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

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

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
SlyJohnny
Duke
Posts: 1418
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:35 pm

Post by SlyJohnny »

Let's murder them and get the mirror back.

Edit: Does this take us to the same page reference as fighting them earlier, or is it different?
Last edited by SlyJohnny on Sun Jun 11, 2017 2:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

SlyJohnny wrote:Does this take us to the same page reference as fighting them earlier, or is it different?
Same.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Eh, I vote leave them be.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

The votes are still split....any tie-breakers?
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

I'll change to fight to avoid being stuck in a tie.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Oh, I would've voted to leave them be.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Oh, then keep my vote to leave them be, then.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Darth broke the tie, so we spare the canine ladies.
Image
There is nothing more for you here. At the far end of the banqueting hall, a magnificently carved wooden staircase, covered with a rich claret carpet, leads up to yet another set of double doors. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady your nerves and keep the beast within at bay, you ascend the staircase/ At the top you pause before the double doors. The family crest of the House of Wulfen has been carved across them both. (Now is your chance to make any final preparations you may wish before entering the highest chamber of Castle Wulfen.) You throw open the doors and stride boldly through.

The chamber beyond is an example of opulent spendour. Fine tapestries bedeck the walls, antique Arantian rugs cover the floor, all lit by light-splitting crystal chandeliers. However, everything has an air of neglect about it. The tapestries are faded and dusty, the rugs scratched and frayed, the chandeliers dulled by grime. Framed by a tall window directly in front of you is an ornately carved chair, throne-like in its magnificence. Sitting slouched, one leg swinging over the chair arm, is someone you recognize form the portrait gallery you passed through. A tousled mane of grey hair hangs down to his shoulders, shot through with a single streak of lustrous black. He is wearing an unbuttoned jacket, exposing a ruffled shirt beneath, and fine black trews with knee-length boots. The man is darkly handsome, the visible skin of his chest, arms and hands covered with coarse black hair. He is toying with a pewter goblet in one hand, and on his middle finger you notice a gold signet ring, as it catches the light. In front of the chair lies two huge wolves. They watch you intently with cold, unblinking yellow eyes. For his part, the lord of Castle Wulfen watches you with languid interest as you stride slowly yet confidently towards him.

'Let me introduce myself,' the nobleman says. 'I am Count Varcolac. Don't worry about introducing yourself. I know who you are.' He sniffs the air sharply. 'You are my brother's killer. But let that not stand between us and friendship. More importantly, you were remade by my brother. That practically makes you family! Your wolfish abilities have served you well, for you to get this far. I have high hopes for you. Bow before me. Swear fealty to me, and I will show you all that your gift has to offer you.'

Inwardly, every wolfish fibre of your being howls that this is the Arch-Lycanthrope, the first of the Werewolf bloodline, the one whom you see and whose demise will free you from your vile curse. But you cannot help being taken aback. The creature whose death you have desired from the outset is offering you the chance to join with him. And his arrogance may have given you the perfect opportunity to rid the world of his malign, cunning evil. Will you bow before the Count, in the hope that you will be able to strike when his guard is down, or will you simply draw your weapon with no such pretence?
Surely this is the chance to re-unite with our long-estranged family! Our blood calls out to us!

Bow down or attack?
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

Draw weapon and go for him, in case bowing down does make us his servant .
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Even if it doesn't automatically make us his servant it will almost certainly up our CHANGE score enough to fuck us up.

So yeah, attack. Ideally we can shoot him in the face with a Silver Bullet before using our Wulfen Sword against him.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
User avatar
SlyJohnny
Duke
Posts: 1418
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:35 pm

Post by SlyJohnny »

Yeah, wulfen sword. Try the allegedly-consecrated dagger of alleged silver only if the sword doesn't work.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

"Count Varcolac, I have not fought my way across many leagues to join you in your debauched celebration of the evil curse that has this land within its cruel grasp!' you declare. 'I have come here to kill you, to liberate Lupravia and free myself from the Curse of the Werewolf.'

'Brave words,' Varcolac counters, 'but I have endured long and have learnt how to use my gift to the best of my ability, whereas you are yet to embrace its power. How can you hope to beat me, Count Varcolac, Prince of Lupravia, the Wulfen Lord?' With that the Count snaps his fingers and the huge wolves pad towards you, hungry for a kill. If you have the Call of the Wild special ability, turn to 247. If not you are going to have to fight these creatures together if you are to get to Varcolac.

