Demons of the Deep

Background - 

Well since my last post we moved house.  And to make it more fun I failed a luck roll and we got some serious unseasonal snow!  Which made it a bit more interesting.  However I passed my skill test and successfully got through all the ice with my furniture without falling.  My luck must have been low though as I managed to dent my stamina many times.  Including but not limited to standing on a nail on a new Ikea bookshelf we were building, and a few cut fingers.  Some food did indeed increase the old stamina but all in all it feels like I ran out way before the end!

But it did mean I finally got a bookshelf!

Anyway enough about all that, lets look at Demons of the Deep.

Its New Year in the good old US of A.  Steve Jackson (the American one) has been out enjoying the festivities with his friends.  Its late though and its time to head home.  He bids them a fair farewell and head out into the cold early morning.  1986, what a time to be alive he thinks.  The future is now!  Whistling a merry ditty to himself he continues on into the night, completely oblivious to what is transpiring around him.

"Bravo team do you have eyes?"

"This is Bravo, we have eyes, confirmed."

"Is target isolated?"

"Confirmed.  Target is in an isolated location by himself.  Do we take the shot?"

"Command?"

We switch back to Puffin HQ where a bunch of very tired looking people are watching a big screen.  Well big for 1986.  

Philippa "Take the shot"

Steve feels a slight sting in his neck.  Feeling with his hand he plucks out a small dart.  Wondering if he has had too much to drink his head starts spinning and a large black net falls over him.

Steve "Oh Shi....."

He falls unconscious.

Some unknown time later he wakes up as cold water is thrown over him.  The room is dark and he is tied to a chair.  

Steve "Where...Where am I?"

A lone light switches on, illuminating a small empty patch in the room in front of Steve.  Into it stride two figures.

Steve "Oh god not you, am I back in the UK?  I only just got out of your house!"

Ian "Oh come on Steve you were a guest!"

Steve "Really?!  What about the other Steve, is he still trapped?"

Ian "Steve loves his bedroom!"

Steve "What kind of sick fascination with Steve Jacksons is this anyway!?"

Philippa "Enough, both of you.  Steve it is simple.  Do you want to go back home?"

Steve "Of course, but what do you people want now?"

Philippa "Why, write us another fighting fantasy gamebook and I will take you to the airport myself."

Steve "What is wrong with you people!  You think you can kidnap someone and force them to write for you!?  What kind of business model is that?  

Philippa "So you don't want to go home?"

Steve lets out a big sigh.  "One book?"

Philippa "Yes."

Steve deflated "Fine."

The light goes out and Steve can only hear the set of two footsteps receding into the distance.

So its ticked over to 1986 and already we are up to book nineteen in the series which is a crazy production rate.  Back authoring this one is the second Steve Jackson (not the founder of the series, but the American games designer) writing his second fighting fantasy after Scorpion Swamp.  Now I really enjoyed Scorpion Swamp so looking forward to see what Demons of the Deep has in store for us.  It helps though that its back to my favorite fantasy setting so my hopes are high for this one.  I do remember playing it but no details come back to me.

Covers - 

Alas it is once again just one cover for this one.  However it is an absolute belter!  I mean its a multi limbed demon monster made from bones and even full blown skeletons!  He is also underwater to stay on theme.  I just love this cover, its what Fighting Fantasy is all about for me.  

And what about this boy in the background?  Muscle Fish has been to the gym and loves flexing at people to show his gains!

Interestingly though I also found this  -

Another Gamebook.....

Do not know anything about the Demons Bone Series of gamebooks but that cover looks like its taken some inspiration form Demons of the Deep I would say.

He-Man also had a shot!  Mer-Man better make an appearance!

Premise - 

I am a doughty sailor!  I have not been described as doughty before.  I am also a bit of a fibber, exaggerating stories at taverns when on shore.  I am quite good with a cutlass though!  I am first mate of the ship Sunfish heading to Port Blacksand (of course) where we are attacked by pirates sailing the ship Troll!

We fight bravely but we are but humble merchants so soon its just me versus the pirates.  I hold them off with my trusty sabre.... wait a minute, two paragraphs ago it was my trusty cutlass?  Eventually though I get whacked on the head by a belaying pin which is far more effective than a sabre or cutlass.

The pirates take me captive and when I wake I see the poor Sunfish burning near by.  I am tied to the mast of the Troll and the enigmatic Captain Bloodaxe introduces himself.  He was very impressed by my skill and wants me to join his crew but does not think I would accept.  Pretty sure I would at this stage to stay alive.  Would be a very short book though!

The pirates suggest all sort of terrible deaths but Bloodaxe is having none of it.  Claiming that a warrior such as me should be allowed to leave the ship unharmed.  He gives me my sword back and even gives me some provisions of black bread and salt beef.  Which just so happens to total ten provisions which is not suspicious or convenient at all when they are described as very heavy.    

Yep sure enough Bloodaxe is a total dick as he says he can not spare a boat and pushes me off the side, I am instantly dragged down into the depths weighed down by my "gifts".  The last thing I hear is all the pirates having a right good laugh to themselves.  Dicks.

Playthrough - 

The set up is as cookie cutter a Fighting Fantasy you can get.  Its a straight up Skill, Stamina, Luck for stats and 10 provisions (not sure how black bread and salt beef hold up underwater).  I am not told if my sword is a cutlass or a sabre but I do have a bag!

In fact the instructions talk about a potion of strength and a potion of fortune and what they do but we do not get an option for a starting potion.

Skill - 12

Stamina - 20

Luck - 11

Well that's the best rolls I have had for a while.  It actually adds a lot more pressure as I should do well, an instant kill would be devastating.  No wonder the pirates had such a hard time beating me!

The aforementioned bunch of dicks.

So I sink down, but luckily the ocean is shallow here.  What appears to be coral actually turns out to be an underwater city.  I land in a courtyard, which just so happens to contain a magic pentagram.  It gets even better as I seem to trigger some magic spell which gives me gills and allows me to breathe underwater!  Using some coral to free my hands I find the same spell has kept the provisions dry!  I get the option to swim back up.  Now as tempting as that would be just to see the dumbfounded looks on these guys faces, they would probably easily kill me.  So instead I decide to investigate this strange courtyard.

Looking around I find the pentagram is the only thing not covered in ocean fauna, but the area is sparse of life apart from fish swimming around.  There is a large building close by and I catch a hint of movement so I decide to investigate.

