[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 36 – Armies of Death

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, keep the key.

[JourneymanN00b]

Alright, so I registered your votes to have Zen-Kut-Sedatche keep the key, and for the eastern warlord to take 3 Item Wishes, 3 Restorations, and 1 Rewind for the 7 boons.

318
The Warrior takes the key from around the dead man’s neck before letting him drift on downriver to the sea and a watery grave. The Warrior then swims back to the ship and hands you the key. Inscribed on the barrel you see the number ‘222’. Making a mental note of the number, you slip the key inside your pocket and order Captain Barnock to sail on. Turn to 234.

234
A few miles further upriver, you come across a bearded man with ragged hair, standing on the north bank. He is dressed in animal furs and is waving his arms at you, gesturing for you to stop. If you wish to sail over to the man to investigate, turn to 298. If you would rather sail on, turn to 203.

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Zen-Kut-Sedatche
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 10
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 6 Initial Luck = 7
SOLIDERS:
WARRIORS: 95
DWARFS: 50
ELVES: 50
KNIGHTS: 20
RIVER RAIDERS: 10
GOLD PIECES: 650
TREASURE:
Shield
Key with the number ‘222’
BOONS:
1 Rewind
3 Restorations
3 Item Wishes[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Investigate.

[Queen of Swords]

Sail over to the man, see what he wants.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Zen-Kut-Sedatche will sail over to the man to investigate.

298
You sail to the north bank to find out what the ragged man wants. As you draw close, nine other men emerge from the bushes but do not raise their weapons. The one who waved to you drops his arms and shouts, ‘Greetings, stranger. I and my fellow Northmen have heard of your noble quest and wish to join your army. For 10 Gold Pieces a man we will fight by your side to the death if duty calls.’ If you wish to hire the Northmen, turn to 30. If you would rather refuse their offer and sail on without them, turn to 203.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to guarantee that they will be counted.

[Beroli]

Hire them.

[SGamerz]

No reason to refuse new recruits, who can always be exploited to do all the lowest menial chores in the camp like all military forces. Hire them.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, hire them.

[JourneymanN00b]

Hiring the Northmen received 3 votes, so Zen-Kut-Sedatche will do that.

30
You pay the leader of the Northmen 100 Gold Pieces and give the order for him and his men to climb on board ship. As you set sail once more, the leader walks over to you; despite his stare from piercing ice-blue eyes, you feel you can trust him. ‘My name is Laas,’ he says with a warm smile. ‘Would you allow me to bestow a gift upon you?’ If you want to take the gift, turn to 358. If you would rather refuse politely, turn to 390.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Zen-Kut-Sedatche
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 10
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 6 Initial Luck = 7
SOLIDERS:
WARRIORS: 95
DWARFS: 50
ELVES: 50
KNIGHTS: 20
RIVER RAIDERS: 10
NORTHMEN: 10
GOLD PIECES: 550
TREASURE:
Shield
Key with the number ‘222’
BOONS:
1 Rewind
3 Restorations
3 Item Wishes[/spoiler]

[SGamerz]

Why would we refuse if we "feel we can trust him"? Take it. Refusing may display a lack of trust and cause him offence.

[Queen of Swords]

Why would we refuse if we "feel we can trust him"? Take it. Refusing may display a lack of trust and cause him offence.

Exactly. Besides, this is a Livingstone book, so we'll probably end up needing every last item we manage to lay our hands on.

[Thaluikhain]

Take the gift.

Also, hard luck on the evil army of death, most places that get threatened by evil don't seem to have lots of unemployed people looking for someone to fight.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Zen-Kit-Sedatche will take the gift.

358
Laas reaches inside his furs and pulls out a long, curved tooth, attached to a leather thong. ‘This is the tooth of a Yeti,’ Laas says with pride. ‘If you wear it, you will never be attacked by Werewolves or any other Lycanthropes. It is my wish that you should have it, as you are prepared to die to save Allansia.’ You let Laas place the tooth round your neck and then tell him as much as you know about the Shadow Demon as you sail on upriver. Turn to 203.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

203
Some time later, Captain Barnock walks over to you and says, ‘We’ll soon be dropping anchor for the night. Would you and your men like to sleep here on the deck of my ship or would you prefer to find somewhere more comfortable on land?’ If you decide to sleep on deck, turn to 12. If you wish to go ashore and find some long grass on which to sleep, turn to 337.

