[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure #17 - Barbarian Warrlord!

[Queen of Swords]

Zengis, I guess.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I also vote for the city of Zengis.

[SGamerz]

The strange eastern city of Zengis is capital of the barony of Kaypong and lies on the banks of the River Kok, near the looted ruins of the ancient city of Gar-Goldoran. If you have the Code word Overlord, turn to 138. If you have the Code word Slayer, turn to 123.

Zengis is at the centre of the great northern trade routes between Fang and Sardath, and its potentate, Baron Kognoy, has grown fat on taxing the profits of merchants. He has also become lazy. The walls of the city are in need of repairs, and the few patrols your horde sees (and avoids) are ill-disciplined and poorly equipped.

"It will be like chasing an old bull mammoth through heavy snow," whispers Nharog, after one guard patrol has passed by. "An easy slaughter!"

If you want to attack the city of Zengis, turn to 177. If you want to leave instead, turn to 141.

Does this make an attractive target to us?

[Thaluikhain]

The book wants us to think we should attack, and we don't have much else to do in this area, so attack.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to attack.

[Queen of Swords]

Thirded.

[SGamerz]

Realising the dilapidated state of their city’s defences, the army of Zengis rides out to fight with your horde on a field of battle before the walls. It is a bigger army than you were expecting, with token units of guards, militia and soldiers fleshed out with contingents of various mercenary brotherhoods, each bearing a different-coloured battle-flag, while armoured knights on barded white warhorses form the heavy cavalry.

"By the might of Gurrang, warriors charge!" you howl, raising your weapon to the sky. This will be an epic clash!

ZENGIS MERCENARIES HORDE STRIKE 8 HORDE STRENGTH 10

If you wish to Escape, you order the retreat and flee from the mercenaries; deduct 1 point of HONOUR and turn to 141. If the mercenaries reduce your HORDE STRENGTH to zero or less, turn to 13. Otherwise, after two Attack Rounds, turn to 125.

COMBAT LOG:
Zengis Mercenaries 14, Fire Axe 20. ZM is at 8.
ZM 18, FA 18. Tie.

There is a momentary lull in the battle and your command unit finds itself opposite that of Baron Kognoy himself, who is riding a roan charger and surrounded by Northmen bodyguards in chainmail.

"Barbarian scum!" screams Baron Kognoy, his beard flecked with spittle. ‘Now you die!"

So saying, he takes off a glove and hurls a single Gold Piece in your direction. By the time it hits the turf it has transformed into a mighty golden warrior, clad in blazing armour the colour of the sun and wielding a deadly razor-sharp two-handed sword. You face a GOLDEN SENTINEL and you
can only harm it if you have either at least 1 talent of Gold or a golden object in your possession.

GOLDEN SENTINEL SKILL 9 STAMINA 9

If you wish to Escape, especially if you do not possess any Gold, you sound the retreat and your horde flees; deduct 1 point of HONOUR and turn to 141. If the Sentinel reduces your STAMINA to zero or less, turn to 13. If you defeat the Sentinel, it transforms back into a single bent Gold Piece that is rapidly trampled underfoot as the battle resumes; turn to 168.

Zengis doesn't have any (in)famous local NPCs in established FF lore, so instead we're thrown a random monster from the bestiary books for the chieftain's single combat. I guess we can count ourselves lucky that we're not pitted against the Big Belly Man that throws custard pies at us. Or against the Livingstone's alias who runs Helen's House.

According to the established lore in Out of the Pit, sentinels can only be harmed by opponents in direct contact with the same material they are created from (hence the Gold check), although logically that should mean our thrown hammer before the combat shouldn't be effective. But the text here doesn't actually say we have to be touching the gold, only that we need to have some, so in the absence of direct ruling from the text against it, I assume our magic flying hammer still does its work, and the sentinel starts the fight with its STAMINA already reduced to 7 (due to us atuo-succeeding with our SKILL test in the pre-fight hammer throw).

COMBAT LOG:
Gold Sentinel 16, Grom 23. GS is at 5.
GS 19, Grom 19. Tie.
GS 14, Grom 18. GS is at 3.
GS 15, Grom 21. GS is at 1.
GS 15, Grom 20. GS is defeated.

Add 1 point to your HONOUR score for your victory over the Golden Sentinel.

Once again the rival forces clash together before the walls of Zengis; their mercenaries versus your Barbarian horde! Axe strikes shield, sword bites flesh, the dirt underfoot is torn up and soaked with blood. Who will triumph?

ZENGIS MERCENARIES HORDE STRIKE 8 HORDE STRENGTH as before

The HORDE STRENGTH score of the mercenaries is the same as it was after the two Attack Rounds you fought against them. If you wish to Escape, you order the retreat and flee from the mercenaries; deduct 1 point of HONOUR and turn to 141. If the mercenaries reduce your HORDE STRENGTH to zero or less, turn to 13. If you defeat the mercenaries, turn to 144.

COMBAT LOG:
Zengis Mercenaries 14, Fire Axe 23. ZM is at 6.
ZM 12, FA 18. ZM is at 4.
ZM 11, FA 17. ZM is at 2.
ZM 18, FA 19. ZM is at 0.

Again, another victory with negligible losses, if any!

You have defeated the mercenary army of Zengis! Add 1 point to your HONOUR score for your victory. Those hire-swords who were not slain in
battle flee instead to all points of the compass, not willing to incur your wrath any further. The mutilated corpse of Baron Kognoy is found some distance from the battle, along with the bodies of several Northmen and a few strangely bent gold coins.

"Looks like his own bodyguards turned on him in the end," says Nharog thoughtfully. "An unsurprising fate for those who would place their faith in the treacherous dogs of war."

If you have at least 2 points of HORDE STRENGTH and wish to occupy the city of Zengis, turn to 165. If you wish to raze it to the ground, turn to 187.

Do we want another garrison, or should we destroy this one?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Grom the Dark
Tribe: Fire Axe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 8/17
LUCK 8/11
HORDE STRIKE: 12/12
HORDE STRENGTH: 12/19
HONOUR: 9
Equipment: Sword, King Gilibran's Warhammer (+1 Attack Strength, can be thrown before combat for 2 STAMINA damage if SKILL test is passed), Diamond
Gold: 7 talents
Codewords: Trollslayer, Dwarfslayer, Ravager
Blessings:
Doman:
1) City: Stonebridge / Garrison Strength: 5
Notes:
[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

I vote to occupy.

(Maybe we glued a gold coin to the hammer before throwing it, if we've got several talents around)

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to set up another garrison and rest.

[SGamerz]

Zengis is yours! You will have to garrison it, however. Write the name ‘Zengis’ in an empty City slot on the Your Domain box of your Adventure Sheet. Next, deduct a minimum of 1 point and a maximum of 5 points from your HORDE STRENGTH score and add it to the city’s GARRISON STRENGTH box. Note that you cannot reduce your own HORDE STRENGTH to zero or less. Zengis is now garrisoned with your own troops. Also, write the Code word Overlord in the Code words box on your Adventure Sheet. Turn to 108.

Again, we're supposed to decide how many HORDE STRENGTH to station here, but I'd proceed with the next section, since we can still change it there.

You are the overlord of Zengis and have taken up residence in the rebuilt palace of the former ruler Baron Kognoy. You can rest and recuperate here: roll a die and restore this many points to your current STAMINA score. Remember, though, that you cannot exceed your Initial score.

You can also collect taxes on the merchant traffic that passes through the town on the way to Fang in the west and Sardath in the east. Add 3 talents to the Gold box on your Adventure Sheet.

If you want to increase the size of your garrison, deduct a minimum of 1 point from your HORDE STRENGTH score and add it to the city’s GARRISON STRENGTH box. If you want to decrease the size of your garrison, deduct a minimum of 1 point from the city’s GARRISON STRENGTH score and add it to your HORDE STRENGTH box. Remember, the GARRISON STRENGTH and HORDE STRENGTH must both have a score of at least 1 point each, and that GARRISON STRENGTH can only have a maximum score of 5.

What do you wish to do now?

If you want to visit the Overpriest, turn to 163.
If you wish to leave Zengis, turn to 141.
If you wish to sack the city, cross the Code word Overlord off from the Code words box on your Adventure Sheet. Reduce the GARRISON STRENGTH to zero (and add these points to your HORDE STRENGTH), and turn to 187.

Die roll = 3. STMAINA is now at 11.

Zengis has less interesting places to visit than Stonebridge, but it does bring more taxes per visit. Our gold is now at 10.

We still have the option of razing the place while we're still here (and thus save the trouble of leaving troops here). If the design here is similar to Stonebridge, then if we visit the Overpriest, we'd probably be sent out of the city right after that, so in that case we'd need to decide how much troops to assign here.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Grom the Dark
Tribe: Fire Axe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 11/17
LUCK 8/11
HORDE STRIKE: 12/12
HORDE STRENGTH: 12/19
HONOUR: 9
Equipment: Sword, King Gilibran's Warhammer (+1 Attack Strength, can be thrown before combat for 2 STAMINA damage if SKILL test is passed), Diamond
Gold: 10 talents
Codewords: Trollslayer, Dwarfslayer, Ravager
Blessings:
Doman:
1) City: Stonebridge / Garrison Strength: 5
Notes:
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

Going to vote to set the garrison to 5 Horde Strength and visit the Overpriest.

[Thaluikhain]

Second that.

[SGamerz]

We leave the maximum amount of troops that can be stationed here. Note that our HORDE STRENGTH is now at 7/19.

The Overpriest (or priestess) of Zengis is a supreme spiritual adviser who intercedes with the gods of the Hall of Mind on behalf of the city’s inhabitants. The Overpriest’s Temple contains shrines to all the higher gods and goddesses, but is specifically dedicated to Sindla, the Goddess of Luck.

It will cost 2 talents of Gold to make an offering to the Luck Goddess. Making an offering gives you the ‘Luck’ blessing. If you do this, cross the Gold off your Adventure Sheet and write ‘Luck’ in the Blessings box.

The ‘Luck’ blessing works by allowing you to deduct 1 from the dice roll when you are required to Test your Luck. When you use the ‘Luck’ blessing, cross it off your Adventure Sheet. You can have only one ‘Luck’ blessing at a time. Once it is used up, you will need to return to the Overpriest’s Temple to obtain a new one.

When you have finished here, you leave the city. Turn to 141.

The adventure's sandbox structure is somewhat similar to the Fabled Lands series, and this blessing mechanism also seems to be similar. There are no ticked boxes on this section, so we can always come back to buy another blessing (after we've used up the one we have), as long as we hold on to this garrison and have enough gold.

Let me know whether we spend the gold to buy the blessing or not. Either way, we leave the city after this.

You and your horde are leaving Zengis and the eastern Allansian province of Kaypong. Its willow-clad riverbanks and bamboo-shrouded foothills are picturesque, but perhaps too peaceful. Could greater glory lie elsewhere?

"Look lively, lads!’ says Nharog. "Heads high and axes low!"

Where will your horde venture next?

If you want to go east to the Flatlands, turn to 10.
If you want to go south into the Moonstone Hills, turn to 100.
If you want to go southwest to Firetop Mountain, turn to 30.
If you want to go west to the city of Fang, turn to 70.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Grom the Dark
Tribe: Fire Axe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 11/17
LUCK 8/11
HORDE STRIKE: 12/12
HORDE STRENGTH: 7/19
HONOUR: 9
Equipment: Sword, King Gilibran's Warhammer (+1 Attack Strength, can be thrown before combat for 2 STAMINA damage if SKILL test is passed), Diamond
Gold: 10 talents
Codewords: Trollslayer, Dwarfslayer, Ravager
Blessings:
Doman:
1) City: Stonebridge / Garrison Strength: 5
2) City: Zengis / Garrison Strength: 5
Notes:
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to buy the 'Luck' blessing, and to go to the Moonstone Hills and then Chalice.

[Thaluikhain]

I guess we buy the blessing, but I don't think it's worth having 5 lots of troops to defend the place just so we can get that.

[SGamerz]

I guess we buy the blessing, but I don't think it's worth having 5 lots of troops to defend the place just so we can get that.

Too late to change that right now, but you can vote to remove some troops (or all, if you raze the city instead) the next time we come back.

Back to the Moonstone Hills...

The Moonstone Hills are a series of rugged uplands in central Allansia, cut through with deep river-valleys, whose grassy hilltops are occasionally surmounted with patches of tangled woodland. If you have the Code word Trollslayer, turn to 115. If not, read on below.

The hills are home to all manner of dangerous monsters, but creatures more prone to menacing lone travellers than your Barbarian horde. Except Hill Trolls. These savage brutes resent any intrusion into their territory, including you and your forces. Word of your incursion travels rapidly through the dales, and the response of the Hill Trolls is swift and aggressive.

“To arms! To arms!” howls Nharog as your forces crest a low hill and see a bristling host of heavily armed Troll warriors before you. Turn to 173.

We've defeated the local top dogs, so what's left?

Since you defeated the Hill Troll army of King Nurm, the Moonstone Hills have seen the rise of numerous small tribes of Wild Hill Men, Goblins and Orcs, but nothing that dares threaten your horde as it travels through these lonely dales. Well, not directly…

Roll two dice and Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you make it through the hills unscathed. If you are Unlucky, some of your scouts are picked off by monsters and hostile savages, and you must reduce your HORDE STRENGTH score by 1 point.

You know, however, that there are few special places here that may be of interest to visit.

If you want to seek out the Healer, turn to 180.
If you want to head for the Lost Lake, turn to 60.
If you want to leave the Moonstone Hills, turn 91.

Yes, as you can see, even places where we can't set up a garrison may well be worth revisiting, as they may still unlock previously unavailable locations.

But first, there's the matter of the Luck test. In this case, we're already told that the penalty of being Unlucky is to lose a HORDE STRENGTH. Do we think it's worth spending our new blessing here to reduce the chance of that?

(Of course, please also vote on where you wish to visit as well.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote not to use the blessing here, and to go seek out the Healer.

[SGamerz]

Dice roll = 5 (Lucky)

If you have both or either of the Code words Destroyer and Reaver, the Healer refuses to see you and no matter how hard you search the hills you cannot find him; turn to 91. If you don’t have either of these Code words, read on below.

The Healer is a reclusive and disfigured hermit who dwells in a cave in the Moonstone Hills, marked by the stone carving of a phoenix. He treats (almost) anyone’s illnesses regardless of alignment or disposition, using strange southern magic involving the wearing of mystical masks. While your horde waits further down the valley, you ascend to the Healer’s cave and present yourself for treatment.

The Healer will restore your STAMINA to its Initial score for the payment of 1 Gold talent. He can also restore any lost SKILL points, but this ritual is expensive and costs 2 Gold talents per 1 point of restored SKILL. Note that neither your SKILL nor STAMINA can exceed their Initial scores. Once you have finished here, and made the necessary adjustments to your scores and Gold box on your Adventure Sheet, you can:

Inquire about the Sword of Kull if you have it. Turn to 133.
Or you can leave this place. Turn to 91.

We don't have the Sword of Kull, so the only thing for us to do is to pay for a full STAMINA restore. Please let me know whether you wish to do so.

Either way, we leave after this:

Your horde descends from the Moonstone Hills back into the lowlands, and you are not sorry to be leaving their weird monster-haunted heights behind. All too often you felt that you were being watched by unseen eyes and unknown entities, waiting for any slight mistake or weakening of resolve in order to pounce and strike.

"All Allansia lies before us, chief," says Nharog, indicating with a sweep of his hand a broad expanse of territory dotted with walled cities, tangled forests and other landmarks.

Where will you take your horde?

If you want to go north to the city of Zengis, turn to 150.
If you want to go east to the Flatlands, turn to 10.
If you want to go south to Trolltooth Pass, turn to 50.
If you want to go northwest to Firetop Mountain, turn to 30.
If you want to go west to Darkwood Forest, turn to 160.
If you want to go southwest to the Forest of Spiders, turn to 170.
If you want to pay a visit to the nearby town of Chalice, turn to 120.

I just want to note that heading east back to the Flatlands does NOT mean "give up the campaign and go home". The campaign will still continue, and it's as legit an option as any other.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to restore our hero's stamina, and to check out the Flatlands to see what it has to offer.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, Flatlands.

[Thaluikhain]

May as well.

[SGamerz]

"As wide as the Flatlands!" is what an Allansian would say to denote a vast distance, and this certainly applies to these grassy steppes that stretch from the Moonstone Hills in the west all the way to the Sea of Pearls in the far east. Here in the western part of the Flatlands, the monotony of the savannah is broken only by the occasional T’annum Tree, rocky outcrop, or the tents of a camp of nomadic Barbarians, like the ones of your Tribe, which is where you are now.

"Chieftain," says Druzgar the Shaman, acknowledging your entrance with upraised palms. "You have returned."

"It is time for the Testing," says Nharog quietly by your side.

As always, when a horde returns to the Tribe, the honour of the horde and its chieftain must be measured to see if they are still worthy.

Druzgar squats on a bare patch of earth and scatters ancient rune-inscribed pieces of bone onto the dirt, stooping to discern their meaning. Collectively, the people of the Tribe draw in their breath and hold it for a moment.

Roll two dice and Test your Honour. If you are Honourable, you are welcomed back as heroes; turn to 5. If you are Dishonourable, Druzgar shakes his head sadly; turn to 16.

So, this is a place we'd shouldn't come back to too early, since we started with low Honour, but we've built up quite a bit of that now...

Dice roll = 7. We're considered Honourable!

Unlike the nomadic horse-riders of the deep prairie, the camp of your Tribe is semi-permanent, consisting of large yurts that can be folded down and carried by horse or ox-cart, and stone barns that can house herd animals for months on end. It is bustling with the daily rhythm of tribal life. Hunters return from the wild with deer and antelope carcasses, older folk stitch skins together or craft clay pottery, and everywhere there are children playing in the dust.

"The Tribe is one," says Druzgar the Shaman, appearing suddenly by your side.

"And one is the Tribe!" you reply, in the time-honoured catechism.

What do you want to do now?

If you want to recruit more warriors for your horde, turn to 25.
If you want to visit the Shrines, turn to 18.
If you want to rest and perhaps train your warriors, turn to 32.
If you want to leave the Flatlands, turn to 1.

What do we do here before we return to our campaign?

[Thaluikhain]

Ooh, useful...I vote to recruit more warriors, our horde strength could be better.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to recruit more warriors, and also to visit the Shrines if our hero is able to do so next.

[Queen of Swords]

Warriors and shrine sound good.