Chasms of Malice

Background -

The well furnished room would have been a nice place to be.  If it was not also a glorified jail.  In a different universe.

Since he was pulled through the Stargate, the person now known as Luke Sharp was having another bemusing day.  He was watching a strange film called Spaceballs.  Was this really what the people from this planet thought space was all about?

He looks up from the painfully small viewing screen these people called a television when he heard the door being unlocked.  

Ian and Phillipa made there way into the room and sat down at the table, facing Luke.

Ian "So Luke, how are you finding Earth?"

Luke "It is terrible, it is grey and cold and everyone is obsessed with a game where people kick a ball about!"

Ian "Erm yeah it does get quite nice in the summer, but it is a bit drab just now."

Phillipa "Enough of the small talk!  Look we spent a huge amount on the Stargate project, and to be honest, Star Strider was pretty bad!  We need you to write another book to justify the project costs."

Luke "But I have never written a book in my life!  I am the 3rd assistant sous chef at my local restaurant."

Ian "Use that!  Think of a great underdog story.  People love that stuff."

Phillipa gets up and storms out muttering "Good lord, those scientists!  They completely ballsed it up this time!"

Ian watches her leave before turning to Luke "Look Luke, the secret of writing a good gamebook is to make it really, really hard!

Luke "Really difficult?  Ok I will try and do that.  And then you will send me home?

Ian gets up and goes to leave "Erm sure, if its good that its.  And remember good books are hard."

Released in December 1987, Chasms of Malice is the 30th book to be released in the series.  It is a book I have never played before.  I do not even remember seeing it in the library.  But I am aware of its reputation.  Bit worried my playthrough will not be a long one.  It is Luke Sharpe's (Alkis Alkiviades) second go at Fighting Fantasy after Star Strider, which I thought was terrible so hopefully this will be better.  Lets find out.

Covers - 

I really like this cover!  Particular the demon like goat headed horse our pale orc friend is riding.  The spear is coming out towards us and there is a big bat thing flying about.

The deep oranges, yellows and reds give the whole thing an infernal, depths of hell feeling.  Which I guess is appropriate if we end up being deep underground.

Hard to find anything to make fun of here.  It is an excellent cover.

Well maybe I could point out his lovely purple knee pads.  Even deep in the caverns, fashion matters.

Premise - 

The first part of the background is an extract from the Treatise on the Kingdoms of South West Khul by Ignatius Pommfritte.  Interesting name, think it is close to meaning french fries?

Anyway, first part is about Gorak, a minor kingdom founded by Tancred the Magnificent.  Why is he magnificent you ask?  No idea.  Anyway he established Gorak to be a gateway between Khul and the chasms, caverns and tunnels of the Gaddon people.  Gorak has been missing a monarch for quite some time and is currently governed by the Lords of Ridermark.

So how about Gaddon?  Well they are also known as Feelbrethen.  They are a people originally from south west Khul but migrated to the Chasms for unknown reasons.  It then proceeds to suggest it could have been to avoid religious persecution.  So the reasons might be known.

Living in the dark tunnels they started giving birth to blind babies who had heightened other senses and became masters of the dark.  The best of these are the Gaddon Knights, the Sensewarriors.   They are very rarely found topside.

Next we get a fragment of text form the Annals and Histories of Tancred the Magnificent, King of Gorak.

Orghuz was Tancred brother, maybe.

Looks like his brother (maybe) turned bad and was imprisoned in the Chasms and the poor Gaddon were left to watch him.

We now swing back to the normal background and follow the wizard Astragal (who appears to be Khuls Yaztromo) flying as a Hawk.  He gets a message form the current Lord Riddermark to investigate strange happenings in Gorak.  Dark creatures are abroad, attacking and killing people for no other reason than malice!  Bit on the nose that.

The Vital Truffle trade route is being disrupted.  No, not the truffles! And Azleff, the leader of the Knights of the Grey Order is missing.  But no one is really worried about him, its all about the truffles.

Will not be seeing much of these in Khul unless we sort it out.

Our man Astragal does some studying of ancient tombs and then investigates the deepest vault in Gorak keep.  Guess what?  All the seals are broken and the True Shield is missing!  There is a large crack in the floor leading to the dark chasms.

Astragal runs off to Lord Riddermark to tell him the bad news.  Someone has unleashed the Malice of Orghuz and the Khuddam.  If Orghuz can break the shields spell then his Khuddam will keep multiplying.  Very specifically to 49, then 2401 then 5764801.  Basic maths until they become an uncountable horde.  The wizard is very insistent that in order to defeat Orghuz you first have to defeat his Khuddam and it has to be a direct descendant of old magnificent Tancred.

Lord Riddermark hits Astragal with the bad news.  The line of Tancred has ended many years ago.  Astragal is having none of it though and gets his special orb out.  It leads him to Tancred's descendent, and shock horror, it is me!

I am currently working as third assistant rabbit skinner in the under kitchens and can not even wash my hands before Astragal whisks me away.  In a dusty room he casts some magic and a fancy sword appears and floats into my hand.  He then pronounces me Tancred's heir.

Astragal tells me that I must retrieve the shield and their is a traitor in Gorak.  He has nothing else to give me, not even a potion, and instead gives me a small cat called Tabasha the Bazouk and then pushes me into the deep chasm.

What the hell is going on.

Playthrough - 

We get a nice colour map.  Not that it will do much good as we will be underground.  I would like to visit the Truffle Heights though!

Skill, Stamina and Luck are all as you would expect by now.  However in the how to fight section, as well as the normal stuff there is a part called One-Strike Combat.  This is for when there is not enough space for a full combat, for example, when you are on a ledge.  I am all for speeding up combat and new mechanics.

However.....

One strike combat is, roll 2 dice for you, roll 2 dice for your opponent.  No Skill or anything, just a straight roll off.  Loser plummets to their doom.     

What the hell is going on!

Only 5 provisions this time.  However if you find any fuel you can cook them which restores 6 points of stamina instead of the usual 4.  

I do not have a lot of equipment.  A sword, leather armour and a backpack.  But we do have the aforementioned Tabasha the Bazouk.  The magic cat acts a bit like a potion.  It can restore back my initial skill or luck but can only do this once.   But you can call on Tabasha nine times throughout the adventure.  Including to help find provisions at any time.  Other times when she can help the book will prompt me.

Finally on the adventure sheet we have the 7 names of the Khuddam.  Its a simple as cross off a name when you defeat them.

Skill - 11

Stamina - 22

Luck - 9

Turns out I have been wasting my time helping skin rabbits in the kitchen as my character (who I know little about) is quite a dab hand with a sword.  I would like to think getting the sword has unlocked some latent ability for being Tancred's heir.  Not that the book said that, I made it up to justify why I am skill 11 with that backstory.  I was kind of hoping for a roll of a 1 to sell the absurdity of the whole thing.

Ill take the Luck cat option.

Dodgy Rasputin waves me on my way.

He pretty much says good luck and I head into the very dark caverns.  My cat tucks itself into my hood and the sword starts to glow which is very handy since its dark.  It scares off some furry creatures and I arrive at my first cave with three exits.  Left is just left, middle through a small crack or a wider crack on the right which drops down almost vertically.  Always left.

I find some vulgar ruins, no idea why they are vulgar as I can not read the shapes.  It looks like some carts have come this way.  Do you want to go left or right.  I go left down the tunnel to follow the cart tracks.