Turns out I can swim quite well thanks to the spell.  I get my sword ready but I run into a mermaid.  I get all shy and put my sword away but she is quite ok with it all saying Atlantis is a dangerous place so its only common sense to have a sword ready.  She says she saw me floating down and came to meet me.  I ask what the hell is going on and she kindly explains.  By entering the pentagram I came under protection of powerful magic.  I get to have a set of gills until nightfall or until I breathe surface air again.  I explain my pirate problem with her and she recommends looking for black pearls as they have powerful magic that will lead me to victory.  She takes pity on me as well and gives me a lucky charm!  It allows me to automatically pass one luck test.  And just like that she blows me a kiss and away she swims.

I now get the option to investigate the building, either by going up, down or just leaving.  I decide to head up, hoping to get a better view of the surrounding area.

I started singing Barracuda in my head.

My singing of a famous Heart song costs me though as one take a nibble out of me before they are dispatched.  Not much up here apart from 4 gold coins which I pocket so I head downstairs instead.

Its here I am confronted by my old fighting fantasy nemesis, a non descript T-junction.  Left it is!   It gets darker and darker until I reach a room with some Skeletons.  

My Skill 12 has made me much more blasé with my exploring.  

Both of them manage to hit me once before I put them down which is a bit of a shock.  I thought my Skill 12 would make me invincible but I have been hit three times already!  I take my first meal of dodgy black bread.  Lo and behold though the Skellys have eyes of black pearls!  I pocket four of these which I think is a great find!  I am then asked if I want to have a look at a rusty metal box in the corner.  Erm no thanks, I've just found exactly what I am looking for so I doubt two good things would be this close together.

I get the option to try the other direction so I do.  I must say I like the fact that its not just one way and that's it.  Although in this case it is it.  I go through a door and it slams shut behind me.  I have gone over a cliff and my character panics thinking this is an instant death before remembering we are underwater here and I can just float where I am!

 I see more of the city of Atlantis but before heading in I have a poke around the cliff first.

Straight into this guy.  Anyone who watches WhatCulture Wrestling knows eels are bad news!

Wow that was a niche reference even for me.  His Skill 7 is no match for me but he does take a while as he has a hefty stamina of 12.  My reward?  A single gold piece.

Swimming into the city I get my first big choice.  Visit an underwater garden, a sunken ship or a palace.  Well palace would be normal choice but I hope to get to visit more than one so I go to the shipwreck first.  

The book says the masts are still tall and straight....hmm

It does accurately depict the big hole in the side.  Apparently something big is inside.  Well lets have a look shall we?  A luck test saves me from being eaten by a clam!  I poke it open to gain a giant silver pearl.  But then this dude drops on my back.

A big old Sea Spider!

Who gets a free hit on me.  Honestly I do not remember getting into so many fights so early on in a book.  With my high skill though that's the only hit he gets on me.  Still time for another snack.  

The captains cabin does not reveal much other than a map with unknown islands on them so I head down to the treasure hold.  Which turns up a massive haul of one gold piece.  Although it does appear the hole was made by gigantic claws which is a bit concerning.

I get railroaded into the gardens next and hit with another random T-junction.  Left again!  

A water...wait no a bubble fountain.

I get offered to investigate the shiny thing in the fountain but taking anything from a fountain is bad etiquette.  You don't take peoples coins from a fountain!

I end up in some kind of underwater orchard where crabs are picking away at a fruit.  Again I get offered to sample some but my stamina is at max so I do not think it is worth the risk and wander on.

Its then I stumble on a quaint little cottage in a bubble!  Its got land plants inside the bubble and I am invited in by an old man.

Normally kids I would say do not go near an old man inviting you into his home....but this is Fighting Fantasy.

He introduces himself as a Wizard called Greylock.  I am asked if I recognise the name but alas I do not.  He asks me lots of questions and my character grows suspicions and I get a chance to attack him when he takes his wand out.  This is not Warlock of Firetop Mountain where my character murders a wizard in his own home and its just as well I don't for he explains about Black Pearls!

If I use the phrase Derd-nu-Heno they will turn into Skeletons and fight for me!  I can use it on 10 pearls at a time to produce five Skeletons,  to return them to pearls the phrase is Derd-en-Parr.

He asks next for any Silver Pearls.  Why yes Greylock my old mate here is one!  He says the magic is no use to me but great importance to him.  Not much of a haggler there Greylock.  He offers me a potion.  I get the choice of healing, luck of vaporous essence.  Well I have my bread still and a high skill and luck score so I decide to go adventurous and pick the vaporous essence.   He assures me it can be drunk underwater, god knows how that works.

So Greylock tells me the Sea Dragon has most of the Black Pearls.  When I leave I can either seek him out or avoid him.  Well I am Skill 12 so lets go after him.

Before I get there though I run into a Merman.

I get the option to fight or talk and this guy looks like he would be cool so I opt to talk first.  And its a good choice, he takes me on a brief tour and I can either go to the sauna which will make me a new man or the games rooms.  Well I am still maxed on stamina so I decide sauna would be a waste so lets go to the games room.  

So its pretty much a merfolk casino.  I can stake any number of gold coins or black pearls and make a luck test.  If I pass I double my stake.  Hmm my luck is on 10 and I am told I can use the mermaids Lucky Charm.  So I decide to bet all my black pearls.  But I decide to save the charm and instead go for old fashioned luck.  And its a 6.  Woohoo I now have 8 black pearls!

My hosts enjoyed my visit and say if I am brave and lucky to visit the Sea Dragon, the sunken Cathedral to find my path and the Water Sprite for good luck.  I bid them a fond farewell and resume my quest for the Sea Dragon.

 

Ah here he is!

Again I get the option to talk rather than fight so I think why not give it a bash.  If it goes wrong we can fight anyway.  I can appeal to his good will, his greed or his hatred of pirates.  Well he is wrapped around that chest like a greedy creature.  But I also think he is a baddy.  Lets test that and see if he fancies fighting some pirates with me.

Nope.  He is not interested and instead moves to fight.  Ok he is only Skill 10 so I have an advantage....OH MY WORD!  Stamina 24!!!  I have to hit him twelve times!  Well I do manage it in a hugely long battle.  Would be an epic fight in a film.  There were a lot of draws in it as well.  But he got me down to just 4 stamina, I honestly thought I was a goner at one point as I lost four rounds in a row.  

I am told there is more treasure here than I can possible carry.  So I settle for 12 gold pieces, 2 black pearls and a sapphire.  Its time for a feast.  I eat four meals in one go to get my stamina back up and really wish I had taken that potion of healing.  At least I have 10 black pearls now which is the max I needed.

In the distance I see the cathedral which I could go straight to or I could approach/attack a sea horse!  Why would I attack it?  The temptation of getting to ride a sea horse is too much for me so I pick some sea weed and offer it to the horse.  It accepts eventually but the way the option of attempting to jump on and ride it puts me off so I decide to just go on my way.  This does net me 2 luck points though.  Hopefully he will turn up later.  

