[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 61(?) - Howl of the Werewolf!

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

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Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Agreed.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Moving stealthily towards the heart of the dusk-shrouded ruins, you find yourself at the top of a flight of worn stone steps leading down into a dome-roofed underground chamber. Drawn as you are towards this darker gloom, you will need to be able to light your lantern to progress further. If you have a lantern or, if not, the Night Creature special ability, turn to 101. If not, you will have to retrace your steps and leave the ruins.
Oh no, magpies ate our lantern!

Oh wait, they didn't.
The bare stone walls of the chamber drip with black slime and patches of grey mould bloom in the crumbling crevices. The air smells of rot and damp earth. There is nothing of note in the vault, other than the gaping black mouth of a wide, stone-walled pit in the middle of the packed earth floor. Once again you find yourself wondering what happened here. Roll two dice. If the total is less then, or equal to, your current CHANGE score, turn to 33; if it is greater, turn to 214.
Thanks to the drink we took from the Holy Grail there's no need to roll this one....
The silence of the vault is swept away by a susurrating wind, which brings with it a disquieting feeling of impending doom. At the edge of hearing you can almost believe that the wind is whispering to you. In fact, the half-heard murmur seems to come from inside the pit. You edge closer and peer into the depthless dark. With a lull in the wind you hear the distant splash and slurp of something moving within watery depths. Do you want to climb down into the pit to find out what is lurking at the bottom or would you rather leave these malign ruins?
I think I will skip this round's voting, since it's merely a second "are you sure you want to do this side quest or abandon it as a waste of time?".
Taking a firm hold of the stones at the lip of the pit, you carefully lower yourself over the edge, down into the darkness. There are plenty of hand-and-foot-holds to be fond but the stones lining the pit are slick with slime. The air in the shaft smells of damp, fungal matter. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you reach the bottom of the pit safely. If you are Unlucky, turn to 121.
Dice roll = 6 (Lucky)
Holding your lantern aloft, you take in the subterranean chamber in which you are standing. It open up away from you like a cave, all murky gloom and a regular echoing drip. The only other sound is the splash and ripple as you move through a foot of foul-smelling water. And then you see it: the glitter of something silvery beneath the surface of the water, caught in the ambient light of your lantern. It is a sword that shines with a silvery gleam, even through the stirred up filth. As you reach out a hand towards the submerged blade, something reaches for you. A thick, rubbery tentacle bursts from the water, causing you to jump back as something pale-fleshed and monstrous heaves its massive bulk towards you from out of its massive bulk towards you from out of its shadowy lair. You get the impression of grabbing tentacles and pseudopods, huge watery eyes, a cavernous mouth packed with teeth, a mucus-oozing blowhole, and white albino-flesh. This lurking horror has been lying in wait for its usual prey - rats, small crustaceans and the like - but sensing the hot blood pumping in your veins has excited its unholy appetite. You cannot hope to escape without a fight, so fight you must.

LURKING HORROR SKILL 9 STAMINA 10

If you manage to slay this foul fiend, turn to 174.
Of course, no horror-themed story or game is complete without some random tentacle thing.

On the bright side, WE FOUND A SHINY! WE MUST KILL THIS MONSTER FOR THE SHINY!

I actually find it kind of hard to imagine that this thing should be affected by our Howl, but it's not described to be undead or magical construct, so I guess it should work here!

