Cover
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[/spoiler]Greetings, everyone. I recently received a copy of Fighting Fantasy Book #36, which was much easier to get than Book #33, which required me to use international channels and wait a good while to obtain it. Anyone wanting to join our attempt to complete this tale is welcome. It is certainly easier than Sky Lord’s adventure was, the said Book #33, so I do expect a much better experience for all of us to enjoy here. The plan is to update this thread on a twice per day basis, with the exception of Sundays, where I will try to update more frequently on these days. However, my work duties will probably cause adjustments to this proposed schedule, since the approaching fall will necessitate some work adjustments in order to handle new projects coming my way.
Preface
IntroductionThe Kingdom of Allansia is under threat. Agglax the evil Zombie-Lord is amassing an army of undead warriors in eastern Allansia, beyond the Forest of Fiends. His army increases in size with every attack it makes on the local villages and every day its ranks are swelled with slaughtered victims under Agglax’s evil spell. Unless they are stopped now, the undead will take over the entire kingdom.
YOU are Allansia’s only hope. Your mission is to raise an army which will defeat the terrifying undead troops ... but how can YOU conquer an army which grows in numbers with every battle it fights?
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to embark on this thrilling adventure, which is complete with its elaborate combat system and a score-sheet to record your gains and losses.
Many dangers lie ahead and your success is by no means certain. YOU decide which routes to follow, which dangers to risk and which adversaries to fight!
Ian Livingstone is the co-founder, with Steve Jackson, of Games Workshop, the hugely successful chain which specializes in fantasy games of all kinds.
For the purposes of this thread, the Adventure Sheet will be hand-made and will be periodically displayed.Before embarking on your adventure, you must first determine your own strengths and weaknesses. Use dice to determine your initial scores. On pages 18-19 there is an Adventure Sheet which you may use to record the details of an adventure. On it you will find boxes for recording your SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK scores.
You are advised either to record your scores on the Adventure Sheet in pencil, or to make photocopies of the page to use in future adventures.
Skill, Stamina and Luck
Making the appropriate rolls and modifications yielded the following initial scores:Roll one die. Add 6 to this number and enter this total in the SKILL box on the Adventure Sheet.
Roll two dice. Add 12 to the number rolled and enter this total in the STAMINA box.
There is also a LUCK box. Roll one die, add 6 to this number and enter this total in the LUCK box.
For reasons that will be explained below, SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK scores change constantly during an adventure. You must keep an accurate record of these scores and for this reason you are advised either to write small in the boxes or to keep an eraser handy. But never rub out your Initial scores. Although you may be awarded additional SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK points, these totals may never exceed your Initial scores, except on very rare occasions, and you will be instructed when this is to happen.
Your SKILL score reflects your swordsmanship and fighting expertise; the higher the better. Your STAMINA score reflects your general constitution, your will to survive, your determination and overall fitness; the higher your STAMINA score, the longer you will be able to survive. Your LUCK score indicates how naturally lucky a person you are. Luck – and magic – are facts of life in the fantasy kingdom you are about to explore.
SKILL: 10
STAMINA: 17
LUCK: 7
Talk about getting mediocre rolls. Having 7 Luck is a definite ouch for our hero.
Single Combat
BattlesYou will often come across pages in the book which instruct you to fight a creature of some sort. You must resolve the battle as described below.
First, record the creature’s SKILL and STAMINA scores in the first vacant Enemy Encounter Box on your Adventure Sheet. The scores for each creature are given in the book each time you have an encounter. The sequence of combat is then:
1. Roll both dice once for the creature. Add its SKILL score. This total is the creature’s Attack Strength.
2. Roll both dice once for yourself. Add the number rolled to your current SKILL score. This total is your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is higher than that of the creature, you have wounded it: proceed to step 4. If the creature’s Attack Strength is higher than yours, it has wounded you: proceed to step 5. If both Attack Strength totals are the same, you have avoided each other’s blows – start the next Attack Round from step 1 above.
4. You have wounded the creature, so subtract 2 points from its STAMINA score. You may use your LUCK here to do additional damage (see below).
5. The creature has wounded you, so subtract 2 points from your own STAMINA score. Again you may use LUCK at this stage (see below).
6. Make the appropriate adjustments to either the creature’s or your own STAMINA score (and your LUCK score if you used LUCK – see below).
7. Begin the next Attack Round by repeating steps 1-6. This sequence continues until the STAMINA score of either you or the creature you are fighting has been reduced to zero (death).
Fighting More Than One CreatureUnlike other Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, you are not alone all the time on this adventure. You command an army of soldiers made up of units of various races. You start your expedition with Dwarfs, Elves, Warriors and Knights, and others will join your army during the course of the adventure. Soldiers killed in battles are always lost in blocks of five, and if more than one race is engaged in a battle, you may choose which ones are lost; for example, if you have employed Dwarfs and Knights against Goblins and receive 15 casualties, you may lose 15 Dwarfs; or 15 Knights; or 10 Dwarfs and 5 Knights; or 5 Dwarfs and 10 Knights. Remember always to make the necessary adjustments on your Adventure Sheet. Soldiers lost in ways other than in battle are deducted in the same way.