On the way to the Cathedral I get told I see some nasty looking creatures do I want to investigate.  Erm no thanks.  I try to swim past but some of the Bloodworms get in my way.  Lucky after the epic fight with the Sea Dragon they are nothing and I dispatch them and swim on.

Made it!

So in the cathedral they have magic stain glass windows which change each time you look.  I see myself being forced off the ship and then what I feel is an important clue.  The pirate ship is anchored next to an Island that looks like a giant fish eating it.  I decide to keep watching would be a path to madness so go for an explore of the interior.  

I just find more pictures, this time of me fleeing from some tentacles.  I think its time to get out of here.  I head out and swim over to a coral reef.

The Water Sprite, looks as fun as the Leprechaun.  

But the Merfolk did say he was ok so I offer him a magic item.  To be fair he says he does not need anything and its me that needs Black Pearls.  He says if I do not have enough I could go to the Krakens lair.  He then vanishes.  Well Greylock said I needed 10 and I have 10 so I decide to avoid the Kraken and go pirate hunting.  

Do I have an unmelting crystal of Ice?  Nope.

Do I know a friendly Dolphin?  Nope.

Well you have to surface.  Ok that's fine.

Except its not.  I have no idea where the pirates went (yes I do the fish island).  I grab a plank of wood and float away.  Well at least I did not die, just did not get revenge on the pirates.

Why did it not ask if I had befriended a Sea Horse?!

Notable Encounters - 

Getting captured by a Sea Ogre, he is quite funny.  You cant bribe him as he just says he will take all your stuff when you die.  He is very keen to feed you up though so you get fat!  Just hurl some obscenities at him as he can't handle it.

Your Mama is so fat they call her Shamu.

The poor water elemental has been imprisoned.  He is a bit angry about it but if you maintain a cool head you can help him.  And he is a useful man to know.  Getting him out though is easier said than done as the chamber above contains the fearsome Bone Demon from the cover!  

I say, hello old chap.

How about helping a Dolphin fight a Shark.  Its nice to have someone fight with you for a change as well!  His name is KeeekWeeet by the way and is also a very useful person to know.  Well if you have the crown to understand him.

Come on guys lets just talk it out.

Another very useful man well erm, merman to know is this lad - 

Is that a Glowfish?

In Demons of the Deep, fish are used very much Flintstones style, known as Toolfish.  You get quite a lot options to use things like the Sawfish or Axefish for example.  A novel way of using the underwater theme and not what I was expecting to see here.

One of my favorite encounters, and I wish I had gone in this direction, is going to the palace.  Turns out it is ruled by the Deep Ones.  Now if you have spoken to the merman you thing the Deep Ones are going to be out and out baddies but they are actually a nice bunch.  Even better is when you meat their king, the amazingly names King Seamoss!  Here you can either prove your worth by fighting the brillaint named Sharkspear or you can end up kissing a princess to break a spell sleeping beauty style.  Of course she is a Deep One so you are repulsed and get plenty opportunity to cause a diplomatic incident.

Apparently Mermen cant tell Deep Ones from humans!

And who can forget this player -

My name is Hugo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.

So how do you meet this guy you ask?  Well if you answered getting sucked into a magical painting you are a winner.  Its worth it though as he gives an increase to initial skill!  Initial skill increase!  What a teacher!

And I have not even mentioned the epic quest that happens off screen putting together a ghosts body to bury!

Artwork - 

Bob Harvey is back again.  I liked his Talisman of Death work and Seas of Blood was average.  This however is a bit below par and easily the worst of his trilogy of work so far.

As always though lets look at what I liked.  Which includes Cyrano above and the Sea Spider from my playthrough.  Greylock sitting on his coral chair is pretty good as well.   

The only thing missing here is Mungo in the crabs claw.

I have no idea how the hag ekes out an existence in small room under the sea.

I do not know what's wrong with me but I love the Deep Ones!  And King Seamoss!

However I do not see anything awful here, I just find it all a bit bland.  It might be the challenge of depicting underwater scenes in black and white.  I mean from above the Sea Dragon is unique but just feels a bit underwhelming for such an epic foe.  And the Dolphin Shark fight is, well, odd.  And the water elemental is to be fair like nothing like I have seen a water elemental look like before but it is just not for me.

The Genie could be in the desert if not for the bubbles.

 

The Sea Snakes are ok but that background...

Underwhelming is how I would sum up the art.  Which is a shame when you think of how great the cover is.

The Big Bad - 

Captain Bloodaxe is the reason for our adventure.  It is unusual where you actually are face to face with him at the very start of the adventure and he is well fleshed out here where he makes on he is being nice while actually setting you up for death.

But then that is about it for him in the adventure.  Every time you speak about your mission its always about the pirates in general and getting revenge.  I would have liked one or more of the encounters to know of the dread pirate and give a bit more backstory on some of his previous exploits that have upset the denizens of the sea.

Now I will talk about it in the final thoughts but there are multiple endings to this book.  But of course the best ones involve taking on Bloodaxe and the Pirates with your Skeletons.  This is a proper epic scene and criminal it did not get an illustration.  All I could think about was Jason and the Argonauts.

If you do go face to face with Bloodaxe he is a Skill 11 fight.  But its not mandatory, there is a way to get his own crew to mutiny against him without you having to lift a finger in combat.

Menagerie - 

Being that we are in the Sea we get a lot of things with Sea tacked on.  Sea Dragon, Sea Hag, Sea Spider, Sean Snakes, Sea Ogre.

However there is enough variety in here to keep it interesting.  

The Muck Demon is apparently female.

The other tactic is to make fish with land counterparts - 

Such as Batfish, complete with bat wings.

A devil fish in the cathedral.  Missed a trick though with no horns.

And a Lionfish complete with a mane and a roar.

None of these creatures are over powerful.  Skill 10 is most you will come across.  But some have hefty stamina such as he Sea Dragon in my playthrough.  And of course - 

It just wouldn't be right to have a sea based adventure without a Kraken!

Overall though very fair and stuck to the theme well!

Entertaining Deaths - 

Immediately swimming straight back up to the ship and being recaptured by the pirates.  

Drowning in an Ogres cage and still being eaten.

Swimming away from the Kraken.  It just eats you.

Turning up at an island with the wrong pirates.

Not many instant kills in this one but my favorite is - 

Attacking Greylock who turns you into an ugly fish.

Pete's Corner - 

The Deep Ones take it very personally if you tell them their princess is ugly.

