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gamebooks
Escape The Asylum
Gem Runner
A Princess Of Zamarra
A Saint Beckons
A Day In The Life
Rise Of The Night Creatures
New Day Rising
Bloodsworth Bayou
Golem Gauntlet
Shrine Of The Salamander
A Flame In The North
A Shadow In The North
Escape Neuburg Keep
Any Port In A Storm
Below Zero Point
Tales From The Bird Islands
The Ravages Of Fate
Nye's Song
A Knight's Trial
Return To G15-275
Devil's Flight
Above The Waves
The Curse Of Drumer
The Word Fell Silent
A Strange Week For King Melchion The Despicable
Sharkbait's Revenge
Tomb Of The Ancients
A Midwinter Carol
The Dead World
Waiting For The Light
Contractual Obligation
Garden Of Bones
The Hypertrout
The Golden Crate
In The Footsteps Of A Hero
Soul Tracker
Planet Of The Spiders
Beggars Of Blacksand
The Diamond Key
Wrong Way Go Back
Hunger Of The Wolf
Isle Of The Cyclops
The Cold Heart Of Chaos
The Black Lobster
Impudent Peasant!
Curse Of The Yeti
Bad Moon Rising
Riders Of The Storm
Bodies In The Docks
House Of Horror
Rebels Of The Dark Chasms
Midnight Deep
Lair Of The Troglodytes
Outsider!
The Trial Of Allibor's Tomb
Hellfire

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Nameless one
Thu Nov 3 17:29:07 2005
General Chat
I am the same person as was earlier. HOwever, I like Nameless one better now lol. I played about a week ago, it just seemed to slow paced. Not that's a bad game or anything, I just like other stuff better.

Dark
Thu Nov 3 21:54:40 2005
General Chat
I've never personally noticed Sryth being slow, but if your used to muds then it probably feels that way. Oh well, if we were all the same, everything would be very boring.

I have now finished the Black Lobster, it was also good, nice to play a charactor who isn't the main adventuring hero for once.

I also had a very good go at Hellfire, and I think I got really far. Unfortunately I got roasted by a wall of green flame that non of my items seemed to do much good against. Oh well, so it goes.

The Nameless One
Fri Nov 4 00:33:12 2005
General Chat
It's kind of weird. I like gamebooks more than sryth, but I am used to muds. Can someone explain that to me lol. I like really fast paced games, and really slow paced games (like the turn based manage your own country games on the internet etc). I don't like the stuff in between as much, and that is the category that sryth falls into I guess. Oh, Dark, play midnight deep. It's fun.

Dark
Fri Nov 4 10:50:22 2005
General Chat
Well I find the turn based internet stuff rather dull myself, but more due to a total lack of atmosphere than anything else. But the main reason I play any game is for exploration and atmosphere rather than anything else. Be it fast or slow, if there's a good sized world to explore, plenty of good writing in the descriptions that really drawer me in, and plenty of tasks to perform I don't mind how slow or fast the interface is. I've even pplayed quite a few text adventures aka interactive fiction, and sinse you have to type commands they can be really slow, but if they had the atmosphere and exploration elements I really enjoyed them.

I'll be away from my computer for the weekend but when I get back I'll certainly give midnight deep a go (along with all the others).

Jeff Sinasac
Tue Nov 8 01:38:51 2005
General Chat
Hey, you guys. The Lone Wolf books have been converted to an online format at http://www.projectaon.org. I've only toyed with them online to verify that they have html based play, but I've played most of the original books in book form and have always considered them among the very best in this type of fiction. Give em a whirl.

Dark
Tue Nov 8 11:56:49 2005
General Chat
They look fun, thanks a lot for the link. The only problem I have is the random generation tables. The seem to have been reproduced as illustrations rather than text. From what the rules say though, the system seems fairly standardized, so if I could get text coppies of the tables I could use a dice (I have a rather cunning programme that will role as many dice as I like with as many sides as I like), once this is done I think the game will be great fun!

