Post by nad on Jan 22, 2019 22:27:31 GMT
Highway Holocaust Walkthrough
This gamebook is well established as being downright ridiculous in its difficulty. Even with great stats, optimal choices and the right equipment, the chances of success are very, very low because of the sheer number of rolls that can result in death. That said, I love the Freeway Warrior series for the change in scenery, the story is great, the other gamebooks are much fairer, and I actually love HH too in a masochistic “let’s see how many attempts this will take” kind of way. It’s certainly a memorable experience.
I have attempted this gamebook dozens, if not hundreds, of times and succeeded in a few attempts which then roll forward to the future gamebooks. Because of all that pain/experience, I have gained some insight into the optimal path, skills distribution and equipment choices. This guide does not guarantee success (nothing can in this gamebook!) – but it outlines the best pathway through the book to give you the highest chance of success.
Combat Skill, Endurance and Medikits
These are the 3 things you roll for at the start of the gamebook. The higher you roll, the better. Weirdly, your chances of success (in this gamebook alone) are not impacted as much through low scores as other gamebooks, because of the sheer number of skill rolls that can result in death. But low rolls for CS, EP and medikits will kill you through running out of EP, or having such low EP that you fail other rolls. And you definitely want high EP to carry through into the next 3 gamebooks, if you make it through this one. You likely want top half scores (CS>15, EP>25, Medikits > 5+2) to continue, though you can try with lower scores if you wish.
Skills
You should put 2 points into Driving and 2 points into Stealth. This distribution maximises your survival chances. Your starting skills will therefore be as follows:
Driving: 5
Shooting: 3
Field Craft: 3
Stealth: 5
Perception: 3
Equipment
Select Rifle as your missile weapon. You have 4 bullets.
Take the following backpack items only: 2 x Meals and Solar Torch. Nothing else. You therefore have only 3 items with no penalty to Stealth. We need to ensure throughout the entire gamebook that we never have a penalty to Stealth any time we make an important roll against Stealth.
NB: EP loss
My interpretation of EP loss is as follows: any EP lost through lack of Meals, Water, Salt or fatigue (n/a in this book but possible in others) cannot be healed by medikits. Only EP lost in combat and other wounds taken can be healed by medikits. Therefore you want to minimise damage taken through lack of food (will not happen if you follow this walkthrough) or Water/Salt (could happen) as these EP losses cannot be healed during this adventure, since there are no EP gains in this gamebook as a result of rest/other factors. Medikits are the only source of healing in this book, which further emphasises the importance of having as many starting medikits as possible.
All set? Let’s go.
Walkthrough
1. Damsel in Distress
1: -> 204
204: Dive to the ground and take cover -> 307
307: Use missile weapon -> 237
237: Rifle -> 40
40: RNG+3 (Shooting 3). 70% chance to succeed -> 180. 30% chance to fail leads to additional combat (-> 275), which is not that difficult in itself but will lead to EP drain. You still end up in the same place eventually, with a Stealth roll to determine whether you get hit while dashing into the store.
180: Lose 1 bullet (3 remaining) -> 251
251: Dash for the store -> 126
126: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 80% chance to succeed -> 329. Failure means an additional 4EP (-> 18) lost but then leads to same place.
329: RNG+2. 20% chance of 8EP damage (-> 191), 30% chance of 3EP damage (-> 293), 50% chance of no damage (-> 168). All lead to same place.
168: Lose 1 bullet whichever outcome (2 remaining) -> 220
220: Start using medikits to heal damage taken to date. There is no healing to be gained through this adventure other than medikits, so they are your only resort. I have a house rule that says only one medikit can be used per section without combat, and we now have a few sections coming up without combat. Or you can use in bulk if you prefer. Later in this adventure there is a (potential) roll in 14. Illusionary Choice (which leads to insta-death) where you add your medikits to the RNG roll, so you do want to preserve as many medikits as possible. But preserving medikits is pointless if you run out of EP and are dead anyway. I suggest you try to keep EP above 15, I will point out when you should stop using medikits in preparation for that later roll and when to recommence after that roll -> 318
318: -> 267
267: -> 211 (2. Denton)
2. Denton
211: RNG+6 (Field Craft 3 + Perception 3). Only 30% chance of success -> 46. 70% chance to fail -> 155. Succeeding in this roll is a nice bonus as it avoids the entire next encounter with high chance of death. But you get other chances and you will more likely fail this roll.
If succeed
46: Avoid Denton -> 198 (3. Random Encounter)
If fail
155: RNG+5 (Driving 5). 50% chance of success (-> 244), which again gets you out of the encounter and you end up at 198 (3. Random Encounter). 50% chance to fail -> 76
76: No pistol -> 32
32: Combat with -3 CS modifier. Not a particularly hard fight in itself, but winning within 4 rounds is very unlikely, which means you have to make a further roll that could result in death. In the unlikely event you win in 4 rounds or less, 187 leads to 198 again (3. Random Encounter). Otherwise if the fight takes 5 rounds or more -> 230
230: RNG+5 (Driving 5): 60% chance of success (-> 95). 40% chance of death (-> 345). Very harsh, but there were 3 chances to avoid this path (c67% chance you could have avoided coming here) and now you have this final chance at 60% success.