Final Thoughts - 

I am still gutted I wasted such great stat rolls!  In a gamebook with multiple endings as well!  Lets start there then.  In a great bit of a design you can finish this book and not die in a variety of different ways. In addition to my ending we have - 

Having the water elemental or dolphin just take you home to Blacksand.

Going to the wrong Island and getting marooned (still alive).

Sinking the pirate ship to get your revenge but no treasure.

Using the Sea dragon to help destroy the pirates and their ship then having a fight to get a bit of treasure.

Beating Bloodaxe in combat and leaving on a small boat with some loot as the pirate ship explodes behind you (the Hollywood ending).

And what I think is the best ending.  Having Bloodaxes crew mutiny on him and then teach your skeletons how to crew a pirate ship.  Then sailing into Port Blacksand with the ship and all the loot.  And Bloodaxe is dead.

Now I say I think its the best ending because 400 is just a normal paragraph.  They are scattered throughout the book.  Now I understand why this was done, however for me this is sacrilege!  400 should always be the best outcome.

When I mapped out the book it did not feel as big as some of the other entries.  And there is a good reason for this.  Each encounter is much more of a set piece.  You get the option to flee, talk or fight amongst other things.  So it is possible in one playthrough to have help from someone and fight them the next time.  Steve Jackson 2 really makes it feel like more of an RPG.  It is also not linear and I never felt railroaded at all really apart from going to the garden when I wanted to go to the palace.  I do like both approaches but in Demons of the Deep this really worked for me.  I enjoyed the freedom of choice over more epic adventure.

And it is fair, low level characters can win this.  There are multiple paths to take and a lot of items give you permanent attribute increases.  And finally SJ2 gives us attack strength bonuses!  I think he understood the game better than the original authors sometimes.  This does mean I think you could beat this book easier than some others but the replay ability is in taking other routes and different endings.

Another thing I enjoy about Steve Jackson 2 is his prose.  He does a really good job with his descriptions in the paragraphs and does not tend to waste them either.  Its not perfect of course, there are still some non descript T-junctions but its minor.  Its just a shame his writing is let down by the mediocre art.  If Iain McCaig was in charge we would be pushing for top tier with this book.

Using the mechanism of the black pearls to fight the pirates is so cool, and it fits this book well.  The set pieces here are epic in scale (sea dragon, kraken etc).  When I was going through it I thought this would make a great action film!

I was surprised by the lack of innovation for and SJ2 book though.  Not a criticism its just after Scorpion Swamp I thought there would be more.  Its kind of limited to fighting three parts of the bone demon at once and a magic dagger you can use to inflict one off damage in any combat you choose.

But all in all I really enjoyed this adventure and I like how the book is structured.  Its got a great cover and some truly epic moments.  Just a shame about the artwork which again is not terrible, just not good either.

Score - 8 out of 10.

Rebel Planet

Background - 

It is late 1985, the last of the autumn leavers have fallen and the first bite of a cold frost covers the landscape in a beautiful if not ethereal glow as a faint mist drifts over the countryside.

None of this is seen by Ian as he is marched through the bland corridors of Puffin HQ.  The men are not armed but their black suits and ear pieces show the seriousness of the situation.  I mean some of this tech looks like its from one of his books, he had no idea it existed!

They stop at an elevator, also flanked by two of these security guards.  They exchange a note and one of them presses the call button.  After a few seconds the doors open and there is Philippa.

A gentle nudge which to Ian feels more like a rough shove sends him into the elevator.  Philippa presses the only button and the doors close.  The lift starts its long descent.

Philippa "Ian what you are about to see is top secret.  If you breathe a word of this to anyone you will never write so much as a children's choose your own adventure again."

Ian nervously "ok."

Philippa "The powers at be could see you and Steve were flagging, but the success of Fighting Fantasy is more than we could have ever imagined.  So they have started to reinvest the millions we have made on new projects in order to keep the books coming out as fast as possible.  What you are about to see is some of those projects."

Ian "Wait!  You have made millions?  My cheques you send barely cover Steve's takeaways!"

Philippa shoots Ian an icy stare that chills him to the bone.

Ian cowed "Sorry."

The lift finally stops and the doors open into a metallic futuristic corridor that ends in a non descript T-junction.  

Ian "How do you know which way to go?"

Philippa ignores him and takes a right.

They pass a few doors with strange names on them.  Ian stops at one of them.  It says Project Green.

Ian "What is all this?"

Philippa "Each room is dedicated to one of the projects, do not worry about that one though its years away from any results.  The ones I want to show you are up here."

They stop at a room that says Project Reacquisition.

Philippa "This is one of our more promising ones.  The team are dedicated on hunting down missing people we know that can help.  Even now the noose is tightening around US Steve Jackson.  But come on this is what I wanted to show you."

The next door is labeled Project Cyborg.  Philippa enters a code into the keypad.  Ian is pretty sure its 1985 but pretends not to be looking.

They enter the room which is full of green screen computers, and a large bench with a covered object laying on it.  It is almost human sized.  The room is full of scientists who look around.

Philippa "Leave us!"

With that they all scatter out of the room.  Leaving just the two of them.  Philippa goes to a terminal and inputs a command.  The table starts to tip upright.

Philippa "You see the reason you and Steve are struggling is because you are human, you tire and you are limited.  What if we had a machine that never tired or struggled to find ideas?"

Ian is now looking very nervous at the shape in front of him.  Philippa walks over and pulls of the sheet.

Philippa "Is it not magnificent!?"

Ian stares in disbelief.  

Ian "Are you sure its not human?"

Philippa "It is the latest in cybernetics.  Underneath it is all machine, complete with 512KB RAM.  But on the surface it is synthetic skin and hair, it would be able to pass for human!"

Ian "What do you call it?"

Philippa "Robin."

Ian "What?  Robin, des it stand for something?"

Philippa "Nope, but we cant call it the T1000 or anything like that, would raise too much suspicion."

Ian "And it can write Fighting Fantasy?"

Philippa smirks "Oh Ian, HE already has" as she lifts a copy of Rebel Planet.

So its November 1985 and already book 18 has come out.  I never played Rebel Planet when I was younger as I was never into the non-fantasy ones and too be honest I was dreading them this time around but I have much preferred Rings of Kether and Appointment with F.E.A.R to say Seas of Blood so its not so much trepidation as earlier sci fi ones I reviewed.  

I also had no idea when I was younger that anyone other than Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston were writing these so I did not care as much about authors.  Now though it matters a lot as we have Robin Waterfield debuting behind the pen and I am really excited to see what a new name brings to the Fighting Fantasy table.  Reading up a bit (as in reading you are the hero) I found out that Robin had been editing previous books and also rejecting all the fan made ones.  So he really should know what works and what does not.  I used to write some when I was a kid of the ones I didn't have.  Could not have been more than twenty paragraphs and I wish I still had them for a laugh.

