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Saturday, September 26, 2026

Old School Books like Johnny Quest

 https://archive.org/details/bwb_S0-DNL-081/mode/2up


Can Login BORROW book. 


is THE GOLDEN SKULL, by John Blaine. 


On an island with tribal spear dudes... a golden skull, some science tech stuff. Cool. 


Seems a series where there are more with main kid protaganist: 

RICK BRANT, Science-Adventure stories. 

FF - Forest of Doom - Semi-Review

 Fighting Fantasy's Forest of Doom

Notice the head horns and skinny limbs. Same artist that did the City of Thieves horned skull head, Darth Maul, and I think the Githyanki cover on the old Fiend Folio. 


I've finally played it. Well, I'm not done. It is awesome, I love it... it's 4:xx AM, and I'm playing it more as I woke up early from getting too hot, etc. It was the last thing I did last night basically, and it was great fun. Here's my semi-review, which has a few spoilers. Keep in mind, I haven't done many of these FF books yet, only the original first book Warlock on Firetop Mountain. I have bought several, and will be reading more (or PDFs)! 

Walkthrough that sounds fun - 

  • About to use for 2nd pathway, um 2nd loop, err whatever - This guy has a good sounding walkthru where you face challenges but succeed. Need good dice rolls too. http://www.arek.bdmonkeys.net/FF/sols/sol2.html
  • Gonna copy paste at the end of my post, b/c I hate when websites go down and info is lost. 

Triva - 

  • Double check me, but the front cover artist also did the internal art, AND he did a bunch of later Star Wars designs like Darth Maul (See City of Thieves Cover which has the skull horn head guy like Darth Maul). I love most all of the art, even the melty muscle art (deformed lines, but it reminds me of some old old style). He makes the human muscles right sometimes, so it seems deliberate... gives it a weird vibe. 
  • It's the 3rd book, written by Ian Livingstone. So over in Britain, Ian Livingston and Peter Jackson did a ton of D&Dish stuff. 
    • LivingstonE became Livingston in the US it seems like. They even pronounce it the same. 
      • Livingstone with the E sure sounds like an Earth Elemental. :) 
    • Fiend Folio. OR kinda. See Nev's channel link above... he might mention it in that one or his  City Of Thieves review.  
    • White Dwarf magazine which used to be all D&D, but now is Warhammer apparently.
    • Founded Warhammer. 
  • Entry 168, the goblin is described as small, sinewy, and having brown scaly skin. So slightly reptilian maybe, for a goblin... interesting. 

Acknowledgements - Thanks to Spellsinger's gamebook reviews on Youtube, he got me into wanting to read these. Neville of NevsBookChannel yt also more recently inspired me... he's got much  more trivia but shows much less art picts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okD4NjbhSXY&list=LL&index=58

WARNING - don't buy the newest SCHOLASTIC 2017 version of ANY these books b/c they rip out the great internal art and put in some horrible low detail new art. I got ripped off buying a chunk of them on amazon, don't do it! Double check the versions! You have to buy some used or get pdfs from the internet. There is the new new hardback which has the original art for City of Thieves and one more of them, which I reckon I'll buy. See my post from yesterday or the day before. 

The Good -

  • Atmosphere. I love the forest stuff. Reminds me of the hex-crawl/ point-crawl the kid DM'd for me a few months back with the fire cultists, where we random encounter rolled a ton and ran into a dragon (twice, got away twice but was scary) and the pixie(s) and stuff. OK none of that was in this book exactly, but it does remind me of it. 
  • Not super punishing. You get so many magic items to help. First-ish run through I got to the "end" but hadn't found either piece of the hammer, so it sends you back to the front. Good. Fun. 
  • The creatures, oh yeah! Very old school AD&D vibe. Goblins. Gremlins. A werewolf (ouch, that turned out to be a "I made it!... Oh wait, it scratched me, ohhhh crap!". A 2-legged dragonlike creature with flames... yep, a Wyvern! That was super cool and potentially deadly. A giant (was easy, punk didn't touch me!... lucky rolls). A fire demon (aka a Balrog), and he did a lot of dmg... had a second attack with a whip that had special rules (1 dmg instead of 2).  
    • Reminds me, the Shield which gives 50% chance to take -1 dmg was KEY for me getting to the end without fudging too much. It negated pretty much all of the whip damage from the Balrogish Fire Demon, for instance. 


The Bad -
  • I can't think of much of anything yet. I'm no serious reviewer (this is mostly for me to gather my thoughts) and not gonna complain about minor things. 
  • OK, the melty muscles in the art is sometimes too weird not to notice. I'm still OK with it. I keep telling myself I'm fine with it, at least. :P
The Ugly -
  • Melty muscles? Kinda. The witch's warty nose?  :)
  • I believe this barbarian (with the semi-right and semi-melty muscles) is very much a direct reference to the 1982 Conan movie, where Conan is crucified. The description even talks about vultures, face has signs of torture, etc. 



