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

[JourneymanN00b]

Important note: Since the spoiler tags still do not work, some of my posts in this thread will be a little difficult to read. I hope that everyone can bear with the clutter, since the issues are apparently not getting resolved anytime soon.

Cover
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Welcome, everyone. I recently acquired a copy of Fighting Fantasy Book #47, which will be the subject of this Let’s Play. Anyone interested in joining our attempt to complete this story is welcome. 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 those days. However, my work duties will probably cause adjustments to this proposed schedule, since they are heating up due to the additional projects that I need to work on.

Preface

In the Isles of the Dawn, far to the east, mighty forces strive to gain power over the land. Wandering bands of mercenaries act as they please, looting, burning and pillaging the once-peaceful countryside.

YOU are the child of a rice-farming family, unskilled in combat but filled with dreams of heroism and glory. When mercenaries arrive in your village you are flung into an adventure which tests your courage to the limits. Your father’s dying wish is for you to learn the martial arts of the Baochou Monastery. But is this the best way to bring his killer to justice?

As you grow and learn, you must face the horrors of the wide world beyond the village – a world of strange customs and malignant creatures. Many encounters await you: with sorcerers, monks, samurai and malevolent spirits. Many fates could befall you: slavery, betrayal, imprisonment or death. But in the end it will be your courage, skill and knowledge that will help you win the ultimate battle: to conquer the crimson tide of revenge!

Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to embark on this fabulous adventure, which is complete with its elaborate combat system and a score sheet to record your progress.

Many fearsome dangers lie ahead and your success is by no means certain. Powerful adversaries are ranged against you and it’s up to YOU to decide which route to follow, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight.

Introduction

You begin this adventure as a teenager, the child of a poor peasant family in the Isles of the Dawn. Before embarking on your adventure, you must first determine your own strengths and weaknesses. Use dice to find out your initial scores. As you grow older in the course of the adventure you will find that these will increase quite rapidly. On pages 16-17 there is an Adventure Sheet which you may use to record the details of your adventure. On it you will find boxes for recording your SKILL, STAMINA, FEROCITY and LUCK scores, as well as your Age.

You are advised either to record your scores on the Adventure Sheet in pencil, or make photocopies of the sheet for use in future adventures.

For the purposes of this thread, the Adventure Sheet will be hand-made and will be periodically displayed.

Skill, Stamina, Ferocity and Luck

Roll 1 die and enter this total in the SKILL box on the Adventure Sheet.

Roll 2 dice and enter this total in the STAMINA box.

Roll 1 die, add 6 to this number and enter the total in the LUCK box.

There is also a FEROCITY box. Roll 1 die, add half of your STAMINA to this number (halves round up), and enter the total in the FEROCITY box.

For reasons that will be explained below, your scores in SKILL, STAMINA, LUCK and FEROCITY will change constantly during the 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. Unlike other Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, The Crimson Tide begins with you as a child. For this reason your SKILL, STAMINA and FEROCITY may eventually exceed the number you roll at the start. For SKILL and FEROCITY you should simply keep track of their current levels until you reach the age of 18. So far as STAMINA is concerned, you should keep track of both your Permanent STAMINA and your Temporary STAMINA. The paragraphs will make it clear whether it is Permanent or Temporary STAMINA that is affected, but you must remember that combat always affects Temporary STAMINA. Your LUCK score, unlike all the above, may not exceed its Initial score, and you should never erase this.

Your SKILL score reflects your swordsmanship and general 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. If your STAMINA score drops to zero, your character is dead: stop reading, close the book and then start again from the beginning. 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. Your FEROCITY is a measure of your thirst for vengeance. Being ferocious is useful in battle, but you are less able to control yourself. If your FEROCITY score drops to zero or less, make a note of the paragraph number you are at and turn at once to paragraph 200.

Making the appropriate rolls and modifications yielded the following initial scores:
SKILL: 6
STAMINA: 5
LUCK: 10
FEROCITY: 4
So our teenage hero is fairly tame in terms of Ferocity and possesses mediocre Stamina, but has excellent Skill and decent Luck. Which means that the character’s odds of survival are respectable.

Age

You begin the book as a thirteen-year-old. Months and years may pass in the course of your adventure, however, and you should keep track of your Age in the box provided. Only amend your Age when told to do so in a paragraph. Whenever your Age increases, you should do two things: reduce your FEROCITY by 2, and return your Temporary STAMINA to its Permanent value, for time is a great healer. As soon as you reach the age of eighteen, you will no longer be able to increase either your SKILL or your Permanent STAMINA.

