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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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

Sceptre of Power (Kingdom of Sorcery, book 1 of 3)%27']Obligatory cross-promotion link for readers in 2045 who have no idea what this joke references. (Hey, don’t laugh: I still re-read story hours from the 2000s here in 2025!) The good news is we are highly unlikely to contract leprosy from...

Also there is a limited amount you can learn by reading. You need to play. As many different games as possible. With as many different people as possible. Conventions are great for this. So is online although I’m an old man so IDK how that new fangled online thing works.

Is the goal primarily Exposure to different systems History of the development of systems If (1) then use the latest versions. Like there is no reason to play Spirit of the Century if you want to know how Fate works, because modern day Fate is a way better game. If (2) then we need to start...

Commentary: I know that stupid gamebook deaths are part of the appeal, but this one is SO stupid it's not even fun. Can we cast Detect Magic (to sense the Fire Trap) or Dispel Magic (to remove the Fire Trap) — both on our list of SPECIAL SPELLS? Nope. Can we make an Intelligence test to...

110 We determine that the quickest way to find out if Thayne's sources inside the academy knew what they were talking about is: "Let's just use the front door." [There is not a facepalm meme big enough to apply here.] "If Arno's friends have taken over the college, the sooner we know about...

Wow, that was a close one. The dice give and the dice take away: blesséd be the name of the dice. — I love that a solo Enchantress sees the black stone wall/door and just says, “Screw it. Back to bed.”

Everything that can be done has been done, and yet new things keep being done. It is the paradox is human existence.

Recent relevant threads https://www.enworld.org/threads/rpg-systems-family-tree.709476/ https://www.enworld.org/threads/what-ttrpg-is-perfect-and-complete-in-one-volume.709155/

You want to look at major systems such as BRP Burning Wheel Fate GUMSHOE Savage Worlds Apocalypse World / PBTA / Forged in the Dark That’ll keep you busy learning for a couple years while I remember all the stuff I can’t right now because I am old. And/or we spark a debate about what is a...

Not yet. That’s one of the things we are trying to find out. Along with how do we stop said eeeeevil plan.

Gamebooks do illustrate a quite esoteric occult belief system in which true and complete knowledge is only possible after one’s own death!

Commentary: The College of Arcane Sciences "founded by your father before you were born"... I should hope so, given it was founded 38 > 40 years ago, and we were born only 16 + 5 = 22 years ago. (Yes, I know the founding date is now 5 years older than it was in book 1. So fine. It was founded...

92 The College of Arcane Sciences "founded by your father before you were born" looms over Freeton's harbor "like the watchtower it was in the days of pirates and smugglers on the Tikandian frontier." Dalris asks how we want to do this: "Do we just present ourselves at the door, or do we get...

I noticed that also. It’s weird. I’m sure (as in I know for a fact) there was a Dragon magazine article in the 1e/2e era about weapon materials and quality. But given these are enemies’ weapons, who cares? It could also be a reference to how iron is of use against the Fay in folklore, and...