Gamebooks

[Funt Solo]

Assassin/Avenger
I've enjoyed these so much, I'm not sure why they never reached a larger audience.
...
One thing I really like is that there's no 'do you have item x, if not game over' moment. Having certain items or skills makes your life a lot easier, and you can definitely box yourself into a point where a lack

Really enjoyed your write-up of these Way of the Tiger books. They were always head and shoulders above any other series I played so I'm also a bit surprised at their lack of renown. The sense of progression and the world around you were so good. The only other series I remember trying to do this was Lone Wolf and that was a lot less complete. Read somewhere (potentially earlier in this thread) that the whole setting of Orb was one they'd developed over a few years of D&Ding which was why it worked so well. On the other hand, it could be that the idea of an ongoing series is what put people off picking up a random one like you could with FF.

I really liked the same authors' sci-fi series, but that seems more of a niche thing. Think it was called Falcon?

The Lone Wolf epic (still being written by the next generation) was also born out of an RPG campaign. I just bought the newer Book 7 of Way of the Tiger (Redeemer!), but I'm not sure when I'll get to it. The Falcon series I also enjoyed - a sci-fi, time-traveling six-parter - like Doctor Who but with guns.

There were some other contenders, but I don't recall them quite as fondly as the rest. The two Fatemaster books gave you specific map sections, and you could always double-back. Grail Quest had an unusual narrative set-up and was bit of a comedy - kind of like if Sir Terry P had done a gamebook. Skyfall was an unusual blend of fantasy and sci-fi, as you were low tech but exploring a crashed spaceship.

[Funt Solo]

Citadel of Chaos

Skill: 9      
Stamina: 22      
Luck: 11
Magic: 15

Craggen Rock. Shit. I'm at Craggen Rock. I'm on a mission, which is better than sitting around the Forest of Yore growing weak while the monsters out here grow stronger. It's time to end Balthus Dire, and end the threat he poses to the Vale. One alone has more chance here than armies on the field. Dire has ... powers. But so do I. I don't know if they'll be enough.

My cover story gets me past the hideous mutants guarding the gate and into the large, crowded courtyard at the base of the tower – serving currently as some kind of encampment for Dire's growing forces. Blending in with the miscreants I make it to the tower's main door and bluff my way inside. I trigger an alarm and, blundering to find a hiding spot, tumble into darkness, awaking in a cell.

Despite my incantations, the Calicorn jailor is unmoved and I realize my fate is sealed. Perhaps another assassin will succeed where I have failed. They will have sent more than one.


Post-Match Interview

Seems like I was (in that situation) missing a key spell – but perhaps not getting jailed in the first place would've been the better option. I'd tested my luck three times up to that point and succeeded each time, so I was feeling fairly confident till I tried the wrong door. I got in no fights at all.

[Leigh S]

Found the first book in teeh "forbidde Gateway" series (might be a series of 2?) in the tip shop.

Its a Cosmic/Gothic Horror setting, which is nice, but it's wound me up immeditely by having paragraph 1 lead to paragraaph 19 lead to paragraph 35..... there are only 379 paras and you've just wasted two!

[Pyroxian]

I think I've got the second forbidden gateway book somewhere...

[Barrington Boots]

Some very enjoyable walkthroughs on this thread over the last few days. I especially enjoyed Richard's exasperation at the useless Redswift and Stubb who I found very much a Frank Spencer-esque duo although I think one of them at least doesn't get Mungo'd.

Hard to disagree about CotSW being essentially a pretty unfair book - it's relentlessly difficult but it is fun and the art does rule. Compared to HoH - which I've been replaying - which isn't especially fun and most of the art does not rule. HoH is a fiendishly clever book and I can't help but be impressed by that and how it plays out, but having basically one single path through the book that you cannot deviate from is hugely offputting. There's a couple of areas where, once you enter, every single choice you can make leads to death. Throw in the fear points as well - it's impossible to complete the book with a fear score of less than 9 - and I'd say this is literally impossible without a map and / or a ton of foreknowledge.

