Demons of the Deep

Background - 

Well since my last post we moved house.  And to make it more fun I failed a luck roll and we got some serious unseasonal snow!  Which made it a bit more interesting.  However I passed my skill test and successfully got through all the ice with my furniture without falling.  My luck must have been low though as I managed to dent my stamina many times.  Including but not limited to standing on a nail on a new Ikea bookshelf we were building, and a few cut fingers.  Some food did indeed increase the old stamina but all in all it feels like I ran out way before the end!

But it did mean I finally got a bookshelf!

Anyway enough about all that, lets look at Demons of the Deep.

Its New Year in the good old US of A.  Steve Jackson (the American one) has been out enjoying the festivities with his friends.  Its late though and its time to head home.  He bids them a fair farewell and head out into the cold early morning.  1986, what a time to be alive he thinks.  The future is now!  Whistling a merry ditty to himself he continues on into the night, completely oblivious to what is transpiring around him.

"Bravo team do you have eyes?"

"This is Bravo, we have eyes, confirmed."

"Is target isolated?"

"Confirmed.  Target is in an isolated location by himself.  Do we take the shot?"

"Command?"

We switch back to Puffin HQ where a bunch of very tired looking people are watching a big screen.  Well big for 1986.  

Philippa "Take the shot"

Steve feels a slight sting in his neck.  Feeling with his hand he plucks out a small dart.  Wondering if he has had too much to drink his head starts spinning and a large black net falls over him.

Steve "Oh Shi....."

He falls unconscious.

Some unknown time later he wakes up as cold water is thrown over him.  The room is dark and he is tied to a chair.  

Steve "Where...Where am I?"

A lone light switches on, illuminating a small empty patch in the room in front of Steve.  Into it stride two figures.

Steve "Oh god not you, am I back in the UK?  I only just got out of your house!"

Ian "Oh come on Steve you were a guest!"

Steve "Really?!  What about the other Steve, is he still trapped?"

Ian "Steve loves his bedroom!"

Steve "What kind of sick fascination with Steve Jacksons is this anyway!?"

Philippa "Enough, both of you.  Steve it is simple.  Do you want to go back home?"

Steve "Of course, but what do you people want now?"

Philippa "Why, write us another fighting fantasy gamebook and I will take you to the airport myself."

Steve "What is wrong with you people!  You think you can kidnap someone and force them to write for you!?  What kind of business model is that?  

Philippa "So you don't want to go home?"

Steve lets out a big sigh.  "One book?"

Philippa "Yes."

Steve deflated "Fine."

The light goes out and Steve can only hear the set of two footsteps receding into the distance.

So its ticked over to 1986 and already we are up to book nineteen in the series which is a crazy production rate.  Back authoring this one is the second Steve Jackson (not the founder of the series, but the American games designer) writing his second fighting fantasy after Scorpion Swamp.  Now I really enjoyed Scorpion Swamp so looking forward to see what Demons of the Deep has in store for us.  It helps though that its back to my favorite fantasy setting so my hopes are high for this one.  I do remember playing it but no details come back to me.

Covers - 

Alas it is once again just one cover for this one.  However it is an absolute belter!  I mean its a multi limbed demon monster made from bones and even full blown skeletons!  He is also underwater to stay on theme.  I just love this cover, its what Fighting Fantasy is all about for me.  

And what about this boy in the background?  Muscle Fish has been to the gym and loves flexing at people to show his gains!

Interestingly though I also found this  -

Another Gamebook.....

Do not know anything about the Demons Bone Series of gamebooks but that cover looks like its taken some inspiration form Demons of the Deep I would say.

He-Man also had a shot!  Mer-Man better make an appearance!

Premise - 

I am a doughty sailor!  I have not been described as doughty before.  I am also a bit of a fibber, exaggerating stories at taverns when on shore.  I am quite good with a cutlass though!  I am first mate of the ship Sunfish heading to Port Blacksand (of course) where we are attacked by pirates sailing the ship Troll!

We fight bravely but we are but humble merchants so soon its just me versus the pirates.  I hold them off with my trusty sabre.... wait a minute, two paragraphs ago it was my trusty cutlass?  Eventually though I get whacked on the head by a belaying pin which is far more effective than a sabre or cutlass.

The pirates take me captive and when I wake I see the poor Sunfish burning near by.  I am tied to the mast of the Troll and the enigmatic Captain Bloodaxe introduces himself.  He was very impressed by my skill and wants me to join his crew but does not think I would accept.  Pretty sure I would at this stage to stay alive.  Would be a very short book though!

