Its 1985 and we are at a top secret meeting at Puffin HQ. Even the Penguin execs have shown up. Ian looks like a spent man and people are starting to look flustered.
Penguin Exec "So Ian, you are telling us you cant give us any more?"
Ian "No, I literally can not think of anything else to do. I need a break to recharge. I've given you eight books already! Eight!"
Penguin Exec "Fair enough, but we need the money to keep flowing and the only way to do that is more books. I want to keep going at the current release rate. How do we do that?"
Phillipa "Well more authors. We already have three from Andrew Chapman. I can keep using him, all he wants is his name on the cover."
Ian "Absolutely not, never in a million years. Its my name, and Steve's that sell the books!"
Phillipa "Well he won't do any more then. We will need to find someone else."
Penguin Exec "So Ian, if its got Steve's name on it, how about getting him to write another one?"
Ian and Phillipa share a concerned glance.
Ian "Fine, ill talk to him and see what he will do."
Ian stands up and leaves the meeting room. Phillipa hurries after him, catching him in the corridor.
Phillipa "Ian, we can not have another House of Hell, I am still dealing with all the complaints, it was a miracle we got it published but that was only because we flew under the radar. That will not work again! Please remind Steve of our target audience."
Ian "30-40 year old neckbeards?"
Phillipa "No Kids!"
Ian "Oh, yeah of course."
*Cut back to Ian and Steve's house*
Ian walks up the stairs to Steve's bedroom, brings out a key from his pocket and unlocks the door. He takes a deep breath before entering the room.
Ian "Steve, we need another book!"
Steve "I thought you were taking my tea?"
Ian "Yep ill get you some fish and chips later. But what do you say? Do you have another book in you?"
Steve "Well I did want to do this one about a serial killer..."
Ian "No! Good lord Steve you need to tone it down."
Steve "I am not doing fantasy Ian! I need something else!"
Ian sighs and sits down on the bed next to Steve. He picks up a comic from the night stand.
Ian "Whats this you have been reading?"
Steve "Superman comics."
Ian "Shame we couldn't make a superman fighting fantasy."
Steve "You mean like we technically couldn't make a Star Trek one?"
They slowly look at each other, smiles slowly forming before the maniacal laughing starts.
So it is still 1985 when Appointment with F.E.A.R came out and its the return of the mercurial Steve Jackson who has not been seen since the amazing but very controversial House of Hell. In Steve Jackson style its another change from the norm as he has a crack at bringing the super hero genre to Fighting Fantasy. It was not one that appealed to me when I was younger so never played before. However I am slightly obsessed by the Marvel films so lets see how it translates into a fighting fantasy book.
Covers -
The Titanium Cyborg cover is a very iconic one in the world of Fighting Fantasy. It does look very much like something out of a comic book from the 80s. He looks fairly maniacal and I do like his glasses. As I said I never really liked the non fantasy books so stayed clear of it. But it is quite a good cover and apparently Steve insisted they keep the cover for the Wizard republished ones. I see why as it very much fits the 80s comic vibe but I would have liked to see a modern update for it.
Scholastic also republished this one so we get a second cover to look at. The Scholastic ones are a bit limited as its not a full cover per say but we get an even more maniacal Titanium Cyborg. I would have liked to seen this done with a full cover as it actually looks really good.
I miss the US Covers...
Premise -
I am Jean Lafayette, at least during the day where I work in a middle sized office (sounds about right). I like having a name, a character to play rather, lets see if it makes any difference. But by night I am the Silver Crusader and hero of Titan City. I like that I am not egotistical enough to go with gold. Or maybe it was easier to get the costume in silver.
Lets go back to my birth to explain how all this happened. So while she was pregnant with me my mother decided to allow an experimental genetic surgery to be performed. To make it worse the doctors apparently warned her about the dangers of radiation experiments and the program was no where near complete. But its ok, as mum was part of the program. We are told that our poor dad had no real idea what he was consenting to. Gee thanks mum! Gambling with my life for the sake of her experiments. I hope the twist is the mum is the big baddie.
Nope they both died.
As a child I am subjected to a lot of experiments and tests from the doctors but just appear to be a normal boy! Its all done hush hush though as there would be a public outcry if the truth came out. And also mum did not want the world to see me as an experimental freak. What!? Well maybe if you don't want that, do not perform the crazy experiment on your unborn child!!!
So eventually the docs got fed up with the experiments and I was labelled just a normal boy. Ironically just at this time my abilities (more about them later) started to manifest themselves. My parents decided to keep this a secret as they did not wish the experiments to start up again and be a lab rat for the rest of my life. I feel we can thank Dad for this.
So when the call comes I become the Silver Crusader, sworn to protect the citizens of Titan City (love the name). But its not only my powers I use, I also have a trusty crime watch! This allows the police to contact me and vice versa. Woah did Steve predict smart watches all the way back in 1985!?
But that's not all! It also connects me with my underworld contact......Gerry the Grass. Now lets hope that this is my pet name for poor Gerry. He wont last long in the underworld with a name like that!
Good old Gerry has informed us that within the next few days, Vladimir Utoshski, the leader of F.E.A.R has called a top secret meeting. Vlad is also known as the Titanium Cyborg, part man, part machine and if F.E.A.R get their way the western world will be devastated. I need to find out where and when this meeting will take place.
By the way F.E.A.R stands for Federation of Euro American Rebels. I had to check with Gerry I had the right F.E.A.R and not the Friends of Earwigs And Rabbits. Its a very niche group and could have been a very embarrassing misunderstanding!
Playthrough -
Its a Steve Jackson book, you did not expect it to be standard rules did you?
