Trial of Champions

Background - 

Standing in the office on the top floor of Puffin Towers, Ian stared out of the full length window in utter bemusement.  He turned slowly to face Philippa who was working at her huge mahogany desk.

Ian "So, how have they managed that?"

Philippa barley looked up from the manuscript she was reading.  Just enough to see out of the window the cobbled together flying blimp the authors were currently escaping on.

Ian "I mean, where did they even get the materials.  And why a blimp?"

Philippa "Its easier to fly over the perimeter defences."

Ian "Why do you even have that amount of helium here anyway?"

Philippa sighs and gives up on the manuscript "That's above your pay grade Ian.  Besides they won't get far."

With that she presses a button on the desk.

Philippa "Launch the Puffin."

If the scene before Ian was not shocking before, the sight of a giant mechanized zeppelin painted like a giant Puffin really threw him.  It was significantly larger than the cobbled together blimp.

Philippa "Never mind that Ian, come here.  Look this will cause a delay so I am going to need you to write another book in the meantime."

Ian "Look, there is only so much variations on a theme I can come up with."

There was a silence for a bit before Philippa responded.

Philippa "What if we do not have to...."

She rifled around on the desk before finding what she was looking for.  

Philippa "Look, Deathtrap Dungeon was our most successful book that we have had.  How about Deathtrap Dungeon 2, a sequel."

Ian looked reflective "A sequel, I never thought of that, how would it work?  Never mind I have some ideas.  Ill get right on it."

Ian started scribbling excitedly on the paper in front of him, Deathtrap 2 more Deathtrapping.  He was completely oblivious to the scene behind him of the giant Puffin Zeppelins beak opening and consuming the makeshift blimp like a scene from a James Bond movie.

Its June 1986 and Ian Livingston has returned to the scene of what I feel was his greatest success.  So far all the Fighting Fantasy books have been single stand alone stories.  Ian though has tied some of a story together with Forest of Doom and Temple of Terror but this is the first clear direct sequel.  I loved Deathtrap Dungeon, I am not imagining Trial of Champions is on the same level but as long as its close we are in for a treat.  But it could go the other way and be a big disappointment as expectations are high.  

Covers - 

I was not much of a fan of this cover back in the day.  But older me likes it.  The gladiatorial combat is not from the dungeon itself but the build up before you get there.  Its very Spartacus with the gladiatorial combat in what appears to be a scorching hot arena.  Interestingly everyone is wearing a gold mask.

Just to keep it fantasy though we have this dude with an amazing hat -                        

                      

The Wizard cover however takes us back into the dungeon itself and features the Skeleton King crashing towards you.  Its very claustrophobic with the the dark dungeon walls closing in at the side with no way to avoid the incoming charge.  The Skeleton horse is really good.  A very different take for a cover compared to the original.

Wizard released another version with a shield and squeezing the previous cover picture into it.  Now if they had the Skeleton steed charging through the shield it would look cool but its legs are behind the shield instead of over the top of it.  Never a fan of these ones though, far too restrictive. 

Unusually there is no Scholastic cover even though I thought there might have been since its an Ian Livingston original.

Premise - 

Normally we get an excellent detailed premise from Ian but only three pages for this one.  I guess a lot of it assumes the player knows of Deathtrap Dungeon.  

Anyway we start chained to a ships oar as my character remembers the unfortunate events of a week ago.  Sailing from Port Blacksand (its always Blacksand!) on the way to Oyster Bay (I would like to think for Mungo's funeral) we come across another ship.  It completely obliterates my boat and I am forced to accept a rope from it and climb on board.  

It is there that we meet Captain Bartella, a tobacco chewing smelly man with broken teeth.  He is delighted to have me on board as he was a slave down from accidently killing them by flogging.  What a nice fellow.

Flash back to the present and we make landfall on a small island.  It features a somber castle and a semi ruined amphitheater.  A man wearing black chainmail gives the captain a pouch of cash and the slavers all bugger off.

We are told by this man that we are now the property of Lord Carnuss and it will be our honour to die in the arena of death here on Blood Island.  What a lovely naming convention they have here.  One of us though will survive and represent Lord Carnuss at this years Trial of Champions.     

So it appears Baron Sukumvit is annoyed as a champion beat his Dungeon.  Well it was not me, I am currently assistant to the last trial master.  Hopefully I retained my employment in this new and improved dungeon.  So he has rebuilt is and claimed it is more deadly than ever.  As if it wasn't difficult enough last time.  At least this time the reward is increased to 20,000 gold pieces!

Slight problem in the plan is that Lord Carnuss will be keeping the money and we are just to be rewarded with freedom.  You see Lord Carnuss is the brother of Baron Sukumvit and he wants to embarrass his brother by having someone beat his new improved fancy dungeon first time of asking.

We are then put in a cell for the night.  I share mine with a Man-Orc, a Dwarf, a sinewy Easterner and a muscle bound man!  42 people arrived as slaves, only one will even make it to the new dungeon.

Playthrough - 

Wow, we are hit by the most basic adventure sheet sheet I have seen!  Its just Skill, Stamina and Luck and then a section for notes and items!  Not even a backpack or provisions!  I guess I am starting as a slave so will have absolutely nothing to my name.  I do miss the extra rules that we have seen in other books though.

Skill - 12

Stamina - 23

Luck - 7

Oh nice!  A skill 12 for the first time in a long time.  Delighted with that.  And then rolled 11 for stamina.  I was thinking this could be the best start ever but then I rolled a 1 for luck.  Well my guy is pretty unlucky, he did get caught and enslaved and forced to enter a brutal fight to the death to then enter a dungeon of near certain death.

No starting image though to get us started which is odd!  We start the next day and two guards with heavy chainmail unlock the door and enter with trays of food.  We are told to eat as will need our strength as by the end of the day we might all be dead.  I get offered some bread and soup and get the option to attack or eat.

So unarmed impoverished slave versus two heavily armored guards or have some food when I am probably starving.  To be fair I would not put it past Ian to poison me either.  But thinking like Lord Carnuss, surely he would want me at my best to beat his brothers dungeon.

Right enough is chicken and veg soup and tastes amazing.  I finish it all off before being led to the Arena of Death.

We are marched out to the arena and its a blisteringly hot day as we are told even the sand beneath our bare feet is uncomfortably hot.  Lord Carnuss great us with an inspiring speech.  Some of us may die today, some tomorrow, until one is left to represent him.  He salutes us.  It all reminds me of something....

We are split into seven groups of six and my group contains an elf, two northmen, a dwarf and an ogre.  The first challenge is two carry a bag of rocks over some hot coals.  But we keep going until someone is lapped or collapses.  Seems a bit tough on the dwarf.  We set off and I get the option to set the pace or hang back.  

Now I have just watched physical 100 on Netflix so sounds like I am taking part in a more lethal version of that!

Lord Carnuss has his own Netflix show to work out who to send to Fang.

My thinking is no need to set the pace.  I just need to stay ahead of one person so I hang back.  One of the Northmen makes a break for it.  Eventually he starts catching the pack and its a skill test.  Although you get asked to add 3 to the score if you got flogged by the guards.  Looks like I was right to eat the meal.  Well with Skill 12 I cant fail but the Dwarf can and he is caught and killed.  We are led back to our cells to allow the next race to take place.

One of my cellmates does not return.  The bald man, erm, I do not remember anyone being described as bald earlier.  The next day they take people one by one.  When it is my turn I get the choice of weapons, sword and shield or trident or net.  Gladiators love a trident and net so I go for that just to be a bit different.  

Finally we get an illustration as I am lead out to face the Bonecrusher!

He goes to the gym a lot but tends to skip leg day.

Apparently I chose well for a bonecrusher is near invincible against a bladed weapon and only way to defeat it is knock it over where apparently it turtles and cant get up.  As I throw my net though its not a skill test unfortunately but a d6 roll.  I roll a 2 and miss with my throw of the net and lose a luck point.  Now it is a skill test but that's just to get the net back without getting hit.  Back to rolling a dice and this time it is a 4 and I land the net of the bonecrusher.  He gets stuck and I easily pull him over to win the battle.

We go back to the cell and this time its just the easterner left.  I am told he looks like he would murder for 2 copper pieces.  The guard then shouts out that each cell only has two people left.  He only wants one to come out in the morning.  Before I can even say anything the easterner is on the attack.  

I don't even have 2 copper pieces to bribe him with.

