Stealer of Souls

Background - 

It is 1988 and Ian and Phillipa are making their way through the huge underground facility below Puffin HQ.  Armed men in black are flanking them as they make their way down the dimly lit corridor.  The fluorescent lights flickering on as they continued down the corridor.

Phillipa "Honestly Ian, I am not sure what we have done this time.  We think its another dimension.  The team are calling it the other way round."

Ian rubbed his eyes, tired at the madness that was unfolding yet again.

They made it to a control room where a flurry of scientists were monitoring various devices.  They were clearly panicked.  But Ian paid them no heed, instead he looked out the viewing window at the lone man outside.  He was fully clothed in a hazmat suit and was currently firing a flamethrower at a bunch of writhing black tentacles.  The red glow behind them was not coming from the flame but from whatever was behind them.

Phillipa "Suit up Ian."

Ian "Excuse me what?"

Phillipa "Unless you plan to write another book this week, we are going in."

Ian "Through there?  How do we even get in?"

Phillipa "They do not seem to like fire.  Don't worry the boys are coming with us!"  

Ian "But why?"

Phillipa "If we are right and its another dimension, then it might have someone that can write a new gamebook.  God knows we need to recover from that Sky Lord debacle."

Cut to them all standing in the room fully suited up in hazmat suits, the puffin logo on each arm.

Phillipa "Right, Bob there is going to shoot it with the flamethrower and then we will make a bit of a run for it."

Ian "Wait, why can I hear Kate Bush?"

Phillipa "Oh that helps find your way back."

Ian "Find my way back?  What the hell do you mean!?"

At that point we get a whoooosh from the flame thrower and the black tentacles retreat.

Phillipa "No need to worry, leg it!"

With that the team disappear into the red light.

Cut to later on as the team are moving by torchlight through a grey poorly lit building.  Grey flecks of dust rain down like snow, even inside.

Armed Man "Halt, I hear something up ahead."

Right enough there was a door with a thin light emanating from underneath it up ahead, it was the first sign of life they had seen in a while.

Signaling to the other armed men with his hand the team moved to the door.  After a brief wait they kicked it in, guns raised.

Phillipa and Ian followed them in.

There in front of them was a frightened man with his hands up, he had been working at his desk with a typewriter.

Ian takes his helmet off.

Phillipa "Ian what are you doing!  We don't know how safe it is to breath the air here!"

Ian looks over to her.  "This is not another dimension!  What you have done is open up a portal to Games Workshop HQ.  That's Carl and this is the WFRP office!"

Carl "Hi Ian."

Ian "Hi Carl."

Phillipa "But why is its so dusty and otherworldly?"

Ian "Its all about miniatures now so the WFRP guys live down here.  I don't think the cleaner has been down in years." 

Phillipa "Oh for heavens sake, please tell me he can write."

Ian "Well yeah he is one of our best."

Phillipa also removed her helmet. "Great, well forget about that rubbish you are doing now.  You are now writing a gamebook for me.  Except I don't want people to know we are cross pollinating, if anyone asks you are now Keith."

Carl, Sorry I mean Keith "Erm ok."

Stealer of Souls came out in July 1988 and is a debut for author Keith Martin.  What I did not know though however, is that this is a pen name for the great Carl Sargent who was a huge contributor to early Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.  I know I am always excited to see a new author but this one I really have high hopes for!  Interestingly I actually owned this book, rather than getting it from the library.  But unlike others like Warlock which I remember like the back of my had, I can not actually remember much about it.  I do remember something about an island, but that's it really.  I wonder if its as it was later on in my life so I would have played it a lot less.  

Covers - 

Well after getting bombarded with lots of covers for an Elric book with the same name we have this cover.

And what a beauty it is!  This is probably the reason I bought it back in the day.  From the haunting purple mist to the cloaked figure, I just think this oozes epic 80s fantasy.

Sword and magic and a random skull behind him.  The red and black of the cloak itself.  Yep massive thumbs up from me.

I do have questions though.  

Ghost Rat!  Not even these guys are safe from having their Souls stolen!

And not sure why there is a golden rod stuck in the rock. 

Premise - 

We start this adventure with a summons from one Vanestin of Pollua.  Of course he is a mage, at least its not old Yaz this time.  To be fair Vanestin has spared no expense and I get a nice coach and best food on my travels.  This is probably as good as it will get for me!  I eventually get to his house and he is clearly a very rich man!  

He mentions a name, Mordraneth.  I am aware of this evil wizard.  The elves fear him and I once had drinks with a one armed dwarf who lost said arm to Mordraneth.  I play it super cool though and instead just sip my wine.  

