[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 34 - Stealer of Souls

Stories about games that you run and/or have played in.

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What should be the name of our Hero?

Harry Balzac
3
43%
Dick Hertz
1
14%
I.P. Freely
1
14%
Grabsack Moorcock
2
29%
 
Total votes: 7

SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

You try to open the eastern door, but it is locked. Do you have an Ebony Key? If you do, tum to 201. If you don't, turn to 113.
Blue option!
The Ebony Key slips silently into the keyhole, and the door opens slightly. Beyond, there is nothing but pitch-darkness, and you must have a light source to see by. You can either enter the room or return to the main passage and open the door at the end of it.
Again, there's no reason why we'd waste time using a plot coupon and then just leave without getting anything. Especially when we've not been told about any specific danger beyond "it's dark".
Image
By your light source, you see that just beyond the doorway is a small alcove which opens into an almost circular room with a high domed ceiling. The walls are streaked with slime and mould, and the air is damp and stale. In the centre of the room, on a stone pedestal, is a chest made of rosewood, heavily banded and bound with black iron. The chest also has a guardian!

You glimpse an extraordinary creature flying towards you. Its body is a sphere of slimy grey-green scales, and two glowing, slitted red eyes glare at you. There is a small central fanged mouth on the sphere-body, but this is clearly not what the monster attacks with: it has two sharply clawed pincers that trail at the ends of two black-flecked green tentacles hanging below the body, The Diadrone is a strong guardian, and you will have to fight it; it flies too fast for you to escape.

DIADRONE SKILL 8 STAMINA 12

If you win, turn to 12.
We're in fairly good condition for once, and our new shiny chainmail gives us a nice edge over it...

COMBAT LOG:
Diadrone 15, Harry 17. Diadrone is at 10.
Diadrone 12, Harry 15. Diadrone is at 8.
Diadrone 12, Harry 16. Diadrone is at 6.
Diadrone 15, Harry 14. Harry is at 13.
Diadrone 16, Harry 18. Diadrone is at 4.
Diadrone 17, Harry 19. Diadrone is at 2.
Diadrone 16, Harry 17. Diadrone is killed.
Lots of exact same die rolls for both combatants, which means our higher SKILL gave us a decisive win!
Obviously, whatever is in the chest must be of value, Given the nature of its guardian; so you move closer to examine the chest. You try to open it; now you must Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, tum to 399. If you are Unlucky, turn to 164.
Dice roll = 9 (Unlucky - even a powder wouldn't have saved us)
As you attempt to open the chest, a scything blade swings up from a crack in the stone floor and cuts deeply into your flesh. So severe is the wound that you must lose 1 point from your SKILL and 6 points from your STAMINA. If the injury is not enough to kill you, you give a scream of agony and pass out from pain and shock. When you come round, you can try again to open the chest or go back to the main passage and open the door at the southern end of it.
Dammit! We just lost our new SKILL bonus again. (Although since it doesn't take away from our Initial score we should be able to regain it if we can find a way to restore SKILL later).

Let's not leave this place empty-handed, considering what we've had to go through...
You cannot easily open the locked chest without a special item to help you. Do you have an Ebony Key? If you do, tum to 355. If you don't, turn to 81.
That's got to be the most checked item in this book. Good thing we do have it!
The Ebony Key shrinks a little in size to fit the small keyhole of the chest, which springs open. However, the Ebony Key immediately vanishes! Cross it off the list of Equipment Carried on your Adventure Sheet.
Not our treasure key! Let's hope the rewards is worth it....
Inside the chest you find a small casket of fragrant sandalwood, inlaid with fine mother-of-pearl. This contains two items, wrapped in silk. One is a bronze ring; you do not know what this does. The other is a tiny platinum amulet with ornate marks etched very finely on it, on a silver filigree chain. You know intuitively that this has some magical power, but you can't tell what this might be. You can carry, or wear, either or both of these items; if you do, add the Bronze Ring and/or the Platinum Amulet to the list of Equipment Carried on your Adventure Sheet. Leaving this room, you go back to the passage, and open the door at the south end of it.
You open the door and walk into a large chamber constructed of bare stone with high walls, lit by torches which bum and spit, giving off blue light and faintly greenish smoke. This smoke is unpleasant, irritating your throat and nostrils. There is a half-open door in the east wall, from behind which a red glow spills into this room. There is another door in the west wall, and this is made of very stout black wood with massively thick iron banding and fittings. In the northeast corner of the room is a fountain with a thin jet of liquid spraying several feet into the air. Will you:

Drink some water from the fountain?
Toss a Gold Piece into the fountain and make a wish?
Open the west door?
Cross to the east door and look round it?
We do have some gold left for the fountain, if we believe it works.