95: Finally end up at 198 (3. Random Encounter)
3. Random Encounter
198: Take drink (3 left) -> 137
137: Possible random encounter based on RNG roll, path recoverges on 4. University (82). You actually want to have the encounter (70% chance -> 281) as you can gain medikits and water. Missing the encounter (30% chance -> 160) is not terminal but may (not definite, depending on what happens with 10. Albany) lead to extra EP loss from lack of water in future.
If miss encounter
160: Search uni -> 82 (4. University)
If encounter
281: Use missile weapon -> 14
14: Rifle -> 233
233: This is a slightly weird roll. You get to choose how many bullets you fire after rolling rather than deciding before you roll (we have only 2 bullets at this point). Succeeding in this roll is good as it avoids potential EP loss, though you can actually gain an extra medikit by failing in this roll (though you then run 30% risk of losing 6EP and therefore being effectively 3EP down). Basic roll is RNG+4 (Shooting 3, 1 bullet). If you roll 0-2, stick to one bullet and fail the roll (-> 164). If you roll 3, fire your second remaining bullet to succeed in the roll. If you roll 4-9, you succeed with the single bullet. Success -> 58. You have either 0 or 1 bullets remaining whatever outcome.
If succeed
58: Search body -> 303
303: Only take medikit and Water (back up to 4 drinks) -> 160
160: Search uni -> 82 (4. University)
If fail
164: -> 271
271: -> 247
247: Do not have Shotgun -> 208
208: Gain Shotgun and 2 bullets. -1 to Stealth because we now have 2 missile weapons (Stealth = 4) -> 177
177: RNG+7 (Shooting 3 + Stealth 4). 70% chance to succeed (-> 348). 30% chance to fail (-> 49) loses 6EP but ends up in same place.
348 or 49: -> 216
216: Drop the Shotgun and its remaining 1 or 2 bullets (Stealth back to 5). Only take the medikits and Water. You have 3 drinks in your canteen, gain 2 but have to drink 1 as part of the same text, so I interpret this as 4 drinks remaining (full canteen) -> 105
105: Search uni -> 82 (4. University)
4. University
82: Continue search -> 184
184: Crate -> 336
336: RNG+3 (Perception 3): 60% chance of success (-> 201) gains you Salt, which avoids 4EP loss in future. 40% chance of failure (-> 134) means you will definitely lose 4EP later. End up in same place (5. Trinity River).
201: Carry to convoy -> 29
29: Add Salt to backpack items (-1 to Stealth due to 4 items = Stealth 4) -> 22 (5. Trinity River). This Stealth penalty is irrelevant as it will be gone before we make the next roll.
5. Trinity River
22: Lake Worth -> 149
149: -> 227
227: RNG+8 (Driving 5 + Perception 3). 30% chance of instant death (-> 323) is frankly ridiculous but that’s why this gamebook is infamous. 40% chance (-> 263) of 4EP damage and another roll against instant death (but this time only 20% chance of failure due to Driving 5). 30% chance to succeed first time (-> 69). In total, assuming EP loss does not kill you, you have 38% chance to die crossing Trinity River.
69 (or 263 -> 278): -> 120 (6. Carswell & Mineral Wells)
6. Carswell & Mineral Wells
120: Investigate base -> 342
342: Stores -> 269
269: Take 3 Rifle bullets (3-5 bullets remaining depending on path so far). You can take Hammer if you want, inconsequential decision -> 123
123: -> 295
295: Eat Meal. If you previously had Stealth penalty due to gaining Salt, the penalty is now removed as Meal is consumed (Stealth = 5). Volunteer to investigate -> 74
74: No radio -> 158
158: Gain CB Radio. May incur -1 Stealth penalty again (Stealth = 4 if so) but will be very short-lived -> 325
325: Search -> 66
66: Take medikits. If you do not have Salt, take Fire Extinguisher. If you do have Salt, leave the Fire Extinguisher. The point is you should have 4 items only (Stealth = 4) in your backpack right now: Solar Torch, Meal, CB Radio and either Salt or Fire Extinguisher -> 284 (7. Biker Attack)
7. Biker Attack
284: As soon as rendezvous with colony, drop the CB Radio. You now have 3 items only in backpack and no Stealth penalty (Stealth = 5). RNG+5 (Stealth 5), 50% chance to succeed (-> 289), 50% chance to take 4EP damage (-> 265)
289 or 265: Intercept -> 129
129: First unavoidable close combat in this gamebook, medium difficulty, heavy EP loss is the danger -> 166
166: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 10% chance of instant death (-> 301). 50% chance of 3EP damage (-> 78). 40% chance of no damage (-> 213)
78 or 213: -> 182 (8. Mechanics)
8. Mechanics
182: Heal up with medikits -> 235
235: Have Solar Torch -> 24
24: -> 305
305: Agree -> 257
257: -> 189
189: -> 222
222: Eat Meal and take 2 drinks (remaining water = 1 or 2 depending on path). Alley -> 103
103: Leave the store -> 273
273: Second unavoidable close combat. Fairly easy except for EP drain -> 249
249: -> 196 (9. Rad-vics)
9. Rad-vics
196: Do not have items -> 147
147: -> 128
128: Use missile weapon -> 107
107: Rifle -> 28
28: Lose 1 bullet (2 to 4 remaining). Fire second round -> 190
190: Lose 1 bullet (1 to 3 remaining) -> 90
90: Lose 1 medikit (if you don’t have any medikits left you get to ignore this; but if you have already run out of medikits, you probably aren’t going to make it to the end) -> 327 (10. Albany)
10. Albany
327: Albany is considerably less risky -> 156
156: Take drink (remaining water = 0 or 1). Use Salt if you have it or take 4EP damage -> 343
343: RNG+8 (Stealth 5 + Perception 3). 50% chance of success (-> 277), 50% chance to fail (-> 31). You actually want to fail this roll, especially if you have 0 water left!
