[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure 7: Queen of Shades

[Beroli]

INTRODUCTION

You are one of those far-sighted individuals known to others as Sightmasters. Some years ago, you left your home in Analand in search of adventure. You found more than enough danger and excitement in Kharé, the infamous cityport of traps, where you quickly fell in with a disreputable sorcerer known as Fox and his band of adventurers. In the company of your new friends, you have undertaken countless quests in the wilds of Kakhabad. Your role in the group is that of the scout and your keen eyes have saved the lives of your companions on more than one occasion. Although you know no magic, you are more than able to defend yourself with the stout wooden quarterstaff that is your preferred weapon.

Before you take part in this adventure, you must first determine your own strengths and weaknesses. You use dice to determine your initial scores.

Libra – The Goddess of Justice

During your adventure you will be watched over by your own goddess, Libra. If the going gets tough you may call on her for aid. But she will only help you once.

Equipment and Money

You start your adventure with a bare minimum of equipment. You have a wooden quarterstaff as your weapon and a backpack to hold any items you may come across. A small knife hangs on your belt.

You have a belt pouch containing Gold Pieces, the universal currency of all the known lands.

You start this adventure without provisions of any kind. You have just returned to the city after a wilderness adventure. Meals are readily available in markets and taverns, so you do not need to carry extra food with you.

But be warned – if you do not eat anything, you will become weaker and may lose STAMINA as a result.

(Note what this does not say: There is no indication in this adventure that eating restores Stamina, only that not eating costs Stamina.)

[spoiler=Standard Rules]
Combat
SKILL and STAMINA scores are given in the text for each adversary that you face.

The combat sequence is then:
1. Roll two dice for your opponent. Add the total rolled to its SKILL score. This is the Attack Strength of your enemy.
2. Roll two dice and add the total to your own current SKILL score. This is your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is the higher, you have wounded your opponent: deduct 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA..
If your opponent's Attack Strength is higher, it has wounded you: deduct 2 points from your own STAMINA.
If both Attack Strengths are equal, you have avoided each other's blows.
4. Begin the next Combat Round, starting again at step 1. This procedure continues until either you or your opponent has a STAMINA score of zero. If your opponent's STAMINA score reaches zero, you have killed it and can continue with your adventure. If your own STAMINA score reaches zero, you are dead.

Often you will have to fight more than one opponent at a time. Sometimes you will treat them as a single opponent; at others, you will be able to fight them one at a time; and sometimes all of them will be able to attack you, while you defend yourself and may attack only one of them. Specific instructions will be given whenever you meet more than one opponent.

Using Luck in Combat

You can use your LUCK in combat to inflict a particularly serious wound, or to minimize a wound that has been inflicted on you.

Whenever you wound an opponent, you may Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound: deduct an extra 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA. If you are Unlucky, you have merely grazed it, and you deduct 1 point less than normal from its STAMINA.

If you have been wounded, you can Test your Luck in exactly the same way. If you are Lucky, the wound upon you was only a glancing blow and you can deduct 1 less point of STAMINA than usual. If you are Unlucky, the wound is serious: deduct 1 extra point from your STAMINA.[/spoiler]

I rolled five dice and got: 6, 3, 1, 5, 1. Here I pause for votes on where to assign those: one is added to 6 to become your Skill, two are added to 12 to become your Stamina, one is added to 6 to become your Luck, and one is added to 4 to become your starting number of Gold Pieces.

[Queen of Swords]

Hmm... +6 to Skill, +3 and +1 to Stamina, and +5 to Luck, though that only leaves us with 5 GP.

[Thaluikhain]

Second that.

Oh, and someone remembers Khare, thought that one had been mostly forgotten by FF.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to generate the following stats based on the dice available:

12 Skill
11 Luck
16 Stamina
5 Gold Pieces

[SGamerz]

+5 SKILL, +3 LUCK. Spend the +6 on either STAMINA or gold.

We start with no Provisions, and while the text may tell us food is "readily available" at markets and inns, they surely cost money. So we're going to either need higher STAMINA to tough it out or more gold to spend on meals.

[Beroli]

Skill 12, 16 Stamina, 11 Luck, 5 Gold wins 3-1.

BACKGROUND
It should have been an adventure like any other: an ancient tomb, a forgotten treasure, and a band of brave souls willing to risk their lives in pursuit of fame and fortune. That this particular quest would rip the heart out of your small group was the last thing on your mind that misty Kharé morning as you joined Fox and the others, ready to take ship for Lake Lumlé.

Fox the sorcerer was well known in the cityport for buying up old scrolls. The zeal with which he located and acquired them was the equal of any scholar – but whereas true scholars sought to recover the culture and wisdom of vanished ages, Fox looked only for the last resting places of the ancient dead. The kings and queens of old Lumlé had been raising vast stone temples and monuments when Kharé was nothing more than a camp for river pirates. Their tombs had long since been looted of any gold or precious stones but experience had taught Fox that they often contained works of art, scorned or overlooked by earlier robbers, whose beauty and craftsmanship could still command high prices. The wealthy nobles and merchants of upstart Kharé were keen to flaunt their own culture and influence by acquiring these tokens of ancient power – and Fox was more than happy to supply their need, provided the price was right and no questions were asked.

The Iltikar scroll was damaged; more than half the text had been lost and the remaining runes were hard to decipher in places. It seemed obvious, however, that it was an elegy; in rhyming couplets, the poet mourned the passing of dearly beloved Iltikar, a queen of the nineteenth dynasty. She had been dead two thousand years and the place names had all been forgotten but Fox was confident that he could identify the location of her tomb from the landmarks described so vividly by the poet.

The fishing villages dotted around the shores of the great lake offered few clues to the former power and glory of the Lumlé kingdom. It was said that the blood of that ancient race lived on in the inhabitants of the miserable reed huts but, if you saw, here and there, a face that resembled one of the fallen statues, their great poverty was anything but regal. The local people kept away from the monuments of their ancestors, not, it seemed, out of fear but rather from indifference. The ancient places lay abandoned and unguarded, all of which suited your purpose. On the island of Nilgiri your small group became perhaps the first people in two thousand years to enter the tomb of Queen Iltikar.

Your torches smoked in the damp air. The heavy stone blocks on either side were moss covered and wet; water seeped between them and if you
feared anything it was that the lake would suddenly burst through into the tunnels and drown you all. But the masonry that had endured two
millennia held firm long enough for you to reach your goal. The Crolian shoved back the heavy lid of the sarcophagus and you looked upon the remains of the long dead queen. In her skeletal hands she still clasped the ornate hand mirror with which she had been buried. The glass was framed by intricate silver scrollwork, untarnished despite the years it had lain in the tomb. It was just the sort of artefact that you had come looking for, a treasure that would fetch a high price when you returned to Kharé.

The trouble started before you had even reached the cityport. That night, as the boat drifted lazily downriver on the current, a noise disturbed your sleep and you woke, your instincts screaming danger. Jardakka the Red-Eye emerged from the blackness, scimitar in hand, and you tensed; was this treachery? But Jardakka was as uneasy as you; Cheechak, the small monkey that went everywhere with her, now clung to her shoulder, chattering nervously. Something had spooked the animal. But there were no pirates, no river monsters, and the helmsman protested he had seen nothing. Only then did you notice that Vanaru the thief was missing.

Mirror.PNG (118.59 KiB) Viewed 6592 times

Of course, your first thought was for the mirror of Iltikar. A quick search revealed that the treasure was safe, still lying where Fox had stashed it. Instead it was Vanaru who had disappeared, without warning and without his pack. No satisfactory explanation could be found; all you could do was assume that he must have fallen overboard in the night. The little man couldn’t swim and so must certainly have drowned. It was bad luck, a sour end to what had been a successful quest.

The ship arrived in Kharé the following evening. The four of you parted company at the port, having arranged to meet the next day. Fox took the mirror of Iltikar; only he had the contacts to Kharé’s wealthy elite necessary to arrange a successful sale. You didn’t object; that was how it had worked in the past, that was how it would work again. And this time you could really make some money. The mirror, properly presented and dressed up in the silky verses of the poet, could not fail to appeal to a wealthy buyer. The sentimental heart of some merchant’s wife was going to make you all rich.

Unfortunately the Crolian did not live to see the money. That night a drunken brawl in an upstairs room of The Wayfarer’s Rest reduced your little band to three. No one could say for sure how it started – although it was rumoured to be a fight over a woman – nor who had struck the death blow. The others vanished, leaving the Crolian mortally wounded amongst the wreckage of the room. His last words, whispered to the innkeeper, were lost; no one had ever been able to understand anything The Crolian said, not even you, who had been his partner on countless adventures. It didn’t diminish the affection you felt for the barbarian and his death came as a heavy blow.

Now night is falling over Kharé once more. You are brooding over events in an upstairs room of a lodging house, your thoughts disturbed by the arguments of the other tenants and the barking of a stray dog in the courtyard below. The room is bare, furnished with nothing more than the straw pallet on which you lie. You don’t mind the lack of comfort; ever since you came to the infamous cityport of traps, leaving the safety of Analand for a life of adventure, you have been accustomed to hardship. You have faced countless dangers with Fox and the others but never have you felt such a creeping sense of unease. Vanaru and the Crolian are dead. As the shadows around you deepen, you cannot help but wonder if the mirror of Iltikar might not be...cursed?

[Beroli]

The room is dark, the window above you a square of blue-black sky in which the first stars can be seen. How long have you been sleeping? You roll over and tense as your sharp eyes pick out two figures in the shadows by the door. They move slowly towards you as if in a dream, their white faces pale in the darkness. You might have considered those faces beautiful if you could not read your death in their fixed expressions.

As you scramble to your feet, the warrior women stop their silent advance and raise swords and shields, ready for battle. The way they hold themselves tells you that this will not be an easy fight. These are no pretend amazons, the bodyguard of some decadent aristocrat, but seasoned fighters who shift position to counter your every move. They seem in no great hurry to attack you. They know that they have you cornered.

Their silence is eerie; you are accustomed to jibes and taunts, mental fencing before the inevitable explosion of physical violence, but you cannot even hear these women breathe. Their faces betray no sign of emotion, neither hate nor triumph, and their armour is like nothing you have ever seen before. A bronze cuirass, worn over a padded linen tunic, protects the body, leaving their upper arms and legs bare. Forearms and shins are encased in greaves, a type of armour that has long since fallen out of fashion. Their swords are not the long, slashing weapons generally favoured in Kakhabad but short, stabbing blades ideal for combat in the confined space of your room. Your mind races: who uses female assassins? And why would they want to kill you? For that is surely what the women before you have in mind.

You face them unarmed; the wooden quarterstaff that is your normal weapon leans against the wall in the far corner of the room, frustratingly out of reach. The warrior women stand between you and the door to the stairs; at your back is an open window, but the room is on the second floor and it is a long drop to the packed earth of the courtyard below. What will you do?

Try to talk to the warrior women?
Make a dash for your quarterstaff?
Jump out of the window?

Also, vote on what to name the protagonist here, who is a female Sightmaster.

[spoiler=Adventure Sheet]
Name: ?????
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 16/16
Luck: 11/11

Gold Pieces: 5
Can call upon Libra, Goddess of Justice, once during adventure[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Don't like any of those options, but jumping out the window seems less bad.

(Why are female assassins odd, given you can have female adventurers?)

EDIT: Rey Ulthran as name?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to make a dash for the quarterstaff, and vote for Rey Skywalker as our heroine's name.

[Queen of Swords]

Agree with Thaluikhain, the window seems to be the best choice out of the lot.

[SGamerz]

Self-defenestration.

[Beroli]

You have fallen about six metres. No one can expect to fall so far without sustaining some injury. You lose (1d6=4) 4 Stamina points. If you wish, you may Test your Luck in an attempt to reduce the damage. If you are Lucky, you instead take 2 damage; if you are Unlucky, you instead take 6 damage.

You groan and stagger to your feet, glancing up quickly at the window three storeys above. You are in the courtyard at the back of the lodging house, a square of damp earth enclosed by dark, decaying outbuildings, the foul smells from which hint at their uses as a latrine and a pig sty. A faint mist clings to the bare earth in front of you and, as you watch, it moves and thickens until the SHIELD MAIDENS are standing before you once more, armed and ready to do battle. You realise that these are no mortal enemies. If ever you needed Libra’s protection, it is now.

As you stumble over the words of the prayer, a light appears and grows stronger, becoming almost unbearably bright. The Shield Maidens pale before it like stars at the break of day; when you can see clearly again they have disappeared. In their place stands a tall, slender woman, glowing in the darkness like a candle flame. The goddess of justice looks at you sadly.

‘Shall justice reward injustice? Shall a wrong be judged right because it is done in my name? No, it cannot be. I am come only because you know not what you have done, which is itself an injustice. Nobody should be punished for crimes of which they are not aware. Two days ago, you entered the house of Iltikar and took that which did not belong to you. Your present danger is the result of that theft.

You should know that the queen was deeply beloved by her people. When she died, her Shield Maidens willingly drank poison, praying that they might be allowed to guard her through all eternity. The goddess Lunara granted their wish, though their shades may only walk under the light of her moon. Each night they will return to haunt you until you have restored to Iltikar what is rightfully hers.’

Libra begins to fade.

‘If you would have my favour and protection, take the mirror of Iltikar back to her house. I will not answer your prayers again until you have righted this wrong.’

The next day you meet with Fox and Jardakka and waste no time in telling them what happened.

‘How do you feel now?’ Jardakka asks calmly, not looking at you. The Red-Eye carves an apple with her knife and turns to feed the tidbit to the monkey crouching on her shoulder. Cheechak turns the piece of fruit over in his paws and chatters gratefully.

‘Rough. Libra saved my neck but she didn’t see fit to heal my injuries. I suppose she felt I didn’t deserve it.’

Fox strokes his chin with long, dirty fingers on which the faint tattoos of cabbalistic signs can be seen. ‘Have you been back to the room since?’

‘Once, this morning. I went to fetch my money and my quarterstaff.’ You shrug. ‘The goddess said we were safe so long as the sun shines.’

‘Hmmm.’

The three of you are sitting in Madam Hun’s tavern, a favourite meeting place in Kharé’s rough port district. While the others are digesting your story, the hostess herself comes across to your table, wiping her big hands on her apron. Madam Hun has a shock of wild grey hair and a mouthful of misshapen teeth.

‘What are you three plotting now?’ the ogress cackles. ‘Well, conspiracy sits better on a full stomach. I have good blood sausage and pease porridge in the pot. Will you make a meal of it? Two Gold Pieces to you, my handsome rogues.’

It is 2 Gold Pieces to everyone but Madam Hun’s cooking is justly famous in the area.

Eat here?
Do not?

[spoiler=Adventure Sheet]
Name: Rey Ulthran
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 12/16
Luck: 11/11

Gold Pieces: 5
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

We only have 5 GP. Don't eat, though I hope this doesn't mean we get told to leave and miss out on any useful encounters in the tavern.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to eat. I do not think we can afford any more stamina losses, and Rey needs any useful information that she can get from the tavern.

[Thaluikhain]

We could try testing our luck to limit stamina loss, but only by 2 points.

[Beroli]

Three votes, none compatible. Need a tiebreaker on whether to buy food, anyway.

[SGamerz]

Since we spent the dice on LUCK instead of STAMINA or gold, I say test LUCK to reduce damage, and skip the food here (unless it's food we can takeaway for later, it's probably not worth the money spent to heal back 2 points).

[Thaluikhain]

I second SGamerz, (and hope eating is to restore stamina, rather than avoiding further loss).

[Beroli]

Testing your Luck wins 2-0. Luck test: 9 succeeds. The fall causes only 2 damage.

Not eating wins 3-1.

‘What do we do now?’ Jardakka demands.

‘Libra says we must return the mirror to Iltikar’s tomb.’ You shrug. ‘I know it won’t be easy.’

‘It will be more difficult than you think,’ Fox says. ‘I sold the mirror yesterday evening.’

‘You sold it? Who to?’

‘A minimite. Pompous little fellow called Enno. He said he was acting for the merchant Shar-kali-Sharri. I checked the merchant out; he’s rich enough all right. Has a big stake in the Mutton Fish trade but his real passion is collecting artwork from old Lumlé.’

‘Good for him,’ Jardakka sneers. ‘How much did he pay?’

Fox holds his hands up. ‘That’s not how it works. These collectors want to handle the piece personally before they agree on a price.’

‘You gave him the mirror for nothing?’

‘Believe me, it will work in our favour in the long run. Once Shar-kali-Sharri has seen the mirror he will pay any price we ask.’

‘Jishai!’ Jardakka thumps the table angrily. ‘You screwed us. You took his damned money for yourself.’

The Red-Eye blinks and you see the fireballs building behind her eyelids. Sensing her anger, Cheechak yelps and leaps up onto a roof beam above your table.

Grab Jardakka's arm and try to calm her?
Stay out of the confrontation?

[spoiler=Adventure Sheet]
Name: Rey Ulthran
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 14/16
Luck: 10/11

Gold Pieces: 5
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Try to calm her.

[SGamerz]

Calm her of course. We don't need to make the shield maidens' work easier by killing each other off. Try and keep these two meatshields alive longer.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to grab Jardakka's arm and try to calm her, as internal fighting is only going to cause more trouble.

[Beroli]

Jardakka turns her fiery gaze upon you.

‘Hey! We don’t know he cheated us. Let’s not start fighting each other. We’ve got to work together if we’re going to beat this curse.’

After a tense moment, Jardakka’s anger subsides and her eyes close. Cheechak jumps down onto her shoulder and she reaches up to pet the animal.

‘Truce?’ Fox asks.

Jardakka nods, but the atmosphere around the table remains uneasy. It falls to you to try to broker the peace.

‘So where does this Shar-kali-Sharri live? Down by the river? Why don’t we go over there now, all three of us, and get the mirror back?’

‘You think he will give it to you just like that?’ Jardakka scoffs. ‘And if he does; what then? If we take the mirror back to Iltikar’s tomb, we will have
risked our lives for nothing!’

‘Our lives won’t be worth much when the shield maidens return. I tell you, they are not of this world!’

‘So? Then we’ll use magic against them.’

Fox smiles thinly. ‘Your faith in my powers is touching, my dear, but not even I can lift a curse laid by the moon goddess herself.’

The Red-Eye shakes her head. ‘I’m not talking about you, sly Fox. This city is awash with amulets and magic potions; I say we get ourselves some
powerful juju and blow those witches back to hell!’

Fox folds his hands. ‘Do what you want, Jardakka. I’m going to see Vik. While I’m there, I’ll ask him about our curse. If memory serves me right,
he has had trouble with these shield maidens before. He’ll give us some good advice.’

‘Or cut our throats for us,’ Jardakka mutters.

What do you think?

Visit the merchant?
Rely on magic?
Go with Fox to ask Vik's advice?

[spoiler=Adventure Sheet]
Name: Rey Ulthran
Skill: 12/12
Stamina: 14/16
Luck: 10/11

Gold Pieces: 5
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Um, Vik? Just because invoking his name always turned out well in Sorcery!

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go with Fox to ask Vik’s advice.