House Of Horror

You could use the Star as a ranged weapon, and so you were intended to blast D'Onofrio with it while he was fleeing. While the real solution is undoubtedly more interesting, I still consider my initial interpretation to have been completely justified based on the text.

I still died at the end with the house catching on fire/ sacrificial death. After I finished it, I went back on the comments searching for an alternative ending where I survive and found that there IS one, but you need some sort of amulet or something? If anyone could tell me what I need and how to get it, that would be much appreciated. I want to do one last run through with the perfect ending before I go onto another book.

1) Maybe it is too much of game book addressed to House of Hell's fans. Which means, the gamebook concept could have been more loosely based on House of Hell, while introducing major innovations. As it is, Pravemi is too much of a Kelnor clone, instead of his own quirky villain. The fact that the mansion also shelters a group of cultists doesn't help the gamebook to noticeably stand out. If fostering a sense of nostalgia was the objective of the gamebook, it worked. But I can't help but think this could have been so much more...

2) The adventure seems a little too linear and doesn't really branch out much in-depth. Most of the time you just get to open doors, exit rooms and walk in hallways. HoH had this aspect as well to an extent, but the storytelling managed to flow well enough to make you forget about this shortcoming. Though, I think it was a great idea to have the main character use often his sense of hearing. It was something that was mostly missing in Steve Jackson's book.

3) The marked door signs in general gives away too much the function of the room. When I decided to avoid them in my first plays, I was confirmed in my initial mistrust, when I finally got to open them in my retries. Perhaps it's because I have a vague understanding of Italian language, who knows? To compare with House of Hell, you cannot, for example, predict on your first play what "Asmodeus" has in store for you or why it is locked with the key on its keyhole.

4) Would have been great to flesh out a little more count Pravemi's false sense of hospitality. In this adventure, you pretty much only share a small talk around an aperitif drink, he makes you wait and then directly sends you away in your bedroom. For instance, I think it'd have helped, if we saw Pravemi feigning to take interest on the main character's presentation. His behavior doesn't seem to fully add up with the eagerness he has to lure you inside. In House of Hell, Kelnor takes time to share dinner and fake to sympathize with your situation. It makes him seem more deceptively innocent...

Aside from these four point, the gamebook has fantastic ideas here and there. I see a lot of potential for creative expansion. The unhinged old soccer fan, the mysterious long deceased daughter being still around, the cursed leisure room, the creative decision to have Shekkou being part of the mansion at the time are some of the nicest plot elements.