"Deep inside the Citadel of Chaos, the dread sorcerer Balthus Dire is plotting the downfall of the goodfolk of the Vale of Willow.
His battle plans are laid, his awesome army equipped, and attack is surely imminent.
Summoned by a desperate plea for help, YOU are the Vale of Willow's only hope.
As star pupil of the Grand Wizard of Yore and a master sorcerer yourself, you must strike at the very heart of Balthus Dire's Nightmare world.
Though you command many powerful spells, the quest may be deadly, for who knows what creatures lie in wait in the Citadel of Chaos?"
His battle plans are laid, his awesome army equipped, and attack is surely imminent.
Summoned by a desperate plea for help, YOU are the Vale of Willow's only hope.
As star pupil of the Grand Wizard of Yore and a master sorcerer yourself, you must strike at the very heart of Balthus Dire's Nightmare world.
Though you command many powerful spells, the quest may be deadly, for who knows what creatures lie in wait in the Citadel of Chaos?"
Dun dun duuuuuuun.
Welcome to The Citadel of Chaos, the old-school campy fantasy gamebook in which YOU are the hero. And by YOU, I mean YOU (Plural).
If you've never played a gamebook, fighting fantasy or otherwise, it's quite simple. First you generate a character. Then you follow the story and choose whichever options seem the most sensible or fun. The book then directs you to a page where you continue your story. For instance, the book may ask you whether you want to go left or right. If you choose left, you turn to page 14, if you choose right you go to page 83 and so on. Sometimes there are monsters to fight, and dice are rolled to determine the victor. In this game, I'm going to be doing all the page-turning and dice-rolling and you guys get to choose the way we go.
First things first - Character Generation.
Our character's statistics comprise of Skill, Stamina, Luck and Magic.
For Skill, you roll one die and add 6. I rolled a 5, so our Skill is 11.
For Stamina, you roll one die and add 12. I rolled a 4, so our Stamina is 16.
For Luck, you roll one die and add 6. I rolled a 4, so our Luck is 10.
For Magic, you roll two dice and add 6. I rolled a 9, so our Magic is 15.
Simple enough?
Here's our scores and equipment. The numbers in the boxes are our initial scores. They can't be changed and while we may receive additional points during the adventure, we may never go above the initial scores unless otherwise stated.
Rules
Combat
Combat is conducted by rolling two dice and adding your skill. The same happens for the opponent.
Both scores are then compared. The one with the higher attack strength deals two points of stamina damage to his opponent. (Luck may be used to cause additional damage or minimise damage to oneself)
Continue until one dies.
If escape is chosen (there is the option in some fights), the monster gets to deal two points of stamina damage to the character.
Both scores are then compared. The one with the higher attack strength deals two points of stamina damage to his opponent. (Luck may be used to cause additional damage or minimise damage to oneself)
Continue until one dies.
If escape is chosen (there is the option in some fights), the monster gets to deal two points of stamina damage to the character.
Luck
Sometimes we will need to test our luck. If this happens, I roll two dice. If the result is equal to or less than our Luck characteristic then we are lucky. If it is higher, we are unlucky.
Regardless of the result, 1 Luck is subtracted from our total.
In combat, luck can be used to deal more damage or to minimise damage to the character. If choosing to use luck to deal damage, I test my luck. If lucky, I deal 2 extra stamina damage (for a total of 4). If unlucky, I only deal 1 point of damage in total.
If I use it to minimise damage, I need to test my luck. If lucky, I restore 1 point of stamina (for a total of 1), if unlucky, I get an extra 1 point of damage (for a total of 3).
If you think it might be a good idea to use luck in a battle, please mention it.
Regardless of the result, 1 Luck is subtracted from our total.
In combat, luck can be used to deal more damage or to minimise damage to the character. If choosing to use luck to deal damage, I test my luck. If lucky, I deal 2 extra stamina damage (for a total of 4). If unlucky, I only deal 1 point of damage in total.
If I use it to minimise damage, I need to test my luck. If lucky, I restore 1 point of stamina (for a total of 1), if unlucky, I get an extra 1 point of damage (for a total of 3).
If you think it might be a good idea to use luck in a battle, please mention it.
Magic
Each spell we have may be used only once unless we start with duplicates. They can only be used when the book allows for it (with the exception of Luck, Skill and Stamina).
Before the adventure starts, we must decide what spells to take. We can take an amount equal to our Magic score. Duplicates are allowed.
Spells
Creature Copy - Conjures a copy of one creature you are fighting, with identical Skill and Stamina scores and any abilities the creature may have. Useful for defeating large monsters.
E.S.P - Reads minds and allows you to gain information about hidden places.
Fire - *Woomch* Burny.
Fool's Gold - Turns a rock into 'Gold'.
Illusion - Creates an illusion. This will be cancelled by anything which might dispel the illusion. Most effective against intelligent creatures.
Levitation - Causes the subject of the spell to float under your control.
Luck - Restores half of your initial Luck score. IE If your original score was 12, it restores 6 Luck.
Shielding - Creates an invisible shield that will repel physical objects.
Skill - Same as Luck, but for Skill.
Stamina - Same as Luck, but for Stamina.
Strength - Hulk Smash!
Weakness - Weakens the enemy. Power is inversely proportionate to the strength of the enemy.
Edit: Or rather, proportionate. The stronger the enemy, the more powerful it is.
E.S.P - Reads minds and allows you to gain information about hidden places.
Fire - *Woomch* Burny.
Fool's Gold - Turns a rock into 'Gold'.
Illusion - Creates an illusion. This will be cancelled by anything which might dispel the illusion. Most effective against intelligent creatures.
Levitation - Causes the subject of the spell to float under your control.
Luck - Restores half of your initial Luck score. IE If your original score was 12, it restores 6 Luck.
Shielding - Creates an invisible shield that will repel physical objects.
Skill - Same as Luck, but for Skill.
Stamina - Same as Luck, but for Stamina.
Strength - Hulk Smash!
Weakness - Weakens the enemy. Power is inversely proportionate to the strength of the enemy.
Edit: Or rather, proportionate. The stronger the enemy, the more powerful it is.
Basically, pick 15 spells out of that list and post them. Bonus points go for thinking of an awesome name for the character.
Bonus-bonus points go for being our mapper. No expedition gets anywhere without a good map:
