[Let's Play] GrailQuest 4: Voyage of Terror

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:30 pm

Ok, this series is annoying in that there's no good way to judge which items are useful, probably all of them are, exactly once each.

I suggest the rope, backpack, flint and tinder, needle and thread (which is as bulky as 50ft of rope, of course), mallet and quill and parchment

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 2:06 am

And which room to go after that?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 3:37 am

Oh, right, try 52,

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 4:15 am

A locked door, which presumably means something absolutely fascinating inside. Roll two dice to find out if you can get through it.

Score 2-6 and the answer's no: you may never enter this room--although you may, of course, try any other room shown on Plan 1.

Score 7-12 and race off rejoicing to 6.

We had to roll to get into the armoury too, but unlike that room, this one actually says we can never enter it if we fail the roll, so we need to succeed to the first time:

Dice roll = 6!

Oh ****! We're permanently locked out of this room.

We're left with 13 and 31. Which room first?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Mar 24, 2018 1:12 pm

Try 31.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:14 am

This is an extremely large room, almost certainly used as a communal sleeping quarters to judge by the hammocks slung from the rafters. The room is empty of people, but there are twelve large and interesting chests set at intervals around the walls.

If you fancy investigating those chests, roll two dice.

Score 2-4 and go to 3.
Score 5-8 and go to 16.
Score 9-12 and go to 135.

If you feel you'd better not, you may go directly to any other section in Plan 1.

So, seems like the search result is going to be random. Do we risk a search here?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 3:50 am

Yeah, search

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 6:06 am

Dice roll = 9.

For a while it looked as though you were out of luck there--most of the chests contained only old clothes (many of them smelly). But in the last chest, you come across a little leather purse which contains 10 gold pieces. The funny thing is that don't have King Arthur's head stamped on them. But they're definitely gold pieces and well worth snaffling as legitimate booty.

Now you can try any other section of Plan 1.

That won't be enough to bribe anyone, but loot is loot, I guess.

We're left with 13 unexplored, so let's take a look:

Now there's posh! Well, sort of. This used to be a very well-appointed room, but now it's in a bit of a mess, as if you kept a pig in a boudoir. It's sleeping quarters and living quarters combined: and for only one person by the look of it, which means somebody important, since it's a large room.

Among the interesting contents are three chests. One has a skull and crossbones on the lid. One is well polished and new looking. One is pretty battered.

If you want to search the room further, go to 7.

If you want to risk trying to open the skull and crossbones chest, go to 24.

If you want to risk opening the new chest, go to 62.

If you want to risk opening the battered chest, go to 72.

If you figure you'd be better off elsewhere, go to any other section shown on Plan 1.

How/where do we begin our looting?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:24 pm

What about 11, or have I missed something?

Anyway, search the room further.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:46 pm

Lucky old you! It always pays to be thorough in adventures, doesn't it? You've found a roll of parchment under a heap of pongy old clothes. You unroll it at once, finding it is covered with spidery handwriting, quite difficult to read, which gives instructions for performing something called the Wallbanger Ritual. Could this be some sort of spell? You bet your life it could! The only problem is that the scroll gives you no indication whatsoever of what the spell actually does. Worse still, the scroll states that you can only use the spell once--just once--in an entire adventure!

You will find the details of how to work the Wallbanger Ritual Spell on Appendix, p.217. Turn to it ONLY when you have decided to work the spell, since reading this section uses it up for the current adventure.

If you want to try the Wallbanger Ritual now, turn to the special section. Otherwise keep the scroll carefully and don't forget you have it.

If you want to try opening the skull and crossbones chest, go to 24.

If you want to try opening the new chest, go to 62.

If you want to try opening the battered chest, go to 72.

If you feel you'd better get out of here while your luck holds, try any other section on Plan 1.

And where do we continue our looting?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Mar 26, 2018 3:50 am

Keep the spell for later, open the skull and crossbones chest.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Mon Mar 26, 2018 7:13 am

Sure, let's go with that.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Mar 26, 2018 11:50 am

A seasoned adventurer like yourself will not be totally astounded to discover this chest is trapped. Throw one dice to determine your present level of LUCK. Now throw another. If your second throw is lower than your first, your LUCK holds: you have avoided the trap and can open the chest safely at 9.