He is Skill 10!  Skill 10 for my first fight of the book!  I feel this is going to be a typical Ian Livingston book of brutal high skill fights.  Despite him trying to shiv me I beat him without taking a hit and slump down for the night.  

The next day I discover there are only 12 of us left.  We then get lined up against a pole with blades at head and ankle height and have to jump and duck over and over again.

Luckily I have been playing a lot of Fall Guys so should be fine.

In good news it is only a skill test so I easily survive.  Still ten of us left and we immediately get on with the next trial.  We are divided into two groups and we get to watch the first group.  It is basically the front cover.  You get a ball and chain strapped to one hand and a little shield in the other before being blindfolded (ah explains the masks) and then its a fight to the death until one survives.  Once its over our group gets prepared.  I can not hear any sounds and get the choice of left or right.

Long term readers should know by now if in doubt go left.  I do and I hear someone going down.  Now I can keep going left or swing my ball and chain.  Always left.  Hmm luck test.  To no surprise my unlucky fellow fails and I end up falling over a body in the sand.  So does another contestant who was going for me and we end up grappling.  Normal fight and its Skill 9.  

He goes down without hitting me and I jump to my feet, I cant hear anything and this time I go left naturally.  I wonder around for a while before someone gets board and shouts out if any of us are left he is over here.  Fair play, I wonder over and and get in another fight but its only skill 8 this time.

I make it through another day and I get a good night of food and my wounds are treated (even though I have none).  Next day its a one on one fight with the other survivor, the Southerner.  

Lord Carnuss really did not like his drink and is pouring it out into the arena.

Skill 10, Stamina 10.  No way any low skilled character was making it through these trials.  Finally someone gets a hit on me but I put him down easily enough.  

When he dies he wishes me good luck in the dungeon which is very sporting of him.  He also says if I get a chance alone with Lord Carnuss remember everyone that has been killed.  Oh I will.  Except I immediately forget this pledge and spend the next week as Lord Carnuss's honoured guest and indulging myself in every way possible.  In game terms it means you get all your stamina back.

I am then chained again and we set sail for Fang.  It takes ten days to arrive and I do not get any of the hospitality of Fang as tomorrow is April 30th which is the day of the walk.  I love how they use the same calendar system as earth.  All this other world building and fantasy but same date system.  

Anyway there are only four other contenders this year.  A Chaos Warrior, an Eastern Warlord, Elven Prince and a Dwarf Noble.  Apparently the increase of prize has attracted a higher clientele.  I draw my bamboo and get number two, going in after the Dwarf.  Lord Carnuss gives me a fancy sword and a leather pouch.  No backpack, provisions or armour.  I am sorry Lord Carnuss are you wanting me to win this or not?

Its been a bit more of an ordeal rather than just turning up like last time but here we go, Deathtrap Dungeon attempt two!  

The first door I come to has Keep Out written in dried blood and I hear sniffing sounds on the other side.  Well last time we got a little gift from Sukumvit so maybe this is the same.  

Nope!

The Hellhound has a special rule that after every attack round you have to roll a dice, on a 1 or 2 you are burnt and lose a stamina point.  This does not happen to me but a poor roll means it does get one hit in. I have a rummage around and find a gold ring which I put in my pouch.

Oh joy, its a non descript T-junction.  No mention of seeing which way the dwarf went.  Left it is.

I find in the roof twenty spears facing down.  No sign of a trip wire and a choice to go the other way.  I decide to go forward.  I was always going to have to face a deathtrap sooner than later.  To my shock though its a fake, nothing happens and I even grab one of the spears to take with me!

I am clearly too cocky now though and immediately activate a hidden crossbow which buries a bolt into my thigh.  It costs me two stamina points which is not bad considering in real life I would be screaming and would probably just give up.   I find it odd that all this took place with random dice rolls, no tests on stamina or luck which I find strange, and a little unfair.

Anyway I bandage my leg up and head along and decide to try the next door I find.  Its empty but for a plinth of exotic fruit.  Well this is probably a mistake but with no provisions I decide to try it.  Restore 2 stamina points!  Not as good as my traditional provisions but ill take it!

Further up the tunnel I see a small humanoid which runs away when it spots me.  I get no choice here as my character decides to run after him.  I feel this is a mistake and I would not be doing this with a choice!

