[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 35 - Daggers of Darkness!

[JourneymanN00b]

I still think the Marauders will be helpful, and our hero will need all the hope that he can get, especially since he does not have a Medallion. I vote to stay with the Marauders.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, stay with the guy on the cover art. Though, going by some other FF books, being on the cover doesn't mean someone is important to the game.

[SGamerz]

The Marauders ride off. This time you ride with them as you have been given a horse in payment for your part in the battle with the Trolls. The horde moves at a fast gallop. At a crossroads the leading group is stopped by a black-cloaked man holding up a staff. Two of them try to hack him to pieces buy their swords pass clean through him. From this, you recognize that the figure is that of a Necromancer. If you have achieved Necromancer fighting skill level, do you urge your horse forward? If you do not have the ability or choose to remain where you are, turn to 243.

Alas, we had not learned the art of killing these things...

Adana-Broussah throws a startled glance in your direction as the Necromancer announces that there is one in the horde whom he wants and is willing to pay dearly for. Beshbalik is tempted by the bag of gold held up by the evil creature. Adana-Broussah tells you to make yourself scarce. Do you ride off or do you have, and know how to use, two sprigs of Trefffilli to make yourself invisible?

We did find Treffilli but never found out how to use them!

You ride off hard and fast. tp hey a good start. Soon you can hear the rumble of pursuit, and after a short time you turn round to see if anyone is catching up. You can see only Beshbalik astride his Fangtigers. his Grypfalcon standing on his mailed shoulder and flapping its great wings. You know you cannot outdistance the Fangtigers so, after crossing a wide, shallow river, you dismount and prepare to fight. Beshbalik sends first the Gypfalcon, then the Fangtigers, to attack. Fight each in turn.

GRYPFALCON SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
First FANGTIGER SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
Second FANGTIGER SKILL 6 STAMINA 8

If you win (mark off 2 Poison units on the Adventure Sheet), Beshbalik does not approach. He nods to you, calls your horse to him, mounts it and rides off. You know that he will not pursue you any further. Add 1 point to your LUCK.

He no longer looks as cool as he did without the animals, so it's fitting that we leave his company after killing said animals.

COMBAT LOG:
Grypfalcon 18, Qulan Gal 17. QG is at 8.
GF 11, QG 22. GF is at 4.
GF 13, QG 16. GF is at 2.
GF 10, QG 18. GF is killed.
Fangtiger#1 14, QG 19. FT1 is at 4.
FT1 15, QG 15. Tie.
FT1 11, QG 13. Luck Test + 9 (Lucky). FT1 is killed.
Fangtiger#2 10, QG 17. FT2 is at 6.
FT2 14, QG 14. Tie.
FT2 14, QG 14. Tie.
FT2 13, QG 19. FT2 is at 4.
FT2 15, QG 16. FT2 is at 2.
FT2 11, QG 19. FT2 is killed.

(I spent LUCK against the higher-skilled tiger once because we immediately have it restored after the fight and we were already at max.)

After a long descent, your path leads into a dense forest. You are not at all sure which is the correct direction for Sharrabbas, but cart-tracks are visible on the path, so you guess this must lead to some town or other. Occasionally your route passes large black pools which seem to be throbbing with fish. Once pool has a fishing rod held up by a forked stick and a line hanging down into the water, and almost at once you see that the line is being tugged from below. Do you grab the rod or do you leave it alone and continue your journey?

Does Qulan like to handle someone else's rod?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 8/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 19/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 2
Gold: 14 (1 sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 4/6 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 2
[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Leave it and keep going.

[Queen of Swords]

I'll go with pulling on the rod. We seem to have missed so many things - medallions, information about Treffilli, learning how to fight necromancers - that we might as well see what's at the other end of the line.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to eat two Proivisions and grab the rod.

[SGamerz]

Qulan takes a meal to restore STAMINA to 12 before taking the rod.