So first up Skill, Stamina and Luck are all still here and normal. However in the battles section you are told that if you reduce your opponent to 1 or 2 stamina they give up. If you kill someone you lose a hero point!
Hero points are points that erm show how heroic you have been? They have no bearing at all on the game other than like a score system. The more hero points you get the better you have done and try to beat your high score on a new playthrough. I guess it adds some replay value but seems quite flimsy for a Steve Jackson mechanic.
Next section is about clues. There are two types of clue. The first relates to villians and their crimes and the other type relates to the big F.E.A.R meeting you are trying to find. You start with a couple of clues.
But here is why we are all here. Choosing your super power -
Super Strength -
Ill just take a direct quote from the book "The muscles of your immensely powerful legs and arms bulge through the fabric of your costume." This gives you a Skill score of 13 and of course allows you to fly... Anyway this is clearly the Fighting Fantasy version of Superman. Or...
Bulging muscles are covered!
Psi Powers -
You have the abilities to read thoughts of humans and some animals and also affect what people think. But it costs you 2 stamina every time you use it. A much more cerebral type superhero. I am thinking Professor X.
Enhanced Technology Skills -
You are a tech whizz and have all sorts of hi-tech gadgets that you have also miniaturized to fit on your utility belt! Well its called an accessory belt but we all know what it it. Basically you are Batman!
It does say though you have never made any weapons though in case they fall into the wrong hands.
Energy Blast -
You can shoot energy bolts from your hands! Interestingly it means all you need to do is pass a skill test and you stun your opponent and win the combat. But it does cost you 2 stamina each time you use it. This sounds more like Emperor Palpatine rather than a super hero.
Each superpower gives you different clue options as well which is pretty cool. But hmm which one. I do feel its a no brainer, skill 13 and you can fly! Yes please! I mean the energy blast is also tempting but with skill 13 you should win most combats without being hit. If the blast didn't cost 2 stamina it would be more intriguing. The Psi Powers would be cool for a different type of playthrough but again at the cost of 2 stamina I am not interested. Only other one would be to be the batman but is he really a super hero or just a bit clever? And I would like to know more about what equipment you have on the utility belt before picking that one.
I mean for all I know its just this!
Skill - 13 (Super Strength)
Stamina - 17
Luck - 9
Right first up is the clues. Super Strength gives you one automatically and you get a choice of three for your second. My first clue is that the Scarlet Prankster has a new base benefiting his sense of humour. When I am in the vicinity subtract 50 from the paragraph to find him. Oh no its one of those types of book. This sounds like House of Hell.
Second Clue is that the President is visiting Titan City and there will be an attempt on his life! I have to find Marcus Buletta and Rat Face Flanagan who know how the attempt will be made! This sounds more important than the F.E.A.R meeting!
On my way to work. Would be funny if you just play the whole game navigating the politics and pitfalls of office life! I need more yellow toner for the printer dammit!
Steve builds the tension in the city, people are on edge and there is an atmosphere. Police chase a car to the park through Clark street! First DC reference there! I can chase the car, break up an argument, buy a paper to learn about a bank robbery. Or go to work. This is very tempting as hard to cover why I missed work. But as I do not really have to worry about that I go to see if I can break up the argument.
I decide to whip into my costume first chance I get. The crowd settle down and I give a lady a row for letting her dog sh*t in the street. No hero points which I find hard to believe!
I decide to go and buy a paper and read about the bank robbery by now other than the Alchemist!
Some remarkable pictures in the newspaper of the crime!
Time to do some hero stuff, time to investigate. When I get to the bank everyone is quite. I can talk to branch manager, the police or the security guard. I decide the guard is a first hand witness so go to find him first.
Except he is still locked in the time access vault and wont be able to speak until he gets out. I do find that the alchemist has used chemicals to disable the security system. I get asked if I have energy blast which would blow the door open. No I do not but I am super strong so surely I could just yank the door to the vault off? No? Ok.... instead I lose two stamina points trying exactly that.
As I leave one of police officers tells me about a shark sighting at Starkers beach (Tony Stark?) and he is worried as his kids swim there. Well maybe phone them or go home and tell them not too! Fine ill take a fly by.
To be honest its just as well. It is described as having barley dressed girls who titter at the muscle bound gigolos! What type of beach is this? Beaches in Scotland are beautiful but extremely cold! Multiple layers required!
Turns out there was a shark as well.
I fly into the water and the Ripper Shark is Skill 10! Bloody hell! It takes a little nibble out of me but we kill it (I thought I didn't kill anyone). I take the a floundering boy back to this mother. She is very thankful and gives me basically free tickets to the circus run by her uncle Captain Menagerie. He sounds like a villian. If I ever get near a lions cage I need to add 50 to the paragraph to find where he keeps his notes.
Somehow this does not net me a hero point either! And just like that its the end of the day. I go home and restore 6 stamina. I realise my boss, Jonah White (I must work for an amalgamation of the Daily Bugle and Daily Planet) will be livid. The next day I take the subway to work to be on time. But get distracted by a pickpocket. But before I can stop him the crime watch tells me to get to the cowfield dairy fast!
Sorry pickpocket but you are small fry. I head over to the dairy. Everything looks fine and I find a stray cat trying to get in. I pick him up for a stroke when I see Chainsaw Bronski!
A well known murderer who is meant to be behind bars!
It is now that I get perhaps the best choice ever. Will I approach this mass murderer chainsaw wielding maniac? Or take the cat to a cats home? Poor Cat.
Bronski is easily dealt with and tells me that the Serpent has been dumped by his actress girlfriend. Getting back to the police station I finally get my first hero point!
Now its time to get back to work. Boss wont be happy so I decide to get him a gift. Of course I buy him a copy of Warlock of Firetop Mountain haha. It does not go well and he suspends me for the rest of the day. Should have bought him Lone Wolf....
