[AD&D Gamebook] The Sorcerer's Crown (Kingdom of Sorcery, book 2 of 3)

[Joshua Randall]

While we are dead have temporarily ceased to exist here we may as well check the path at (144) wherein we openly confront the gnolls on the pier rather than attempt to slip past them.

---

144

"There are only three or four guards. We could take them with or without magic!" Dalris urges. Her eyes glow red, her fingers turn white as she clenches them on the hilt of her sword, and she bites her own lip so hard that blood flows down her chin, much like the hot blood she is soon to spill, in glorious battle, when she revels in bathing in the liquid lifeforce of her foes.

[OK, you got me. I added the part after the word "urges."]

We ask Rufyl how many gnolls he senses, and our always helpful magical assistant informs us telepathically that there are six guards: Four on the wharf and two more asleep in the shed at the end of the pier.

[Keep this in mind for later: Rufyl can sense the thoughts (or at least existence) of creatures that are ASLEEP and presumably not “thinking loud”.]

Dalris suggests we get under the pier where we can attack with the element of surprise, which as we all know, is half the battle. "Without a moon, I doubt if they'll see us in the water. They're trying to keep people on the island, not off it, so they won't expect an attack from the water."

We silently paddle [see, it can be done!] beneath the pier. Looking up, we can see a gnoll's dirty feet through the cracks in the boards.

But then we turn to (130), where one of our oars slaps the water; "Hawdip! Come quick!" gets shouted; and we die like chumps in the bright blue light of the Detect Magic Radar Emplacement.

[I’m not counting this death because we would never take this path under normal circumstances.]

 

[Joshua Randall]

What happens if we manage to make it to section (130) without the Sceptre of Bhukod? As long as we are not so foolish as to try to cast a spell (and come on, who would ever want to cast a spell when playing as a magic-user in the Kingdom of Sorcery trilogy?), we get to turn to (115) to talk our way out of the situation.

---

115

We shout to the gnolls that they should stay their weapons, which have now expanded to include pikes in addition to spears. Two of them also have pole lanterns that they thrust over our heads, causing us "to squint in the harsh light."

[Note to self: research which “herbs” cause light sensitivity when consumed.]

We announce that we're not leaving, we're arriving. See? We just came from that totally innocent merchant vessel in the harbor there.

"Why you come island?" a gnoll demands to know. "In the lantern light, his yellow-brown muzzle hairs are tipped with grey." [What a neat little tidbit!]

We reply that we've come from the Kandian coast with important info for Master Arno. "Take us to him at once!"

Charisma test.
(177) if 19 or more;
(194) if less.

---

194

On a failure, the grizzled gnoll veteran asks to search us. Rufyl warns us that he doesn't believe our lie about Arno and that he's been warned to expect a sorcerer who will come to kill Arno. We reply that if it's a sorcerer this mangy gnoll wants, it's a sorcerer he will get. But as soon as we try to cast as spell we turn to (163) where we die.

[I'm not adding this to our death count, because we would not ever have arrived here under any circumstances when we ARE carrying the Sceptre of Bhukod.]

---

177

On a success, the gnoll replies, "Magus Arno not on Seagate Island. Him go mainland for speak with big priest."

We ask where we can get some food and rest because we've had a tiring journey.

"We soldiers, not innkeepers, human! Find own place!"

The senior gnoll growls something to his men, who walk away down the pier, leaving us free to disembark.

Dalris whispers "It worked!" in a tone of disbelief.

"But we already knew that Arno was in Saven," Rufyl interjects. "Why did you ask for him, Master?"

We stare at Rufyl and "wonder how he can be so dense." We reply that although we already knew that Arno is in Saven, the gnoll didn't know that we knew it. "Dalris, will you try to explain our bluff to Rufyl?"

We paddle to shore in…
(206) Delmer or
(92) Freeton

 

[Joshua Randall]

Commentary:

"We soldiers, not innkeepers, human! Find own place!"

Hahahahaha! I like this gnoll officer.

Dalris whispers "It worked!" in a tone of disbelief.

No one is more surprised than I am, Dalris.

We stare at Rufyl and "wonder how he can be so dense."

Ah good. We haven't had an example of OUR Carr Delling's casual jerkishness in at least a couple of sections.

"Dalris, will you try to explain our bluff to Rufyl?"

Can she also explain it to me? Because I have no idea what was accomplished here.

We paddle to shore in…
(206) Delmer or
(92) Freeton

The first option is where we ended up before, when Wendel informs us that despite our awesome magical might, we must give up our quest because Arno has six, count them SIX, gnolls blocking our egress from Seagate Island.

The second option is the approach to the College Arcane, home of honest, even-handed academics who support and respect -- oh, man, I cannot even TYPE that with a straight face.

We've been to both (206) and (92) already, and both end in failure or death.