COMBAT LOG:
Lurking Horror 16, Triple W 18. LH is at 8.
LH 17, Triple W 16. Triple W is at 9.
LH 15, Triple W 15. Tie.
LH 17, Triple W 18. LH is at 6.
LH 14, Triple W 16. LH is at 4.
LH 15, Triple W 24. LH is at 2.
LH 17, Triple W 18. LH is killed.
Stupid tentacle hit us once and spoiled our string of flawlesses.
At your killing blow, the monstrous creature sinks back under the water. With the horror slain, you turn your attention back to the Silver Sword. You feel drawn to the weapon, your skin goose-pimpling in excited anticipation. But something in these ruins is the cause of the oppressive, almost overwhelming, atmosphere of evil that pervades the place like a festering canker. Do you want to reach into the water and take the blade or will you spend no longer in the dark and damp, and climb out of the well-pit once more?
What, we went through all that for the shiny, how can we possibly leave it behind? We're not get felt up by that creepy tentacle for nothing!
Out of the foetid pool, the blade appears to shine. It is a magnificent weapon and has not suffered any tarnishing, despite its resting-place. Turning the blade over you see engraved gothic lettering flash in the lantern light. They spell out a name: 'Wulfen'. You have found a powerful magical weapon. Restore 1 LUCK point and, for as long as it is your weapon of choice, increase your Attack Strength in battles by 1 point. As well as counting as a magical weapon, which will harm the undead, demons and magical creatures, the Wulfen Sword has a charm bound into it, which works against the moon-wrought powers of were-creatures. Injuries you lay against any creature with the word 'Were' in its name, while wielding the Wulfen Sword, will cause 3 STAMINA points damage rather than the usual 2. Add the Wulfen Sword to your Possessions. Still marveling at the magnificent weapon you hold in your hands, you begin to wonder what else might be lying beneath the surface of the pool. Do you want to extend the search for artefacts or will you climb out of the pit with your wondrous new find?
This sword is a complete upgrade from the Silver Dagger we looted from Maun earlier, and there's no reason why we wouldn't use it as our default weapon. In combination with the shield, we now effectively fight at a SKILL of 13 (14 if we can use our Howl)!

Just as importantly, the Wulfen Sword is clearly a long-lost family heirloom of the distant ancestral family of Wolfgang W. Wolfenstein's!

We just looted the shiniest shiny. Do we think there are more shinies to loot?
Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Let's not push our luck, even Magpiegang M. Magpienstein knows when to stop.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SGamerz »

Your ascent of the pit shaft, although tiring, does not come with any more nasty surprises and you haul yourself into the subterranean chamber without suffering any unpleasant accidents. Still unclear as to what happened here, you know that there is nothing else for you here and so make your way back through the disorientating ruins.

An unholy ritual was carried out here years ago, a rite so blasphemous that it has left its mark on the world. The feeling of a lingering malignance is its legacy and the longer you have spent in the ruins, the more that insidious presence has fed on your own fears, until it has become strong enough to manifest in physical form. It appears before you now, a leering demonic face coalescing out of the air in front of you. It is a thing of nightmares, an amalgam of everything you have ever feared. Vile writhing bodies and hairy spider legs through tears in the leathery skin of the grotesque gargoyle face. And then the thing grows wrongly jointed limbs of its own. The black hollows of its eyes dripping with maggots, the Malice scuttles towards you like a spider on legs that might be arms and grabs for you with hands that might be feet, all the time hissing like a susurration of cockroaches.

THE MALICE SKILL 8 STAMINA 9

If you defeat the Malice, the evil entity seems to melt like wax and its pure black essence runs away into the night-deepened shadows. Your heart pounding in your chest, you run the rest of the way to the road.
Once again, an opponent with ambiguous origin that I'm not certain should be vulnerable to our Werewolf Howl. It sounds like a creation of our fear and to me slants towards "magical creature" so I'm not going to use the bonus. I don't think we'll need it, though.

COMBAT LOG:
Malice 20, Triple W 19. Triple W is at 7.
Malice 16, Triple W 21. Malice is at 7.
Malice 11, Triple W 21. Malice is at 5.
Malice 15, Triple W 20. Malice is at 3.
Malice 13, Triple W 20. Malice is at 1.
Malice 14, Triple W 18. Malice is defeated.
Of course, it just has to prove me wrong by scoring a hit on us that we would have avoided if our Howl works. :/
Still feeling uneasy, trying to shake the paranoid feelings of malicious intent, you return to the road. Aware that twilight is rapidly giving way to night, will you now make for the sanctuary among the peaks to the east or press on north towards Vargenhof, knowing that you will have to make camp under the stars?
Do we want to check out that citadel for any shinies too?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Wolfgang W. Wolfenstein (a.k.a Triple W)
SKILL 11/11 (must take the next SKILL Test at 10)
STAMINA 7/17
LUCK 11/12
CHANGE: 1
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern & Tinderbox, Signet Ring, Flintlock Pistol, Mace (-1 Attack Strenth, but does 3 damage per blow), Shield (+1 Attack Strength), Silver Candlesticks (x2), Gilt Mirror, Brass Telescope, lodestone, Silver Dagger (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Wulfen Sword (+1 Attack Strength, does 3 point damage on Were-creatures)
Gold: 10 + jewels worth 20GP
Provisions: 8 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Codewords: Avokez, Egnarts, Dloterof, Dehctaw, Daednu
Special Abilities: The Call of the Wild (Reduce opponent's AR by 1 in combat, does not work on magical beings, artificial constructs, or undead)
Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

