Forest of Doom

Background - 

So its still 1983 and after co-writing the first book, The Warlock of Firetop mountain,  Steve and Ian went off and wrote their own books as solo authors.  While Steve wrote Citadel of Chaos, Ian was penning Forest of Doom.  I guess this is because they could produce books faster but I prefer to think they had a falling out over the best way to write a gamebook and decided to duel it out.  While Steve went and tinkered with the formula by introducing a magic system in his book, Ian went with the same standard rules.  Instead though he is taking us outside, into a forest!  While the Warlock's lair and the Citadel made it easier to write a gamebook it will be interesting to see how its done in the open environment.  I did play Forest a few times back in the day and a bit more recently but no idea on what path to take.

Covers - 

I do not remember seeing this scroll type very often in Fighting Fantasy.  But we do get the iconic shapeshifter as the cover star.  This one is art by Iain McCaig and its one of the better early covers.

So good in fact that they keep the same image for the green banner and the dragon covers.  Normally I like picking apart these but I really can't for these ones.

Luckily we have the reprints.  First from Wizard books, which tries to keep the aesthetic of the original but it fails.  The Forest in the background looks foreboding which is good and their is nothing wrong with the how the shapeshifter looks.  The issue is the stance.  I mean what is he doing with his arms?  He looks like you have just accused him of stealing some cake when he is innocent and absolutely outraged.  If I do come across him ill be sure to make such an accusation to throw him off his game.

 

Ah Scholastic books.  I know this is aimed at a younger market.  Well same market but in 2017 and not 1983 where expectations are somewhat different, but this is not great.  Its called the Forest of Doom yet you can hardly make out any forest!  And the shapeshifter, hmmm.  Well at least the pose is better, not sure where he got his inconspicuous bright orange cloak though.  Not the worst one by any means, just a bit bright for my liking.  

No sign of the shapeshifter in the US cover though.  I really do not know where to start here.  Ok so standard hero is the star with his blonde hair and erm blue trousers.  Being attacked by some kind of wildcat which he has expertly blocked with his shield as a whole load of critters and strange plants look on.  Some monsters are creeping up ready to club our hero down.  But the forest really looks like a forest of doom.  

I mean what the hell is this?!  

Premise - 

So I am told that I am a sword for hire that has spurned village life.  I have been wondering around and its been ten days since I saw another person.  But that's ok as I like my simple life of hunting, eating and sleeping.  Also I am confident of my swordplay as I am used to slaying evil men and creatures.  The thought of camping in real life horrifies me.  The only place you should pitch a tent is in your garden.   Also I suspect the people of the village hated me and drove me off, why else would you prefer the wilderness?  So in my camp I go to sleep under my sheepskin blanket, I think I will put said sheepskin blanket in my inventory!  

I am disturbed from my dreams of trolls though by a noise of a body crashing to the ground.  Its a small old man with a bushy beard, I guess my character has not seen a Dwarf before.  He is unconscious with arrows sticking from him, so carry him to the fire and cover him with my sheepskin blanket, sigh, cross it off my inventory.  His name is Bigleg.  Of course it is, terrible joke that I am sure was terrible in 1983 as well.  He recovers enough to beg for help in finding a hammer in Darkwood forest and return it to Gillibran to unite the people against the Trolls.  They were on the way there but were ambushed by little people (smaller than Dwarfs?).  He says to take his gold and go to Yaztromo to buy magic to protect you from the forest and his map.  Before he goes further though he dies leaving my character very confused.  First thing he does though is take his money pouch and you get 30 gold pieces.  

My character decides the Dwarfs will pay well to get their hammer back so will go do as Bigleg asks.  Which is just as well or it would be a terrible gamebook.  I take my sheepskin blanket back (Yes!  Added back into the inventory) and go to sleep for the night.  In the morning I bury Bigleg and set off to Yaztromos's tower using the map, whistling merrily.  Wait why am I happy, I just buried poor Bigleg?!  What about his family and friends?  

Also what is so great about this hammer that it will unite the Dwarfs?  Surly the threat of the trolls would be enough to do that.  Is the hammer capable of mind control, am I about to subject hundreds of dwarfs to a life of slavery?

Ok lets check this map, it should give me an idea to plot my way through the forest.

Wait what?  How am were they going to find anything with this!?  All I shows is the tower, Stonebridge, some hills at the side and a river going through the middle of the forest.  NOTHING in the forest itself.  Thanks a lot Bigleg, I gave you my sheepskin blanket as well!

Playthrough - 

Its the standard set up.  I have a sword, leather armor and 10 provisions to eat.  I am told though I can eat them at any time except battle, something that will become standard in future books.  And a potion of your choice.  I will have a look at what stats I roll before deciding.  I decide I also have my sheepskin blanket as it would be daft to have left it.

Skill - 9

Stamina - 16

Luck - 9

Well that did not go well.  Rolling such a low stamina score I decide to go for a potion of Stamina.

Not even started and equipment list is a mess.

So half a day later I use the amazing map to find my way to Yaztromo's tower.  After I ring the bell I notice their has been no other noise, not even birds chirping.  This close to the forest it must be some kind of dark magic.  Yaztromo appears and lets me in to buy some stuff.  I am immediately given the opportunity to attack him when he turns his back.

So the tower looks evil, their is no sound and I get an opportunity to attack him...