At this stage Tabasha jumps out and disappears into the wall, she comes out with a furry worm and offers it to me to eat.  Well I do not need any stamina but it would be rude not to.  Add 1 stamina, it is delicious!

He really wants that Iron Collar

As I continue on I find this poor dude fleeing some orcs.  I decide to help out rather than hide.  I fight one Skill 6 Orc as the other grabs the spiked collar and runs away.  My dude is obviously displeased by this as I twice roll double 6s in combat as he is easily dispatched.

The Dwarf is dying from a poisoned arrow and just has time to tell me to look for the Dragons Breath Inn for help.  I trundle after the Orc.

I come to another T-junction, but one tunnel has a dragon head carved above it.  Going by the advice of the Dwarf I decide this is the way to go.

Right enough it leads me to the Dragons Breath Inn, but as I arrive a figure in a black cloak collapses outside.  I decide to be nice and help.  Turns out it is a drunk troll who is very upset that I touched him (always get consent) and its another Skill 6 fight.  Quite easy for a troll so I can only assume his low scores are due to his very drunken state.  I hide the body and head inside.  Only mere minutes ago I was skinning rabbits in the kitchen, now I am hiding bodies of people I have murdered!

A goblin comes out of a door chewing a bone and heads into another door where I catch a glimpse of a roaring fire.  Which door do you want to go in?  Well my guess is one is a type of kitchen but I am already on maximum stamina, so lets try the nice warm fire.  

That moment where the entire pub turns round when you walk in.

It is full of orcs and trolls who are mistreating a Dwarf with a metal collar.  A blind Gaddon arrives to serve them food then smells me, recognising that I am a Topsider.  She warns me that there is great danger and asks why I have come here.  Well the Dwarf said to trust the Gaddon at the Dragons Breath Inn so I tell her my story.

She takes me upstairs to her father Bosak.  When I explain the quest, he tells me the Khuddam are abroad and the old iron mines are being worked by their slaves.  He gives me directions and tells me to seek the old man in the iron caves before getting a nice meal which restores 2 stamina that I had not lost.  It is better than the muck they feed them downstairs he tells me.

I follow his advice and arrive at a tunnel full of spiky rocks, both above and below, time to test my luck.  I pass and a stone dart misses me.  As I make my way onward I hear a scream through a crack on my left.  I am all for helping in this adventure so lets go take a look.

A young Gaddon is stuck in a web, I find the Fang Spider as it drops on my head.  Skill 6 Stamina 10.  I beat it without taking a hit, including us both rolling snake eyes in the same combat round.  I get my luck point back and the Gaddon takes me all the way to the Iron Caves including the correct door to use.

I have found the old man already.  He has a nice chamber here and my cat jumps onto his lap.  He tells me he has been expecting me and is feeling the pages of this book with fat sensitive finger tips.  Ok then.  Everyone is getting on great before a dagger appears from nowhere but my sword leaps up to deflect it.  

Turns out it was a test.  He helped forge the sword.

Time for a lesson!

So he teaches me that these are the symbols for left, right, danger, safe, up and down. 

Not so fast, now it is the maths lesson!

Each raised one has one of these values.

Ok this is all useful and makes sense.  He tells me to find the caves of Minosaddurr and temper the sword in the heartflame.  He also feeds me for more stamina I do not need.  I then have to make a blind left or right choice when I leave.  What?  He gave me all that information but can not point me in the right direction?

I head left, and the I hear screams.  But I see some engravings and using my training I can work out it says left is safe and right is danger.  So lets keep left.

After a long walk I have a sleep, Tabasha fetches a blind fish for me to eat when I wake up.  I then hear lots of shuffling feet and need to hide.  A niche to the left or hole in the ground.  A hole sounds dubious so I hide in the niche.

Turns out my hiding place was terrible.

A women has a longbow pointed at me and she is surrounded by Dwarfs, all wearing metal collars.  I feel like they are my people so I come out.  Then they use magic to knock me out.

I awake in a cave, and she introduces herself as Aspra Smoothcheek.  Really?  Smoothcheek?  Anyway she apologises saying that topsiders are sometimes used as spies and they had to check my credentials.  They are no longer wearing collars but before anyone can explain a Dwarf rushes in and Aspra throws me my sword.  I have to pick an area to defend, the door or a choice of trapdoors.  I am the big man here so I go to the main door.

A bunch of orcs break down the door and I need to fight two orcs and an orc captain one by one.  However it says if anyone rolls double 1 during the combats they are hit by a stray poisoned arrow.  Problem is it does not tell me what that means, stamina loss, death?  The passage just does not say what the consequences are.  

Turns out that it did not matter as nobody rolled double 1s.  I get hit for the first time as the Orc Captain gets a hit in but that is all.  Everybody is healthy as they make a break for it and I follow along.  Aspra goes up a slope and the Dwarfs go through a crack.  I decide to follow her as the I am quite a bit bigger than a Dwarf and would probably get stuck.

Turns out some Dwarfs are with us and we are being followed by a large force.  We come to a lava river and Aspra picks up a Dwarf and makes her way across some stepping stones, which of course sink.  She has an arrow in her leg and the Dwarf starts to work on it.  Me on the other hand, pick up two dwarfs and also attempt a jump.  I need to throw two dice to determine the distance between stones.  I roll 4.  Now I get to roll one die and add my stamina and I need to equal or beat it.  Well my stamina is 22 so I do not bother to throw.

Aspra has a potion that heals her wound and we leg it as the orcs shoot arrows across the lava.  Aspra tells me she was born a toplander but lives with the Dwarfs, eeking out an existence.  The Dwarfs are fishing for blind fish and I get the option to try while Aspra is not paying attention.  The fact it says while she is not paying attention makes me think it would be a bad idea so I pass.

Turns out it was the correct decision, the Dwarfs cook it and I get 4 stamina so back at max.  I get invited on a raid or I could stay in camp.  Well I need to find these Khuddam so I decide to head out.  

We find a cart with 6 Orcs and 2 Dark Elves on Koyunlu (no idea what they are, maybe the horse thing on the cover).  Aspra fires off a shot and takes one Dark Elf in the arm.  I can attack the other, jump on the cart or head into the orcs.  Ill go for the Dark Elf, just for a bit of a change.

This is a terrible choice as he stabs me and I lose 1 skill point and 4 stamina.  He is skill 8 and if either of us throws double 1 we will fall off the cart and get crushed to death.  Wait why am I now on the cart?  I did not pick that option.  Luckily I do not fall to my death and despite the hit to my skill I win without being hit.

I drive the cart back to the camp, and my rewards are 2 meals.  I eat 1 straight away.  I will now be entering the lands of malice proper.  Do I want to go to the Crying Spring or the Downdrop Cavern.  Neither sound wonderful.  Ill head to the Spring.

I follow a stream and it starts to smell.  It ends in a gate with a skeleton hanging on a metal spike.  I get the choice to feel around with my sword to the left or right.  Hmm, ill go left.

Left is another poor choice as I fall into a pit trap.  Test my luck, if I fail, I am dead.  I roll a 6 and only lose 1 stamina point instead.  That's a fair difference, death or 1 stamina point.  Luckily there is a door in the pit trap that I can just walk through.