Fighting Skirmish Battles
SKIRMISH BATTLE RESULTS
SITUATION
DIE ROLL Superior Even Inferior 1 5A 10A 15A 2 5E 5A 10A 3 5E 5A 5A 4 5E 5E 5A 5 10E 5E 5E 6 15E 10E 5E
A = Allied troops E = Enemy troops
From time to time on your adventure, you will fight Skirmish Battles. To fight a Skirmish Battle, follow the combat sequence below.
1. Make a note of the number of your troops, not including yourself.
2. Make a note of the number of enemy troops.
3. Compare the size of the two armies and assess the situation. For example, if 10 of your Dwarfs were fighting 10 Hobgoblins, the situation would be Even. If 10 Dwarfs were up against 15 enemy Hobgoblins, your situation would be Inferior, whereas 15 of your Dwarfs against 10 Hobgoblins would be Superior.
4. Roll one die on the Skirmish Battle Results Table above against the appropriate Situation column.
5. Deduct the number of troops lost from either the enemy army or your own.
6. If troops remain alive on both sides, return to step 1 or 2, adjusting the number of troops for the side that has just incurred losses.
7. If your own troops are wiped out, you too will have perished in battle.
LuckIf you come across more than one creature in a particular encounter, the instructions on that page will tell you how to handle the battle. Sometimes you will treat them as a single opponent; sometimes you will fight each one in turn.
For the purposes of this Let’s Play, the attack rounds will be resolved all at once. I will generally only consider using Luck in battles if the character has less than 7 Stamina points. For such battles, I will ask whether Luck should be used to improve the odds of winning the fight.At various times during your adventure, either in battles or when you come across situations in which you could be either lucky or unlucky (details of these are given on the pages themselves), you may call on your luck to make the outcome more favourable. But beware! Using luck is a risky business, and if you are unlucky, the results could be disastrous.
The procedure for using your luck is as follows: roll two dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than your current LUCK score, you have been Lucky and the result will go in your favour. If the number rolled is higher than your current LUCK score, you have been Unlucky and you will be penalized.
This procedure is known as Testing your Luck. Each time you Test your Luck, you must subtract 1 point from your current LUCK score. Thus you will soon realize that the more you rely on your luck, the more risky this will become.
Using Luck in Battles
On certain pages of the book you will be told to Test your Luck and will be told the consequences of your being Lucky or Unlucky. However, in combat, you always have the option of using your luck either to inflict a more serious wound on a creature you have just wounded, or to minimize the effects of a wound the enemy has just inflicted on you.
If you have just wounded the creature, you may Test your Luck as described above. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound and may subtract an extra 2 points from the creature’s STAMINA score. However, if you are Unlucky, the wound was a mere graze and you must restore 1 point to the creature’s STAMINA (i.e. instead of scoring the normal 2 points of damage, you have now scored only 1).
If the creature has just wounded you, you may Test your Luck to try to minimize the wound. If you are Lucky, you have managed to avoid the full damage of the blow. Restore 1 point of STAMINA (i.e. instead of doing 2 points of damage it has done only 1). If you are Unlucky, you have taken a more serious blow. Subtract 1 extra STAMINA point.
Remember that you must subtract 1 point from your LUCK score each time you Test your Luck.
Restoring Skill, Stamina, and Luck
Please keep all spoilers covered out of respect to those of us who want to have a blind experience. Any ties will be broken by me based on my personal instincts.Skill
Your SKILL score will not change much during your adventure. Occasionally a page may give instructions to increase or decrease your SKILL score. A Magic Weapon may increase your SKILL, but remember that only one weapon can be used at a time! You cannot claim two SKILL bonuses for carrying two Magic Swords. Your SKILL score can never exceed its Initial value unless specifically instructed.
Stamina
Your STAMINA score will change a lot during your adventure as you fight monsters and undertake arduous tasks. As you near your goal, your STAMINA level may be dangerously low and battles may be particularly risky, so be careful!
Unlike some Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, you do not start your adventure with Provisions. However, during the course of the adventure, there will be opportunities for you to regain STAMINA points in various ways.
Remember also that your STAMINA score may never exceed its Initial value unless specifically instructed on a page.
Luck
Additions to your LUCK score are awarded through the adventure when you have been particularly lucky. Details are given on the relevant pages of the book. Remember that, as with SKILL and STAMINA, your LUCK score may never exceed its Initial value unless specifically instructed on a page.
Although this adventure is easier than the previous gamebook that I hosted, it can still be a challenge to win, especially for a hero of middling stats. I will thus allow our hero to have up to 7 boons from the following list to make things fair:
Rewinds: If our hero dies from any cause other than Stamina loss, the story will be reverted to a previous choice, with the Adventure Sheet being modified to what it was at that point in the story. A rewind will be used for each decision away from the death that we choose to send our hero back to. For example, if our hero starts with 7 rewinds, we can rewind to a maximum of 7 choices before the death occurred. This mechanic is to ensure that we remain careful in our decisions, as rewinds are not able to take our hero too far back from the death.
Restorations: If our hero’s Stamina falls to 0 in any way, it will be restored to its initial score after reducing initial Stamina by 2. This penalty is to ensure that we act sensibly when it comes to maintaining Stamina should our hero take a restoration or two.
Item Wishes: If our hero does not have an item that a section asks for, the said item can be requested by using an item wish. Any important information that would be obtained by normally getting the said item will also be provided.
Background
NOW TURN TO 1.Fame and fortune are two things which most adventurers crave and, having survived Baron Sukumvit’s infamous Deathtrap Dungeon, you now have both. It was thought impossible for anybody to battle their way successfully through the deadly dungeon in Fang, which was protected by the baron’s cunning Trialmasters. Yet somehow you survived and claimed the purse of 20,000 Gold Pieces in the Trial of Champions.
Now, wherever you walk in Fang, you are cheered, and in the taverns where you drink, people ask you about your perilous journey through the dungeon. ‘Was there a Bone Devil in the dungeon?’ ... ‘Did you see the beautiful Siren?’ ... ‘How did you overcome the Liche Queen?’ ... ‘What does a Coldclaw look like?’ ... ‘What is the colour of Mutant Orc’s blood?’ Everybody is in awe of you and wants to know all about the evil dungeon. But the constant attention soon becomes tiring and you resolve to set off on another quest as soon as possible. Besides, there is a new threat to Allansia which is gathering strength in the east. Before you set off, you decide to spend some of your hard-earned prize money. You commission a small castle to be built for you on the south bank of the River Kok while you are away; with the remaining 6,000 Gold Pieces, you decide to hire soldiers to make an army! Recently there have been sightings of a large number of Orcs and Goblins in the Forest of Fiends. There is a rumour that their leader is Agglax the Shadow Demon.
A Shadow Demon, as everybody knows, is a servant of the Demon Princes and a commander of the Legions of the Damned. Since their banishment to the Void after the First Battle of Titan, however, the Demon Princes were thought to have been defeated for ever. And yet one of their servants is now reported to have been seen. This tale comes from an old scavenger calling himself Drek who discovered a ruined temple near Zengis. Scratching around in the dirt in search of anything he might be able to sell, Drek found a black clay pot, corked and sealed with black wax. His curiosity proved too much for him and he broke the pot on a stone, hoping that it might contain gold or jewels. But his excitement soon turned to terror at the sight of what happened next. As soon as the black pot broke apart, Drek was deafened by the most hideous and evil cry that he had ever heard in his life. Slowly a mist started to form, growing ever larger and darker, until it coalesced in the shape of a black robe wrapped around a body that was invisible save only for two pulsating, blood-red eyes. Drek screamed in total fear, but the Shadow Demon he had released simply turned and disappeared. The chaos-spawn was to grow again on Titan.
On the strength of Drek’s story, you post recruitment notices all over Fang. The honour of fighting alongside someone of your renown – with the added bonus of payment in gold – draws a long line of hopeful warriors outside the tavern where you intend to hire your soldiers. Many are alone, others come in groups, but all are eager to sign up. Some tell of old adventures, others of monsters slain. But you recognize the qualities you seek and before nightfall your troops are chosen. Not knowing what dangers you will face, you decide not to hire all the warriors who have come, so as to have some gold left for the journey. You count the commission sheets and find that you have hired 100 Warriors, 50 Dwarfs, 50 Elven Archers and 20 Knights. In the morning you buy food, provisions and baggage mules. When everything is paid for, you are left with 700 Gold Pieces which you put in a wooden chest and strap to one of the mules. You make your way to the town square where your small army is assembled. Each unit leader is handed a yellow banner with the symbol of a burning sword emblazoned across it. To the cheers of the citizens of Fang, you lead your army out through the east gate towards an unknown and deadly foe.
1
You have marched no more than two hundred yards when a fat, bearded man, huffing and puffing, runs up alongside you. He is dressed as a sea captain, although his uniform is dirty and crumpled, and his grubby hat is dented. ‘Begging your pardon,’ gasps the captain, ‘but would you listen to my offer? I have just docked my ship in Fang and found everybody full of excitement. It seems that you are the cause of it. They tell me that you are traveling east to fight some demon or something. Well, I don’t know about any demons, but I’m willing to take you and your men on my ship as far as Zengis – for a small consideration, of course. Just think of all those miles you won’t have to walk! Sail up the River Kok in Captain Barnock's good ship Flying Toucan. And only 50 Gold Pieces am I asking for this luxury passage. Now, that’s a bargain, is it not?’ says the old sea-dog. If you wish to sail on the Flying Toucan, turn to 37. If you would rather continue marching, turn to 225.
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[/spoiler]In addition to the above choice, what name do you want to give our hero, and how many boons of each type should we take? Please make your decisions before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.
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