 I do not though as I know some Fighting Fantasy lore and Yaztromo is one of the good guys.  What follows must be the longest paragraph section in fighting fantasy.  Yaztromo gives you a huge shopping list and also gives you some more insight to the story.  Apparently a rival dwarf clan got an eagle to steal the hammer but on its way back got attacked by death hawks and dropped the hammer into the forest.  To make matters worse two goblins fought over possession of it and in the end one took the head and the other took the handle.  So problem has doubled.  Clues are that the head is bronze and the handle ebony and both have the letter G inscribed on them.  So onto the shopping, which the book I bought on eBay has marks against from someone else's playthrough, I decide to buy - 

Potion of Plant Control - Its a forest for goodness sake this is a no brainer.

Potion of Insect Control - See above.

Potion of Anti Poison - I am bound to get poisoned.

Ring of Light - Well its called Darkwood.

Boots of Leaping - Trees are tall, I expect these to help.

Rope of Climbing - Sounds useful.

Net of Entanglement - Hopefully get me out of a fight.

Armband of Strength - Hopefully will help in combat.

Rod of Water Finding - Well the useful map shows a river.

Garlic Buds - Anti Vampire, just in case.  If not i can hopefully make food a bit more tasty.

Headband of Concentration - Sounds very specific.

Nose Filters - Sounds even more specific!

The selection is huge so just as well I got Bigleg's money.  Some of them are very specific.  I mean can I only use the rope for climbing, not for tying anyone up?  Hopefully I have chosen wisely.  I leave the tower with my haul and enter Darkwood forest.  And the path immediately says go east or west.  Ah so I am just in an open air dungeon.

I go east, and arrive at a sign post with a talking crow.  Well I can go North, East or pay the crow 1gp to tell me where to find goblins.  I have no money, maybe I was not meant to spend it all on magic items.  I decide to keep going east, my theory is Stonebridge is to the North so only go North when no choice.

I arrive at a tree with strange fruit.  Deciding to some I am told it has a bitter taste and I can spit it out.  Nope I keep eating as I feel this is trying to scare me off.  Nope its poisonous and I have to use my Potion of Anti Poison.  Not my greatest start.

Noises attract my attention so I wonder off the path to investigate.  Not going to find parts of hammer without exploring.  Its two Orcs who attack me.  They are only skill 5 though so I dispatch them and pick up 2 gold and a wooden whistle.  I also get the option to eat the rabbit they are cooking to regain stamina.  I have not lost any but I decide to eat it anyway, do not want it to go to waste!  Now I would like to walk back to the crow and pay him for advice but unfortunately I do not get that option and must press forward.

Hearing some growling on the path I am asked if I want to investigate.  Hmm with skill 9 I decide not to bother, Goblins do not growl like an animal.  Moving on I can go west or north, remember the rules, I will go west.  The very next choice I get is another west or north.  My character though sees a path going South and decides to ignore it!?  Why?  What kind of searching is this!?  I continue west and then told I am forced to go north, again ignoring a south path.  Not happy with this.  The descriptions are minimal as well.  Next choice I am in long grass and can go west or north.  That's about it.  I feel I am being funneled one way and the illusion of choice is just that.  Would not be so bad if their was some description of the environment to make it stand out.

At last something happens and I stumble across a fox hunt.  I decide not to hide just to actually do something.  A man on a stallion with hounds appear and I get the option to attack or talk, I try and talk so he gets down to shake my hand, I see his gold ring and I am given the option to attack him for his gold!  Say what you want about Ian's writing but he really does give you the options to play evil.  I do not attack him and we have a nice chat which results in me getting some belladonna which he says I will need if I stay the night in the forest.

Again I am told I do not want to go South so I keep going west.  I can't really do justice to what I find but luckily it has an illustration - 

Just living in his hut in the forest flexing his muscles.

I mean who was he flexing for?  Random adventures?  I have to speak to this guy so I go in.  His name is Quin and he makes his living arm wrestling and challenges me.   I hope he does this by visiting towns and not just waiting for random people in the forest of doom!  Well sir, I accept your challenge as I have some armbands of strength!  I do not mention this to Quin though, he might class it as cheating.  I win some dust of levitation from him!

Still ignoring any path south I am now going east and find some hose footprints, probably from my friend I met earlier.  They go south but of course I am not allowed and forced North.  I see some vultures hovering, better check it out.  

Things have gone wrong for Conan in the Forest.

The Barbarian looks like he has been tortured and close to death so I decide to help him.  This is a mistake as he is not happy and attacks me.  We are both skill 9 as well.  I defeat him and eat my first provision to get my stamina back to max.  Serves me right for helping a barbarian.  I continue and reach the river.  My initial excitement at making it halfway is tempered by the fact that I bet one half of the hammer was on this side of the forest.  Instead of going back to find it my character presses on, I can wade or use stepping stones.  I go for the stones and get across without incident and decide to make camp for the night on the far side.  Glad I still have my sheepskin blanket.  

My sleep is disturbed though by Vampire Bats!  Just as well I have the garlic buds.  I wave them around and they eventually bugger off.  I go back to sleep with them by my side.  In the morning I wake up and head north again.  I get a nice passage about climbing a hill and seeing all of Darkwood forest around me.  Time to go west again.  Then again I am told south leads back to the river so I am forced north again.  I manage to stand in a bear trap and fall into a stake pit.  Normally this would be certain death but in this book it only costs me 4 stamina points.  I decide to eat another meal in the pit to mitigate the horrific wounds.  I then boot on my boot of leaping (why wouldn't you be wearing them already) and leap out of the pit.  

Continuing on I find a sword sticking out of a rock Excalibur style.  I managed to pull it out and its a magic sword.  Now I am told it gives +2 skill score.  But in the rules it says my skill can not go above its initial skill so its still stuck on 9.  So the sword is pointless.  This is clearly a failure in design.  What should happen is skill stays same and the sword gives you an attack strength bonus.  Daft.

