Lesser-Known Gamebooks: Sagas of the Demonspawn

[Darth Rabbitt]

Agreed. Fire*Wolf has both spells and a kick-ass magic sword, so we can kill this fool.

[SGamerz]

KILL!

[angelfromanotherpin]

Cursing, Fire*Wolf flung himself full length as a second shaft hissed by his ear. The bolt in his shoulder hurt abominably, but there was no time now to remove it, so he simply snapped the flight and set his mind to ignoring the pain.

As near as he could judge, the arrows were coming from one of the small houses he had not yet investigated. Carefully he crawled forward on his belly until he judged he was hidden from the window the archer must have used. Then he rose to his feet, drew die Doomsword and leaped for the door.

It crashed inwards on the impact of his muscular frame and he had a momentary impression of round eyes and a startled expression as his assailant turned from the window, a third shaft already notched. It was a young boy, scarcely more than fourteen years of age. In Fire*Wolf's hand, the Doomsword howled for blood.

But should the Doomsword have its way? Should Fire*Wolf attack this young boy? And if he does not, will the youth not loose the arrow at his heart?
• Attack?
• Not?

[Omegonthesane]

Not attack, although I'd have appreciated it if there was an option to perform a less lethal attack likely to throw off the archer's aim without killing him.

[SGamerz]

Not attack

[angelfromanotherpin]

Fire*Wolf hesitated.

The youthful archer hesitated.

For an instant that stretched into an eternity, they stared at one another, the huge Barbarian with his howling Doomsword, the slim youth with his deadly bow. Then the boy dropped the weapon and sank sobbing to the floor. 'Not Spawn,' he murmured to himself again and again. 'Not Spawn. Not Spawn. Not Spawn.'

Fire*Wolf sheathed the reluctant Doomsword and waited awkwardly. 'What happened?' he asked when, eventually, the boy's emotions came under some control.

'They killed my parents,' the boy said softly. They destroyed the city. They have left their Regent in the Holy Temple. They -'

'A moment, 'Fire*Wolf said quickly. 'You say their Regent remains?'

'At the Temple,' the boy nodded, 'with my step-sister.'

'Your step-sister?' Fire*Wolf echoed. He felt at once bewildered and excited. If a Demonspawn Regent remained, here surely was a chance to strike back in some small measure. Here surely was an opportunity to exact some small revenge. But how had this boy's relative become involved?

'There is something they fear,' the boy said. 'For all their power, there is something they fear. They have taken her to bait a trap.'

It grew more and more confusing. But Fire*Wolf clung to that central thought of vengeance. 'Make good your escape,' he told the boy abruptly and turned to go.

'Where are you going, Warrior?' the boy cried.

'To the Temple,' said Fire*Wolf grimly. 'To execute some murderers.'

'Warrior, will you save my step-sister?'

Fire*Wolf glanced at him. 'If it is in my power.' What is her name?'

'Yalena,' the boy said. 'Her name is Yalena.'

So it seems that Destiny has turned full circle.
• Go directly to the temple? (#5 on the map)
• Return to the map and explore elsewhere?

Well, #5 was next on the list, but now it's shuffled to the bottom as we trawl for coupons.

#6, the cluster in the woods.

The forest path widened abruptly, opening on to close-cropped lawns. In the centre was a low, but pleasing structure mainly built in pink-veined granite and surrounded by a collection of smaller buildings of the same general design and construction. Moving warily, Fire*Wolf entered the, nearest of them to discover it was a communal dormitory . .. and empty.

In less than an hour, he had explored the entire complex thoroughly. What he found made two things obvious: it was here that the priests of the Temple made their residence and not one priest remained within the area. Nor was there the slightest indication of their fate.

Return to the map and choose another area to explore.

#7, the lone long building.

The forest closed around him like a womb and for a time he wondered if he had lost his way. But the Wilderness sense held true and he emerged eventually into the clearing. Close at hand, he could now tell the building was the ruin of an ancient monastery, a building old before Belgardium itself was built, the huge stone blocks of its crumbled walls mute tribute to the engineering skills or sorceries of some long dead race. Why he had come here he did not know, but he was drawn to enter the roofless ruin and stare in wonder at the remnants of rooms too large for humankind.

He might have finished his exploration quickly were it not for the radiant unease of the Doomsword at his side. Fire*Wolf touched the blade briefly and at once the smooth voice sounded within his mind: 'Brave Barbarian, we must leave this place!'

'Why?' asked Fire*Wolf mentally, intrigued by the hint of panic in the demon voice.

'There is power beneath the ground. It pains me.'

Power beneath the ground?
• Explore further?
• Take the advice of your sword and leave?

[Darth Rabbitt]

If it pains an evil sword, it's probably some great artifact of Good, so check it out.

[Omegonthesane]

Agreed.

[angelfromanotherpin]

He left the Doomsword outside the ruin. This time, to his intense surprise, it did not reappear instantly at his side as he returned inside.

Beneath the ground, the demon of the sword had told him. But where? After more than an hour of diligent searching, he had come to wonder if he were fooling himself. These ruins had surely been thoroughly explored by residents of and visitors to Belgardium. Could anything have been overlooked?

Just when he was about to give up and reclaim his demonic sword, something impinged itself on Fire*Wolf's attention. It was not on the ground where he had been searching, but rather on one of the ruined walls. It was a faded insignia, cut into the stone, like a mason's mark or the remnant of some ancient family crest. The symbol was so worn as to be almost invisible except in certain lights, so that luck was certainly with Fire*Wolf in noticing it at all. But it was not the insignia itself which intrigued him so much as an imbalance within its design. He traced the imbalance with his fingers, then spun round in alarm as a slab moved earth fell and a stairway opened at his feet.

Should Fire*Wolf really risk entering this hidden crypt? Especially without the protection of his Doomsword?
• Proceed?
• Return to the map?

[MisterDee]

proceed

[SGamerz]

Penetrate that hole like Fire*Wolf is so fond of doing.

[angelfromanotherpin]

He descended into a stone lined burial chamber, musty with age, cobwebbed and bright. Bright? There was a light source in the chamber!

Fire*Wolf's startled eyes took in the granite sarcophagus, the corpse it may have housed once long since mouldered into dust. But within the sarcophagus, as if it had been placed on the breast of a dead king, lay a glowing orb. And even Fire*Wolf's earthy soul could not help but sense the magical aura which surrounded it.

Should Fire*Wolf take the orb? To do so he will risk his very life, as you may well have guessed. Until he touches the orb, he may not know its nature. But to touch the orb will require you to make a check roll against his LUCK. Two dice multiplied by eight and if the result is higher than his natural LUCK figure, then he dies.
• Ignore the orb?
• Take the risk? (Fire*Wolf's LUCK is 24.)

[MisterDee]

Do we feel like using magic?

If not, definitely don't risk it. If so... maybe take the gamble and trust in our resurrection spell.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Spells are available.

[Darth Rabbitt]

We're very likely to fail that roll (we'd need to roll a 3 or less on two dice), so ignore it.

[MisterDee]

Well, we might revive with better Luck, but I'm OK with skipping this.

[SGamerz]

Ignore

[angelfromanotherpin]

Well, thanks to time magic, there's a good chance we can rewind to this point if we have to. That done, there's only one stop left before the big temple.

#8, the undifferentiated ruins.

The violence of the destruction was almost unimaginable. It had seemed great from a distance, but now Fire*Wolf saw his earlier impression had been softened by perspective. Close at hand, he could see the toppled stonework of the great buildings, the corpse-strewn mounds of rubble, the collapsed bridges, the hanging archways, the torn roads and pavements. What manner of creatures had the power to engage in such devastation? Like a whisper on the wind the answer came back ... the Spawn.

But how was the destruction wrought? He saw the remains of walls which would have withstood an army of battering rams for weeks, walls which were now in ruins. He saw roadways gouged and cratered, remnants of houses that were scarcely more than dust. Everywhere he could see the dead and dying, for those who could still move were joining in the great caravans of refugees which still streamed, without relief, out of the city's open gates.

Fire*Wolf wandered for long hours amid the desolation, half hoping for some indication of Yalena, more realistically searching for clues to the nature of the Demonspawn. Everything he saw increased his horror of these monsters created by a wizard race so long ago. Their power seemed absolute. In one portion of the ruins the very stones were vitrified and fused as if subjected to great heat. In another a wall had been torn as a child might tear paper. In a third he watched fascinated while a mansion, apparently untouched, suddenly collapsed into powder when caught by a sudden gust of wind.

At length he tired of his ghoulish investigation. If Yalena remained alive, she was not here in the midst of such destruction. She could only be within the sanctuary of those buildings on the seaboard which seemed to have escaped the worst of the attack. Even there her chances of survival may well have been slim. Nonetheless, he had to look. Fire*Wolf closed his eyes to orient himself as to his whereabouts in the ruined city.

Return to the map.

And that brings us to... #5, the Temple.

The pathway through well-kept grounds was in stark contrast with the destruction of the city. Here was peace, as if the attack had never been. There was no indication of destruction, no sweet smell of rotting corpses or disease. Yet Fire*Wolf was uneasy. Something nibbled at the edges of his perception as if a fog of evil lurked ready to envelop him at any moment.

At his side, the Doomsword hummed its anticipation of the combat sure to come, and come swiftly. A noise to his right sent him swinging without thought towards a shrub bed. No more than instants later he was running with the Doomsword singing in his hand towards the creature crawling in the undergrowth. But this was no Demonspawn, as he quickly discovered, but a wounded, white-robed young man with the tonsure of a priestly acolyte. One glance was enough to tell Fire* Wolf he was dying.

'What befell you?' he asked quickly.

The man stared up at him with pain-filled eyes. For a moment he seemed unable to speak. Then he gasped, 'The Spawn are in the Temple. Their accursed greenship lies within the sacred grounds. Their unholy Regent sits upon the Golden Throne. They . .. they . . .' His voice faded so that Fire*Wolf was forced to bend to catch the final words.

'They hold the girl Yalena hostage as a trap for the ... for the .. .'

Yalena! So she was here! Held hostage as a trap for - whom? The hermit's daughter had become a pawn in some larger game. The young acolyte was nearly gone, a gurgle in his throat masking his last remaining words. No matter. Destiny had presented Fire*Wolf with the opportunity to combine both his fates. He would free Yalena and strike his first blow at the Spawn.

'Where do they hold her?' he asked urgently.

'In ... in ... yfilclr ...'

It was useless. The man was dead, slain by the very creatures who now defiled the Temple of Belgardium. Fire*Wolf straightened, turned and walked back to the path. In minutes he had reached the Temple grounds unchallenged. No guards were posted, no Spawn was in sight. The Temple itself rose up before him, a serene edifice in white marble, pure as the scudding clouds on a summer's day. And beside it, sullen as a fungoid leech, squatted the greenship, a low, saucer-like metallic vehicle, faintly luminous and silent, its entrance port open as an invitation.

Where now?
• Enter the greenship?
• Enter the Temple itself?

[MisterDee]

Board the spaceship.

[SGamerz]

Greenship

[angelfromanotherpin]

The luminosity increased as Fire*Wolf approached, until, as he neared the entrance, he was enveloped in a bright green glow. At his side, the Doomsword hummed and sang in its familiar anticipation of life essence. Fire*Wolf was torn. His every instinct told him the greenship was empty, devoid of life or guards. And yet those same instincts warned him he was in horrendous danger - more danger, perhaps, than he had ever faced before.

And shall we not give our hero a final opportunity to take a different path?
• Proceed into the greenship?
• Heed the instinctive warning of your danger and enter the temple?

[Darth Rabbitt]

The extra warning means it's either really good or really bad, so keep going.

[MisterDee]

yeah, worst case we can use magic to rewind.

[angelfromanotherpin]

The light became a fog and out of the fog came a creature.

There could be no friends here. Fire*Wolf drew the Doomsword and leaped forward. But the blade twisted in his hand as if it had a life of its own and plunged with savage fury into his own breast.

'I am called by my kin, Barbarian,' the suave voice of Lucifuge Rofocal echoed in his mind.

Well, somewhere in there before we were instructed to go to 13, Fire*Wolf invoked RETRACE for 20 POWER and decided to go into the Temple instead.

Like blasphemy triumphant, the scream of a woman in pain rent the air of sacred grove as Fire*Wolf approached the Temple. He was moving openly, driven by anger, and had half expected an open attack. But no Spawn guards emerged from the Temple. Indeed, had it not been for his encounter with the dying acolyte - and now the scream - the building might have seemed deserted.

Half running, he mounted the shallow entrance steps, Doomsword unsheathed and howling its expectation as never before. This, he knew, might call for sorcery as well as sword. The Spawn were magical creatures about which he knew far too little, so no weapon against them could be unreasonably discarded.

The sanctum of the Temple was immense, created for communal worship of Belgardium's seafaring gods. Shrines to the individual deities were everywhere, but towering colonnades led the eye at once to the sanctum's central feature, the low dais with its Golden Throne, perpetually empty to receive the essence of the god when offering was made on the altar before it.

But the throne was not empty now, nor was the altar. Crouching on the throne, its eyes firmly fixed on Fire*Wolf, was a squat, green-scaled creature wearing dull green armour, stubby bat-wings enveloping its broad shoulders like a cloak. On the altar before it was a woman chained and naked, her body bruised and bleeding, her face contorted in a mask of terror.



The thing on the throne smiled. 'Welcome, Messiah. I thought my little plaything would draw you quickly to me.' The thing was alone. No guards protected it. With a cry that matched the howling of his Doomsword, Fire*Wolf launched himself upon it.

Perhaps rashly, for while there are no guards, perhaps the Spawn Regent does not need them. Too late now, though. Turn to page 250 for details of the Regent's stats, physical and magical and calculate the outcome on the basis of the information given.

THE DEMONSPAWN REGENT

Strength	150
Speed	110
Stamina	100
Courage	150
Skill	100
Luck	0
Charm	0
Attraction	0
Life Points	610

Less LIFE POINTS, perhaps, than you might have imagined — although nothing to be sneezed at, of course. But the Regent is more dangerous than his stats might suggest since he has command of the following sorceries, any one of which will take up a combat turn:

LEPROSY Requires throw of 8 or better on two dice. Causes opponent to begin to rot so that he loses 10% of his LIFE POINTS each combat turn following the casting of the spell.

BLIGHT Requires throw of 6 or better on two dice. Paralyses opponent completely for two combat rounds.

TIMETRAP Requires throw of 9 or better on two dice. Causes opponent to return to an earlier section of the adventure, determined as follows: Two dice are thrown and the result multiplied by 10. Final total indicates relevant section number.

CRACK OF DOOM Requires throw of 8 or better. If successful, Regent will clap his hands and the resultant noise will remove 50 of his opponent's LIFE POINTS.

FIREBOLT Requires throw of 9 or better. Causes lightning to strike opponent for the loss of 75 LIFE POINTS.

Note: Each of the above spells will cost the Regent a double dice throw of LIFE POINTS if he elects to use them. This cost is payable whether or not the dice subsequently show the spell to be effective.

The Regent is also equipped with a magical sword for hand to hand encounters. It operates as a +10 sword in the first combat round, a +20 sword in the second combat round, and a +20 multiplied by the result of a single dice roll in every third combat round. If the combat lasts more than three rounds, the sword reverts to +10 on the fourth round and begins its cycle again.

Let me go through this. First of all, I'm pretty sure this guy's spells don't make him 'more dangerous than his stats might suggest.' Partly because a lot of those spells have a <50% chance of working, partly because there's no mechanism to determine that he's using a spell (or which one) instead of attacking, but mostly because his stats are ri-fucking-diculous. He literally cannot miss and his average damage per strike is like 150. His damaging spells are sucker's games because they miss often and even when they hit they hurt less than him just wailing on us with his mood sword.

Second, TIMETRAP is obviously obnoxious if it somehow ever goes off, but it's both more and less obnoxious than you might think. More, because a very large number of the results are insta-death paragraphs; less, because you can probably just RETRACE back here for very little cost. I actually really like the possibilities of such a CYOA time-travel battle, even if it's too tenth-assed here to be properly realized.

Third, we are once again in the position of having to self-MC whether or not we've recovered any Life Points since our last fight. I'm assuming yes; we've had a full night's sleep and our last fight was really hard.

Fourth, we are in the mood for spells this section, so we do have the option of throwing down one of the 'win fight' spells to pseudo-defeat this monster. It might cause continuity issues later, but causality seems to be an illusion in this series anyway.

• Cheat the boss fight?
• Try to win honestly?

[MisterDee]

Suggested mechanism: roll a d6 to determine action, 1 to 5 are the spells, 6 is a regular attack.

Suggested course of action: Cheat our way out of this.