It transpires that Mordraneth kidnapped another wizard called Alsander who had been researching Mordraneth's schemes.  Hope your keeping up, that is three wizards to now keep track of.  In his last conversation with Vanestin before he went missing, Alsander had worked out that Mordraneth was drawing power in some way from the realm of the dead.  They were going to meet up again but when Vanestin went to see Alsander he was missing, along with all his notes.

Vanestin is not useless though!  He has actually made a bit of an effort to come up with a plan.  They do not want me to go and kill the bad wizard.  No instead its a rescue mission.  Mordy has gone to Allansia but through scrying they have found where he has imprisoned Alsander.  They have sent a fake force after Mordraneth to pretend they have fallen for his ruse.

I am of course in game disappointed not to be going off to kill a bad wizard, although I am told if the opportunity comes up I can of course go for it.  

Poor Alsander is on the Isle of Despair (in game who names these places, never going to get ant retail value here).  Of course its not the sunshine islands.  It gets better, its just of the coast of the island of scars.  He has been hidden deep in the Iron Crypts.  Why he has not just killed him outright we do not know either.  No doubt so he can tell someone his grand evil plan.  

Now why send a lone warrior and, well I don't know, a wizard?  Well it turns out only Mordraneth's magic works in the Iron Crypts so they would be useless.  That actually makes a lot of sense!  Although personally I think all wizards should be rounded up and jailed since they almost destroy the world every other month.  

He has a vessel called the Petrel ready for me but says he will wipe my memory of anything he said if I do not accept.  Wait wouldn't I be then left wandering the streets and wondering why the hell I have travelled all this way?

Anyway I do accept and we enjoy some more wine before it is time to catch the tide.

Playthrough - 

We are back to basics, and I mean basics.  Skill, Stamina and Luck.  You have a sword, shield, leather armour, a backpack and 10 provisions!  I do not mind this to be honest.

Quick side note, I have no map in the cover of my book.  But look what I found!

Why did I not get a map!?

It does say I may learn some magic but for now I am a warrior.  Not even a potion!  Oh I have a lantern!

Skill - 9

Stamina - 22

Luck - 11

Not the best skill roll but a lot of stamina and luck.  Coupled with ten provisions, hopefully I can keep myself alive.  Probably safer to stay out of combat though.

As president of the Allansia Bird Watching club, that appears to be the big bird of trouble.

So ship captain Garaeth tells me the voyage will be a day or two.  The weather starts to turn though and the order to batten down the hatches is given as we try to outrun the storm.  Just as I go to head down though this giant bird attacks.  Do I want to make a run for it?  Yes I do.

Alas I am too slow and it takes 2 stamina from me and I have to fight anyway.  Not my best start.  This is a Giant Stormbird and its skill 8, stamina 12.  That's a pretty tough start.  Of course none of the sailors can reach me to help due to the weather.

My start does not get better, I get hit twice and three draws, I can not hit this thing.  I have a bit more luck but after many draws and a few more hits I take it down but I am already down to 12 stamina!

Of course the crew saw me making a run for it so I have to use my own provisions.  I have one meal, no doubt all alone.  I didn't see the crew helping much either!

When we arrive at the Isle of Despair, Garaeth tells me there is no harbour so then they lower me in a rowing boat and bugger off.  So I start rowing as some giant pincers appear.  Do I want to fight, throw some food or row like mad.  I decide fighting is a bad idea so I throw a provision into the water and the giant crab goes off and gets it and I can continue to row in safety.  

Queen guitarist Brian May then comes through the fog.

Its actually a Giant with kelp for hair.  He greets me and I get the option to attack him, speak back or run away.  I try to talk my way out of this.  He actually offers apologies for his Giant Crab Edwina and offer me some food and shelter from the rain.  Why not?

He leads me to his cave and offers me a massive fish stew.  He says the island is getting more evil but he can look after himself but he is worried about me.  He thinks I must be on a quest but I give nothing away.  Instead he gives me a scroll that he thinks could help.  It says - 

It also tells me to write down 350

Apparently the fish stew does not restore any stamina and it starts to rain so I stay the night.  The next day he gives me some salted fish to increase my provisions to 3.  I decide to eat one immediately and the other 2 take me back up to 10.  Day two fish is better for healing.  I head up the trail to the west.

The drizzle make me wet and miserable, just as I would be in real life.  I stop to eat and find that two of my provisions are spoiled.  What a crap backpack!  

I find my first junction!  I can go north to the hilly terrain or continue along the well used mud track.  I decide to stay on the track.