Heading through the valley I find a lone hut that is empty but for a blue vase.  Its dark and I can not see what is in it.  I put my hand in and keep it in despite the pain.  I am rewarded for this with 5gps, a Dragons tooth, potion of strength and a luck point back!

After this I reach then end of the valley and its back into the darkness of the forest.  Going east and bump into Catwomen.

Disappointingly its not Anne Hathaway 

Despite being skill 8 she kicks my ass and I have to drink my potion of strength and eat another meal to get my stamina back up.  Luckily my food is really good at healing cuts and wounds.  All I get is two gold earrings worth 5gp each.

Continuing on the path I meet a Dwarf!  I can talk to him, fight him or even push him off the log and run past him.  Even though that sounds hilarious as I am helping the dwarfs i decide to talk to him.  So it turns out he is an enemy of Stonebridge and he lost his favorite eagle stealing the hammer and he was now searching for the hammer.  I decide to play it cool and say I hadn't seen it (which was true) and wonder off.

I should have pushed him off his log like a proper bully.

Now I am told a huge creature is making its way towards me, smashing through the forest.  I decide with my Skill of 9 to hide.  It works and I see a giant go past without incident.  No such escape options next as I am attacked by three Death Hawks.  I only take one hit as they are quite week and I wonder how the eagle managed to lose to them.  Maybe as I was hindered by hammer it was carrying.  One of them has a silver band on it saying death awaits you which I am told I decide to leave it.

Now my character decides to take out the map and as Stonebridge is to the North I head in that direction and ignore the path to the west.  How stupid is my character?  Why head to Stonebridge before you find the hammer?  This is not going to end well.

I arrive at cave and see something shiny, hoping its part of a hammer I investigate and have to pass a luck test to avoid some fire.  Its a lair of a Wyvern.  I am asked if I have a flute but I do not, I have plenty crap in my bag but no wooden flute.  Oh no its a skill 10 fight, first time I have fought something with a higher skill so far.  The resulting battle lasts quite some time.  I had seven draws.  But the dice are on my side and I win and it only costs me one provision to get back to full stamina.  I get 10gp and a throwing knife.  I also get a choice to try on a Gauntlet or a Gold Ring.  I decide on the gauntlet as I need to be a better fighter (I was lucky against the Wyvern).  Its a Gauntlet of weapon skill so I get an extra +1 on my attack scores.  Great stuff!  This is the rule the sword should have had.  I can also try on the ring but normally their is a good choice and bad choice so I leave it just in case.  No hammer though.

Wyvern shooting lasers. 

Continuing north I get surrounded by bandits.  I can fight or give them 5 objects from my backpack.  I look through at some of my terrible items and decide I can afford it.  Especially since they could take all my stuff if they really wanted.  I am then told each gold piece counts as 1 object.  Oh well have 5 of these and ill keep everything else.  

That's an interesting way to hold an axe miss.

And just like that I arrive at Stonebridge.  Well if you keep heading north that was always going to happen.  Unable to face the King I am told I head back around the east hills to try again.  

Well at least I made it this far.

Again showing the stupidity of my character, he should just turn round and go back into the forest!  But he is incapable of going south.  As it happens I am killed as I head back around the forest by the same bandits that killed Bigleg.  Ironically the last thing I see as life escapes me is a bandit making off with my precious sheepskin blanket.

Notable Moments - 

Well going through this book after my playthrough revealed I have missed a lot.  The forest feels massive!  Lets start with our cover star the Shapeshifter.   He appears as a  goblin with the hammer handle but as soon as you go near him he changes into a fearsome skill 10 monster.  It feels a bit anti climatic for such an iconic monster.  Your reward for beating him?  Some mix up mushrooms that swap your luck and skill scores, you have no idea they do this though until it is too late.  Oh and if you find him early on you have already missed the handle of the hammer.

Then their is a meeting with a witch.  Where if you try and talk to her you lose 1 luck just from her laugh because.... she is an evil women.

Evil women, cackling at you since 1983.

There seems to be four paths that take you to the halfway point of the river, all with different ways to get across.  The best of course is to get a ride on the back of a centaur.

Why yes sir, I will accept a ride across the river.  But are you ok, you look like you have some interesting growths between your legs.

One of the best parts through is when you descend into a hollow tree trunk and go underground.  There is many things you might guess live down there.  If you guessed a fungus farm run by clones who are enslaved by a Fire Demon, well you are a liar.  Or have played Forest of Doom before.  It is so random but also great.  Although might be a touch drug inspired as you get to choose which mushrooms to try and eat.

The drug lord that is the Fire Demon.  

I feel sorry for the clones, being forced to farm drugs for an evil overlord.  If you kill one they disintegrate into purple ooze which son sprouts poisonous mushrooms, hope you still have those nose filters from Yaztromo.  

Artwork - 

Well a new artist.  This time it is Malcolm Barter who is behind the interior illustrations.  As for the results, well still mixed.  Lets start with the good.  

The Crow needs 30 coins to give to Yaztromo to turn him back to a human.

I really like the crow, I should have given him money to get advice as he says go North.  Wish I did as it is in that direction you go for the hammer handle.

What is behind the rock!?

Its a fishman.... and I might be in the minority but I think he looks fantastic.  It could have been some kind of merman but instead he went with a fish with legs, love it.

The gremlins faces are priceless.

Luckily the werewolf was able to fashion some pants from leaves found in Darkwood Forest.

