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Post by zorkraan on Sept 23, 2016 20:23:52 GMT
I just checked, and I found no obvious discrepancies in the game-flow to either of those bonus adventures (20 or 22). There are three problems in the bonus adventure to Book 21, however. See this list for details. Many thanks (phewww regarding 20 & 22). When Holmgard Press will republish those books, those errata will be taken into account for sure
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Post by Wise Eagle on Sept 27, 2016 23:07:40 GMT
Also missing as indicated earlier. It is not explained in the book how to make a Test, so will power stealing is not usable at all. Dear Wise Eagle & Rusty Gladiator, Very sorry if the text was unclear ! By 'Both you and your chosen enemy then take a Test' when you try to cast Willsteal, we meant "Both you and your chosen enemy pick a number from the Random Number Table". I hope it will help you to use the Discipline of Kaenos against the numerous Agarashi of the adventure. This will be corrected in further editions of LW29 What happens if both scores the same total? No transfer takes place in either direction? It is also important to note that it is Random Number + current Endurance score for both the caster and enemy, which is tested (compared). It makes the ability useful when you have the enemy at a much lower Endurance score than yourself, i.e. usually when close to killing it. But if the enemy has 10 or more Endurance than you, you will just lose Willpower if you try to use it.
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Post by zorkraan on Sept 28, 2016 9:30:53 GMT
What happens if both scores the same total? No transfer takes place in either direction? As said in the game rules: "If your total score is now higher than that of your enemy, it will immediately suffer a loss of WILLPOWER that is equal to the difference between your two totals." Hence, you're correct, for if both scores the same total, the difference = 0. Please note the Player does not lose supplementary WILLPOWER if his total score is lower than that of the enemy (no reverse transfer). It is also important to note that it is Random Number + current Endurance score for both the caster and enemy, which is tested (compared). Thanks for clarifying that point. It makes the ability useful when you have the enemy at a much lower Endurance score than yourself, i.e. usually when close to killing it. But if the enemy has 10 or more Endurance than you, you will just lose Willpower if you try to use it. I see you have perfectly understood how it works and how it must be used
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Post by kiwiwolf on Oct 2, 2016 16:57:03 GMT
So I finally got around to reading the BA (I tried once when the book arrived, died and petulantly got annoyed so only just came back to it haha). One thing that puzzled me was that the armour at the end gives bonus CS and E points, but only in the ending section where it's no use. Is that just a bonus to hear you get a powerful armour or does it mean we may be able to replay the character in another adventure somewehere?
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Post by kiwiwolf on Oct 2, 2016 16:57:51 GMT
PS, I agree with all the complementary posts. Both the main story and the BA were epic improvements on previous books.
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Post by zorkraan on Oct 2, 2016 17:37:29 GMT
So I finally got around to reading the BA (I tried once when the book arrived, died and petulantly got annoyed so only just came back to it haha). Where did you die ? I'm curious ^^. In any case thank you for your kind comments ! One thing that puzzled me was that the armour at the end gives bonus CS and E points, but only in the ending section where it's no use. Is that just a bonus to hear you get a powerful armour or does it mean we may be able to replay the character in another adventure somewehere? Well, both. It is a huge reward for Elkamo Doko, and believe me the war against the Agarashi of Gorgoron is far from being over as well as the global conflict versus the forces of Darkness. He will need an make a good use of this armour! So fingers crossed, Elkamo may return in further adventures, equipped with this gorgeous armour. After all, Lady Assiliah was already featured in the LW20BA - The Purifiers of Kazan-Oud, along with the father of Elkamo, and she returned in LW29BA. Other point: this armour was also here to confirm that such epic equipment does exist and may be used by Game Masters in Lone Wolf roleplaying sessions.
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Post by kiwiwolf on Oct 2, 2016 19:55:51 GMT
Ah I see, hadn't thought about that aspect! I died at the battle due to poor planning and positioning of troops! Was expecting it to be quite an easy quick read so was very pleasantly surprised at the level of depth to this story!
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Post by zorkraan on Oct 2, 2016 20:18:15 GMT
I died at the battle due to poor planning and positioning of troops! Was expecting it to be quite an easy quick read so was very pleasantly surprised at the level of depth to this story! Pheeew now that's a compliment thank you so much . The battle of Colo Brige is tricky, I admit it. It's difficult to anticipate where each type of Agarashi troops will attack. We wanted to propose a battle smaller than the Battle of Cetza, but including the possibility to choose the positioning of each unit.