First DIRE WOLF SKILL 8 STAMINA 8
Second DIRE WOLF SKILL 8 STAMINA 9

If you kill Varcolac's lupine bodyguards, turn to 513.
AROOOOOOOOOOO!
You give voice to a terrible baying cry and watch as the huge wolves quail and quake, whimpering at your animalistic howl, before finally turning tail and running from you.
Image
'Very well,' Varcolac growls with barely contained fury, 'I shall have to deal with you myself. Rising from his chair, the Count throws back his head giving an unadulterated howl of animal delight. With the horrible cracking-crunching sound of bones warping and re-forming, Varcolac's body grows in stature, his ribcage broadening, spine arching, arms becoming longer, nails thrusting from the ends of his fingers, turning to claws. Fangs push through bleeding guns as the Count's skull reshapes itself, becoming a lupine muzzle, his ears stretching to hairy arrows points. His feet lengthen and change shape, bursting free of his boots, until standing before you is no longer the mortal ruler of this cursed land but a terrifying cross between wolf and man. It is the largest, most awe-inspiring werewolf you have ever seen. You can feel pure evil intent pouring off the transformed Varcolac like musky scent, a mixture of savage animal cunning and pure human malevolence.

Now is your moment to strike, while the Varcolac-wolf is gathering its wits following its sudden, violent transformation. If you know of a spell that might work against the Arch-Lycanthrope, you can try to use it now by turning to the paragraph which is the same as the page number on which you found it. If you do not know of such a spell, or would rather not use it, what will you use against the werewolf (if you have the relevant item)?

A Silver Cross?
A Silver Mirror?
A Crossbow?

A Flintlock Pistol?
A Silver Dagger?
Some other weapon?
Wulfen Sword falls under "some other weapon".

We have 4 options: cook book spell, pistol, dagger or Wulfen Sword?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Wolfgang W. Wolfenstein (a.k.a Triple W)
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 18/19
LUCK 12/12
CHANGE: 1
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern & Tinderbox, Signet Ring, Flintlock Pistol, Mace (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 damage per blow), Shield (+1 Attack Strength), Silver Candlestick, Brass Telescope, lodestone, 3 Silver Daggers (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Wulfen Sword (+1 Attack Strength, does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Silver Bullets (x5), Iron Padlock, Rope and Grapple, Breastplate (reduce damage taken by 1 on roll of 1-3), Crone's Cook Book (Transformation spell on page 79).
Gold: 4 GP
Provisions: 7 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Codewords: Avokez, Egnarts, Dloterof, Dehctaw, Daednu, Stoggam
Special Abilities:
1) The Call of the Wild (Reduce opponent's AR by 1 in combat, does not work on magical beings, artificial constructs, or undead)
2) Unnatural Vigour (regain half of STAMINA lost during fight after each combat, reduce damage taken in non-combat situations by 1 point)
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

I vote we try the spell.
User avatar
SlyJohnny
Duke
Posts: 1418
Joined: Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:35 pm

Post by SlyJohnny »

Spell is "a potent charm against skin changers", let's go with that.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Go to paragraph 79.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Snatching the crone's Cook Book from your pack you flick to the correct page and begin to intone the Transfiguration Spell. As the words of power take effect you watch as Varcolac doubles up in pain, his body wacked by further changes. His fangs and claws lengthen further, as do his arms and legs. The Transfiguration Spell has certainly worked on the Count, but it has made him even more like the savage wolf he's steadily becoming; it has not had the crippling influence you had hoped. When you come to fight the Arch-Lycanthrope you must add 1 SKILL point and 3 STAMINA points to his statistics before you resolve combat. With a roar of rage, the Varcolac-wolf leaps at you, teeth bared. Lose 1 LUCK point and turn to 150.
Two trapped blue options in a row (brad key and now this)! The penalties may not be as harsh as his older books, but this is still a Jonathan Green book. :biggrin:

We are then instructed to turn to 150 for the combat, but I'm going to go to the section for "Some other weapon" from the previous section first, because there we get a special section for having the Wulfen Sword. While I can see why we don't get to use items like the pistol or crossbow if we pick the spell first, I don't think we should be denied the benefits from the Wulfen Sword, since that's our default melee weapon.
If you are fighting with a sword which has been engraved with a partocular name, turn that name into a number, using the code A=1, B=2, C=3...Z=26, and then turn to the paragraph with the same number. If you do not have such a weapon, turn to 150.
W-U-L-F-E-N
23+21+12+6+5+14 = 81
As you unsheathe the Wulfen Sword you see something like recognition in the Werewolf's eyes and the creature recoils from you, allowing you to get in an uncontested strike before it retaliates. As with any other were-creature, the Wulfen Sword will cost the Arch-Lycanthrope 3 STAMINA points of damage (rather than the usual 2) with every successful strike. However, the sword seems to hold some other power over the transformed Varcolac and for the duration of your battle against the monstrous Prince Lupravia you may reduce his SKILL score by 1 point. Regain 1 LUCK point for having this advantage and turn to 150.
The effectively completely negates the effect of the Transfiguration Spell! :rofl:
A vicious barking snarl escapeing from between the Werewolf's slavering jaws, the terribly changed Count attacks.

ARCH-LYCANTHROPE SKILL 12 STAMIN 16

If the Werewolf wounds you at all, add 1 to your CHANGE score. If you reduce the Arch-Lycanthrope's STAMINA score to 6 points or less, or after seven Attack Rounds - if you last that long - turn immediately to 503.
At SKILL 12, we wouldn't have been able to get off a pistol shot at him anyway....

COMBAT LOG:
Arch-Lycanthrope 15, Triple W 21. AL is at 13.
AL 21, Triple W 26. AL is at 10.
AL 17, Triple W 21. AL is at 7.
AL 24, Triple W 21. Triple W is at 16.
AL 20, Triple W 20. Tie.
AL 14, Triple W 22. AL is at 4.
At the height of your battle with the Werewolf, the full moon comes into view beyond the tall window at the end of the chamber, bathing the Count's chambers in its mystical luminescence. Moonlight washes over you and its feels as if the cold, white beams are soaking into every pore. You were so close to completing your quest. If only you can keep the beast contained a little longer maybe you still can. Roll three dice. If you are wearing a Moonstone Amulet, subtract 3 from the dice roll. If the new total is less than or equal to your CHANGE score, turn to 25. If it is greater, turn to 285.
No way we can roll below our score of 1 on 3 dice, since we don't have a Moonstone Amulet....
Somehow you manage to master the beast struggling to free itself from inside the fleshy cage of your body for just a few more precious moments. You might still get out of this alive, and still human! Regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 189.
We're already at full LUCK anyway....
The Arch-Lycanthrope hollers in bestial delight as the moonlight continues to work its magic on him. Add 4 points to the Werewolf's STAMINA score and continue your battle with the moon-changed monster. If you manage to defeat Count Varcolac, turn to 300.
That's annoying....

COMBAT LOG:
Arch-Lycanthrope 23, Triple W 21. Triple W is at 14.
AL 20, Triple W 22. AL is at 5.
AL 24, Triple W 20. Triple W is at 12.
AL 23, Triple W 17. Triple W is at 10.
AL 19, Triple W 23. AL is at 2.
AL 22, Triple W 20. Triple W is at 8.
AL 18, Triple W 26. AL is killed.
The full moon not only healed the Arch-Lycanthrope, but actually boosted his performance, as he actually did really well against us in the second half of the battle. But it was too little, too late for him, and Triple W came out victorious!
Count Varcolac, Prince of Lupravia, Were-Lord of Wulfen Castle and first of his cursed werewolf blood-line lies dead at your feet. You have exacted your revenge on this monstrous tyrant, this begetter of wolf-spawn. But what is this? Even as you are looking down at Varcolac's corpse in triumph you see the many wounds you inflicted on him knit and heal bloodlessly. The werewolf's eyes flick open but now they burn like the fiery pits of hell itself. Your hackles rise and suddenly a series of vision-memories that are not your own assails your conscious mind...

You see five gathered within shadow-haunted ruins - a monk, a sorceress, a black-shrouded widow, a noblewoman and a younger Count Varcolac - as they embark upon some unholy ritual. In your mind's eye you see them cast treasures, valuable to each, into a pit of darkness. You head the chanted invocation, see the silver-wrought daggers they have consecrated for their dark rite, feel the gathered Cadre's fear and excited anticipation. And then you briefly glimpse the thing they summon forth from the INfernal Pit, a wolfish demon, its insubstantial flesh black as an evil man's dreams, snarling like a caged beast. You see the demon possess the astounded Count and witness his transformation into a wolf for the first time...