We're already not making it to Vargenhof tonight so sure, stay at the citadel. It's not like the big ritual is going to go off tomorrow morning.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Go check out the citadel.
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 SGamerz »

By the time you have trekked high into the hills to the dark, fortress-like structure, night has properly fallen and the moon holds dominion over the land once more. The path between the peaks climbs a rocky escarpment, with a precipitous drop on one side and a sheer cliff on the other, until it finally stops in front of the stone-walled entrance to the building, the wall having built across a narrow pass between the peaks, so that they have been incorporated into the building. Beyond the rockface-wall, you can see the pointed gables and squat towers of another structure within the complex. You are standing in front of a sturdy, and secured, oak door. To one side a tallow-fat lamp flickers within a tiny recess and on the other side there hangs a knotted rope that you take to be a bell pull. If you want to spend the night under shelter, you are going to have to spend the night under shelter, you are going to have to gain access to the building, somehow. Will you ring the bell pull or look for another possible way in first?
How do we get in?
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Look for another way.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Agreed.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SGamerz »

To your left at the base of the wall, where it merges with the natural rock face, is a grilled culvert, the rusted bars clad with moss. An unpleasant odour, a blend if raw effluent and damp-rot, rises from the tunnel. Even without your lycanthropy-heightened senses the stink would make your eyes water. You test the resistance of the bars and, with little effort, the grille twists in the hole. You do not fancy scaling the high, sheer wall in front of you in the pitch darkness, nor, as the temperature drops, do you fancy spending another night in the open: so if you want to enter this place you are going to have to try the culvert or ring the bell.
Entry via sewers again.......we had that option in Night of the Necromancer too. Maybe the author is a Ninja Turtle fan.

Use the culvert or not?
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Darth Rabbitt
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Ninja Turtles are likely to understand our plight so go into the sewers.
Last edited by Darth Rabbitt on Thu Apr 27, 2017 3:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Omegonthesane
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Agreed.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

Zak S, Zak Smith, Dndwithpornstars, Zak Sabbath, Justin Bieber, shitmuffin
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Post by SGamerz »

Tugging the rusted grille free of the culvert opening, taking a deep breath, you crawl into the stinking tunnel beyond. You have not gone far when you feel the tunnel angle downwards dramatically and, without any warning, find yourself slipping on the wet slime coating the pipe. Unable to control your descent, you slide head down the tunnel into the foetid darkness beyond.
Eeewww....
You drop from the end of the pipe into a pile of rotting waste of stinking detritus. You are in what appears to be little more than a natural cavern that has been absorbed into an underground dungeon complex. The cave-chamber is lit by a dull green luminescence that comes from patches of moss covering the rugged roof. By this bilious green glow you see that the floor of the chamber is flooded with a sludgy water. Hearing a splash you see a tell-tale ripple at the edge of the pool. You cannot imagine that there is anything that you could possibly want or need down here so your mind turns to finding a way out. Two pipe-like passages lead out of the chamber, one directly ahead of you and another to your left. But if you want to explore this cave further first, turn to 211.
Well, the author flat-out admits that this is another underground dungeon complex so we know what that means.....random direction options!

Left or forward? Or search this room for shinies and risk attracting the sewer shark that caused the ripple?
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Left.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'd search, since we can probably kick the sewer shark's ass.
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 Omegonthesane »

Search for shinies.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SGamerz »

Your initial assumption was correct; there is nothing of value at all in this effluent sump. But all the while you have been wading around in the foul pool the heat of your body has lured something ever closer. As you are considering how to leave the chamber, the stinking sludge erupts in front of you and a snaking pallid white form rises from the pool. An eyeless, worm-like head sways from side to side in front of you, its leech-like mouth opening and closing menacingly. Sudden as a striking cobra, the overgrown parasite attacks.