Covers - 

Just the one cover again with this book.  I actually think its a really good one!  Interestingly most of it looks like it could be from a fantasy book.  Big giant lizard creature wielding a sword.  What looks like a lava bridge and some kind of mountain city.  Even the space scene in the background could be from any planet.  The only hint of the Sci Fi is the robot type person in the bottom corner.  It is not going great for this dude.  I mean he does not have a weapon, he is standing in the lava and he does not even have the high ground!

But you know this guy is a baddy when you see this -

He murders bunnies and wears their skulls!

But what is this?  I don't normally like the green zig zag but had to flag it up here as it is the original and it shows that they flipped the image for the new version.  I was thinking of why they would do this but I think I have figured it out.

The robot dude in the corner would be partially covered by the Fighting Fantasy logo, making it look like the robots ass was being covered up like it was being exposed!

Not only do I not have the high ground but what a day to wear my ass less chaps!

Premise - 

A change of format in this book.   We start with a section called History.  We are in the year 2453 and humans have been exploring space since 2070, no doubt thanks to Space X!  We learn that the first planet to be colonized was Tropos, which is a bit backward but they discover alpha-ziridium which curiously leads to the discovery of letting space ships continue accelerating rather than traveling at the same speed.  Ill be honest I had no idea you could not accelerate in Space.  

Not many planets are habitable but humans find a few.  But its when they turn up at Arcadion that things go a bit awry.  The planet has three distinct species but they have been united for a while when the humans land.  They are more primitive and not that into space travel, until we introduce them to alpha-ziridium.  Fast forward twelve years and the Arcadians have a galactic empire and have enslaved the human race.

However the Arcadians are not great at galaxy management so they decide to build a massive organic computer and implant themselves with receivers to become in effect a massive space ant colony.   Or the borg.

Hopefully Arcadian implants were less invasive.

Everything is going great for the Arcadians apart from the fact they cant implant the humans without killing them so they have to control through tyranny.  But the humans know about hive minds and they know if they could ever destroy the big old bio computer on Arcadia it would reduce their slavers to nothing more than zombies.

The next section is the mission background.  Its more like the standard backgrounds from the other books.  SAROS (Search and Research of Space) have taken up the mantle of the resistance movement.  They know a full scale war is out of the question so the plan is a solid snake style solo sneaking mission.  Why is now the time?  Well two reasons according to the book.  First they have the perfect person for the job.  Me!  I know a lot about science, I am courageous and have spent many months learning martial arts!  Yep that's right, not years, but months.  I got to green belt in karate as a kid, I assume this is the same experience they are talking about.  

Second I have the perfect cover, a merchant!  Apparently only very recently have humans been allowed to travel in space and only if you are a merchant.  Time to dust off the Space Mangos!  Alas I am immediately told it will be wheat for the first planet.  I think this is a terrible idea by the people at SAROS.  

Spies have been sent out but its not all good news.  Some humans are loyal to the Arcadians and have been sabotaging the missions.  What we do know though is that the building that houses the queen computer can be entered using a numerical code of nine binary digits.  The underground leaders on each planet can help me with the numbers.  Only problem is we have no idea who the underground leaders are, only codenames.  And we need to stop on each planet to find them.

The next section is called contact with aliens where we find out a bit more about the Arcadian species.  North Arcadians are not very bright but big brutes with a tail.  Pretty sure that's the guy on the cover.  Southern Arcadians are described as roly-poly.  The do not have tails but they have antennae which they use to pick up peoples feelings.  And finally the imaginatively named Central Arcadians.  They are the most powerful, not through power but skill.  They are great at distracting their opponents and their thoughts are very abstract and they are very arrogant.

Armed with all this information its time to load up the Space Mangos and go and save the human race.

Playthrough - 

The rules are pretty standard.  We are in space though so some different rules.  But what I like is there is a long explanation involving force fields for space ships but not individuals of why there is no space combat.  Besides humans are not allowed weapons and you are meant to be a merchant so no space combat in this book.  

We do have an illegal laser sword for combat.  All the good stuff the Arcadians got rid of in case there was a human rebellion but its just good enough to have a normal Fighting Fantasy combat.  It does sound very much like one of these - 

But for legal reasons I am sure it is not at all like this.

Interestingly if you have unarmed combat if you win a round you get to roll a dice.  On a roll of a 6 you hit a pressure point using your bad ass green belt karate skills and get an instant win.  So sounds like you are actually handicapped using the light sabre erm sorry I mean laser sword.  Oh crap that's the Disney IP lawyers at the door already.

And there is an equipment restriction.  You can only carry six items at a time in your anti grav pack.  Very interesting development there and makes it much more realistic than having a bottomless bag.  

The fine folk at SAROS have also given me 2000 credits.  I have no idea if that is good or not.  But I am warned should I need to pay for something and not have the credits its game over so I will be frugal.

Skill - 10

Stamina - 16

Luck - 8

Well turns out SAROS found someone who was actually below average.  Not great stats and the stamina is a big worry.  Especially as we have no provisions or pep pills!

There is a lot happening here for a launch.

My ship actually sounds quite nice, I have a comfy seat and robots to take care of the engines.  I depressingly watch earth disappearing in the background wondering if I will ever see it again.  Its not long before another ship starts shadowing me.  I get the option to tell the computer to use evasive maneuvers but that sounds daft to me.  If I want to sell the story of a merchant I should just cruise on along like things are expected.  

I am told by the book quite right!  Nice to get some positive reinforcement.  I spend the journey having a great time, eating, sleeping, exercising and playing chess.  I arrive on Tropos and get through customs with no problem.  My Light Sword has been treated with a special chemical to not set off the metal detectors.  I only have one day on Tropos before we set off again so time is of the essence.

I get into a hover taxi and its clear everyone is being monitored as it has the oppressive feeling of a police state.  Worse, the planet is populated by the war like North Arcadians.  I review my information about the person I am looking for.  Their name is Bellatrix and they can be found in a club called Fission Chips (terrible).  Interestingly it says Bellatrix has a strict code of honour.  With 6 hours before curfew I can either go straight there or to a hostel.  Time is against us so over to Fission Chips we go.

Not a good choice, apparently vehicles are not allowed in town so it takes me to the hostel anyway minus one luck point.

The Hostel is a dive.  Its very 21st century complete with pollution and Tropos flies.  Two big Arcadians are at the door with a different type behind the desk.  I decide to wait patiently to be noticed as don't want to anger them.