The pirates suggest all sort of terrible deaths but Bloodaxe is having none of it.  Claiming that a warrior such as me should be allowed to leave the ship unharmed.  He gives me my sword back and even gives me some provisions of black bread and salt beef.  Which just so happens to total ten provisions which is not suspicious or convenient at all when they are described as very heavy.    

Yep sure enough Bloodaxe is a total dick as he says he can not spare a boat and pushes me off the side, I am instantly dragged down into the depths weighed down by my "gifts".  The last thing I hear is all the pirates having a right good laugh to themselves.  Dicks.

Playthrough - 

The set up is as cookie cutter a Fighting Fantasy you can get.  Its a straight up Skill, Stamina, Luck for stats and 10 provisions (not sure how black bread and salt beef hold up underwater).  I am not told if my sword is a cutlass or a sabre but I do have a bag!

In fact the instructions talk about a potion of strength and a potion of fortune and what they do but we do not get an option for a starting potion.

Skill - 12

Stamina - 20

Luck - 11

Well that's the best rolls I have had for a while.  It actually adds a lot more pressure as I should do well, an instant kill would be devastating.  No wonder the pirates had such a hard time beating me!

The aforementioned bunch of dicks.

So I sink down, but luckily the ocean is shallow here.  What appears to be coral actually turns out to be an underwater city.  I land in a courtyard, which just so happens to contain a magic pentagram.  It gets even better as I seem to trigger some magic spell which gives me gills and allows me to breathe underwater!  Using some coral to free my hands I find the same spell has kept the provisions dry!  I get the option to swim back up.  Now as tempting as that would be just to see the dumbfounded looks on these guys faces, they would probably easily kill me.  So instead I decide to investigate this strange courtyard.

Looking around I find the pentagram is the only thing not covered in ocean fauna, but the area is sparse of life apart from fish swimming around.  There is a large building close by and I catch a hint of movement so I decide to investigate.

Turns out I can swim quite well thanks to the spell.  I get my sword ready but I run into a mermaid.  I get all shy and put my sword away but she is quite ok with it all saying Atlantis is a dangerous place so its only common sense to have a sword ready.  She says she saw me floating down and came to meet me.  I ask what the hell is going on and she kindly explains.  By entering the pentagram I came under protection of powerful magic.  I get to have a set of gills until nightfall or until I breathe surface air again.  I explain my pirate problem with her and she recommends looking for black pearls as they have powerful magic that will lead me to victory.  She takes pity on me as well and gives me a lucky charm!  It allows me to automatically pass one luck test.  And just like that she blows me a kiss and away she swims.

I now get the option to investigate the building, either by going up, down or just leaving.  I decide to head up, hoping to get a better view of the surrounding area.

I started singing Barracuda in my head.

My singing of a famous Heart song costs me though as one take a nibble out of me before they are dispatched.  Not much up here apart from 4 gold coins which I pocket so I head downstairs instead.

Its here I am confronted by my old fighting fantasy nemesis, a non descript T-junction.  Left it is!   It gets darker and darker until I reach a room with some Skeletons.  

My Skill 12 has made me much more blasé with my exploring.  

Both of them manage to hit me once before I put them down which is a bit of a shock.  I thought my Skill 12 would make me invincible but I have been hit three times already!  I take my first meal of dodgy black bread.  Lo and behold though the Skellys have eyes of black pearls!  I pocket four of these which I think is a great find!  I am then asked if I want to have a look at a rusty metal box in the corner.  Erm no thanks, I've just found exactly what I am looking for so I doubt two good things would be this close together.

I get the option to try the other direction so I do.  I must say I like the fact that its not just one way and that's it.  Although in this case it is it.  I go through a door and it slams shut behind me.  I have gone over a cliff and my character panics thinking this is an instant death before remembering we are underwater here and I can just float where I am!

 I see more of the city of Atlantis but before heading in I have a poke around the cliff first.

Straight into this guy.  Anyone who watches WhatCulture Wrestling knows eels are bad news!

Wow that was a niche reference even for me.  His Skill 7 is no match for me but he does take a while as he has a hefty stamina of 12.  My reward?  A single gold piece.

Swimming into the city I get my first big choice.  Visit an underwater garden, a sunken ship or a palace.  Well palace would be normal choice but I hope to get to visit more than one so I go to the shipwreck first.  

The book says the masts are still tall and straight....hmm

It does accurately depict the big hole in the side.  Apparently something big is inside.  Well lets have a look shall we?  A luck test saves me from being eaten by a clam!  I poke it open to gain a giant silver pearl.  But then this dude drops on my back.