I make good progress but as the sun starts to set there is no sign of anywhere to sleep.  I have a look at a small copse of trees where a tree sprite appears and throws down a hammock.  I get no choice as my character decides this is a great idea and climbs up.  I get asked if I have any treasure.  Nope!

Amazingly nothing happens and I wake up the next day and everything is great!  Now we have a new junction.  The North path is marked by a skull on a stick, south is bloodied bird feathers.  Or I can just keep heading West.  Yeah West sounds safe.

I must stop to eat a meal so I decide that also gives me stamina back.  My provisions notes are wild already!  I see a building in the distance or I can ignore it and keep going West.  Well we can have a quick look I guess.

Hello sir, can I stay the night in your humble establishment?

The non descript grey building offers shelter for the night and I light a lantern and this chained man is in front of me.  I do not understand what he is saying.  Attack, help or look around?  Well lets just take a minute and check this place out first.  

The illusion fades and a dark priest hits me with a spell of magic cold for 6 (YES SIX) stamina points.  He then comes to finish me off and he is Skill 9, Stamina 13.  Oh dear.

I get very desperate and start using luck a few times when I get a hit in.  Finally he is taken down but I only have 8 stamina left.  I decide to eat a lot.  I only have four provisions left.  Back to Stamina 20 and Luck down to 9.

I find 5 gold in the dark priests robes and the place is evil, with an alter and a spooky picture which sounds very much like the cover art.  There is a trapdoor and no where else to stay the night so I causally put the body over the trap door then go for a sleep.  Test your luck.  Which of course I fail.

It leads to a terrible dream (otherwise known as a nightmare).  I am on a sheer rock crevasse as a black skull is flying around having a chomp at me.  Its trying to take my soul.  I wake up and it costs me 3 stamina.  Do you want to go back on the trail or have a look in the trapdoor.  Well we have come this far, lets have a peek.

Time to eat again, or lose stamina, down to my last three provisions.  I walk for hours in the dripping water.  Test your luck again.  This time I pass and arrive at the gates to the Iron Crypts.  I have no idea how I know it is the gate to the Iron Crypts.   

Problem is though, there is no way in!  I can either wait or try and bend the iron bars.  Well if I was a skill 12 monster I would smash down the door but of course I am not so I think ill have a wait.  Eventually a Goblin shows up so I make a noise to distract him.  Another one appears and the two confront me one at a time in the narrow tunnel.  Skill 5 and 6 though thank the cosmic entities.  I finally win a combat without getting hit.

I walk through the dark tunnel, not risking a lantern and using the glowing moss to see by.  The passageway leads to a dead end but its only an illusion hiding a door.  I open it and go through.

And straight into a room with two more Goblins!   One of them gets a hit in before they are both dispatched.  I am rewarded with some bone dice, hope they roll better than these dice.  On a serious gamer note I got so disgusted with my dice rolls I changed dice, you know what its like!

Blind junction next as I have three doors.  North, West, East.  Well usual rules is to go left so West it is.  Straight into another blind T-junction of North or South.  Lets try North.

I come to wall carving.  Do I want to look at it or go back, keep going North or head East?  I am not interested in the wall carving so I keep going North.

Reaching a door I notice a terrible smell behind it and scratching.  Do you want to go in or head back South.  Yeah I am going back South.  

Some stone steps greet me as I eventually get past the Goblin room.  Of course there is a ten foot statue guarding them with the head of a bull.  Yeah its going to be a minotaur.  It even teases me saying will it attack you, turn to find out.

Instead it asks for a gem, which I do not have.  Do I attack, do nothing or make a run for it?  Combat has been so bad for me I make a run for it.  It cost me 2 stamina and I have to make a skill test which I just pass and no more and make it past the Minotaur.  I immediately sit down to eat another provision.  

West it is again and I get an option to head towards daylight but I hear rending sounds or head east instead.  Being risk adverse I head east.  This way is blocked by choking acidic smoke so heading north now.

As president of the Allansia bird watching club this is, erm, I have no idea.

I can offer him a gift, attack or talk to him.  I have nothing to offer so I try and talk to him.  He tells me this is an evil place and the creatures are being driven away.  He thinks they have someone captive and then he becomes uncomfortable and flies away.  

I decide to head West again and end up in a mushroom cave.  I can keep going or try eating some.  This sounds like a terrible idea but it will probably mean gaining loads of stamina.  But I can't take the risk and leave them.

Now I find a failing illusion and step through into a North, South corridor.  North leads to daylight and a ripping noise again.  South it is.

