[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 34 - Stealer of Souls

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

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What should be the name of our Hero?

Harry Balzac
3
43%
Dick Hertz
1
14%
I.P. Freely
1
14%
Grabsack Moorcock
2
29%
 
Total votes: 7

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Post by SGamerz »

Do you have a bunch of keys? If you do, tum to 211. If you don't, you cannot open the securely locked door, so you decide to head off south instead; turn to 227.
:(
You soon arrive at a door barring your way at the end of this southern passage. You hear no sound beyond, and the door opens easily, revealing light beyond. With sword drawn you move cautiously through; turn to 59.
If we could open the door earlier, one of the dying prisoners show us a secret door that gives us access to this upcoming room, allowing us to surprise and auto-kill one of the opponents. We also get some healing stuff from that room, which quite frankly we can do with some right now.
You enter a gloomy, dirty and rather small room in which two bored Orcs are sitting at a table gnawing at a roast Dwarf joint. They look cruel and mean, and have their swords ready to hand. They attack at once; in the doorway, you can fight them one at a time.

Frist ORC SKILL 5 STAMINA 4
Second ORC SKILL 5 STAMINA 6

If you win, tum to 264.
Although our STAMINA is low, these are weak enough enemies that we can probably still come out on top....

COMBAT LOG:
Orc#1 11, Harry 17. Orc#1 is at 2.
Orc#1 9, Harry 16. Orc#1 is killed.
Orc#2 11, Harry 15. Orc#2 is at 4.
Orc#2 13, Harry 14. Orc#2 is at 2.
Orc#2 11, Harry 17. Orc#2 is killed.
Flawless victory!
The Orcs have nothing but 1 Gold Piece which one carries in a pouch (take this and add it to your Treasure on your Adventure Sheet).Their dirty, lice-ridden chamber smells awful, and you leave in haste; you can either open the easterly door here or the door to the south.
What a nice reward....

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 5/20
LUCK 7/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x3, +1 LUCK each), Silver Feather, Ebony Key, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice
Provisions: 4 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 6 Gold Pieces
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

East!
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Post by SGamerz »

You open the door to a small, cramped bedchamber which contains two lice-infested beds and a pile of stinking, greasy and dirty clothes. Straw litters the floor and a rickety table bears only a pair of evil-smelling dirty socks and a chamber pot. Roll one die; if the result is a 1, turn to 147. lf you roll 2-6, you decide to go back to the guard room and open the south door; turn to 333.
"Evil-smelling" socks! They must be the Demonic Socks of Doom from Hell! We must kill it!

Die roll = 1!
Image
Suddenly a brief vision passes before your eyes! In it, you see a door before you, marked with a black and amber cross, and beyond the door is an Orc holding a brass flask. You move forward and slay him - but then into the room steps a fearsome black-robed figure who unleashes a spell at you! Then the vision is gone. Was it a premonition? Or just an illusion? You make a note to be well prepared for combat should you come across such a door! You have the Orcs' bedroom, enter the guardroom, and open the south door.
With that ominous vision, let's take a meal now and restore our STAMINA to 9.
A passageway leads south beyond the door, and this is dimly lit by torches in wall sconces. Following the short passage to the end, you see that it soon turns east; however, there is a plain darkwood door on the west side of the passage at the end, facing the east-turning main passageway. You cannot see to the end of that eastern passage yet. Will you try to open the door to the west or press on eastwards?
Investigate another random door or not?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 9/20
LUCK 7/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x3, +1 LUCK each), Silver Feather, Ebony Key, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice
Provisions: 3 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 6 Gold Pieces
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Yes, try the door.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

We're bound to find a good one soon.
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Do you have an Ebony Key? If you do, turn to 386. If you don't, tum to 171.
Indeed, we've found a good one! Finally, a plot coupon we actually have!
The Ebony Key slips into the lock and the door opens soundlessly, revealing a small room, featureless save for a sealed chest which stands on a central plinth. Do you want to enter this room and open the chest or leave it and head back east?
Why would we waste our time using a plot coupon and then just leaving without getting anything from it? I think we can skip the voting for once.
Inside the chest is a simple Silver Ring which bear strange runes and glyphs that you cannot decipher. You have no way of knowing what this ring's powers might be. If you want to carry it, or wear, add the Silver Ring to the list of Equipment Carried on your Adventure Sheet, then turn to 114.
I'll be taking the ring unless there're any voiced objections.
You stand before a door marked with a black and amber cross. You decide to open it, to see what lies on the other side.
Oooh....that's the door we just saw in the vision earlier! We know there's gonna be a fight and more, so I'm taking another meal....STAMINA up to 13.
You enter a well-lit room where an Orc is standing at a table, pouring oil into an intricate brass vessel of some kind. Around the table stand a few chairs, but there is no other decoration, save for a crude bunk bed. Two other doors lead south and east from this room.

