Armies of Death

Background -

In the cold light of the dawn, it looked bad.  Very bad.  

The frost still clung to the ground and on this winters day in 1988 you would be forgiven in thinking it was snowing.  But it was ash that fell on the two figures.

Philippa "I told them it was a mistake to open the Star Strider gate again.  I told them Ian!"

She turned round to look up at him, almost pleadingly.  He just stared, looking at the shell of where Puffin HQ had once stood.  Smoke still rose into the air as the local fire brigade fought to quench the last embers.

Philippa "They got greedy, they lost sight of what we do here.  The books come first."

She kicked at some charred papers that flew past.

Philippa "I mean to be fair, who knew they had an army waiting to come through.  In the end we were lucky to force them back."

The one remaining wall collapsed in on itself.

Philippa "We will have to regroup.  I still have an office at Penguin HQ.  We can coordinate from there.  First thing is to send out search teams to bring in all the escaped authors.  They have probably scattered to the four winds.  But we do not need them all, just some will do to get us started again.  Then we can have a look at what's survived, some of the top secret experiments are off site so they will be safe....Ian, Ian where are you going?  Ian!"

Ian wearing his full length beige coat just calmly turned round and walked away.  Getting in his Lotus Esprit he drove home.

The gates opened at Livingston towers automatically as he drove up the drive to the mansion.  Pulling up he got out of the car and headed toward the main house.  But then he turned and instead went to the stables.  But instead of heading towards the horses he went upstairs.  It was here where all his old stuff was kept.

He strode through the dusty room.  Wondering how it had come to this.  Ian liked his lifestyle and their was only one way to keep it.  For a moment he thought, he could sell Games Workshop.  But no, he shook his head and kept going, the time was not right.

Finally he stoop before an object on a plinth, covered by a white sheet.  Yes it was time, it must continue.  It was the only way.

With a flourish he pulled the white sheet off, revealing the object beneath.  Not seen since he lived with Steve all those years ago.

He stared at the typewriter.

Armies of Death came out in December 1988 and is the return of the Series creator Sir Ian Livingstone.  His first book since all the way back with Crypt of the Sorcerer.   It is the trilogy book for the Deathtrap Dungeon series, the first time we have had that.  I have never played this one but I am aware that you lead an army so I am very excited to see how that works.  As it is Ian Livingstone though I know its probably very difficult and will involve picking up lots of random items.  

Covers - 

We have been spoilt in the recent entries with the covers and this one is no different.  

The dark red and crimson theme is great and my favorite part is the huge banner the Orc is carrying.  The skull and skeleton arms holding it up is epic.

You can see the battle scene in the background, and the Orcs shield is peppered with arrows.

He does look a tad shocked though, almost like what are you doing here?

It has been an age but as this is an Ian Livingstone it has been reissued by Wizard!

This one has feels a lot like a Lord of the Rings scene by the looks of the Orcs and it really sells the battle scene.

Could be worse though.  This guy is not having a great time.  Hopefully this wont be my face after playing.

Premise - 

I am the victor and survivor of Deathtrap Dungeon and having passed the Trial of Champions I claimed the purse of 20,000 gold pieces!  

Well that's the end of that then, lets all go home!

This guy clearly did not get eaten by a treasure chest like I did.  Apparently this guy is getting fed up with all the adulation and constant questions about the dungeon, oh my all the questions!  So I decide its time to go on another adventure.

Before I go I decide to spend a good 14K on getting a castle built while I am away.  That's pretty cool!  There has been a lot more sightings of Orcs and Goblins by the Forest of Fiends so I decide to spend the rest of the money on building my own army.

But there is another rumour.  The Shadow Demon Agglax is back.  A servant of the Demon princes that were commanders of the legion of the damned, they had been thought to have been defeated and banished to the void at the first battle of Titan.   

This is where Drek comes in.  An old scavenger he found a old temple near Zengis and there he found an old black clay pot.  Of course Drek thinks its got treasure and opens it and instead releases a Shadow Demon, who pays Drek no intention and walks away.

I decide to do something about it and start a recruitment drive around Fang.  Since I am pretty much a celebrity everyone wants to sign up and fight with me.  Being an experienced hero I know the quality I am looking for and decide to save some money for the journey and do not hire everyone.

The army stands at 100 Warriors, 50 Dwarfs, 50 Elves and 20 Knights.  I only deal in round numbers.  By the time I buy food, provisions and baggage mules, I have 700 gold left.  Which sounds a lot but I did have 20,000 not long ago, I feel I could have spent it on much more fun stuff.

All the unit leaders get a yellow banner with a symbol of a burning sword.  All the citizens of Fang cheer us on as I lead the army out of the East Gate. 

Playthrough - 

It starts simple enough with normal skill, stamina and luck.  There is not even an equipment section.  Not even a backpack and also told that we have no provisions!  Wait did I not just spend a fortune on provisions for the army and I have none?

I still have 700 gold but that's all we start with, nothing else.

But we do have new rules for mass combat.  Soldiers killed in battle are lost in blocks of 5.  Which makes sense as it will be easier to do the maths.  

You can also spread where casualties go.  So if you have Knights and Dwarfs fighting and lose 15 troops, you can say 15 to the Knights, 0 to the Dwarfs or 5 Knights and 10 Dwarfs.  So you can spread it around whoever is in the battle.