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Zen-Kut-Sedatche
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 10
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 6 Initial Luck = 7
SOLIDERS:
WARRIORS: 95
DWARFS: 50
ELVES: 50
KNIGHTS: 20
RIVER RAIDERS: 10
NORTHMEN: 10
GOLD PIECES: 550
TREASURE:
Shield
Key with the number ‘222’
Yeti tooth
BOONS:
1 Rewind
3 Restorations
3 Item Wishes[/spoiler]

[SGamerz]

Sleep on the ship. I mean, we've already paid him the full 50 gold, so there's risk that he may just sail off and cheat us. If we'd only paid half and only pay the other half at the destination, I'd feel safer about leaving the ship.

[Thaluikhain]

Sleep on ship, less chance of woodland monsters.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Zen-Kit-Sedatche will sleep on deck.

12
Not long after midnight, something disturbs your sleep and you wake to see a bright moonlit sky. Barely moving your head, you look left and right and see a shadow moving near some barrels tied amidships. On the bridge there is no sign of the lookout and you immediately sense danger. Grabbing your sword, you tip-toe towards the barrels, crouched down. Something that glints in the moonlight is suddenly hurled at you without warning. Instinctively you duck. Roll two dice. If the number rolled is the same as or less than your SKILL, turn to 246. If the number rolled is greater than your SKILL, turn to 267.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Rolling the dice yielded a 12.

267
You react too slowly and are struck by a silver trident. Roll one die. If you roll 1-3, turn to 397. If you roll 4-6, turn to 170.

Rolling the die yielded a 6.

170
A sharp pain runs down your arm from the place in your shoulder where the trident’s spikes are lodged. Deduct 2 points from your STAMINA. Gritting your teeth, you pull the trident out of your shoulder. A nimble figure runs out from behind the barrels and dives over the side of the ship into the water, making the quietest of splashes. You look over the side but see no head rise to the surface. Whoever or whatever attacked you must be an excellent underwater swimmer. You walk over to the barrels and see watery webbed prints on the deck, perhaps those made by a Fish Man. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 43. If you are Unlucky, turn to 375.

Rolling the dice yielded a 5, meaning that Zen-Kut-Sedatche was Lucky.

43
By now many of your men are awake; none of them appears to have come to any harm, apart from the lookout who is nursing a sore head, having been attacked from behind by the midnight raider. An extra man is put on watch while everybody else settles down to sleep once again. Not long after dawn, Captain Barnock gives the order to set sail upriver. Turn to 188.

188
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Two hours later, the tranquility of the river trip is suddenly disturbed by a shout from the crow’s nest of ‘River Pirates! River Pirates!’ Captain Barnock reaches for his telescope and fumes and curses as he focuses on the ship coming downriver at full speed. He hands you the telescope and you see the reason for his concern. The pirate ship is of the type built by Northmen, exceptionally sturdy and with a huge iron ramming-spike protruding from the bow. Double rows of oars extend from each side of the ship, giving added speed; the Flying Toucan is obviously no match for the pirate ship, which steers a ramming course. Captain Barnock starts to fluster, not knowing what to do. Will you:

Order him to raise a flag of surrender? Turn to 277
Turn the Flying Toucan towards the north bank? Turn to 353
Order the Flying Toucan to turn about and out-run the pirate ship? Turn to 139

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Zen-Kut-Sedatche
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 10
STAMINA: 15 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 5 Initial Luck = 7
SOLIDERS:
WARRIORS: 95
DWARFS: 50
ELVES: 50
KNIGHTS: 20
RIVER RAIDERS: 10
NORTHMEN: 10
GOLD PIECES: 550
TREASURE:
Shield
Key with the number ‘222’
Yeti tooth
BOONS:
1 Rewind
3 Restorations
3 Item Wishes[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Go to the north bank. Only one that doesn't sound like a guaranteed sinking.

