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Fighting Fantasy #29
Midnight Rogue
You are an apprentice in the Thieves' Guild of Port Blacksand, Tonight is the testing time, the climax of your training. Your mission is to find and steal a priceless gem, the Eye of the Baslisk, and the special skills you have learned will be tested to the limit!Many terrors lie in wait in the darkness of this evil city's backstreets and alleys. Will you be able to accomplish your dangerous task? You have til morning to prove yourself.Two dice, a pencil, and an eraser are all you need to set out on your mission. You decide which route to take, which creatures to fight, and which dangers to risl.
224 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1987
1 person is currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Ian Livingstone
131 books165 followersSir Ian Livingstone is an English fantasy author and entrepreneur. Along with Steve Jackson, he is the co-founder of the Fighting Fantasy series of role-playing gamebooks, and the author of many books within that series. He co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 and helped create Eidos Interactive as executive chairman of Eidos Plc in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 30, 2014
I had all of the Fighting Fantasy books as a child, and oh how I loved them.
December 2, 2015
This is a classic true path type of adventure, divided in two parts. In the first part you are supposed to find three clues in order to be able to proceed to the second part, which is a typical dungeon, where a couple objects are necessary to reach the end. So far nothing impressive: it is a pretty common paradigm for Fighting Fantasy books. However there are many little thing that make this book shine. The first one is skills. You begin with three skills that you choose from a list. I love this type of personalization, and it's regrettably rare in the Fighting Fantasy titles. And they work great, because your gaming experience is going to change radically depending on what skills you choose. Skills are also a way of not having to make tons of skill/luck checks. If you have the skill, you solve the situation and continue reading.
The second thing I loved is the whole Thief vibe that the game has. This could be called a stealth play gamebook! Lurking in shadows, sneaking past guards, pickpocketing a merchant in his sleep... it's been ridiculously fun to play, especially the first part. The second part is, unfortunately, not as good, because it's just a dungeon crawl experience. But it's still fun. I liked this title, and it certainly goes in my top ten Fighting Fantasy titles!
The second thing I loved is the whole Thief vibe that the game has. This could be called a stealth play gamebook! Lurking in shadows, sneaking past guards, pickpocketing a merchant in his sleep... it's been ridiculously fun to play, especially the first part. The second part is, unfortunately, not as good, because it's just a dungeon crawl experience. But it's still fun. I liked this title, and it certainly goes in my top ten Fighting Fantasy titles!
January 5, 2022
This one has a great start, with a return to Port Blacksand as one of its infamous thieves on a highly imaginitive and interesting test to become a proper member of the guild. There's sneaking around, breaking in, picking locks and the occasional pocket, and a pretty great Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser feel to it. I love Port Blacksand, and I love thieves, so it promises a lot.
Unfortunately, it falls flat in the middle point, becoming a yet another dungeon crawl with not much new or interesting to say about it. Entirely linear, to boot, with little to no choice in how to proceed, basically just a number of death traps thrown in your way. One or two of the traps are pretty cool - the dark room with a basilisk in it stuck to mind - but overall there's not much to say about it after the descent from the great city parts.
Shame.
Unfortunately, it falls flat in the middle point, becoming a yet another dungeon crawl with not much new or interesting to say about it. Entirely linear, to boot, with little to no choice in how to proceed, basically just a number of death traps thrown in your way. One or two of the traps are pretty cool - the dark room with a basilisk in it stuck to mind - but overall there's not much to say about it after the descent from the great city parts.
Shame.
September 5, 2015
Back to Port Blacksand
5 November 2012
I sometimes get a bit worried when I see that the author of a book that I am reviewing as a Goodreads' Author because I am always conscious that they will be notified when I write a commentary on their book, particularly when their books don't have any reviews attached to it (such as this one). This is true particularly when we come to gaming products or books that are a part of a series (such as this one) that are not one of the original books. Mind you, after the original Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone books the number of people who would still be reading them this late in the piece would be diminishing, and only those die hard Fighting Fantasy fans (such as me) would continue. In fact, I seem to be the only person still writing reviews for Fighting Fantasy gamebooks (though that has more to do with wanting to write a review for every book that I have read rather than just marking it as 'read' and moving onto the next one).
Now, in the earlier books I had criticised them for being a little morally ambiguous, such as The Citadel of Chaos where you are effectively an assassin, and Warlock of Firetop Mountain where you basically break into somebody's house, loot it of its contents, and then kill the owner. At least this particular game book is not at all ambiguous: you are thief and you behave like a thief and your goal is to break into somebody's house and steal their prized possession. Mind you, I was always baffled about how Dungeons and Dragons never tried to make the character class a little more ambiguous (particularly since the warrior is little more than a well trained murderer), though I do note when we think of a thief in Dungeons and Dragons we imagine some sort of spy, scout, special operative type of person but when we think of a thief in real life we (or at least I do) conjure up the image of a shoplifter.
