Let's Play Fighting Fantasy #25: Beneath Nightmare Castle

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 10:24 am

Poke it

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:46 pm

Thrusting your sword at random into various piles of rotten vegetable matter, you are rewarded with an assortment of interesting finds: a moldy turnip, a broken earthenware pot and a dead sapling. But you are intrigued to find that in one particular heap your sword meets no resistance. No matter how far you push into the sodden mass, you seem unable to touch the floor. Puzzled, you start to move the compost to one side, and soon you reveal a large hole in the ground. It looks as if one of the flagstones has broken and fallen through into a space below the floor. You can just make out the cubical shape of the subterranean room; it is a littered with dist and compost, and there is a small, green, glowing shape in one of the far corners. You decide to investigate, so you lower yourself through the rectangular opening.

The cellar is cold and smells so noxious that you feel sick. A tickling sensation runs all over the surface of your skin. Nothing attacks you, however, and you are able to retrieve the glowing object. It is a globe of green glass, and it feels warm as you cup it in the palm of your hand. Carrying it carefully, you hoist yourself back through the hole in the tower floor and you stroll into the garden where, glancing downwards, you realize your body is covered with hairy spiders. Some are as large as your hand. Test your Willpower. (3,1=4, success!)

You drop your backpack and the green globe and throw yourself to the ground, rolling over and over and slapping at your body. Crushed spiders fall from your clothing, leaving sticky smears, but others attempt to find areas of exposed flesh into which to sink their mandibles. Fight them as if they were one opponent:

GIANT SPIDERS SKILL 6 STAMINA 8

Combat Log:

Spiders 10, Holden 19. Spiders are at 6.
Spiders 14, Holden 21. Spiders are at 4.
Spiders 14, Holden 17. Spiders are at 2.
Spiders 9, Holden 16. Spiders are dead.

Brushing away crushed spiders, you look for the green globe. It did not break when you dropped it, but it is now glowing very brightly and is getting brighter by the minute. It is radiating increasingly intense heat. Will you:

Walk away from it?
Put it into your backpack?
Stay close to it to see what happens?

Adventure Sheet
Holden McGroin, a.k.a Fukkerjack
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 18/19
LUCK 8/9
WILLPOWER 10/11
Equipment: Sword, Armor, Three-Pronged Blue Spearhead
Provisions: 6 (+4 STAMINA each)
Gold Pieces: 4
Running Total of Deaths: 1

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:55 pm

Meh. Put it in the backpack. It was underground for a long time and didn't explode, so if it's going to explode it would do so by being left out of the backpack rather than being put in.

-Username17

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 8:31 pm

^this.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Jan 05, 2014 9:22 pm

The globe is almost too hot to touch, but you manage to fumble it into your backpack. You can feel its heat through the canvas and leather, but it seems to be diminishing in power. Before long you cannot feel it at all, and you continue on your way towards the next corner of the garden.

You have reached another tower in the corner of the garden. To your left the path continues along the surrounding wall and passes a wide staircase that ascends from the garden. The wall of the square tower in front of you is windowless, but there is a small wooden door at the base. The door is slightly ajar, and there is darkness beyond.

If you would like to enter the tower through the door
If you would rather walk to the staircase and use it to leave the garden

Adventure Sheet
Holden McGroin, a.k.a Fukkerjack
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 18/19
LUCK 8/9
WILLPOWER 10/11
Equipment: Sword, Armor, Three-Pronged Blue Spearhead, Green Glass Globe
Provisions: 6 (+4 STAMINA each)
Gold Pieces: 4
Running Total of Deaths: 1

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:54 am

Through the door into the tower.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 11:22 am

We've been told to explore the keep, find the talisman, then descend to the caverns. This tower sound more like an optional encounter or an alternate passage rather than an express train to fuck-you, so let's go in.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 4:35 pm

You step into the tower's dark interior and the door slams shut behind you. You spin round, drawing your sword, and with a gurgling roar a ferocious creature attacks you. There is no source of light in this room, and you have no idea what you are fighting. Luckily, it keeps up a constant throaty growl which helps you to locate it. Its weapon seems to be a heavy blunt object, and it is hindered by the darkness almost as much as you.

UNKNOWN ASSAILANT SKILL 5 STAMINA 8

Combat Log:

Unknown 14, Holden 15. Unknown is at 6.
Unknown 17, Holden 16. Holden is at 16.
Unknown 15, Holden 18. Unknown is at 4.
Unknown 13, Holden 20. Unknown is at 2.
Unknown 12, Holden 15. Unknown is dead.

(Our mystery opponent never rolled below a 7, and we never rolled above a 9, so despite its poor SKILL it got a hit in on us. Apparently Holden isn't used to fighting opponents that aren't significantly smaller than him.)

If you defeat it, you pull open the door to throw some light on the dead body. It is a very ugly Ogre, dressed in rags and wearing a huge white bonnet or turban on its relatively small head. There is nothing else in the room except for a flight of stone steps leading up to a small door. Will you:

Try on the oversized headgear?
Inspect the headgear first?
Climb the stairs?