In order to fight skirmish battles you first compare troop numbers (do not include yourself).  If numbers are the same it is even.  If you have more its counted as Superior and if you have less it is Inferior.

Then roll the dice on the table - 

Then depending on the die subtract that amount of troops.  Then keep repeating until one faction is reduced to zero.  If your army loses then you are also killed in the battle.

Skill - 10

Stamina - 16

Luck - 11

Well I can be quite lucky, Skill is probably not enough since its an Ian Livingstone book, but I am really worried about the low stamina roll when I have zero provisions. Hopefully the army can do all the fighting!

We do not even get 200 yards before a fat bearded man comes running up to me.  He is dressed as a sea captain but his uniform has seen better days.  He tells me that he has just docked his ship in Fang and wanted to see what all the commotion was about.  Then he gives me an offer, he can save me all the time walking to Zengis by giving me a lift on Captain Barnock's Flying Toucan for the small price of 50 gold.  How can a ship called the Flying Toucan be bad?  Also, I hate walking.  Turn around guys we are going to the docks!

After we awkwardly go back into town and down to the docks I pay my money and the army boards the ship, which of course is not in the best of condition.  However as Fang disappears into the distance everyone is having a great time.  Even the Elves and Dwarfs are getting along!  One of my warriors spots a barrel floating in the river.  Do we get it?  Well it might contain a crucial Y-Shaped stick so lets have a look just in case.

One of the warriors jumps in to get it (already delighted to have some friends, saves me doing it) and brings it back on board.  Turns out to be a barrel of apples, much to everyone's disappointment!  Do I want to hand them out to the men or throw them overboard.  Well I am at max stamina and nobody has died yet in the army so chuck them back in.

We get a paragraph just to say it soon floats away out of sight.

Maybe the apples belonged to them, hence now shooting fireballs at me.

Twenty river raiders get on canoes as their catapult shoots fire at the boat.  First need to test luck.  Pass no problem and the fireball goes between the masts and lands in the river.  But then must immediately test again as they shoot another fireball.  Again they miss as I pass the test and it lands in the river.

As the raiders get closer I get the option to let them come on board or have the elves shoot them with arrows.  Well seems logical to shoot them first.

It does not go well for the river raiders.  The ones that survive quickly flee and we all cheer as we sail on by.  As we go upriver a man is seen floating face down on a log.  I send in another guy to help the poor fellow.  But the guy is already dead with an Orc knife in his stomach.  But he has a gold key, should we take it?  Well yes of course we should its an Ian Livingston book.  Bet its got a number on it.

Of course it does!  Number 222!

We sail on to the next encounter.  This time a ragged haired man in furs is waving from the riverbank.  Ok lets go and meet him.  I have an army at my back after all.

There is another 9 of them and they are Northmen who have heard of my quest and want to join me!  They are 100 gold to hire.  The more the merrier.  The leader introduces himself as Laas and asks if he can give me a gift?  Well I mean we just met but I am on a boat surrounded by my own army so what's the worst that could happen?

Laas gives me a Yeti tooth!  Which means I can not be attacked by Werewolves or Lycanthropes!  I tell him about the Shadow Demon.

Captain Barnock comes over and says we will soon be dropping anchor for the night.  Do we want to stay onboard or camp on land.  Well we have been on the ship for a while now so lets go for land.

Amazingly nothing happens at night, but as soon as we wake up we are attacked by black Harpoon flies who fire poisoned needle spikes at us as the men raise their shields.  Now we must roll a dice.  I get a 5 and 5 men die and I lose 1 luck point as I lead the dejected men back onto the ship as the bodies we leave behind the bodies, becoming the home for maggots.

Pirates off the Starboard Bow Captain!

Captain Barnock is really worried about the river pirates.  It looks like it is a Northman boat with a big battering ram which will probably sink the Toucan.  We can wave a flag of surrender, turn around and try and out run them, or head to the bank.  Well my army can fight on land so head to the shore please captain.

We get the boat moored on the bank before the ship arrives and I line the army up with the Elves ready to fire from the bank.  When the ship arrives I shout at the captain to leave the Toucan alone as there is no treasure and if he wants it to come and get it.  The captain takes one look at the army and thinks no thanks and the pirate ship sails on.  Add 1 luck point!  Thank you I will as my luck is getting hammered.  The captain cheers but has a coughing fit and then we are back on board ready to go.

We finally arrive at Zengis and the captain begins to relax a bit.  I appoint a warrior called Lexon to be my second in command and tell him to take the army to the fields outside the town walls and set up camp.  They are not to get into any trouble and be fresh for tomorrows march.  I however, am going into spend the night in Zengis recruiting more troops and trying to find out more about the Shadow Demon.  I bid goodbye to the captain and head to the nearest tavern.     

Wait a second, I don't take anyone with me?  Not even a small group?  Not even a bodyguard.  I just go solo?  This is a terrible decision.

Speaking of terrible decisions on my way to the tavern I see a small gold ring lying in the gutter, do I want to pick it up?  No not really but what choice do I have, its an Ian Livingstone book.

The owner of the ring.