Once again this book is exploring different ways of running the adventure. As mentioned, you are an apprentice thief who is going through what is essentially a final exam to see whether you should be allowed to become a fullfledged member. At the beginning you are given the option of choosing three skills to help you complete the adventure, though I have discovered that you need a certain three otherwise the game becomes really hard. Okay, I have only been through this book once, so I do not know if it is possible to complete it with other skills, but I have noticed that by not having the other skills, there are still options to allow me to complete it. Some of the skills (such as hide) never seem to be used, or if they are used, it is not for an important part of the quest.
The other aspect of this adventure is that about a third of it is set in Port Blacksand and the remainder involves you crawling through a dungeon avoiding traps. I found that while the first part of the adventure seemed to capture the essence of being a thief, the second part was just that little to long and simply became another dungeon crawl. In fact I started to lose interest as I got deeper into the dungeon, though this was not the dungeon in the traditional sense in that there is really only one way to go. So, while the first part had more opportunities to use your skills, the second part seemed to pull away from that. However, it was still a good little adventure, and did explore the system better than some of the other books had.
5 November 2012
I sometimes get a bit worried when I see that the author of a book that I am reviewing as a Goodreads' Author because I am always conscious that they will be notified when I write a commentary on their book, particularly when their books don't have any reviews attached to it (such as this one). This is true particularly when we come to gaming products or books that are a part of a series (such as this one) that are not one of the original books. Mind you, after the original Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone books the number of people who would still be reading them this late in the piece would be diminishing, and only those die hard Fighting Fantasy fans (such as me) would continue. In fact, I seem to be the only person still writing reviews for Fighting Fantasy gamebooks (though that has more to do with wanting to write a review for every book that I have read rather than just marking it as 'read' and moving onto the next one).
Now, in the earlier books I had criticised them for being a little morally ambiguous, such as The Citadel of Chaos where you are effectively an assassin, and Warlock of Firetop Mountain where you basically break into somebody's house, loot it of its contents, and then kill the owner. At least this particular game book is not at all ambiguous: you are thief and you behave like a thief and your goal is to break into somebody's house and steal their prized possession. Mind you, I was always baffled about how Dungeons and Dragons never tried to make the character class a little more ambiguous (particularly since the warrior is little more than a well trained murderer), though I do note when we think of a thief in Dungeons and Dragons we imagine some sort of spy, scout, special operative type of person but when we think of a thief in real life we (or at least I do) conjure up the image of a shoplifter.
Once again this book is exploring different ways of running the adventure. As mentioned, you are an apprentice thief who is going through what is essentially a final exam to see whether you should be allowed to become a fullfledged member. At the beginning you are given the option of choosing three skills to help you complete the adventure, though I have discovered that you need a certain three otherwise the game becomes really hard. Okay, I have only been through this book once, so I do not know if it is possible to complete it with other skills, but I have noticed that by not having the other skills, there are still options to allow me to complete it. Some of the skills (such as hide) never seem to be used, or if they are used, it is not for an important part of the quest.
The other aspect of this adventure is that about a third of it is set in Port Blacksand and the remainder involves you crawling through a dungeon avoiding traps. I found that while the first part of the adventure seemed to capture the essence of being a thief, the second part was just that little to long and simply became another dungeon crawl. In fact I started to lose interest as I got deeper into the dungeon, though this was not the dungeon in the traditional sense in that there is really only one way to go. So, while the first part had more opportunities to use your skills, the second part seemed to pull away from that. However, it was still a good little adventure, and did explore the system better than some of the other books had.
January 28, 2013
Great book. Loved the continuation of the city setting and characters from City of thieves. The skills add lots of character too. Nice taking a walk on the dark side as well. Loved it.
November 25, 2018
One of, if not the best storyline of the Fighting Fantasy series. Personal favourite.
October 18, 2019
An enjoyable gamebook which has a very odd second half.
You take the part of a trainee thief in the Port Blacksand Thieve's guild looking to become a fully-fledged member, and to prove yourself you're assigned the job of stealing a jewel named the Eye of the Basilisk. The first part of the book has you exploring different areas of the city, looking for clues and picking up equipment which may become necessary later on. It took me a while to plot an optimum route through this section, as you can visit each location in any order, but its best to visit some places before the others.
The second part of the book is a dungeon crawl, and whereas I find dungeon crawls very entertaining, this one is a bit odd. The reason for this is, simply, that the best route is often to ignore and bypass absolutely everything. See a door? Leave it alone. Find another passageway going west? Ignore it and keep going straight. Hear a funny noise in the ceiling? Run away. See something valuable? Don't touch it. Almost none of the side activities have any benefit to them while many of them contain death or wounding.
Its still a very fun adventure, though, and well worth being part of anyone's gamebook collection.
You take the part of a trainee thief in the Port Blacksand Thieve's guild looking to become a fully-fledged member, and to prove yourself you're assigned the job of stealing a jewel named the Eye of the Basilisk. The first part of the book has you exploring different areas of the city, looking for clues and picking up equipment which may become necessary later on. It took me a while to plot an optimum route through this section, as you can visit each location in any order, but its best to visit some places before the others.
