fight the Iron Cyclops; that's where the correct key is in the original version of the adventure.  I almost hope that it's not there, as I'd prefer this version to be as different as possible.  Then again, I'd be perfectly happy to be done with this and on to the next gamebook.  It's a win either way.

My character for this adventure had a Skill of 10, a Stamina of 15 and a Luck of 12.  This time around I chose the Potion of Strength, as my Stamina score was quite poor.  Normally I would choose the Potion of Fortune, but my Luck was really good and this book is generous with Luck bonuses.

I'll skim past the opening stages of the book, because I did very little that was different from my last attempt.  Mostly this part involves killing loads of Orcs, and collecting various minor treasures.  I did manage to break into the armoury this time, which I had failed to do previously.  There's no key to be found there, but I did find a shield that will occasionally reduce the damage I take in combat.

At the junction past the portcullis I turned right, then followed a few more turns until I came to my ultimate goal: the Iron Cyclops.  The Cyclops is one of the toughest battles in the book, and in this case he really lived up to that.  This battle went right down to the wire: I only had 1 point of Stamina left when it was done, and I had used 3 Luck points to help me win.  Straight away I drank a dose from my Potion of Strength (restoring my Stamina back to 15), and I was pretty happy that I'd chosen it this time.  In most Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, provisions are sufficient to restore Stamina, but the restriction to eating one at a time in this book really limits their usefulness.

The Iron Cyclops still had a key inside it, just as in the original version, number '99'.  I also took the Cyclops's jewelled eye (not that I remembered to use it later on).

After leaving the room I headed north, plowed through a Barbarian, and ignored a few more rooms until I came to the river.  I paid the ferryman his fee of 3 gold pieces to help me cross, and from there I headed to fight the Werewolf and his Hellhound pet.  Like the Cyclops, this was a tough fight.  The Hellhound kept blasting me with its fiery breath, and by the time I killed them both I had but 4 Stamina left.  I finished off my Potion of Strength, and claimed the Werewolf's keys, including one that is needed to open the Warlock's treasure chest.

In my last game I had gone through the boat house, but this time I opted to head north, through the room with the Zombies.  There were five Zombies in all (the one with the scythe being my favourite), and I mowed them down with ease.  I could have searched some barrels, or the weapons of the Zombies, but instead I chose to loot the corpse of an adventurer that was propped in the corner.  The corpse had a number of interesting items, but I chose to take its sword and crucifix.  The sword was enchanted, and allowed me to add 2 points to my Skill in combat.  (It's possible that I missed a key in this room, as there's no way to inspect everything in one pass through.)

In the next room was a coffin, with the obligatory Vampire.  I held it at bay with my crucifix, and staked it through the heart (using sharpened sticks and a mallet that I had looted from the Barbarian mentioned earlier).  Alas, there were no keys inside the coffin, so I moved on.

I went down a flight of stairs, and ignored the three corpses found in the chamber at the bottom.  I knew from my previous attempt that they didn't have anything essential, and I didn't feel like fighting the Ghoul, so I just walked right on by.

After that was the Maze of Zagor, which I zipped through as quickly as possible.  The only place I visited here was the Minotaur's room, as I knew that he had one of the necessary keys.  He proved little trouble, and Key '111' was soon mine.

Soon I was out of the Maze, past the Dragon (defeated using Farrigo's Dragonfire spell), and on to face the Warlock.  I totally forgot that I had the Eye of the Cyclops, and could have used it to kill him instantly.  Instead I drank a Potion of Invisibility, and engaged him hand-to-hand.  The Warlock's stats are super-high (Skill 11, Stamina 18), but my invisibility powers coupled with my magic sword made me far too powerful.  Trucking through the Warlock without taking a scratch is always satisfying.

That's where my satisfaction ended, unfortunately.  The third key needed to unlock the Warlock's chest is not the one guarded by the Iron Cyclops.  I'm pleased by this, to be honest.  The Warlock of Firetop Mountain is always a book I'm up for reading, and I'm looking forward to exploring some paths less trodden while trying to find the right key.  I'm not entirely sure where it is, but I have one idea: there's a small room in the original book version that has a key guarded by a gas trap, and I feel pretty confident that this encounter will still be there.  Check in next week to find out!

The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (revised) - Attempt 1, Part 2

It's been a couple of months since I tackled the first half of the revised version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, as found in Warlock Magazine #1. Now that I'm covering Warlock #2, it's time to resume my quest.  Have I found the right keys to unlock the Warlock's chest and claim his treasure?  There's only one way to find out I suppose.