You understand now what is happening under your appalled gaze. The demon the Cadre summoned which possessed the rakish young prince and wrought its changes so dramatically upon him, is resurrecting Count Varcolac's werewolf body from the dead. But what can you do to stop this demonic resurrection? If you have the codeword Degnahc recorded on your Adventure Sheet, turn to 399 immediately. If not, have you collected any Silver Daggers during your adventure? If you have collected no daggers at all, turn to 133. If you have collected five daggers and know what to do with them, turn to the relevant page number you noted down earlier. If you have less than five daggers, or you do not know what to do with them, turn to 464.
So it turned out that he wasn't your classic werewolf, but a demon-possessed one.

We actually found the special reference from that demon-summoning book we read, but we only found 3 of the 5 Silver Daggers, not quite enough to complete the ritual.....
The werewolf's flesh sizzles and burns at the touch of the silver, cruel wounds opening all over its corpse - but it is not enough. Under the influence of the demon possessing it, the Arch-Lycanthrope rises again. Snarling with unrestrained infernal rage the Wolf Demon attacks. (For every Silver Dagger you have been able to use, you may reduce the demon's STAMINA score by 2 points before resolving this battle.)

WOLF DEMON SKILL 10 STAMINA 14 8

If you manage to overcome the Varcolac-demon, and you have the codeword Deliugeb recorded on your Adventure Sheet, turn to 21. If not, turn to 515.
It doesn't actually look too scary, especially after our Daggers reduced its STAMINA to 8. Although we're not too healthy after the last fight, either....

Even though Varcolac's death should have technically removed our lycanthropy curse, there's no mention of us losing our Werewolf powers, so I'm presuming we still retain our stat boosts for this last fight....

COMBAT LOG:
Wolf Demon 21, Triple W 21. Tie.
WD 19, Triple W 20. WD is at 6.
WD 14, Triple W 23. WD is at 4.
WD 16, Triple W 20. WD is at 2.
WD 15, Triple W 20. WD is defeated.
....and thanks to those boosts the demon wasn't even able to touch us!
With the wolf-monster that has terrorized Lupravia for so many years lying dead at your feet at last, you feel a change come over you. Your hearing becomes suddenly dulled, colours seem less vibrant, and the myriad scents of the chambers are reduced to an indistinct, muddled smell. Something has changed, the beast within is gone. You are entirely human again.

Moving to the window, you watch the full moon as it continues its path across the heaven, no longer fearing the chill touch of its ethereal light. In fact you luxuriate in its silvery glow, knowing that it can do you no harm, knowing that it has no power over you. By defeating the Arch-Lycanthrope, before succumbing to the Were yourself, you have escaped a fate worse than death. But that is not all you have achieved. Thanks to you the land of Lupravia has been freed from Count Varcolac's cruel tyranny; its people need live in fear of the howl of the werewolf no longer, and neither need you.
And it's the end! Congratulations for escaping the Curse of the Werewolf! Hope you enjoyed this game. :)

There's actually quite a number of content we skipped, but thankfully they were not vital for completion of this book (one of the signs that Jon Green's new books are a lot more generous than his older ones).It does feel like many chunks of the story is missing, however, due to the missed content. As usual I will be revealing some of the more significant ones, but that'll probably come a couple days later. As always, feel free to request for any particular stuff you want to know about!
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

"The effectively completely negates the effect of the Transfiguration Spell!"

Doesn't he get 3 Stamina that isn't reversed, though?

Oh, and what happens if we fight the wolf ladies over the mirror? Also, what would the mirror have done against him?

EDIT: Oh, just realised that Green stuck a mechanical man in. Given his BL stuff was all about Titans and Dreadnaughts, was wondering if he could do that.
Last edited by Thaluikhain on Sun Jun 18, 2017 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Thaluikhain wrote:"The effectively completely negates the effect of the Transfiguration Spell!"

Doesn't he get 3 Stamina that isn't reversed, though?
We also get a free strike on him thanks to the Wulfen Sword....which does exactly 3 damage.

