1) Flight From the Dark Solution

[champskees]

Hi all, being my first substantial contribution to the Project Aon forums, it is probably a good time to also introduce myself. I’ve been a massive fan of gamebooks since forever, and have always been fond of the Lone Wolf series. I’ve done walkthroughs for a few gamebooks in the past, so I thought I’d have a crack at the LW series for a bit of fun, particularly the Kai Books (1-5).

The solution I present below is not the only solution, but for a minimum stats character i.e CS10/EN20 it is perhaps the optimal one that maximises the readers chances of survival. The problem with creating a definitive solution for many gamebooks is that often the game mechanics are to some extent open to interpretation, and so I stress that this is only an interpretation of the rules. My main axioms are as follows:

• Strictly looking at the free books that are available at the Project Aon site for download.
• All weapons can be used in conjunction with a shield.
• The Healing Kai skill can only restore endurance lost via combat OR combat related instances.
• Potions of Laumspur and other healing items may be used at any time except just before and during combat.
• Lone Wolf can only carry a maximum of 12 Special Items on his person, starting from Book I.
• Backpack items can be carried over from book to book.

Book I: Flight From the Dark

Although many have opinions which differ greatly from mine, I consider FFtD to be the perfect way to introduce the series. The pace is set right from the beginning, with the reader consistently reminded that they need to keep moving by both the prose and the choices made available. The environments and settings are fairly dynamic, with many set pieces already occurring before LW enters the encounter. In this way I think LW (the character) is used really well; he introduces the world of Magnamund to the reader through his eyes, in little bits at a time, which is important as a reader could quickly become overwhelmed with all of Dever’s original creations (Giaks, Kraan, Helghast and the like).

The design is fairly open, with all paths eventually coalescing roughly in the middle, giving the player only two or three main routes to consider. The end consists of many choices that provide a lot of room for error. There are some ‘insta deaths’, but they are few and far between.

Most know that the Camouflage skill is key to avoiding combats in Book I. Other skills to select are the ones that supplement LW’s combat prowess in case you fail the 50/50 roll. Mindblast is imo essential. Weaponskill can help, particularly with Book I and early Book II depending on what weaponskill you are able to roll. This solution attempts to acquire the correct weapon for the reader if possible. Healing is a great skill, probably too great depending on how you perceive it to function.

After the doomwolf encounter i.e 142, the route you choose doesn’t matter too much in terms of survival. A visit to the Graveyard of the Ancients does appear to provide the longest route, allowing you to heal up to 16 endurance points before fighting the Madman toward the end. Statistically, fighting the madman is recommended if you intend to move on to Book II.

Skills (5):
• Camouflage
• Hunting
• Healing
• Weaponskill
• Mindblast

Start with:
• Axe (1)
• Backpack
• Meal (1)
• 0-9 Gold Crowns
• Map of Sommerland (1)

Roll 0-9:
• 1: Take Sword (2)
• 2: Take Helmet (Add 2 to Max Endurance)(2)
• 3: Take Take 2 Meals (3)
• 4: Take Chainmail (Add 4 to Max Endurance)(2)
• 5: Take Mace (2)
• 6: Take Healing Potion (Restore 4 Endurance when used)(2)
• 7: Take Quarterstaff (2)
• 8: Take Spear (2)
• 9: Take 12 Gold Crowns
• 0: Take Broadsword (2)

All:
001
085
099
222
140

If you have Weaponskill in Quarterstaffs but do not possess a Quarterstaff:
140
036 Roll 0-9:
      • 5+: 323
               290 Take Quarterstaff (2). Drop Axe if you already have two weapons.
      • <5: Lose 2 Endurance. Note there is nothing that stops you from trying again, but I have decided to move on after one attempt.
140

If you have Weaponskill in Spears but do not possess a Spear:
140
215
346 Take Spear (2). Drop Axe if you already have two weapons.
014

Otherwise:
140
014

All:
014
106
263 Take 3 Gold Crowns.

If you have Weaponskill in Swords but do not possess a Sword:
263
070
028
130 Eat a Meal. You have the Hunting Skill.
201
015 Take Sword (2). Drop Axe if you already have two weapons.
207
030

Otherwise:
263
157
030

All:
030
194
148 If you have Weaponskill in Warhammers and do not possess a Warhammer:
       • Take Warhammer (2). Drop Axe if you already have two weapons.
199 Take Meal (1-4).
081
200
078
132
064
016
192
171
303 You have the Kai Discipline of Camouflage.
237 Roll 0-9:
       • <5: 265
       • 5+: 072 Fight CS 15 EN 24 Giak + Doomwolf.
                265
142
102
284
071
104
100
257
161 Take Gold Key (2-3).
209
023 Use Gold Key (1-2).
326
061
268
288

If you possess at least 15 Gold Crowns:
129
003
196
332
350 End of Book I.

If you possess fewer than 15 Gold Crowns:
129
144 Lose Backpack Item: Meal (0-3). Lose 2 Endurance.
063 Fight CS 11 EN 10 Madman.
269 Take 10 Gold Crowns.
314 Roll 0-9:
      If <7:
        • 341
        • 210
        • 332
        • 350 End of Book I.
      If 7+:
        • 098
        • 139
        • 066
        • 350 End of Book I.

In order to ascertain which actions/choices are optimal, I also wrote a Python script for the book which essentially plays the adventure using the solution path at least 1,000,000 times for each CS combination. The results for Book I are below:



Ultimately, I intend to calculate the chances of Lone Wolf coming out of Book I-V alive. I hope this mini project is of interest/helpful to those reading the forums.

[Ofecks]

Definitely interested. Earlier this year I was analyzing paths through the books for a "high score" run through the Seventh Sense software, meaning the most achievements. Learned some really cool stuff about the gameplay. Unfortunately, successfully completing the books this way is extremely difficult and highly improbable (book 3 of my first draft took over 200 attempts), I'm barely smart enough to plan all that stuff out (it was literally giving me headaches), and I am also prone to lose interest in things, so that project is on the backburner for who knows how long.

FWIW, your path gets you the minimal combat award (0 fights) in Seventh Sense, should the 50/50 roll go in your favor.

[Nym90]

Looking forward to seeing more of your work! If I am not mistaken, you have published similar solutions elsewhere for the Fighting Fantasy books. Thankfully the Lone Wolf series doesn't require finding the "one true path", though there are clearly easier and more difficult paths.

[champskees]

Oct 31, 2018 1:17:29 GMT Ofecks said:

Definitely interested. Earlier this year I was analyzing paths through the books for a "high score" run through the Seventh Sense software, meaning the most achievements. Learned some really cool stuff about the gameplay. Unfortunately, successfully completing the books this way is extremely difficult and highly improbable (book 3 of my first draft took over 200 attempts), I'm barely smart enough to plan all that stuff out (it was literally giving me headaches), and I am also prone to lose interest in things, so that project is on the backburner for who knows how long.

FWIW, your path gets you the minimal combat award (0 fights) in Seventh Sense, should the 50/50 roll go in your favor.

Actually the above solution only has a 5% chance of no combats, as I choose to fight the madman toward the end if you do not pick up the 12 gold crowns from your initial equipment roll.

[Ofecks]

Ah, ok, makes sense. Off the top of my head there are 4 ways to get a good gold payout in preparation for book 2:

- 10% roll at the start, like you said (12)
- Killing the Burrowcrawler (20)
- Robbing the caravan (40)
- Killing the madman (10)

All of these involve combat except the starting roll. With the caravan, you have to attack and kill the bodyguard, which is also one of the two evil-alignment actions you need to take to get the Mischievous award.

I'm guessing this would also be the path to take for a "speedrun" of the book, since combat is probably the largest time obstacle. UrQuan's Seventh Sense fork adds an award to complete book 1 in 36 seconds or less. Not sure though, the route might be different than yours if you're not planning to continue the series.

[Nym90]

I prefer to take Sixth Sense so that I can meet Banedon and get the Crystal Star Pendant. Admittedly this is for sentimental reasons as it is not useful, but it is a Special Item that can be taken into the Grand Master series.

Taking this path also ensures you will have enough money to avoid needing to fight the Madman. However you do have to fight a Burrowcrawler which has a 17 CS but only 7 EP. So I agree that a minimum stat character should probably avoid this route.

You also can obtain a Short Sword and a Dagger along this path, so it may be worth taking for a character with Weaponskill in either.

[Lost Wolf]

Nov 13, 2018 2:21:22 GMT Nym90 said:

I prefer to take Sixth Sense so that I can meet Banedon and get the Crystal Star Pendant. Admittedly this is for sentimental reasons as it is not useful, but it is a Special Item that can be taken into the Grand Master series.

I usually do the same for the same reasons

And avoid the madman 'cause he killed me once. Sad but true.

Maybe I'm dumb, I died a lot of times in this book. Managed to fall into many death paragraphs

But I agree with the opener. It's a really well made book, despite the basic nature of the adventure and the relativeley small scale of the quest.

I mean, in most of the books your quest is to save the world from something while in this first one your quest is to talk to an important person in order to get another quest.

After some replays I have the impression that the Graveyard route is actually the safer to reach the capital, despite the spookiness. Maybe that was the intent

[Ofecks]

All 3 of those routes have a way to get through without any fights or penalties. Getting shot in the back by bandits actually gives you a chance to warp straight to the end.

[champskees]

Dec 21, 2018 0:42:09 GMT Lost Wolf said:

Nov 13, 2018 2:21:22 GMT Nym90 said:

I prefer to take Sixth Sense so that I can meet Banedon and get the Crystal Star Pendant. Admittedly this is for sentimental reasons as it is not useful, but it is a Special Item that can be taken into the Grand Master series.

I usually do the same for the same reasons

And avoid the madman 'cause he killed me once. Sad but true.

Maybe I'm dumb, I died a lot of times in this book. Managed to fall into many death paragraphs

But I agree with the opener. It's a really well made book, despite the basic nature of the adventure and the relativeley small scale of the quest.

I mean, in most of the books your quest is to save the world from something while in this first one your quest is to talk to an important person in order to get another quest.

After some replays I have the impression that the Graveyard route is actually the safer to reach the capital, despite the spookiness. Maybe that was the intent

The reason I advocate for killing the madman is that it is actually impossible to be killed by him, even with minimum stats. I.e. cs 10 en 18 (you lose 2 endurance immediately prior to the fight) if you have mindblast. At a +1 combat ratio, even if you rolled a 1 three times in a row, you would only lose 15 endurance (the madman would be killed as he would lose 12 en).

[Lost Wolf]

Dec 22, 2018 4:17:55 GMT champskees said:

The reason I advocate for killing the madman is that it is actually impossible to be killed by him, even with minimum stats. I.e. cs 10 en 18 (you lose 2 endurance immediately prior to the fight) if you have mindblast. At a +1 combat ratio, even if you rolled a 1 three times in a row, you would only lose 15 endurance (the madman would be killed as he would lose 12 en).

Sorry. It was just a joke, but probably it wasn't understandable

I agree it's good to kill him and get the reward. It is the best thing to do indeed

but while it's actually "impossible" to being killed by the madman it actually happened to me ahah

i was really short in endurance points at that time

sad story, but true