Good and bad advisors

[ross]

So I suppose everyone has read the latest edition of the eye shield issue 37. If not have a quick look read the article on advisors then come back here. Done that. Good.

Ian Healy had a very unresponsive dungeoneer to work with as was said when their quest was reviewed, in December 1996. Duncan failed to call halt at seven levels down, and that is what led to them being in the corridor of blades in the first place.

And although Giedon was entertaining with his crys of "OH MY GOD," the team at least made it into level 3.

Andrew Bebb however will always be remembered for his part in the worst death in the history of knightmare (or at least one of them.) Side stepping left in the block and tackle. But perhaps what makes this death so entertaining and the advisor look so stupid, is that it wasn't said in a blind panic or anything, it was said casually as though the dungeoneer was meant to do exactly that. It was one of those classic knightmare moments. Goodness knows what the rest of team said to him on the way home. Afterwards I also love the way the team attack the clipboards, with their pencils just in disbelief at whats happened, and also the way Treguard, and Pickle are desperately trying not to laugh.

As for the best advisors, I agree with them especially Helen. She at least deserved to win the quest, even if the other two advisors didn't.

There are perhaps other canidates as well (bit of a disadvantage only limiting it to 5.)

Mark from Horsham in series 3 team 3. Didn't know his left from his right.

Also from series 3 team 5, which ever one of them guided James off the ledge.

Also from series 3, team 8, as they didn't bother to tell Motley there was a snake behind him.

Probably several others as well.

[Fidjit]

I don't know if this is a fact but IMO, Douglas' team (Series 3, Team 8 ) were the worst voted:

*They lost Life-Force to the scorpion
*Scored 1 out of 3 to the Bragwen
*Failed to tell Motley about the Cobra behind him, (I'm guessing they'd been given a 'step' had they warned him)
*Then got blown up in the bomb room! What a waste of time!

I didn't much take to Team 3 of Series 5 either they were pretty lame...

[Velda]

The team of girls that poor Richard was landed with in the first quest of Series 8 - poor devil... They were rotten!

[ross]

*Failed to tell Motley about the Cobra behind him, (I'm guessing they'd been given a 'step' had they warned him)


I didn't much take to Team 3 of Series 5 either they were pretty lame...

Well my guess is they could have still avoided their fate in the bomb room, as well as having a step. (Maybe a freeze spell or something.)

As for series 5 team 3 Helen was a good adviser, and did you notice how the dungoneer always asked advice from here before the others. William has to have been one of the worst, as they didn't listen to Treguard and Pickle, tried to hide the knife, and didn't give the jewell to Elita. Nevertheless Helen was good from that team and probably deserved to win (but the others didn't.)

[kev_hamster]

As for the best teams not to win.

Both from series 3 - Leo's team (team 4 I think), and the other team who *nearly* made it. They were one of the last teams and were from Yorkshire - can't remember names.

That team in particular amused me, by annoying their dungeoneer by whispering, and were told by him 'Stop whispering I can't hear you!'.

Classic stuff.

[ross]

The lack of just one answer oftejn killed off teams in series 3. When I last did this, teams 4, 7, 9, 10, and 11, were 5 teams whose lack of one answer led to their downfall.

[JamesA]

Also from series 3 team 5, which ever one of them guided James off the ledge.

That would be Pulok Choudhury - he signed the Knightmare Guestbook.... I e-mailed him soon afterwards and he kindly provided me with some further information that he didn't put in his entry. The e-mail sadly, is now lost in existence as far as I know.

Series 3 Team 11 consisted of Martin Toole, Darren Catagnio, Lee McMurray and Jamie Pullen.

[Drassil]

This thread was remarked upon in Issue 38 of The Eye Shield:

I was reading some of the posts on the forum in January when I came across a thread that was specifically related to an article featured in the last issue of TES. It sparked off a thread about people’s favourite and least favourite advisors, but a lot of the initial post was specifically about The Eye Shield. Don’t misunderstand me here - I’m not asking you not to post on the forum about TES articles, but I would appreciate it if you could send me your feedback to include in the fanzine as well.

