Gamebooks

[Richard]

But first...

Falcon 4: Lost in Time

My mission is to be the first person to time travel into the future, which has never been done before. I successfully travel to the year 4000, where Earth appears to have been overrun by giant insects, one of which seriously injured me and I have to reduce all of my modifiers by 1. This seemed serious at the time, although now that I have finished the book I now know that it hardly mattered because there are so few dice rolls in this adventure. What has happened in the future and why there are giant insects everywhere is not explained or referred to again, which is weird, but never mind. That bit is brief, and the real story gets under way when my time machine can't find its way home again.

I only have enough fuel for five more time jumps. My machine can also travel to other planets as well as times, and I'm given a choice of four destinations, none of which are home, from which I can try to find my way home, and also to possibly find things that might help me. One of these worlds turns out to be Orb, of the Way of the Tiger books. I have no information about what the inhabitants of this world are wearing, so I have to guess what disguise to wear, but based on my knowledge of the WotT books I go with a knight's armour. (This has the advantage of making me inconspicuous, but from later reading the bits I missed on my pleythrough, the alternative outfits had their own advantages.) I get killed a couple of times, it's a very dangerous place! I'm turned into stone by a cockatrice and stabbed to death twice. My advice on surviving Orb is trust nobody!

My next time jump appears to take me home, but something is not quite right... I'm in the right year, but a parallel timeline! What's even worse is that it's a timeline where my side are the baddies, like the Star Trek episode "Mirror Mirror." I have to kill my counterpart in that universe (in the second attempt, after we killed each other) and escape back into the time stream.

I end up in another parallel universe in which almost the whole population of Earth have been wiped out by invading aliens, the result of my character in this timeline having failed to complete his mission in the first Falcon book. For some reason I go out exploring and I'm killed again there, before finding my way back to my time machine and escaping to an alien planet, where I find more fuel for my vessel but also run into my archenemy (a character from a previous book, but not Baal from book 3). He spends the rest of the book chasing me through time to get his revenge. On one playthrough I escape to America in 1866, where he kills me, and on the next go I flee to some other alien planet where I manage to save a primitive society from a disembodied brain that thinks it's their god. (I also meet the woman on the front cover in this bit, and my pursuer loses my trail.)

The final location is in 10,000 BC in what turns out to be Atlantis before it was destroyed. I'm also marooned here, since my time machine has run out of fuel. But I manage to freeze myself in stasis, using alien tech that was left here by a super advanced race, and wake up in my own time and universe!

This was a reasonably entertaining book, although I don't think I'm going to check out the others in this series. There was a wide range of locations and interesting encounters though. There is no real combat except for single win/lose dice rolls, and not many of those.

[Dark Jimbo]

Those books sound absolutely bonkers.

[Barrington Boots]

Blimey, that write-up took some dedication!

Thanks guys! It did make my second playthrough more fun.
I thought the book was a pretty imaginative concept, but it really lacked any kind of narrative so it did feel a lot like just wandering about. Having multiple endings is a nice touch, but the book wasn't fun enough to want to replay it again.

But first...

Falcon 4: Lost in Time

A very enjoyable read, this! I'd quite like to give this series a look from book 1, but I'm not sure how affordable they are.

Been thinking about my top 3 FF covers. I also think Forest of Doom and Deathtrap Dungeon are the best, but to avoid having almost the same picks as everyone else I think my next favourite three would be:

Island of the Lizard King
Appointment with FEAR
Demons of the Deep

I really like Space Assassin and Nightmare Castle as well.

[Richard]

If you DM me your address I'll send you my Falcon 4.

[Barrington Boots]

That'd be amazing, thank you!

[Dark Jimbo]

Been thinking about my top 3 FF covers. I also think Forest of Doom and Deathtrap Dungeon are the best, but to avoid having almost the same picks as everyone else I think my next favourite three would be:

Island of the Lizard King
Appointment with FEAR
Demons of the Deep

I think I'd have to put Island of the Lizard King  in there, as well. So simple but so sublimely executed, it made the titular character himself a huge disappointment when you finally met him in-book!

I know everyone else has picked Deathtrap Dungeon, but damn.... it really is that good.

And for a third? Think I'll go for Legend of the Shadow Warriors. I spent a long time as a wee 'un staring at that cover, at the exquisitely executed raindrops running down the pumpkins. Like IotLK, it prompted a bit of dissapointment when you actually played the book and realised the pumpkin-headed chaps were not the titular Shadow Warriors!

[Barrington Boots]

I think I'd have to put Island of the Lizard King  in there, as well. So simple but so sublimely executed, it made the titular character himself a huge disappointment when you finally met him in-book!

100% this! It's such a cool cover, and the LK himself is... not good.

Anyway -

TRIAL OF CHAMPIONS - a non-writeup

I, Lord Carnuss, have a plan. My miserable brother Sukumvit has redesigned his so called 'Deathtrap Dungeon' after the humiliation of its recent resolution - he claims it to be vastly improved (surely by this he means more tiresome) - although I cannot think of anything more dreary, his hubris over this tawdry little deathtrap is so bloated, so it pleases me to be the one to unlock it. Not personally of course! Instead I will sponsor some hapless fool to enter the dungeon and claim victory on my behalf. The look on Sukumvit's face will be beyond price when my champion solves his little labyrinth - and taking 20,000 gold pieces from his purse to mine into the bargain will just sweeten the moment.

How to choose such a champion? I have decided not to pick one from amongst my own soldiers, or hire a capable sort, like some lesser dullard might conceive to do . Instead it occurred to me at first to hold some kind of gladiatorial contest - what a joy it would be to select my champion in such a way, and what entertainments to be had in watching the games. I considered inviting the best warriors in all of Titan to compete, but this idea proved wearisome so instead I have requested 42 slaves, captured completely at random and likely totally unsuitable to the task be thrown into the arena to compete in a number of nonsensical tasks. I am sure this will be the best way to pick someone best suited to dealing with Sukumvit's dungeon.

Needless to say, this did not work.

This book is brutal. About to try again with max stats, but even then I'm not confident. Skill 10 is the absolute minimum to handle the combats thrown at you right from the start, and there is very little healing in the dungeon itself so death by stamina attrition is very likely, assuming you avoid the various traps - my second playthrough I was killed by opening a door. No test your luck or clever warning, just do you want to open this door? You do? You're dead. Sukumvit not mucking about!

The gladiatorial bit at the start is quite an evocative way to open and it's quite an insight into the cruelty of Carnuss, although it's totally insane that he should choose his representative like this, let alone not bother to give them any provisions or potions as they head into the dungeon. It's also very linear and if you're doing multiple plays, probably not worth bothering with as you get all your stamina back before the dungeon proper (although not your luck)

I remember being quite a fan of this one back in 1986 or 1987, when I probably cheated on all the combats - I really liked the trial element, and then the return to DD. This time around it's hard not to compare it to DD itself, where it's a bit less atmospheric or cool yet still fiendishly difficult, but it's still quite an interesting puzzle to tackle. I haven't even got to the end point yet, but I understand the true path is extremely tight with very little possible variation, so we'll see if I get sick of it before I can finish it.

Writeup if I actually get somewhere!

[Dark Jimbo]

I suspect I came to many of the same conclusions as you, Boots!

Trial of Champions

The Playthrough
Once, I had a name – but I don't remember it. There was a life before this, but it feels no more real than a dream to me, now. Surely I came into existence here, on the oars, rowing and pulling, rowing and pulling, sleeping and shitting where I sit, a backbreaking monotony whose only end will be a hardly-to-be-hoped for merciful death. But wait – here comes another landfall, and something is different. We're being unshackled, and led abovedecks. The sky! The air! Everything is so vast and blue. The wheeling of the seagulls above is like the dancing of angels. Even this mean and forbidding island seems a paradise compared to the stinking, lightless depths of the galley.

Then we're given the 'good' news – we have all been purchased by Lord Carnuss, brother of Baron Sukumvit, inventor of the infamous (not to mention 'new and improved') Deathtrap Dungeon. Jealous of his brother's fame and success, our new owner intends to enroll us in his gladiatorial arena, pit us against each other, then enter the single, eventual, survivor into the next Trial of Champions in the Dungeon. If this champion wins the proverbially un-winnable Trial (talk about long-shots!) then Carnuss getting the 20,000 prize money will somehow or other be mud in his brother's eye. Hmm. Not much of a plan, I know. Perhaps the overseer explained it badly – I'm still a bit giddy at the sudden lack of rowing.