Another passage is blocked by black smoke so I am railroaded West, which is a relief as all these choices are getting tough.  Although now its another blind choice.  Keep going or open an east door or a west door.  You know the rules, left!

This leads to another luck test which I just pass by rolling a 7.  A spear hurtles past and darts into the other door.  I hear noises from the north so decide to hurry on south.

Its really dark and I am told I must use a light source, either a lantern or a magic sword.  I wish I had a magic sword.  I follow some footprints and find a door with an iron grill.  Well that sounds like a prison cell so best check it out.  

I peek inside and see two human bodies, better make sure one is not my wizard.  Alas its locked and I have no keys so I walk on.  Oh well sorry guys.

The corridor ends in an door that is not locked.  Inside are two orcs eating a bit of Dwarf.  Amazingly they are weaker than Goblins!  They are killed easily and I wonder where these guys were at the start of the book instead of that bloody big bird.

I get another gold piece and have to pick between an east or south door.  Ill try South.

Coming to a fancy door on the west wall I decide to try and enter it.  Do you have an ebony key?  Nope.  Ok then move on, you can not open this door.  Sensing a theme here.

Next door at the end opens at least.  I am in a large stone chamber with blue flame torches.  Which give off green smoke?  The east door is half open with red light.  The west door is reinforced.  Plus we have fountain in the corner that I can drink from or throw a gold piece and make a wish.  

  
A wish sounds good so I toss a gold coin in.  Which melts straight away as it turns out the liquid is acid.  That sums up my day.  I decide to try the west door first.  But, and you will be shocked, I can not open it and have to go the other way.

The red glow is coming from a furnace in what is clearly a torture chamber.  This misshapen creature sees me and I can attack or speak to him.  Lets have a chat.

His name is Mehrabian a half ogre.  His soup sounds revolting so I politely decline a bowl.  He seems to think I am the expert torturer and says the current prisoner has not talked yet.  He has given him a few burns but not broken anything yet and has kept his hands chained up as per the masters command to stop him using magic.  Hmm that sounds like the very man we are looking for.  He jingles his keys and says lets go and get him.  Shall I attack or wait for him to come back?

I was hoping I would attack from behind, but I do not.  He is skill 8, stamina 14.  Oh how I wish for a higher skill score.  I also wish I had these dice before, he only hits me twice.  I still decide to eat my last two meals after the fight to get my stamina back up to 21.

I release the old man and I am told if I have a potion of heling or provisions I must give him them.  Erm I am really sorry but I just ate my last sandwich right here.  I slyly use my foot to hide the crumbs.  

This is indeed Alsander and I find his robes and give them to him.  He reveals that Mordraneth is not in Allansia and is actually in the Iron Crypts planning something evil from his Empire of illusions.  He is planning to harness a dreadful power and unleash the madness and death on Pollua.  He continues as Mordraneth has found a way to steal souls.  More accurately he is stealing the images and emotions of terrifying things from the spirits of the dead.

Fear of darkness, phobias, terror etc.  Using these he create illusions that have the power to cause madness and death to those that witness them.  He has found he gets the best results on recently dead killed by himself so he plans to unleash the illusionary army on Pollua.   He says he can only be stopped here and now and implores me to take up the challenge.  Which of course I do.  He says the Dark Elves will be here soon but has worked out how to modify spells to get them to work and he will teach me some.

I can pick three spells from - 

Dispel Fear          Negate effects of Fear but opponent gets a free hit

Dispel Illusion     Automatically destroy an illusion creature before a fight 

Fire Globe           Cause 6 points of damage on opponent before fight

Healing               Recover stamina equal to half you initial stamina (11 in my case) 

Luck                    Recover 3 luck points

Restore Skill        Recover 3 skill points

Speed                    Deduct 2 from opponents skill 

Well I have eaten all my food so I grab healing.  Also everything he just said was about Fear and Illusions so I take those two dispels as well.

He then points the way to go and teleports back to Pollua!

Yep he is tired from teaching me and instead of helping he buggers off back home to "warn people".  Bloody wizards, I tell you get rid of the lot of them.

He at least warns me of the Dark Elves in the next room so I hope to surprise them, but they are too fast.  At least as I am in the doorway I only have to face one at a time.  Skill 8 and 7 though.  But really low stamina.

So many draws.  But eventually they are both defeated, I am down to 15 stamina.  I get 8 gold pieces for my troubles.  But I find lots of food, elven bread!  Add 6 provisions.  I have never been so happy for provisions.  And immediately eat one.  That healing spell might be a bit of a waste now.

