Gamebooks

[sheridan]

I must pass three tests of skill to prove myself. The wizard's enchanted Rouge gets me through one test, and the cursed Ring (still stuck on my finger) actually comes good and gets me through another.

Y'know, I've encounted so many people on facebook saying how they used to like Rouge Trooper (and inevitably haven't read 2000AD in thirty years) that my mind automatically turns the word 'rouge' into 'rogue these days.

[Funt Solo]

Rouge Trooper:

[Barrington Boots]

My first ever attempt at the Caverns of the Snow Witch!!

Unlike the previous 8 we've played, this is an entirely new book to me so I'm excited to see what it has in store. The title is impressively lurid although the cover is not the most dynamic - I assume this orc dude is being frozen by said Snow Witch rather than hulking up, but this is one of the rare occasions where I think the reprint cover is a little better.

It's an interesting setup which has nothing to do with the Snow Witch at all: I believe the previous books have had a clearly established villain in the Warlock / Lizard King / Zanbar Bone right from the start so this is a different tack straight away. I'm basically playing a hired thug and am sent to do some hired thug stuff, hunting down a monster that threatens my boss's business. I set off through the snow, literally wandering about without any kind of direction, battling wolves and sheltering from blizzards and presumably hoping this monster will just jump out on me. Upon finding an abandoned hut, with signs of a struggle, I eat the previous occupants stew and steal their weapons, which as a hired goon seems like the sort of thing I'd do, pepping me up after a wound received fighting the wolves previously.
Stomach full of warming stew I press on through the snow, eventually coming upon the purpose of my hunt - a fearsome yeti mauling a trapper, presumably the guy whose house I was just in? The Yeti is a fearsome opponent and I am badly mauled in the fight but emerge victorious. It's too late for the trapper: as he bleeds out on the snow he tells me all about the CAVERNS OF THE SNOW WITCH on a nearby glacier and how they're stuffed with treasure (and monsters). Now on one hand I could at this point return to the caravan and collect my 50GP bounty for killing the yeti, but being a greedy mercenary thug with a high opinion of myself I of course decide to head off to said caverns and see what awaits me.
At this point I'm insta-killed by an avalanche, but fuck that. I re-roll my luck, pass, and press on into the Snow Witch's lair via its hidden glacier entrance.

My first encounter is with an elf - I try to blag him but he reveals he is in thrall to the witch by some kind of magical collar. The next guy I encounter gives me some free cake. These caverns are pretty friendly so far! I decide to return the favour and help out a dwarf, who gives me a sling and a cryptic warning about a rat.

Before long I'm through the glacier and at the entrance to the Snow Witches chambers, where I'm accosted by a wizardly gatekeeper. The book asks me if I have a magic flute, which of course I do not, and I have to battle him. He uses Mirror Image and again I fare badly but eventually get the upper hand, driving him off and earning the favor of a genie who promises to make me invisible should I ever need it. This is a bit random but bound to come in useful.
I decide to enter the skull tunnel, following the fleeing wizard. The cavern within contains a frost giant, who I niftily assassinate with my sling and steal his stuff. There is a conundrum here: three rings, and previous FF-readings suggest to me at least one will be bad. I stick on all three, and of course one reduces my skill by 2d6, leaving me with a pathetic skill of 1. This is basically game over for me especially as the very next paragraph is a skill 11 battle. It's not even worth me attempting this and the Crystal Warrior cuts me down. Could have done with a genie's help here, to be honest!

Really enjoyed this so far, although my two deaths sucked - stuff like the rings I wish there was at least some kind of clue which might be the bad one, rather than learning through bitter experience. The frozen north setting is different to what we've seen before, although it has turned into another go-left-or-go-right dungeon crawl, and I liked the plot evolving from hunt the yeti to kill the Snow Witch. I really like the art - it's almost woodcut-like, very different in style to anything I've seen before, and whilst some of the monsters have a look I can only describe as derpy (that yeti!) it's totally unique and I really dig it.

I will have another try later.

[Dark Jimbo]

I really like the art - it's almost woodcut-like, very different in style to anything I've seen before, and whilst some of the monsters have a look I can only describe as derpy (that yeti!) it's totally unique and I really dig it.

Yeah, it's gorgeous. Such a shame he didn't do any more books. I'm really looking forward to replaying CotSW.

I've nearly caught you up - had two abortive playthroughs of Scorpion Swamp already. Hopefully I'll manage one this weekend where I last long enough to bother writing it up!

[Barrington Boots]

That's excellent - I've been on a bit of a go slow / not posting in depth writeups in case I spoiled things for others. I found SS quite easy, but that might just be because I was so familiar with it. Look forward to reading your experience!

CotSW is excellent so far if bloody tough: I've had three fights and two have been with Skill 10+ enemies.. it's actually pretty cool to be playing a new (to me) book. I have a few more of these coming up too, although mainly sci-fi ones.

I'm going to have another crack at Caverns on my lunchbreak I think.

[Dark Jimbo]

That's excellent - I've been on a bit of a go slow / not posting in depth writeups in case I spoiled things for others. I found SS quite easy, but that might just be because I was so familiar with it. Look forward to reading your experience!

Both deaths basically due to trying to talk to evil sorcerers, rather than killing them on sight; first Grimslade, who summoned a demon to take my Brass Ring from me, then an insta-death at the hands of the Master of Spiders. I tried to fight the Skill 16(!) demon with a Skill of 8, which I thought was quite heroic... you can guess how long I lasted, though!

[Funt Solo]

Caverns of the Snow Witch was an interesting one on publication. The Fighting Fantasy magazine, Warlock, had run a cut-down version (190 entries) that was basically the opening mission & cavern part - so it was a standard dungeon crawl with your key enemy waiting at the end.