What do we do here?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/10 (+1 from Chainmail Armour)
STAMINA 7/20
LUCK 6/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x1, +1 LUCK), Silver Feather, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring, Crowbar, Chainmail Armour (+1 SKILL), Bronze Ring, Platinum Amulet
Provisions: 2 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 7 Gold Pieces
Last edited by SGamerz on Sat Nov 21, 2015 3:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Wear the ring, but not the amulet. Eat a meal, and toss a gold piece in the fountain. I don't trust drinking anything described simply as "liquid," but there might be something neat if we toss a coin in.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SGamerz »

We wolf down another meal and our STAMINA is up to 11.
As you think about making your wish, you notice that bubbles are forming on the surface of the Gold Piece. The liquid isn't water, it is acid! You move away from the fountain, and now you can either open the west door or look round the east door.
At least we didn't try to drink that!

Which door now?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Let's 'look round' the east door, as that sounds like less commitment.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Agreed.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SGamerz »

A grim sight unfolds before your eyes as you look round the door. Fierce heat radiates from a huge metal brazier filled with white-hot coals, from which a number of branding-iron handles are projecting. Tables carry brass vessels, clawed pincers and pliers; even more horrid items are scattered all round the room. You have also been seen by the room's occupant, a misshapen creature with green-brown skin and huge muscular limbs covered in wiry tufts of black hair. But he just grins at you, showing the yellowed stumps of rotten teeth, and gestures you in. You can either attack him or go in and talk with him.
I guess we can't just pretend that we looked in the wrong door and leave?

Attack or not?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Urge to attack is pretty high, since he seems very comfortable in a torture chamber, but diplomacy first as he's not immediately hostile.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Yeah, talk.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SGamerz »

You sit down at a table with Mehrabian, the half-Ogre; and he pours out a bowlful of rancid, greasy, grey-green liquid on which blobs of a yellow fatty substance float. You wisely decline his offer of a bowl for yourself. He rubs his hands and greets you. 'So, you're the expert torturer, eh? Well, the ole buzzard 'asn't said nuffin', but I 'aven't 'hurt 'him too much yet; just a few burns an' such, nuffin' broken. 'Course, I obeyed the Master's command to keep 'is 'ands chained up all the time, to stop 'im usin' 'is magic and suchlike.'

Mehrabian adds a few comments concerning the torture techniques he hopes you'll demonstrate; then he gets up and jingles a bunch of keys he carries on a leather thong at his belt. 'Less go gerrim,' he says, and moves over to a small barred door, hidden in shadow in the north-east corner of the room. You can either attack the half-Ogre or, wait for him to come back with his prisoner.
Shall we "demonstrate our expert torturing techniques" on the torturer now?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

No, no, wait until he's brought back the wizard. The enemy of my enemy and all that.
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Post by SGamerz »

Mehrabian opens the door and drags out an old man, chained hand and foot. He is dirty, haggard and in pain, and below his eyes are dark circles of suffering. 'l won't talk,' he says weakly.

'Oh yes yer will, you ole bagger wind,' replies the half-Ogre, kicking the man to the ground. 'Gerrim up on the rack,' he tells you as he goes off to get a branding iron or two. You can either attack the half-Ogre or help the old man.
The prisoner is here. Is it time to torture the torturer yet?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I feel like it would be more sensible to attack him now, but the help prompt seems more Paragon. Half a vote for helping.
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Post by SGamerz »

Normally, I'd wait a bit more on only half a vote, but in this case....
The old man looks pitiful and defeated as he sees a fresh tormentor advancing on him - or so he thinks, Gently, you help him up. Do you have a bunch keys? If you do, turn to 289. If you don't, tum to 369.
Alas, it makes little difference, since we can't help any other way!
You cannot free the wizard, but at least you let him know you're a friend. You must fight the half-Ogre torturer; turn to 76.
If we managed to free the wizard, he fries the torturer with a fireball and removes 6 whole STAMINA from him before the fight starts!
You are now fighting a wily, strong hall-Ogre! He advances on you brandishing a heated iron from the brazier, and you will need all your skill to beat him!

