[Let's Play] Virtual Reality Adventure Book: Heart of Ice

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

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SGamerz
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Post by SGamerz »

Flashlight and goggles it is.
Dusk is falling on the tenth day after leaving the Etruscan Inn when you finally come in sight of Venis. It shimmers with a thousand lights under a sky like dull green bronze. Hungry and cold, you quicken your pace until you can make out individual buildings – first the temporary shacks where hunters and traders dwell, then the slums of corrugated iron and plastic which fill the narrow streets that some say were once canals. Above them loom the blocks of ancient plazas, where the rich and powerful of the city reside in palatial buildings shored up with wooden scaffolding to support them from the ravages of time.

You soon learn that the ferry to Kahira is not due for a couple of days. Kyle Boche tells you that he has friends he must visit, and arranges to meet up with you when the ferry arrives. While waiting, you have a choice of where to take lodging. The lavish Marco Polo Hotel will charge 12 scads for two nights; the Hotel Paradise will charge 6 scads; the disreputable Doge’s Inn will cost only 3 scads.

Decide where you are staying and deduct the money.

If you choose the Marco Polo and have an ID card, turn to 222.
If you choose the Marco Polo but do not possess an ID card, turn to 286.
If you opt for the Paradise, turn to 244.
If you check in at the Doge’s Inn, turn to 371.
We didn't loot the ID card, so the first option is out.

However, we have plenty of money now (having stolen 60 scads from Boche), and can afford all the places. Where do we check in?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: ??
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, PARADOXING and ROGUERY
Life Points: 10
Possessions:
1) Psionic focus
2) Flashlight
3) Polarized goggles
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Money: 90 scads
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I didn't actually think the ID card would do something so early on. Hopefully that means the other items are going to be more useful later on, and not that they're trap options.

Go to the Hotel Paradise. I'm suspicious of going to the Marco Polo without an ID card now and I'd rather not go to the poor disreputable hotel where people will probably attempt to rob us in our sleep.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Paradise sounds nice. Let's go there.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I concur. The high end inn probably restores life we haven't lost, and the low-end inn seems dangerous. Middle way.
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Post by SGamerz »

We pay 6 scads and head to Paradise (who'd have thought getting to Paradise would be this cheap?)....
The Hotel Paradise proves to be a converted temple overlooked by a high-belled tower. You stand looking up at the inside of the splendid domes. Once, centuries ago, this vast hall must have rung with orisons to the forgotten deity of that era. Now it echoes instead to the grunt and clamour of people eating in the refectory or clattering up and down the wooden stairway to their rooms.
The medium option was more or less the "uneventful" option. The other 2 places each gives us an encounter before we move to the next section, but in our case we didn't make a bad choice here, since we really didn't have the necessary skills required to gain more information/loot from those encounters.

The biggest loss is the lack of an ID card. We DO have the skill to take advantage of that, and it would have opened up a wide range of options for us.
With a day or two to wait until the ferry to Kahira arrives, you have time to make preparations for the adventure ahead. You take a stroll along the esplanade overlooking the gambling rooms of the notorious Hazard Strip. Below you, in the deep alley that was once the grandest of the canals, glaring neon lights and raucous music intrude on the wistful grandeur of Venis by night.

You consider your options. If you want to spend your time trying to communicate with Gaia, turn to 351. If you want to discover more about the Heart of Volent, turn to 91. If you enquire after travellers who have gone missing on their way to Venis recently, turn to 451. If you go looking for gossip about Kyle Boche, turn to 179. If you try to find some special purchases for the trip, turn to 350.
What's next? (Depending on the option we make here, we may or may not be able to do more than one of those above before we have to leave Venis).
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Post by Thaluikhain »

I suggest asking about travellers who've gone missing, though that seems more likely to get hints, rather than plot necessary stuff.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I think that the wisest thing to start with is asking about the Heart.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

I'll change my vote to the Heart then, to avoid the current tie, and cause I have someone to blame if it turns out to have been an obviously bad idea.
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Post by SGamerz »

You piece together a jigsaw of legends, superstition and historical face. The Heart fell from the sky: an unearthly gemstone that became the focus of a crazed cult. The cult used its supernatural power to wage the Paradox War. Now the Heart lies buried under the ruined city of Du-En, and the one who retrieves it will become mightier than any man has ever been.

