[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 43 - The Keep of the Lich-Lord
Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2015 6:42 am
Fellow gamebook fans, welcome back to my next FF Let's PLay!
Book Cover:
Coming back to this familiar series, I've gone back to my previous poll threads and settled on this book for 2 reasons: 1) it seems to be one of the books where most of the players here aren't already familiar with, and 2) this is one of the few remaining FF books that can legitimately be completed and played fairly without sky-high stats. Written by Dave Morris and Jamie Thompson (co-creators of Fabled Lands gamebooks), this is known as one of the easier books that some players have literally completed on their first playthrough!
So what's this book about?
Back cover blurb:
And here's the introduction inside the front covers:
Well, this time there's no arguments about whether the PC in this for the money!
First of course, we have the rules, and as usual there are the Standard FF Boilerplate Rules:
Skill, Stamina, & Luck
Combat:
Additional Stuff for this book:
There are 2 new values we need to keep track of (although one of them only comes late in the book). They are:
Resolve
Alarm Value:
Our Starting Equipment:
Pretty standard stuff here too: we're armed with a sword, dressed in leather armour, and carries a backpack that contains enough provisions for 10 meals.
So, before we begin, here something concerning the new stat that I'd like to hear your opinions on: one thing I've yet to mention about RESOLVE is that it's stated that every time we test it successfully, we can add 1 to it, whereas if we fail, we must subtract one from the score. Now, if we go strictly by the text, if we start with a high score we're almost guaranteed to get it up to 12 after the first few tests and pretty much be immune from failure for the rest of the book. Conversely, starting at a low score is likely to mean that it'll deteriorate all the way to 2 very quickly.
Some players choose interpret this in a different way so that the stat tests will not be horribly unbalanced: when they pass a RESOLVE test, they add 1 to the score for the next RESOLVE test (and vice versa for failures) instead of adding to the score permanently, which does sound fair.
What do you guys think about this? Should be adhere strictly by the letter of the text regarding the RESOLVE tests for this playthrough (add/subtract 1 permanently for each test), or go by the latter interpretation (add/subtract only for the next test)?
Note that there are also other opportunity for gain/loss of RESOLVE other than via tests (some permanent and some not).
Also, any ideas regarding the name of our new hero are welcome!
Adventure Sheet:
Book Cover:
So what's this book about?
Back cover blurb:
"Clawing his way back from the grave, the foul Lich-Lord has once again set his sights on the Arrowhead Islands. Allying himself with the Chaos pirates of Blood Island, he threatens to bring the Varadian Alliance under the cruel domination of his undead armies. They have already taken Bloodrise Keep, a key point in the defence of the islands, and soon nothing will stand between Mortis and victory. A cunning and fearless warrior is needed for a vital mission to enter Bloodrise Keep and overthrow Lord Mortis - a warrior like YOU!"
Bloodrise Keep has fallen to a deadly foe The safety of the Arowhead Islands ls threatened once more by the forces of Evil. After two centuries of peace the dark necromancer, Lord Mortis of Balthor, has returned from the grave to rekindle the flames of war. In league with the Chaos pirates of Blood Island, and commanding legions of foul undead warriors, he threatens to sweep the Varadian Alliance into the sea!
YOU are a mercenary, battle-hardened and cunning, a man with a mission You will need all your skills if you are to penetrate Bloodrise Keep and destroy the threat to the Alliance.
YOU are a mercenary, battle-hardened and cunning, a man with a mission You will need all your skills if you are to penetrate Bloodrise Keep and destroy the threat to the Alliance.
First of course, we have the rules, and as usual there are the Standard FF Boilerplate Rules:
Skill, Stamina, & Luck
SKILL score: Roll one die. Add 6 to the result. We roll a 3 and get 9.
STAMINA score: Roll two dice. Add 12 points to the result. We roll a 4+2 and get 18 (The Alliance doesn't seem willing to spare much expenses for a first-class mercenary. They'll have to settle for an average one!)
LUCK score: Roll one die. Add 6 to the result. We roll a 5 and get 11 (Good fortune for a Soldier of Fortune!)
SKILL score reflects your expertise in combat, your ability with weapons, and your dexterity. STAMINA is your general constitution and "Life points" . LUCK score shows how lucky you are. None of them may exceed their Initial score unless specifically stated.
Eating a meal restores up to 4 points of STAMINA; you may only eat one meal at a time.
Testing your Luck: When instructed by the book to Test your Luck, roll two dice. If the result is equal to or less than your current LUCK score, you are Lucky. If the result exceeds your current LUCK score, you are Unlucky. Whatever the outcome, you must deduct one point from your current LUCK score every time you Test your Luck. The more you use your LUCK, the less likely you are to be Lucky.
STAMINA score: Roll two dice. Add 12 points to the result. We roll a 4+2 and get 18 (The Alliance doesn't seem willing to spare much expenses for a first-class mercenary. They'll have to settle for an average one!)
LUCK score: Roll one die. Add 6 to the result. We roll a 5 and get 11 (Good fortune for a Soldier of Fortune!)
SKILL score reflects your expertise in combat, your ability with weapons, and your dexterity. STAMINA is your general constitution and "Life points" . LUCK score shows how lucky you are. None of them may exceed their Initial score unless specifically stated.
Eating a meal restores up to 4 points of STAMINA; you may only eat one meal at a time.
Testing your Luck: When instructed by the book to Test your Luck, roll two dice. If the result is equal to or less than your current LUCK score, you are Lucky. If the result exceeds your current LUCK score, you are Unlucky. Whatever the outcome, you must deduct one point from your current LUCK score every time you Test your Luck. The more you use your LUCK, the less likely you are to be Lucky.
SKILL and STAMINA scores are given in the text for each adversary that you face.
The combat sequence is then:
1. Roll two dice for your opponent. Add the total rolled to its SKILL score. This is the Attack Strength of your enemy.
2. Roll two dice and add the total to your own current SKILL score. This is your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is the higher, you have wounded your opponent: deduct 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA..
If your opponent's Attack Strength is higher, it has wounded you: deduct 2 points from your own STAMINA.
If both Attack Strengths are equal, you have avoided each other's blows.
4. Begin the next Combat Round, starting again at step 1. This procedure continues until either you or your opponent has a STAMINA score of zero. If your opponent's STAMINA score reaches zero, you have killed it and can continue with your adventure. If your own STAMINA score reaches zero, you are dead.
Often you will have to fight more than one opponent at a time. Sometimes you will treat them as a single opponent; at others, you will be able to fight them one at a time; and sometimes all of them will be able to attack you, while you defend yourself and may attack only one of them. Specific instructions will be given whenever you meet more than one opponent.
Using Luck in Combat
You can use your LUCK in combat to inflict a particularly serious wound, or to minimize a wound that has been inflicted on you.
Whenever you wound an opponent, you may Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound: deduct an extra 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA. If you are Unlucky, you have merely grazed it, and you deduct 1 point less than normal from its STAMINA.
If you have been wounded, you can Test your Luck in exactly the same way. If you are Lucky, the wound upon you was only a glancing blow and you can deduct 1 less point of STAMINA than usual. If you are Unlucky, the wound is serious: deduct 1 extra point from your STAMINA.
The combat sequence is then:
1. Roll two dice for your opponent. Add the total rolled to its SKILL score. This is the Attack Strength of your enemy.
2. Roll two dice and add the total to your own current SKILL score. This is your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is the higher, you have wounded your opponent: deduct 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA..
If your opponent's Attack Strength is higher, it has wounded you: deduct 2 points from your own STAMINA.
If both Attack Strengths are equal, you have avoided each other's blows.
4. Begin the next Combat Round, starting again at step 1. This procedure continues until either you or your opponent has a STAMINA score of zero. If your opponent's STAMINA score reaches zero, you have killed it and can continue with your adventure. If your own STAMINA score reaches zero, you are dead.
Often you will have to fight more than one opponent at a time. Sometimes you will treat them as a single opponent; at others, you will be able to fight them one at a time; and sometimes all of them will be able to attack you, while you defend yourself and may attack only one of them. Specific instructions will be given whenever you meet more than one opponent.
Using Luck in Combat
You can use your LUCK in combat to inflict a particularly serious wound, or to minimize a wound that has been inflicted on you.
Whenever you wound an opponent, you may Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound: deduct an extra 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA. If you are Unlucky, you have merely grazed it, and you deduct 1 point less than normal from its STAMINA.
If you have been wounded, you can Test your Luck in exactly the same way. If you are Lucky, the wound upon you was only a glancing blow and you can deduct 1 less point of STAMINA than usual. If you are Unlucky, the wound is serious: deduct 1 extra point from your STAMINA.
There are 2 new values we need to keep track of (although one of them only comes late in the book). They are:
Resolve
The major theme in this book is that we'll be facing lots of undead stuff, and they're notorious for not only good at killing people, but also at scaring people (sometimes better at the latter than the former). Apparently, those raised by this Lord Mortis guy are especially terrifying. RESOLVE is a stat that can be tested exactly like our LUCK, and a successful test (rolling under our score) determines whether we manage to overcome our fears.
Our Initial RESOLVE can be determined by rolling 1 die and adding 5: we roll a 3 and get 8. However, Resolve CAN be raised above our Initial scores. But it can never go above 12, or below 2.
There's one more thing about this stat that needs to be mentioned, but I'll leave it to later, as there's something I want to determine by your votes....
Our Initial RESOLVE can be determined by rolling 1 die and adding 5: we roll a 3 and get 8. However, Resolve CAN be raised above our Initial scores. But it can never go above 12, or below 2.
There's one more thing about this stat that needs to be mentioned, but I'll leave it to later, as there's something I want to determine by your votes....
This really only comes into play during the later portions of the book. Basically, this score goes up when we do something to attract attention after we've infiltrated into Bloodrise Keep (such as making too much noise or getting spotted by patrol). Our score starts at 0, and ideally should be kept at that level if we don't want to get caught! (It will only start increasing after we enter the Keep, so we don't need to sneak about for the entire adventure)
Pretty standard stuff here too: we're armed with a sword, dressed in leather armour, and carries a backpack that contains enough provisions for 10 meals.
So, before we begin, here something concerning the new stat that I'd like to hear your opinions on: one thing I've yet to mention about RESOLVE is that it's stated that every time we test it successfully, we can add 1 to it, whereas if we fail, we must subtract one from the score. Now, if we go strictly by the text, if we start with a high score we're almost guaranteed to get it up to 12 after the first few tests and pretty much be immune from failure for the rest of the book. Conversely, starting at a low score is likely to mean that it'll deteriorate all the way to 2 very quickly.
Some players choose interpret this in a different way so that the stat tests will not be horribly unbalanced: when they pass a RESOLVE test, they add 1 to the score for the next RESOLVE test (and vice versa for failures) instead of adding to the score permanently, which does sound fair.
What do you guys think about this? Should be adhere strictly by the letter of the text regarding the RESOLVE tests for this playthrough (add/subtract 1 permanently for each test), or go by the latter interpretation (add/subtract only for the next test)?
Note that there are also other opportunity for gain/loss of RESOLVE other than via tests (some permanent and some not).
Also, any ideas regarding the name of our new hero are welcome!
Adventure Sheet:
Name: ???
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 18/218
LUCK 11/11
RESOLVE: 8
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 18/218
LUCK 11/11
RESOLVE: 8
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 10 Meals (+4 STAMINA)