HALF-OGRE TORTURER SKILL 8 STAMINA 14

If you win, tum to 273.
I guess we do need "all our skill", since our SKILL is only 9 at the moment. Still, in most FF gamebooks, the enemy guarding the object of our mission would probably be tougher than this. As it is, we still have a slight advantage.

COMBAT LOG:
Half-Ogre Torturer 18, Harry 14. Harry is at 9.
HOT 16, Harry 19. HOT is at 12.
HOT 16, Harry 14. Harry is at 7.
HOT 18, Harry 17. Harry is at 5.
HOT 20, Harry 14. Harry is at 3.
HOT 16, Harry 17. HOT is at 10.
HOT 18, Harry 19. HOT is at 8.
HOT 14, Harry 19. HOT is at 6.
HOT 11, Harry 13. HOT is at 4.
HOT 14, Harry 20. HOT is at 2.
HOT 14, Harry 14. Tie.
HOT 14, Harry 19. HOT is killed.
After a string of bad rolls in the beginning, Harry rallies and makes a successful comeback for the dramatic win!
You help the wizard to a chair and unlock his chains, if you haven't already done so. You must give him either something to eat (subtract 1 from your Provisions on your Adventure Sheet) or a magical 'potion of healing', for he is very weak.
Damn, that was our last meal! We should have eaten it ourselves before the combat! >:(
You look for the man's clothes and find a set of ornately decorated wizard's robes on a peg in this room. You hand them to the old man, who gratefully exchanges them for the rags he was kept in.

'Thank you,' says the wizard. 'My name is Alsander.' As you had hoped, the wizard you were sent to rescue! Excitedly, you tell him who sent you, and your purpose here. Alsander listens intently, but then shakes his head sadly. 'Ah, cunning Mordraneth. Of course; he fooled Vanestin into a wild goose chase in Allansia. Now Vanestin and the other wizards won't be able to resist him when he lands in Pollua.'You look at Alsander, puzzled; what can he mean? The wizard soon enlightens you.

'Mordraneth isn't in Allansia at all. He's here. He is scheming a monstrous evil, deep within the foundation of the Iron Crypts, in his Empire of Illusions, as he calls it. There he is harnessing a dreadful power, one to drive men to madness and death, in order to unleash it on Pollua to bring him still greater power. If he can achieve his goal, none could challenge him.'

This is dire news indeed . . . but an idea is beginning to form at the back of your mind. When first you were asked to rescue Alsander, you regretted losing the opportunity for glory which ridding the world of Mordraneth would bring. You ask Alsander to continue.
I'm pretty sure most players were expecting a confrontation with Mordraneth at the end of the book anyway, so no real surprises here....
'Mordraneth has found a magical way of stealing souls - more precisely, he has found a magical way of stealing the images and emotions of terrifying things from the minds and spirits of the dead. Fear of darkness, fear of death, fear of the dark night when spectres and wraiths roam the world, fear of falling, phobias of many kinds. From these emotional energies and images he creates illusions which have enough power to drive those who witness them to madness or death. He has also found that he gets his best results with the souls of those freshly dead, preferably killed by himself. Hence, he will soon unleash his Illusionary Army on Pollua to wreak havoc, so that he will thus have more souls to steal. I will have to teleport to Pollua to give what warning I can. But it is only here he can be stopped. You are our only hope of stopping him now!' Alsander clutches your arm and gazes deep into your eyes. "Thousands of innocents will be slain if you refuse to help. The Empire of Illusions is a dreadful place but I can teach you a few spells to help you there!'

How can you refuse? Your praises will be sung for scores of years, should you succeed!

Alsander smiles, relieved. 'It's fortunate that I learnt a little of how Mordraneth has changed magical forces here, enough to modify some spells so I can use them myself, But time is short, and the Dark Elves may be here soon. I have only the time, and the strength, to teach you three spells before I go, and you will be able to use each one only once.' The wizard walk over to a small chest and puts on his robes. To choose your spells, turn to 188.
There was actually an encounter we missed earlier that reveals that one of the reasons Mordraneth kept Alsander prisoner was to find out from him how Alsander was able to figure out how to cast spells here, when no one else other than Mordraneth (and those trained by him) was supposed to be able to get magic to work in this vicinity.

Anyway, Keith Martin seems to favour this little design of having your PC start out as juts a warrior, but find ways to give him the ability to cast a limited selection of spells towards the end of the game, a mechanism he's used to multiple other books like #38 and 51.

Let's look at the spell list:
You may choose three spells only from the list below. To help you make a wise choice, you may wish to all the spell descriptions. After being told about a spell, you will be sent back to this paragraph. When you have decided which three spells to learn, make a note of them, and the effects they have and then they can be used. Unless otherwise stated, each spell may be used only once. Then, tum to 61.

The spells you may choose from are:

'Dispel Fear'
'Dispel Illusion'
'Fire Globe'
'Healing'
'Luck' spell
'Restore Skill'
'Speed'
And here's a look at each spell description in turn:

Dispel Fear:
Mordraneth's magical creations can sometimes create fear in you; when this happens, your skill in combat will be undermined. You may use the 'Dispel Fear' spell at any time to negate all the effects fear has on you (but this will not protect you against a later attack of fear, should you be subjected to one). If you are in combat and wish to cast this spell, you can do so; however, you cannot do anything else in that Attack Round, and your opponent will score a free hit against you, doing the usual 2 points
of damage.
Dispel Illusion:
Among Mordraneth's illusions, some are of fearsome creatures which may appear real to your mind and which you must fight. You will be told whether a 'creature' is in fact an illusion; if this is the case, you can cast the 'Dispel Illusion' spell and destroy the creature automatically. However, you must do this as soon as you attack a creature; you cannot cast this spell once a hand-to-hand fight is in progress! Also, the spell is only completely effective against a single illusory creature; if you are being attacked by several at once, then you cannot be sure how effective the spell will be. Under this conditions, you will be asked whether you wish to use the spell and, if you do, you will be told what effects it has. Lastly, if you have the Platinum Amulet, you may use this spell (and only this spell) twice, rather than only once.
Note that we DO have the Platinum Amulet, so we can use this spell twice if we pick this!

Fire Globe:
At the start of a combat, you may cast the 'Fire Globe' spell at your opponent instead of using your sword. When you cast the spell, a small ball of orange fire will shoot from the palm of your hand and fly at your enemy, automatically hitting him and inflicting 6 points of damage. You may use this spell only in the first Attack Round of a combat.
Yes, this would be the spell that Alsander would smack the torturer with, if we'd given him the chance.
Healing:
The 'Healing' spell is a powerful one which will allow you to recover lost STAMINA. You can cast this spell at any time, except during a combat, and you will be able to recover STAMINA points equal to one-half your Initial STAMINA score (rounding fractions down).
Why didn't Alsander just use this on himself instead of stealing our last meal?

Luck:
The 'Luck' spell allows you to recover lost LUCK points. You can cast this spell at any time except during a combat, and you will be able to recover up to 3 lost LUCK points.
Restore Skill:
The 'Restore Skill' spell allows you to recover lost SKILL points. You may cast this spell at any time except during combats, and you will be able to recover up to 3 lost SKILL points.
Speed:
The 'Speed' spell allows you to run very fast, and also to dodge and weave, avoiding the blows of opponents in swordfights. lf you are in a combat, you may cast this spell only at the start of it, not once it is in progress. The spell will last only long enough to affect one combat. However, during this combat you may deduct 2 from your opponent's SKILL score, because you are so hard to hit!
And that's all the spells! Take your pick of which 3 you wish to learn!

*Note that while most of the spells are said to give you some sort of combat advantage (i.e. Speed, Dispel Illusion, Fire Globe, etc), it doesn't necessarily mean that their uses will be limited to combats. There may be opportunities to use any of these as a listed options in non-combat situations for them, too.

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/10 (+1 from Chainmail Armour)
STAMINA 3/20
LUCK 6/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x1, +1 LUCK), Silver Feather, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring, Crowbar, Chainmail Armour (+1 SKILL), Bronze Ring, Platinum Amulet
Provisions: 0 Meals
Treasure: 6 Gold Pieces
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Post by Mr Shine »

Healing, cos we need it like RIGHT NOW.
Speed for a heavy combat we're bound to get into
Dispel Illusion seems situationally useful and we can cast it twice.
Last edited by Mr Shine on Wed Nov 25, 2015 8:08 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by SGamerz »

Image
Alsander looks weary and pale after teaching you his spells. 'l have just enough strength to teleport home,' he whispers. 'Oh, I nearly forgot. . . how to get to the Empire of Illusions. There's a secret door over there,' and he points to the centre of the south wall.' Go through it and follow the passageway. I must warn you: there are two evil Dark Elves down there, and beyond their lair is a teleport device which will take you to Mordraneth's deepest lair. If you can slay him, the illusions will disappear, and you'll be able to find a way out. Use the magic I have taught you wisely, for you can use each spell but once!' Then he murmurs a few words, and his body shimmers and is gone, teleported back to Pollua.

You make your preparations and set off to confront the Dark Elves.
So....we know there are Dark Elves coming up in a moment, we're at 3 STAMINA, with no food. I think this is a good time to use that Healing Spell (which was the main reason we picked it).

Half our Initial Stamina = 10, so the spell brings us back up to 13 STAMINA.
You find the secret door Alsander told you about without difficulty, and quietly push it open. The smooth passageway beyond is dark, but you can see light streaming from a gap under a door at the end of it. You move slowly up into position and kick the door open, hoping to surprise your enemies. You glimpse a richly furnished room, and the glint of gold and silk and fur catches your eye, but you have no time to take in details. The Dark Elves inside are too agile and swift to be surprised, and now you must fight them. Fight the Dark Elves one at a time as you stand in the doorway.

First DARK ELF SKIL L 8 STAMINA 6
Second DARK ELF 7 STAIMINA 5

lf you win, turn to 96.
Yeah, I think using the Healing spell was the right move....

COMBAT LOG:
Dark Elf#1 16, Harry 16. Tie.
DE1 14, Harry 11. Harry is at 11.
DE1 17, Harry 17. Tie.
DE1 13, Harry 19. DE1 is at 4.
DE1 17, Harry 15. Harry is at 9.
DE1 13, Harry 17. DE1 is at 2.
DE1 16, Harry 12. Harry is at 7.
DE1 17, Harry 15. Harry is at 5.
DE1 15, Harry 20. DE1 is dead.
Dark Elf#2 12, Harry 13. DE2 is at 3.
DE2 10, Harry 17. DE2 is at 1.
DE2 9, Harry 15. DE2 is dead.
Pretty nasty struggle against the first elf. Fortunately, we did much better against the second.
You look around and pick up the 8 Gold Pieces the Dark Elves had (add this to your Treasure on your Adventure Sheet), but beside this you see a better treasure still. Wrapped in large moist broadleaf wrappings are six small flat loaves of sweet whey-bread, each one equivalent to a full meal! You may add 6 to your Provisions list on your Adventure Sheet for these. The rich smell of spices, the glitter of silks and other treasures do not tempt you, for you cannot carry these items. To the east of the room, you see an archway leading to a small circular chamber and you approach to look at it. In the centre is a raised podium on which a swirl of rainbow colours eddies and flows . . . the teleport device Alsander told you of! Breathing in deeply, you step into the waves of light, and the room fades from your sight. Where will you arrive? To find out, turn to 229
"Better Treasure" indeed! Finally, we can re-stock on some much-needed food! Eating one of them immediately to bring STAMINA up to 9.
You find yourself in a circular chamber, from which three passages lead off into the distance. The walls seem to shimmer and shift, as if they were only half-real or as if a heat haze were wavering in the air. The floor feels solid to your feet, but it looks just as half-real as everything else. You must surely now be in the Empire of Illusions, for even the passages seem to shift location, and you have no idea where north and south, east and west lie. Each passage is also of a different colour, unlike this simple, bare,
grey chamber. Will you take:

The red passage?
The yellow passage?
The black passage?
So now instead of the classic random directions maze......we are dropped in the no-less annoying random colour maze.

Which colour do we like?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/10 (+1 from Chainmail Armour)
STAMINA 9/20
LUCK 6/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x1, +1 LUCK), Silver Feather, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring, Crowbar, Chainmail Armour (+1 SKILL), Bronze Ring, Platinum Amulet
Provisions: 5 Meals
Treasure: 14 Gold Pieces
Spells: Healing, Dispel Illusion (x2), Speed
Last edited by SGamerz on Thu Nov 26, 2015 11:55 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by Mr Shine »

Yellow, because I think Martin will play it straight and black will be bad and I have no preference over yellow/red
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Yellow is the least traditionally threatening of those colors.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Yellow sounds good to me.
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Post by SGamerz »

You are about half-way along the passage when you are suddenly snatched up into the air as the ceiling dissolves! The area is filled with airy, yellowish light, and as you float in the air you become aware of a great eagle flying in to attack you. Surely it's an illusion . . . but your senses say it is real, and you can see blood on its talons and beak. You must fight it, and you have to subtract 2 points from your SKILL while doing so (this is a temporary loss, for the length of this combat only, as it isn't easy to fight floating in mid-air when you're not used to it!).

EAGLE-ILLUSION SKILL 7 STAMINA 8

If you win, turn to 342.
The stats themselves don't look too threatening, but the temporary -2 SK modifier makes this close to an even fight for us.

However, this is an illusion, so a Dispel Illusion will destroy it outright.

Do we use one of the 2 charges of this spell, or just try to beat it in a straight fight?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/10 (+1 from Chainmail Armour)
STAMINA 9/20
LUCK 6/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x1, +1 LUCK), Silver Feather, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring, Crowbar, Chainmail Armour (+1 SKILL), Bronze Ring, Platinum Amulet
Provisions: 5 Meals
Treasure: 14 Gold Pieces
Spells: Healing, Dispel Illusion (x2), Speed
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Post by Mr Shine »

bye bye birdie
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Post by SGamerz »

Sorry....was that a vote to use to the spell? Just want to clarify, since we'd be getting rid of the bird one way or the other.
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Post by Mr Shine »

Yes, sorry. It was meant to invoke the idea the bird would immediately just go bye bye. Otherwise, eyeballing it, I'd guess we have a <60% of making it through this fight, and even then we'd probably be getting a beatdown.
Last edited by Mr Shine on Sun Nov 29, 2015 11:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SGamerz »

Alright, spell cast!

*Poof*, the bird's gone!
As soon as you slay the eagle, the illusion simply disappears, and you find yourself lying on the ground, flailing at the empty air! A low-pitched chuckle fills your ears. 'Welcome to my Empire!' the voice gloats, 'although I don't think you will be here for long.' You see no one, and you find yourself in the middle of a blown passage. At one end, the passageway grows blacker; if you wish to go this way, turn to 149. At the other, it grows green; if you wish to go this way, turn to 395.
I see we have the classic gloating, toying-with-prey type of arch-villain.

Do we still maintain that black = bad? Do we think green = safe?

Which colour, next?
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angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
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Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I like green.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

You follow the green passage, and it takes on an increasingly blue tint, gradually shading to royal blue. The passage seems to go on for ever... 'You'll die of fatigue,' gloats the ghostly voice, 'or will you! end be swifter?' Suddenly you hear the rush of water ahead of you, and a huge wave comes roaring down the passageway towards you! You turn to run, but the water smashes over you and knocks you, winded, to the ground. Water fills your lungs and your frantic efforts grow weak as you drown.
. . . You regain consciousness. Your vision slowly clears, and you realize you are lying on your stomach with someone smacking you on the back as you cough up . . . nothing! You slowly tum your head to see a thin-faced young man with piercing green eyes and wearing grey robes. 'An illusion,' he says, 'but effective. Since you believed you were drowning, getting what you thought was water out of your lungs seems to have helped.' He notices your look of surprise at meeting anyone helpful here! 'I'm Parazan, Mordraneth's apprentice. The man's mad; if you can overcome him, good luck to you. I'm escaping now! I hope this helps,' and as he disappears into thin air you notice the golden flask he has left behind. If you want to open the flask and sip its contents now, tum to 155. If you want to keep the flask for later, add the Golden Flask to the list of Equipment Carried on your Adventure Sheet, and turn to 387.
Do we take a drink now?
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