The only Seagate Island path we haven't tried is at (80) where we land on the island's uninhabited southern coast and trek inland to Thayne's village. For reasons I don't want to reveal yet, I'm disallowing that path.

Thus we must rewind all the way back to our Wealwood gear-up decision point and make the other choice, which is to go somewhere on Tikandia rather than somewhere on Seagate Island.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Huh? This is really strange... We can have a path where we (1) approach Delmer quietly (2) confront the gnoll (3) bluff them to make them think we're carrying important news to Arno, only to be informed that he's on the Kandian continent (4) ask for a place to spend the night (4) be rebuffed and told to find our own place (5) get to the local cleric and never get to leave?

WHY? The 6 gnolls are thinking we're Arno's servants who crashed someplace for the night, and expect us to leave by the morning to get to Arno (possibly to meet him in Freeton), why can't we leave the cleric's free hut? If anything, the gnoll should bash into Wendel's place saying "why are you still there, after severa days, when you had an urgent message to deliver to Master Arno?"

Also, if they are trying to block egress for some reason, this means the fishermen must do something else to avoid starving. So they must leave the village each morning to get to their fields, or tend their sheeps... Are they all starving until the situation is resolved?

 

[Joshua Randall]

You should know better than to attempt to apply logic to these gamebooks. How anyone gets food onto Seagate Island, or Tikandia, is anyone’s guess. It is also not entirely clear (nor do I remember if we ever find out) WHY Arno wants to blockade the island.

 

[gban007]

You should know better than to attempt to apply logic to these gamebooks. How anyone gets food onto Seagate Island, or Tikandia, is anyone’s guess. It is also not entirely clear (nor do I remember if we ever find out) WHY Arno wants to blockade the island.

To stop the students fleeing the academy? Given the detect magic thing going on?

 

[Joshua Randall]

To stop the students fleeing the academy? Given the detect magic thing going on?

Like everything else in this series, what initially seems sensible rapidly spirals into madness.

• We find out from one of the “killed by gnolls” sections that Arno specifically warned them to watch out for a sorcerer coming to kill him. That is, arriving from Tikandia onto Seagate Island.
• Arno has placed Detect Magic Radar Emplacements at all of Seagate Island’s ports.
• Seagate Island is blockaded and no-one is allowed to leave. Because not being allowed to leave will… prevent someone from ARRIVING on Seagate Island to kill Arno?
• The College Arcane is full of spellcasters. Maybe they are the ones not allowed to leave? But wait, if they’re already here, and Arno is already here, why would they need to leave to hurt Arno?
• But we find out from Carr’s bluff that Arno is NOT on Seagate Island; he’s in Saven.
• So… why does Arno care if anyone arrives on Seagate Island? Wouldn’t it make more sense to Detect Magic the port at Saven?

Round and round we go. Nothing location-based in this book, in particular, EVER makes any sense.

 

[Joshua Randall]

The journey from Wealwood to anywhere on Seagate Island always ends in failure. Thus we must rewind all the way back to our Wealwood gear-up decision point and make the other choice, which is to go somewhere on Tikandia rather than somewhere on Seagate Island.

---

121, redux harder

We toss everything on top of the cloak, along with a small dagger for good measure, and then fall asleep still trying to decide whether to begin our mission in

(95) Saven or
(137) Seagate Island.

---

After several rants, a long grammar discussion, tables painstakingly created, and three unavoidable deaths-slash-failures… I decide that OUR Carr Delling should go to Saven. Let's see what is happening with the paladins and Archcleric Oram, because that seems like a more immediate threat than whatever already happened in the past at the College Arcane.

---

95

We meet Dalris and Rufyl outside Perth's hive-shaped lodge at daybreak the next morning.

[That's the spirit, Carr! Get an early start on your adventure.]

Dalris notes that her father is still chanting over Thayne, which is a good sign because Perth would've given up if there was no hope of "resurrecting" him. She then asks what we've decided about where to start.

We say, "If Arno's in Saven as Thayne said, that's where we should face him. Whatever evil power he's using to manipulate the archcleric's paladins may not be as strong there as on Seagate Island, where he acquired it."

Dalris asks what we think it is, her eyes "burning with excitement", because she's always curious about magic, which she can already use, and has studied, being a bard and all.

We respond that we're not sure. We need to see the effects of Arno's magic on the paladins before we can "guess" its source. "Perhaps" we can mingle with the Knights of Dyan to get a first-hand look.

Rufyl telepathically asks why we're leaving the grove. His questioning thought "probes [our] brain more sharply than usual, indicating that [our] familiar is agitated. The pseudodragon's scales are redder than usual, adding to his appearance as a miniature red dragon, though you know it's only a passing emotional reaction." (Both very cool details.)