Now, far be it for me to tell Lord Carnuss his own business; but if I was him, and I wanted to win the Dungeon that badly, I'd probably splash some cash on a sword-for-hire – y'know, a legendary warrior who has made a living out of surviving just that sort of thing. I probably wouldn't pin all my hopes on a bunch of exhausted and half-starved former galley slaves... But none of us are about to argue, if his nonsensical plans mean a few more days of life for us. We let ourselves be herded into our new cells – but I have a feeling we won't be calling these 'home' for too long...

Our training begins the next day. First there's what's, technically speaking, a sack race – but the sort you played in school probably didn't involve hot coals. In the afternoon, I'm sent one-on-one against a BONECRUSHER (who looks much sillier than his name suggests). A bit of canny net-work defeats the beast, but others are presumably not so lucky; the EASTERNER and I are the only cellmates – out of an original six – to return that night. When the guard makes it known that he expects only one prisoner to walk out of each cell next day, I'm suddenly fighting for my life. The next morning, I'm the one tucking into the slap-up breakfast, while in the corner of the cell the Easterner's corpse tucks into only... er, death. I guess I just wanted the complimentary Full English more than he did. It beats rowing for a living, anyway.



Another day of gladiatorial shenanigans await. There's some mucking about with blades on a spinning pole, and then the survivors of that tomfoolery are all blindfolded(!) and given ball-and-chain flails. I hope Lord Carnuss is getting some jollies from the sight of us all stumbling blindly about, swinging at empty air, tripping over the fallen, but once again I can't help but question his methods. What is this proving?! Surely he's more likely to find a worthy champion for the Dungeon if we're able to see what we're doing? That way, he'd know that the survivors were the most adept fighters. This way, the most adept fighters are as likely as anyone else to be accidentally bludgeoned to death while some clueless blunderer gets lucky and accidentally stumbles through to victory. Speaking of which...

Time for this clueless blunderer to face off against the only other man still standing. The FIGHTING SLAVE does his best, but I somehow win through. A similar melee among the other half of the slaves has left a SOUTHERNER as the only other former galley slave to beat. He gives me my hardest test yet [running me down to only 2 Stamina points!] but eventually goes down. I'm now treated to a week of absolute luxury and indulgence while I restore myself. Nothing is denied me. Once again, I have to wonder if a week of gaudy excess is really the best way to get someone match fit for – wait, sod it, no I don't. Pass me another concubine, would you?



And then, finally, the day has come. We take ship for Fang, and the infamous Deathtrap Dungeon. Let's do this thing! I dispatch a HELLHOUND and two ORCS, get mugged by a BLACK IMP, find a spear, breastplate, and a magic broadsword, and answer a riddle posed by skeletons. Then I meet a chap called Noy, who surely uses the Buddha as his style guide. I must now apparently pass three tests to see if I'm a worthy (potential) winner of the Trial. Eh? You mean surviving the Dungeon isn't going to be enough...? First, says Noy, I must win a tug of war with a caveman. I blink, wondering if I've heard correctly. Then I start to worry that this is a horrible new euphemism; I hardly like to think what for. But a door slides open, and in wanders... well, a caveman holding a rope. I know. I'm as baffled as you are, but let's just get this over with. After the tug of war, I correctly answer another riddle. Finally, I have to fight Noy himself. This is no normal fight – Noy is blind, so the fight happens through a series of random guesses and die rolls i.e. 'Will you try an overhead attack, or come at him from the side?' Someone up there must like me, as I somehow choose correctly at every option, and finally I triumph. (Perhaps there was a method to Carnuss' 'send in the blunderer' madness after all...?)



Immediately after Noy comes the cover star of the book (if you have the Wizard editions, anyway); barrelling down the corridor towards me, rotted caparisons flapping, is a SKELETON KING, resplendent upon an equally skeletal steed. No context or apology is offered; none is needed. He is glorious in his randomness, and it is a pleasure to fight him. [Why is a tugging caveman silly, but a skeleton riding a horse down a hallway brilliant? Don't ask me; I don't make the rules]. Among other things, I purloin a wooden whistle from his saddlebags, which comes in handy a few rooms later when I use it to lull a vicious two-headed dog to sleep. I open the chest it was guarding, and slip on the copper bracelet inside.... OOF! The cursed bracelet costs me two Skill points and a Luck point. And it was all going so well...