I lose sight of the creature so I open the next door I find.  

Orcs having target practice.

What that?  Test your luck?  Great.  After the inevitable failure I get a dagger in the arm for another 2 stamina point loss.  I am already looking like a pin cushion.  I easily dispatch both as they are skill 6.  At least Baron Sukumvit knows the score and puts his worst monsters at the start and builds up.  Unlike Carnuss and his high skill tests right at the start!  

I pick up 2 daggers and have a dig through there possessions which are very specific and gross.   In good news I find a breast plate and finally have some armour.  In bad news (kind of) its plus 1 skill which is no use to me as I am at my initial skill.  I feel this is unfair and resolve that if I do get a skill penalty the breastplate will negate it.

I once again catch a glimpse of the small humanoid and give chase but once again lose him near a door.  Knowing I probably need to collect a ton of items to progress I decide to keep looking in doors.

If you are a leprechaun you can bloody well stay there.

Four black candles surround the case, obviously to keep him in there.  He even looks evil in the picture.  Nope sorry you remind me too much of the leprechaun so I am out of here.

I continue down the corridor and randomly see something shiny underneath some rubble.  I have a look and its a magic sword!.  Great what benefit does it give me?  Well so far nothing.

The next door is blockaded by wooden boards.  Hmm, ill have a look.  Oh great a luck test.  Unbelievably I roll a 3 despite having a luck score of 4 at this stage!  Finally my dude catches a break.  

You boys been here a while?

Turns out these are riddling skeletons!  The one pointing says to me "Brothers and Sisters I have none, but that mans father is my fathers son."  Love a riddle but I know this one.  So that dudes father is his fathers son, well your fathers son is you so you must be his dad, making him your son.  Clear?  My reward for this, a small iron key.

I find another door but this room is empty.  I just open the door and leave.  But the text tells me I have no idea that it was a teleportation room and I am in a completely different area of the dungeon.  If my character is not aware of that then why tell me!?

I follow this new (or as my character assumes same) corridor to a door at the end.  I walk in and I am told I am surprised by what I find.

I am surprised!

He introduces himself as the trial master Noy.  I am invited to attack him or follow his instructions.  Well I have previous experience with trial masters so I elect to see what he wants to do first.  

The first test is a tug of war against a caveman.  It resolves like a combat but with no stamina loss.  First to four wins well erm wins.  He is only skill 7 so he is an easy victory and I pull him over and he disappears headfirst into a pit.  

Next up Noy asks me a riddle.  He points at wooden chest and says inside this chest is six more chests and each of those contain three small chests, how many chest are there.  Well providing its not a trick question I count 25.  Turn to that reference.  Yep I am right.

The final challenge is a battle with staves with him.  He is blind but assures me that will not be a problem.  The fight will be with bamboo poles to simulate rather than hurt each other.  A blow to the head or chest is an automatic win.  I should be fine with skill 12.   Oh wait.

Instead I get asked if I want to attack him first or wait to counter.  Well I think the attack option is a ruse and he is waiting for me to make a move so I opt to counter.  He comes at me and I cant tell if its a sideswipe or an overhead strike to the head and must pick a counter.  If I was him head is too obvious so I block the strike to the body and luckily I am right.  

I take the initiative and aim a blow at his neck but I have to roll a skill test for Noy!  I like the idea of rolling for him but unfortunately I pass the test and he blocks my attack.  I get to attack again and go for the body but that's the wrong choice and he blocks and I loose the initiative.  Noy goes for an all out flying attack but I pass a skill test and catch him in the stomach and win the fight.

The trialmaster is defeated and just sends me on my way without so much as a word of encouragement.  I head through the caveman's living area into another tunnel and soon arrive at a fountain with a fish.  I get the option to drink from it but Skill is still max and stamina sitting at 19 so I so not think its worth it.  Especially as the fruit turned out to be ok, I doubt this will be as well.

Calmly walking on I am rudely interrupted.

Its the King of all Skeletons!  Quick someone tell Murray at turn to 400!

Unless you have a hammer all damage is only 1 stamina point.  Hmmm who knew a hammer would be better than a magic sword!  Anyway with my awesome skill score I knock him off his horse.