I am in a cobwebbed room with four exits, one at each compass point, I have no idea which door I came through?  There are footprints coming from the North door heading to the South, lets follow them.

Turns out its a dead Trogg.  He has a shiny gem on his finger, I decide to leave it, probably the reason he is dead.  The path gets very small and ends up in a dark abyss.  I can not see the bottom, do I want to jump it.  Erm, no lets try another way.

On my way back some hellhounds and trolls appear and I have to squeeze through a crack to escape.  Test my luck and I pass to avoid getting bit by a hellhound.  

Things start getting very odd though as the tunnel breaks up and I am climbing over rocks.  Tree roots appear but they leak sap which immediately harden into more roots.  I can go over them, under them or to the left.  Erm, ill try and go over.

I get stuck as a Bazouk appears to kill me, but I have a chance, Tabasha can fight it but its a luck test.  I just pass and no more.  Next time ill need to use the potion of cat to get my luck back up.

I find a way out through a shaft or I can squeeze into another hole.  I decide to try an use the shaft to get out.  I find some warriors made of wood and to the surprise of no one, one of them comes to life and I need to fight the Skill 8 Woodman.  He hits me once before I put him down.  I look down and ask him if he has got wood.  As I giggle though he starts to heal so I run away.

I am rescued from all the Woodmen by a big fellow called Gregory who starts reciting his entire family tree.  He takes me back to his wooden house where an old man is lying on a bed of roots.  He says the tree of life is being poisoned by evil and offers me either a bag of gold or a sliver of everlasting wood.  Well this is fighting fantasy so the random object will be the one I take.

Apparently I can use it to cook food over and over again.  I get 2 luck points back and as he turns to wood Gregory takes me away and leads me to the next section.  He shakes my hand and I get a splinter.

At last an illustration!

As I play hopscotch over another lava river a women with a crossbow tells me to drop the sword.  Well that sounds like a terrible idea, I need this sword and I already have lost a skill point.  

It does not go well as I get hit by a poisoned bolt and collapse.  It costs me 3 stamina points, all my provisions and any gold/jewels that I have.  Jokes on her, I am poor.  She kicks me before she leaves and I pass out.  My cat licks the wound clean but some Orcs turn up and carry me away.

When I wake up, I am chained to a rack overlooking a great big chasm.  I still have all my kit and I am surrounded by elite Xokusai Orcs.  The captain is talking, not happy that the Khuddam have not turned up, even though they have been hunting his warriors for sport.  The Lieutenant says they have to wait for the appointed time as per the Prophecy of Mukinahdun.  This causes all the orcs to kneel down and stab their swords into the ground.  It is then declared the chase will begin and a bunch of fire breathing Gryphons are released.  As am I, as I get pushed onto a ledge and told to run for my life.

As I hear the drums I get a choice of right or left.  Lefts not been kind to me so going right this time.  I hear cheering which is odd.  Again its left, right or drop down a level.  I head down a level.

I drop my sword and end up hanging on a ledge, an Orc from below stabs me on my foot and I lose a stamina point.  Haul myself up or drop down.  Well that depends where my sword is, I have no idea!  I try to pull myself up.  

My sword is there but I have to fight two orcs before I can pick it up.  So it is -2 skill for those combats. I win but I am down to 14 stamina.

Three Orcs rush me but one hilariously falls off the ledge.  But I must fight the other two using the one strike combat rules.  So its a straight roll off twice or game over.  First Orc up, I roll a 6 and he rolls an 8 and I die.  Terrible rule.

Notable Encounters -

You can end up in a place called Caverndown.  It is currently under siege (not by Steven Segal), and you can help the good guys by riding out to break it.  Now you can go for the not as cool main force out the front door, or the much more cool riding a Koyunulu with the flanking force!

The glorious charge!

The camp of the Xokusai Orcs is interesting as you masquerade as an ally.  You can find out info on a traitor.  And when they feed you you can hide it in your pocket instead, but Tabasha who is in your pocket throws it out.

So where I died is called the Chase.  Its an interesting concept but you will die.  

Not all encounters are notable for good reasons.  You know I hate a maze, and guess what, we get a maze of blandness!

The only illustration in the maze of blandness.  And you do not even get to make a choice, just take a 2 stamina hit.

And you have to go through the maze in order to get to the Heartflame.  Which you really need to do to make the end boss manageable.  

Keep an eye on the guy who rubs his sore knee, it matters a lot later on!

Orghuz Tower should be a grand finale, but its another bland maze full of random death choices.  

A second Orc kitchen encounter, two in one book, lucky us!

One of this guys tells the truth, one tells lies, and one cant be arsed speaking to you at all. 

I guess the most important encounter is at the very end, after your battle with Orghuz you must identify the traitor before he can stab you in the back.

One of these Knights is a traitor, clue for you, its the one that looks like a dick who would be a traitor.

Artwork -

Fighting Fantasy royalty, Russ Nicholson is back in action.  It does give the book a feel of those early books.  In the past I have said I liked the main focus of the image but his backgrounds were lacking.  And I think I will get myself in trouble here as well, but I do not think this is his best work by a long way.  

I mean what is going on with the architecture in the pick the traitor picture?  

The Dwarf from my playthrough with the collar looks great, as do the orcs in the dragons tavern, but their backgrounds are poor.  

And when I got spotted by Aspra and her band, why are they all in the bottom corner looking tiny with the majority of the picture a very bland cave?!

I do like the picture of the breaking of the siege, its a chaotic mess but it is great.

I also like the use of illustrations to pick up information such as the code for the Fighting Fantasy equivalent of brail. 

There are good ones though -

My favorite is this one, but alas you only see it if when you die for picking a random direction.

 

We find the former Knights Grand Master Azleff working as a blacksmith.  Very good apart from the weird smoke stuff.

Proof that he can do backgrounds when he wants too!

He also does an excellent Orc.  Caught these lands trying to break our shield!

Some of the more dubious ones though -

Orghuz's Tower, described as shrouded in mist, depicted as a proper pea souper. 

Can you guess what this is?  If you said some ghouls being sucked into a hole after a magic spell, you are doing better than me.

Special shout out to the boat going over the waterfall.  Why you ask?

This guy!  Priceless.  Made me chuckle.

Big Bad - 

Orghuz loves mirrors, lets him check out his awesome diamond and glass armour from all angles!

I was really intrigued by Orghuz's backstory.  He was maybe Tancred's brother, at least part of the original struggle against the Malice.  Either way I was looking forward to finding out what happened to him and his story.  But it is never mentioned or fleshed out which is a massive shame.  It was a chance to make him a bit different from evil dude wanting to destroy the world.

I do love his look as a warrior with diamond and glass armour.  Now that looks cool but I am not sure glass would make for good armour to be honest.  The crazy light is described as strange beams coming from his eyes, I think this is meant to be the Malice.  Again though, better writing could have really made this stand out.

For the combat you have to figure out which one is the correct image to hit.  Then it is a Skill 10, Stamina 12 fight which to be honest is not terrible in Fighting Fantasy bosses.  The kicker though is if you have not quenched the sword in the Heartfire then you have to fight him for each Khuddam that you did not kill, which could end up being 7 times but I doubt if that's the case you will even be here.  Even if you beat him though you still have to hit the finishing blow, which means picking which part of the body to hit.  Ill give you a clue.

