[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 11 - Talisman of Death

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 6:47 pm

I kinda suspect this is a trap, like staying to loot Grimslade's palace in Scorpion Swamp. But if it is the gods will save-point our ass so I suggest we loot anyways.

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 7:42 pm

Meh, I vote leave. We already got a magic ring, lets not push our luck.

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Sun Nov 30, 2014 1:23 am

Yeah, leave for the dubious safety of the rest of the book.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Nov 30, 2014 2:46 am

Since Siroccos only offered half a vote, I will rule that we leave.

The doors open easily. It seems the magic has faded now that Hawkana is truly dead. The thieves have been spying on you through the keyhole. Scarface says, 'The door was locked and we couldn't get in.' He leads the way back up to the skylight. If you still have Hawkana's ring, you feel it grow cold and see that it has tarnished to a dull grey metal. Its magic only works within the Inner Sanctum. Suddenly, the alarm bell tolls loudly. As you reach the landing, a group of warrior-women appears on the stairs behind you in hot pursuit. You all run for the rope hanging from the skylight. As you reach it, you sense a movement at your side and oddge the murderous thrust of Bloodheart's dagger just in time. Before he can strike again, the warrior-women let loose a volley of crossbow bolts. Bloodheart's body is peppered with quarrels, shielding you as you climb the rope. Leaving the stricken Bloodheart to his fate, the remaining thieves jump agilely from the temple roof to the roof of a nearby house. You will have to jump, too. Roll two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your SKILL score, turn to 163. If it is greater than your SKILL score, turn to 56.

Isn't it nice of our enemies to helpfully kill each other off?

I think that's an indication from the book that we can discard Hawkana's ring as it's no longer useful.

If we stayed to loot the temple, Fell-Kyrinla punishes us by shrinking the ring and severing one of our fingers, giving us a SKILL penalty.

We can't fail the SKILL test because we're at full SKILL plus a pair of bonus items to boot if necessary.

You land safely next to the thieves. Scarface looks surprised to see you. 'Bloodheart?' he inquires. 'Failed, you treacherous dogs,' you reply, brandishing your sword. Jemmy the Rat turns tail and flees across the roof-tops. Lord Min looks at Scarface and shrugs. 'I'm not fighting the killer of Hawkana,' he says. They swing under the eaves and climb like spiders to and open window. Not wishing to attempt this climb, you make your way back to the safe house across the roof-tops, and climb down to the street, where you stop to regain your breath before leaving the city.

As you catch your breath three shadows appear on the road before you. Looking up, you see Tyutchev and Cassandra, with a hideous squid-like creature hovering in the air between them. One of the squid's tentacles is curled loosely around Cassandra's waist. 'We meet again,' says Tyutchev. 'Young Lord Min tells me you have been successful. Congratulations, you have done us a favour. Now you'll be glad your peril is over. We are taking the Talisman.' Grimly, you draw your sword. 'I see,' says Tyutchev. 'Then let me introduce Thaum,' he continues, gesturing towards the squid-like monster. Its form dissolves and becomes the man with the gold ear-ring and flowing grey robes you saw producing flowers out of the air for the crowds. He is a Master of Illusion. At that moment a huge and ugly Troll appears from within the safe house. 'Here's Harg,' says Thaum. Harg raises a huge hammer ready to strike you. Is he real, or is he one of Thaum's illusions? If you attack the Troll, turn to 45. If you allow his hammer to strike you, turn to 141.

You didn't really believe that was the last we'd see of the GMPCs, did you?

We're now officially introduced to the third member of the annoying Trio, the illusionist.

Do we think the Troll is an illusion?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Captain Double D
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 14/21
LUCK 11/12
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Golden Apple (+4 STAMINA), Chaimail (+1 SKILL), Apothecus' Ring (+1 SKILL) , Jade Rose, Talisman of Death
Gold: 14
Provisions: 9 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Potion: Potion of Fortune (restore Luck to Initial value, +1 to Initial Luck)
Misc Notes: At time of greatest need, cry: "All-Mother, nature herself, preserve me."
No. of Re-boots in this playthrough: 1

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:14 pm

I'd imagine that the Master of Illusion is casting an illusion. Allow.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:26 pm

I'm a little surprised that there's no option to block the troll, since it's not like "allow" means "shiv someone other than the possible illusion".

Allow, but rewind if this turns out to be some kind of bullshit instadeath.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:27 pm

Harg disappears before the hammer lands. 'Very good,' says Thaum. 'Now, what about this?'

Bring it on!

While Tyutchev draws his sword, Thaum points at you. From his finger a ball of multi-coloured fire flies towards you. Will you try to avoid the fireball by running at Tyutchev, or hold your ground?

Do we want to stick to the strategy of standing there passively letting stuff hit us and hope they're illusion?

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:30 pm

Omegonthesane wrote:I'm a little surprised that there's no option to block the troll, since it's not like "allow" means "shiv someone other than the possible illusion".

Since we've already been told the guy is an illusionist, I think the only thing that choice is supposed to represent is whether we believed the Troll is real. Reacting to it in anyway (whether attacking or defending) would likely have prompted the same results (we believe in the threat, therefore the threat is real).

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 2:55 pm

I kinda suspect that this one is real (he could be dropping a shadow conjuration or color spray, and design-wise I suspect a "first spell was a trick, but the next is real, you lose"), and therefore I think we should run at Tyutchev. Hopefully it'll hit him and take him out of the fight, and then we only have to worry about Thaum and Cassandra.

That being said, if there's a tie, break it in taking the spell's favor.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 4:19 pm

Closing in on Tyutchev isn't necessarily the worst tactical decision anyway, and even if our mind makes the fireball real when it misses us, it isn't a persistent effect like a troll.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 5:20 pm

I actually expected the troll to be real, because Thaum's mastery of illusion was pointed out in this very same paragraph (now, if he was reintroduced as simply "the man with the golden earring" and expect the player to remember the context of the first meeting...), but accidentally (and fortunately) left it at preview. This is not Creature of Havoc, they've got only so many paragraphs for traps and padding, so duck and run.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 3:44 pm

The fire bursts behind you, but a burning pain sears your back and you smell charred cloth. Lose 3 STAMINA points. If you are still alive, you press home your attack on Tyutchev.

Even though we take damage, running to attack was the right choice. Staying still would have led to us taking double the damage.

Tyutchev's bastard sword, almost as long as you, hums through the air as he parries your first attack with the agility of a cat. The black cloak he wears makes it difficult for you to tell exactly where he is. Cassandra and Thaum, looking confident, stand back to watch. You fight Tyutchev.

TYUTCHEV SKILL 10 STAMINA 12

After your first successful attack on him, turn to 301.

Those stats would have struck fear in the heart of Captain D. Against the just-killed-a-SKILL-12-Hawkana-in-a-fair-fight Captain Double D, not so much.

COMBAT LOG:

Tyutchev 20, Double D 18. Double D is at 9.
Tyutchev 20, Double D 23. Tyutchev is hit.

As soon as you wound Tyutchev, you notice Thaum gesturing. Tyutchev becomes invisible. As you start back in surprise, Cassandra is upon you, her sword darting at you. Tyutchev reappears behind you, raising his sword to strike and Thaum is gesturing again. You feel threatened from all sides and you are hard pressed to defend yourself. Do you wish to call upon a God for aid, or do you think you can triumph by the skill of your own hand?

Do we feel like praying?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Captain Double D
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 9/21
LUCK 11/12
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Golden Apple (+4 STAMINA), Chaimail (+1 SKILL), Apothecus' Ring (+1 SKILL) , Jade Rose, Talisman of Death
Gold: 14
Provisions: 9 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Potion: Potion of Fortune (restore Luck to Initial value, +1 to Initial Luck)
Misc Notes: At time of greatest need, cry: "All-Mother, nature herself, preserve me."
No. of Re-boots in this playthrough: 1

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:15 pm

Only divine intervention can help us against the DMPCs.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 4:37 pm

Pray.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 5:48 pm

Agreed.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Tue Dec 02, 2014 10:19 pm

We're outnumbered by DMPCs. Pray.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 12:08 pm

Which god will you call on?

Avatar the One
Lifespirit
Rocheval, God of the Paladins
The All-Mother
Fate

I'll just go ahead and pick All-Mother, since Captain Double D has no reason to want to call (or even know about) any of the other mentioned gods.

We actually met one of the other gods, but he/she did not introduce him/herself.

(Logically, it wouldn't make sense for the player to pick All-Mother either, if he never met Apothecus, but this was before the Age when every FF authors start using codewords and hidden references, so any player can randomly stumble upon the right option here.)

You are swept up in the talons of a great white eagle. Your assailants are soon specks below you on the street. Rising high above the roof-tops you look to the south-east and see, far away, a mountain on top of a large plateau. A voice speaks in your head - the voice of the All-Mother. 'That is Mount Star-reach, your goal. At its summit lies the portal that will take you back to your own world.' For a moment it seems the eagle will bear you to the mountain, but the Talisman seems to weigh like a ball of lead around your neck and the eagle is forced to land in a deserted alley of Store Street. Before you can thank it, it takes to the air again and is soon soaring far above the city. Are you wearing magical chainmail?

We are! A gift from one of All-Mother's priestesses, in fact.

You know, the All-Mother seems a good choice for a god to worship in this place. Much better than those 2 who supposedly picked us as their champion for this quest, at any rate. I mean, she wasn't even the one who set us on the quest....but yet she's given us far more precise instructions and directions to complete our quest than our initial employers ever did. Our character was literally asking them 'Fail in what?' when they were teleporting us to Orb, and we never even got an answer for that. It took half the book before we are finally told what we're supposed to do with the bloody Talisman besides running away from Death's agents, and so far all the good advices came from people who are associated with the All-Mother (e.g. Apothecus).

Store Street is an extension of Moorgate, the road leading to the arch through which you entered the city. The market-day crowds are thronging the streets and you look around nervously. Will you:

Hasten down Store Street to the Moorgate arch?
Lie low in an alley until evening>
Or, if you had dinner with a Sage, ask the way to the cemetery?

Gate, alley or cemetery?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Dec 03, 2014 2:45 pm

Blue option ftw.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 2:02 pm

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Blue option ftw.

I'm assuming you refer to the cemetery route.

There're actually 2 "Blue option" here, although it's not clear from the text. Not having the chainmail will deny us the option to lie low and wait.

The gate is the death option, because they're guarded by Fell-Kyrinla's followers, who are the default enforcers of the city. However, our encounter with Lillantha earlier gives us the knowledge that the All-Mother's followers take over guard duty during the evenings of market-days, so lying low allows us to wait till Lillantha's friends are guarding the city gates....and they will give us free exit from the city.

We take the route that our Sage friend suggested...

You stop a passing student who directs you to the cemetery. You run down Pallbearer's Row, anxious to escape from the city. As you approach the cemetery, an ox-cart, returning from the market, loses a wheel and overturns, almost blocking the road. You run for the gap between it and the cemetery wall, but it is blocked by a man with a shaven head. He wears baggy trousers which end just below the knee and a loose scarlet jacket tied with a black cotton belt. On his forehead is a tattoo of a scarlet praying mantis. He doesn't seem inclined to let you pass. Will you:

Ask him politely to let you through?
Tell him to get out of your way?
Attack him?

How will we get past?

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 3:52 pm

Ask him politely to get out of the way, and when he doesn't, kick his ass.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 3:57 pm

Sirocco wrote:Ask him politely to get out of the way, and when he doesn't, kick his ass.

This.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 11:22 pm

Ooh, one of Yaemon's buddies! Agreed with Starmaker and Sirocco.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 2:49 am

He does not let you pass. Will you step aside and invite him to pass first, or ask him less politely to move out of the way?

Since there's no immediate option to kick his ass like all of you wanted....do we want to try and provoke him into one?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 5:48 am

Let's trash talk him.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Dec 06, 2014 6:16 am

I think there was enough expressed hostility from the previous round of votes for me to go ahead and proceed with picking a fight:

The man is a monk of the Order of the Scarlet Mantis, an expert in unarmed combat. He attacks you without hesitation. He kicks and punches with deadly force. Each time when he wins an Attack Round, roll one die - if you throw a 5 or a 6, turn to 366.

MONK OF THE SCARLET MANTIS SKILL 9 STAMINA 8

If you win, turn to 325.

Well, you guys got your wish! Now let's hope we don't have to find out what happens when he rolls that 5 or 6.

COMBAT LOG:

Monk 17, Double D 21. Monk is at 6.
Monk 11, DD 21. Monk is at 4.
Monk 21, DD 17. Double D is at 7. Additional die roll: 4. Combat proceeds as normal.
Monk 15, DD 17. Monk is at 2.
Monk 12, DD 23. Monk is defeated.

Your blade slashes him across the chest and he slumps to the ground. You step over his body and walk past the cart. Looking back, to your surprise you see the monk has risen to his feet and is running away! Obviously he was feigning death. You shrug your shoulders and go on.

....that monk was more badass than Yaemon ever was.

Dusk is deepening as you enter the cemetery. You begin to explore the city wall, looking for the postern gate. You do not look at the headstones for fear of finding your name at the head of an open grave. Your eye is caught by what looks like a lantern, hanging from a post in the midst of the graves. Will you walk over to the lantern, or ignore the lantern and continue searching along the wall?

Captain Double D must be a huge horror movie fan back in the mundane world to expect something as cheesy as finding her own name on some random headstone in a random cemetery.

Get the lantern or not?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Captain Double D
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 7/21
LUCK 11/12
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Golden Apple (+4 STAMINA), Chaimail (+1 SKILL), Apothecus' Ring (+1 SKILL) , Jade Rose, Talisman of Death
Gold: 14
Provisions: 9 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Potion: Potion of Fortune (restore Luck to Initial value, +1 to Initial Luck)
Misc Notes: At time of greatest need, cry: "All-Mother, nature herself, preserve me."
No. of Re-boots in this playthrough: 1