Plot -
  • Dwarf needs help, a special hammer undone into two pieces you gotta find in the deep dark forest. 
  • Funny mage in tower at start, with the "o" at the end of the name. He's good. Sells magic stuff, and you better get some. 
  • The very first stop out of the gate (after the mage) is a witch hut. Well I like to explore, even tho half the time it's bad, and she steals ALL of your stuff if you don't have the right magic item to counter her. But she has some item, and I bet you need it for the end. This isn't bad really, just part of the game, so I gotta put this under plot and remember to buy the other hting this time. 
  • Tons of places to explore, even a mini-dungeon from a hole in a tree (like "Hole in the Oak" got influenced eh, talking 2025ish Old School Essentials module borrowed from this old book, eh?). 

I need to go play some... bye. .... ..... Back! More!

Art

  • I pretty much love it, like most of these old FF books, it's got charm and a little scary and a little gritty, with just a touch of cartoonishness. Mentioned how it's the skinny limbed style of this artist, and he is good with this style. 
  • Check out the creepy face on this stone lid... they don't mention it (till you light the candle), and I never noticed it when I saw this picture on reviews:



WALKTHROUGH COPY PASTED FROM GUY 

The Forest of Doom

This is not the shortest or easiest path; it is more gratifying to face difficult situations and barely succeed. Rather than minimizing risk, this solution includes as many interesting parts as possible, while avoiding sections that are blatantly harmful or provide no useful information. You may need high initial scores; this path assumes favorable dice rolls.

						Sword, leather armor,
						backpack,
						10 Provisions, Potion of Fortune,
						30 GP, map
  1  Follow Yaztromo up the stairs
261  You thank Yaztromo and leave		-16 GP, Holy Water,
						Ring of Light,
						Rope of Climbing,
						Armband of Strength,
						Glove of Missile Dexterity,
						Garlic Buds
177  Go east at the huge old tree
160  Pay the crow for its advice
343  Turn north as advised			-1 GP
  8  Meet the owners of the arguing voices
317  Fight both HOBGOBLINS 6/6 5/7
301  You search through their pockets		3 GP, brass flute, 2 biscuits
157  Continue walking northwards up the path
337  Examine the large cave
230  Pick up a rock and throw it at the Ogre
137  You possess a Glove of Missile Dexterity
 55  Take a closer look at the creature
168  Unlock the cage door
117  Fight the GOBLIN 5/4
232  Leave the cave and continue northwards	Ebony hammer handle	Lu+1
358  You cut yourself down from the man trap				Lu-1
 40  You curse and continue northwards
274  Climb up the vine to the tree house
195  Attack the ape-like creature
352  Defeat the APE MAN 8/7						At-2
207  Put the copper bracelet on your wrist
302  You climb down the vine and continue	Bracelet of Skill	At+1
109  Go west on the plain
124  You decide to head north
180  Go west through waist-high grass
361  Face the oncoming pack of dogs
396  Start a conversation with the masked man
364  Carry on the conversation
194  You set off west again			Belladonna
208  Keep going west at the crossroads
 99  Enter the dried mud hut
209  Accept the arm wrestling challenge
 28  You possess an Armband of Strength
 52  You force Quin's arm onto the table
 78  You walk back to the junction		Dust of Levitation
349  Continue east at the crossroads
102  You decide to head north
105  See what the vultures are interested in
384  Return to the path to head north
394  Cross the river by the stepping stones
 66  You decide to make camp for the night
325  You possess some Garlic Buds
268  You head north along the path
119  Continue north down the hill
 90  The arrow misses you						Lu-1
210  Attack the arguing men
 43  Fight each WILD HILL MAN 7/5 6/4					At+1
 50  You set off north again			Silver key
188  Head east on the valley floor
359  Take a closer look at the stone well
172  Descend the ladder
256  You manage to hang on to the ladder				Lu-1
122  Crawl along the torch-lit tunnel
135  Crawl east at the junction
151  Throw back the curtain and enter the cave
 71  Fight the GREMLIN 5/5						At-2
273  You crawl back down the tunnel		Gold medallion
296  Crawl south back to the well
398  Grab the first leg that comes into view
320  You climb out of the well
362  Continue heading west
238  You decide to keep on walking west
221  Head north again
199  Rub some hot mud onto your wounds
283  You set off north again along the path				St+4
303  Fight the PTERODACTYL 7/8						At+1
247  Follow the yellow arrow
  3  You have a Ring of Light
322  You possess a Rope of Climbing		Gold medallion
 94  Climb down the rope into the tunnel
136  You crawl along on your hands and knees
 69  Attack one of the small humanoids
264  Head towards the green-topped fungus
189  Eat some of the fungus
269  You walk over to the steps						St+4
293  Look inside the barrel
215  Take the heavy iron shield
248  Try to open the wooden chest		Emperor's shield	Lu+1
389  Leave the alcove				8 GP			Lu+1
 88  Continue climbing past the second alcove
107  Fight the FIRE DEMON 10/10						At+1
152  Sit on the magnificent throne
  5  Climb up the rest of the steps
249  You run up the last few steps
164  You return to the path and head north
144  Head west in the thick undergrowth
213  You decide to head north
306  Examine the ivy-covered building
391  You possess a silver key
200  Descend the stone stairs
351  Light the candle
292  Try to lift the stone slab
 95  You have some Dust of Levitation
173  You possess some Holy Water
 58  You leave the crypt			25 GP, bronze hammer head
112  You decide to head north again
103  Look more closely at the lair
 57  The fire bolt misses you						Lu-1
132  You possess a flute
258  The Wyvern is powerless to resist
305  Try on the plate iron gauntlet		10 GP, throwing knife
374  Head north again along the path		Gauntlet of Skill	At+1
360  Give the bandits what they want
279  You pay a levy of five objects		-3 GP, -2 biscuits
246  You are out of Darkwood Forest
204  You have the hammer head and handle
400  Your quest is over				Golden winged helmet, jewels

