[Let's Play] Blood Sword II - The Kingdom of Wyrd

Stories about games that you run and/or have played in.

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Shiritai
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Post by Shiritai »

I... have no clue either. So in the absence of info, I'll vote for group combat; we've had a great track record against non-tentacled foes. I'll also prep Nemesis Bolt and Swordthrust.
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Post by Starmaker »

The duel needs to be survivable by the solo player, which means it's very unlikely to be keyed off the resurrection scene's outcome, because it only triggers for a party. (And if it does, and the solo player gets an alternate encounter that confers the same necessary bonus, it's unlikely Kiki's honor should suffer for not duelling because there's no actual guarantee that the Warrior would've been the first in marching order and the one to get the bonus.)

So I suggest we attack as a group.
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Post by SGamerz »

Two players voted for mass battle and two voted single combat. In this case, to resolve the tie, I think it's fair to go for mass combat, since 3 of the characters want to get involved in the fight.
This is actually one of the few situations where the solo player has the advantage. In singles combat, the player, if he has the skull amulet, gets +7 to both his Armour and his Damage. For a high-ranked solo player, the odds would be very good. Especially if he managed to pick up the Giant-slaying sword from the previous book.

But since Kiki is only rank 3, the odds would still be against her even with the amulet's bonus, so it's probably more to the party's benefit to bring in Mr Nemesis Bolt to deal with the giant.
You utter a lusty battle-cry and charge forwards together, intent on the destruction of your giant foe. Thanatos hefts his mighty weapon and displays the jagged teeth that run along its cutting edge. 'Whether I stand against one or many, the outcome is as sure,' he bellows.

Image

Thanatos the Giant
Fighting Prowess: 8 Psychic Ability: 8
Awareness: 7 Damage per blow: 4 Dice
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 45

If you flee back into the Leaves of Remembrance, turn to 367. If you slay Thanatos, turn to 111.
Strategies?
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Post by Starmaker »

With its 4d6 damage, armor doesn't mean much. I'll move to attack as my first action, attack at the end of the turn, then do what Kiki did on her turn, so as to present an equally attractive target. I'll GTFO if I get seriously hit.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'll do what I planned to do with the Hydra: shoot the guy.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Stabbums, hope not to die.
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Post by Shiritai »

Nemesis bolt, swordthrust, prep nemesis bolt and spam. Hopefully no one gets instagibbed.
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Post by SGamerz »

COMBAT LOG:
Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Awareness 8 acts ...

Trickster Moves next to Thanatos.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Thanatos fights Trickster. Roll = 6+1 = 7. (Hit!) Damage = 10-2 = 8. Trickster has 9 EN left.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Warrior fights Thanatos. Roll = 5 (Hits!) Damage = 5+2-2 = 5. Thanatos has 40 END left.

Sage shoots Thanatos. Roll = 7 (Hits!). Damage = 5+1-2 = 4. Thanatos has 36 END left.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 7+5 = 12. (Success!) Damage = 15+7-2 = 20. Thanatos has 16 END left.

Quick Thinking bonus:

Trickster fights Thanatos. Roll = 7 (Hits!) Damage = 1+1-2 = 0 (No Damage!)

Round 2

Awareness 8 acts ...

Trickster retreats.

Awareness 7 acts...

Thanatos fights Warrior. Roll = 6. (Hit!) Damage = 15-3-1 = 11. Warrior has 6 EN left!

Awareness 6 acts ...

Warrior fights Thanatos. Roll = 8 (Hits!) Damage = 3+2-2 = 3. Thanatos has 13 END left.

Sage shoots Thanatos. Roll = 5 (Hits!). Damage = 6+1-2 = 5. Thanatos has 8 END left.

Enchanter attempts to cast Swordthrust. Roll = 7+2 = 9. Success! Damage = 14+3-2 = 15! Thantos is killed!
Stepping over Thanatos's body, you take a look at the chamber he was guarding. It is just a bare circular room, not very large, illuminated by a lamp that hangs from the vaulted roof. A single item stands in the centre of the floor, but when you step forwards to investigate you see that it is an extraordinary item indeed: the proud battle-standard of the First Legion of Selentium. It must be almost a thousand years old, and an object of veneration throughout the civilised world. Dazed, you reach out and take it. You can almost imagine the ghosts of previous wielders of this battle-standard speaking to you, imparting the dauntless wisdom of a bygone age...

The battle-standard gives you the spirit to face the horrors of the transept again, but when you retrace your steps you find they have all vanished. Returning to the echoing nave, you stride to the doors of the cathedral of death and leave.
We know we need this to finish the book, and three of you have empty slots to take it. I'll have the Warrior take it unless there's any objections.
You pass between two soaring columns of grey-white marble into a series of labyrinthine chambers. The ceiling is shrouded in gloom a hundred metres above you. Bizarre gargoyles and bas-reliefs stare from the walls. Everything is overlain with centuries of dust that swirls in thick ripples, a dry pool through which you must wade.

