Guestbook

1, 5, 11, 20, 27, 45, 63, 76, 81, 83, 93, 112, 115 - extra spaces before question marks.

26, 100 – no question marks at all

2 - a tree growing out of the ground!" you say.

46
which you failed to see previous + "Let me do the talking!" your lawyer-bot hisses at you,

57
An arachnaphobic!

62
But all means + lack of

63 - Such people have been sent of for fluid extraction

65
a satisfied 'Ahhh!' Soon you are feeling great! + by a regal looking spider queen.

71
she is saying : 'It's your life.'

72
you eat it , stealing glances

76
the official sudden calls out your number

80

as you pull it tight as you can.

88
a levitation red orb than ducks and weaves randomly. + You flop over the spiders head + right down in from

100
then take and experimental sip

102
looking gup and down

112
"You?" the Arachnonan looks at you sceptically. + wrapped in the cacoons of death that they perished in.

118
reaches your ears "Make way for your masters, or be crushed!"

134
Nice Suit is priced in just Roubles, not Galactic Roubles (The implications inherent in the word Galactic Rouble make me experience so many feelings.)

Why can't we try attaching power packs to the Screwdriver BEFORE we step away from the locker? (Just like here, YOU CAN'T ACTIVATE THE WHIP YOURSELF - only the spider handmaiden can.) Or indeed, why can't we place our things INTO the locker to free up pocket space? Of course, the whole series is absurdist BS aiming for Hitchhiker yet landing somewhere closer to Rick and Morty, so unlike the other stories, there's not much point in asking these questions.

Literally the only thing which even remotely counts as a hint that the "right" sandwich at the end is salad is getting that one VERY UNLUCKY roll on the false path, I suppose. Otherwise, it is in fact basically Rick & Morty prank: "Starving guy who wants solid food really likes salad the most! Didn't expect that, did you! Gottem!" I also semi-hoped you would have the option to give him those 5 credit crisps but haha, no.

And once you already know that you need a minimum of 100 credits to get any chance of winning, it's asking for a lot to guess that spending 10 to be able to beat the arachnid without a blaster (once you even figure out that's how it works, that is) will end up giving you 50. For a while, I was convinced the whole thing with the music was a trap option as much as being able to use the blaster at any point was.

The spirit guide reroll also seems to be next to useless. It doesn't work when you REALLY need it, which is either if you lose the final fight, or turn out not to know the answer to the last question. When it does get triggered, it seems that you'll most often end up thrown to the lift, with the whip but WITHOUT the ability to visit the barbican (presumably, to stop you from constantly inputting the code?), which ALSO means you cannot get to the vending machine, and so you are not only thrown into another reroll, but get your stats drained as well.

That is, the ability to accurately judge what a person would see and know at any given point, and make your own decisions based on that. I think this goes to the root of where I find issue with the scene.

1) As a reader, the main thing I know at the outset is that the player character obviously has to get to where he shouldn't for one reason or another - else there's not much of a story, but those reasons can still be good or bad, and it's up to the writing of the scene to make the difference. Here, your character effectively insults well-intentioned villagers there and in ref 1, which instantly creates a negative impression. In horror movies, characters who behave like that usually get themselves killed soon after.

If I am to believe that him driving to that ruin after everyone tells him not to go is worthwhile then yes, giving us a single reason to care about Scott and Jimmy from the outset, to know why it's worth risking life over them, is not a bad idea. As a writer, you might care about them as your creations by default, but I, a reader, do not.

2) Here is the really big inconsistency between player character's knowledge and behaviour.

"Indeed, why should they care about the preservation of Drumer's valuables when obviously they care more for the life and soul of a human being who so far has done them no harm? "

This is the thing. He has NO way to know what any of the patrons "obviously" care about until AFTER he had already revealed where he's going to them. As an out-of-towner, for all that he knows, people in the tavern could well be fans of the "late" Earl and NOT take kindly to him messing about there. (In fact, with how large the cult apparently is, it seems all-but-inevitable that cult members would have visited the place before, probably repeatedly (its name making itself appear Satanism-friendly would have only helped to make that a near-certainty), and the odds that at least one patron present at that time would have been a cultist actually don't seem all that low? Sure, Sid would not have taken kindly once he understood, but the corollary is that the cult could have then identified him as a target a lot earlier?)