Once I'd cemented my negative perception of it I started to get annoyed by other little touches - like, why is the vampire in the house at all? Why does the ghost tell you to rescue the nurse when it's not possible? Why does finding a corpse give you a load of fear points but not fighting an animated one? Who the hell leaves their keys on top of a working cooker hob?
All that aside it IS well written and creepy and II think I still prefer it to Starship Traveller but it's not one I want to return to.

Really enjoyed your write-up of these Way of the Tiger books. They were always head and shoulders above any other series I played so I'm also a bit surprised at their lack of renown. The sense of progression and the world around you were so good. The only other series I remember trying to do this was Lone Wolf and that was a lot less complete. Read somewhere (potentially earlier in this thread) that the whole setting of Orb was one they'd developed over a few years of D&Ding which was why it worked so well. On the other hand, it could be that the idea of an ongoing series is what put people off picking up a random one like you could with FF.

Cheers dude! I've been playing the third one and I'm converting my notes into a more coherent writeup today.
I'm also super impressed with these and I think they're better than a lot of the FF books. I also wonder if the episodic nature counted against them as back in the 80s I used to mainly read books like these piecemeal from libraries or whatever was in the local bookshop and was forever reading book 2 of a trilogy or whatever.
I've got the Freeway Warrior books somewhere that also have a nice sense of progression in them.

I really liked the same authors' sci-fi series, but that seems more of a niche thing. Think it was called Falcon?

I've played one of these for sure. Didn't realise it was the same authors. Thought I still owned it, but a search only turned up a couple of Grailquest books.

Found the first book in teeh "forbidde Gateway" series (might be a series of 2?) in the tip shop.

I think this book might be impossible, but the second one is really good and also has a great cover if it's the one I'm thinking of.

[Barrington Boots]

They last a lot longer than poor old Mungo from FF7!

Too soon.

[Barrington Boots]

Usurper!

It's time for Book 3 of the Way of The Tiger: Usurper! It's a bit of a long one as LOADS happens in this book.

Setting up, I am permitted carried over my stat modifiers and skills from Assassin. In addition, the book allows me a random improvement to a couple of my skills so by now I am a pretty devastating combatant especially with kicks - I'm hitting with most strikes and combat is a fair but easier if I can outlast foes. I'm beginning the book with four skills: Acrobatics, Arrow Cutting, Climbing and Poison Needles.

The book begins where part 2 left off, with my dropping off the Scrolls, stolen way back in book 1, at the temple on the Island of Tranquil Dreams. Here the Grandmaster gives me a long chat about destiny and finally reveals my true heritage - son of a king, who was also a missionary and a martial arts master - and suggests I go and claim back rulership of the city of the spellcheck nightmare-ly named Irsmuncast. To aid me the grandmaster will teach me one of three skills: two special grandmaster only ones or a regular ninja one from the main list. Obviously, I'm going with a choice from the special ones and I elect to learn 'Shin-Ren': the ability to read people by their poise, subtle face movements and the like - Derren Brown skills, essentially. This is followed by an awesome meditation trip with spirit tigers and the like. I'm then off to the Island of Plenty where I link up with the Daimyo I assisted in book 2 who promises to aid me on my quest with a boat to the mainland and 100 samurai warriors to start me off (worth noting here that the grandmaster has said I should go kill off the usurper of Irsmuncast on my own using my ninja prowess. I can send these Samurai one of two routes: one dangerous and one safer but longer. This sounds like it will be very relevant later, but I can't in all good conscience suggest my budding army marches through a place called the Valley of Lich Kings, so we go for the former.
I'm then given two options: making my way alone through the populated Manmarch to Irsmuncast, or heading off with my old friend Glaivas from book 1 (and briefly book 2). I decide to go it alone because I like Glaivas and fear him doing a Mungo. Up to this point essentially nothing much has happened bar exposition and setup but it's all been a joy to read.