He also shows up randomly to kill you during the adventure if you make a poor choice.  Such as putting a slave collar on, at which point he goes lol there you are, stay there my minions are on the way.

Menagerie - 

There are a lot of Orcs here, lots of Orcs, and some Goblins as well of course.  They come in a variety of guises, such as Cooks, apprentice cooks, regular etc.  The Xokusai are where it gets a bit more interesting.  These super elite and drilled Orcs come over as much more of a threat.  Except when the are chasing you and continually fall over cliff edges.  They are ruthless though, pushing random members to their death, because why not.

Quite a few Dark Elves kicking around as well, a level up over the standard Orcs and Goblins.

You are meant to be hunting the Khuddam or is it Kuddam?

Makes Sense

The very next page....

Anyway, it is much more them hunting you.  I was hoping they would all be a bit different, kind of like a sub boss for the book.  But no, they ae more like the Ring Wraiths as they are all the same.  Of course you find them randomly and sometimes by making what appears to be the worse decision.  They can smell you as well so no point running.  But I do not want to run, we have to take them out?  Another good idea but poorly executed.

Dr Doom is here as well.

Quite a lot of unique enemies here as well, but no pictures.

A Griphawk, which leaves one foot out and then pops out with four arms and two wings. The Shimmera which appears to be an insubstantial cloud of evil.  And even a Slime Belly, still not sure what it is.

And the Tailspiker, known for erm, spiking things with its tail?

The rest are your standard fantasy fare with something added in.  For example a Mist Wraith, or a Long Fanged Ghoul, or a Long Toothed Bear, or Snapspine Trolls.  You get the picture.

Here is a pic of some Stone Guardians, pretty much only because they got a picture.  When nothing else really did.

Entertaining Deaths -

I could be here a while, just for random things that fall on your head.  I will try and stick to the best ones.

Leaches, lots of them, Tabasha get you some food to help but you cant be bothered and give up.

Going to the wrong door and getting crushed by a giant slab.

Getting stuck under a falling rock.

Going into a trapdoor, of course you get locked in and forced to live all your nightmares until you die.

An icicle drops on your head.

You hear a scream and go to help, its an elf captive, you are told first that the door is bolted from the outside, but if you ignore this and go in, it locks behind you.

Slipping down a slope along with an Orc as it hurtles past.

Crawling into a hole which turns out to be a Hydras mouth.

Jumping into a ditch, which is full of Gremlins.

An Orc waves at you, turns out he is waiving at his mates who pour lava over you.  I can only imagine you are relived you do not have to live on with the embarrassment at waving back. 

Getting a choice to jump into lava or be shot by a poisoned arrow.  Either is death.

But the winner here is, drum roll please.  Trying to escape by going through a small crack.  You get wedged in and stuck and a Goblin finds you and puts a slave collar on.

Pete's Corner - 

I never found any rabbits to skin, which would have been more in my wheelhouse.

Final Thoughts - 

I was aware of this books reputation before I played it so was dreading it a bit.  However as I played through I thought, ok it does not feel as bad as everyone makes out.  It is not amazing but I have played worse than this.  Then I tried to map it out.

It makes absolutely no sense.  It took me ages before I gave up and just started looking at numbers.  For example, you can go in two completely different directions and encounters then end up at the Griphawk.  This happens loads of times.  I understand that in other books, you tend to get railroaded into a certain section no matter which way you go.  But those have logic to them.  So many times I was like, wait I am here now?  How!?  Good luck trying to make any sense and draw map.  Which might be why the map on the inside of the cover is over ground as the chasms are unmappable.  

This just made it feel like a lot of separate encounters smooshed together without thought of building.

Lets quickly fire back to what I did like about this book.  I did like some of the worldbuilding at the start.  Using book extracts to give us a bit of information but not much.  And it did feel like a live world we were in.  From the towns of CavernDown and The Dragons Breath Inn, there is plenty of stuff going around.  And People!  Lots of named people such as Alkis Fearslicer, Aspra Smoothcheek, Azleff, Gregory and even a trader called Pierskat.  I mean anyone with a second name has a terrible second name, but hey world building is hard.

Another thing that worked well was Tabasha the Bazouk.  It is nice to have a companion that stays for the whole adventure and she works well getting you feed and keeping you alive.  The limitation of her use is good as well but I did not feel I was ever in danger of using them all up.

The Cyphers I liked as well.  Made you feel like you knew the secret.  

That's it for the good stuff.

Lets start with the story.  I get being the 3rd assistant rabbit skinner is meant to be a nod to all those 80s films and books.  But it feels a bit odd.  And makes me question the wisdom of wizards in the Fighting Fantasy world.  Ok the sword kind of guides you and makes you a bit of a better warrior, and I get you as the heir you have to kill the baddy, but why the hell do you have to send me alone?  Send me with the whole army!

I said as well that I would have liked to have found out more about the Khuddam (or Kuddam) and especially a tragic tale of what happened to the once good Orghuz.  But nothing really happens story-wise other than there is a war going on between the Gaddon and the evil guys.  Missed opportunity for me. 

Now for the real issue at hand, mechanics.  My word this book falls apart for fairness.  Three main things here.

1) Luck tests, they are everywhere.  And its never if you fail go to page x.  Instead its minor stamina loss or death.  No in-between at all.

2) So many dice rolls.  Roll 1d6, this is your position, roll another dice, it its the same, you are dead.  Now repeat 237 times.  It just relies too much on luck and a lot less on decision making.

3) The worst of the lot, One Strike Combat.  This is a killer.  A one off dice roll, highest wins, loser dies.  Madness.  I am all for quicker combat, but have it as a normal one round combat where you add your skill.  But no, it is just a roll off.  How this got past the editors I have no idea.

Mazes need to get in the bin, the caves do sometimes have something a bit different but I just loathe them and find them boring.  The Tower at the end also feels a bit maze like, except far more lethal.  Oh you went left, your dead.

The artwork should have been a highlight, and sometimes it is.  But its almost feels like Russ Nicholson had a look and went, well I know how to do an Orc and a Dark elf, that will do.  But so much of it has bland backgrounds, which to be fair could be because they take place in a cavern.  As I said though earlier, this just did not hit the spot for me which is a shame from someone who is Fighting Fantasy royalty.

So how impossible is this book?  Well I do not think its as tough as Crypt of the Sorcerer for example.  It seems impossible and even after mapping it I was still not sure on the correct path which is something.  But going through this guide from the great champseeks- 

30) Chasms of Malice Solution | Fighting Fantazine (proboards.com)

It did not look so bad.  But even the perfect run through still requires two one strike combat fights, so that is two pure chance results.  Which I was very angry about having even one in Masks of Mayhem.  And if you are playing for real it would take a huge amount of attempts to find the route.  

And even though Crypt is impossible, it has a great story.  I do not know what it is about Luke Sharp but some of the writing is quite bland.  Do not get me wrong, this is much better than Star Strider writing, and some of the stuff is really good.  Like the Siege breaking of Caverndown.  But there is also a lot of random stuff, such as the tree roots which reads poorly.  Never mind that for example if you choose to go left your dead, with no indication or clues.

A story and a premise that started out promising, just failed to deliver in the end.  Add in some nice mechanic ideas (Tabasha, cooking food) but then some awful game breaking ones.  Then you get a gamebook which could have been really good, but ends up being a frustrating mess.  

I am off to my bedroom, but instead of going up the stairs I will try going through the garage, I should end up in the bedroom somehow anyway.

I decided to try using my own cat, Sushi, to help like Tabasha.  But all it led to was the corner of the book being chewed and my dice being batted away.  What a dick.

Score - 3 out of 10

Midnight Rogue

Background -

It is a dark night outside Games Workshop HQ.  The moon is covered by thick clouds.  In this near darkness a faint shape can just be made out moving to a window in the building.  The shape slowly resolves into a humanoid figure, clothed head to toe in black.  The face is masked by a balaclava.  The figure reaches a window and attempts to open it.  After taking many, many failed attempts to open the window, the figure grabs a rock and muttering under its breath throws it through the window.  Using his fist, the shape clears the remaining glass and pulls itself through the broken window.

Inside the dark corridors of GW HQ the figure makes its way down the halls, knowing exactly where to go.  Heading ever deeper and down towards the basement, finding a closed door with light coming out from below it.  With a deep breath the figure turns the handle and enters.

The room is filled with desks full of paper.  At each desk sits a tired looking nerd at a typewriter.  As one they look round and the figure in alarm.  The figure pulls off the balaclava.

Ian "Don't worry guys, its me."

Nerd 1 "Ian!  What are you even doing here?"

Ian "I need your help guys."

Nerd 2 "What could we possibly do for you?  You are not on the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay team?"

Ian "Guys, I need another gamebook.  This is what you guys do!  You write because you love it, you love playing games!  Look at this place, you have been relegated to a forgotten corner!  All Bryan cares about is miniatures and selling them."  I need creative ideas!"

Nerd 3 "We would love to help Ian, but the deadlines for WFRP are insane.  We would have to do it in our spare time, and we have precious little of that."

Ian "You were my last hope guys."

Ian turns to leave, dejected.  But then from the back corner, someone stands up.

Graeme Davis "Ill do it!"

Ian turns round slowly, a smile on his face.

Released in November 1987, Midnight Rogue is Graeme Davis one and only Fighting Fantasy novel.  I know of Graeme from all his great work on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.  Also I had this book when I was younger, actually owned it.  And I really, really loved it back then.  So I am quite nervous to play it now.  Will it be rose tinted glassed?  Well only one way to find out!

Covers -

I believe this is a first (at least with the original run) where you actually see yourself in the cover!  I do look like a shady vagabond.  This is of course well before you can create your own character in modern videogames so the hooded figure works quite well.

The gargoyles look a tad lecherous here, they love a shiny stone a bit too much.

Speaking of the stone, looks very red here.  But in the book the stone is very clearly described as being yellow.  Is this intentional or a miss communication?   

This one sees a more romantic twist as our dashing hero sweeps the leading lady up.  I wonder if the ship is the one we got the black pearl from in City of Thieves?

Wait, something is not right here...oh my, lets just say this is a different kind of "fantasy"!

Premise -

Its actually quite a short build up, less than two full pages.  But to be fair it does not really need any more.  We start in the meeting room of the Thieves Guild of Port Blacksand.  It is full to the brim as everyone wants to see the Test of Apprentices.  Rannik, the master of the guild, asks if anyone knows any reason I should not be tested.  Kind of like the awful pause when they ask at weddings if anyone knows why they should not be wed.  In a bit of a boring twist, nobody says anything so Rannik sets out the test.

A week ago, the merchant Brass came into possession of the jewel known as the eye of the basilisk.  He will have stashed it somewhere in or near the city.  His symbol is the coin.  Dusk has just fallen outside, you have until dawn to find it.

Wow you do not get much to go on do you Rannik?  I guess that is the point of this test.  He wishes me luck, as do everybody else and I go and check my equipment.

I leave by one of the many hidden entrances to the guild and away we go!

Playthrough -

Well first off, in the inside cover we get a map of the city!

I love a map!  And a city map!

Skill, Stamina and Luck are all back as normal.  Also a welcome return is the 10 provisions that restore 4 stamina points each!  

I get a very specific list of what I start my adventure with -

Shortsword
A leather jerkin and leggings
A backpack
A hand lamp made of a small pot of fat and a string wick
A torch
A tinder box (lots of stuff to light the way here)
5 gold pieces
10 provisions

And a magic potion supplied by the guild.  The usual choice of skill/stamina/luck restorer.  I will decide after I roll up.  But we all know I am taking the stamina.

Now things get a bit interesting.  As a thief you have to move quietly, so you may only carry 6 items at once.  I am told provisions count as one space.  So does that mean 10 provisions take up the same space as 1?  Well might be easier to handle mechanically I guess.   My potion counts as a second space.  However my gold, sword and incredibly tight leather jerkin and leggings do not count.

So what about the lamp, torch and tinder box?  They are not mentioned, I would normally put them in a backpack but I am going to say no as they have not been called out specifically.

We do have a new mechanic here, special skills.  We have a list to pick from and we can take any three skills - 

Pick Pocket
Pick Lock
Climb
Sneak
Hide
Spot Hidden
Secret Signs

A warning from the author as well not to pretend you have them when you do not.  Obviously ignored by thousands of players.  Now which ones to pick.  From memory some are absolutely vital where others are a bit of a waste.  Can I remember them..... nope.  I think Pick Lock might be one, lets take that. We are bound to require some climbing, and finally I go for Spot Hidden, as I assume the jewel is well hidden, along with traps.  Lets roll.

Skill - 10

Stamina - 21

Luck - 7

Hmm not bad, but I feel a thief needs a dose of luck.  And I do have 10 provisions.  Ok 29 books in, I am taking the potion of fortune.  Right, lets go and grab that jewel.

Everyone wishes me good luck, including the boy with no nose on the right.

We can head to three different places at the start.  We can head to the Merchant Guild to see if we can find Brass's office.  Or we could try and find his house near the field gate.  And the final option is the Noose, a dodgy area around the thieves guild, great for gossip.

I head to the noose, see what rumors we can find first.  And mainly because I remember if I do not go there first its game over.

In the Noose I can head to the Rat and Ferret tavern, find Madam Starr the clairvoyant or speak to some beggars.  Well beggars are part of the thieves guild and they see everything so lets start there.  

The name is brutal, Bargo the Wheeler....

Bargo lost his legs fighting in a war and now is reduced to begging and pulling himself around on his trolley.  He greets me, knowing I am on my test.  He does not tell me much I do not know already, where his house is and where to find his office.  I toss him a coin.  

Giving him the coin he tells me to wait and gives me a rope and grapple.  This gives me access to the climb ability, which I already have so it has no effect.... Bugger.  Ill take it anyway, do not want to seem rude.  

I decide to head over to the rat and ferret.  I order a mug of ale and now I am down to 3 coins only a few paragraphs in.  I go up to the barman to ask for information, but he needs coin and I feel I should save what I have instead, so I head over to the guys playing pin finger in the corner.

So its basically the game where you stab a knife quickly between your fingers.  Straight skill test, if I win I get 10 gold, If I lose I have to give them 5.  Erm I only have 3.  You know what, lets take the risk.  If I lose, I will just give them all my money and pretend I get beaten up.  Luckily I roll an 8 and pass the test.  

I head back to the barman, Bald Morri, with my wealth and offer him some coin.  Depending on how much I offer him, you then roll a die and have to get less or even to get the good result.  I decide to gamble a bit and offer him 4, and then roll a one haha.

He tells me Brass has his coin symbol on everything, including his house on the corner of Short Street and Field Street, just by the the Field Gate.  He writes a secret sign in my ale, which of course I cant read, as I took climb and then immediately found a grappling hook.  Which funnily enough I do not get the option of using on the ale.  So he scrubs it out embarrassed.   

There is nothing left to in the Tavern so it is time to head out.   Lets see what Madame Starr has to say.  Walking along I find her shack.  The place is loaded with dodgy folks, as you would expect in Port Blacksand, but everyone leaves me alone as they know its my big test.  A very different experience to my last jaunt.  Hope I do not get a tattoo of a unicorn on my head.

She needs two gold to read my fortune so might as well.  She does the whole mystic meg thing with the crystal ball.  She tells me the thing I seek is hidden in a dark place, a place of death.  I must look in a place of sleep and a place of work.  Take a note of the paragraph, hmm 289 it is.  Well that is everything we can do in the Noose, lets head elsewhere.

I have a lot of info on Brass's house so lets try the merchant quarter first to find his office.  The Merchant Quarter is deserted, since its night and I stick to the shadows, keen to avoid the city guard.  I catch a hint of movement in a clump of trees in the centre.  Do I want to investigate?  

I start to have a look but then get asked if I have the sneak skill.  Which of course I do not, so I decide to back out.  The Guild has one door with a guard next to it so I decide to scope out the perimeter first.  Doing this I find an alleyway with a drain pipe and a door.  Ah ha finally I can put my climb or grappling hook to use!  

You do not need climb or a grappling hook as the drain pipe is an easy climb..... sigh

And at the top one of these boys comes to life.

Skill 9 and Stamina 10 so does not seem so bad.  Except of course I get a whopping -3 on my attack roll for hanging off a drainpipe.  Unsurprisingly I lose the first round of combat and have to make a skill test to hang on, which I do.  Its time to thing of another way to beat this guy.  Do you have any of these items?  Well I have the Grappling hook?  Worth a go.  I pass another skill test and manage to tangle the Gargoyle with it and send it crashing down.  I loose the grapple but hey I already have the climb skill.  With that I dash into an open skylight.

Inside I get the message I can make a spot hidden check.  Well seems daft not to.  And right enough, rolling back the carpet I find a lever connected to a hidden panel.  Now it is a choice of two doors.  One with a coin and one with a fish.  I really want to have a nosey at the fish but we have been very much pushed at the coin so lets play it safe.

The door is unsurprisingly locked, but guess what, I have pick lock as that is the bread and butter of the thief!  I make it inside and its a very nice office with moonlight coming through the window.  There is a nice desk, and an iron door.  Hmm.  Think ill check the desk first. 

A deed of purchase!

It is a trove of a find!  I get a key with the letter L, 10 coins, a deed of purchase showing brass recently bought barrow hill and a letter from a wizard Brabantius saying the modifications to the barrow hill property had been refitted per instruction.  Also make a note of this paragraph, ok that's 90.

I really should move on now, but that door is very tempting for a thief.  Lets have a little look.  Ok first you need pick lock, check.  But still you need a skill test, but with a plus 2 modifier.  Ok.

A 4 and 2, excellent.  The door opens and I am in a strongroom, do I have spot hidden?  Why yes I do.  This means I feel something is wrong, this is a fake strongroom designed to catch out thieves so I leave immediately.  

Time to head over to Brass's house I feel.  On the way though - 

Its the rich part of the city the guards are out in force.

Do you have the hide skill, oh dear.  The Guards easily find me hiding in an alley.  I can try and escape through a door, bribe them, make a run for it or attack.

I decide to try the door and have to make a luck test, snake eyes!  So I get in and lock the door behind me.  Before they get in I am well on my way out the other side.

I reach the corner of field and short street and I am presented with two houses.  Funnily enough one has the coin image and this will be the one I will try.  

It is a nice two story house with a locked front door which needs pick lock to get in or a drain pipe to go up.  I feel I should use my skill but going through the front door seems a bit ambitious.  Lets climb the pipe.

Its a test luck skill, which is upsetting as I have the climb skill.  I decide this is a good time to drink my potion of fortune to get up to luck 8.  Its another snake eyes.  I feel I just wasted that potion.  

Peeping Tom!

I get a good layout of the first floor.  The landing has two doors on the left, one on the right and another at the end.  I can peer through two windows.  One on the left is a kids bedroom with dolls, the one on the right has two adults sleeping in a large bed.  I shimmy back down and I am told due to the bars in the windows the only way through is to pick the front door lock.  Which I do.

Inside is a nice marble townhouse.  There is a suit of armour by the stairs which you can investigate, a door to the servants quarters, or head up the stairs.  Well the armour can't be relevant and the help are not going to have what I need so upstairs I go.

Up on the balcony there is the door I saw at the end, I can go there or head into the hallway.  Well its time to start looking so lets try this door first.  Do you have pick lock?  Well yes, I was told it was the only way in here so of course I have it?

I appear to be outside?!

Now I am in a nice office.  Once again I can search a desk and also just a general search.  Or leg it out of the window.  Desk seems to make sense.  But I only find a silver knife worth 5 gold.  Lets have a bigger search of the room.  I find an excellent bottle of brandy, which I can have 3 sips which restores 2 stamina each.  A silver frame painting (worth two gold).  And a safe.  

Hello!

It has two locks, and I only have one key, marked L.  So I put that key in anyway.  It turns and if I have pick lock I can indeed use it to open up the second lock.  Well of course I have Pick Lock, its the only way I got in the house and this room!

I find more notes about barrow hill and a penciled note saying E.O.B, take a note of the paragraph 335.  I think I am doing well here, but I am having too much fun to leave now.  I wander down the hall and decide to listen at one of the doors.  I hear nothing and go in.  Its the kids bedroom.  As I go in the floorboard squeaks.  Feeling like a 1980s tv presenter paedo I decide to leave straight away.

Well I have been everywhere and I am told that I should know where to go.  We get a lot of fun options like Lord Azzur's palace.  But its clearly Barrow Hill.  But where is that.  Well I need to take three clues from each location.  Take the first number of the clue from the house, then the clue from the office and then the clue from the Noose.  Well I make that 392.

And right enough.  I slip out of the city and head toward the barrow.  There I find an abandoned great house.  Abandoned apparently because the family that owned it were dogged by bad luck.  Do I want to go into the house or into the barrow?  No I do not want to go into the bad luck house.  All the clues point to the barrow so lets stay on point.

Its all very spooky sounding, but there is no entrance.  Unless you have spot hidden which I do!  Using that I find....a secret sign, which I can not read.  So I head back to the garden.

Looks like there is the remnants of a garden.   I get the option to head to a statue or the house.  Well I do not like the sound of having to go into the scary house.  Lets check out the statue.

The garden has seen better days.  Brass maybe bought it as a fixer upper.

There is an inscription on the statue of the archer.  Which apparently I just need to read.  Do I want to wade over or make the jump.  Water in Fighting Fantasy is never good so I am going to attempt a jump.  Which is of course is a skill test.  Third snake eyes!  What is going on with these dice.  

I reach the plinth and it says - 

My enemy's a heart of stone,

My arrow never flies,

Yet when my arrow heads for home,

The gate of death yawns wide.