If your second throw is higher than your first, then start sucking your thumb, which has just been punctured by a poison needle. You will now lose 2 LIFE POINTS every time you visit a new section until you die or find an anti-poison potion (Healing potions and salves will renew LIFE POINTS lost by poison but will NOT cure the poison itself.)

If you want to search the room further, go to 7.
If you want to open the new chest, go to 62.
If you want to open the battered chest, go to 72.
If you want to get out of this room, go to any other sections shown on Plan 1.

I'm pretty sure sucking your thumb is not what you should do if the thumb just got pricked by a poison needle...

Let's hope we don't have to find out.

1st roll = 5 (Promising!)
2nd roll = 4. Success!

Well, well, well - it seems to be a medicine chest! There is a bottle of healing potion in here (enough for six doses, restoring a double dice roll of LIFE POINTS each). There is also a jar of salve (five applications, restoring 3 LIFE POINTS per application). And finally, there is a small bottle of magical quinine which, according to the label, will absolutely cure you of malaria. (What a pity you don't have malaria at the moment. But keep the bottle carefully - it could come in handy if you're ever munched by a mosquito.)

If you want to open the new chest, go to 62.
If you want to open the battered chest, go to 72.
If you want to search the room, go to 7.
If you want to get out of here, go to any other sections shown on Plan 1.

That's some worthy addition to our lootpile!

Where do we look for more?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 32/60
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 6 doses)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)

MONEY: 10 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 2
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Mar 26, 2018 12:44 pm

Try the battered chest.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Mar 26, 2018 2:24 pm

This chest is locked. To find out if you have the SKILL to open it, throw a die. Now throw another. If your first roll is greater than your second, you may open the chest at 17. If not, you'll have to leave it.

Another one? Brennan sure likes this new mechanic in this book.

1st roll = 6!
2nd roll = 1!

It's empty! No, it's not--there's a false bottom. Not very well made, so you discover it almost at once. In a compartment beneath the false bottom is a very nasty little weapon: a poison stiletto.

You examine this lethal horror very carefully. The handle is hollow and filled with an oily liquid poison. The blade is hollow, too, so that the liquid flows down into it. When you score a hit with this nasty, it does +1 damage by stabbing, but also gives your opponent a dose of poison which will cost him the automatic loss of 2 LIFE POINTS every combat round thereafter. What's more, if you successfully hit him again with the dagger, it will cost him a further two automatic losses every time. There is enough poison in the handle for twelve hits, after which the stiletto reverts back to being an ordinary +1 dagger (unless, of course, you can find more poison somewhere).

If you want to search the room, go to 7.

If you want to open the new chest, go to 62.

If you want to open the skull and crossbones chest, go to 24.

If you want to move on, go to any other section shown on Plan 1.

Cumulative poison! That's definitely going to come handy.

Do we want to try the last chest?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Mar 26, 2018 3:09 pm

Yeah, new chest as well.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 12:23 pm

Wow! Gold! There are 1,000 gold pieces in here! All yours now. Heh! Heh! Heh!

If you want to open the skull and crossbones chest, go to 24.

If you want to open the battered chest, go to 72.

If you want to search the room further, go to 7.

If you want to go somewhere else, go to any section shown on Plan 1.

And that wraps up this rom.

As for 11....

There are wooden stairs here, going upwards.

If you take them, go to 113.

If not, you can explore any other section shown on Plan 1.

....is exactly the same as 5.

So we've looked at all the rooms in this level (except 52, which we failed to unlock). Things left to do:

1) A room with 12 guards to fight with very slim chance of success. Only rewards are Exp points and 120 GP, since there's no new sections we can access from there.
2) A room with "barred doors" guarded by 3 guards, whom we can fight 1 at a time. Reward (besides Exp) is unknown. We may have a chance here, since we now have enough money to attempt bribing 2 of them. And we also have some heals, a poison dagger to help us if we want to use them. And also a wild card in the Wallbanger spell (whatever that does).
3) A kitchen with a cook that can't be bribed. Easiest opponent, but again, unknown whether there's any reward for that besides Exp.
4) Go upstairs now?

Let me know how you want to handle the fights if you pick any of the first 3 options. Do we want to use any item? Try Bribery? Take a gamble and risk the Wallbanger during one of the fights?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 32/60
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 6 doses)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 12 doses)

MONEY: 1010 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 2
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Mar 27, 2018 4:25 pm

I'd chug a healing potion and then go shank the chef with our New Dagger (not the poison one, but the one that attacks twice a round). That's not a good deal for the guards with their shields, but is for an unarmored cook.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:27 pm

Pip downs a dose of healing potion:

Healing roll = 10! Pip is now at 42/60.