Another T-junction, not much choice so left again.  But I arrive at a pit but alas I do not have the climbing rope I am asked for so I have to go right.

An iron grate is on the floor, nothing good will come from opening that I feel so I press on.

Oh come on another non descript T-Junction, at this point its just 50/50 guessing.  I keep heading left and come across a great pit.  Chances are I cant make the jump but I get the chance to anyway or head back.  I decide to go right for a change.  

This way leads to a brass bell in the corridor, and I get the option to ring it.  Ah why not.  Randomly a dove flies out and deposits another gold ring.  I have two now so I imagine they are important.  

Another T-Junction beckons, but this time it does have a bit of a description, some rubble to the left and a wooden door to the right.  Lets have a look at the rubble, since its to the left!  

I discover an iron door behind the rubble and spend twenty minutes clearing it.  Going through I am in a derelict tunnel, there is no way through but there is some writing which I can't read.  I go off to find a torch and upon my return it says set one 249.  Hope that helps later on!

I hear screaming from the next door so like a true hero I burst in.

Ah of course an elf in the grip of a giant tongue!

I decide to help and attack the tongue and get covered in ichor but keep my feet with a skill test.  Its the end of the elf though but he thanks me for trying.  Before he dies he says the correct path is through the mouth, he thinks.  I get some healing paste from him which take 6 stamina back so I am once again 100%.  I also get some blue dye before, yep, I head into the mouth.

The tongue attacks again but its only skill 5, makes me wonder how the elf got this far.  I start walking down the steps behind the tongue and can hear a girl singing.  Its bound to be a siren.  

I hate being right.

Good lord I hope its not a luck test.  It clearly says she is going to kill me but I need to role a dice.  I roll a 3 which apparently is just enough as I hold my ears and scream to avoid the song and run out the other side of the cave.  

It a large staircase which I make my way up.  There are three red painted steps, I get the option to jump over them.  I think this would be very wise but as I do I am weighed down by my breastplate.  But a skill test later I land safely on the far side.

The next tease is some clay urns that you get the option to peek in.  I find a purple cloak which is fire resistant and gives me back a luck point.  Do I want to look in more urns, nope what are the chances of two good things, ill be on our way.

Another door is next.

Oh this does not look good.

I get the option to steal the lamp.  Sigh that's going to wake it up for sure but with full skill and stamina I think it is worth the risk.  Yep sure enough the Idol jerks awake.  Its skill 9 and only stamina 6 so that's fine but you need a magic sword to kill it.  Ah well it just so happens!

The idol does hit me once but I take it down.  I rub the lamp enthusiastically but no genie to grant wishes.  Instead I find a golden ring rattling around inside.

Another T-Junction but good news, we get some information.  To the left is a door, to the right is a light.  I decide on the door, always left.

Yeah I am not buying that as real treasure for a second!

I decide I am not having any of this but alas my dude is not so sure and wanders up.  Can I make a choice, nope.  A test of some kind, nope.  How about another random dice role?  Nope.  My character just walks up, touches the treasure, revealing a mind warp beast which has a great big green mouth which promptly bites me in half.  I got killed for going left.

Notable Encounters - 

A lot of the best encounters involve picking up one of the nine gold rings you need to be successful on the quest.  The one with the Liche Queen is particular good where instead of a straight up fight with an undead horror you must wear a gauntlet of pain and tough it out.

The art is particularly creepy.

The amazingly named Billy Bob of the little people gets himself into a bit of a tangle (sorry) and needs rescued.  He also rewards you with a gold ring and some great advice about not drinking from any fountains.

Oh Billy Bob, what a tangled web you weave (ok ill stop now).

You can also get one from an elephant statue where the description sounded pretty cool but would have liked an illustration of it.

There is also a good encounter where you are confronted by a Zombie Horde.  You have zero chance of beating them in a fight so you have to run away and make a jump over a great big pit.  There are a lot of pits in this dungeon.

Clearly just a misunderstood dance troop from Michael Jacksons Thriller.

The second trial master is also an interesting and tough encounter.  You better have enough gold rings and do not lie about it or he will instant kill you.  Better put them in his throne in the right order as well or you will be cocooned!  

He is a wizard named Lexus, Baron Sukumvit could not afford the wizard Ferrari.