We ask Dalris what's wrong with Rufyl who should be overjoyed at the "change of scenery."

Rufyl telepathically replies that he doesn't consider human cities to be "scenery" and that his "race" prefers "less congested environs". He telepathically sounds "petulant" and "insulted by [our] plans to take him to Saven."

We ignore Rufyl and turn to ask Dalris, "the native", the best route to Saven.

She sketches a rough map in the dirt.

Dalris explains that there is a main road heading into Saven, which will be faster, but "might" be guarded by paladins. "And if they're somehow under Arno's control, we could run into trouble."

Dalris has also sketched the "network of trails" [plural] along the coast. We point to the dirt-map and ask if "the" coastal trail [singular] enters Yellow Marsh, "several miles" from Wealwood. Our interior monologue informs us that "Yellow Marsh is a barren wasteland extending along the coast and reputed to be a haven for giant monsters from Tikandia's primordial past."

Dalris answers in the affirmative but says that we "could" detour around Yellow Marsh "and be on the main road for less than an hour at most."

Rufyl's suddenly panicky thoughts invade our mind to state that anything is better than Yellow Marsh. He went there once with Landor and doesn't want to go again.

We tell Rufyl that if we do take the coastal trail [singular], we will "try" to detour around the marsh.

Dalris then says there is another way: she could have some of her kinsmen on the coast take us into Saven via fishing boats.

"[We] know that if Arno is really in control of Saven, getting into the city may be just as difficult as dealing with Arno himself."

(113) to enter Saven by the harbor;
(14) to travel along the coastal roads through the forests; or
(42) to use the quickest route, the main road.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Commentary:

So. Much. Wishy-washy. Language.

• "If" Arno is in Saven, we can face him there.
• Arno's power "may" not be as strong in Saven as it is on Seagate Island.
• After we see the paladins then we can "guess" the source of magic Arno used on them.
• "Perhaps" we can mingle with the Knights of Dyan.
• The main road "might" be guarded by paladins.
• "If" those paladins are under Arno's control, then we "could" run into trouble.
• The Yellow Marsh "is reputed to be" full of dangerous monsters.
• We "could" detour around the marsh.
• After Rufyl panics, we tell him that we will "try" to detour around the marsh ("if" we go that way!).
• We contemplate "if" Arno is "really" in control of Saven.
• Getting into the city "may" be difficult.

Bleh! This writing saps any tension and urgency out of the story. As a reader-slash-player, I can't get excited about any of these possibilities, because the characters in the story can't definitively state what is happening. I understand that some of this is meant to reflect those characters' uncertainty about the facts on the ground, but the gamebook author has taken that uncertainty way too far.

---

Dalris notes that her father is still chanting over Thayne, which is a good sign because Perth would've given up if there was no hope of "resurrecting" him.

Dalris's use of the term "resurrecting" made me second guess my remembrance of the AD&D druid spell list. But my memory was fine in this case. The only spell on the druid list that can bring a dead person back to life is Reincarnate, a 7th level spell.

Resurrection is the cleric equivalent at 7th level. (Clerics also had Raise Dead at 5th level.)

So for Dalris to use the term "resurrecting" in reference to Perth's druid magic is sloppy terminology.

Unless Perth turns out to be a dual-classed Druid-Cleric because why not.

---

Rufyl telepathically asks why we're leaving the grove.

Well, Rufyl, if you had attended last night's meeting that you instead blew off to frolic in the woods, you'd know why we are leaving the grove.

---

We ask Dalris what's wrong with Rufyl….

Rufyl is standing right there and he can communicate telepathically. We can ask Rufyl directly.

Maybe this is supposed to be one of those quote-unquote funny scenes in a movie where the group discusses plans, someone objects to the plan for a petty reason, and the viewpoint character hooks a thumb at his sidekick and asks, "What's wrong with that guy?"

rimshot, laugh track

[Rufyl] telepathically sounds "petulant"....

Rufyl being petulant is absolutely an "I learned it by watching you, dad!" moment.

---

Dalris sketches a rough map in the dirt.

… because apparently it would be too much to ask for parchment and a quill from the magic-user.

Also, welcome to one of the main sources for my childhood map. Except as I read this today, I cannot make head nor tails of the geography of Tikandia.

We're in Wealwood. There's a main road that leads to Saven. There's also a network of trails [plural] or maybe only "the" trail [singular] along the coast to Saven. The trail(s) go through a forest and also near a swamp. Given the main road is faster, this implies the coastal trail(s) must go through rough terrain and/or be the long arc of a circle, as opposed to the main road which cuts across the diameter. That sort of makes sense, except for the part where there are both multiple coastal trails and only one coastal trail. But such quantum nonsense is par for the course in this gamebook series, so we'll let it slide.