There's no benefits from fighting the wolf ladies, so bribing them and then just moving on was the right move.
User avatar
Darth Rabbitt
Overlord
Posts: 8869
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:31 pm
Location: In "In The Trenches," mostly.
Contact:

Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Looking back through the LP, I forgot about Zelda's hint about the brass man being bad news. So I can't say that one was out of nowhere.

And now my questions:

Was looking for the wise woman in the beginning the best choice?
What are the other wolf powers (the ones like Call of the Wild and Unnatural Vigor, that we get by rolling a d6?)
What happened if we joined the hunters in Vargenhof?
Do either the book or brass key do anything helpful in the castle, or are they strictly trap options?
Is bowing to the Arch-Lycanthrope a game over? If not, what happens if you do so?
Where can you find the Bloodstone and Moonstone Amulets? Do they do anything other than the latter affecting the last CHANGE roll in the boss fight?
Anything else cool in Castle Wolfenstein?
You said there was something that was bad news in the Carnivale and getting rid of it would get us a plot coupon (which I assume is one of the silver daggers). What was said bad thing (and if the plot coupon was something other than a silver dagger, what was it)?
What was on Floor 7 of The Tower of Maun?
How do you get the Retsis, Nethcir, Aytak and Deliugeb keywords, and what does having them do? I assume Degnahc is gotten if you fail a CHANGE roll.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

SGamerz wrote:We also get a free strike on him thanks to the Wulfen Sword....which does exactly 3 damage.
Ah, ok, missed that bit.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Darth Rabbitt wrote:Was looking for the wise woman in the beginning the best choice?
You should definitely look for her before you try to track the wolves, because if you do the latter first they lead you to her cottage anyway....and there's a chance that you may arrive too late (you find the woves attacking the cottage, and if you don't kill them fast enough, the werewolf kills Grandmother Zekova.

However, staying to look for belladonna doesn't affect either of the other two options. It's a LUCK test, and if you're Lucky to find one, it reduces your CHANGE by 1.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:What are the other wolf powers (the ones like Call of the Wild and Unnatural Vigor, that we get by rolling a d6?)
Red in Tooth and Claw - this removes penalty for fighting unarmed. Not really useful since I can't recall any important fights where you have to fight unarmed.

Quickening - improved reflexes, boosts your SKILL by a further 1. Obviously useful if you have a low-Skilled character.

Night Creature - night vision, can enter dark places without lantern.

Cursed Bloodline - no real use in itself. In the section itself where you gain it, you actually lose some STAMINA. However, there's a little twist during the vampire-slaying side-quest in Maun: if you don't have a Silver Cross (real or makeshift) but have a Silver Dagger, you have to fight the Countess hand-to-hand, and she may bite you. Obviously, since we're already a lycanthrope, her bite can't infect us like most victims of vampire bites (we're already 'claimed' as she will realize), but if have Cursed Bloodline the poison in our tainted blood actually hurts her, and she loses extra STAMINA! :biggrin:
Darth Rabbitt wrote:What happened if we joined the hunters in Vargenhof?
It's a pretty lengthy side-quest. They're hunting for a Were-creature (not us, and not Varcolac either), and we can join them, or try to hunt it down on our own. I will go into more details in my final sum-up of the book (which will be either tomorrow or the day after).
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Do either the book or brass key do anything helpful in the castle, or are they strictly trap options?
To my knowledge, no, they're just trap items.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Is bowing to the Arch-Lycanthrope a game over? If not, what happens if you do so?
Not an instant Game Over, we just need to pass a CHANGE test, so we were never really in danger with regards to that option (with our CHANGE at 1). Failing the CHANGE test is a Game Over (as you can imagine, we can transformed into wolf form and become his servant).
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Where can you find the Bloodstone and Moonstone Amulets? Do they do anything other than the latter affecting the last CHANGE roll in the boss fight?
Neither of them are really useful anywhere else that I know of besides bribing the she-wolves. The Bloodstone Amulet is found in the same place where we found the Wulfen Sword (we would have found a few other treasure if we stayed to search, although we do have to go through another fight....a fairly easy one). There's actually a bit of back story to why those treasure are found in that ruin, which I will cover.