'Why, then, did the civilization of Du-En fall?' you ask a scholar at the library.

'Its rulers went mad. No one could wield such power and stay sane.'

'Do you know it for a fact, or is it just your own theory?'

But his only answer to that is a whimsical smile. If you have STREETWISE or a vade-mecum, turn to 157. If not, but you have LORE, turn to 414. If you have neither, turn to 25.
Alas, we do not have any of the skills or item.....
Having LORE here actually doesn't give us any extra information, but DOES allow us to pursue another of the options listed in the previous section. I think it's supposed to imply that with the skill, we were able get our information in a very short amount of time, and therefore have the time to do something else before we leave. As it is, our time in Venis is out.....
Dawn hides behind a blanket of dark snow-laden cloud. Huddled in warm furs, a group of travellers make their way to the quayside to await the ferry. As you approach the ticket kiosk, you see an old man propped like a limp sack on a bench facing out to sea. He is crippled, having no legs, and his face has the look of a clay effigy that has crumpled in on itself through sheer age. A puff of white hair haloes his liver-spotted pate. Poor old devil, you think as you pass him.

He looks up. Keen hawk’s eyes meet your own. ‘I don’t care for your pity, youngster,’ he snaps.

‘I’m sorry,’ you say, ‘I didn’t mean – ’

And then it hits you. He can read your mind.

‘Of course I can read your mind. Have you never heard of Baron Siriasis?’ Before you can reply, he hauls himself to the edge of the bench. It seems to you that he is about to fall to the ground, and you take half a step forward, but he glares at you and says, ‘I don’t need your help either!’

To your amazement, he rises into the air until he is hovering in front of you, his gaze level with yours. For a moment your eyes lock. You hear his words of warning, not spoken, but burning their way into your mind: Don’t go to Du-En if you want to live.

Abruptly he turns and drifts away. A woman standing behind you in the queue glances after him and says, ‘That’s Baron Siriasis, one of the lords of Bezant. He’s said to be the most powerful psionic alive.’

You have never before seen a man with enough psychokinetic power to levitate his own body. ‘Indeed, who can doubt it?’ you reply.

If you have the codeword Diamond, turn to 224. If not, turn to 202.
We do.....that's basically a companion check:
As the queue moves along, Kyle Boche hurries to join you. Stamping his feet to fend off the morning chill, he tells you that he was delayed by some last-minute purchases in town. You notice a new barysal gun at his belt. ‘We’re on our way now,’ he says excitedly, grinning as he stares out into the mist over the sea. ‘The adventure’s begun!’

A problem arises when you reach the ticket office. The cost of passage to Kahira is 10 scads each. Boche peers woefully at his remaining funds and then turns to you with a shrug. ‘You’ll have to pay for me, I’m afraid. Still, we’re partners. I’m sure you’ll agree I’ve never stinted from doing my bit up till now.’

If you agree to pay for both yourself and Boche, reduce your money by 20 scads and turn to 246. If you are prepared to pay for yourself but not for him, cross off 10 scads and turn to 267. If you do not have enough money even to buy your own ticket, turn to 288.
We have more than enough money, but do we think this guy is worth the cost?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Companions make adventures more interesting, even if they are bad news, so get conned out of 10 scads.

(Also, that seems an odd name for a unit of currency. Is it supposed to be some trendy futurespeak or something?)
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Fork over the money, we nicked some of it from him in the first place.
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Post by Mr Shine »

Thaluikhain wrote:Companions make adventures more interesting, even if they are bad news, so get conned out of 10 scads.

