[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 47 – The Crimson Tide

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, may as well.

(Also, +2 sword? And it's to attack strength so doesn't matter if we are at our current max skill? That's really nice, normally there's +1 skill swords, and if you're really lucky, +1 and you can go over max skill, don't come across stuff like this very often)

[Queen of Swords]

Good thing we didn’t attack the guy. Stay there and chant a bit.

[JourneymanN00b]

Joining in the chanting already received 4 votes, so Xu Shiyou will do that by shouting "Down with the tyrant!" and "Gut the fascist!"

162
The doors of the building fly open and a squad of Dragon Guards swarm in, hacking indiscriminately at the untrained townspeople. If you have the golden sword and wish to use it, turn to 37. Otherwise turn to 342.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

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

[Queen of Swords]

I guess we should help the people, though us against a squad of guards doesn’t sound promising. Still, use the sword.

[Beroli]

Use the sword.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Use the sword against the fascist oppressors.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Xu Shiyou will use the golden sword.

37
The young fellow called Suiyuan is cut down even as you are raising the sword aloft. There is a moment of stillness, followed by cries of, ‘The sacred sword is with us!’ The revolutionaries start to fight back and, simply by force of numbers, oust the Dragon Guards; but more than half the revolutionaries have fallen in the bitter fighting. Their leader addresses you: ‘Now that Suiyuan is dead, you must carry his torch. Take the sacred sword to the capital. Appeal directly to Councillor Merzei – he must listen to us!’ You protest that you know nothing of the cause, but your words fall on deaf ears. You hurry out of the city and head south. Turn to 99.

99
You make good time back to your village. There is less evidence of the destruction here – indeed, it seems possible that the village could be rebuilt. With renewed hope you stride out again towards Yenshu. You are so used to sleeping rough that you don’t even consider spending hard-earned money to stay in the town. Turn to 166.

166
[spoiler][/spoiler]

The next few weeks merge into one another in a blur as you settle into a routine of travel. Although you pass many farmers working in the fields, there are few travellers on the roads. One day you meet a fellow dressed in rather tattered scholar’s robes. You recognize him as an itinerant puzzler. Scholars who fail the bureaucratic examinations often find it hard to secure employment, and many opt for the life of a puzzler. According to tradition, a puzzler may ask a question of anyone he meets on the road. If he does not receive the correct answer, custom dictates that the puzzler is entitled to charity – at the very least, the price of a meal. The puzzler is barely older than you are and doesn’t seem entirely sure of himself. He asks: ‘One day I bought a tree. The next day it grew by a half of its height. They day after, it grew by a third of its new height. The day after it grew by a quarter of its height, and so on … How many days did it take the tree to grow to a hundred times its original height?’ If you think you have worked out the correct answer, note it down on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 275. If you can’t solve the puzzle, make a note of what you are giving the puzzler and then turn to 378.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

[SGamerz]

"barely older than us"? We're 15, he looks almost middle-aged in the picture.

(What if he runs into a beggar who can't afford a meal himself? Will he be allowed to strip the poor bugger of everything he may still have and force him to sign an IOU until he manages to clear the puzzle debt he owes? Or follow him around and is entitled to share whatever he manages to beg from others for his next meal without doing his own begging?)

At the rate he describes, the tree is growing by 0.5% (out of the 100x) each day, so to gain the remaining 99% of the height required, the number of day would be 99/0.5 = 198. So note down 198 as the answer.

(EDIT: And if that answer is somehow wrong, I vote we give him our sandals when he demands payment.)

[Darth Rabbitt]

I agree with SGamerz.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Xu Shiyou will provide “198” as the answer.

275
At your confident answer, the puzzler looks taken aback. He peers at you suspiciously, scratches his head, mumbles, ‘Umm, yes,’ and shuffles off. The thought crosses your mind: I wonder whether he knew the correct answer himself! You resume your journey. Add 1 year to your Age and 1 point to your Permanent STAMINA.

You reckon you have covered over half the distance to Shoudu when you hear about a band of warriors from Hachiman that is said to be roaming the countryside to the east. If you make a diversion to seek out the warriors, turn to 349. If you push on to the capital, turn to 289.

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

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Xu Shiyou
SKILL: Temporary: 10 Permanent: Undetermined
STAMINA: Temporary: 14 Permanent: 14
LUCK: Temporary: 8 Permanent: 10
FEROCITY: -3 When FEROCITY = 0, turn to paragraph 200
AGE: 16 Initial Age = 13 When AGE increases, lose 2 FEROCITY
MONEY: 10 Gold Pieces, 30 Copper Coins
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Wooden Sword
Pronged Spear
Wide-brimmed Hat
Walking Sandals
Red Robe
Golden Sword (+2 Attack Strength)
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 0
NOTES:
King
Offers
Wood
To
198
RESURRECTION USED?: No[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

To the capital.

[Queen of Swords]

We need to take the sword to the capital, so let's not get distracted along the way.

[Darth Rabbitt]

That question made us age a year?

Anyways, keep to our quest.

[SGamerz]

Check out the foreign warriors. Paul Mason loves the Japanese, so there's probably something good or important we can get out of the encounter with Titan's pseudo-Japanese.