The Moonstone Amulet is a bit of a random encounter in one of the many alternate paths to Vargenhof early in the book. We encounter a gypsy camp and spend the night with them. When we wake up, we roll the dice and have a 1/3 chance of being robbed of our gold, 1/3 chance of finding out that we've been given extra food, and 1/3 chance of finding this Amulet. The gypsies are a fickle bunch.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Anything else cool in Castle Wolfenstein?
I think we went through almost everything there. The one place we bypassed (before going to the double doors) simply led to a fight with a Werewarg, with no reward. It's pretty linear there (more so than any of the mini-quest zones, in fact).
Darth Rabbitt wrote:You said there was something that was bad news in the Carnivale and getting rid of it would get us a plot coupon (which I assume is one of the silver daggers). What was said bad thing (and if the plot coupon was something other than a silver dagger, what was it)?
Yes, it was the first of the Silver Daggers we could have found. The person holding it was Serpensa the Snakewoman. I will cover more on the Silver Daggers quest later.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:What was on Floor 7 of The Tower of Maun?
Nothing good. We get exposed to the moon and gain a CHANGE point....and fight a flock of bats.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:How do you get the Retsis
A very minor side-quest. At the inn where we defeated the Headless Highwayman, there was a young man we could have spoken to. He was trying to track down the creepy Carnival to find his sister, who had run off with them. That codeword gives the PC extra incentive to want to explore the Carnival.

You can't fulfil that quest by sneaking in at night, though. You have to visit it during the day. As we found out, the Carnival people were mostly harmless folk who keep to themselves, and not really malicious. The girl wasn't abducted or anything, she just joined them to have fun. She was in fact the assistant that we saw at the Archer's Arrow competition. If we had the codeword, we just have to talk to her, and when she finds out how distressed and heartbroken her brother is, she's quite eager to go back to him. So it was an easy quest...if we know where to look (if not it's easy to miss too).
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Nethcir
I mentioned that it was a companion check. There's apparently a secret society of evil-slaying vigilantes in the book, and somehow we missed every single one of them. This particular companion is actually related to a character we met in Night of the Necromancer. Again, will go into more details in the final sum-up.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Aytak
Another companion. Sadly neither her nor the previous guy can overcome the classic FF companion curse (meaning they don't last too long). We meet this one if we joined the hunt in Vargenhof.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:Deliugeb
I mentioned before that being beguiled by the Countess of Maun is a VERY delayed game over. Basically, The Countess also wants Varcolac dead, and gives us her Silver Dagger so we can do it for her. After we kill the Count, she shows up and takes over....Game Over. Yes, it's literally delayed till the endgame.
Darth Rabbitt wrote:I assume Degnahc is gotten if you fail a CHANGE roll.
Not just any CHANGE roll....the one right at the end, while we were fighting the Count. If we fail the roll, we get transformed. However, in this case, we still retain enough sense to see him as an enemy, and will continue the fight. After we kill him, the demon abandons his body and possesses us, the stronger Werewolf. Game Over.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Thaluikhain wrote:
SGamerz wrote:We also get a free strike on him thanks to the Wulfen Sword....which does exactly 3 damage.
Ah, ok, missed that bit.
I realized I missed your last question. If you were asking about the Silver Mirror, it doesn't do anything to the Count. If you meant the Gilt Mirror, it wasn't an option at all.
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

So.....the whole deal with the Silver Dagger, there're 5 in total, each held by a member of the group called the Cadre Infernal. The first we heard of this would be from Madame Zelda's hint (and the codeword we got for that, Dloterof, could have allowed us to find out more about it, but we missed an encounter with the person we could have asked.

Basically, the Cadre Infernal supposedly started of as a secret society formed by aristocratic groups in the Mauristatia principalities for various political, social and business interests. It fell out of fashion after the War of the Four Kingdoms, but was then secretly revived by 5 powerful/influential personalities for darker purposes. They eventually turned to magical means in their attempts to increase their power, and the result was pretty much the "flashback" scene we saw near the endgame: a demon got summoned and took over Count Varcolac, turning him into a werewolf.

