The Rings of Kether (book)

Fighting Fantasy Gamebook
Outline
Location:	Space
References:	400
Publication Details
Author(s):	Andrew Chapman
Illustrator(s):	Nik Spender
Puffin
Cover illustrator:	Terry Oakes
First published:	May 1 1985
Number	15
ISBN:	ISBN 0-14-031860-7
Previous Book:	Temple of Terror
Next Book:	Seas of Blood
Wizard (Series 1)
Wizard (Series 2)
Scholastic

For other uses of The Rings of Kether, see The Rings of Kether (disambiguation)

The Rings of Kether is a single-player role-playing gamebook written by Andrew Chapman, illustrated by Nik Spender and originally published in 1985 by Puffin Books. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 15th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-031860-7). There are currently no announced plans to republish this book as part of the Scholastic series.

Creation

Although published as the fifteenth gamebook in the main Fighting Fantasy series, it was originally advertised in both the first edition of The Seven Serpents and in issue 3 of Warlock as book 12, a slot eventually taken by Space Assassin.

“	I meticulously planned Rings of Kether (unlike its predecessor Space Assassin, which was a rather ad hoc exercise since I'd never written a Gamebook before). While [Space Assassin] was travelling back and forth a bit I set down to write Rings of Kether.	”
—Interview with Andrew Chapman at the Internet Archive record of Advancedfightingfantasy.com - Retrieved 2019-10-26

Mission Briefing

“	A dangerous undercover mission on a wild and lawless planet! Corruption is rife in the Alpha Cygni system and the flow of the illicit narcotic Satophil-d from the spaceports of the planet Kether has grown to enormous proportions. Several attempts have been made to crack the notorious drug rings of Kether, with no success. Now the Galactic Federation has entrusted YOU with this dangerous undercover mission in this wild and lawless place. But will YOU succeed? Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to make your journey. YOU decide which way to go, which dangers to risk and which enemies to fight.	”
—The Rings of Kether - Back Cover ("Dragon" Edition)

Unlike most Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, the story takes place in a science fiction setting, with the player taking on the role of a Narcotics Officer seeking to break up a drug ring located on the planet of Kether. Players are given a reasonable degree of freedom as they travel between various locations on the planet's surface and in orbit, and there are multiple paths to the final confrontation with the heads of the crime ring. The major element which distinguishes this gamebook from others in the series is the heavy use of skill rolls, which are employed several times in quick succession during the course of the book.

Your Mission

The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (see Game System).

Unique Rules

• The adventures also features weapons strength (1d6 plus 6) and shields (1d6). As with Freeway Fighter the game also features Hand-to-Hand, projectile weapon and vehicle combat (ship-to-ship in this case).
• Pep Pills replace Provisions which restore 6 stamina at a time.

Equipment List

• 5000 Kopecks
• 2 smart missiles
• 4 Pep Pills

Cover and Illustrations

Main article: The Rings of Kether (illustrations)

Covers

The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Terry Oakes.

The Rings of Kether Cover Variants

1985	1987	1989	1990	1993
Adventure Gamebooks	Dragon ver.I	Dragon ver.II	Dragon ver.III	Dragon ver.IV
£1.751	£2.252	£2.503	£3.504	£X.xx
NOTES Price of 1st~4th Impressions Price of 6th Impression (Corrected "Adventure Sheet") Price of 7th Impression (Corrected "Adventure Sheet") Price of 8th Impression (Corrected "Adventure Sheet")

Illustrations

The interior illustrations were by Nik Spender. There were 30 full page illustrations and 7 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 1, 11, 31, 50, 63, 71, 81, 87, 97, 106, 113, 126, 132, 146, 151, 166, 178, 195, 216, 249, 283, 293, 301, 311, 330, 346, 355, 377, 381 and 391.

Main Characters

YOU: Hero of The Rings of Kether

• Arthur
• "Blaster" Babbet
• Clive Torus
• Grand Keeper
• Mr Samuel
• Mrs Torus
• Zac Kalensus
• Zera Gross

Locations

• 113 Fifth Avenue
• Aleph Cygni
• Botanic Gardens
• City Central Library
• Heroes of the Federation
• Hotel Mirimar
• Isosceles Tower
• Kether
• Kyth
• Proctor HQ
• Rispin's End
• Spark's Bar
• State Computer File Centre
• Viqueque

Encounters

Individual

• Androform
• Antarian Robot
• Arcturian Vanque
• "Blaster" Babbet
• Defence Droid
• Humans - Assassin/Guards/Gunman/Monks/Security Guards/Thugs
• Robot Sentry
• Sentinel
• Zera Gross

Ship

• Asteroid Defences
• Interceptors
• Robot Fighters

Further Notes

• The book has two different successful endings, one of which is contained within the 400th reference.
• In this book, the planet Kether is in the Aleph Cygni system. The term "Aleph" appears again later in the series in Spectral Stalkers which is also partially set in Space. The central theme of that book is the hunt for the Aleph.
• The later editions also renamed the Pep Pills to Energy Tablets, possibly in an attempt to avoid illegal drug connotations (amusing given the plot of the book!).

Errors

• In the original edition, despite the claims on pages 7 and 12 of the book, the "Adventure Sheet" does not feature a weapons strength section to add this score in. The "Adventure Sheet" was corrected in later editions.
• (55) should say you need 1000 Kopecks to attempt a bribe.
• If you defeat the enemies in (86) you take possession of one of their guns, which does 6 stamina per hit. While the gun itself is mentioned prior to the fight, nowhere is the player taking that extra damage if hit mentioned.
• The illustration for (178) has one of the gangsters looking identical to the depiction of ring-leader "Blaster" Babbet in (381). This is probably unintentional as no mention is made of Babbet himself in the text of (178). Babbet is actually mentioned in one of the immediately following references (100), but as "stepping out of a car", so not as a member of the posse of gangsters you meet initially.
• (269) points to (230) and (231).
• There is no mention of having a Spy Ray prior to (333), where you are told to cross it off your Equipment List.
• In (346) one of the options leads to (263) which makes no sense. The correct paragraph is (268).

Dedication

none

See Also

• Deathlord

External Links

• Character Sheet - Retrieved 2019-10-26
• Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-26
• The Rings of Kether at Gamebooks.org - Retrieved 2019-10-26
• The Rings of Kether at the Internet Archive record of the old Fightingfantasy.com - Retrieved 2019-10-26