[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 49 - Siege of Sardath

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to hit it baby, one more time.

[SGamerz]

Once again you hear a dull thud but the door does not give; the stone is still not chipped. Will you:

Search for an opening mechanism?
Try saying a password?
Hit the door again?
Give up?

Since several of you already picked up the hint about the Sign of Summoning, and hitting the door doesn't seem to hurt us (or our sword), I think we can skip the vote and proceed with completing the Sign by hitting again:

Since you have already struck the door twice without pause, this third strike completes the Sign of Summoning, the secret code of Khornu Wych's tomb. There is a loud click and the door slides open. When you step inside, the door closes behind you and you gaze upon the dead seer's richly adorned crypt. At the back of the chamber, leaning against the wall, is a beautifully carved sarcophagus. There is no front to it, so you can see the mummified body of Khornu standing inside. As well as the life-preserving bandages, the body is draped in robes bearing astrological symbols and it wears a large golden amulet. There are no exits from this room. You walk up to the body of the seer and examine it very carefully. The robe is clearly of no special interest, but the amulet might be. If you reach into the sarcophagus and take it, turn to 289. Otherwise you will have to leave.

I suspect our mysterious enemy would be pretty pissed off if he finds out that all he ever had to do was to knock on the door 3 times to open it, after he'd probably already sacrificed a number of underlings using some drastic measures like trying to blow it down with explosives.

Anyway, we know there's an important quest item to pick up, and we went to some trouble to get in here, so it doesn't make sense to not go for the prize if the only other choice is to leave, so I'm just going to proceed here:

As soon as you lift the amulet from around Khornu's neck, the body begins to crack and crumble as several centuries of decay catch up with it. If you decide to make your escape from the crypt before the process has finished, turn to 12. If you do not...

I will, however, pause here, because even though the section isn't finished, it's weirdly structured. It proceeds to describe what happens if you choose not to run, even though you should only be given the information after you'd chosen to stay.

Please vote on whether or not to escape at the earliest opportunity.

(Also, there's a picture of the mummy and the sarcophagus which I will update in this same post later.)

[JourneymanN00b]

Yeah, I vote to escape the crypt, as staying probably results in an instadeath.

[Thaluikhain]

Leg it!

[SGamerz]

Yeah, I vote to escape the crypt, as staying probably results in an instadeath.

I think it's appropriate for me to at least clarify that the section itself, at least (which I did not finish quoting) does not end in an insta-death, just in case people are getting the idea that this was the reason I cut the quoting short.

[Beroli]

Stay and finish reading.

[Queen of Swords]

Um, stay. Maybe we learn something as a result?

[Dogopolis]

In this case seeing the picture is a massive clue to making the right decision.

[SGamerz]

In this case seeing the picture is a massive clue to making the right decision.

Oh, that's something I never noticed.

Just as well that there's a tie right now. The picture has been posted now. Let's see if the players see what I didn't and if it makes a difference.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Stay.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Stay.

[JourneymanN00b]

I change my vote to stay in light of the new information.

[SGamerz]

So, continuing where we left off the last section:

...a few moments pass and then there is nothing left but a fine later of dust on the floor. Suddenly an icy wind blows up out of nowhere, penetrating through to your very bones. A faint light appears inside the sarcophagus, and an awe-inspiring figure forms within it: it is the Ghost of Khornu Wych. Roll two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your SKILL, turn to 214. If the total is greater than your SKILL, turn to 316.

Dice roll = 3 (Success).

As the Ghost emerges, you observe behind it the faint outline of a door in the sarcophagus, a secret opening that it must be trying to defend. At the moment, however, this is inaccessible since the Ghost is in the way. If you ever want to make a run for the secret door, add 20 to the number of the paragraph that you are reading at the time, then turn to the paragraph with that number. For now, turn to 316.

Handy!

If you have a silver weapon of some kind, turn to 111. Otherwise, turn to 163.

We only have the default weapon we started with, and none of them is said to be silver.

Normal weapons cannot touch the creature, let alone destroy it. Without a silver weapon you have no hope but to try to run back the way you came.

Do we think this is a good time to try for the secret door? Or do we wait till we turn to the next section?

[Beroli]

Make a run for the secret door. The next section explicitly holds us running away from it.

[JourneymanN00b]

Yeah, I say we go for the secret door, since it appears that we will not have a better chance to do so later on.

[SGamerz]

You are desperate now, for you have no way of defending yourself. You make a run for the secret door in the sarcophagus - but the Ghost still hasn't moved, so there is no room for you to squeeze past. A ghostly arm flails out and delivers a life-draining hit. On your Adventure Sheet, make a note that the Ghost has hit you once. You now have no choice but to try to run back the way you came in.

Oops, no, too early!

You turn away from the Ghost and run back to the door. You try the Sign of Summoning, but the door remains shut. From behind you, you hear the ghostly voice of Khornu Whych: "You do not think I would let you escape that easily, do you?" The Ghost floats out of its sarcophagus and begins to move towards you. Surely there must be some escape...surely...sur...

This would be a Game Over section for us if we hasn't passed the SKILL test earlier to spot the secret door. But now that the Ghost definitely moved out of the sarcophagus, this is our chance!

Now that the Ghost has moved out of its sarcophagus, you will be able to get through the secret door. As the Ghost approaches, you sett off; you swerve past it, leap into the sarcophagus and push at the door. It opens...and you step through into the small chamber beyond. Suddenly there is a rumbling sound and the ceiling begins to cave in. Luckily it is only in the area of the doorway - opening it must have weakened the age-old construction. However, when you looked around, you realized that you have not been as lucky as you thought, for there is no other exit from this chamber! If you have been hit by the Ghost, turn to 44. Otherwise, turn to 92.

Unfortunately, we did take a hit because we made our move too early...

A sudden subtle pain grips your body, and a great weakness afflicts your spirits; the touch of a Ghost can prove deadly. Your abilities as an adventurer and a warrior have been reduced; deduct points from your SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK scores as listed in the following table:

Basically, the table indicates that for every 1-2 times you are hit, the amount you lose for each stat increases. I'm listing in out in this format: <<NUMBER OF TIMES HIT>> --> <<SKILL lost/STAMINA lost/LUCK lost>>

1-2 --> 1/2/1
3-4 --> 2/4/2
5-6 --> 4/8/3
7-8 --> 7/14/4
9-10 --> 11/22/5
More than 10 --> Dead

If you survive this seizure, you will be relieved to learn that its effects are not permanent. Potions, Herbs and so on will all cure you in the normal way, restoring your life-force in the process. Now turn to 92 to find out what manner of place it is that you are trapped in.

Our stats are now at 10/13/9.

You have found Khorni Wych's secret treasure hoard. There isn't a vast amount, but what there is looks valuable and some of it may even be magical. At first you ignore the treasure and concentrate on searching for a way out. After a while, it becomes apparent that, if there is any hope of escape, it lies with one of the objects here. There are two goblets on a marble slab: one is made of silver and contains a thick black liquid, the other is golden and contains a deep red liquid. Above these, hanging on the wall, are a beautifully fashioned silver shield and a gold amulet. The shield has a smooth, shiny surface and the amulet as an engraving of a tall, powerful-looking humanoid with the head of an octopus. Will you:

Take the golden amulet?
Take the silver shield?
Drink from the silver goblet?
Drink from the golden goblet?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 10/11
STAMINA 13/15
LUCK 9/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Snapperfish Oil, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune
Arrows: 6
Bundles of Herbs: 5
Gold: 3 GP
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to take the silver shield.

[Queen of Swords]

Is there a second golden amulet in the secret hoard?

Take the silver shield and, if we get a second pick, drink from the golden goblet.

[Thaluikhain]

Silver stuff would seem to be useful in this setting, so take that.

Also, I like the mechanism of getting past the ghost like that.

[SGamerz]

Is there a second golden amulet in the secret hoard?

Yes, there is.

As you reach out for the shield, a wild, horrific screaming fills the cavern and you see a creature forming in its silvery metallic surface: it's a screaming, slashing woman with four arms and four heads. You smash your sword into the shield in an attempt to stop her getting through but only succeeding in denting it. Soon the form is complete and her long nails are slashing at you, barely missing your face, before you realize that she has materialized into the treasure chamber. If Istu is with you, multiply his number by 10, then turn to the paragraph with that number. Otherwise, you must fight the Mirror Demon. She is too close for you to use your bow, so you attack her with your sword.

MIRROR DEMON SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

If she wins an Attack Round, turn immediately to 6. If you defeat her, turn to 70.

We don't have anyone with us, so it's straight to combat.

Her stats don't look that threatening on paper, but she just needs to win 1 round to trigger a certain event. Do we want to use LUCK to increase damage output to lower the chance of that happening?

(Also, I realized I forgot to update the LUCK reduction after we used it in the first combat, so our LUCK is now at 8.)

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 10/11
STAMINA 13/15
LUCK 8/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Snapperfish Oil, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune
Arrows: 6
Bundles of Herbs: 5
Gold: 3 GP
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

Yes, I vote to use Luck to increase damage in this battle, as the Mirror Demon winning an Attack Round probably means death for Quincey Stridemoore.

[Thaluikhain]

Second using luck, but even if we use luck twice successfully to increase damage (and our luck isn't great), we still need 3 hits to flawlessly kill the monster. Still, try to use it to increase damage.

[Queen of Swords]

This is going to be a tough fight, so sure, use luck to increase damage.

[SGamerz]

COMBAT LOG:
Mirror Demon 13, Quincey Stridemoore 16. Luck test roll = 7 (Lucky). MD is at 6.
MD 13, QS 18. Luck test roll = 5 (Lucky). MD is at 2.
MD 15, QS 16. MD is defeated.

We made it without getting hit!

As your final blow hits the Mirror Demon, a network of cracks appears on her face and body. With an ear-splitting crash, she shatters into a million pieces of glass. The shield from which she emerged falls to the floor and shatters, revealing a narrow tunnel sloping upwards. As the noise of breaking glass dies down, another takes its place: a deep rumbling sound. Realizing that the whole place is beginning to break up, you clamber into the tunnel and set off on all fours for the surface. After a few metres, the tunnel ends at a stone slab in the ceiling. You push, but it won't budge. Then you remember the Sign of Summoning; you tap the slab three times with your sword and it slides open. All that stands between you and freedom are a few centimetres of soil and grass roots and you break through easily. As you drag yourself out on to the top of the mound, an icy wind springs up, and the ground begins to shake. You leap off the mount just as the entire crypt caves in. Khornu's tomb is sealed forever.

So, we found an exit, but choosing the shield first means that we get forced out after the fight and miss the chance to check out the other items in the tomb. If we ever had to rewind back to this point or earlier, we should probably leave the shield to the last!

It is the middle of the night. You are very tired and a little stiff from the cold, so you make camp at the base of the mound and settle down to sleep.

Later the next day (regain 1 STAMINA point and tick off the next day on your Adventure Sheet), you wake up, hardly refreshed at all. You have dreamt of Colrhyn, and now you are sure he is in some kind of danger, so you decide to travel north as quickly as possible. The Forest is as dark and as cold as ever but, as you march further north, the Giant Spider webs get fewer and further between. Towards the end of the day, you arrive at the second rope-bridge and set up a camp near by. The site is often used by traders and, even though the Forest is becoming darker, it still seems safe.

The morning arrives (regain 2 STAMINA points and tick off the next day on your Adventure Sheet), and you feel refreshed by your sleep on a soft bed of trampled ferns. This time you didn't dream - perhaps the dream of last night were just some sort of strange after-effect of Khornu's tomb, and not a true warning at all. Will you now continue along the trail or follow the river?

We're now on the 3rd day already! Time passes fast, but that also means that we have 6 extra chances to spend if we rewind beyond this point. STAMINA is back to full again.

Colrhyn was only briefly mentioned during the introduction, and the players up till this point haven't been told much about him other than the fact that he's apparently also a friend of the Forest like Quincy. And of course, his name (residence) is marked on the map too.

Which way do we go?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 10/11
STAMINA 15/15
LUCK 6/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Snapperfish Oil, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune, Golden Amulet
Arrows: 6
Bundles of Herbs: 5
Gold: 3 GP
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote will be to follow the river, as I have a feeling that some out of the way items that are necessary are there for our hero, if past adventures offer any hints.