[LP] Lesser-Known Gamebooks: Blood Valley

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:05 pm

One thing I noticed that seemed a bit odd, there seems to be no requirement for a player to tell their opponent what gear they are carrying when the Hunter and Quarry come face to face. Always had to do that in Challenge of the Magi.

In any case, an entertaining spectacle for us spectators.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:20 pm

I think some of the crystal ball interactions ask the quarry to reveal their gear, but it's definitely not consistent. I don't think there are any actual equipment upgrades for the hunter.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:38 pm

Congrats, sgamerz, well played

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Mar 11, 2018 5:05 pm

Oh, congrats, SlyJohnny, 1000 posts.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 1:14 am

Well-played by you too, SlyJohnny. I was getting worried after you apparently dealt with 2 of my henchmen without picking up a scratch.

EDIT: Also, reading the Quarry thread, I realized I actually would have had a a lot of unfair advantage if I'd chosen to play as Quarry. I'd have known where all the potential exits and mantraps can be, and where each henchman can be stationed because I played Hunter last round, all those are information that the Quarry wasn't given, so it's probably good that I stuck with Hunter the second time.

With that said, that appears to diminish replay value a bit if players want to try switching roles after playing the first time.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 4:04 am

SGamerz wrote:With that said, that appears to diminish replay value a bit if players want to try switching roles after playing the first time.

I'd argue that having more of the structural information makes the quarry's decision tree deeper and more meaningful. All of the Duel Master sets become different experiences as the players become more familiar with them.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 4:20 am

angelfromanotherpin wrote:All of the Duel Master sets become different experiences as the players become more familiar with them.

Yes, but I think this is the only set where one side has access to significantly more information than the other. For Challenge of the Magi, for example, both sides more or less start on even grounds and the knowledge advantage is gained only by the amount of times they've played through the game. Here, the Hunter begins with way more information regarding the territory. "Diminishing replay value" probably isn't the correct words to describe this. I'd just say that this seems to be the only game in the series where the balance shifts significantly from one side to the other depending on the side you play. The Hunter starts with more advantage, but doesn't gain nearly as much for having played the other side before compared to the Quarry.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon Mar 12, 2018 4:18 pm

Anyone up for another round? We haven't seen any of west Gad yet.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 1:25 pm

What the hell, why not. Maybe I’ll make it further this time

I admit that I am feeling a bit salty about the vague nature of the given directions and the inadequate descriptions of the surrounding visible landscape making it hard to plan your route. I get that it’s difficult when they have sections with multiple exits, so the player’s direction of travel can’t be assumed for descriptive purposes, but stuff like one-way-only routes for unexplained reasons, or staying to the west of a road to avoid a trap being an option, but only being relevant if the player is moving south (and being an irrelevant timesink trap, otherwise) kind of annoyed me. It seems like that’s the one thing you need to totally nail if it’s a game about a quarry trying to escape a hunter while moving towards an exit. Having the paragraph numbers helps a little, at least then you don’t accidentally retrace your steps by choosing to move west from a section you reached by following a road south.

The mantraps seem kind of overpowered too, coupled with 3 minions who can guard entire regions/serve as alarms. I was playing the character who’s primary strength is that he can neutralise two of them, and I still got screwed by the mandatory WAITs and unavoidable alarm they raise. I avoided the bridge to the monastery, and it didn’t even matter whether the bridge was actually trapped or not, the potential consequences of being found are so bad that even the possibility was enough that I couldn’t afford the risk.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:08 pm

SlyJohnny wrote:I admit that I am feeling a bit salty about the vague nature of the given directions and the inadequate descriptions of the surrounding visible landscape making it hard to plan your route. I get that it’s difficult when they have sections with multiple exits, so the player’s direction of travel can’t be assumed for descriptive purposes, but stuff like one-way-only routes for unexplained reasons, or staying to the west of a road to avoid a trap being an option, but only being relevant if the player is moving south (and being an irrelevant timesink trap, otherwise) kind of annoyed me. It seems like that’s the one thing you need to totally nail if it’s a game about a quarry trying to escape a hunter while moving towards an exit. Having the paragraph numbers helps a little, at least then you don’t accidentally retrace your steps by choosing to move west from a section you reached by following a road south.