The statue swivels so I can point the arrow at the barrow, the house or a standing stone right next to the barrow.  Hmm a standing stone seems oddly specific, is that the heart of stone?  Will give it a bash.

The grassy mound collapses revealing a doorway, time to head into the dark.

A mound, with a hole.

My Spot Hidden comes in handy as I find a trap under a flagstone.  Following the narrow tunnel I disturb some sharp tooth bats.  Do I have a silver whistle? Erm no.  Can I make an attempt at a whistle?

Apparently nope.

Been a while since I had a fight.  They are only skill 5 but I am hampered so its -2 to my attack score.  Well despite sill having a three advantage I get hit a lot.  Down to 13 stamina.  I am a great thief but a terrible fighter.  I decide to drink all the brandy in one go.  Not tipsy at all.

I reach a dead end with a giant stone slab.  Again though Spot Hidden comes in handy!  I find a gap for a hidden catch, reach in with hand or dagger though.  Well I am not putting my hand in, so I try the dagger.  Which of course does not fit.  Are you sure you want to put your hand in?  No not really.  I might come back to this option but its offering me to look around so I take that.

At this point my guy realises the big slab is designed to get my attention and hide the real solution.  Which turns out to be a small tunnel.

Ah of course its a burial mound.

Do I want to stay in the alcove or go at them.  Well I may be drunk on brandy but ill stay in the alcove and hopefully fight them 1 on 1.  This is exactly what happens, gain 1 luck point for being sensible.

Skill 6 and 5 so should be ok here.  Skeleton one hits me a few times as I am rubbish at fighting.  So I have my first meal of the evening.  Hopefully soaking up some of the brandy.  As I am trying to eat though the Skeleton Lord gets up.  Skill 8 and if he hits me he gets +1 attack strength in the next round.

He is only 6 stamina though.  And finally I learn how to fight (food soaking up the brandy, less drunk) and take him down without a hit.  Not only that but I get his sword with its +1 attack strength if I win.  I also found a bronze helmet and put it on for an extra skill point, but I am at initial level.  I pop it on anyway to look the part.

Shame I can not find my way out.  Do you have secret signs?  Nope.  Spot Hidden, Yes I do.  I find a crack and push it to reveal some hidden stairs.  At the bottom there is a guard Ogre sleeping.  Do you have sneak?  Ah Crap.

I kick a pebble and he starts to wake up.  I can hide if I have the hide skill but I do not have that either.  Skill 8 Stamina 10 it is.  The magic sword is ace though and he is dispatched without a worry.  

He was guarding an iron door.  It has a lock and their is a key in a box being protected by a bright coloured scorpion.  I do not have pick pocket so I decide to try and pick the lock.  I have to do a skill test which I pass.

The door swings open and I am greeted by the worst sight in Fighting Fantasy.  A blind T-Junction.  Lets go left.

I find an old store room and get hit by a flying chair for 1 stamina point.  I pass a luck test and realise a poltergeist is attacking me.  It tries to hit me as I go through the room but it misses each time.  However when I get there my spot hidden reveals a problem.  A hidden portcullis.  I decide to turn tail and go the other way.  The pesky poltergeist misses all the way back again.

I come to a hole, but I do have climb!  I keep going down the tunnel and find an unlocked door.  The room beyond has a magic darkness with a slithering sound.  With no sneak skill I have to fight an unseen monster.  Its only Skill 5 but I lose 2 for my attack strength as I am blind.  He hits me once but the magic sword does the business.  I have some more food.

I find a door in the dark, and pick lock gets me through again.  In the next tunnel there is a very bright liquid that I can use to light the room I have just been in.  Well the monster is already dead so I think I will crack on.

After some time I come to another cavern, lit by a torch.  Imagine my surprise when my shadow detaches and tries to attack me.  I can run away from it, put out the torch, try and avoid casting a shadow or disrupt it.  Disrupt sounds the first thing to try.  I do not fancy plunging into darkness again.  And I can not run from my own shadow!  

I use my torch to counter the light cast by the cavern torch and keep the shadow at bay.  Spot Hidden is back, and I see holes in the walls so I crawl under them and avoid the darts firing out Indiana Jones style.  

Next I find a dead thief, he had written something in his blood but I do not have secret signs so can not read it. 

A blue head like missile flies past and I throw myself out of the way.  It sinks into the dead thief's corpse and it starts to animate.  Stay and fight or leg it?

I've got my fancy sword so I fight.  The animated corpse is only Skill 5.  Another snake eyes means it does get one hit in but I am still in good nick.  However it turns out it is a Possessor Spirit.  Do you have a magic weapon?  Yes, yes I have this awesome magic sword.

Wow it is skill 10 stamina 10.  Toughest fight so far.  And I lose a luck point every time I get hit.  I get hit a few times but the magic sword does the work and it is dispatched.  Before doing anything else I eat 2 meals to get over the trauma.  The brandy is now a distant memory.

I search the thief's body and turn up 5 gold, a hook with a wire and a broken potion that I can drink but have to drink it now.  I decide it is too much of a risk.  Following the trail of blood I find a room with a Dwarf locked in a cage!  He says he can help me find the Eye of the Basilisk.  Erm, no I am ok thanks, this is clearly a trap.  What with the dead thief's blood leading here and all.

This is turning into Deathtrap Dungeon!  The next room has lots of holes and when a rat moves rock grubs come flying out and devour it.  And I do not have the sneak skill.  So I get nibbled at for four points of stamina.  I nibble on a sandwich to nullify it.  

Next a random door, I decide to listen and it turns out to be a wood golem, who is also resistant to magic so my swords ability does not work.  Does not matter though as he is dispatched.  The room beyond is full of gems.  Yeah right that is a trap if ever I have seen one.  Stay on point, we are after the eye and this whole dungeon is a test of your abilities.  Including not getting distracted.

More tunnels and I come to a giant cave with no visible exit.  And a giant spider drops on my head.  He is skill 7 but if he wins a round you have to turn to another paragraph.   Which of course happens.  And it costs me 1 skill point after a stamina check.  Oh dear.

I win the next round though and the magic sword plus 1 keeps me ahead until I put it down.  The only option is to head up with my Climb skill.  I find the spiders web and multiple bodies in cocoons which is quite grim.  Do I want to investigate?  Not a chance keep going!

I find a tunnel and its full of a yellow mould.  Luckily I have Spot Hidden and I spot a body covered in the mould.  I find a brass handle but how to open it without disturbing the killing mould.  I decide to hold my breath and make a run for it.  I pass a skill test and roll through all the spores into the next room.

I end up in a maze of tunnels, do I have a map?  Oh god no I do not.  So its a luck test, and luck is down to 6 after the fight with the Possessor.  5 and 1, wow that was close.  When you see the 5 come up first the heart sinks.  

At last!  An illustration!

As soon as I approach the chest one of the crystal warriors lurches into action.  Skill 10, Stamina 13.  Oh wow things are getting serious.  We exchange hits and after my first hit I get sent to another page.  Am I using a stone hammer?  No I have a cool magic sword.  Ah that is a problem.  Only blunt weapons work so for the rest of the combat I have to use the pummel of my sword which costs me two on my attack strength.  Unsurprisingly I get my ass handed to me.  I get it down to stamina 5 but its all over, I am killed trying to kill something with the pommel of my sword.  If the guild were watching this then I am embarrassed.   