The Orc snarls and draws his sword, and you must fight him; but what really worries you is that as you enter he shouts, 'Master! Master!' . . .

ORC SKILL 5 STAMINA 6

If you win, turn immediately to 202, without taking any further actions of any sort! The Orc's master is about to arrive!
Yet the master won't come in until after the Orc is dead! How considerate of him!

COMBAT LOG:
Orc 13, Harry 18. Orc is at 4.
Orc 11, Harry 18. Orc is at 2.
Orc 14, Harry 16. Orc is killed.
The Orc is puny like most of its kind, so we get another flawless easily....but we know there's a bigger foe coming...
The southernmost door in this room flies open, and a cowled figure stands framed in the doorway. A livid blue scar bisects the left side of his expressionless face, and he waves his thin, almost skeletal, long-nailed fingers as he chants a spell.

You rush him with your sword. Roll two dice and add 1 to the number rolled; if the total is less than or equal to your current SKILL score, tum to 11. If the dice-roll total is greater than your current SKILL score, turn to 66.
Dice roll = 6+1 = 7 (Success)!
You take a swing at your enemy with your sword, galvanized by fear of what the effect of his spell might be. You don't hit him, but you do force him to duck, ruining his concentration so that his spell-casting is spoiled, Cursing you, he draws from his belt a vicious double-thonged flail with wicked strips of jagged metal studded into the thick leather! You will have to overcome him in physical combat now; turn to 321.
Failing the roll means the spell takes 1d6+1 STAMINA off us......which probably means we would lose the upcoming fight....
You arc now in hand-to-hand combat with the evil Dark Priest, overseer of this part of the dungeon, and you will not find him easy to overcome!

DARK PRIEST SKILL 9 STAMINA 12

If you win, turn to 167.
Just like the last Dark Priest we fought, this is almost an even fight....well, since we have 13 STAMINA we can take one extra blow, but that's it. We may need luck (and LUCK) again.....

COMBAT LOG:
Dark Priest 12, Harry 16. Dark Priest is at 10.
DP 17, Harry 13. Harry is at 11.
DP 16, Harry 14. Harry is at 9.
DP 16, Harry 16. Tie.
DP 15, Harry 20. DP is at 8.
DP 15, Harry 15. Tie.
DP 16, Harry 19. DP is at 6.
DP 14, Harry 18. DP is at 4.
DP 20, Harry 16. Harry is at 7.
DP 17, Harry 20. DP is at 2.
DP 15, Harry 18. Dark Priest is dead!
Not bad, our luck on the dice is relatively good this round.
Such a hard fight, and an adversary who used magic against you! Could it be . . . ? Surely not. Although you were told that only Mordraneth's own would work in the Iron Crypts, this must have been a minion instructed by Mordraneth. And your job is to find Alsander in any event. . . Will you:

Search the bodies?
Try the east door in the Orc's room?
Look through the south door the Dark Priest entered by?
Where do we want to loot?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 7/20
LUCK 7/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x3, +1 LUCK each), Silver Feather, Ebony Key, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring
Provisions: 2 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 6 Gold Pieces
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Rob the dead!
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Loot the bodies first. I could also see gobbling a meal sprinkled with luck powder to get some stats up first.
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Post by SGamerz »

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Loot the bodies first. I could also see gobbling a meal sprinkled with luck powder to get some stats up first.
I'm not sure if the Luck powder is supposed to be edible. It's supposed to work when it's sprinkled on your hands. :biggrin:

1 meal consumed, 1 packet of Luck powder used, and we're up to 11 STAMINA, 8 LUCK. We're down to our last meal, though!
The Orc has 1 Gold Piece which you may take (add this to your Treasure) but his flask has shattered on the ground and his oil is spilled. The Priest's armour is ruined by a sword thrust, and you'd rather have your sword than his flail. But he does wear a gold bracelet. Will you:

Take the Dark Priest's bracelet?
Look through the south door in the Orc's room?
Try the door to the east in the Orc's room?
Another single GP....are the Orcs under Modraneth's employment restricted to carry no more than 1?

Or maybe that's their monthly salary and they always spend it on booze, so they never accumulate more than 1.

Hmmm.....so far, every piece of loot we've found, the book just tells you you can choose whether to take it or not and move on.....this is the first time they've given a specific section to turn to just for picking something up, so the effect for picking up the bracelet must be immediate. Do we think it's a good or bad effect?

Btw, judging by the section number, the "door to the east" in this section is the same as the one the Priest came in from in the previous section.

What to do now?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 11/20
LUCK 8/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x2, +1 LUCK each), Silver Feather, Ebony Key, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring
Provisions: 1 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 7 Gold Pieces
Last edited by SGamerz on Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'm leaning towards "not taking the bracelet." Also, it says the priest came through the south door in the previous section, although that may be a printing error.

Go to whichever door the priest came through. Hopefully he has some healing potions or other good shit in his room.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Yeah, stuff looted from evil priests has a very dubious record in these books. East!
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Post by SGamerz »

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Also, it says the priest came through the south door in the previous section, although that may be a printing error.

Go to whichever door the priest came through.
You're right, I mixed up the section numbers. Because of that, I'm assuming angel wants to investigate the Priest's room, too.
Beyond the door is a dark room, with satins and silks draped over a long table. Crossed knives with sharp, serrated blades decorate the walls, together with pinioned skulls. A powerful emanation of evil radiates from here, and you feel the hairs standing up on the nape of your neck; lose 1 LUCK point. You want to get away, so you open the door to the east in the Orc's room.
Looks like anything owned by the priest brings bad karma.
Yes, that bracelet was bad news, too. Good choice avoiding that one.
The small room beyond is plainly furnished with chairs and a small table on which you see a decanter of white wine, some cheeses, and a fruit pie. You suddenly feel hungry! lf you wish, you may eat a meal from what is on the table (regaining 2 STAMINA points), and you can take the cheese for another meal later (add 1 to your Provisions on your Adventure Sheet). There is a small door in the south wall of this room, and you decide to open this after checking for noise and hearing nothing.
We feel hungry? We've had more than 3 meals in less than a day!

We do need the STAMINA, though. And the extra meal. Ours is running out. Keith Martin's heroes tend to be gluttons, it seems (brings to mind Vault of the Vampire and Night Dragon).
In the room beyond the small door you quickly spot a trapdoor in the floor which is half covered by a tatty rug, and heavily barred from your side. The room is sparsely furnished: a bed with clean bedding, a chair and a table on which stands a small portable incense-burner. Do you have any blocks of incense? If you do, torn to 234. If you don't turn to 305.
The door opposite the one with trapped spears (which we missed due to picking the trapped door) is where we could have found the incense blocks. It can be opened with the phial of white oil that we bought earlier. There are 3 blocks and each would have healed 3 STMINA when used with the burner. And since the burner is portable, we can use the blocks anytime we want.
You are tired now, and beginning to feel sleepy. Seeing how heavily the trapdoor is barred, and how comfortable the bed looks, you jam the chair under the handle of the door in the north wall of this room (where it wedges it shut splendidly) and settle down for some rest. You sleep well and wake refreshed; recover 2 STAMINA points.

After sleeping, you unbar the trapdoor and look down. Deciding you will have to investigate, you descend the unlit steep stone steps, using your light source to guide your way. Eventually you arrive at a landing; a flambeau blazes and spits green flame on the west wall and illuminates doors in the middle of the east and south walls. Will you:

Stay still and listen for noise?
Open the east door?
Open the southern door?
Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 15/20
LUCK 7/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x2, +1 LUCK each), Silver Feather, Ebony Key, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring
Provisions: 2 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 7 Gold Pieces
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Listen. Gathering information rarely goes badly.
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Post by SGamerz »

Roll one die; if the result is a 1, tum to 170. Otherwise, turn to 344.
Dice roll = 4!
You hear nothing. Now open either the eastern door or the southern door.
No information gained....

Which door now?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

East, I guess.
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Post by SGamerz »

Roll one die. If the roll is 1-3, turn to 107. If the roll is 4-6, turn to 75.
Roll = 2!
You open the door quietly and discover a comfortably appointed room lit with ornate wall-lamps. There are fine carpets, a large cushion, and wall-paintings decorating the room; lying on a fur-covered bed a man wearing a chain-mail vest is sleeping. A sword is scabbarded at his belt. Will you:

Leave him and open the southern door?
Kill him?
Wake him and try to talk with him?
Do we stab a man in his sleep?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Hm, a man sleeping in armor is ready for trouble. But cold-blooded murder isn't okay. Wake him.
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Post by SGamerz »

The sleeper is now fully awake. Irrespective of what you say, he looks at you with deep suspicion, and says, 'You're not one of us! I know all the Master's men!' He draws his sword; you're going to have to fight him.

GUARD SKILL 6 STAMINA 8

lf you win, tum to 352.
Cold-blooded murder was actually the better option here, although the book tries to disguise that by making us lose a LUCK point for it......which we will end up spending anyway if we fight him, as you will see...
At least he's a rather weak opponent. Barely stronger than an average orc.

COMBAT LOG:
Guard 14, Harry 14. Tie.
Guard 14, Harry 19. Guard is at 6.
Guard 12, Harry 15. Guard is at 4.
Guard 12, Harry 16. Guard is at 2.
Guard 16, Harry 19. Guard is killed.
The carpets and furs in this room are valuable, but far too heavy to carry. However, looking around, you find a crowbar in one comer of the room, and you may take this (add it to the list of Equipment Carried on your Adventure Sheet). Now you must Test your Luck; if you are Lucky, tum to 153. If you are Unlucky, turn to 139.
Let me just use another packet of Luck powder for safety, since the one we regained earlier was immediately lost in the Dark Priest's room. At least there's nothing in the rules saying that we can't use it right before a test...

Roll = 8! (Saved by the powder!)
While the warrior's sword is inferior to your own, his chain-mail armour is definitely superior. (Add this to the list of Equipment Carried on your Adventure Sheet.) When you wear it, it will increase your SKILL score permanently by 1 point; this does allow you to exceed your Initial SKILL score, unless that was originally 11 or 12.

Pleased with your superior armour, and flushed with the success of the combat, you leave this room and open the south door in the adjoining room; tum to 245.
As mentioned, if we killed the guy in his sleep, we lose a LUCK point.....but than we're guaranteed to get the chainmail in return. If we killed him in combat, then we need a luck test (so we have to spend the LUCK point either way), and being Unlucky means that the chainmail was ruined during the combat!

So yes, yay to cold-blooded murder!
Nice power-up btw, we we'll probably need later....
You follow the passageway beyond the door until you come to another door. This is slightly ajar, and you peer round it into the room beyond. An oaken table stands in the middle of the room, with a large tablecloth covering it; on the table you see silver cutlery, fine porcelain and cut crystal, and bread, meats and fruit laid out ready to eat! There is no sign of anyone in the room, so you enter. You see that there are two other doors in the room, one in the east and one in the west wall. Will you:

Sit down and eat some food?
Open the east door?
Open the west door?
FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!

Does Harry want to stuff his face like the glutton that he is? If not which way does he go?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Harry Balzac
SKILL 10/10 (+1 from Chainmail Armour)
STAMINA 15/20
LUCK 7/10
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Jar of Ointment, Message Scroll ('350'), Silver Medallion, Luck Powder (x1, +1 LUCK), Silver Feather, Ebony Key, 15-foot length of rope, Phial of White Oil, Pair of Bone Dice, Silver Ring, Crowbar, Chainmail Armour (+1 SKILL)
Provisions: 2 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Treasure: 7 Gold Pieces
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

So shanking the sentry is like killing that old man in Talisman of Death, then. Only in that case it was at least debatable whether it was optimal to ice the geezer.

Well, we just found a pile of non-poisoned food, and this reminds me of the priest's bracelet. Ignore the food and head west.
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Post by SGamerz »

Beyond the door is a torch-lit passage which leads westwards and then bends round to the south. You notice that it is not dusty but clean, so you deduce that many people may pass along it regularly. There may be many foes heir, but perhaps also someone who might be helpful if you are lucky and careful. . . Soon you come to a T-junction, and here you can either take the eastern passage or the western passage.
Btw, the food
was perfectly fine. We will also meet the guard from the other room (the east door) if we stay to eat (or we can meet him by simply choosing the other door). He may attack us, but if we say the right things, we could have bluffed him into giving us directions to Alsander......by convincing that we're the new "expert torturer whom they're expecting. So this might not have been another completely blind direction choice....but it is, now.
Which way now?
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

West is best.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Test the way west.
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Post by SGamerz »

The passageway goes on westwards, and then turns south again; once more it is clear that you are treading a well-frequented path. At the end of the passage you observe a wooden door with a handle bearing an ornate door-plaque of bronze and a silvered door-handle. Just before this, there is a side-passage to the east, at the end of which is a small door which has a sign affixed to it: 'DANGER! KEEP OUT!' Do you want to open the southern door at the end of the corridor or investigate the east door at the end of the side passage?
Do we want to check out the "DANGER"?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Obviously we check out the danger. Danger is Harry's middle name.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

What we've been doing so far isn't exactly safe, so why not?
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