I eventually give up waiting and just go upstairs to the room.  Its shared but only one other guy is there having a good cry.  I decide to be nice and ask what's up.  Turns out the poor fellow was suspected of being a rebel and his family had been killed.  

Things escalate quickly!

So despite just having a conversation and wanting to stay out of combat I end up in a fight.  The receptionist has been murdered, no shock he was terrible at his job.  But for every Arcadian life taken they take ten human lives.  We are in the wrong part of town at the wrong time.  The guy I am talking to has given up and just going to take it so I fire up the Lightsaber and go for a fight.

The guard is only skill 6 but every second attack round he gets a chance to hit me with his tail.  He does not though and I absolutely destroy him.  

The man is delighted and leads me out of the hostel into the city.  He introduces himself as Grus and I ask if he can get me to Fission Chips.  He says yes and takes me through the city which as described in a grid layout.  We go down a back alley and Grus asks me to wait while he sees someone about getting us in.  Not really keen to be left in the dodgy alley I insist on going in with him.

I have clearly been too trusting as it turns out Grus and his friend in the house, Indus, are thieves.  They got caught and now work for the Arcadians as spies.  The disarm me but I am able to get an arm free and its unarmed combat time on a 2 on 1 fight.  

Grus gets a hit on me but then boom!  Karate chop to both within three attack rounds and both are down!  I apparently feel wretched for killing two humans.  Nope these guys were going to kill me so I have no qualms.  A search of the house nets me 500 credits, a Ziridium bracelet and an infra red scanner.

I am getting hungry so I lose another 2 stamina points which is concerning.  I dive into the grocer to get some food.

I eat quite a lot.

20 Credits spent and back up to my starting stamina.  Shame I can't make some provisions out of these!  Anyway I can ask for directions but last time talking about Fission Chips got me into trouble.  Grus the dick did say it was in the basement of the old Adolpho Videorama though so I figure safer asking where that is.

I get my directions in grid format so its pretty easy to work out the correct answer and I arrive at Fission Chips.  Who of course wont let me in without a password.  Ah ha, lucky I have a codeword.  Bellatrix I say happily.  Only to be told to get lost.  Crap I thought that was obvious.  Anyway I decide to go back to the hostel and try again tomorrow but before I leave I get knocked on the head and kidnapped, losing 2 stamina points.

At least the take me straight to Bellatrix.  They want me to prove I am not an Arcadian spy.  I retort back that how do I know they are the resistance?  Bellatrix goes on a long ramble (that's what the book says, not me) and it boils down that she believes nobody, not even Arcadians are guilty without evidence.  Everything is about honour with her.  I decide yep I am in the right place and give them all my details of the mission.  They agree I am genuine but ask me a favour first.  The barman at Fission Chips is an Arcadian double agent and they need me to kill him.  Which to be honest flies in the the face of everything she has just said so I refuse.

I ask for proof first and this is all Bellatrix needs to trust me.  She says the army guys have a marching song that they used to remember the first numbers in the code.

Oh Mortal combat is such joy:

No messing about, no subtle ploy.

Empire of Arcadian!  Empire of Arcadian!

Onward, Ever Onward!

Open pitched battles make me high;

Never mind the odds - Let's do or die!

Evermore Arcadian! Empire of Arcadian!

And that's all they have.  I get  my luck points back to max but I turn down the stamina potion for 50 creds as I want to preserve money.

I wont lie I have no idea how to get any number codes from that marching song.  I hope there will be more clues further on.

I arrive back at the hostel where the guard has been trebled but to my shock I have a good nights sleep and restore two stamina points.  Delighted I did not splurge on that potion. 

Heading to the spaceport the place is crawling with guards.  Luckily when asked if I let a guard escape in Grus's street I can say no and safely move to customs.

I worry about the hotel shower gel being over the liquids limit.

In bad news my kit is being inspected by a high ranking military Arcadian.  Unfortunately I still have the infra red scanner.  In good news though it does not seem to be a problem and I convince him its harmless and he lets me through.

With that we blast off to Radix.  As I am travelling I reflect that I do not even have the codename for the contact on the planet.  In fact I am given nothing at all other than it is dominated by Southern Arcadians who are more easy going but difficult to communicate with.

Customs this time is no problem, in fact they seem delighted with my shipment as its for a project they are working on.  The world is very advanced with moving platforms and a personal monorail system.  I look up where humans can stay and its either the fancy Zodiac or the not even rated Porky's Palace.  Urgh I really want to go to the Zodiac and live it up but no way the resistance is there.  

On my way to Porkies I notice a lot of random areas that have been demolished.  After a shower and a snack at the hotel I decide to ask Porkie himself about this.  He is reluctant to talk though and just mentions something called Street Fighter has been deployed to crush any student protests.  Ah protest you say?  Its off to the university to ask some questions.

Its a lovely city.

Instead of going straight to the university though I take a detour to the natural history museum.  However I have to say I did not plan this, the option was to stay outside the university for awhile.  I was hoping to observe not go somewhere else!

At the museum the guard starts speaking scripture to me and luckily my character knows the correct response.  I accept his offer to show me around (its very cryptic) but my character did not want that and the Arcadian can tell this by picking up my emotions.  Feeling like I am losing a bit of control of my guy here.  Anyway its actually enjoyable and I find out the previous civilization on this planet wiped everyone out in a phacium war.  They used to send out flying saucers to scout other planets in the 21st century.

I decide to get back on track as soon as I get the chance and head back to the university.  Its crawling with Arcadian guards which shows how much unrest their is.  The option is to go to the science or arts sections.  Well rebellion is more really for the arty types.  

I get asked if I have a contact and to go to that paragraph.  Alas I do not so I wait around instead.  A student puts up a notice organising a protest.  However he is soon jumped by a couple of louts and all of sudden I am in an unarmed combat fight with them.  Luckily they are not much when it comes to fighting.  It takes a while but I put them both down without getting hit.  I of course roll a knock out 6 on the second last round after knocking one guy out the old fashioned way.

Turns out the louts are part of the black eyes who are pro Arcadians.  The students only hint though is that the university keeps records on all students.  So I head so I head to the secretaries office.  

Alas its an Arcadian rather a human secretary.  Its time to play bad cop and I get in a tussle with him.  They are not used to violence here and he is unarmed so I get an extra skill point this combat.  He manages to get one hit on my but I run him through with my laser sword.  I pass a luck test and nobody is around to hear.

They are not using microfiche.

I find some records but decide to get out of dodge before reading them.  However I soon figure out I am being tailed.

I mean they are not even trying.  They are right there talking into ear pieces and looking right at me!

I pass a luck test and lose them in the side streets.  My luck is down to 6 now though.  But am I lucky?  I run straight into the Street Fighter!

