[Let's Play] Blood Sword I - The Battlepits of Krarth

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri May 01, 2015 5:12 pm

I can't believe we're voluntarily building the end boss.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri May 01, 2015 5:34 pm

I suspect that we need to build the end boss in order to exit the dungeon. Even if we don't it should be fun.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Fri May 01, 2015 7:39 pm

Yeah, logic stopped working after we met that True Magi dude.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat May 02, 2015 2:19 am

Darth Rabbitt wrote:I suspect that we need to build the end boss in order to exit the dungeon. Even if we don't it should be fun.

Actually, no, this whole business of re-building Skrymir is just a bonus-exp-and-reward quest. If we skipped the whole thing we could have finished the book by now. The only real penalty we have to face (not counting the sweet reward we will have to forfeit for not killing the giant, which can't really be considered a punishment) was that harsh Psychic test that drove Benedict mad.

You strain to manoeuvre the huge bones into place within the frame. Gradually the body of the longdead giant is reconstructed. When all the sections of the skeleton are in place, a cold dry wind whips up around the atoll, keening hungrily. Skrymir's soul is returning from the dead.

Patches of flesh-mould appear on the sere bones. A spark of life-light gleams inside the sockets of the skull. Veins and sinews spread, glistening tendrils, as the body re-forms from dust.

Skrymir rises to stand before you, the iron frame now forming a suit of armour around his powerfully muscled body. He looks upon you as a man watches a fly. 'I have no heart!' he bellows. 'You have neglected the heart of Skrymir! I must take yours instead!'

What? But ours are so small and bloody and disgusting! Wouldn't you rather have this pretty piece of Kalium as a substitute?

No? Oh, well....

Skrymir reaches towards you. You realise that he is very probably the most awesome opponent you have ever faced. This is no longer just a contest, a game played for mere riches, You are fighting to stay alive.

Skrymir the Giant
Fighting Prowess: 9 Psychic Ability: 9
Awareness: 8 Damage per blow: 4 Dice
Armour Rating: 3
Endurance: 55

If by some miracle you defeat him, turn to 432.

Due to the loss of the Trickster, the Enchanter is now standing next to the enemy. Unlike Archery, there's nothing in the rules that says he can't cast spell while engaged in melee, but the danger is that if Skrymir choose to attack him he's unlikely to survive a hit (same goes for his companions, really). And due to its high Awareness no one can disengage without taking an automatic hit! And this is the first opponent that not even a full-blown Nemesis Bolt can take down in 1 round!

Any strategies?

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sat May 02, 2015 3:34 am

Repeated Nemesis Bolts to the face is still my best strategy; I'll stick with that.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat May 02, 2015 3:40 am

Don't cast Nemesis Bolt. Unlike Icon, this guy isn't immune to Servile Enthrallment. Command him to let us leave, and hope he rolls poorly on his attempt to resist.

Also, would this guy have been nicer if he wasn't literally heartless?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat May 02, 2015 3:45 am

I regret letting you people do this. To me.

I'm going to swing away in hopes of drawing his fire. Guarding takes too long to kick in.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat May 02, 2015 12:22 pm

Oh, right. I'll try using Quarterstaff Technique on him. Not likely to work but if it does it'll give us a chance to get out of his reach even without a successful command attempt (because of the reduced Awareness).

angelfromanotherpin · Sat May 02, 2015 12:37 pm

Hm, yes if the quarterstaff technique works, I'll switch to guard (and the Enchanter should probably disengage).

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sat May 02, 2015 2:04 pm

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Don't cast Nemesis Bolt. Unlike Icon, this guy isn't immune to Servile Enthrallment. Command him to let us leave, and hope he rolls poorly on his attempt to resist.?

He has a 5/6ths chance of ignoring Enthrallment, but two Nemesis Bolts have *very* good odds of dropping him. Well, if we can survive the four rounds that'll take. And I'd advise skipping the quarterstaff technique. Unless we hear otherwise from SGamerz, seems it doesn't affect their actual awareness stat.

But if you all would like me to gamble on that roll, I'll do it. There's no good strategy for us either way. The end is nigh!

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat May 02, 2015 4:48 pm

Shiritai wrote:And I'd advise skipping the quarterstaff technique. Unless we hear otherwise from SGamerz, seems it doesn't affect their actual awareness stat.

The Quarterstaff Technique, if it hits, knocks the opponent off-balance and causes them to act at the end of the next round, regardless of Awareness. So the Warrior would have the chance to defend the following round if the Sage hits. Only lasts for one round, though.

There isn't a general consensus on strategy, so I'd go with what the individual players decide to do for their characters: Enchanter casts Nemesis Bolts, Sage uses Quarterstaff Technique, Warrior attacks on the first round and defends if the Quarterstaff works.

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Awareness 8 acts ...

Skrymir fights Warrior. Roll = 6 (Hits). Damage = 15-3 = 12. Warrior is killed.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Sage moves stand beside Skrymir (decreasing Enchanter's chance of getting hit).

Enchanter prepares Nemesis Bolt.

Round 2

Awareness 8 acts ...

Skrymir fights Sage. Roll = 8 (Hits). Damage = 13-2 = 11. Sage is killed.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 2+5 = 7 (Success!). Damage = 32+7-2 = 37. Skrymir has 18 END left!

Round 3

Awareness 8 acts ...

Skrymir fights Enchanter. Roll = 7 (Hits). Damage = 10-2 = 8. Enchanter has 3 END left.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Enchanter prepares Nemesis Bolt.

Round 4

Awareness 8 acts ...

Skrymir fights Enchanter. Roll = 8 (Hits). Enchanter is killed.

We actually came close. If Enchanter already had Nemesis Bolt in mind, or the Trickster had been around to buy an extra round (the Enchanter would not have started next Skrymir if there were 4), there's a good chance you could have won. Although you'd probably still have lost at least 2 of the party.

How do we proceed here?

1) Re-roll and the fight and hope we can roll better?

2) Rewind back and take the heart from Magus Zyn, so that the Trickster will survive......and find out if it makes any difference if Skrymir were resurrected with a heart?

3) Skip the entire sequence of resurrecting Skrymir and just end the game?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat May 02, 2015 5:14 pm

I think the fairest thing to do from a game perspective is just to take the easy ending. But I would like to see the content you get from being gullible idiots taking the Magus' deal.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sat May 02, 2015 7:41 pm

Rewind and take the deal.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sat May 02, 2015 8:14 pm

Yeah, cooperate with Zyn.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat May 02, 2015 9:35 pm

I was curious about what happened if you had the heart anyways so let's try it.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun May 03, 2015 1:30 am

So in an alternate reality, the party overcome their paranoia and take Zyn's offer:

'Ah, it is well,' says the ghost with a misty, emotionless smile. 'The loyal servants of Zyn shall share in his glory, and I shall reward you above all others.' It passes its hands over the sarcophagus lid, which slowly rises into the air. You look upon a mouldered skeleton that clutches a lump of granite in its broken fingers.

'My mortal form ...' says the ghost wistfully. 'So long since I could taste the musky wines of Asmuly or feel a scented breeze from off the meadows ... Take the stone! Take it quickly! I wish to wallow no longer in the memory of things lost to me.'

You have no choice but to comply. Your agreement to aid the ghost has bereft you of any power to oppose him. You take the lump of granite from the skeleton's hands, and the sarcophagus slowly closes again.

You see that you hold a fossilised heart. 'It is the heart of the giant Skrymir,' explains the ghost. 'He was destroyed by the True Magi, but he shall be my instrument of vengeance against their heirs, these mewling modern magi who have usurped the ancient grandeur ...' He flickers and seems to grow larger and more tenebrous for a moment, then settles down into a cold hard radiance. 'Go towards the atoll. I have no interest in this petty contest; it is of no concern to me whether you take the Emblem of Victory or not. Do so if you wish. However, on your way to the Emblem at the summit, you will pass through chambers where the sundered fragments of Skrymir's body lie - his massive legs, his rib-cage, his arms and his fleshless skull. Take them with you. At the summit, assemble them and place the fossilised heart in his dusty chest. Then stand you back, for the magic of Zyn shall roar forth from the cosmic interstices once again, as it did in times of old. Flesh shall clothe his yellowed bones, his heart shall beat and warm blood shall course through his veins; his eyes shall open and behold this travesty of ancient Krarth, and to the upstart magi he shall mete out a most fitting fate. Now, make ready to return below ...'

He lifts diaphonous hands. A stream of grey-blue lights surrounds you. The scene shifts, and once more you find yourself on the plain below the floating platform. You can proceed as before - but remember that you have the heart of Skrymir now and - for the moment at least - you cannot discard it.

With the heart, there's no need to go through all the options again, since we're railroaded into picking up every piece of Skrymir. but let's have a look at what happens differently: when the Trickster would have gone mad.

The voice of Magus Zyn speaks inside your head: 'The guardians of the magi seek to stop you with their magic. But the servants of Zyn may always look to their master for aid ... Pay heed to the music of old Krarth.' You hear music in your mind - the atonal chanting of Cabbandari symphony. It is not to your tastes, but it certainly has the effect of driving away the phantasms that threaten your sanity. 'Now collect Skrymir's rib-cage,' says Zyn.

And so the party makes it through unscathed this time and proceed to pick up the rib-cage as commanded.

With the Trickster back there's more than enough equipment slots to carry all the body parts and the gauntlets.

Finally, we reach the Emblem with the heart and the body parts. This time, there's no option, unlike last time:

You have no choice. Almost without volition, you stoop and begin to place the huge bones into the iron frame. Your thoughts are still your own, but Zyn's magic has implanted a subconscious command that you are powerless to resist. You watch as your hands reconstruct the long-dead giant. When all the sections of the skeleton are in place, you fetch the stone heart and lower it into the massive rib-cage. A cold dry wind whips up around the atoll, keening hungrily. Skrymir's soul is returning from the dead.

Already you can see small patches of skin appearing like fungus on the sere bones. A spark of life-light gleams inside the sockets of the skull.

Is there anything else you would like to add to the frame now? If so, turn to 302. If not, you have only to stand back and watch Skrymir return to life (turn to 117).

And now free will has returned! Let's look at the item check (since the alternative option Is still available next section):

What will you add before the giant's flesh and sinew reknits on his ancient bones? A sliver of Kalium, a spiked gauntlet or an ice jewel? If you do not have - or do not wish to use - any of these, turn to 117.

We've got 2 possible items we can use! Do we want to use either?

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sun May 03, 2015 2:30 am

Wait, we can mess with the assembly process having voluntarily agreed and been magically compelled to rez Skrymir, but had to perform exactly to specs when we were doing it for the lulz? Dat book, man.

Anyway, there's this story how an apprentice at Long Lakes Wizard Academy smuggled some silly putty from the lab in his front shirt pocket and had to throw it into a snowbank, with hilarious results. Let's add it, gotta be fun.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sun May 03, 2015 3:23 am

You see that you hold a fossilised heart. 'It is the heart of the giant Skrymir,' explains the ghost. 'He was destroyed by the True Magi, but he shall be my instrument of vengeance against their heirs, these mewling modern magi who have usurped the ancient grandeur ...' He flickers and seems to grow larger and more tenebrous for a moment, then settles down into a cold hard radiance. 'Go towards the atoll. I have no interest in this petty contest; it is of no concern to me whether you take the Emblem of Victory or not. Do so if you wish. However, on your way to the Emblem at the summit, you will pass through chambers where the sundered fragments of Skrymir's body lie - his massive legs, his rib-cage, his arms and his fleshless skull. Take them with you. At the summit, assemble them and place the fossilised heart in his dusty chest. Then stand you back, for the magic of Zyn shall roar forth from the cosmic interstices once again, as it did in times of old. Flesh shall clothe his yellowed bones, his heart shall beat and warm blood shall course through his veins; his eyes shall open and behold this travesty of ancient Krarth, and to the upstart magi he shall mete out a most fitting fate. Now, make ready to return below ...'

If his beef was just with the True Magi, I'd vote to give him the gauntlet, but this is a new twist. I wouldn't want to chance him killing our employer; add the potassium! Also I'll ready Nemesis Bolt this time.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun May 03, 2015 7:33 am

Potassium it is, then!

You remove the sliver from its casket and insert it into a ventricle of the stone heart. Moments later it begins to pulse with life, and the pink bloom of fresh blood washes over it as the stone reverts to flesh. Slabs of muscle swell across the bones, sewn with gristle and skin. Skrymir rises from the dead.

He stands before you, towering towards the cave roof like the shadow of a great glacier. His beard sparkles with icicles; his eyes blaze with cold fury.

'Skrymir stands upon Middle-Earth once more!' he cries, shaking the rock walls with his voice of thunder. 'Legend reverberates to his battle-roar. Let the magi who crouch upon the old thrones of Krarth beware - they shall not see another dawn, for the sky then shall be washed with their blood!'

Suddenly he notices you. You feel his dark eyes on you like the first frost of winter. 'Skrymir was raised from his grave by mortal hand,' he murmurs menacingly. 'Is this meet? Should the proud Lord of Jotunheim endure such shameful obligation? Not so! You shall be the first to die, then, by my resurrected hand ...'

He reaches down towards you. You can sense his power, and know that this is no blundering colossus who stands before you. Skrymir is truly the Lord of Giant-Home, a being who could challenge the very gods. Grimly, you make ready to battle him.

Suddenly he clutches at his chest and gives vent to a scream of agony that shakes the atoll under you and dislodges stalactites from the roof above. 'My heart! Oh, my mighty heart, burned by the spiteful sting of fire. Loge, is this your d...' He falls, crashing into the ground with such force that you are thrown off your feet. Through the clouds of rock-dust thrown up, you see him give a short convulsive spasm as the burning Kalium consumes his heart and explodes within his chest. A Frost Giant cannot endure the power of heat and flame. Even as you watch, the fire spreads throughout his huge body and within minutes he returns to ashes. This time, not even his bones remain.

Works out just as the Trickster expected.

You have slain Skrymir the Frost Giant, a mighty enemy who vexed even the True Magi of Krarth. For this monumental victory you receive a bonus of two hundred experience points (divided equally among all surviving players).

Climbing to the top of the atoll, you take hold of the Emblem of Victory. The column of light streams around you, and you feel the Teleportation spell taking effect. You are conveyed to the Great Hall where the magi have assembled to applaud your victory.

You are approached first by Magus Tor. 'I speak on behalf of all the magi,' he declares. 'You have achieved far more than the winning of the annual contest. You have overcome our ancestral foe, dread Skrymir. For this you shall be rewarded most lavishly ...' He claps his hands and slaves scurry forwards bearing gifts on trays of jade.

If there is a Warrior in the party, he or she may take an enchanted sword. This adds one to the wielder's Fighting Prowess.

If there is a Sage, he or she is given a shielding charm that adds one to Armour Rating.

For a Trickster there is a magic bow, which adds one to Fighting Prowess when he or she takes the shoot option in a combat. Arrows shot from this bow inflict 1 Die+1 damage.

For an Enchanter, if there is one, the magi provide a ring of sorcery which confers a bonus of one to Psychic Ability.

When all surviving players have taken the item appropriate to their adventuring class, turn to 540.

The loot would probably have been even more useful to the ones getting it if the Enchanter and Warrior hadn't abused the ADJUST scrolls earlier....still, these are useful, because there's no rules stating that they players can't trade their reward items between themselves. The Warrior and the Trickster can probably benefit more from the Ring and the Shielding charm. And we got a better bow to replace the one the Sage lost.

The 200 exp is only the bonus for killing Skrymir, there are more coming...

Victory is yours. You are among the few to have emerged from the Battlepits, for the magi's contest is a deadly one and often there are no survivors. All surviving players get one thousand experience points to share equally between them, and can now determine if they have advanced in rank.

The quiet condescending applause of the magi is one thing but the rapturous cheers of the crowds outside the Hall is quite another. You stand proudly as they shower garlands upon you - the one day of the year when they can show admiration for someone other than their despot rulers.

Your patron is flushed with success - your victory means many concessions of land from his peers. He finds a few moments amid the tumult of congratulation to come over and speak to you. 'It is time for you to leave Krarth now,' he says. 'Having once entered the Battlepits, you are ineligible for the contest in future years. Doubtless this will not bother you, for you have fought your way to resounding triumph. But there is one who is left with bitter hatred for you in his heart. I need not peer into my scrying-sphere to tell you that you will meet him again. Be on your guard.'

For a moment, when you turn to look out at the cheering crowds, you seem to catch a glimpse of a black-cloaked figure watching you with an expression of cold fury. But when you look again, he is gone.

I think most of you can make a good guess as to the identity of the mysterious cloaked guy.....

That's a total of 300 exp gained for each individual player, enough for everyone to raise a rank! I'll be posting the new stats when we start the next book. Congratulations for completing Book 1 of the series!

Everyone still game for the next book?

If so, I'll start that some time tomorrow. Either way, I'll be following this up with some of the stuff we missed, including a couple other details and scenario about resurrecting Skrymir.....

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun May 03, 2015 8:03 am

Before I reveal more, a couple of things to address:

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Also, would this guy have been nicer if he wasn't literally heartless?

"Nicer" definitely wouldn't be the right word (as you can see from the scenario we just completed), but there's a chance that he wouldn't be outright hostile towards us. He'd simply ignore us and try to just leave and kill the Magi. If we draw his attention by asking him for a reward, then he gets aggressive, and we'd have to fight him.

Not having his heart doesn't seem to have hampered his fighting ability at all, as we'll be fighting him with the exact same stats. Unless we foolishly helped boost them further by adding the wrong items (anything besides the potassium). The gauntlets would have given Skrymir an additional 1D +6 to his damage (!), while the Ice Jewel gives him an extra 25 END.

And here's what happens if we just stayed out of Skrymir's way after resurrecting him:

Skrymir climbs to the very top of the atoll, knocking the Emblem aside with a roar of hatred. He stands bathed in the light of the Teleportation spell for an instant, then shimmers and fades - to rematerialize in the Great Hall of the magi, no doubt. You can imagine the look of dumbfoundment on the faces of the assembled dignitaries when that maddened giant appears in their midst.

You reach for the fallen Emblem and carry it to the peak. The beam shines starkly around you, conveying you too up to the surface.

The scene that greets your eyes is one of carnage. Skrymir has charged to the end of the Hall, spreading destruction in his wake. Bodies lie crushed or moaning as their lifeblood ebbs away. A horde of dazed courtiers clogs the exits, screaming as the angry giant hurls blocks of masonry about in his lust for blood. Several magi have collected their wits enough to flee by sorcery, disappearing off to their distant citadels through inter-dimensional corridors that only they can use.

Others were not so quick to react. Among the bodies, you see the pulped corpses of Magus Uru and cruel Magus Kalugen. Magus Venzor lies not far off, groaning piteously in his death-throes. His body was crushed when the giant trod on him.

You will receive no grand reward now. Hurriedly you fight your way to the exit through the press of shrieking attendants and ashen-faced guards. You gain a total of eight hundred experience points (divided between all surviving players), but of the promised riches there is no sign.

Emerging into the streets, you make your way out of Kalugen's Keep. Looking back, you see the inner towers beginning to blaze as Skrymir cuts a swathe of devastation within the walls. Not exactly the triumphant victory you had hoped for. But you shed no tears for the magi, and you still hold the Emblem of Victory which you may be able to sell for a few bags of gold. You are still alive, too. Not a triumphant victory, but a better fate than you might have suffered in the infernal Battlepits of Krarth ...