I really like a lot of the art in this book, the Stingworm is really good as well, but there are some misses.  A lot I found on my playthrough!  The whole flexing man encounter was bizarre and so is the art.  The Wyvern does not look great and the Catwomen, haha is really, really bad.  And the way the bandit women holds her weapon is really strange, but she is not alone!

The Apeman's story is tragic.  He is minding his own business in a treehouse and you climb up and just attack him.  But he cant really defend himself holding his bone club so daintily.   But the award for worst piece goes to -  

This is meant to be a treeman.....

The Big Bad - 

Well Forest of Doom has thrown out my setup already as it does not have a big bad!  Its got some tough skill 10 monsters such as the Shapeshifter, Fire Demon and Wyvern but none of them are required for the storyline.  I guess the Dwarf I encountered on my playthrough is the true antagonist as it was his eagle that stole the hammer.  But going how you could just push him off a log that does not work for my big bad.  

Searching for inspiration I decided these guys would have been a great fit - 

 

OOOOH WHAT A RUSH!

Yep I would replace the bandits at the end with Hawk and Animal as the Legion of Doom in the Forest of Doom!  

But in reality I think the big bad has to be the direction South.  Its impossible to go in that direction and is the single biggest obstacle to finding that bloody hammer.

Menagerie -  

Well with the exception of a blooming Pterodactyl everything fits with what you could find in a Forest of Doom.  From your standard Goblins, Orcs, Ogres and Giants to more exotic creatures such as Pygmies, Sting Worm, and Death Hawks.  One of the great parts is when you camp for the night after crossing the river you will have an encounter.  The Giant Spider fits the forest theme well and so do the wolf pack.  The werewolf and the vampire bats are a bit more random.  A great touch is even if you camp elsewhere the wolf packs howling wake you up.  I love the Gremlins living in the well and of course as I mentioned the clones and fire demon section is one of the best parts of the book.  Their is also a lot of humans going about for such a dangerous place.  Some that you can trust, but most are out to get you, even that bloody barbarian I freed from certain death.  The iconic character though is the shapeshifter, a great addition to the fighting fantasy world.  But he deserved a bigger part in this story.

Entertaining Deaths - 

I thought this would be a lot easier as I seem to remember a mountain of  deaths for wrong decisions but the early books seem to be a lot more fairer.  Only three in this book, but two are crackers!

I was going to go with taking the fire demons crown.  You instantly start to communicate telepathically with the clones.  They are worried about what to do with the red mushroom harvest.  And then you cant take the crown off and change into a fire demon.  Not the worst fate in the world, ruling your own underground drug enterprise and getting a bad ass flaming whip.

But my favorite for this book has to be the option you get straight away at the very start to attack Yaztromo when he lets you in the tower.  If you press the attack you get turned into a toad and your adventure is over.

Pete's Corner - 

Beware my clone army!

This scene actually happened a lot when Pete was younger as our cat Ernie would hunt him as he walked past.  Also the creatures in the background are probably more friendly than the denizens of rural Rora were we lived.  

Final Thoughts - 

Forest of Doom can be quite divisive.  The main reason seems to be the reset of going back to the start of the adventure.  The book does not cope well with this as you have to suspend disbelief as you may have to go through the same scenes over and over again.  I understand its the constraints of a gamebook to force you north all the time and you cant stay in Darkwood looking for the hammer.  But why would you wander around the forest to go back to the start.  As soon as you arrive in Stonebridge you should stay the night and head back in from the north side the next day searching for the hammer!  Does not make any sense.  

Another issue is that even though its set in an outside environment it is a dungeon.  Its the same choices as you had for directions in Warlock.  However I have to say that this was a brave change of direction setting it outside and I really enjoyed the change of environment.  So although the mechanics were the same as a dungeon it did give the illusion of more freedom going around the forest and it felt like a real place.  Most of us have walked around a forest before so its easier to picture than a dungeon.

As I said earlier the forest feels huge.  Even though some paragraphs are pretty much identical and I feel they could have been better used elsewhere, there does seem to be a lot more here than the first two books.  The difference being that encounters in Citadel had more options so they took more page space.  Instead in Forest the encounters have less options so there is more of them, this helps to make it feel a lot bigger in scale.

For the actual mission its different.  Instead of going up against an evil megalomaniac its a fetch quest.  Kind of like the side quests you get in a big RPG.  This is a good as you can only rehash the evil bad guy troupe so many times.  Ruined my Big Bad section but its good to mix it up so things don't get repetitive.  The story with Yaztromo being introduced and more development of the world with Stonebridge and Darkwood is also a step in the right direction.  

This game is winnable with poor stats which is very rare and yes it is a tight path to get the two hammer parts but I think that adds replay value.  And if you do get to page 400 you are rewarded with a a page and a half of story which makes you feel you have achieved something.   The build up story is good as well if a little suspect for your motivations to look for the hammer.

So after arriving in Stonebridge without any parts of the hammer I decided my character would not be stupid and walk around the forest to start at the beginning and get killed by bandits.  I had a cunning plan.....

Journeying to the land of the trolls I seek and gain an audience with their chieftain.  I learn of their hatred of the dwarfs of Stonebridge.  Still I resolve to bring an end to the conflict and bloodshed.  I have brought him a mighty gift to placate them and persuade them not to attack Stonebridge.  The troll court is run down and I am surrounded by the chieftains closest advisors.  "What gift do you have that could possible save the dwarfs from our wrath!"  "Well good sir I have journeyed through the depths of Darkwood forest to bring this to you.  Behold an item worth more than all the gold in Stonebridge and fought over by kingdoms.  Behold my Sheepskin Blanket!"

