[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 9 - Caverns of the Snow Witch Redux

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, our luck is too low to count on for help. This book is a meatgrinder.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, again we'd be better off trying to use our luck to not hurt the werewolf. Hope our superior skill gets us through.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote not to use Luck here.

[Beroli]

Round One: Robert wins by 10. Werewolf is at 8 Stamina.
Round Two: Robert wins by 6. Werewolf is at 6 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert wins by 1. Werewolf is at 4 Stamina.
Round Four: Werewolf wins by 2. Robert is at 3 Stamina.
Round Five: Robert wins by 4. Werewolf is at 2 Stamina.
Round Six: Robert wins by 4. Victory.

After the ordeal with the Werewolf you cannot settle down to sleep again. You are pleased when Stubb completes the second watch and asks you to take over. The rest of the night passes peacefully and in the morning you are able to complete your journey to Stonebridge.

By mid-morning Stubb has become quite excited, knowing that he will soon be home. Seconds later, the thought of his dead friend Morri depresses him and he shakes his fist at the unseen Hill Trolls. An hour later you see distant wisps of smoke rising into the sky. 'Stonebridge!' yells Stubb. He starts to run ahead of you, but suddenly stops when he sees a party of six Hill Trolls marching toward his village. Screaming a dwarfish battle-cry, he raises his axe and charges at them. You cannot leave your friend to fight them on his own and run forward to fight at his side. Two of the Hill Trolls turn to fight you.

First HILL TROLL Skill 9 Stamina 10
Second HILL TROLL Skill 9 Stamina 9

Fight them both at once. You attack the second Hill Troll first at it has less Stamina.

Round One: Robert 17, First Hill Troll 14, Robert 15, Second Hill Troll 17. Robert is at 1 Stamina.
Round Two: Robert 18, First Hill Troll 16, Robert 20, Second Hill Troll 16. Second Hill Troll is at 7 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert 13, First Hill Troll 21, Robert 13, Second Hill Troll 20. Death.

[Beroli]

Rewinding, Robert uses the copper ring to distract the Birdman and runs while his (roll: 5, a ninja) is getting killed.

The sun is now overhead and you begin to sweat profusely. You become unbearably thirsty and curse the fact that you have not got a water-bottle. You finally reach a water-hole, but you feel like screaming when you see the body of an OGRE lying face-down in the water.

I feel safe in saying you choose not to drink the water.

Your thirst makes you weary; lose 1 Stamina point.

The three of you set off to the south, worried about the shortage of water. Stubb tries to offer some comfort by saying that you should reach Stonebridge in less than a day. He says he is surprised that you haven't seen any of his fellow Dwarfs by now. 'Oh yes we have,' says Redswift solemnly, 'but you won't want to see them like that.' He points to a boulder about 50 metres west. The bloodied body of a Dwarf lies propped up against it; his head has slumped forward, and he is motionless. His axe is still in his hand, and whoever or whatever attacked him cannot be far away.

Stubb runs up to the Dwarf, wailing in grief. 'It's Morri the ironsmith,' he says. 'This looks like the work of Hill Trolls. Let's bury Morri and get to Stonebridge as quickly as possible to tell them this terrible news. Here, take Morri's water-bottle. He won't need it now.' You gulp down the water and are at last refreshed (regain 1 Stamina point). After marking Morri's grave with his axe and helmet, you set off again for Stonebridge.

Night is approaching and you decide to camp in the shelter of some rocks and bushes, despite Stubb's plea to carry on. You build a fire and settle down to sleep. Redswift takes the first watch. Test your Luck; a 12 fails.

You have been asleep for only two hours when an eerie howl pierces the night air, waking you up. You see Redswift immediately stoke up the fire and Stubb run to his side, ready for battle. Suddenly you hear a twig snap behind you and you turn round to see a large beast about to leap on you. Its long hair and sharp teeth glisten in the firelight, and you realize it is a WEREWOLF. You must fight it.

WEREWOLF Skill 8 Stamina 10

I am confident you will vote not to use Luck here, so:

Round One: Robert wins by 5. Werewolf is at 8 Stamina.
Round Two: Werewolf wins by 1. Robert is at 13 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert wins by 4. Werewolf is at 6 Stamina.
Round Four: Robert wins by 7. Werewolf is at 4 Stamina.
Round Five: Robert wins by 1. Werewolf is at 2 Stamina.
Round Six: Draw.
Round Seven: Robert wins by 5. Victory.