A big old Sea Spider!

Who gets a free hit on me.  Honestly I do not remember getting into so many fights so early on in a book.  With my high skill though that's the only hit he gets on me.  Still time for another snack.  

The captains cabin does not reveal much other than a map with unknown islands on them so I head down to the treasure hold.  Which turns up a massive haul of one gold piece.  Although it does appear the hole was made by gigantic claws which is a bit concerning.

I get railroaded into the gardens next and hit with another random T-junction.  Left again!  

A water...wait no a bubble fountain.

I get offered to investigate the shiny thing in the fountain but taking anything from a fountain is bad etiquette.  You don't take peoples coins from a fountain!

I end up in some kind of underwater orchard where crabs are picking away at a fruit.  Again I get offered to sample some but my stamina is at max so I do not think it is worth the risk and wander on.

Its then I stumble on a quaint little cottage in a bubble!  Its got land plants inside the bubble and I am invited in by an old man.

Normally kids I would say do not go near an old man inviting you into his home....but this is Fighting Fantasy.

He introduces himself as a Wizard called Greylock.  I am asked if I recognise the name but alas I do not.  He asks me lots of questions and my character grows suspicions and I get a chance to attack him when he takes his wand out.  This is not Warlock of Firetop Mountain where my character murders a wizard in his own home and its just as well I don't for he explains about Black Pearls!

If I use the phrase Derd-nu-Heno they will turn into Skeletons and fight for me!  I can use it on 10 pearls at a time to produce five Skeletons,  to return them to pearls the phrase is Derd-en-Parr.

He asks next for any Silver Pearls.  Why yes Greylock my old mate here is one!  He says the magic is no use to me but great importance to him.  Not much of a haggler there Greylock.  He offers me a potion.  I get the choice of healing, luck of vaporous essence.  Well I have my bread still and a high skill and luck score so I decide to go adventurous and pick the vaporous essence.   He assures me it can be drunk underwater, god knows how that works.

So Greylock tells me the Sea Dragon has most of the Black Pearls.  When I leave I can either seek him out or avoid him.  Well I am Skill 12 so lets go after him.

Before I get there though I run into a Merman.

I get the option to fight or talk and this guy looks like he would be cool so I opt to talk first.  And its a good choice, he takes me on a brief tour and I can either go to the sauna which will make me a new man or the games rooms.  Well I am still maxed on stamina so I decide sauna would be a waste so lets go to the games room.  

So its pretty much a merfolk casino.  I can stake any number of gold coins or black pearls and make a luck test.  If I pass I double my stake.  Hmm my luck is on 10 and I am told I can use the mermaids Lucky Charm.  So I decide to bet all my black pearls.  But I decide to save the charm and instead go for old fashioned luck.  And its a 6.  Woohoo I now have 8 black pearls!

My hosts enjoyed my visit and say if I am brave and lucky to visit the Sea Dragon, the sunken Cathedral to find my path and the Water Sprite for good luck.  I bid them a fond farewell and resume my quest for the Sea Dragon.

 

Ah here he is!

Again I get the option to talk rather than fight so I think why not give it a bash.  If it goes wrong we can fight anyway.  I can appeal to his good will, his greed or his hatred of pirates.  Well he is wrapped around that chest like a greedy creature.  But I also think he is a baddy.  Lets test that and see if he fancies fighting some pirates with me.

Nope.  He is not interested and instead moves to fight.  Ok he is only Skill 10 so I have an advantage....OH MY WORD!  Stamina 24!!!  I have to hit him twelve times!  Well I do manage it in a hugely long battle.  Would be an epic fight in a film.  There were a lot of draws in it as well.  But he got me down to just 4 stamina, I honestly thought I was a goner at one point as I lost four rounds in a row.  

I am told there is more treasure here than I can possible carry.  So I settle for 12 gold pieces, 2 black pearls and a sapphire.  Its time for a feast.  I eat four meals in one go to get my stamina back up and really wish I had taken that potion of healing.  At least I have 10 black pearls now which is the max I needed.

In the distance I see the cathedral which I could go straight to or I could approach/attack a sea horse!  Why would I attack it?  The temptation of getting to ride a sea horse is too much for me so I pick some sea weed and offer it to the horse.  It accepts eventually but the way the option of attempting to jump on and ride it puts me off so I decide to just go on my way.  This does net me 2 luck points though.  Hopefully he will turn up later.  

On the way to the Cathedral I get told I see some nasty looking creatures do I want to investigate.  Erm no thanks.  I try to swim past but some of the Bloodworms get in my way.  Lucky after the epic fight with the Sea Dragon they are nothing and I dispatch them and swim on.

