Let's Play: Challenge of the Magi: Mage3

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

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Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

"Your cheap parlour tricks won't save you. My power is REAL magic!"

'My finger points at you and, suddenly, you are bathed in flames. It is as if you had spontaneously caught fire. The agony is unbearable as the fire rages for several seconds. All your body hair has been burnt away but, oddly, your clothes and equipment remain untouched. Lose 3 LPs.'

"...Except that one. You have that one, too. But I cast it better."

DECISIONS

You may try to escape by fleeing and Invoking the Portals

Or you may cast Spirit of Flame (1CP), Firestorm (2CP), or Domination (2CP)
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

So he doesn't have the red auto-kill spell. Bummer, I was hoping I'd at least denied him the use of one spell. Now I'm very sure he has the counterspell.

I'm tempted to cast Domination at him to see if I'm right, but if calculations are right, I think I'm running low on CP thanks to that Feeblemind.

I'll flee to Forest of Arden. If he follows me, I'd crush him with Tanglevines/Juggernaut combo. If he doesn't....then I can at least complete that little quest I was in the middle of.

"Ugh....copycat. You know what, I got better things to do. I'll finish you off in my on time. See you later, Bonehead!"
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

'You turn and try to get out of sight before Invoking the Portals but, acting fast, I pick up a rock and hurl it at you with surprising accuracy. It smacks into one of your legs and you topple over the ledge into the chasm. You crack your ribs painfully on a boulder and lose three Life Points but have the presence of mind to Invoke the Portals in midair. You can go to the Scorched Sands of Akhneton, the Forest of Arden or the House of Mausolus. But WAIT(1) for me first.'
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Well, if he doesn't follow me, use a Heal spell before heading for the music.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

The portal disappears behind you and you find yourself surrounded by trees at the centre of a small clearing. The sun beats down but within the trees is a dark gloom. It is silent in the clearing and you feel alone, far from the security of your fellow men and their dwellings. Although you can hear nothing the Forest feels full of lie, full of unseen eyes spying on you. This is a place enchanted with green magic, a place where nature is untouched by man.

The tinkling of bells and piping of flutes reaches you, strangely bright and clear through the trees. Two muddy tracks leave the clearing. One leads off in the direction from which you think the music is coming from, the other disappears into the gloom in the opposite direction.

WAIT (I'm resetting the wait count, it's 2 since last you saw your opponent)

Will you take the path towards the sound of music, the gloomier path, or Invoke the Portals and go to the Citadel of the Skull, the Rainbow Inn, the Silvered Spires or the Phoenix Crags?

As soon as you set foot on the path the music seems to draw you on. By the time you reach a second, larger clearing you are almost running and there is merry laughter from all around you as you pull up so abruptly you skid on the damp turf. All around you are people with grinning green lips and enormous amber eyes. You have stumbled across the revels of the Sylvan Faeries. They are a beautiful people, beautiful far beyond human beauty. Looking from face to face, you cannot find a single blemish on their pale green skin. The music begins again enslaving your sense and captivating you utterly.

WAIT TWICE (3 and 4)

(Ooh, the waits have brought us a cliffhanger.)
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Am I allowed to use minor spells during those waits? If yes I use my Focus too.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

You can, you'd then have 17 LPs and 8 CPs.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

I start with 14 CP, right? I lost 4 from Feeblemind, 2 from Phantasm and 3 from Immolation, and now regain 4.....am I missing any part where I lost an extra CP?
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Extinguish, the counterspell for Spirit of Flame, costs 1 CP unless you are a druid.

(You also didn't get a choice to use that or not, the book just decides you would if you are capable of it. Sometimes it gives you the choice.)
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

168

The feeling of a quest which needs to be completed nags at the back of your mind.

At last you recover some of your wits and staving off a desire to sleep you decide to make contact with the Sylvan Faeries. These are a shy people and they draw back from you as you approach, still playing their wonderful music. One of them is holding a large book which is bound in the pink and green livery colours of the Bards. It must be the Book of the Bards, you realise. Will you whispers quietly to the Faeries, saying hello, walk out amongst them carefully, or race out and gran one of them and demand that they give you the book?
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Oh dear, none of them looks good....