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Post by Nym90 on Oct 13, 2016 15:39:43 GMT
Finally finished the book.
One thing that really stood out to me is that religious references were much more numerous than in earlier books. Your character specifically prays on at least a couple of occasions or otherwise gives thanks to Kai or Ishir, and you also recover endurance points at one point through direct divine intervention.
I think Joe's writing, while always good, has improved a lot with time. He goes into a lot more detail in his descriptions and did much more to flesh out the accompanying characters. That helped make their loss feel more genuine increased the emotional impact a lot, as compared to non player characters in earlier books.
One criticism I have is that the use of disciplines could be better balanced. There were at least a couple that aren't mentioned even once.
Also, there were quite a few typos and grammatical errors. Hopefully those can be cleaned up in future releases. Also some incorrect links in sections.
With regards to the Kirusami, I thought it was unfair that you automatically use it and cause its destruction if you have it. I would have much preferred if the player have the choice of whether or not to use it to dispose of the accursed weapon or use Grand Nexus instead. But the text makes it clear that if you have the Kirusami, you must turn to the section where it is lost.
I do think it was fair, though, for the player to deduce that the Kirusami might not be a good item to take along with you, given how it hurts you every time you use it. Clearly there's some residual evil magic still associated with it. Kinda like Helshezag in the Magnakai series.
Waaay fewer instadeaths than a typical Lone Wolf book. Only three in total, and two of those are equivalent sections (and oddly, embedded as part of a larger section, as opposed to being sections in their own right....I would have preferred for dramatic effect that you have to turn the page to get to those deaths). Thankfully the instadeaths are both avoidable if you have the proper selection of disciplines and equipment.
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Post by Nym90 on Oct 30, 2016 17:31:42 GMT
Unavoidable combats: Wild Guanza Herd (CS 42, EP 38), Chagarashi (CS 44, EP 40), Spectral Entity (CS 45, EP 34), Skarad (CS 41, EP 42), Anseng (undead) (CS 48, EP 50), Chagarashi Scout (CS 40, EP 40), Tkukoma Estuary (CS 34, EP 50), Klüz (Armed with Zukgudrak) (CS 48, EP 48), Xaol the Necromancer (Reconstructed Undead, with Serpent Staff) (CS 50, EP 50), Zashnor (in Ice Dragon form) (CS 54, EP 52)
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Post by Black Cat on Dec 3, 2016 7:56:17 GMT
Because of Joe's untimely death, I've decided to read book 29, without waiting for the republication of the other NO books. I said read: I didn't keep track of my CS and EP and I skipped the combats, but when asked if I had a certain discipline, I played as if I was still missing 3 of them (luckily, Bardmanship and Astrology don't seem very useful here, and Magi-magic can easily be replaced by Alchemy). I haven't played the bonus adventure yet.
The Good -Indeed, like some of you said, Joe's writing got better over the years. The deaths of the GM's companions were somehow better written, and the psychological effects on the surviving ones more plausible, closer to real life. -Is it me or is this story longer? Normally, playing a LW book, it takes me 2-3 hours to complete. Just READING this one took me nearly 4 hours! -The synopsis for this book is good but similar to book 27: go there, here are your allies, grab the evil artefact, bring it back here, allies are dead, you win... In this case, it felt somehow different because of the variations in the tempo of the story: go there, here's your ally, your ally is dead, grab the evil artefact, here are your new allies, bring the artefact back there... nope, change of plans, bring it back there, one dead ally, another dead ally, new allies, another dead ally again, you win... I don't know how to express it, but I have the feeling this story was less "go from point A to point B and back again" but instead had a lot of twists and turns.
The Bad -TYPOS! There are many of them! I laughed so hard when, in the same section, the inn-keeper got THREE different names because of typos! -Since I've read the book (not playing), I took the liberty to check both choices at the end of certains sections. A lot of times, I got the feeling that whatever the decision you were making, it changed nothing: both decisions brought you to very similar sections before bringing you back to the main course without giving you any advantage at all. I felt that there were wasted sections that could had been filled with something else instead of a little variation of another section. -I remember back in my first few years on the Project Aon forums that I had created a thread to speculate on the unwritten books 29 to 32. Among the speculations were the names of the bad guys that we had encountered in the previous adventures that we thaught would come back in one of those last books. I'm pleased to say that I was right about the return of Xaol! However, Vandyan and Ulonga won't be back and that's disappointing for me: their deaths are not linked to the main adventure (my Grand Master didn't killed them). At least, I'm hoping for the return of Sesketera...