(Also, that seems an odd name for a unit of currency. Is it supposed to be some trendy futurespeak or something?)
I'm guessing it's a corruption of "Escudos", the same way all the city names are corrupted.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

Hm, I suspect Kyle doesn't live much beyond this point in any case, but he could still easily be worth more than 10 moneys in the interim. Pay it.
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Post by CapnTthePirateG »

He has a gun, we don't, we could use the firepower. Keep him, and if he dies steal his gun.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Jumping on the "keep Kyle" bandwagon.
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Post by Judging__Eagle »

Also, we picked up a Barysal gun charge; and they're useless w/out one. So that might be handy in the future.
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Post by SGamerz »

Judging__Eagle wrote:Also, we picked up a Barysal gun charge; and they're useless w/out one. So that might be handy in the future.
Well, we actually didn't. Boche got that half of the loot, we just got the goggles and the flashlight.

Anyway, we decide to keep our meatshield companion, and our money is down to 70 scads.
After fifteen minutes, a pale green light flashes through the murk out to sea. The assembled travellers start to rise and gather their belongings as the ferry comes sweeping in towards the dock. A massive hovercraft of three tiered decks surmounted by a high conning-tower, the ferry glides up the frosty foreshore and settles on its metal skirt. Workers immediately rush out with planks to assemble a boardwalk, and you go aboard with the others.

There is a delay while supplies are loaded. You find a couch on the middle deck and gaze out to sea. A polarizing tint in the glass adds to the gloominess of the scene, with tall iron-black clouds piled high above a sea of grey swell and ice floes.

Eventually the craft raises itself and you are under way. Stewards come round and lunch is served at long curved tables in the central lounge. You chew at a stodgy gruel formulated from sea algae, washed down with spiced tea.

You take a promenade of the outside deck, but the chill of the afternoon soon drives you back inside. Some of the other passengers have started card games. As the daylight fades, a gap in the louring cloud reveals a handful of diamond-bright stars. The bar is opened and the atmosphere aboard gradually acquires a current of bonhomie, but you remain aloof and troubled. Most of these people have no further destination in mind than Kahira, no ambition beyond a small profit and a frisson of petty adventure. But your own goal is direly remote: the lost ruins of Du-En, in the far hinterland of the Saharan Ice Wastes. It seems impossible to believe, but there in Du-En you will either grasp the ultimate power – or perish.
At dawn the ferry enters the Isis estuary and skims upriver towards Kahira. Taking a stroll on the deck, you notice a waft of warmth rising from the river. It eases the bitter chill of the morning air. Questioning one of the sailors, you learn that heating pipes are laid along the river bed. No one knows the source of energy, but the effect is to keep the Isis from freezing, with the result that river-plants and fish are more plentiful than you would expect. ‘That is the basis of Kahira’s prosperity,’ he tells you. ‘But one day the pipes will fail. Then the river will freeze and Kahira must die.’

You glance to the east, where the sun struggles morosely behind a drape of stern grey cloud. ‘That is the whole world’s eventual fate.’

Kahira hoves into view around a bend in the river. It stands on massive concrete buttresses straddling the Isis, a huge fortress-city with towers like spines along its back, looking like a beast of mechanical Armageddon against the wintry surroundings. The ferry glides to a halt, the gang-ramp is extended, and you disembark in front of the city gates.

If you have the codeword Diamond, turn to 251. If not, turn to 229.
Yep, the companion is still with us.....
The city gate is a metal shutter that opens into a wide cargo lift at the bottom of a concrete abutment. Those entering are conveyed up inside the abutment to the lowest street level twenty metres above. You have arrived just before the gates are closed for the night, and as you step out into the street you draw the attention of a man in blue-&-grey combat dress.

Boche recognizes him, throwing out his chest in a display of wary truculence. The man stops and nods, a relaxed smile on his slim features. ‘Kyle Boche. And is this your accomplice, or your latest victim?’

‘Chaim Golgoth! Are you still a hired murderer?’ pipes up Boche in a tone of bravado.

He turns to you. ‘This man kills people for a living.’

