crymson
Junior Member
Eternalknight
Posts: 90
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Post by crymson on Jul 19, 2008 0:36:34 GMT -5
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Post by Simey on Jul 19, 2008 14:29:56 GMT -5
My - doesn't he look rather like Lone Wolf! That looks interesting. It's nice to see that gamebooks have an outlet such as this - any way the format can survive and thrive has gotta be good.
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crymson
Junior Member
Eternalknight
Posts: 90
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Post by crymson on Jul 19, 2008 17:50:26 GMT -5
I should point out it will be available in print at some point too I'm glad it has been released in PDF format though; it is completely hyperlinked so navigation is easy, and I'm surprised more books haven't been released this way; Lone Wolf obviously is available already on the 'net, but it would be awesome to see Fighting Fantasy or Way of the Tiger or any other gamebook released like this as well
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Jul 19, 2008 18:50:23 GMT -5
My - doesn't he look rather like Lone Wolf! Like Lone Wolf but with freaky glowing purple skin. I might give it a go 'though. Lone Wolf obviously is available already on the 'net, but it would be awesome to see Fighting Fantasy or Way of the Tiger or any other gamebook released like this as well You can find some pdfs of old gamebooks here.You'll want the following eratta for the Way of the Tiger series 'though: Book 3: Section 304: Tor is 21, not 121 Book 5: Please note that for paragraphs 213, 263, and 283, if you win against THE SPAWN OF THE RIFT, you should turn next to paragraph 323. Following paragraph 361, the correct turn should be to paragraph 271. Book 6: At the end of paragrapg 420, if Cassandra's sword has not been captured previously, the player should turn to 424 not 423. The Golden Dragon books have a few scanning errors (orc scanning as org for example) but nothing game breaking and you can always work out what it meant to say.
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Jul 20, 2008 21:53:11 GMT -5
Ahah, cut down by a villainous knave in section 286 no less! That battle was all misses, blocks and critical hits. I'll certainly be trying again (and maybe this time I won't have such a clumsy ranger, although my next character also probably won't be so strong, or so exessively perceptive ).
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Post by stormbringer on Jul 21, 2008 6:31:06 GMT -5
Hi Balgin, How are you finding the adventure? Let me know if you make it through or crack the puzzle Many thanks Jamie Wallis jamie@greywoodpublishing.com
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Jul 21, 2008 23:03:49 GMT -5
Hi Balgin, How are you finding the adventure? Let me know if you make it through or crack the puzzle Many thanks Jamie Wallis jamie@greywoodpublishing.com Ah good to see you again Jamie. I've still got all the Fighting Fantasy d20 stuff you did for Myriador. I tell you what, it's not easy getting hold of those Cursed Empire miniatures. I'm still not sure about the setting yet (when I see the word Empire I don't really think of romans, just china, to me romans are just immitation greeks). Not sure what kind of empire it is but your co author cites David Gemmel as inspiration so it's got to be good .
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Post by stormbringer on Jul 22, 2008 3:22:44 GMT -5
Balgin... I knew I remembered that name from the Myriador Forums How are you mate? Best place to read about Cursed Empire is on their web site (add .com) Vengeance is at the printers. Jamie Wallis
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Jul 30, 2008 8:15:38 GMT -5
Ahah! Slain in mortal combat in section 233. To be fair 'though, that was a very tough fight. There's a few issues 'though:
The first time I played through I didn't notice that the pdf was hyperlinked. The second time through I discovered that one of those links was wrong (it's by the river bank and goes to a higher number - the last two digits are reversed). Fortunately I have a brain so I was able to scroll back up to the apropriate section. I can probably check the actual references for you later if you like.
Another issue was the words "uses of your herbalist's kit" being used throughout the text. As in "you gather enough herbs for one use of your herbalist's kit". Now, the text in the rules section states that gathering 3 herbs allows you to use your herbalist's kit to make another use of the healer's kit. So I assumed that finding enough herbs for "1 use" meant finding 3. However, since I never found individual herbs but always enough for 1 or 2 uses, I began to wonder.
It's also not clear if my ranger may attack once with his sword and dagger, or just once in total. I've been taking one attack per round rather than two because the wording isn't clear.
My final issue was the Darkun weapons found in the crates. I'm reading these foreign names for foreign weapons and you're telling me how much damage they do. But I've got absolutely no idea what these weapons looks like, if they're one handed, two handed, ranged. It would be nice to know what they are before deciding if I want to pick them up and use them or not.
Does anyone know where I can get the Cursed Empires miniatures? They don't seem to be for sale anywhere and the one or two pictures I was able to find on the internet looked quite promising.
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crymson
Junior Member
Eternalknight
Posts: 90
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Post by crymson on Aug 2, 2008 6:19:43 GMT -5
Balgin, I'll pass that along to Jamie in case he hasn't seen this. On another note, it is available from lulu if anyone wants a print copy: www.lulu.com/content/3302580
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Aug 2, 2008 12:23:11 GMT -5
Balgin, I'll pass that along to Jamie in case he hasn't seen this. On another note, it is available from lulu if anyone wants a print copy: www.lulu.com/content/3302580Yep, I noticed that (and will be ordering a copy soon). I'm considering echoing your announcement post in the Lone Wolf section of the Mongoose Boarfds if you don't mind. I already made a post or two on the official (and pretty dead) Fighting Fantasy boards in a "non FF gamebooks" thread. There's a few other places I'd like to spread the word to if that's okay with you too (miniatures and gaming forums mostly). I'm fairly certain the incorrect direction is 273 and 237, or 283 and 238. The text is correct. It's only the hyperlink that's wrong and I'll look up the correct numbers sometime later.
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crymson
Junior Member
Eternalknight
Posts: 90
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Post by crymson on Aug 2, 2008 19:27:14 GMT -5
I'm sure Jamie won't mind if you spread the word around
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Aug 10, 2008 15:14:34 GMT -5
Let me know if you make it through or crack the puzzle Well I haven't quite completed it yet. The big bad nasty guy at the end took 3 rounds to kill me (quite surprising considering I only had 7 life points left when I met him and was completely out of healing). All the bits of the puzzle clicked into place last night and I worked it out. Something to do with legs, corners and sides wasn't it? I must say that this has got to be one of the most challenging gamebooks I've ever played, not because of the complexity of the adventure but because of the difficulty of the dice rolls. Successfuly finding (let alone solving) the puzzle involves the dreaded section 42 in all it's pure lethality (complete with the added burden). It then further requires a perception check at -50 (which isn;t likely to succeed) and a few tracking checks at -30. Taking all of that into account the average character (with jumping & swimming skills in the mid 30's) is going to find section 42 impossible to survive without loaded dice (especialy if carrying the big heavy metal contraption). I'm getting ready to write a review on the drive through rpg dot com thing but haven't decided exactly how I'm going to phrase things. It'll be a positive review but I want to stress a few points without sounding overly negative.
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Post by stormbringer on Aug 12, 2008 15:22:27 GMT -5
In hindsight there are a couple of 'challenging' encounters in the book. It is always difficult to get the right balance with a gamebook (and please remember that Vengeance is our first): if people play it and finish it first time... it was far too easy; if they keep dying... it was far too hard.
We take all of your comments on board Balgin and thank you old friend. If there are others out there who wimp out... erm ..... I mean ...... have problems, we may consider a revised second edition.
We have devised an experience points-style rule for the second book so that you can take the same character through the whole trilogy and improve your stats as you go. You wont get this option if you just play each book as a stand alone adventure.
Thanks again Balgin ;D
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Post by Balgin Stondraeg on Aug 13, 2008 21:19:19 GMT -5
if they keep dying... it was far too hard. I'm tempted to call section 42 far too hard on it's own (even without carrying the trap it's very difficult). On my "final encounter at 7 life points" attempt I had just faced down the assassin and the bandits outside his room so I was understandably crawling along haemmorhaging out my insides when I finaly made it through the portcullis. I thought that might be the case. The writing style reminds me of a mix of Lone Wolf and David Gemmel's writing. Lone Wolf in how well thought out it is (and how many options there are for dealing with situations indifferent creative ways). The gameplay reminded me more of the Way of the Tiger books than anything else really (and that impression was upheld by the artwork - even 'though the art style's very different it's got a similar feel). And my book's still in the post, apparently .
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