[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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Mr Shine
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Post by Mr Shine »

Ulrich is a gonner, but try to save him anyway. Chances are, by performing the "good" but ultimately pointless action we'll get some karmic reward.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Help Ulrich. If the werewolf can take a sword to the heart and live, we can't finish it at this stage anyway.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Check in case Ulrich isn't dead, cause that could be a problem given he just got bit.

(And people called Wulfen never get turned into were-Aardvarks, do they?)
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You hurry over to Ulrich. At first you are thrilled to see that he is not dead - he lies there with one hand clamped over the wound to his throat - but then you realize that there is something else horribly wrong. By the light of your lantern you see that Ulrich's eyes have turned blood-read and his face is pulsating, as though the bones beneath are rearranging themselves. The wounded woodsman fixed you with that same red-eyed stare. 'Run!' is the one discernable word he manages to utter before his voice becomes an animal roar. Backing away in horrified disbelief you cannot tear your eyes away as Ulrich suffers his own flesh-warping transformation. His body swells, bursting his clothes at the seams, becoming covered in thick brown hair. At the same time the whole shape of his head changes - gaining a snout and fang-filled maw - while his hands change into heavy paws. He too is a skin-changer but the second skin we wears beneath his human one is that of a wild bear! Rising on its hind legs, bellowing ferociously, the Werebear attacks! You have no choice but to fight your friend.

WEREBEAR SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

Slow to anger and yet highly dangerous once aroused, Ulrich the Werebear is a formidable opponent. If he wounds you more than twice, add 1 to your CHANGE score. If you win this battle, turn to 200.
Poor Ulrich, he didn't just get Mungo-ed, he has to get Throm-ed too!

COMBAT LOG:
Werebear 12, Wolfgang 20. WB is at 8.
WB 13, Wolfgang 18. WB is at 6.
WB 15, Wolfgang 18. WB is at 4.
WB 14, Wolfgang 16. WB is at 2.
WB 19, Wolfgang 18. Wolfgang is at is at 4.
WB 12, Wolfgang 21. WB is killed.
We emerge from the fight with 4 STAMINA remaining.....I'm going to have us consume another meal to bring it up to 8 in the next section!
With a sorrowful heart you gaze down at the dying Ulrich, who has regained his human form. 'Do not blame yourself, my friend,' he manages. 'We all have out secrets. I should thank you for releasing me from my own dreaded curse. "Then he is gone. After everything that the kind-hearted woodsman did for you in the short time that you knew him, at the end all you could offer in return was death by cold steel. But there is still one more thing you can do for him now. No longer troubled by wolves, you spend the rest of the night digging Ulrich's grave. As the sun finally rises over the forests, drawing a ground mist from the hollows of the trees, you lay the woodsman to rest, placing his final resting-place. You leave the spot with a heavy heart and not only because you have had to bury a good man, whatever dark secrets might have troubled his soul. Despite having slain the werewolf that infected you, it is clear the affliction still has a hold of you.

Exhausted, you lie down to sleep as a watery sun drags itself into the sky behind a veil of grey cloud. It has been a harrowing night, and in spite of all the worries running through your mind, you still sleep, although your dreams are beset by visions of Ulrich changing into a savage bear, roaring in bone-wrenching agony.

When you wake, stiff and sore from sleeping on the root-knotted forest floor, the sun is again sinking in the sky. Your search for the head of the werewolf bloodline cannot wait any longer. The next full moon can only be a matter of days away. Something in your blood tells you that the resolution to your quest lies somewhere within the land of Lupravia.

Walking east you descend out of the chill forest and emerge on the westernmost boundary of the principality. There is a noticeable absence of birdsong, which unnerves you. Crossing gorse-covered heathland, in the far distance you can see the hazy purple peaks of mountain wall that holds the ancient principality of Lupravia within its rocky embrace. Ahead of you lies a land of menacing forests, boggy moorland and abyssal river gorges.