Before long I'm on the mainland and running lightly across the plains when I meet another monk who reveals himself as a follower of the Scarlet Mantis - Aiguchi the Weaponmaster. He openly declares he's come to kill me and seek vengeance for me killing their grandmaster in Avenger, but that we should not brawl like common peasants but instead battle it out in some kind of mini-arena used for honour duels. Obviously I accept.
The duel itself is to be fought in a small wood, beginning a dangerous game of cat and mouse. I unluckily fail to kill the Weaponmaster with my poison needles, resulting a cinematic duel including a neat disarming sequence, that leaves me victorious and Aiguchi slain. Almost immediately after I am drawn into single combat with the Black Knight Honoric, Leader of the Sword of Doom, whom I thought killed in Assassin but has survived due to his extreme badassery. He survives my poison needle - he survived the Blood of Nil, after all - and the subsequent fight is an absolute nightmare, if not as dramatic as the one against Aiguchi. In a strange twist, I force Honoric back into a knot of bushes and entangle myself in a trappers snare leaving me helpless, only to have the villain spare my life, wanting only to end my life in single 'honorable' combat (he previously dissed me for my sneaky assassin ways) and ride off.

By now word is out that I am in the Manmarch, and there is a grim foreboding in the air, affecting the local animals. I suspect I will be pursued, and I am right - what follows is a terrifying chase from a relentless, unkillable flesh golem. Here is where I was killed - and then killed again on a repeat playthrough - before scraping through after a very lucky roll on my third play enabled me to kill Aiguchi without striking a blow as this encounter is brutal: the monster is literally unkillable and the chase is a reasonably long one with me gradually weakening and getting more and more desperate as things go on. After several unsuccessful (but non-fatal) attempts to be rid of it, and a sinking feeling that the Manmarch segment was some HoH-style dead end, I manage to drop it into a huge rift, team up with a paladin who drops me at the walls of Irsmuncast fully healed and I guess it's time for part 2 of the book.

Entering the city barefoot and in humble guise is a nice touch for someone who wants to be a future ruler.  The place is apparently run by the evil priests of Nemesis so I decide to lay low and like a dope I head for the temple of Kwon, easily the first place anyone would look for me if the hue and cry was on (and it is) where the Grandmaster fills me in on the situation and tells me of four factions - the Monks of Time, the Shieldmaidens, the Merchants and the common people - that I need to unite behind me.
One pub crawl later I'm off meeting various representatives - the commoners and the shield maidens seem fairly easy to sway with a bit of common sense but the church of Time is somewhat noncommittal and the merchants downright untrustworthy. Although they agree to use their mercenary armies to aid my cause. my Shin-Ren tells me they will betray me (this is the first use of Shin-Ren of any note in the book btw) and when I tell them this they agree not to betray me - this doesn't seem likely. Nevertheless all have agreed to aid me with their forces and will spring into action against the usurpers troops once I have assassinated the usurper himself.

I'm soon back on familiar ground with a mission of murder. I steal into the caverns beneath the palace where I fail to slip past some trolls with my climbing skill but drive them off in combat. Having completed Assassin I am able to use an item from that book to enter what I assume would otherwise be a hidden area and recover a magical circlet -  using my sheer willpower, rather than an object, to overcome it's guardian flame - and engage in a horribly difficult battle of wills before it's time to face the Usurper.
As one would expect this isn't as straightforward as you'd think - I kill the tyrant with my poison needles only to discover there is more about him than expected. This fight is absolutely bonkers hard, with multiple stages, but made significantly easier by being able to swig a healing potion halfway through to restore my health to maximum as well as the circlet reducing the damage I take by 4 - significant when monsters are dealing 3d6 damage per hit. With help from my paladin mate I struggle through and  I am down to 2 health when I finally drop the Usurper.
From here I am able to kickstart the revolution. The shieldmaidens and the commoners charge the tyrants forces, with the mercenaries of the merchants guild making a belated appearance, although the priests of time no-show. Finally my samurai (remember them?) arrive to crush any final resistance and I am crowned king, hurray!

