[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 30 - Chasms of Malice

[Darth Rabbitt]

If the last choice is any indicator, drops seem safer than slopes.

[SGamerz]

I think if the rest of this playthrough and the last thus far has been any indication, it's that Luke Sharp shows zero consistency in bias towards any direction in particular. He probably is just a fan of sheer randomness, given the nature of his game designs.

Honestly, the late Joe Dever (RIP) is really the only gamebook author I can think of that really shows a consistent bias towards going left in all his books.

You are on a wider ledge but see no way to get further down. An Orc finds you and you take him on in One-Strike Combat. If you win, you discover three ropes hanging down the smooth precipice into the darkness. Another Orc appears. If you win this One-Strike Combat, do you choose to go down the rope on the left, the rope on the right, or do you think the rope in the middle would be the correct choice?

First OSC:
Orc rolls 9, Sir Gareth rolls 8. Sir Gareth loses and falls to his death!

Using the extra life we just gained from killing a Khuddam to get past this...

Second OSC:
Orc rolls 4, Sir Gareth rolls 10. Sir Gareth wins!

The last time we were here, we learnt that the middle rope leads to insta-fail, the left one will cost us 5 STAMINA but does get us out of this whole cliff stretch. Do we want to take that again, or try the right one this time?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 11/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 7
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 5/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 0/5
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to take the left one again, as it is worth losing 5 Stamina for guaranteed survival.

[Beroli]

Left and then eat.

[SGamerz]

You sheathe your Sword and begin to climb down. You cannot see anything below. Occasionally, small, furtive creatures rush around the cliff face and disappear into small cracks. As you descend, the rope begins to shake. You look up and you can just see an Orc chopping at it with an axe. You plummet down the cliff. You land badly (deduct 5 STAMINA points). If you are still alive, add 3 LUCK points. You find yourself by an old road with deep wheel ruts.

Down to 6 STAMINA.

You walk along the road. The cavern is enormous and in the dim red glow you can see no end to it. Just then you hear the sound of a cart approaching. A hundred paces ahead is a stone hut by the side of the road. Do you decide to run inside, or prefer to leap into a ditch at the side of the road?

Hut or ditch this time?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 6/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 7
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 5/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 0/5
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to eat two Provisions, and to head to the stone hut again.

[Beroli]

Eat two Meals and hide in the ditch.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Dine and ditch.

[SGamerz]

You scramble down. It is deep and dark in the ditch. The cart approaches and you hear shouting: "Guard! Where's that lazy scum, filth of a Toplander. If I catch him, I'll throw him in the ditch and let the Gremlins get him." You stare around to see a horde of fanged creatures clutching short stabbing swords. Your quest ends here.

Rewinding back to familiar path...

Inside the small hut there is a suit of very large Orc-like leather armour, including a full face-mask. You examine it carefully and find blood smeared on the inside. The cart gets nearer and you can see an Orc detachment in front of it, and a rather taller group behind. You have heard of stories of renegade men and women working for Orghuz. The Orc commander calls out for the guard. Do you don the armour and go out, or make a run for it?

Do we want to put on the disguise this time?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 14/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 5
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 4/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 0/6
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to run for it this time.

[SGamerz]

You leap over the ditch and land among the rocks. Arrows slam into the ground all around you. Test your Luck. If you are Unlucky, one of the arrows wounds you (deduct 2 STAMINA points). If you are Lucky they all miss.

You are pursued by the renegades; they run fast - silent and disciplined - waiting for you to tire. Suddenly Tabasha jumps out of your pocket and crawls into a hole by a slab of rock. At first you begin to curse her for deserting you, but then you realize that you can lift the slab. You quickly do so and find a large hole. Crawling in a pulling the slab over you, you get out, with Tabasha back in your pocket. In front of you is a path.

Luck test roll = 4 (Lucky).

You set off along the rocky track. Soon the ground gets soft and then becomes marshy. You have difficulty walking on the path. Strange, eerie noises come from the marsh, which occasionally bubbles, releasing a pungent odour. The path divides. Do you go to the left, or do you choose the path on the right?

We're finally in new unfamiliar territory! Unfortunately, it doesn't make the type of options any newer or more exciting...

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 14/15
LUCK 10/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 5
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 4/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 0/6
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

Since Luke Sharp wants Sir Gareth to embrace his fate as a fascist dictator, I vote to choose the path on the right.

[SGamerz]

Suddenly you hear the thunder of animal hoofs on the rocky ground. You look carefully and make out six riders wearing long, black capes. There is a loud wail when they spot you, and spears are brought to bear as they give chase. They get closer and one of the riders throws a spear. Test your Luck. If you are Unlucky, you are wounded (deduct 2 STAMINA points). If you are Lucky, the spear misses. Just then, you move out of the riders' sight and find yourself by a river of murky water. Do you jump over it, or wade into it?

Luck Test roll = 7 (Lucky). The spear misses Sir Gareth.

Do we want to get in the water?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to jump over the river.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Jumping over the murky river seems safer than wading through it.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, jump over probably killer leech monsters.

[SGamerz]

You jump over and rush off. One of the hunters detects your scent and give chase. You stop, Sword at ready ready, and prepare for battle.

BLACK RIDER SKILL 9 STAMINA 12

If you win, you rush off into the stream before the other riders appear.

COMBAT LOG:
Black Rider 19, Sir Gareth 21. BR is at 10.
BR 16, SG 21. BR is at 8.
BR 18, SG 18. Tie.
BR 14, SG 23. BR is at 6.
BR 18, SG 15. SG is at 12.
BR 12, SG 21. BR is at 4.
BR 14, SG 16. BR is at 2.
BR 15, SG 21. BR is killed.

The water is warm and you splash upstream. Eventually you stop and hide behind some rocks. You watch the riders pull up by the steam. The Koyunlu are made to kneel down and sniff the area to find your scent. After a while, the riders turn back.

As you walk along the track, you have the distinct feeling that someone, or something, is following you. You send Tabasha to scout around, but she rushes back with her fur standing on end, and jumps into the safety of your pocket. After a while, you can hear shuffling steps; you begin to run and the steps speed up. Out of the corner of your eye you see a shadowy glimmer chasing you. Throw two dice: this is the speed of your pursuer. If this is greater than your STAMINA, turn to 76. If your STAMINA is greater than, or equal to, the speed of your pursuer, then turn to 298.

Our STAMINA is at 12, so we can't roll higher than that.

You are very tired. You decide to have a rest and eventually find a small hill crowned with large boulders - a good defensive position.

You are awakened by Tabasha trying to crawl back into your pocket. It is pitch-black. You pull out your Sword and it shines brightly as you listen to shrieks, snarls and murmurings all around. Suddenly you see a dark figure with long dagger-like nails rushing towards you. Do you strike at it with your Sword, or run out of the way?

Do we attack?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 12/15
LUCK 9/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 5
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 4/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 0/6
[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Out of the way.

(Oh, and I guess if we'd waded they'd have lost our scent?)

[Beroli]

Run out of the way.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Run.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to run out of the way.

[SGamerz]

(Oh, and I guess if we'd waded they'd have lost our scent?)

Yes, the section redirects to the same as wading in after you fight the Black Rider. The way the text was presented can be misleading for the player into thinking the choice was about which way to cross the stream, when it was actually between whether to jump across or to wade along the stream.

You run out into the darkness straight into a Spiked Flesh-Eating Kakti. You cannot free yourself from the spikes and your flesh will probably feed the Kakti for many months. Your quest is over.

Sigh...

Gruesome death via exotic monster that you've never heard of before is actually one of the more interesting ways to die (although again the lack of much descriptions spoils some of the effect), but this book has been so choked-full of arbitrary random Game Overs that I doubt most players would care much by this point.

And as expected, we've now officially died more times than we did in Daggers of Darkness!

Rewind...

You swing your Sword at the figure but it passes right through it, and then the figure passes through you! You stand there, amazed, as several others take the same path. Looking around by the light of the Sword, you find a strange, spiky plant, covered with small furry animals, and what looks like the remains of an Orc, impaled on its long, lethal prongs. You assume that the illusion was created by the plant to catch its prey. Suddenly you see a group of riders following your trail. Ahead is a tall volcano, with hewn stapes leading to the top. Do you run up the steps, or skirt around the base of the volcano?

At least here we get told what those Kakti things are.

Do we ascend the volcano?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 12/15
LUCK 9/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 5
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 3/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 0/7
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to skirt around the base of the volcano, as I feel that taking the direct route by running up the steps will just lead to another unfair death.

[Thaluikhain]

OTOH, the volcano seems interesting, and riders probably can't handle stairs as well, so half vote for going up.

(With some work, an evil cactus that makes an illusion to make you bump into it could've been cool, there's potential there)

[angelfromanotherpin]

(With some work, an evil cactus that makes an illusion to make you bump into it could've been cool, there's potential there)

That's basically an avern from Book of the New Sun, and it's made pretty cool there. 'You are always closer to an avern than you think.'