You notice the insignia on Golgoth’s sleeve: the blazoned silver eagle and blue stars of United States Intelligence. Even with the world close to collapse, the United States remains a force to be reckoned with. If Golgoth really is a USI assassin, Boche is being reckless in bantering with him like this. You size up what you can see. Golgoth has a holstered barysal gun and, to your surprise, a steel crossbow slung behind his hip. At a glance he looks open and friendly, his voice mild with wry amusement. But there is something almost chilling about the eyes. Those are the eyes of a man who is always alert.

If you have ESP (and a psionic focus) and want to probe Golgoth’s mind, turn to 121.

Alternatively, you can query him about Giza, or his reason for carrying a crossbow, or simply pass by him into the city.
Minor continuity problem here, since I don't think our PC has any reason to want to know anything about "Giza".
We missed the opportunity to learn something about it back in Venis.
Still, the option is available without any codeword check, so I guess we can still ask him about that. Do we want to?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Given that we normally couldn't, it seems likely to be useful, but is exploiting a bug.
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Clearly Boche mentioned Giza in his sleep offscreen. </lazymindcaulk>
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I vote to exploit the bug and ask about Giza.
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Giza is on the map, it's a prominent landmark. I'd say we can ask.
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Post by SGamerz »

His gaze narrows just for an instant as he listens to the question. 'Giza was a military base a few klicks west. Long before that, I'm told it was an ancient burial ground. It's deserted now anyway. And off-limits. I recommend you steer well clear of the place.'

Boche takes your arm. 'Excuse us,' he says to Golgoth, 'but we have business in Kahira and I don't care to have my throat slit beforehand.'

Golgoth grins. 'Boche, you slit your throat every time you open your mouth!'
Boche pulls you away, expelling a hiss of breath between his teeth as he glances back at Golgoth through the fog. ‘A stroke of bad luck, running into that one,’ he mutters.

‘Why should a USI agent be interested in us?’

Boche scowls. ‘Golgoth is a loose cannon. He wouldn’t wait to ask what his superiors thought about something. Did you hear about the hijack of the warship Illustrious by the Seventh Seal Cult a couple of years ago? The Vice President was aboard and a ransom was being negotiated until USI stepped in.’

You cast your mind back across the sketchy rumours and news reports that stretched across the Atlantic. ‘I seem to remember that the Seventh Seal Cult was all but eradicated – at least eighty people dead. Don’t tell me Golgoth was in charge of that operation.’

‘In charge? He was the operation – a one-man death squad. He went in alone under disguise and variously stabbed, poisoned, shot or blew up every terrorist aboard.’

'Well, it seems pretty impressive...’ you venture.

Boche shakes his head grimly. ‘He’s a psychopath; he relishes killing. His USI badge just gives him carte blanche to indulge his depravities. Such people are evil no matter how noble a mask they wear.’ Boche’s mood brightens as he changes the subject: ‘Now I have a few things to take care of. I’ll meet you tomorrow morning at the Empty Quarter Cafe, next to the bazaar.’

Boche hurries off into the swirling fog. You are left alone on the street. Turn to 95.
Golgoth actually sounds like someone who would be a useful companion/partner. Unlike this guy that we're stuck with, who's done nothing besides trying to take our loot (including that 60 scads which he didn't know we stole from him). He was useless in the wild, and whatever useful contacts he may have in the cities, he never lets us know anything about them, and just mysteriously disappears....only to show up expecting us to pay his bills.
If you possess an ID card and wish to make use of it, turn to 353. Otherwise, if you have not already done so you could try to find out about Baron Siriasis, Chaim Golgoth, Gilgamesh or the Sphinx. If you are ready to get some rest, turn to 311.
Another case of the PC being given the option to ask about things that he previously didn't know anything about (Gilgamesh and Sphinx).

What do we ask about?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Hmmm...Gilgamesh?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'd see if we can find out more about Golgoth.
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Post by SGamerz »

Any tie-breaker between the Double Gs?
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