Category: Blog

Let’s play a gamebook tonight! I randomly grabbed a green spine and… Temple of Terror. I played this one back in 2015, and I only vaguely recall anything. Mostly, I remember a brutal desert and a nearly-impossible sandworm. And I think this is the one with the angel of death leaving letters so you can […]

Today we will replay Siege of Sardath, and I say “we” because my sweetie and I are playing together, with one of us reading and the other making the choices. I played SoS back in 2015, and I remember that it was a very difficult book with a lot of mandatory items and a lot […]

The post today brought something very special: Choose Cthulhu. I think “unboxing” videos are pretty stupid, but well… I’m pretty excited here. I got the six in English edition, since my Spanish is poor. I already have El Llamado de Cthulhu, an anthology of Lovecraft in Latin American Spanish (thus “El Llamado” instead of “La […]

So, the temp agency hooked me up with Firetop Mountain PLC again. But I’m a maverick who can’t play by the rules, a loose cannon, a rogue cop, a lone wolf… well, no, that’s a different series. It’s The Regional Accounts Director of Firetop Mountain, and this time I’m going to play it by Fighting […]

Let’s give the “gig economy” thing another go, with The Regional Accounts Director of Firetop Mountain. Again, I’m a desperate temp heading into my first day at the rather sketchy Firetop Mountain PLC. The office is a castle carved into the living stone of the downtown business district. The buzzer at the front door is […]

In The Regional Accounts Director of Firetop Mountain, I’m a data-entry temp, in between gigs for so long that I’ll take any job. The temp agency sends me to Firetop Mountain PLC where they always need “new blood”. heh heh heh Yeah, it’s kinda ominous but so is rent, so I need the work. The […]

Lone Wolf is back in the city of Tahou, after spending 3 days underground finding the Lorestone. The bis boss fight is here: that Vassagonian king Kimah, who we met back in book 5 Shadow on the Sand, is leading his army in battle and wants to kill me personally. He’s armed with a magical […]

Lone Wolf is in the city of Tahou, and awaiting an audience with the local senate to request that they open the Cauldron. Now, I should clarify that in the prologue I was told that the Lorestone is in (or under) Tahou, and I still have no idea what the Cauldron is. Apparently it’s some […]

It’s Lone Wolf, book 9 – the Cauldron of Fear. It’s all out war, as the armies of Helgedad and Vassagonia together ravage their way across the land of Magnamund. I’m on the hunt for the next Lorestone, so I can become a magical badass and save the day. The Lorestone is in the city […]

Okay, attempt number three of Lone Wolf book 8 — The Jungle of Horrors. This time, we know the path to and through the city of Tharro, and we make pretty short work of it. Well, except for that run-in with a helghast that tore me up pretty badly again. Still, we get out of […]

After our daring escape from an ambush in Tharro, we have been riding for a few days northward towards Syada. That’s why I took all week getting to the next blog post: can’t get very good wifi on horseback in this area. On the highway we come across a boarded-up mine and a caretaker’s hut. […]

My last trip into Lone Wolf book 8 was exciting but short-lived. Let’s try it again… This time, Paido and I decide to ride north along the highway rather than take the barge. That was a fun cruise, but let’s try something different right? It’s getting dark and the rain is really coming down. We […]

Here on earth, it’s been a  few months since I played Castle Death, but for Lone Wolf it has been only a few days. A new Darklord has taken control in Helgedad, and Drakkarim have been invading the border towns in preparation for all-out war yet again. One of these bordering kingdoms is Talestria, home […]

For the last week or so I’ve been reading “Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?” by Max Brallier. This is some great stuff. It’s not really a game book, in that there is no game component such as randomness, inventory, or personal statistics. It’s “just” a choose-a-path book. I have been feeling fairly low energy […]

Yesterday, Deadpool (that’s me!) broke into the Roxxon Corporation’s gizmo storage warehouse, killing enough guards along the way to earn some badness points. We/I stole the time helmet, and of course instantly put it on and pushed the button. Flash! Blammo! Icky icky icky icky ka-pang! Nee! And we’re standing on a metropolitan street corner […]

It’s time to put on my red Spandex body suit and sharpen my katana — let’s play You Are Deadpool again. The scene starts with me (Deadpool) overlooking a Roxonn Corporation research lab, and reminding myself loudly that Tomorrow Man hired me to steal a time helmet. So that’s 25 minutes of plot setup we […]

