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The Curse Of Drumer




Robert Douglas
Thu Feb 9 18:45:59 2012
@ Adam E

Glad you enjoyed it!

Jordan
Fri Feb 10 01:37:11 2012
Nods, Robert. I managed to convince the Chief Inspector as well, while still getting the best ending. A prequel would be excellent, maybe you could incorporate Typhoon Mary into the story somehow.

john
Fri Feb 10 17:21:50 2012
I just finished curse of Drumer. That was quite an excellent read. It was really nice to see another long tail on the site, and the whole feel of the book was very wel done. I had read something about a prequel here, and personally, I feel that you could get something out of the whole tail of the house catching fire (perhaps using Terry's sister as the main character). Any thoughts?

Robert Douglas
Fri Feb 10 20:59:48 2012
@ Jordan and John,

I'm intrigued as to who Typhoon Mary is...I'll do a bit of 'net researching into that later on!

The matter of a prequel is at the discussion stage - but a serious one, nonetheless. In fact, the other day I sent an email off to Brunel University, asking for (Professor) Steve Jackson to give his insight on Drumer's family tree, etc. Since Kelnor (Earl of Drumer) is his creation, I really wanted his permission for a go-ahead and any good ideas to contribute.

I'm probably being a bit hopeful for a response - he's a very busy man, and besides: I don't think he wants to return to Fighting Fantasy. After 'Creature of Havoc', he wrote 'The Trolltooth Wars' novel, then a departure from FF altogether to do F.I.S.T (telephone adventures), before going on to computerised games (Lionhead). He's proud of FF, his gamebooks have earned valuable merits, even some good memories to boot...but still the past. He strikes me as a man who moves on, looks ahead to the future. Still, it's worth a try.

John, your idea of using Nel (Terry's sister) is interesting - yet
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We'll have to wait and see. If Steve Jackson doesn't respond, then we'll have to discuss it further, take it from there...


Jordan
Sat Feb 11 23:14:24 2012
As you've probably discovered, I made a typo in regards to Mary. It's Typhoid Mary, not Typhoon, as I'd originally put. In short, she lived during the 1800's, and was responsible for infecting at least 53 people with typhoid fever while working as a cook, and three of those people died. I'm sure you could make her story more creepier than it already is. After all, what if she had in fact infected a lot more than 53 people, and what if it wasn't typhoid at all, but the symptoms of Droomer's curse? She could perhaps be a cohort of Droomer, infecting people with the curse in preparation for all kinds of shivery cult horrors. In any case, I'm looking forward to whatever you decide. You're a great writer, thanks so much for allowing Andy to put your story online. Talk to you soon!


Robert Douglas
Sun Feb 12 16:03:11 2012
@ Jordan

It's okay, I realized what you meant when I looked it up (although there is something called 'Typhoon Mary'!)

Your idea has merit - and we could use it in some way. But I want to keep these events very localized. Whatever happens, whether the hero survives or not, whether he saves a plague-afflicted town or not...it mustn't affect the events of 'House of Horror' (Gaetano's prequel) and 'House of Hell'. If it goes on to spread across the country, then the world, it will instigate an alternate timeline. Future events as we know it won't come to pass. However, Drumer's ancestors - or at least the Black Night Brotherhood - will have a hand in it, and perhaps the centuries old Order of Saint Erik. That would be the link. Whatever the case, it will be matter of personal survival for the hero. He's simply caught up in a localized pestilence that's doomed to fail whatever his fate.

However, I'm not against sequels/prequels in alternate history. On a message board (going back years ago) someone mentioned their idea for a gamebook plot: that the quest against Razaak had failed, and a form of resistance gathers around the wizard Yaztromo. That person's name escapes me - but a possible title for this gamebook could be 'Reign of Razaak', or 'Emperor Razaak I'!



Robert Douglas
Fri Feb 17 18:23:05 2012
Hello, it's all gone very quiet...

john
Fri Feb 17 20:21:58 2012
Hi Robert, I just read your message, and figured I'd clarify what I meant. I'm not familiar with House of Hell, and don't remember House of Horror well, so correct me if this already was spoken for, but taking COD as a stand-alone story, the first thing I thought of was that Nell had been the one responsible for the house burning down. That's what I meant by her being the main character, success would end in the house being burnt down.