Really, looting of recently abandoned estates tends to be frowned upon A LOT - you probably know that plenty of people think using lethal force on anyone looting someone else's property in the wake of a natural disaster is outright commendable. Plus, locals could also suspect them of other undesirable things, like drug smuggling. So, it really doesn't matter if he has no idea about the cult - it only takes ONE patron to call the police and say, "Hey, there are some suspicious blokes from out of town meeting up at the burned-down ruins, mind checking in on that place?" to TOTALLY ruin whatever all three were going for and potentially land all of them in jail as soon as the guns and the lockpicks are found. It may not be a VERY likely risk, but it is still an ENORMOUS downside with basically no upside.

1, 4, 7, 14, 17, 20, 23, 24, 25, 31, 37, 41, 43, 51, 52, 55, 78 – extra spaces before question marks.

14, 16, 19, 20, 38, 39, 43, 45, 47, 58 – lack of punctuation after direct speech.

17 + every ref from 80 to 86 - "Will you also take :"

14
" to that?"

23
one calls out "Halt!" as they rush to apprehend you.

39
a quaint old sailing ships tiller wheel

58
They are dressed as ships stewards,

1. The backgrounds to both Scott and Jimmy are not so plot important. TCOD is not about their entire life stories. 2. We do learn - confirmed later on during the dialogue with High Priest Isaacson - that they are petty criminals who were poking around in the ruins of a once old, possibly wealthy estate. Word of the great fire got around and somehow reached their ears. Again, it should be enough that they just happened to be in the area at the right time, or heard about it on or in the local news. Both saw the opportunity to hunt for antiques, had already made a start but shifting the heavy door required extra tools and expertise. Both men knew the player was the man for the job. However, by the time he does arrive, both Scott and Jimmy have incurred the wrath of the Brotherhood and been captured. 3. The player character has arranged to meet the friends at the ruins. Why is that idiotic? For the time being, he is unaware of the demonic dangers - as were his friends before being captured. Perhaps they didn't know the full truth of their plight? That they were simply at the mercy of a mad cult with no real power? Who can say? Even the author themself doesn't ponder over every little detail. However, one clue is: how does Jimmy react to the animated zombies and skeletons? Has he (and Scott) seen similar things already? 4. Although the Hero - himself a criminal - 'blurts' out the planned meeting location, then why should it matter? How would the locals know he is of criminal background? Strange as it sounds, he could simply be a tourist keen on exploring the ruins, a contractor hired to assess the damaged site for clearance, or even a photographer going after that special atmospheric location. And even if they suspect he's up to no good, then how are they going to respond to a possible threat to the Drumer estate? Indeed, why should they care about the preservation of Drumer's valuables when obviously they care more for the life and soul of a human being who so far has done them no harm? Saying it out loud shocks them, yet the player character is straight up being honest; attempting to hide the truth or simply shrug and stay silent can backfire with an adverse effect. Furthermore, he is a stranger to those parts, and needs directions. It is also equally possible that they suspect he is a friend of Drumer's, come to visit, but again: saying it out loud at least calms their suspicions. Even if the player was followed by some of the curious locals, what are they going to find? The player cursing and shouting as he makes his way down into the old cellar; hardly very inconspicuous. The meeting wasn't secret because, if anybody had followed them, they would have been chatting in a wide open space, or even the confines of the landrover. If the conversation was overheard, then it would be about looting the ruined house of Drumer, and nothing whatsoever regarding demonic worship or raising Drumer himself. Again, Terry might have followed the player from the Goat and Knife there and then - but then that wouldn't have made exciting material. Besides which, Terry (having already warned the player character who was too stubborn to listen) meanwhile went to Richard for his help in rescuing the Hero and Jimmy, by which time during the graveyard scene.

You could use the Star as a ranged weapon, and so you were intended to blast D'Onofrio with it while he was fleeing. While the real solution is undoubtedly more interesting, I still consider my initial interpretation to have been completely justified based on the text.

1
A sight now seen through more cautious eyes than this morning Terry's words continue to tumble around in your troubled mind. (comma?)

16
raises his havoc staff on high (what is that supposed to mean?! Is that meant to be more understandable if you read the canon book?)

38
stabs at you with his own torch. (?)

39
from a hollowed out section.

69
as sharp pointed teeth

95
Do not take to that sacrificial altar! + "Oh, thank God!" cries her friend. + Yet the arms do not release, only tighten. (their arms?) + could we have run to?" the first woman frowns + "Stay with us!" they both intone.

(I'll also say that this ref is remarkably sparse on detail, telling us little about the room and nothing about their appearance, age, clothing, etc.)

97
The once beautiful carpets

98
a pump action shotgun + sixteen twelve gauge shells

104
"Bonnie thing to have, Rich" (punctuation around it.)

108
a large leather bound notebook

120
and it'll too late

125
"Where is that wretched thing?" growls the torturer.