So I decide to go to Wisneyland (oh come on Steve at least try).
I am hoping the Scarlet Prankster will be around here.
Next choice is the Big Dipper, Fun House or Dodgems. Well I think the Fun House would seem a likely place to find the Joker...cough erm I mean the Scarlet Prankster so I head over there.
Hmm subtracting 50 did not work so I guess I have not got it quite right. I fall down into a pit in the fun house and find another reporter here who is trapped and had his wallet stolen. He has been looking into the Scarlet Prankster so we are in the right area. He gives me a key that an informant had given him.
Ah Ha! The next page gives me the option to look around or if I know where to go, go there now! That takes the guessing off so I use my clue and bang the Scarlet Prankster! I keep having to remember not to kill them and get them to stamina 2 instead but I easily beat him. He has a note on him that tells me the F.E.A.R meeting starts at 9am! No idea where though. I take the Prankster into the police and I am rewarded with 3 Hero Points!
At this point I get the option to go home and rest but I am already on maximum stamina so I can either try and get a ticket for tonight's performance of rats or go shopping. Well Cats was atrocious so if Rats is anything like it there is bound to be a villian hanging around! Especially if the Serpents ex is in it.
Guess what! She was!
The Lizard does indeed show up kidnaps his ex. Saving us all from the performance. But I remember I am meant to be a super hero and I have lost count of how many times but its time to change again!
I head backstage and get told I have three doors to choose from. One has two stars, one has one star and the final door has no stars. Well using my information I got from Chainsaw Bronski I know the actress does not want to be seen as a star and always takes the smallest changing room. No stars it is.
Its the Serpent! He has a poisonous attack that if I get hit I lose 1 skill point on a roll of a 1 or 2. Its just temp though and I can get it back the next day.
He is only Skill 8 so he does not hit me. He tried to cut a deal but as a paragon of justice I refuse. But I do suggest if he tells me then ill put in a word with the judge. He tells me that Ilya Karpev is the Creature of Carnage an agent of F.E.A.R. And that the attempt on the presidents life will take place on the roof of the regent hotel. Add 100 when watching the president to go there!
Another 2 Hero points in the bag and amazingly the next day I get to work on time! And no crime happens all day. At 5pm I clock off and I can either go to the police station to see why its so quite. Or go and visit my aunt. Well I am no Peter Parker so its off to the police.
Its just as well as I learn of a prison break where Marcus Buletta escaped. That name is familiar as they know the plan for the presidents assassination! Although I think I know enough about it already, I head to the hospital as they escaped in a disguised ambulance and a strange hairy person has just been admitted.
Its a bit odd at the hospital, they do not seem to care that I am the Silver Crusader. And I learn the person I am here to look for dies an hour ago. The book is determined to get me to visit my aunt but something smells off here so I head to the morgue.
Right enough the body has gone missing. The trail of the missing body ends here so I fear I have missed a clue somewhere. I have no choice but to leave.
So I can go and watch Georgie Boy and The Vulture Club (Boy George and the Culture Club) or go and visit my aunt. Fine, fine ill go and visit my aunt. I take a short cut to save time through the graveyard. Fully expecting something to go wrong.
Yep.
This is the Reincarnation who can not be killed and due to some bureaucratic mix up he has been buried in a normal grave. Lucky I am here. He is Skill 10 but I beat him easily enough. But all I can do I rebury him and let the police know where to pick him up. I get no hero points as nobody saw the fight and no information!
My aunt looks after me and I spend the night there. Luckily its Saturday so no work to go to when I wake up. I can go to the home appliance of the future exhibition, watch a game of football. Or watch the president. Well as much as both those have a high chance of a villian showing up, I know the president will get killed unless I do something so I head over.
I activate the clue and I did it at the right place and I get into a battle with the Assassin! He is no match for my bulging muscles and he admits he works for F.E.A.R. He has no idea where the meeting will take place other than it is tomorrow. I get 6 hero points for saving the presidents life. But I now have to get the location today or its game over.
So my character decides to go home for a rest! And next thing I know its in the morning and the watch goes off saying F.E.A.R meeting today, location unknown. I have no idea where it is but I can stay in town, go to Parker Airport (Spiderman) or head to the waterfront.
I burst into the the meeting of F.E.A.R, unfortunately its the annual Farmers Environmental and Resources conference. I get in cab and the Titanium Cyborg comes over the radio. They have taken over the star wars system and want all armies and governments to surrender. To prove a point they will destroy Titan City in the next 30 seconds. Oh well guess they were not in the city then!
Notable Encounters -
Its not all about smashing super baddies! Sometimes you have to use your brain like at the start where you have to investigate the murder of Wayne Bruce. Finding a certain medallion in the bushes (quite careless) whilst using a clue you might get at the start takes you to the doorstep of Daddy Rich!
I mean look at the blood splatters, it does not take Batman to work this one out.
There is also a hijacked plane to rescue. You can try and talk him down over the radio or just fly up there and beat him up in time. Or like so much of this book you can use the secret clue in the newspaper and get the hidden solution!
Some people are prone to a bit of exaggeration -
I mean it is a sweetie shop so should have known.
Yep it was just a kid! Who you seriously injure as all you see are the feet before unleashing your super power.
You can actually turn up at work as well sometimes. Normally with a tongue lashing from the boss. Which is much deserved by the way as you turn up horrendously late if at all! However its not always boring and you can learn a few things at work.
Nothing is simple in Titan City for a superhero. Even trips to the shops and the subway will land you in a spot of bother. Shopping is especially perilous for a flying super hero. So you can not let your guard down.
