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Okay, sneaking a page number onto our sheet that way is kinda brilliant. Full marks there.
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Sep 11, 2017 12:26
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| # ? May 3, 2024 14:31 |
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Page 198 posted:You reach out for the sword, and the hairs on the nape of your neck rise. You pause and glance round the room. The fat official returns your gaze. You take the sword and the sense of danger grows.  : See? Serpent and dragons everywhere! : You really wanna lay claim to that?: Say what you will, that guy had a good thing going.: That guy threw me in a pit of bones to rot! To death!: He's got moxie!: Evidently moxie's not quite as effective as an iron collar.: A collar...shaped like an oroborous?: You are hopeless. Character Sheet posted:Mulan the Quincinierita
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Sep 12, 2017 06:25
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Save mommy first. Gertrude is alive and suffering, our dad's ghost can wait.
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Sep 12, 2017 08:20
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Save Mommy from the sand people. I feel like George Lucas read this book at some point.
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Sep 12, 2017 10:17
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The king seems entirely too blasé about his official suddenly turning into a giant snake. Is this something that happens often around here? Let's go save mother.
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Sep 12, 2017 22:38
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This book is a sequel to Black Vein Prophecy, and the PC of that book is actually Maior. BVP is on the (every-lengthening) list of upcoming books I've got squirreled away.Page 77 posted:Maior sends for a horse from the stables. Since you have never ridden in your life, you ride behind him. You travel for several days, camping rough at night. You are surprised to discover that Maior is quite accustomed to the hard life of a traveler. As you journey, he tells you something of his history, how he came to power as his father, Bezenvial, had decreed in the Black Vein Prophecy, but how he rejected his father's legacy of evil. At long last you arrive at a country mansion - from the size of it, the residence of an important official. Maior tells you that your mother is here. He explains that all children are connected to their parents, whether they like it or not, and perceptive eyes can follow the connection - this is how he found his way here. He strides in, brushing aside the protesting guardian at the door. You follow him all the way into the main hall, where a large gathering is enjoying a banquet. Your eyes immediately alight on your mother. As you run to embrace her, Maior's voice rings out, filling the hall: 'I am the king. This woman is now free.' The banquet guests sit dumbfounded; none dares protest. : For the love of Arn that was a lot to take in over the course of a single page.: Your mother cried for several hours?: I guess this is what I always wanted...just...drat. Deus ex Maior, I guess.: So your mother was a slave for the whole time we were treking and monasterying and digging around our own soul/mind, but we fixed that. And promptly left her with some dude.: Well, let me nibble on one of these 2-year-old provisions while I ponder my options.Character Sheet posted:Mulan the Quincinierita
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Sep 13, 2017 04:18
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FredMSloniker posted:I think it's kind of neat that the gamebook doesn't actually check whether you got the right answer, because, as it says, he doesn't know. Dav posted:Okay, sneaking a page number onto our sheet that way is kinda brilliant. Full marks there. 
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Sep 13, 2017 05:48
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I'm torn. I don't want either choice because I want to see both.
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Sep 13, 2017 07:26
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This is tough because it could be let him live as in “we’ve learned mercy” or “we’ve come up with a fate worse than death for him,” but let’s try it. Let him live
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Sep 13, 2017 10:58
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Hey Merc jerkwad, be aware that I could easily have you killed if I wanted to. I'm letting you live. Still feel arrogant?