The ruined building where we found the Wulfen Sword was the place where the demonic ritual was run. Remember we had to do a CHANGE test when we entered the building? "Failing" that roll actually gives us more information in the form of another similar flashback scene (I guess the idea is that our infected blood gives us a certain connection to Varcolac....a bit like Harry Potter's scar linking him to Voldemort?). We will "see" each of them giving up a certain treasure object in order to perform the ritual The Wulfen must have belonged to Count Varcolac. The other 4 items we could have found there (if we stayed to look) are: Bloodstone Amulet, Garnet Ring, Silver Mirror and Ebon Wand. None of them are important plot token, though. In fact, the only truly important plot tokens in this book are the Silver Daggers (which, as the flashback told us, were also vital to the ritual) and the Wulfen Sword (and technically only one of them is really necessary to complete the book, although having more them is a definite advantage). If we didn't manage to find any Silver Daggers at all by the endgame, the Wulfen Sword can still allow us to fight the demon (without the sword AND the daggers, we can't hurt the demon at all). If we had all the daggers AND read the instructions in the demon-summoning book, we auto-kill the demon without a fight.

Now, the 5 members of the Cadre Infernal.....we met 3 of them, although one of them had regressed so much into bestial form that he was practically unrecognizable (and I'm not talking about Varcolac here). The Countess was clearly one of them, and the third was the "monk" we saw in the flashback, the Abbot of that monastery filled with giant bugs (which is why we found a dagger there). The Abbot was that white giant maggot thing that we smote with Saint Crucius' name.

The Abbot (who was never named in the book, as far as I'm aware) wasn't the only one who regressed/devolved into bestial state as a result of their dabbling in demonic magic. We met one of the others: Serpensa the Snakewoman:
Image
This is the picture we see if we met her during our night exploration of the carnival. She can actually be a pretty dangerous opponent, being encountered early in the game (before we picked up various stat boosts) at SKILL 9 STAMINA 9 and a poisonous bite that may do extra damage ADN reduce our SKILL! In a way, getting all 5 Daggers can be said to be a "hard mode" version of the game.

We learn more about her origins from a scholar named Veledictus, who's a former member of the Order of the Black Rose (that secret society of vigilantes I mentioned earlier). Obviously, these two groups are sworn enemies, but Vaeldictus has dropped out of the Order and turned into a recluse, as he was pre-occupied with the fact that his son also suffered from the Lycanthropy affliction. That's why he'd try to help us by offering us information (and also gives us a mixture that reduces our CHANGE). We missed the encounter with this guy due to being caught and knocked out by the Carnival freaks (if we had left the Carnival under our own power, we'd have the chance of coming upon his home).

If we found Serpensa's dagger, Valedictus can tell us that Serpensa was probably Serena the Sorceress of Saarven, who was actually the one who led the Summoning ceremony for the demon. He will also be able to name the final member of the Cadre: Lady Aranaea, aka the "Black Widow" due to being married and widowed 5 times before she joined the Cadre. Guess what her bestial form turned out to be by the time we meet her?:
Image
Yep, Black Widow/human mutant hybrid. Her Silver Dagger actually isn't with her. It was stolen by a goblin whom we may meet and kill (and therefore loot), and when we finally meet her she will be screaming for her precious dagger in what is practically a parody of "Gollum"-style. ('my fine sharpnesssss", "my glittering silvernessss"). She's also extra vulnerable to her own dagger, just like the Abbot. She can be encountered in one of the several possible paths we may take during the Hunt for the Werebeast of Vargenhof.

Tomorrow, I will post more on the Order of the Black Rose, and the Werebeast hunt and a few of its variables.
Last edited by SGamerz on Wed Jun 21, 2017 4:46 am, edited 3 times in total.
Thaluikhain
King
Posts: 6143
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:30 pm

Post by Thaluikhain »

SGamerz wrote:Guess what her bestial form turned out to be by the time we meet her?:
Image
That's the same pic as the snake woman.

(For a moment I thought Green had done something a bit clever and had the obvious spider woman be the snake woman, but I'm guessing that was not intentional)
SGamerz
King
Posts: 6293
Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:45 am

Post by SGamerz »

Thaluikhain wrote:
SGamerz wrote:Guess what her bestial form turned out to be by the time we meet her?:
Image
That's the same pic as the snake woman.

(For a moment I thought Green had done something a bit clever and had the obvious spider woman be the snake woman, but I'm guessing that was not intentional)
Fixed! :)

I actually screwed up the Snakewoman pic the first time I posted, so I edited my post....I think I must have changed both pic links by mistake during that time, because I remembered seeing the correct spider pic during the preview.
Post Reply