Holden
Wed Nov 9 22:35:09 2005
Hellfire
Hey you guys,

I'm still getting only to the acid gorge in Hellfire. I believe someone told me what to do about kit a lont time ago. YOu need an item of some sort. Wherebaouts do you find that item?

Holden



Dark
Thu Nov 10 03:04:58 2005
Hellfire
Ooopse, I wen ways through Hellfire and never found an Acid gorge. But one Item I've currently found is a gold scepter with the word "Acid" on it, I got it from

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Gamebook Fanatic
Thu Nov 10 12:31:59 2005
Hellfire
I believe it was Mr Sadler himself who gave the answer the last time. Anyway the item you need is:

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It is, as Phil said, very well hidden. You need two other spells to find it. They are:

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Gamebook Fanatic
Thu Nov 10 12:38:58 2005
Hellfire
Oh, and I found the 'Acid' Sceptre too. I fell for the trap the first time I played Hellfire, and used it on the acid gorge. It DOES have a result, but not the kind you want.

Dark
Sat Nov 12 09:24:19 2005
Hellfire
Hell fire is now deffinately getting upon my wick! I've played through the game three times, and each time I get to a wall of green hellfire which persistently turns red and roasts me to a crisp! I'm afraid I stil haven't found the Acid gorge myself --- or either of the spells you mentioned, your obviously getting on much better than I am.

If anyone knows how to get past that damn wall of fire please let me know.

Phil Sadler
Sat Nov 12 12:08:30 2005
Hellfire
(Hellfire)

If anyone knows how to get past that damn wall of fire please let me know.

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Gemebook Fanatic
Sat Nov 12 12:10:02 2005
Hellfire
The spell you need to get past the hellfire is actually found right at the very beginning of the book. It took me a really loing time to find, too. It's tricky to find because you have to do something which is usually considered 'unheroic'. (In fact, you even suffer a Stat penalty for this action)

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In response to "one of the things I don't like..." in your spoiler :

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Gamebook Fanatic
Sat Nov 12 12:11:06 2005
Hellfire
Looks like the author beat me to it this time. :D

Gamebook Fanatic
Sat Nov 12 16:12:21 2005
Hellfire
Good point, and I do agree with you about the plot. What I meant I didn't like was about the LUCK loss, not the 'unheroic' choice. The reader constantly gets punished for picking up items that are vital to completing the game, which makes the game far too difficult. If the Hero gets creamed because he walked into a trap, or carelessly alerted a guard, fair enough. What I didn't like was how he made the 'right' choices (not morally, but right for game completion), but have to die anyway because his Stats aren't high enough to take all those drains. I understand the theory about the Hero being forced to make questionable choices to gain victory. My objections were never aimed at the plot, or having to roleplay an 'unheroic' guy. I'd be perfectly happy with it if I were to read it as a novel. I just think that as a gamebook it becomes excessively difficult, that's all. I don't actually object to difficulty per se, in fact I applaud and admire the intricate way Phil hid the spell required to pass the acid gorge. I don't like the stat-draining items because it makes victory almost impossible if you don't roll a high score for all three Stats, at least from my experience (you may start with an average Skill of 9, have it drained down to 6, only to run into a Sk 10 monster and get squashed). The plot may make the book an interesting read, but a frustrating game to play. I guess that's one difficulty that gamebook writers may face: trying to balance the 'game' and the 'book' aspects.

This post is in reponse to the site admin, btw. :)
Yes, Hellfire is difficult. And as Phil has pointed out before, my adaptation has made it even more difficult. To me this is no bad thing - some games are harder than others, but Hellfire is there for those who like a tougher challenge.

There is a fundamental weakness in the Fighting Fantasy system, the enormous difference between a SKILL 7 and a SKILL 12 character. Any gamebook writer is faced with the problem of how to make it possible for a weaker character yet not too easy if you roll high at the beginning. The result is usually an uneasy compromise where you won't stand much chance unless you have SKILL 10 or higher. Of course, with Hellfire even a SKILL of 12 doesn't guarantee victory (although the odds are in your favour).

A FF gamebook that is possible to complete with a SKILL of 7 is very rare. Apparently Citadel Of Chaos could be, but I don't know of any others. On this site, I would say only House Of Horror is in this category. The line that went "no matter how weak on initial dice rolls ... should be able to get through easily" was always a lie.