Combat

You will often come across paragraphs in the book in which you are instructed to fight a creature of some sort. An option to flee may be given, but if not – or if you choose to attack the creature anyway – you must resolve the battle as described below.

First record your opponent’s SKILL and STAMINA scores in the first empty Monster Encounter Box on your Adventure Sheet. The scores for every potential adversary are given each time you have an encounter which may end in combat. The sequence for combat is then:

1. Roll 2 dice for your opponent. Add its SKILL score. This total is the opponent’s Attack Strength.

2. Roll 2 dice 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 your opponent, you have wounded it: proceed to step 4. If your opponent’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 deduct 2 points from its STAMINA score. (You may use your LUCK here to do additional damage – see below.) Now proceed to step 6.

5. This creature has wounded you, so deduct 2 points from your own STAMINA score. (Again you may use LUCK at this stage – see below.)

6. Make the appropriate adjustments either to the opponent’s or to your own STAMINA score (and to 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 your adversary has been reduced to zero (death).

Escaping

In some paragraphs you will be given the option of escaping from a fight should things be going badly for you. However, if you do run away, your opponent automatically gets in one free attack on you (deduct 2 STAMINA points) as you flee – such is the price of cowardice. (Note that you may use LUCK to minimize this wound in the normal way – see below.) You may Escape only if this option is specifically given to you in the relevant paragraph.

Luck

At various times during your adventure, either in battle or when you find yourself in a situation in which you could be either lucky or unlucky (on each occasion you are invited to Test your Luck in the relevant paragraph), you have to 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 Testing your Luck is as follows: roll 2 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.

Each time you Test your Luck, you must subtract 1 point from your current LUCK score. You will soon come to realize that the more you rely on your LUCK, the more risky this will become.

Using Luck in Battles
In certain paragraphs you will be told to Test your Luck and will then discover the consequences of being Lucky or Unlucky. However, you always have the option of using your LUCK in battle, either to inflict a more damaging wound on an opponent you have just wounded or to reduce the seriousness of a wound your opponent has just inflicted on you.

If you have just won an Attack Round, you may Test your Luck as described above. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound on your opponent and may deduct 2 extra 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 its STAMINA (so that, instead of inflicting the usual 2 points of damage, you have now caused only 1).

If you have just lost an Attack Round and have been wounded, you may Test your Luck to try to lessen the effect of the wound. If you are Lucky, you have managed to avoid the full impact of the blow; restore 1 point of STAMINA (so that, instead of causing 2 points of damage on you, it has done only 1). If you are Unlucky, you have had to take a more serious blow; deduct 1 extra STAMINA point.

Remember: you must subtract 1 point from your LUCK score every time you Test your Luck regardless of the outcome.

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’s Temporary Stamina is less than half of the character’s Permanent Stamina score. For such battles, I will ask whether Luck should be used to improve the odds of winning the fight. In battles where escape is an option and the character’s Temporary Stamina is less than half of the character’s Permanent Stamina score, I will also ask whether the character should escape from the battle and under which conditions to do so.

Restoring Skill, Stamina, Ferocity and Luck

Skill
As you grow and learn, your SKILL score should increase. However, there will come a point when you can learn no more – when you reach the age of eighteen. At this point, write down your Initial SKILL value on your Adventure Sheet to indicate that it may increase no further. From this time on, only a special weapon will allow you to 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.

Stamina and Provisions
Your Permanent STAMINA score will increase as you train your body. However, when you reach the age of eighteen, it can increase no more. At this point, your STAMINA has reached its Initial value and you should draw a circle round the number of your Permanent STAMINA on your Adventure Sheet.

Your Temporary 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 become dangerously low and battles may be particularly risky, so be careful!

In the course of the adventure you may acquire Provisions. You may rest and eat at any time except when engaged in battle. Eating a meal restores up to 4 STAMINA points. When you eat a meal, add up to 4 points to your STAMINA score and deduct 1 of your Provisions. (A separate Provisions Remaining Box is provided on the Adventure Sheet for this purpose.) Remember that you have a long way to go, so use your Provisions wisely! Remember also that Provisions and potions may never restore your STAMINA score to a number higher than its permanent value.

Ferocity
As you are affected by the events of your adventure, so your FEROCITY may increase or decrease. Full details will be given in the appropriate paragraphs.

Luck
Additions to your LUCK score are awarded during the adventure when you have been particularly lucky; when this occurs, details will be given in the relevant paragraphs. Your LUCK score may never exceed its Initial value. Unlike the other three scores, the number you roll for LUCK is its Initial value.

