tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post372461679458025235..comments2024-03-29T00:32:33.920-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: White Dwarf: Issue #71James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-92030627657699360262023-04-19T17:36:15.403-04:002023-04-19T17:36:15.403-04:00Once again, I'm dubious about those numerical ...Once again, I'm dubious about those numerical review ratings.<br /><br />Thrilling locations was well put together, to be sure, but it's not in the same league as Masks.Sir Harrokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11064391207365006286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-18369194842741340872023-04-19T13:51:36.836-04:002023-04-19T13:51:36.836-04:00Yes, the Avenger! series was recently (ish; 2014) ...Yes, the Avenger! series was recently (ish; 2014) republished and re-released, alongside the long-awaited final volume, resolving a cliffhanger that had been, um, hanging since 1987.<br /><br />The setting, Orb, was from the authors' D&D campaign that they played in the 70s, and as others have mentioned, also appeared in other gamebooks.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27226814840213449872023-04-19T13:46:07.231-04:002023-04-19T13:46:07.231-04:00A reimagined version (or perhaps a sequel?) of tha...A reimagined version (or perhaps a sequel?) of that cover image also appears on the cover of the more recent second edition of Dragon Warriors.thekelvingreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01928260185408072124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-86337194720969287872023-04-19T10:13:15.279-04:002023-04-19T10:13:15.279-04:00The series was called The Way of the Tiger and con...The series was called The Way of the Tiger and consisted of six books. Avenger! being the first. I collected all of them in the gamebook collection phase of my life in the early 2000s. <br /><br />The authors are familiar names--Jamie Thomson and Mark Smith -- who penned the Fighting Fantasy book, <i>Talisman of Death</i>, as well as other gamebooks. The Games Workshop crew authored what, 90% of all of these solo gamebooks? (I'm being facetious, but then again, maybe I'm not.) <br /><br />The series takes place on the world of Orb, which was also featured in ToD, and you will eventually run into ToD's primary villains in the WotT series, Tyutchev and Cassandra, two of my favorite villainous NPCs. <br /><br />It's a good series, and has been updated recently. I recommend it for the story and unique combat system, and other reasons mentioned previously. Good stuff! radnoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11006466605445207729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-32829297897899397332023-04-19T06:06:54.096-04:002023-04-19T06:06:54.096-04:00I owned Avenger! and Assassin! (and Usurper! also ...I owned Avenger! and Assassin! (and Usurper! also in the same series. Possibly a first one called simply Ninja!) The Ninja theme was good fun- gaining allies, learning deadly new skills from secret masters, gaining the odd supernatural ability through sacrifice and risk- surviving the poison of one demon made you resistant to other poisons AND you could loot his corpse and use his poison on some other unfortunate.<br /><br />The combat system was fun, giving you several options (not all combat) and a few moves to choose from. With logical selection of the right move proving helpful or even fatal if wrong (don't try the Teeth of Tiger throw on giant opponents guys).Reasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09761229490262589438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-81189824151146777032023-04-18T17:54:30.189-04:002023-04-18T17:54:30.189-04:00Your are correct. Thanks for pointing out my error...Your are correct. Thanks for pointing out my error. I'll fix that.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-76163279389468132172023-04-18T17:49:19.665-04:002023-04-18T17:49:19.665-04:00"A Box of Old Bones" was actually writte..."A Box of Old Bones" was actually written by Dave Morris, and i imagine it's probably been played using Dragon Warriors a fair bit as, of course, Morris is the game's main designer and it's set in the Dragon Warriors campaign world. Indeed it's been republished twice in adventure anthologies for refent editions of Dragon Warriors, and again in Morris's blog (https://fabledlands.blogspot.com/2016/12/an-unearthed-relic.html). Harun Musho'dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12557785368640776659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-42263010232129186262023-04-18T16:27:15.332-04:002023-04-18T16:27:15.332-04:00The Travellers was always fun. That was one of the...The Travellers was always fun. That was one of the better Thrud cartoons. Footfall by Niven and Pournelle wasn't Mote in Gods Eye, but it was pretty decent, esp. compared to later work.<br /><br />I remember running Shadows on Yorbund. Mostly for the worst-ever PC death: the poor guy fell down a shaft, cracked open his faceplate, in a corrosive atmosphere... the party recovered his body but then got chased by alien rat things, so they dropped his body to delay the rats, then opened fire on the swarm with explosive ammo from their ACRs and snub pistols when they bunched up to eat it.David Pulverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00857524962421597982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-35912491081501218332023-04-18T16:22:49.038-04:002023-04-18T16:22:49.038-04:00Whoops, finger trouble on my previous post.
...b...Whoops, finger trouble on my previous post.<br /><br /><br />...but only ever rolled up a couple of knights and ran through some combats with by the book monsters. However it did seem a neat wee game though and I did like the artwork and adventures in the books.<br /><br />I went back and read your monster post. 27 April 2009! Almost 14y to the day. Well done for keeping at it so long and finding the inspiration to restart after you paused for several years.<br /><br />I agree with your point about too many, especially humanoids. It seems to me that there's a gap in the rule books on monster selection and theming. I've created several lists of monsters based around themes (undead, Greek mythology, Tolkien, classic fairytale) but never organised them into something usable.Jacob72https://www.blogger.com/profile/17268402292420473229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27851863036766176002023-04-18T16:18:10.496-04:002023-04-18T16:18:10.496-04:00I have never played it, though I've been curio...I have never played it, though I've been curious about it for years. The truth is I already have more RPGs than I'll likely ever get the chance to play, so I'm (generally) reluctant to seek out more.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38262262420280132662023-04-18T16:15:50.519-04:002023-04-18T16:15:50.519-04:00That is a great cover. It was used for the front c...That is a great cover. It was used for the front cover of the first book of the Dragon Warriors RPG, so it's no coincidence that it is used for this issue of WD.<br /><br />Have you ever played Dragon Warriors? I bought the first three books as a paperback set, but only ever rolled up a couple of knights Jacob72https://www.blogger.com/profile/17268402292420473229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5562995666256506862023-04-18T14:57:46.938-04:002023-04-18T14:57:46.938-04:00"These remain issues in this style of popular..."These remain issues in this style of popular fiction even today, which is why I prefer short stories over 600-page doorstops."<br /><br />It's gotten to the point where 600 pages isn't even remarkably long these days. 1000+ page behemoths are no longer unheard of, where any rational editor should have demanded the writer segment that mess into at least two or three individual books. Makes me seriously nostalgic for the days of my youth when authors could still produce an engaging and complete story in under 200 pages, and anything over 350 was a rarity and often a sign of something special - because no sane publisher would have let a really bad book bloat to that point. These days a fat book is more often a sign that it's barely-edited garbage than anything.<br /><br />Small wonder traditional publishing is a dying industry and book sales decline year after year.<br /><br />"..this month's installment of Thrud the Barbarian leaves no doubt as to its purpose..."<br /><br />There have been a number of Thrud miniatures over the years, but the one based off this famous image (complete with the gal on his leg) has eluded me for all these years, alas.<br /><br />"...Terra Tower, a beanstalk (as we'd call it today) stretching from Earth's equator to syncrhonous orbit..."<br /><br />Given that "beanstalk" stems from a European fairy tale, I wonder if other cultures/language groups with different myths use that term? Or are there other slang terms for "space elevators" (a term that may not be universal itself) out there in languages I don't speak or read?Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.com