[Let's Play] Blood Sword III - The Demon's Claw

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 2:25 am

Same as Starmaker.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 2:29 am

Well, I'm starting in melee and his Awareness is higher than mine, so I'ma stick-and-stab. My low END is making me nervous, though, because while I soak his average hit pretty easy, he doesn't have to get that lucky to drop me.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:31 am

I'll dismiss all but Nemesis Bolt and hit him where it hurts: anywhere on his body.

Once I get a turn, of course.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 3:55 am

BTW, the item that could have gotten us past this dog-creature is

the Tuning Fork....which we would have gotten from the Automation if we knew the command that makes it obey. It acts as a sort of dog-whistle on this Anubis-wannabe.

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Awareness 9 acts...

Dog-Creature fights Warrior. Roll = 7 (Hits). Damage = 14-5-1-1 = 7. Warrior has 8 END left.

Awareness 8 acts...

Warrior fights Dog-Creature. Roll = 5 (Hits). Damage = 8+3 = 11. Dog-Creature has 24 END left.

Trickster fights Dog-Creature. Roll = 8. (Hits! Thanks to enchanted sword) Damage = 3+2 = 5. Dog-Creature has 19 END left.

Awareness 7 acts...

Sage moves to engage Dog-Creature.

Enchanter puts his bottle away.

Quick Thinking bonus:

Trickster switches into Defense mode.

Round 2

Awareness 9 acts ...

Dog-Creature fights Trickster. Roll = 12+1 (Miss).

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior fights Dog-Creature. Roll = 7 (Hits). Damage = 6+3 = 9. Aphanos has 10 END left.

Trickster defends.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage defends.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 4+5 = 9. (Success!) Dog-Creature is killed (Minimum NB damage is higher than 10).

If we hadn't been worn out by previous fights, we might even have taken it down without Nemesis Bolt.

The creature's head lolls back in death, its canine teeth still bared and flecked with foam. Its spear lies on the floor beside it, held limply now in its human grip. You may take the spear if you wish - remember to record it on your Character Sheet if you do.

You go over to inspect the door. It is firmly barred and seems solid enough to withstand any impact. How are you going to open it?

If the Trickster is here and wishes to act, he or she should turn to 61. If you think you might have an item that would do the trick, turn to 393.

Anybody want to take the spear? Warrior has a free slot, the others need to drop a item for it.

Does the Trickster want to see want he can do? Or try an item?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 10:13 am

Pepito will drop his empty quiver and take the spear, unless Kiki wants to pick it up.

angelfromanotherpin · Sat Jul 18, 2015 12:16 pm

I may as well take it, to avoid reshuffling if we find any more arrows. Also, go for Trickster bonus.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 6:02 pm

Oh, right, I also vote for the Trickster option.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:53 am

The Warrior picks up the spear.

When it comes to individual character option, I'd need the actual decision to come from the player of that character (Trickster).

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:59 am

Seems reasonable enough. I'll establish a SOP if I'm away though. If I'm away for some extended period of time and there's a blue option for the Sage the other players can vote on it.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 11:41 am

I'd rather have a look at the item selection.

(edit: as I see it, it's not so much a bonus option as a measure of last resort for parties who ended up at the door without any quest items and stand to lose the game otherwise.)

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:07 pm

Which item do you want to use? The dog-headed creature's spear; a bunch of gristly fingerbones; or a tuning fork?

If you have none of these, turn to 586.

We have only one of these, the spear we only just picked up....

You touch the point of the spear to the lock. You are dazzled by a sudden flash, and drop the spear as you throw your arms up to shield your eyes. When your vision has cleared, the door stands open before you. You can pick up the spear again if you wish, taking a final glance around the room, you step through the door.

Bingo!

If we'd used the Tuning Fork on Anubis, or if the Enchanter enthralled him, he would have used the spear to open the door for us, saving us the trouble of choosing which object to use.

The Trickster special option isn't a good one here, so Starmaker made a good call. It required him to roll under his RANK on FOUR dice. Only a high-ranked solo player has a decent chance to pass that.

If you have the Hatuli, turn to 21. If not, turn to 16.

Nope.

You enter a bowl-shaped cave. The walls rise up on all sides, glistening with veins of quartz. Huge stalactites hang with Damoclean foreboding from the cavern roof. Ahead of you, set into the rock, there is a jewelled trapdoor.

Susurrien is here ahead of you, but he is a man at bay. He has retreated to a shelf of rock, menaced by an animate wooden idol which paces the perimeter of the cave. Its body is squat and its limbs look heavy and full of strength. As you enter, it turns its carved face towards you - an unyielding snarl made all the more fierce by the totemic scars radiating from its eyes.

'It is the Seven-in-One!' shrieks Susurrien. 'Destroy it or our quest is doomed to fail.'

The Seven-in-One glares at you with eyes that are shards of seashell. Then it lifts its wooden fists and plods forward.

Seven-in-One
Fighting Prowess: 6 Psychic Ability: 9
Awareness: 5 Damage per blow: 5 Dice
Armour Rating: 0
Endurance: 45

Note: The Seven-in-One has no mind in the proper sense, and thus cannot be controlled by Servile Enthralment.

You cannot retreat now; you sense you are within a stone's throw of your goal - if only you can overcome this final threat.

If you wish to use an item, record the number 204 on your Character Sheet(s) and then turn to 402. If you fight and win, turn to 243.

I'll just show you what items can be used here:

You should have recorded the number of the previous entry before turning here. Check that you have done this.

If you wish to use the Orb of Fire, turn to 350. If you wish to use the Magian's wand, turn to 461. If you have neither of these items (or decide against using them), return to the entry you were at before and continue the battle.

So we don't have either of these.

The Magian Wand is the quest token that we could have gained if we had enough wishes to take on the abbot's side quest. It's also the item that would have 1-shotted the 7-in-1.

Strategies?

Adventure Sheet:

WARRIOR:

NAME: Dame Caecilia Wither-Stoat
RANK: 4th

Battle Order: 1

Fighting Prowess: 12
Psychic Ability: 7
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 8/33
Damage: 2 Dice +3 (+3 from Enchanted Sword)

*Extra Notes: Takes no FP/damage penalty when fighting unarmed, +1 Armour Rating from Potentiation on top of normal armour bonus

Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+3 Damage)
2 Enchanted Chainmail armour (Armour Rating five)
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 Dog-faced Creature's Spear

TRICKSTER:

NAME: Benedict of the Crimson Spires, Honourable Duelist
RANK: 4th

Battle Order: 2

Fighting Prowess: 8 (+1 from Enchanted Sword)
Psychic Ability: 7
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 9/25
Damage: 1 Die+2

Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+1 FP)
2 Studded Leather Armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Golden Snuffbox
4 Dervish's scroll
5 Gloves
6 Bow
7 Harp
8 Quiver (empty)
9 Fur Cloak
10 Gilt-edged scroll
*11 Screebo the Raven

SAGE:

NAME: "Pepito" Cascadero, Master of the Mystic Way
RANK: 4th

Battle Order: 3

Fighting Prowess: 7
Psychic Ability: 8
Awareness: 7
Endurance: 7/21
Damage: 1 Die+1

Items:
1 Quarterstaff
2 Ringmail Armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Seafaring Charts from Hunguk's ship
4 Bedroll
5 Magic Bow (Damage 1 Die+1)
6 Quiver (empty)
7 Skull Amulet
8 Blue Crystal Eyes
9 Money pouch (100 gold pieces)
10 Silver key to Fatima's garden

ENCHANTER:

NAME: Enchanter Reed, Ninth of the Inverted Tower
RANK: 4th

Battle Order: 4

Fighting Prowess: 1
Psychic Ability: 15 (+1 from Ring of Sorcery)
Awareness: 7
Endurance: 21/21
Damage: 1 Die +1

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 Copper Bottle
9 Amber Tinderbox
10 Iron rations (7 days)

angelfromanotherpin · Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:15 pm

Looks like kitey-kite-kite-kite time again.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:38 pm

I can't really do anything in this fight, actually. So really I just run around avoiding the Seven-In-One.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 12:56 pm

I'll use quick thinking to stab-and-retreat if it attacks me, otherwise, kitey-kite.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:16 pm

Well, thankfully it's less threatening than the two guardians before; I'll dismiss all but Nemesis Bolt and Swordthrust, and use 1. Nemesis Bolt 2. Swordthrust 3. Recall and Cast Nemesis Bolt. If it approaches me, I'll move away.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 3:13 pm

Shiritai wrote:Well, thankfully it's less threatening than the two guardians before

Yeah, it might even be possible to win this without kiting (although it's risky with most of you being low on END). The thing has no armour and doesn't start engaged to any of the characters in melee, so the players have the time to arrange themselves into position and let it engage 2-3 of them at once. One good Nemesis Bolt + the other 3 guys piling on it may very well finish it off before it can attack.

Of course, the unfortunate thing is that we have no arrows left. Using them on the Automation was rather a waste, considering arrows only do 1d6 damage so its AR of 5 pretty much negated them completely. The 7-in-1 is a way more suitable target.

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior waits.

Trickster moves in front of the Enchanter.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage waits.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 5 + 5 = 10. Success! Damage = 28+7 = 35. Seven-in-One has 10 END left.

Awareness 5 acts ...

Seven-in-One moves and engages Trickster and Sage.

Quick Thinking bonus:

Trickster fights Seven-in-One. Roll = 8. (Hits) Damage = 3+2 = 5. Seven-in-One has 5 END left.

*I think it's weak enough that we can risk attacking.....even if we miss, the Enchanter is guaranteed to hit Swordthrust.