Notable Encounters - 

Well turns out I was very near the end and it can be quite a linear book so I saw quite a lot of the encounters in the playthrough.

He is as good as being a guard as he looks.

If you go towards the main entrance for the Guild of Merchants you come across the guard.  You can just go up and kick his ass.  Just do it quickly enough before the rest of the guards appear and arrest you.  Much more fun though is sneaking up behind him as he sleeps and karate chopping him on the back of the head and knocking him out.

Just do not try the front door, its very trapped.

When you do get inside though it has the best trap ever.

A Jib Jib!!!

So a little compartment in the wall opens up and out pops this little guy.  He is very weak but you have to one shot kill him.  Otherwise he makes an insane amount of noise, acting like an alarm.  You can only imagine the guards coming up the stairs as you can not hear anything over the noise it makes.  Awesome!

My favorite area though has to be Brass's house.  This is where you feel like a proper thief, sneaking around a populated house at night.  Love it.

Don't mind me, this is all a dream.

Careful with this guy, the book tries to tease you into taking him out quickly.  But he is only sleepwalking so will ignore you.  Unless of course you stab him with your sword and he will scream and wake up the entire house.  

This is more terrifying than most monsters!

Yeah make too much noise in the kids bedroom leads to her waking up and screaming.  Just look at that 80s haircut!

Artwork - 

Our artist here is John Sibbick.  He whom also did Crypt of the Sorcerer.  I feel it falls foul of coming off the heels of Phantoms which was awesome.  This is fine to be fair.  Its not the best but its also not nearly as bad as others we have seen.

From my playthrough my favorite is Bargo the beggar.  It is really dark and fits the tone perfectly.  Quite a lot of the art though is to set up what you see, such as the safe.  This can lead to things being a little bit boring.  At least compared to the other scenes that they could have had.

I love the ones from Brass's house though, they are excellent.  

When you accidently wake up the whole house. 

Falling is a theme.

Still falling.

Not falling, but getting bitten.

Or stung, who would be a thief?

It is hard not to pick the Jib Jib as my favorite, but I really like the two guards you bump into on patrol as well.  Looking back at these now though I think I like them better than I originally felt.

Apart from this, this is terrible.

Big Bad - 

Looks at this terrifying monster!

So this book really does not have a big bad, so I decided to go with the merchant Brass, whos Jewel you have to steal from his dangerous dungeon.  So a little bit of context, the Eye of the Basilisk turns out to be a fake, it was all just a test.  This leads to the question of what on earth is Brass playing at?  It is not mentioned in the book but in the roleplay book, Blacksand, it is revealed he works with the thieves guild to help them test initiates.  This makes sense, but should be explained as part of this book.  Maybe he could come out at the end with everyone else.

Two queries from me.  1)  He puts his kids in some serious danger.  His sleepwalking son can get stabbed and how does he know your not going to kill him and his family?  2)  Is that an Orc he is bed with? 

Menagerie -  

So a lot of the Port Blacksand enemies are human.  Guards, thugs, footpads etc.  The usual of what you would expect.  The second half of the dungeon lets you have the excuse for more exotic encounters, such as the crystal warriors, giant spider, ogre, wood golem and a shape changer.

I don't suppose you fine gentleman will let me past?

A lot of people sleeping in this place, probably because its past midnight.

The Chest monster is a good trap.

Also the Scitalis is a snake type creature.  But it appears as a pile of treasure to lure you in.  I imagine it is well fed.  

Entertaining Deaths - 

Failing to defeat the Skill 6 guard at the Merchants Guild in 3 rounds.  The City Watch turn up and throw you in jail.

When asked if you have a magic weapon to fight the gargoyle.  The book says that's impossible and you are cheating.

A Gargoyle catches you and takes it up to its nest to make a meal of you.  I have to ask, why do creatures of stone need to eat?

Just leaving after getting to the Basilisk door.  The passage even says you can go back to the door or just end your adventure here.

Getting your foot stuck in a spiders web and trying to escape by setting the web on fire, it burns and you fall to your death.

My favorite though is - Nicodemus turns you into a newt and throws you into the river.

Pete's Corner - 

I murdered a Jib Jib!

Final Thoughts - 

So it turns out the stone axe I needed I could have picked up if I was paying attention when defeating the Skeleton King.  But I was far too distracted by picking up the magic sword at the same time.  Odd to have two weapon pick ups at the same time.

The question is did I enjoy this or was my memory just that, rose tinted nostalgia?  Well, mainly yes.  This is a book of two halves.  The first half in Port Blacksand I would give 10 out of 10.  I loved this part.  There is just something about creeping around the streets of the city at night as a bad guy that I really enjoyed.  It is such a change from the norm.  Being the bad guy, but you do not feel like a bad guy.  As I said earlier, Brass's house is one of my favorite things in Fighting Fantasy.  Yep, the feel, the writing and the story, just superb.

Part two though, I am a bit less of a fan.  I am ok with the creepy house and garden, but when you get into the dungeon it loses a bit of momentum.  It is very linear, which helped my mapping!  But it felt like a bit of a poor knock off deathtrap dungeon.  Also why is a thief being tested by fighting giant spiders and shadows?  I guess maybe they might have to steal from a spooky temple so ill give it a pass.

Mechanically the big difference are the skills.  You can pick up extra skills along the way.  Sometimes by going the wrong way which is a bit odd.  This adds a bit of replay ability.  I would like to go back and see what I missed by not having secret signs.  However pick locks felt like it was essential, while the rest were nice to do things differently.  There was normally a way past it with a skill or luck test so I did not feel I was stuck without a skill.  I really liked the thematically addition of the skills, only thing I would change would be lock picking being a bit less essential.  Although spot hidden did save me multiple times, and I do not recall many pick lock encounters.  Yeah great idea, needs a little bit more balancing.

You should be prompted to use correct weapon.  Not just are you using this weapon?  No I am not using the torch as I have a magic sword, but ill change now.  Just a bit jarring.  

The menagerie and big bad are quite light.  But that is ok, if anything the second half forces it a bit.  The story does not call for anything more.  Combat feels very manageable and fair, which is good as it should.  This is not a book about combat, you are a thief, the whole point is to avoid fights and steal the goods.  

Does this make the book too easy?  Well I had the advantage that I remembered a fair bit of it so it is hard to say.  For me I like that it was not brutally difficult, I enjoyed that.  Common sense gets you a long way.  My only issue is that some items, like the black cloak and the map are items you get for making the wrong decision.  

The art grew on me, I would have liked different scenes though.  And some of the art is only accessible after a decision is made.  My example would be the scorpion puzzle.  I would have liked that to be where it is described.  Instead it appears after you have successfully got the key using pick pocket.  Or the Jib Jib, that should be at the combat, not if you miss it and it starts shouting.  I blame the editing for that though.

Loved the premise Graeme Davis came up with.  I would have loved to have seen more from him but alas it was not to be.  This book is worth playing just for the first half alone.  My score is going to look a bit high but that is because of what it means to me.  I played this so much when I was a kid so it has sentimental value that can not be easily measured.  You will have your own ones as well that have those memories, and for me that is important.  It is why blogs such as this exist.  Yes its the nostalgia factor but nostalgia is why we are here.

Plus that first half is bloody good!

I say it was all just a test, lets go back to the rat and ferret for a drink!

Score - 8 out of 10.