GIANT TAPEWORM SKILL 7 STAMINA 6

If you slay the vile tapeworm, you are free to leave the detritus chamber. Will you take the tunnel directly ahead of you or the one to your left.
I'm not even sure if Tapeworms are supposed to have sense of hearing, but going by the book our Howl actually affects it since its not undead or magical or artificial constructs....

COMBAT LOG:
Giant Tapeworm 12, Triple W 17. GT is at 4.
GT 9, Triple W 23. GT is at 2.
GT13, Triple W 21. GT is killed.
Its rolls are so bad that we actually don't even need to roll for our own Attack Strength to beat it. Easy flawless.

And now we're back to the same random direction choice: straight head or left?
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Post by Omegonthesane »

To the left, to the left (Googling serves to remind me that that was actually just the opening lyrics and the song went on to something unrelated.)
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SGamerz »

There was also a previous vote for left, so I'll proceed.
Your progress along the tunnel in a half-crouch, until it becomes more like a proper passageway and you can stand upright again. The luminescent moss does not let your eyesight penetrate very far through the gloom; your ears pick up the approaching drone long before you see the two huge flies. They are grotesquely overgrown insects, their bloated bodies black with stiff hairs. The buzzing of the Giant Flies intensifies as they home in on you, darting forwards as they try to puncture your flesh with their long, needle-sharp proboscises.

First GIANT FLY SKILL 6 STAMINA 5
Second GIANT FLY SKILL 5 STAMINA 6

If you kill both of the insects, turn to 261.
Clearly, the turtles haven't been maintaining their home very well, and it's just been invaded by Baxter Stockman's children.

It doesn't say whether we fight them one at a time, but I'm going rule that we do, since we face them in a tunnel.

COMBAT LOG:
Giant Fly#1 12, Triple W 22. GF1 is at 3.
GF1 8, Triple W 23. GF1 is at 1.
GF1 12, Triple W 18. GF1 is killed
Giant Fly#2 10, Triple W 20. GF2 is at 4.
GF2 9, Triple W 25. GF2 is at 2.
GF2 12, Triple W 20. GF2 is killed
Further on, the passageway bends to the right and opens into a large, low-roofed cavern. On the other side of the cave, another tunnel, similar to the one you have just left, continues into the darkness that lies beneath the Abbey rock. But between you and the onward tunnel the floor of the cave is lost beneath a pool of foetid slime, writhing with the bloated white bodies of the Giant Maggots. This explains the aggressive attitude of the Giant Flies towards you: the insects were protecting their brood. The stench here is even worse than that of the effluent pipe and you can see nubs of bine picked clean by the hungry maggots. Do you want to risk crossing the maggot-pool to get to the tunnel on the other side, or would you rather retrace your steps to where you entered this stinking underworld and take the other path?
Shall we go through the cute maggot babies?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Normally I'd advise walking in a pool of carnivorous maggots, but otherwise it was a a total waste of time coming this way and fighting the giant flies, so I'm for making Jon Pertwee references and pressing on.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

In Fighting Fantasy world giant flies keep their treasure with their young. See also: Deathtrap Dungeon. And unlike that book, we've killed momma fly before crawling in with the baby maggots. What I'm saying is that we cross the pool to get some loot.
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Into the maggots we go.
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by SGamerz »

As soon as you wade into the slimy pool the maggots' blind heads turn towards you, drawn to your body-heat. Unperturbed, with one hand on the pommel of your sword, you take one determined step after another across the lake of ooze. The slime sucks at your feet; it feels just like walking through a clinging swamp. A bloated maggot rolls over and bumps into your leg, making you jump, but the fly larvae do not attack. They are only interested in consuming dead flesh. You are halfway across the disgusting cavern when your foot knocks against something under the surface of the slime. Do you want to reach into the slime to pick up whatever it is you have inadvertently found, or will you keep going without stopping, just in case?
Do we think these are the same breed of flies that were in Deathtrap Dungeon? Do we really believe those giant flies kept some loot with their brood?[/code]
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Post by Omegonthesane »

OO, POSSIBLY SHINY STUFF, GIMME
Kaelik wrote:Because powerful men get away with terrible shit, and even the public domain ones get ignored, and then, when the floodgates open, it turns out there was a goddam flood behind it.

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Post by Thaluikhain »

Grab whatever it is.
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