But first, here is my character as he was at the end of the first part:

SKILL: Initial - 10, Current - 10
STAMINA: Initial - 19, Current - 13
LUCK: Initial - 9, Current - 9

GOLD: 7
POTIONS: Potion of Fortune (2 doses)
PROVISIONS: 7
EQUIPMENT: Sword, Leather Armour, Backpack, Lantern, Key '125', Bow, Silver Arrow, Key '9', Boat House Keys, Key '111', Silver Dart (used before combat, hits for 2 damage on d6 roll of 1-4)

At the end of my last post on this adventure I had just fought a Wight, and I was standing at the top of a flight of stairs, which I descended to find myself in a room with three corpses.  (One of which, I knew, was the Ghoul whose illustration had so terrified me as a young tacker.)  I initiated a thorough search of the bodies, because in this new version of the book there could be keys anywhere, and I didn't want to miss one.  I wasn't surprised when the Ghoul sat up to attack me, but nevertheless I failed my Luck test, and it scratched me with its nails (dropping my Stamina to 12 and my Luck to 8).

The battle that followed was surprisingly close, and the Ghoul managed to hit me three times before I could kill it (reducing my Stamina to 6).  A fourth hit would have resulted in my paralysis, and the Ghoul eating me alive (starting with the buttocks, I kid you not).  This raises the question: if it wounded me after I failed the Luck test, then hit me three more times during the battle, should I consider myself paralysed?  A strict interpretation of the book's text says no, but the spirit of the rules says that I probably should.  I usually rule these things based on the exact wording of the text, so I let myself live.  Besides, the first scratch only did 1 point of damage, so it wasn't a full blow.  I'll keep telling myself that so I feel better about rules-lawyering my way out of an instant death.

After the battle I ate a meal (leaving me with 6, and restoring my Stamina to 10).  A full search of the corpses netted me 13 gold pieces, a pair of earrings worth 1gp, a piece of parchment and some holy water. The holy water restored my Stamina to 17 and my Luck to 9 (and it would have restored my Skill had I lost any).  The parchment was a faded map of the Maze of Zagor, with a few cryptic notations.  (I don't need a map of the Maze of Zagor. The Maze of Zagor is an intrinsic part of my psyche. I'll forget the names of my family before I forget how to navigate the Maze.)

Before continuing, I quaffed both doses of my Potion of Fortune. I didn't need it to restore my Luck, I just wanted the bonus to my Initial score. Said bonus bumped me up to 11; I really do love the double-dose potions of Warlock, and there are later books that could really use them.

After the encounter with the Ghoul I entered said Maze, and set about hitting the high points.  The card-playing Dwarves were as friendly as ever, and the Mazemaster just as cowardly.  I also fought the Minotaur, who proved to be surprisingly tough. He hit me five times before I could kill him, and I had to burn a Luck point to knock him off faster. After the battle I ate a meal, and search of his room turned up 8 gold pieces and key marked with the number '111'.  (It's a little disappointing, to be honest, that this key is in the exact same place here as in the original.  In fact, I didn't notice any changes at all in this half of the adventure.  After this encounter, my Stamina was 11, and a Luck bonus had bumped that score back up to 11 as well.)

A new illustration of the Mazemaster from Russ Nicholson

With the Maze behind me, I encountered the Warlock's Dragon, which I quickly dispatched with Farrigo Dimaggio's Dragonfire spell.  Along the way I ate two more provisions, meaning that I would be fully refreshed for my battle with the Warlock.

Said battle proved to be quite simple.  He looked impressive, but after a Luck test (reducing my score to 10) I spotted his magic cards, and burned them. With his power reduced, I was able to kill him without being hit at all (burning a Luck point in the process to get the fight over with faster).  (I also remembered to use my silver dart in this battle, which I had been neglecting to do. It can be thrown before any battle, and on a die roll of 1-4 it wounds the enemy for 2 Stamina. Pretty handy.)

The Warlock was dead, and I had but to test my keys on his treasure chest.  I had found four keys, marked with the following numbers: 125, 9, and two marked with 111.

The first combination I tested was 111, 111 and 125. Two of the keys worked, but the third didn't, and I was injured by a jet of acid (reducing my Stamina to 17).

The second combination I tried was 111, 111 and 9. Again, only two keys worked, and the jet of acid reduced my Stamina to 15.

