Let's Play: Challenge of the Magi: Mage1

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:23 pm

((Wow, that was a terrible idea. I feel like I should be able to discard the water bottle instead, and just take penalties as if it were empty?))

Citadel of the Skull.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:32 pm

The wording could be a bit clearer, but I'm guessing the intent was for you to lose a proper item. There's a few parts where you can lose items, but at no point it tests to see if you've lost your water bottle, flint and tinder, or how many daggers you have.

In universe it also seems wrong for the druids to take an empty water bottle in preference to a magic item.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Jun 04, 2017 2:18 pm

As the portal disappears you find yourself looking into the maw of an enormous skull. The Citadel of the Skull stretches towards dark skies above you, the red flicker of torches lending the hollow eye sockets an infernal glow. The citadel is black obsidian, reflecting dully the half-light of this region. Beyond it a grey plain stretches as far as the eye can see but a thin mist obscures the horizon. There is no gate but inside the skull mouth a great fire blazes lighting a broad black staircase which climbs to a landing from which a second passageway leads off to the left. This place is an area of black magic and no other.

WAIT(16)

There is a picture here

You can see a concealed doorway behind the skull's back teeth which leads to your Inner Sanctum which you may visit. Otherwise you may continue on up the main stairway or take the passageway to the left. If instead you want to quit this place where black magic alone infuses the air you may Invoke the Portals. Will you adventure next to the Sacred Grove, the Forest of Arden, the Palace of Flames or the Rainbow Inn?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sun Jun 04, 2017 7:51 pm

Stairway.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Jun 05, 2017 2:16 pm

The staircase climbs up towards the domed top of the Citadel of the skull. Off the third landing a door opens to reveal a glimpse of three demondim, the devilish captains of the Gods of Evils who spread fear amongst the people of the Rainbow Land. You hurry on past, thankful that they did not spot you. Your footsteps are drawn inexorably to the head of the stair. At the top you come before a figure that looks like a blue-skinned wolfen, seven feet tall and immensely powerful of body, but the forms flickers occasionally. It is the Witch-King, held on this plane of the living for his seventh century by the power of his arcane sorcery. His courtiers line the room, wolfen, demondim and black-hearted men, tough enough to stomach the sight and doings of the Witch-King, all steeped in evil to the rotten core.

On a low table before the throne lies a glass-fronted box. Inside lying on black velvet are a white shroud and two human thigh bones. With a start you realise that these are the fabled relics of Honn the Zealot, the most sainted man in the Rainbow Land. The Witch-King's stare seems to burn into your brain.

WAIT(17)

There is a picture here

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 11:55 am

259
You stand uncertain as to your reception for a moment, but at length the Witch-King smiles. As he does, his eyeballs roll up into his head momentarily in a most disquieting way. He holds out his hand in welcome and his courtiers relax slightly. 'Have you come for the relics, mage? he inquires softly.

WAIT (18)

Will you ask him for a boon, or ask for the relics?

(The book checks what type of mage you are, this is the "Team Evil" option)

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 4:39 pm

Boon me up, dark Lord <3

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 5:21 pm

The Witch-King purses his lips, which have the look of dark grapes with a heavy bloom, and says. 'This boon I will grant. When next you are assailed in battle a Spectre will come to your aid. This Spectre would terrify even the gods themselves into temporary inaction.' Next time you are in combat you may attack twice before letting your foe respond. 'If you seek the Sceptre of Doom know that it is hidden in a place of white magic. Record the codeword WHITE WAND. You thank the Witch-King and take your leave while his mood is still safe. Outside the Citadel of the Skull once more you Invoke the Portals.

WAIT(19)

Where will you venture next: the Sacred Grove, the Forest of Arden, the Palace of Flames or the Rainbow Inn?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 5:40 pm

Man, that Witch-King is a really swell guy. Let's hit up the palace of flames next.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 5:44 pm

The vista which opens up before you as you step from the portal is like a madman's vision of hell. A haze of incredible heat makes everything waver like a mirage but the brass Palace of Flames is so large you would have trouble believing it in any case. Nevertheless, the fifty levels of brazen walkways which circle and intertwine it are as real as the hairs of your head. Two great bulbous domes top the palace. Inside one of them lives the Flame Lord, Caliph of the Efreeti, the beings of flame which inhabit the city-palace.

WAIT(20)

You are allowed to move freely into the palace courtyard. Will you descend into the palace dungeons, or mount one of the wide staircases towards the state rooms? Or you could Invoke the Portals and go to the Sea of Glass, the Garden of Contemplation, the Citadel of the Skull, or the Rainbow Inn?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 6:07 pm

The prisoner I'm looking for is probably in the dungeons. Let's go there.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:33 pm

It becomes hotter and hotter as you descend staircase after staircase towards the dungeons which are just above the enormous furnaces beneath the palace. Guards come and go but you have not yet been spotted. At last you have reached the deepest part of the palace. The heat warms the soles of your feet even through your boots. If you have the codeword METAMORPHISIS, turn to 197

197

You are confronted by a row of cells, some occupied, others empty. A beautiful young girl languishes in silver chains inside one of th em but she is guarded by a burly torturer. He has a bunch of keys at his waist but he is powerfully-built and besides wearing black leather armour and a black hood he carries a heavy mace and a whip. If you do attack him you may defeat him with any red spell, but you must cross off the Concentration Points that you use. If you attack him with your weapon it will be a bloody battle. He rolls one dice +1 in combat and his 14 Life Points.