If succeed
277: Climb staircase -> 173
173: RNG roll with +2 modifier if EP => 19. Again, failure (-> 225) is absolutely fine and even desirable if water = 0. Success -> 202
202: Drink: -3EP if you have no water. If you had 1 water left, you now definitely have 0 -> 61 (11. Abilene)
If fail at 343
31: Lose all weapons. Do not have items -> 294
294: -> 337
If fail at 173
225: -> 48
48: -> Lose all weapons and backpack items -> 337
337: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 70% chance of success (-> 141) leads to easier combat. 30% chance of failure (-> 122) loses 2EP and harder combat.
141 or 122: If win -> 163
163: Gain 1 Meal and 2 Water (2 or 3 remaining). Take Rifle + 6 bullets (7 to 9 bullets remaining), regain Hunting Knife. Backpack items inconsequential, make sure you have no more than 3 items total. Drink Water (1 or 2 remaining) -> 61 (11. Abilene)
11. Abilene
61: Your equipment roster will look quite different depending on what happened in Albany. You definitely have a Hunting Knife, Rifle, and between 1 to 9 bullets. You have between 0 to 2 Water. And your backpack will vary though you should have no more than 3 items and therefore no Stealth penalty. Backpack items that you currently possess are not so important for the rest of the adventure so I will only mention them where relevant and assume you do not have any (Fire Extinguisher is only relevant item, if you have it) -> 100
100: No radio -> 73
73: Gain CB Radio (drop something if this is fourth item to avoid any Stealth penalty) -> 304
304: Go west -> 299
299: Fight rats -> 146
146: You should now stop using medikits as long as EP => 5 (use a medikit to heal if EP falls below 5 at any time) -> 280
280: Lose Meal (if you have it) -> 178 (12. Dangerous Driving)
12. Dangerous Driving
178: RNG+10 (Driving 5 + Stealth 5). No chance of instant death because of skills, 40% chance of 3EP damage (-> 104), 60% chance of no damage (-> 21)
104 or 21: -> 150
150: Drink or -3EP (0 or 1 Water remaining). RNG+10 (Driving 5 + Stealth 5): 20% chance of instant death (-> 236), 80% chance to survive (-> 165)
165: RNG roll: 20% chance of instant death (-> 17), 40% chance of losing 2EP (-> 217), 40% chance of no damage (-> 317). Assuming EP loss does not kill you, you have 36% chance to die during this driving sequence (almost as bad as crossing Trinity River).
217 or 317: -> 285
285: -> 127
127: -> 94 (13. Romantic Interlude)
13. Romantic Interlude
94: No Rope -> 246
246: -> 335
335: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 70% chance of no damage (-> 57), 30% chance to lose 2EP (-> 114)
57 or 114: Missile weapon -> 193
193: Rifle -> 264
264: EP + Shooting 3. As long as EP => 5, 5+3 = 8 (success -> 77). If EP is 4 or below, it’s game over (-> 96, but if 4EP, 4+5 = 9 -> 258 insta-death. The only way this sequence leads to anything is if you use a medi-kit at 96 that you had not already used -> 83, which leads to close combat, and if you win that you survive. But that is an unlikely path and you should have used the medikit before 264 to succeed in the shooting).
77: Lose 1 bullet (0 to 8 remaining) -> 175
175: Take Water (3 or 4 remaining), 5 medikits, and backpack items as desired (max 3 items). Do not drop the CB Radio you got in 11. Abilene. Do not use the medikits -> 297
297: Refill Water (4 remaining) -> 36 (14. Illusionary Choice)
14. Illusionary Choice
36: It’s illusionary because you face the same danger and skill rolls whichever way you go. Cruel dungeonmastering. Go south -> 319
319: RNG+6 (Field Craft 3 + Perception 3). 50% chance of success (-> 75), 50% chance to fail (-> 207). You really want to succeed in this roll since it is hard to avoid the insta-death if you fail.
If succeed
75: Drink (3 water remaining) -> 185 (15. Blowing the Bridge)
If fail
207: RNG + medikits. You have at least 5, so minimum 30% chance of success, +10% chance for every additional medikit you possess, guaranteed to succeed if you (somehow) have the maximum of 12. If fail (-> 330) game over, if succeed -> 234
234: Lose 1 medikit, -1EP, take 2 drinks (2 water remaining) -> 185 (15. Blowing the Bridge)
15. Blowing the Bridge
185: Use medikits freely now to heal to min EP 13 (if you currently have 1EP and only 4 medikits) and max EP 17 (if you already have EP higher than 17, that’s ok but leads to some missed loot). If you have less than 3 bullets remaining, drop your Rifle -> 68
68: -> 135 if you have Rifle and at least 3 bullets, otherwise -> 288 (gain Rifle + 3 bullets). Either way, you now have a Rifle and at least 3 bullets.