In the next room, the opposite exit has been carved into the likeness of a vast stone face. Emerging from the mouth/doorway is a long purple TONGUE, and it has one of the other contestants – the Elf Prince – in its coils. [Deathtrap Dungeon made great use of the other contestants, so it's a bit of a surprise that's it taken me this long to bump into one this time around.] Hacking away at the tongue, I manage to free the Elf Prince from its clutches, but too late to save him. So I dive into the mouth and give battle, until the loathsome thing stops twitching. [Slightly disappointed that I don't die here, to be honest, just so that I could fill in 'Killed by: Tongue' on my spreadsheet.]



I ignore a SIREN, fight a STATUE, find a fire-proof cloak, a gold ring and some clock hands. Then it comes down to another 50/50 choice of where to go. Choosing the door over the corridor option, I'm told that I open it to see piles of untold wealth arrayed before me. I'm told that I walk up and try to grab some of the gold – but this was all the illusion of a MIND WARP BEAST to snare luckless contestants. My adventure ends here. [In a rare fit of pique, I decide not to accept this, because if I'd been given the option to touch the treasure – rather than just being told that I did – I'm smart enough not to have done so. So I take the other option of two, and continue down the corridor instead. Iron bars immediately slam into place, trapping me. Do I have the chisel? I do not. My adventure ends here. So I was dead whichever way I took.] It's an abrupt and frustrating ending to a run which had been going really rather well (I was positively groaning with loot), but hey – it still beats rowing for a living!

The Verdict
Well I was expecting this to be 'more of the same' – and to some extent it is. ToC immediately has a more appealing set-up than Deathtrap Dungeon, though, what with your character being a galley-slave rather than the generic wandering sellsword. Being forced into Deathtrap Dungeon against your will adds a little frisson and narrative interest to proceedings, as well as a better incentive to survive beyond 'win some gold'. Even though it's hard, the early gladiatorial section is huge fun, and a really unique way to approach a gamebook – unfortunately it's pretty short, and we're quickly back to the most generic of generic dungeon crawls. Endless tunnels, endless wooden doors, endless 'The passage ends at a T-junction' paragraphs. It feels like such a missed opportunity.

This book doesn't feel as difficult as, say, Caverns of the Snow Witch – enemies are finally skilled appropriately – but it doesn't feel particularly fair, either. Much of ToC is a succession of luck rolls, skill rolls and blind choices where failure usually means instant death. Don't have Item X? You're dead. Walk through door X instead of door Y? You're dead. Sir Ian does introduce a new mechanic; you'll frequently be asked, when something happens, to roll a die (or two). If it's 1-4, say, X will happen. 5-6 and Y will happen. Sometimes you'll roll against Skill/Stamina, or an enemy's Skill/Stamina. In these cases, X or Y is always an insta-kill. So time and time again, the game comes down to random chance, no matter how well you've done up to that point. And Sir Ian obviously loves this new mechanic, because about two paragraphs after any such roll, you'll have to make another one – (I'm not exaggerating; the gladiatorial sequence in particular is full of them!) It's a frequently infuriating experience - and you don't even have the benefit of provisions or Potions!

If you liked Deathtrap Dungeon, you'll like this. And for the most part it does what it sets out to do fairly well. But, particularly coming off the back of Sorcery!, I can't help wanting something... more. 6.5 combat dice out of 10.

[Barrington Boots]

Ha! I'm glad you had exactly the same take on me regarding the daftness of the trials, and amused you then died in exactly the same way I did with that mind warp beast.

I agree that it's a frustrating book in very many ways - I'd have much preferred the whole book to be about a gladiatorial tournament and coming through various tasks to win a prize. Throw in a sub-plot where you have to start a slave rebellion, or deal with some backstage gladiator politics, or even tour from one arena to the next with encounters en route, and you'd have a fun little story.
On another note, elves really suck at Deathtrap Dungeon, don't they? Every time I find one they're in the throes of death.

