Gamebook store

Monday 24 August 2015

Department of errata: Blood Sword book three

It's said that no work of art is ever completed, only abandoned. That used to be quite a problem for gamebooks, because a typo in the middle of a novel doesn't cause the whole thing to crash, but a wrong number in a gamebook can stop you dead in your tracks.

In the old days we couldn't recall a print run. If you spotted an erratum after the book shipped, too bad. Now we use print on demand, and just as well too because an anonymous commenter pointed out a glitch in the new (2014) edition of Blood Sword book 3: The Demon's Claw. Instead of an option to turn to 666 (which of course doesn't exist) if there's no Sage in the party, section 559 of that book should read as follows:
559
You are spoiling for a fight as you leap out at the bully-boys, but they lose all stomach for their job when they have to face alert and well-armed foes. They throw down their cudgels and race off into the night. You spit through the doorway and curse them for their cowardice, but you cannot summon any enthusiasm for chasing them down the unlit alleys of Crescentium.
   There is a moan from one of the Badawin. Nursing bruises and aching joints, they slowly sit up. ‘Those robbers would have slain us and taken all our money,’ says the leader of the group. You notice him wince as he is speaking, and you wonder whether it is because of the beating he has just received or the alcohol you tricked him into drinking.
   ‘My wrist is broken,’ puts in another. ‘I am in some discomfort, and urge that we visit a physician at once.’
   ‘There is one thing we must do first,’ chides the Badawin leader. He turns to you. ‘We owe you our lives. Accept this small token of our gratitude.’ He gives you a pouch containing twenty-five gold pieces. (If there is a Warrior in the party, he or she is handed the pouch. Otherwise it goes to the first player in the battle order.)
   If the Sage is in the party, turn to 514. If not, turn to 191.
Sorry about that. Please write the corrected option into your copy. Anyone who still hadn't ordered the book (and hey, why not?) can rest assured that all copies from this point on have the error fixed.

12 comments:

  1. Mr. Morris, is The Walls of Spyte still scheduled for release? It is a great book...

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    1. I'm hoping I'll get the time to typeset it. The editing is mostly done. If not this year, I'll aim to have it back in print by next spring.

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  2. I was just about to say that I'll forgive you in return for book 5, but you're already several steps ahead of me.

    Now I'd go as far as *forgetting* if you wrote a new VR title... :)

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  3. Hello, Mr. Morris:

    I would like to make you a question: if you take a move action, can you also attack in the same round? If not, I think is always better to wait for the enemy to move towards you, because thus you attack first.

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    1. Hi Juan, you can move or attack in a round, not both. So yes, it's better to let the enemy come to you - unless he/she/it has magic or missiles, of course.

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  4. Hello Mr. Morris,

    I have the italian edition printed in 1992 but the paragraph seems right. At 559 the choice in the case of no Sage in the party is 277 instead 191.

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    1. I should have said that the error was in the new edition, not in the original books. I've amended the post to make that clear. Thanks for pointing it out.

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  5. Anyway Mr. Morris..

    why I posted this message...and why am I here ? For a strange case I found this webpage, only because I write Krarth in google because it jumped in my mind for a while. No, it's not a case. I'm 36 and was 13 when in a little shop at seaside during holidays captured my attention.. Wyrd... I read it, read many times, for many years it was my mith, my legend, I felt myself as the General of the Selentine Army in the famous arena battle... I played basketball for years in a big city team and my slogan to win the game was "Be worthy of the eagle". For years your words has inspired me, the concept that the life sword was in the hell and the death one was in the middle-earth makes me struggled, the 5 mages hidden behind stars with my eye trying to find them in the summer night. This is Wyrd. The web of cause-and-effect that permeates the universe. Not to be understood as an externally-controlling fate but rather as the natural consequences of one's own actions. I'm here, Mr Morris, to say thank you for all you did for me. You made me dream, I have grown with it, you let me found a hidden world. Thank Mr Morris. When able to read, I reveal your book to my little daughters. Thank you.

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    1. Hi Cruccio - I'm glad you came across us. Your story is one of the most gratifying I've ever heard about the books I wrote. I always thought about the kids and teenagers out there whose imaginations and lives I hoped I would help to inspire with my writing. Your basketball slogan is the perfect example. And you're not the only one who has looked up at the night sky and looked for the faces of the Magi, believe me! I'm glad and honoured to have created something that's part of your life, and I hope your daughters enjoy the books too. Thank you.

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  6. Dave, any news about the BS #5 new edition?

    Skorpio,
    your greatest italian fan, sleepless due to the lack of BS#5 on his shelf

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    1. I don't want to be the cause of sleepless nights, Skorpio. As soon as I get a week that I can devote to BS5, I will.

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