But there is a lot going on. Museums, Zoos, Stadiums, Swimming Pools and even an expo about the future!
A shout out to the trip to the Zoo where you can arrest the Lion Tamer without any actual evidence and lose some hero points. You have to find some clues earlier in the book to find what's really going on with the circus and the Ringmaster!
I did like the homage to Spiderman in my playthrough where I got to visit your Aunt! But in typical fashion its not as simple as just turning up!
Artwork -
Declan Considine is another new illustrator to the series. I do like how they have kept with the theme of comic book strips with how they have done the art.
It is different but not quite to my tastes but I did like the Shark at the beach and Chainsaw Bronski. And the Reincarnation was properly good.
I do really like the Super Villians art but I will talk about that later.
Does well to show the car crash. I really like this one.
Get to the Choppa!
Blam! President is dead.
There are some ones though where I am erm not sure about.
I mean what is going on with that women?!
This is the panel to describe attacks by a wild animal? Not sure why there is a giant sky cowboy.
The Smoke in all his erm glory.
But I feel like I have to highlight one in particular -
Erm is that necklace on the third guy from the left what I think it is?!
Now I know they are meant to be bad guys but if that is what I think it is that's too much, even for 1985.
The Big Bad -
And I would have got away with it if wasn't for those pesky kids!
Vladimir Utoshski aka the Titanium Cyborg! Now it makes sense in 1985 that the big baddy is very Russian sounding. To be fair as I write this (1st Jan 23) there is another Russian Vlad who is the big bad so its aged well!
You do not really have any interactions with the cyborg out with the climatic battle. He does show up as a regular person at the expo to sabotage a robot butler. But apart from that he is just a dark shadow in the background where you are running around the city trying to find him. And to be honest I like that. It suits the book quite well.
When you do eventually find him he is a proper super villian. He is Skill 18! Not even your super strength of Skill 13 has any chance against this guy! And just in case he straight up kills you after three rounds anyway. The only way to beat him is to use the circuit jammer you get at Murdoch Labs. Overall though the Titanium Cyborg is a great big bad!
Menagerie -
There is not much in normal encounters here outside of some thugs, radioactive dogs and sharks. Everything is based around the bad guys so lets have a look at the Rouges Gallery -
Illya Karpov - The Creature of Chaos
Strengths - Very Strong
Weakness - Can be fought in human form
Interesting Fact - Is not the Hulk
Marcus Buletta - Dr Macabre
10/10 on his evil laugh course.
Strengths - Great at putting things together, just ask the four armed dude.
Weakness - Reliance on drug stores.
Interesting Fact - Went on to star in the human centipede.
Sylvia Frost - The Ice Queen
How about some COLD meat hahaha
Strengths - Ice Skating.
Weakness - Anything warm.
Interesting Fact - Was going to be featured on a renovation program for the property she just bought before being rudely interrupted by a superhero.
The Mantrapper - Real Name Unknown
I catch erm men, not ladies.
Strengths - Working out with the boys!
Weakness - Men, he can not resist trapping them.
Interesting Fact - He just likes trapping men, he releases them soon after as its all a jolly jape.
Mustapha Kareem - The Mummy
Strengths - Stronger than you.
Weakness - Gets sand in the worst possible places.
Interesting Fact - Works at the Egypt museum not to be a stereotype but to learn more about his odd condition.
Sidney Knox - Super name still pending
Big Brain
Strengths - Sudoku/Wordle/Scrabble
Weakness - Always corrects people.
Interesting Fact - Looking for a new name, I vote the Brain but it has probably already been taken.
The Devastator
Strengths - Reading, that's why he is in the Library clearly.
Weakness - Phenolic Acid.
Interesting Fact - Is the combined form of the six decepticon constructicons.
The Reincarnation
Strengths - King of the Comebacks.
Weakness - Narcolepsy.
Interesting Fact - Just wants some peace and quite.
The Ringmaster
Strengths - Animal Control
Weakness - Animal Welfare
Interesting Fact - Likes to dress as a cowboy in his spare time and appear as I giant floating head in the city.
The Scarlett Prankster
Streng.....Cease and Desist from the law office of DC.
Giorgio Shultz - The Poisoner
He works out for a chemist.
Strengths - Being a muscle nerd.
Weakness - Tiny test tubes.
Interesting Fact - Struggles to mix the worlds of chemistry nerd with gym monkey.
Macro Brain
Strengths - Awesome entrances.
Weakness - Alpha Wave Emitters.
Interesting Fact - Had same kind of genetic experiments as the Silver Crusader had. But he used them for evil.
The Smoke
Strengths - Air vents.
Weakness - Any kind of breeze.
Interesting Fact - No one knows how it works with his clothes.
The Serpent
Strengths - Slithery
Weakness - Actresses
Interesting Fact - Very controlling behavior in 1985 would lead to the serpent being put away for domestic reasons in 2023.
The Tiger Cat
Strengths - Can transform into a cute cat.
Weakness - Easily picked up and returned to the cattery.
Interesting Fact - Steve Jackson's favorite going by the description.
Richard Storm - The Tormentor
You know Susan?!
Strengths - Seems to know how to fly an airplane.
Weakness - Hopeless Romantic
Interesting Fact - Luckily does not stop to think exactly how you have Susan's phone number.
The real villian is this guy though -
He knows exactly what he was doing and almost causes a full scale riot on the street.
Entertaining Deaths -
Not many instant deaths in this one but we have a few.
Macro Brain takes over you're mind and makes you into a bad guy.
You see a child stealing some munchies in the supermarket. As you confront him he shoots you with gun!
My favorite though is getting to the submarine for the F.E.A.R meeting, you quickly hide but the door closes and you are trapped in the ejection bay. You are promptly fired out of the submarine and drown.