Personally, if I wrote one I would probably dodge the issue and have my own way of generating the stats like Andrew Wright and Hugh Eldred-Grigg have done.

The Nameless One
Sun Nov 13 01:48:11 2005
Hellfire
Dark, whi,e you try Hellfire (I honestly have not given it a go yet) I suggest you play midnight deep and outsider. They are boyh brilliant as games get.

dark
Sun Nov 13 04:47:23 2005
Hellfire
Yep Nameless I'll give it a try, I did look at the start but I've been very busy with the final essay of my Ma in philosophy, and have only taken a few seconds out to play gamebooks. I'm now finished though, so have plenty of time for gamebooks.

Well, that was cunningly hidden!

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As to Hellfire in general, I'm impressed. I worried slightly at the beginning because of the rather swift way the game landed me into a dungeon (this seemed a litle contrived to me), but my fears of standardness were soon allayed by some of the truly fiendish puzles, and above all, the simply ghoolish writing style! There's atmosphere oozing from every inch of Hellfire, and some segments

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, actually seriously freaked me out ---- an impressive feat, sinse I'm reading through the books with my speech synthesisor, which is hardly the most effective reader.

all in all a great job Mr. Sadler, though I do wish someone'd warned me about the difficulty before I started. ---- maybe a difficulty rating could go on the site somewhere, Gbf?
I've put the spoilers where I'm guessing you meant to put them.

I will reflect on the idea of a difficulty rating. But until I actually do anything, see below where I've listed the gamebooks in approximate order of difficulty, easiest first.

Bad Moon Rising
The Black Lobster
Impudent Peasant
Bodies In The Docks
Curse Of The Yeti
The Trial Of Allibor's Tomb
Lair Of The Troglodytes
Outsider
House Of Horror
Riders Of The Storm
Rebels Of The Dark Chasms
Midnight Deep
Hellfire

Gamebook Fanatic
Sun Nov 13 07:12:33 2005
Hellfire
Hey, Dark, if you are trying to post something as a spoiler, you need to insert your message between the two bracketed
SPOILER  
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Phil Sadler
Sun Nov 13 11:55:23 2005
Hellfire
Hello again everybody and thanks for giving us all something to read and think about!

I have read with particular interest about the difficulties of Hellfire that have been mentioned quite frequently and must admit that have really given me food for thought.

I guess the most glaring 'difficulty' is the one about the old women (don't read these spoilers unless you are stuck!):

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If I were to fix the above situation then I guess I would do something like this:

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There are certainly other situations which I suppose could be improved too, one of which is to do with the various weapons and armour (more major spoilers follow; read them if stuck):

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If I were to try and fix the above 'situation' then I suppose I could do something which ties in with yet another situation that I was never fully happy about (the end of the book), and do the folowing:

SPOILER  
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Speaking of the end of the book, there is another situation that I always knew was just a bit too cruel (more spoilers about end of book):

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There are probably other tough breaks in the book, but I think I've discussed the main ones and maybe I'll try and change them one day soon...

Thanks for the posts everyone!

dark
Mon Nov 14 10:48:33 2005
Hellfire
Sorry about my ineptitude with Spoilers Gbf, other forums where I've posted have worked slightly differently, I'll remember for next time. Thanks for fixing my mistake.

Well, I think I'll give some of the easier books a try before I start on Hellfire again, i've finished Impudent Peasant and the Black Lobster, so I'll probably move on to the next book.

As reguards double crosses and such, I do love a bit of charactor interaction in these things, and it was the fact that so many standard things were turned around in Hellfire that really interested me. I think as Mr. Sadler's said, the only thing Hellfire lacks at the moment is some information about where you went wrong when you die. The book ishugely complex, and to have to explore every single alternative every single time you meet a sticky end can git a bit annoying, a learning system would still require patience from the reader and a number of runs through the book, but would also mean that they'll complete it eventually.

At some point I might myself try writing a Gamebook for the net, and all this is very useful information to know.