[Let's Play] Virtual Reality Gamebooks: Twist of Fate

[Omegonthesane]

Changing vote to inventory on angels logic.

[Thaluikhain]

Check inventory.

[Darth Rabbitt]

You might use a long-tailed cat, a pair of magic slippers✓, or an Indian rope.

The slippers make you weightless and you drift high up into the sky until finally, penetrating the clouds, you see the nest of the rokh. Success is within your grasp.

The legends were true. The rokh’s nest is strewn with fragments of diamond, some of them as big as a large shield. Any one of them would make your fortune – which is just as well, because you could only carry one on the precarious descent.
There is something else in the nest: a jewelled metal key as long as your forearm. You lick your lips uncertainly. Which is it to be: the jewelled key, or a fragment of diamond? You can only choose one of these. Add your choice to your list of possessions. Then you descend the same way you came up.

Which item do we want to take from the nest (and what do we want to ditch for it)?

[Thaluikhain]

Key for empty water bottle. I'm guessing it's implied we can't take off our magic slippers.

[Omegonthesane]

Toss the empty water bottle and take the key.

Not sure diegetically why we can't steal both but probably a matter of not wanting to be there when the rukh gets back.

[SlyJohnny]

The text says they're too bulky to carry both down. The diamond is shield-sized and the key is long as our arm.

Get the key, save the princess.

[Darth Rabbitt]

(D'Arcy has the codeword Harem.)

There is a sudden gust of occult wind, and you are sucked back in a dark spiral which conveys you to the Citadel of Bronze. Ayisha awaits you. She is still chained to the gold couch, but whereas before her pose was languid and resigned, now she is sitting forward eagerly. ‘Did you get it?’ she asks. ‘Did you get the key?’ (D'Arcy has the key.)

You turn the key and the lock drops from Ayisha’s shackles. She springs up at once with a cry of delight. ‘Excellent! Now we can return home.’
‘And we must make all speed. I have to warn the Caliph about his evil vizier, Jafar, who has been plotting to overthrow him.’
She nods thoughtfully. ‘I believe it was Jafar who summoned the jinni to abduct me. Prepare yourself...’
Raising her hands and chanting the words of a spell, she conjures another whirlwind that whisks the two of you halfway across the world in the blink of an eye. As the wind dies down, you stagger giddily out of the vortex to see that you are now in the Caliph’s throne room. Jafar is also here, and his look of astonishment is soon replaced by one of outright hatred when he sets eyes on your face.
Ayisha kisses the Caliph. ‘Father, I have returned.’ The Caliph is almost speechless with amazement. ‘My heart is brimming with joy. But, Ayisha, who is this you’ve brought with you?’

You tell the Caliph the whole story. As he listens, his countenance darkens with rage. At first you feared he might not believe you, but so many elements add up. Now he understands the true source of rebellion was never his loyal subjects, but the detestable Vizier in whom he placed his trust.
‘Jafar!’ roars the Caliph. ‘At last the hours of your worthless life have run out!’
Freezing in the act of sidling from the room, Jafar raises a knife. The blade drips with toxic green fluid. ‘It is your own life that will end now, al-Rashid,’ he replies.
Jafar is about to throw the knife. (D'Arcy has AGILITY.)

Jafar utters a mad laugh as he throws the knife. Rolling forward in a somersault, you pluck it out of the air before it can strike the Caliph, who is rooted to the spot in shock. As Jafar runs off, the Caliph recovers enough to call for his guards.

Despite the commotion behind you, there is no time to wait for the palace guards to arrive on the scene. You are determined not to let Jafar get away. You chase him down a wide staircase and on through an empty hall that echoes to the sound of his ragged breath as he struggles along in his heavy robes. Crossing a small courtyard, he glances back to see you gaining on him. You pursue him the length of a covered passage, emerging onto a parade ground which abuts the royal stables. And here you skid to a halt, for Jafar has turned to wait for you.
He takes a jar from his robes and raises it, saying a few words in the tongue of the idolaters who held sway in this land before the coming of the Prophet. Then he casts the jar down. It shatters on the cobblestones at his feet.
A swirl of smoke rises, thickening into solid form. The creature Jafar has conjured has long limbs ending in extravagant talons. Its body gleams like old earthenware in the moonlight. Its eyes are brighter than the stars. Strangest of all are its wings – translucent panes with a filigree of silver, like some huge insect’s.
Jafar says, ‘I’ll leave you now to enjoy my demon’s embrace.’ (D'Arcy has FOLKLORE.)

You have heard a tale which described just such a creature as this. In the tale, it proved an unbeatable foe because of its ability to regenerate. Every time the hero injured it, it rose into the air and hovered until its wounds had healed.
You can think of one way to prevent it doing that here. You back off into the covered passage just behind you.