Well the ring has the number 45 etched on it so I must need it.  Alas this gentleman taps me on my shoulder and asks for his ring back or he will have to kill me.  I can fight, run or give it back.  Well why can I not hire him?  Or use my huge amount of gold to buy it from him?  I decide to fight.

Luckily he is only skill 8 stamina 8 for my first combat of the book!  He gets one draw but I defeat him without taking a hit.  I take his axe and get the option to take his pouch but warned guards are approaching.  Well that sounds like a luck test so I decide against it.  

Ah it takes me back to Port Blacksand!

I do love myself a fantasy Tavern.  This one is called the Black Dragon and even though it is a bright day outside it is still a dingy dark dive.  It is described as groups of vagabonds huddled in the corners while drunk rogues insult everyone that pass them and harass the barmaids.  Do I sit with the Vagabonds, Rogues or go to the bar.  Hmm getting drunk is not the best idea when on a mission and will set a bad example to the troops.  The rogues are already drunk and sound annoying so ill try the vagabonds.

I meet Enk, Laz and Zip and get the option to tell them about my mission or pretend I am visiting my cousin.  Well I need to find troops or info so no point lying.  They are eager to tell my about Agglax and know where he is building his army, but it will cost me.  Even more they claim to know how to defeat him but that costs more.  10 gold for location, 100 for location and how to defeat him.  Now how these Vagabonds would know anything about a Shadow Demons weakness is anyone's guess so I suspect they are lying, they are Vagabonds after all!  I would like to leave now but I do not have that option.  Instead I must pay 10 or 100.  So I pay 10.

My good fried Laz takes out a map and marks a cross at the east end by the forest of fiends and tells me that is where I will find him.   I take the map and take my leave.

As I wander through Zengis, I come across a curious shop with nothing but straw and an empty cage outside.  The sign reads Pets, normal and unnatural.  Do I want to go inside?  Absolutely! 

Now this is a shop!

The first thing I hear is the tingle of a bell as I open the door.  Then a large crow shouting whos an ugly boy then.  I see the normal set of pets but also strange ones like a kangaroo but its only 2 feet tall, green and lacks fur.  Another creature is a small leathery amber skinned winged creature.  The shopkeeper asks if I am interested in buying one.  He figures out I am an adventurer and recommends a familiar such as the talking crow.  Or I can check out the special collection.  We have not come all this way just for a talking crow.  Lets check out the specials.

He recommends the kangaroo like creature, called Roob.  He will perch on your shoulder and can speak.  But he can also make you invisible, just say the phrase one, one, one.  Hmm that sounds like a page reference.  He can also speak a bit of troll but he costs 50 gold.  Well that's money well spent.

Next along is another shop which appears to be a pawnbrokers.  As its Ian Livingstone I feel we cant pass by any shop.

I meet a lovey owner named Bonny and her shop is floor to ceiling filled with junk!  But of course we get a random list - 

A brass owl - 10 gold
A copper lantern - 5 gold
A helmet  - 10 gold
Ivory Box - 5 gold
Green Vase 20 gold

All in all 50 gold for everything.  Well I am sure one of these will be absolutely crucial for the adventure so I decide to buy it all.  Anything we don't use can become decorations for the castle.    

Next up we come to a a big barn with a lot of commotion.  I am told by the bouncer that its a Pie Eating competition.  For 5 gold I can go up against Big Belly Man.  I feel I have to try this.

Someone seems to be able to print t-shirts!

This probably sums up the madness of Fighting Fantasy.  I mean I am trying to lead an army against the forces of a Shadow Demon so of course I am distracted by Big Belly Man.  He is so big that a half moon shape has been cut out of the table to accommodate said belly.  You cant tell well from the picture but he is also wearing a monocle.  The writing on his tight black leotard is apparently yellow.  BBM's opponent is a man orc who looks tiny in comparison and the whole thing is being officiated by a dwarf standing on a table, for reasons.  

I have arrived just at the end as Big Belly man jumps up to celebrate and the ref announces him as the winner of the rat and turnip pie eating contest and the crowd go wild.  He then announces that after a five minute interval BBM will challenge someone to a fish and custard pie eating contest.  Do I want to sign up.  No not really but in the interest of the blog lets see what happens.

So it turns out that I am the only challenger.  The entry fee is 10 gold which they could have mentioned before I signed up!  But the winner gets 100 gold.  BBM must be rich.  Speaking of BBM he makes his way back to the table to great cheers accompanied by two dwarf chefs carrying a tray with a huge pie.  He settles back in and the aroma of fish and custard is quite something.  I get handed a wooden spoon and the ref shouts ready, steady, go and we are away.

We determine the winner by rolling a d6 and adding to my skill score, then BBM has a go and adds 13 which is his pie eating ability.  Then we keep rolling dice until someone gets to 40.

