Guestbook

I.e. in Outsider!, you had to assume that Black Aria, the jaded, violent, yet still intensely principled assassin protagonist, is actually the type of guy who would let a necromancer who had slaughtered dozens, if not hundreds of people, live and keep doing that indefinitely, and also learn from him, even after finding out that he was lying about being your father. Then, you also had to assume that the option to summon ghosts you are explicitly warned about would not be an immediate insta-kill, contrary to pretty much every other option like this in that gamebook.

Here, what you actually need is to obtain two rods of this setting's unobtainium, not one, but there is effectively no way to find out that this is even POSSIBLE to do, or that this is the thing which was actually holding your trio from succeeding when you get DESTRUCTION: 3. The game is really good at making dead end pathways look just as viable as the successful ones (making the player think they were smart by picking the obviously correct item past five wrong ones, only for that entire pathway with Pieno (?) to be a trap was a particularly strong move). There is at least some logic in picking up an ID card from a corpse -even if there is no way to know that guy in particular would drop it, or that not having an ID card was a big obstacle when you show up to that stadium and find that a Coordination check seems to work as well.

There is no real internal logic in which pathway at Lochton Heath would actually allow you to win. In order to understand that in the first place, you have to assume that the choice of how to split up would actually lead you in radically different directions. The only "hint" is external, that being one's understanding that the narrative obviously wants Mark and Angela to be together, rather than anything about the location or their situation specifically. I kept assuming that the responsible thing to do would be to go alone and let the two less combat-experienced allies cover each other with gunfire, so as to avoid losing either of them when choosing to go with one and letting the other travel alone.

when the INFIRMARY: 4 scene and the sudden speech is quite reminiscent of the Defender's philosophy scenes in and around that tomb in Outsider!

* How come Drago's secretary immediately detects your weapons, even if it's just Glocks, but the crowd in the library does not mind them? How come you have the option to avoid surrendering the weapon in the nightclub, but not in VORTEX: 1, which doesn't seem to mention any security nearby (and one of the failure refs suggests more of them only got added later on.) Then again, they also don't bother to steal your completely unique weapons in spite of having every reason to, so there's that.

* How come you cannot just head back to the Doc right after you discovered that map under the table? It's such a frustrating thing, and for some time, I really thought some combination of starting stats/equipment had to allow you to protect the map, and this is what you would need to win.

* Machine gun fire from Ned Healy does not alert any guards in the library?

* KERNEL: 1 - Van Clank himself came up with those weapons, so why didn't he make one for himself?

* For HUNTED: 2, even max Awareness doesn't protect from failing to notice riders' approach? (Not that it seems to matter.) Plus it says riders have sunglasses, but then we can see the Leader's dark, impassive eyes?

* In REVIVAL: 1, it's funny that our Mark, who had fought SNs many times, and just recounted everything the doctor had done for him in JOY: 3, including having designed these hyper-advanced weapons, TWO OF WHICH ARE BASICALLY SUITCASE WMDs now rudely dismisses a different supernatural concept as "just speculation."

* It's also funny that he still considers it safe to return to his own home in spite of the little matter of the city's most powerful politician already after him.

* In INFIRMARY: 2, would the attendant's job really be boring after the events of the previous day? Also, interesting that according to REGENERATION: 1, Teneto has well-functioning universal healthcare?

* In INTERN: 3, why would mark be surprised that a rod which is as hard as metal is cool to the touch...exactly like any metal?

* YEARN: 1 "changes in the wave particles " ... even when taking quantum mechanics into account, that sentence seems rather dubious?

* "Centrenium is one of the oldest elements in the universe. Most scientists believe it is formed by a rare but naturally occurring process here on earth." - these two are mutually exclusive, since lots and lots of elements are billions of years older than the Earth. For that matter, nearly all heavy elements are predominantly of extraterrestrial origin as well?

* I am disappointed that plant killer doesn't seem to be usable on Rhodendra Azula?