After some searching you find a way into an upper courtyard of the Palace. Cracked flagstones tilt as you step on them, sending the grubs and insects that shelter there scurrying to a more secure hideaway.

You go up a flight of worn and moss-carpeted steps. The pitted stone has the look of leprous skin, and the once-ornate balustrade is wrapped with dead ivy. Moths sit with spread wings on the leaves, but when you brush against them they, too, crumble to dust...
Yep, things will be getting familiar from here....
There is a bronze door at the top of the stairs. You push at it and it swings back, revealing a wide low-ceilinged room. The walls and floor are constructed of a dull grey marble, but the ceiling glows like a bed of coals: there are intermittent black patches shot through here and there by a deep red glow. Occasionally, lumps of black ash fall to the floor. These immediately transform into large black millipedes that wriggle off into the darkness.

You advance cautiously, approaching a large dais of black marble set into the centre of the room. A flame burns brightly on it. As you watch, tendrils protrude up out of the marble to twist and weave around the flame, casting capering shadows across the walls. A high-pitched whistling is just audible now.

If there is a Sage in the party, turn to 105. If not, turn to 380.
Still here, an one of the more healthy guys at the moment, too.

SAGE:
In the flickering movements of the tendrils you recognise the arcane ritual used to summon Umborus the Dark, a shadow-demon of incalculable power. The shadows that are now flitting about the room will soon coalesce and form his mortal body. You must somehow disrupt the ritual before he appears, but how?

If you want to use the orb of fire, turn to 495. If you wish to use a flask of milk, turn to 101. If you have neither, then there is nothing you can do to stop the ritual; turn to 380.
Been here before.....but do we still want to interrupt the ritual this time?

Adventure Sheets:

WARRIOR:
NAME: Dame Caecilia Wither-Stoat
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 1

Fighting Prowess: 11
Psychic Ability: 6
Awareness: 6
Endurance: 6/17
Damage: 1 Die+2

Items:
1 Shadowcleaver
2 Chainmail armour (Armour Rating three)
3 Money pouch (98 gold pieces)
4 Hydra Teeth
5 Blood Sword Scabbard
6 Bedroll
7 Shielding Charm (+1 AR)
8 Silver crucifix (with finger-bone of St Ashanax)
9 Iron Bell
10 Battle-Standard of the First Legion of Selentium
TRICKSTER:
NAME: Benedict of the Crimson Spires, Honourable Duelist
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 2

Fighting Prowess: 8 (+1 from Enchanted Sword)
Psychic Ability: 6
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 9/19
Damage: 1 Die+1

Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+1 FP)
2 Ringmail armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Golden Snuffbox
4 Jug of Milk
5 Gloves
6 Bedroll
7 Harp
8 Silver Wolf's head clasp
9 Fur Cloak
10 Gilt-edged scroll
*11 Screebo the Raven
SAGE:
NAME: "Pepito" Cascadero, Master of the Mystic Way
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 3

Fighting Prowess: 7
Psychic Ability: 6 (-1 from Soulbite until end of this book)
Awareness: 6
Endurance: 11/16
Damage: 1 Die+1

Items:
1 Quarterstaff
2 Breastplate (Armour Rating one)
3 Fur Cloak
4 Bedroll
5 Magic Bow (Damage 1 Die+1)
6 Quiver (1 arrow)
7 Chequers board and pieces (Enchanted by an Elf-Lord)
8 Blue Crystal Eyes
9 Skull Amulet
10 Empty slot
ENCHANTER:
NAME: Enchanter Reed, Ninth of the Inverted Tower
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 4

Fighting Prowess: 0
Psychic Ability: 15 (+1 from Ring of Sorcery)
Awareness: 6 (-1 from Malaria till end of this book)
Endurance: 11/16
Damage: 1 Die

Items:
1 Brazier
2 Silver armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Bedroll
4 Magical Crust of Bread of Infinity
5 Fur Cloak
6 Money pouch (88 gold pieces)
7 Ring of Sorcery (+1 PA)
8 Gloves
9 Amber Tinderbox
10 Iron rations (7 days)
Last edited by SGamerz on Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Starmaker »

I read all spoilers except those designated for other players, so no, we don't. Wait on Reed to prep spells, kill it and loot the body.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Pepito, can you fix my most-of-me while we wait?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Pepito spends 3 EP on healing Kiki.

Also, use the milk again. This time we have the plot devices needed to stop the BBEG.
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Post by Shiritai »

Why use a bottle of milk when I have a keg of Nemesis Bolt? I'll prep Nemesis Bolt and Swordthrust.

Also I really want to see if Shadowcleaver is this guy's bane.
Last edited by Shiritai on Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by SGamerz »

That bottle of milk is too good to waste on this silly ritual. Let's drink it ourselves instead!

Oh, and healing roll: (4-2) x3 = 6 END regained. Warrior is up to 12 END, Sage is down to 8.
The whistling grows louder and louder until it is almost unbearable. It becomes a screech that sets your teeth on edge. You cover your ears, but it seems to drive like a needle right into your brain.

Suddenly the noise changes from a whistling to a hollow moan. As you listen, you realise it is like the sound of someone breathing. A movement across the wall alerts you that you are no longer alone. The hard shadows have taken on a substance, and now descend towards you like a giant bat.

A thin voice cackles through the chamber: 'So far have you come! So far! But now you must look into the face of the Dark, that shadow feared by alll ... Umborus, come forth to slay for your master!'

A tall, shapeless block of shadow looms before you. It has eyes that crackle like distant lightning hidden behind sombre storm-clouds. Implacable claws, tattered knives of black, reach out for you.

If anyone wields Shadowcleaver, turn to 34. If no one has this weapon, turn to 532.
Blue option!

PLAYER WITH SHADOWCLEAVER:
You feel the silver falchion sing along the length of its blade. The tarnish that discoloured it before now fades, causing it to shine brilliantly. The furthest corners of the room are suddenly bathed in relentless light like the desert sun. The demon Umborus begins to roar in pain, a sound like the screaming of a burning man. Even if you could feel pity for such a monster, your magical blade has none. It pulls your arm up, plunging to the hilt in the demon's shadowy breast.

Silence descends. Looking up, you find no sign of the demon. Shadowcleaver lies at your feet. Now white-hot, its glow illuminates the chamber. You cannot retrieve it, so delete it from your Character Sheet. Beside it lies an ugly black lump, like a huge gob of soft tar. It is the Heart of the Dark, all that remains of the foul shadow-demon. Take it if you wish, then turn to 145.
Shadowcleaver was indeed the bane. Unfortunately, this also means that the Warrior doesn't have a weapon, since he gave his to the Trickster.
Fortunately, there isn't much of the book left, and if we make the correct options, the lack of weapon may not come into play for the remainder of the book.
The outlines of the room fade away. You stand in nothingness for a moment, a vast infinity of mist. Gradually sounds drift to your ears - the clash of weapons, the screams of dying men. Then these sounds fade too, to be replaced by a steady incessant thud. It is like the beating of a huge heart, relentless and rhythmic, growing closer - louder - until you are almost deafened. Then, as a scene begins to form around you, you realise it is not the beating of a heart at all ...

You are standing in the pit of an arena. The noise you thought was a huge heartbeat is the cacophonous chanting of the ghoulish crowds who have come to see you fight.
Image
The arena is bathed in an eerie greenish light from several lanterns set on posts on the walls. The eager crowds that squat in the tiered seats look unpleasantly unhuman - more like giant insects wrapped in dark cloaks, rubbing their thin hands and calling in a droning chant for your blood.

As the chanting lulls to a sinister murmur, you turn to face the royal dais that overlooks the arena. An old man stands there, a person of sneering lip and baleful eye. He raises a glowing staff, the light of which throws him into stark relief while the rest of the scene seems cloudy and dim. You notice a crown of ice, or crystal, set on his wrinkled grey brow.

His brittle voice silences the last hushed murmurs of the crowd. 'This is the realm of Wyrd, where I have ruled for centuries,' he cries, pointing to you. 'You have presumed to invade my sovereign land. You have entered my Palace of Eternal Dusk, perhaps hoping to slay me ...!' He lowers his voice and stares straight at you. 'Such foolishness. Do you think others have not tried to assassinate me? A rightful ruler is never without enemies. And where are those would-be murderers now, those misbegotten churls who hoped to bury their blades in my royal heart? Why, they are here ... they come now to teach you the lesson they have learned ...!'

He frowns and spreads his hands. Something pokes up out of the ground some distance ahead of you. It is a bony white hand, twitching as it finds purchase for its grip. Small mounds erupt elsewhere, as things long buried claw their way up out of the dust. Then the dry earth of the arena cracks apart, and skeletons wearing rusty armour burst to the surface. More and more of them spill out into the open, until a numberless horde of the creatures surges grimly forwards to attack you.

If you have the battle-standard of the First Selentine Legion, turn to 25. If not, turn to 137.
Bring it!
The Warlock-King has summoned an army of skeletons to slay you. Against such overwhelming odds, there seems no hope for you. You will be impaled helplessly on their spears as soon as they reach you. As you back away, looking desperately to and fro for an escape route that you know does not exist, the battle-standard begins to pulse with light. The cowled figures rise from their tiered seats, uttering a gasp of horror, and begin to shrink back into the shadows. You have no idea what is happening, but you seize the battle-standard and brandish it above your head. As you do, you are washed in glory. The ghosts of ancient generals from the halcyon days of Selentium whisper to you: Be worthy of the Eagle.

You look at the battle-standard, shining with unbearable light in your hands. Even the Warlock-King takes a step back as he sees it, shielding his eyes with his long sleeve. The skeletons falter uncertainly. But the proud glory of the First Legion is enhanced, not dimmed, by the centuries that have passed since Selentium fell. And no legion would ever allow its standard to be taken in battle...

Ghostly troops form between you and the advancing skeletons. They gradually become real. Ranks of reincarnated legionaries stand awaiting your command!
Think you can hide behind your army? We've got our own!
Check your Character Sheet(s) for the items you are carrying. If you have any of the following, turn to the appropriate paragraph. Check the items in this order: the Heart of the Dark, an ivory drinking-horn, a white-fletched arrow, the fangs of a Hydra, a thurifer's censer, chequers pieces with the Elf-Lord's rune.

Once you have checked the effects of all the items you have (or if you don't have any of these items), turn to 21.
Ooooh, let's see what pokemon we've got!

First, the "Heart:
Even the dauntless First Legion of Imperial Selentium cannot hope to prevail alone against the countless unliving warriors that the Warlock-King has called up from the ground.

Fortunately, it seems that they will not have to fight alone. The Heart of the Dark begins to throb in your grip, spilling black blood into the sand by your feet. Gradually the blood begins to give off a dark miasma, which solidifies in the form of heavy-set men-at-arms in sable livery. The Battalion of Shadow stands ready to receive your commands.

Note that you now have the Battalion of Shadow on your side. Delete the Heart of the Dark from your Character Sheet, then turn back to 178.
Cool. Now the fangs:
On impulse, you scatter the Hydra's teeth on the sand of the arena. You step back as a hissing sound fills the air. The teeth exude a green luminescence that steadily grows into a host of man-like shapes. As the glow fades, you discover that a hundred wiry creatures stand between you and the oncoming skeletons. These creatures have greenish-white skin and, although they have the bodies of men, from the shoulders of each of them sprout nine serpentine heads.

Note that you now have the Fang-Warriors on your side. Delete the Hydra's teeth from your Character Sheet, then turn back to 178.
And finally, the chequers:
What was it the Elf-Lord said? When you contend against the final foe, this sorcery of mine shall aid you.

The playing-pieces are shining with bright green light now. You catch a scent of pine and woodland blossom. Hurling the pieces down to the dust, you are not entirely surprised when they are transformed into full-size Elvan knights astride their warhorses. Horses and riders alike are caparisoned in vivid green, and their weapons and the fittings are of silver, not iron.

The Warlock-King snorts at this sorcery. 'Fay fighters!' he laughs coldly. 'My troops are not afraid of Elfin swords ...' But you notice that despite his words his brow is now furrowed in consternation. He is not sure that his power is great enough to deal with the reinforcements you have summoned to your side.

Note that you now have the Knights of the Wildwood to fight for you. Delete the playing-pieces from your Character Sheet, then turn to 21.
And now we're finally all set!
Now you must determine the Troop Strength of all the forces that have gathered to fight for you against the skeletons.

The Imperial Selentine First Legion: Troop Strength 4
The Battalion of Shadow: Troop Strength 4

The Berserker Thegns: Troop Strength 3
The Company of White Annihilation: Troop Strength 2
The Fang-Warriors: Troop Strength 2
The Mist-Phantoms: Troop Strength 1
The Knights of the Wildwood: Troop Strength 3

Add up the Troop Strengths of all the forces you have summoned. This gives the total Troop Strength of your army. Now pray that it is enough to overcome the Warlock-King's skeletal fighters.

If the total Troop Strength is 13 or more, turn to 359. If the total Troop Strength is 10 to 12, turn to 459. If the total Troop Strength is 7 to 9, turn to 519. If the total Troop Strength is 4 to 6, turn to 357.
4+4+2+3 = 13!
You give the order to advance and your army storms forwards to attack the Warlock-King's creatures. Your army is a motley but powerful force, and the skeletons stand no chance against it. The first wave of the charge breaks the Undead ranks, and in moments you see old bones being trampled underfoot in the press of the melee. A skull, caught on a spear-tip, flies through the air and lands at your feet. You kick it aside and stride towards the dais where the Warlock-King stands.
This is all going so smoothly, isn't it?
With measured tread you advance on the Warlock-King's dais. He fixes you with a bitter glare as you step up in front of him. 'These games have gone on long enough,' he shrieks. 'Now, behold the power of the King of Wyrd!'

He brings his thin hands together and a thunderous crack splits the air. Like a breaking mirror, the scene around you shatters into a million fragments.
These arch-villains do love their dramatic gestures and theatrics, don't they?
The Warlock-King chooses some breathtaking locations for his battles ... Now you are clinging to a rod of cold metal, somewhere where the wind whistles cold and raw. You try to take in the details of where you are. You are holding on to a tenuous network of metal rods, like a giant web in the sky. You see only a limitless blue haze running into the distance all around. Looking down, you can just make out a few wispy clouds hundreds and hundreds of metres below.

The Warlock-King sits in the centre of the web. His huge crystal throne is set in the cold sky. He still wears his crystal crown, and hung around his next on a cord you now see the item you have come so far to obtain: the hilt of the Blood Sword.

He sees you looking at it and his aged face twists into a brittle smile. 'A precious talisman indeed. It guarantees my sovereignty from the magi, so I have no intention of parting with it. Perhaps you are willing to part with the scabbard, though?'

You know enough not to do that! If you threaten to drop the scabbard, turn to 307. If you wish to use an item, turn to 282. If you try clambering along the web to attack him, turn to 530.
And finally free choice returns to us!
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Okay, that's been pretty epic. Let's see what items are available for use.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'll second that.
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Post by Starmaker »

Look at the item selection. Also, I return Dame Kiki's sword to her.
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Post by SGamerz »

Which item do you think will help you? An iron bell, a gold ring or a wolf's head clasp? If you have none of these, you have no choice but to attack, however futile that may seem.
We have two of the items listed. Do we want to use either of them?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Well, I'd bet money that he's just sucked us into his dream-reality that everyone's been going on about, so...

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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Image
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 Starmaker »

I can't come up with a meme, but thirded anyway.
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Post by Shiritai »

Ring out the old; ring in the new.
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Post by SGamerz »

You brandish the bell. The Warlock-King's mouth begins to curl into a contemptuous sneer, but as you start to ring the bell his expression changes to one of horror. With each resounding knell, deep cracks appear across his crystal throne.

'Desist!' he screams, jumping to his feet. Thousands of images whirl through the skies around you, seeming to flit like phantoms out of the breaking throne. You shake the iron bell with all your might ...

Suddenly the Warlock-King's arms drop to his sides and he gives you a look of resignation. 'It is over,' he says. The crystal crown upon his brow bursts into a thousand fragments...
You are lying on grass beside a lake. You sit up and look around. The lake looks disturbingly familiar - very like the one on which the Palace of Eternal Dusk was built. But there is no sign of that proud edifice, only a broken and weathered ruin overgrown with a profusion of ivy. And the lake you saw earlier was stagnant and foul. This one is clear and fresh; it sparkles in the sunlight ...

But if this is somehow the same lake, then behind you should be ... You turn, expecting to find the sombre Forest of Thorns, but the soaring pines bear no resemblance to those evil briars.

A shadow falls upon you in the warm sun. You jump to your feet, ready for combat, but it is not Gristun the Guardian-Beast this time. A woman with a gentle smile and wise eyes stands before you, leading a dazed old man by the hand. She reaches out to take something from around his neck, and offers this to you. You look down at the object - it is the Blood Sword hilt.

You start to thank her, but she and the old man are already walking away across the lush grass. He stares at her as though befuddled at first, but then she says something and you hear him break into delighted laughter.

Your quest for the hilt now successfully completed, surviving players can divide equally among them an award of a thousand experience point.
The bell was not just only item that's actually useful here, it's also the only item that gets us the ending with maximum Exp. Without it, we would need to kill the Warlock himself to win. Not only do we get less Exp for that, but it's also an awkwardly hard fight. The Warlock's stats actually aren't that great, but we would need travel across the net to reach him first, and not only are we restricted to Moving only 1 step per round, but we also can't cast spells while we're stuck to the net (which does auto-damage to us every round!), thus rendering our greatest weapon - Mr Nemesis Bolt- useless.

Also, if Reed had tried summoning a second Faltyn to free that caged Faltyn, it would have taken our iron bell as its reward. Really nasty trap, there!
You return south, finding the same story all around. The country of Wyrd seems to have awakened at last from out of a nightmare. The people who last night went to sleep in a world of poverty and pain now find themselves awakening into a verdant and bountiful land. The Armigers and Solons, agents of the Warlock-King's authority, cast their armour and judicial maces into the hedgerows to rust. The sound of laughter and song rings out through the land once more.

A few days later you are sitting beside a fire in the midst of a majestic pine forest. The happy folk of Wyrd cavort around in dances to appease the spirits of winter. The festival was a grim one in past years, when the winters were bleak and cold, but now the evening is mild and pleasant. Night and winter no longer seem as terrible as they once did.

You are reminded by this scene of the foresters' camp where your adventure began. You find your eyes fixed on the Blood Sword hilt and scabbard where they glitter beside the camp fire. Your quest has not ended yet, for you have still to find the final section of the sword: its blade ...

Where will that part of your adventure take you? Find out in the third book in the series: The Demon's Claw.
Congratulations for making it through Book 2! And thanks for having the patience in putting up with the book's arbitrary railroading crap as well as my own sloppy GMing. I promise the next book will be an improvement, in both regards.

I'll be starting the third book either on Friday or Saturday. As usual, I will also reveal some of the more notable stuff that we passed over in this book tomorrow. Any questions regarding them in the meantime, feel free to ask.

Final Adventure Sheets (Note: I haven't added the bonuses from your increased rank through EXP gain as yet...will do that at the start of the next book):

WARRIOR:
NAME: Dame Caecilia Wither-Stoat
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 1

Fighting Prowess: 12 (+1 from Enchanted Sword)
Psychic Ability: 6
Awareness: 6
Endurance: 12/17
Damage: 1 Die+2

Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+1 FP)
2 Chainmail armour (Armour Rating three)
3 Money pouch (98 gold pieces)
4 Silver crucifix (with finger-bone of St Ashanax)
5 Iron Bell
6 Bedroll
7 Shielding Charm (+1 AR)
8 Blood Sword Scabbard
9 Blood Sword Hilt
10 Empty slots
TRICKSTER:
NAME: Benedict of the Crimson Spires, Honourable Duelist
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 2

Fighting Prowess: 7
Psychic Ability: 6
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 9/19
Damage: 1 Die+1

Items:
1 Gilt-edged scroll
2 Ringmail armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Golden Snuffbox
4 Jug of Milk
5 Gloves
6 Bedroll
7 Harp
8 Silver Wolf's head clasp
9 Fur Cloak
10 Empty slot
*11 Screebo the Raven
SAGE:
NAME: "Pepito" Cascadero, Master of the Mystic Way
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 3

Fighting Prowess: 7
Psychic Ability: 6 (-1 from Soulbite until end of this book)
Awareness: 6
Endurance: 8/16
Damage: 1 Die+1

Items:
1 Quarterstaff
2 Breastplate (Armour Rating one)
3 Fur Cloak
4 Bedroll
5 Magic Bow (Damage 1 Die+1)
6 Quiver (1 arrow)
7 Skull Amulet
8 Blue Crystal Eyes
9-10 Empty slot
ENCHANTER:
NAME: Enchanter Reed, Ninth of the Inverted Tower
RANK: 3rd

Battle Order: 4

Fighting Prowess: 0
Psychic Ability: 15 (+1 from Ring of Sorcery)
Awareness: 6 (-1 from Malaria till end of this book)
Endurance: 11/16
Damage: 1 Die

Items:
1 Brazier
2 Silver armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Bedroll
4 Magical Bread Crust of Infinity
5 Fur Cloak
6 Money pouch (88 gold pieces)
7 Ring of Sorcery (+1 PA)
8 Gloves
9 Amber Tinderbox
10 Iron rations (7 days)
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angelfromanotherpin
Overlord
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Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm

Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Iron bell? More like silver bullet! That was more super-effective than I expected.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Compared to Book 1, there isn't that many stuff that we managed to miss, since the design is rather more linear. For one thing, I believe we've actually gone through almost all the pictures in the book except two, and those two involve encounters that we gone through also, just that we didn't go to the right section to see them:

The Elf Lord and his subjects....if we lost the chequrs game and have to fight our way past them:
Image


The Skeletal thing know as the Stalker:
Image
Regarding the Eislaken, as I mentioned before, the only way to avoid it altogether is to take a ride on Augustus' carpet, and then refuse to land at his castle. We will force Augustus to fly us directly to Wyrd (straight to the village where we can save the baby and meet the Seer) via intimidation.

More specifically, the Warrior is the one who does the intimidating:
WARRIOR:
You slowly take out your sword and square off against Augustus. You tilt the blade so that he can see its keen edge. 'Why don't I, just cut through the carpet and see how you enjoy a thousand metre drop?' you say.

'You're bluffing,' he says uneasily. 'You'd die too!' He is calling your bluff; what do you want to do? If you want to cut the rug to ribbons, turn to 402. If you want to attack Augustus, turn to 522. If you surrender, turn to 44.
WARRIOR:
We all have to die some time,' you reply indifferently, swinging your blade down at the carpet.

'No!' screams Augustus. 'I'll set you down on the very shores of Wyrd!'

You sneer at his cowardice; all sorcerers are cowards, you know, but Augustus certainly wins the prize. With your sword prodding him in the small of his back you get Augustus to fly you to the bleak shores of the Kingdom of Wyrd. He sets you down and quickly soars away. Soon the carpet has disappeared over the horizon.
First he gets to throw his sword an decapitate the guy, and now this. The Warrior seems to be the bane of Augustus.

Another way the Augustus encounter could have gone down is if we actually get into a fight with him on the carpet. But the best way for that to end is not to kill him, but to Enthral him (not that easy a feat considering he has a Psychic Ability of 9). By doing that we get to keep his magic carpet, which may come to good use in the next book! The downside is that we need to give up 3 equipment slots just for this item.

Fleeing past Gristun the Guardian-Beast was the right option. Defeating him not only doesn't gain us any reward, but the bugger magically regenerates itself back to life and fore us to flee anyway. The Seer would have told us this if we had asked her about Gristun (although I do think asking about the chequers game was the right move, as that was harder to figure out).

This is what we'd have to face at the end if we didn't have the Iron Bell:
Edging through the web towards him will be a slow and arduous task. Each Round, you are able to move one square closer. At the start of every Round, before you act, he sends a pulse of crackling energy through the web in an effort to dislodge you. This causes each player to lose two Dice Endurance; armour gives no protection.

Image

The Warlock-King
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 16

Note that because you are hanging on to the giant strands of web for dear life, you cannot cast spells, throw an axe or shoot at him. You must reach him before you can fight. If there is a Sage in the party, though, he or she can use Levitation to float in place while shooting arrows. Remember that you cannot move any closer towards him with Levitation.

(The Levitation works automatically if you attempt it. Curiously, the Warlock-King's dream-universe seems to intensify the Sage's psionic abilities.) If you reach him, turn to 255.
Heres another situation where a solo character will have a much easier time. A 12th rank solo Warrior, for example, has 72 END, which should be quite enough for him to absorb the web's attacks until he gets up close and personal and pummel the Warlock King to a pulp. Four 3rd-rank character absorbing that kind of damage simultaneously, however, simply won't last long enough.

His END is pretty puny for an End Boss, but considering our only way to hurt him is via the Sage's arrows, and Peipto only had 1 arrow left.....

Oh, and if we tried using that Wolf's Head Clasp, it gets even worse:
'A wolf's head clasp,' says the Warlock-King casually. 'One of Magus Tor's little gimcracks, I expect. Let me show you what I can make of that.'

He closes his eyes and the crystal crown he wears gives a faint glow. Suddenly the clasp jerks out of your hand and begins to swell and transform, becoming a giant silver wolf with bat-like wings. Its metallic eyes glitter as it swoops towards you.

'I hope you are enjoying your nightmare,' says the Warlock-King with a short bark of laughter. 'You should - all its elements are of your own devising!'

Edging through the web towards him would be a slow and arduous task even if you were not being harried by the flying wolf. Each Round, you are able to move one square closer. At the start of every Round, before you act, he sends a pulse of crackling energy through the web in an effort to dislodge you. This cause each player to lose two Dice Endurance; armour gives no protection. The flying wolf also attacks, of course; it concentrates its attacks first on the player who had the silver clasp from which it was created.

Flying Wolf
Fighting Prowess: 7
Awareness: 8
Damage per blow: 2 Dice
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 38

The Warlock-King
Armour Rating: 2
Endurance: 16

Note that because you are hanging onto the giant strands of the web for dear life, you cannot cast spells, throw an axe or shoot an arrow. You must reach the Warlock-King's throne before you can fight. If there is a Sage in the party, though, he or she can use Levitation to float in place while shooting arrows. (The Levitation works automatically if you attempt it. Curiously the Warlock-King's dream-universe seems to intensify the Sage's psionic abilities.)
The Battle map will be pretty much the same, except the flying wolf is added to it.

To top it all off, we'd only get 800 Exp split between the group (as opposed to the 1000 for using the bell) by killing him.

If you're wondering if there's any other use for the Wolf's head clasp in this book.....well, there's only 1 possible place I can recall. If we killed Augustus on his carpet but failed to grab that amulet which helps us control the carpet, one of the ways we could have saved ourselves from crash-landing is by summoning a Faltyn. It will, of course, ask for payment, and the clasp Is considered one of its favourite choices.

Another object of questionable use is the Blue eye jewels, which can come into use if one (or more) of us managed to get transformed into a Snow Vampire (via being bitten). Vampires are Red Death's subjects, and the blue eye jewels (and the Stalker, and the werewolves) are under Blue Moon. Neither of these magi get along well with each other, it seems, and the gems transform into wolves and basically fight to the death with our undead transformed former comrades. That actually isn't the best item to use as there are ways to restore our companion back to life (including the Sage's exorcism and, of course, the Blood Sword Scabbard, which did save Kiki from this fate in our very first attempt).

For the other items that could have been transformed into troops to help us fight the Undead army......they lie on the other routes that we didn't take, namely, the other 2 gates via which we entered the palace (Carnage and Confusion). It's impossible to get all of them in one playthrough, and I think we got all the ones within our reach.

There's another encounter (it lies after the Gate on Confusion, I believe) that I'd like to show here to further illustrate the strange design of this particular book:
You walk to the end of the passage and emerge onto a balcony overlooking a courtyard. It is dark, and a bitterly cold wind buffets you. Looking down, you can see crackling braziers in the courtyard far below. A soaring structure that resembles a gate-tower rises up into the night air opposite you across the courtyard. As you watch, a 'bridge' of myriad shifting patterns appears in the air between where you stand on the balcony and the tower with its gate-house opposite. You have no option but to advance across the energy bridge. You test it by hurling small pebbles out onto it from the balcony. The translucent 'stepping-stones' appear to be solid, but every so often - at irregular intervals - each stepping-stone disappears and another one appears in the air nearby.

The trick in crossing will be to guess when the 'stepping-stone' you are on is about to vanish - and where the next one you must leap to will appear!
As you take your first step across the energy bridge the situation becomes even more alarming. Swarming out of the arrow-slits in the courtyard walls come a host of hovering crystal skulls. They fly towards you, their crystal jaws clicking open and shut greedily. Each person in the party must cross according to their position in the battle order: Enchanter, Trickster, Sage and Warrior.
Looks pretty straight-forward, right? The interesting thing is the way the options are laid out. The Enchanter is placed first, as if encouraging the players to let him cross first.....but then it tells us to go by Battle Order (and what sane RPG players would ever put the Enchanter at the front of the Battle Order?).

So the players proceed to cross in their own ways. The Warrior plays it straight and either dashes straight across or try to smash the skulls. The Sage can use Paranormal Sight to spot the stones, or Levitate over disappearing stone. The Trickster uses a pretty cool maneuver:
The constantly shifting bridge is a great enough problem without the crystal skulls that are now whipping past you, trying to knock you off balance. You think that the best solution is to solve one problem by using another. You lunge out and grab one of the nearest skulls and hang on grimly: its occult energy manages just to keep you both flying, but the thing zig-zags crazily towards the gate-house on the other side of the bridge. Just before it impacts, smashing itself into a thousand crystal fragments, you release your grip and roll neatly through the gate-way.
And then we come to the Enchanter:
You look at the bewildering flux of stepping-stones, at the crystal skulls that are now alarmingly close, and at the hair-raising drop below. . . There are just too many permutations to worry about! You cast Immediate Deliverance, teleporting everyone across the gap to the gate-house.
So basically, unless some party is mad enough to use the Enchanter as their tank, the rest of the party basically wasted their time when the Enchanter could have just gotten every across with little effort.

It really does feel like the book is deliberately trolling the players, at times.

Here's another classic puzzle that I'd like to show. Remember the demon's riddle? This is what we face if we enter the other door that supposedly leads to the "grisly fate::
You swing open the right-hand door. Instantly a fierce gale springs up and you are sucked by its force into the room. With a loud thud the door closes behind you and then vanishes completely, leaving you staring at a blank wall! The room you find yourself in is completely bare apart from three caskets that lie neatly arranged in the centre of the room: one is made of wood, another of stone and the final one of iron. Each bears an inscription on its lid. The one on the wooden casket reads: The key to safety is in the stone casket.' The one on the stone box reads: The key is not in a casket with a true statement on its lid.' The iron casket has the following on its lid: 'Only one casket bears a true statement.'

If you wish to open the wooden casket, turn to 154. If you wish to open the stone casket, turn to 511. If you wish to open the metal casket, turn to 475. If you wish to open none of them, turn to 280.
All three boxes are trap options, and each will permanently drain one of your stats. Although it's not really that hard to work out the fact that there simply isn't enough information available for the players to solve this puzzle, so the "grisly fate" might have been a little exaggerated.

The correct option is, of course, to pick none of them. Oddly, the Sage only gets the following revelation after the fact, not before:

SAGE:
You have studied logic, and you understand that the Lady in Grey left this puzzle to confound her foes even after she herself was dead. Fortunately, you also realise that there is no solution to the puzzle posed by the caskets, and you might have lingered here until you died trying to solve an insoluble problem. (The puzzle purported to be one based on truth values, but any logician knows that without a frame of reference such a puzzle is merely a collection of statements with no interacting truth or falsity. Such a puzzle cannot be solved; only boldly refuted, as you did!)
And before we end this....here's the "Game Over" paragraph if we chose to give up/drop the Blood Sword Scabbard at any point in this book:
You are floating in a timeless void. Eternal space surrounds you - a thing without depth, colour or form. There is no sound.

How long have you been here? Time means nothing in the stark void, but your last mortal memories were of relinquishing the jewelled Blood Sword scabbard.

The giant image of the scabbard floats against the darkness before you. Taunting laughter echoes all around you, gradually filling the emptiness with a sense of time and staggering space.

The image of the lost scabbard disappears. Five majestic lords appear - huge and mighty, their presence overwhelms your senses. They radiate light. Each is robed in a single colour, shining with so agonising an absolute of that colour that your vision stings and swims. On one side you behold a lord in scarlet, on another a lord in cerulean blue. A third is clad in emerald green, another in gold. And the last of the dread lords is wrapped in scintillant white.

The red lord speaks. 'In the place where mortal voices, though those of strong lords, spoke to the shapers of men's fate, that place was called in mortal tongue, Spyte.'

'The walls of Spyte towered high,' continues the blue lord, 'for it was not yet at the time that feuds should crack the keystones, nor at that time had ravening flame tasted the ramparts.'

'This long endured,' says the lord in green. 'Those who could speak of the first days of Middle-Earth spoke their lore to mortal ear. Mortal words, though those of lords most wise, were counted by all from shore to shore as inviolate commands.'

It is the turn of the gold. 'The brutish thing that lives in the darkness of the belly then stirred, the cursed creature that drives oath-brother to war with oath-brother, that hellish hate that eats them from within.'

'From three score now only five await the day that is to come,' pronounces the white. The images grow dim. 'From this pernicious place we shall go, escape the foul fastness of the void, and return into the mortal land. No thing on Middle-Earth now opposes us ...'

The five lords fade away, and you are left alone in the void.
Last edited by SGamerz on Thu Jun 25, 2015 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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