It’s the HP Lovecraft Film Festival here in Portland, and I’ve been playing Nightshift. I’m an E.R. doctor, and woke up here in the nightmare version of my hospital: run-down, just plain wrong in places where the furnishings have reverted to something from the 19th century, flooded with water and mold, and populated with gnomes […]

Continuing on with Nightshift during downtime at the 2019 HP Lovecraft Film Festival. I’ve finally found room with a window, and I see that getting out of the hospital won’t be a help — it’s all Deep Dark Woods out there, no sign of the city where I live nor any other civilization, and probably […]

Tonight is the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon. This is always a fun time, with short films, long films, and general weirdness. To celebrate some horror, let’s play Nightshift again. The story is that I’m an ER nurse on the night shift. I lie down for a power nap, and wake up […]

I’m trying a gamebook that came out only a few weeks ago: Nightshift. It’s an interesting take on the storyline. Modern setting, but a gothic other-worldy thing. There are puzzles but no dice. There are items but no quest that I know of. I’m a medical professional, awakened from a power nap during a long […]

It’s late 1974, and Deadpool is standing knee-deep in a swamp. It’s issue 3 of You Are Deadpool, and DP has just visited the fifth and final place to grab a *gem which may open up the Nexus of All Realities. Time and space are starting to act a bit weird: I’ve seen the Swamp […]

We continue our playthrough of You Are Deadpool, because DP is awesome and why not? We broke into the Roxxon Corporation compound and stole the time helmet. Having been warned about how dangerous it is, naturally we instantly put it on and push the button. Because of my little stunt of making DP crawl though […]

Can you believe it? Me, a super-hero! Thanks to some messed up people with a wacky sense of humor, YOU ARE DEADPOOL is a real comic that exists. I’m not nearly cool enough and sassy enough to be this smart-assed anti-hero, but let’s give it a spin… DP starts by introducing me to the concept […]

By a lot of dumb luck, my character has survived to what I keep thinking is the climax of this War On SpaceDrugs. I’ve beaten up an air traffic controller and the head of Customs, killed 5 people, talked to a snake-woman monster in an ancient temple, and scarfed 8 happy stay-awake tablets trying not […]

In my last episode, I confronted an air traffic controller who spilled the beans about a crooked Customs agent letting drugs through, and an asteroid where something fishy is going on. I went out to the asteroid post-haste, and found not a drug factory… but robed, chanting people and an ancient-style temple to a snake-woman-monster, […]

Once again, the forces of squareness fight their Space War on Space Drugs. The vicious drug Satyrphile-P has young adults partying in warehouses, feeling good about their supportive social environment, expanding their minds, and staying up a little too late sometimes. Obviously this epidemic of insanity must be stopped before… something bad. Or something. War […]

In yesterday’s episode, I finally made progress on busting the drug rings of Kether. An attempt on my life, led me to a helijet port where a mechanic had noted some “irregularities” in air traffic control. Following up on the ATC, I found a bribe and a paper trail leading to the Customs office. After […]

Okay, let’s try that again. Max Power, vice cop. I’m undercover on some backwater planet named Kether, looking for a drug manufacturing facility. Problem is, we have no leads at all so I’m going in blind and clueless. And that’s just how Max Power like to play it – blind and clueless. I touched down […]

My name’s Max Power. I’m a vice cop. I’m here on some backwater planet called Kether, in search of a ring of dope manufacturers. It’s pretty heavy stuff, Benadryl-D, or Cetaphil B, or whatever it’s called. Remember how Marijuana nearly destroyed all life on Earth back in the 20th century? Satyr Fill D is twice […]

Today, I start on my next adventure, a gamebook I’ve never read before: The Rings of Kether. The backstory is that I’m a vice cop, sent to some outer rim world called Kether which has nothing interesting to it, except for some new drug hitting  the market. Like the deadly Marijuana scourge of the twentieth […]

We’re at the end of my replay of Sword of the Samurai. I’ve come a long way, and made enough friends that the Tourney of the Planes wasn’t too tough, and the demonic guardian of the fortress went down with nary a fight. And now the Lord of Shadows and my master’s sword, are in […]

We’re nearing the exciting climax of Sword of the Samuari. Or, as I like to think of it: Crown of Kings Lite with the Japan skin. I’ve come far and made a few friends, and now am about to face down a demon which guards the fortress. On my side are a kirin (kinda like […]

Sword of the Samurai continues. Yesterday I took revenge upon the local lord who pillaged one of our villages, then made my way through the Forest of Shadows by answering two riddles. I’m crossing a bridge over a river, musing at how easy this has all been… …when suddenly the sky turns dark, the river […]