135 or 288: Another irrelevant choice, let’s go factory -> 243
243: Rifle -> 145
145: RNG+3 (Shooting 3). 30% chance of success (-> 229), 70% chance to fail (-> 349)
If succeed
229: Lose 1 bullet (min 2 remaining). EP + Stealth 5 is guaranteed success since we have at least 13EP -> 200
If fail
349: Lose 1 bullet (min 2 remaining). RNG+5 (Stealth 5), 30% chance of death (-> 151), 70% chance to succeed (-> 260). Overall 21% chance of dying in this sequence is high but slightly more forgiving than some previous encounters!
260: EP + Stealth 5 is guaranteed success since we have at least 13EP -> 200
200: -> 39
39: -> 231 (16. Westbrook)
16. Westbrook
231: Drink (1 or 2 remaining). EP + Perception 3: you will succeed if current EP => 18 (-> 338). However failing this check is actually preferable due to equipment gain, hence effort to keep EP between 13 and 17 -> 167
If succeed
338: RNG+5 (Driving 5). 70% chance of no damage (-> 296), 30% chance to lose 2EP (-> 6)
296 or 6: -> 347 (17. Coahoma Gauntlet)
If fail
167: EP + Stealth 5: since min EP = 13, 13+5 = 18 -> 248
248: CB Radio -> 116
116: Missile weapon -> 143
143: Lose 1 bullet (min 1 remaining). Take Rifle bullets (min 3 remaining), Water (full canteen), medikits and Fire Extinguisher (drop other equipment if more than 3 backpack items) -> 347 (17. Coahoma Gauntlet)
17. Coahoma Gauntlet
347: Use medikits freely now to heal as much as possible (current min EP = 16) -> 11 if you have Binoculars, -> 33 if not (flavour text only)
11 or 33: -> 170
170: -> 210
210: RNG roll: 10% chance of insta-death (-> 121). 90% chance to survive (both 27 and 328 are flavour text, neither result in damage).
27 or 328: -> 179
179: Drink (0 to 3 remaining) -> 89
89: RNG + EP + Stealth 5. Since current min EP = 16, you have at most 20% chance of failure (-> 10), and a very high probability of success (-> 313).
If succeed
313: last unavoidable fight, if win -> 70 (18. Fire)
If fail
10: -3EP (min EP = 13). RNG + EP = at least 80% chance of success (-> 272), 20% chance of death (-> 148) if you only have the minimum 13EP.
272: last unavoidable fight, if win -> 70 (18. Fire)
18. Fire
70: Not given a choice on whether we want to use the missile weapon, we have Rifle and at least 2 bullets so -> 292
292: Rifle -> 41
41: RNG+3 (Shooting 3): no chance of success -> 340
340: Lose 1 bullet (min 1 remaining). RNG roll: 30% chance of 6EP damage (-> 79), 70% chance of 2EP damage (-> 197)
79 or 197: -> 219
219: -> 59 if you have Fire Extinguisher (no EP loss), otherwise 2 to 4 EP loss -> 92
59 or 92: -> 188 (19. Finale)
19. Finale
188: EP + Stealth 5 check but actually this is straightforward. If you have at least 4 EP you succeed (4+5 = 9 -> 290). If you have 3EP or less it’s game over (-> 221, lose 7EP, bad luck)
290: Missile weapon (we have at least 1 bullet) -> 132
132: Lose 1 bullet (min 0 remaining) -> 350
350: You survived the highways but lost the girl. How’s that for a cliffhanger?
Closing Thoughts
So how difficult is it to succeed in this gamebook? Well, let’s start with the rolls that lead to instant death.
2. Denton: c33% * 40% = c13% chance to die
5. Trinity River: 38% chance to die
7. Biker Attack: 10% chance to die
12. Dangerous Driving: 36% chance to die
14. Illusionary Choice: most difficult to quantify because # of medikits is unknown. 50% chance to get bitten and if we assume 50% chance of death = c25% chance to die
15. Blowing the Bridge: 21% chance to die
17. Coahoma Gauntlet: 10% chance to die
So the probability for a single character to survive all that would be 87% * 62% * 90% * 64% * 75% * 79% * 90% = 16.6%
It’s impossible to quantify death to EP loss because of the sheer number of variables (which rolls you take damage for, combat, RNG outcome etc). All I can do is provide a gutfeel estimate, which is that 2 out of 3 characters who don’t die from insta-deaths will die from EP loss. So that would reduce the chance of success from 16.6% to around 5.5%.
This still assumes good rolls for initial CS, EP and medikits, and optimal choices/skill distribution as shown in this walkthrough. If we were to try to account for suboptimal starting stats and choices, the numbers would plummet much further.
So there you have it. Even if you follow this walkthrough, you have about a 1 in 20 shot of succeeding at this gamebook
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Comments, questions and feedback welcome. If anybody has any contributions, suggestions or ideas where they think an alternative selection or decision would increase chances of success, I would be very happy to hear about it
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This gamebook is well established as being downright ridiculous in its difficulty. Even with great stats, optimal choices and the right equipment, the chances of success are very, very low because of the sheer number of rolls that can result in death. That said, I love the Freeway Warrior series for the change in scenery, the story is great, the other gamebooks are much fairer, and I actually love HH too in a masochistic “let’s see how many attempts this will take” kind of way. It’s certainly a memorable experience.
I have attempted this gamebook dozens, if not hundreds, of times and succeeded in a few attempts which then roll forward to the future gamebooks. Because of all that pain/experience, I have gained some insight into the optimal path, skills distribution and equipment choices. This guide does not guarantee success (nothing can in this gamebook!) – but it outlines the best pathway through the book to give you the highest chance of success.
Combat Skill, Endurance and Medikits
These are the 3 things you roll for at the start of the gamebook. The higher you roll, the better. Weirdly, your chances of success (in this gamebook alone) are not impacted as much through low scores as other gamebooks, because of the sheer number of skill rolls that can result in death. But low rolls for CS, EP and medikits will kill you through running out of EP, or having such low EP that you fail other rolls. And you definitely want high EP to carry through into the next 3 gamebooks, if you make it through this one. You likely want top half scores (CS>15, EP>25, Medikits > 5+2) to continue, though you can try with lower scores if you wish.
Skills
You should put 2 points into Driving and 2 points into Stealth. This distribution maximises your survival chances. Your starting skills will therefore be as follows:
Driving: 5
Shooting: 3
Field Craft: 3
Stealth: 5
Perception: 3
Equipment
Select Rifle as your missile weapon. You have 4 bullets.
Take the following backpack items only: 2 x Meals and Solar Torch. Nothing else. You therefore have only 3 items with no penalty to Stealth. We need to ensure throughout the entire gamebook that we never have a penalty to Stealth any time we make an important roll against Stealth.
NB: EP loss
My interpretation of EP loss is as follows: any EP lost through lack of Meals, Water, Salt or fatigue (n/a in this book but possible in others) cannot be healed by medikits. Only EP lost in combat and other wounds taken can be healed by medikits. Therefore you want to minimise damage taken through lack of food (will not happen if you follow this walkthrough) or Water/Salt (could happen) as these EP losses cannot be healed during this adventure, since there are no EP gains in this gamebook as a result of rest/other factors. Medikits are the only source of healing in this book, which further emphasises the importance of having as many starting medikits as possible.
All set? Let’s go.
Walkthrough
1. Damsel in Distress
1: -> 204
204: Dive to the ground and take cover -> 307
307: Use missile weapon -> 237
237: Rifle -> 40
40: RNG+3 (Shooting 3). 70% chance to succeed -> 180. 30% chance to fail leads to additional combat (-> 275), which is not that difficult in itself but will lead to EP drain. You still end up in the same place eventually, with a Stealth roll to determine whether you get hit while dashing into the store.
180: Lose 1 bullet (3 remaining) -> 251
251: Dash for the store -> 126
126: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 80% chance to succeed -> 329. Failure means an additional 4EP (-> 18) lost but then leads to same place.
329: RNG+2. 20% chance of 8EP damage (-> 191), 30% chance of 3EP damage (-> 293), 50% chance of no damage (-> 168). All lead to same place.
168: Lose 1 bullet whichever outcome (2 remaining) -> 220
220: Start using medikits to heal damage taken to date. There is no healing to be gained through this adventure other than medikits, so they are your only resort. I have a house rule that says only one medikit can be used per section without combat, and we now have a few sections coming up without combat. Or you can use in bulk if you prefer. Later in this adventure there is a (potential) roll in 14. Illusionary Choice (which leads to insta-death) where you add your medikits to the RNG roll, so you do want to preserve as many medikits as possible. But preserving medikits is pointless if you run out of EP and are dead anyway. I suggest you try to keep EP above 15, I will point out when you should stop using medikits in preparation for that later roll and when to recommence after that roll -> 318
318: -> 267
267: -> 211 (2. Denton)
2. Denton
211: RNG+6 (Field Craft 3 + Perception 3). Only 30% chance of success -> 46. 70% chance to fail -> 155. Succeeding in this roll is a nice bonus as it avoids the entire next encounter with high chance of death. But you get other chances and you will more likely fail this roll.
If succeed
46: Avoid Denton -> 198 (3. Random Encounter)
If fail
155: RNG+5 (Driving 5). 50% chance of success (-> 244), which again gets you out of the encounter and you end up at 198 (3. Random Encounter). 50% chance to fail -> 76
76: No pistol -> 32
32: Combat with -3 CS modifier. Not a particularly hard fight in itself, but winning within 4 rounds is very unlikely, which means you have to make a further roll that could result in death. In the unlikely event you win in 4 rounds or less, 187 leads to 198 again (3. Random Encounter). Otherwise if the fight takes 5 rounds or more -> 230
230: RNG+5 (Driving 5): 60% chance of success (-> 95). 40% chance of death (-> 345). Very harsh, but there were 3 chances to avoid this path (c67% chance you could have avoided coming here) and now you have this final chance at 60% success.