133
Those devil worshipping fanatics + he continues "you could say

135
"What have you lot been up to?" asks an aghast Sid.

140
"You poor fool!" he sneers at your drawn blade.

156
lying spreadeagled

159
"No!" it snarls.

179
It must be work related

182
"Show some respect!" growls an annoyed Richard.

196
"Home sweet home!" announces Richard . "Such as it is."

210
"The prisoner!" she gasps.

218
-the four 'chosen ones'

219
At first, you hope its Maddesby + "and drop your weapons. " + well placed to remove it

220
Spreadeagled upon

232
filled with the mouldering bones (?) + The ice cold touch

250
skull-face!" he laughs

256
Now that's quite something! you whistle.

265
, stood in the middle of the room next (to?) a brazier

289
"Have we done well, master?" fawns one.

290
on an alter (?) (and the other instances of the word as well.)

313
in locating hand-and foot-holds.

319
A rope nearby is pulled and the whole slab creaks aside. (pulled by whom?)

330
Despite your being more acclimatized + of an eight foot humanoid! (?)

333
signifies the acolytes entry

"Quick!" you lift

338
You lie in wait, listening the acolytes' idle chatter, (to?) + press the now empty gun + "What the-?" + Nicely done! you grin.

348
"Aye!" seconds Jimmy. + I'm sworn to uphold the law -as such, + dangerous men running amuck (?)

350
Mesmerized by these fantastic monsters, they clasp together (you watch as?) + quickly increasing intensity... (in?)

352
And that's all they are, guv!" snarls a younger man + I'll swear to the Lord above, on the bible (inconsistent capitalization?)

365
"Good show, old boy!" jubilates Richard.

368
cabalistic symbols + whatever that might be -as Scott and Jimmy.

378
"The castle is invaded!" it booms.

400
This is where it all started -but

405
"GET HIM!" he shouts whilst fleeing.

444
behind ghost stories and wives tales

496
Add 2 to your FEAR score rest and zeal of hope now flowing through your veins, (?)

Interactions with the police are nonsensical. Priest's notes are triumphantly presented as "hard evidence", yet in no court of law would those scribbles count as anything of a sort. All they seem to contain is a secondhand claim to "hearing moans and screams" from Drumer's mansion on moonlit nights, and an admission to robbing from a museum. It's mystifying why the cultist detective is so stumped by them and settles for calling them a forgery, rather than dismissing it all as vague nonsense from a delusional, thieving clergyman?

For that matter, why wouldn't the detective press a point that if your story is true, you have just admitted that you only drove into town to attend a meeting for unlawful purposes, and to carrying lockpicks and what are likely unregistered firearms, and you should all be arrested just for that?

Or, if he wanted to go further, you have personally admitted to shooting several people, one of your friends admitted to fatally riding over two more, and you had beaten/stabbed another man to death mere hours ago on your way to the scene? Satanism was not illegal even in the 1980s (even protected under freedom of religion, for that matter); murder was and is, and there's zero proof any of it was in self-defence, adhered to reasonable force standards, etc. If the Detective arrests all of them for that (and accuses the Inspector of sympathizing with vigilantism if he tries to intervene), then sure, the investigation would also discover the torture chamber and all the remains in the ruins sooner or later, but if the ritual is literally imminent, then so what? The cult would have already won by then, and any time the police spend in the ruins pulls them away from looking in the direction of the castle.

And if you attempt to infiltrate the building, your supposedly experienced crim apparently doesn't even bother to wear a mask beforehand, as seen at 332. Likewise, you knock out two forensics, then automatically accept a ride from the police (!), and they somehow do not find their colleagues, decide that those weird men are prime suspects and contact the team in the very car you are in?

There should have probably been no reason for the police to be there at all. We are told that even a small silver crucifix is "repellent to their kind". Maddesby had MONTHS to search for Hreinleika: couldn't he have bothered to deck out his dwelling with way more crucifixes in all that time and protect the place? Likewise, there should have been enough time to fit Ettingley Hall with crucifixes and holy water all over the place, so it sounds like that poltergeist is their own fault.

Then again, the same people couldn't figure out not to meet their informer in a dark, large, abandoned building, rather than on the outside in the sunlight, and they failed to see a hundred people coming and going from a castle for who knows who long, so that's in character.

where you quickly leap at a cultist guard from the shadows, beat down and break his neck, then drag the body away and exchange clothing before his companion returns, mimic dead guy's voice and convince the companion to give you his gun while you clandestinely remove ammunition from it, then knock the companion out.