Friday, September 25, 2026

Fighting Fantasy hard backs are out! Original art!!!!

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_CLNyzwqIL8&t=314s

Bigger book pages. Bigger ORIGINAL pictures. 


SPELLSINGER's REVIEW - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tKBZF6uli0&t=768s


This os the city of thieves, but maybe they have Forest of Doom???!!!

Links to two of them: https://officialfightingfantasy.blogspot.com/2026/09/city-of-thieves-and-tomb-of-golden.html

OK... they don't make it easy, but here are links to other hardback versions Of City of Thieves, but I think other books can be found:

A new paperback and hardback of a brand new one called Tomb of the Golden Skull, so I worry about the art:

Thursday, September 24, 2026

Books, fantasy novels

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BGQUFiFdgb0

1. Says sword and sorcery one.. 

WE ARE ALL LEGENDS by Darrell Schweitzer.

Only bad thing is main guy is a scumbag (who is also a pathetic loser) but the adventures are incredible. 

This is much more action than Nift the Lean

2. Old S-tier sword n sorcery is also this from Weird Tales:

JIREL OF JOIRY, by C. L. Moore


3. NIFFT THE LEAN, by Michael Shae… problem was too muc filler and slow  







Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Mordenkainen

 https://davidleonard-greyhawkmusings.blogspot.com/2024/05/mordenkainens-spells.html?m=1

And

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/F3VWcIdf7O4

By Thedungeondelver, he knows some stuuff. Pronounces mor sen kie nen … name was mix of  hero Mordecai and Finnish hero Lemminkainen. 


PF1e Blaster Build, the newest info to consider

 https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2razr?Blaster-Wizard-build



Hey guys, I have a bunch of D6s, and I want to roll as many of them at once... So I'm making a Fireball speced blaster wizard for PFS. Am I doing this right?

Race:Elf (Arcane Focus)

Stats:
Str:7
Dex:16
Con:12
Int:20
Wis:11
Chr:7

Level 1-5: Admixture Wizard, Dodo Familiar (+4 to init)
Level 6: Tattoed, Duel blooded (Orc/Draconic (fire)) Sorcerer (I know I can't cast socrcerer spells here, but it seems worth it to not have the -2 to will?)
Level 7-12:Admixture Wizard

Traits:Magical Heritage(Fireball), Metamagic Mastery(Fireball)

Feats:

Level 1: Spell focus(Evocation), Spell Specialization (Burning hands)
Level 3: Improved Initiative <- (Is this a good feat to take here? I could get metamagic or greater spell focus instead)
Level 5: Empower Spell, Heighten Spell
Level 6: Tattoo (Evocation)
Level 7: Prefered Spell(Fireball)
Level 9: Spell Penetration
Level 11: Intense Spell, Selective Spell

Rough gear selection:

Level 3: Toppling rod
Level 4: Cloak of resistance, Pearl of power
Level 5: Selective rod
Level 6: Rime rod, Int +2 headband
Level 7-12:?

Am I missing anything obvious? Is the loss of sorcerer spells for the +2 to perception and Will saves worth it? I feel like I am low on metamagic feats, but going first and being able to memorize lots of utility spells with prefered spell seem worth it, right?

Thanks guys!

-=-=-=-=-

I'm halfway agreeing with him (Fruian Thistlefoot) below, like see the response. I do think I want the ability to change spells, so I probably like that feat, etc. 

-=-=-=-=-

 Fruian Thistlefoot says:

Quote:
As I understand the feat, Intensify Spell does nothing under level 11,

I believe your understanding needs some math behind it.