Made it!

So in the cathedral they have magic stain glass windows which change each time you look.  I see myself being forced off the ship and then what I feel is an important clue.  The pirate ship is anchored next to an Island that looks like a giant fish eating it.  I decide to keep watching would be a path to madness so go for an explore of the interior.  

I just find more pictures, this time of me fleeing from some tentacles.  I think its time to get out of here.  I head out and swim over to a coral reef.

The Water Sprite, looks as fun as the Leprechaun.  

But the Merfolk did say he was ok so I offer him a magic item.  To be fair he says he does not need anything and its me that needs Black Pearls.  He says if I do not have enough I could go to the Krakens lair.  He then vanishes.  Well Greylock said I needed 10 and I have 10 so I decide to avoid the Kraken and go pirate hunting.  

Do I have an unmelting crystal of Ice?  Nope.

Do I know a friendly Dolphin?  Nope.

Well you have to surface.  Ok that's fine.

Except its not.  I have no idea where the pirates went (yes I do the fish island).  I grab a plank of wood and float away.  Well at least I did not die, just did not get revenge on the pirates.

Why did it not ask if I had befriended a Sea Horse?!

Notable Encounters - 

Getting captured by a Sea Ogre, he is quite funny.  You cant bribe him as he just says he will take all your stuff when you die.  He is very keen to feed you up though so you get fat!  Just hurl some obscenities at him as he can't handle it.

Your Mama is so fat they call her Shamu.

The poor water elemental has been imprisoned.  He is a bit angry about it but if you maintain a cool head you can help him.  And he is a useful man to know.  Getting him out though is easier said than done as the chamber above contains the fearsome Bone Demon from the cover!  

I say, hello old chap.

How about helping a Dolphin fight a Shark.  Its nice to have someone fight with you for a change as well!  His name is KeeekWeeet by the way and is also a very useful person to know.  Well if you have the crown to understand him.

Come on guys lets just talk it out.

Another very useful man well erm, merman to know is this lad - 

Is that a Glowfish?

In Demons of the Deep, fish are used very much Flintstones style, known as Toolfish.  You get quite a lot options to use things like the Sawfish or Axefish for example.  A novel way of using the underwater theme and not what I was expecting to see here.

One of my favorite encounters, and I wish I had gone in this direction, is going to the palace.  Turns out it is ruled by the Deep Ones.  Now if you have spoken to the merman you thing the Deep Ones are going to be out and out baddies but they are actually a nice bunch.  Even better is when you meat their king, the amazingly names King Seamoss!  Here you can either prove your worth by fighting the brillaint named Sharkspear or you can end up kissing a princess to break a spell sleeping beauty style.  Of course she is a Deep One so you are repulsed and get plenty opportunity to cause a diplomatic incident.

Apparently Mermen cant tell Deep Ones from humans!

And who can forget this player -

My name is Hugo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.

So how do you meet this guy you ask?  Well if you answered getting sucked into a magical painting you are a winner.  Its worth it though as he gives an increase to initial skill!  Initial skill increase!  What a teacher!

And I have not even mentioned the epic quest that happens off screen putting together a ghosts body to bury!

Artwork - 

Bob Harvey is back again.  I liked his Talisman of Death work and Seas of Blood was average.  This however is a bit below par and easily the worst of his trilogy of work so far.

As always though lets look at what I liked.  Which includes Cyrano above and the Sea Spider from my playthrough.  Greylock sitting on his coral chair is pretty good as well.   

The only thing missing here is Mungo in the crabs claw.

I have no idea how the hag ekes out an existence in small room under the sea.

I do not know what's wrong with me but I love the Deep Ones!  And King Seamoss!

However I do not see anything awful here, I just find it all a bit bland.  It might be the challenge of depicting underwater scenes in black and white.  I mean from above the Sea Dragon is unique but just feels a bit underwhelming for such an epic foe.  And the Dolphin Shark fight is, well, odd.  And the water elemental is to be fair like nothing like I have seen a water elemental look like before but it is just not for me.

The Genie could be in the desert if not for the bubbles.

 

The Sea Snakes are ok but that background...

Underwhelming is how I would sum up the art.  Which is a shame when you think of how great the cover is.

The Big Bad - 

Captain Bloodaxe is the reason for our adventure.  It is unusual where you actually are face to face with him at the very start of the adventure and he is well fleshed out here where he makes on he is being nice while actually setting you up for death.