I ignore all the other treasure as I cant carry it.  Nothing is more precious than food in this game!  I find a teleporter and step on.

I find myself in a circular chamber with the walls shimmering and shifting like heat haze.  There is no sense of direction in the Empire of Illusions.  Instead you get three passageways.  A black one, a red one and a yellow one.  That is it, no clues.  My thought process goes like this.  Red is my favorite colour (Aberdeen) but it normally means danger.  Black in fantasy is normally associated with evil.  So I will go Yellow.

Everything changes and I am floating in the air.  An Eagle illusion attacks me but he is only skill 7.  BUT I also lose 2 skill as its not easy fighting in mid air when you are not used to it.  Its only stamina 8 so I decide not to burn through my spells yet now that I have food again.

It does not go great, and I am down to 13 stamina so as soon as the battle is over its time to tuck into two meals while floating in the air.  I then crash back down to the ground as a voice gloats over me saying welcome to my Empire, I don't think you will be here long.  I am now in a brown passage with one end turning black and the other green.  Green is good.

The route turns blue and the voice is back.  Saying I will die of fatigue, or maybe something else.  A huge wave then appears and I try to run.  Its in vain though as it reaches me and I drown.  

But I regain consciousness as I am lying on my stomach as someone slaps my back but I cough up nothing (yeah it was an illusion clearly, clues in the name).  This is confirmed by the thin young man called Parzan who is helping me.  He explains that as I thought I was drowning thinking I am getting the water out of my lungs helped.  Apparently he is Mordys apprentice but thinks he had gone mad and is making his escape.  He disappears leaving a golden flask that says should help.  Do I want to drink from it now or save for later.  Well stamina is high so ill hold onto it now.

The tunnel becomes a sewer which I need to wade through.  I see some nice rainbow lights up ahead but before I reach them the water starts to froth as a horde of rats appear.  Options are fight them, cast a speed spell, cast a dispel illusions spell, search your backpack or just run.  Well might as well look in the backpack.  

I then accidently break the game as I have none of the options and their is no option for don't have any of these.

Oops

So I decide to go back and just leg it.  And it only cost 2 stamina points.  I would have lost more than that in a fight.  It leads to a fork, a yellow/green section or rainbow.  Its got to be rainbow.

Sensing a feeling of goodness the chamber has rainbow lights and three semi-translucent human figures.  One says "Brave friend, not everything here has been corrupted by the wicked one.  He has not overcome all of us.  Let me give you a blessing to aid you."  He then stretches his hand towards my head.  I do not agree with non consensual touching, especially in an Empire of Illusion so I leg it.  

Yellow/Green, Azure or Ochre passage.  So yellow/green keeps coming up as an option so I feel that's where I should go.

Why did it have to be Snakes?

The options are not great, I can run for it, use a special glove (which I do not have) or cast dispel illusion.  Now this is not like running away from rats, Id have to go through the snakes, does not seem wise.  Since I do not have the glove I decide I might as well use my spell and dispel the illusion and it works.  Its Azure and Ocher again so I go Azure.

The tunnel turns black and I meet this guy.

Looks friendly enough.

This fellow is called Death Skull.  Because of fear I lose 1 skill and 2 stamina.  He is skill 9 stamina 10 so I would have a skill disadvantage so I use the Dispel fear and take the 2 point stamina hit.  But at least its a straight roll off.  

What rolls!  I knock him down to 2 stamina without getting hit!  But then he gets me back a few times before I finish him off.  Stamina count is at 13.  I eat 2 more meals.  Light airy passage or open iron gate and go down the frosty passage.  

I feel I have been doing this wrong and I should be aiming for the more scary option to find the evil lair.  So I go down the frosty tunnel.

Mordy's rubbish had been piling up due to the Isle of Despair's bin men being on strike.

I get the option to say a prayer to the dead which seems oddly specific and I do.  This lets me regain 1 skill and 1 luck (not lost any skill).  Light airy passage or dark brown?  Using the same tactic I go for dark brown.

It leads to a door which I force open (wish I could do that earlier) and it has a stone statue which pretty much vomits smoke from the mouth and a skeleton appears. I can fight or try and run past.  I feel my running has been too successful so far and I wont get away with it so lets fight.

Skill 7 Stamina 12.  He hits me twice and I decide to eat my very last bit of dark elf bread.  Blue or Violet.  Hmm is this going further on the rainbow?  I think ill try Violet.  

It a very rocky room full of cobwebs.  One of the bigger rocks sprouts some legs and turns out to be a big spider.  Its also got wings!  Of course I have fear so I can either use dispel illusion or fight.  Alas I've used that spell so its -1 skill and 2 points of stamina off so I have to fight.  Do you have a headband, no I wish I did though, sounds cool.  Skill 8 Stamina 12.  And with the fear its another straight roll off.  