Personally, I would prefer to post on the forum than to email The Eye Shield, even on a matter specifically related to something from TES. When I post an opinion on the forum, it becomes available to a wider audience, instantly, for both reading and response; whereas if I were to email an opinion to TES, it is available only to TES staff until a new issue is published, and even then can't be responded to directly by others. I suppose making a forum post and then emailing a copy to TES is an option; but TES and the forum are both facets of the same website, so surely, in that respect, we're all questing in the same Dungeon, so to speak?

[TomDread]

No! You've forgotten the grandaddy mistake! Somewhere along the lines of "Sidestep to your left" LOL

[Eyeshield]

In response to Drassil (again) - you're right, so I (Jake Collins) have joined the Knightmare Forum so I can join in with anything TES related. The reason I always want e-mails for TES is that I want to try and keep some kind of Fanzine element to it, which means it needs input from the fans. As I've said before, I know the Knightmare fans no longer need TES as a forum for their views because they've got this Forum, but I've always tried to create the same kind of "atmosphere" in TES as Paul McIntosh did all those years ago when he used to send out paper copies to everyone for 50p. But I guess the world doesn't really work that way anymore, which is why I've just joined the forum. But please, if any of you still feel inclined to e-mail me, do!

[37Herbie]

I think the worst advisors had to be for Akash's team in series 2. They managed to get all 3 questions wrong for Igneous, which lead them to getting a Truth Spell prior to it to get 1 right. They still took the poison instead of the Ice Pack! They tried to walk him through the door with the cup rather than the sword dispite just being told their quest was for the sword! In the bomb room they just started to giggle in the room not sure what to do and somehow Akash managed to face the correct direction and just run forwards through the door! Must be the worst set of 3 advisors surely! Akash did almost put the poison in the Knapsack as well, which would have speeded up things :o

[Eyeshield]

Okay, I'll tell you why I don't think Ian Healy is a good advisor - he completely dominates the whole quest (even more so than Gideon), which I don't think can be a good thing. By having three advisors, the dungeoneer should have the benefit of three different people to help him out. Ian does everything, including spellcasting. Deborah has to be virtually told word-for-word what to say by Treguard when he tries to involve her in the quest by getting her to instruct Duncan with the spyglass; Richard's only contribution to the quest is "we're looking through the eye shield now".

Having said all that, I can't lay the blame solely at Ian's door. Duncan was a very dreary and unresponsive dungeoneer, and it was kinda his fault that the Descender didn't stop, athough I think Ian was slightly late in telling him to say "Halt!" Yeah, it was a pretty poor team, really, but I included Ian on this list because he's the only advisor that completely dominates a quest to quite such an extent - it's quite common to see 2 advisors doing most of the talking, with a very quiet third one, but just one voice alone for the whole quest is a bit iffy, if you ask me.

Anyway, I meant to reply to this when I first joined the forum, as it was comments like the original post that prompted me to join, so that I could join in with TES-related discussions. Unfortunately, there haven't really been any more since, so if any of my loyal readers are reading this, perhaps we can start a new discussion about the most and least deserving deaths, which I list in the upcoming issue, which will hopefully appear soon. Doesn't mean I don't also want your own lists for the fanzine as well, of course.

[Akerbie]

In relation to Herbie's comment! "Poison" or "Potion"? Can't the dugeoneer read? They didn't deserve to go any further. I'm surprised they didn't turn back,....puposely!

[Ironlord]

In relation to Herbie's comment! "Poison" or "Potion"? Can't the dugeoneer read?

You're thinking of one of the later teams; in which the advisers *and* the dungeoneer both misread "potion" as "poison". However, they did suffer the same fate as Akash and co...

I've always said it was reasonably obvious from an early point in the quest which teams were sharp and which would be finished off in level 1, and here was a notable example.

[knightmaredave]

im my opinion team 3 of series 5 should have been killed off way before level 3 they couldn't make a dcision and were soo annnoying u just wanted treguard to tell them to hurry the bleeep up or else im glad elita didnt help them lol