[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 38 - Vault of the Vampire

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 3:07 am

Tunnel sounds good.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:27 am

Along the eastern passageway there is a door to the north, and the passageway turns south just beyond it; there is another door facing you at the junction of the east and south corridors. Will you:

Open the north door?
Open the door facing you?
Follow the corridor round to the south?

Another option between 2 doors and a passage...

Laertes · Post by **Laertes** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:34 am

Penetrate the door in front of us.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 4:34 am

I think we should explore all doors before going down passages.

For now let's open the first (north) door.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:49 pm

We are now tired between the north door and the door in front of us (presumably the east). Any tiebreakers? If not, I might use some random generator to decide the outcome.

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 12:14 am

If I haven't voted, go north.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:18 am

We return to the tried-and-true policy of penetrating every hole we find along the way!

You walk into a lounge, with rich imported carpets of intricate design, sumptuously confortable armchairs, and tables bearing silverware and lace. There are three gilt-framed paintings on the east wall, and you decide to go over and look at them. One shows a tall, handsome man with black hair tapering to a peak over his forehead and deep green eyes; the plaque below reads, 'Count Reiner Heydrich'. The second shows a strikingly attractive young woman with flowing curly black hair and and the same striking green eyes; she's wearing a black flowing dress and emerald jewellery. The plaque below this picture reads, 'Katarina Heydrich'. The third painting has no plaque and has been defaced, although you can see that it once showed an exceptionally tall, smooth-faced blond man. Do you have a Magic Sword?

Yes, we do, just got our new shiny not too long ago.

You recognize the defaced portrait as that of Siegfried Heydrich, and you storm out of the room in anger at this desecration. You can open the door at the junction of the east and south corridors or follow the corridor south?

Having the Magic Sword can be good or bad, but in our case it's somewhat bad. It would mean that we dawdle in the portrait room long enough for the evil Count in the portrait to work its magic on us and worsen our condition if we are plagued by a certain Affliction.

But since we didn't pick up that particular Affliction earlier, the portrait couldn't have done us any harm, and we'd have been given the option to search the room for some minor Treasure after that. Not all that important, but worth some extra cash. So yeah, it's a mixed blessing.

Door or corridor now?

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:26 am

Part the veal cur- I mean, door.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 1:47 am

Normally I'd wait for 2 votes agreeing before I proceed, but since there were previous votes earlier to open all the doors before taking the corridors I count this as sufficient to move on.

Opening the door, you hear sizzling and spitting noises. Peering carefully round the half-open door, you see an extraordinary assembly of vessels, jars, containers and instruments of brass, iron and glass standing on the tables and shelves. Oil burners keep vessels of cloudy bubbling liquids on the boil, and there is a strange, metallic smell. Watching you closely is a small, green, winged humanoid creature sitting on a shelf in the wall; it is playing with a small bronze wand which sparkles and crackles.

Try attacking it, whatever it is?
Try talking to it?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:01 am

I doubt this guy is any good, but talk to him anyways.

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:21 am

So the disgusting little imp is playing with his wand in front of us? This is a clear affront/challenge to Blade's masculinity. KEEL HIM!

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:03 am

Talk - there's one good dude somewhere in the castle, and maybe he's been turned into an imp?

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:04 am

Talk - there's one good dude somewhere in the castle, and maybe he's been turned into an imp?

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:33 am

So far, Blade has proven to be more a man of words than a man of action.....can you believe that so far we haven't had a single combat in this Fighting Fantasy adventure?

The little creature asks you if you have come to see his master. You nod in mute agreement. 'Well, don't just stand there, go on in! He's not too busy - I'm sure the potions will soon be ready!' You realize that this is an alchemist's laboratory, and that the small winged creature is a magical creature - a homunculus. It gestures you to a door to the south, which you open.

You enter a large room filled with all sorts of strange equipment: tables and charts showing the planets in the heavens, varieties of herbs, rock formations, and lots else besides. All this is strewn over benches and desks, pinned to the walls, and even scattered over the floor! Sitting at one desk is a white-haird, tall, thin man with pince-nezed glasses perched precariously on his beaked nose; he is poring over some intricate diagrams and muttering to himself. He looks up at you. 'Er, pleased to meet you, I suppose. I am Karl-Heinz Matthaus, Alchemist-in-Residence. Something I can do for you?' He appears unarmed and looks like a kindly old man. He looks back at his work, clearly not interested in you. Will you:

Attack him?
Engage him in conversation?
Leave through the door in the west wall of the room?

Do we continue our policy of words-over-violence?

Also note that if we leave, we're going through a different door than the one we came in by, so we won't be going back to the last corridor.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 4:57 am

Talk.

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:05 am

Well, since the talky side won, no sense griefing them with obstructive naysaying. Talk at the spindly whisker-bearer.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:25 am

Talk to the old man.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:00 am

We've been making friends with every sentient being we met so far through friendly conversation (well, except for that one Headless Horseman, but I bet we'd totally have managed it too if it had a mouth to converse with....and no, doors don't count, even those that talk!). Maybe we can just employ our gift of the gab persuade the Count to see the error of his ways and release the girl, right? Right?

The Alchemist says little, although he does tell you that he's employed by Katarina - the Count's sister - to prepare potions and powders which enable her to keep her youthful appearance, together with another treatment which Karl-Heinz seems to deliberately avoid mentioning. 'Katarina looks very young for a woman of 76,' he mutters laconically. You can't really ask about the Count and how to kill him (Karl-Heinz might tell someone what you are up to!) and there's little else you can get out of him. But he can be helpful if you have the (Major) Lycanthropy Affliction.....

If this were an Ian Livingstone book there would totally have been an option for us to ask him how we can kill the Count, leading to him raising the alarm and insta-death for Blade.

Anyway, we don't have the Affliction:

....If you don't, you leave through the west door in this room.

If we picked up the Lycanthropy Affliction earlier:

he can make us an antidote, which we'd either have to buy from him, or he'll have us do a mini-side-quest for himin exchange for it if we don't have enough money.

Back in the corridor, you can:

Open a door on the west side, opposite the Alchemist's room, if you haven't done so before,

Or go to the far, southern end of the passage and open the door there.

Again, as noted before, we came out via a different door, and are in a different corridor, so we haven't visited either of the rooms listed here.

Laertes · Post by **Laertes** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:03 am

The opposite door. Let's explore this new corridor thoroughly. It's working for us thus far.

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:03 am

Doors before 'dors. Enter the west door.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 7:14 am

(There is actually a picture for this next paragraph of text, but I don't have access to a scanner right now, so I'll put that up later tonight.)

You open the door into a suite of rooms that are cluttered with papers, cushions, toys, pictures and all sorts of debris strewn all over the place! Marching up and down, clad in an ill-fitting blue military uniform and with a ridiculous tricorn hat is a dishevelled young man with long, flowing black hair and green eyes. He mutters nonsensically to himself and and does not seem to have noticed you enter. He certainly seems rather lacking in his wits. Will you:

Attack him?
Enter and talk with him?
Leave and open the east door opposite, if you haven't already done so? (we have)
Leave and open the door at the south end of the corridor?

Again the emphasis on eye colour.....if the portraits we saw earlier were accurate, seems like those green eyes run in the Heydrich family.

We've already entered the east door, so attack, talk again, or south door?

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 10:02 am

Talking hasn't let us down yet.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 12:03 pm

Talk him up.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 12:42 pm

Blade is as talkative as ever. And as promised earlier, this is the picture of guy we're trying to talk to:

And yes, I said "trying to talk to", because it looks like he might not listen:

Roll one die. If the number rolled is 1, turn to 151. lf the number rolled is 6, turn to 322. If you roll any other number, turn to 202.

We roll a 2.

Poor young Wilhelm, cousin of the Count, is quite mad, and you can get only scraps of information, of doubtful value, out of him. He mutters about a glowing sword hidden in a book, and other seeming nonsense. You leave him to his ramblings and try the door at the south end of the corridor.

Rolling a 1 means that he happens to be in one of his 'saner' state, and will give us another minor exposition-dump on what his cousin the Count is afraid of. Rolling a 6 means he goes berserk and attacks us.

Moving on to the last remaining door in sight....

You open the door and a dark, musty odour of stale air greets you. You must use your lantern to see (unless you have a Magic Sword), and now you realize that you are at the foot of the south-east tower. Roll one die and add 3. If the total is less than or equal to your FAITH, tum to 330. If it is greater than your FAITH, tum to 316.

We roll a 5 +3 = 8 (equal to our FAITH)

Drifting into the chamber from a grille set into the floor is a smoky, apparitional figure radiating a hideous, chilly malice - a Wraith! Roll one die and add 3 If the result is less than or equal to your FAITH, turn to 44. If the result is greater than your FAITH, turn to 124.

So this is where a high FAITH is bad, since we've attracted an enemy with our aura. But what about this next one....?

We roll a 3 + 3 =6 (<8)

The Wraith shrinks back from you, its wispy clawed arms scrabbling at the air close by your face, but your FATTH protects you! Now you see a wooden spiral staircase leading upwards in this bare and dusty chamber. You could easily escape the Wraith that way; however, since it is an evil thing, you would prefer to destroy it. You have heard, though, that only a magical weapon can harm a Wraith, so if you don't have one it could be dangerous to attack it!

Will you:

Attack the evil Wraith?
Ascend the staircase up the Tower?
Return to the enhance hall and open the north door there?

Ok, this part is kind of weird, since attracting a Wraith and repelling that same Wraith uses the exact same FAITH test (1 dice +3). It would have made more sense if repelling the creature is at least a little more difficult than summoning it.

Anyway, we do have a magic weapon. Attack it? Continue on our way forward? Backtrack? (going back to the entrance hall takes us back to outside the storeroom where we found the crystal vial)

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Blade Belmont von Alucard
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 16/21
LUCK 8/8
Faith: 8
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Garlic, Magic Sword
Provisions: 12 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Afflictions:
Gold Pieces: 2
Treasure: Crystal Vial (worth 4 gp)

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:18 pm

Blade suffers no evil creature to live! Attack!

The Gaming Den

[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 38 - Vault of the Vampire

Which of the below should be the official name of our hero?