The premise of the book is the first time this has fallen down a bit, because as a ninja, it seems a bit weird to suddenly be told I'm sort-of royalty and to go take over a city. Technically it's an assassination mission, but I don't really buy into the 'chosen one' trope. The following stuff however, with the two duels and the golem, was absolutely top notch if totally unrelenting. The Honoric duel felt a little flat following the one with Aiguchi but the golem chase was excellent. The rallying of the factions was mainly for colour - the commoners and the shieldmaidens do all the heavy lifting and whilst I assume it's possible to not get these onside, but it seemed a bit obvious what to say a=to do so if you'd paid attention to the text - but the final battle against the Usurper was insanely hard and I'm not really sure how I survived it. The skill of Shin-Ren was almost 100% useless.

Otherwise I have the same praise for this as the other two - multiple paths to victory, immersive writing and an immersive world, items that ease the path instead of insta-death if you don't have them and some dynamic, fun battles. I'm not sure how the next book will fare now I'm running a whole city, but I am keen to find out.

Next for me will be TALISMAN OF DEATH.

[Funt Solo]

It's fun to read your Way of the Tiger play-throughs - it's a long time since I played those, and I wasn't sure quite how the third book played out. I like that they shifted the focus from adventuring to trying to reclaim a city, even though that seemed an odd way to go for a ninja-assassin character.

I appreciated, when reading these, that the writers had come up with their own pantheon. I was recently reminded of The Rift (an interesting geographical feature) with the book and series Shadow and Bone, and its Shadow Fold (or Unsea).

[Dark Jimbo]

I love BB's Way of the Tiger write-ups as I can read them without fear of spoilers!

[Richard]

It's a great write-up, and the Mungo tribute above it made me laugh. "Doing a Mungo" should become a phrase.

Looking forward to reading about Talisman of Death.

[Funt Solo]

Oh man - I'm doing an epic Forest of Doom playthrough at the moment. It's made me realize what a great book this is - the dynamic of letting you go around for another try if you don't find what you need is pretty cool. I know Scorpion Swamp does a more complex version of that.

[Funt Solo]

Steve Jackson Interview! Fighting Fantasy, Sorcery, and Games Workshop

I love that he meets up with Ian Livingstone and Peter Molyneux once a week to play board games.

[Funt Solo]

++SPOILERS AHOY++


The Forest of Doom

Skill: 12      
Stamina: 20      
Luck: 9
Potion: Fortune


Well, huzzah! A quest has simply landed in my lap – this little fellow stumbled into my camp and gifted me (with his dying breath) his coin pouch and a rudimentary map. All I need do is visit a merchant-mage and then pop into the woods for a little arboreal jaunt after the fellow's hammer, then bring it to his kin in Stoneybridge. I suppose finding an undersized hammer in a large forest (notorious for its apparent lack of light) is the troublesome part, but perhaps this Yaztromo fellow can help with that. Whatever way you shake it, I'm up – everything else is gravy!

The somewhat grumpy mage lets me into his shop and tells me more of the hammer – it is in two pieces – an ebony handle and a bronze head. He suggested my trouble was doubled, but surely it is halved – as I have twice the chance of finding something! Well, arithmetic was never my strong suit – at any rate, I am newly equipped with a variety of magical trinkets and head off on my sylvan expedition.

My first slight snag is met when the path through the darkening woods splits! However am I to find the objects of my quest if the route is manifold? (Also, there are no sign postings!) Well, I opt for the eastern route, even though there's nothing in it – feeling the sun on my face is rather pleasant! I start to jot down a map on the back of the one gifted by that fellow who started me on this increasingly errant errand – my getting lost simply won't do.