[SGamerz]

The river is the pirate's territory, so we need to get off the river onto the solid land of the north bank pick a battleground that is to our advantage.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, head for the bank.

[JourneymanN00b]

Turning the Flying Toucan towards the north bank received 3 votes, so Zen-Kit-Sedatche will carry it out.

353
Captain Barnock has the Flying Toucan moored to the riverbank long before the pirate ship is upon it, and you order your men to jump ashore. Quickly you line up the Elven Archers along the bank and order them to be ready to fire on the command. When the pirate ship is close enough, you shout across to its captain, telling him not to ram the Flying Toucan as there is no treasure on board. If he wants treasure, he will have to come ashore and fight for it. You see the pirate captain examining your troops through his telescope and you smile, satisfied that he will be surprised to encounter such a strong force. Your plan works; the pirate captain shouts out new orders to his men, and you watch the pirate ship sail past the Flying Toucan, downriver and out of sight. Add 1 point to your LUCK. Captain Barnock begins to cheer loudly, until a coughing fit overtakes him and he has to sit down to recover. But in less than half an hour, all your troops and baggage are aboard the Flying Toucan once more, and you set sail upriver for Zengis. Turn to 175.

175
It is late in the afternoon when the towers and rooftops of Zengis come into view. Captain Barnock appears to relax a little, knowing that he will be soon be moored up in the safety of the town jetty. Before going ashore, you appoint a Warrior named Lexon as your second-in-command, and tell him to lead your men to a field outside the town walls and to pitch camp there; you don’t want them getting into trouble, and you want them well fed and rested for the next day’s march. You tell Lexon that you will spend the night in Zengis in order to recruit more troops and perhaps find out some rumours about Agglax, the Shadow Demon. As your troops march down the gangplank of the Flying Toucan, you bid farewell to Captain Barnock. You walk through the main gates of the town and decide to head for the nearest tavern, a place where you might expect to find both warriors and rumours. As you walk down the narrow street between the old wooden houses, you suddenly catch sight of a gold ring lying in the gutter. If you want to pick it up, turn to 292. If you want to carry on looking for a tavern, turn to 52.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Zen-Kut-Sedatche
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 10
STAMINA: 15 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 6 Initial Luck = 7
SOLIDERS:
WARRIORS: 95
DWARFS: 50
ELVES: 50
KNIGHTS: 20
RIVER RAIDERS: 10
NORTHMEN: 10
GOLD PIECES: 550
TREASURE:
Shield
Key with the number ‘222’
Yeti tooth
BOONS:
1 Rewind
3 Restorations
3 Item Wishes[/spoiler]

[SGamerz]

Pick up shiny bauble like the magpie that all FF PCs are supposed to be.

[Queen of Swords]

Precioussss...

[Thaluikhain]

Pick up random thing.

[JourneymanN00b]

Picking it up received 3 votes, so Zen-Kut-Sedatche will do that.

292
[spoiler][/spoiler]

You examine the ring and see that it is inscribed with the number ‘45’. Suddenly you feel a tap on your shoulder; whirling round, you are confronted by a huge bald man, looking angrily at you. An ugly scar runs across his face from above his left ear to the bottom of his right cheek. His bulging muscles stretch his black leather tunic, and you are quick to notice that he is brandishing a battle-axe. A throwing-axe is strapped to his leg. He points an accusing finger into your face and growls, ‘That’s my ring, stranger. Give it to me or die.’ You notice that his fat fingers are far too big for the ring and decide that obviously he is lying. Will you:

Give him the ring? Turn to 333
Run away down the street? Turn to 126
Fight the Axeman? Turn to 150

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Zen-Kut-Sedatche
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 10
STAMINA: 15 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 6 Initial Luck = 7
SOLIDERS:
WARRIORS: 95
DWARFS: 50
ELVES: 50
KNIGHTS: 20
RIVER RAIDERS: 10
NORTHMEN: 10
GOLD PIECES: 550
TREASURE:
Shield
Key with the number ‘222’
Yeti tooth
Ring with the number ‘45’
BOONS:
1 Rewind
3 Restorations
3 Item Wishes[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

A ring with a number on it is worth keeping, so fight for it.

(And next time bring a minder or two from our giant army)