Re: [Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 59 - Curse of the Mummy
Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2022 5:18 am
There used to be a tradition of saying "Penetrate the hole", and side things are usually worthwhile, so go there.
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You squeeze through the small hole and crawl along a tunnel on your belly for a few metres. The tunnel suddenly slopes steeply downwards and you find yourself sliding into the depths of the temple. The tunnel eventually opens into a bare chamber and you are deposited on the hard stone floor. An archway leads out of this chamber and further into the temple, so this is the way you will have to go.
Good thing our STAMINA is now close to full!You find yourself in a long entrance hall. In front of you is a tall archway and on either side of it is a carved relief of Sithera, Goddess of Evil, ten metres high! Two cultists, their red robes bearing the motif of a rearing golden cobra suddenly run through the archway, their curved swords drawn. As you prepare to fight, you feel something strike you in the back and the world goes black...
Slowly you come to and take in your predicament. You are chained between two great pillars, your arms stretched out on either side of your body. You have been captured by the Cult of the Cobra! You have no idea how long you have been unconscious, but you have recovered in time to witness the ritual that will end in Akharis's resurrection! You are being held prisoner at one end of a vast chamber inside the Temple of Sithera. At the other end is a huge, ten-metre tall statue of the snake-headed goddess, her four taloned arms raised menacingly. Beneith the statue, on a raised dais, lies a large stone sarcophagus in side which is the mummified body of Akharisi The Mummy is huge and wears an ornate death-mask which covers most of the dead king's rotting face. At the base of the dais stand two large braziers, the magical fires of which fill the chamber with an unearthly glow. Standing between the braziers is a strikinglyy beautiful woman with black hair cut in the style of the ancient Diaratians. She is dressed in the robes of a Djaratian priestess, and in one hand she holds a staff, the top of which is carved to resemble a cobra's head. She is chanting an incantation in ancient Djaratian, and it is repeated by the crowd of cultists who stand between you and the dais. You are also horrified to see that a mass of Mummies, in various states of decay, are blocking the way to the High Priestess. These must be the Mummies of those loyal to Akharis, returned to life by the evil cult. You must stop this ritual! Standing slightly in front of you, on either side, are two cultists who are totally caught up by the ceremony in front of you. One holds your sword and the other has your backpack. But how are you to get free? In desperation you drag at the chains and feel one give slightly. The chains must have been here for centuries and they have weakened over time. If only you are strong enough...Roll three dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to your STAMINA, turn to 289. If it is greater, turn to 388.
With one mighty wrench you snap the chains free from the pillars. Before the two cultists can react, you swing the chains at them and knock them both out! Then you grab your sword and backpack. Most of the cultists are still unaware of what is going on. Do you want to attack them, or would you rather attack the Mummies in order to reach the High Priestess and stop the ritual?
Mummies cannot move quickly because of their constricting bandages, so will you run at them with your sword drawn or, if you can, will you use something else against them first?
Firepower isn't specified here, although it's of course more likely to be classified under fire instead of charms, but I'm pausing for votes again since it's not an exact check for Firepowder.What will you use against the Mummies: fire or any charms you may have? If you have none of these, you will have to use your sword.
If you are wearing a Sun Talisman, multiply the number of light rays projecting from it by eight, then turn to the paragraph with the same number as the total. Anything else you may have has no effect on these undead; so will you fight them with fire or with your sword?
Number of mummies destroyed = 2 (+2) = 4.The talisman starts to feel hot. Holding it up by its chain, you see that the sun is glowing brightly. There is a sudden flash, then a blazing beam of light shoots from the amulet into the undead horde with devastating effect. Several of the Mummies immediately burst into flames as their bone-dry wrappings ignite under the heat of the beam. Roll one dice and add 2. Make a note that this is the number of Mummies you have already destroyed. The talisman's power is expended, but Akharis's servants have already suffered the wrath of the sun god! Now will you attack the remaining undead with fire or your sword?
Ugh, it still doesn't tell us how many mummies we have to fight overall.There are two ways you can use fire as a weapon. The first is to fight using a torch, if you have one. If you do this, tum to 138 and fight as normal, but with your Attack Strength reduced by 1 point; if you win an Attack Round, you will cause 4 points of damage to the Mummy's STAMINA rather than the usual 2, since your weapon ignites its bone-dry bandages. The second method is to throw a fire source, such as a lamp, a Yokka Egg or a burning skin of oil at the Mummy. For each one you attack in this way you must Test your Skill; if you succeed, the Mummy bursts into flames and is destroyed. You may try this method as many times as you have fire sources to use. Once you have used up all your fire sources, or when you give up this method of attack, note down how many of the Mummies you have already killed and tum to 138.
We're left with 10 opponents...so, yeah, even if we'd been lucky and scored the maximum hits with the Sun Talisman, we'd still have about half of them left. The only way this (mandatory) encounter could have been made easier is for us to abuse the Gold resource to the full at the beginning to really stock up on oil skins (torches were limited to 3, and Yokka Eggs are more expensive while mostly serving similar functions most of the time).The Mummy horde numbers fifteen in total. With their atrophying hands outstretched in front of them, the powerful undead advance towards you. Fortunately, because Mummies are slow-moving, you can fight them one at a time. Each Mummy has SKILL 9 and STAMINA 12. (Remember to reduce the total by any you may have already destroyed.) If any individual battle lasts longer than nine Attack Rounds, tum to 236. If you manage to overcome all the shambling undead, turn to 367.