* I am even more disappointed that the supposed ability of the Thompson to melt a wide path never appears to be used for anything, and that it doesn't rescue you in "QUIXOTIC: 3" , when that seemed obvious.

* For a while, I assumed that blowing up the lab would matter a lot more than it actually does. I even considered that blowing it up would draw away more of the guards from campaign headquarters, and so allow you to gun down the steed right there and still have a chance. It seemed more immediately logical than the true paths. Oh well.

If the three swords are meant to have similar power, how come the Sword of Night can draw thousands of followers to it, yet the Sword of Day didn't do much of anything until Tiemuraz took it? How come you fail to wake up when trying to enter the door of a wrong alignment, yet it's fine for Tiemuraz to wield blades of opposite alignments? Similarly, how come it drains you to have the Sword of Dusk, yet Tiemuraz has two swords at once, and suffers few consequences?

Weird that finding a coil of rope (probably the most powerful mundane item in the gamebook) is as uneventful as simply entering a random cave and finding it unattended with no real choice involved besides going on the right route.

Even the stealth skill does not actually allow you to sneak up on the two raiders, or bypass the sleeping one? It does not protect you at 81 either?

Hector comes across somewhat less grateful than one is likely to be after having been rescued from their likely fate.

In 353, the goddess is on a balcony, and presumably stands a floor above you, yet still manages to touch your chin from that position? Does she have freakishly long arms?

336 and 267 doesn't change if you had already learnt from the Tinker that Varna is under siege?

If you get killed fighting the Marluk Queen, you may not get "you have been killed in combat" message, just nothing at all between the dice rolls and the comment box. She also appears immune to the Pike's impalement: while that could be intentional, I don't see any ref explicitly mentioning that?

I was also hoping Woodsman could allow you to fix the Lantern.

317 is such an anticlimactic instakill, it balances somewhere between awful and brilliant.

I wonder if there's a use for things like the Wolf Pelt, Frying Pan, Fish Hook or the Pewter Statue? Perhaps I might have seen those if I tried taking more routes in the final stretch, but as it was, I found the acceptable one quite quickly. (I also briefly wondered if a Fish Hook + a Rope would let you pull away Tiemuraz's Sword of Day, but once the LOTR twist emerged, that appeared irrelevant.)

30
"from it hang a vast, grotesque carpet"

81
"and you several of them are close enough"

87
"but without any really malice" + "wild out West, child" + " would want to be out in this weather" + "After a few hour's walk,"

89
"soothing the aches of your cuts and bruised."

93

"introducing you as a childhood friend comes to help." (who came to?) + "It was terrible" + "nowhere near enough to stop Tiemuraz's dastardly legions" + "although he's returned since then" + "a strong destiny ahead of you" (period.) + "bids you close your eyes." (to?)

95
"before starting awake" (startling?) + "are the Sun and the Moon" + "and you cannot fail" (period.) + " a small sharp edged" (sharp-edged?)


138
"Gioan the jovial fisherman's sun" + " For all you know his hoards may be nearby already."

143
" "You haven't changed" is his response." + "but we fear that the hoards are attacking" + "with an ebony black hilt" + "There are few houses which are still safe" + "a place to rest for the night" + "Agreeing that this sounds (like?) the best course of action"


148
"After an only an hour of travel," + "through the blasting rain as best you can,"

150
"Peacefully" is A BIT of a misnomer for that option. + "into the things needle-toothed mouth."

152 - weird paragraph break in the middle of a sentence?

161
"A long, whip thin shadow"

186
"You have lost your weapons.As you climb" + "I'm Grimoald" (punctuation).

218

"by the look of you" (punctuation) "And an able one by the look of it." (perhaps looks, in both cases?) + I can't offer it" + "damned be honest contract" (punctuation)

222
"Do you not understand? (missing quotation mark.)

233
"signs of a reason rockfall"

237
"Wedged into a lose space"

245

"The town Electors are beside themselves" (town's?)