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Sep 13, 2017 13:05
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Luckily, you folks are ok, so I'll show you both options here. Starting with the wrong one.Page 174 posted:With a yell of exultation you swing the sword and it strikes your enemy on his left shoulder, cleaving straight through his armor and piercing his heart. For a moment the figure stay upright, blank eyes staring at you from the demon mask, then it collapses. You reach down to remove the mask and look upon the face of the man you have hated for so long. It comes off easily and you stare at a face...your own face! The mask slips easily over your head, and you look out at the world through its eye-holes. Maior looms up in front of you and his features are twisted with contempt. He gestures and...your adventure ends here. How about we see what we're supposed to choose? I won't count that one against us. Page 393 posted:Maior smiles. He reaches out towards the demon mask. A scintillating globe surrounds the man's head, then Maior grasps the mask and tosses it aside. For a moment it hisses and spits as if alive, then flares up and burns to ashes. You gaze upon the face of the mercenary, a face curiously similar to yours. He looks confused - he can remember nothing of the events of the last few years. : Oh. Yay!: Good job! Not doing stuff!And that is the end of The Crimson Tide! Having quelled the fury within us, we have transcended stuff and becoming even more enlightened than our previously enlightenedness. You might even say that we vanquished the Coils of-  : FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T!Well, it seems a little bit similar, thematically, but different authors and less bizarre antisemitism. We've got a few bits to wrap up over the next few days, including the non-death endings plus fighting a tongue. If there are any ends you're interested in seeing tied up, please let me know. Character Sheet posted:Mulan the Quincinierita
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Sep 15, 2017 04:57
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That was alright, thanks.
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Sep 15, 2017 06:50
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I get the “you must learn mercy” idea, but that’s a pretty week ending for making the wrong choice.
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Sep 15, 2017 11:07
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CaptainCaveman posted:I get the “you must learn mercy” idea, but that’s a pretty week ending for making the wrong choice. That ending does seem like a bit of an rear end pull. So the demon-masked warlord was really some kind of mind-controlling monster.. or was us... or what? Without being established at all beforehand, or given any sort of closure afterwards? Hell, that's the sort of I-Am-Your-Father rveal you could build a whole book around. Any chance you could show off how we could have become a white-faced monk? Apparently it was one of our options somehow!
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Sep 15, 2017 19:21
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I just remembered the skeleton that could have killed us but something else would have happened- Death's Messenger. What was the deal with that?
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Sep 15, 2017 19:26
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inflatablefish posted:That ending does seem like a bit of an rear end pull. So the demon-masked warlord was really some kind of mind-controlling monster.. or was us... or what? Without being established at all beforehand, or given any sort of closure afterwards? Hell, that's the sort of I-Am-Your-Father reveal you could build a whole book around. The reasons behind this are perhaps a little bit more nuanced (just a little bit.) If we fail the FEROCITY check against the warlord after either entering or infiltrating the camp, or just decide to attack him, we get this situation: Page 346 posted:Choose how you wish to attack the mercenary leader. You may choose an option only if you possess the appropriate item or have the word already written on your Adventure Sheet. 'Spider' comes from a group of monks just outside Traole. You are able to enter the dream world with them and get the bowl and everything. inflatablefish posted:Any chance you could show off how we could have become a white-faced monk? Apparently it was one of our options somehow! They also give you the white face before sending you in. However you don't receive the word 'turn' on exiting, just 'monk.' This kinda puts the 'secret' path to success in jeopardy. Thoughts on the secret path at the end of the book wrapup. Anyhow, with 'magic', the Sacred Sword, or the staff/knife, you can defeat the leader. The other options circle the drain to death. Page 305 posted:A red haze fills your mind as you stand over the body of your defeated enemy. The mercenaries are waiting, watching to see what your next move will be. Poor choice: Page 206 posted:Black-armored barbarians move in to surround you. The last sight your eyes will ever behold in this world is the glittering steel of their raised swords. Your adventure is over. ...other poor choice. Page 72 posted:You tear the mask from the man's head. Beneath it there is no face - just a swollen mass of raw, red flesh. You put on the mask and raise your arms. The mercenaries kneel before you, their new leader. The red haze still dances before your eyes; the haze of hatred and death, the crimson tide of revenge, never leaves you, and the mask never comes off your face until your dying day. If you'd stumbled into one of the paths that takes you here, you might have already have the sense of the theme of self-perpetuating hatred that the book is hinting at. Not that it entirely justifies the earlier ending, but it does bolster it up a little bit. More to come in the next day or two. Backtracking through this book to find paths we didn't travel is pretty tough with the rough OCR. Ctrl-F works only ~30% of the time.
