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[/spoiler]Hello folks. About a week ago, I got a copy of Fighting Fantasy Book #50, which will be the subject of this Let’s Play. Anyone interested in joining our attempt to complete this adventure 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. Due to my work duties, however, I will be moving my more frequent update day from October 16 and 23, both Sundays, to October 15 and 22, which are both Saturdays, should the Let’s Play last that long.
Preface
IntroductionFiretop Mountain, the forbidding peak whose dark shadow once cast gloom over the whole of Northern Allansia, has been quiet for ten years. It has been that long since the diabolical reign of the evil sorcerer, Zagor, was ended by a heroic adventurer who braved the countless perils of the dungeons beneath the mountain and succeeded where so many had failed before.
But now, resurrected by the power of dark sorcery, Zagor has risen from the dead! More evil than before, the crazed wizard is intent upon wreaking his revenge upon all Allansia. He must be stopped, and for good this time. Some brave adventurer – YOU! – must enter the forbidding labyrinth and bring justice once more to the lord of Firetop Mountain!
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to embark on this thrilling adventure, which comes complete with its own elaborate combat system and a score sheet to record your progress.
Many dangers lie ahead and your success is anything but certain. Sinister enemies are ranged against you; it’s up to YOU to decide which route to follow, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight. Beware: Zagor will not be so easy to defeat a second time!
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 14-15 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 sheet for 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, when you will be instructed on a particular page.
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. 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: 12
STAMINA: 17
LUCK: 11
Once again, Fate has decided to be nice and give our protagonist excellent Skill and close to top-notch Luck. The hero’s Stamina is also mediocre, but that should not be too much of an issue if we are smart about our decisions.
Battles
Fighting More Than One CreatureYou will often come across pages in the book which instruct you 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 the creature’s SKILL and STAMINA scores in the first vacant Monster 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 your opponent, 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 over). Proceed to step 6.
5. The creature has wounded you, so subtract 2 points from your own STAMINA score. Again you may use LUCK at this stage (see over).
6. Make the appropriate adjustments to either the creature’s or your own STAMINA score (and to your LUCK score if you used LUCK – see over).
7. Begin the next Attack Round by returning to step 1. This sequence continues until the STAMINA score of either you or the creature you are fighting has been reduced to zero (death).
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 monster; 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. In battles where escape is an option and the character has less than 7 Stamina points, I will also ask whether the character should escape from the battle and under which conditions to do so.At various times during your adventure, either in battles or when you come across situations in which you could either be 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 less than or equal to 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
In certain paragraphs 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 battles 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 your opponent 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 own LUCK score each time you Test your Luck.
Restoring Skill, Stamina and Luck
EquipmentSkill
Your SKILL score will not change much during your adventure. Occasionally, a paragraph 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 2 SKILL bonuses for carrying 2 Magic Swords. Your SKILL score can never exceed its Initial value unless you are specifically instructed otherwise.
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 become dangerously low and battles may be particularly risky, so be careful!
Unlike other Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, in this adventure you do not begin with any Provisions. However, during the course of the adventure, you will have opportunities to regain STAMINA points in various ways.
Remember also that your STAMINA score may never exceed its Initial value unless you are instructed to the contrary in a specific paragraph.
Luck
Additions to your LUCK score are awarded during the adventure when you have been particularly lucky. Details are given in the paragraphs of the book. Remember that, as with SKILL and STAMINA, your LUCK score may never exceed its Initial value unless you are specifically instructed otherwise.
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.You start your adventure with the basic tools of your trade: a fine sword; clothes suitable for travelling; a backpack to hold your Provisions and any treasure you may come across; and a lantern to light your way.
Now, this particular adventure can be tough to complete due to its meatgrinder nature, even for a hero with very good stats. I will therefore allow our hero to have up to 3 boons of the below types to level the playing field:
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 3 rewinds, we can rewind to a maximum of 3 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 to initial Stamina is to ensure that we are sensible in 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 paragraph 1.Ten years is not a long time in a wizard’s life – some live for over two hundred years, keeping themselves alive by their own magic and potions. There is a well-known saying among wizards which goes: ‘You’re a long time dead, so let’s live instead!’ Some wizards even went one step further: they cast a spell on themselves so that, in the event of their being slain or assassinated, they were able to raise themselves after a predetermined time when their assailant was long gone. The wizards who chose to come back from the dead were, however, always aligned to evil, for it was dark magic that was needed to cheat death. One of those wizards was known (and feared) by the name of Zagor, the infamous Warlock of Firetop Mountain. Ten years have passed since the day when he was killed by a brave adventurer who risked the guards and deadly traps deep inside Firetop Mountain to save Allansia from his evil magic. But killing Zagor is one thing; keeping him dead is another. Nobody knew that Zagor had cast the Raise Dead Spell on himself, otherwise the adventurer who killed him would have sealed him inside his mountain tomb.
But all that was ten years ago. In the last six months, sinister events have begun to happen around Firetop Mountain. First, the top of the mountain, which was famous for its red-coloured bracken, has turned deathly black. Livestock which have grazed on and around the mountain for decades have started to die a sickening death, and recently people have even disappeared, dragged inside the mountain (it is said) by hideous creatures of the night. Those good people who remain are terrified, for it is rumoured that Zagor has risen and is building himself a new body, bit by bit, from the unfortunate villagers of Anvil!
You are an adventurer, a sword for hire, wandering through the lands. Coming to the village of Anvil, you decide to stop for a rest after your week-long march. However, as soon as you enter the village you sense that all is not well. The villagers look frightened and women quickly push their children indoors as you walk along the main street. You decide that the local tavern would be the best place to find out what is troubling the villagers, so you enter the Two Moons. The chatter inside dies down quickly to a low murmur and the customers eye you as you walk up to the bar. The barman stares at you sternly, and you can see by the look in his eyes that he is a proud man trying to hide is fear.
‘Yes?’ he grunts in a low voice.
You tell him that you are an adventurer seeking a new quest that will end in riches and honour. He frowns, not knowing whether to trust you.
‘Does the name Zagor mean anything to you?’ he asks softly, watching you closely for a reaction.
‘Zagor,’ you reply confidently, ‘was the Warlock of Firetop Mountain until he was slain, ten years ago.’
‘Is the Warlock of Firetop Mountain,’ the barman says dramatically. ‘He’s come back to life! He is building himself a new body and is sending his evil servants to Anvil to take back live donors!’
The barman seems to accept you as a friend and quickly goes on to tell you about the doom that has befallen Anvil, thanks to Zagor.
‘We need help, stranger!’ he says desperately. ‘None of us here has the power to defeat Zagor ... but maybe you do. We are poor and cannot pay you what you deserve to take on such a task, but we do know that there are chests full of gold inside Firetop Mountain. Will you help us?’
By now the tavern is silent. All eyes are upon you. How can you let them down? Slowly you smile and nod your head.
‘On one condition,’ you say.
‘Name it,’ the barman replies.
‘That I get a hot bath and a room for the night!’ you laugh.
‘Done!’
Everyone in the tavern lets out a cheer, and they all gather round to slap you on the back and offer to buy you some ale.
In the morning you find the barman, whose name you learn is Moose, cooking a large breakfast for you.
‘You must set off south immediately to visit the grand wizard Yaztromo. He alone can prepare you for such an adversary as Zagor. Don’t even think about tackling Zagor on your own. He is stronger than ever and his magic is deadly,’ Moose says earnestly.
You thank him for his advice and bid him farewell.
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[/spoiler]Leaving Anvil and its villagers behind, you set off east deep in thought. Firetop Mountain is only a short distance from Anvil, but to go all the way to Yaztromo’s Tower first would mean losing many days’ valuable time. How could Yaztromo help? Ever since he single-handedly defeated eight ghoulish Dark Elves on the edge of Darkwood Forest, the place where he built his famous tower, his reputation has grown. Wise, good, powerful, philanthropic and many other words were used to describe the great Yaztromo. Many sought his help against evil and none were turned away. Suddenly there is a shout from behind you. You spin around, to see Moose running towards you. You notice that his sword is drawn and there is a look of alarm on his face.
‘Zagor will know of your plan unless we can catch the two Trackers I saw running from Anvil, a few minutes ago. They must have overheard us and are running back to inform Zagor. Quick, follow me, we must catch them,’ Moose says hurriedly, still panting. He runs off into the undergrowth, shouting at you to follow him. If you wish to do so, turn to 341. If you would rather continue to walk along the path alone, turn to 161.
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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