If he held off on the intensify he will cap his Fireball at level 7 with 10d6 and will be riding Empower spell for 8 more levels till 15 under your suggestion. So his fireball on average till level 15 would be 10d6+20*.50 average 75. For 8 levels this damage wont increase.

Intensified spell does wonders on shocking grasp, burning hands, and fireball. With spell Specialization and the tattoo your looking at +3 CL and will cap out your spells faster which means intensified should be looked at by level 8. Then your set to have Empowered+ Intensified Fireball for 11d6+22*.50%...roughly 82 average damage. and GROWING. Not bad at level 8 for a 4th level spell.

with intensified taken early enough-
@ level 5 your looking at 8d4+16 burning hands with intensified spell as a 2nd level spell. That is actually really good numbers for Burning hands.

Intensify is a +1 metamagic meant to get more damage out of spells that cap in damage early. This is why it is rushed in most blaster builds and the Magus Shocking grasp build. Because it adds such significant damage.

Quote:

He needs Heighten Spell eventually, so maybe:

13: heighten spell
15: intensify spell, quicken spell

NO he doesn't NEED heighten spell...that is for a save or die caster. Evocations target reflex which is the lowest of the saves.

By level 15 he needs spell perfection Fireball so he can throw out QUickened, Intensified, Empowered Fireball as a 4th level spell.

Level 1: Spell focus(Evocation), Spell Specialization (Burning hands)
Level 3: Improved Initiative
Level 5: Empower Spell, Intensify Spell
Level 6: Tattoo (Evocation)
Level 7: Preferred Spell(Fireball)
Level 9: Spell Penetration
Level 11: Dazing Spell, Greater Spell Focus
Level 13: Quicken spell
Level 15: Spell perfection- Fireball
Level 16 (free Wizard feat): Greater Spell Penetration

Spell perfection adds: +2 more to DC, add a metamagic for FREE, +2 more to overcome spell resistance. It is your premium feat...the one you have drooled over since level 1 and wished you could take it before 15...damn pre-reqs.


-=-=-=-=-


I think it needs to be reiterated that this is a PFS character who is unlikely to see play past 11th level.

Also, Heighten Spell is required for Preferred Spell.

Grand Lodge

Even still I stand by my Intensified pick sooner then level 11.

Quote:

I think it needs to be reiterated that this is a PFS character who is unlikely to see play past 11th level.

Also, Heighten Spell is required for Preferred Spell.

I think Preferred spell is not even worth it. Because Heighten is not worth it for a blaster. As a Wizard you know your going to be casting a few fireballs a day...just prepare them and free up 2 feats for better selections.

If you really want that Sorcerer feel then roll sorcerer.

Sunday, September 20, 2026

Prehistoric art in ink - B&W fantasy art, so good. Comic.

FOUND where to buy it i think: https://linktr.ee/LukeInk , goes to Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/LukeInkArt. 

 Super good teaching but also just looks great https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sQYpfGWjsZ4

And many of his vids. Comicbook about mammoths but also fantasy. 

Sample of his art book and/or comic... man, it is so darn good, gotta buy some - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WxQIvhuEgzg - 











Shadowdark coolies

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EauWs_1-fMA&t=1136s


19:00 time, points of interest. Suoer cool. Like unique area things like special encounters. 

Anime infl Metroid and maybe Bionic Commando

 https://m.youtube.com/shorts/6etau2yhq8Y

1982, Crystal Bowie, Space Adventure Cobra  

They say influenced Metroid. Arm gun etc. 

When was Bionic Commando… having a grapple arm claw seems identical. 

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Draw Steel and old D&D

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UTbeWhngiZQ&ra=m

Commentor andrewsnee6452 says - sounds like old school dnd. Look at module b2, or g1 to g3 or D series to see Gygax put in hordes of monsters. Younger OSR crowd ppl retconned that into being “avoid combat”. But true 1980s players would get super magic items to bexome superhero powered up. Power gaming was the most common approach. - - he was DM in 1980s and thinks Drawsteel kinda can play that way, even those okd TSR adventures. 

Names for dnd

 Garl - from garlic

Gravit - from gravity

Ormhall - from wormhole



These ideas are just random from me based on sounds alone, not meaning per se. BUT, maybe Ormhall is from another plane via a wormhole. 


Halfling’s Blackflame super item

 The Halfling Blackflame is very interesting. Just the details get the juices flowing… cold damage, can light but not burn a normal torch, does burn unburnable items, unburns ashes back into the original components. Man there is so much a DM can do with that. I’m thinking of ashes in a holy container, that when restored, gives you an ancient map to something major.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7NKLNw_wU48&t=1293s&pp=2AGNCpACAQ%3D%3D&ra=m

Time 22:00ish