Its quite a battle but my superior stamina sees me through but its single figures.  I decide to use the heal spell and back up to 20.  But that's it for healing now.  Stone steps lead up to a well lit chamber.  Its a palatial chamber with stone pillars, statues, wall hangings and flaming braziers.  Two sets of stone steps lead up to a balcony and their standing at the top is Mordraneth.  Crystalline dust glitters from his hand and falls to the floor and I realise he is casting a spell.  Do you cast speed, fireball or run up the left or right set of steps.  

Well no spells so 50/50 on the steps.  Always go left!  It feels like I am running through water, am I wearing a bronze ring?  Nope.  He hits me with fire globe for 6 stamina.  Am I wearing a silver ring?  Nope so I need to test my luck with the magical bolus spell he uses.   I pass!  But still lose 3 stamina points.  

I finally make it to him.  I have 11 stamina left.  But he is skill 10 and stamina 17.  Oh dear.  I need some miracle dice.

First roll I make is a double 6!  He then smacks me down to 5 stamina before I hit back and take him down to 13.  And that is as close as I get.  Killed by the big bad.  I could see it as well, if you win turn to 400.....

Notable Encounters - 

It was not just me that had problems with Giant Stormbirds!

They have been stealing this dudes eggs.

He is of course incapable of doing anything himself but is perfectly capable of cursing you if you do not help!  Why did you not use that power to curse the birds?  And don't tell me you did, I saw the dice that Storm Bird rolled against me!

Not only that but if you tell him you have already killed one he just says well that will make it even easier for you! 

Alkandi is the Shaman of the Island Natives, and also quite a salesman.

I will discuss the depiction of the art of the natives later but for now you find their settlement on the island where you can trade for a plethora of items.  Alkandi actually helps interpret the giants parchment for you and I would go as far and say this is a must visit location.  What accommodation you get and how well you sleep is directly tied to how generous you are.  But in good news they are not depicted as savages as I was worried that is where we were going.

I am saving the picture for the artwork section but their is a part in the iron crypts where a face in the wall starts breathing black smoke which kills you so it gives you a sense of urgency in the next few rooms as it keeps chasing you (and stops you retracing your steps).  There is a magic sword to pickup here if you are brave enough.

This looks like an epic scene with a minotaur standing over the broken body of an elf.  But your character just goes nope and "hurries past the scene".  Sensible.  

 

Not all Orcs are bad!  You can have a drink and gamble with these guys until they pass out!  Just don't take your own tankard, turns out it belonged to their mate! 

The Dining Hall is also interesting as you get to bluff your way out as another option to just fighting.  My favorite option is just ignoring the guard and pretending everything is normal.

Or you can play it another way and kill him and then discover all his bureaucracy that goes on in the dungeon.   

Yep nothing made me hate Mordraneth more than discovering his note to the guard telling them to get on with extracting a confession from the prisoner.  Its just that not required nonsense from management that we all suffer from!  Oh no boss I thought we would just leave him, just as well you sent that...

In game terms though its a good story beat as I was wondering how Alsander and myself were able to cast spells when we had been specifically told only Mordraneth's magic would work.  Turns out old Mordy was also wandering how Alsander was getting around it.

The whole Empire of Illusion section is interesting as well.  Having the doors work as portals took the pressure off that I imagine the author was under having to map the logistics of another section.  It also allows for very different set pieces to be put next to each other without having to make sense.  Turns out that guy trying to bless me was actually trying to help!

Its Horace!

At one point you find two orcs fighting each other.  You can actually help one and befriend him afterwards and have a chat.  You can also of course just kill him as well and search the room.  But your betrayal leads to being bitten by Horace who is described as having a tooth abscess which is making him more vicious than usual.  
 

Artwork -

It is the one and only Russ Nicholson back on the art.  Definitely one of the Mount Rushmore of Fighting Fantasy illustration.  Having him back made it feel like one of the early adventures which I very much enjoyed.  In the past I have been a bit critical that even though the main part of the illustration were good the backgrounds tend to be too empty.  This does happen a bit as seen with the Lizardman but also here.

This has to be one of the worst illustrations I have ever come across.

This also looks like its been vomited onto the page.

But I am very pleased to say the are very much in the minority and the illustrations are very good.  His strong points are without a doubt Orcs and Skeletons.  From my playthrough I really like the Giant Storm Bird attack, the chained man and the Death skull.  But the best was the mass grave.  Its just so eerie and captures the tone brilliantly.  