And now, with a title like "Dead in the Deep" and a missing but still breathing Kai Grand Master there, I'm waiting to go back (again) to the Maakengorge in book 30...
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Post by Wise Eagle on Dec 3, 2016 13:03:48 GMT
The books gets longer. This is very much noticeable from book 13. Before 13, the books reiterates far less in the story in different branches.
Astrology always been useless in every book. Bardsmanship and Herbmastery are little used. Elementalism is one of the most used disciplines. What is noteworthy in this book in this respect. All the 12 grand master disciplines receive improvements (even those that did not in corresponding Lone Wolf book), and none of the 4 new order disciplines.
Choices usually have some significance. You win gold, or lose gold. You get the chance to get some items or you do not. You lose a different amount of HP. Generally, though there is no longer divergence of sections in this book. After 5 to 10 sections (at the latest) you are back on the main story.
You so sure about Maakengorge? Cragmantle is the home to another deep chasm since that's where it opened. Ljuk lies by a deep sea with caverns going deep into earth. The name seems to have been chosen so it would fit all of the three possible locations to go to.
About who's going to be back I'm sure the ceners will make a comeback, not in 30, but in 31 or 32. Ruel is one of the mustering points to which none of the grand masters go.
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Post by Black Cat on Dec 3, 2016 17:19:21 GMT
Choices usually have some significance. You win gold, or lose gold. You get the chance to get some items or you do not. You lose a different amount of HP. Generally, though there is no longer divergence of sections in this book. After 5 to 10 sections (at the latest) you are back on the main story. I was more refering to things like: "If you have this Discipline, turn to X. If not, turn to X." Good example: section 34. You can decide to enter the building (section 308) or act as lookout (section 216). Read both sections: the text is almost identical! You don't get any advantage or disadvantage by picking either choice, and you don't get any new informations about Magnamund or the story. Whatever you decide, you turn to section 203 immediatly after these sections. I've noticed there are a lot more of sections like that than in previous gamebooks. I don't know, but instead of wasting sections like that, maybe it could had been better to have more sections with a significant impact on the story (or more instant death sections like someone suggested). That's a speculation on my part but like I said: a living but missing Grand Master is there so it will be something like: go there, here's your ally (the surviving GM), your ally dies, do what he was supposed to do in the first place, come back here... And don't forget that Vashna's Disciples are gathering at the Maakengorge. Archdruid Cadak, a Cener, was their leader in book 16 and a lot of Disciples fled to Morgaruith at the end of the Darklands War, so there's a chance that you'll see the Cener. Plus, if you have read the bonus adventure in book 21 and made certain decisions, (SPOILER) a Doomstone was hidden in the Maaken Ruins. The ruins were leveled in MS 5101: the Doomstone could have fallen into the gorge.
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Post by Wise Eagle on Dec 3, 2016 23:41:59 GMT
There is quite a lot of walking about in Valus and Dwala and none of the choices matters to a greater degree. It is just a few gold and potions being won, lost or used. It is different paths to a destination. You do learn some things about the area, but not anything of greater significance. It sort of makes sense since the GM can't be wounded at every other section or he would never make it through alive. Streamlining is significant in LW 29.
If you get tired of losing all your companions, you can try book 25 with xaol again. No allies lost in that one.
Dead in the Deep would surely be Vashna's army or Vashna in that case. The rescue missions is carried out by Banedon and brotherhood magicians. If you go there the main goal is to complete the failed mission.
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koreth
Kai Lord
The Cener Druids rule all. Accept it.
Posts: 110
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Post by koreth on Dec 5, 2016 19:04:13 GMT
Almost certainly has to involve the Maakengorge surrendering it's dead to make a central strong backbone to a new army.
Tack on Agarashi and Cener intelligence/spy infiltraion & misc darkland remnants and there is a very credible threat to all of magnamund.
Naar can't have much else in the tank, so it is the endgame.
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