The final combination I could try was 111, 125 and 9.  This time only one key worked, and a pair of darts flew from the chest towards me.  I dodged them with a Luck test (reducing my score to 8), but was knocked unconscious when I hit my head on the floor (reducing my Stamina to 15).

I might as well not have woken up, because those were the only keys I had.  Our Hero had no recourse but to sit on the Warlock's treasure chest and have a big sook.  Looks like I'll have to crack into this one again...

THE POST-GAME
Looking at the combinations above, the two correct keys I had were the ones marked with '111'.  One of those was found with the Boat House keys (guarded by the Werewolf and his Dog), and the other was found in the Minotaur's room.  Again, I'm disappointed that one of the correct keys is in an identical location to the original.  I have a sinking feeling that the other might be the same as well, so in my next game I'll be fighting the Iron Cyclops just to find out.  Be there!

Warlock Magazine #2

There's not a lot to write about in the second issue of Warlock; that's what happens when more than half of the mag's page-count is taken up by gamebooks that I'll be covering later.  What's left over isn't all that interesting.  I should probably have just tacked it on to the front of my post on the revised Warlock of Firetop Mountain, but I am something of a stickler for consistency, so Warlock #2 gets its own post.

Out of the Pit: The first article is probably not the most interesting thing in here, but it is the most relevant.  Normally the "Out of the Pit" columns introduce new monsters, but this month it has a table listing 100 monsters from the books that have been published so far.  It's not comprehensive - just off the top of my head I can see that the Mirror Demon is missing.  Still, most of the monsters are there, and the list only works if it's an even hundred. (It probably didn't need multiple varieties of Snake though.)

The books used to compile this list are the first seven in the Fighting Fantasy series (minus Starship Traveller), and the first two of the Sorcery! epic.  That's what I've covered so far, and it makes me feel pretty good about the accuracy of the release schedule that I pinned down.

The main table lists the monsters average Skill and Stamina, Attacks (for those using the Fighting Fantasy RPG), an asterisk denoting whether the creature has a special ability, and finally the book in which the monster made its first appearance.  None of the special abilities are described, and I don't mind that. Readers are left to look it up in the relevant gamebook, and nobody is spoiled who doesn't want to be.

The list seems to be mostly accurate, although a at least two of the first appearances are incorrect.  The Imitator is listed as first appearing in Island of the Lizard King, but it actually debuted in Deathtrap Dungeon.  I don't recall there being any Man-Orcs in Forest of Doom; I was sure that monster first appeared in City of Thieves.

The article ends with some smaller tables for generating random encounters in four different environments: Dungeons, Castles, Wilderness and Water.  Everything here is logical enough, except for the Wererat in the Water entry.  Presumably this came about due to the boatman in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain.  Am I to understand that he is one of thousands of Wererat boatmen? Is it a family business, or a side-effect of becoming a Wererat that one is suddenly drawn to boats?  Maybe Wererat lycanthropy only affects people whose immune systems have been weakened by scurvy?  Who the hell knows, it's a baffling entry.

Warlock Profile No. 1: Peter Jones: The second article is a profile in Peter Andrew Jones, which is fair enough, even though I'd say he's the artist on the early books that I'm least interested in.  It does the usual job of mentioning his influences, his non-gamebook work, and the tools he prefers, but it's all surface-level stuff.

Sam, Cars and the Cuckoo: The most interesting thing to be found in the issue is an early short story by Garth Nix, who these days is a very successful and accomplished writer of children's fantasy novels.  He would have been in his early twenties when this was written, which is honestly older than I thought based on the material; it reads like something written by a very enthusiastic teenager rather than a grown-ass adult.

The story - such as it is - is about two guys driving home from work through a very weird, sort-of Mad Max setting.  There are glimpses of interesting material here: comments about consumerism, corporate culture, the media, religion.  Mostly they're drowned out by Nix's almost pornographic fascination with made-up cars and weapons.  His descriptions of those skirt well over into parody, as does the way he revels in anarchic violence.  Make no mistake, it's not good. It barely qualifies as a story.  But the voice is humourous, and there are enough glimpses of interesting ideas that you can see there's a good writer in there somewhere, buried very deeply.

The Rest: The remainder of the magazine is taken up by the second half of the revised version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and a preview of Caverns of the Snow Witch.  Caverns is the 9th Fighting Fantasy book, and it hadn't been published as of Warlock #2.  I'm interested to see how different the preview is.  As for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, I've already played through the first half, and I'll be taking on the second half in my next post.