Let's Play Fighting Fantasy: The Port of Peril

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

Moderator: Moderators

Queen of Swords
Prince
Posts: 2843
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:13 pm
Contact:

Post by Queen of Swords »

Good points. For some reason I was thinking of the hunter in Forest of Doom who gives you some help. I'll change my vote to corn-hiding.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

You dive into the cornfield and wait to see who is approaching. The thundering sound of galloping hooves grows louder, and moments later you catch a glimpse of a horse's legs flashing by, heading west at full speed. Whoever it is on horseback is certainly in a hurry. You decide you might as well help yourself to some corn. Add 1 STAMINA point. When you have finished eating, you set off again. You estimate it will be dark by the time you reach Skull Crag, and hope you will be able to find somewhere safe to camp down for the night. Looking south, you see an old stone cottage with just the burnt edges of its thatched roof remaining, due to a fire.

If you want to take a look inside the cottage
If you would rather press on towards Moonstone Hills

Adventure Sheet
Harry Balzac
SKILL: 10/10
STAMINA: 12/20
LUCK: 11/11
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (restore 4 STAMINA each)
Potions: Potion of Fortune (restores LUCK to Initial+1)
Money: 2 Gold Pieces, 11 Copper Pieces
Keys: Iron Key, 20 Brass Keys
Items: Map, Ball of Twine, Candle, Small Brass Bell, Oil Lantern, Knife, Chalk, Brass Owl, Rope, Bag of Copper Nails, Water Flask, Unicorn-Head Goblet
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Queen of Swords
Prince
Posts: 2843
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:13 pm
Contact:

Post by Queen of Swords »

Mmm, corn.

Look in the cottage.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6153
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Look in the cottage
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Metagaming, I feel like the cottage is probably a trap. We're hoping to find shelter and then conveniently this place is introduced. It's too easy and inviting. I bet if we skip it we'll find a more optimal spot to rest.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

You open the rickety wooden door and walk inside cautiously, sword in hand. Looking at you with surprised expressions on their faces are two MAN-ORCS sitting on stools eating rats with their hands. They have dark green warty skin and are wearing light leather armour. They jump up and grab their short swords, snarling and flashing their spiked teeth and sharp tusks as they leap forward to attack you. Fight them one at a time.

First MAN-ORC SKILL 5 STAMINA 6
Second MAN ORC SKILL 5 STAMINA 4

Combat Log:
MO1 8, Harry 18. MO1 is at 4.
MO1 12, Harry 14. MO1 is at 2.
MO1 13, Harry 16. MO1 is dead.
MO2 14, Harry 17. MO2 is at 2.
MO2 16, Harry 15. Harry is at 10.
MO2 13, Harry 14. MO2 is dead.
(So close to a flawless, too.)

The Man-Orcs have leather pouches on their belts which you empty out on to the floor. You find a Copper Piece, seven teeth, a silver button, a glass eye, an arrowhead and three polished stones. After taking what you want, you look round the room to see if there is anything else which might be of use to you. There are five jars on a shelf containing rats' tails, small bones, worms, dead flies and sheep's eyeballs. You have room in your backpack for one jar, but if you want to take more, you will to have leave something behind for each additional jar that you take. In the far corner of the room, you discover a wooden trapdoor partly hidden by an old iron stove.

If you want to move the stove to unbolt the trapdoor
If you would rather leave the cottage and carry on towards Moonstone Hills

Also specify what you want to take from the Man-Orcs and which jars (if any) you want (and if we take more than one jar then what we should drop for the extras).

Adventure Sheet
Harry Balzac
SKILL: 10/10
STAMINA: 10/20
LUCK: 11/11
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (restore 4 STAMINA each)
Potions: Potion of Fortune (restores LUCK to Initial+1)
Money: 2 Gold Pieces, 11 Copper Pieces
Keys: Iron Key, 20 Brass Keys
Items: Map, Ball of Twine, Candle, Small Brass Bell, Oil Lantern, Knife, Chalk, Brass Owl, Rope, Bag of Copper Nails, Water Flask, Unicorn-Head Goblet
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Trapdoor for possible loot.