Well lets go for some live coverage - 

I open with a 4 and start on 14.
BBM only a 2 and is on 15.  Must still be digesting the last pie.
I then roll a 6 and get up to 20!  I must be starving, probably the lack of provisions.
BBM with a 1 and 16!  His Leotard is digging into him, causing issues.
Another solid 4 for me - 24.
BBM matches me with a 4 - 20.  He is warming up now.
I get a 3 next - 27.  Were the fish deboned before going in the pie?
BBM with a 3 - 23.  Just content to keep pace with me.
Disaster as I role a 1 - 28.  I do not even like custard.
But BBM is also a 1 -24 .  He needs to burp.
I am back to 4 - 32.  Good to finally be in the home stretch.
Another 1 for BBM!  He is on the ropes - 25.
Smashing it now as I roll 5 - 37.  Its pretty much all over for BBM.
He also rolls 5 to keep me honest - 30.
But its too little too late, they think its all over.  Well a 4 means it is now.

BBM smashes his bowl in disgust and the crowd are in stunned silence.  I get my purse for 100 gold and get the option to leave or give a speech about my quest and try and recruit some people.  Well might as well try, can BBM join?

Unfortunately for me in the crowd is one of Agglax's spies who throws a dagger at me but I pass a skill test and I dodge it.  I see a dark hooded figure flee and realise I am too far away to pursue.  I spend all my winnings hiring 10 warriors, which helps replace the guys we lost to the flies.  I don't tell them that.

I see an alleyway with some barrels at the end, do I want to investigate?  I probably should but so far I have picked up a huge amount of random items, some even with paragraph references!  A new pet, some troops and even some info on where to find Agglax.  I feel its not worth the risk.

As I walk on I find myself at a place called Max's Marauders, swords for hire.  Now this sounds more promising.  

Just what kind of establishment have I wandered into?!

Ah it is only a practice sword fight.  Max calls a halt in order to speak to me.  She asks if I want to join them or hire.  I am clearly not famous outside of Fang.  She tells me they are the best of the best but 10 of them will cost me 200 gold.  I still have the money so instead of haggling I pay her and they head off to meet the rest of the army.

It is now starting to get dark so I am looking for a place to stay.  I find an Inn called Helens house where it is 1 gold a night.  Well at the start of the book there is a dedication to Helen so that's a good enough sign for me.

Its only Sir Ian himself!  Hallow be they name!

Helens house is a lovely place with oak beams, white walls and a nice warm fire.  Sir Ian is relaxing on a high back leather chair polishing a silver cup.  I clear my throat and he begs my pardon as he was distracted polishing the cup they won for sailing.  Wait they have sailing in Titan?  A room costs 2 gold and includes breakfast.  Wait it said 1 gold outside, no wonder Sir Ian became so rich.  Anyway I pay up and he starts looking at the sailing boat picture.  Reminiscing about the Harem and how they won all their races apart from one but that was Spikes navigating that was at fault.  I can interrupt him and ask for a key or let him continue.  I do not think its worth interrupting the author.

His name is Obigee (but I will keep calling him Sir Ian) and he talks at length about the races and acts out the crews actions.  He asks if I want to see a picture of the crew.  I guess...

I am assuming this features more real life people.

He shows me the picture of eight people in oilskins.  The skipper is in the funny hat and is called Preece.  Spikes the one on the end with spiky hair.  Ewan is the bald one.  Werewolf, Kwil's son, Klaak and Welz make up the rest.  He wonders about taking on the famous Conner who sails around the Old World but even with it being so far away everyone has heard of him.  I tell Sir Ian of my quest and he says he is too old to help but instead offers to swap swords.  His is amazing and gives me +1 skill.  Sigh that pesky initial skill rule strikes again.  At least if I lose a skill point this will negate it.  With that very odd sailing detour out of the way it is time to go to bed.

I have a really good sleep and only wake in the morning when Sir Ian knocks on the door to let me know breakfast is ready.  I feel great after a fantastic sleep and a plate of ham and eggs so I get 2 stamina back.  Wait what? 2!  2!!!! Now I didn't need any stamina back but even a crap provision used to give you 4.  Anyway I leave and walk straight into a blind left or right junction.

Well you know the rules by now, lets go left.  And just like that I am back at the main gates of Zengis and decide to go and meet Lexon and the army.

The army cheer my return and I give the order to march.  We can cross the river and head south, or march east towards the Forest of Fiends.  Well according to the vagabonds the army is being assembled past the forest so lets go that way.

We march along the riverbank and make it to the forest without any bother.  Everyone starts getting a bit on edge though as we enter the forest which is so dense sunlight struggles to get through and all we hear is the sound of monkeys in the trees.  Should we press on or send out a scout.  I feel a scout would be the right thing to do.

The scout does his job well (honestly thought he was going to die) and its easier going to the south, also he found a village.  We head that way and as we find the easier route I get the option to take 10 men and visit the village which is close by.  Ok its worth a look.

All we find though is the gruesome remains of Wood Elves who have no doubt been massacred by the minions of Agglax.  We have a look around and all we find is a small bronze statue, do I want to take it.  No not really, as if the bad guys left it then it can't be good.  Also who takes a creepy statue from a massacred village?  We head back to the army.

On my way back we get ambushed by 10 Garks, the giant 8 foot goblins.  Last time I saw one I think I saw one was Citadel of Chaos.  And its my first Skirmish battle!  Shame I left all the army behind so its 10 on 10.

I roll a 5 to start which takes out 5 Garks and then with the superiority advantage its a formality to finish them off.  I must have taken the best of the best with me.  The Garks only have useless trinkets.