Oh please don't be Ryu.  He is bound to be at least Skill 11.

Nope, its erm....this?

Alas I do not have the fancy weapon I am asked for so its a Skill 9 fight.  However each time I lose it does one more point of stamina.  So for example the second time I am hit its 3 stamina, a third time 4 stamina etc.

However I spot a weakness, the aerial!  If I win a combat I can take off a skill point instead of stamina if I want.  So even though it is stamina 16 I spend my time chipping down the skill.  It gets easier each time and it never hits me.  Not sure I got that right but hey ho.

I finally make it back to Porky's but he wont let me use his computer easily.  I get the option to fight him but instead pay him 400 credits as it would be a bit of a dick move to kill someone over use of his own computer.  

The information turns up a Professor Zacharias.  I give him a call and we arrange a meet the following morning.  Alas when I turn up the Professor has already been arrested by the Arcadians as the ring leader of the rebels on this planet.  I go in for a look to see if he left a clue and I am told the clue is in the picture.

Hard to see in this picture but I see a 2 and a 4 on the left...

But I am immediately arrested as well for being in a known rebels house.  I lose all equipment and my sword.  Only retaining my money pouch.

I am told my trial is a farce, but they know something is up.  I am sentenced to death and it will only be commuted if I spill the beans about the resistance.  Ah to grass or not to grass.  Well its death if I do not so I give them some information.  It is enough to get off certain death.  But now its almost death.  I get given a choice of instant death or gladiatorial combat.   Well kind of, I cant pick as its a random door choice.  

Well I am left handed so I go left.  I walk down the corridor and come to a large door.  I decide to wait and I get told I have entered the gladiatorial games.  Nope I did not choose it was blind luck!  At least my luck is back to max.  

The guard gives me a clue about fighting a Scabrok but first up its a Laphodorm.  It is described as a red scaled, tortoise necked, lion headed, snake tonged grotesque monster!  It is only skill 7 but it hits me straight out of the gate.  But that's all it gets.

I now have to fight the Scabrok, I am not told what it looks like but I throw some sand in its face and reduce it to skill 7.  Still though it takes some chunks out of me and I am down to stamina 8 before I put it down.  

Ah so that's what it looks like!

The authorities are as good as their word and I am allowed to leave the planet, minus all my equipment and laser sword. I mean that is a strange justice system, I mean they caught me in the house of the rebel leader but I am allowed to leave for a bit of information and surviving two fights?  

So I arrive at my next destination which is the planet of Halmuris.  It is a planet that is still in an early creation phase and very inhospitable.  Apart from the scientific research establishments the rest of the planet sounds very dangerous, with three moons causing massive tides!  Its also very hot in the day and freezing at night.  Mental note, stay inside!

It gets worse, the high gravity means I need to loose 1 skill point when on the planet, which in Fighting Fantasy is more crippling than huge tides.  All I know about my contact is that they work as an assistant at the agricultural research settlement.

I get the option to find a weapon but my hands are weapons so I head off to the agricultural station.  There are no directions though so I get the choice of asking humans dressed in blue or humans dressed in grey, erm ok.

I pick a random dude in blue who tells me where to go but its best to get a helicopter but you need a pass.  Erm how do I get a pass I ask.  At this point he sighs and says if I have to ask these questions its clear I am up to no good.  He tells me to follow him which I do.  We end up in a remote place and I get plenty chances to back out but I decide after hearing so much about how dangerous outside is that I need a pass.

In a back room I meet a fat man and I ask him for a pass.  He says no problem but he needs a day to get it,.  I do not have that kind of time so I lose 1 luck point.  I chance it and ask how about a laser sword?  He says no problem sir but it costs me 1000 credits!  I pay up and make to leave but the man asks what I am up to as he might want cut in.  

Now I think this is reasonable and I could use the help.  But my character gets very upset by this and kills the mans guard and I end up in a fight with the Black Marketeer!  Despite the gravity penalty I easily beat him but before I can think to take the money it appears we knocked over a crate into something which sets the place on fire!

I do pick up a jet pack on my way out though!  I get back to the main part of the spaceport.  Night is soon so I have to leave asap.  There is a huge fence around the spaceport, lucky I have a jetpack!

The moment of truth!

So it starts well as I jet over the fence.  But of course it runs out of fuel before I land.  I pass a luck test and I am only winded on hitting the ground.  I throw the jetpack away in disgust.  I was hoping the rest of the book was going to be like this - 

Now outside the spaceport I get asked which direction I want to go in.  Well earlier my man in blue told me it was North-East.  Alas both North and East are options...

I head North, and find a plant that looks thick enough that if I could get inside it would be a good place to shelter for the night.  Its moving though, and this is an alien planet.  And a Fighting Fantasy book.  So I decide to press on and not get eaten by the plant.

And I die in the cold.  Should have gone east!

Notable Encounters - 

So in my playthrough I never made it into Fission Chips.  Which is a shame as a lot happens in there.  I had to make a whole tab to itself just to map it out.

Where is the Cantina Band?

There is a lot going in here.  Directions change from the very start when you are frisked, depending if you still have a laser sword.  In true bar fashion you can get in a brawl, speak to some humans, have  a drink at the bar, get your drink spiked etc.  There are a few routes but basically you want to end up getting gassed in the Visphone booth.  Yep not a sentence I thought I would write.

The Zodiac Hotel also needs to get a mention as its just lovely to be somewhere nice for a change.  You even get to use the sauna!  Have a lovely meal in the restaurant.  Just be careful about socializing at the wedding.   

This can lead to an unfortunate meeting with the chief of police.

I have to call out the Museum Cellar Maze.  Luckily I never insisted on going to the basement when I went into the museum as it leads to one of these terrible Fighting Fantasy mazes.  Its meant to be an intense chase through the cellar but its as infuriating as the original Warlock maze just on a smaller scale. You get out through the toilets if you ever find them.

Ill talk about my disappointment about the planet Halmuris later but I did enjoy the agricultural station.  Its all  very peaceful and then all hell breaks loose.

Yep a space ship comes down and tries to burn you out of the fields.  You did not think it was going to be that easy did you?

Artwork - 

Another new illustrator, Gary Mayes, joins the list of fighting fantasy artists.  Its interesting that we get both traditional illustrations and the comic book panels we saw last time out in Appointment with Fear.  

First off the good.  The opening launch scene is great.  What a way to start the book.  The city panorama view is also something I liked from my playthrough along with the Jetpack fence scene.  Some other greats - 

Cool Spaceport!

One of the more awesome robots in Fighting Fantasy.  Shame its such a minor scene!