Walk out carefully.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

As soon as you move towards them they cry out in alarm and vanish into the trees. They are surprisingly quick, far more agile than humans. You chase after them but they always elude your grasp at the last moment. As exhaustion slows your steps so comes the realization that they are taunting you, leading you ever deeper into the great forest. You give up the pursuit and begin to search for the clearing where you may Invoke the Portals again but you are lost. Time and time again you come across the same rotting tree smothered in discoloured ivy. Record the codeword CORNICHE

WAIT (each time you roll a dice until you roll 6...luckily got a 6 first turn so you aren't here forever, just til WAIT 5)

When at least you have found the clearing you may Invoke the Portals. Where will you explore next: the Rainbow Inn, the Citadel of the Skull, the Silvered Spires or the Phoenix Crags?
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Damn....I guess this quest is over. Back to the Rainbow Inn and this time talk to that shifty guy in grey.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

The portal flickers behind you and you are facing the Rainbow Inn, a brick and wood building with stables attached, standing at a crossroads near the river Weir. There is a well nearby and beyond it a black door hangs in the air, just off the ground, the sign outside the Inn shows not the natural colours of the rainbow but the five colours of magic in the Land, blue, red, green, white and black. You may fill your water bottle in the river if it is empty.

WAIT(6)

Will you go to the well, try the black door in the air, or walk towards the Inn? If instead you wish to Invoke the Portals, you must choose from the following destinations: the Silvered Spires, the Forest of Arden, the Citadel of the Skull, the Palace of Flames or the Sea of Glass.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

788
Inside the Inn is warm and smoky. The familiar smells of wine mean and pipeweed mingle agreeably. The innkeeper is a sallow-faced man in late middle age, wearing a robe of many colours in the colour of the five magics. The usual motley array of merchants, farmers and their wives and assorted tradesmen make up the clientele. There is silence as all eyes re turned towards you, a stranger here. Three of the patrons stand out because they are sitting alone at their tables. One is a shifty-looking character dressed all in grey, with a slim sword at his side. Another is a man dressed like a wizard peering at a scroll through a curious piece of round glass that makes one of his eyes seem almost as large as his face. The third is a large man dressed in full plate armour, as black as night, with a great two-handed sword on the table in front of him. His insignia, a red dragon and a black mace match those on the warhorse tethered outside. All of the tables next to his have been pulled as far away by their occupants as space will allow. Will you walk up to the bar, sit opposite the man in grey, sit beside the man reading the scroll, or opposite the Black Knight?

There is a picture here

652
The shifty-looking character in grey sizes you up and then introduces himself as Mercutio, the thief. He asks you if you have any need of his services, telling you he is famous for having stolen, amongst other things, the dinner from underneath the nose of the Caliph of the Palace of Flames. If you don't wish to hire his services you had best leave the Inn straight away before he practices his stealthy craft on you. If you would like to try and hire him to steal something from your opponent decide how much gold you will offer him. You may offer him one or two bags of gold. If you have no gold or wish to leave anyway you quit the Inn and Invoke the Portals.

WAIT(7)

Where to next: the Sea of Glass, the Forest of Arden, the Silvered Spires, the Citadel of the Skull or the Palace of Flames?

(There's a different paragraph if you offer him one bag to if you offer him two. This character also appears in the Arena of Death Duelmaster books)
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Oh...back when you were in your Inner Sanctum in the Palace of Flames, there was this bit:

"If this is your first visit to your flame-lit hideaway you may reach into the flames and retrieve an engraved slate from a cranny inside the chimney. It is an Ambuscade scroll and acts as an Ambuscade spell - add an Ambuscade to you list of lesser magics. "

You didn't mention it, to clarify, was that because you weren't interested, or you'd overlooked that or you'd assumed you'd automatically pick it up (the wording is a bit vague)?

If you had taken it, you could have used it in the Garden of Contemplation, the Forest of Arden or the Palace of Flames, or kept it for later.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Thaluikhain wrote:Oh...back when you were in your Inner Sanctum in the Palace of Flames, there was this bit:

"If this is your first visit to your flame-lit hideaway you may reach into the flames and retrieve an engraved slate from a cranny inside the chimney. It is an Ambuscade scroll and acts as an Ambuscade spell - add an Ambuscade to you list of lesser magics. "

You didn't mention it, to clarify, was that because you weren't interested, or you'd overlooked that or you'd assumed you'd automatically pick it up (the wording is a bit vague)?

If you had taken it, you could have used it in the Garden of Contemplation, the Forest of Arden or the Palace of Flames, or kept it for later.
I did assume that it was automatically taken, I guess because I didn't think there could be any point in not taking it, even if I don't plan on using it, since it's clearly not any sort of trap item and there's no limit on equipment carriage.