Pip then heads to 26 with the intention of murdering the cook for his food!

Cook rolls 2, Pip rolls 4. Pip strikes first!

COMBAT LOG:

Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Cook is at 28.
Pip rolls 4 and misses (oh EJ, how we miss you!)
Cook rolls 8 and hits for 3+3-2 = 4 damage. (Armour check: = 10 - doesn't break) Pip is at 38.
Pip rolls 8 and hits for 2+1 = 3 damage. Cook is at 25.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Cook rolls 8 and hits for 3+3-2 = 4 damage. Pip is at 34.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 3 and misses.
Cook rolls 9 and hits for 4+3-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 29.
Pip rolls 10 and hits for 4+1 = 5 damage. Cook is at 20.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Cook is at 19.
Cook rolls 7 and hits for 2+3-2 = 3 damage. Pip is at 26.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Cook is at 18.
Cook rolls 4 and misses.
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 3+1 = 4 damage. Cook is at 14.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Cook is at 13.
Cook rolls 5 and hits for 0+3-2 = 1 damage. Pip is at 25.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Cook is at 11.
Cook rolls 4 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Cook is at 10.
Pip rolls 3 and misses.
Cook rolls 7 and hits for 2+3-2 = 3 damage. Pip is at 22.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Cook is at 9.
Pip rolls 10 and hits for 4+1 = 5 damage. Cook is at 4.
Cook is knocked out!

Another painful dragged-out battle!

That hassle was only worthwhile if you were hungry. There's a lot of food here (most of it raw), but nothing else of any great interest.

Try any other section of Plan 1.

Sadly, once again there's no reward other than gaining 1 Exp point for winning the fight! They just don't make food like the chefs of Fighting Fantasy do, and Pip has to rely on potions to heal himself.

Speaking of which, he probably needs some right now. Taking another dose:

Healing roll = 4. Pip is at 26/60.

What do we do now? There are 2 more rooms on this level with guards in them. Keep in mind that they have armour, so you might want to reconsider the weapon choice for those fights (if we want to attempt any of them). And let me know if you want to try bribing/Wallbanging any of them.

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 26/60
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 4 doses)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 12 doses)

MONEY: 1010 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Mar 29, 2018 2:32 pm

Try bribing the three guards in the room that just has three of them? I'd like to save the scroll for later in the book if possible.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 1:59 am

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Try bribing the three guards in the room that just has three of them?

We have enough gold to bribe only 2 of them, so we'd need to fight at least 1. Do you still want to use just the new dagger for the fight?

Either way, I think Pip should heal up a bit more before going into the fight. Even against just 1 guard it's going to be tough...

Healing roll = 5. Pip is now at 31/60. Let's try another:

Healing roll#2 = 6. Pip is now at 37/60.

Pip heads to the room with the barred doors at 67. He offers 500 GP to each of the first 2 guards:

Bribery roll = 11. (Success)
Bribery roll#2 = 4. (Fail)

One of the guards is paid off, but 2 remain. We need to fight them one at a time.

Pausing to see if you want to use the poison stiletto or a better damaging weapon. Here's their stats, as a reminder:

Each has 25 LIFE POINTS and carries a short sword which will do +2 damage and a shield which will save them -2 damage.

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 37/60
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 2 doses)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 12 doses)

MONEY: 10 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 5:21 am

This is what I get for not doing the math.

For the spear, does throwing it take 3 rounds or does it take 3 rounds to pick it up and throw it again? And can we toss the spear, and then pick up another weapon? If it's the latter, I'd use the poison dagger, chuck a spear at him, and then revert to the dagger.

If not (which seems more likely to me,) just use the poison dagger on both of them. Their armor means that our damage rolls aren't going to mean much regardless of weapon.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 8:14 am

Darth Rabbitt wrote:For the spear, does throwing it take 3 rounds or does it take 3 rounds to pick it up and throw it again?

The latter.

Darth Rabbitt wrote:And can we toss the spear, and then pick up another weapon?

The book doesn't specify, but I think I'll allow Pip to switch to another melee weapon after throwing the spear instead of having to fight empty-handed.

