[Let's Play] Grailquest 3: The Gateway of Doom

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

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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Damnit, we lost all the good stuff. Although I didn't vote on the last few decisions so I guess I shouldn't complain. But still, R.I.P. Luckstone, you will be missed.

Anyhow take one healing potion and the healing salve from the default healing kit, in addition to what the others have said, so:

Dragonskin Jacket
Excalibur Jr.
Two-Headed Coin
Aardvark
Blue Powder
Lamp
Healing Potion (6 doses)
Healing Salve (5 applications)

leaving our remaining 3 free slots empty.
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Post by SGamerz »

We pack the equipment listed by Darth and set off on our adventure again. We roll again to find out our starting point:

Dice roll = 4.

This means we still start out at the same spot, at the village green:
What a pleasant way to start an adventure! What an extraordinarily pleasant way to start an adventure! Merlin has dispatched you--possibly by accident--to the village green of... of... well, of a village somewhere. It's impossible to say quite where, since you've never been here before and there are no signs up.

You are standing in the shade of a large chestnut tree, while in front of you, on the green, some sort of game is taking place.

It's quite a peculiar game, actually, played by a group of rather sturdy young men and watched by a group of rather willowy young women. At one end of the green someone has stuck three swords into the ground side by side. Standing directly in front of these swords is one of the players, a redheaded youth wearing a padded leather jacket and a metal helmet and carrying a large club with an iron nail stuck through it.

At the other end of the green is another of the players mounted on a pony and carrying a massive wooden mallet.

Between them, on the ground, is one of those spiked iron balls you usually see attached to a mace in Knightly Tournaments. And between the ball and the swords is a net. The rest of the players are scattered about on the green doing nothing in particular.

As you watch, the rider urges his pony into a gallop, heading directly towards the player in front of the three swords. As he reaches the spiked iron ball, he hits it an almighty swipe with the mallet, falling off his mount in the process.

'Fore!' cries one of the other players, out on the field.

The iron ball curves upwards, arcing perhaps fifteen feet off the ground, clearing the net before dropping towards the player at the swords, who steps forward to meet it, swinging his club wildly. He is obviously trying to hit the ball, but instead the ball hits him, crashing down directly on his metal helmet with a reverberating clang that echoes across the green.

The player with the club keels over, unconscious. The player with the mallet (who had fallen off his pony, you recall) is carried off with, apparently, a broken leg.

'Hozzat?' calls another of the players on the field.

An old man, wearing several hats one on top of the other, emerges from the side of the green and walks across slowly to examine the three swords, one of which has been knocked slightly askew by the unconscious player with the club.

'Out!' calls the old man. The willowy women applaud politely. What a strange game.

'Love one,' calls the old man, then adds, 'New ball, please.'

But interesting though all this might be, you have an adventure to advent. What was it Merlin said? The least pleasant direction? You look around you.

To the north (judging by the lie of the sun) are the thatched cottages of the village itself, a drowsy rural setting, with honeysuckle climbing up the walls and roses in the gardens. To the west a road which winds away into the distance between serene meadows towards a bright valley between two gentle hills. To the east, a small wood full of birdsong. And to the south, the green. Nothing very unpleasant here, not anywhere.

Claaaaaang! Crash! Clunk!

'Hozzat!'

'Out!'

Someone else seems to have bitten the dust.

One of the willowy young maidens has appeared beside you. 'Do you play pogolfit?' she asks without preamble, presumably referring to the peculiar game. Then, without waiting for a reply adds, 'Only they seem to be out of clubber-swingers and since you seem an athletic type, I thought you might like to join in...'

What a crazy situation. Three different directions, all of which seem equally pleasant and an invitation to join in some stupid village game. And while you're trying to make up your mind, the Gateway of the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead remains open, spreading its evil and corruption like a creeping plague through Avalon. Better make some sort of decision quickly.

If you go north into the village, turn to 4.
If you take the road westward, move to 10.
If the wood to the east seems your best bet, try 42.
And if you must waste your time playing pogolfit, go to 58.
Which way to we go first this time?

QUEST JOURNAL:
Pip's LIFE POINTS: 46/46
Permanent Life Points: 2

SPEED: 22/22

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
1. Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
2. Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
3. Double-headed Copper Coin (can be used to win any gambling games)
4. Artificial Aardvark
5. Blue powder
6. Lamp
7. Healing Potion (6 doses)
8. Healing Salve (5 applications)
9.
10.
11.

MONEY: 40 GP

MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 3/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 3/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 3/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 21/21 (must spend 3 LP to re-cast the spell to use the last 10)
Fireballs 2/2
PLoP 3/3
PID 3/3
PALS 3/3
PIL 3/3
POPS 3/3

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 1
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Giant Danish Spider
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
1. Suffocated in smoke-filled room
None yet
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Hmmm, go north as it's section 4.
Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Agreed.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SGamerz »

The village is so small you begin to wonder if everybody who lives there is out in the field playing that stupid game. There is one main street picturesquely lined with thatched cottages and houses, what looks like a provisions store, a smithy, a church and an apothecary shop/surgery.

Which gives you a pretty wide choice. If you need more provisions and have the cash to pay, you can try the provisions store at 12. The smithy you'll find at 17. The church (and a little bit of prayer might help, considering where you're heading) at 22. And the apothecary's place at 27. And before you ask, none of them looks noticeably more unpleasant than the other.
Where do we check out first?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Church, perhaps?
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Post by Omegonthesane »

No reason why not that I know of.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath, Justin Bieber, shitmuffin
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Post by SGamerz »

It's a nice church. Small, but nice, surrounded by a nice graveyard. (Some graveyards can be very nice if you don't have to live in them.) There is a narrow winding path up to the front door, which is open, as church doors have to be in the Age of Chivalry, since you never know when you'll need sanctuary from some chivalrous Knight who's gone bananas and wants to hack you into stock cubes.

You walk up that narrow, winding path, sniffing the scent of honeysuckle and columbine and wondering why you're going into a nice place like this when Merlin explicitly told you to keep going in the grotty direction.

Feeling a little guilty for going in a nice direction, you hesitate right at the church door. But not long, since a huge hand emerges and drags you bodily inside.

You find yourself facing a massive individual wearing a broadsword, chain mail, helmet, metal gauntlets, metal leggings, spike-toed metal armour boots and a dog collar. In his left hand he holds a spiked mace. In his right, he holds you. It seems you have met the vicar. One suspects he may be a member of the Church Militant.

'Have you come for the Service?' asks the Vicar in the sort of voice that rolls up from his boots and reverberates across distant hills.

'No, not exactly--" you begin.

'To make an Offering, then?'

'Well, actually--'

'Bury your dead? Get married? Steal some lead off the roof? Visit the crypt?'

'Not--' But you stop, as a thought strikes you. The crypt sounds a pretty unpleasant place and since you were feeling a bit guilty, you may be able to start moving in an unpleasant direction. You clear your throat. 'The crypt,' you say. 'That's it, Reverend Sir: I have come to visit the crypt.'

'Why?' asks the Vicar?

'Because I have an abiding interest in ancient monuments and historical matters pertaining to our Realm as presently established and the Roman occupation preceeding it,' you lie glibly.

'Come,' says the Vicar, a man of few words, as he turns and clanks off down the aisle.

Toddle along after him. He's heading for the crypt at 6.
Image
This is better--the place looks positively dreadful. You follow the Clanking Vicar down a flight of rickety wooden steps while dusty cobwebs brush against your face, wait briefly on an equally rickety wooden landing while the Clanking Vicar lights a wooden tar-torch which sputters and spits and gives off a thick pall of heavy smoke and noxious fumes, but little enough light. Then you descend some more wooden steps, walk across a dusty stone-flagged floor and descend yet more steps, worn stone this time, into a musty, Stygian complex of interlinking chambers rather carelessly stacked with coffins, sarcophagi, urns, caskets, broken tombstones and the occasional headless marble angel.