"my companion, Yvet" (period.)

251
"will enter its final stage" + "be put to its purpose" + "to continue" + " and you see that, rather than pupils and irises, tiny starscapes peering at you from beneath his brows." (either "that" is unnecessary, or there's a word missing.) + "would be sad" + "to know"

253

" You affirm your determination to go (to?) the Shadnezzar ruins"

"does not commune with her worshippers lightly" + "must know you have a chance" + "get you out at dawn tomorrow" (periods.)

254
"you meet the things gaze" + "it lungs forward"

275

"his whip coiled around his waste,"

295 - another weird paragraph break.

320

"but their flesh... and its head"

353

"committed such an Evil," (is "an" necessary?)

+ "will know of the Sword of Dusk's location," (shouldn't it be present tense?) + although you must chose it" (period, and tense.)

""I am sorry, young warrior" + "I am sure he would be proud of you" + "a message I must carry to you" + "draw the evil-hearted to his side" + "none would come to dominate the world" + "the Sword of Night" + "tortured and barren" + "if Tiemuraz reunites all three blades" + is at stake" + "and he, too, will seek it out" (punctuation.)

366

"a large, cathedral like building." + "And the other, he is here?" (is he here?) + "Is this some sort of trap?" (a trap?) +"Now, chose a door" (choose?) + "The one you seek to destroy"

395

"a large hole turn out of its hull" (?)

425
Perhaps he will prove right in time. (be proven right?)

460
"you wipe their slimy grey blood of your sword" (besides the typo, there's also the matter of you potentially fighting this with a mace.

"she bid you follow a different Master"

11 "extract two tusks worth of dentures." (apostrophe?) + "you decide it might a good idea" + "to get of here quick"

17 "with a worse headache then before," 20 "Do you want to enter the Dark Places ?"

25 "change your mind and play Spot the Beetle ?"

29 "and your memory quicken forgotten"

32 " in the direction of the Fungus Gardens ?"

33 ""you notice that your are now"

34 " Angeror submission ?"

38 "and as your stagger back"

40 "something snaps at you ankle"

41 "you may restore one STAMINA point.Tipping the rest"

47 "Would like to bet a tusk or two "

50 "Suddenly , as you ponder" + "is that if this the Chief's Room" + "makes my skin itch...replies the guard" (missing quotation mark.)

59 "getting guard to check it first"

84 At anytime during

99 "has to dig around the Den to find another.You" or "you lose one tusk.You may play again" or "swears and reshuffles.You may" + "you win one tusk.You may play again,"

with the silver bow and arrow. I was UTTERLY convinced that assembling the full set was one of the main reasons the whole time travel was in place, and the moment you get all three is a triumph. I have no idea if all of this being a trap was an interesting subversion, or just awfully written waste of time. Same as the shop, the one which forces to do more counterintuitive BS just to interact with it in the first place, only for the entire thing to be proven useless again.

40 "healing potions ... has she cast some sort of spell"

51

"Now ... do you own"

90

"it's face a picture of fear" +

"Well ... you have discovered my final deepest secret, you cause me to ... admire you" + "it's face a picture of fear"

110
"You wonder what the next one is ... you walk"

155

"I didn't think you ... had it in you ... brave warrior ... you are ... the ... victor ..."

+ "Please ... no"

+ "sprout to giant-sized wings"

+ "is the demons reply"

160

"you bravely enter the cloud ... the" + "Leave north (portcullis)?"


188

"of the most battle-weary of warriors ... but you're used to it now ..." + "Don't listen ... to him." + "the ... Demon" + "and ... save our souls" + "you ... can do it"

237

"and enter the mirror ... and pass through it safely!"

238

"A pity ... I was so looking"

261

"It must be ... it is!"

295
"it begins its decent back down to earth" +

"a transformation takes place ..."

328

"Of course ... it has to be!"

334

"by another familiar scene ... you"

344

"You find three ... but all look impossible."