3, 4, 5, 13, 23, 26, 30, 34, 42, 55, 56, 60, 70, 77, 69, 85, 86, 88, 95, 118, 121, 123, 140, 141, 145, 147, 148, 150, 153, 155, 158, 160, 163, 167, 168, 171, 172,191, 194, 199, 200, 217, 220, 224, 232, 242, 255, 257, 260, 262, 295, 296, 305, 306, 317, 320, 324, 325, 326, 335, 337, 338, 351, 354, 357, 359, 370, 375, 376, 378, 384, 389, 392, 396, 401, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 417, 420 – extra spaces before question marks.

60, 224, 378 – the door’s label is written in all capitals in the ref, yet in lowercase in the option? (Or in 232, or 375?)

254 – lack of question marks after some options?

19
The room is well lit

22
the notes are completely off key + coal black with aqua blue eyes

25
"Maledetto" the corpse snarls.

29
diamond shaped crystal + Loss all fear points that you have accumulated so far,

46
Much less" (he pauses) "painful".

62
But when you try to get up, (you?) find that you are somehow stuck to the chair.

69
a rose colored scarf

95
Will you agree to this bargainor

155
an adult sized, gold-backed mirror

171
behind the right hand door.

180
with pale white skin

182
whether to turn and runor

185
Looking to our left, you can make out another door. (?)

238
comfortable looking

245
from a hard fought battle,

257
a youngish looking man

260
Coal black hair + Her aqua blue eyes + so you blurt out "What's your name?"

304
and well preserved.

310
straight, light colored hair

315
is well lit

333
a star shaped crystal + hideous and evil looking beings

369
surprisingly well informed

396
a P.S. that states "I also

398
valuable looking pearl.

We are not allowed to shatter the vase at 3?

We can immediately attack Pravemi’s daughter, but not the creator of zombies? Particularly not at 304? And we cannot try attacking the servant either?

I wish 260 was clearer about what "challenge" meant. You could interpret that as an argument, or as a challenge to a fight.

199 does not say anything about a closet? It does mention the curtains, perhaps suggesting you could attempt hiding behind them?

At 338, it doesn’t seem to prompt for any item when clicking on "another item"? And it can also prompt you to offer a weapon even after you had one broken already.

236 somehow blocks you from going to 324, even if you killed the guy and weren't warned about that passage?

You do not get any FEAR points from 160? Failing to FEAR doesn't seem very likely here (another reason why I don't understand the decision to make Devil's Flight meter so strict) so the character would almost certainly absorb a point or two.

303 is such a delightful ending, that I think it even deserves a "not so bad" ending marker if one becomes available? 239 might as well.

Notably, why should I have any attachment to a character who cannot be bothered to look after themselves, as seen in ref 68: "You are too lost in your introspective thoughts to take any precautions of stealth, so you present a perfect target for any gunmen who may be lying in wait, but no shot comes". HOW did THIS guy (according to ref 83 and others) even survive the war in the first place? Was THAT the best Julian Striker could find?

Also, we didn’t retch after killing the first two cultists, but the rifleman was a step too far? For that matter, we get no such reaction if we are drugged on the train (I expected that to happen, though I thought that the entire champagne bottle being SEALED might have presented an obstacle to that?) and then kill a cultist before going anywhere else? That entire scene feels so pointless - almost as bad as the one in Devil's Flight. Here you at least get your gun taken away as you are captured, but the Cultist is still polite enough not to tie you up or to take your gun for himself, for absolutely no conceivable reason.

15, 19, 37, 38, 39, 48, 55, 67, 84, 96, 99, 101, 106, 118, 118, 119, 124, 128, 132, 226, 236, 251 – extra space before the question marks.

7
You notice that his voice, while soft carries with it a hint of menace. (comma?) + also near to the fireplace. + he says once more "Thank you again

11
their bodies are later found near to the docks, + contacted the police with regard to the matter,

38
you sit up in your seat sending something tumbling from your lap and onto the floor.

48
to catch what she is sating. (stating?)

52
for a further night.He seems rather anxious

56
may keep as evidence.Angry at

57
its forbidding cast iron gates (hyphen?) + But what's worse was there was intelligence behind its eyes

58
"Didja get 'em?" he croaks?

69
a strange, human fish hybrid,

75
Even for this time of the year, such complete (what?) is unusual and unsettling.

83
Antony "Fat Tony" Fletcher is renown as one (renowned?)

86
"So, why are you here?" he asks

87
making it seem almost blood red

92
would be nigh impossible (hyphen?)

96
The wounds horrific wounds


106 (I think.)
Were you searching for information on strange local cults ?

Or were you interested in whether there is perhaps an occult connection?

(these options sound very similar? Is there any way to rephrase that?)