Robert Douglas
Sat Feb 18 02:06:00 2012
@ John

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I didn't want COD as a stand-alone; it's a sequel that's linked to the events of House of Hell. Some of its characters return in COD, others don't. It wouldn't make sense,
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the weird writer.
Wed Mar 14 00:49:28 2012
I need some help with The Curse Of Drumer. does anyone know how to dolve that clock puzzel?

Robert Douglas
Fri Mar 16 13:11:26 2012
@ The Weird Writer,

Hi, the
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C-Star
Sat Jul 7 16:29:20 2012
Oh and almost forgot Curse of Drumer. Loved the atmosphere and the story in it. The word 'bonnie' that they kept saying confused me for a while though. Was that real 80's slang?

Robert Douglas
Mon Jul 16 12:47:43 2012
Hi All!

I'd just like to say, again, thanks for the positive comments concerning 'The Curse of Drumer'. It's a big uplift for authors who have given much of their time and effort towards a project shared with fans alike.

However, for certain reasons, I'll no longer be contributing to the Fighting Fantasy Website. But I'm more than happy to send future projects to FF Project - not to mention Windhammer of this, and next year.

In the meantime, if you have any comments or suggestions regarding any of my adventures, I'd gladly receive them. Flaws to my gameplay or style I'd approach with a constructive attitude - I actually quite enjoy learning from mistakes!

Robert Douglas
Sun Jul 29 20:46:38 2012
@ C-Star,

No, bonnie is a Scottish term for 'great' or, 'fantastic' ie: 'We had a bonnie time at Mrs Miggins!' - at least I hope it is, or I'm embarrassed to have got it wrong! If that's so: my apologies to all Scots folk. Not sure if many Scottish people actually said it in the 80's. But in TCOD Jimmy grew up as more of a traditionalist.

Southern Irish equivalent would be 'grand', ie: 'I've sold all of my produce!' 'Ah, that's grand, so it is!' I can't help but think of Patrick Harper from the Sharpe series!

Anyway, glad you enjoyed TCOD :)

C-Star
Sun Jul 29 23:35:14 2012
Yeah Irish people actually say 'grand' or 'sound' or 'class' as terms for good. I should know cause I am Irish! We have a lot of weird slang like that. We're usually drunk when we come up with these words...

I truly enjoyed Curse of Drumer. You made the book into a real thriller.
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The numerous descriptions of escapes from various demons and creatures add serious excitement to the story. The various interesting characters and their interactions with each other also breathed life into the book.
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I also liked the main character's criminal background as it's different to the usual generic hero character you're handed that doesn't say anything or have a personality at all.

I think you've mentioned this before already, but I noticed that there isn't really many branching pathways in this book. This isn't a complaint though; it stops the book suffering from "Wrong Way You Die" syndrome that gamebooks tend to suffer from (I'm looking at you, House of Horror). The narrative did a great job of storytelling this path too.


Robert Douglas
Mon Jul 30 13:10:15 2012
@ C-Star,

Thanks for the comments. I wanted to make TCOD slightly different to House of Hell's claustrophobic atmosphere, yet
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It's true I concentrated more on exciting encounters, in-depth characters, and a more detailed, colourful storyline as opposed to a myriad of paths. Items were also kept to a minimum compared to most other gamebooks (unlike my own Snakeland Scorpion and Prison of Pestilence). Like yourself, I've never been a fan of the 'knife-edge' route, where wandering off you die.
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However, neither is it too easy
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However,
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As to the
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Thanks for the comments and please keep them coming! :) By the way, day after tomorrow, I'm sending my Windhammer entry to Chronicles of Arborell.

Exciting times!!

C-Star
Wed Aug 1 19:48:00 2012
And did you say there were two magical weapons? I only knew about Hreinleika. And I never knew about the disease either! Guess a second playthrough is in order at some point.


Robert Douglas
Thu Aug 2 10:09:27 2012
@ C-Star,

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If you want a clue,
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Good luck in finding the mysterious weapon! :)

I've also received a mail from Wayne Densley - Chronicles of Arborell webmeister. He confirmed that my gamebook entry meets Windhammer Competition requirements. However, I believe all entries will be posted for viewing around 17th September (when the Voting phase begins). Or, they could be posted as they come in. Not quite sure how it works.

Haoie
Wed Aug 15 05:16:11 2012
Anyone know the clock code for Curse of Drumer? I just can't figure it out! Puzzles, not my forte.

Robert Douglas
Wed Aug 15 23:09:00 2012
Hi Haoie,

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It's meant to be the symbollic number of the Fallen One, or...the Devil!



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