We then pass by a stagnant pool thick with insects.  Their is a box poking out, do I want to wade in and get it back.  Not really, cant I ask one of the warriors with me.  Gary?  Gary can you go and get that box over there?  Apparently it has to be me so I decline.

Next we come across a wide clearing with a boulder in it.  The boulder is covered in blood and the clearing is littered in bones which does not sound the best.  Do I walk through or wait on the edge with the army to see if anything shows up?  It has to be wait and see.  Surely?

Its not looking good for those Dwarfs!

15 Hobgoblins turn up half an hour later with two Dwarf prisoners.  It looks like they are going to execute them.  25 of my warriors run forward with me to save them.  Why only 25?  Can the elves not shoot them?  What if I did not have 25 warriors left?

None of these questions are answered as we dispatch them with ease.  The Dwarfs tell me they were ambushed when exploring the caves for gems.  They enlist in the army.  What 2 Dwarfs?  I thought everything was done in increments of 5?  I now have 52 Dwarfs.  We also pick up a gold necklace and the war banner of the hobgoblins.

We come to another blind junction.  We can keep going East or turn North or South.  Everyone is just milling around watching me choose.  In real life I would send scouts in each direction and wait for them to come back.  In gamebook terms I decide to keep on the same path and head East.

Very creepily we come to an area with doll like clay figures have been half buried in mounds.  Do you want to take one of the creepy forest dolls?  No, No I do not.

Thing from the Fantastic Four then attacks me!

This Rock man is a minion of Agglax and was waiting in disguise.  He is Skill 10 but only 6 stamina.  I get told if he wins a round I have to turn to another page.  Hopefully to get some help from the bloody army I have hired!  I hit him once before I am grabbed.  He cracks two of my ribs and I lose 1 skill (that is negated with my sword I decide) and two stamina.  My troops are attacking from behind but cant make any impact.  I call for a Dwarf to use a warhammer.  Do I have any Dwarfs?  Yes 52 of them!  One of them steps up and smashes the rock man apart.

We then come to a chasm which is too wide to cross and must either go North or South around it.  South is such a rare choice in Fighting Fantasy that I decide to go that way.  

There is a rope bridge across the chasm.  One guy is sent across and makes it no bother.  Should I call him back or send the army across.  No way do I trust a rope bridge with an entire army.  We plod on.

Now we come across a narrow part of the chasm where a stone slab has been been placed to act like a bridge.  This sounds even more precarious than the rope bridge.  Keep walking.

It only takes 20 more minutes to reach the end of the chasm and go east again.  But I am asked to test my luck.  I pass (my luck is now down to 8) and nothing happens.  We reach the edge of the forest and we decide to make camp under its shelter.  But its a full moon so I post extra sentries tonight.

I believe that's a werewolf, and not a giant cat thing.

The howling of wolves wake me up so I decide to get up and speak to the guards, just in time as well as a werewolf springs out to ambush one of the guards (not sure how he missed it, mental note to sack him), and I rush to his aid.  Am I wearing a Yeti tooth?  Yes I am indeed!

The werewolf freezes at the sight of the tooth and I dispatch him without a battle.  However the guard is dead, which saves me from having to sack him.  I take it I reduce the warriors by 1?  It does not say to do that but I do.

Things are heating up!

We make our way over the plains and spot a young dragon being ridden by a goblin  He then turns around to report our progress to Agglax.  As we march on we see a temple being attacked by a horde of Chaos Warriors.  But as I swing the army that way to help we come under attack by 50 flying fire imps!  Do we have any Elves left alive?  Why yes, all of them.

Each elf fires two arrows (so 100) then deduct the total of two dice (I roll 11) so a total of 89.  Which is more than enough to take them all down and avoid a skirmish battle.

As we are fighting the Imps the rest of the Chaos force has turned to attack us.  Chaos Warriors with black spiked armour and red dragon banners.  Trolls march behind them and the flanks have Orcs and Goblins.  No sign of Agglax himself but instead they have a small gremlin dance and chant which ends in a piercing scream and he collapses and is promptly trampled over by his army.  The stamp of their feet unnerves my army.  Arrows wont stop them so do I send in the Dwarfs or charge in alongside the knights.  Ok thinking about this I want to hold the Knights back and charge in from the flank.  The Dwarf can anchor us in the middle.

The dwarfs are vastly outnumbered, but I get no option to send in more troops, instead we just watch them in a fatal back to back last stand.  Well that was not my plan, I have just lost all 52 dwarfs!  Instead of pressing the attack the Chaos Warriors go back to their lines and my main force advances on the Trolls.

Oh this is not good!

As we go forward the Troll lines break apart to reveal goblin war machines.  We are committed so its too late to do anything else apart from go down the throat of the artillery.  The first missiles fly and I have to roll 4d6 and loose that many troops.  I roll 18 and decide the warriors can afford to take the brunt of it.  The troops falter so I run forward in a headlong charge.  At just 20 yards away they fire again an need to roll 4 dice again and lose that many troops.  Only 12 this time so 30 overall lost on this charge.  Is the army less than 100?  Nope we are still at 174 all together.