Pete's Corner -
Its much more fun to see if you can get to minus hero points.
Final Thoughts -
First thing I would say about Appointment with F.E.A.R is wow it took me ages to map it out. My spreadsheet had over twenty five tabs. Steve takes the hidden route mechanism from House of Hell and dials it up to eleven. Its so complicated as its not only the final meeting that's hidden but you need to constantly be on the look out for even minor encounters. At first I thought it was obvious as the paragraphs would say things like but if you would like to go somewhere else now would be the time to do it. But some of them are not that obvious. When I was mapping out the book I completely missed Daddy Rich and the Poisoner! This makes the book difficult but by no way unfair, the clues are there if you keep an eye out.
Another reason for it taking so long is how long the book is. Its 440 paragraphs. When you think back to Starship Traveler being short changed this is a big difference for Steve. And its not 440 of filler, there is a hell of a lot in them as there needs to be to give the readers the clues they need.
Two main reasons here for the length. One is having the four separate hero powers. It means each encounter has to have up to four different ways of playing out. Now to be fair some are the same but it is a lot. The second is that they have multiple endings. You can end up on an executive jet, a submarine or even a underneath the Chinese laundry. This is fun and a great way to keep people coming back to the book.
I like the idea of different powers. It can lead to very different decision making on the playthrough. And with the different clues you can start with it can send you off in very different directions. This adds a ton of replay value. But I would say not all powers are created equal. Most people are going to be the same as me and go straight to the super man type as that Skill 13 is just so tempting for Fighting Fantasy veterans. ETS is cool as well but to me there was just so many times when the equipment was rubbish or didn't work. I feel the Silver Crusader is a bit of a knock off batman. The other two skills are interesting but having to take the stamina penalty does not make sense to me. I would keep the skills but eliminate that penalty to bring it up to the same level as the other skills.
Hero points though I think are a miss. I see what they are trying to do as it encourages like a high score but for a Steve Jackson mechanic I would expect a lot more. It also encourages you to play as a hero but not enough for me. You should be rewarded in some better way.
I love the variety of baddies in this. It had a feel of Arkham City with so much going on. Now some of the names can be a bit too on the nose but it does feel like a greatest hits tribute. If I had any issues with this it would maybe cut a few from the list in order to flesh out some of the others out more. But it made a nice change of pace to the usual battle through random minions. Almost like sub bosses.
I really like the Titanium Cyborg as a final boss as well. A bad ass to fight but also clearly a very cerebral bad guy. I mean he hacks the Star Wars system and blows up cities!
The artwork is not for me. I understand why they did the comic strip and that great for the theme and its not bad at all, I just don't think its amazing either.
Also some of it is tough to read in 2023. When you go to the Chinese restaurant you get told a lot of "yellow" faces look up towards you. That needs to go in any reprints and is an unfortunate reminder that even as late as the mid 80s these things were still a problem. Its one line in the entire book but I still found it very jarring to read. Couple with the dubious symbol in the art I highlighted earlier and I am not ok with it.
Another thing is that the puns are just too much. Its lazy in places. I am ok with the comic references as its a tribute. But some of the ones like Georgie Boy and the Vulture Club, Michael Blackson and his new single "Willer" and of course the terrible Wisneyland to name a few. While the comic book ones made me smile, these made me groan.
I did not want to like Appointment with F.E.A.R, I had no interest playing it as a kid and I was not looking forward to doing it here either. I am glad I did though. It is an absolute technical marvel that I only got the full appreciation of it when I tried to map it out. I did not want to like it, but I did!
Well dear readers we have finally come to it. Seas of Blood marks book number 16 in the series and I have overtaken Murrays marvelous Turn to 400 - http://turnto400.blogspot.com
The main reason I started doing this was Murrays blog. But now he has left me high and dry as I have to (perish the thought) do something original. Its a terrifying thought but here we go, together! Now lets take one tentative step into this brave new world!
So Seas of Blood, back to back Andrew Chapman adventures. Id like to think the folks at Puffin were doing a lot of quality control but I also fear that with the runaway success they saw it as a license to print money and they would take any manuscript. So if anyone had done what Mr Chapman had done and sent in a manuscript for a gamebook it was going to get printed. Rings of Kether though was a pleasant surprise so hopefully Seas will be good. Ive never played it before but delighted to be returning to the fantasy setting.
What I do know though is that it is a Pirate Adventure! That's a great theme for a gamebook, there better be a kraken! I decided to warm up for this by playing some Black Flag to get in the mood. Unfortunately I got far to into it and now many weeks later I got 100% sync. How dare they make a fun game, don't they know I am trying to write a blog here!
Should have played Seas of Blood on the Spectrum instead!
Covers -
Well this one was was never republished so we only have one cover! One Cover!!! Makes witty comedic observations a lot harder! Lets have a look then. Well first thing is I can confirm the sea is in fact blood coloured! I mean minimum requirement and all that.
I really like the monster which I assume is some type water hydra? Fighting Fantasy loves a hydra. But I swear there better be a kraken!
Interestingly the ship appears to be a more Jason and the Argonauts themed Trireme type ship. I had in my head more traditional golden age of pirates type ship complete with canons.
Premise -
My hometown is the city of Tak and we are told that it is the greatest den of thieves, criminals and cut-throats the civilized world has ever seen. Really? Worse than Port Blacksand!? Tak is affectionately know to its residents as the City of Scum. I guess thats name would have been a lot less kid friendly title.
The top two pirates are myself and Abdul the Butcher! What the wrestler?
Andrew Chapman must have been a wrestling fan!
Anyway even though we are the recognized best pirates we are both pretty poor as we suffer from debilitating betting addictions. When the fun stops, stop!