Take the sheep's eyeballs. I think Ian is deliberately adding reference from most of his previous books (QoS was probably right about the Forest of Doom reference during the rider encounter), and sheep eyeballs were featured in a fairly important puzzle in FF50 (sheep eye-eating competition where you gain a vital plot coupon for winning). I can't remember if any of the other items are featured at important plot points, though.

***

I have the suspicion that we're already missing half the plot coupons required, if this were written in typical Livingstone-style. From experience, avoiding encounters is a almost-certain way to lose in Ian Livingstone books.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6153
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Trapdoor, yeah.
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3680
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

Exploiting the power of rules exactly as written, take all the random crap from the orcs, then drop the arrowhead and three of the teeth to take all five jars.

Then trapdoor.
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
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

(Since Omegon was the only one who mentioned the Man-Orcs' loot, I'm going with their vote for what we take from them, and by extension the cottage. Ian Livingstone never really committed to a dedicated inventory management system despite clearly needing one in some books, such as this one. Poor rules exploited!)

The trapdoor lifts up to reveal a narrow wooden staircase leading down to a dark cellar. There is a very unpleasant smell wafting up, like rotten meat. You hear the sound of feet dragging along the floor below, and a rasping, guttural sound like a sickly death rattle.

If you want to go down the steps to investigate
If you would rather shut the trapdoor and leave the cottage to carry on towards Moonstone Hills

Adventure Sheet
Harry Balzac
SKILL: 10/10
STAMINA: 10/20
LUCK: 11/11
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (restore 4 STAMINA each)
Potions: Potion of Fortune (restores LUCK to Initial+1)
Money: 2 Gold Pieces, 12 Copper Pieces
Keys: Iron Key, 20 Brass Keys
Items: Map, Ball of Twine, Candle, Small Brass Bell, Oil Lantern, Knife, Chalk, Brass Owl, Rope, Bag of Copper Nails, Water Flask, Unicorn-Head Goblet, 4 Teeth, Silver Button, Glass Eye, 3 Polished Stones
Jars: Rats' Tails, Small Bones, Worms, Dead Flies, Sheep Eyeballs
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3680
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

Go fight a zombie in the cellar. Or maybe it's a ghoul this time.
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
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6153
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Check out the cellar.

(I was going to make a snarky comment about the sickly death rattle, but remembered an actress being told to redo a scene in Fantastic Four 2 to die more sexily. So, yeah, "sickly" is an necessary adjective, and stops things from getting tacky)
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

So much rando crap...

Cellar!
Queen of Swords
Prince
Posts: 2843
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:13 pm
Contact:

Post by Queen of Swords »

Into the cellar.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

With your sword drawn, you slowly descend the wooden stairway into the semi-darkness. You are about halfway down the steps when a sickly grey hand reaches out from the shadows and grabs your ankle. An unseen creature goes berserk, wailing loudly as it tries to bite your leg. You swing your sword blindly at your attacker. Test Your Luck (11, just barely Lucky!).

Your sword finds its mark, sinking into your attacker's shoulder with a dull thud. It makes a gurgling sound in its throat but increases its grip on your ankle. The creature shuffles into the shaft of light shining down from the room above, and you see it has pallid grey skin covered with festering sores. Its gaping mouth is torn away on one side to reveal broken black teeth and a lolling tongue, and its sunken eyes are red-rimmed and lifeless. Oblivious to the gaping wound in its shoulder, the ZOMBIE lurches forward trying to bite you. You must fight the undead creature.

ZOMBIE SKILL 6 STAMINA 5

Combat Log:
Zombie 11, Harry 20. Zombie is at 3.
Zombie 12, Harry 12. Tie.
Zombie 9, Harry 13. Zombie is at 1.
Zombie 10, Harry 18. Zombie is dead.
The zombie corpse twitches on the cellar floor before finally coming to rest. Your eyes adjust to the gloom and you see that the cellar has bare stone walls and is no more than six square metres in size. The words help me are written in dried blood on one of the walls. There is also an arrow drawn in blood on the opposite wall which points to a small crack in the wall. Suddenly you hear footsteps from above. Somebody has entered the cottage and is walking across the floorboards towards the trapdoor.