Now we are in the melee and I end up in a one on one fight with a Skill 9 Hill Troll.  I roll like a mad man, clearly incensed at all the troops I have lost and do not get hit once!  But before I can celebrate a Skill 8 Mountain Orc jumps at me.  He immediately rolls a double 6 against me and hits me twice before I take him down.  

I now have to roll a dice to see how the battle is going.  Oh wait that does not sound very fair.  I roll 4 and lose 30 more troops.  Warriors are now down to 54 as I decide to keep the other specialists.  Trolls are pushing us back as the Orcs and Goblins flank us.  But they have started fighting amongst themselves with the battle lust.  To my right a warrior is struggling against two goblins.  At my left a warrior is being clubbed down by a hill troll, who do I help.  I go left.

Another Hill Troll throws a rock at me and do I have Laas of the Northmen?  Yes I do!  Laas throws himself at me and grins as the rock misses us.  No time to thank him as I jump up and take on the skill 9 Hill Troll.  I am still on fire and take him down without losing a hit.  My stamina is 10.  

I can keep on fighting or throw all my money in the air to distract them.  Well I like my money and seem to be doing ok in combat so I keep that up.

I slay two more of Agglax creatures but a spear gets me in the side but alas I am overwhelmed by weight of numbers.  I do not die alone but the enemy has won.  Wait what happened to my pet?

Notable Encounters - 

Turns out I was only one page away from getting to the final encounter so I got a lot of the encounters on my playthrough.  As usual I missed a fair bit, a lot of them necessary!  Here are some of the more interesting ones though.

Taking the land route instead of the flying Toucan is a different way to get to Zengis but I think the ship is more fun.  But you do get a weird situation of finding a small hut.  When you go in an elf maiden is tied to the table as a sword on a thin rope is dangling above her.  She yells out to be careful as standing on the wrong floor board will trigger the trap.  You can charge in, throw you sack at it, or just close the door and back out.  The hilarious option loses you luck points as she curses you.  Helping her out goes even worse though as she is a trickster hag!

Prepare for an intense dance off with star lord!

In order to get the hill men on side you have to wrestle their leader.  Alas their is no pyro, music or even a ring.  Its more Greco-Roman than WWE.  He does throw a drop kick at one point though.  But I would have loved some options for a suplex or power slam.  If he makes you tap out you have to lose some warriors to do chores for a month for them, which to be honest sounds much better than fighting the evil army of Agglax.

I think my interaction in the Black Dragon Tavern was the most boring.  Instead you can get into a fight with the barman for trying to order apple juice! Or have a bet with a rogue to see which bit of jam a fly lands on.  Sounds like a bit of fun, you have to roll 1d6 and on a 1-3 he wins, 4-6 you win.  So its just chance.  Shame you need his gold dragon broach or you can not win the game!

Fighting Fantasy also has roulette!

Karn is a small side village where you can either enjoy some gambling or find a guide.  The gambling is of course down to luck but if you win make sure to tip the hostess or you will find an Ogre has been sent to go after you to retrieve your winnings.  But its far more important to meet Thog the guide in the Blue Pig Inn.  You don't need him to get to the Starstone Caves but he gives you vital information to get through them to the oracle.  

Speaking of the Starstone Caves, they are a must visit as they are the home to the Oracle, the only guy who can tell you how to defeat Agglax.  He will tell you need the crystal of life and how to activate it.  Does not give you any clue where it is however!  And my word what a palaver to get to him.  In game its covered by saying he does not want any time wasters.  But first you have to find him in the caverns.

Which are filled with deathtraps!

If you make it through (which is highly unlikely unless you spoke to Thog, who makes it easy) you are then bombarded by questions and item requests.

Hope you brought a brass owl and remembered how much it cost.

Hope you brought a green vase and remembered how much it cost.

Hope you remember which goddess you  drank water from.

Hope you know how many people sailed with Sir Ian!

Hope you have a pet that can turn you invisible!

Hope you brought him a golden brooch for his daughter.

I mean in gamebook terms I get it, but its so random and fits Sir Ian's list of required shopping items.

Well this looks safe!

This scenario is wild.  You find all these heads and a shovel, so of course get the option to dig.  You then get asked if you are sure you want to continue.  Then you find a buried iron door.  Do you want to keep going?  Well only if you have the key from the body I picked up in my playthrough, go to that secret reference.  Once in its a dark tunnel, you can send an elf in to his death but if you go in you get into a fight with a dangerous Nandibear that makes this place its lair.  So their must be something in here right, someone's gone to the trouble of burying a Nandibear in hear with a locked iron door and buried under staked heads!  Must be something awesome right?  Right?  No its empty.

These guys also ask questions to get across a bridge.  What is your favorite colour?  Red... no wait Blue!  Argghhhh!

The White Knights are met if you go North at the chasm and have nerdy names of Sir Pierce, Sir Dean and Sir Trevor.  They can take your entire army down if you annoy them.  They will not let you cross the bridge without answering a question.  Which of the three star pupils that trained under the grand wizard of yore was the son of a priest of Salamonis?  Now you get three options, but I could not find the answer in the book.  So I looked it up and the answer is actually in Titan, the Fighting Fantasy World!

And a final shout out to Max of Max's Marauders.  Who at one point in the end battle sacrifices herself to save you from a goblin crossbow bolt.  If we had actually spoken to her more than once it might have actually had an emotional impact. 

