Villain Profile - Globus

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Appears in


Spectral Stalkers (Fighting Fantasy 45)


Background


Globus is an archmage on the Ziggurat World who has summoned the Spectral Stalkers to find the Aleph, a powerful magical artefact that can transport its bearer to any time and place.  With it, he will attempt to conquer the Macrocosmos.


Prominence


Globus does not have any influence in any of the other worlds you come across in the Macrocosmos, but he does have an entry for him in the Directory of Wizards in the library of Limbo.  When you get to the Ziggurat World, you will find that he is its ruler, known to and hated by all that he rules over.  9/10


Hardness


You do not see any stats for Globus, but seeing as he places himself in an almost impenetrable giant crystal, I can't imagine that his skill and stamina are too high.  That said, he has placed himself in an almost impenetrable giant crystal, so you can't actually kill him. 8/10


Ambition


Globus looks down on those petty villains who want to conquer a mere world as he wants to rule the whole Macrocosmos.  He truly is aiming for the Moon.  And all the other planets.  11/10


Style


He pretends to be all luvvy duvvy and nice but in fact he is really really evil.  He also has some cool killer servants and lives on a giant Ziggurat.  7/10


Diabolical genius


He's under no illusions that he is anything but a tyrannical ruler.  He is also smart enough to know that because of that, most people want to kill him.  And also, he is not so vain that he thinks that people who hate him will fear him so much that they won't try to kill him.  He really takes precautions against those people.  He is able to summon and command some invincible relentless killers.  And when you do meet him, he pretends to be some kindly wizard who will help you.  In fact, you have to be pretty clever yourself to get him killed.  9/10


Total


Globus really has it all covered.  He already rules one world and from the point of view of most gamebooks, that's already game over.  He has super powered killer servants (who are, however, not too bright) and makes sure that no one will kill him.  It's only through a loophole that you have any chance of winning.  44/50

April A to Z - X is for Xakhaz

I'd hate to be his tailor.

Appears in:  Beneath Nightmare Castle (Fighting Fantasy 25) by Peter Darvill-Evans.

Background:  Was an archmage of the despicable gods of Zagoula.  He was defeated three centuries ago and his spirit was sealed beneath the city of Neuberg.  He has been awakened by a sorceress who has gained control over the ruler of Neuberg, Baron Tholdur and has moved into his castle.  He is now sending lots of disgusting beasts into the town and killing innocents.

Prominence:  Almost all of the encounters in the book are because of Xakhaz.  The swordsmen are there because they want to raise Xakhaz from the dead.  The Lovecraftian monsters are Xakhaz's creations.  There are many other sadistic encounters such as being attacked by Baron Tholdur's daughter who is wearing a crazed suit of plate mail or by a crazy goo driven robot who calls himself Skarlos (the hero who slew Xakhaz three centuries ago).  Xakhaz clearly likes to revel in his insanity.  9/10

It's not a barrel of laughs.

Hardness:  You have to pass a willpower test to fight him.  If you do, you will realise that the huge mound of limbs that is Xakhaz is way more powerful than even the strongest adventurer - skill 14, stamina 32.  He can be killed or severely weakened if you have both the Talisman of Loth and the green glass globe.  There are also several skill enhancing items so you can even the odds a bit as well.  8/10

Ambition:  Wants to become lord of all Khul.  9/10

Style:  Xakhaz is Lovecraftian through and through.  Neuberg Keep his not his place, but he's making it his own with his tentacled horrors, diseased mutants, 'head juice' to drink and general terror that could snap you sanity at any point.  Unlike most other sorcerers, he is a huge mound of limbs and other body parts that have been sewn together.  Great.  9/10.

Diabolical genius:  Xakhaz's ways are defeating you are unique in the sense that death is one of the better options.  Madness is his main weapon.  Xakhaz has also created his own unique monsters that can drive someone insane as much as tear them to pieces.  In fact, Xakhaz doesn't kill many people unless he wants some body parts.  He's actually quite efficient.  He also has a sick sense of humour.  Instead of locking up the baron's daughter he puts her in a suit of plate mail which attacks people.  He lets Senyakhaz control the baron's mind and he creates a mockery of his former killer.  What a joker.  9/10.

Total score:  Xakhaz is great.  Most evil sorcerers like to cause terror and mayhem but most evil sorcerers also prefer to have the boring bipedal body structure and just employ orcs to do their dirty work.  Most evil sorcerers are also not completely insane.  These sorcerers have a lot to learn from Xakhaz.  44/50

Your adventure ends here - a quick ending

Here is an ending from The Screaming Spectre by Dave Morris.

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You cower in the bottom of the boat under a tarpaulin and pray they'll miss you.

They don't.