From above as well the drinking Orcs are exactly what Fighting Fantasy Orcs look like.  He is best for sure at depicting monsters rather than scenes, but I was hoping to use those pieces in the Menagerie section below and talk about them there.

The thieving sprite!  Option to throttle to death.

 

Guard having a nap.  Do not kill him in his sleep, that is inhuman.  Instead wake him up and then kill him. 

Prophetic wall carving that does not give you an advantage at all and instead just scares you.

Its much more epic to release Alsander and let him do his thing.  Even if he looks very different to the description.

Meeting the Natives for the first time.

Because this book was 1988 and I saw the art for the natives I was a bit worried.  But the way its written and the pictures are not too bad.  Alkandi is probably slightly worse.  But I do not believe its fair to judge things against modern sensibilities.  But to be safe I will stay away from this.  But the art is amazing.

With the right items you can summon your own illusions as well!  Take that rats!

 

But my favorite is this guy.  Pure awesome!

Big Bad - 

Mordraneth has had better days.

Is anyone else having fatigue with evil wizards?  But we need to be fair and judge Mordraneth on his own merits.

And he is one of my more favored villains we have seen.  He has a slightly different master plan of extracting the dead's fears to use against the living.  And he built his own Empire of Illusions, not a bad effort.  

If you remember in my playthrough I met his apprentice.  Well that's actually Mordraneth is disguise and he does all that just to try and trick you into drinking some vinegar.  Its not even damaging, its just him trolling you for his own giggles.  Got to give him credit for that.  He always seems prominent as well in the adventure.  Whether its seeing his instructions in the crypts or his booming voice in the Empire of Illusions.  And we were not even meant to be going after him, this was just meant to be a rescue mission.  But he is here because he saw through Vanestin's original bluff and double bluffed him!  

But he is not infallible as seen by his annoyance that Alsander has figured out how to circumvent his any one but his own magic blocking. 

As for the final encounter itself its good as its not straight up combat.  Yes it gets to that and he is very beatable as only skill 10.  But its the lead up of decisions and spells.  Although you should be disadvantaged here as he is a master wizard and you literally just learnt your first three spells minutes ago.  But this brief exchange is enough to give it a bit of flavour before the combat.

Menagerie - 

The largest section of the book is the Iron Crypts which is full of Goblins/Orcs/Ogres/Trolls etc.  It is not a lot of different creatures here but for what they are its fine.  It was very reminiscent of Warlock.

But their does appear to be a bit of a bird theme!  As well as the two Giant Storm Birds, their is the birdman and a Razorbeak.  Hopefully after the defeat of Mordy, the Isle of Despair can set up as a bird watching island.

A lot of the battles as well are only battles if you attack.  The Giant Crab, The Sea Giant (lots of Giants) have other options that avoid battle.

The Specter will take a skill point every time he hits.  Which means if he hits you a couple of times its all over.

Hobgoblins fighting over the right to kill a herbalist.  Do not take them on two at once!  Awesome art here by the way!

Blue Dragons shoot lightning rather than fire.

Dark Priests use magic as well as being tough hand to hand opponents.  Just look how shocked that Orc is!

Floating Death Balloon!

Ok I need to talk about the Diadrone.  Coming up with a unique new fantasy creature is not as easy as it sounds.  And then having to illustrate it, good luck with that.  I think it looks fantastic.  Ridiculous but fantastic.  But I fired the description into the AI to see what it would create.

2026 Diadrone

Entertaining Deaths - 

A very limited selection of instant deaths in this book.  Very different to the books we have been seeing!

Listening to music.  Turns out to be Wraiths who drain your life. 

Killing a troll and not knowing the password to open the door.  Black smoke comes through the other door and turns you to nothing but bone.

Trying to run through a pit of snakes (told you that was a bad idea)!

Tying to run through a corridor of closing walls and getting crushed.  Its an illusion but you die anyway.

Running away from an imaginary Dragon.

The winner for this book though is - Being slowly absorbed by a stone shapeshifter BUT only after being forced to eat a meal or lose 1 point of stamina in the same paragraph!

Pete's Corner - 

The Sea Giant gets very angry if you kill his pet crab, but what would Mungo's family say?

Final Thoughts - 

So when mapping out the book I realised I made an error.  After not having the ebony key it said go to 171.  I then had a break and came back and had my bookmark in.  172 asks if I had an ebony key, which I thought was where I was.  And I followed that and ended up in the wrong place and missed a chunk.  What were the chances of that!?  