If you want to run up the steps to confront the unknown visitor
If you would rather stay where you are

Adventure Sheet
Harry Balzac
SKILL: 10/10
STAMINA: 10/20
LUCK: 10/11
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (restore 4 STAMINA each)
Potions: Potion of Fortune (restores LUCK to Initial+1)
Money: 2 Gold Pieces, 12 Copper Pieces
Keys: Iron Key, 20 Brass Keys
Items: Map, Ball of Twine, Candle, Small Brass Bell, Oil Lantern, Knife, Chalk, Brass Owl, Rope, Bag of Copper Nails, Water Flask, Unicorn-Head Goblet, 4 Teeth, Silver Button, Glass Eye, 3 Polished Stones
Jars: Rats' Tails, Small Bones, Worms, Dead Flies, Sheep Eyeballs
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3680
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

Approach danger head on!
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
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Seize the initiative by acting.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

You bound up the steps, sword in hand, to find yourself standing face-to-face with another MAN-ORC. It points at you and starts screaming and shouting in a language you don't understand. It picks up both swords lying on the floor and runs at you, intent on revenge. You must fight the Man-Orc.

MAN-ORC SKILL 6 STAMINA 6

Combat Log:
Man-Orc 12, Harry 16. Man-Orc is at 4.
Man-Orc 12, Harry 12. Tie.
Man-Orc 13, Harry 18. Man-Orc is at 2.
Man-Orc 14, Harry 18. Man-Orc is dead.
You empty the Man-Orc's pouch to find a piece of chalk, some dried nettles and a tiny cast-iron pig trinket.

If you want to go back down into the cellar to examine the crack in the wall
If you would rather leave the cottage to carry on towards Moonstone Hills

Adventure Sheet
Harry Balzac
SKILL: 10/10
STAMINA: 10/20
LUCK: 10/11
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (restore 4 STAMINA each)
Potions: Potion of Fortune (restores LUCK to Initial+1)
Money: 2 Gold Pieces, 12 Copper Pieces
Keys: Iron Key, 20 Brass Keys
Items: Map, Ball of Twine, Candle, Small Brass Bell, Oil Lantern, Knife, 2 Pieces of Chalk, Brass Owl, Rope, Bag of Copper Nails, Water Flask, Unicorn-Head Goblet, 4 Teeth, Silver Button, Glass Eye, 3 Polished Stones, Dried Nettles, Cast-Iron Pig Trinket
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3680
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

Penetrate the crack.
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
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Darth Rabbitt wrote:(Since Omegon was the only one who mentioned the Man-Orcs' loot,
What, my vote to take the sheep's eyeballs didn't count? >.>

Let's get high on crack.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

SGamerz wrote:What, my vote to take the sheep's eyeballs didn't count? >.>
(Oh, I was specifically referring to the stuff in their pockets. Your vote for the sheep's eyeballs didn't conflict with that in any way.)

You find a folded piece of paper jammed into the crack in the wall. You pull it out and go back up the steps to read what is written on it. It's a grim message which must have been written by the person who turned into the zombie you encountered in the cellar. It tells of his terrifying experience of being bitten by a zombie whilst mining for gold in Moonstone Hills. The other miners, fearing he might bite them, brought him to the ruined cottage and locked him in the cellar, leaving him to rot. It ends with an apology, saying, 'If I attacked you, I am sorry. It was not of my own doing but of the zombie I will have become. All that is mine is now yours. Look under the steps.'

If you want to go back down into the cellar to look under the steps
If you would rather leave the cottage to carry on towards Moonstone Hills
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6153
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Look under the steps.

(Oh...FF zombies spread by biting? I thought they were all magic reanimation)
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I don't think I've ever seen a reference to FF zombies spreading by bite. Certainly it's not mentioned in Out of the Pit. It's possible that he wasn't a proper zombie but the victim of a plague with pseudo-zombie symptoms and everyone's misdiagnosed him.

Take our reparations from poor nameless.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

(I'm pretty sure that in any other FF, zombies don't convert by bite.)

You find a small cloth bag nailed to the underside of one of the wooden steps. It contains a copper bracelet which has mysterious runes etched on it.

If you want to put the bracelet on
If you would rather leave it behind and set off again for Moonstone Hills
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Ugh, I don't trust any FF item that doesn't explain itself upon discovery. Sure, it'd be a lot of wasted words just to screw with the player, but Livingstone.

Half a vote to walk away.
Post Reply