'I'll leave you to your studies, Young Scholar,' says the Clanking Vicar, having obviously taken what you said earlier very much to heart. And off he clanks, fortunately handing you the torch before he does so.

As his footsteps receed, the place is suddenly very quiet. (Which may be only what you would expect, since everybody in the crypt is dead except you, but it is a bit unnerving all the same.) You look around you.

Certainly a lot more promising. Exactly the sort of place you're looking for if you're to find your way to the Gateway of the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead. But where do you go from here? That's the question. Ahead of you, a gloomy corridor leads to 28. To your right, an archway opens into 13. To your left is a large oak doorway, half hidden by a pile of coffins, on which (the doorway, not the coffins) is the tattered remnants of a notice scroll; all of which may be reached by way of 46.
Gloomy corridor, archway or coffin-hidden doorway?
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Old oak doors.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Check out the doors.

(And, oh, you can see how dated this is by columbine not being associated with something other than a flower)
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Post by SGamerz »

You clamber over the coffins then pause at the door to read the tattered notice scroll. It says:

CRYPT OF THE FIEND
(Please Knock)

Do you really want to go in here? If so, knock politely, then turn to 37. If not, you can always change your mind and go through the archway or take the gloomy corridor.
Shall we knock?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Knock...though how is a polite knock different from a normal knock?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Knock.
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Post by SGamerz »

There is something decidedly familiar with this set-up. A touch of the old deja vu as Monsieur Sir Lancelot du Lac was wont to say in his native France. The Crypt of the Fiend, eh? Surely this can only be the ubiquitous Poetic Fiend, famed throughout the length and breadth of Avalon as the author of the worst verse that ever felt like a pound of suet on a human ear!

If it is, he's a dangerous character unless you're careful to praise his poetry. As against that, he can be very generous at times if you lie a little.

The Crypt itself is rather tastefully done in pink-veined marble with the odd purple velvet drape to break the monotony. The casket, set on a dais in the centre of the chamber, is a curious mixture of oak, ebony and walnut, with highly polished brass handles and a bronze plaque set into the lid.

You step inside, cautiously; and as you do so, the door swings closed behind you. You turn instinctively at the sound and find yourself reading a poetic poster pinned to the door by a dagger plunged into the wood. (Thrilling!) The poster reads:

Friend, or enemy
Well anyway,
You, who now read this script
Have entered in the marble crypt
Of Avalon's Poetic Fiend
Although it seemed
To him you cannot leave, go home or rest
Until you yourself have passed a test.


Quite a decent offering for the Fiend, really, which gives you some indication of the rubbish he usually writes. You try the door and sure enough, it is locked. So as the poem promises, you're in for some sort of test before you can get out again. (Hope you can pass it. The Fiend has a nasty habit of fanging adventurers who fail.)

You move forward cautiously to the casket, from which emerges just the lightest hint of snoring and bend forward to read the inlaid brass plaque. The wording, in ornate copperplate engraving, reads:

It isn't the cough
That carries you off
It's the coffin
They carries you off in


Which may be vaguely amusing, but it certainly doesn't get you anywhere. Fortunately, there is more to the engraving. Unfortunately, it seems to be some sort of mathematical formula:

(15+16+5+14+9+14+7) + (3+15+6+6+9+14) = (19+5+3+20+9+15+14) + (6+15+18+20+25) + (6+15+21+18)

Now that's a sticky one. If you can solve the puzzle, you may be able to go on somewhere. If not, you're stuck here until you die of starvation, in which case the only way out is the dreaded 14.


We haven't had a puzzle for quite a while. There were actually a couple of easy ones in the last book that we missed (and the good thing about those is that they didn't have to be solved, and simply provide extra opportunity to gain Exp). Failing to solve this one is lethal, though.