After the ordeal with the Werewolf you cannot settle down to sleep again. You are pleased when Stubb completes the second watch and asks you to take over. The rest of the night passes peacefully and in the morning you are able to complete your journey to Stonebridge.

By mid-morning Stubb has become quite excited, knowing that he will soon be home. Seconds later, the thought of his dead friend Morri depresses him and he shakes his fist at the unseen Hill Trolls. An hour later you see distant wisps of smoke rising into the sky. 'Stonebridge!' yells Stubb. He starts to run ahead of you, but suddenly stops when he sees a party of six Hill Trolls marching toward his village. Screaming a dwarfish battle-cry, he raises his axe and charges at them. You cannot leave your friend to fight them on his own and run forward to fight at his side. Two of the Hill Trolls turn to fight you.

First HILL TROLL Skill 9 Stamina 10
Second HILL TROLL Skill 9 Stamina 9

Fight them both at once.

I think you will certainly vote not to use Luck here, but this post is long enough that I'm pausing for votes anyway. If none have been cast by tomorrow morning when I get up, I'll continue with you not using Luck.

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 11/11
Stamina 13/16
Luck 6/11
Provisions 0
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Sling
1 iron ball (sling-sized)
Large dragon egg
Star-shaped disc
Square-shaped disc
Boots of the elder elves
Shield
148 Gold Pieces
Air elemental protection spell
Deaths: 5 (chomped by white dragon, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch and then mauled by zombies, converted into Provisions by a hungry werewolf, slaughtered by two Hill Trolls)

[Thaluikhain]

Stamina 13, we might be alright this time.

(The village was threatened by an entire 6 Hill Trolls? That doesn't seem too bad after we saw 4 Birdmen)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote not to use Luck here as well.

[Queen of Swords]

Good lord, how many more fights are there going to be? Don't use luck, it's not high enough to rely on.

[Beroli]

Robert attacks the second Hill Troll first.

Round One: Robert 19, Hill Troll One 18, Robert 17, Hill Troll Two 13. Hill Troll Two is at 7 Stamina.
Round Two: Robert 20, Hill Troll One 17, Robert 17, Hill Troll Two 18. Robert is at 11 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert 16, Hill Troll One 15, Robert 19, Hill Troll Two 19.
Round Four: Robert 21, Hill Troll One 16, Robert 18, Hill Troll Two 20. Robert is at 9 Stamina.
Round Five: Robert 20, Hill Troll One 18, Robert 19, Hill Troll Two 20. Robert is at 7 Stamina.
Round Six: Robert 19, Hill Troll One 14, Robert 22, Hill Troll Two 15. Hill Troll Two is at 5 Stamina.
Round Seven: Robert 18, Hill Troll One 14, Robert 14, Hill Troll Two 11. Hill Troll Two is at 3 Stamina.
Round Eight: Robert 18, Hill Troll One 16, Robert 17, Hill Troll Two 14. Hill Troll Two is at 1 Stamina.
Round Nine: Robert 20, Hill Troll One 13, Robert 17, Hill Troll Two 13. Hill Troll Two is dead.
Round Ten: Hill Troll One wins by 4. Robert is at 5 Stamina.
Round Eleven: Draw.
Round Twelve: Robert wins by 5. Hill Troll One is at 8 Stamina.
Round Thirteen: Draw.
Round Fourteen: Hill Troll One wins by 1. Robert is at 3 Stamina.
Round Fifteen: Robert wins by 4. Hill Troll One is at 6 Stamina.
Round Sixteen: Robert wins by 6. Hill Troll One is at 4 Stamina.
Round Seventeen: Robert wins by 7. Hill Troll One is at 2 Stamina.
Round Eighteen: Robert wins by 2. Victory.

