Let's Play: Challenge of the Magi: Mage3

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 12:05 pm

Before you get to the village, an aged beggar hails you from the side of the road. He is dishevelled and unkempt. 'Good day, young mage,' he says. 'I am Sargash the hermit and I have a proposition for you.' You start in surprise as you have heard of Sargash, a philosopher of times past, said to be immortal and a follower of ancient pagan gods. Can this really be him?

'As a sage (you cannot help but smirk at this), I am fascinated by the new religion of the paladins of the Silvered Spires and the power of white magic. I seek the silver cross that rests in the cathedral of the Silvered Spires. Unfortunately, certain natural laws forbid me from entering that place but you, a young mage, could so so. Bring me the cross and I will give you the Orb of All-Seeing Wonder.' You have heard of the Orb, said to be the eye of the Cosmic Dragon, Ouroborous. It allows the user to spy on whoever s/he wishes anywhere in the Rainbow Land.

'Interested, eh?' mutters the beggar. 'Well off you go,' he adds, and passes his hands through the air. Record the codeword POTASH. He has Invoked the Portals for you and you are back at the Nexus. You must WAIT(13) before you go to the Tower of Immutable Paradox or the Garden of Contemplation.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 12:49 pm

What, I can't actually visit the village before I leave? :/

The Orb would be useful, though. I guess the shortest path to the Spires would be back to the Tower, then go through the Sea of Glass. So...that way.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 1:18 pm

Suddenly everything goes dark around you and you find yourself standing on one side of the chequerboard floor at the top of the tower. Just yards away is your opponent. All is silent as you size each other up, ready to make the play that will wipe your opponent off the chessboard and give you victory.

Your opponent is Boner, a Necromancer. They are accompanied by a zombie. They carry the Sceptre of Doom and a scroll. And a gold ring and a Book of Unholy Words they didn't have before.

You may exchange insults and epithets such as 'I come to teach you a lesson in the arts of magic, you mewling lackwit.'

You carry the Eye of Flame ruby, the Diadem of Rulership, the Bones of the Earth, the gem of the fabled Ring of Summoning, a bag of gold, a sturdy shield, a scroll with the spells Holy Fires of Judgement and Tanglevines. And a suit of armour.

You have 17 LPs and 8 CPs.

You will go first (chosen randomly)

DECISIONS

You may cast Deathknight, use Holy Fires of Judgement from your scroll or try to flee.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 2:01 pm

Doh! I wonder which way they came from, Greenwood or the Sea?

"What, you again? How tiresome. I guess here's as good a place as any to finish you off.

"By the way, did you send that tame lizard after me? Very considerate of you. I was just getting hungry. Did you know that FRIED DRAGON WINGS TASTE BETTER THAN CHICKEN?

"....did I say fried. Oh right, 'cos that's what's going to happen to you.....fried by HOLY FIRE!"

Cast Holy Fires of Judgement.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 2:06 pm

Summoning all your reserves of concentration you cast the awesomely-powerful spell the Holy Fires of Judgement. There is no known counterspell known to even the most puissant mages that can bar the effects of this spell. Read the following to your opponent:

'My arms are spread wide as I cast the irresistible dweomer from which there is no protection. You see nothing but there is a pounding pain in your skull. It is as if you feel a terrible anguish for each and every foul or evil act you have ever committed. Lose five Life Points and two Concentration Points. If you are still alive you may cast a spell of your own, if you are able.'

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Jun 29, 2017 6:15 pm

Your opponent reads from a scroll:

'I do no more than point my finger at you and utter a single word of power, Faith. Can you withstand the Hallowed Word?'

You hear the Word of Power, commanding you to have faith in the Gods of Good but have no fear for you are able to cast the Mouth of the Void. Read out the following:

'Your faithful spell is as nothing to me. I go down on one knee and raise my arms to the heavens. A dark hole from which no light can escape opens up before me and the Hallowed Word echoes as its magic is sucked into the void and is lost forever. I am protected by the Mouth of the Void and your foul magics have not succeed in shaking my faith on the Gods of Evil.'