[Richard]

Both of those reviews made me laugh!

It is a desperately unfair book though. I think I'll just cheat if I play it!

[Blue Cactus]

Had my aforementioned FF playing pal over at the weekend so we had our first go at the two new books. Apologies for those used to the more structured and carefully written game reports on this thread because this will just be me rambling for a bit in a very haphazard manner.

Secrets of Salamonis

As noted upthread, Tazzio Bettin's art for this one is great. A bizarre opening scene throws you off a little (in a fun way) before the game proper starts. It's a fun set up where you have several options when you enter the city as a naive wannabe adventurer (or possibly student). There are also a load of shorter quests you can opt for once you manage to join the Adventurer's guild. Reminded me of Skyrim a little in that respect. The book feels like a kind of rags to riches story but we didn't get far enough to get beyond the rags really! We did earn a couple of gold pieces [spoiler]working in an offal processing factory[/spoiler] which was pretty thrilling as you can imagine... then returned there later on in order to do a little pest control for them.

Before joining the Guild though [spoiler]you need to obtain the correct permits...[/spoiler] in fact there was a point early on where we considered renaming the book 'City of Permits' or 'Tax Quest'. Salamonis is a very regulated city with a very earnest and indeed odious tax collector. In fact [spoiler]he was our downfall after his dog mauled us and then he locked us up[/spoiler] - my advice for this adventure is try to earn yourself some money early on wherever possible!

It's a fun book though, looking forward to going back to it.

Shadow of the Giants

This one is good too. The illustrations are also very nice - and a big improvement on the previous book Crystal of Storms, for me at least.

By contrast with Salamonis, in this book you're a more experienced adventurer looking for a new quest (at Firetop Mountain no less), and with an option of finding a follower to take with you. [spoiler]They might not last long though![/spoiler] The initial quest soon spirals out of control as the [spoiler]aforementioned Giants are released and stomp off across the landscape[/spoiler]. Feeling a bit guilty about this we set off to try and rectify the situation. This involves a bit of a cross country journey and then a search through a well-realised city. This section was reminiscent of City of Thieves lots of options, different streets to go down, different shops and people to speak to and a good old pie eating contest. Unfortunately the faulty memory of my companion led to a wrong answer which meant the person we were looking for ended up chopping us to bits but I was very much enjoying this one and it would be good to explore the city a bit more.

Anyway, both great additions to the series and with some thoughtful construction that means each adventure has plenty of variety throughout.

[Barrington Boots]

Great review dude! I agree that these are two of the best for a long time.

Here's my Trial of Champions Replay!

So for this, I went at max stats. I also skipped the pre-Dungeon bit, as despite being interesting it's also extremely linear and if you succeed you get all your Stamina restored, and if you fail.. well, you're dead. I know your luck isn't restored, so I reduced my Luck to 10 (although you need all the luck you can get in Deathtrap Dungeon)

Therefore my story begins as I stand before the foreboding arch of Deathtrap Dungeon. The crowds cheers fill the air, but my eyes see only Lord Carnuss, resplendent on his dias in his finery. His robes, so bright in the sunlight, may as well be drenched with the blood of the brave men and women who died in his games. Lord Carnuss dies this day, I swear.

Ducking under the archway I enter the cool, dank darkness of Sukumvit's legendary dungeon. Behind the first door I encounter I battle a terrifying hellhoud, putting it down though its flames scorch me mightily, and discover a single gold ring in the room it was guarding, strangely cool in the heat of the hounds chamber. Some strange feeling tells me the ring will be significant, so into my pouch it goes.
At the next junction I go right, some odd compulsion, like a half-remembered dream, telling me the left path is the wrong one. The path ends at a ropebridge, swaying dangerously over a fast flowing underground river, complete with a tollbox. I have paid my toll already, I think - a toll in pain. Instead I clamber down a rope at the chasms side, where a creature ambushes me and tries to dump me into the rapids below: a strider, a fearsome hired killer, surely placed here by Sukumvit to ensnare the unwary. My superior skill wins through and I cut the assassin down, claiming a bone charm from around its neck as a prize.