Artwork -

Nik Williams is the artist this time and its the only book he ever does for this series.  I have to say its just ok, its not the best I have seen.

From my playthrough I really likes the Black Dragon Tavern and the pet shop.  And based on the description of the ridiculous pie eating scene, he does a fantastic job with the illustration.  

The Werewolf though...hmmm, I don't know what went wrong there but it does not look like a werewolf.

Some nice cages in the trees.

 

This Medusa turned me to stone just by looking at it. 

The Blog though.... Yes a Blog, I suspect Ian had stopped trying by this part and the art certainly reflects that.

Some of the art though is used to give you options.  Like the skulls in the Starstone Caverns choices.

We even get art for 400!  However it is not a great reflection on what is happening.

Yeah its not the best, slightly below average I would say.  You will see the Treeman in the Menagerie which I also find odd.  As I said not terrible but not great either.

The Calacorm though is wonderful!  Easily the best piece in the book.  If they were all like this it would be top tier.

Big Bad - 

Got to respect someone that gets carried around by zombies.

Agglax the Shadow Demon at least is not technically an evil wizard.  And you have got to hand it to him, he has assembled quite an army!  He is also not just sitting around waiting for you to turn up, his army is already attacking!  I do like how his presence is felt throughout, with the assassin in the pie eating contest and the traps he has laid on the way.  But we do not really know much about him, other than it was likely he was in some ancient wars.  But most of the history is about other demons that he would have served.  So we do not get any motivation other than he is a shadow demon so its really his job to conquer the living.

I will cover the final big army battle later but the actual final conflict is not a straight fight.  I do not mind that, therd should not be an option to just brute force it.  Any attempt to do that will result in you being frozen and becoming a trophy for Agglax.  Even bringing the wrong item to the party will see the same fate.  

However if you do bring the crystal of light, he hilariously takes one look at it and legs it!  Which kind of kills his aura and relegates him to a cartoon villain.  You better know how to use it though or again he can just use his freezing breath to one hit kill you.  I think he sits in the mid tier, he just lacks anything to make him stand out from the crowd.

Menagerie - 

This is a hark back to the old days.  The enemies are are much more traditional from earlier fighting fantasy.  Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Chaos Warriors, Ogres and Trolls.  As well as the usual assortment of bad humans.  

The Mudgrinder is new though, don't let him flatten you! 

The Shapechanger makes a return!

This is some take on a Treeman!

Goblins of the Sewer Variety.

Would not be a Fighting Fantasy without a Giant Spider.  Which you can see here, just!

A whole gang of Orcs for your army to fight!

The Elite Fanatic Tanaka San, slightly racist.

Entertaining Deaths - 

There are not as many instant deaths in this book as you would expect from an Ian Livingstone entry.  But do not worry, still plenty for us to enjoy in this section.

Turning Left in the Startstone caves.

Trying to go underneath a Mudgrinder's belly to strike at its weak spot, instead it flattens you and you drown in the marsh.

Saving an elf maiden who gives you a ring.  It turns out she was a trickster hag and bites your throat.

Wearing a beetle amulet.  When you go to sleep it comes alive and buries into your neck, severing your windpipe.

Flying the flag of surrender to river pirates and getting hit on the head by a block and tackle, you wake up to find yourself as a rowing slave.

Climbing a tree after a Blog, who shoots you with a poisoned dart and puts you in his cooking pot.

Getting crushed like a tin can by a rock man.

Attacking five white knights that guard a bridge, they destroy your entire army.

Trying to cross a chasm by using a rock, that rock is obviously a boulder beast and it tips you down to your death in the chasm below.

Getting bit by a werewolf, your own troops have to kill you.

A Troll dropping a rock on your head during the big battle.

Continuing fighting instead of throwing all your money away...oh wait.

But my favorite on this one is -

Getting paralyzed by a Leprechaun for attacking him after he throws a tomato at you, but only because you did not leave him alone.  A sewer goblin appears and sees you have killed his mates, so kills you.

Pete's Corner - 

"My crow flew away!"

Final Thoughts - 

I was really looking forward to playing this one as I wanted to see how it felt to play with an army and how it could work.  Well its mixed.

I loved not being solo in this adventure, well apart from the times you inexplicably leave the army to jaunt about yourself.  But when you have your army it is just nice not to be doing this alone.  Do you want to go down that rope or send an elf first?  Do you want to send a scout?  After three rounds the army brings it down.  Its great fun, especially when raiders and pirates attack you, see the army and think no thanks.

However the actual using of the army did not really work.  Most situations are contrived in that you end up with just a small number of troops.  This allows the skirmish rules to come into play.  To be fair it does say skirmish in the rules, but still it feels quite limiting.  And I am not sure the rules work that well. If you outnumber the foe you will easily decimate them unless you keep rolling 1's.  And conversely if you are outnumbered you will lose.  But the chances of not having a numerical advantage are so rare, you would have to be very unlucky.  Unfortunately the skirmishes are quite rare as well, I would have liked to see more.