Nestled at the base of the narrow valley you are descending is a village of grey, steeply pitch-roofed buildings, clustered together as if for mutual protection from the bleak wilderness all around them. Stony, cropless fields surround the settlement making the whole place appear truly unnerving. As you get nearer still, a weathered road sign informs you that you are approaching the village of Strigoiva. Beyond the huddle of houses, you make out a road that leads away from Strigoiva before forking in three directions. If you want to enter the village, turn to 116. Alternatively, if you would prefer to press on and avoid an encounter with the native populace of Lupravia, you may skirt around Strigoiva and take the road heading north, the one heading east or the one less well-travelled that leads north-east into the forest, the scrubby boundaries of which lie a mile or so from the village.
Annoyingly, there doesn't seem to be a map for this book, and no hint of where each direction takes you to. Meanwhile there are dozens of other FF books with seemingly irrelevant maps.

Which way?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Wolfgang W. Wolfenstein (a.k.a Triple W)
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 8/15
LUCK 12/12
CHANGE: 1
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern & Tinderbox, Signet Ring
Gold: 17
Provisions: 8 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Codewords: Avokez
Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Huh...not expecting a were bear.

Suggest getting into a fight with weird villagers next.
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Go find some people. In the village. Maybe they'll have food.
Last edited by Omegonthesane on Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Check the village.
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Post by SGamerz »

Making your way between the tall, sharply pitched buildings, you arrive at the village square, where an impromptu meeting appears to be taking place. The villagers present are all carrying pitchforks, scythes and other objects, which might well be improvised weapons. As soon as they become aware of your presence, a hush falls over the assembled throng and all eyes fix on you, making you feel incredibly uncomfortable. A lean, middle-aged man, with thinning grey hair and wearing a chain mail-covered leather tunic, detaches himself from the crowd and approaches you. He holds his hands open to show that he means no ill, but the scabbarded sword buckled to his belt and the steely look in his eyes suggest this man is not to be fooled with. 'Ho, friend,' he calls. 'We don't get many strangers visit us in these parts. Where are you from and what can you do for you?' How will you answer the man's question? Will you tell him the truth, that you were travelling through the backwoods when you were attacked by a pack of wolves? Will you tell him that you were travelling from Pritzbad to Saarven when you left the road and became lost in the forest? Or will you tell him that you are a wandering sword-for-hire in search of an employer who might appreciate your services?
What's our story?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Aren't we actually a sword for hire? Should be able to pull that off.

(Going to dismiss telling about the wolves out of hand)
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Post by Omegonthesane »

Tell them our actual career.
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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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Yep, give them our business card.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Ninja Werewolf honesty.
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 »

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Ninja Werewolf honesty.
Technically, none of the options are lies.
'...And so I find myself here, a mercenary seeking a job that will pay for a comfortable bed at a warm inn for the night,' you say, concluding your story.

'A sell-sword, you say?' The man never once takes his eyes from you. 'Then you have come to the right place. But let's not talk here. You must be hungry after your travels and The Suckling Pig has a roaring fire that will take the chill from your bones.'

You allow the man - who is Konrad, headman of Strigoiva - to lead you to the village's only tavern, where at his insistence, a bowl of steaming mutton stew is placed before you. You devour the meal hungrily as you listen to what he has to tell you. (Regain up to 4 STAMINA points.)

'We live in cursed times, my friend, and Strigoiva feels this curse more strongly than other places. On a nightly basis we suffer the attacks of a veritable army of ghosts.'

Ghosts? Konrad has captured your attention. 'What ghosts?' you ask.

'Terrible spectres all,' he goes on. 'First there is the Shuck, which preys upon travelers on the western moors and keeps Father Corran a virtuall prisoner within the holy shrine to the goddess of the healing spring. Then there is the Headless Highwayman, who preys on folk who travel the road north to Balci, just as he did in his ungodly lifetime. And last, but most terrible of all, there is the Howling, which assails us in our homes each and every night. We have had enough. When you arrived, you found us preparing to meet the ghostly pack and send it on its way back to Hell, or die trying. Will you help rid us of our spectral tormentors? We would reward you in our own modest way.'

If you want to stay and help the villagers in their battle with the Howling - whatever that might be - turn to 40. If not, turn to 434.
Btw, complete honesty with these guys world have
turned them on us immediately....they already have to put up with a variety supernatural freaks and have no wish to add a possible werewolf to that list.
Help the villagers?
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Sidequest hero stuff GO!
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Oh, looks like cheesy horror movie monsters to fight, can't turn that down.
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Post by SGamerz »

'We have a little time before sunset,' Konrad says, 'so rest awhile here and enjoy your meal.' The headmankeeps you company as you gulp down your steaming bowl of stew. Several things he mentioned have caught your attention, and there may be other things on your mind as well, of course. As you finish your meal you seize the opportunity to ask Konrad more about the troubles besetting Strigoiva. Will you ask him about:

The Headless Highwayman?
The Shuck?
Strigoiva's neighbouring settlements?
The Howling?

Alternatively, if you have the codeword Avokez recorded on your Adventure Sheet you may choose to ask Konrad about another matter altogether by turning to 61.
We do have the codeword, so I assume you'd want to check out the extra options:
Considering the startling stories Grandmother Zekova told you, will you ask the headman if he knows anything about:

The House of Wulfen and Mad Prince Garoul?
The village of Wulfenstein?
Werewolves roaming the countryside?
The way the options are presented is a little odd, since there's no reason why we can't choose to ask the questions in the previous section instead just because we choose to check out the new ones, so I rule that we can ask any of the 7 questions in both sections.

What do want to ask him about?
MisterDee
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Post by MisterDee »

In order:

Wulfenstein Village
House of Wulfen
The Shuck
then the rest at random.

If we get to ask all the questions we want, ask about everything.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Yeah, Wolfenstein needs to find out more about his family tree.
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Post by SGamerz »

Unfortunately, we only have time for 1 question (although there's no way for the reader to know until he's asked it), so village it is:
'Why, that's a dark place. No one goes there any more. It's more home to wild animals now. Of course it wasn't always like that but I wouldn't even think about going there if I were you. The only thing that awaits anyone there is madness and a slow, lingering death, if you're unlucky. A quick, brutal death if you're more fortunate. No, I'd steer well clear of that accursed place.'
Not very helpful, unfortunately.....in fact, that description fits just about every setting in every FF book that the PC ventures into.
As dusk falls, you leave the inn with Konrad and return to the village square, where a group of villagers has gathered. They are armed with everything from bows and arrows to axes and short swords, even pitchforks - anything that they could lay their hands on. The people of Strigoiva have been terrorized by their spectral assailants for long enough. Tonight they are going to fight back and lay their demons to rest once and for all.

When all are ready Konrad leads the brave Strigoivans towards the southern edge of the village. As the hunters file out of the square they dip their weapons into the water that has collected in a stone bowl outside a shingle-clad building with a tarnished gold onion dome for a roof. The people mutter to themselves and make curious gestures with their hands as they do so. Some even splash themselves with the water. Soon it is you who is passing the bowl. As you do so, do you want to mimic the villagers by dipping the tip of your sword in the water, by splashing some of the water on your face, or will you do neither and simply follow the others out of the village?
Do we want to use the water in either of those ways?
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

...Just the tip?

Definitely bless our weapon before ghost hunting, yeah.

Do NOT splash holy water on our face. We're cursed, and I bet we now ding as a "creature of the night" to this sort of stuff. Holy water would probably melt our face and turn the villagers against us.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

I agree with SlyJohnny
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Same. Bless the weapon.
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Post by SGamerz »

You plunge the blade of your weapon into the icy water but are unaware of any effect it might have had. Will you now splash some of the water on your face or will you just follow Konrad and the other villagers?
Since previous votes already stated not to wash our face with the water, we'll move on.....
The battle-ready Strigoivans stop at the edge of the fields beyond the southern perimeter of their village. Fires have been lit in iron wrought braziers, the smoke from the fires drifting away over the blighted fields. Some 30 yards away you make out the dark shape of a wooden watchtower, positioned in front of a line of straggly tress. 'They always come this way,' Konrad states ominously. And then you wait.

