Slime Monsters roll 8, Pip rolls 7. Slime Monsters go first!
COMBAT LOG:
Slime Monster#1 rolls 4 and misses.
Slime Monster#2 rolls 5 and misses.
Slime Monster#3 rolls 4 and misses. (shield would have blocked it anyway)
Slime Monster#4 rolls 7 and hits for 1-4 = no damage.....but Pip is now poisoned!
Slime Monster#5 rolls 4 and misses.
Slime Monster#6 rolls 3 and misses. (shield would have blocked it anyway)
Slime Monster#7 rolls 4 and misses.
Pip zaps Slime Monster#1 & 2 with Firefingers and kills both. He loses 4 LP (2 per hit that he made) from poison and is now at 25.
Vampire carrot rolls 7 and hits for 1 damage. Slime Monster#3 is at 9.
Slime Monster#3 rolls 4 and misses.
Slime Monster#4 rolls 8 and hits but is blocked by collapsible shield.
Slime Monster#5 rolls 7 and hits for 1-4 = no damage.
Slime Monster#6 rolls 7 and hits for 1-4 = no damage.
Slime Monster#7 rolls 4 and misses. (shield would have blocked it anyway)
Pip zaps Slime Monster#3 & 4 with Firefingers and kills both. He loses 4 LP from poison and is now at 21.
Vampire carrot rolls 4 and misses.
Slime Monster#5 rolls 9 and hits for 3-4 = no damage.
Slime Monster#6 rolls 10 and hits for 4-4 = no damage.
Slime Monster#7 rolls 4 and misses. (shield would have blocked it anyway)
Pip zaps Slime Monster#5 with Firefinger and kills it. He loses 2 LP from poison and is now at 19.
Pip uses a dose of antidote and is no longer poisoned.
Vampire carrot rolls 5 and misses.
Slime Monster#6 rolls 7 and hits for 1-4 = no damage, but Pip is poisoned again!
Slime Monster#7 rolls 10 and hits for 4-4 = no damage.
Pip uses a dose of antidote and is no longer poisoned.
Pip zaps Slime Monster#6 with Firefinger and kills it.
Vampire carrot rolls 10 and hits for 4 damage. Slime Monster#7 is at 6.
Slime Monster#7 rolls 8 and hits for 2-4 = no damage, but Pip is poisoned again!
Pip uses a dose of antidote and is no longer poisoned.
Pip zaps Slime Monster#7 with Firefinger and kills it.
Pip emerges from the battle with 19 LP (all due to poison - the Slime Monster don't hit hard enough to even dent his armour), still left with 10 Firefingers and 3 doses of antidote!
One more little piece of good news: Pip just gained enough experience with his 7 new kills to earn one more Permanent LP! He's now at 20/56!
And now it's time for the Black Knight himself:
Black Knight rolls 9, Pip rolls 4. BK goes first!
COMBA LOG:
Black Knight rolls 11(!) and hits for 7+4-4 = 7 damage! Pip is at 13.
Pip rolls 11 and hits with his first Fireball for 75-12 = 63 damage. Black Knight is at 17.
Black Knight rolls 4 and hits for 0+4-4 = no damage!
Pip rolls 8 and hits with his second Fireball for 75-6 = 69 damage. Black Knight is toast.
With 4 Fireballs at the ready there was little doubt Pip had the firepower to take down the Black Knight, but it still took some luck: if the Black Knight had rolled well for his second attack he could have knocked Pip out! Fortunately, our luck held and Pip is victorious!
The Black Knight sinks to the floor, clutching his wounds.
'Rotter!' he gasps, this being an ancient expression meant to convey the very depths of insult.
But you ignore him, except for the token gesture of placing your boot lightly on his back and beating your chest. Then you search the huge chamber carefully until, at your agile touch, a secret panel opens in the ceiling, allowing you to climb out into the muted sunlight.
You look around and sure enough, the open Gateway is a mere hundred yards away to the south. Faster than a speeding arrow (despite the various bits of booty you've collected) you zip through, slamming it tight shut behind you. Quickly you turn the key you found in the Little Old Lady Monster's chest.
The bolt slides home with a satisfying click and you turn away to seek the road to Camelot.
(Which, when you find it, will take you to the section headed PIP TRIUMPHANT.)
Gateway closed, mission accomplished (the book never considered the possibility that Pip might have stupidly dropped the key to pick up some trash.)!
PIP TRIUMPHANT
If the Monday morning meetings of the Table Round were bad, the Friday afternoon meetings of the Table Round were usually much worse. Even at the best of times, the Knights were restless, anxious to get shot of business so they could spend their weekends wassailing and carousing.
But in the middle of this particular Friday afternoon meeting, something very peculiar happened. The Knights suddenly began to act politely towards one another, so that it was, 'After you, Sir Percival,' and 'No, no, my dear Galahad, what were you going to say?' and, 'No, I insist you speak first, Sir Percival,' and general sweetness and light all round.
King Arthur studied this interesting development for nearly an hour before he rapped the table for silence.
'Have you noticed,' he said seriously, 'how benevolent we have all become to one another? There has not been one serious threat voiced for the past sixty minutes.'
The Knights looked at each other in amazement, realizing that, of course, their King was right.
'What does it mean?' cried Sir Bevedere, who had a flair for histrionics.
'I think,' said the King slowly, 'it must mean somebody has managed to close the Gateway to the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead.'
'Pip?' asked Sir Lancelot.
King Arthur nodded. 'Who else?'
'I have a proposal,' said King Pellinore, seated in one corner. He glanced around grinning. 'I expect you all know what it is.'
'A knighthood?' asked Sir Lancelot, also grinning.
'Precisely,' King Pellinore confirmed.
'A knighthood!' roared the excited members of the Table round. 'A knighthood for Pip!!'
Even the King was smiling. In the circumstances, Sir Pip sounded good to him.
A refreshingly short epilogue for this series. And it's definitely about time Pip gets knighted, considering how many times he's had to perform quests that the Knights of the Round Table couldn't do!
And this is it for Pip's third quest. Thanks to everyone for playing!
I think the biggest long-term gain Pip has gotten out of this quest is the fact that he can now carry over a total of 12 Permanent Life Points with him to his next quest (which, as mentioned before, is pretty much the only thing he gets to bring with him from this book.) Are you guys still interested in following Pip to his next mission? If you do, join me in the LP for
GrailQuest 4: Voyage of Terror! where Pip meets the Argonauts of Ancient Greece (yes, seriously)!
FINAL QUEST JOURNAL:
Pip's LIFE POINTS: 13/56
Permanent Life Points: 12
SPEED: 11/22
EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
1. Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
2. Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
3. Wax Polish (+2 damage, 6/6 applications)
4. Key to the Gateway of the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead
5. Poison Antidote (3 doses)
6. Lamp
7. Magic coin (+5 damage to successful physical attack or spell, once per combat)
8. Magic coin (+5 damage to successful physical attack or spell, once per combat)
9. Magical Specs (sees invisible things)
10. Teleport Amulet (teleport to previously visited section: 3/3 charges; prevent forced teleportation: 5/6 charges)
11. Fireball wand (2/2 Fireballs)
12. Collapsible Shield (negates every third blow; does not affect SPEED)
MONEY: 438 GP
MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 3/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 1/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 1/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 10/21
Fireballs 0/2
PLoP 3/3
PID 3/3
PALS 2/3
PIL 1/3
POPS 3/3
Resurrection Spell (cast when dead, roll 10+ to cast successfully, can't use any spell for next 3 sections or until SLEEP if succeeds)
EXPERIENCE POINTS: 23 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Giant Danish Spider
3 Ghouls
110 Ants
4 Nerds
Creeping Jello
4 Orcs
Shark
Little Old Lady Monster
5 Animated Skeletons
4 Kobolds
2 Guards
Treasure Room Nerd
Twisted Mirror Image
Giant Poisonous Spider
2 Poison Dwarves
2 Medusas
2 Colls
Magic Zapper
3 Manticores
2 Golls
Winzig
20 Vampire Bats
3 "Them"s
A Thing
Geroflas
5 Vampires
3 Ghosts
3 Djinn
7 Slime Monsters
Black Knight of Avalon
PUZZLES SOLVES: 7
No. of Deaths:
1. Suffocated in smoke-filled room