Let's Play Fighting Fantasy #18 Rebel Planet

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 3:13 pm

Wait for the rancor to come out.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:53 pm

You wait for hours. As dusk descends, a grinning alien face appears at the high grille 'So,' he says, 'you have chosen to try your skill at our gladiatorial games. This is the door into the arena Now you must spend the night here; in the morning the games will be assembled' Gain 1 LUCK point for choosing the right door.

In the morning you wake up only slightly refreshed from a sleep troubled with nightmares. You are woken by a guard, who gives you a bowl of slops. “We don't want you too weak for the games”, he says. You may restore 3 STAMINA points for the rest and food. When the guard returns will you attack him or let him lead you away?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:05 pm

Fighting him will probably summon surprise guards. Follow him.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:01 am

I hate following their script, but I agree that fighting the guard is probably futile.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:16 am

The guard pauses by the door to the arena.'The two beasts you have to {ace,' he tells you, 'are first a Laphodorm and then a Scabrok. Both are bred specially for the games.. The Laphodorm is a new breed, and I know nothing about it. But the Scabrok, though powerful, has one weakness, it is easily distracted. It won't fall for this trick twlce, but you can distract it once and get in a free attack.' Before you can thank him and ask his reasons for tellmg you this, he opens the door and urges you through, having given you a sword for the contest. Gain 1 LUCK point for the guard's information. If you survive to fight the Scabrok, turn to 262

You have no choice; you enter the arena- The door swings shut behind you. You are overwhelm€d by the dazzling sunlight, the roar of the crowd and the strange smell of the pale blue Radicjan sand on the ground. You assess your predicament: high barriers surround the arena, the ground is covered with sand. This is it, then. You will have no help apart from yourself. A sudden hush fills the arena.

A door on the other side opens and out comes the most hideous beast you have ever seen or imagined - a Laphodorm, bred for grotesqueness as well as fighting ability. It is covered in red scales, it has a retractable neck, like a tortoise; its head is like a lion's, roughly, but the tongues which dart from its slavering jaws remind you more of a multitude of snakes Resolve your battle:

LAPHODORM SKILL 7 STAMINA 12

Jim 15 Laphodorm 11 Laphodorm at 10
Jim 17 Laphodorm 13 Laphodorm at 8
Jim 16 Laphodorm 14 Laphodorm at 6
Jim 16 Laphodorm 13 Laphodorm at 4
Jim 17 Laphodorm 15 Laphodorm at 2
Jim 17 Laphodorm 14 Laphodorm dead

If you win,

The crowd goes wild with delighted approval. But you scarcely have time to draw breath before the gateway gapes again, and a Scabrok appears. It goes on six legs, each of which is tipped with long claws; its tough hide is covered with short, spiky hair. If you know the Scabrok's weakness, turn to the relevant reference.

Good: you have remembered the Scabrok's weakness. At some point during the fight, you will be able to distract its attention, perhaps by throwing sand across its field of vision. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky,√ if you are Unlucky,

8 is lucky

When you distract the Scabrok, you manage to hit a particularly vulnerable spot, and injure the monster in such a way that you reduce its SKILL by 1 point and its STAMINA bv 2 points. In other words you can fight it as follows:

SCABROK SKILL 7 STAMINA 12

Jim 15 Scabrok 16 Jim at 17
Jim 17 Scabrok 12 Scabrok at 10
Jim 15 Scabrok 16 Jim at 15
Jim 18 Scabrok 14 Scabrok at 8
Jim 18 Scabrok 10 Scabrok at 6
Jim 15 Scabrok 13 Scabrok at 4
Jim 17 Scabrok 15 Scabrok at 2
Jim 17 Scabrok 15 Scabrok dead

lf you win,

The crowd is on its feet the applause is thunderous; antennae Flash in approval. As the corpse of the Scabrok is dragged away, leavtng a slimy trail of green blood behind it, an alien, whom you recognize as the prison commandant, enters the arena and congratulates you – once he has taken away your sword. “You have performed well and given pleasure to our people, Earthling”, he says, “and we will keep our side of the bargain. You may return to your ship”

En route for Halmuris, vou may restore your STAMINA by half as much again as your current STAMINA score, rounding odd numbers down. and remembering that you cannot exceed your lnitial score. You review the problems you face. you have no equipment or weapon, though you still have your money, and there is a spare anti-grav pack on board your ship.

Halmuris is a bleak planet. The terrain is wild and mountainous, and some of the mountains are active volcanoes. It is a planet which is still going throu8h the last violent stages of creation. lt is very hot in the daytime, and fatally freezing at night, when the hot, blueish sun sinks below the horizon and the three moons become visible. The moons cause vast tides on the planet. Lf you have to spend a night out on Halmuris, you would be well advised to choose somewhere warm and far away from water.

The inhabitants live in small settlements, which were originally scientific research establishments, and are clustered quite close together, with the spaceport, on the high plateau region in the south of the planet - this is to avoid the huge tides which ravage the lower lying areas, which are punctuated by sudden inhospitable crags- The.omputer feeds you all these data, and also informs you that the alien inhabitants are mostly Central Arcadians, who naturally took over the scientific facilities of the planet.

All you know about the underground leader is that he or she is an assistant at the agricultural research settlement When you land on Halmuris, you find that your limbs feel heavy. The higher gravity of this planet means that for the duration of your stay here, you must lose 1 SKILL point. This makes finding a weapon even more vital.

There are none of the Customs and immigration hassles that you expected.. Instead, you are simply ordered to remain in the spaceport area until your ship is unloaded and your passenger is ready to embark late the next day. lt is now mid-afternoon, with four hours to go until sunset. Will you first investigate the possibility of getting hold of a sword or of learning the whereabouts of the agricultural station?

Jim, the Cheddar Monk
SK 9/9 (-1 whilst on Halmuris), ST 21/21 LU 10/11
2405 Credits

Running total of deaths: 2
Running total of non-fatal Game Overs: 1

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:06 am

Jim has a chance to auto-kill people while unarmed (our current SKILL penalty is explicitly because of this planet's gravity, not from missing a laser sword), so I don't think we need to worry about finding weapons.

Look for the agricultural station.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:10 am

While I *do* think we need to worry about finding weapons (the book just might have an "if you have a sword, proceed, otherwise, get fucked" paragraph), looking for the agricultural station makes more sense (and the rebels might have a spare sword). Put our trust in the book first and complain when that trust is misplaced later.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:47 am

Of the humans on the base, some are wearing grey uniforms, some blue You want to ask where the agricultural station is. Will you ask someone in grey or in blue?

angelfromanotherpin · Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:38 pm

Has there been a color clue previously? Half a vote for grey,because of grey and blue, that's the rebel color.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:17 pm

angelfromanotherpin wrote:Has there been a color clue previously? Half a vote for grey,because of grey and blue, that's the rebel color.

To my knowledge, there hasn't, and a search of this topic has produced nothing to hint there was.

So yeah, grey.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 8:38 pm

The humans in grey uniforms are the cleaning and catering staff. You approach one with your question, and he tells you that the agricultural station is about ten kilometres to the north-east of the spaceport. You decide that your next pnority is a sword. Will you ask the same man about this, try someone in blue, or attempt to get one off an Arcadian?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:26 am

Cleaning staff probably don't know anything about laser swords, and I think the blue-uniformed people are cops (and thus won't just hand out that kind of information to random offworld travelers who ask where to find weapons). Either will probably get suspicious. Try to get one from an Arcadian; if things go wrong, we know they're fairly easy to kill one-on-one.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:41 am

Yes, looks like it's the only option that doesn't involve asking random people nicely as to where we can acquire a deadly and possibly illegal weapon.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:34 am

No Arcadian is going to just hand a sword over to you, the only way you/re going to get one off an Arcadian is by means of an ambush. You watch the movements of the guards for a while, and find that your best chance is a remote passage which is patrolled by only one guard at a time. As a guard is walking along it, you creep up behind him. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky√, if you are Unlucky

7 is lucky

The guard does not notice your approach, and you get in a numbing blow on his sword-arm. You may now fight him without reducing you:r SKILL for being unarmed.

ARCADIAN GUARD SKILL 6 STAMINA 10

Jim 14 guard 14 no change
Jim 17 guard 15 instant death

If you win, you may take his sword, but you will have to leave the spaceport immediately.

You return to the main part of the spaceport, to get your bearings. The freezing night is not far off. How will you get off the base? lt is surrounded by a high perimeter wire fence, and both its main entrances, to the west and east, are guarded. If you have a jet pack, if you have a pair of wire cutters, if you have neither of these√

Your only chance is to rush the guards at one of the main entrances, You choose the eastern entrance, because there ale fewer guards there. Your first assault takes them completely by surprise, since you waited until they were all looking the other way, and you cul down two of them. This leaves you with only one, and he's a fairly small Southemer.

GUARD SKILL 6 STAMINA 8

Jim 15 Guard 10 luck used, lucky, guard at 4
Jim 14 Guard 14 no change
Jim 17 Guard 17 no change
Jim 19 Guard 14 luck used, unlucky, guard at 3

If you win in four Attack Rounds, if after four Attack Rounds you haven't killed the guard,√

The guard has delayed you just long enough for you to be caught by the relief squadron, against whom you stand no chance.

♪ Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb ♪

GUARD SKILL 6 STAMINA 8

Jim 13 Guard 12 luck used, lucky, Guard at 4
Jim 20 Guard 11 Guard at 2
Jim 15 Guard 17 Jim at 19
Jim 14 Guard 13 Guard dead.

More Arcadian guards are on their way, but you make it through the gate, and they do not set out after you. At first you wonder why, but then you realize that they are leaving the freezing night to do their work for them. There are various paths that you could take. Will you go east, north or south?

Jim, the Cheddar Monk
SK 9/9 (-1 whilst on Halmuris), ST 19/21 LU 8/11
2405 Credits
Laser Sword

Running total of deaths: 3
Running total of non-fatal Game Overs: 1

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 3:29 pm

A choice of three options twice in a row! Whoa.

East.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:07 pm

East.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 8:38 pm

You know that your first priority is to find somewhere sheltered to spend the night, you are following a path through rough terrain, with a valley sloping down to your left and rocky outcrops up the hill to your right. After a while, you come across two caves to your right, which look as though they are deep enough to give you shelter. The right hand one is approached by a smooth gully which wends its way to the valley below; the left-hand one is higher up, and its entrance is partially hidden by a spiky, cactus like plant. Will you enter the right hand cave or the left hand one?

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:25 pm

Cactus, ie, the left-hand one. Surprise floods aren't conducive to a long and pleasant life.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 9:51 pm

Going ahead straight away on one vote as the high cave is obviously the correct one.

As you approach the mouth of the cave, you stumble on a loose rock. Test your Luck If you are Lucky, if you are Unlucky

10 is unlucky

You fall on one of the spikes of the plant, which pierces your leg. Deduct 2 STAMTNA points, and hobble on into the cave.

(A 2 STAMINA loss is important enough to waste a LUCK point on a shot at avoiding it. I hate this bullshit in FF books.)

As you go further into the cave, you notice a smell of sulphur, or something like it It is not too strong, however, and you take it as a good sign. If there is a slight vent to the turbulent volcanic interior of the planet, then the cave should stay above freezing all night. You find a reasonably comfortable spot and settle down. If you have some food, otherwise√

Having no food, your body becomes more vulnerable to the cold, and you can hardly sleep at all for trying to keep warm. Gain only 1 STAMINA point. In the morning you follow a path heading roughly north east until it divides. Will you branch right or left?

Jim, the Cheddar Monk
SK 9/9 (-1 whilst on Halmuris), ST 20/21 LU 7/11
2405 Credits
Laser Sword

Running total of deaths: 3
Running total of non-fatal Game Overs: 1

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:36 am

Right is right.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 8:01 am

After walking for quite a while, the path passes through an area which is sprinkled with large boulders- You can hear voices - one Arcadian, one human - coming from behind one of the boulders. It seems that a Central Arcadian has a human at his mercy and, in a manner typical of his kind, has paused to think about all the possibilities open to him. The human, meanwhile, is pleading with the Arcadian to stop theorizing and get on with it. Will you skirt this area to avoid confrontation or try to rescue the man√

I just know we're not going to turn down the opportunity to buttkick for goodness.

You edge around the boulder and then spring out sword at the ready. lt seems that the Arcadian has come to some decision, because his whippy is raised above the cowering human's head. The look of surprise on the Arcadian's face when you appear is almost comical. But now he will turn his attention to YOU

CENTRAL ARCADIAN SKILL 7 STAMINA 8

Jim 14 Central Arcadian 14: no change
Jim 18 Central Arcadian 14: Central Arcadian at 6
Jim 18 Central Arcadian 16: Central Arcadian at 4
Jim 13 Central Arcadian 12: Central Arcadian at 2
Jim 15 Central Arcadian 14: Central Arcadian dead

He is not particularly strong, but he's agile and cunning. The first time he wounds you, roll an extra die On a roll of 4-6 he hurls some dust in your eyes, and you must lose 1 SKILL point for the next two Attack Rounds. But you only give him this one opportunity: the rest of the fight will be as normal. If you win√

The man thanks you and offers you some food, whlch you gratefully accept Gain 3 STAMINA points. While you are eating, he explains that he used to work at the nearby agricultural station but was caught stealing food to supplement his meagre rations, now he'll never be able to go back. You tell him that within a few days he may {find himself free of his masters; then you ask if he knows anything about the underground. He does not, but he tells you that at this time of day there are no humans in the station itself: they are all out in the fields- He directs you to the agricultural station. Gain 1 LUCK point

Your path winds through a rocky gorge, which narrows until there is only room for one person to squeeze between the two cliffs Then, laid out in front of you on a plain, is the agricultural station.There are fields of experimental shrubs being tested for survival in this harsh climate, which are being tended by human workers; and beyond the fields is the station itself, a building insulated within a thermodome. Will you back into the rocks and make your way round to the building or approach some of the humans in the fields, who appear to be unguarded √

You step out into the fields, towards a group of humans who are working about 100 metres away, but you are only halfway there when a whining noise above you and to your left makes you look up. A small, silver, streamlined craft is heading towards you You dive into the shrubs as it approaches and, crouching, head for the cover of the middle o{ the field. But the alien is tracking you: wherever you go, it hovers overhead. Suddenly it sprays flame but at the shrubs, not at you! Again and again flames shoot out, until you ale surrounded by fire. The smoke is dense: you cannot see your enemy. What will you do: stay where you are and pray or try to break through the circle of fire?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:08 pm

Try to break through. Action hero time!

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 2:39 pm

Yes, break through. Prayers are only answered in the other thread and even there they are currently not an option.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 3:00 pm

Eyes streaming, and choking in the smoke, you race, sometimes leaping, sometimes zigzagging between burning bushes. Test vour Luck. If you are Lucky, if you are Unlucky

7 is lucky.

Miraculously, your speed carries you through the danger relatively unharmed. But your exertions, scratches and burns cost you 2 STAMINA points The alien craft was unable to track you through the smoke, and is now some way off Will you sprint for the building or the rocks?

Jim, the Cheddar Monk
SK 9/9 (-1 whilst on Halmuris), ST 19/21 LU 7/11
2405 Credits
Laser Sword

Running total of deaths: 3
Running total of non-fatal Game Overs: 1

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 3:19 pm

We know that the humans aren't currently in the building, and the building is probably where the ship will look for us. So totally go for the rocks.