95: Finally end up at 198 (3. Random Encounter)
3. Random Encounter
198: Take drink (3 left) -> 137
137: Possible random encounter based on RNG roll, path recoverges on 4. University (82). You actually want to have the encounter (70% chance -> 281) as you can gain medikits and water. Missing the encounter (30% chance -> 160) is not terminal but may (not definite, depending on what happens with 10. Albany) lead to extra EP loss from lack of water in future.
If miss encounter
160: Search uni -> 82 (4. University)
If encounter
281: Use missile weapon -> 14
14: Rifle -> 233
233: This is a slightly weird roll. You get to choose how many bullets you fire after rolling rather than deciding before you roll (we have only 2 bullets at this point). Succeeding in this roll is good as it avoids potential EP loss, though you can actually gain an extra medikit by failing in this roll (though you then run 30% risk of losing 6EP and therefore being effectively 3EP down). Basic roll is RNG+4 (Shooting 3, 1 bullet). If you roll 0-2, stick to one bullet and fail the roll (-> 164). If you roll 3, fire your second remaining bullet to succeed in the roll. If you roll 4-9, you succeed with the single bullet. Success -> 58. You have either 0 or 1 bullets remaining whatever outcome.
If succeed
58: Search body -> 303
303: Only take medikit and Water (back up to 4 drinks) -> 160
160: Search uni -> 82 (4. University)
If fail
164: -> 271
271: -> 247
247: Do not have Shotgun -> 208
208: Gain Shotgun and 2 bullets. -1 to Stealth because we now have 2 missile weapons (Stealth = 4) -> 177
177: RNG+7 (Shooting 3 + Stealth 4). 70% chance to succeed (-> 348). 30% chance to fail (-> 49) loses 6EP but ends up in same place.
348 or 49: -> 216
216: Drop the Shotgun and its remaining 1 or 2 bullets (Stealth back to 5). Only take the medikits and Water. You have 3 drinks in your canteen, gain 2 but have to drink 1 as part of the same text, so I interpret this as 4 drinks remaining (full canteen) -> 105
105: Search uni -> 82 (4. University)
4. University
82: Continue search -> 184
184: Crate -> 336
336: RNG+3 (Perception 3): 60% chance of success (-> 201) gains you Salt, which avoids 4EP loss in future. 40% chance of failure (-> 134) means you will definitely lose 4EP later. End up in same place (5. Trinity River).
201: Carry to convoy -> 29
29: Add Salt to backpack items (-1 to Stealth due to 4 items = Stealth 4) -> 22 (5. Trinity River). This Stealth penalty is irrelevant as it will be gone before we make the next roll.
5. Trinity River
22: Lake Worth -> 149
149: -> 227
227: RNG+8 (Driving 5 + Perception 3). 30% chance of instant death (-> 323) is frankly ridiculous but that’s why this gamebook is infamous. 40% chance (-> 263) of 4EP damage and another roll against instant death (but this time only 20% chance of failure due to Driving 5). 30% chance to succeed first time (-> 69). In total, assuming EP loss does not kill you, you have 38% chance to die crossing Trinity River.
69 (or 263 -> 278): -> 120 (6. Carswell & Mineral Wells)
6. Carswell & Mineral Wells
120: Investigate base -> 342
342: Stores -> 269
269: Take 3 Rifle bullets (3-5 bullets remaining depending on path so far). You can take Hammer if you want, inconsequential decision -> 123
123: -> 295
295: Eat Meal. If you previously had Stealth penalty due to gaining Salt, the penalty is now removed as Meal is consumed (Stealth = 5). Volunteer to investigate -> 74
74: No radio -> 158
158: Gain CB Radio. May incur -1 Stealth penalty again (Stealth = 4 if so) but will be very short-lived -> 325
325: Search -> 66
66: Take medikits. If you do not have Salt, take Fire Extinguisher. If you do have Salt, leave the Fire Extinguisher. The point is you should have 4 items only (Stealth = 4) in your backpack right now: Solar Torch, Meal, CB Radio and either Salt or Fire Extinguisher -> 284 (7. Biker Attack)
7. Biker Attack
284: As soon as rendezvous with colony, drop the CB Radio. You now have 3 items only in backpack and no Stealth penalty (Stealth = 5). RNG+5 (Stealth 5), 50% chance to succeed (-> 289), 50% chance to take 4EP damage (-> 265)
289 or 265: Intercept -> 129
129: First unavoidable close combat in this gamebook, medium difficulty, heavy EP loss is the danger -> 166
166: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 10% chance of instant death (-> 301). 50% chance of 3EP damage (-> 78). 40% chance of no damage (-> 213)
78 or 213: -> 182 (8. Mechanics)
8. Mechanics
182: Heal up with medikits -> 235
235: Have Solar Torch -> 24
24: -> 305
305: Agree -> 257
257: -> 189
189: -> 222
222: Eat Meal and take 2 drinks (remaining water = 1 or 2 depending on path). Alley -> 103
103: Leave the store -> 273
273: Second unavoidable close combat. Fairly easy except for EP drain -> 249
249: -> 196 (9. Rad-vics)
9. Rad-vics
196: Do not have items -> 147
147: -> 128
128: Use missile weapon -> 107
107: Rifle -> 28
28: Lose 1 bullet (2 to 4 remaining). Fire second round -> 190
190: Lose 1 bullet (1 to 3 remaining) -> 90
90: Lose 1 medikit (if you don’t have any medikits left you get to ignore this; but if you have already run out of medikits, you probably aren’t going to make it to the end) -> 327 (10. Albany)
10. Albany
327: Albany is considerably less risky -> 156
156: Take drink (remaining water = 0 or 1). Use Salt if you have it or take 4EP damage -> 343
343: RNG+8 (Stealth 5 + Perception 3). 50% chance of success (-> 277), 50% chance to fail (-> 31). You actually want to fail this roll, especially if you have 0 water left!