Why I like this ending

Some death paragraphs, particularly ones by Peter Darvill-Evans are great because they into loads of disgusting detail of how you meet your end.  This paragraph is great because it doesn't.  All it tells you is that your plan doesn't work and that the result of your choice ends in your death, but it is left to your imagination of just how the phantoms suck out your soul. 

The paragraph is almost written like a joke.  It describes your "plan" as a build up.  The punchline, 'They don't' is a commentary on how lame your plan was. 

I think this is Dave Morris's way of saying 'YOU'RE A FREAKING WIZARD.  I GAVE YOU 9 SPELLS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK AND THE BEST YOU CAN DO IS HIDE IN A BOAT.  GET STUFFED.'

How did I get into this mess?

I'm a wizard trying to get across a swamp.  I meet a ferryman who says that phantoms live in the swamp and eat people's souls, but his boat is blessed and will protect you if you pay him 2 items to get across.  That's half the things I can carry.  I decide to take another boat for free, but then realise that there are phantoms on the swamp and they want to eat my soul.  I have the option of hiding or casting a spell.  Casting a spell is the best option.

What have I learnt from this?

A lot of the death endings you read will be because of really stupid choices.  There is more than one way of telling someone that they have made a stupid choice than just telling them that their choice was stupid. 

Your adventure ends here - my favourite fiascoes

I wanted to write a post about failure endings in gamebooks, but so many of them were good for several reasons that I imagined having to write a huge post.  However, I didn't.  I'm going to write posts with one good failure ending and say why I like it.  This also solves the problem of lack of updates as I start out with a big idea I can never complete.  However, this way, there will be lots of updates. 

To me, failure endings in gamebooks have less impact on my enjoyment than success endings.  I think this is because when I see the fateful phrase 'Your adventure ends here.' I would rather go back to the beginning (OK, he previous page that I had my finger on) and get on with it. 

However, good failure endings can have a positive impact on your experience for many reasons which I will cover in this post and others. 

So here is the first of my favourites, from Beneath Nightmare Castle (Fighting Fantasy 25) by Peter Darvill-Evans.

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You open the door and find the blade of a curved sword inches from your nose.  You duck and crouch instinctively, ready to fight, but the hiss of many swords leaving their scabbards deters you.  You have no choice but to surrender.  You have walked into the section of the outer bailey that houses the hordes of southern warriors.  They remove all your possessions and clothes , lock you into an iron cell and provide you with decent rations.  Each evenig, they bring you out to play a game called 'Stone-drop':  you are pegged spreadeagled on the ground at the foot of one of the towers and two swordsmen, chosen by lot, have one chance each to drop a boulder from the top of the tower on to your head.  All the soldiers in the barracks come to watch and much excitement is generated.  Gold pieces change hands at furious rates as wagers are laid on which man will drop a boulder nearer to your head and on how many days it will be before one of the drops is accurate enough to crush your skull.  Eventually one of them is, and does. 

Why I like this death ending.

I love the old 'you open the door and there's a sword (or gun) pointing in your face' image.  The only image better than that is the image of several people holding guns or swords to your face.

Sing your way out of this one.

The only thing that would have made that entrance more awsome is if you had gotten out of it somehow, but then the paragraph wouldn't be in this blog. 

This could have so easily been a 'You get cornered by hordes of mooks; they kill you.' ending, but Peter Darvill-Evans made it a lot lot more.  Instead of just being sliced up on the spot, you are captured (fair enough) but then well fed (what's going on here?).

You then realise that instead of being quickly executed, you are actually the main entertainment for the southern soldiers for the next few days.  Peter Darvill-Evans goes into great detail about how much excitement, joy and profit your enemies get from making you the object of some sick game.  There is a very slow build up as you imagine boulders crashing nearer and nearer to your head before you are finally killed.

In fact, the author has a knack for writing detailed and brilliantly gruesome endings for you in this book.  I will be posting more failure endings from Beneath Nightmare Castle on this blog in future. 

Bonus points to the author for using the word spreadeagled.  I don't see that word enough in books.

How did I get into this mess?

You can end up on this paragraph while wandering around Neuberg Keep.  You are given the option of going to the outer bailey or the keep.  This is what happens if you go to the outer bailey.  I think the author wants you to head inside the keep and towards the main action rather than hang around with the mooks on the outside, not getting anything productive done. 

What have I learnt from this disaster?

The good thing about death in gamebooks is that you can learn from it after you start again. 

Next time, I would head for the keep.  Or, even better, I would find a more discrete entrance and not wander around a dangerous castle full of swordsmen and strange monsters in the middle of the day.  In fact, I would try to get under the castle as fast as possible.  The title of the book is quite a hefty clue.