Anyone can figure which section to go from here?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Opening coffin = section forty four

Which, in universe seems a bit weird, it's not like there's a combination lock or something on it, is there? How does knowing that help Pip?
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Post by Omegonthesane »

I don't remember there being any clear in-character explanation the last time we dealt with a Fiend puzzle either. Just go to 44.
Last edited by Omegonthesane on Wed Nov 29, 2017 3:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SlyJohnny »

There was a coded riddle on a coffin in the first book that explicitly told us to turn to a particular paragraph to avoid a trap. Merlin's summoning spell weakens the 4th wall, apparently.
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Post by SGamerz »

Yeah, by this point it's pretty clear that 4th walls are practically ethereal as far as this series is concerned anyway.

44 is correct, and Pip gains an Exp for solving the puzzle.
Something funny is happening. Well, perhaps funny isn't exactly the right word, since the lid of the casket is slowly opening and out of it is rising a slim, deathly pale figure in white gloves, evening suit and an opera cloak, staring at you with deep-set red eyes and smiling at you with top teeth so long they actually come down over his lower lip.

'Hail, Adventurer Bold,
Come in out of the cold
Having solved the formula
As swiftly as a primula,' he says.


Swiftly as a primula? You curb your natural revulsion at such bad verse and bow, for this is surely the Poetic Fiend.

'Well spoken!' you exclaim. Then, since you know which side your bread is buttered on, you add, 'And may I express my profound respect for the lyrical quality, scansion, style and meter of your words? Exquisitely poetic, I found them.'

'Why thank you,' says the Fiend, obviously well pleased by all this rubbish. 'I have been looking for an adventurer of your taste and discernment for a long time. I wonder if I might beg a simple favour from you?'

'Anything!' you cry, getting quite carried away.

'The fact is,' says the Fiend, 'that I am in quite urgent need of a poster to advertise my next Poetry Reading. Something simple, yet elegant, you appreciate, with perhaps some decorative drawing and wording stating that the Reading shall be in the Crypt on Thursday evening, Dress Optional. Do you think you could draw up such a poster for me?'

'Well, yes...' you say uncertainly.

'Good!' says the Fiend. 'And since advertising work is extremely well paid these days, you may take it that I will reward you handsomely for your endeavours.'

What an interesting development. Who would have thought an Arthurian adventurer would have ended up in the advertising business. Use the blank page opposite to design your poster for the Fiend's Poetry Reading, then, when you have finished, turn to 53.
Image

It's times like this when one is reminded of the apparent target age group for these books.

Who's feeling artistic? :biggrin:
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Make sure we've got all the details he mentioned. Honestly I'd just write that in the middle of a single block of colour, as the only way they're going to assess this is the accurate reproduction of what was asked for, and, possibly, the volume of page filled.
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Agreed.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath, Justin Bieber, shitmuffin
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Image
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 »

Darth's masterful work earns Pip yet another puzzle point!
The Fiend strikes his forehead violently with the back of his hand, gasps, reels and pales--all apparently, because you have just shown him the advertising poster you drew up.

'Magnificent!' he exclaims. 'Superb! Or, in the idiom of the artwork, new and improved! What appeal! What enticement! What inducement to attend my reading. Dear friend, I am so excited, I can feel the Muse arising in me.'

Which is bad news since it usually means he is going to spout poetry: but there's no way of stopping him, so you stand quiet and smile grassily as he strikes a pose and declaims:

'Young Pip, an adventurer hearty,
Drew crowds to a Poetry Party
The Fiend was the host there
But it was Pip's poster
That got them all coming so smartly!'


Not a bad little Limerick at all, especially when you remember the monstrosities the Fiend usually composes. You applaud enthusiastically and the Fiend makes a smiling, sweeping bow.

'Well now,' he says, 'this is all extremely jolly, but it won't get the bills paid. Starting with yours.' At which he produces from the folds of his opera cloak a small leather drawstring purse which clinks and chinks delightfully, strongly suggesting there is gold inside; and quite possibly a good deal of it. The Fiend drops the purse into your greedily outstretched hand. 'Here are one hundred golden pieces,' he tells you, confirming your suspicion that this is a fat-cat reward. 'Ninety-nine of them are perfectly ordinary spendable golden pieces which you may use for bribery or anything else you wish. But one is a magical gold piece. If you are lucky enough to find it, it could do you a lot of good in the trials and tribulations which undoubtedly await you.'