With nothing further to be found below, I clamber back up the rope and decide to cross without paying the toll, meeting no ill-fortune for doing so. The passage ends at a door with a simple riddle - at least, I believe it to be simple, as I place my hand, unprotected into an alcove, conscious that should my confidence be misplaced, the penalty could be steep - but to my relief the door opens. Moving on, I discover a door upon which rests a broom - a symbol of witchcraft, thinks I and opening the door are proven right to see an ancient crone cackling about her cauldron, doubtless preparing some evil concoction. The hag vanishes, leaving me assailed by vicious bats: no match for the fine blade Carnuss supplied, but whilst I battle the first the second latches into my back, draining my blood and leaving me weakened and disorientated. I dump the dead bats into the cauldron, hoping to spoil the witches brew, and search the room, finding a phial of red dust and a strange box, its lid carved with the face of a dwarf - the very dwarf lord, indeed, who entered the dungeon before me, his eyes and mouth wide in soundless horror. With a shocked cry I drop the box to the floor and hurry from the chamber.

(I auto-death'd in this room from the red dust, but decided to continue)

The next door is sturdily locked: figuring it must contain something of note to be sealed so I break it down with my shoulder only to find myself facing the most awful foe so far: a Coldclaw, bloated and foul, hungry for my innards. The cold here hampers my efforts, but I dispatch the thing, though it wounds me grievously. Within the chamber I find a wax-sealed pot, and within the pot a second gold ring. Luck indeed! Feeling brave I enter the lair of the Coldclaw, gritting my teeth against the chill. Bones and scraps of clothing litter the chamber, whilst far above is an opening where I can see the sky - what I would give, at that moment, to stand under it! There is no way to climb, so instead I scour the detritus and recover a pair of fine elven boots before returning to the corridor.

The tunnels continue to twist and turn about until I am forced to admit I am lost. Ahead, for a second, I glimpse the head of a small humanoid, before it ducks back and flees into the darkness. Giving chase, I stumble across a sword half-buried in some fallen rocks: it is finely balanced and sparkles in the dim torchlight. I need no further incentive to rid myself of the sword of Carnuss: I cast it against the wall, wishing it were the man himself, and press on with my new blade. The next portal I find is barred - I am torn here between my pursuit and entering this room, but again, thinking the bar can only be there to prevent my entry for nefarious reason, lever my way in only to find two skeletons, thick with cobwebs and half-buried in dust. To my horror, the door slams shut, sealing me within, and worse, one of the skeletons begins to speak. It is another riddle, but a simple one. My reward: a small iron key. The bones fall silent and the door opens, allowing me to continue on my way.

Something tells me the next door is best left alone, and at the junction ahead I resume old habits, bearing left and finding myself at another door, hidden behind which is a fresh horror - none other than a Lich, sitting upon a throne, clad in rotten finery. Her burning red eyes fixed upon mine, she demands I endure her gauntlet of pain - or die where I stand. Such a choice is easily made and with trepidation I don the gauntlet she offers. The pain - such agony, as though being crushed, flayed and disemboweled, all at once. I scream and sink to my knees, silently willing the pain to end, but then, unbidden, the faces of my fellow slaves float before my eyes: The brave Southerner who so nearly won the tournament, the Northman so fleet of foot, the brave soul I killed blindfolded and never even saw his face - even the vicious Easterner. Determination to see Carnuss pay floods me, and despite the torment I force myself to stand and face the lich. Slowly the suffering fades, and with my face set, I pull off the gauntlet and let it clatter to the floor.
Her eyes fixed on mine, she silently pulls a gold ring from her skeletal finger and drops it before me. For a moment I hesitate, then pick up the ring, turn my back and leave. No other word passes between us.