No sooner have I bemoaned the lack of signage than a sign I happen upon, and upon which sits a talkative crow,  who requires a coin for information. I regret having spent all of my recently acquired pieces on magical bric-a-brac, and so cannot gain the wisdom of this chatty corvid and opt to strike toward Stonebridge, whereupon I am set upon by two hobgoblins. A short, but somewhat exhilarating display of my martial prowess leads to my searching their corpses for booty. Irony! Now I have a few coins for the unlikely crow, but I do not wish to backtrack. Certainly, they did not carry the hammer.

A little further along I happen upon a large burrow, reeking with slime and danger. Normally, one might retreat at this point, but I am no light heart when it comes to ravenous beasts and am soon in combat with a deadly gigantiform worm! Having segmented the beast, and decided against attempting to cook steaks, I find the remains of previous visitors, who gift me a few coin and a potion, which I quaff. Luckily, it appears to improve my musculature. This worm did not guard either piece of the hammer. How bothersome!

Next I investigate a large cave, containing an ogre. I know, you're thinking "leave the poor fellow alone – he's living a quiet life in the woods – perhaps knock politely and ask after the health of his kin" – but he does have another poor fellow stuck in a cage in his kitchen! Which is why I rush in and kill the chap, before ransacking his shelter. He almost gains posthumous revenge as I trigger a poisonous gas trap, but the mage's nose filters spare me a gruesome end.

As for the fellow in the cage, it turns out to be a goblin – and damn it all if he doesn't have the ebony handle of the hammer I seek! Even though I release him, the crazed buffoon runs onto my sword. I swear! Such yokels! I feel the effects of the potion I drank earlier wearing off, but I have the handle! Now, with half my search complete, does that leave me with the same problem I began with, or half, or double? Ah, such fancies are surely for philosophers: I shall continue my jaunt regardless.

I find myself hoisted by one of those fiendishly clever ankle-rope traps but, as luck would have it, I maintain my sword and cut myself down, brush myself off and continue my searches. Along the path, I investigate a rudely constructed treehouse and am forced to battle a wild ape-man in narrow confines. Upon his death, I adopt a what must be a magic bracelet that makes my sword feel easier to swing. Well, at least the brute didn't die for nothing! At a crossroads, I head west, although there is again no signage. Such wilds! The path branches a couple of times and I find myself heading northwards again – whereupon I chance upon a tortured and bound barbarian fellow, whom I cut free in hopes of gaining useful information. You may think of me as foolish and bold – and perhaps this is so, for he immediately attacked me!

Having dismissed the barbarian and bandaged a minor wound, I find myself crossing the river by way of some stepping stones, prior to bedding down for the night – although my sleep is disturbed by vampire bats, held at bay by the garlic I purchased from the mage yesterday. Striking out north in the morning mists, I am ambushed by wild hill men, firing arrows at me from cover. Thankfully, they are not a good aim, and I dispatch the sinewy miscreants with ease, and inherit a small silver key – which I naturally pocket.  I say naturally – but what chance that I would find the exact lock that some random bandit's key would fit? I am haunted by these impossible philosophies!

I choose this moment to imbibe a potion blessed by Sindla, in the hope that it will improve my chances of finding the remaining piece of the artefact. Again, the path splits, and again – it is some relief to relax a moment from all this twisting and turning to take advantage of a hot mud pool with natural healing properties. I knew this forest jaunt would be merry!  Even being attacked by an enormous flying reptile creature a few moments later couldn't dull my spirits.   

Perhaps my prayer to Sindla is answered, as next there is a sequence of arrows painted on the ground – which I follow to an old hollowed out tree trunk, hiding a tunnel leading down into the black depths. I use the mage's magic ring to cast light into the abyss, revealing a significant drop – but I did not purchase a rope when offered the chance! I dare not risk such a fall, and ponder that those who took the hammer would also have suffered badly in such a venture, and so I backtrack to the main path and strike on, twisting and turning through various of these junctions but keeping generally towards Stonebridge.

