by Damdael

I got interested in gamebooks a few years ago. First I found joy in playing books from Season 4 Graphic Novel Adventures and then I fell in love with Legendary Kingdoms books. Since then I've played through some sixty gamebooks. I try to write reviews of the books I've played in order to lure others into this rabbit hole. In my reviews I try to have comparisons to other gamebooks and place the books I review onto my ranking list so that readers can find other books to try out.

I partook in the 2026 Kickstarter campaign that produced this gamebook and thus my copy is of the first edition.

First Impressions:
- The gamebook was delivered in a thick cardboard wrap with the cardboard folded so that there were two layers of it protecting both of the covers. The book was very snuggly inside and there was no space for it to move around and incur damage to the edges/corners from that. There was no shrinkwrap protecting the book but it nevertheless arrived in perfect condition. Fulfillment was handled by DriveThruRPG Print-on-Demand. I guess you can call it an excellent delivery.
- The hardcover book looks really great. The colours are vivid and the characters on the front cover are in the middle of dynamic movement. Our saber swinging hero Ahu looks sleek with silky fur and the axe-shaped beak of the mountable bird is weird but on second thought probably very dangerous if the creature has strong neck muscles. The large purple moon on the background takes like a sixth of the surface area of the front cover but it was one of the last details my eyes focused on - I guess there's so much else going on that it's somehow easy to miss it. Back when the Kickstarter campaign was on I hesitated backing the book because based on the cover it looked a bit like a children's book. Having held the physical book in my hands I've grown accustomed to the cover and I actually appreciate it because it's unlike the cover of your typical western RPG book (I mean just look at those cute fluffy creatures) yet conveys a sense of adventure and danger.
- There's a lot of empty space on the back cover. Currently there's just the publisher blurb, setting logo and barcode. A some kind of image to fill some of the empty space would have been nice.
- Opening the book I have to comment that the ink smells really strong and not very pleasant. Probably the worst gamebook smell I've encountered since The Rider of the Black Sun some years ago. I hope the smell goes away once the pages get aired a bit.
- The covers feel very sturdy as is expected of a hardcover book. There seems to be a some kind of protective coating that adds a slight sheen and a smooth feel to the covers. The paper of the pages feels like quality paper (though not as high quality as in Obvious Mimic gamebooks) and the pages are bound very neatly. The pages are not glued to the spine of the cover so it would seem like there will be no issue of that glue failing which is quite typical with hardcover books. Since the book is a PoD product I guess the physical qualities depend on the current contracts DriveThruRPG has with printers.
- At 350 paragraphs the book seems to be of good length. There's a small distance to the 'standard' length of 400 paragraphs which Fighting Fantasy gamebooks introduced but the paragraphs seem to take about half a page each so the book feels thick enough.

Rules:
The book uses simplified D&D 5e rules (no battlemaps or movement in combat, no crits, no leveling up, no feats, only inventory space for eight items and a few other simplifications). You do not need to own the Player's Handbook or any other rulebooks. All the needed rules are contained in this book.

You play as Ahu, Warden of the Path, who has completed his training and is now going for his first solo patrol. Ahu is level 1 with 11 health and 14 AC clad in Leather Armor. Your attribute values are predetermined as is starting equipment (like his trusty Shortbow and Scimitar) but you get to choose your skill proficiencies, one additional language and fighting style specialization. As a travelling companion you have your mount called Shortlegs who is a horse-sized temperamental flightless bird but invaluable especially in combat.

Artwork:
- As I wrote in my first impressions the covers look great. Having those furry/fluffy creatures on the cover really differentiates the book from most other gamebooks I've played. Standing out definitely isn't a bad thing when it comes to books.
- There are 18 unique full page or half page images. Added to that are a few smaller images to fill otherwise empty spaces between paragraphs. It's a very good amount of art for a gamebook of this length (for reference Fighting Fantasy gamebooks usually have 30 unique images on the pages). The images are tied to specific paragraphs next to them which I think is how it should be. I wouldn't mind a little bit more art but I'm slightly surprised there's even this much of it considering the low budget for the book.
- The art has a lot of details and works well printed in black&white. In the Kickstarter campaign the author stated that they were aiming for 'old-style feel' with the art and I think that they've nailed that goal.
- There's a detailed map of the region which I appreciate. It makes deciding which direction to go quite easy.