The demon pursues you into the covered passage. It realizes its mistake when you leap on it. Here it cannot retreat into the air every few seconds to recuperate from its wounds. ‘Bad move, devil,’ you snarl as you pound it with heavy blows, ‘now you’ve got to fight fair.’
The demon’s talons scrape you to the bone, but you give two blows for every one that it inflicts. Lose 2 Life Points – unless you have SWORDPLAY (and a sword) or WRESTLING, in which case lose only 1 Life Point.

Casting the limp carcass of the demon to one side, you race across the parade ground in search of Jafar. He can’t have got far, the fat waddling toad. Then you see him, crouching by the wall as he unrolls a long carpet embroidered with mystic sigils.
He looks up, shakes his head with mock pity, and steps onto the carpet. ‘Too late,’ he calls. ‘But don’t worry. I’ll make sure our paths cross again.’
So saying, he gives an imperious gesture and the carpet starts to rise from the ground. As it rises, your heart sinks. You can’t possibly get to Jafar before he is out of reach.
There is a crack like wood being hit with a hammer. One of the stable doors flies open and bangs against the wall. You see Jafar’s head shoot round in astonishment, and you follow his gaze to see your white stallion Antar rearing fiercely in the open doorway. With a proud whinny, he gallops over and you pull yourself up by his mane.
To the end of your days, you will never quite be sure of what happens next. You could have sworn Antar’s hoofs strike sparks off thin air as, with a breathtaking leap, he carries you up beside Jafar on the flying carpet.
Jafar’s mouth drops open – whether to cast a spell or simply to curse you, you will never know. Antar rears, plunges, and clubs him with his hoof. Jafar topples and falls, and the carpet slowly drifts back to the ground. Dismounting, you lift Jafar’s wrist and search for a pulse. Nothing. The traitor is dead. (D'Arcy does not have the codeword Iris.)

The Caliph lavishes gifts on you: gold, jewels and splendid robes of honour. ‘This is not all,’ he says. ‘Now I need a new Grand Vizier.’
‘Me, lord?’ You bow to keep him from seeing the look of shock on your face. ‘But I am not wise or worthy enough.’
He laughs. ‘What you mean to say is, you’re not a fat, spoiled court popinjay.’
‘Prince of Princes, I would never say such – ‘
‘Then you are diplomatic enough for the job. Also, you have proved wise where it matters, which is not in academic affairs but in affairs of the human heart. Moreover, you have seen much of the world. I shall enjoy hearing your tales.’
And so, from humble origins, you suddenly find yourself the Grand Vizier to the Caliph of Baghdad. You are rich and respected. Nobles and courtiers flock to hear your advice. The Prophet warned against intoxication, but you had always thought that referred only to wine. Now you know that destiny, too, can be a heady draught.

At dusk some days later, outside the Great Mosque, you spot the dervish whose words set you on your quest. ‘Ah, it’s you,’ he says. ‘I remember you.’
‘I’m Grand Vizier now,’ you tell him, indicating your robe of honour. ‘It’s all the same to me.’ He moves to go past you into the mosque.
‘Wait, I didn’t mean to boast. I’m just curious to know what you meant all those months ago. Did you intend that my life was governed by the stars, or to advise me to navigate across the ocean, or did you foresee other fabulous adventures?’
‘None of those,’ says the dervish with a delighted laugh. ‘Did you think I could see the future, when God alone knows all that has happened or ever will happen?’
‘Then what..?’
He points, and you look up at the canopy of stars emerging from the jade-green twilight. ‘I meant only that when you reside in the City of Peace, under this glorious heaven, in the comfort and majesty of the Law – why, then you dwell always in an age of miracles. That is all.’
He goes through the door and then looks back, smiling at your dumbstruck face, and adds, ‘Whatever you heard in my remarks, you put there yourself. Everyone makes their own destiny, everyone finds their own truth. When others look at you, they see a noble person dressed in fine robes of honour. But only you know whether those robes clothe the Grand Vizier – or merely the wiliest thief of Baghdad.’
And, with a wink, he turns and hobbles off.
   

THE END

So that's the book. Questions, comments, concerns?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: D'Arcy Windblade
Gender: Female
Skills: AGILITY, CUNNING, FOLKLORE, LUCK, MAGIC and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 9
Possessions:
1) Ring
2) Sword
3) Jeweled Key
4) Water Bottle (full)
5) Whistle
6) Gloves
7) Magic Slippers
8) Candle
Money: 0 dinars
Codewords: Fabric, Harem

[Omegonthesane]

How would we get Iris is my first thought since that's name checked in the ending.

Might have more queries if I go through the thread again and see other decision points.

Did we actually see the point at which gender matters?

[Darth Rabbitt]

How would we get Iris is my first thought since that's name checked in the ending.

If you don't have any of the skills/items that are listed when Jafar throws the knife at the Caliph (the only one we had was AGILITY, but ARCHERY or a cloak will also stop the attack), you get the choice to jump in the path of the knife to save the Caliph or not. Being hit with the knife costs 5 Life Points unless you have an antidote. Letting him be hit gets the codeword Iris; if Ayisha is with you (i.e. if you have the codeword Harem) then she manages to save her father with her magic as you deal with Jafar, but if she isn't with you then he dies, and you decide to flee the city since chances are you'll be scapegoated for the Caliph's death.

Did we actually see the point at which gender matters?

No, but we came close. If we waited and watched the barque instead of getting the captain, we would have come across a slave named Sabria trying to escape. If you're female she offers to swap clothes with you, which nets a harem costume and a prayer mat (the guards realize you're not the slave in question and let you go, as you automatically bs your way out of the situation). You can also turn this down but decide to help her in one of the ways a male character can: attacking her guards, using CUNNING, or using MAGIC. If you do any of those you get a black jewel instead of a harem costume, which is more generally useful, but can be found in other places (you can also get one by killing the Sultan of Nishapur, or as part of a reward from the Sultan of Egypt if you travel there.)

Interestingly enough, the only place the harem costume has use is in getting an audience with the Sultan of Egypt (otherwise you need AGILITY, STREETWISE, SEAFARING, or the codeword Hajji, which you get by stopping at Mecca on the way to Egypt).

The black jewel protects you from dangerous magic once. It would have nullified Az's spell, and if we tried running from him without LUCK (one of the few uses the skill gets) it would have protected from an instadeath spell he casts on you as you flee (which I think requires you to have gotten one from Sabria and another from the Sultan of Egypt, since the first jewel would have protected from his previous spell.) It protects from another instadeath spell on another route, which causes the sorcerer casting it to be all like "sorry, I didn't know you were that hardcore" and letting you go.

There are a lot of items that serve no purpose. All of the things we bought (veil, candle, gloves, whistle) are useless, for instance. Many items have use in only one or two circumstances (some more useful than others in them. The cloak and black jewel are both pretty useful.) The three items that are truly essential (barring ones used for skills) are the three things that can be used to escape the prison: the long-tailed cat, the magic slippers and the Indian rope. You need to pick up at least one of those to win the book.

Unrelated to any of the above, but one of the other routes nets you a chance at getting WILDERNESS LORE if you don't have it, or +2 Life Points (max and current) if you do.

[Mr Shine]

How do you get the cat? It seems that we need one of the other climbing methods to prompt further interaction with the cat's owner. We get the opportunity to use the cat at both the points we used the slippers, is it functionally identical?

[Darth Rabbitt]

How do you get the cat? It seems that we need one of the other climbing methods to prompt further interaction with the cat's owner. We get the opportunity to use the cat at both the points we used the slippers, is it functionally identical?

The old man leaves his cat behind when he takes your other item to escape. You can grab it then.

Az is capable of getting enough lies quickly out enough that the two of you can use it to climb up out of the dungeon in the same way we used the slippers to. In order to reach the rukh's nest with it you need FOLKLORE or STREETWISE (otherwise you don't know enough stories/falsehoods to get the tail long enough to climb all the way up.) If you have one of those two skills there's no downside to letting the old man take your rope or slippers, and FOLKLORE is already a really good skill to have. So it's slightly less good overall but D'Arcy would have been fine with it on the last playthrough.

The Indian rope can be found in one of two places. One's a potential reward in a sidequest you can go on with a sailor named Yussuf on route to the Indies (you can also get the lamp of Antar and/or the Jericho horn instead. There's also another chance to pick a black jewel instead of those) and the other is picked up on the way back from Egypt (in order to afford it you need to have completed a sidequest for the Sultan of Egypt. He's having pirate troubles and if you take care of them he gives you 1000 dinars and a black jewel).

[SlyJohnny]

I found it all a little strange! It's not at all what I was expecting. Feels like there's a lot of "you are automatically captured without any clear leadup or chance to respond" sections. It seems like it's a lot like Coils of Hate, in that there are weird little side events you can discover, but probably not get much use out of unless you have some random item, or have done things in the right order, so you have to replay the book a couple of times just to put it all together. Things seem to build up to a conclusion without a clear passing of time, only the order you picked to start doing things. A lot of the choices didn't have a lot of information to go off, either. And our character seemed like such a credulous, hapless pleb most of the time.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I found it all a little strange! It's not at all what I was expecting. Feels like there's a lot of "you are automatically captured without any clear leadup or chance to respond" sections. It seems like it's a lot like Coils of Hate, in that there are weird little side events you can discover, but probably not get much use out of unless you have some random item, or have done things in the right order, so you have to replay the book a couple of times just to put it all together. Things seem to build up to a conclusion without a clear passing of time, only the order you picked to start doing things. A lot of the choices didn't have a lot of information to go off, either. And our character seemed like such a credulous, hapless pleb most of the time.

I can definitely see that. Coils of Hate is way more bizarre tonally, but structurally they're actually rather similar. Green Blood is also similar in structure.