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Choose Your Own Adventure

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Chalkarts

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« on: <01-30-19/0000:44> »
I've been researching Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Does anyone remember them and if so, were there any setting specific ones, for instance a Shadowrun heist in Seattle or D&D adventure in waterdeep?
Has anyone ever written one?
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PiXeL01

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« Reply #1 on: <01-30-19/0008:54> »
I remember reading them though most were fantasy with a few sci-fi in between.
As far as I remember the series I read back in the 80s was not connected to any established setting or theme.
Sword and sorcery maybe? The books were translated into Danish so I cannot be sure the correct translation
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Stainless Steel Devil Rat

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« Reply #2 on: <01-30-19/0015:15> »
The had a series for BattleTech but I don't recall SR ever having one.

SR didn't come out till the end of that decade... Choose Your Own Adventure books were out of style by 1989.
RPG mechanics exist to give structure and consistency to the game world, true, but at the end of the day, you’re fighting dragons with algebra and random number generators.

Tarislar

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« Reply #3 on: <01-30-19/0141:05> »
Those are the Lost World spin off books SSRD.

He's talking about Choose Your Own Adventure, which was basically novels that had points in there where the book asked you "go left/go right" but more advanced, and then based on your answer sent you to a different ending of the story.

They were mostly in the normal world from what I can actually remember, but very "Adventure-ish" like something from Johnny Quest or Indiana Jones.

Sphinx

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« Reply #4 on: <01-30-19/0856:27> »
I used to love those. Still have most of them in a box somewhere, I think.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure

Chalkarts

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« Reply #5 on: <01-30-19/0908:26> »
Would you read a Shadowrun based CYOA book, more adult than the ones we read as kids?  Kinda dark and hardcore SR back alley gritty but  with the alternate paths with different characters and plot lines of the classics.
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Beta

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« Reply #6 on: <01-30-19/0921:56> »
I think that the books went out of style once computers were widely available, as even a very basic computer can support a more sophisticated choose your own adventure type set-up than a book can.

And to the original question, I do recall one that used the D&D license, and some of the creatures, but it wasn't in any of the standard worlds (or at least didn't identify itself that way, it was just a dungeon, I think)

Chalkarts

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« Reply #7 on: <01-30-19/1015:27> »
I think they could be viable in digital format via in document links, instead of "flip to" you just click the choice and go to it.
Though reading is cumbersome in the digital age, I still enjoy it.  It might be fun to see some a grown up one and Shadowrun seems an ideal setting for a CYOA series.
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Michael Chandra

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« Reply #8 on: <01-31-19/0241:40> »
Lone Star is coming after you guns-blazing
A: Run (go to p94)
B: Surrender (go to p98)
C: Fight (go to p103)

p98:
You throw away your weapons and shout that you're surrendering. As you come out of cover with your hands up, you are promptly gunned down. As you draw your last breath, one of the cops spits at you and mutters about 'less paperwork this way'.

p103:
You take down several in a lengthy gunfight, but then HTR comes in and unceremoniously blows up the car you're using as cover, and you along with it. It takes hours for your remains to be cleaned up.
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Chalkarts

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« Reply #9 on: <01-31-19/1050:14> »
I've started writing one for fun.  I'm writing it in Google.Doc so at the end of each chapter i weave the title of the next chapters in the choices so you click on the words and go straight to the next section.  No page numbers, More immersive I think.

The one I'm working on is D&D, but I'm having tremendous fun with it.
If I manage to finish this one, I might try a Shadowrun set one.
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AJCarrington

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« Reply #10 on: <02-02-19/1835:39> »
I remember the Ian Livingstone books...Warlock of Firetop Mountain...loved those as a kid.

Good luck with the writing!!

sds

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« Reply #11 on: <03-02-19/1321:50> »
I remember reading them though most were fantasy with a few sci-fi in between.
As far as I remember the series I read back in the 80s was not connected to any established setting or theme.
Sword and sorcery maybe? The books were translated into Danish so I cannot be sure the correct translation

Yeah, Sword and Sorcery is the direct translation back to English, the series was called Fighting Fantasy. Most are fantasy, but there are a few SciFi and even a horror and Post-Apocalyptic MadMaxy thing.

Most of the books take place in a setting made for Fighting Fantasy - the world of Titan.