[Let's Play]HeroQuest Adventure Game: The Fellowship of Four

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SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Darth Rabbitt wrote:And we should probably take the path that leads to the haunted castle, since that might be the ruined abode of Grim Dugald.
All 3 routes lead to Grim Dugald's manse. They just take us past different landmarks, the castle being one of them.
The track meanders beside a low stone wall choked with vines. It takes you past tangled meadows and under the looming shape of the local gibbet. You are thankful for the thick clouds that hide the moon, sparing you more than a glimpse of the gibbet's mouldering occupant. No sooner have you thought this than a moonbeam shines starkly through a rent in the cloud. You catch a momentary gleam of a ravaged face, its lips eaten down to a ghastly white grin, and hurry past with a shudder.

Eventually you catch sight of the castle atop the rise of the hill - a jagged shadow against the grey light of the moon. A sound comes down to you on the wind. Could It be the clash of steel, faintly ringing from inside the ruined keep?

If you go up to the castle to investigate, turn to 82.
If you pass by incuriously, turn to 69.
Investigate?
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Investigate.
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Definitely investigate.
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Post by SGamerz »

We might as well get some advanced training at investigating haunted buildings to prepare for the main quest!
You make your way up the hill to the castle. Passing between the shattered pile of stones that was once the gate tower, you emerge into the courtyard. Grass and clumps of heather poke up between the cracked and tilted flagstones. The walls have tumbled in, and the proud towers have become craggy stacks. Bathed as it is in the cloud-fretted moonlight, the scene strikes you as melancholy and dreamlike. The lineaments of ancient glory...

The unmistakable ring of swordplay startles you out of the reverie. A sudden motion catches your eyes. You turn to see two knights in the middle of the courtyard, smiting at one another with heavy two-handed swords. Both wear armour of very old style. One has pale trim on his ebon cuirass and wears a light cloak. The other is dressed in a black tabard over a coat of silvery mail. Their faces cannot be seen because of the beast-like visors of their helmets.

If you wish to step forward and interrupt their dispute, turn to 93.
If you quietly return to the path and continue on your way, turn to 69.
Sadly there's no option to just sit there with a bag of pop-corns to watch the show. Shall we interrupt the knightly duel?
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Post by Silent Wayfarer »

I kind of want to interrupt and kill them for loot. Do et!
If your religion is worth killing for, please start with yourself.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

I have a feeling they're both going to just turn on us if we approach, and that it'd be better to retreat, but sure, why not, let's intervene.
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Post by SGamerz »

Their sword-strokes are delivered with great ferocity, sending metallic knells reverberating around the ruins. But between each clanging exchange they reel back to rest on their weapons, sucking the air into their lungs with sobs of raw fatigue. It seems they must have been fighting for a long time, and are mortally weary. Their battle as become as much a contest of stamina as of skill.

You move closer. As they become aware of your presence, they move apart and stop fighting. Leaning on their swords, they raise their visors and watch you. Their faces are pale and soaked in sweat, and so alike that they could be brothers.

Who do you want to speak to?

If it is the one in the pale coat, turn to 105.
If the one in the dark coat, turn to 116.
If you step between them and address them both together, turn to 126.
Who do we talk to?
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Talk to both of them.
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Post by SGamerz »

You advance to stand between the two knights. "his duel is senseless," you say, "You are equally matched, and you might fight until Doomsday without settling the issue."

If that is true..." mutters one darkly.

"...then so long shall we fight," finishes the other.

Their hard glare into one another's eyes seems to bore right through you as if you were nothing. Their expressions are rigid with relentless enmity. Guided by a tacit signal, they both start to lower their visors, ready now to renew the fray.

Wait!" you cry, throwing up your arms in protest.

If you try to convince them he duel is unnecessary, turn to 3.
If you take sides in the matter, turn to 14.
Do we want to take sides despite not knowing why the hell they're even fighting?
If we talked to them individually, we'd have gotten their sides of the story.
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Tell them they're both acting like children. We have no stance on Skub.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Convince them to chill, I guess, seeing as taking sides now won't take us to the same paragraph as before and we have no way of telling which is the evil knight.
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Post by SGamerz »

You try to make them see the futility of their struggle. "Look at the castle around you: it is just a weed-covered ruin. Whatever calamity befell your people, it must have happened long ago. You are nothing more than shades; possibility your great passion for honour has kept you dueling here night after night for centuries."

They both gaze ahead as before, but now a look of sadness softens their fierce stares. "Aye," says one with a forlorn groan, "it is the truth..."

The other stands swaying, seeming to see a swirl of images in his mind's eye. "We died with our troops," he sighs "Only wounded pride has kept our spirits tied to earth for so long."

They are fading in front of your eyes, turning to phantoms in the faint moonlight and finally vanishing altogether. A bizarre and poignant episode. As you make your way out of the ruins, a shaft of moonlight descends from a break in the clouds to illuminate one of the arches in the castle wall.

If you clear the undergrowth away and look into the arch, turn to 25.
If you prefer to get back to the path, turn to 69.
Investigate further?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Investigate. We didn't talk our way past these guys for nothing.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SGamerz »

It gives on to a small chamber. As your eyes adjust to the gloom, you can just make out a metallic gleam coming from a stone table. Advancing, you discover a magnificent jeweled breastplate. It has the ornate style often found in war-harnesses of antiquity.

A player who wears the breastplate gets to roll a dice any time he or she is wounded in combat. On a roll of 1 or 2, the breastplate blocks the blow and no BODY points are lost. However, the breastplate is quite cumbersome and will reduce the player's SPEED score by one point while worn.

After deciding who gets this valuable item, you retrace your steps and continue across the moors.

Turn to 69.
Sweet loot. Please vote on who should wear this (right now only the Barbarian and the Wizard can carry more items but they can always redistribute the loot).
At last you arrive at the deserted manse of the infamous Grim Dugald. It seems you have already had as harrowing a night as any you can remember just in crossing the bleak moors; but your perils are far from over yet. You look at the darkened manse - with it high gables, gaping window-sockets and shroud of ivory - and the feeling of foreboding makes you shudder to your core. Still, you will not make things any better by hanging around out here; you may as well get things over with. If only you knew what the 'things' in question were...

Cautiously, you advance along the path until you reach the edge of a wide trench that surrounds the manse like a moat. There is no water in it, but the dim moonlight brims it with shadows.

There is a kind of bridge spanning this moat. It is not like any kind of bridge you ever saw before, however. since it is made up of thick square tiles of pale marble which hover magically in the air without supports. The tiles are about two paces on a side and are close enough for you to easily jump between them. You notice they are furry with grey mould that also hangs raggedly down towards the moat.

If you cross by means of the hovering tiles, turn to 73.
If you descend into the dry moat, turn to 85.
We've already had a 'harrowing' night? But all we did is break up a fight between 2 ghosts without much trouble ad pick up some loot!

Anyway, how do we get in, and who will wear the breastplate (or you may decide not to take the breastplate if you think the protection is not worth the -1 SPEED loss)?
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Barbarian has an extra slot, and is probably going to be tanking, so he should probably take the breastplate.

I'm more suspicious of the tiles than the moat, so I think we should go across the moat.
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Mysterious floating tiles "furry with grey mould that also hangs raggedly down towards the moat" are failing to inspire me with confidence in their probable stability. We have a rope, let's go down into the moat and find another way.

If we do send someone over, at least make it the elf, as I'm sure it'll be a speed/agility test to not fall.
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Post by SGamerz »

You clamber down the sides of the trench into the thick shadows. The bottom of the moat feels slimy underfoot, knotted with weeds. A toad croaks once, unseen in the gloom.

If the dwarf is still with the party, turn 119.
If the dwarf has been lost on the way here, turn to 129.
No, the dwarf just got sick of having to pay for everybody's expenses all the time, and quit.
You spot a secret tunnel entrance in the wall of the trench. This feature is common in isolated manor houses: an insurance allowing the occupants to escape if the manor should be besieged in time of war. You make your way along the tunnel until it widens into a flight of stone steps. These bring you up inside the manor, where you emerge via a concealed panel below the main staircase.

Turn to 6.
Sugar-daddy and expert at spotting hidden entrance. So far, the dwarf seems to be doing all the important stuff, and the rest are just extras.
You step into the dilapidated entrance hall. Your first impression is of cobwebs and dust. The second impression is less favourable. Rats, startled by your arrival, emit frantic squeaks and go scuttling half-glimpsed into the darkness.

You gaze up the long sweep of the stairs. Under the grime of ages, a succession of nefarious faces glower from portrait on the walls. Each looks more depraved than the one before, until finally your eyes come to rest on what must be the likeness of Grim Dugald himself. You cannot even begin to imagine what twisted desires and rank indulgences could have formed those gross features - the hot jowels, the obscene smile and the stare brimming with cruel delight. If the Devil wore a human face, that would be it. You tear your gaze away despite a horrified fascination. Off to one side, below the stairs, steps lead down to the cellars. At the back of the hall is an archway. On the lintel over this is displayed Grim Dugald's coat-of-arms: a raised fist in scarlet, bearing a flail, on an ebon field.

If you go up the stairs, turn to 39.
If you go through the archway, turn to 51.
If you descend to the cellars, turn to 62.
Where do we explore first?

Adventure Sheet:
Asgrim the Barbarian
BODY: 8
MIND: 2
COMBAT: 5
SPEED: 3 2
Battle Order: 1
Items Carried:
1) Bastard Sword
2) Garlic
3) Jewelled Breastplate (wearer takes no damage on a roll of 1 or 2 in combat, -1 SPEED)

Anvil the Dwarf
BODY: 7
MIND: 3
COMBAT: 4
SPEED: 2
Battle Order: 3
Items Carried:
1) Battleaxe
2) Money pouch (6 silver)
3) Holy Water

Fortunato the Wizard
BODY: 4
MIND: 6
COMBAT: 3
SPEED: 3
Battle Order: 4
Items Carried:
1) Dagger
2) Empty
Spells: HEAL BODY, ROCK SKIN, PASS THROUGH ROCK, GENIE, SWIFT WIND, TEMPEST, FIRE OF WRATH, BALL OF FLAME, COURAGE

Eildonas the Elf
BODY: 6
MIND: 4
COMBAT: 4
SPEED: 4
Battle Order: 2
Items Carried:
1) Sword
2) Rope
Spells: SLEEP, WATER OF HEALING, VEIL OF MIST
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'm mildly in favor of checking out the cellars.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Yeah, cellar.
SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Rickety steps lead down to a cellar whose frowsty dust-filled air almost makes you choke. You advance between racks of wine-bottles whose labels date back over many years. You notice one vintage, reclining under a thick gathering of grime, of over a century ago. If you wish to take one of the bottles of wine, remember to record it under your character sheet.

You find a door at the back of the cellar. Beyond lies a sloping passage that seems to lead down into still deeper catacombs. The darkness returns your gaze, heavy with foreboding. But it is down there, no doubt, that you will face your destiny.

Before entering the ominous passage, however, you glance back along the wine-racks. You might never again get the chance to visit such a well-stocked cellar. Perhaps there is time to sample just a few goblets of one of the rarer vintages?

If you tarry awhile to see what the wine is like, turn to 30.
If you think you'd better not lose any time, descend into the catacombs by turning to 41.
Booze! Do we wanna have a toast before we go further?

Also, do we want to fill up our last remaining equipment slot with a bottle of wine?
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

No reason not to take the wine, but I'd advise against drinking from the stuff here. Tarry implies we'll waste time, drunkeness implies a combat penalty, and it might be cursed evil wine anyway.
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Agreed.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
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Post by SGamerz »

The heroes move on, but not before the Wizard grabs the bottle of wine and stuffs it into his pack...
You go deep down into the earth. Finally you emerge from the tunnel in a cave so vast that you cannot see the walls or roof at all. A torch glimmers in a bracket on the wall beside you. If there are any mortal players left (i.e. the wizard and the barbarian) then you must take the torch as otherwise they will be unable to see. You will have to retain it while in the catacombs as long as the barbarian and the wizard survive. (The elf and the dwarf have good enough night-vision not to need torchlight.)

Now turn to 53.
And right away we're given a reason why we should not have filled up our packs! We now need to drop something in favour of the torch.
You reach the edge of a subterranean lake, but the water and your surroundings are so silent and black that you almost seem to be in a void. You see only the white stone quay underfoot, the gleam of torchloght on the still water, and a white-lacquered rowboat tethered to a bollard on the quay.

If anyone wants to drink some of the lake water, decide who will do so and then turn to 65.
If you get into the boat and start rowing, turn to 76.
We skipped the booze earlier, do we want to settle for some sweet lake water instead? Which character should try?

And what do we drop in favour of the torch?

Adventure Sheet:
Asgrim the Barbarian
BODY: 8
MIND: 2
COMBAT: 5
SPEED: 3 2
Battle Order: 1
Items Carried:
1) Bastard Sword
2) Garlic
3) Jewelled Breastplate (wearer takes no damage on a roll of 1 or 2 in combat, -1 SPEED)

Anvil the Dwarf
BODY: 7
MIND: 3
COMBAT: 4
SPEED: 2
Battle Order: 3
Items Carried:
1) Battleaxe
2) Money pouch (6 silver)
3) Holy Water

Fortunato the Wizard
BODY: 4
MIND: 6
COMBAT: 3
SPEED: 3
Battle Order: 4
Items Carried:
1) Dagger
2) Bottle of Wine
Spells: HEAL BODY, ROCK SKIN, PASS THROUGH ROCK, GENIE, SWIFT WIND, TEMPEST, FIRE OF WRATH, BALL OF FLAME, COURAGE

Eildonas the Elf
BODY: 6
MIND: 4
COMBAT: 4
SPEED: 4
Battle Order: 2
Items Carried:
1) Sword
2) Rope
Spells: SLEEP, WATER OF HEALING, VEIL OF MIST
Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Unless the bastard sword is somehow better than other weapons I'd ditch that, Asgrim's hard enough that he can rip people in half with his bare hands with the same ease as Anvil using an axe.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

What's the penalty for fighting unarmed? Maybe the wizard should ditch his weapon.
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