Stubb's desire for revenge spurs him on and he quickly defeats two of the Hill Trolls, and then helps Redswift dispatch the remaining two. He does not stop to search through the Trolls' belongings, but heads straight for Stonebridge. You follow him into the village where he is greeted by all his old friends. However, you soon discover that an air of gloom hangs over the Dwarfs. Even though they know that the Hill Trolls are gathering to attack their village, they have lost their will to defend themselves since their fabled war-hammer was stolen from King Gillibran. Stubb is concerned by their loss of morale and takes you to the inn to meet his friend Bigleg. He learns from Bigleg that an eagle took the war-hammer but dropped it over Darkwood Forest. 'Then we must find it. Bigleg, we must leave immediately,' says Stubb, forgetting his own troubles. He stands up and extends his hand to you, saying, 'Well, friends, I'm sorry, but I will not be able to offer you our hospitality after all. I hope you understand.' He walks out of the inn with Bigleg and that is the last you see of the jolly old Dwarf. Redswift sighs and suggests that the two of you leave for Moonstone Hills straight away. Besides, he says, he has something to tell you and in a way it is fortunate that Stubb will not be around to hear what he has to say. Intrigued by Redswift's words, you leave Stonebridge, heading east along the banks of Red River. While keeping a lookout for Hill Troll patrols, you cannot help wondering what it is that Redswift has to tell you. Hidden among the trees to your left, Redswift suddenly spots three Hill Trolls sharpening their weapons on a stone. Test your Luck; an 8 fails.

One of the Hill Trolls looks up and sees you walking by. He gives a cry of alarm and the three of them run out of the trees to attack. You have to fight two of them.

First HILL TROLL Skill 8 Stamina 9
Second HILL TROLL Skill 9 Stamina 9

You attack the second troll first.

Round One: Robert 19, First Hill Troll 12, Robert 18, Second Hill Troll 16. Second Hill Troll is at 7 Stamina.
Round Two: Robert 20, First Hill Troll 11, Robert 14, Second Hill Troll 15. Robert is at 1 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert 20, First Hill Troll 12, Robert 21, Second Hill Troll 20. Second Hill Troll is at 5 Stamina.
Round Four: Robert 14, First Hill Troll 19, Robert 20, Second Hill Troll 16. Second Hill Troll is at 3 Stamina, Robert is dead.

Rewinding, you defeat the first pair of Hill Trolls flawlessly.

[Beroli]

Stubb's desire for revenge spurs him on and he quickly defeats two of the Hill Trolls, and then helps Redswift dispatch the remaining two. He does not stop to search through the Trolls' belongings, but heads straight for Stonebridge. You follow him into the village where he is greeted by all his old friends. However, you soon discover that an air of gloom hangs over the Dwarfs. Even though they know that the Hill Trolls are gathering to attack their village, they have lost their will to defend themselves since their fabled war-hammer was stolen from King Gillibran. Stubb is concerned by their loss of morale and takes you to the inn to meet his friend Bigleg. He learns from Bigleg that an eagle took the war-hammer but dropped it over Darkwood Forest. 'Then we must find it. Bigleg, we must leave immediately,' says Stubb, forgetting his own troubles. He stands up and extends his hand to you, saying, 'Well, friends, I'm sorry, but I will not be able to offer you our hospitality after all. I hope you understand.' He walks out of the inn with Bigleg and that is the last you see of the jolly old Dwarf. Redswift sighs and suggests that the two of you leave for Moonstone Hills straight away. Besides, he says, he has something to tell you and in a way it is fortunate that Stubb will not be around to hear what he has to say. Intrigued by Redswift's words, you leave Stonebridge, heading east along the banks of Red River. While keeping a lookout for Hill Troll patrols, you cannot help wondering what it is that Redswift has to tell you. Hidden among the trees to your left, Redswift suddenly spots three Hill Trolls sharpening their weapons on a stone. Test your Luck; an 8 fails.

One of the Hill Trolls looks up and sees you walking by. He gives a cry of alarm and the three of them run out of the trees to attack. You have to fight two of them.

First HILL TROLL Skill 8 Stamina 9
Second HILL TROLL Skill 9 Stamina 9

You attack the second troll first.