Sounds fascinating. Wonder what the magic coin does? But best find out if you can find it among all the others, Pip. Now pay attention, because this is a bit tricky. First, you must calculate your chances of finding the coin. You can do this by using Professor Einstein's famous formula C = (P x D2)/(GQ x PA) where PA cannot be > 3. (Don't panic.) This formula which very nearly led to the invention of an atomic pudding, means that the Chances of Pip finding the coin are equal to two dice rolls divided by the total number of Pip's GrailQuest adventures. If this is your first adventure, go to 48. If it is your second, go to 49. If it is your third, go to 61.


This time the book doesn't even bother to check for quantity of the product.

This is our third adventure, so off to 61:
Third adventure, eh? You're getting very experienced in this sort of thing now. According to the atomic pudding formula, you should roll two dice. Score 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 and go to 54. Score 2 to 6 and go to 62.


Dice roll = 7! (We just barely got the better result!)
Frantically, you search through the coins, weighing them in your hands to find subtle differences in weight, biting them to see if one might be softer (or harder) than the rest, polishing them to find out if any one shines more than the others, testing their temperature to discover if one might be colder or hotter or generally making a completely logical approach to the problem before you luck out and find the magic coin!!!

And what an incredible little coin it is. It's actually alive (you feed it on cheese and breadcrumbs.) If you throw it at a monster during combat, it will add 5 whole points of damage to your score every time you have a successful hit with sword or spell. The coin cannot be destroyed and it comes back to you automatically after each fight. Put it away carefully and don't forget to use it when you're in trouble. Now, since your business with the Fiend is finished, better toddle back to 6 and pick a different direction.


That's almost equivalent to an additional EJ in terms of damage bonus (although it's only once per fight)!

And of course, not to forget that we're also 99 gold coins richer.

Where do we explore next? Gloomy corridor or archway?

QUEST JOURNAL:
Pip's LIFE POINTS: 46/46
Permanent Life Points: 2

SPEED: 13/22

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
1. Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
2. Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
3. Double-headed Copper Coin (can be used to win any gambling games)
4. Artificial Aardvark
5. Blue powder
6. Lamp
7. Healing Potion (6 doses)
8. Healing Salve (5 applications)
9. Magic coin (+5 damage to successful physical attack or spell, once per combat)
10.
11.

MONEY: 139 GP

MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 3/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 3/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 3/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 21/21 (must spend 3 LP to re-cast the spell to use the last 10)
Fireballs 2/2
PLoP 3/3
PID 3/3
PALS 3/3
PIL 3/3
POPS 3/3

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Giant Danish Spider
PUZZLES SOLVES: 2

No. of Deaths:
1. Suffocated in smoke-filled room
None yet
Last edited by SGamerz on Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by SGamerz »

Btw, I'll be away this weekend, so the next update will be at least 2 days later.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Archway, based on having to choose one of them, and that is one of them.
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Post by SGamerz »

Image
Merrily through the archway, Pip. And merrily straight back again, but it's too late and you know it. They've definitely seen you. Who would have thought a Vicar would allow anything like this in his church crypt? Ghouls. Three of them, all skinny and white and loin-clothed and large-eyed and (more important) large-toothed. They were sitting round a coffin when you came through the archway, eating bread and cheese, which is not the favorite food of Ghouls. You wouldn't really want to know the favourite food of Ghouls, although you might guess by the hungry way they all looked at you.

This is a fight and no mistake. Nobody in the history of humanity has ever gotten a friendly reaction from even one Ghoul, let alone three, so it's pointless trying. So out with Excalibur Junior--

'Goodie!' exclaims EJ, as you whip him from the scabbard, 'I hate Ghouls.'