Subtract 1 CP

DECISIONS

You may cast Deathknight, or try to flee.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Jun 30, 2017 1:48 am

Let's try Deathknight now.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Jun 30, 2017 2:49 pm

Cross off 1 CP as you read out the following to your opponent:

'A foul mist materialises before me into a Deathknight, a figure in dark rune-etched armour, its visor up to reveal the face of black nothingness. It stalks towards you, an ancient mace in hand, intent on carrying out my will - in short, to slay you.'

...

'I throw my arms up in horror - powerless, as the Deathknight's mace batters my defenceless body. I stagger back under the onslaught but as I fall to the ground the Deathknight, its work done, vanishes, back into the valley of the dead. I am bleeding.'

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jul 01, 2017 1:03 am

That's a relief, I was afraid he'd have the counterspell.

He still has Blight of Desponde to throw at me, but damage-wise I should have the edge....even if he were at full LP he should be down to almost half (taking 5 from Holy Fire and 4 from Deathknight, leaving him with 11), while I'll take 4 (I think) from the Blight leaving 13, which should still mean I can get into physical combat with higher HP than him. If he wasn't at full LP, all the better.

Unless he still has more spells from scrolls. >_<

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:22 am

"Fool! Battling me here shall be your undoing. I am in my element here! Well. 50% of my element, anyway. The point is, I'm going to kill you."

'A foul mist materialises before me into a Deathknight, a figure in dark rune-etched armour, its visor up to reveal the face of black nothingness. It stalks towards you, an ancient mace in hand, intent on carrying out my will - in short, to slay you.'

You have the counterspell, but he has the Book of Unholy Words which prevents you from using it.

'I throw my arms up in horror - powerless, as the Deathknight's mace batters my defenceless body. I stagger back under the onslaught but as I fall to the ground the Deathknight, its work done, vanishes, back into the valley of the dead. I am bleeding.'

You have lost 4 LPs

DECISIONS

You may run at your opponent in an attempt to engage him in physical combat, braving whatever magic may be flung at you, or try to flee.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jul 01, 2017 5:44 am

Huh, bummer.

If I'm prevented from casting the counterspell, does that mean I didn't lose any CP, at least?

I summon my Fire Imp Familiar and charge.

If during physical combat my LP drops below 8 AND he has inflicted more LP loss on me than I on him, I flee.

As to where.....he'll probably want to check out a new area after that, and I know he didn't come from the Shrine, so I won't go there......so to Greenwood.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jul 01, 2017 2:07 pm

Yeah...from the wording you realise you can't use the counterspell because he's got the book, so you don't try. Though, that means if he'd got a random book and written "Book of Unholy Words" on the cover, it'd have the same effect.

You prepare to charge forwards. Read this out:

'I begin to charge forward, dagger at the ready, intent on hand-to-hand combat. You have the opportunity to hurl a spell at me, flee, or run to meet me'

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jul 01, 2017 4:17 pm

Lavan summons a fire imp
Boner rolls 2 (+1 for zombie), Lavan rolls 5 (+1 for magic shield, +1 for fire imp), Boner takes 1 (+1 for magic shield, +1 for fire imp), 3 LPs in total

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jul 01, 2017 6:20 pm

Your enemy is trying to flee. Read this out:

'You run for your life, preparing to Invoke the Portals, but you lose your footing on the uneven slabs of the Tower's floor and collapse in a heap. I dart forward and cut at you with a dagger even as you Invoke and fade into the Nexus. Lost three Life Points.'

You stand alone on the Tower. You can either Invoke the Portals and go to the Sea of Glass, the Shrine of the Martyrs, or the Greenwood or you could investigate the Tower itself.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Jul 02, 2017 1:54 am

He has Feeblemind, and I'm running out of CP, so if he went to Sea of Glass and I follow him I'm going to be completely out of CP, since spells always have priority over physical combat.

Move to Greenwood.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Jul 02, 2017 5:08 am

You appear in a rich, dark forest. All around stretches row upon row of trees, shrouded in gloomy darkness. The air is resonant with a sharp smell of pine and the sounds of many woodland animals. The forest seems wholesome enough, but you feel claustrophobic in the close confines of the thickly carpeted trees. From the moment you arrive you know that this place is utterly devoid of magic.