But then the big army battle comes at the end, this should have been great.  But I was left disappointed.  And the reason is it should have been more.  You only make one choice, Knights or Dwarfs and then it descends into lefts and rights and one on one battles.  Instead it should have been who do you put through the middle and then list all the troops including the ones you could pick up on the way.  Then who hits the Orcs in the flank etc.  Instead you are made to look really incompetent as a commander as you are railroaded into leading a charge straight down the throat of the enemy war machines!  Coincidently the chance of not having enough troops at the end are also staggeringly small, its very forgiving which is not like Ian.   

You can tell this is an Ian Livingstone book though as it is more linear.  Not completely as you can still go overland or by ship to Zengis but after that you have to stay on the right path.  If you do not, instead of going somewhere else, you just go further down the one route but missing probably a vital area.  But the real reason you can tell its his is the crazy item collection.  My gripe here is it makes no sense in this game.  In Deathtrap (Still my gold standard) you know you have to collect things to get through.  Here there is no in game reason for you to pick up a green vase from a shop (other than castle decoration) so technically its pure chance you have it.  Roob makes sense, you learn he can make you invisible and speak troll, this is useful so you buy him.  A brass monkey, less so.

The believability does not get any better when the vital ring you need, you find just lying on the street in Zengis, and of course it goes on the finger of a statue in a forest miles away!  Which you only find if you capture a Blog and tell him you want treasure.   So yes, its a random item hunt that sometimes does not make any sense, but we are used to that by now.

This one though is a lot more forgiving than some other of Sir Ian's efforts though.  The highest Skill opposition is Skill 10 which is a nice change.  The lack of provisions though could be brutal for a lower skilled character.  Lower skill could get away with it if the various skill bonuses could be used for attack strength.  I still get annoyed about the initial skill rule.  Although this also has one of the worst penalties I have ever seen.  Getting blinded by a blinding stone, give you -6 skill!  Well you are blind so it makes sense, but you might as well put the book down if that happens.  You do need a high Luck score though as its tested a lot.  

There is one point that I hate though which makes the book pure chance.  You need to get the rogue's dragon broach (one of the many must have items).  However to get it you need to bet on which jam the fly will land on.  Now the game has luck so must be test your luck right?  Right?  Wrong.  Roll a dice 1-3 put the book down you have lost.  I despise a random dice roll, it defeats the purpose of a stat driven gamebook.  Its peppered with these (Not as much as Luke Sharp) but enough.  Some actually lead to your death but they can be avoided.  But its unforgivable when its an essential item.

You also get asked a question from the Knights, but the answer is not in the book!  Veterans of Fighting Fantasy can make an educated guess and you have a 33% chance of getting it right.  The answer is found in Titan (which I have) which I like on one side for the reason it rewards fans of the series.  But we have to admit, if this is your first Fighting Fantasy (which it could have been!) its very unfair.

All this can be forgiven with a good story.  How is this one?  Well its a bit lacking.  Normally Ian's writing is some of the best.  A lot of odd choices here though.  For example huge paragraphs are dedicated to the pie eating.  Like one is over a whole page long and then the follow up is also a full page.  And the multiple pages about sailing.  I feel that these would have been better spent telling more of a story or fleshing out Agglax.  Or even better, flesh out the army.  At one point Max can sacrifice herself to save you near the end.  Well maybe that would have hit harder if we had not spoken to her only once.  I feel we should have had more interactions with the army, make them your friends.  Instead we get pies and sailing, both felt very immersion breaking to me.  But I do get it, nothing wrong with a bit of comedy (or as I suspect in the sailing a bit of a shout out), its just the volume it takes up.

I did note some odd situations would arise as well.  Why ask the bounty hunter in the sewers about the Starstone caves?  Imagine this, you are searching in the sewers when you meet a complete stranger and the first thing you ask them about is about a place you might never have heard of yourself?  Speaking of the Starstone caves, these felt contrived and I was not a fan.  You could have just met the Oracle in a cave.  That would have given us even more space to build up the story instead.

And Agglax needed a bit more story.  Its a bit minimal, I would have liked to have heard more about him in the first Titan war.  He needs fleshed out a bit more but he is a bit average and forgettable.   

Also why no Undead in the armies of Death?  Well apart from the Zombies holding Agglax palanquin.  

One of my favorite things though is the return of so many classic monsters.  Garks, Calacorms, Fishmen and even the Shapechanger.  Its full of creatures from Citadel of Chaos and Forest of Doom.  I like this a lot.  They have not been overused previously so its nice to see them making a return.  Especially as we have established that they are in this ecosystem.  I much prefer this to attempted new creatures like the Blog.  The Blog is ridiculous (not this blog, this blog is awesome) and at this late stage its difficult to introduce new creatures, so happy with the classics!

Again the art is also a bit average.  There are some great pieces in it (looking at you Calacorm) but most of it is just average.  We have been spoilt in this series by some great art so when its not at the top tier its noticeable.  It is perfectly fine though, just not great.  

I have come across quite negative I think but that is only because this should have been so much better.  The idea is there and its in Ian's hands to deliver, but it misses the mark.  The story is meh, the big bad is meh, the art is meh.  By no means skip the book though, its still worth a play.  I just thought this could have been wonderful.  But its very much average.

It was nice to be rich though!  But I think the next adventure will be lonely without my troops!

Score - 5 out of 10.