Yeah, as a spectator, it was hard for me to work out where players were, and how close to each other they were (the latter not being a problem the way the game was originally designed to be played, of course). Compared to Challenge of the Magi, where you are at one of 16 well mapped locations.

SlyJohnny wrote:The mantraps seem kind of overpowered too, coupled with 3 minions who can guard entire regions/serve as alarms. I was playing the character who’s primary strength is that he can neutralise two of them, and I still got screwed by the mandatory WAITs and unavoidable alarm they raise. I avoided the bridge to the monastery, and it didn’t even matter whether the bridge was actually trapped or not, the potential consequences of being found are so bad that even the possibility was enough that I couldn’t afford the risk.

Without the game being played some more I can't really say, but I agree with this, but suspect the opposite would be the case if you'd gotten any distance from the starting location. There'd be loads of ground to lose yourself in, and even if the Hunter found your location, you'd be well gone by the time they got there.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 11:41 am

@SlyJohnny: Would you be interested in switching sides for the next game? I'm tempted to try playing the Quarry, just to see if the extra knowledge from having played Hunter before is enough to really overcome his starting disadvantages.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Mar 16, 2018 2:11 pm

I'm game for playing either side

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:50 am

Well, unless there're any other interested players (if there are I'd step down), it looks like it's down to the 2 of us again, only with the sides reversed.

That is, of course, if angel is still running the next game?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:35 am

I'm willing, but only intermittently conscious due to flu atm, so updates may be a bit sparse for a while.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:57 pm

Well played, sgamerz. I was surprised, I figured I'd be extremely far behind you and you'd be mostly healthy. Those constant tough fights are kind of brutal, even when you manage to score a decent weapon early on. Apologies for my slow posting towards the end, had a lot going on.

I'd be up for a rematch as the quarry, but I'm going to Peru for two weeks tomorrow, so it'd have to wait until May.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 8:54 am

Having read both books, I have no idea how the Quarry can win beyond a massive stroke of luck (exit close to starting point, go straight for it for no reason, spell bomb the Demiveult, run away from the Hunter). There IS an impressive Quarry power boost on the map, but when both players know where it is it's effectively unreachable.

That said, the letsplay is very fun to follow anyway. Thanks to everyone involved.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 11:14 am

I like the logic of the congratulations. I sent out an unarmed human against only me, my dogs, my 3 loyal henchmen and many environmental traps, and I won!!! Yay me, that'll show you how weak humans are.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:07 pm

Congratulations to SlyJohnny for the win. The fact that he's so close behind me meant that he'd probably have caught up with me pretty soon even if I hadn't had the bad luck of going through those consecutive fights, so well-played.

Gotta admit, though, I'm a little bitter about how a random highwayman turned out to be a bigger threat of all 3 of the Hunter's henchmen. He totally stole the show from both the actual PCs!

What are the Quarry's bonus quests, btw?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Wed Apr 18, 2018 1:46 pm

The quarry's achievements vary by character.

Priest
Kill the Archveult
Help Madoc destroy Malefice
Destroy the Witch of Gad
Exorcise the Undead Warlord
Slay the Demiveult

Barbarian
Kill the Archveult
Find the Mace of the Ancients
Defeat the Flame of Acheron
Slay the Ferryman
Slay Kritos Bloodheart

Thief
Kill the Archveult
Slay Ka-riim the Hashishin
Defeat Jak the Highwayman in single combat
Steal the Serpentine Cross
Defeat the Flame of Acheron

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Mon May 07, 2018 2:47 pm

Back from Peru, anyone want another game? And would you want to run it, angel?

I'd like to play Quarry this time.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon May 07, 2018 3:06 pm

Yeah, I'm down.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed May 09, 2018 11:38 am

I'm game for another round, but I won't be able to check/post everyday for the first week or so (until next Thursday earliest).

Again, if anyone else has the interest and more free time, feel free to take over.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu May 17, 2018 11:31 am

Well, I'd be able to return to posting regularly again by this weekend, so if you still have the interest and time, we can start the next round!