I take the trolls stunned silence for shock and awe but after a while I sense they might not be happy.  The chieftain takes it in his hands and looks it up and down.  "What are these red marks?" he asks.  "Oh that, that's Biglegs blood."  The chieftains face changes to one of hope.  "Bigleg?!  My hated enemy!"  "Well he is dead, I erm killed him and wiped the blood on the sheepskin blanket."  The place erupts in joy and celebration, I am lifted into the air and carried through the streets as a hero.  The sheepskin blanket is made into a magnificent standard for the troll people.  War is adverted.  Turn to 400.

All in all I really enjoyed the Forest of Doom.  It is not as good as Citadel but it is a fun diversion.  With a few tweaks though it could have been great.

Score - 6 out of 10

 

Citadel of Chaos

 

Background - 

Well after an unexpected success last time its on to the second gamebook, The Citadel of Chaos.  Released in 1983 this one was written only by Steve Jackson.  Already the formula is changed with Steve adding a new stat to roll up, Magic!  You're a wizard Harry!  I like how already this early in they are refining and improving.  Warlock was the prototype and they could have easily repeated the same formula but instead Steve has gone all in and implemented a magic system, very brave!  I have played Citadel a few times but no where near as much as I played Warlock.

Covers - 

Right what the hell is this?  Lets look at the positives first, it has a citadel and its certainly chaotic.  I am not sure the strange monkey type creature is the one I would have picked as the poster boy for the book.  I would have loved to know what the brief was to the artist.  "Hi yes don't worry about any of the content of the book, me and Ian were watching David Attenborough and some of those monkeys look quite scary, can we get a big chaos monkey?  Yes?  Perfect!"  To be fair that run up to the citadel means people have to go single fie which would be a nightmare for invading armies so that's good.  Not a clue how they got any material to build the citadel up there or any furniture?  Maybe magic.

 

I was curious about the rest of the troops and I have zoomed in as much as I can.

Not sure about any of the guys at the back and I think that is the Rhino Man guard but who is the white naked guy!  He has certainly be working out but seems to be very similar to a ken doll.

This is the cover I have.  Again I think the dragon and author name makes it look much better.  I was not a fan of the green zig zag they used to have.  Anyway a huge improvement of the previous cover.  Although I have to admit I am not 100% sure on the cover monster.  Is it the living whirlwind women or is it the Ganjees?  The citadel in the background looks really menacing and has that old school Warhammer art feel to it.  And looks big enough for a 400 section adventure!  Plus the Rhino-man looks really good.

The Wizard cover goes for the Hydra.  I do like it but why do they not have any eyes?   I think the rubble in front of it though takes a bit of focus from the title monster.  The shield version is just the same picture just framed a lot smaller.

The Scholastic cover again goes for a more cartoonish approach.  These are defiantly the Ganjees but I feel they have been toned down a bit.  I prefer the interior illustration in my book.   Although I do like the picture with the glowing eyes in the background.

And its time for my favorite, the US cover!  Someone told the artist there is a hydra and they have gone, ah so its Greek mythology, I know that!  So throw in Medusa, who is not it the book.  A Greek Perseus type hero who most certainly does not look like a wizard.  Well at least they hydra is in it.... oh wait it looks like giant worms that are going to gum you to death.  

And who does this hand belong to?!

Premise - 

The lawful goodfolk of the Vale of Willow have lived for some eight years in awe and fear of the demi-sorcerer Balthus Dire.  In awe - since his power is truly awesome - and in fear ever since word leaked from his domain that his ambitious plans of conquest were to commence with the Vale itself.  

So word comes from a spy that Balthus has recruited an army of Chaotics and will attack the Vale within the week.  Good King Salamon sends words out for help and it reaches the Grand Wizard of Yore.  Guess who his star pupil is?  That's right me!  Crappy Potter.  It says he has been a difficult master and I leave immediately to help.  Which means the Grand Wizard is a cankerous old bastard.  The King basically briefs me by saying there is one true path through the citadel, no information on what that path is though. 

So I leave the Vale of Willow on the long hike to the Black Tower.  At the foot of the hill of Craggen Rock, you can see its outline against the dark sky....

Already the build up is much better and more epic in scope and we are getting more names of places and people which fleshes out the world.  BUT I do have some issues -

The King and these people have been worried for eight years.  EIGHT YEARS!  Yet they had no plan on what to do.  Not a clue, and its only by luck a week before a possible invasion I turn up.  This is how I imagine the conversation went -

Me - "Good King I, the star pupil of wizard of yore, have answered your summons."

King - "Ah Crappy Potter, word has reached me of your ability, welcome to the Vale of Willow."

Me - "It is my honor to be here my king.  Pray tell what role you require of me in the coming conflict?"

King - "Well we would like you to go to the Black Tower yourself and use magic to assassinate Balthus Dire."

Me -" ....Ok.  I assume your forces will deploy in the area to draw out the Chaotic army?"

King - "Nope, we will be staying here."

Me - "So you want me to go in by myself against Balthus and his entire force?"

King - "Yep"

Me - "If you do not mind my asking good king, but what was your plan before I arrived mere minutes ago?"

King - "Time is short, we should discuss the plan.  Our spies have found that there is one route through the citadel that will take you straight to Dire." 

Me - "Great, tell me more about this route."

King -  "Sorry that's all we have.  I must go now and erm, visit my cousin on the other side of the continent, good luck my young friend."

Me - mutter - "Should have stayed in Yore."

Playthrough -

You start with a sword, leather armor and a lantern.  But worst of all the haversack is gone!  I am told I have a backpack instead.  With the feeling of dread that I no longer have my lucky haversack I roll up stats for Crappy Potter.

