[LP] Lesser-Known Gamebooks: One Thing After Another

[angelfromanotherpin]

So, I mentioned this one a while back, but it sort of dropped off my to-do list. And then Spectral Stalkers happened, and I realized it was too good a thematic link not to make. You like serial dimension-hopping? Oh, man.

Intro:

I don't think the Thing is too many people's actual favorite, but he's not bad.

There really are a lot of endings...

Aww, yeah, FASERIP. Sort of. No actual color-coded percentile tables.

Okay, FASERIPP.

Character sheet/bookmark combo. Actually a pretty neat idea.

Someone's at home to Mr. Grumpy.

The limousine glides quietly towards 4 Freedoms Plaza, your home, headquarters of the Fantastic Four.

Sure was nice of the mayor to drive us home from the reception tonight, you think. Since he hadta go an' bore us all evenin' with speeches about what great joes we all are, it's the least he could do, though.

Your reverie is interrupted by the voice of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, a teammate and longtime friend: "Hey buddy, how about a game of pool in the rec room when we get home?"

"What's'at, Torchie?"

"I asked if you want to get out of these monkey suits and play a hot game of pool."

"Nah, count me out. I'm pooped. Savin' the world is one thing, but sittin' around in a tux listenin' to speeches – that's too much! I'm goin' to bed."

"I can't say I blame you, Ben," says Reed Richards, the Fantastic Four team leader and your oldest and best friend. "Unfortunately, the alarm system at 4 Freedoms Plaza is giving us trouble, and with the World Astrophysics Conference beginning tomorrow, I may not have another chance to work on it for weeks. Don't be surprised if your sleep is disturbed by my work – even I can't think of a way to test our alarm system quietly."

"Terrific, Stretch," you say, shutting your eyes and trying to catch a nap while you can.

"Hey, Sis." The Torch turns to his older sister, Sue Storm Richards, the Invisible Woman. "What say we shoot some nine ball? Alicia's out of town for a big art opening, and I could use a little excitement. Beating you at nine ball would be just that – a little excitement."

"Johnny Storm! You know good and well you could never beat me at nine ball. Talk to me tomorrow and we'll see who's the real hustler in the family. Tonight, I'm going to check on Franklin and then follow Ben's lead. You'd do well to get some sleep yourself."

"Aw, gee Mom... do I hafta?" The Torch whines jokingly.

"Would you jokers mind puttin' a sock in in?" you say. "Can't ya see I'm trying to get my beauty sleep over here?"

Finally, the limousine pulls up in front of 4 Freedoms Plaza. Johnny heads for the rec room alone. Sue goes to check on her son, Franklin, as Reed sets off to check his alarm system. And you go to your quarters to try and get some sleep.

You can't remember the last time you had a good night's sleep in your own bed. Sheesh, you think. It's about time this cockamamy outfit got a break from savin' the world. Reed's a nutcase to keep on workin'. Me, I'm pooped.

You flop down in an oversized bed designed to support your 500 pounds, drag a huge, rough hand across your face, and stare into a hand-mirror – the only mirror in your quarters. You're not thrilled with what you see.

You are the Thing, one of the Earth's mightiest heroes, a respected member of the Fantastic Four, but you are also one of Earth's most horrifying nightmares.

Maybe I oughtta ditch this hero business and join a circus, you think. Yeah, I could be a clown – wouldn't even hafta wear any makeup.

You wrinkle your rocky nose, curl your orange lips into the nearest thing to a smile you can muster, and stick your tongue out. The image in the mirror just looks worse.

Great. Instead of just lookin' ugly, I look stupid, too. I shoulda stuck with wrestling. Most of the boys in that racket look even worse'n me. Some o' the women, too.

Wallowing in self-pity, you reach under the bed and pull out a box, a box you keep hidden from your team-mates, a box that contains the only thing that can pull you out of a blue funk like the one you're in now.

"Come to papa!" You say aloud, even though there's no one else in the room to hear.

Opening the box, you see a dozen cigars – fat, round, foot-long beauties. You take one as daintily as your ham-fists will allow, roll it between two fingers, run it under your nose, and breathe deeply. "Ah, gen-u-ine Havanas. Mother's milk! I been savin' you fer just the right time, and this looks like it – my first rest in I-don't-know-how-many years o' world-savin'."

This reveries is cut short by a sudden, searing heat as a gout of flame passes just inches in front of your face. You're unharmed, but the stogie in your mouth is incinerated.

"Dad-blasted Torch!" You yell. "Where are ya, ya blamed match-headed excuse fer a cigar lighter! When I get my hands on you..."

"What's eating you?" asks the Human Torch, as he circles just out of reach above your head. "You don't want to smoke those things – they'll make you sick. Come to think of it, you look a little sick already. In fact, you look worse than usual, and that's saying something. Even a cat wouldn't drag you in looking like that."

You sigh and get ready to put on your best angry-act – you and the Torch are good friends, almost brothers, but you've been going after each other like this since that fateful day when the two of you, along with Reed and Sue, went up in an untested rocket ship and came down changed, blessed... or maybe cursed... with the powers of the Fantastic Four. Things have been different between you and Johnny since he and Alicia Masters, your old girlfriend, started going together, but you're trying hard not to let on just how hurt you feel.

"Awright, Torchie, it's time I taught you a lesson once and for all. Me an' that stogie you fried go back a long ways. This time you're going down for the count.

You run through your options:
• There's a water pipe buried in the wall behind your head. You could reach through the wall, rip it open, and douse the Torch.
• Or you could just try to grab your hot-headed pal. You know from long experience just how much heat your rocky body can withstand without sustaining damage; you also know that the Torch can make himself far hotter than that – if he chooses.
• Or you can just tell the Torch to cut the clowning before things get out of hand.

[Korgan0]

grab him. that water pipe sounds like a bad idea.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I think we should tell him to stop dicking around; he's our ally and we'll almost certainly lose Karma beating the shit out of him.

[Starmaker]

Name: The Thing™
™.
Srsly now.
---
Be nice. That guy's a dickhead, but destroying the residence's plumbing is unreasonable and grabbing him to make our arguments more persuasive might cost us health and achieve nothing in the context of the gamebook.

[angelfromanotherpin]

"Hey, Torchie, what say we call it a night, huh? I just want to get some shut-eye, okay?"

"Well, you sure are a stick in the mid," the Torch says as he cuts off his flame and lands lightly near the door of your room. "This place is getting pretty dull."

"Yeah, well, talk to me when you reach my advanced age, there, youngster."

Before Johnny can think of a reply to your self-deprecating remark, a siren begins sounding from one of the upper stories of 4 Freedoms Plaza.

Is it Reed testing the security systems like he said he was going to, you wonder, or could it be a real intruder?

• Ignore the alarm and get some much-deserved rest?
• Investigate?

[Darth Rabbitt]

It's never a security test in a gamebook; we check that shit out now.

[angelfromanotherpin]

You know Reed planned to test the security system, but that should have been finished a while ago. "Hey, squirt, I'd love ta stay an' teach you a real lesson, but I got some investigatin' ta do."

"Not without me you don't, you big ape. I'm going to check the exercise room. Flame on!" With that, the Torch flies toward the stairs leading to the exercise room on the floor above.

"I'm headin' for the roof," you shout, as you leap for the stairs. The Human Torch is moving like a comet and pulling away from you like you were standing still. In moments you reach the roof. Throwing open the door you find... nothing. No sign of forced entry.

"Nuts, musta come from somewhere else." You check the hangar decks, the storage rooms, and several other areas, but don't find a thing. "This is gettin' mighty strange," you say. "Maybe the Torch had it right from the start." Or maybe this was all just a false alarm. As you make your way into the exercise room, you run into Reed and Sue. "Hey, Stretch! Is this just you testin' the security systems? 'Cause if it is, I'm gonna pop you a good one."

"No, Ben, I wish I could take the blame for this disturbance, but the threat is real, and it's coming from the exercise level."

"Oh, no – that's where the Human Torch –"

"Well, gentlemen," Sue says brusquely. "Let's not just stand around here. Let's go see what trouble my little brother's managed to get himself into this time."

As the three of you enter the exercise area, you see a sight you thought you'd never see again: the Red Ghost!

"You! How many times have we gotta beat you before you get it through your thick untouchable Russian skull that you an' yer blasted apes just can't beat us?"

"I am not her to 'beat' anyone, monster," the Ghost says, his voice as thickly accented as ever. "I come seeking your aid."

"Sure, and I hear the President's defecting to your side!" you shout.

"Hey folks," Johnny shouts from above. "I've been keeping an eye on our friend here for a while, and he hasn't made any threatening moves..."

"Stretch," you say. "You notice anything strange about the Ghost?"

"Yes, I do Ben. He's glowing."

"I mean... you... no harm," the Ghost says haltingly. "You must believe me. You must listen!"

• Do you want to listen?
• Or have you heard enough and want to stop the Ghost before he causes any trouble?

[Darth Rabbitt]

Trust him, for three reasons:

1. He doesn't have his Pokemon Super-Apes with him which means at the very least he shouldn't cause us too much trouble if he does turn out to be untrustworthy.

2. Also, we have the whole thing going where Human Torch was just a dick, and if there's a "stick by your friends, even when they're being assholes" theme here as I suspect, his observation that the Ghost hasn't done anything wrong might indicate that he's being honest.

3. Finally, if we're fighting another Thing on the cover, chances are he's an alternate universe evil Thing and this is a good Red Ghost from the same universe that needs our help in stopping him.

[Starmaker]

What Darth said. Plus, superheroes shouldn't go around stopping people "before they cause any trouble".

[angelfromanotherpin]

The moment is charged with tension, as the Ghost stands rigidly, waiting to see how you react. Finally, you break the silence. "Come on guys, let's sit down an' talk things over. I could use a cup o' java – how about you, Ghost?"

"I am afraid that my thirst takes a back seat to my fear, Grimm. I haven't long to live, and I'm afraid neither have you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that my presence here has placed you in jeopardy. This is unfortunate, but it was necessary. My beloved Mother Russia infected me with a dread disease, a disease for which there is no cure. I hoped Reed Richards could find a cure where I could not. I thought the only way to convince you to save me, your bitterest foe, would be to provide some, shall we say, special incentives. Yes, that was the plan – I knew I had to infect you with the disease, as the Russian scientists intended. Then you would have reason to find a cure, a cure that would save me, as well as yourselves. If you still refuse to help me, well, your deaths wil give me some small sense of satisfaction."

"You're mad, Ghost," says Reed. "We would have helped you anyway. Your 'special incentives' were unnecessary. But that can wait. We must get to the lab quickly, I want to begin running my own tests right away."

Reed begins running tests on the Red Ghost. You leave them in the lab – nothing you can do to help, and you still really need some shut-eye. Your other team-mates feel the same way – in fact, they feel worse. The Ghost was, it seems, telling the truth about the disease. Hours later, Reed's tests are complete, and he emerges looking tired, sick, and shocked.

"What gives, Stretch?" you ask when he staggers into your quarters. "The Ghost... he just disappeared. There was nothing I could do. He's gone. Incorporeal. A true ghost doomed to drift with the wind forever."

"That's awful poetic, Big Brain, but it don't mean a thing to me. Wanna try again?"

"He just faded away, Ben. The disease he spoke of is all too real. It affects only those whose cells have already been charged by exposure to cosmic rays and then it – how should I put this? – it supercharges them. Did you notice the strange yellow glow he seemed to emit earlier? In some way I don't as yet understand, that was the disease being transmitted to us. The effect of the disease is to supercharge our already charged cells – it attacks them and forces them to use energy far more efficiently than they were intended to."

"That sounds great, Stretch," you say, wondering what the big deal is. "Sounds like this 'disease' is gonna make me stronger, you stretchier, the Torch hotter and Suzie's force fields even stronger. What's the problem?"

"The problem, old friend, is that the natural limits of our supercharged cells are being violated. We're burning up from the inside. My body will become more and more pliant until I can no longer maintain human form. Sue's invisibility power will become uncontrollable – she may even be lost from sight – and her force field power could go out of control, making her completely untouchable. Johnny will probably become a human star, unable to regulate his flame.

"And you, Ben, will probably grow stronger and more massive. I always theorized that you might have grown far stronger if you'd been exposed to the rays longer. My tests of this disease indicate that I may have been right. But that's not the point: the supercharging will make our powers more effective for a wink of time, and then we'll burn out – our bodies incapable of supplying fuel to the cells in sufficient quantities to keep us alive."

"Oh," is all you can say.

"I may be able to come up with a cure, but from the few clues I have right now, the serum which will reverse the effects of the disease may not be available on this Earth. I must get back to the lab now. I may not be able to keep working long."

Hours pass, and Reed, growing by the minute more pliant and less able to handle experiments, is unable to come up with a cure. In desperation, he calls in two of Earth's greatest scientists: Bruce Banner and Hank Pym. Together, they formulate a plan, but their findings may not do you any good.

"Well, what's the answer, Big Brains? There's gotta be an answer."

"There is Ben," Reed answers. The Moon. We need a serum made from untainted cosmic-ray charged blood. You seem to be more resistant to the disease than any of us. We need Thing-blood, Ben."

"Well, what's that got to do with the Moon? Why dont'cha just take some of my blood?"

"It must be uncontaminated blood, Ben. We know there are other dimensions paralleling our own. There may be other Things there. You must seek them out, get blood – as much as possible, I have no idea how much we'll need. Bring it back here before it's too late. Unfortunately, our science has not way of reaching these other dimensions. You must consult the Watcher. His super-science may be able to help you."

"Not to worry, Stretch. You go to bed. I'm gonna call Alicia and get her back here to keep an eye on things. Me? I'm headin' to the Moon!"

You call Dr. newell, head man at Hydro-Base, site of the Fantastic Four's rocket-launching facilities, and tell him of your predicament. He promises to have a rocket ship ready for take-off upon your arrival. A quick Fantasticar hop to Hydro-Base and you'll be on your way to the Moon. The flight over Manhattan is uneventful, and before long you're out over the Atlantic Ocean, Hydro-Base looming on the horizon.

Sheesh, a ship disguised as an island – what'll they think of next? you wonder. You land the Fantasticar, and Dr. Newell rushes out to meet you. A shuttle card takes you to the rocket-launch area. "Let me know if I can be of assistance when you return," he says. "Reed Richards was my hero when I was in grad school."

Great, another o' Reed's egghead groupies, you think as you climb into the rocket, saya quick prayer to the powers that be, and lift off.

Make a Piloting Feat Roll (1d6+8; TN 11).

• Do you want to spend any Karma, or not?

[Darth Rabbitt]

On an average roll, we'll should just make it, but it seems worth burning a Karma point to make it more likely.

[Starmaker]

I don't think failure is going to instakill us, so, to be worth the expenditure, failure has to cost 6 or more hp on average, and a 1/3 chance of 1d6+3 damage to a professional pilot superhero sounds kinda harsh. We have 35 hp, maxxed out, and only 10 karma, which can be hoarded infinitely. So take it like a champ and save the karma for the supervillains.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Good point; I change my vote in favor of not blowing Karma.

[angelfromanotherpin]

(Test successful)

The trip through the void of outer space is a piece of cake for a pilot of your skill. Your instincts – and Reed's navigational equipment – take you to the Moon. A quick circle above the Blue Area, home of the Watcher and site of the Inhuman city, Attilan, reveals nothing amiss, so you push the nose of the ship down. You descend slowly through the Blue Area's atmosphere, the pale blue cratered surface growing larger as your rockets kick up lunar dust. A young Inhuman scampers across the lunar landscape, but you think little of it as the ship settles down in one of the many meteor pockets.

You could land here in your sleep. Wide awake, you make a perfect three-point landing.

You gaze up at the Watcher's home as you approach. Once there, you put your hands on the walls and push. You ooze through the wall, thinking why couldn't the Watcher just have a normal door like everyone else?

You fall to the floor inside the Watcher's home. As you try to get your bearings, the Watcher appears.

The Watcher says he knows of your predicament, and that there are many worlds, many Things that are blood of your blood. There are many devices in his home that might be of use yo you. He would help you, but he has sworn never to interfere in the affairs of men. Pointing to a wall with strange glowing lights on it, he vanishes.

Make a Psyche feat roll (1d6+6; TN 9)

• Spend Karma?

[Darth Rabbitt]

This has the exact chance of success/failure as the piloting test (d6+6 vs. TN 9 instead of d6+8 vs. TN 11), so we probably don't need to blow Karma here either.

[Starmaker]

While it's not a "roll this or lose hp" roll, we're just starting, I don't expect a cockblock. Let's roll it like it is.

[angelfromanotherpin]

(Test failed)

You watch the colored lights dance on the wall, but after a while you begin to grow restless.

"Wonder what was goin' through the Watcher's mind? If he thought a light show was gonna relax me, he's gone off the deep end... not that ya could tell, o' course." Still, the Watcher did say there were things in here that could help you, and you've never known him to lie, so you set off in search of something – anything – that looks useful. "Guess if I keep my eyes open I might spot somethin' I can use."

You search for a while, amazed that the Watcher's home appears so much bigger from the inside than it does from the outside. You're about to give up and head on out when your thoughts drift back to the Watcher's light show. Ya know, the Watcher doesn't do anything without a reason. There musta been more to those flashing lights than I thought. Well, they're nothin' but color, right? I bet he was tryin' to tell be to be on the lookout fer stuff that's colored like the lights. Apparently, you're right, for you soon find three objects that match exactly the hues of the flashing lights. You gather them together and lay them on the floor, a sinking feeling in your heart – you haven't got the vaguest idea what they do or how they work.

Make a Reason feat roll (1d6+2; TN 6)

• Spend Karma?

[Starmaker]

Damn. Burn 3 points on an auto-success?

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah; I think we need to auto-succeed on this.

[angelfromanotherpin]

(3 Karma spent, 7 remaining. Test successful.)

You stare at the items on the floor for some time. They're smooth and shiny. Two of them look like Christmas tree ornaments – one red ball, one blue ball. The green tube looks like, well, a green tube, or maybe an odd-shaped blood-pressure cuff.

"Come on, Benjy," you say. "Yer friends're countin' on you. What would the Big Brain, Reed Richards, do?"

You know one thing: Mr. Fantastic wouldn't give up. You heft the red device in your hand, roll it around in your rocky orange paws, feeling for anything that might provide a clue to the operation of the device. There! You felt it – the slightest of bumps on the almost perfectly smooth surface. You apply pressure to the raised spot, and before your mind can wrap itself around the concept, a metal sphere has wrapped itself around you. The Christmas tree ornament has become a full-sized vehicle of some kind – a flying vehicle by the looks of it. And if there's anything you know about, it's things that fly.

You're surrounded by controls now, but as you examine them, they don't seem any more bizarre than some of the stuff Reed has asked you to test fly. You can get this baby going anytime! And you're willing to bet that all three devices work in somewhat the same way.

The only question, you think, is which one to try?

Directly in front of you is a floating ball that looks an awful lot like the Christmas ornament form of the device. You press the bump on its surface and instantly the craft returns to its original, miniature form. You look at the two metallic balls – one red, one blue. Picking up the green tube, you feel a bumpand press it. Instantly the tube changes from what looks like a distorted blood-pressure sleeve to a sealed beaker, not unlike those Reed uses to collect specimens and samples.

Sheesh! I'm no big brain, but I do know that this gizmo ain't gonna get me anywhere. 'Spect the Watcher wouldn't keep it layin' around for nothin', though. You press a bump on the device and it returns to its original form. Guess I'd best pocket this and figger out if these other two gadgets kin get me anywhere useful.

• Try the blue device?
• Experiment further with the red one?

[Starmaker]

Let's figure out what the blue device is for.

[Omegonthesane]

Is the blue device a boat? Given we're playing the Thing it seems unlikely that we'll die for a wrong turn.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Try out the blue device.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Well, I didn't want to have to do this, but here it is: the blue device is a perfectly legitimate way to complete the book, but it involves a continuity glitch, and also it avoids almost all the dimension-hopping. So, we can go down that road if you want, and maybe explore the other path later. Or we can take the other choice and explore alternate dimensions like we were clearly promised the opportunity to.

[Darth Rabbitt]

So it's like immediately heading to Ziggurat World from Limbo in Spectral Stalkers?

In that case, I change my vote to fucking with the red thing some more.