April A to Z - O is for The Overlord from the Citadel of Chaos by Jamie Thomson

He auditioned for Tron.

Appears in:  Citadel of Chaos by Jamie Thomson (not to be confused with the Citadel of Chaos by Steve Jackson who is not to be confused with the Steve Jackson who wrote Scorpion Swamp.  We all clear now? Good).  This is the 2nd book in the Eternal Champions series.  However, just to clear it up, the evil ruler of Godorno is The Coils of Hate is also called the Overlord.  

Background:  The Overlord is a computer program whose(?) original aim was to make sure that humanity was well looked after.  However, soon got ideas of its own and starting trying to sap humanity's strength by making live a life of pleasure.  Anyone who objected was killed and replaced with clones.  Now the Overlord has taken over most of the World.

Prominence:  The Overlord himself(?) only shows up at the end, but you have to deal with his(?) its(?) servants all of the way through the book.  There are several underlings who you have to fight first.  9/10.

Hardness:  The Overlord's program is stored within an indestructible titanium cube so you can't destroy the hardware.  It can also go anywhere on the world wide web so it needs to so you have t trap it with a cybercage program.  If you do manage to face the program, it will be tough as the Overlord knows almost every martial art with only a few weaknesses in the program.  9/10

Ambition:  The Overlord wants World domination and the eradication of humanity.  10/10.

Style:  He's a computer program so he's not too hot on clothes.  He also doesn't mince his words and refers to you as a virus.  However, when he dies, he makes a nice multicoloured explosion.  5/10

Diabolical genius:  He manage to fool humanity that he was helping them while taking over the World.  He's also smart enough to take a lot of precautions to protect himself.  He has systematically gained control over most living things.  9/10

Total score:  He's strong, effective but not too fancy.  A bit like a computer program should be.  42/50

April A to Z - B is for Balthus Dire

Do you work out?

Appears in:  Citadel of Chaos (Fighting Fantasy 2) by Steve Jackson, The Trolltooth Wars (Fighting Fantasy novel) by Steve Jackson.

Background:  Lives in a citadel, surrounded by chaotic creatures and wants to attack the Vale of the Willow.

Prominence:  You don't see him until the very end.  None of the inhabitants of the citadel seem to attack you on his orders.  Some of them are friendly towards you.  You can placate even his wife if you have a hairbrush.  1/10

Hardness:  When you enter Balthus's room, you must first dodge a flying trident and then fight a clawbeast, which is a difficult fight, especially as you lose you wepon when you hit it four times.  However, both of these obstacles can be negated if you have the correct spells.

Balthus is a powerful sorcerer, though, unlike other sorcerers, he is not so powerful that he can kill you with a single spell.  However, his stats are a very respectable skill of 10 (12 with his ring) and a stamina of 19 which means that he can beat most warriors is straightforward combat.

He does make some mistakes, though.  He stores a powerful magical sword in his room, ready for you to steal and use against him.  You are able to steal his ring and reduce his skill and he also dies if exposed to sunlight.

Now the last problem does not necessarily stop you being a great villain (vampires really do a lot of damage for example), but it's a fatal mistake if you make your home in the top of a tower with only curtains between you and certain death.  In fact, when you are offered the option of pulling down the curtains, it offers the idea of throwing them over his head, giving the impression that no one would think that a powerful sorcerer would  be that stupid.

If you have the correct spells, then you are able to kill Balthus Dire without any problems.  6/10

Ambition:  Invading a city state.  7/10

Style:  Lives in a quite normal (for a villain) dungeon/castle called the Black Tower (pretty normal name for a villanous base).  However, he does buck the sorcerer trend towards robes and beards and works it well.  4/10

Diabolical genius:  There are some weird things in the Black Tower, but most of them are not Dire's doing.  However, he is quite diabolical in your confrontation with him (unlike Agglax who runs away and calls for his bodyguards because mummy Sith isn't around).  3/10

Total score:  His plan is unsophisticated, his servants (and wife) don't really respect him enough to really try to kill you and he lives in a place that will kill him if a curtain rail falls down.  23/50

Your adventure ends here - Some I like

Here's some failure paragraphs which I like for some reason.  Enjoy!

The first one is from Space Assassin by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone.
 
An orange glow pervades the room, reflecting off everything except the spheres which remain implacably black. Little doors materailize in front of each sphere and swallow them as they droft over their thesholds; within seconds the entire room is bereft of the spheres. The doors evaporate, leaving you easy eaccess to the other side of the room. Before you can stroll across, however, the room vanishes and you find yourself floating in a starry void, light years from anywhere. A stone tablet drifts slowly into view. It is engraved: "We eliminated seventy-seven spheres of annihilation on your account. As you do not have the means of paying your bill for this service we have taken the liberty of foreclosing and transporting you to this place. Sorry."
 
The tablet drifts away, leaving you to spin in the void. You have failed.

Why I like this ending

It's all about the 'sorry' at the end.  It adds a touch of humour to floating in eternal blackness.

This ending is from Moonrunner by Stephen Hand.

You have leaned the hard way that there is no escape from Karam Gruul's infamous wire tunic.  Your hunt for the fiend ends in a most grisly fashion.

Why I like this ending

This ending highlights what an evil genius Karam Gruul is. Anyone who has invented their own grisly infamous trap deserves respect.

The next ending is from the Citidel of Chaos (no, not that one) by Jamie Thompson.

You ave no way of entering e Overlord's World and none of the thinkers among the Champions can come up with a solution either...and time is running out.  After ten minutes or so, the double doors crash open and a veritable army of Enforcers and Cybermarines come boiling in.  The battle is epic in scale and you will go down i the annals of the Resistance forever.  But the outcome is never in doubt.  Eventually, you are all overwhelmed.  It is all over.

Why I like this ending

It is a great example of a blaze of glory ending. 

This ending is from Deathtrap Dungeon by Ian Livingstone.

You step up to the mirror and are amused by your distorted reflection. Your head looks as large as a pumpkin and your face is exceedingly strange. Suddenly, without warning, a terrible pain pounds through your head and you try to look away from the mirror but are unable to. Some evil force is keeping your eyes glued to your own reflection. You grip your head with your hands and realize with horror that it is expanding. You can withstand it no longer and, blacking out with the pain, you fall unconscious to the floor, never to wake.

Why I like this paragraph

It has an element of horror to it.  It starts off with you looking at a funny image of yourself in a mirror and ends up with you dying horribly.

The last one is from Necklace of Skulls by Dave Morris.

No expression shows on the hard ma-like face as you make your genuflection.  There is no roar of rage to show he is affronted nor flash of sullen anger in his eye.  He only raises his sceptre slowly as though to emphasize the point he is about to make.  Then, before you have a chance to move, he brings the sceptre swishing down to split your skull open like a melon.  Your adventure ends suddenly and horribly.  

Why I like this ending

This paragraph really drives home how stuffed you are and hopeless your situation is against your foe.  First of all, it contains the word genuflection.  I have no idea what it means and so my situation also becomes hopeless in a literary way. 

Then he does nothing to show off his power which is a clear indication that he has so much power that he does not need to show it off.  Oh dear.  All he does is slowly raise his sceptre.  However, even that is too quick for me and he then splits my skull open like a melon.  Which means he didn't find that too difficult. 

Next time...

A summary of what I have learnt from all these death paragraphs.

I will also post about my own writing.  Something I have done very little of during the winter, but I think I need to do it more regularly.