Several bone-numbing hours later you hear the muffled tolling of a bell, marking midnight. And then you hear the Howling for the first time: the sound sends a chill of ice-water running through your veins. A voice screams from up in the watchtower, They're coming!'

Your eyes straining, you peer into the darkness. Twisting between the scraggy trees you can see what appear to be writhing tendrils of mist. As the tendrils come closer, they take on the form of insubstantial wolf-like creatures, with savage dagger-length fangs and elongated tearing claws. And all the while, the dread howling continues. Roll two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your CHANGE score, turn to 175; if it is greater, turn to 298.
Once again, our CHANGE is still too low for us to roll any lower score...
Image
The mist thickens in front of you, coalescing into the shape of a grotesque, phantasmal creature. Everything about it is a macabre exaggeration of what a wolf would be in life; horrific dagger-length fangs, shredding scythe-hook claws, blazing coal-eyes and that incessant wailing howl. You have no choice but to defend yourself against the leader of the spectral pack. If you dipped your sword in water earlier, turn to 276; if not, turn to 96.
Yes!
When you plunged your sword into the bowl of water outside the onion-domed building, you were in fact anointing the blade with holy water from the village shrine. As a result, thankfully, you are now able to cause the spectral wolf harm (regain 1 LUCK point), but it is still going to be a battle that will test your mettle.

SPECTRAL WOLF SKILL 7 STAMINA 8

If you destroy the wolf-ghost.
Let's show this phantom phony wolf what a real wolf.....I mean, Wolfenstein can do!

COMBAT LOG:
Spectral Wolf 14, Wolfgang 19. SW is at 6.
SW 16, Wolfgang 13. Wolfgang is at 10.
SW 13, Wolfgang 18. SW is at 4.
SW 15, Wolfgang 15. Tie.
SW 14, Wolfgang 17. SW is at 2.
SW 11, Wolfgang 18. SW is destroyed.
At your final, killing stroke, the body of the spectral creature unravels, dissolving back into mist with one final, soul-rending howl. But as their pack leader departs the Earthly Plane, so too do the other phantom creatures of the Howling. The last of the wolf-ghosts nothing but tendrils of night-mist, the dreadful wailing ceases. For a moment the villagers look around in stupefied silence and then, as they realize what you have done for them, a cheer goes up from the hunters. You have banished the Howling and saved the people of Strigoiva from their torment. (Regain 1 LUCK point.)

You spend the rest of the night making merry with the elated villagers back at the Suckling Pig. Eventually, as dawn is breaking, you stumble to bed in one of the inn's guest-rooms, the use od which you have been given for free with the Strigoivans' thanks. When you wake again, from a thankfully nightmare-free sleep, you discover that it is already well past noon. You feel much better for the rest and tuck into a brace of wood pigeon cooked for you by the landlord's wife. (Regain 4 STAMINA points.) But a great feeling of unease still hangs over you. Your personal quest demands that you move on from Strigoiva again. Leaving the village and its grateful populace, you can either follow the road where it divides, to the north or the east, or you take the less well-travelled track into the forest that lies a mile or so to the north-east of Strigoiva.
What, no real reward? I know they're not rich folks, but they can't even spare us some extra Provisions?

Oh well, at least STAMINA is now almost back to full (14).

We now face the same random direction options from earlier, still none-the-wise as to where they lead.....

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Wolfgang W. Wolfenstein (a.k.a Triple W)
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 14/15
LUCK 12/12
CHANGE: 1
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern & Tinderbox, Signet Ring
Gold: 17
Provisions: 8 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Codewords: Avokez
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Well, two points of luck isn't bad...I don't think much mettle was tested by a Skill7 Stamina 8 ghost wolf.

Tentative vote for north, but that's not based on anything.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

We came north to get to this country in the first place, and we want to get to the "furthest point" of it. North makes sense.
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