If succeed
277: Climb staircase -> 173
173: RNG roll with +2 modifier if EP => 19. Again, failure (-> 225) is absolutely fine and even desirable if water = 0. Success -> 202
202: Drink: -3EP if you have no water. If you had 1 water left, you now definitely have 0 -> 61 (11. Abilene)
If fail at 343
31: Lose all weapons. Do not have items -> 294
294: -> 337
If fail at 173
225: -> 48
48: -> Lose all weapons and backpack items -> 337
337: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 70% chance of success (-> 141) leads to easier combat. 30% chance of failure (-> 122) loses 2EP and harder combat.
141 or 122: If win -> 163
163: Gain 1 Meal and 2 Water (2 or 3 remaining). Take Rifle + 6 bullets (7 to 9 bullets remaining), regain Hunting Knife. Backpack items inconsequential, make sure you have no more than 3 items total. Drink Water (1 or 2 remaining) -> 61 (11. Abilene)
11. Abilene
61: Your equipment roster will look quite different depending on what happened in Albany. You definitely have a Hunting Knife, Rifle, and between 1 to 9 bullets. You have between 0 to 2 Water. And your backpack will vary though you should have no more than 3 items and therefore no Stealth penalty. Backpack items that you currently possess are not so important for the rest of the adventure so I will only mention them where relevant and assume you do not have any (Fire Extinguisher is only relevant item, if you have it) -> 100
100: No radio -> 73
73: Gain CB Radio (drop something if this is fourth item to avoid any Stealth penalty) -> 304
304: Go west -> 299
299: Fight rats -> 146
146: You should now stop using medikits as long as EP => 5 (use a medikit to heal if EP falls below 5 at any time) -> 280
280: Lose Meal (if you have it) -> 178 (12. Dangerous Driving)
12. Dangerous Driving
178: RNG+10 (Driving 5 + Stealth 5). No chance of instant death because of skills, 40% chance of 3EP damage (-> 104), 60% chance of no damage (-> 21)
104 or 21: -> 150
150: Drink or -3EP (0 or 1 Water remaining). RNG+10 (Driving 5 + Stealth 5): 20% chance of instant death (-> 236), 80% chance to survive (-> 165)
165: RNG roll: 20% chance of instant death (-> 17), 40% chance of losing 2EP (-> 217), 40% chance of no damage (-> 317). Assuming EP loss does not kill you, you have 36% chance to die during this driving sequence (almost as bad as crossing Trinity River).
217 or 317: -> 285
285: -> 127
127: -> 94 (13. Romantic Interlude)
13. Romantic Interlude
94: No Rope -> 246
246: -> 335
335: RNG+5 (Stealth 5). 70% chance of no damage (-> 57), 30% chance to lose 2EP (-> 114)
57 or 114: Missile weapon -> 193
193: Rifle -> 264
264: EP + Shooting 3. As long as EP => 5, 5+3 = 8 (success -> 77). If EP is 4 or below, it’s game over (-> 96, but if 4EP, 4+5 = 9 -> 258 insta-death. The only way this sequence leads to anything is if you use a medi-kit at 96 that you had not already used -> 83, which leads to close combat, and if you win that you survive. But that is an unlikely path and you should have used the medikit before 264 to succeed in the shooting).
77: Lose 1 bullet (0 to 8 remaining) -> 175
175: Take Water (3 or 4 remaining), 5 medikits, and backpack items as desired (max 3 items). Do not drop the CB Radio you got in 11. Abilene. Do not use the medikits -> 297
297: Refill Water (4 remaining) -> 36 (14. Illusionary Choice)
14. Illusionary Choice
36: It’s illusionary because you face the same danger and skill rolls whichever way you go. Cruel dungeonmastering. Go south -> 319
319: RNG+6 (Field Craft 3 + Perception 3). 50% chance of success (-> 75), 50% chance to fail (-> 207). You really want to succeed in this roll since it is hard to avoid the insta-death if you fail.
If succeed
75: Drink (3 water remaining) -> 185 (15. Blowing the Bridge)
If fail
207: RNG + medikits. You have at least 5, so minimum 30% chance of success, +10% chance for every additional medikit you possess, guaranteed to succeed if you (somehow) have the maximum of 12. If fail (-> 330) game over, if succeed -> 234
234: Lose 1 medikit, -1EP, take 2 drinks (2 water remaining) -> 185 (15. Blowing the Bridge)
15. Blowing the Bridge
185: Use medikits freely now to heal to min EP 13 (if you currently have 1EP and only 4 medikits) and max EP 17 (if you already have EP higher than 17, that’s ok but leads to some missed loot). If you have less than 3 bullets remaining, drop your Rifle -> 68
68: -> 135 if you have Rifle and at least 3 bullets, otherwise -> 288 (gain Rifle + 3 bullets). Either way, you now have a Rifle and at least 3 bullets.