Going left again, I hear a cry for help and, upon investigating, find the small man I saw earlier, trapped in the web of a huge spider. The fellow seems doomed, but it does not sit well with me to abandon another to his fate: wounded as I am I step forward to bring my strength to bear against the huge arachnid and leave it slain upon the cavern floor. The small man is full of thanks - he and his folk lived in these tunnels before the coming of Sukumvit, he claims, and are now beset by monsters. As a reward, he gifts me a gold ring - my fourth - and a cryptic warning before fleeing into the darkness. Something about his story does not sit right with me, yet had I not intervened when I did, the spider would surely have slain him..?
The tunnel continues till it arrives at a staircase, leading both up and down. Had I a coin to toss I would have done so - in absence of a coin, I decide to descend, where I am swarmed by huge rats: easy fodder for blade. The rats, it seems, were crowding in a storeroom of sorts, much of the food stale and rotten. I am in poor health, so salvage what best I can: I loaf of stale bread and some salted beef. I devour both and discover a bonus - an iron file baked into the bread that drops into my lap when I break it open. My strength restored, I return to the stairs and climb up where I find a chest containing a bunty of treasures: rope, a hammer, and a vial of anti-poison. More treasures await in the room beyond: a winged helmet and shield. I take a moment to read the runes within the room - a warning of some sort - before moving on, the precious armour forgotten (I was annoyed here that reading the runes precluded me from taking the helmet or shield, and this proved very significant later)

The food had restored me somewhat, but I cannot not help but feel that only hate was keeping me going as I trudged through miles of dank corridor, awaiting the next monster or fiendish trap that might take my life. For a moment I even envy the poor souls who died on Blood Island, before pushing such thoughts to the back on my mind: their deaths must be avenged! I push on bitterly. The corridor soon ended at another door, and upon entering I find myself facing a serene fellow, evidently blind, who greeted me as contestant number two and claimed he had awaited me - to test me and determine if I was worthy of proceeding - I cannot help but laugh. Me, who has already endured hell to get this far! His first test is of strength: a tug of war over a pit with a huge brute of a man, evidently a servitor of the trialmaster. After the games of Carnuss this is child's play to one such as I: with a mighty heave I send the poor fellow tumbling into the pit, something that concerns the trialmaster not. His second test is a riddle, easily solved, whilst his third is trial by combat. He is blind, but evidently skilled: I bide my time, defending his strikes until an opening appears, then press savagely until I strike the winning blow. For a second I fear he might take umbrage at his defeat but instead he allows me to continue.

Remembering the warning from the little man I pass by a tempting fountain and head further into the maze. I am soon surprised to hear the sound of hoofbeats before out of the darkness bursts some skeletal horror - an undead rider atop an undead mount, shrieking for my blood. Forced into battle, the hammer I found earlier proves useful in reducing the attacker to dust. In its saddlebags I find a wooden whistle and a mirror: I take both. At the next junction I keep left until I reach a pit and, on whim, lash my rope to the rocks above and descend into the darkness until I find myself upon a small ledge, leading to a cave. After vanquishing the creature within - a small mutant, easily slain - I search the things stinking nest and find another curious item: a clay pig, with something rattling inside. Hoping for another gold ring I break it open upon the rock wall but find only a black charm of polished coral which, when hung about my neck, seems to make me feel somewhat diminished.. as though fate were turning her back on me. I have no time for such thoughts. Ignoring all thoughts of returning to the level above I move deeper into the cave, soon finding it thick with sucking, smelly mud that rapidly rises to my knees. To return now would be more wearisome than to continue - I can feel the spirits of the other dead slaves at my back, urging me on to Carnuss's death. I press on. The mud soon reaches my waist, and at one point my neck, but I drive forward and eventually exit feeling strangely refreshed.

Beyond the mud a chamber lit by glowing rocks, within rests a soapstone statue of a great elephant: the statue bears an obvious door, and it is a simple task to work out how to open it, revealing yet another golden ring. Giving thanks for my luck I move on until I find another pit, leading to a level below. Reasoning that dropping down a level has served me well at each point so far I jump down into a darkened passge below, lit by flickering torchlight. A figure is in the corridor ahead, and, at the sound of my landing, he turns and walks towards me with heavy tread: with shock I realise advancing upon me is another of my fellow contestants: the chaos warrior, clad in his black spiked plate, and as he does so he swings his great mace from across his shoulder into a fighting stance. That he intends to fight me is obvious for those initiated into the cult of chaos know only battle. Steeling myself I adopt a fighting stance myself, and without a word battle is joined. He is a savage and skilled opponent: again and again his mace slams into my exposed flesh whilst I hack desperately at his thick armour until my limbs ache and the floor is slick with blood. Eventually, more through luck that judgement, one of my blows finds the back of his knee, where the armour is weakest - he stumbles, and I drive my sword with a shout into the visor of his helmet until I feel it scrape the steel of the helms back. He falls with a crash and does not rise.