Skill - 11

Stamina - 18

Luck - 8

Magic - 10

Another high skill roll but everything else is pretty bad.  In fact my roll of 5 for skill on 1d6 was better than the 4 I rolled for magic on 2d6!  Ironically for a star wizard pupil I am actually better with a sword and not that great with the spells.  Makes me question the training I got from the so called grand wizard.

Anyway better pick my spells very carefully.  I go for - 

2 x Stamina (no provisions to eat and my stamina is not great)

1 x Luck (Turns out you use luck a lot, I used to ignore it as a kid)

1 x Shielding

2 x Levitation

1 x Illusion

1 x ESP

1 x Fool's Gold

1 x Strength 

I was hoping to take one of each but alas my roll was that bad.  So I left out creature copy, skill and weakness as I am confident with my high skill if it comes to combat.  I seem to remember using levitation before so I have taken two of them just in case.

So I start my journey to the citadel and already i rest within sight of it and I feel a prickling of fear, which embarrasses me.  What actually embarrasses me is the lack of plan about how I get in.  It seems my in game character is also trying to come up with ideas but before I settle on a plan I arrive at the gate.

Well it is different

I know what you are thinking, yes it is a small door for a citadel.  Balthus Dire is clearly a bit of a mad scientist, although I feel a actual ape and dog would be better guards.  Anyway my whole plan revolves around me being a traveling tradesman.  I did not know what my trade would be, maybe a plumber as they are always in demand.  They wanted a cut of my earnings so i had the option of using a fools gold spell.  Hmm I am skill 11 and first opponents in the book, ill save my spell thanks.  And despite the low skill they had I lost the first round, which worried me!  Luckily it was the only hit they got, the gatekeeper came running out to see what had happened and I sneaked past and locked him out.  

Now the adventure continued but I feel sorry for the gatekeeper.  How bad must his day have been knowing he had one job and was now somehow locked out of the very gate he was meant to be watching.  If I was him I would have just left, you are getting sacked anyway.  So in the courtyard and I get some options and I decide to pretend I am meant to be there and head over to a group of creatures at a bonfire.

A dwarf talking to goblins!? This really is chaotic

I am told the Dwarf has green skin, so that is very unique and strange.  Anyway I keep up my brazen façade and don't ask to join them and just sit down.  Bad guys don't have manners, and I am trying to fit in after all.  I demand to know how to get inside and amazingly they tell me the password is scimitar.  I push on and demand to know what's in the bottle and this is what pushes them over the edge.  They attack me but they are easily dispatched.   Its worth it as the bottle contains a potion of magic which basically allows me to cast two free spells.  I also loot a copper key and a jar of ointment from the corpses.  

I then see a couple of arguing men who are fighting over the price of a dagger.  They ask how much I think its worth and I pick the middle option, they seem to agree and I get asked if I want to buy it.  I use a fools gold spell and it works (while drinking my potion) and I have a nice shiny dagger.

So far so good but as I make my way across the courtyard a whirlwind lady appears.  I try to ignore her and she keeps knocking me over like a school bully.  I pass a luck test and after going "Look who is that over there"  she falls for it and I leg it in the opposite direction.

I get to the tower door and knock on the door.

Do you know the password?

I do know the password my good friend as I am a Chaotic and absolutely meant to be here, its Scimitar.  He grunts and lets me in, phase one complete.

As I wander in I see a bell which says ring for the butler.  As I am trying to sneak through here I decided that will be a terrible idea so I open the door instead.  And procced to set off some kind of alarm system.  One failed luck test and the guards are on me.

Wheelies, roll out!

They start throwing knives at me so i use my shielding spell to block them (whilst finishing my magic potion).  Once I get them into hand to hand combat its all over them.

After alerting the entire citadel to my presence I sneak into the next room where something is sleeping.  But of course I wake them up (no idea how they had slept through the alarm I set off).  Turns out I have woken a Gark.  I am told a Gark is half goblin and half giant.  How in hell did that union take place and erm which way around?  The text tells me he is stupid so I use a fools gold spell to bribe him.  Not only did he see through it but he realised that if I was offering a bribe i should not be there.  "Not as stupid as you thought", well I can only put that down to the terrible teachings of the wizard of yore.  Right a fight it is I thought, nope wrong, he cuffed me over my head and knocked me out.  It would not be a fighting fantasy without me being knocked out, and its only book two!

So I wake up in jail, where the jailer is a two headed lizard called a Calacorm -

Sure the way out will be getting them to fight each other

So he gives me some bread and broth, which I scoff down and gain +2 stamina.  I get some spell options but I have used up all my fools gold so I have ESP or illusion.  I go for ESP to persuade him to let me out.  Turns out all Calacorm's daydream about are food (snakes), girl Calacorms and torture.  Nothing I could use to my advantage so I fire off an illusion spell.  Its not looking good as I only conjure a mouse.  But would you know it, this is the Calacorm's biggest fear.  Terrified he throws me the keys so I can get rid of the mouse, which I do but only after I have scarpered away.  I'm free!

I get the option of trying to smash down the next door, which I choose to do expecting a skill test like Warlock.  But I am told that I just smash it down.  Oh no, its the Leprechaun.  I remember doing this when I was young and I hated him, he just tries to fake you out all the time.  Well not this time!

Never, EVER, trust a Leprechaun.