135 or 288: Another irrelevant choice, let’s go factory -> 243
243: Rifle -> 145
145: RNG+3 (Shooting 3). 30% chance of success (-> 229), 70% chance to fail (-> 349)
If succeed
229: Lose 1 bullet (min 2 remaining). EP + Stealth 5 is guaranteed success since we have at least 13EP -> 200
If fail
349: Lose 1 bullet (min 2 remaining). RNG+5 (Stealth 5), 30% chance of death (-> 151), 70% chance to succeed (-> 260). Overall 21% chance of dying in this sequence is high but slightly more forgiving than some previous encounters!
260: EP + Stealth 5 is guaranteed success since we have at least 13EP -> 200
200: -> 39
39: -> 231 (16. Westbrook)
16. Westbrook
231: Drink (1 or 2 remaining). EP + Perception 3: you will succeed if current EP => 18 (-> 338). However failing this check is actually preferable due to equipment gain, hence effort to keep EP between 13 and 17 -> 167
If succeed
338: RNG+5 (Driving 5). 70% chance of no damage (-> 296), 30% chance to lose 2EP (-> 6)
296 or 6: -> 347 (17. Coahoma Gauntlet)
If fail
167: EP + Stealth 5: since min EP = 13, 13+5 = 18 -> 248
248: CB Radio -> 116
116: Missile weapon -> 143
143: Lose 1 bullet (min 1 remaining). Take Rifle bullets (min 3 remaining), Water (full canteen), medikits and Fire Extinguisher (drop other equipment if more than 3 backpack items) -> 347 (17. Coahoma Gauntlet)
17. Coahoma Gauntlet
347: Use medikits freely now to heal as much as possible (current min EP = 16) -> 11 if you have Binoculars, -> 33 if not (flavour text only)
11 or 33: -> 170
170: -> 210
210: RNG roll: 10% chance of insta-death (-> 121). 90% chance to survive (both 27 and 328 are flavour text, neither result in damage).
27 or 328: -> 179
179: Drink (0 to 3 remaining) -> 89
89: RNG + EP + Stealth 5. Since current min EP = 16, you have at most 20% chance of failure (-> 10), and a very high probability of success (-> 313).
If succeed
313: last unavoidable fight, if win -> 70 (18. Fire)
If fail
10: -3EP (min EP = 13). RNG + EP = at least 80% chance of success (-> 272), 20% chance of death (-> 148) if you only have the minimum 13EP.
272: last unavoidable fight, if win -> 70 (18. Fire)
18. Fire
70: Not given a choice on whether we want to use the missile weapon, we have Rifle and at least 2 bullets so -> 292
292: Rifle -> 41
41: RNG+3 (Shooting 3): no chance of success -> 340
340: Lose 1 bullet (min 1 remaining). RNG roll: 30% chance of 6EP damage (-> 79), 70% chance of 2EP damage (-> 197)
79 or 197: -> 219
219: -> 59 if you have Fire Extinguisher (no EP loss), otherwise 2 to 4 EP loss -> 92
59 or 92: -> 188 (19. Finale)
19. Finale
188: EP + Stealth 5 check but actually this is straightforward. If you have at least 4 EP you succeed (4+5 = 9 -> 290). If you have 3EP or less it’s game over (-> 221, lose 7EP, bad luck)
290: Missile weapon (we have at least 1 bullet) -> 132
132: Lose 1 bullet (min 0 remaining) -> 350
350: You survived the highways but lost the girl. How’s that for a cliffhanger?
Closing Thoughts
So how difficult is it to succeed in this gamebook? Well, let’s start with the rolls that lead to instant death.
2. Denton: c33% * 40% = c13% chance to die
5. Trinity River: 38% chance to die
7. Biker Attack: 10% chance to die
12. Dangerous Driving: 36% chance to die
14. Illusionary Choice: most difficult to quantify because # of medikits is unknown. 50% chance to get bitten and if we assume 50% chance of death = c25% chance to die
15. Blowing the Bridge: 21% chance to die
17. Coahoma Gauntlet: 10% chance to die
So the probability for a single character to survive all that would be 87% * 62% * 90% * 64% * 75% * 79% * 90% = 16.6%
It’s impossible to quantify death to EP loss because of the sheer number of variables (which rolls you take damage for, combat, RNG outcome etc). All I can do is provide a gutfeel estimate, which is that 2 out of 3 characters who don’t die from insta-deaths will die from EP loss. So that would reduce the chance of success from 16.6% to around 5.5%.
This still assumes good rolls for initial CS, EP and medikits, and optimal choices/skill distribution as shown in this walkthrough. If we were to try to account for suboptimal starting stats and choices, the numbers would plummet much further.
So there you have it. Even if you follow this walkthrough, you have about a 1 in 20 shot of succeeding at this gamebook
.Comments, questions and feedback welcome. If anybody has any contributions, suggestions or ideas where they think an alternative selection or decision would increase chances of success, I would be very happy to hear about it
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