Round 2 ...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior waits.

Trickster fights Seven-in-One. Roll = 9. (Miss)

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage fights Seven-in-One. Roll = 6. (Hit!) Damage = 2+1 = 3. Seven-in-One has 2 EN left.

Enchanter attempts to cast Swordthrust. Roll = 8+2 = 10. Success! Seven-in-One is destroyed.....or is it?

The monster sways - and suddenly cracks apart like a nut. Another idol, slightly smaller but otherwise identical, steps from within the broken husk! You have an unpleasant inkling now as to why it is called the Seven-in-One ...

Seven-in-One
Fighting Prowess: 7 Psychic Ability: 9
Awareness: 5 Damage per blow: 4 Dice+2
Armour Rating: 0
Endurance: 40

Note: The Seven-in-One has no mind in the proper sense, and thus cannot be controlled by Servile Enthralment.

If you wish to use an item, record the number 243 on your Character Sheet(s) and then turn to 402. If you fight and win, turn to 240.

Hmmm...I was kind of hoping that Trickster and Sage could finish it off via melee so that Enchanter can spend the second round re-calling Nemesis Bolt to use on this next combat....too bad it wasn't quite enough. The Warrior almost certainly would have managed it with her higher base damage.

There's no break between this and the next combat, so the Enchanter has no spells in mind atm....

Keep kiting?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:25 pm

Fuck, do we actually have to fight six more of these? Had I known we were going to fight a multi-stage AR 0 end boss then I wouldn't have wasted arrows on the Automaton.

I still run around because this thing is almost guaranteed to one-shot me.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 4:28 pm

Let the dance continue!

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:52 pm

This is the 4e school of content generation before there was a 4e. Did Dave Morris have to meet an obligatory quota of paragraphs or something?

...This better not end in "while you were otherwise occupied, Susurrien got away with the sword".

Kitey-kite.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:30 pm

Well, if each successive one gets higher FP and lower damage and Endurance, this shouldn't be too bad. I'll fall back to Nemesis cycling, and I'll retreat when necessary.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 10:07 pm

Shiritai wrote:Well, if each successive one gets higher FP and lower damage and Endurance, this shouldn't be too bad. I'll fall back to Nemesis cycling, and I'll retreat when necessary.

As long as none of them gets higher Awareness.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:25 pm

Get ready for the rematch!

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior waits.

Trickster moves to SE of Warrior (if the thing is going to engage either of them, then might as well increase the chances of it engaging both simultaneously).

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage retreats (he's the least useful melee besides Enchanter).

Enchanter recalls Nemesis Bolt.

Awareness 5 acts ...

Seven-in-One moves and engages Trickster and Warrior.

Quick Thinking bonus:

Trickster fights Seven-in-One. Roll = 7. (Hits) Damage = 3+2 = 5. Seven-in-One has 35 END left.

Round 2 ...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior moves 1 step to the east.

Trickster moves 1 step to the east.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage waits.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 10+5 = 15. Failure!

Awareness 5 acts ...

Seven-in-One moves east and engages Trickster and Warrior.

Round 3 ...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior moves 1 step to the north.

Trickster moves 1 step to the east.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage waits.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 4+5-1 = 8. Success! Damage = 21+7 = 28. Seven-in-One has 7 END left.

Awareness 5 acts ...

Seven-in-One moves north and engages Warrior.

Round 4 ...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior moves 1 step to the north.

Trickster moves to SW of the Warrior.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage waits.

Enchanter recalls Nemesis Bolt.

Awareness 5 acts ...

Seven-in-One moves north and engages Warrior and Trickster.

(I considered letting the Warrior attack last round as he had a good chance of finishing it off, but I decided to play safe and wait till the Trickster also has a shot....and also give the Enchanter an extra round to recall his spell for later use.)

Round 5...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior fights Seven-in-One. Roll = 6. (Hits) Damage = 7+3 = 10. Seven-in-One is destroyed.....or is it??

Your worst fears are confirmed: the second shell breaks open and you are faced with yet another murderous wooden monster.

Seven-in-One
Fighting Prowess: 8 Psychic Ability: 9
Awareness: 5 Damage per blow: 4 Dice+1
Armour Rating: 0
Endurance: 35

Note: The Seven-in-One has no mind in the proper sense, and thus cannot be controlled by Servile Enthralment.

If you wish to use an item, record the number 240 on your Character Sheet(s) and then turn to 402. If you fight and win, turn to 87.

Yes, it even uses an identical diagram for battle map.

I'm sure we can all see the pattern now. Are you guys determined to kite till the very end?

This is the last time I'll be pausing before each manifestation of the thing. Makes no sense to drag this out for seven days if you're using the same tactic.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 12:34 pm

It's not like we have a choice. We don't have the items and we can't flee.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 1:00 pm

Agreed.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 1:32 pm

Yeah, the damage rating is going down too slow to matter.