Something comes flying towards me as he sleeps and I can use a shielding spell.  Nope.  A tomato hits me in the face so no harm done.  Except I hate tomatoes, loathe them.   If this had been real life my adventure would have been over here and now as I crumble to the floor screaming.  Not my character though, he is fine and can either shake his hand or draw my sword.  No messing, sword is out but unfortunately it droops limp.  O'Sheamus speaks in a very stereotypical irish accent and he presents me with three doors.  I go for the copper one since I found a copper key earlier.  I am soon blinded and ravaged by an unseen beast.  I try and hit it with my sword but I don't hit anything.  Its very descriptive about how I find the blood is running down my leg and i am given multiple chances to use spells.  Not happening I know this is an illusion.  It then finally says death is imminent and gives me one last chance to use a spell.  I don't and pass out (again).  When I awake its back with O'Sheamus who is ending himself laughing.  Apparently my character is so relived and finds the laugh so infections he ends up in hysterics as well.  In real life, I still want to kill this guy.  This encounter caused me a lot of grief when I first played, so much I remember it 25 years later.  If I didn't I would have wasted a load of spells on this guy.  He does say I am a good sport though and gives me a magic sword (+1 attack total, this is perfect and how you can give bonus without increasing skill score) and a silver mirror.  I try the copper door again.

This time I appear in the wine cellar.  And I am not alone.

Hello, good sir, I am here for the wine tour.

I am offered a choice of white, red or rose.  I go for a nice rose.  After swirling it around in my mouth and spitting it out the fine gentleman asks why I came here.  I try to say I am a wine connoisseur of northern Allansia and writing a book of my touring experience.  Turns out it was not wine though but truth serum and I tell him I am hear to assassinate Balthus Dire so of course it ends up in a fight.  Luckily I did not tell him about my skill 11 or he would have ran.  I am offered to sample the other wine but I decide against it but I do take a bottle in case its needed.  If not I will re-gift it at Christmas, probably to the King or the Grand Wizard.  

In the next room is a big stone golem creature guarding three treasure chests.  Talking gets me nowhere so I make a move for the treasure.  Of course he starts to move towards me.  I tease going for them again and the book keeps giving me options to run for the door.  I decide to take it, I knew the Leprechaun was a fake out so I doubt we would have two in close succession.  

The door takes me into a grand dining hall.  I get to look at the pictures which shows Balthus Dire, I lose stamina for the sense of dread but also gain luck as I now know what he looks like.  I had no idea that my character did not have a clue what his target looked like!  I could have walked past him in the hall!  Anyway I get a choice of going up two staircases and I choose poorly and the stairs disappear.  I still have a couple of levitation spells left so I use one to float up instead.  

Up the stairs I find a locked door that needs a copper key.  So of course I go in.

Oh what an interesting fleece you have there

Now with a Hydra on the cover I am going to assume I will need this fleece!  She seems to get very angry quite quickly so I get the chance to offer a gift.  I do not have a hairbrush or a erm spider man in a jar.

Nope never picked this up, would have made a great gift

So I pull out the silver mirror I have and offer it to her but she is not impressed.  She takes it really badly and her eyes turn to flame as she tries to incinerate me.  I cast a much needed shielding spell only be told it does not work against magic attacks and her attack burns into my eyes and I collapse on to the floor dead as if I had been hit by a tomato, cursing the king and the wizard with my dying breath.

Notable Moments - 

So as I did not make it through the Citadel of Chaos I have had a look through at other paths and options to see what I missed.  The Black Tower feels like a real place.  I even missed a gambling den which looked good fun.  There is a library that is full of books with loads of information, from enemies to Dire and the history of the citadel.  It really is fleshed out.  His wife killed me but you can also find their children as well.  From the parts I managed to find the wine cellar and the dungeon were particular good fun.  However I did miss the iconic creatures from this book.  The Ganjees.

Stuff of nightmares

You cant fight these guys and they kill magic as well so you have to use items to get past them.  But you don't know that at the time so getting the right choice would take a few attempts.  Not being able to fight your way out negates the people that use maximum stats.  They might not look that scary these days but my word not fun for kids.  

Right in the Ganjees

I also missed the Hydra who comes straight off the heels of the Ganjees encounter.

Balthus got the same plasterer from Warlock

Who keeps a bloody Hydra in a spare room in the tower.  Must be a nightmare cleaning that room.  He does look more snake than dragon though.  But the actual battle is pretty good, again with multiple paths to take.  But it really helps to get that fleece.

Artwork - 

Russ Nicholson is back for this one and again its a mixed bag for me.  As I mention above the Hydra is poor and the amazing plasterer is back which makes the background look bland.  However the Ganjees are fantastic.  One major issue i have from this book is a lot of the art that features in the courtyard - 

The brick background just upsets me.  The writing makes it very atmospheric but that does not make it onto the page.  It also takes away from the subject of the art.  The inside walls of the citadel of chaos should be...well...chaotic.  Reminds of a ZX Spectrum game.

But there is some really good stuff in here as well.  All the ones in my playthrough I really liked.  As soon as the background is dark it becomes a lot more atmospheric and looks great.  I really like the wine cellar for example and also these ones I never made it to - 

If i had rung the bell instead of setting of the alarm, I would have met this guy

The Kitchen looks fantastic, although I would not be keen to partake in any food

And the Gark who clipped me around the head to send me to jail

All in all getting better.  The courtyard stuff is disappointing and some of the interior rooms are too bland but some really, really good ones here as well.  The Ganjees probably being my favorite followed by the wine cellar.  A lot of these monsters are quite unique so difficult job to draw them but they have come out well.  

The Big Bad - 

The Balthus Dire fight really is quite something.  It is epic with so many different options which makes it feel like a proper boss fight.  Although it does appear he turns himself into a gorgon so i must apologise for my early snarky comments about the US cover.  Really though Steve Jackson does a fantastic job here, there is so much spells to choose from all leading down different paths with new choices.  Some work, a lot don't.  You can even move about the room.  Just don't get distracted by anything or he will stab you.  If you do get to the stage of a fight its Skill 12 and high stamina.  But remember Harry you are a wizard so you should be using magic.