Adventure Sheet
Holden McGroin, a.k.a Fukkerjack
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 16/19
LUCK 8/9
WILLPOWER 10/11
Equipment: Sword, Armor, Three-Pronged Blue Spearhead, Green Glass Globe
Provisions: 6 (+4 STAMINA each)
Gold Pieces: 4
Running Total of Deaths: 1

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 4:45 pm

Inspect. There's probably a headcrab hidden in the wraps. (Or, fwiw, "you unwrap the Turban of Wisdom, it's ruined, and you feel like shit".)

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:07 pm

I cannot for the life of me imagine why we would start wearing the clothes of a dead ogre before inspecting them, so inspect away.

-Username17

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:22 pm

The unusual hat is made of loosely wound strips of white cloth. It is surprisingly heavy and, turning it over, you find a shining, glutinous mass quivering inside. Two dark lumps embedded in the transparent gel seem to stare at you like eyes. You instinctively want to hurl it to the floor in disgust, but before you can do so you are taken with the idea of trying on the hat. You are not sure where the idea came from, but increasingly it appeals to you as the best course of action.

Test your Willpower. (5,1=6, success!) Your desire to be rid of the thing overcomes the idea of wearing it, and you drop it, back away, and climb the stairs.

The door at the top of the stairs is apparently bolted or barred on the other side. It is also very battered and splintered—you conclude that the Ogre you have just dealt with has made a sustained attempt to break through it with its club. You can think of only three options:

Shoulder-charge the door until it gives way
Inspect it closely to find a way to open it
Yell: 'I've just killed the Ogre. Let me in!'

Adventure Sheet
Holden McGroin, a.k.a Fukkerjack
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 16/19
LUCK 8/9
WILLPOWER 9/11
Equipment: Sword, Armor, Three-Pronged Blue Spearhead, Green Glass Globe
Provisions: 6 (+4 STAMINA each)
Gold Pieces: 4
Running Total of Deaths: 1

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Mon Jan 06, 2014 5:31 pm

Honesty is best policy. Fukkerjack will not hide behind his accomplishments. He will tell the people behind the door that the ogre is dead and that they had best start fawning and groveling.

-Username17

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:05 am

From the other side of the doorway you hear the sounds of heavy objects being laboriously shifted, and then a gruff voice calls: 'Come in—slowly, and with your weapons sheathed!'

You push the door open to reveal a large, airy room full of tidy shelves of plant pots, chests full of garden tools, and herbs drying in bundles in the rafters. There are windows in the walls to your right and left, and another door in the wall opposite you. In the middle of the room stands a frail old Dwarf with bright green hands and forearms; there is a rune-inscribed battle-axe stuck through his belt, and you suspect that he can use it effectively despite his great age. He addresses you again: 'If you have indeed slain the Ogre that has kept me from my garden these past ten weeks, soldier, then you have earned my gratitude. I will allow you passage through my storeroom, whether you be friend to Baron Tholdur or foe.'

He stands aside to let you pass. Will you thank him and leave through the door in the far wall, or will you tell him about your quest?

angelfromanotherpin · Tue Jan 07, 2014 12:52 am

Full disclosure. It may or may not be the best policy, but it is our policy, at least for the moment.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 2:40 am

Having taken a deep breath and a precautionary hold on the pommel of your sword, you tell the Dwarf gardener about your old friendship with the Margrave of Neuburg Keep and your mission to cleanse the town of evil. The old Dwarf ponders for several minutes and finally sighs: 'Very well. I believe you. I can't think why anyone should tell such a story unless it were true. And anyway, even if you are a villain and an impostor, I don't see how you could make things worse than they are already. I'll help you, if I can. Sit yourself down. Eat, if you have food—I've none myself.'

It's been a long time since you last had a chance to relax. You have found a temporary haven and an ally. Recover 1 LUCK point. (Holden has some food.)

If you want to eat a meal (and recover some STAMINA) you can do so now. You can also choose to offer food to the Dwarf. He will certainly accept if you do.

(Technically I should ask, but I'm going to assume we eat one meal to heal back to full, and also give one to the Dwarf. Giving him food leads to a different section than leaving him hungry, and we can afford to give it to him since we have shitloads of food and can only eat it during specific intervals. Also, he's not a Mogwai and it's not after midnight; I think we're safe.)

The Dwarf gardener has eaten very little recently, and he relishes his portion of rations as if it were a banquet. 'I thank you again, soldier,' he says. 'That's the second service you've done me and I don't know how I can repay you. Ask away, though—some of these herbs have strange properties, and I know a little about the goings-on in the Keep. I'd let you have my axe, Bokhorbhil, but she's getting temperamental these days. She'd have me attacking you, if I weren't careful!' He seems to find this idea very amusing, and chuckles for some time. 'Ah, dear me, dear me. Where was I? I remember—ask me for something, soldier!' Will you ask for:

A preparation to bolster your WILLPOWER?
Information about potential allies in the Keep?
The Dwarf's opinions about the three-pronged spear-head?

(Fun fact: "strange" is misspelled in the book as "stange" here, which furthers my theories on the lack of an editor for this book.)

Adventure Sheet
Holden McGroin, a.k.a Fukkerjack
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 19/19
LUCK 9/9
WILLPOWER 9/11
Equipment: Sword, Armor, Three-Pronged Blue Spearhead, Green Glass Globe
Provisions: 4 (+4 STAMINA each)
Gold Pieces: 4
Running Total of Deaths: 1

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 2:47 am

the spear

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 8:53 am

If it weren't for the format, I'd be all about allies. But it's an FF book, so we're in this alone and plot weapons are more important. Fork me.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:20 pm

The old Dwarf turns the three-pronged spear-head over and over in his hands. 'I do believe,' he says, 'that what you have here is the sharp end of the Trident of Skarlos. Whether it's of any use to you depends on whether you can find the handle—which is somewhere in the depths of the Keep, by all accounts. You'll recognize it easily enough: it's not a proper spear-shaft, but a short squat affair with hand grips. Made of metal, with a blue sheen like the head, and covered in carvings like it, too. Strange device it is, but effective? I should say so! That was a real battle we fought up here before this castle was built . . .' The Dwarf stares into the distance, remembering—but suddenly recalls that he has more information for you.

(I never understood why we couldn't just get all three things the Dwarf offers. I mean, he loves us and we apparently have enough time to rest, eat and talk with him. But that's not a complaint unique to this book.)

Pushing aside a cobwebbed collection of beanpoles, trellises and bales of straw, the Dwarf reveals a grimy fireplace in a corner. He calls you over, and shows you that as well as a chimney leading straight upwards, there is also a narrow gap at the side of the grate. You can just make out the first few steps of a staircase leading downwards in the thickness of the tower wall.

'This'll take you into the cellars,' says the Dwarf. 'It's probably the only way you'll get into the Keep without someone else knowing about it. But you can go through the other door and try getting across on the battlements if you want to.'

If you decide to use the secret passage to the cellars
If you decide to go through the door and out on to the battlements

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:26 pm

I honestly don't know why we wouldn't take the secret passage.

-Username17

OgreBattle · Post by **OgreBattle** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:50 pm

secret passage

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:28 pm

You strike a flint, light the wick of one of the many oil lanterns in the storeroom, and by the flickering light you cautiously descend the steep and narrow stairs. At the bottom, a passage, roughly hewn in the solid rock, leads away into darkness. It is cold and dank; water drips on to you as you creep forward. At irregular intervals shafts pierce the roof of the tunnel, providing a little illumination. The shafts are too long and sheer to climb, and you see metal grating across the distant ends. You are fairly sure that the passage is taking you beneath the castle's inner bailey, towards the Keep. The stairs are out of sight behind you and the tunnel disappears into darkness ahead of you. There is a wooden door blocking a side-tunnel to your right. The door is held shut by two massive wooden wedges that have been hammered between it and the surrounding rock. Do you want to remove the wedges and enter the side-tunnel? Or would you rather press on along the main passage?

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:04 pm

Ignore the horrible abomonination that needs to be sealed up.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:36 pm

The tunnel comes to an end at a door. At first you can see no way to open it, but after a few experimental pushes and pulls you realize that the stone slab pivots around a horizontal central bar. You crawl through the lower opening into a long, low cellar and, having established that there is no immediate danger, you push the door back into place. The walls of the cellar are faced with stone slabs, and it is now almost impossible to differentiate the door you have just come through from the other slabs. The rectangular cellar has a normal door in the center of the short wall at its other end, and a door in the center of each of the long walls on your right and left—although you cannot see these two doors at first, as they are obscured by the two lines of huge barrels that occupy the length of the cellar. You walk between the rows of barrels, each of which has a tap and a small cup on a string. You decide to taste some of the contents of Baron Tholdur's cellar, but the barrels all look alike. Roll one die. (5.)

You select one of the few barrels that is in an upright position. It has a tap but no drinking cup, so you pour a little of the barrel's contents into the palm of your hand and drink a mouthful of the brown liquid. It tastes bitter and sears the roof of your mouth. You begin to feel rather ill. The liquid is poisonous, but as you have consumed so little you lose only 2 points of STAMINA. You can now either look inside the barrel from which you have just drunk, or taste the contents of a different barrel.

(For some reason "avoiding the damn barrels" isn't an option. In our case it isn't an option twice in a row, which is especially funny because this barrel just poisoned us.)

Adventure Sheet
Holden McGroin, a.k.a Fukkerjack
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 17/19
LUCK 9/9
WILLPOWER 9/11
Equipment: Sword, Armor, Three-Pronged Blue Spearhead, Green Glass Globe
Provisions: 4 (+4 STAMINA each)
Gold Pieces: 4
Running Total of Deaths: 1

angelfromanotherpin · Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:41 pm

Looking can't burn more than tasting. Probably.

Username17 · Post by **Username17** » Tue Jan 07, 2014 10:58 pm

Going to a different barrel seems much preferable to continuing to poke at the poison barrel. Although why we decided to drink from a barrel that has no indications of being a drinking barrel is beyond me. That's some seriously weird writing.

-Username17

The Gaming Den

Let's Play Fighting Fantasy #25: Beneath Nightmare Castle

Which book should I run first?