But then that is about it for him in the adventure.  Every time you speak about your mission its always about the pirates in general and getting revenge.  I would have liked one or more of the encounters to know of the dread pirate and give a bit more backstory on some of his previous exploits that have upset the denizens of the sea.

Now I will talk about it in the final thoughts but there are multiple endings to this book.  But of course the best ones involve taking on Bloodaxe and the Pirates with your Skeletons.  This is a proper epic scene and criminal it did not get an illustration.  All I could think about was Jason and the Argonauts.

If you do go face to face with Bloodaxe he is a Skill 11 fight.  But its not mandatory, there is a way to get his own crew to mutiny against him without you having to lift a finger in combat.

Menagerie - 

Being that we are in the Sea we get a lot of things with Sea tacked on.  Sea Dragon, Sea Hag, Sea Spider, Sean Snakes, Sea Ogre.

However there is enough variety in here to keep it interesting.  

The Muck Demon is apparently female.

The other tactic is to make fish with land counterparts - 

Such as Batfish, complete with bat wings.

A devil fish in the cathedral.  Missed a trick though with no horns.

And a Lionfish complete with a mane and a roar.

None of these creatures are over powerful.  Skill 10 is most you will come across.  But some have hefty stamina such as he Sea Dragon in my playthrough.  And of course - 

It just wouldn't be right to have a sea based adventure without a Kraken!

Overall though very fair and stuck to the theme well!

Entertaining Deaths - 

Immediately swimming straight back up to the ship and being recaptured by the pirates.  

Drowning in an Ogres cage and still being eaten.

Swimming away from the Kraken.  It just eats you.

Turning up at an island with the wrong pirates.

Not many instant kills in this one but my favorite is - 

Attacking Greylock who turns you into an ugly fish.

Pete's Corner - 

The Deep Ones take it very personally if you tell them their princess is ugly.

Final Thoughts - 

I am still gutted I wasted such great stat rolls!  In a gamebook with multiple endings as well!  Lets start there then.  In a great bit of a design you can finish this book and not die in a variety of different ways. In addition to my ending we have - 

Having the water elemental or dolphin just take you home to Blacksand.

Going to the wrong Island and getting marooned (still alive).

Sinking the pirate ship to get your revenge but no treasure.

Using the Sea dragon to help destroy the pirates and their ship then having a fight to get a bit of treasure.

Beating Bloodaxe in combat and leaving on a small boat with some loot as the pirate ship explodes behind you (the Hollywood ending).

And what I think is the best ending.  Having Bloodaxes crew mutiny on him and then teach your skeletons how to crew a pirate ship.  Then sailing into Port Blacksand with the ship and all the loot.  And Bloodaxe is dead.

Now I say I think its the best ending because 400 is just a normal paragraph.  They are scattered throughout the book.  Now I understand why this was done, however for me this is sacrilege!  400 should always be the best outcome.

When I mapped out the book it did not feel as big as some of the other entries.  And there is a good reason for this.  Each encounter is much more of a set piece.  You get the option to flee, talk or fight amongst other things.  So it is possible in one playthrough to have help from someone and fight them the next time.  Steve Jackson 2 really makes it feel like more of an RPG.  It is also not linear and I never felt railroaded at all really apart from going to the garden when I wanted to go to the palace.  I do like both approaches but in Demons of the Deep this really worked for me.  I enjoyed the freedom of choice over more epic adventure.

And it is fair, low level characters can win this.  There are multiple paths to take and a lot of items give you permanent attribute increases.  And finally SJ2 gives us attack strength bonuses!  I think he understood the game better than the original authors sometimes.  This does mean I think you could beat this book easier than some others but the replay ability is in taking other routes and different endings.

Another thing I enjoy about Steve Jackson 2 is his prose.  He does a really good job with his descriptions in the paragraphs and does not tend to waste them either.  Its not perfect of course, there are still some non descript T-junctions but its minor.  Its just a shame his writing is let down by the mediocre art.  If Iain McCaig was in charge we would be pushing for top tier with this book.

Using the mechanism of the black pearls to fight the pirates is so cool, and it fits this book well.  The set pieces here are epic in scale (sea dragon, kraken etc).  When I was going through it I thought this would make a great action film!

I was surprised by the lack of innovation for and SJ2 book though.  Not a criticism its just after Scorpion Swamp I thought there would be more.  Its kind of limited to fighting three parts of the bone demon at once and a magic dagger you can use to inflict one off damage in any combat you choose.

But all in all I really enjoyed this adventure and I like how the book is structured.  Its got a great cover and some truly epic moments.  Just a shame about the artwork which again is not terrible, just not good either.

Score - 8 out of 10.