My wurst continues: Crown of the Shogun, sorry I mean Sword of Kings, … sorry, I mean Sword of the Samurai. Basically the single-book version of the Crown of Kings storyline, but in feudal Japan. I started my adventure yesterday, and defended a village from an attack by one of the local lords who has […]

That satisfying end to the Sorcery! epic is still warm in my belly, The series  started off slow, but really ramped up into something great. So what will I do next? I figured that instead of powering through to the next Fighting Fantasy, why not replay an old one? Sword of the Samurai was a […]

Sorcery part 4, and our heroic and stunningly handsome adventurer is in deep crap again. I felt pretty great walking through two Thorben Gates in 10 pages of text, and getting into the Archmage’s tower… but it was a setup and now I’m trapped. To keep me company is Jann, that minimite from book 1. […]

Our brave hero (that is I) continues needling his way through the Archmage’s fortress, and referring to himself in the third person. In yesterday’s episode, I threatened a goblin and got directions, befriended the head torturer who turned out to be a nice fella once you get past how horrible he is deep inside, walked […]

In yesterday’s episode, our brave hero (that’s me, I mean that is I) got advice from an old lady about some birdmen who are working against the Archmage, killed a trio of sightmasters who were picking on that lady, harassed and threatened a tax collector, and got the password to the second Thorben Gate. I […]

Sorcery, Book 4 and my approach to the fortress of the Archmage to steal back The Crown of Kings. I spent the night in a cave, met up with some female satyrs and got some loot, and met a priest who blessed my spear. No, that’s not a euphemism for anything. And now I’m in […]

Again, book 4 of the Sorcery epic, our infiltration of the Archmage’s fortress at Mampang. I got through Book 3 with all of the Seven Serpents neutralized, giving me a permanent +1 Skill (now 11, +1 sword, +2 armband) and Luck (now 15! fifteen!) as well as the element of surprise: at certain perks throughout […]

Sorcery book 4 again; the infiltration of Mampang Fortress, to take back The Crown of Kings. I have a moderately good skill, 14 luck (aww yeah!), 18 stamina… and no food. The book opens with rain coming, and I’m looking for a cave to sleep in. I find one which is occupied by a dead […]

Sorcery, book 4 – the final stage, the infiltration of Mampang Fortress to take back the Crown of Kings from the Archmage. My journey through the Baklands leaves me in an interesting predicament: Skill 10, +1 sword, +2 armband of swordmastery = 14. Nice. Luck 14. No joke; a natural 12 then books 1 and […]

The riveting account of day three, of my triumphant journey through the Baklands. I woke up on the edge of Lake Ilklala, with three dead Serpents behind me and one trapped in an orb by another sorceror. It’s a good day. A quick inventory showed that I was out of food, which isn’t great. I […]

The riveting account of day two, of my triumphant journey through the Baklands. The second day is mostly uneventful until afternoon, as a storm kicked up. But I notice, that the storm isn’t a regular one; it was focused on me! I holed up in a cave for a while, but it was no good. […]

It was a grueling struggle, but I have crossed the Baklands, leaving behind six serpents dead and one imprisoned. Here is my story. I walked out of the north gate of Khare with 14 stamina and 4 food. My skill of 9, a +1 sword, and a +2 armband of swordmanship = 12 effective combat […]

Unbelievable. The Seven Serpents, book 3 of the Sorcery! epic, is just merciless. I made it all the way to the Lake Ilklala… without meeting a single serpent. I know that’s not good, that I should have run into at least 2 of them during Act 1. Then the book let me jerk around for […]

The Seven Serpents is just ripping me up! Tonight was my third attempt, and it was more brief than the previous ones. Our doughty  adventurer starts off in the usual fashion, bored and slightly sunburnt and attacked by giant birds on page 1. So, it’s basically hiking as usual here on Earth. I fight them […]

Okay, my second try on Sorcery! book three, in which we have left Khare and are trekking the desolate Baklands. Again we open with fighting some birds, and some exposition that seven serpent-gods are racing ahead of me to inform the Archmage that I’m coming, so he can set a trap. Again, on the next […]

The Sorcery! four-book epic continues. I escaped from Khare a few hours ago, and the last few hours have been walking across the barren, nigh-featureless plains of the Baklands. Finally here on page 1, the monotony is broken when I am attacked by giant birds, and am saved by a giant golden eagle which also […]

I take a breather in the cemetery, outside the crypt. The wraith inside was what I had hoped: a spirit of one of the town elders, who gave me the third line of the four-line poem I need to leave town. But the fight with the wraith knocked me down to 6 stamina, through a […]