As we are both gambling (again) someone suggests a contest to determine the one true king of the pirates! We will both go raiding and meet up in fifty days on the island of Nippur and whomever has the most booty will be the winner! We both agree and set off on an adventure!
Playthrough -
So being an Andrew Chapman book we have a few extra rules, although not as many as his space adventures which is a shame as I like his mechanics. But your characteristics are the usual skill, stamina and luck however we also get the stats for your crew. Crew Strike and Crew Strength which basically mean skill and stamina for your guys when it comes to big pitched battles.
The only other section that's added is for booty which is your track of treasure you have acquired. There is not a section for it but the book tells me to track the passing of time in a log book.
No provisions this time but in a twist for every day that passes you regain one point of stamina. So I have to sleep for 4 nights to get the equivalent health restore of a cheese sandwich.
What I do really like is the map we get at the start, I feel it will be important to plan which direction to head off in depending how much time is left.
The Dead City and Rivers of the Dead are no where near each other!
Skill - 7
Stamina - 19
Luck - 11
Crew Strike - 9
Crew Strength - 19
Oh boy, Skill 7. Well to be fair I am sixteen books in and its my first dreaded skill 7. I feel my pirate is clearly a charlatan and has been blagging his way through the pirate life but now Abdul has called my bluff. Might be a short adventure as the crew are not wonderful either.
I start with 20 gold pieces and I just throw it into the booty counter. I contemplate just sailing straight to Nippur with a grand total of 20 and being happy to be alive.
So we set sail in the Banshee, which is a great name for a pirate boat! I would like to wait and see which way Abdul goes but no I have to make my choice first. I could go towards the big city of Lagash for a dangerous raid on shipping. High risk, high reward. Hmm not with my skill score we wont be. We could patrol the inland sea around the mountainous isle of Enraki. Or you can do what I did and head off to the Scythera Desert to plunder some of the rich western caravans. My thinking being there seems to be more named places on that side of the map.
It takes us five days to sail to the desert. Dropping anchor me and the crew head into the desert and find a busy little village by the oasis. We can either attack straight away or hide in the dunes for caravans. Its at this point I realise that this time I am 100% the bad guy. It was debatable in the early books but no doubt this time. Well lets pile into the village!
Its at this point I am told their is a military outpost nearby and the mercenaries pile out to defend the village. Great scouting guys! I really am a terrible pirate. I can only assume I normally do my pirate activities somewhere else.
The crew take a bit of a battering as we are nocked down to 13 before disposing of the mercs. Just as well there was not more of them. We take one prisoner to sell as a slave. Wait what? Yep apparently we are also slavers. Not very comfortable with this.
We hang around waiting for a caravan to come in and these boys turn up -
I have no idea what that is they are riding. But I love it!
As we pop out to attack the Lizardmen shoot at us and I lose another 2 crew strength. Luckily though once we close the range they are no match for the crew. The haul is disappointing though with only 63 gold found (I have no idea what's a good total but the book tells me its disappointing) and take another slave in the shape of a Lizardman. Another day is added to the total but the crew get drunk and enjoy themselves.
With the crew down to 11 I decide to head to the neutral city of Assur to recruit more bodies. Despite being down on crew they row hard and we make it in 5 days and our journey is free of any issues. I find someone selling ex slaves at 10 gold a pop. I decide for the sake of lasting as long as possible to pay 80 to get the team back up to full strength. We now have a grand total of 3 gold. The slaver does however give me a tip about a shrine up river so I decide to go and check it out.
It takes three days to find shrine and when we do its covered in skeletons in tortured poses so the crew refuse to go any closer. Quite sensible but I have to maintain my façade as a fearsome pirate so I venture inside.
Even this bird cleric is a better fighter than me.
This Awkmute is not happy and shakes his staff at me. When he hits me I have to roll a dice to see if I lose stamina, skill or luck. Oh no.
Amazingly I do kill him with some amazing skill rolls. He does take a chunk of health and some luck off me. Thankfully I avoid losing any skill points which would have been a death sentence. I get to take his staff as a weapon now and in any combat going forward if I hit I roll 1d6 and on a 1 or 2 I get to deduct a skill point from my opponent instead.
I ignore the option to climb up the chimney as it sounds too much like a bad idea and wander down a dark corridor instead. Two acolytes attack me, kindly one at a time. Luckily I trip up and accidently hit the first guy with my new staff which is just as well as these priests are still the same level of me in the art of combat. I trade with the first one and I am down to 7 stamina when he goes down. Acolyte two however ends the fight with a Skill of 1!
Luckily this is just a statue.
So this is the big idol and I get a horrible choice. Its tongue is a big ruby. I could stick my hand in and get it or try and carry the whole thing out for the crew to take back to the ship. I feel that a statue of one of the Lords of Decay might be a tad hard to fence but I also do not want to put my had in its gob. Nope not putting my hand in there.
I take the statue back with minimal effort to the city and sell it for 105 gold! Then its back to the Banshee. I decide to sail south east in search of merchants as I feel ship to ship fighting is my best bet until I can recover some stamina.
All we find is driftwood and some barrels. Some good grog in the barrels though and I can restore 2 crew strength, which is about the only thing I don't need as its at max. With that I decide to go back to the west coast.
I've now burned 23 days into this challenge and only have 108 gold. At least all this sailing has restored a heap of stamina.
We make landfall at Kirkuk and go into the town and demand tribute of 200 gold. The headman takes me to the treasury. At least that's where I thought he was going.
Ah the treasury, can you fine gentleman help take the gold back to my ship?
