City of Thieves (Fighting Fantasy)

Product Information

The pre-generated character Helios Wardalus starts with Luck 6, while the minimal possible starting value is 7. However, there are a number of other objects that you need to collect (such as the Skeleton Key) which will make your quest significantly easier. Unfortunately for all, Nicodemus lives in a wretched hive of scum and villainy, Port Blacksand – also known as the CITY OF THIEVES! This time along we are whisked into a shady town of Port Blacksand with the mission of defeating the evil sorcerer Zanbar Bone!

All I want from is pure escapism: an adventure in faraway land on the pirate ship sailing through the wind in the Seven Seas, encountering sea monsters and lost treasures and vengeful ghosts or something that let my coping mechanism have at least more fun time. One of the characters in the book, a Troll named Sourbelly [3] who was one of the city guards and partnered Fatnose, [4] is mentioned again in Deathtrap Dungeon when the hero encounters the female Troll, Ivy.There were no changes to the actual systems in use and everything remained quite simplistic although still highly enjoyable. This reference is newly illustrated, the Puffin/Wizard versions not having an equivalent piece of artwork. Like is the case with The Warlock, there's really only about one path for you to take, which is one of those things I never much liked: it means that there's little reason for all the other colorful and interesting encounters and challenges, once you've gone through them once and realized that this was the wrong way around. There are more instant deaths in this one than previous books, but I was able to make it through relatively easily first time. There were 30 full page illustrations and 7 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text.

Originally published by Puffin Books in 1983, the title is the fifth gamebook in the Fighting Fantasy series. The book also incorrectly states that the player has two doses of their chosen Potion at the beginning of the book, when in fact they have only one. It is actually a reasonably easy book, and while they talk about a one true path, it is quite easy to find it. It seems this was the option to interrogate the man – he told me where I could get a silver arrow, from a local silversmith. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology by the University of Abertay Dundee in 2000, and in 2002 received the BAFTA Special Award for his outstanding contribution to the interactive entertainment industry.

The puzzle aspect is interesting enough to hold the interest of adults (my mother borrowed it for about a week in the 80s, until she had solved it) as well as the younger target audience. And the artwork of Iain McCaig is some of the best in the entire series (I do wish he'd have drawn stuff for more books). Loves the story and the die rolling for combat, the mapping out the path, so in the event of hitting dead end, easy to go back and start from a former decision point.

In honour of Ian Livingstone’s knighthood I thought I’d go on another adventure (2022) through Port Blacksand in Sir Ian’s 1983 literary masterpiece, City of Thieves (which is also a masterpiece of art, thanks to Ian McCaig’s contribution). This is one of the few Fighting Fantasy books where it's quite easy to find everything you need for a successful completion as long as you explore thoroughly. Ein überaus vergnügliches Buch, das mir von den wenigen der Reihe, die ich bislang spielen durfte, am besten gefallen hat. Ian was executive chairman of Eidos until 2002, where he launched global games franchises such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.The endgame - when you leave the city and travel to Zanbar Bone's tower - is less good, unfortunately. But theres enough fans out there that i know one day some wise ass will do this and it will be fucking awesome. The short sections taking you through the book really helps keep him concentrated and interested, and the scoring system is really clever, as it reminds me of a computer game, which my son unsurprisingly enjoys. And beyond lies the most fearsome adventure of them all - the tower stronghold of the infamous Zanbar Bone!