Equipment

You start your adventure with no equipment apart from the clothes you stand up in and a wooden sword, but you will probably acquire various items during your travels. Keep a careful note of anything you may pick up.

Notes

In the course of this adventure you will have to make notes in the appropriate box of your Adventure Sheet. You should make sure that you copy the words down correctly, and that you list them in the order in which you come across them. Since you may have to make several notes, try to write small.

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.

As you can see, this book is a very unique one and uses different mechanics than the ones that I have previously hosted. It is not as hard as meatgrinders such as Crypt of the Sorcerer and Sky Lord, but survival can be a challenge. Our hero will thus be given one resurrection, and only one resurrection, in order to help even the odds. Upon dying, our hero will use this resurrection to go back to the point where the first critical mistake was made in order to make survival possible again. The Adventure Sheet will also be reverted to what it was at that point in the story upon use of this resurrection. This resurrection can also be used to provide our hero with any item that a section asks for that the hero does not have. In short, this resurrection is more powerful than any boon employed in several previous Let’s Plays. Please use this resurrection wisely, as it can be easy for the hero to die if the wrong decisions are carelessly made in this adventure.

Background

Your world is a world of mud and water. Ever since you were a baby, all you’ve known are the simple baked-mud houses of your village and the vast watery expanses of rice paddies, interspersed here and there by pastures. Although you have not yet entered your fourteenth summer, you are used to working in the fields. You are lucky to have been born strong and hardy – at the end of a day spent planting tender shoots in the mud you still have some energy left for play and for practice. You fancy yourself a mighty warrior, like those who occasionally ride by, so you have carved a sharp stick for your sword and swing it in circles above your head. At first the other children laughed at you but, after you killed a giant Mudworm, they learned new respect for you.

The events of the outside world rarely concern you. Even when you hear that there is civil war in the land, your only concern is that the soldiers won’t harm your rice crops. Rice is a luxury; a good rice crop means wealth ... and most goes in taxes to the tribunal. No, you care little for the great events of the kingdom. After all, one king is much like another. Poo Ta has never done you any favours, so what do you care if he is replaced by some other ‘divine’ ruler?

Then one day the foreign mercenaries arrive in your village. The gleam of their black lacquered armor makes them look like horribly distended beetles. Their gimlet eyes shine with evil intensity. The villagers who stand in their way are ruthlessly hacked down. They collect all the rice and round up all the women, including your mother. Your father protests and, as you watch, the leader of the mercenaries cuts him down with his narrow, slashing, curved blade. ‘The new king seeks slaves,’ says the coarse-tongued barbarian, ‘and you scum aren’t going to get in my way.’

You stare at the man, fixing his appearance in your mind. His armor is composed of scales, laced together, with occasional plates and spikes covering vulnerable areas. His helmet is wide and his face is covered by a fierce, bestial mask; it is a scowling parody of a man, with bulging brows and wickedly curved horns. Through large holes the evil brown eyes of your father’s attacker return your stare with what could almost be amusement.

Then, with a yell, the mercenaries mount their horses and leave, driving their captives before them with whips. The horses make slow progress through the flooded fields, and it seems to take an eternity before the killers disappear from sight.

Your father dies in your arms. His last words are, ‘Go to the Baochou Monastery. Avenge me and save your mother!’

Now turn to paragraph 1.

1
[spoiler][/spoiler]

You leave your village with several other youngsters, all determined to seek revenge. You carry with you your wooden sword (make a note of it on your Equipment List) and some food (note down that you have 2 Provisions). The paddy fields lie all about you with the sun sparkling on the still, muddy water. You make your way along a path on the top of a polder – the low earth-barrier separating one rice field from the next. Several kilometers distant is the local town of Yenshu, in which the magistrate of your district holds his tribunal. You have never been there yourself, but your cousin Quan visited Yenshu’s temple two years ago and so he knows the way. Not much is said on the journey until you arrive at the road which leads to Yenshu. Here, where the polder tracks join the wider thoroughfare, a small settlement is to be found; an inn and the huts of several artisans. The foreign mercenaries have been here, too. The buildings are scorched and blackened from fires, and broken pottery lies strewn all around. Suddenly little Hani lets out a shriek and points: the bloodied corpse of another victim sprawls amid the wreckage of the horse trough.

‘We must have vengeance upon these murderers,’ says Sunai, the eldest of you, clenching her fist.

‘The magistrate in Yenshu will deal with them,’ replies Quan, who already has the bearing of a monk, though he is not yet even a novice.

You stand among the wreckage, discussing the fate which you hope will befall the mercenaries, while Sunai counts the slain. Quan says he believes the invaders are from far across the seas – from the land of Hachiman, where the men are savage and primitive, and accustomed to mistreating women. ‘Barbarians such as these,’ he points out, ‘have a crude religion reflecting only a fragment of Arn, and so have no foundation upon which to build a civilization. Their land is ruled by warriors who are constantly warring with one another.’

Sunai finishes her unpleasant task and reports that six men lie dead here. Now you must hurry to the magistrate to report the matter and set the wheels of justice in motion. But the barbarians may still be stalking the land. If you hurry along the road to Yenshu, you may catch up with them. On the other hand, if you travel to Yenshu along the polder-paths, the journey will take much longer, and it will be more arduous for the younger children. You have the wooden sword in your hand. It seems that you are the leader. If you decide to travel along the road, turn to 92. If you would prefer to make your way among the rice paddies, turn to 288.

In addition to the above choice, what name do you want to give our hero? Please make your decisions before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.

[SGamerz]

STAMINA 5? Man, we're going to have to eat every time we take a scratch, aren't we?

Travel by the road. Despite what the Background says, I doubt our character can easily overcome a Giant Mudworm, and rice paddies sounds like the place they'd show up.

[SGamerz]

Just a bit of trivia: a lot of the names in this book are loosely (very loosely in some cases) based on the Chinese pronunciation of something equivalent. I'm not quite sure if Yenshu, Sunai and Quan translate to anything in particular (without the tone and inflection markings there are way too many possibilities), but Baochou almost definitely means "revenge" in this context. The idea presumably comes from old Chinese mythologies of young men seeking to avenge a wrong travelling to Shaolin temple (or other such equivalents) to learn martial arts in order gain the prowess to defeat their bitter enemies in mortal combat. That said, since such temples/monasteries are invariably Buddhist, and are generally against the principle of seeking vengeance or even performing any sort of violence in general, having Baochao as the name of the monastery is pretty hilarious under this context.

A very brief exchange of comments in an online blog confirmed that, while he was interested in their culture, Paul Mason could not, indeed, speak any Mandarin at the time this book was written, and was mostly picking out words from a Chinese-English dictionary. Not sure whether he does now, although he's most definitely well-versed in Japanese.

(There are many such cases in Black Vein Prophecy too, the most hilarious being 'Biantai', which is most commonly used as a derogatory term to insult perverts, being used as the name of the Mutation spell, although due to the way Beroli ran his LP, most of those were edited out of the text there.)

EDIT: Given the character background and story, I nominate the name Xu Shiyou:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Shiyou

[Queen of Swords]

Travel by the road. Despite what the Background says, I doubt our character can easily overcome a Giant Mudworm, and rice paddies sounds like the place they'd show up.

Agreed.

[Thaluikhain]

That makes sense, and we are supposed to be hurrying.

EDIT: Given the character background and story, I nominate the name Xu Shiyou:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xu_Shiyou

That does go with the title "Crimson Tide", which is usually about communism, menstruation, or blooms of red algae that build up in filter feeders and cause severe poisoning in people who eat them, sometimes even months after the algae has gone.

[JourneymanN00b]

I have registered your votes to travel along the road, and to name our hero Xu Shiyou.

92
The roads in your district are frequently used by merchants who come to buy surplus rice from the peasants. Strangely, there are no merchants in sight on this road and, after walking for an hour, you discover the reason. A small cloud of dust appears ahead of you, then resolves itself into the shape of a fiercely armoured, mounted warrior – perhaps one of the mercenaries who attacked your village. He will be on you in moments. The rest of the children flee into the rice fields. If you run after them, turn to 133. If you wait and try to ambush the mercenary, turn to 325.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

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

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Xu Shiyou
SKILL: Temporary: 6 Permanent: Undetermined
STAMINA: Temporary: 5 Permanent: 5
LUCK: Temporary: 10 Permanent: 10
FEROCITY: 4 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: 2
NOTES:
None
RESURRECTION USED?: No[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Ambush him. Yaaargh.

[Queen of Swords]

I'm not sure we should try taking on an armored, mounted warrior when we have a skill of 6, a wooden sword and not much else. Flee with the other children.

[SGamerz]

I'm not sure we should try taking on an armored, mounted warrior when we have a skill of 6, a wooden sword and not much else. Flee with the other children.

Agree with this.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, we should flee because they are scarier than us, and might not even be one of our enemies anyway.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes counted, Xu Shiyou will run after them, as that option won over waiting and trying to ambush the mercenary by a 3-1 vote.

133
The children scatter and flee, but in his haste poor Hani slips and falls, sprawling across the polder. The horseman comes to a halt, sending up a cloud of dust. If you continue to flee into the rice paddies, turn to 31. If you turn and try to distract the horseman’s attention away from Hani, turn to 157.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.

[SGamerz]

Ok, this time I vote to try and save the kid, because at least the option is to "distract" and not try to kill him ("ambush" was a little too vague earlier). I suspect we won't be able to do the latter at all until we grow up or at least get a real weapon. But distract and run should be at least viable.

[Beroli]

Distract the goon.

[Thaluikhain]

Distract

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, do what we can to save the kid.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Distract.

Also, including this book we’ve covered the first 49 books in the series (and a few in the 50s).

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Xu Shiyou will turn and try to distract the horseman’s attention away from Hani.

157
‘Hoi! Hoi!’ you call, gesticulating wildly with your arms. ‘Foulbreath! Mudworm! Savage!’

The mercenary curses back at you, leaping off his horse and advancing. You back away, making sure that the barbarian can’t see Hani dragging himself to his feet and struggling over the polder. Luckily the man’s heavy armour slows him and you evade him easily. Finally he remounts, spits in your direction, then tugs hard at the reins and kicks his feet into the horse’s flanks. The horse leaps towards you. Too late you dodge to one side. A steel-shod hoof cracks you across the head and you topple backwards into muddy water, losing consciousness. Lose 2 points of Temporary STAMINA. Gain 1 point of FEROCITY.

You come to, alone and soaked to the skin. There is no sign of Quan and the others. If you head back to your village, turn to 115. Alternatively you can try to carry on and reach Yenshu. The road may be dangerous, but you’re not familiar with the polder-paths. If you decide to stick to the road, turn to 384. If you travel along the polders, turn to 332.

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

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Xu Shiyou
SKILL: Temporary: 6 Permanent: Undetermined
STAMINA: Temporary: 3 Permanent: 5
LUCK: Temporary: 10 Permanent: 10
FEROCITY: 5 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: 2
NOTES:
None
RESURRECTION USED?: No[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

You come to, alone and soaked to the skin. There is no sign of Quan and the others.

They abandoned us after we got hurt saving the kid? '

Travel along the polders.

[SGamerz]

Yeah, now that we've been seen on the road, probably should stay off if for a while.

And eat a meal too. We don't want the same thing that happened in the last LP to happen again, and this time we start with less STAMINA than that other guy did when he died.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Xu Shiyou will travel along the polders. He will also eat a Provision.

332
You have only a vague idea of the direction you ought to take, and the sun is already low in the sky … you must have lain unconscious for over an hour. When night falls you are still among the paddy fields. A range of hills rises out of the plain some kilometres away and you believe that Yenshu must be near them, but travelling at night along polder-paths is too dangerous. Choosing a spot that is not too muddy, you prepare for an uncomfortable night out in the open. Roll 2 dice. If the result is less than your FEROCITY, turn to 204. If the result is equal to or greater than your FEROCITY, turn to 46.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Rolling the dice yielded a 9, which is greater than Xu Shiyou’s Ferocity.

46
[spoiler][/spoiler]

There is hardly any moon to shed light on the fields around you. Occasional gurgling noises and the whisper of the wind suggest that fierce monsters lie in wait, hiding in the darkness until you lie, asleep and defenceless. You stare this way and that, straining to make out what horrors may be lurking in the night. You look up at the stars, but their faint gleam is cold comfort.

Suddenly the sounds die down. Walking across the fields towards you is a skeleton, gleaming with unearthly light. Fires burn in its empty eye-sockets, and it carries a huge, broad-bladed sword. You leap to your feet and draw your wooden sword. A tremor of fear runs through your body as the ghastly spectre closes in for the kill.

DEATHS MESSENGER SKILL 6 STAMINA 6

If you defeat the apparition, turn to 170. If you are defeated by it, do not begin your adventure again from the beginning, but turn instead to 246.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 18;
Deaths Messenger Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 5
Round 2: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 11;
Deaths Messenger Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 3
Round 3: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 14, Player Attack Strength: 13;
Deaths Messenger Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 1[/spoiler]

The fight has gone to the point where Xu Shiyou is now at 1 Stamina, while the Deaths Messenger is at 4 Stamina. Should Luck be used to inflict additional damage if Xu Shiyou scores another blow?

The first choice to receive two votes (or two votes over all other choices) will be used to resolve the rest of the battles. If no option has a winning margin before 9:00 AM PDT, I will make the choice based on which votes are cast.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Xu Shiyou
SKILL: Temporary: 6 Permanent: Undetermined
STAMINA: Temporary: 1 Permanent: 5
LUCK: Temporary: 10 Permanent: 10
FEROCITY: 5 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:
None
RESURRECTION USED?: No[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Use luck.

[SGamerz]

Ugh, we started at STAMINA 5, and every point counts, so we really should have used LUCK to reduce damage to us from the beginning.

Use LUCK to increase damage output.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for your votes. Luck will be used to deal extra damage, since both votes were for that.

The fight, continued:
[spoiler]Round 4: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 8, Player Attack Strength: 12;
Luck Roll: 11, Player is Unlucky and only deals 1 Stamina damage
Deaths Messenger Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 1, Player Luck: 9
Round 5: Deaths Messenger Attack Strength: 14, Player Attack Strength: 13;
Deaths Messenger Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: -1[/spoiler]

Unfortunately, Xu Shiyou got Unlucky when he dealt another blow to the Deaths Messenger, which managed to finish our hero off at the next round. To section 246 we go.

246
The skeleton dashes the sword from your hand, hurls its own blade aside and grasps your neck in its bony fingers. The bleached white skull presses against your face and a hissing voice sounds in your head. ‘Now you are mine, you will do my bidding!’

You are woken by the first bright rays of the sun across your face. Once again you are wet and caked with mud. Your STAMINA is restored to its permanent level. Add 2 points to your FEROCITY. Turn to 345.

345
You set off once more along the polder-paths, heading for the range of hills. The warmth of the sun on your face restores some of your spirit, although your limbs still ache from your uncomfortable night. Turn to 226.

226
Soon the gaudily painted houses of Yenshu come into sight, dominated by the grey tower which, you presume, rises from the magistrate’s tribunal. Few people are about as you enter the town, and those you do pass regard you wanly before hurrying by. You remember that a distant uncle of your family lives in Yenshu. He was always regarded as the black sheep of the family, but he might give you a welcome. Turn to 145.

145
The people you meet in the street treat you with suspicion, but when you ask for directions to your uncle’s house they become friendlier. You are directed to a pleasant little dwelling close by Yenshu’s North Gate. When you strike the gong which hangs outside the door, a slender woman answers; she leads you into the main hall where you uncle Zhonggao waits. When he rises to greet you, the similarity to your father in voice and appearance is striking. Zhonggao must have been your father’s brother, though he had always been described to you as if he were only distantly related. Your uncle smiles to welcome you and you tell him the fate of his brother. A shadow passes across his face as you speak of the foreign barbarian’s foul deed.

‘The spirit of the land is weak once more,’ he muses. ‘Is Bezenvial’s clammy grasp still at our throat?’

‘The child must be given money,’ says Zhonggao’s wife, Yubei, the woman who answered the door. ‘Shelter too, and any other help we can render. They may have spurned you because of me, but they are still your family, and you must help avenge your brother’s death.’ You sleep well, and in the morning you hungrily devour a delicious bowl of rice porridge with pickled vegetables. While you eat, Zhonggao ponders upon your best course of action. ‘The magistrate is busy, and perhaps too callow to take action. It may be wisest to make for Baochou, there to learn the fighting arts, so that you can take revenge yourself.’ If you decide to visit the magistrate, turn to 391. If you start the journey to Baochou, turn to 365.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Xu Shiyou
SKILL: Temporary: 6 Permanent: Undetermined
STAMINA: Temporary: 5 Permanent: 5
LUCK: Temporary: 9 Permanent: 10
FEROCITY: 7 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:
None
RESURRECTION USED?: No[/spoiler]

[SGamerz]

Well, our uncle just gave us advice that echoes what our father told us to do, so head for the monastery.

Also, I'm not 100% sure (due to lack of tonal markings), but "Zhonggao" possibly translates to "wise/sincere counsel/advice" in Mandarin, so that could be a hint to follow what he says.

(Also, on the chance that we may have to rewind back to that last fight later, I'm going to advance-vote that we use LUCK to reduce damage from the beginning of the combat.)

[Queen of Swords]

The skeleton didn't kill us? Hm.

And yes, head for the monastery.