Let's play-Tunnels and Trolls: Amulet of the Salkti

Stories about games that you run and/or have played in.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Let's play-Tunnels and Trolls: Amulet of the Salkti

Post by Thaluikhain »

As this gamebook had overwhelming support in the other thread (an entire 100% of angels form other pins voted for this) I'll be doing Amulet of the Salkti.

Firstly, creating a character:
This is normally done by rolling 3d6 and adding them together, but a first level character doesn't tend to do well in this book, so I'll be rolling 3d6 a few times and taking the highest result.

So
Str 14 int 16 luck 14 Con 16 dex 14 cha 15 speed 14

(Took quite a bit of rolling to get even that good)

For there we go to the Peters-McAllister Chart for Creating Man-Like Creatures:

Elf int, dex, cha x2. con x 2/3
Dwarf str and con x 2. cha x 2/3
troll str and con x3. But some people don't like trolls.

As there's no point in the book that I can remember where you run into troll-haters, I'd tend to suggest the troll.

From there we choose if the character should be a warrior or a wizard. A warrior gets double the effect from armour, and wizards are limited in what weapons they can use.

The book recommends a warrior for the first try, and I'd agree, as it's a lot simpler and the level one spells tend to be a bit rubbish.
Combat:
Every weapon has "Dice + Adds", for example a trident has 4d+3. You roll the dice for your weapon/s (can use one in each hand), add the adds and then add your personal adds. This is 1 for every point your Str, Luck or Dex are higher than 12 (subtract 1 for every point less than 9). That's your attack hit point total. So if our character was a human warrior with a trident, they'd get 4d6 +3 + 6 for their stats.

The enemy does the same, and the one with the lowest takes the difference in damage (either to Con or MR) minus their armour (or twice armour for warriors).

Some monsters just have a monster rating (MR) instead of adventurer type stats, they roll their MR/10 (round up) + half their MR. So a MR of 16 is 2d6 +8. If the attacker got 21 and the monster got 13, the monster would go down to 8, and be 1d6+4 next round.

I personally like the idea of monsters getting weaker as they take damage, and once you worked out how your first attack goes, it'll be the same until your stats or weapon changes no matter what you fight, which is nice and simple.

I'd also note that since you can fight with a weapon in both hands, using spare hand for a shield that stops 4 points of damage isn't any better than using it for a weapon that does 4 points of damage, at least in combat
Rolling for gold: 150 gp
However, what race and type of character is chosen affects what weapons can be used, so I'll list them once that's been chosen. Basically, wizards can't use any weapon with more than 2 dice (so a 3d+1 spear is out, but not a 2d+5 dagger), and some weapons have a str and/or dex requirement that our character might not have, depending on race.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Wait, if I'm reading this right, as a troll we get a Str of 42 and a Con of 48? If so, take that, be a fighter, pick up the biggest weapon we can, and hulk our way through everything.

If I'm reading it wrong, still be a troll because I can't think of any other gamebook that would let you do that.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Ordinarily, I'd feel like cheesing our kindred is overkill when we've already cheesed our stats so hard. But these books have a reputation for cranking difficulty in the name of 'replayability,' so yeah, trollin' it.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Ok, assuming a troll warrior then that's:
Str 42 int 16 luck 14 Con 48 dex 14 cha 15 speed 14

A character can carry 100x their STr, so 4200 in this case.

Weapons:
There are STr and DEX requirements for weapons, so I've not listed ones that can't be used by this character (there weren't many in any case). There isn't any restriction on using two weapons, so a broadsword and shortsword (combined 6d+4) for 105 gold weighing 150 seems always better than a double bitted axe, for 6d+3 140 gold weighing 220. Also, evidently dirks, tridents and common spears can be thrown.

Weapons Dice+Adds Cost Weight Range
Broadsword 3+4 70 120
Shortsword 3+0 35 30
Falchion 4+4 75 110
Scimitar 4+0 60 100
Rapier 3+4 80 20
*Double-bitted Axe 6+3 140 220
*Heavy Mace 5+2 120 200
Bludgeon 3+0 15 50
*Quarterstaff 2+0 10 50
Baton 2+0 10 20
Trident 4+3 60 75 10 yds
Common Spear 3+1 22 50 40 yds
Sax (dagger) 2+5 30 25
Haladie (dagger) 2+4 25 10
Dirk 2+1 18 16 10 yds
*Crossbow 5+0 250 180 100 yds

Sheaf of 24 arrows cost 40 weight 10
curare (double effectiveness of edged weapon before rolling, one use last for 3 rounds), 3 uses for 100 gold, weight 1
Armour:
Also with Str requirements, but none that worry this character
Hits taken Cost weight
Complete mail 11 300 1200
complete leather 5 50 200
arming doublet 3 40 75
steel cap 1 10 65
target shield 4 35 300

The doublet and cap are for people who can't afford complete sets of armour
There's also a list of general supplies such as clothes, rope, food etc. I think I'll skip this and assume they have the lot as, IIRC, it doesn't actually come up in this adventure, barring possibly once in a minor way.

Introduction:
Time are getting worse in Freegore. Orcs have been raiding the city at an alarming rate; the raiding parties have grown larger and the raids seem to be increasing in frequency. People have spotted strange clouds of smoke off in the distance, first at sea, now near the city. The city's leaders have been keeping their knowledge secret to prevent panic, but rumours abound and most of the city's production has turned to weapons and other wartime items.
One day you are summoned into Freegore's capital building. Yo are led into a small room where Jefber, the leader of the city, enters and begins to speak.
'What I am about to tell you is confidential. The people will have to know eventually, but for now I want to keep this information secret. First, i need to backtrack and tell you the origins of the city. Freegore was founded on the outskirts of the old Salkti ruins. The Salkti were a proud people who, although they lived above ground, kept most of the magic underground. One day, one of the Salkti accidentally summoned a demon of great power. This creature was so powerful that it destroyed the Salkti and was named Sxelba.'
Sxelba. As a child you heard legends of this demon. It is said that Sxelba was almost as powerful as the dreaded Wsorey, the most powerful and evil of the demons.
'Anyway, as the Salkti were being killed in droves by Sxelba and his followers, many of the Salkti tried to flee while others worked on an amulet. Finally, the amulet was almost finished when the demon found the amulet-makers and attacked them. Although unable to use the amulet to its full potential, the Salktians were able to banish Sxelba for at least 200 years.
'That was about 300 years ago. What has happened to the amulet is unknown, but we do know that Sxelba has returned. He re-emerged on the island of Esdurt and developed a rapidly growing cult of worshipers, many of whom are orcs. Eventually, he amassed a huge army and now is headed towards our city. On the way, he ransacked the Island of Kelsa, causing mass starvation, and it is sid that he has done strange things with the volcano island of Valeat. He has set up camp on the continent and will attack soon. Our only hope is to recover the amulet.
'If we fail, the next town to fall will be Alcen, ruled by Count Kalstain, and nobody knows what will happen after that. You must help us. Enter the ruins and find the amulet. It may not be there, but we must try. Sxelba's demons have wrecked all our ships. To help you, we will cast spells so you will not need food or drink for several weeks. Also, we will teach you the word of recall Krepmn, but you may only use it once. It will teleport you back to this city.
Then you have options to enter the ruins, tell them you will help and run away or go get another character. I'm going to guess you enter the ruins.

107
You stand at the entrance to the underground portion of the Salkti ruins. It is a small, rubble-covered staircase leading into the ground. Right next to you is a tall, leafy tree with several branches. There seems to be some activity going on in the tree. You may climb the tree or enter the ruins.
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

IIRC they eventually established that dual-wielding required meeting the combined stat requirements of both weapons, which put a bit of a damper on that. But that was a later edition than we're playing.

Anyway, our personal adds are going to be through the roof thanks to troll-strength, so I think we should prioritize armor as insurance against traps and such. Like, complete leather, then a sax and two common spears for ranged ability. 50+30+22+22=124, leaves 26 for pocket money.

edit: Then climb tree.
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Tue Oct 11, 2016 4:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Ok, it seems fairly safe to guess that people would want to climb the tree, but I'll wait a bit to see if anyone else has ideas foe equipment.

Oh, and a name for him/her, I guess.

141
It was difficult, but you managed to get up. Less than three feet away from you is a rather large snake eating some brightly coloured eggs from a bird's nest. You can tell it sees you because it has eyes on the side of its head and they're obviously focused on you, but it keeps on eating the eggs.

There's options to climb down and leave it to its meal or attack it. Alternatively, there's the option for waiting, but that requires a lvl1 saving throw on Int (roll higher than 20-Int on two dice, less than 5 always fails, in case of a doubles roll again and add the results, keep rolling if they are more doubles). There's two different sections to go to depending on the result.
Oh, as an aside, missile weapons work based on saving throws the same way, using Dex not Int, and the number you subtract Dex from depends on range and target size. You count your personal adds for Dex twice when calculating damage. Though should be called "test your Dex" rather than "save vs missing" or something.
User avatar
Judging__Eagle
Prince
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Location: Lake Ontario is in my backyard; Canada

Post by Judging__Eagle »

Does the snake's "eyes" on the side of its head mean that it has more than 2 eyes; or that it's 2 eyes are looking at us?

In that case, the snek seems like it's the NPC we're able to befriend.

If not, attack the snek; maybe a magic birb will reward us for protecting its eggs? At the very least, its likely good karma to protect wild unhatched birds.

Unless of course, these specific eggs are those of some pest/monster bird.
The Gaming Den; where Mathematics are rigorously applied to Mythology.

While everyone's Philosophy is not in accord, that doesn't mean we're not on board.
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I propose Rick Troll for our name, and also that we take the save for waiting.
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3680
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

I'd be inclined to instead name the troll Eduard Khil.

I'd also take the save since we're past the cap of how good at level 1 int saves we can be if the TN is (max of 5 and (20 minus 16)).
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath, Justin Bieber, shitmuffin
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Ok, looks like waiting and rolling.

2d=8, a pass.
You're smart enough to realise the snake isn't going to stay passive very much longer. Prepare to fight.
The snake is not surprised and is ready to fight. It has a MR of 48. However, each turn you must make a lvl save on luck (20 -luck) to avoid falling out of the tree and smashing your skull on the rocks below.
Str 42 int 16 luck 14 Con 48 dex 14 cha 15 speed 14

Thats +34
Assuming spear and dagger were chosen (the other spear can do more damage, but the dagger is better on average so I'm assuming that, tell me if you think it should be both spears) 5d +6
Roll for luck: 1 and 2. Instant death. Ok, assume that was a pass.

5d=20 +40=60
Snake5d=13 +24 =37
snake takes 23, is on 25

roll for luck: 11. Pass

5d=20(again) + 40=60
snake 3d=14+13 =27
snake takes 33 and dies
13
The snake's body begins to stiffen and the head seems to widen and split. You realise this would make a great grappling hook. You may also collect the four remaining eggs. To use/eat them, go to 90. You see the hordes entering the city and realise there is no turning back. Enter the dungeon by going to 65.
Assuming they eggs are taken, but not used at the moment:

65
As you enter the underground ruins, you get a very uneasy feeling. You walk about 150 steps and find yourself in a small square room. On one side you see a corpse. You would search further but the two skeletons standing like guards on the other side of the room have suddenly come to life. they each have a MR of 26. They are immune to poison and blunt edged weapons do half damage. However blunt weapons do double damage.

EDIT: Forgot about the half damage thing, try again:
5d=15 +40 =55
6d=20 +26 =48
skels take 4 mr 26 and 22

5d=22 +40 =62
6d=21 +24=45
skels take 8 mr 26 and 14

5d=22 +40 =62
5d=222 +20 =41
skels take 11 mr 26 and 3

5d=15 +40 =55
4d=15 +15=30
skels take 8 (the rules don't say anything about damage carrying over or not so I'm assuming it does) mr 21

5d=20 +40 =60
3d=6 +11=17
skels take 17 mr 0
118
A further search of the room reveals the corpse had a small pouch containing 50gp. Also, right before the person died he wrote "GORBY" in blood on the wall. You have no idea what it means, but it must have some importance. You may climb back up the stairs in the hope of leaving the adventure, or may leave the room by the south exit
24
There is a slight earthquake, and part of the ceiling collapses, blocking off the entrance room. From now on, every turn you spend resting, roll one die. If the result is one, go to the Random Encounter Table 1 and face the encounter. You are now in an east-west passageway. to the east, you see a door. To the west, the passage bends.
Last edited by Thaluikhain on Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Judging__Eagle
Prince
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Location: Lake Ontario is in my backyard; Canada

Post by Judging__Eagle »

Wait. Wait. Blunts do half damage; and double damage to skeleton guards?

Do one of the skeletons ribcages seem like an excellent improvised xylophone we could loot? Perhaps a femur could be fashioned into a flute to warn enemies of our sustainable adventuring intent.

Sorry, but "snek == grapple hook" just seems like something I'd expect from watching a Looney Tunes interpretation of fantasy adventuring; not from an actual fantasy adventure.

I say... go West, b/c it's (supposedly) to our left; and good only goes right. Hopefully we'll find some more evil to spear & dagger into more... adventuring equipment?
The Gaming Den; where Mathematics are rigorously applied to Mythology.

While everyone's Philosophy is not in accord, that doesn't mean we're not on board.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Judging__Eagle wrote:Wait. Wait. Blunts do half damage; and double damage to skeleton guards?
Mea culpa, I'll fix that.
Judging__Eagle wrote:Sorry, but "snek == grapple hook" just seems like something I'd expect from watching a Looney Tunes interpretation of fantasy adventuring; not from an actual fantasy adventure.
Oh sure. IIRC, it's by far the stupidest thing in the book. There's lots of weird stuff, but most of them makes gamebook sense. Or even actual sense. Having the very first thing be the stupidest isn't a great idea either.

Also, my knowledge of snake related pop culture more modern than badgers only includes Taylor Swift fighting with Kim Kardashian, and i can't think of a witty reference using that.
Str 42 int 16 luck 14 Con 48 dex 14 cha 15 speed 14 +34 personal adds

Spear 3d+1, spear 3d+1, dagger 2d+5
complete leather armour

76gp

grappling snake. 4 eggs (p90)
Last edited by Thaluikhain on Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

The snake thing is goofy, but T&T was always intended to be a deliberately low comedy cousin to D&D. I am actually surprised that's the doofiest thing in the adventure.

Also, wait, fall out of tree = instant death? What the fuck? I guess that's what you get when your game has no standardized rules for falling damage.

Are there any benefits for resting that would make us consider taking the random encounters?

Anyway, go west.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

angelfromanotherpin wrote:The snake thing is goofy, but T&T was always intended to be a deliberately low comedy cousin to D&D. I am actually surprised that's the doofiest thing in the adventure.
There's other somewhat goofy stuff, but it makes more sense in context.
angelfromanotherpin wrote:Are there any benefits for resting that would make us consider taking the random encounters?
A wizard character uses Str to cast spells, that is, each spell temporarily reduces Str, they get one back per new paragraph, resting will regain it faster. A nice idea, but probably a pain to keep track of.

Ok, so looks like going west.

93
You are at a bend in the passage. Roll to see if a random encounter happens. (1, it does)

3. Magical disturbance. There is a great magical disturbance here caused by Sxelba many years ago. if you do not know any spells, it does not affect you.

(Otherwise it's a saving throw for each spell or lose it until it's relearnt somehow, which would be annoying for wizards.)

Can go east or south.
East being the way back to 24, so I'm guessing south. Also, this is a bit of a wasted section.

81
You are in a north-south corridor. To the west is a door with some writing on it. All you can make out is something like "Warning (smear) only". You can enter the room, go north or continue south.
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Enter!
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Image

I think we should name our character The Mulk, if we're still looking for names.

Also, enter.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Omegonthesane
Prince
Posts: 3680
Joined: Sat Sep 26, 2009 3:55 pm

Post by Omegonthesane »

Penetrate the new chamber.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath, Justin Bieber, shitmuffin
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

A few names have been suggested, but I was waiting for a consensus.

134
Image

The minute you enter the room, an eerie green light shines on you and then disappears. The room is small and square-shaped, with a circular altar in the middle. Prominently displayed is an amulet.
Can take the amulet, or go back out again.
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Leave. It's far too early to find the actual quest object, therefore this is a trap.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Agreed.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
User avatar
OgreBattle
King
Posts: 6820
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:33 am

Post by OgreBattle »

I vote for the name Wario
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

I'm not familiar with this series. If this were FF I'd have taken the "explore everything even if it's probably a trap" route, but this isn't, so I'll just follow the lead of the other players who seem to know this better than I do.

Leave.
Last edited by SGamerz on Thu Oct 13, 2016 12:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Ah, exact wording was "try to leave".

151
Sorry, a wall of force has just appeared. Return to the paragraph you came from and try not to be such a coward.
Yeah, the book is getting judgemental. And wasting sections.
As you proceed, you hear a loud noise from above. Looking at the ceiling, you see a trap-door opening and some sort of liquid being poured out of a vat onto you. Yo have just a second yo get out of the way. Make a L2-SR on the average of your Lk and DEX 925-(LK+DEX)/2)
2d=7 fail
The liquid was molten lave. If you do not have a helmet, just the few drops that hit your head were enough to burn through your skull and do fatal brain damage. If you have a helmet, take the number you missed the saving roll by and multiply by 20. This is the damage you must take.
So, killed by another saving throw. Assuming we had passed:
That nearly killed you! You may begin to climb the altar by going to 135, or you may try to leave the room by going to 151.
Get called a coward again if you don't like lava being dropped on your head.
As you climb up the steps, you get a better view of the altar. It is made of stone and has a multi-coloured circular pattern in the centre that begins to spin. Make a L2-SR on Int (25-Int)
Rolled 9. Pass.
The spinning made you a little dizzy, but you managed to keep your balance. You may proceed up the altar by going to 190, or you may try to leave the room by going to 151.
The step you are on collapses and your foot falls through a into a hollow chamber; hollow, that is, except for several snakes spiders, and scorpions.
L2-SR on dex this time

6 Fail.
Something bit you. it's of no matter what it was, what's important is that it injected deadly poison into you. Unless you are immune to poison, you will lose one point of CON every paragraph until cured. Go to 70 and ignore the first sentence.
Possibly surviveable, but I think I'll ignore that and go to 70.
You managed to pull your foot out before something bit you. You may proceed by going to 172, or you may try to leave the room by going to 151.
You finally reach the altar itself. As you reach for the amulet, three mechanical doors in the altar open. Out of two, mechanical hands come out and grab the hand you were reaching for the amulet with. They then try to pull it down and impale it on the spike which came out of the third door. Make a L3-SR on ST (30-STR)
42 str, so this one should be...rolled 3. Actually failed that one. :sad:
You weren't strong enough. The spike was poisoned and you die.
Ok, assuming that that was a pass.
You break free! A green light similar to that which you saw when you entered now fills the room. You hear a loud but distant voice which sounds as if the speaker had been dead hundreds of years.
"Stranger. you have passed our tests. We have decided to let you take the amulet. Our time has passed. While the amulet may not defeat Sxelba, our destroyer, it is the key to a nearby power. Use it for good and to help send Sxelba back to the proper dimension where we can handle him. Good luck."
You may now leave the room. As you leave, the door turns to iron and seals itself. You may head south or north.
Was going south before all this, assuming that hasn't changed:
You have come to the end of the corridor. It is a dead end except for what looks like a carving dug into the south wall. You may head back north or try an item or spell. For every unsuccessful attempt a random encounter happens on a roll of 1, 2 or 3.
I like how it doesn't give you a selection of items you can choose, you choose of, check the matrix later in the book, and see if it works. Though, I'd imagine it'd be hard to not see the right one while doing that.

Several saving throws to avoid dying in a row I like not so much.
User avatar
angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
Posts: 9745
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Wow, it's really rare to see such a conglomeration of terrible design all in one place. Stupid, insulting, railroading bullshit, topped off with a conga-line of save-or-dies so the iterative probability of even a cheesed out character surviving is minimal. It's making fun of the very idea that player choices matter.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

angelfromanotherpin wrote:Wow, it's really rare to see such a conglomeration of terrible design all in one place. Stupid, insulting, railroading bullshit, topped off with a conga-line of save-or-dies so the iterative probability of even a cheesed out character surviving is minimal. It's making fun of the very idea that player choices matter.
Not to mention, rolling less than a 5 is always a fail. Though, doubles let you roll again, so it's 1 in 9 chance of failing.
Post Reply