The second part of the book is a dungeon crawl, and whereas I find dungeon crawls very entertaining, this one is a bit odd. The reason for this is, simply, that the best route is often to ignore and bypass absolutely everything. See a door? Leave it alone. Find another passageway going west? Ignore it and keep going straight. Hear a funny noise in the ceiling? Run away. See something valuable? Don't touch it. Almost none of the side activities have any benefit to them while many of them contain death or wounding.
Its still a very fun adventure, though, and well worth being part of anyone's gamebook collection.
July 18, 2017
Some memories of writing the book, on my blog: https://graemedavis.wordpress.com/201...
October 29, 2023
A fun Fighting Fantasy/D&D hybrid. An engaging story with a sense of progression, great illustrations, a little town adventure, and an old school dungeon delve make this a good gamebook. It loses a star for gameplay issues: a fairly obvious path forward with high skill mandatory fights to artificially amp up the difficulty cost it a star. Skill 10 minimum required. Still, great immersion and a high nostalgia factor.
September 21, 2020
In 1987’s Midnight Rogue (FF#29), you’re an apprentice thief on the trail of a gem.
It’s a book in two parts. In the first part, set in Port Blacksand (from FF#5 The City of Thieves), you need to gather three clues, and you need to visit three locations in the correct order to find them. The second section is a traditional dungeon crawl.
This structure is familiar from other entries in the series such as Beneath Nightmare Castle (FF#25). That book is superior to this one in every way, however. Where this one pales the most in comparison is the dungeon crawl. There are some powerful adversaries and it’s mostly just a question of whether you have the skill, stamina and luck to get through. That’s because in Midnight Rogue the dungeon section is completely linear (tip - there’s no point mapping it). The only maze section either defeats you unequivocally if you haven’t picked up the map, and if you have picked up the map, you simply find your way through it.
However, Midnight Rogue is still a reasonably strong entry in the series. The first part, particularly, builds some nice tension as you creep around the Merchants’ Guild and Brass’s house. It’s also nice to be back in Port Blacksand and traverse it from the opposite perspective than in The City of Thieves - from the point of view of one of the thieves who were trying to rip you off in the earlier book! There are also some inventive creatures and traps in the dungeon section.
Finally, the shock ending is a winner!
It’s a book in two parts. In the first part, set in Port Blacksand (from FF#5 The City of Thieves), you need to gather three clues, and you need to visit three locations in the correct order to find them. The second section is a traditional dungeon crawl.
This structure is familiar from other entries in the series such as Beneath Nightmare Castle (FF#25). That book is superior to this one in every way, however. Where this one pales the most in comparison is the dungeon crawl. There are some powerful adversaries and it’s mostly just a question of whether you have the skill, stamina and luck to get through. That’s because in Midnight Rogue the dungeon section is completely linear (tip - there’s no point mapping it). The only maze section either defeats you unequivocally if you haven’t picked up the map, and if you have picked up the map, you simply find your way through it.
However, Midnight Rogue is still a reasonably strong entry in the series. The first part, particularly, builds some nice tension as you creep around the Merchants’ Guild and Brass’s house. It’s also nice to be back in Port Blacksand and traverse it from the opposite perspective than in The City of Thieves - from the point of view of one of the thieves who were trying to rip you off in the earlier book! There are also some inventive creatures and traps in the dungeon section.
Finally, the shock ending is a winner!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2020
An interesting addition to the Fighting Fantasy cannon, and starts off really refreshing for the first half of the book and something new but then the later half of the book generates into a dungeon crawl like so many in the series!! Could have been and should have been so much better!
August 23, 2017
Very fun read/adventure
August 23, 2024
Not written by Ian Livingstone, but rather by Graeme Davis and wonderfully illustrated by John Sibbick. Set in the infamous Port Blacksand, which is a big plus point in itself, the plot follows an apprentice thief around Blacksand as he searches the city for clues to the location of a priceless gem, the Eye of the Basilisk. Find the gem and he's initiated into the city's Thieve's Guild.
Thoroughly enjoyable. The slight let-down is that the last portion of the book is a subterranean dungeon crawl, which is fine in itself, but I feel it would have been better if the whole book was set totally within the walls of Blacksand. Irrespective, a really solid and worthy addition to the series. Definitely worth seeking out to add to your collection.
Thoroughly enjoyable. The slight let-down is that the last portion of the book is a subterranean dungeon crawl, which is fine in itself, but I feel it would have been better if the whole book was set totally within the walls of Blacksand. Irrespective, a really solid and worthy addition to the series. Definitely worth seeking out to add to your collection.
January 10, 2023
Excellent gamebook which proves that a Fighting Fantasy doesn't have to be overly difficult to be entertaining. Full review: https://refereeingandreflection.wordp...
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews