Hello lovelies!
My Gamebook Adventures is doing a virtual meetup on November 21st at 7pm UK time
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Advanced Fighting Fantasy "civilian" adventure - The Goblin Gang
Hi all!
If you follow Advanced Fighting Fantasy, you will probably know that they released the Combat Companion.
As well as having plenty of great stuff for combat, it also had rules on creating characters with powers above or below the standard heroes in the core rulebook.
The lowest "level" is civilian level - basically a 0 level commoner.
I love low level games. The lower, the better, so I have created a civilian level adventure for Advanced Fighting Fantasy. I want to create enough adventures so the heroes get enough xp to go through to veteran level, which is what the heroes in the AFF core book start as.
Saturday, October 30, 2021
October roundup and November events
Hello all!
Here is this months news round up and upcoming events. There is a lot going on in the gamebook world in the autumn/winter months.
Edit on 31/10/2021
Happy Halloween! I am pleased to announce that Rebel Planet: The Graphic Novel was funded on Kickstarter and also the Fabled Lands crpg will include Golnir (book 2) in November! You can get Fabled Lands here: Fabled Lands - Steam News Hub (steampowered.com)
Breaking news
Rebel Planet, the graphic novel has 10 hours left from publication of this post! It is funded, so if you back it, you will get your reward!
FIGHTING FANTASY: REBEL PLANET the graphic novel by Mark Lain — Kickstarter
New gamebooks
Chooseco released the following titles:
The Citadel of Whispers (Kazim Ali)
YOU are Krishi, a Whisperer studying ancient, secret magic at the Citadel. A secret visitor arrives late one night with news of the encroaching attack by the powerful Narbolin empire, who are poised to possess all of the kingdom of Elaria. Will the decisions you make protect the many wondrous people of this rich, fantastic world?
Time Travel Inn (Bart King)
Your adventurous Grandmother Dolores makes you and your family the unlikely stewards of her Time Travel Inn in rural Wisconsin. You move from Florida to Wisconsin with hopes of investigating more about the inn, and your grandmother's disappearance, but quickly learn the inn is an epicenter for time travel research gone awry.
Choice of Games
Choice of Games has released Vampire: The Masquerade: Parliament of Knives by Jeffrey Dean. Vampire: The Masquerade — Parliament of Knives on Steam (steampowered.com)
There are also new hosted games:
Phil Sadler - The Dark Domain
Phil Sadler has made a new book. The Dark Domain.
The Dark Domain.docx - Google Docs
Nasa
NASA Releases Interactive Graphic Novel “First Woman” | NASA
Terror Unleashed
Terror Unleashed is volume 2 of the Unleashed anthology series, edited by Marie Lanza and MAtthew Hollis Damon. It features 20 stories by 20 authors, and the grand finale is a 100 section gamebook novella by our beloved Victoria Hancox, which is a prequel to her book Night Shift.
Trial of the Wolf Girls - free PDF
Trial of the Wolf Girls - Free Gamebook with Female Protagonist — Sersa Victory
Destiny Quest RPG
There is a development blog going on. The latest entry is about the starter adventure.
Josh Dev Diary #3: Writing the Starter Adventure • DestinyQuest RPG
Victoria Hancox
Victoria Hancox's fourth gamebook, Behind the Weeping Walls will be published at some point in November. Keep your eyes peeled (based on Victoria's usual material, that might literally happen to your character at some point).
James Schannep
Samuel Isaacson
Samuel Isaacson is releasing 2 gamebooks in November.
You’re a Wizard! (paperback pre-order) – IsaacsonAuthor.com
You’re a Wizard! is aimed at children aged 6-10 and is an interactive story in which you, a schoolchild, go on an exciting adventure. It’s a 100-section gamebook filled with original illustrations, and is designed specifically for a younger audience
The Bradfell Conspiracy (paperback pre-order) | Facebook
An interactive mystery where the reader attempts to find a friend and solve a murder in an amusing yet annoying city without losing their life.
Don Bosco
Don Bosco is running a launch party for his new book Last Kid Running: Night of the Six Headed Robogator. It will be on November 14th at 4:30pm-5pm Singapore Time.
Lone Wolf definitive editions
The Definitive Edition series from Holmgard Press is the first time Joe Dever's epic 32-book saga has ever been produced in one consistent format.
Available in deluxe collectable Hardback, and soon in portable & playable Paperback.
Drawing on the best art from across the years, with text freshly edited and gameplay newly tweaked by dedicated Lone Wolf scholars at Scriptarium and Project Aon, and with new supplementary material compiled by authors August Hahn, Vincent Lazzari, and Ben Devere - the DEFINITIVE EDITION series is the authoritative lasting testament to the world of LONE WOLF.
📚 Preorder your books from October 31 🎃 at Magnamund.com
SIGN UP HERE FOR UPDATES http://eepurl.com/gvnseP
R. Malak
R. Malak has released Heroes and Legends book 2
Heroes and Legends the Complete Edition is a collection of all five episodes from Book 2. Included: Episode 1 The Road Ahead, Episode 2 King's Legion, Episode 3 Kingdom of Orkeylium, Episode 4 Unleash the Beast, and Episode 5 Lost Flame.The game is entirely text-based, like a novel, only YOU get to make the choices for the main character. If you enjoy immersive storytelling with simple, yet challenging game play, this is for you.
Zines
Fighting Fantazine will be releasing a new issue before the end of November! This will be a welcome return after a 4 year hiatus.
The website is here: Fighting Fantazine
Podcasts
The Instadeath Survivors' Support Group has released an interview with Jamie Thompson. As of writing (23rd October), it was on Patreon only, but it will be released generally at a later time.
This is the last episode of season 1. Season 2 will be coming soon...
Welcome to Instadeath Survivors Support Group by Instadeath Survivors Support Group (anchor.fm)
Campaign on Dice is currently attempting Sorcery! part 3
Campaign On Dice – Podcast – Podtail
Fantastic Fights is currently working through Rebel Planet
Fantastic Fights — Haunted Phonograph
Solo boardgames and RPGs
Dune: House of Secrets
Dune: House of Secrets is out.
Dune: House Secrets is a cooperative story-driven game in which you join the resistance against House Harkonnen! Experiencing an original adventure inspired by the blockbuster film, you must complete a series of missions with limited time and resources.
Dune:House Secrets - Portal Games
Computer games and apps based on gamebooks
Fabled Lands crpg
This November, the Fabled Lands crpg will include Golnir (book 2!)
You can get it from Steam: Fabled Lands - Steam News Hub (steampowered.com)
Websites
There is a website called Fungamery, which, amongst other things, has gamebooks: Gamebooks (fungamery.com)
Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling – Narrative in games and new media (emshort.blog)
Crowdfunding
Defenders 2: Elusive Elixir by Derick William Dalton — Kickstarter
Rebel Planet, the graphic novel has 10 hours left from publication of this post! It is funded, so if you back it, you will get your reward!
FIGHTING FANTASY: REBEL PLANET the graphic novel by Mark Lain — Kickstarter
Interactive fiction book group
November's gamebook is Dracula: Curse of the Vampire by Jonathan Green.
Interactive Fiction & Gamebooks Discussion Group (Book Club) | Facebook
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Preorders for Marching Order Solo Gamebooks close on Monday!
Marching Order is a solo or cooperative dungeon crawling book set of greedy Rogues pilfering everything they can from monsters and each other. It comes with the Rogues Handbook, the Delvers Guide, and cards for your Rogues and Monsters.
Rebel Planet graphic novel Kickstarter ending soon!
The Kickstarter for the Rebel Planet graphic novel by the awesome Mark Lain will be ending on October 30th at 8am BST.
As of writing, it had just under £2000 to raise, so head on over and give it a pledge!
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Bonus post - Destiny Quest RPG
Hello all!
If you follow this blog, you have probably heard of Destiny Quest, the gamebook series where you wander an open world, battling monsters, gaining powers and taking part in epic stories.
Well, Michael J. Ward. has teamed up with various game designers and artists to make an RPG!
Josh Bixler, the lead designer, answers some questions on it.
What is the planned release date?
We are planning for a December 2022 release. This is tentative. Currently, the writing and rules are about 95% done and we will have completed art coming in soon.
We will do a Kickstarter, hopefully, in the first half of 2022. The Kickstarter will fund the physical copies of the book. We will be bringing a virtually 100% complete product to the start of the Kickstarter campaign. It will be fully written, have the art completed, and should be formatted and ready for printing.
Will it cover all the current books?
Yes, the first four books will be covered in the Tabletop RPG, but the first four books are not even the beginning. The World Compendium section written by Michael J. Ward will cover so much more than the current series. He has contributed over 100 pages to DestinyQuest RPG, and his writing digs into the creation of the world, the major factions within Valeron, a world atlas, hero short stories, and he details over a thousand years of history.
What new material will be in it?
Expanding on my earlier answer, readers will be able to delve into several short stories of the most powerful and renowned heroes and villains of DestinyQuest such as Eldias Falks and Avian Dale and will get to discover new heroes such as Maria Tremalaine. Michael J. Ward hasn’t merely written a mediocre paragraph or two about these heroes but has written gripping stories that interweave an exciting tale with the character’s biography.
The lore setting is a key feature, and it is massive. The aim of the game is to have campaigns set in the current timeframe of the gamebooks, but the world he has written is intricately detailed. It includes a timeline of the world and is sectioned off into various ages. This will help Game Masters set their campaign in different time periods within DestinyQuest, so their RPG games don’t have to be tied to what is currently happening in the gamebooks.
The book will also have an atlas of the DestinyQuest world, complete with maps and descriptions of the major areas in the world.
I have also written a short starter adventure for the game, so Game Masters will have something to use immediately for a campaign after purchasing the book.
Will it have the same system as the books?
Yes, with caveats. The core system is still the same: Armour, Speed, Magic, Brawn, different abilities, and plenty of loot that adds new abilities and increased attributes. The differences lie in how the game has been adapted to multiplayer. Teams of heroes will be able to face off against multiple monsters. We are utilizing combat sectors or zones for movement, which incorporates ranged actions, as well as several kinds of support abilities that boost teammates and can cause all kinds of afflictions on monsters. The base of the game is firmly rooted in the established DestinyQuest rules system, so even with the new additions, a DestinyQuest reader will be able to jump right in and have fun.
Will it have details of the creatures in the books?
Yes, all the creatures in the book’s bestiary will have detailed lore. I am writing the lore for every monster that will be featured in the game, and I am having a blast doing it. The team has purposely selected what we feel are the most epic and fun monsters in the gamebooks to bring over to the core RPG book.
I am a huge fan of the works of Hidetaka Miyazaki (Dark Souls, Bloodborne), and I have pulled some inspiration from his excellent monsters, especially when describing the legendary beasts.
What will the game system be like?
When creating the game system, I established four pillars that the game had to adhere to:
1) Simple to Play - Players can learn the rules and create a character within minutes.
2) Easy to run – Gamemasters can have a campaign up and running in no time.
3) Deep, Varied, Character Customization- The rules may be easy, but there are endless ways to customize your character. Paths, Careers, Loot, and Abilities mean that everyone's character is thoroughly unique.
4) An MMO or Action RPG on Tabletop - Like playing the very best multiplayer action RPGs or MMOs, but on your tabletop.
In addition to that, the gameplay runs very quickly. The game does not reward you for hesitating on your turn or trying to cheese monsters with magic or ranged attacks. If players try this, then the monsters get more aggressive, and the combat sectors can start shrinking. I wanted to capture the fast-flowing feel of the DestinyQuest combat system present in the gamebooks and convert it to a multiplayer experience. The end result thus far, is a game that feels very much like an action RPG.
What classes are there?
DestinyQuest features 3 different paths: Warrior, Rogue, Mage. Each path has three different character trees that players can progress down. For instance, Warriors can progress on the Feral Tree, the Holy Tree, or the Arms Tree. Within these character trees, there are a total of 61 careers that players can choose from.
There are vastly different careers that players can select. Some of the careers that can be picked are Lich, Pyromancer, Runecaster, Werebear, Efreet, Crusader, Chaplain, Poisoner, Venomancer, Gunslinger, and Witchfinder.
When combined with all of the different attribute boosting and ability granting loot that can be discovered, players can build highly customizable heroes.
You can find out more about the Destiny Quest RPG on the website.
Saturday, October 23, 2021
The Gamebook Authoring Tool
Hi gamebookers!
Today, I want to mention the Gamebook Authoring Tool. It is a great help for writing gamebooks.
One of the problems with writing gamebooks is randomising the sections. Along with those problems are the problems of making sure each section links to the correct sections, that there are no "orphaned" sections (sections where there are no ways to get there) that you don't want and that any sections that are supposed to have certain numbers (like section 1, the last section or answers to puzzles) stay at the same number.
Well, the Gamebook Authoring Tool is able to do that. It lets you write the sections out and automatically creates them as you do them. It lets you colour code sections which I find useful, because I can colour code sections as complete, not complete and bad endings. It also does the shuffling, but also lets you keep whichever sections you like fixed and also lets you swap sections.
This is just a short description of what it can do.
There is a free version of the Gamebook Authoring Tool that allows you to write a gamebook up to 100 sections long and convert it to rich text format. Daniel did this to let people enter the Windhammer Competition for free. And since I made the Lindenbaum competition as essentially Windhammer 2.0, it is perfect for that as well!
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