Thoughts while Playing:
This section is reserved for my worthwhile thoughts while playing the gamebook. I use them as a basis for writing about the positives and negatives below plus they might be of interest to other players who've played the book. I've kept my observations mostly vague in order to avoid any big spoilers but I've spoiler tagged the section in case there are any really spoiler allergic readers.

Attempt 1:
[o]- I chose Animal Handling, Athletics, Investigation, Nature and Survival as my additional skills. For my extra language I chose Orcish and Dueling for my fighting style specialization.
- D&D is very familiar to me but I still read through all the rules text to see if there were any minor changes or such for this self-contained gamebook.
- The start of the adventure was rather serene - a village waking to a new early summer morning and a farewell breakfast for Ahu. I talked to a few characters like the ranger order guildmaster and the village spirit guide. I learned rumours about a disturbance very close to the village walls so naturally I wanted to prove my mettle and went to check it out.
- A failed stealth check. I had to decide between a fight and trying something more mystical. My gamble paid off and I was rewarded with a special item.
- I calmed my anxious steed and afterwards I was ready for my journey. I crossed a footbridge and came to what seemed like a major decision point with three options. I decided to go north.
- I found myself a shield. A nice find.
- I encountered something that you can't negotiate with. A successful skill check and I was able to start the fight with five bow shots before the enemy got into melee range.
- I spent the night in an old patrol shelter.
- I had a chance to find loot but I rolled a nat1 for my investigation check.
- I met a fellow traveller.
- The text offered a chance to let my mount rest in a safe place (at my inconvenience) so I took that as a sure hint that danger was approaching.
- Another important sounding decision point. I decided to act as a bait.
- An enemy that attacks twice per turn and deals d6+4 dmg with each hit? Uhh, my max health is 11? A dance with death.
- I barely made a wisdom saving throw. Female beauty is so deviously alluring.
- I wasn't able to decipher the customs of some strange people so I probably missed a boon or some such.
- A decision point with four possible choices. Very good.
- I ran out of rations.
- I met an old spirit. It wasn't exactly helpful but adhered to the old pacts. I agreed to a deal. It would probably have meant death otherwise.
- I found myself at an unfamiliar place but some signposts easily allowed to place myself on the map.
- Ha, an item I almost threw away earlier in the adventure (because I ran into the inventory limit) saved me some trouble. I'm glad I instead threw away something else.
- I had to take a max health penalty because I didn't have rations when I had to rest.
- The book gave me choice between risking the night for speed or going slower but most likely safer. I decided to play it safe. I wasn't in a hurry besides not having any rations. I could bear with the hunger.
- Argh! I won the initiative but then missed with my attacks and an enemy chewed through me. Kind of frustrating, I feel that I was very close to the end of the story. On the other hand I guess I was lucky to get this far with my first attempt. If I remember correctly nearly the same happened with City of Thieves for me; I got to the end boss with my first attempt and then failed to get even half as far with the next couple of attempts.[/o]
Playing time: 3h 4min

I've mainly noted just the new things/events I encountered during subsequent attempts.

Attempt 2:
[o]- This time around I naturally tried to do different choices to see what they would yield.
- As I expected my skill check rolls were horrible. I was too lucky during my first attempt and the gods took notice. Due to failed checks I had to do a mercy killing.
- I barely got out of the starting village before dying due to natural hazards.[/o]
Playing time: 13min

Attempt 3:
[o]- Better luck in the opening bit of the adventure than last time but not as good as during my first attempt. Didn't manage to obtain all the same helpful items because of failed skill checks.
- I decided to go east after the footbridge.
- I helped an animal in trouble.
- Again a chance to gain something if only I could speak a certain language. Orcish has its uses but so it would seem the other languages you can pick have too.
- I managed to obtain a nice boost to a religion check but the dice roll came out as nat1 so the resources were spent in vain.
- I died to the dual-attack enemy I met but beat during my first attempt.[/o]
Playing time: 29min