Darth Rabbitt wrote:If it's the latter, I'd use the poison dagger, chuck a spear at him, and then revert to the dagger.

Keep using the poison dagger to stack up the poison effect? Or just poison them once and switch to the faster dagger?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Mar 31, 2018 6:26 pm

OK, in that case, chuck the spear at the guy, poison him with the stiletto, and then switch to the faster dagger.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Apr 01, 2018 2:56 am

The guards roll 11, Pip rolls 7. The guards hit first.

COMBAT LOG:

Guard#2 rolls 7 and hits for 1+2-2 = 1 damage (Armour check = 8 - doesn't shatter). Pip is at 36.
Pip throws his spear and rolls 8 to hit for 0+10-2 = 8 damage! Guard#2 is at 17.
Guard#2 rolls 4 and misses.
Pip (switching to poison stiletto) rolls 3 and misses.
Guard#2 rolls 2 and misses.
Pip rolls 8 and hits for 2+1-2 = 1 damage. Guard#2 is at 16 and is poisoned! (Pip also retrieves the spear this round)
Guard#2 rolls 10 and hits for 4+2-2 = 4 damage. Pip is at 32.
Pip (switching to fast dagger) rolls 10 and hits for 4+1-2 = 3 damage. Guard#2 is at 13.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1-2 = no damage. However, Guard#2 loses a further 2 LP from poison. Guard#2 is at 11.
Guard#2 rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 12 and hits for 6+1-2 = 5 damage. Guard#2 is at 6.
Pip rolls 5 and misses. However, Guard#2 loses a further 2 LP from poison. Guard#2 is at 4 and is knocked out!
Guard#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+2-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 30.
Pip throws the spear and rolls 6, missing.
Guard#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+2-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 28.
Pip (switching to poison stiletto) rolls 7 and hits for 1+1-2 = no damage.
Guard#3 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 8 and hits for 2+1-2 = 1 damage. Guard#3 is at 24 and is poisoned!
Guard#3 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip (switching to fast dagger) rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 11 and hits for 5+1-2 = 4 damage. Guard#3 loses a further 2 LP from poison and is at 18.
Guard#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+2-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 26.
Pip rolls 2 and misses.
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 3+1-2 = 2 damage. Guard#3 loses a further 2 LP from poison and is at 14.
Guard#3 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 4 and misses.
Pip rolls 2 and misses. Guard#3 loses 2 LP from poison and is at 12.
Guard#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+2-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 21.
Pip rolls 3 and misses.
Pip rolls 4 and misses. Guard#3 loses 2 LP from poison and is at 10.
Guard#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+2-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 16.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage. Guard#3 loses 2 LP from poison and is at 8.
Guard#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+2-2 = 5 damage. Pip is at 11.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 11 and hits for 5+1-2 = 4 damage. Guard#3 loses a further 2 LP from poison and is at 2.
Guard#3 is knocked out!

A very close thing, but it looks like both the spear and the poison dagger paid off! Especially against the last guard, who was making a frightening comeback towards the end and it was the poison doing most of the killing in the last few rounds!

Pip takes another dose of Healing Potion:

Healing roll = 10! Pip is at 21/60.

The cell behind the first of the three barred doors is empty. Not a good start after all that hassle with the guards. But wait--behind the second door, squashed into a small space, are twelve handsome, square-jawed, clean-cut, fair-haired men, muscular as athletes, but unarmed and fast asleep. Nor are your attempts to wake them (calling, shaking and the odd gentle kick) in any way successful.

You proceed, for want of anything better to do, to the third door...

'Thank the gods!' exclaims the handsome, square-jawed, clean-cut, dark-haired man within. 'Have you come to rescue my trusty crew and myself?'

'Well, yes, I suppose so,' you say hesitantly. 'But who are you?'

'Jason,' replies the man. 'I am--or was--Captain of this vessel until it was boarded by those scumbags of pirates, three of whom I perceive you have but recently slain. These villains drugged my trusty Argonauts and thus seized the ship for their own nefarious purposes, unconnected with the noble quest for the Golden Fleece which we perceived to be our destiny. Thus it was that those of my Argonauts who were not killed were incarcerated (as was I) within the confines of these miserable cells, fed but infrequently on pigswill, deprived of all but bilgewater to drink, beaten senseless each hour on the hour at the whim of our brutish gaolers, tormented by vermin and lice, deprived of sleep, threatened constantly with death, tortured--'

'Yes, you,' you put in quickly, having got the picture. 'I can appreciate your problems. My problem is I cannot wake your men, and if we are to tackle an entire pirate crew, then we are going to need every man we can get.'