And fair play on using the art to give a crucial clue for completing the book as well.  That is some next level thinking there.

But as you are no doubt familiar with by now we have plenty misses as well.  One of the biggest problems I had here was I did not find it clear what paragraph they were depicting.  In other Fighting Fantasy's its been obvious but for some of these I had to read all the paragraphs and take a guess.

I have no idea what I am looking at.

I think this is the Police Station.

If you see this and think ah that's a shapeshifter restoring some of my stamina, I think you would be correct.  

Yeah I cant work out this one at all.  Answers in the comments if anyone knows.

Its not the only issue, again we get some poor choices on what to illustrate of just empty rooms like these.

Its a computer screen...

The house of Grus and Indus AFTER all the interesting stuff has happened.

The Big Bad - 

Disappointingly there is no big final confrontation on the last planet.  In fact I don't think we even get a picture of the hybrid bio computer at all which is criminal!

How it should have ended.

Now when you do get to the end hive mind computer you are presented with a plethora of options on what to use.  All lead to your death apart from one specific option used in a certain way.  You have to take out all three main nodes at the same time and only one item lets you do that.  And you better pick it up from the Arsenal!  There is a route where you can link up with the hive on your spaceship but that leads to a very strange trippy experience which is avoidable and it really did not add to the understanding of the hive computer much.  I would have liked to have found clues about how it worked, what it was etc rather than numbers for the door to get in.  

Menagerie - 

Considering you visit four different planets there is not a lot of exotic monsters about.  The main foes are either humans or of course a bunch of Arcadians.

There are some slightly exotic monsters such as the shapeshifter or a annoying rock buzzard who only needs to hit you once to knock you off a cliff.  

It gets a bit more wild in the arena I was in fighting the Laphodorm (really needed a picture of that guy) and the Scabrok (and a pic of this guy before he gets killed).  

There is a wild sequence when you are connected to the hive mind where you fight in close succession a Dragon comet, Sphinx and a vampire leach!  I mean what the hell is a dragon comet!?  But of course instead we get an illustration of a computer screen instead!

Lets talks Arcadians though.  As outlined earlier they come in three varieties.  By far the toughest to fight are the Northern variety.  If they have room to use their tails they get a bonus roll to try and inflict extra damage.

The Police Chief is Northern along with his very drunk friend in the background.

Southern guys are much less of a threat in combat but they do have antenna which means you have to be careful what you say or feel around them.

Central ones are a bit of in-between.  They are not as tough as Northern but they do feature more the closer to the end you get.

The confused guy is Musca, and his pal.

His pal gets much more screen time.

Although no idea what happens to his snout by the time you get to this bit!?

You can even fight Porky if you want but that would just be a dick move!

Entertaining Deaths -

Wearing the wrong coloured overalls.

Using your sword to destroy the Arcadians mind machine, only to hear him say I can always build another one.

Being told God only helps those that helps themselves as you stay in the burning fields praying for help.

Spending the rest of your time on Tropos as Bellatrix teaches you how to have morals.  

Accidentally ending back at the start of the museum maze where the Arcadians are waiting for you.

Not making it through customs.

Being drugged in the club just as a raid starts and getting stabbed in the neck during the fracas. 

Not being able to find the right key in the watchman's keyring in time.

Not snitching to the Arcadians and then getting executed.

Turning Right.

Seeking shelter in a cave low down when you have been explicitly told about the crazy violent and high tides on the planet.  You drown.

My favorite for this book though is removing the case for the hive computer only for liquid helium to flood the floor and freeze your feet before you fall over and snap at the ankles.

Pete's Corner - 

01001001 00100000 01100001 01101101 00100000 01100001 01101110 00100000 01000001 01110010 01100011 01100001 01100100 01101001 01100001 01101110 00100000 01101001 01101110 01100110 01101111 01110010 01101101 01100101 01110010

Final Thoughts - 

Rebel Rebel your planets a mess!

Ok looking at the positives first as we do have plenty.  The world building here is excellent.  It all starts with having just more than the background.  Having the history section, followed by the background and also contact with aliens was a great way to break up an info dump and also set up a brand new universe.  I love the premise of humanity going a bit too far and causing their own downfall and now living under evil oppressors.

I also like the concept of the hive mind but I have to say I don't really see that happening here, at least not as how I understand it.  As soon as you get into any combat with an Arcadian then they should all know who you are?  They certainly do not act like they are a hive mind up until the very end.

This really is a book of two halves though.  Tropos is fantastic.  Robin Waterfield does a tremendous job of making it feel oppressive.  From trying to get through customs to the interactions in the hostel or Fission Chips, I always felt on edge which is what it should do. 

Moving onto Radix and it was obviously a different vibe but it also did a very good job of building the tension and I enjoyed the university section.   But after you get arrested things start to go downhill for me.  The police station into instant death or fights makes no sense.  

When you move onto the next planet of Halmuris I love the back story of the crazy tides and the dangers of being outside.  But it feels disjointed.  The encounters seem very random and do not fit the theme.  The shapeshifter is odd as is having to find an item by putting your hands into random holes after fighting a bird on a cliff.  It is redeemed a bit with the fire fight in the fields though.

The final planet of Arcadia itself is a massive disappointment.  I felt it should be more epic but we get a couple of rooms and no illustrations.  I guess at this stage with how fleshed out the first two planets are paragraphs were running out.  Which makes me even more mad about the mini maze!

Combat here is not a problem.  I do like the hand to hand special rule but nothing should give you much trouble in a fight, you certainly do not need skill 11 or 12 to make it through.  Better role high luck though as it gets tested a lot.  And its not like other books where you fail and graze your knee and lose stamina.  Nope a lot of the time you are dead!

No, what will get you is the code to get into the computer room.  I am embarrassed to admit just how long it took me to work out the poem even when I knew it was binary.  It was staring me right in the face as well.  The picture clue is clever but its a bit too obscure for me.  If any kid worked out the code and then understood the instructions, wow they were far too clever to be playing Fighting Fantasy!  Its very, very clever but a bit too difficult for my liking.

Which brings me to what I said about the big bad, its a shame I think that the code is everything and the computer hive is a bit anti climatic.  Im ok for having the code but it should have been easier and more a subtext for a bigger event.  I mean maybe start the mission as that but it evolves as you go.

Some of the art is very good but for me too much is a miss.  Either poorly selected scenes or confusing to what it depicted.  And I should not have to read all the paragraphs on the page to work out what scene its showing.

So in summary I have highlighted a lot of negatives there but this book is worth playing just for Tropos itself.  If it really just had been Rebel Planet with one planet and stayed on Tropos and fleshed it out more I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Score - 6 out of 10.