Attempt 4:
[o]- I decided to go south-east after the footbridge this time around.
- Again an animal in trouble. This time a much smaller one. A different skill was checked in this saving attempt. Would have been really handy to have a certain item from near the beginning of the book... if only I had succeeded in the skill check to obtain it.
- The book offered me a chance to either go to a safe resting location or to explore a possibly dangerous place. You can probably guess what I chose.
- Hey, I found a magical item! Seems to be rare in this book.
- An enemy that deals 2d6+1 dmg per hit? Uhh... I survived with 2hp left.
- Ah, so many decision points for how I'd like to travel. Different players can certainly have very different playthrough experiences with this book.
- A bit of magical healing and I was again at full health.
- Fate led me to face the dual-attack enemy again and this time I got the better of it.
- A rough patch of terrain made me fall down and I lost half of my health.
- I ran out of rations quite near where I died during my first attempt. Max health reduction.
- I had a rematch with the enemy that ended my first attempt. The enemy missed three attacks so I was able to bring it down quite easily.
- It was nice to have a safe rest for once. Three choices of activity while my body rested. I didn't meet the requirements to gain anything from my choice which stung. You'll need to play/attempt the book many times to see everything it has to offer.
- Ha! A kind deed I did early in the adventure paid back now that I'm very close to the end. Enjoyable.
- A veritable boss fight. Luckily I had recruited allies and the fight went well.
- I returned home my duty done.[/o]
Playing time: 1h 35min

The book still has a few secrets and there were a bunch of choices I didn't get to try but I'm quite satisfied with this ending.

Total playing time: 5h 21min

Positives:
- The setting is noticeably different from your usual Sword Coast or such D&D settings. As promised in the publisher blurb the South and Southeast Asia culture influences show. The setting feels fresh. Events move in rhythm with the nature. At times you (Ahu) just stop and breath to connect with the surroundings and the spirits in it. You listen to the wind. You watch the rays of sun. You pause to feel the changes in temperature.
- The story is very fitting for a level 1 adventure. Training is over, go do your first solo patrol now that spring flooding is over and report back any changes of the land. It's not as epic a story as in some gamebooks but there are plenty of twists and danger. It's well written in my opinion.
- Your mount feels like a second main character. I had to make a special comment about this because the interaction between Ahu and his mount is really well written. I don't think there have been any gamebooks among the sixty or so that I've played where there has been such a connection with the main character and his/her mount. Reminds me a little bit of those lone rider type of Westerner movies I watched when I was a kid.
- The book respects the player's time. It doesn't make you trudge through a gazillion fights with a dozen or more rounds each playthrough (like for example Fighting Fantasy books tend to do) to stretch out the playing time. Most of your playing time is spent on reading new paragraphs and deciding between choices.
- At 350 paragraphs the length of the gamebook is pretty good. Like I commented in my first impressions it's a bit below the 'standard' gamebook length of 400 paragraphs but the paragraphs in this book tend to be lengthy and descriptive so the book definitely didn't feel too short.
- The gamebook has an excellent amount of mutually exclusive paths through it and there's a very good amount of choices in decision points. To make a couple of comparisons Tallest Tower and The Curse of Cthulhu are even in better in these aspects but this book really doesn't need to be ashamed in their company. What's also great is that all the paths seemed to be valid paths for getting through the book and there are no dead ends. Decision from the early part of the adventure affect events much later which is satisfying. The book has pretty great replay value.
- Skill checks carry meaningful consequences and as such they are exciting and in some cases you really need to consider do you want to attempt them or not. Failing a check means you'll miss out on some loot, a route gets blocked or if you tried something risky you simply die (after getting a saving throw). The book can be a bit brutal at times. There are some gamebook series' (for example Obvious Mimic gamebooks) in which failing in attribute or such tests doesn't matter much, you'll miss out on some lore or lose a tiny bit of health but that's all.
- The book has a very good amount of art considering it's length. The images illustrate specific events/monsters/items/characters you encounter in the paragraphs. The art is detailed and works well printed in black&white. The 'old-style feel' of the art was comforting. The detailed map makes navigating a smooth experience.
- I didn't encounter any unfair deaths. No 'rocks fall everybody dies'. Every time I died (outside of combat) I first had a chance of saving myself with a saving throw or by having a specific item or something on those lines. I think that the book is in a pretty good place difficulty-wise. It's challenging but not overly so. The skill check DCs are fairly kind but to balance that out there are some enemies that can kill you in a couple of rounds if they manage to hit.
- Physical qualities of the hardcover book are excellent. The strong smell of the ink that I noticed when I opened the book for the first time went away as the pages got aired.