He was clearly not expecting anyone to make it this far so was whiling away the time doing a bit of homework.

Artwork - 

Welcome Brian Williams to the Fighting Fantasy franchise and outside some work on the Riddling Reaver, it looks like this is his only outing.

Ok looking at what we have seen so far I think he is excellent at human characters.  The Easterner and Southerner from the first part of the book look really good.  Both trial masters I also like and the Liche Queen is especially excellent.  The Skeleton King is ok, the undead horse is really good but the King himself is a bit underwhelming.  

And to be fair managing to put an illustration against an elf being eaten by a giant tongue in a stone head was a great effort!

Ill talk about them a bit more in the Menagerie section but the Strider is probably my favorite, and the other contestants you battle are also well depicted.  Oh and the brass statue!

Its not all hits though as I think as you see with the hell hound flames do not look great and we see that again later - 

The flames just look a bit cartoony compared to the rest of the art.

But the worse piece for me is the crone - 

Don't think your spoon is big enough there.

I mean it depicts the scene as described, I just find it jars as being very different to the rest of the art.  Maybe it was the lack of border but it just looks strange on the page.

I would normally be moaning about some of the choices of illustrations as there a lot of pictures featuring just a room or an area.  But as you are in a dungeon trying to kill you it makes sense to show these pictures so you can try and work it out if its going to kill you or not.

I mean what's going on here?  I tell you what, an axe that an take 4 skill from you if you are unlucky!

But overall I really like the art from Mr Williams.  Yes its not as dark and gritty as it probably should be in a dungeon and its of course not going to be as good as in Deathtrap but I feel it does a good job.  I've certainly seen a lot worse put it that way.

The Big Bad - 

In Deathtrap Dungeon there really was not a big bad and instead I looked at the deathtraps themselves.  In Trial of Champions though there most certainly is, Lord Carnuss!  I mean this guy is clearly a twisted rich boy.  Who else would go on a spree of enslaving people and making them fight to the death!  And that is just to send the winner to your brothers killer dungeon so he can try and get one up on him.  I am now imagining my brother Pete would do that mind you if I ever opened my own deathtrap dungeon.  He is most certainly the Carnuss to my Sukumvit!

Carnuss is very much at the forefront of your thoughts an motivations for the first part of the book but when you actually get into the dungeon you kind of forget about him as you just try and survive.  Once out though he is back and tries to steal all your glory as he goes up to collect the prize pot.  Sukumvit is having none of it though and on the spot mentions there is an extra prize this year where the victor gets any one wish granted.

Now I feel our character is a bit rash here as he wishes to duel Lord Carnuss.  I mean could have picked anything!  But it does give an exciting boss battle ending to the book.  Carnuss is Skill 10 but if you made it through to this point you probably have skill 12 and should beat him relatively easily.  

Menagerie -

This was always going to be a challenge in making it unique from Deathtrap.  But to be fair the premise of a killer designed dungeon means you do not need to stick to a particular theme.  I mean we do get a Giant Spider and some Orcs but it is packed with unique monsters such as a Tuskar and the Bone Crusher.  Even the Liche Queen is a nice change.

The Coldclaw is described so well I am delighted it got an illustration.  Pucker up!

The Strider is my favorite artwork in the book, its so creepy!

Xoroa are like ant centaurs and not something I have come across before. 

The Bone Demon comes across great on the text but alas the illustration does not do it justice.  He just looks really dizzy.

So Ian does a really good job of filling his new dungeon with a lot of unique and new creatures merged with some classics.  What I do find though is that the other challengers are not as interesting as in Deathtrap.  The Dwarf gets turned into a chest, the elf gets eaten by the tongue and you fight the other two.

Not enough Spikes

You don't technically have to fight him but he can take your money and bop you on the head for your troubles.  

The Eastern Warlord has had a terrible time and has no items at all!

Entertaining Deaths - 

Spraining your ankle in a race, except its a race to the death!

Getting your bones crushed by the Bone Crusher.

Lying down in the sand during the blindfold fighting, you get shot for being a coward.

Throwing dust on the floor and appearing in a room with a locked iron door and you don't have the key, you starve.

Opening a chest of a Dwarfs face and letting him escape.  The chest turns into your face.

Getting hit by a skill 2 rat, but its got rabies so you die.