I do not know how long I sit there in the dark with his body. My wounds are grievous - my ribs, at least, are broken, as is my jaw, and possibly my shoulder and arm also. Black spots swim before my eyes and I am bleeding freely. Finally I struggle to my feet. It is not my fate to die here in the darkness.
The warrior has little on him - a strange code in black ink on a parchment, and another gold ring wrapped in black silk. How had he so few, yet had progressed this far into the dungeon? I add the ring to my five and move on, holding onto the wall now for support. I leave bloody handprints in my wake.
Ahead, in an alcove, I discover a strange sight: a pair of cheerful candles and a plate of nuts and berries, arranged for a tasty meal. I force some of the food between my lips, not caring now if they are poisoned or no: my strength a little restored I move into a junction where, turning left, am horrified to see the tunnel packed with zombies, their pallid skin gleaming sickly in the torchlight. They practically fill the corridor: I can smell the stench of them as they stumble forward, arms outstretched. For a second I ponder fighting them but the odds are too great: turning, I half run, half lurch down the corridor hoping for a door, a tunnel, anything to take me away from the horde.
Ahead, the corridor terminates in a pit, wide, deep and dark. I pause, panting, trying to force air back into my lungs, trying to ignore the pain in my ribs. I cough, and my palm fills with blood.
Behind me the horde approaches, soundless but for the soft sound of their feet dragging over the stone. The is only one way forward. With a snarl, I throw myself out over the pit, my fingers brushing the far side as I plummet downwards into the dark.
For the slaves of blood island there would be no revenge.

***

Failed again. This book is so difficult. Had it not been for the healing mud I would have easily died when battling the chaos knight: as it was I was on four stamina points when I faced the zombies (and only two before I ate the nuts and berries) and it turns out either fighting the zombies OR jumping the pit with no winged helmet is certain death. Even at this point I decided to press on as though I did have the helmet but ended up dying so many times it wasn't funny: the combats are so many in number, with such high skill scores and no real chance to regain stamina, that death is essentially assured.
Reading on for pleasure I discovered when I got to the end I didn't even have all of the rings - you need all nine, and missing one is an auto-fail, as well as three codes, for a total of 12 essential items to pass the final test (and that's not counting things like the helmet, the red dust, the file and so on that you cannot win without) making this one of the hardest and unfair books to date - which is a shame as, if you do go all the way to the end, it has a very satisfying and dramatic conclusion.

So it's been fun, but also not fun if that makes sense.

Next I shall be playing Falcon: Lost in Time (Thanks Richard!) and then onto another childhood favourite: Robot Commando.

[Richard]

What a fun write-up! It does sound quite unfair though.

[Barrington Boots]

I haven't had a lot of time for Gamebooks lately but I have been playing Falcon 4: Lost in Time which Richard very kindly sent me. I don't have much to add to his excellent playthrough except to echo how absolutely nuts this book is. Each different place you jump to is very nicely realised with great descriptions and what feels like some real depth - which makes it somewhat frustrating when you spend an incredibly short time in each one with very little to do: in one you literally arrive, meet some guys and agree to join the resistance, get their names and so on... then immediately get back in your ship and leave again. On one level it feels like hopping into some fully realised worlds (like Orb) but it's also a bit disappointing - you could get a whole series out of this book alone.
There are dozens of auto-deaths and hardly any skill tests - it's an odd book, all in. The art, once again, is superb. I think I liked the Rack of Baal more: I enjoyed both, but not sure I'd look any others out.

I've also been playing a bit of Ronin 47 which is an independent gamebook from Jonathan Green (Bloodbones, Curse of the Mummy etc) where you play a dude using a giant robot to fight Kaiju. It's another odd one in that the background and writing are great but the combat rules when in the mech are super complex and it means I keep starting it and then putting it down again. Coincidentally Robot Commando is the next FF book so will play that instead, hopefully next week!

[Barrington Boots]

One of my favourite bits in Falcon was that in the Evil alternative timeline bad guys have facial hair which no good agent of TIME would ever have!