Might want to sack his hairdresser though

All in all though you want to get to the curtains.  If you can pull them down well its all over for him as he cant handle sunlight.  Which makes his decision to base himself at the top of the tower rather than any of the rooms in the basement a bit of a dumb move.  All in all an epic fight though and will be hard pushed to beat that and its only book 2.

Menagerie - 

Where to start here?  After they threw all the standard fantasy troupes at Warlock, Steve Jackson let his imagination run here.  Citadel is full of unique monsters, some i have only ever seen here.  From as soon as you arrive at the citadel and face ape-dog and dog-ape you are in for some unique encounters.  Yes there are orcs and goblins and even a Hydra but what about the Calacorm, a two headed lizard that is afraid of mice?  The Gark, a crazy combination of Goblin and Giant!  The Wheelies are another unique foe.  Scouts, Rhino-Man, Spider-Man and of course the iconic Ganjees.  A lot of the enemies you cant even fight, you have to out think them or you will be trapped in jail or killed.  I really like what Steve Jackson put together here and it really does feel like an army of chaotics.  

Entertaining Deaths - 

A couple of good contenders here.  I particular like trying to hid behind the curtains in the battle with Balthus Dire.  If you think he just walks up and stabs you that still would be entertaining but no, instead he brings the curtains to life and they strangle you.  Also if you hide under the table he puts up invisible walls around it trapping you there and bringing an end to your adventure.  In the encounter with the Ganjees you also can forget you are in a tower and fall over the side of the balcony and crash to your death below.  Unless you have a levitation spell, which does not work and you end up dead at the bottom of the tower anyway.  I have a favorite though but i don't see it as a failure and i will discuss in my conclusions.

Pete's Corner -

Do not let Spiderman out of his jar!

Pete in his element

Final Thoughts - 

I feel Citadel improves a lot on the framework established in Warlock.  As much as I made fun of the story its a big step up on the bare story of the previous book.  The Citadel itself feels like a real place and everything makes sense (as much as a chaotic tower can) in that it has a kitchen, pantry, guards quarters, a courtyard and a library.  It feels like a real place.  

Adding magic is a great feature as well, especially since you get multiple options and its not a get out of jail free card, if you do not use the correct spell it will not work (as I found out with my death).  The adventure does feel a lot shorter than Warlock though.  I thought this was as I did not spend so log in that bloody maze but looking deeper at it, it is because each encounter is a lot more in depth with more options.  Not just the magic options but choices in general.  This adds a lot to each encounter and improves the roleplay aspect of the book.  Add to that the monsters are pretty unique as well with interesting descriptions.

No doubt one of the best things though is that when it says you can make it through with even the worst rolls for stats, you really can.  There is a path that can get you through it if you pick the right spells.  This must be one of the only books where that was true.  But it does not mean its easy and will require multiple plays to find this route.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the final fight with Balthus Dire.  It is long with many different options on how to play it.  It feels epic and its very impressive to fit it into a 400 paragraph book.  During this battle though you can flip to Balthus Dire side, this appears to be a failure but in feel this is the best result for you in the book.  Join the guy that has bothered to plan, rather than bail the stupid king out.  

Where I feel it falls down a bit is the art in some of the courtyard areas, and some internal ones as well, it can take you out of the experience.  Oh and the F*!"@g Leprechaun.  Another failure is the winning paragraph.  After such an epic battle its very brief.  You use the curtain to set fire to his plan and are asked if you have a Levitation spell to float out the window otherwise its another adventure to escape but that's a different story.  Feels a bit empty to me.  And why didn't you just use levitation to fly up to the tower window?  You would then open the curtains to get in and inadvertently kill Dire.  Maybe that was what the King meant.

Anyway here is what I would have done -

Me - Arrives at the gates.  "Hello good fellows, I would like to speak to Balthus Dire, I have information on the King plan".

Dog-Ape - Ah ok, please come this way.

Get taken to the great hall, Balthus Dire arrives with half the army.

Balthus - "I grant you this audience as I am told you have some valuable information, it better had been good or I will throw you in our dungeon."

Me - "I understand lord.  The foolish King Salamon has hired me to assassinate you to stop your invasion of the Vale"

Balthus and crew - "Mwhahahahaha"

Balthus - "So how much has the King offered you?"

Me - "Well nothing now you mention it."

Balthus - "I see, so tell me what other information do you have of the Kings plans?"

Me - "That's it, he has no other plans."

This clearly upsets Balthus Dire who gets up from his seat and starts pacing, his voice getting louder.

Balthus - "WHAT!?  Eight long years I have been planning this attack and you expect me to believe the Kings only plan was to send you by yourself to kill me?  How did you even expect to get in?"

Me - "Well I was thinking of posing as a herbalist or tradesman or maybe just levitating up the tower.  But anyway I just want to be on the winning side."

Balthus - "You can at least tell me the position of his armies and when he intends to march!" 

Me - "My lord, he has no plans to march, in fact he does not even appear to have an army."

Balthus - "Do you take me for a fool!  You dare come here and expect me to believe this!?"

Me - "Yes, both the King and the Grand Wizard of Yore are idiots."

Balthus - "Lies!  Wife, take care of this fool."

Sorceress - "With Pleasure"  Her eyes turn to fire.

Me - "Wait its the truth!  Arghhh"  Raises Shielding spell and get incinerated anyway. 

Score - 7 out of 10