[lets play] Fighting Fantasy (Scholastic 16): Assassins of Allansia.

[Thaluikhain]

Wait for it...

[Queen of Swords]

Wait to see who's coming.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to wait to see who is about to enter the clearing ahead.

[Dogopolis]

The noise of marching feet and singing grows steadily louder, and it’s not long before you see a band of leather armoured creatures march into the clearing. The ugly brutes have green warty skin and blackened tusks protruding from their large mouths. Your nostrils twitch when the foul smell of their unwashed bodies wafts over on the breeze. You recognize the smell from previous encounters, as there is nothing more unpleasant than the putrid smell of an ORC’s armpit combined with the hideous stench of the gas they release when they break wind, which is often. There must be thirty of them at least, all armed with axes, swords, cudgels and morning stars. They come to a halt in the clearing, and their leader, a huge beast with a horned helmet and extra-long tusks, begins to bark out orders. Six Orc Scouts are sent off in different directions, with one of them coming straight towards you! Do you want to draw your sword to strike the Orc as it passes or do you want to climb the tree to hide?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to draw Finella’s sword and strike the Orc as it passes by.

[Queen of Swords]

Climb up the tree and hide, in case the struggle attracts the attention of all the other Orcs.

[Beroli]

Yes, hide.

[JourneymanN00b]

My Lord of the Flies experience is telling me that climbing the tree is putting all of your eggs in one basket. If our hero is discovered, all the orcs have to do is wait, and not even the invisibility scroll would help there. If our hero is on the verge of getting outnumbered on the ground, though, maybe the scroll gives another chance.

[SGamerz]

Attack

[Thaluikhain]

Hide

[Dogopolis]

You climb up the tree as fast as you can and stand still on a high branch. You suddenly notice a large bird’s nest in the fork of the branch above in which two Death Hawk chicks start screeching loudly. Test Your Luck

9 is lucky

The chicks stop screeching and you look down and see the Orc walk past the tree. You breathe a sigh of relief and climb down the tree when he is out of sight. You make your way quickly north to get as far away as you can from the Orcs. But just when you think you have escaped, a long blast on a hunting horn signals that you have been spotted by one of their scouts. You hear a loud roar behind you and the thunder of heavy footsteps of the band of Orcs giving chase. All you can do is run. If you are wearing Elven Boots....

We are wearing Elven boots

You come to the foot of a small hill and run up and over it and down to a wooded area, where you see a silver-haired woman standing in a doorway which has been cut out of the trunk of a huge oak tree. “Over here!” she cries, ‘beckoning you over to her. “Quick, come inside and close the door behind you!” Do you want to follow her through the doorway or would you would rather keep on running?

Finella Noland
Skill 9/9
Stamina 17/21
Luck 10/11

Potion of Strength
Provisions:9
Silver necklaces: 4
Dagger
Skeleton key (44)
2 diamonds.
9 Gold, 1 Silver
Rusty Knife
Shield of the Sentinels. (+1 Attack strength)
Astral Sword. (+1 Attack strength)
Bow and arrows
Food (+4 Stamina)
Bag of Holding
Elven Boots
Bracelet of Power (+3 SKILL when used)
Healing ring (+6 stamina)
Scroll of Invisibility
Magic Flute
Chainmail (+1 Attack strength)
Box belonging to Balthazar Whittle

Deaths:
1 by Gretta Morg's Death Hand

[Thaluikhain]

Follow the woman, the next assassin has red dyed hair, not silver hair.

[Beroli]

Indeed, follow her.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to follow her through the doorway.

[Dogopolis]

You follow the woman down a flight of narrow steps to a candlelit tunnel which ends at a wooden door. The woman turns to you and says, “My inner eye told me you were in danger. You’ll be safe here. Your face is familiar, but I can’t place it. Have we met before? Perhaps it will come to me later. But no matter. You should be able to leave soon but, in the meantime, please enjoy my secret hideaway. It is my special place of solitude where I come to practise my magic powers. There is so much energy underground! Come, let me show you my books of magic.” The woman walks to the end of the tunnel, pushes open the wooden door and disappears through the doorway. Do you want to follow her or would you rather walk quickly back up the steps and go back outside?

[Thaluikhain]

Follow

[Queen of Swords]

Follow her.

[SGamerz]

Follow.

[Dogopolis]

You enter a musty-smelling candlelit room which has an enormous bookcase set against the far wall. The shelves are crammed full of ancient leather-bound tomes. There is a table and chair in the middle of the room, with several books lying open on the table. The woman invites you to look at a book entitled Dragonfire. As you flick through the pages you see her glance over your shoulder. Her smile vanishes, and the door suddenly slams shut behind you. You spin round to see the man who was hiding behind it. Dressed head to toe in loose black robes, all you can see of his face are his stone-cold brown eyes. Holding his straight-bladed short sword above his head in both hands is a NINJA WARRIOR who utters a shrill battle cry and leaps forward to attack you. If your current SKILL score is 8 or greater...

We pass the "if your initial skill roll was 7 and you still made it this far here's something else to screw you over even worse" check.
------------------------------------------

Reacting with lightning-fast reflexes, you dodge left just in time as the Ninja’s sharp blade splinters the top of the table. You draw your sword to fight the quick-footed Ninja, who is poised ready to strike again.

NINJA WARRIOR SKILL 7 STAMINA 6

Finella yawns.

Code: Select all

F16 N14 N at 4
F19 N18 N at 2
F20 N17 N dead

Ninja got surprisingly close on 2nd round, but flawless.

If you win

--------------------------------------

When you reach down to uncover the Ninja’s face, the woman flees from the room and runs up the stairs. You hear the door open and close but let her go, as you are more interested to see if the Ninja was another of Lord Azzur’s assassins. The silver pendant hanging on the chain around his neck answers your question. You snap the chain and pocket the silver scorpion. You find the name Gozo Yamakuri embroidered on his robes and see that he was also wearing a thin copper headband. You empty the Ninja’s cloth backpack and find a pair of bone dice and some rice wrapped in broad leaves. You eat the rice, which eases your hunger and gives you some energy. Add 2 STAMINA points. Will you:

Try on the headband?
Look at the books on the bookshelves?
Walk up the stairs and go back outside?

[Queen of Swords]

Look at the books.

Also, I like the detail about the Ninja having a backpack. Now I'm imagining him looking like a college student/Ninja - backpack, wakizashi, etc.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to try on the headband, as Sword of the Samurai demonstrated that headbands are a benefit.

[Beroli]

Sure, try on the headband.

[SGamerz]

Put on headband,

[Dogopolis]

You tentatively place the headband on, keeping both hands on it just in case you need to pull it off again. You wait for a minute, but nothing happens. Feeling no ill effects, you think about what to do. Do you want to look at the books on the bookshelves or do you want to walk up the
stairs and go back outside?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to look at the books to see if there is any vital information there.