But even as you speak, your mind is reeling. Jason? Argonauts? Golden Fleece? You'd suspected you were on board a ship, of course, but this isn't any ship of Avalon, or even of Saxon invaders. You seem to have ended up somewhere in ancient Greece! What a monumental screw-up this has turned out to be! Merlin's fault, no doubt, although you'll have to wait to find out all the facts.

'Fear not on that score, Noble Rescuer!' exclaims Jason. 'For I have secreted in my sandal a magical conch shell which, having one charge remaining, will awaken my valiant followers on the instant and, incidentally, completely cure anybody within earshot from the effects of poison.'

So saying, he removed from his sandal a large seashell (which must have been absolutely crippling him), places it to his lips and blows a penetrating blast.

At once the sleeping beauties in the other cell wake up (and any poisoned misfortunate in the area is instantly cured). Jason turns to you. 'We are indebted to you for our freedom and perhaps our lives, oh noble one. For this reason we will follow you to death or glory, serve you to the very ends of the universe, protect you from--'

'Yes, yes,' you say hurriedly. 'I appreciate all that, but frankly what I really want is to get back to Avalon. I don't suppose you know the way, do you?'

'Avalon?' frowns Jason. 'Isn't that north of Crete?'

'No,' puts in one of his followers, a muscular fellow called Hercules, 'it's a suburb of Troy.'

'You're thinking of Avala,' remarks another. 'Avalon is twenty-five stadia north-east of Athens.'

'That's not Avalon,' exclaims a third. 'Avalon is the local name for that chain of volcanic islands beyond the Pillars of Hercules: the ones with the goonybirds and vampire rabbits.'

'That's the Avalonian Archipelago,' sneers a fourth. 'Avalon is the underground necropolis guarded by eighty-five pegasi and a tribe of harpies to the south-west of--'

'It doesn't matter,' you put in, since it is patently obvious these mariners couldn't sail their ship out of a bottle if it got stuck in one. 'Our first job is to get back in control of this vessel, which means hacking up the pirates who took it over.'

'What a military strategist!' exclaims Jason in admiration. 'What an instant grasp of the overall situation. You shall lead us in this brave endeavour and even I, Captain Jason, shall do your bidding!'

Which just shows what a big mouth can land you into. Captain Jason will tell you that the pirates are on the upper deck which you can reach via 5 or 11. But before you launch your suicide mission, you will need to find weapons for the Argonauts. You will also need to know a bit about their stats, which are as follows:

Jason has 25 LIFE POINTS and needs to roll 5 or better to hit.

Hercules has 48 LIFE POINTS, needs a 6 to hit, but scores a natural +4 damage (on top of any weapon damage) by reason of his enormous strength.

Ten of the remaining eleven Argonauts average out at 20 LIFE POINTS and all require a 6 to hit.

The final Argonaut, Achilles, has 30 LIFE POINTS, hits on only 2, scores a natural +1 damage (on top of weapon damage) but has weak ankles so that he can only get in a hit every second round.

Equip them as best you can from whatever source you can, then proceed to the upper deck and the Battle Royal with the pirates.

And this time, the painful battle is definitely worth the trouble: looks like Pip just won himself an army!

The only thing left is to proceed up to the decks, but first we'd better lead the Argonauts to the armoury to kit them out. Again, I'm going to have every Argonaut take one of each weapon type (sword, dagger, spear). The things we need to decide are:

1) How many pieces of armour does each Argonaut wear? (Note that If armour breaks it will kill most generic nameless Argonauts since they only have 20 LP)
2) What will be the default weapon of each Argonaut?

You may also decide whether you want to have your army throw spear volleys in every combat (sure, most may miss, but even just a few of them hitting can cause good damage).

I'm going to assume that all the "generic" nameless Argonauts are kit out exactly the same so save the headache, but you can suggest different gear/weapon for the named ones (Jason, Hercules, Archilles).

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 21/60
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 1 dose)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 10/12 doses)

MONEY: 10 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 5
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook
2 Guards
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet