[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 21 - Trial of Champions

[Queen of Swords]

Fetch the torch and read what's written there.

[Thaluikhain]

Use the torch.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Fetch the torch.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will fetch a torch from the main tunnel so that he can see to read the words and numbers.

394
The torchlight casts eerie shadows inside the derelict tunnel, but you are concerned only with the words and numbers on the back of the door. In barely legible writing you read, ‘Set one, 249’. You make a mental note of what you read and then walk out through the door towards the door on the other side of the T-junction. Turn to 375.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

375
From the other side of the door, you hear the agonized cry of a man in pain. If you wish to open the door, turn to 168. If you would rather keep on walking, turn to 138.

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 11 Initial Stamina = 19
LUCK: 3 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
4 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
Mirror
Wooden Whistle
“There is a door behind the pile of stones.”
Cursed Copper Bracelet
“Set one, 249”
BOONS:
2 Rewinds
1 Restoration
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Open the door.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, open the door.

[Queen of Swords]

Ask, "Are you Ian Livingstone?" If the answer is yes, keep walking.

On a more serious note, open the door.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will open the door.

168
[spoiler][/spoiler]

The door opens into a large room with a massive stone face carved into the back wall. Stone steps rise up to its huge, open mouth, and at the top of these steps you see one of the other contestants writing in agony. A large, purple tongue like a giant snake is wrapped around the elven prince who is desperately stabbing at it with his dagger. If you wish to help the elven prince, turn to 77. If you would rather leave him and continue along the tunnel, turn to 138.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Queen of Swords]

Help him.

[Darth Rabbitt]

This seems very similar to an encounter with an Elf contestant in the first Deathtrap Dungeon who had useful information, so help him out.

[Thaluikhain]

Help prince.

(We should have an option to help the giant tongue against the prince stabbing it, though)

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will help the elven prince.

77
You run up the stone steps and start to hack at the huge tongue with your sword. A large gash opens ups and purple blood pumps from it, soaking you and making the steps treacherously slippery. As the tongue thrashes about, the elf screams louder in agony. Roll two dice. If the total is the same as or less than your SKILL score, turn to 245. If the total is greater than your SKILL score, turn to 132.

Rolling the dice yielded a 4, which is less than Ben Richards’ Skill.

245
In the confined space of the stone mouth, you manage to keep your balance. Turn to 8.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

8
As you lunge again, the elf falls silent, the life squeezed out of his body. The tongue releases him and retracts down the cavernous throat. You drag the elf out of the mouth, although there is nothing you can do for him now. You are beginning to wonder what to do next when suddenly the elf’s eyes open. With his dying breath he whispers, ‘Thank you for trying to save me. You didn’t have to do it, because we both know that only one person can walk out of here alive. It won’t be me now. Take what I have and walk into the mouth. If you can overcome that dreadful thing that surprised me, I think it’s the right way to go.’ His eyes close again and he exhales for the last time. In a bag tied to his waist you find a small jar of grey paste which has a very sharp aroma. Knowing the ways of elves, you are certain that the paste will have healing properties, so you decide to dab the contents of the jar on to your wounds. The paste has the desired effect. Add 6 STAMINA points. You also find in the bag a small bottle of blue dye which you place inside your pouch. You think about that the elf said. If you wish to walk inside the mouth, turn to 306. If you would rather leave the room and continue along the corridor, turn to 138.

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 19
LUCK: 3 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
4 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
Mirror
Wooden Whistle
“There is a door behind the pile of stones.”
Cursed Copper Bracelet
“Set one, 249”
Bottle of Blue Dye
BOONS:
2 Rewinds
1 Restoration
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Oh, some nice loot, thanks dead guy. And into the mouth, watch out for Spheres of Annihilation.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Walk into the mouth.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will walk inside the mouth.

306
As soon as you step inside the mouth, the hideous tongue coils out to ensnare you. But you are ready for it with your sword.

TONGUE SKILL 5 STAMINA 6

If you win, turn to 85.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Tongue Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 11;
Tongue Stamina: 6, Player Stamina: 17
Round 2: Tongue Attack Strength: 9, Player Attack Strength: 15;
Tongue Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 17
Round 3: Tongue Attack Strength: 10, Player Attack Strength: 17;
Tongue Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 17
Round 4: Tongue Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 15;
Tongue Stamina: 0, Player Stamina: 17[/spoiler]

Thankfully, Ben Richards flawlessly dispatches the Tongue.

85
You climb over the bleeding tongue and see that steps descend a long way down. You can just make out the faint voice of a girl singing. If you wish to go down the steps to investigate, turn to 364. If you would rather walk back out to the tunnel, turn to 138.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Queen of Swords]

Go down the steps to investigate.

[Thaluikhain]

Huh, normally we get an investigate or walk past, not walk back.

Anyway, keep going and investigate.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I see no reason to back out now. Investigate.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will go down the steps to investigate.

364
[spoiler][/spoiler]

At the bottom of the steps there is a large cave, which is partly submerged in gently bubbling water. Steam rises into the cold air and you see a tunnel exit in the far wall. Sitting on a rock in the middle of the underground lake is a beautiful woman singing a magical song. She is a Siren, one of a human-like race of evil seductresses. Her song is to lure you to her so that she can slay you with her long knife as a sacrifice to her gods. Roll one die. If you roll 1 or 2, turn to 103. If you roll 3-6, turn to 203.

Rolling the die yielded a 1.

103
The Siren’s song has its effect on you before you think to cover your ears. Lured by the lilting voice, you step into the warm lake and swim towards the rock. But the lake is also home to a giant squid-like monster with tentacles five metres long. From the murky depths of the lake, it sees you swimming on the surface and glides silently up to wrap its tentacles around you. You suddenly feel something tugging at your foot and then see the giant monster of the lake as it surfaces. Roll two dice. If the total is the same as or less than your SKILL score, turn to 191. If the total is greater than your SKILL score, turn to 356.

Rolling the dice yielded a 7, which is less than Ben Richards’ Skill.

191
You cut yourself free and swim as fast as you can towards the rock, spurred on by the magical song. But you are swimming to your doom. With your arms hanging at your sides in heedless submission, you smile as the long knife plunges into your chest.

Yikes. So we have two rewinds to spend, which means that we can either use a single rewind to go back to section 85, or use both rewinds to go back to section 8.

Please vote on which section to rewind back to and what decision to take before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 19
LUCK: 3 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
4 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
Mirror
Wooden Whistle
“There is a door behind the pile of stones.”
Cursed Copper Bracelet
“Set one, 249”
Bottle of Blue Dye
BOONS:
2 Rewinds
1 Restoration
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]

[Darth Rabbitt]

Wait, we pass the roll under check and die anyways? That's bullshit. Or does it just punish high stats players?

Use a single rewind back to section 85, since we killed the tongue thing without taking any damage and could turn back after killing it anyways. I guess the question is whether we have a 33% chance of instadeath on the right path or if the Elf prince was wrong about this being the right path. I'm guessing the hint is supposed to be important, so continue down and hope we don't randomly die this time (really big on the "random dice roll and you die no save" in both Fighting Fantasy books going on right now).

[Queen of Swords]

Wait, we pass the roll under check and die anyways? That's bullshit. Or does it just punish high stats players?

Looks to me like when we passed the Skill test, it meant we cut ourselves free of the Watcher in the Water, but that left us able to swim to the Siren.

I'm fine with going back to the tongue, though I'm not convinced that the elf was right about this being the path we have to take.

[JourneymanN00b]

Wait, we pass the roll under check and die anyways? That's bullshit. Or does it just punish high stats players?

Passing the Skill check in section 103 leads to death because nothing stopped our hero from being stabbed by the Siren. Failing the check would have led to the lake monster dragging us down, which would allow the water to neutralize the song’s effects. We would then battle against the lake monster. Defeating it would then allow us the opportunity to continue Ben Richards’ adventure.

Thank you for your votes. A single rewind will be used to put Ben Richards back to section 85, and he will again go down the steps to investigate.

Upon reaching section 364, rolling the die yielded a 6 this time.

203
You cover your ears and scream at the top of your voice to shut out the Siren’s song. You run through the cave and into the tunnel beyond. Turn to 21.

21
The tunnel rises quite steeply and grows rapidly colder. The steep floor soon gives way to stone steps which makes progress a little less tiring. But halfway up the steps, you notice there are three in a row which are painted red. If you wish to carry on walking up every step, turn to 372. If you would rather leap over the three red steps, turn to 50.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 19
LUCK: 3 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
4 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
Mirror
Wooden Whistle
“There is a door behind the pile of stones.”
Cursed Copper Bracelet
“Set one, 249”
Bottle of Blue Dye
BOONS:
1 Rewind
1 Restoration
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]

[Darth Rabbitt]

The red steps seem like they're supposed to be a fakeout, so I assume we are supposed to step on them.

[Queen of Swords]

If there was a trap, it's not likely to be highlighted like this, so walk normally.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will carry on walking up every step.

372
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Each one of the three red steps emits a flow of healing vibration. Add 3 STAMINA points. With renewed energy, you bound up the remaining steps. Turn to 141.

141
You walk through a stone arch into a level tunnel. After walking some thirty metres, you come across a row of clay urns, each the same size and pattern, lined against the right-hand wall. If you wish to look inside the urns, turn to 208. If you would rather walk on, turn to 69.

Please make your votes before 12:00 PM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 8 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 19 Initial Stamina = 19
LUCK: 3 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
4 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
Mirror
Wooden Whistle
“There is a door behind the pile of stones.”
Cursed Copper Bracelet
“Set one, 249”
Bottle of Blue Dye
BOONS:
1 Rewind
1 Restoration
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]