So, yeah, it's actually a viable option to just release Skrymir and let him wreak havoc. We'd technically still have completed the book, gained some exp (less than optimal) and still move on to the next book! Presumably some other hero (or the surviving Magi) will take Skrymir down eventually, since he's not brought up again in the later books either way.

Starmaker wrote:Wait, we can mess with the assembly process having voluntarily agreed and been magically compelled to rez Skrymir, but had to perform exactly to specs when we were doing it for the lulz? Dat book, man.

I don't know....this actually kind of makes some sense to me on both levels.

From the story perspective, we could sabotage the resurrection only by blowing up his heart with the Kalium. Since we tried to do it without the heart the previous time, that option wasn't available. The heart was his vital weakness, but we can't do any harm to it while Zyn still holds t for safekeeping.

From the gameplay perspective.....if the players rejected Zyn's offer because they sense that there's something wrong with helping him and Skrymir......and then went on to do it for the lulz anyway, it can be argued that the players are voluntarily asking for trouble (and therefore got loads of it).

Accepting Zyn's help basically 'traps' them down a dangerous route (fighting Skrymir without the Kalium is no fun, either) because they made 1 'bad' choice, so they are given a chance to get out of that predicament. If we didn't accept the offer, no one is forcing the players to go ahead with the resurrection, and they get the opportunity to back out at any point, so if they still choose to do it anyway, they should be prepared to face whatever consequences that results from it. It's not just a matter of being doomed after making one wrong move, they were punished for persisting in choosing what is probably the more dangerous route.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun May 03, 2015 10:09 am

I'll only be highlighting a few of the stuff we missed out. I won't be able to cover a lot of them since the first part of the Battlepits is pretty non-linear and there are multiple paths to it.

The 3 employers:

There're really only 2 genuine prospective employers out of the 3. Magus Vyl (the vampire) was never interested in looking for champions. He's just looking for his next meal. He already has the permanent service of his own cult of assassins, who will be representing him in the Battlepits....and who will also attack us once we've been lured to Vyl. It's also possible to fight and defeat Vyl himself.

For anyone interested, here are his stats and abilities:

Magus Vyl
Fighting Prowess: 7 Damage per blow: 3 Dice
Psychic Ability: 9 Awareness: 9
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 35

Note: Because he is a vampire, Vyl has the special ability to paralyse with his touch. Anyone (except a Sage) wounded by him must immediately roll equal to or less than his or her Psychic Ability: if this roll fails, the paralysed player falls to the floor and can take no further part in the combat. Sages are immune because of their mind-over-body disciplines.

We may also encounter his Assassins in the Battlepits itself (although the trio are not explicitly described as under Vyl's employ when we encounter them....possibly because it's possible for Vyl to be already dead by that point):

In fact, we came close to running into them....remember when we were tracking Magus Tor's Barbarians when they split up? Two of them went the opposite direction and ran into the Assassins, which was why they were slightly injured when they came running back to join their companions in their fight against us. If we had chosen go down that path, we would have come upon them just as they were landing the killing blows on the Assassins (who are completely outclassed despite outnumbering the Barbarians 3-to-2).

If we had attacked the Barbarians immediately before they split up, and then chose to flee from them, there's also a chance that we could have stumbled into the room with the Assassins, in which case the situation turns into a 3-way fight, each group of champions being mutually hostile to the other 2.

Part of the penalty for picking Vyl in the beginning (other than being attacked by him and his cronies) is that by the time we go back, Balhazar would have already found his champion, and we are stuck with Kalugen.

Speaking of Balhazar, there're actually 3 possible fine loot that can be gotten from him.....on mutually exclusive path. One of them, as mentioned before, is the Giant-killing sword known as 'Blutgetranker - the "blood-drinker" - made out of a sliver from the legendary sword of the god Frey.' It adds 1 to Fighting Prowess in all combats and adds 1 Die of damage against all giants (Skrymir is the only one in this book, I think, but there will be more in future books). We get this sword if we rooted out the assassin at Balhazar's party before he could try to attack the Magus.

If we mistook the assassin for Balhazar, he escapes. Balhazar sends us away, but not before giving us a 1-shot amulet that allows us to resurrect a dead PC in return for us inadvertently preventing his assassination. This same amulet can also potentially be used to gain a companion later in the Battlepits, when we come upon one of the previous champions who was frozen to death.

This guy, Imragarn, can accompany us all the way up to the bridge....where he will choose to confront his "greatest fear":

Imragarn looks around in confusion, trying to decide between the two bridges. You call out across the gorge to advise him, but he cannot hear you over the dull, reverberating roar of the river below. The Hags bray with laughter, sputtering phlegm over their cyanic lips as they rub their hands in vicious merriment. They anticipate a tragedy.

They are not disappointed this time. Imragarn chooses the first bridge and edges nervously along it. He is a stocky man, not light on his feet. As he nears the middle of the bridge, the gargoyle head booms its summons: 'Relinquish the grave.' In answer to the summons, tendrils of fire appear in a dazzling blossom below the bridge and lick upwards, gradually dying down to reveal a darkcowled woman of majestic stature. She steps towards the trembling figure of Imragarn, and by her gait the gruesome goddess is revealed: Hela, Queen of the Dead.

'Imragarn,' she says in a voice to chill the blood. 'I am the greatest foe you have ever bested, for I am Death and you belong to me . . .'

Imragarn starts to raise his hands, but it is a futile gesture, a gesture not of defiance but of resignation. This is true,' he groans. 'I have no right to oppose you, even if I could, because I have had a second lease of life and this is more than any man may claim.'

Hela reaches for him with lean white hands. The look on Imragarn's face is one of adoration, which is strange because the dread queen appears to you only as a grinning monstrosity of bone and gristle. Perhaps he sees her other aspect, which some claim is beautiful beyond description. They fade away, leaving the bridge stark and empty.

The third possible fancy loot you can get from Balhazar is also a sword.....which he will give to you after you identified him at the party.......but failed to act in time to stop the Assassin, who kills him. (This, of course, again forces us to go to Kalugen.) Interestingly, this is the only time in the book where Balhazar actually tells you (in his dying breath) that it was probably Vyl who sent the assassin. He gives you the "sword of Loge Skyrunner" as a parting gift, which also gives us 1 FP bonus. It doesn't have Blutgetranker's bonus against giants, but is still an interesting item in that it can turn invisible. This can be useful on multiple occasions in later books where the party may get captured/robbed/imprisoned and deprived of all their equipment....but the bearer of the Sword of Loge will get to keep this weapon because it's invisible and the captors fail to find it! It also leads to one of the very few special Warrior sections (where he gets to pull off a cool combat maneuver to save the rest of the party) in one of the later books, but I'll wait till then to reveal more on this.

Anyway, we're left with Kalugen:

Not much else to say, he's mainly the guy we're stuck with if we made "wrong" choices early in the book. Other than not giving us the luxury of dropping us in rooms where there ar free food and loot, Kalugen also makes it very clear from the beginning that he doesn't particularly care if we win, and he hires us purely for sport. And part of that "sport" involves us being forced to play games with him with highly uneven odds (against us) and forcing us to bet our equipment on them. He also gives us a mysterious scroll that serves no apparent purpose other than to drop us into a random and pointless combat with a fairly-dangerous foe:

(Make sure you have a note of the last entry you were reading.)

You unfurl the scroll. It is covered with glittering scratch-like runes that seem to scuttle to and fro across the page. Wisps of green-black vapour curl out like tentacles to enfold you, cutting off your view of your surroundings. You seem to stand in an endless sea of fog. Then a strong breeze whips up around you. Strangely it blows your hair and you can feel its chill on your skin, but your clothes do not billow up at all. The fog disperses, leaving you with a grim vista. You are on a plain of sticky olive-brown mire, broken at intervals by bones and skulls that protrude from the mud.

You are positioned as shown - the player who opened the scroll at point S, any other players at points P. A being clad in azure armour stands at M. He is four metres tall- manlike in form except for his head, which is the huge horned skull of a stag. Green eyes roll in the hollow sockets. He opens his fleshless mouth, sending a wave of foetid air rolling towards you. 'Welcome to the realm of Smeaborg the Fleshless,' he says. 'Our relationship will be a brief and deadly one.' He hefts his giant halberd and stalks to the attack.

Smeaborg
Fighting Prowess: 9 Damage per blow: 5 Dice
Psychic Ability: 9 Awareness: 8
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 45

Note: Smeaborg is not only a powerful fighter, but also a wielder of fearsome demon-sorcery. At the start of every Round, roll one Die; on a roll of 1 Smeaborg unleashes a Slow Murder spell instead of striking with his halberd in that Round. When he does use a spell, every player must try to roll his or her Psychic Ability or less on two Dice. Failure means that the spell takes effect, causing the player to automatically lose one Endurance each Round until he or she is dead or the combat is over.

You cannot flee. If you destroy Smeaborg, the spell that holds you in his deathly kingdom is broken and you can return to the last paragraph you were reading.

Choosing Kalugen does leads to a few paths that we cannot reach via Balhazar, including picking up the doomed companion that I mentioned earlier. Again, I won't be goung thrugh them in details, but here's a little highlight, which I chose partly due to the fact that it contains a rare Special Warrior section:

Here's a description of the guy from the text:

Often the soldiers of this company may spend months or years, without seeing the light of day, stalking the underworld. He wears jet-black ringmail armour with an ochre tabard. Here and there spots of rust show through the iron links of his armour, and the stench of the grave clings to his clothing. He has no helmet, and the sight of his stubbled chin, badly cropped hair and crazed eyes tell you that he is one of the psychopathic Tomb Rangers assigned to suicidal missions in the underworld.

And here's the afore-mentioned special Warrior option:

WARRIOR:
You stride boldly forwards. The Tomb Ranger turns a mad stare on you, but does not unfold his arms. He seems almost contemptuous of you.

'I have swum the Mergeld Sea through the ice-floes of winter,' you declare. 'The Hydra has lost seven of her nine heads to my sword. I lifted the frost-giant Urksben Treeneck a full metre clear of the ground in a wrestling contest. When the Masters of Death spat their poisoned fangs at me, I swept them aside in mid-air.' You go on declaiming some of your more outstanding victories (real or imagined), then issue the formal challenge to combat of the Warrior caste.

'Well, me,' says the Tomb Ranger lazily, 'I've done nothing grand or heroic. All I do is kill.' As he responds with the ritual answer to your challenge, he plucks up a rusty sword that lies beside him on the ground and tosses it to you. You catch it. 'I don't suppose it'll do you any more good than the last sucker,' sneers the Ranger, 'but there's no fun gutting a toothless pig ...'

Beating this guy gains us a magic scepter with multiple charges of magic blasts that can be used to break down walls on more than one occasion (although the Ranger may decide to use it on us if we're not careful).

Now just a few more miscellaneous stuff:

As I previously mentioned (in spoiler text), there's actually magic-immune creature in the dungeon:

Nebularon, Drinker of Souls, Swallower of Sorcery

We narrowly avoided this guy when the Trickster open up the mirror route and diverted us from the path. He realy would have been a more fittin choice for the Enchanter's "greatest fear", because the Enchanter would literally be helpless before him without his companions. Especially after he used the ADJUST scroll to essentially make himself physically handicapped.

Nebularon
Fighting Prowess: 8
Damage per blow: 4 Dice+4
Awareness: 8
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 50

Spells are useless against Nebularon. He is cloaked in an 'anti-magic field' that automatically negates sorcery, so you cast the spell but it simply fizzles out.

He doesn't even have a Psychic Value because there's no need for him to resist spells. Even the Dagger of Vislet loses its magical property if used against him. It'll hit him once if thrown at him, but won't return back to the owner after that.

There is, however, an item that can instant-kill him. Remember the gem that is said to contain dragon fire (held by that faerie chick along with the Golden Snuffbox and the Dagger of Vislet). If thrown at this demon, the gem's magic will be nullified by the demon's aura....and release the dragon fire trapped inside, which fries the demon instantly.

Regarding the two glass octagonal prisms.....they're essentially teleporting devices that allow us to skip most of the obstacles in the lower levels. Since we had most, we actually took a relatively short path to the end.

If you wondered about the use of the Chimera Spittle, we could have needed to use it if we possessed only 1 or none of the prisms, because we would have needed to get past a wide chasm and would require the cooperation of a cursed human who was transformed into a Dirge (one of those flying creatures we got rid of using the Ice Jewel). The Sage's would have given us this information about him:

[This is not a normal Dirge, but an occult hybrid. Probably it was once a human who transgressed in some way against the magi of Krarth, and as punishment was translated into this monstrous form. From what you have heard, so dire a fate would be meted out only to the most treacherous of Krarthian wrongdoers. Krarthian justice is far from just, but at least most criminals are given the mercy of a quick death.]

This being a far-from-trustworthy sort of guy, we would have needed some less-than-scrupulous means of getting his cooperation. Getting the Enchanter to Enthral him would be one way, but here's what we could have used with the Chimera Spittle:

With the antidote (which we didn't buy):

You take a sip from the bottle before handing it to him. 'What an excellent vintage!' you say, making a great show of smacking your lips. Reassured, the Dirge-Man takes a long drink himself. As he does, you surreptitiously drink a dose of the antidote. Taking back the chimera spittle, you suggest that the Dirge-Man carries you across the chasm and in return you will give him the rest of this fine 'liquor'. Suspecting nothing, he agrees and allows you to clamber up on to his broad leathery back before launching out into space . . .

Without the antidote but with the Trickster's art of con:

You hold up the bottle and make a great show of drinking deeply. At least, that is how it seems to the Dirge-Man. In fact, you contrive to pour the poison into your hand and take great care to see that not a drop passes your lips.

This allays the Dirge-Man's suspicions, and he accepts a long draught of the chimera spittle himself. 'Mmm, not bad,' he says, smacking his once-human lips. 'But perhaps another sip will enable me to appreciate the full flavour . . .'

You draw back the bottle in mock outrage. 'What? You have consumed most of it already, and this is the last bottle from my cellars! Come now, let us cross the chasm and then you may finish off what is left.'

And then, when he tries to double-cross us:

On the Dirge-Man's back, you are carried far out across the chasm. The roaring wind-currents seem to slam you to and fro at random, but the Dirge-Man is used to them and manoeuvres with a bizarre elegance. Halfway across, he brings up the matter of the chimera spittle: 'I think it is best to be quite candid. If you do not allow me to finish the liquor, I shall loop over and drop you into the chasm below.'

'Do not be too hasty,' you retort. 'The "liquor" was in fact a deadly poison for which I had already taken the antidote. If you expect to receive the antidote yourself, you had better ensure a safe and comfortable landing.'

Whimpering in fear for his life, the Dirge-Man flutters in to a landing on the opposite rim of the chasm. You hand him the rest of the chimera spittle - swearing that, although it looks like the poison, it is in fact the antidote. The Dirge-Man drinks eagerly, and you leave before he discovers the truth.

Last but not least, if we'd asked the hags about other champions who'd made it past the bridge, we would have been told that there were 3 other groups/individuals who survived that trial. Icon was obviously one of them. Another was a lone Sage who was the sole survivor of his party and promptly ended up in one of the hags' cookpots (we actually get to see bits of him when examining the cookpots in one of the sections, although I can't remember which options leads to it).

The last group is this pair of adventurers that we'd need to fight our way past if the glass prisms hadn't teleported us right past them:

These are the ones I can recall for now. Feel free to ask about any stuff I might have missed out before we begin the next adventure.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Mon May 04, 2015 2:06 am

Huh, we did skip by a lot of content. And it seems the only reward for saving Balhazar was... not getting stuck with a magi who gives us cursed items for the lulz? Seems like resurrecting Skrymir was the right choice at least; that heart saved us from the madness, and the kalium was exactly what we needed.

Oh, what was the deal with that waterfall? Would it affect us all in the same way, taking all our items?

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon May 04, 2015 12:25 pm

Shiritai wrote:And it seems the only reward for saving Balhazar was... not getting stuck with a magi who gives us cursed items for the lulz?

Not just that. As mentioned before, Balhazar made sure that we could start with plenty of items that can help us. One of those items is the first of the two octagonal prism, which Kalugen will NOT provide. The only thing Kalugen will give us (other than that cursed scroll) is the opal medallion communicator. Balhazar dropped us in a room full of unlimited supply of free food and right next door to the gift-giving demon.

Also mentioned before, Kalugen will force us to gamble with him, and I meant it when I said the games' odds are highly stacked against the players, so there's a good chance that we would have lost some equipment before we even went down into the Battlepits.

Balhazar's generosity might have been mostly motivated by self-interest (although, as mentioned, he still helps us after he gets killed by the assassin), but there's no doubt Kalugen is the bigger dick by far.

Shiritai wrote:Oh, what was the deal with that waterfall? Would it affect us all in the same way, taking all our items?

Yes, and each character would have faced a weak opponent of their own class like the Sage did (e.g. Enchanter would fight a girl who's trying to prove that she's a great wizard....and the only spell she knows is White Fire).

However, the Trickster has a chance of realizing what is happening, and can not only prevent the theft (if he passes the Awareness check) but actually steal something back from the invisible thieves! That's another way the party can gain a bottle of chimera spittle!

He would need to retreat from the waterfall and face his "greatest fear" after that, though (Hurondus).

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue May 05, 2015 3:31 pm

In case anyone isn't aware, Book 2 has begun in a new thread.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Tue May 05, 2015 4:43 pm

SGamerz wrote:
Starmaker wrote:Wait, we can mess with the assembly process having voluntarily agreed and been magically compelled to rez Skrymir, but had to perform exactly to specs when we were doing it for the lulz? Dat book, man.
I don't know....this actually kind of makes some sense to me on both levels.

From the story perspective, we could sabotage the resurrection only by blowing up his heart with the Kalium. Since we tried to do it without the heart the previous time, that option wasn't available. The heart was his vital weakness, but we can't do any harm to it while Zyn still holds t for safekeeping.

Everything is a vital weakness if there's a lump of an alkali metal inside the body. Even riding a crowded trolley bus in winter with a piece of Lithium in one's pocket is extremely inadvisable.

SGamerz wrote:From the gameplay perspective.....if the players rejected Zyn's offer because they sense that there's something wrong with helping him and Skrymir......and then went on to do it for the lulz anyway, it can be argued that the players are voluntarily asking for trouble (and therefore got loads of it).

No, the book seriously fails to enable the players to communicate their intentions.
We could've just not met Zyn in the first place.
We could've arrived with the giant-slaying sword given by the very nice and helpful Magus Balhazar, thus suggesting we really need to take care of this giant-slaying business.
We could've just done it for the lulz, but with uncommunicated intent to sabotage experiment with the process. Without meeting Zyn, we could've assumed either the potassium or the ice jewel was the real heart (if the book used keywords and didn't name-check the fossilized heart outside of the paragraphs where we had to be aware of its existence).
On the other hand, we could have accepted Zyn's offer in good faith (out of the goodness of our hearts, or suppose we worked for Kalugen, endured his dickery and decided that the current crop of Magi needed reaping). Accepting Zyn's offer is a clearly communicated intent to help him, and while his subsequent Mass Command is a good reason to change one's mind, messing around with random stuff should be an option if we're actually messing around with random stuff.