Yeah turns out he led me to the barracks. A fight ensues with the crew take a few hits but send the soldiers running. Its at this point we notice the elite Winged Hussars getting ready to engage us and the only options are run back to the ship or try and hide in the forest. Well I feel it would be a wasted trip heading back to the ship now so we leg it into the woods. The cavalry can not follow and we wait three days for the Kish soldiers to leave the town and head back home.
And it turns out they were also raiding the town and had stripped it of all wealth. All we pick up on this trip is seven slaves.
I am not sure its a good idea to head to Kish going by how we just fought the army so we sail to the Shoals of Trysta.
We arrive just a major storm is brewing which I lose two days avoiding. When the storm clears though a battleship is bearing down on me.
The Kishian's really do not like me, can't say I blame them!
I try and avoid the ship but my terrible skill score means I crash the ship and have to fight them anyway. They are Strike 10 which is only 1 more and Strength 8. I am Strike 9 and have a Strength currently of 15 so I expect to take some heavy damage but I only have to hit them four times.
I hit them once. Its an absolute massacre and my crew are wiped out to a man. At least the good guys won this time and hopefully the slaves are freed. I wonder how long Abdul waits for me before giving up? I hope he also sinks and some other random declares himself King of the Pirates!
Notable Encounters -
Well that was a pretty early death, not a shock with the stats. But it did mean I missed out on a lot! However when looking through them all I discovered that all the locations are mini adventures (some very mini). So I present to you the travelers guide to the lands of the Inland Sea!
Lagash -
We were never able to land in Lagash, too much warships!
Enraki -
I nice location dominated by a monastery. The priests and Abbot are very friendly if you are nice enough. Just do not fall in the pit or you will have to pick the right door to get out. If you do not fancy the monastery there is a lovely mountain to climb up but be very careful as the local wildlife do a lot of screaming and snowball throwing.
Nice place to go, unless of course you are a raiding pirate!
Rivers of the Dead -
Do not be put off by the name of this place. It is home to some very friendly Giants who may even join your crew. Just do not get in a wrestling match with them, they do not know there own strength! For travelers who like their history you can explore the ancient catacombs and see a legit sarcophagus. Please though do not touch the antiques.
Big fans of sport these boys.
The Inland Sea -
Nothing really to see here other than some merchant ships. Just do not come on an even day as the Hydra is about!
Shoals of Trysta -
10/10 for hospitality from the local King who will make sure to look after you and if you are honest with him will shower you with gifts. 1/10 for weather as it is known for its storms.
Welcome to Trysta! You didn't eat any of the cows did you?
Scythera Desert -
Its full of sand.
Assur -
A great place to go to find more crew if you are a pirate. Most famous though for its evil temple. Worth a visit if you like strange creatures such as Awkmute's, Giant Leach's or ghosts. Do not put your hand in the idols mouth.
Calah -
The Vegas of the Inland Sea! Come here and enjoy fighting Ogres and such in Punch out. Or roll some dice. Or everyone's favorite the Bataar racing! Watch as your favorite Bataar gets to bite the goblin first!
Eastern Rim -
Known for its wrecks this a great place to come for people who love diving. Plenty friendly Sea Sprites around to help you but be wary of the Krell. And please do not swim into the Giant Clams.
Kirkuk -
Would be nice at other times of the year but currently being ransacked by Kishian soldiers.
Kish -
We never got to visit the city but the countryside was nice. Just be careful if you go into the forest as its full of Bark Biters.
Uncharted Island -
Its only a bloody great big sea monster!
Oops!
Roc -
Imaginatively named after the giant bird that makes its home here. Avoid unless you want to be bird food.
Channel of Goth -
An absolute war zone. Avoid at all costs. The chances of making it out of here are very, very slim.
Shurrupak -
If you have any slaves you would like to sell, Shurrupak is the place for you.
The Dead City -
Never reached it as its blocked by a giant chain.
Three Sisters -
A lovely little Island chain. Neat Island is home to some wonderful people who will welcome you with open arms and even have a feast to celebrate. Highly recommend! As long as you have no other plans as unfortunately they then have to kill you for looking at their sacred Island. The Palm Island is a favorite of Pirates to bury their treasure. While the third island is the volcanic island. Its more to be avoided as its full of creatures either on the beach or in the jungle. One is know only as the Horror, should tell you all you need to know.
Welcome to the Jungle! We've got fun and games!
Kazallu -
Home to a lovely lady who couldn't be more helpful. She does a fantastic soup! There are an alarming number of animals around though....
What a wonderful place, say where is Jim, he was right where that parrot is...
Iceberg -
Great to look at wrecked ships but local wildlife can be a problem.
Nippur -
Quite a dark place. Would only recommend for Cyclops aficionados.
Artwork -
Bob Harvey is back behind the pens in his second Fighting Fantasy outing after Talisman of Death. I would say even though its not up there with my favorite it is definitely above average. I did not see much during my playthrough but the ones I did were all good and I especially enjoy the interpretation of the caravan creatures. The Giants as well I found really good. Others I liked are -
Oh god! Mungo Flashbacks!
One Warship took me down, so glad I did not run into this lot!
Do not touch the antiques!
As always though there are some I am not sure about -
The Bark Biter is a bit of mess for me.
This is an important scene but I find it a bit bland. Also a Gargoyle with no wings!?
Its erm an iceberg. Glad we did an illustration for this one.
Also just wanted to highlight this one, showing that Bob was thinking same as me for pirates -
Look at that! A proper pirate boat! And Pirates burying treasure.
The Big Bad -
Well technically its Abdul, as it is him that you are in direct competition with. But as you just meet up at the very end its not much of a big bad. So instead I will talk about the fight with the Cyclops at the end of the adventure in Nippur.
He has terrible depth perception. But glasses are half price.
Ok getting the negative out of the way first. This comes out of nowhere when you reach the final destination. Instead of just checking the treasure with Abdul, for some strange reason you have to meet him up a mountain. Which you can only go up if you beat this guy. But Abdul is already at the top, did he also fight the Cyclops? And if so how long ago, had the poor Cyclops recovered? It makes no sense.
But now to the good. This is not a normal fight. You are told of his stamina and if you reduce him to zero go to a certain page. Instead of Skill rolls you instead need to pick between three ways to attack. This will either hurt you or him, or both. Then you get another three choices. These are all varied such as Flying kick to the chest, Jump up and down on his back, elbow in the ribs etc. I particular like the various options that involve kicking or upper cutting the groin. You can fight dirty if you want. This is a great way to build an epic fight and the best bit is it does not matter if you have a low skill, you have a great chance even with Skill 7.
Menagerie -
For the first time I will divide this into two sections. In the first we have normal standard encounters. Lots of humans as expected but there are some new unique encounters such as the Awkmute in my playthrough. But with additions like an Acid Ball, Elverines, Shades and even an invisible guy.
But this time we also have mass combat, you and the crew can tumble en mass. Unfortunately most are against various soldiers or humans. But they also help against Lizardmen and a Goblin Horde. What made more sense though was when they would help against big monsters like the Roc or Giant Crayfish. I liked this idea but feel could have done a bit more with it.
The Hydra is a lot less menacing than the front cover. And you have to be really unlucky to bump into him.
The imaginatively named Ice Beast that lives on the Iceberg
The Roc is just a giant vulture.
The Ogre Champion is all about who can hit the other person first.
But I do have a major gripe. There are two encounters. The Horror (skill 12) which has a bit of an interesting description but no illustration. That would have been one that would have been great to have an illustration. What is even worse though is the Sith Orb. There is bugger all description on what this is and what it looks like. You are just expected to know. That would be ok if there was an illustration but there was not! I am forced to imagine it was Darth Vader.
Entertaining Deaths -
Oh boy there is a mountain of ways to die in daft circumstances here. Easily the most I have seen so far.
Getting pelted by giant snowballs.
Having a Skeleton grab your hand and never let go, you eventually starve to death.
Agreeing to wrestle a Giant.
Eating the Kings Cattle.
Losing the Banshee in a game of dice (back to those gambling problems).
Being eaten by a Giant Clam when you swim into it thinking it was part of a cave.
The crew mutiny when you make them go up a cliff.
Having a parasite burrow into you. It then uses your body to incubate its eggs.
Opening a random door which just so happens to have a Basilisk sitting in the room.
Getting blown all the way back to Tak when your stupid crew open one of the bag of winds thinking its full of treasure.
But the winner for this book is - Eating some soup and turning into a Parrot.
Pete's Corner -
Just leave the Unicorn Skull where it is.
Final Thoughts -
Ok straight up, this was not as fun as I thought it would be. When I saw the map I got really excited but in reality this is a very disjointed adventure. It really does not have a flow about it and I never really felt I was in it. Two reasons for this. One, each location seems to be its own separate adventure and there are a lot of locations. Which means there are all very, very short and not fleshed out at all. I would have preferred less locations in order to get more from each one. Two, the writing. Its not descriptive enough a lot of the time so its hard to feel you are in the world.
Lets talk about being the bad guy. I like the idea a lot as in a lot of other books we have joked about secretly being the bad guy. This is quite clear. This is not the Pirates of the Caribbean loveable rouge pirates. You have to be a dick and steal a lot of peoples gold. Taking slaves though and selling them off for profit is very uncomfortable though, I do not think it needed to have that element in it.
What I do like about it, and Andrew Chapman in particular, is his different rules and mechanics. Crew fighting this time is one of his more basic ones but I did enjoy the feel of having mass battles and not being on my own. Just a shame I did not feel that attached to them. Would have been nice to at least have a named quartermaster or cook.
But the highlight of the entire book is the Cyclops fight. I really like how it was done and is up there with the Balthus Dire battle. Its just a shame its not a climatic battle with Abdul instead. But as far as game book mechanics are concerned its top notch.
And speaking of Abdul, I do not feel we got enough mention of him and what his crew are up to. We get the occasional snippet but if you look back at Deathtrap Dungeon your opponents activates are very evident and affect you.
Speaking of which considering you claim to be one of the best pirates of the Inland Sea I do not seem to have any idea about any of the locations. I think you should have at least be given some information to allow you to decide where to go. I mean you have the map which is great but lets flesh that out a bit.
It felt to me it was more something out of a Ray Harryhausen type movie. I mentioned Jason and the Argonauts earlier but it was more like Sinbad with these kind of adventures, especially the Roc and the Cyclops. Now those are some of my favorite movies but I think a trick was missed here for a more traditional pirate adventure.
Again though an Andrew Chapman book has a poor ending. Its a few lines to say you declare you are the victor, the greatest rascal and sacker of cities. Rascal!? You are a slaver, I don't think rascal quite covers it.
Abdul is not impressed.
Not aimed at this one but Fighting Fantasy in general. I know I only got skill 7 this time but it really does effect enjoyment of the book. I really feel that stats for your character should be fixed at the start rather than rolling up. You can still roll dice in the combats and tests which give you the roleplaying aspect but its impossible for authors to balance the book fairly for skill 7 and skill 12 characters.
Summing up though I think this one was a great idea, some good mechanics but overall I can not help feel a bit disappointed. Especially after enjoying Rings of Kether so much. But you can tell Sci Fi is where Andrew Chapman has the passion.
And no bloody Kraken!
Here is a Kraken! From my own card game Fantasy Clash.