You take hold of the rod. Suddenly, leather thongs spring out from it and encircles your wrists. You are unable to let go as the line pulls you down into the pool. You hold your breath as you are dragged to the bottom and a strange creature, half-man half-fish, dives into the water after you. It is an Elkiem! Quickly you loosen the things but, before you can reach the surface, the monster grabs you. Deduct 1 point from your SKILL for the duration of this combat only. If you throw double-1 in your Attack Round, you have drowned.

ELKIEM SKILL 7 STAMINA 8

If you survive (mark off 1 Poison unit on the Adventure Sheet), you haul yourself out of the pool and take a deep breath; then you walk on, shuddering and shivering.

I guess half-man, half-fish is at least marginally descriptive for a Luke Sharp creation. Still, at least this time Martin McKenna gives us a more complete picture of what the creature looks like.

COMBAT LOG:
Elkiem 16. Qulan Gal 16. Tie.
Elkiem 16, QG 16. Tie.
Elkiem 17, QG 16. QG is at 10.
Elkiem 11, QG 15. Elkiem is at 6.
Elkiem 17, QG 16. QG is at 8.
Elkiem 14, QG 14. Tie.
Elkiem 12, QG 13. Elkiem is at 4.
Elkiem 13, QG 15. Elkiem is at 2.
Elkiem 12, QG 19. Elkiem is killed.

The -1 underwater penalty made it a pretty dangerous fight for us! We got hit twice and missed 3 times because of it!

You walk on through the forest, and after many hours you stop to rest (add 4 points to your STAMINA). Just as you are getting up to go, you suddenly notice a foot pointing out from behind a boulder. Creeping around with sword drawn, you come upon a scene of carnage: two Orcs and two Trolls lie dead, sprawled around a lone adventurer. You count yourself lucky that you didn't arrive here earlier (add 1 point to your LUCK). You search through the helpless adventurer's pockets and find a crumpled-up parchment. You flatten it out to read: 'The Wolfsbane at the Street of the Forty Guilds...' The rest in torn away. You salute the body and walk quickly away.

Eventually the path splits into two; either could be the correct way to Sharrabas, so which do you choose: the left-hand path or the one to the right?

We definitely needed that rest! STAMINA up to 12 again.

We may have been lucky to avoid the battle here, but not really so lucky that the adventurer turn out to be one of the Select who got a Medallion that we might have conveniently looted off him. Oh well...

Which way now?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 12/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 20/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 1
Gold: 14 (1 sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 5/7 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 2
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

Because our hero is trying to become a ruler, he is compelled to choose the path to the right to shun communism.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I'm just as fine with right as with left, honestly. So sure, right. Blind choice is blind.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, go right.

[SGamerz]

The track you are following becomes a well-constructed, cobbled road. At frequent intervals along the side of the road, you see small obelisks. An occasional cart passes by. You have just stopped to take a stone out of your boot when a man on horseback, swathed in a large brown cloak, trots past, leading a spare horse; he stops and offers you a ride into Sharrabbas at the price of 2 gold coins. While you are considering his offer, you notice the name 'Wolfsbane' etched on his saddle. Do you accept the offer or refuse and walk on?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to accept the offer.

[Beroli]

Accept.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, accept.

[Queen of Swords]

Accept the offer.

[SGamerz]

You accept he stranger's offer, pay the money and climb up on to the spare horse. The rider leads and you follow. Suddenly, you are set upon by six Orcs and a Mamlik who rush out from the bushes. Your horse will not move and you seem to be glued, spellbound, to the stirrups and saddle. The Mamlik smile a terrible smile, walks round and stabs you in the back. Your quest is over.

Inta-fail sections are actually quite a rarity in this book, but you guys somehow managed to find one! Good job!

Rewinding and turning down the offer (which mysteriously does NOT trigger any form of reaction from the mob who set the trap)...

You walk on for a while. Eventually, you find yourself catching up with a cart that is creaking and rumbling over the cobbled road in front of you. The land is too flat for you to get off the road and still avoid suspicion. Up ahead in the distance, you can see two Trolls wearing the panther livery of Chingiz and collecting some sort of toll. They stop the cart in front of you and charge the driver an exorbitant 3 gold coins before allowing him to pass. You guess that the Trolls are pocketing most of the money for themselves. There is no way of circling around the Trollish toll-gatherers without being noticed, so you try to pass. "Not so fast, friend, we've been told to pick up any lone strangers passing through...unless you make it worth our while." If you do not wish to encourage ther venality, turn to 274. It's up to you how much to give them. If you decide to offer them a bribe, first deduct the amount you think will be adequate from your Adventure Sheet, then throw 2 dice for the amount they would regard as sufficient. If the amount you have chosen is equal to or greater than the amount they demand, turn to 106. If it is less, turn to 274.

As you can see, offering an insufficient bribe will take you to the same section as not bribing them at all.

How much gold do we want to offer?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 12/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 20/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 1
Gold: 14 (1 sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 4/7 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 3
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to offer the Trolls 7 Gold Pieces and see if they accept the bribe.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I like that plan.

[SGamerz]

We roll a 6 & a 1, which is exactly 7, so congrats for (narrowly) avoiding another combat (with meals running low and Poison running high, it's definitely advisable to do so)!

The Trolls pocket your bribe and let you pass. The cart-driver has seen everything. He asks if you want to ride with him. You climb aboard and, as he flicks the reins and you ride off, he starts complaining. "Chingiz again! Imposing tolls on a road that used to be free when Segrek was alive. Pray the gods send us a true monarch who will rid us of this scum."

The cart climbs over a rise and you get your first clear view of Sharrabbas: a city dominated by its Fortress. Flaxwort, the driver, has guessed that you are one of the Select, and decides to help you get into the city. To that end, he disguises you as his assistant. "They are looking for lone advanturers, so if you put this apron and cap on and cover up that blade, there..." It being market-day, the city is crowded with carts. The Orcs at the gate only give you a brief glance before putting a small chalk-mark in the cart. The road forks and Flaxwort asks you which way you wish to go: to the left or the right.

How do we decide on this all-important, world-changing choice?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Qulan Gal
SKILL 10/10
STAMINA 12/18
LUCK 11/11
Poison: 20/24
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Flower, Treffilli (2 sprigs)
Provisions: 1
Gold: 7 (1 sewn into boot, lucky piece)
Abilities: Darkfight
Medallions:
Extra Lives unlocked: 5/8 remaining
No. of deaths/failures: 3
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

I have no idea why he's asking us when we've never been here before. He might as well flip a coin, if the trolls and orcs left him any coins.

I decided to roll the dice, 1-3 = right, 4-6 = left. Six, left.

[Darth Rabbitt]

IIRC going right hasn’t helped much in the past so go left?

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, left seems alright. They could have given some description of what's to our left or right, or even put it in the pic, but no...

[JourneymanN00b]

Hey, our hero is trying to become a ruler, so he must embrace fascism by going to the right. I hereby vote for that option.

[SGamerz]

Hey, our hero is trying to become a ruler, so he must embrace fascism by going to the right. I hereby vote for that option.

And yet you kept voting for left when we were playing Masks of Mayhem, where we literally already were a ruler. :/

Flaxwort drops you off in a busy lane, close to a small trading-post. He wishes you success and drives off. You look around, conscious of the fact that Chingiz must have many paid informers. You set off trying to look purposeful, but the lane you are following soon divides. Do you head for the trading-post, carry straight on down the lane or turn left into another road?

Slightly more informative then just a random blind direction, but still not much. Where do we go now?

[JourneymanN00b]

And yet you kept voting for left when we were playing Masks of Mayhem, where we literally already were a ruler. :/

Hey, Masks of Mayhem was when I learned that rulers always had to take the fascist path to be successful, as King Arthur had to keep going right after going through the Juja-suggested wooden door in order to reach the ending cavern.

I vote to head for the trading post.