Eating a Hill Trolls food which has flesh grub eggs in it, you lose 1 stamina each time you turn the page and your character is despondent as they know they will die even if they escape the dungeon.

Taking a dead goblins box.  Its a life stealing box.

My favorite though does not actually involve dying.  But if you get a simple maths question wrong with the first trial master you need to take over the job of the tug of war caveman.  I imagine you get to live in his apartment.  

Pete's Corner - 

Lord Carnuss is not such a bad guy....

Final Thoughts - 

This will all depend on how you like your gamebooks.  If you like multiple paths to victory and not requiring high stats and fancy rules you will detest this book.  If you like difficulty to be a very, very narrow path of picking the right options and collecting all the right items then this is for you.

Rightly or wrongly this one will always be compared to Deathtrap Dungeon rather than other books in the series as it is a direct sequel.  Deathtrap is my favorite book (so far) and it is a very tight linear path as well and I do not normally like that but the way it was presented in Deathtrap was very thematic.  But there you needed three jewels and there were some fake ones in there.  Here you need nine (yes 9!) gold rings, three vital clues and also some items such as red dust and an iron key.  I am looking at my mapped out spreadsheet here looking at the path you have to take and once you are in the dungeon you have no wiggle room.  It just seems a bit too much this time round, if you were playing legit this would take a mountain of goes to finish.  But that might be exactly what Ian wanted you to do.  But I can see people giving up on it before finishing it without cheating.

I did really like the change to the structure though with having the whole gladiatorial games first rather than just turning up in Fang again for the walk.   This added a nice fresh twist, although you are not getting though this stage with single digit skill.  In fact just as well I rolled a 6 for skill or this would have been a very fast walkthrough!

Obviously though the side effect on this is a lot of space is sacrificed that would have gone to the dungeon itself which makes that part feel considerably smaller.  I also miss the interactions with the other trialists, like the footprints and the whole trial with Throm.  Apart from the interaction with the elf you might as well be walking around yourself.  

As much as I have enjoyed some of the new and unique rules in the other books I don't mind Ian stripping it all the way back to the standard rules and then some.  Not even any provisions!  It did keep things easy and simple which was a nice change of pace.  But as long as its just the occasional book.  

The writing is mixed for me, but only as I hold Ian to a high standard based on what's come before.  I feel like the background was not his usual superb level but that might be because he is expecting people to already know the setup from the previous book.  During the adventure there is a lot of really great descriptive paragraphs though but also a few too many bland T-junctions.  Look it is not bad by any stretch of the imagination but I was just hoping for a little bit more.

The style of the dungeon does add a lot of tension though.  Every choice and option you are presented with feels like a 50/50 of if it will kill you or help you.  Knowing you have to keep searching forces you to justify daft decisions, common sense does not always help here.

What he does do well though is with the menagerie.  I know people will be upset without returning classics such as the Bloodbeast, but I really did enjoy some of the new creatures he put in.  Is it as good as Deathtrap, probably not but at least it was different!    

Going back to comparisons, its not fair but the art will also be compared to Ian McCaigs, still the high point of the series for me.  Brian Williams I think did a very good job and while not being spectacular or as detailed still did enough.  Only thing for me is a lot of the time you do not feel you are in a dungeon.  But he does humanoid characters very well, not a given in the Fighting Fantasy series!

I did like the addition of Lord Carnuss into the role and his feud with his brother.  He is clearly very jealous if he is willing to sacrifice so many people just to stick it to Sukumvit!  But he is just the sort of despicable bad guy that you can hate but you can imagine in his head he is doing nothing wrong and we are all beneath him.

This is not as good as Deathtrap Dungeon and the ramped up difficulty (and Deathtrap was not easy) is probably a bit too far.  But its also fun to be back in my favorite setting.  Its not a million miles away and without the comparisons against its illustrious forbearer probably would have felt like a better book.  But it will be compared and it falls short of Deathtrap in every department.  That does not make it bad, its just if you have a choice play Deathtrap.

Score - 7 out of 10.

On aside I came across this awesome review of the apparent "real" history of Fighting Fantasy on YouTube from Jordan Sorcery who I follow for his Warhammer and retro board games content.  Its done in a choose your next move style with video instead.  Really enjoyed it -