If we take the coastal trail(s), we'll pass near Yellow Marsh, which is only a few miles from Wealwood, which is a forest.

To be a marsh you need a water source, except that Yellow Marsh is a "barren wasteland" instead. Sure. Why not.

Thus there is some kind of geographical relationship among forest, barren swampy wasteland marsh, coastline, coastal trail(s), and main road. Draw whatever map you want!

Speaking of the coastal trail(s): if we take the coastal trail(s), we will "enter" the Yellow Marsh only "a few miles" from Wealwood. Unless we detour off the coastal trail(s) back to the main road, which is the faster different route to Saven. Which implies the main road and the coastal trail(s) don't follow the same route, except they must be close enough together that we can leave the coastal trail(s) where it/they enter(s) the Yellow Marsh, get onto the main road for an hour, then get off the main road back to the coastal trail(s), then end up in Saven either way.

How the HECK did I get past this insanity to draw a map of this as a kid?!

---

Rufyl's suddenly panicky thoughts invade our mind to state that anything is better than Yellow Marsh. He went there once with Landor and doesn't want to go again.

Gosh, Rufyl, that sounds traumatic. Would you like to share with us why Landor went to Yellow Marsh?

No? You want to keep that information to yourself, because you don't share plot-relevant information with your master? Even though there is something super eeeeevil going on that threatens all of Tikandia and your information might be critical to our success?

Still no?

OK! Keep your secrets, Rufyl. Totally fine.

---

"If Arno's in Saven as Thayne said…."

If? IF?!?! Enough with the ifs! IF Arno is NOT in Saven, then WHY ARE WE GOING THERE?!?!

"And if [the paladins are] somehow under Arno's control, we could run into trouble."

If? IF?!?! Enough with the ifs! IF the paladins are NOT under Arno's control, then WHY DID THEY LEAVE THEIR POSTS IN THE SWAMPS?!?!

---

Speaking of swamps: is the swamp that the paladins were guarding before they got magicked by Arno, the same as the barren Yellow wasteland Marsh swamp? Or are these different swamps?

If it's the same swamp, are the "bloodthirsty humanoids such as gnolls and orcs" mentioned in the plot-dump, that are now free to escape due to lack of paladin guards, the same as the "giant monsters from Tikandia's primordial past" that live in Yellow Marsh? Because those seem like not the same kind of monsters to me.

The two different types of monsters must mean there are two different swamps on Tikandia, one of which is a barren Yellow wasteland Marsh swamp that is full of Land of the Lost style primordial monsters, and the other of which is a regular boring swamp (formerly guarded by paladins) that is full of regular monsters like gnolls and orcs.

Of course.

---

Y'know what? I cannot participate in land-based travel on Tikandia because there is too much risk to my already fragile sanity. So screw it.

We're taking a boat.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

The journey from Wealwood to anywhere on Seagate Island always ends in failure. Thus we must rewind all the way back to our Wealwood gear-up decision point and make the other choice, which is to go somewhere on Tikandia rather than somewhere on Seagate Island.

From a game design point of view, this is infuriating. Without forewarning, two of the three choices we have are doomed to fail from the moment we embark -- only to discover that after several choices. Sure, the path are interesting (despite their random ends) but the point of no return is quite early and we don't get any indication that the two deadly choices are absolutely bad choices. It's "do you turn right, middle of left?". If the drunken explanation gave us solid hints that Seagate Island is absolutely locked-up and there approaching it is so risky it's doomed to failure, maybe...

Dalris notes that her father is still chanting over Thayne, which is a good sign because Perth would've given up if there was no hope of "resurrecting" him. She then asks what we've decided about where to start.

In the last book, there could be some sense of urgency if they thought (falsely) that Uncle Beldon was about to discover where the sceptre was hidden -- while in reality, he was just doing regular teaching at the academy and showing the impassable Door of Doom to newly-enlisted students.

But in this case, the evil event happened... last year. We could wait two or three days off while Perth finishes chanting, just in case it gives him enough roleplaying XP to take 13 levels of Cleric?

Our interior monologue informs us that "Yellow Marsh is a barren wasteland

A barren wasteland.

A coastal marsh.

Can you spot the 7 subtle differences between the two images?

Dalris answers in the affirmative but says that we "could" detour around Yellow Marsh "and be on the main road for less than an hour at most."

So basically, we would still be travelling the paladin-guarded main road, except we would have made a shortcut/detour through the swamp in the location closest to Wealwood, which is certainly not the place that would be infested with Evil-worshipping paladins since we would have noticed them earlier...

Dalris then says there is another way: she could have some of her kinsmen on the coast take us into Saven via fishing boats.

I'd advise travelling by boat. All of our Death Scenes/Nonconventional ending happened after we took a boat. Maybe the key to understanding the bad choices in this book is knowing that boating is bad for your continued existence?