I investigate a small, mossy dwelling of stone, with nary a window – but it does have a small keyhole, in which I chance to try the bandit's key! By all the chances, it opens and I descend into a dusty crypt, replete with a sarcophagus and the skeleton of some wild humanoid – would this be the brother of the goblin who had the hammer's handle? You would say I should leave at once, but monster hunting and tomb raiding are my trade and so I disturb the heavy lid without much thought – but cannot shift it! Dash it! It seems heavy beyond reason of its size.

Further along the path I investigate a midden that turns out to be the nest of a fire-breathing and flying lizard, which partially roasts me for my trouble before I play it a lullaby on the brass flute I collected earlier, subduing it so that I may ransack its lair. I find some coin, and a gauntlet and ring both adorned with magic sigils. I confess to feeling somewhat troubled by my unlucky recent encounters and so leave these for some other fellow and move on before the beast awakens!

Thence I find myself accosted by woodland bandits, who demand tribute for passage. Well! Perhaps they do not realize with whom they tarry and, feeling bruised from my rather scorching encounter with the dragon-creature, I opt to battle them. It is poor sport, but they will not waylay another traveler. Soon, the trees thin, and I find myself in Stonebridge itself – but of course I do not possess the hammer they seek! Pondering, I think that I may return to the mage's tower, purchase more of his trinkets and re-enter the forest – I feel sure I am close, and am still well supplied in staples.

I almost fall foul of an ambush by a hill tribe but surprise the mage by my return – I sense that perhaps he calculated to not see me or my coin again, due to the predations of his wild surrounds. We chat for a time and I explain my adventure thus far – and I tell of my wish to lift the lid of the crypt – for there was the skeleton, which reminded me of the goblin in the ogre's cave. But then there was also the dark tunnel beneath the hollowed tree. Yaztromo suggests that my finding of the silver key and the hammer's handle would suggest that the south-east of the forest is not the place to seek my goal, but I do not see how he has fathomed this – annoyingly, and just like a philosopher, he taps his nose, and strokes his beard slowly!

Well, still, it does not do to ignore mages who tap their noses knowingly, and so I plan to concentrate my search as if this is some kind of linear adventure planned by the gods (rather than, as it appears, a natural forest), while I purchase some rope (and other trinkets) from the mage. Troubling me, I have had a run of luck both good and ill, and wonder if I am pushing it too far with my bull-headedness. Still, how else to pass the time?

Old Yaz nods off eventually and I take that as my cue to leave, venturing once more into the dark of the wood to explore new paths and soon chance upon a quaint hut, smoke rising from its well-built chimney. Peering in through the window I spy a witch and her hunchbacked servant – perhaps they will be able to assist me in the same manner as the friendly mage of the tower? Ah, it seems not! She doth cackle and attempt to subdue me with various noxious herbs. Her accomplice coshes me, and I am knocked completely out!

Well, the witch must have been curiously famished, as she has stolen all of my staples but left me with my gold and magic bric-a-brac. She and her nimble companion have fled, but I find hidden in her cottage a magic jewel that purports to force my enemies to speak truth! Imagine! Perhaps the witch had cursed me, for soon I am accosted by a living tree! I use the mage's flaming bombs to dissuade and make my escape onto the grasslands in the middle of the forest. Here I am briefly following a path from my previous incursion, but soon branch off towards the west.

Luckily, I meet a fellow adventurer – hunting boar – and he takes the time to gift me some belladonna, which he says will protect me in the night. Further along I chance upon another educated fellow, who challenges me, rather abruptly, to an arm wrestling contest! The prize (which I win by dint of some magic from the mage) is, he promises me, a magical dust that will lift any object! Well, I say! I should try this at the crypt, which I gauge must be to my north.

Naturally, I head in that direction, taking in the beauty of a rainbow across a magnificent waterfall, matched only by a glowing full moon as I settle down to sleep for the night. Naturally, to enjoy these wonders I must also defeat local fish-men and werewolves, but such is the adventuring life of the great outdoors! Early the next day, as I scout for bandits, I fall foul of a cunningly disguised bear trap, which I only escape thanks to another purchase from the mage. Not only is my ego bruised, but I am becoming quite battered – and hungry! Damn that witch!

