[Let's Play] GrailQuest 4: Voyage of Terror

[Thaluikhain]

Huh, so finally things get started. Also, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWOhH4eI7vs

I vote starting off with a spear volley, but don't have an opinion on weapons or armour beyond that.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Give Hercules and Achilles one piece of armor each. Jason and the generics can go naked. Jason and the generics should spear volley. Hercules and Achilles probably do more damage getting up close and personal. If they're like Pip and can switch weapons then Jason and the generics should then draw swords and attack in melee after throwing their spears. Achilles and Hercules are special cases because of their abilities.

Does Achilles' acting every other round stack or overlap with spears' 1 attack/2 rounds and daggers 2 attacks/round? If they stack he should use a dagger to average an attack a round and if they overlap he should use a spear in melee since he effectively gets no penalties. Hercules should be daggering in melee, since his huge static damage bonus makes the extra attack really good. If they can switch weapons after chucking spears then they should join the initial spear volley first.

Also, if Achilles' ability overlaps with weapon speeds, I assume he takes the worst of the two for retrieving his spear. In which case he shouldn't join the spear volley and just keep on poking away.

[SGamerz]

Does Achilles' acting every other round stack or overlap with spears' 1 attack/2 rounds and daggers 2 attacks/round? If they stack he should use a dagger to average an attack a round and if they overlap he should use a spear in melee since he effectively gets no penalties.

Also, if Achilles' ability overlaps with weapon speeds, I assume he takes the worst of the two for retrieving his spear. In which case he shouldn't join the spear volley and just keep on poking away.

My interpretation is that the weapon penalty stacks with individual; penalties, so Achilles with a spear can only hit once every 4 rounds. Of course, him using a dagger will more or less cancel out the penalty.

For spear-throwing, he will take 6 rounds to recover the spear, while others take only 3. Of course, the flip side is that Achilles can easily hit with a spear. Where most can only hit by rolling 8 & above, Achilles can hit with just 4 and above, so he can deal a lot more damage, which balances out the slow speed to some extent (spear-throwing is effectively a -2 modifier compared to melee for Pip, so I assume it works the same on the others too, so Jason can hit with a throwing spear on 7 or more).

Anyway, the Argonauts gear up as Darth suggested: only Hercules and Achilles put on armour, and arm themselves with daggers by default. The other Argonauts will go for swords after the initial spear barrage. Everyone besides Achilles will throw their spears in the first round.

Let's head up to the decks!

You emerge on to the upper deck of a huge sailing vessel, crafted from wood, the hull of which has been finely plated in what looks suspiciously like solid gold. Vast sails billows out above you against a serene and cloudless sky. All around you, stretching to the distant horizon, is the clear blue sea.

This would be a great place for a pleasure cruise were it not for the horde of cutthroats racing in your direction, brandishing wicked Asiatic swords (+3 damage) and shouting insults about your parentage.

There are ten of these scoundrels, each with 25 LIFE POINTS, each hitting successfully on 6 or better and each out to make a name for himself by slaughtering yet another enemy.

If you are alone at the moment, it might be a good idea to be cautious, although you are perfectly free to fight them all if you like. Should you decide to retreat, roll two dice. Score 5 or better and you are able to duck back below decks, slamming the hold behind you and escape into any section of Plan 1. Score 2, 3 or 4 and you're going to have to fight them, in which case you can save yourself a lot of bother by going direct to 14.

If you are not alone, then let the Battle Royal commence. If you are all slain, go to 14 with your companions and bring them back with you (having rerolled your LIFE POINTS) for another sortie. If you personally are killed, wait patiently in 14 to see how the rest of the battle turns out. Should your companions win with Jason still alive, he will blow his magic conch to resurrect you with full LIFE POINTS, in which case you can all proceed to 10. (Should both you and Jason be killed, you can forget about resurrection.) If you survive your own fight and you and your companions win the battle, the survivors may stagger triumphantly to 10.

Okay, it turns out that Jason might actually be more important than Pip here, since he can resurrect Pip if we get killed!

Anyway, as usual Brennan glosses over the details, and we're left to improvise on how this messy Battle Royale is going play out. Here's how I do it: Each member of Pip and team of 14 matches up against a Scoundrel. The leftover 4 members go back up to the top of the list and help the first 4 double-team their opponents.

I think the wise thing to do is to put Jason at the bottom and let him double-team someone: he's someone we want to keep alive as long as possible.

And Pip will stick to his dagger for this fight, since the scoundrels don't wear any armour.

Scoundrels roll 10, Argonauts roll 6. Scoundrels go first!

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1:

Scoundrel#1 rolls 9 and hits for 3+3-2 = 4 damage. (Armour check = 6 - doesn't shatter). Pip is at 17.
Scoundrel#2 rolls 3 and misses.
Scoundrel#3 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#4 rolls 6 and hits for 0+3 = 3 damage. Generic Argonaut#1 is at 17.
Scoundrel#5 rolls 8 and hits for 2+3 = 5 damage. Generic Argonaut#2 is at 15.
Scoundrel#6 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#7 rolls 9 and hits for 3+3 = 6 damage. Generic Argonaut#4 is at 14.
Scoundrel#8 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#9 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Generic Argonaut#6 is at 12.
Scoundrel#10 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Generic Argonaut#7 is at 16.
Pip throws his spear at Scoundrel #1. He rolls 5 and misses.
Hercules throws his spear at Scoundrel #2. He rolls 8 and hits for 0+4+10 = 14 damage! Scoundrel#2 is at 11.
Achilles rolls 8 and hits for 6+1 = 7 damage! Scoundrel#3 is at 18.
Achilles rolls 8 and hits for 6+1 = 7 damage! Scoundrel#3 is at 11.
Generic Argonaut#1 throws his spear at Scoundrel #4. He rolls 8 and hits for 0+10 = 10 damage! Scoundrel#4 is at 15.
Generic Argonaut#2 throws his spear at Scoundrel #5. He rolls 6 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#3 throws his spear at Scoundrel #6. He rolls 8 and hits for 0+10 = 10 damage! Scoundrel#6 is at 15.
Generic Argonaut#4 throws his spear at Scoundrel #7. He rolls 7 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#5 throws his spear at Scoundrel #8. He rolls 7 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#6 throws his spear at Scoundrel #9. He rolls 6 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#7 throws his spear at Scoundrel #10. He rolls 7 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#8 throws his spear at Scoundrel #1. He rolls 10 and hits for 2+10 = 12 damage! Scoundrel#1 is at 13.
Generic Argonaut#9 throws his spear at Scoundrel #2. He rolls 7 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#10 throws his spear at Scoundrel #3. He rolls 5 and misses.
Jason throws his spear at Scoundrel #4. He rolls 12 and hits for 5+10 = 15 damage! Scoundrel#4 is killed.

With one Scoundrel(#4) down, Generic Argonaut#1 is now unengaged and joins #2 in targeting Scoundrel#5, while Jason joins #3 to double-team Scoundrel#6.

Round 2:
Scoundrel#1 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3-2 = 2 damage. Pip is at 15.
Scoundrel#2 rolls 2 and misses.
Scoundrel#3 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#5 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#6 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Generic Argonaut#3 is at 12.
Scoundrel#7 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Generic Argonaut#4 is at 10.
Scoundrel#8 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#9 rolls 4 and misses.
Scoundrel#10 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Generic Argonaut#7 is at 9.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Scoundrel#1 is at 11.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Hercules rolls 5 and misses.
Hercules rolls 7 and hits for 1+4 = 5 damage. Scoundrel#2 is at 6.
Generic Argonaut#1 rolls 1 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#2 rolls 9 and hits for 3+3 = 6 damage. Scoundrel#5 is at 14.
Generic Argonaut#3 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Scoundrel#6 is at 7.
Generic Argonaut#4 rolls 6 and hits for 0+3 = 3 damage. Scoundrel#7 is at 17.
Generic Argonaut#5 rolls 4 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#6 rolls 6 and hits for 0+3 = 3 damage. Scoundrel#9 is at 17.
Generic Argonaut#7 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Scoundrel#10 is at 16.
Generic Argonaut#8 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Scoundrel#1 is at 7.
Generic Argonaut#9 rolls 3 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#10 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Scoundrel#3 is at 4 and is knocked out!
Jason rolls 11 and hits for 6+3 = 9 damage. Scoundrel#6 is killed.

2 more Scoundrels down! Achilles goes for Scoundrel#7, GA#10 now targets Scoundrel#8, GA#3 attacks Scoundrel#9, while Jason attacks Scoundrel#10.


Round 3:

Scoundrel#1 rolls 6 and hits for 0+3-2 = 1 damage. Pip is at 14.
Scoundrel#2 rolls 6 and hits for 0+3-2 = 1 damage. (Armour check = 9 - doesn't shatter). Hercules is at 47.
Scoundrel#5 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#7 rolls 4 and misses.
Scoundrel#8 rolls 3 and misses.
Scoundrel#9 rolls 12 and hits for 6+3 = 9 damage! Generic Argonaut#6 is at 3 and is knocked out!
Scoundrel#10 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Generic Argonaut#7 is at 2 and is knocked out!
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Scoundrel#1 is at 5 and is knocked out.
Pip rolls 2 and misses.
Hercules rolls 7 and hits for 1+1+4 = 6 damage. Scoundrel#2 is killed.
Hercules (now targeting Scoundrel#9) rolls 6 and hits for 0+1+4 = 5 damage. Scoundrel#9 is at 12.
Achilles rolls 6 and hits for 4+1 = 5 damage. Scoundrel#7 is at 12.
Achilles rolls 11 and hits for 9+1 = 10 damage. Scoundrel#7 is at 2 and is knocked out.
Generic Argonaut#1 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Scoundrel#5 is at 7.
Generic Argonaut#2 rolls 8 and hits for 2+3 = 5 damage. Scoundrel#5 is at 2 and is knocked out.
Generic Argonaut#3 rolls 8 and hits for 2+3 = 5 damage. Scoundrel#9 is at 7.
Generic Argonaut#4 (now targeting Scoundrel#10) rolls 6 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Scoundrel#10 is at 12.
Generic Argonaut#5 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Scoundrel#8 is at 16.
Generic Argonaut#8 (targeting Scoundrel#8) rolls 6 and hits for 0+3 = 3 damage. Scoundrel#8 is at 13.
Generic Argonaut#9 (targeting Scoundrel#9) rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Scoundrel#9 is killed.
Generic Argonaut#10 rolls 8 and hits for 2+3 = 5 damage. Scoundrel#8 is at 8.
Jason rolls 11 and hits for 6+3 = 9 damage. Scoundrel#10 is at 3 and is knocked out.

Only 1 Scoundrel left! He's Scoundrel#8 Even though he lasted the longest, he's also failed to hit a single blow thus far!

Round 4:
Scoundrel#8 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage! Generic Argonaut#5 is at 16.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Scoundrel#8 is at 11.
Pip rolls 12 and hits for 6+1 = 7 damage. Scoundrel#8 is at 4 and is knocked out!

Okay, I certainly hope battle royales like this isn't the norm in this book. That took a bloody long time to resolve! 2 of the generic Argonauts were knocked out, but no one on Pip's team actually died!

Sometimes battles just aren't worth winning. These idiots have elected you Captain (thus exercising the new-fangled Green notion of democracy) and are gratefully insisting that they will take you anywhere you want to go in your search for this mysterious Avalon place of yours. None of them has a bull's notion of where it might be, of course, but they do have a chart of the immediate maritime vicinity, which you may study inside the back cover of this book in order to set your course.

When you have decided where you want to go, make a mental note of the section number, but DO NOT TURN TO IT RIGHT AWAY. In order to navigate your ship correctly to the destination of your choice, you must first roll two dice. Score above 4 and you navigate correctly. But score 2, 3 or 4 and you must turn to the special Cross-eyed Navigation section on Appendix, p.219. If you survive the instructions that will be given to you there, you can go directly to your chosen destination by the Sea Chart.

Here's the Sea Chart, where you may pick which island to sail for:

SEA CHART:

There's also still a guardroom below with 12 guards, which you may try to kill as well, if you think the Exp points and 120 GP are worth it.

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 14/60
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Wooden mallet
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 1 dose)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 10/12 doses)

MONEY: 10 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 15
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook
2 Guards
10 Scoundrels
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

[Omegonthesane]

Skull Island and don't bother with the guards unless we have the army.

[SGamerz]

Cross-eyed Navigation roll = 8 (Success)! Pip and gang reaches Skull Island safely....

It looks like you're on your own with this one. (What else is new?) The Argonauts, intrepid adventurers that they are, took one look at this island and promptly threatened mutiny if you insisted they should land.

And it is a daunting sight, admittedly. Small enough to be sure, but almost totally devoid of vegetation and with crawling rock formations stretching as far as the eye can see. It's those formations which have given the place its name probably. From a distance they merge to give a perfect illusion that you are sailing towards a gigantic skull rising out of the sea. Of course it's only an illusion. Nobody in their right mind could imagine there was anything really sinister about this island. Just peculiar rock formations, that's all.

Still, as you step ashore (alone) from the rowboat, you can see why the Argonauts weren't too keen on this place. The rocks throw peculiar shadows, which seem to creep up on you. And the wind moans and sighs incessantly. But of course this is all perfectly natural: absolutely nothing to worry about. Certainly nothing sinister.

You move inland, followed by those creeping shadows, with the wind moaning all around you. It's hard going over the rocks and soon they tower around you, casting a perpetual gloom across your surroundings. Nothing sinister, of course, although the funny thing is the shadows are still creeping after you despite the fact there is now very little sunlight to make shadows. But there must be a perfectly natural explanation for it all. Certainly nothing--

A shadow has clutched your ankle! If there's a perfectly natural explanation for that I'd like to hear it!

You jerk your leg free and step back, only to find another shadow reaching out from a rocky ledge to grip your arm.

Quickly: roll one die to find out how many shadows have crept up to hassle you.

Each Shadow will grip you firmly on a throw of six or better on a double dice roll and absorb 6 of your LIFE POINTS every combat round. The only way to break free is to kill the Shadow. Unfortunately this is not so easy.

Shadows do not have LIFE POINTS since they aren't alive. You can't hack at them with a sword or bash them with a club. (At least you can, but it won't do anything to them.) The only way you can get rid of a Shadow is to zap it with light. Which means you need a lamp or a torch and something to light it. If you brought the right equipment from the ship's store, you should be okay. All you need do is light up and throw a 4 or better for each Shadow that has gripped you. If you haven't got a light source with you, or if the Shadows absorb all your LIFE POINTS before you can throw enough 4s to kill them, then you've had it--it's off to 14.

If, however, you get out of this mess, you can move on to 117.

We have flint and tinder to light a fire....but we didn't take any lamp or torch! We have no way of fighting a shadows and have to go straight to the dreaded Section 14!

That's it, Pip. Done for. Crushed beneath the relentless heel of Fate. Clapped out. Wasted. Passed on. In short, you are one very dead adventurer.

Being dead is quite fun, actually. You get to re-roll your LIFE POINTS for one thing. Then you get to start again, fresh as paint.

You've lost any gear, weapons, equipment, spells, booty, loot, treasure you may have collected, of course, which is a pity: but since you doubtless remember where you found it, you can always zip through the sections quickly and collect it up again. Unlike earlier GrailQuest adventures, any monsters you may have killed don't stay dead and will be waiting to zap you in the relevant sections. But second or subsequent times around, they will only have half the LIFE POINTS they had the first time, which gives you a distinct edge.

Now don't hang about being dead. Zoom off and roll up your new LIFE POINTS so you can get back on the adventure trail.

Okay, so 2 major differences from previous book: we can actually go back and pick up any loot we had in the previous game by going back to the same section, but on the flip side, we may also have to fight the same enemies again (albeit at half-LP).

Re-rolling LIFE POINTS for Pip:

Roll#1 = 8.
Roll#2 = 5.
Roll#3 = 10.

Not as good as our previous one, but this is a nice starting LP. Pip starts with 10x4+12 = 52 LP.

Now, we're back below the decks of the ship. We've been to almost all the rooms except one which we couldn't unlock. Pip automatically loots the Rusty Dagger again from the first room.

We should probably arm ourselves better, so let's head back to 18 first:

This door's locked, which probably means there's something interesting inside. Now how does a seasoned young adventurer tackle a problem like that?

Kick the door in? Go to 105.

Pick the lock? Go to 139.

You can, of course, always try any other section on Plan 1

.

Picking the lock:

Lock-picking is a skilled job. Roll two dice and we'll see if you have the knack.

Score 9-12 and go to 150.

Score anything else and the lock resists your best efforts so you will have to pick another section from Plan 1.

Dice roll = 4! We fail to pick the lock this time.

However, the text doesn't say we can never enter this room again, so I'm interpreting that as we need to try another room first before coming back to make another attempt.

So......let's pick up some more loot before we come back....Pip heads to 74, the room which contained the light source which he didn't pick up the previous time!

There's a whole lot of gear in here. A lot of it could be quite useful to an adventurer like yourself. You might reckon on carrying half a dozen items before you collapse with exhaustion, so pick carefully. In the room are:

Rope (50ft coil)
Grappling hook
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Drinking horn
Blowing horn (i.e. a sort of trumpet)
Small, ornamentally carved rosewood box (empty)
Packet of salt crystals
Bone needle and spool of rough thread
Cooking utensils
Leather belt
Spare sandals
Spare tunic
Container of olive oil
Ceramic lamp
Wooden mallet
Bone saw (i.e. a saw made from bone, NOT a saw for cutting bone)
Box of biscuits
Kite
Goosefeather quill and parchment
Small drum (musical variety)

When you've picked six, take them with you to any other section of Plan 1.

Again, please pick 6 loot from the list to bring with us. Remember, we need the lamp and the flint/tinder to survive Skull Island. There's no mention of any torch here, so it's possible we may be able to find that on another island, but if you want to play safe, you can take the lamp from here.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I'd take the first 4 items on the list, the lamp, and the biscuits.

[SGamerz]

After picking his loot, Pip heads back to the armoury door and tries the lock again:

Dice roll = 6. Still no luck.

He goes to the room with the chest and search the room to pick up the Wallbanger Ritual scroll. He also open the new chest to loot 1000 GP.

He then tries the battered chest:

1st roll = 1
2nd roll = 1

I guess this means we re-try.

1st roll = 2.
2nd roll = 1.

Success! This means Pip manages to get the Poison Stiletto.

Do we want to try the Skull/crossbones chest for the healing pot? In this case, there's danger of being pricked by poison needle, so pausing to see if anyone objects to the risk.

[Omegonthesane]

Go ahead, 14 holds no terror for us for the moment.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Agreed.

[SGamerz]

1st roll = 2.
2nd roll =2.

Again!

1st roll = 5
2nd roll = 5

.....

1st roll = 6
2nd roll = 1

Finally, Pip opens the chest and grabs the heals.

Back to the armoury, Pip tries to pick the lock for the third time:

Dice roll = 9! Success!

Pip gears up with 1 piece of armour and grabs one weapon of each type.

The remaining rooms in the lower decks either contains nothing lootable, or we have to go through a fight. Obviously, the only really important one is the cells where the Argonauts are imprisoned.

We bribed one guard the last time, so he'll still be at full LP, while the other 2 were defeated once and are at half LP (I'm rounding that up and giving them 13 LP each).

S0, how do we handle the fight with the 3 prison guards? Do we still try to bribe the first one? Or fight all three now that 2 of them are easier to kill and we're at full LP? And do we use the same tactic as last time in the fight (Spear throw followed by poison dagger followed by fast dagger)?

[Thaluikhain]

When the dagger is used before Pip gets killed, does it go back to 12 uses again once Pip gets it back?

If so, bribe one guard, use the poison dagger followed by spear and fast dagger. If not, keep the poison dagger in reserve, bribe and spear and fast dagger.

[Darth Rabbitt]

When the dagger is used before Pip gets killed, does it go back to 12 uses again once Pip gets it back?

If so, bribe one guard, use the poison dagger followed by spear and fast dagger. If not, keep the poison dagger in reserve, bribe and spear and fast dagger.

This.

[SGamerz]

When the dagger is used before Pip gets killed, does it go back to 12 uses again once Pip gets it back?

Unless otherwise stated by the text, I assume all items re-spawn to their original condition, so yes, there are the full 12 doses. Also the healing potion goes back to 6 doses instead of having 1 dose left.

There's thus far only one exception: the Wallbanger Ritual is explicitly stated to be only usable once in the entire game, so once we use that, we can't do so again, even if we died after that. But Pip hadn't used it thus far, so he still managed to pick it up.

Pip goes back to the prison cells to confront the 3 guards. He once again offers 500 gold to the first guard.

Bribery roll = 10 (Success!)

Pip fights the remaining 2 guards one at a time.

Guards roll 6, Pip rolls 4. Guards hit first.

COMBAT LOG:

Guard#2 rolls 4 and misses.
Pip throws his spear and rolls 7, missing!
Guard#2 rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage.
Guard#2 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage. (Armour check 4 - doesn't shatter).
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage.
Guard#2 rolls 6 and hits for 0+2-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 4 and misses.
Guard#2 rolls 3 and misses.
Pip rolls 12 and hits for 6+1-2 = 5 damage. Guard#2 is at 8 and is poisoned.
Guard#2 rolls 5 and misses.
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 3+1-2 = 2 damage. Guard#2 is at 6.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Guard#2 loses another 2 LP from poison and is knocked out.
Guard#3 rolls 7 and hits for 1+2-2 = 1 damage. Pip is at 51.
Pip throws his spear and rolls 9 to hit for 1+10-2 = 9 damage! Guard#3 is at 4 and is knocked out!

Lots of missing on both sides, but Pip pulls out a victory taking only negligible damage.

The Argonauts are released from their prison! We gear them up exactly as we did last time (unless you have any new suggestions). We can now either go up to the decks for the Battle Royale or finish combing out the remaining rooms (minus one room that the text stated we can never open after the first failed attempt to unlock it).

Rooms left in the lower decks include:

20: We opened a water barrel and killed an Old Sea Dog there last time. We don't know what's in the casks. We can also do a 14-on1 beatdown on the Old Sea Dog (who's at half LP) again for easy Exp.
64: Nothing in there, so I guess we don't bother.
47: Contains nothing useful. There was a poisonous spider here the last time, but since it only had 6 LP, it'd be at 3 and therefore automatically unconscious.
57: 12 guards, each with 10 GP to loot. Note that these are still at full LP since we never fought them. Do we want to try that now with an army behind us?
26: No loot, but we can curb-stomp the cook again with our heavies for easy Exp.
31: Sleeping quarters. The last tine we were there, we rolled well and looted 10 GP. We don't know if anything bad happens if we roll a low number.

So, do we want to go to 20, 57, 26 or 31 before we go up for the Battle Royale?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 51/52
Permanent Life Points: 12

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Grappling hook
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Ceramic lamp
Box of biscuits
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 6 doses)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 11/12 doses)

MONEY: 500 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 17
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook
4 Guards
10 Scoundrels
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

[Thaluikhain]

I vote fight the 12 guards if dead Argonauts come back at full health, otherwise skip that but do kill the cook either way.

[SGamerz]

I vote fight the 12 guards if dead Argonauts come back at full health.

They will be at full health when Pip dies and reboots, yes. But they don't reboot between this battle and the Battle Royale on the deck. Not sure which you're referring to.

Heading for the kitchen again, where the cook bravely/stupidly tries to threaten an army of 14 with nothing but a meat cleaver!

Cook rolls 8, Pip rolls 11. Pip goes first!

COMBAT LOG:

Pip throws his spear and rolls 9 to hit for 1+10 = 11 damage! Cook is at 4 and is knocked out.

Pip doesn't even needs his army's help as he takes out the cook with a successful spear-throw.

Options remaining:
1) 20: Casks and barrels room, to check the cask or beat up the Old Sea Dog again.
2) 57: 12 fresh guards to kill for Exp and 120 GP.
3) 31: Search sleeping quarters for potential gold and unknown negative effects depending on dice roll.
4) TO the decks for Battle Royale with Scoundrels

[Darth Rabbitt]

Check cask, beat up Sea Dog if he tries to stop us.

[SGamerz]

We head back to 20 and check the casks:

You knock out a bung and a dark maroon-coloured liquid spurts out, staining your tunic and legs. It smells like wine (and a good class of wine at that).

If you'd like to taste it, better hurry to 90 before it all runs away.

If you decide to stay teetotal, you have the option of investigating a barrel at 77 or moving on to another section of Plan 1.

Do we want to sample the wine?

[Omegonthesane]

Guzzle the poison.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Taste it, and fight the Sea Dog if he gives us crap again.

[SGamerz]

This really is superb wine. Slips down like lemonade (and in huge quantities, too, since you've no chance of only sipping from the gushing stream). You glug some more. Perhaps a Montrachet '69, or possibly a Chateauneuf du Pape '82... or, indeed, a--

'Here, what do you think you're at, young 'un?'

You turn (a little unsteadily) to confront a grizzled (and deeply tanned) old sea dog wearing a tunic much like your own, with a kerchief tied around his forehead and carrying a club.

'Whosh yoush?' you ask him, slurring your words a little. 'Where sham I?'

'Drunken scoundrel!' roars the old sea dog. 'Should be ashamed of yourself at your age! What you need is a clip round the earhole with my trusty club!'

With which he approaches you menacingly.

If you want to fight this old man to the death, you are quite at liberty to do so. He has 25 LIFE POINTS and does +1 damage with his club. He strikes successfully on a 6 or better; and since he surprised you messing about with the wine casks, he will have first strike. Furthermore, since you are well gone with the drink, you will miss every second strike whatever the dice show. If you kill him, or render him unconscious, you may proceed to another section of Plan 1. If he kills you, you may proceed to 14.

If you decide not to fight, he will bash you once with his club, deducting exactly 4 of your LIFE POINTS in the process, sling you out of the wine store into the corridor, lock the store behind him, then leave through the door to 5. This leaves you free to go anywhere on Plan 1 except 20.

Yeah, pretty much the same fight, except Pip fights drunk (fortunately, the penalty only lasts for this fight). If he hadn't got 13 other men on his side there might have been some problem. Speaking of which, the old man probably deserves a medal for his bravery in challenging 14 men by himself. Not enough to save him from a beatdown, however!

COMBAT LOG:

Old Sea Dog rolls 6 and hits for 0+1-2 = no damage. (Armour check = 9 - doesn't shatter)
Pip throws his spear and rolls 6, missing.
Hercules rolls 7 and hits for 1+1+4 = 6 damage. Old Sea Dog is at 7.
Hercules rolls 7 and hits for 1+1+4 = 6 damage. Old Sea Dog is at 1 and is knocked out.

Two good whacks from Hercules knocks the Old Sea Dog back out.

Options remaining:
1) 57: 12 fresh guards to kill for Exp and 120 GP.
3) 31: Search sleeping quarters for potential gold and unknown negative effects depending on dice roll.
4) To the decks for Battle Royale with Scoundrels

[Darth Rabbitt]

I'd just head up to the deck now.

[Thaluikhain]

Half a vote for killing the guards.

[SGamerz]

Alright then, full vote wins, so Battle Royale time! This should be easier, since the Scoundrels have only half the LP they had last time.

Scoundrels roll 6, Pip rolls 6. Tie.
Scoundrels roll 9, Pip rolls 7. Scoundrels go first again!

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1:

Scoundrel#1 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3-2 = 5 damage. (Armour check = 8 - doesn't shatter). Pip is at 46.
Scoundrel#2 rolls 6 and hits for 0+3-2 = 1 damage. (Armour check = 3 - doesn't shatter). Hercules is at 47.
Scoundrel#3 rolls 5 and misses.
Scoundrel#4 rolls 4 and misses.
Scoundrel#5 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Generic Argonaut#2 is at 16.
Scoundrel#6 rolls 9 and hits for 3+3 = 6 damage. Generic Argonaut#3 is at 14.
Scoundrel#7 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Generic Argonaut#4 is at 12.
Scoundrel#8 rolls 8 and hits for 2+3 = 5 damage. Generic Argonaut#5 is at 15.
Scoundrel#9 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Generic Argonaut#6 is at 16.
Scoundrel#10 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Generic Argonaut#7 is at 12.
Pip throws his spear at Scoundrel #1. He rolls 3 and misses.
Hercules throws his spear at Scoundrel #2. He rolls 11 and hits for 3+4+10 = 17 damage! Scoundrel#2 is killed.
Achilles rolls 9 and hits for 7+1 = 8 damage! Scoundrel#3 is at 5 and is knocked out.
Achilles rolls 4 and hits for 2+1 = 3 damage! Scoundrel#5 is at 10.
Generic Argonaut#1 throws his spear at Scoundrel #4. He rolls 8 and hits for 0+10 = 10 damage! Scoundrel#4 is at 3 and is knocked out.
Generic Argonaut#2 throws his spear at Scoundrel #5. He rolls 5 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#3 throws his spear at Scoundrel #6. He rolls 11 and hits for 3+10 = 13 damage! Scoundrel#6 is killed.
Generic Argonaut#4 throws his spear at Scoundrel #7. He rolls 5 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#5 throws his spear at Scoundrel #8. He rolls 11 and hits for 3+10 = 13 damage! Scoundrel#8 is killed.
Generic Argonaut#6 throws his spear at Scoundrel #9. He rolls 3 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#7 throws his spear at Scoundrel #10. He rolls 8 and hits for 0+10 = 10 damage! Scoundrel#10 is at 3 and is knocked out.
Generic Argonaut#8 throws his spear at Scoundrel #1. He rolls 6 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#9 throws his spear at Scoundrel #7. He rolls 8 and hits for 0+10 = 10 damage! Scoundrel#7 is at 3 and is knocked out.
Generic Argonaut#10 throws his spear at Scoundrel #9. He rolls 5 and misses.
Jason throws his spear at Scoundrel #1. He rolls 11 and hits for 4+10 = 14 damage! Scoundrel#1 is killed.

8 of the 10 Scoundrels are down after the opening spear barrage! This will be over quick!

Round 2:

Scoundrel#5 rolls 10 and hits for 4+3 = 7 damage. Generic Argonaut#2 is at 9.
Scoundrel#9 rolls 7 and hits for 1+3 = 4 damage. Generic Argonaut#6 is at 12.
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Scoundrel#5 is at 8.
Pip rolls 5 and misses.
Hercules rolls 8 and hits for 2+1+4 = 7 damage. Scoundrel#5 is at 1 and is knocked out.
Hercules rolls 4 and misses.
Generic Argonaut#1 rolls 11 and hits for 5+3 = 8 damage. Scoundrel#9 is at 5 and is knocked out.

And Pip & gang finishes this with no casualties.

And with this fight, Pip gains enough Exp points to earn another Permanent LP!

Now, unless you still want to go back down and take on the 12 guards below the decks, or try to loot the sleeping quarters, it's time to pick a location to sail to again!

SEA CHART:

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 47/53
Permanent Life Points: 13

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Rusty Dagger (+2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Grappling hook
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Ceramic lamp
Box of biscuits
Wallbanger Ritual Spell Scroll (Appendix, p.217)
Healing Potion (+2D6 LP, 6 doses)
Jar of Salve (+3 LP, 5 applications)
Magical Quinine (cure for malaria)
Poison Stiletto (damage +1, poison causes 2 LP loss every combat round, additional hits are cumulative, 11/12 doses)

MONEY: 500 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 9
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog (2x)
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook (2x)
4 Guards
10 Scoundrels (2x)
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
1) LP drained by Shadows on Skull Island

[Omegonthesane]

Take on the guards, we're definitely going to need their money in the quest for the golden fleece. Deeefinitely.

[Thaluikhain]

Kill the guards at least once, they'll be easier if we have to kill them again.