413

"of course ... this is"

447

"and wish to offer you help ... tell me,"

* I am saddened you are not allowed to even TRY the flute on snakes.

* Or that candle does not work at 453, for that matter.

* Interesting that you have to use blunt weapons to fight stone and crystal enemies, but a solid steel one can beaten with a sword. Granted, it’s not real in the first place, so I suppose removing the option to use a sword would make it too blatant that the scroll is necessary. (Or convince people even more that fighting it is needed?)

* No option to turn back at 149.

* 189 is weird, considering how you discover an unidentified spell in the first place.

* Weird that the werewolf is guaranteed to hit you and drain a belladona even before the fight begins in the online version, but not in the original one. The software obviously supported on-hit effects leading to other refs already (i.e. cockatrice, ghoul, spider-man) so why not here? Did ffproject decide the whole thing needs to become harder still?

* Or was that an adjustment for the reduced number of trap items in both shops, or for the trap spectre not hurting you when used randomly?

* Similarly, how come you do not have the option to try the sword in the devil-shaped handle?

* Phil Sadler has commented many times here that his written version is easier than this one, but other than the ability to Ctrl-F/flip through, I am not quite sure what he means? Discovering the right use of scrolls through adding/subtracting paragraph numbers is hardly easier than simply trusting the computer.

* It would be nice to have SOME explanation at 405 of why the golden wish ring is worth 2 Luck points? It doesn't need to explain its only real use, but some hint of what it CANNOT do (i.e. save you from acid) would be great.

* It's so, SO cheap that both times you get the option to spare someone, but the only winning move is to kill, they die anyway. With the Rhino-Man, there's the added incongruency where he describes the place as his TOMB - but then begs for mercy, and bleeds as heavily as if he was alive. The Chaos Warrior scene could have been a lot more than shock value if healing did save her, and would have allowed her to act as a companion in battle (perhaps after you break the chain with mallet and spike?) This is like the ONE moment where the key item getting dropped by Trinitour directly would have been preferable to the state of things (you respect her sanctity too much to find the scroll, and this outweighs the whole thing getting bloodsoaked on the intended path?)

* Whose female laugh are you meant to be hearing when you fail to obtain/identify the Hellfire counterspell and die? The Chaos Warrior's? The librarian's? The other Chaos Warrior's? (Is there meant to be any relation between the two? I once tried seeing if offering potions to the first on the 2nd loop would make the second act nicer to you once you get there, but nope.)

It would obviously still be a trap option if you had learnt the spell and bought the spike and the mallet the first time you go through, then went back and this time healed the Chaos Warrior and broke the chain, as you would have still walked past the right door for that. Perhaps you would get the option to go back to the door in that case, but then that monster who appears but is not fought when you learn the word "Honour" would be summoned for real once you have opened that door, in a battle which you might survive, but she probably won't? It would at least to make the player in the end stretch feel any strong emotions besides frustration.

3

"that the on the western wall"

6

"What will you do: Open the door?" (no paragraph break)

7 – spaces between options and question marks.

39 – spaces between options and question marks.

45

"You whip out the warhammer and start to whack lumps of the crystal giant-man. (off?)"

50

"Will you continueor"

55

"few scraps of plain ill-fitting chainmail armour (plainly?)"

59

"in other words; it's transformations"

76

"but no sooner do I enter this terrible place than I have my sword stolen"

"the way you're going" you tell him with a frown." (period.)

"as I speak." you tell him."

86

"but it holds fast. Thenit"

120

Attack him regardless – missing question mark

156

"clean of his hoofed feet"

157
and offer you no danger." his voice is cracked and weak. +

" I will fight back" The"

177

"(of enemies anyway, traps, are another matter):"

180

"atquite incredible speeds"

192

"a similarly restrained silent, warrior" (unneeded comma?)

194

"Try the tunnel ? (extra space.)"

199

"my last line in defence," (of?)

"the ABOMINATION" (missing period.)