Of course, with that previous section, I guess I see the point in choosing not to pick up stuff yet, since they may get stolen. Yes, I want to take the scroll, and haven't decided on where to use it yet.

Oh, and pyros get "bonus" for getting his opponent's items stolen....I guess this is where it happens. So pay the thief one bag of gold.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Mercutio takes your bag of gold and throws it in your face. 'You think you can hire the services of a master thief such as I for a paltry bag of gold? Think again.' He leaves the table and goes up to the bar. The Innkeeper then comes over to you and orders you to leave, saying 'We don't want troublesome types like you in here.' You take a look around at the rough-looking patrons of the Rainbow Inn and decide to do as the Innkeeper suggests.

WAIT(8)

Where to next: the Sea of Glass, the Forest of Arden, the Silvered Spires, the Citadel of the Skull or the Palace of Flames?
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Did I gain any codeword that might make things different if I come back later to talk to the thief again? (if I find enough gold)

Either way, go to the Sea of Glass....and then straight to the Tower of Immutable Paradox after that, without stopping.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Nope, no codeword there.

The portal vanishes behind you and you slip on the smooth reflective surface of the Sea of Glass. As far as the eye can see stretches a dead, flat plain of blue crystal like a sea frozen in time. The only breaks on the uniform landscape is a series of openings of caves, and a magnificent range of spiky mountains stretching towards the blue sky like pillars of frost. Underfoot your gaze can penetrate the glare to see several fathoms down into the clear blue crystal. Invisible currents of blue magic stir the air, the sorcerous magic of the mind.

(You may cast an Ambuscade here)
WAIT(9)

You may set out towards the Frost Peaks or the Crystal Caves.

If you prefer to Invoke the Portals and leave the Sea of Glass you may. Will you visit the Tower of Immutable Paradox, the Silvered Spires, the Palace of Flame or the Rainbow Inn?

...

You step out of the Nexus to find yourself atop a high tower, the Tower of Immutable Paradox. Beyond its battlements stretches a grey featureless landscape. The top of the tower is a chequer board of black and white slabs, like a chessboard. All around you, you sense the strong presence of black and white magic. At the centre of the tower is a large beautifully-carved oaken throne, encrusted with a bedazzling display of gems. On your left and right stairways descend into the tower. A trapdoor lies in the floor below you.

(You may cast an Ambuscade here)

Will you Invoke the Portals and move on to the Sea of Glass, the Shrine of the Martyrs, or the Greenwood? Alternatively you could go down the stairs to your left, the stairs to your right, sit upon the oaken throne, or open the trapdoor and descend. You must WAIT(10) first.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Hmmm....left stairs.

Oh, and I'd like to use the Ambuscade here.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

The stairs lead into a bare stone guardroom with arrow slits that give out on to the cold bleak landscape. The room is empty but nearby lies a suit of armour - breastplate, greaves and helmet, seemingly just left here. A bowl and cup rest nearby, half-full. You take the armour, which reduces any damage you take in physical combat by 1. Hurriedly you Invoke the Portals before the owner returns. You may go to the Sea of Glass, the Shrine of the Martyrs, or the Greenwood. You must WAIT(11) before doing so.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Shrine of Martyrs again……I have the feeling that the other half of the Ring of Summoning is hidden in the zone directly opposite the zone where I found the gem.
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

You step from the Nexus into a snow-covered valley. Instantly you sense that this place has no colour magic. A road runs down before you, forking a few metres in front of you. One route goes towards a walled town, the other to a small village.

Down below, ox-drawn carts ply the roads. Nearby stands a pillar. The snow has been cleared away around it and at its base lie offerings of fruit, flowers and vegetables. It is the Shrine of the Martyrs. The shrine was erected here after a small group of brave townsfolk gave their lives freely to sate the blood lust of the Witch-King of the Citadel of the Skull, who came here once aeons ago and threatened to destroy the town. Thus they gave their lives to save others. Beyond the shrine is a snow-covered hill.

Will you go towards the town, or towards the village, pray at the shrine or climb the snow-covered hill beyond? You must WAIT(12) before you go. Alternatively you can Invoke the Portals and go to the Garden of Contemplation or the Tower of Immutable Paradox. WAIT(12) first.

There is a picture here
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Still don't trust the shrine....village first.
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