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Sep 17, 2017 01:52
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achtungnight posted:I just remembered the skeleton that could have killed us but something else would have happened- Death's Messenger. What was the deal with that? Defeating the Messenger nets us +1 SKILL and -2 FEROCITY, plus 'when', losing on the other hand. Page 246 posted:The skeleton dashes the sword from your hand, hurls its own blade aside and grasps your neck in its bony fingers. The bleached white skull presses against your face and a hissing voice sounds in your head. 'Now you are mind, you will do my bidding!' Same ultimate destination as winning, though. Other things we missed are some alternate non-win, non-death endings. We saw monking, merchanting and mercenarying, we can also be enslaved in a mine and wither away there, become a basket weaver, return to our little hamlet and rebuild it, and become a sailor. Other illustrated things: we can fall asleep in a grove of silk worms and end up with a silk worm demon in our ear. That can entice a giant worm (Cangui, SKILL 6 STAMINA 8) to accost us.  The worm precludes entry into the monastery but we can get Yao (or some other mystic in the area) to cleanse us. It's also an auto-death upon entering the palace. Attempting to enter the monastery meets these three guys who shout "Pao-Yeh-Pao-Lo-Mi,' and pull out golden swords which shoot lasers at us for a 2 STAMINA hit.  This guy is an insect...thing in disguise, Chonggui (SKILL 8 STAMINA 10).  I really wish I could trace back where the hell this comes from, but Ceuoshe's Tongue (SKILL 6 STAMINA 12) is lurking somewhere out there for us.  We can get knifey with a dude in a bathhouse. (SKILL 6 STAMINA 5)  That's about that for The Crimson Tide, pending any burning questions. Thoughts about the book - well. It's an interesting attempt. There are several unique things in play here, including recurrent use of locations juggled by the presence of keywords, the aging mechanic, FEROCITY, the forgiveness vs vengeance thing, and of course the hidden page. To be honest, I think that whatever novelty comes from all these ultimately hinges on the final element. And unfortunately, I do think that final element falls apart. I'm no stranger to absurd requirements for success in CYOAs, but there are so few areas in this book where one can make a wrong choice and successfully complete the book if the full sentence is required for victory. True, it may make for greater replay value, but even then I'd argue it's punitively specific. And despite all that, I think it's possible to luck into the final solution without hitting the right track completely. When you're asked if you know another option, simply possessing '198' might be enough to hint a reader towards success. If this is the case, you simply need to get a red robe (to prevent getting monked to death), sweet talk the envoy, get the golden sword, and solve the puzzler. It's not like this book passes around any other page number clues that might distract you. But all that said, it was a fun read, and I'm sure I would have eaten this thing alive if I'd come across it a few decades ago. I do have the book that precedes it and will eventually be LPing that, but will take a couple of days before launching the next thread (which will likely be another book altogether.) In the meantime, thanks to all who stopped by to share the experience. I'm hoping I can net a slightly larger audience next time, but we'll see where the chips fall.
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Sep 20, 2017 01:58
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It was still fun. I think with a better book it would have been more so and you would have more of an audience. Thanks for answering my questions. I will be watching for your next thread. BTW, I have been reading your Cretan Chronicles LP and enjoying myself. I will have to see if I can track the books down on Amazon, I missed them until now and Greek myth is always an interest for me. Keep up the good work.
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Sep 20, 2017 02:17
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achtungnight posted:It was still fun. I think with a better book it would have been more so and you would have more of an audience. Thanks for answering my questions. I will be watching for your next thread. I had hopped into the thread the other day after either the goosebumps or lone wolf thread referred to a particularly twisted CYOA death from that series. At that time the pics weren't loading and I was worried they were lost. Thankfully, they seem to be OK - I'd like to think there would be at least some humor that would be lost with them. If you're interested, I still have the pdfs somewhere. Not sure how many print copies have survived.
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Sep 20, 2017 03:08
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Thx- I'll check prices and if necessary get back to you later via PM.
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Sep 20, 2017 03:18
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OK, next up is old-school brand name CYOA. UFO 54-40 is a go.
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Sep 21, 2017 06:01
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| # ? May 3, 2024 14:31 |
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Thanks for playing, folks!
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Sep 25, 2017 04:59
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