A thin forest trail leads away ahead of you and a densely-wooded hill rises to the left. At the base of the hill is a cave mouth. You can follow the trail, climb the hill, plunge into the wood to your right or enter the cave. Before you make your decision, you must WAIT(1, resetting the wait count)

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Jul 02, 2017 5:39 am

Cave is where I can farm for gold....but I don't think I'm in the condition to risk fighting dwarfs at the moment.

Trail first.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Jul 02, 2017 2:05 pm

552
You follow the woodland trail. After a short time, it opens into a clearing, the sunlight bright and clear. In the middle of the clearing is a fountain, sculptured in stone to portray a leaping dolphin, from whose mouth flows clear clean water. You may drink from the fountain, or Invoke the Portals and travel to the Caverns of Perdition or Tower of Immutable Paradox.

(As written, you have to WAIT if you drink, not if you Invoke the Portals. Also, you could wash off insects if you'd been Creeping Doom-ed)

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:50 am

Oooh, so this is the cure for Creeping Doom? Now I can finally go grab that crystal from the Aggrieved Guy that Darth found.

Well, if it's a cure for something bad it probably isn't poisonous (famous last words). Take a drink!

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 5:33 am

The water is wholesome and refreshing. It has magical properties that galvanize your body. Restore up to 4LPs and 3CPs. Moments later, you find yourself at the Nexus, two portals on either side of you amidst the vast expanse of myriad colours. WAIT(2) and then you may go to either the Tower of Immutable Paradox or the Caverns of Perdition.

(The book asks if you've drunk here before, BTW)

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 11:38 am

Yeah, it makes sense that the player shouldn't be able to exploit this by repeatedly coming back here to heal.

BTW, regarding healing at the secret Sanctum....when a player is in his Sanctum, would his opponent still be able to find and fight him by entering that zone (despite not being able to enter the Sanctum himself)?

Caverns of Perdition and the Spires are the only places I haven't visited before, so Caverns next!

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 1:56 pm

Whenever the two of you are in the same one of the 16 realms, you both get teleported to the fighting area, whatever you are up to.

...

You step out of the portal. Hot, parched air hits you as if you'd walked into a wall. You find yourself in a large cavern, the rough cracked walls burning-hot to the touch. The rock around you is of strange reddish material inlaid with skeins of black onyx. The very air itself is alive with the distinctive resonance of black and red magic. Two tunnels, a cave mouth and a large ironbound, grotesquely-carved door serve as exits.

Ahead of you a thin, barely passable tunnel leads to the left. You may go down it, straight ahead, through the door or into the cavemouth, out of which emanates a strong, musty animal smell. Alternatively, you could Invoke the Portals, step into the Nexus and travel to the Greenwood, the House of Mausolus or the Silvered Spire. You must WAIT(3) before going anywhere.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 2:39 pm

Let's check out what animal's in that cave.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Jul 03, 2017 3:08 pm

You step into the reeking cavern.

A few gnawed bones and a pile of old rubbish litters the cavern, but at its centre stands a large wolf, its fur shining with a silvery sheen. It growls menacingly at you, baring a set of viciously sharp teeth. You recognise it from your Grimoire of Legendary Beasts. It is Silvermane, the ancient, supposedly-immortal wolf, reputed to have slain her one-time master, Ilexmanan, in his sleep.

You will have to fight her as she leaps tp the attack. Silvermane has 12 LPs with no additions to her combat dice. You may fight her hand-to-hand or, if you have these spells, you may cast the Blight of Desponde or Immolation and inflict a loss of 5 LPs on the wolf. As the effort needed to make these spells work against a creature that is not a mage is less than normal, these spells will cost you only 2 CP and 1 CP respectively. Other spells do not seem to affect the legendary wolf. The wolf is too fast to escape from so you must kill or be killed. If you manage to kill Silvermane, to your surprise the wolf's body simply fades away before your eyes. Record the codeword SILVER. Reality shifts and you find yourself at the Nexus, with three portals before you. You may travel to the Greenwood, the House of Mausolus, or the Silvered Spires. You must wait before you do so.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 04, 2017 1:58 am

Bah, Immolate this bitch.

Since it's immortal, it'll probably regenerate the next time I come back. Waste of a fight.