City of Thieves (gamebook)
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City of Thieves is a single-player roleplaying gamebook written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by Iain McCaig and originally published in 1983 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 5th in the series in both the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031645-0) and the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-397-X).
Story
Terror stalks the night as Zanbar Bone and his bloodthirsty Moon Dogs hold the prosperous town of Silverton to ransom. YOU are an adventurer, and the merchants of Silverton turn to you in their hour of need.
Your mission takes you along dark, twisting streets where thieves, vagabonds and creatures of the night lie in wait to trap the unwary traveller. And beyond lies the most fearsome adventure of them all – the tower stronghold of the infamous Zanbar Bone!
The book introduced the corrupt and dangerous city-state of Port Blacksand (the "City of Thieves") which would feature in many further Fighting Fantasy books.
The prosperous town of Silverton is being held ransom by the evil Night Prince Zanbar Bone. Every night, Bone releases his vicious Moon Dogs to stalk the streets of the town and kill anyone they find, until the mayor agrees to hand over his daughter. Instead, the mayor hires the player to kill the sorcerer.
In order to kill him, however, the player needs to seek advice from the wizard Nicodemus, who resides in Port Blacksand, a crime-ridden coastal city-state. The player therefore has to gain entrance to the city and find the wizard while avoiding the thieves, traps and corrupt City Guard. The player will also need to wander into the streets of Port Blacksand and acquire a certain number of items before leaving Port Blacksand for the Night Prince's tower to destroy the undead Zanbar Bone and save the town of Silverton.
Wizard rule errors
Some of the rules are incorrectly printed in the Wizard version of the book due to text being copied from The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. The rules state that Provisions can only be eaten when instructed by the text, which is not the case. The book 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. The rules also incorrectly suggest you begin the adventure with a lantern, when in fact you must obtain one during the adventure.
Reception
Marcus L. Rowland reviewed City of Thieves for the January 1984 issue of White Dwarf, rating the title 8 out of a possible 10. According to Rowland, "Most encounters in the city are potentially lethal, several being no-win situations where the best outcome involves injury or loss of money."[1]
See also
References
- ^ Rowland, Marcus (1984). "Open Box". White Dwarf (49). Games Workshop: 14–15.
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