I did not really enjoy my playthrough but that was not the books fault.  I made a stupid decision at the start to run from the bird and coupled with it kicking my ass I felt I was always on the back foot, trying to avoid encounters.  I could have been enjoying all the crews food and a free jar of ointment instead!

After mapping it out though the book is actually very fair.  I think two or three more runs and you would be able to complete it.  The items are not necessary and do not lock you out of winning the game, they just make some encounters easier.  Also nothing is really above skill 10 and I fancy if I just had 1 more skill point (10) I would have beat the book.  

What is difficult is getting into multiple combats.  The way it reads is really unclear and I read it as you combine the skill scores and roll 2d6 for each, but that cant be right as you will never win.  I just do not think I have understood it right but it should be clearer.

I really liked how Keith/Carl has built it though.  And by that I mean you can backtrack so much.  You can go forward and he will give you a brief description, like hearing a noise and one of the options is almost always or you can head back and go the other way.  Also you get a lot of options to talk or fight, so this one feels more like a mini RPG in a book than some other titles, which given his history makes sense.

It does not always work though.  As you saw in my playthrough I was presented with four items but I had none of them and no option to say that.  And when you come across the face in the wall it says your medallion shines brightly.  But what if you don't have the medallion?  I maybe wrong but mapping it out I think you can loop back and have to face the Eagle in the Empire of Illusions twice.  If you pick Yellow 362 and face the Eagle and pick Black from there, once you have done its event you get the option to go to Brown which is 362 and back at the Eagle.

Gold is also a bit of a waste, once you trade at the village you have no use for it and that is really early on, but you keep collecting it throughout the adventure but it is ever needed apart from one piece at the fountain.

The Iron Crypts are full of low skill Orcs and Goblins, these are by far weaker than what you face on the surface at the start.  I always think a gamebook should build.  I would have had the lower skills on the surface and made the enemies in the crypts slightly higher, building as you make your way further in.

Also I was a bit disappointed in the writing.  But only as I had higher expectations.  Plenty paragraphs are fine but once in the Iron Crypts it gets a bit samey.  What he did well in some places would give you good information to make a decision.  Like on the island having a skull mark one path and blood feathers the other.  Or you hear a tearing noise coming from that direction.  Its not much but anything to not make it a random choice helps.  But then they do sneak in.  Which of these three doors do you want to go through, which direction of this tunnel to go down?  You could argue the Empire of Illusion is the same but I think the colours do give a bit of an idea.  Its just frustrating to see it well done in some places and not all in others.  Sticking with this theme of writing, why do I keep being told I need a light source?  Either a lantern of magic sword.  You always have your lantern so just say you use the light of your lantern,  it just reads strangely. 

Speaking of the writing the end is very anti climatic.  I expected more than the half page saying the souls all leave him and you wonder if the captain has the boat back so you go to find out.  

Their is also a bit of illusion of choice, when I got blasted by the Dark Priest illusion it turned out it did not matter which of the 3 choices I took, I was going to have the same result.  

But we must applaud A magic sword that lets you go +1 skill even past initial skill that applies to combat only!  Thank You!  Even the chainmail lets you go +1 skill but only if you are not skill 11 or 12 as you are already good enough that it does not make a difference.  Great game play balancing there.

And the addition of spells near the end added a bit of variety as well.  Its not super fleshed out but more like a garnish on top of the gameplay.  If its that easy to learn magic though, no wonder there are so many wizards running around!

The story is decent, for another evil wizard tale.  The twist that Mordraneth can be reached is not very shocking at all, we all knew we would be facing him.  But the build up was fine and I felt Mordraneth himself was well done and made his presence felt.  And his final battle was just unique enough to make it interesting.  But we need to get way from evil wizards threatening the lands as its starting to have diminishing returns.

It did feel like an upgraded Warlock of Firetop mountain though.  The Iron Crypts felt very similar to that book and I think having Russ Nicholson behind the pens just added to that feeling.  There were a couple of terrible pieces of art in this book but the majority were excellent and I think even better than his earlier work, which might be controversial.  If I ever need a goblinod or skeleton he is the man to call.  The whole illustration is their to tell a story now and he has got rid of the bland backgrounds.  

All in all this was a blast from the past adventure.  Until you get the spells its stripped back to the basic rules.  The Island is pretty sparse before it just becomes a standard dungeon crawl.  But that's sometimes what we need.  I do not want to be constantly punished or going after items all the time.  I would call it a pallet cleanser before the next course.  It is by no means a bad book, its just not fantastic either.  

That cover though!

Score 6 out of 10.