Neutral:
- The softcover book currently costs about 15€ and hardcover about 24€ over on DriveThruRPG. My total playing time ended up at five hours and twenty minutes. With worse dice luck or if I would have wanted to try the choices I didn't get to take with just four attempts I could have probably bumped the playing time to around six or seven hours. With those numbers the cost vs entertainment ratio equates to fairly good. There are gamebooks with large print runs that offer better cost vs entertainment ratio but personally I feel that it is worth the small extra cost to support smaller publishers and/or less known authors to bring new ideas/products to the genre.

Negatives:
- The book doesn't have rules for converting Ahu at the end of the journey to a 'full' D&D character. Specifically possible background, feat and species statistics/bonuses plus possible unlocks/increases at later levels (like Dragonborn have for example).

Minor Issues:
- A weird line break in paragraph 184. You hold <line break> out <line break> the...
- A weird printing error in paragraph 83: words have been printed on top of each other.

Summary and Verdict:
As you can see from above the list of positives is really long. If you think it's too much to read here's a summary: the setting feels fresh, the story is well designed for a level 1 adventure, the interaction with Ahu and his mount is really well written and worth a special mention, the book doesn't waste the player's time, the length of the book is very good, there's an excellent amount of mutually exclusive paths through the book, there's a very good amount of choices in decision points, the book has great replay value, skill checks carry meaningful consequences, no unfair deaths, the book is challenging but not overly so, there's a very good amount of art tied to specific paragraphs and physical qualities of the printed book are excellent.

Since the list of positive aspects became such a wall of text I thought long and hard about possible neutral and negative aspects to balance it out but I just couldn't come up with more than two of them; the cost vs entertainment ratio is good (but not excellent or outstanding) and the book really could use some instructions on how to convert Ahu at the end of the journey to a 'full' D&D character.

Ahu's First Patrol gets a rating of 9 from me using the RPGG scale and goes to slot twenty on my gamebook ranking list. It's a much higher rating/ranking I expected it to reach based on my first look at the front cover of the book. I guess the old saying about not judging a book by its cover holds true...

~ Damdael

A new episode has been added to the database: Chapter 6: Tomorrow

A new episode has been added to the database: Old Coal Miner, Pt. 5 (2.36)

A new episode has been added to the database: 434 Et in Arcadia Ego, version 1, episode 10 - Mothership RPG

A new episode has been added to the database: 400 The Two Headed Serpent, Version 2, Episode 42 - Pulp Cthulhu RPG

A new episode has been added to the database: 440 The Space Between, version 1, episode 3 - Call of Cthulhu RPG

A new episode has been added to the database: 503 - Adorned With Curses (Spindlenoir) with Sasha Reneau (Designer, Spindlewheel)

by Patrick McElfresh

Well, supposedly fall is here. It's over 80° F this weekend, which is not what I was promised. October has certainly started, since my streaming suggestions are FULL of terror. The algorithm doesn't understand my household, y'all! My wife does not like scary things, so therefore neither do I. 🙂 But we still get wave after wave of horror films suggested.

The Spooky has entered Bundle Watch too! It's 100% Cthulhu this week (counting the CoC bundle I said I'd catch up on last week). What terrors await us next week? 🦇

As a reminder, I cover bundles from Monday last week to this last Sunday so I can draft the post in advance. I'll cover yesterday's bundle's next week.

Bundle of Holding
:kF::ki::kr::ks::kt:<< these are the links Runs from 10/5/2026 to 10/26/2026

The official start to spooky season is this Bundle of Holding bundle. It is the first of our all Cthulhu bundle week, and collects Cthulhu Awakens, from Green Ronin. Use the AGE engine (also used in Fantasy AGE, Modern AGE, Blue Rose, and The Expanse) for streamlined play and uses just three d6s. Roll doubles, and you have stunt points to do extra things. Focused on the 1900s, Cthulhu Awakens prioritizes the narrative, and uses bonds (to people and ideals) both for boons and banes.

In the starter tier, for $13, you get Cthulhu Awakens CRB, GM Kit, Quickstart, and session notes from the Bacchae actual play run during the Cthulhu Awakens kickstarter.