I don't know if they wrote the book first, then cut it down for the magazine, or vice versa - but it explains the chapter-like structure.

[Barrington Boots]

I think, from reading around, it was magazine first and then expanded for the book.

I'm had another couple of deaths on it this afternoon. Moaned about it on FB and was told that when you face the Crystal Warrior, [spoiler]the key is NOT to have the Warhammer as then the genie can make you invisible and you can dodge the fight altogether. This of course also means leaving the spear, which makes the yeti fight considerably harder.[/spoiler]
That's annoying, and also a bit rubbish as imo you should get the genie option regardless. Ian Livingstone is a monster!

[Barrington Boots]

Fifth attempt! I fast forward to where I was before, and with the aid of the genie, I'm able to bypass the Crystal Warrior and head deeper into the mountain. Taking the left hand fork, I encounter a sarcophagus guarded by a white rat... could this be what the dwarf warned me of earlier? Without spoiling things, yep, and I'm dead again.
Next go: I follow the same path, but this time go right. Dispatching a zombie I stock up on reagents, double back, get past the menace of the white rat to encounter the Snow Witch herself! Do I have any garlic? Nope! Do I have a stake? Nope! And thus I meet my doom again, a servant of the Snow Witch for all eternity.

This felt like it escalated fast! If this was the original end for the adventure in Warlock, it makes sense that things would wrap up here with a selection of 'do you have essential item x' paragraphs. I really want to see how this one progresses, especially as I've run into the Snow Witch herself so early in the quest, so I'm going to start this one again, probably with max stats (Skill 10 seems the minimum you need for this book) and possibly a map... 

[sheridan]

I don't think we've actually included a list of all the books on this thread yet, so here goes:

This is the original Puffin run.

1   The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
2   The Citadel of Chaos
3   The Forest of Doom
4   Starship Traveller
5   City of Thieves
6   Deathtrap Dungeon
7   Island of the Lizard King
8   Scorpion Swamp
9   Caverns of the Snow Witch[3]
10   House of Hell
11   Talisman of Death
12   Space Assassin
13   Freeway Fighter
14   Temple of Terror
15   The Rings of Kether
16   Seas of Blood
17   Appointment with F.E.A.R.
18   Rebel Planet
19   Demons of the Deep
20   Sword of the Samurai
21   Trial of Champions
22   Robot Commando
23   Masks of Mayhem
24   Creature of Havoc
25   Beneath Nightmare Castle
26   Crypt of the Sorcerer
27   Star Strider
28   Phantoms of Fear
29   Midnight Rogue
30   Chasms of Malice
31   Battleblade Warrior
32   Slaves of the Abyss
33   Sky Lord
34   Stealer of Souls
35   Daggers of Darkness
36   Armies of Death
37   Portal of Evil
38   Vault of the Vampire
39   Fangs of Fury
40   Dead of Night
41   Master of Chaos
42   Black Vein Prophecy
43   The Keep of the Lich Lord
44   Legend of the Shadow Warriors
45   Spectral Stalkers
46   Tower of Destruction
47   The Crimson Tide
48   Moonrunner
49   Siege of Sardath
50   Return to Firetop Mountain
51   Island of the Undead
52   Night Dragon
53   Spellbreaker
54   Legend of Zagor
55   Deathmoor
56   Knights of Doom
57   Magehunter
58   Revenge of the Vampire
59   Curse of the Mummy

plus the Sorcery! saga:
1   The Shamutanti Hills
2   Kharé - Cityport of Traps
3   The Seven Serpents
4   The Crown of Kings

Things were made more confusing by the various runs of reprints, which put them in a different order, missed some out and added in new ones...


4   Stormslayer
6   The Port of Peril
8   Night of the Necromancer
12   The Gates of Death
15   Assassins of Allansia
17   Crystal of Storms
20   Shadow of the Giants
21   Eye of the Dragon
21   Secrets of Salamonis
26   Bloodbones
29   Howl of the Werewolf
Blood of the Zombies

[Dark Jimbo]

Continuing publication order from the original run, the later books would run like this:

Eye of the Dragon
Bloodbones
Howl of the Werewolf
Stormslayer
Night of the Necromancer
Blood of the Zombies
Port of Peril
The Gates of Death
Crystal of Storms
Asassins of Allansia
Shadow of the Giants
Secrets of Salamonis

[sheridan]

p.s. for those trying to fill in gaps in their collections - the last two on the list are by Ian Livingstone (Shadow of the Giants) and Steve Jackson (Secrets of Salamonis) and are due to be released in September this year, to celebrate the anniversary of Fighting Fantasy.

No doubt there'll be signings at Forbidden Planet, as there was for Ian's Blood of the Zombies ten years ago.  Was it really that long ago?

[Barrington Boots]

It's a serious list. I've got about half the original Puffin run and a handful of others, but I'm not crazy enough to attempt to collect them all. If this thread is still going and I'm still interested in about 15 books time I might buy some more!
I've not played any of the newer ones I've got - Assassins, Blood of the Zombies etc. I am quite tempted by Bloodbones, because I like pirates. Any strongly recommended ones (besides Moonrunner) from book 29 onwards?

CotSW has defeated me over and over btw, but I'm thinking of doing a cheat playthrough where I max out my stats or even just skip the fights, just to see where it goes.

[Richard]

Of the later books, Master of Chaos, Spectral Stalkers, Slaves of the Abyss, Siege of Sardath, and Stealer of Souls stand out.

I would also recommend the novel The Trolltooth Wars.

[Funt Solo]

On the original publication run, the last one I got was Midnight Rogue, which was enjoyable.