--and into the fray.

Each Ghoul has 15 LIFE POINTS and the three, in the manner of Ghouls, will attack in strict sequence--although you may get First Strike on any of them with luck. If you win the battle, turn to 7. If you lose, the Ghouls will carry what's left of you to 14.


The Ghouls roll 9, Pip rolls 11. Pip gets First Strike!

COMBAT LOG:
Pip rolls 4 and hits for 0+5 = 5 damage. Ghoul#1 is at 10.
Ghoul#1 rolls 3 and misses.
Pip rolls 5 and hits for 1+5 = 6 damage. Ghoul#1 is at 4.
Ghoul#1 is knocked out.
Ghoul#2 rolls 8 and hits for 2-4 = 0 damage.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 3+5 = 8 damage. Ghoul#2 is at 7.
Ghoul#2 rolls 6 and hits for 0-4 = 0 damage.
Pip rolls 8 and hits for 4+5 = 9 damage. Ghoul#2 is killed.
Ghoul#3 rolls 10 and hits for 4-4 = 0 damage.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 2+5 = 7 damage. Ghoul#3 is at 8.
Ghoul#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5-4 = 1 damage. Pip is at 45.
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 5+5 = 10 damage. Ghoul#3 is killed.
Almost a flawless, but Pip took a minor scratch near the end.
That was very well done, Pip. Not many adventurers have three Ghouls to their credit, although you've left this part of the Vicar's Crypt in a bit of a mess.

'Let him clean it up!' mutters EJ sourly. 'He should have warned us about the Ghouls.'

The chamber you've been fighting in has no exit, but you poke around in the debris a bit before you leave. Which is just as well, because if you hadn't, you would have missed finding the ruby. It's worth 500 gold pieces and may come in handy for bribery sometime.

Take the ruby, then take your pick of the corridor or the door in the other chamber.


500 gold is nice, but since it comes in the form of an item, we need to decide whether to sacrifice an inventory slot for that. We still have 2 empty slots at the moment.

We're left with the gloomy corridor that's unexplored here....
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This corridor goes on forever! Gloomy, dank, smelly and dead straight. (Well, perhaps not dead straight: that was an unfortunate turn of phrase.)

You follow it with an increasing feeling of dread, noting that the floor seems to be climbing upwards gently as you continue on. Eventually you reach a heavily barred door. For a moment you hesitate, for the door is massive, bound in iron bands and obviously built to withstand the onslaught of a dinosaur, let alone the efforts of a single adventurer. But then it occurs to you that it has been barred on the inside, so all you have to do is slide back the bolts.

Which is what you do, of course, since you've never been one to make a sensible decision like going home to bed.

The great heavy door swings slowly open...

Go to 24.


And then we're back somewhere familiar:
You are standing on a desolate, fog-enshrouded, windswept moor, chill, barren, soggy underfoot, eerie, lonely, gloomy, oppressive, threatening, malodorous and emanating an all-pervading sense of horror, terror and ancient evil.

This is by far the nastiest place you have ever had the dire misfortune to venture into. Which probably means...

Yes! There it is! Over to the North! You've found it, Pip! Looming from the swirling mist are two massive granite pillars and between them a huge brass portal (open!) leading into a confusion of writhing, moaning, multicoloured fog.

This is definitely the Gateway to the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead. This is the place you've been looking for. This is the end of your adventure. This is your road to even greater glory. This is the softest touch you've ever had: all you have to do is nip across and close the Gate. Nothing to it.

Except maybe for that Thing standing in the Gateway.

I suppose you could always go home now, but it does seem a bit pointless. Or you could ignore the Thing and just saunter casually up to the Gate and close it. Or you could attack the Thing before trying to close the Gate. Or you could nip over to 63 and ask EJ what he thinks.


We've already asked EJ for his opinon the last time, and we knows what happens if we just try to close the gateway.

Do we want to attack the Thing this time?

And please also let me know whether you want to take that 500-GP ruby.
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