(Shoudu literally translates to "capital city". This one is pretty straightforward.)

[JourneymanN00b]

Apologies for the delay, today’s work was a huge hassle due to several mishaps. I have counted the votes, and pushing on to the capital won by a 3-1 vote.

289
The rest of the journey passes uneventually. Eventually Shoudu rises before you, sprawling along the banks of the mighty Red River. At first you don’t take in its size, but as you approach the city you begin to realize that your home district, fields, woods, hills and all, would fit comfortably within its walls. You pass through the enormous North Gate and look around. Although there is the bustle of everyday business, there are signs that the civil war has scarred the capital. On one side the charred remnants of a building bear silent testimony while, on another, a pair of flint-featured Dragon Guards survey the citizens with barely disguised contempt. Nevertheless Shoudu is the seat of the God-King and by ancient tradition he may be petitioned in cases of great injustice. If you have a wooden plaque and wish to use it, turn to 302. If you seek to petition the king, turn to 202. Or you may try to break into the palace: turn to 147.

Xu Shiyou does not have a wooden plaque. Please make your votes on whether to petition the king or break into the palace before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Petitioning the king seems more likely to get us an audience with a councillor than breaking into the palace.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, let’s try petitioning the king.

[Thaluikhain]

Petition.

[Beroli]

Petition. This clearly can't be Bezenvial if Merzei is active now. If it's Poo Ta this will be useless; if it's Meior it might be useful.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Xu Shiyou will petition the king.

202
At the palace you join the queue of townspeople waiting to bring their pleas before the king. Eventually you come before an official who writes down the details of your case. He tells you to come back in a week’s time for an audience with a high dignitary, who will decide whether you are fit to plead before the king. If you come back in a week, turn to 297. If you cannot wait that long and break into the palace in the meantime, turn to 147.

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

[Darth Rabbitt]

We’ve spent years on our quest; one more week won’t hurt.

[Thaluikhain]

Hmmm, this seems like am "Are you sure you don't want to try this other option" thing, so half vote for breaking in.

[Queen of Swords]

So we come back in a week and meet a dignitary who might or might not allow us to meet the king. Doesn't sound promising. Another half vote for breaking in.

[Beroli]

Wait. Breaking in sounds thoroughly unwise.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes tallied, Xu Shiyou will come back in a week, as that won over breaking into the palace by a 2-1 vote.

297
On reporting to the palace the following week, you are shown into a large, circular audience-chamber and told to kneel before the throne at one end. Into the room glides a corpulent figure, swathed from head to foot in the most elegant silks and fine brocade. He seats himself on the throne and tells you that he is Pantu, official Adviser to His Majesty. After listening impassively to your case, he nods his head and gestures to a guard. Then he leaves the chamber without a word. The guard escorts you down a corridor and pushes you roughly into a small cell, slamming the door behind you and hurrying away. Over the next few days you learn altogether too much about the sadistic appetites of Pantu, the king’s Adviser. Your fate is not a pleasant one.

Ouch. Truly a terrible end for our hero. Fortunately for him, his sole resurrection will kick in, which will take him all the way back to the first game-breaking event that our hero faced. That was when he lost the fight against Deaths Messenger. I technically could have decided to restore Xu Shiyou’s stamina back to 5 after the Deaths Messenger dealt the finishing blow, but I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to fully play out the adventure before using the resurrection. As requested by several of you, Luck will be used to reduce damage that he takes and increase damage that our hero deals to the Deaths Messenger for the rest of the fight.

The fight (continued from Round 5 after the Deaths Messenger dealt the finishing blow):
[spoiler]Round 6: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 11;
Deaths Messenger Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 5
Round 7: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 15;
Luck Roll: 7, Player is Lucky and deals 2 extra Stamina damage
Deaths Messenger Stamina: -1, Player Stamina: 5, Player Luck: 8[/spoiler]

After getting resurrected, Xu Shiyou manages to deal a Lucky blow and destroy the Deaths Messenger, which means we are heading to paragraph 170.

170
With a bold sweep of your sword, you chop through the skeleton’s neck. Its skull topples and a moment later the ghastly vision disappears into thin air. Write down the word ‘when’ on your Adventure Sheet. Your STAMINA is restored to its permanent level. Add 1 point to your SKILL but deduct 2 points from your FEROCITY. Now turn to 345.

Paragraph 345 sees our hero head for the range of hells and to paragraph 226. It is there that he arrives at Yenshu and proceeds to paragraph 145. In that paragraph, he heads to his uncle’s house and is advised by his uncle to go to Baochou rather than the magistrate.

Please vote on whether to head to Baochou or the magistrate and when to make a different choice out of the decisions that Xu Shiyou encountered in his previous life before 9:00 AM PDT or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Xu Shiyou
SKILL: Temporary: 7 Permanent: Undetermined
STAMINA: Temporary: 5 Permanent: 5
LUCK: Temporary: 8 Permanent: 10
FEROCITY: 3 When FEROCITY = 0, turn to paragraph 200
AGE: 13 Initial Age = 13 When AGE increases, lose 2 FEROCITY
MONEY: 0 Gold Pieces
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Wooden Sword
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 1
NOTES:
When
RESURRECTION USED?: Yes[/spoiler]