"Its misshapen body (is?) covered in"

203

"a life-size painting of a beautiful, young, dark-skinned women" + "149-168AC"

214
"The women doesn't seem surprised" + "Deduct one LUCK point ." (extra space.) + "Use these spells on any enemies you suspect of being false by selecting it below" - singular/plurar confusion.

223
"amongst its body-parts."

226
"as best you can,"

227
"You may nevertheless try another question :"

228

"and its heading straight towards you."
+ "What will you do, fight this giant or run north as the Sentinel is quickly backing you into this tunnel." (Question mark?)

241

"And is reaching for you" (a pronoun might be missing here?)

244

"and shout 'Begone!'."

255

"seem unbearably loud"

273

"painted on the skull of some huge animal is , "To a" (space.)

288

"than a humans speech."


318

"all right, all right!" - capitalization.

"Your heart is full of goodness warrior...what little help I can.' (inconsistent quotation marks.)

"has come a little to late for me"

320

"most defiantly a monster;"

321

"and heaven knows - you'll need it!"

327

"which will you try ?" +spaces between the options and question marks.

330

"until you think you may finally of found something of interest"

337

"where will you search: the Rhino-Man?," + may be setting some sort of trap, (a?)

338

"it's only purpose in life"

354

"I can help you.".

363

"When ever you encounter a situation"

365

"whilst wiping tears from your face ,when, "

369

"you scream in the creatures face."

375

"A completely harmless (and?) rather cute animal" + "and covered in thick dark, brown fur." (may need another comma?)

379

"Give him the potions ?"

"he's a particularly thirsty fellow." the snake winks at you."

385

"If ever you think"

"The door isn't locked though, very strange ..."

399

"absorb the poor things good-fortune."

411

"when you here a strange, soft noise"

422

"your former opponent carefully.He begins" + "Just then, with out so much" + "Ignoreit?"

430

"(and hopefully not in to Hell.)"


448

"The women is chaotic;"

463 - hoping for the best. (question mark?)

477

" a fate worse then"

479

"and far from pleasant ..."

483
"you pass into a bone filled tunnel where you observe a rat casually munching (on?) a piece of cheese."

466

"Because you've forgot all"

483

"ignore the thing and carry on ..."

486 + 167 + 108 - spiders are not insects, come on!

522

"or attack the warrior ?" (space.)

552 – extra spaces

555 (and related) – "down this rapidly-turning north-west tunnel ?" (extra space).


591

"the strangest creature on Titan- a"


694

"This time, will you take :"

1) The character who IS present at 112, 5 or 77 spends most of his time in "polemics against Governor Brandon and the 'Secret Merchant Elite'".

2) At 77, he demands proof that "you're not one of them".

3) At 84, the scrolls explicitly mention "the Secret Merchant Elite", as well as encouraging the fight against Brandon.

4) Ergo, it seems obvious that your character would try and present those scrolls as a proof. Even if their presence would somehow backfire, it makes no sense to hold onto them and not show them in this situation.

At 124, you lose 2 Stamina if you have no weapon, 1 Stamina if you have a dagger...yet, if you have an Axe, you still lose 2 Stamina instead of 1 or even none?

Further, at 2: "Your fresh water has run out and you endure more of the Sun. Hunger also sets in - lose 1 STAMINA point." - wouldn't a waterskin have at least SOME impact on this?

1

"your so called mateys"

15

"half devoured"

47

"well worn"

58

"self inflicted"

68

"so called followers of Caldoss."

and

118

"ex shipmates" (option.)

The Defender, Necromancer and Count endings of Outsider!, "go adventuring with a skeleton" ending of A Princess of Zamarra (perhaps some other intermediate endings too), the adventuring and rule alone endings of Melchion's Week, one or two endings of A Day in the Life, and perhaps even the Kneecapper ending of Lair of the Troglodytes.

Not easy. Needed to go through the downloadable version to figure out that I had to retreat immediately and kill the beast. The most annoying part was counseling the couple.