And at 5, Spanish Influenza is described as "near-fatal". That seems REALLY wrong, considering that it was most definitely fatal for MILLIONS of people. Again, any way to rephrase that?

What was the point of going to the library to read about the Cult of Gilgamesh and all that if we STILL do not recognize the tattoo at 67, in spite of ref 114 specifically mentioning it?

It’s weird that a lot of the refs seem to go completely linearly i.e. 37, 38, 39, or 66, 67 and 68, or 91 and 92 or 118 and 119? Isn't that really frowned upon, because on a physical page, you get to see the outcomes of your choices before you take them?

Background says that it is set in the 1920s, yet according to ref 44, it is actually no later than 1918-1919?

It's INCREDIBLY strange that you get a choice of backgrounds, two of which would be highly unlikely to be done by women in 1918s/1920s (even a female doctor would be rare, considering that the British Medical Association didn't accept them until 1892), THEN you get to choose your gender in a SKIPPABLE encounter, and then the subsequent refs assume you are a man anyway. I.e. you can answer that you are a woman, and then STILL get ref 83 with "she has recognised certain speech patterns and words that mark you out as such a businessman." There are also all the references which effectively say you have personally taken part in The Great War: plausible for a female doctor, not so much for the rest.

At 39, it says "but you recognise her by her unique diamond brooch, which she was wearing earlier." – even if you fell asleep and only saw her note?

Travelling circus option in the library only seems to make sense if you got to ref 36.

Options at the docks do not change from day to day, at all. In particular, you don’t find anything on the beach in ref 75, even after you just killed some people there the previous day. Likewise, at 76, you dismiss the mariner even AFTER reading about the "mythical marine creatures" in the library AND after fighting those two/three cultists, who have brooches with the creature.(Perhaps after fighting the actual Deep One as well, but I haven’t tried, considering how unlikely you are to survive that.)

Also at 76, that mention of members of the Resistance sounds REALLY strange in a story set in 1919. I suppose there had to have been some French doing sabotage and the like in the occupied territories during WWI, sure, but why the hell would they need to flee all the way to England, and not to the unoccupied parts of France?

The writing for beach encounter just feels so wrong. You get attacked, and then have no choice but to stay in one place for the whole hour, and the cultist with a rifle just does NOTHING – neither investigating where the first two and trying to shoot you while you are so exposed, nor going back to get more support? For that matter, dead cultists would seem to be some ironclad evidence to present to the police, yet you cannot do anything as logical as that?

Lastly, is there any reason why we can't head directly to that warehouse during the day? Or any conceivable explanation for how the player character managed to kill a cultist on the beach without ruining WHITE robes with blood, sand, etc.? Not that it matters a whole lot, to be fair, since they only seem to let you bypass one fight, and then everybody knows who you are anyway.

No points into Targeting whatsoever, but get Perception to 10 and the other two to 9.

7
a harsh, bright white glare (comma?) + A middle aged woman + strong looking man

9
completely off guard.

13
half heartedly

14
something odd- the monitor

21
very well fitting

24
the higher pitched voice

26
It's well stocked

27
animal like

43
extending several inches forward, all the (way?) through your boot + a fast acting tranquilizer

56
of well trained lasers

58
They're 'scientists, all right.

62
comfortable looking beds

77
to actually shoot heror fight hand-to-hand.

78
extra uniform (apparently belonging to someone in the science department (no closing parenthesis.)

80
a very fast acting

90
a middle aged, bearded man

103
as fast as safety will allow before jumping leaping clear the last few feet.

106
The robot breaks shatters into several pieces

109
That's the only for me + That's the only (way?) for me

131
middle aged man

138
Adminster a dose of Neuroxin?

146
to half walk, half slide + a powerful looking

150
in a bone crushing grasp

152
to you?" you inquire

156
approach the still unmoving gate attendant. (hyphen?)

170
the worst case scenario' Well

185
Shaking your head rubbing your arms + that it knocks you backward and while slightly burning your arms and torso

186
before pointing to the woman "Ensign Parker" and the other man (comma?) + still operational?" asks Neilund.

188
You struggle to look up at you captor

193
A middle aged

198
middle aged

212
slender but steady looking

230
silvery gray + almond shaped eyes + pitch black pupils

241
"Who are you?" you demand.

250
and hits ground. (the?)

251
two massive, cylinder shaped metal casings.

262
one of them clubs you on the back of the head and (you?) drop to the ground, senseless.

274
Strange paragraph break.

292
go along with this gameor

Lastly, "an acidic poison." (forgot the ref) doesn’t make sense.

And at 298, the gas is "yellowish", even though it was green in all the other refs?