You may flee at any time by Invoking the Portals to the Garden of Contemplation, the Citadel of the Skull, the Rainbow Inn or the Sea of Glass.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:23 am

Spirit of Flame.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:34 am

You take his keys and release the girl from her chains before any more guards come along. She is the daughter of the hermit of the Phoenix Crags. It never occurs to you how the ragged old hermit could have so stunningly pretty a daughter. She is proud and haughty, despite her long imprisonment and tosses her black locks impatiently when you ask whether she is well enough to walk. You smuggler her into the courtyard without being seen, when to you amazement she suddenly vanishes without trace. Record the codeword SONNET. You decide to Invoke the Portals in mystification.

Where will you adventure next: the Garden of Contemplation, the Citadel of the Skull, the Rainbow Inn or the Sea of Glass?

(That would have been a nasty fight for anyone without red magic, like wizards for whom this is one of their bonus things0

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:32 am

Oof, this is the wizard bonus quest then, not the hermit? I feared as much. He better not give me some gross good-only magic item. I figure she'd bail, but I kind of hoped she'd teleport us both there.

Sea of Glass. Let's go via the white zone and get the sceptre.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:03 pm

The portal vanishes behind you and you slip on the smooth reflective surface of the Sea of Glass. As far as the eye can see stretches a dead, flat plain of blue crystal like a sea frozen in time. The only breaks on the uniform landscape is a series of openings of caves, and a magnificent range of spiky mountains stretching towards the blue sky like pillars of frost. Underfoot your gaze can penetrate the glare to see several fathoms down into the clear blue crystal. Invisible currents of blue magic stir the air, the sorcerous magic of the mind.

WAIT(21)

You may set out towards the Frost Peaks or the Crystal Caves.

If you prefer to Invoke the Portals and leave the Sea of Glass you may. Will you visit the Tower of Immutable Paradox, the Silvered Spires, the Palace of Flame or the Rainbow Inn?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:57 pm

Peaks!

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:50 pm

519
You set out towards the Frost Peaks but never reach them. They are an illusion which constantly shifts its distance from you. You could walk the Sea of Glass from north to south and east to west and never climb these peaks. As you travel, however, you notice that from time to time that objects of various toys are embedded in the crystal at intervals so you begin to search the Sea more carefully.

WAIT(22)

Turn to 579 (there was a 50-50 chance of going to another section)

Where you look you can see jewels beyond price and magical artefacts of legendary power but as soon as you start to chip away the crystal to recover them they fade and disappear. You persevere in case one of them is real but are at last forced to give up through frustration and fatigue.

WAIT TWICE (23 and 24)

Will you visit the Tower of Immutable Paradox, the Silvered Spires, the Palace of Flame or the Rainbow Inn?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:40 pm

Oh man, fuck this place. Multiple waits give me anxiety. Silvered Spires next.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:29 pm

The sight which greets you as you step from the darkness of the portal is a stunning one. Tall spires glitter like steel in the afternoon sun. A white wall surrounds a small city built atop two green hills in the midst of rolling downland. The Spires are the tallest buildings in the Land, taller even than the tallest pines in the Forest of Arden. People dressed in simple homespun come and go, young boys herd sheep towards the fleecing pens.

WAIT(25)

You pass beneath the city archway. The gates are flung wide and the guards pay you no attention. Will you visit the magnificent cathedral to the Gods of Good or pay your respects at the court of the Round Table, where the Knights Templar hold council?

If you prefer to Invoke the Portals and leave immediately, will you journey next to the Sea of Glass, the Forest of Arden, the Rainbow Inn or the Caverns of Perdition?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:32 pm

Court.

No, it's hidden, isn't it, and paying respects makes it seem like there will be people at the court. Let's try the temple.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 2:16 pm

87
The cathedral is almost deserted although three hundred rows of empty pews stretch into the nave. The altar at the far end is draped in white. If you are a necromancer and have brought any zombies into the cathedral they fall to the floor and are useless. Their souls have been liberated from their bodies and you must leave the corpses behind.

You may pray. Or if you decide to walk out of the cathedral and Invoke the Portals you may choose from the following destinations: the Sea of Glass, the Forest of Arden, the Rainbow Inn or the Caverns of Perdition.

(Doesn't say you have to WAIT. Also, looks like you can have more than one zombie at the same time after all, though wouldn't have helped you to have more than one going into the cathedral)

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:12 pm

Urghh. Pray even though it's an obviously terrible idea. I don't want the sceptre to be here despite everything, and I miss it.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:01 pm

You go down on a bended knee before the silver cross on the altar and pray.

You are tormented with shame at your evil ways. You lose 2 CPs and leave the cathedral hastily to Invoke the Portals.

Which destination will you choose: the Sea of Glass, the Forest of Arden, the Rainbow Inn or the Caverns of Perdition?

(Yeah, being on Team Evil that's not a good idea, but only losing 2 CPs is pretty mild, and you don't even get a WAIT)

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:06 pm

Yeah, it was worth eliminating the possibility that it was in there. Losing the zombie sucks, though.

Caverns of Perdition.