The bonus tier runs you $21, so for just a few bucks you add Cults of the Mythos, a supplement focused on...cults; scenario Brinkmanship, and three issues of Dreadcrawls. Finally at this tier, Fantasy AGE (2e) Cthulhu Mythos. This supplement helps Fantasy AGE fans run a mythos-corrupted campaign. There's a lot of overlap with Cthulhu Awakens, but it does require Fantasy AGE 2e to make best use of the material. Users of other AGE systems can also make good use of this. Cthulhu Expanse, anyone??

Fanatical
:kF::ki::kr::ks::kt: Runs from :?block: to 11/27/2026

Here it is, the full list of that Fanatical Bundle I said I'd get to.

Tier 1 - 4 total items - $1.00
- Call of Cthulhu Starter Set
- Gateways to Terror
- Alone Against the Frost
- Malleus Monstrorum Keeper Deck

Tier 2 - 13 total items - $12.99
- Call of Cthulhu: Keeper Rulebook
- Cthulhu by Gaslight Investigator’s Guide
- Doors to Darkness
- Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic
- Cthulhu Through the Ages
- No Time to Scream
- Dead Light and Other Dark Turns
- Alone Against the Dark
- Call of Cthulhu the Coloring Book

Tier 3 - 33 total items - $24.99
- Call of Cthulhu: Investigator Handbook
- Call of Cthulhu: Keeper Screen Pack
- Pulp Cthulhu
- Cthulhu by Gaslight Keeper’s Guide
- Keeper Tips Black
- Call of Cthulhu: Arkham
- Malleus Monstrorum
- S. Petersen’s Field Guide to Lovecraftian Horrors
- Mansions of Madness Vol. 1
- A Cold Fire Within
- Berlin The Wicked City
- A Time to Harvest
- Secrets of Tibet
- Children of Fear
- Nameless Horrors 2nd Ed
- Ripples from Carcosa
- Canis Mysterium
- Shadow Over Providence - Enhanced Edition
- Alone Against the Tide
- Does Love Forgive?

by aramis

pdzoch wrote:

What is your experience with RPGs that foster and reward player character relationships with other PCs and NPCs? Why are those relationships important in the RPG? Which game does it best and why?

Never really found such essential, but when mechanicalized it does change play a bit. Year Zero with the buddy and rival bonus experience rewards playing up those relationships, but works mostly in campaign play... since XP is technically optional in Cinematic play. (And XP in cinematic can make the slower playing groups have a MUCH easier time.)

Fate in several flavors links PC's to others via aspects. Nifty if everyone's reliably present. The big reward is when they're compelled, as giving in to it gains a fate.

I'm kind of fond of ties to NPCs... Hunted, Watched, DNPC, Allies in Champions, GURPS, and others. The various passions in Pendragon. Aspects in Fate.

@Ugavine: Pendragon PCs aren't of need of the same families. Most of the relationships encoded in Passions are with NPCs: Loyalty Lord, Loyalty vassals, Amour/Love (object of affection), Love Family, Love God... usually the only PC-PC relationship in Passions is Loyalty Companions, and many opt not to take it. With 6e limiting passions, if you're in 6E, you've a good reason not to take Loyalty Companions.

by aramis

A lot of content is on drivethruRPG.com or on lulu.com.

Smaller stores not restricted to one system:
https://www.pigames.net/store/default.php Precis Intermedia, (formerly Politically Incorrect Games).

https://warehouse23.com/ - not good for what you're looking for, tho'.

Single game: Daggerheart only... but the vtt assets are generally portable should you do VTT.
https://heartofdaggers.com/product-category/maps-worlds/

The others I used to know have gone away...

by newkindofkick

Sadly, not many game stores carry RPG zines. If they do it is usually stuff for Mörk Borg & Mothership of which I already own a bunch of stuff for. I've found a lot of cool indie RPGs from Indie Press Revolution and Exalted Funeral over the past few years. I'm looking to really expand my zine library and was wondering if anyone knew of some other good RPG zine distros.

by ctimmins

mic_al wrote:

Hmmm... interesting to me that people are interpreting this question in the light of "what experience do you have where mechanical RPG effects reward and foster PC relationships" whereas I read it initially as more "what experience do you have wherein the GM fosters...?"

Probably because the question is about RPGs. We can share mechanics in our games. Few of us will share GMs.