Before long I return to the crypt and sprinkle the magic dust onto the lid, which I can now push aside – naturally within is a fetid ghoul which rises to attack! Once I tame the beast, I am rewarded with a treasure of coin and – yes – the head of the fabled hammer I seek! Hurrying north I am again accosted by bandits, and this time, feeling rather more kindly, I gift them some items I have picked up along the way – my pack had begun to weigh heavily at any rate.

The dwarves of Stonebridge are ecstatic at the return of their hammer, and I am rewarded well. As the festivities ensue, I start to wonder ... what of the paths in the forest that I did not explore? Perhaps...


Post-Match Interview

I really did map this one out, given that I have meta-knowledge that if you get through without the hammer you can go back in again. I was trying not to cheat but I played this one a lot when it was originally published and I so I may have known the route without knowing I did – it felt pretty lucky that I got to the handle on the first try, certainly. Oh, wait – I know math – there's a 25% chance that you get to the handle first go.

Having been through the forest once I knew I needed the Dust of Levitation, but not where it is. Knowing that the correct path involved getting the handle and the silver key narrowed my options of where to search next:




Skill 12 was really lucky (my pattern for the first three books has been 12-9-12) and, as with Warlock, makes most of the combat non-threatening. It wasn't until my sixth combat (with the barbarian) that I lost stamina. Eventually, I completed the adventure with no provisions (stolen by the witch) and luck 7, stamina 17 – so I would probably have died from arrows if I'd needed a third go in the woods.

I used this mapping tool: https://probabletrain.itch.io/dungeon-scrawl. My random numbers are being generated using Excel's RANDBETWEEN(1,6) function. I've calculated the chance of doing the correct route the first time you play the book as 0.26%.

[Barrington Boots]

Epic writeup Funt! Thanks for linking that map tool - looks really useful.

Thanks to everyone saying they enjoyed my WotT writeup too. I wondered if it was too long so glad it was enjoyed. I am bidding on book 4 on ebay right now.
I've actually got two of the reprint books going spare - Assassin and Usurper - I was able to get the original versions of both to match my long-owned copy of Avenger, and I prefer the original art (and old book smell). I'd be happy to donate these to anyone who wants them.

[Funt Solo]

Starship Traveller

Captain's Log, Seltsian Void Event, AstroNaval Day 01
By all known laws of physics, we should be dead – we crossed the event horizon of a black hole, so tidal forces alone should have atomized the Traveller and us along with it. Instead, we find ourselves in unknown space, surrounded by unfamiliar stars. Given that the NavComp can't calculate our location, the best theory SciOps Brains can come up with is that we've somehow phase-shifted to an entirely different universe (infra or ultra also unknown) through some combination of a runaway warp drive reaction coupled with the exponential gravity gradient.

EO Sparks repaired the warp engines and we made for one of two life-bearing systems nearby – the clear mission being to reconnoiter and attempt to calculate a method of return to our own universe. We picked up an alien transponder signal from a vessel which is moving to intercept us. We should rendezvous in a few hours. I've ordered the crew to get some rest in the meantime.

++DATA FOUND IN WRECKAGE OF ALIEN VESSEL OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN BY COMMANDER M'K TEL, IMPERIAL GANZIG FEDERATION++ 


Post-Match Interview

That was a lot of prep work for not a lot of progress! You don't just roll up stats for your ship, but also you (the Captain) and six of your crew, each of whom has a replacement. I went full roleplay and developed names for everyone, but it all came to naught when my first ship-to-ship battle went against me, and the Starship Traveller was destroyed by the aggressive Ganzig Federation.

There was an option to let them board and take over the ship - but Captain Solo was all like "fuck that shit, let's blast 'em".