Round One: Robert 16, First Hill Troll 19, Robert 20, Second Hill Troll 18. Robert is at 11 Stamina, Second Hill Troll is at 7 Stamina.
Round Two: Robert 18, First Hill Troll 16, Robert 14, Second Hill Troll 17. Robert is at 9 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert 16, First Hill Troll 11, Robert 20, Second Hill Troll 16. Second Hill Troll is at 5 Stamina.
Round Four: Robert 21, First Hill Troll 16, Robert 20, Second Hill Troll 21. Robert is at 7 Stamina.
Round Five: Robert 15, First Hill Troll 14, Robert 19, Second Hill Troll 20. Robert is at 5 Stamina.
Round Six: Robert 17, First Hill Troll 15, Robert 15, Second Hill Troll 15.
Round Seven: Robert 16, First Hill Troll 11, Robert 17, Second Hill Troll 18. Robert is at 3 Stamina.
Round Eight: Robert 16, First Hill Troll 14, Robert 17, Second Hill Troll 14. Second Hill Troll is at 3 Stamina.
Round Nine: Robert 17, First Hill Troll 13, Robert 22, Second Hill Troll 18. Second Hill Troll is at 1 Stamina.
Round Ten: Robert 13, First Hill Troll 16, Robert 18, Second Hill Troll 15. Robert is at 1 Stamina, Second Hill Troll is dead.
Round Eleven: Robert wins by 2. First Hill Troll is at 7 Stamina.
Round Twelve: Robert wins by 8. First Hill Troll is at 5 Stamina.
Round Thirteen: Robert wins by 6. First Hill Troll is at 3 Stamina.
Round Fourteen: Robert wins by 5. First Hill Troll is at 1 Stamina.
Round Fifteen: Robert wins by 7. Victory, Pyrrhic though it is.

You find a magnificent sword clenched in the hand of one of the dead Trolls (presumably the second one, since it had the higher Skill). You unbend their fingers and take the finely crafted weapon. Its edge is keen and without any effort you slice through a nearby branch. Restore 1 Skill point. Redswift urges you to hurry in case there are more Trolls nearby.

Even though it is quite cool walking along the bank of the Red River, you start to sweat and feel dizzy. You look at Redswift and he, too, looks far from well. His face is white and his eyes look dark and sunken. 'Sit down,' says Redswift in a laboured voice. You gratefully stop and collapse onto the grass, quite worried now as your heart is beating very fast. 'Do you remember walking through the caverns of the Snow Witch and arriving at a door with a piece of parchment nailed to it? You could not understand what was written on it and asked me to read it. It was a Death Spell and we are now both doomed. It is starting to work on us sooner than expected. We have to find the old man of the hills they call the Healer. Only he can save us now. But I fear it may be too late already. My legs are so weak, I don't know if I'll be able to stand again.'

You did drink the Dark Elf's Potion of Health.

The Death Spell is not working as quickly on you as it is on Redswift. You help him to his feet, apologizing that you made him read the infernal spell. He tells you not to worry about it, he was as good as dead anyway as a slave in the ice caverns. You manage to struggle on for another hour, carrying poor Redswift on your back. Suddenly his fingers dig into your arm and then his whole body relaxes; the Death Spell has won. After burying your elfin friend in a leafy glade, you set off as quickly as you can toward the Moonstone Hills. But you are weak and cannot walk very fast. Lose 1 Skill and 1 Stamina...

...and that kills you.

Rewinding, you pass the Luck Test to avoid the trolls' notice.

[Beroli]

The Hill Trolls do not see you, and you are able to slip by them unnoticed.

Even though it is quite cool walking along the bank of the Red River, you start to sweat and feel dizzy. You look at Redswift and he, too, looks far from well. His face is white and his eyes look dark and sunken. 'Sit down,' says Redswift in a laboured voice. You gratefully stop and collapse onto the grass, quite worried now as your heart is beating very fast. 'Do you remember walking through the caverns of the Snow Witch and arriving at a door with a piece of parchment nailed to it? You could not understand what was written on it and asked me to read it. It was a Death Spell and we are now both doomed. It is starting to work on us sooner than expected. We have to find the old man of the hills they call the Healer. Only he can save us now. But I fear it may be too late already. My legs are so weak, I don't know if I'll be able to stand again.'

You did drink the Dark Elf's Potion of Health.

The Death Spell is not working as quickly on you as it is on Redswift. You help him to his feet, apologizing that you made him read the infernal spell. He tells you not to worry about it, he was as good as dead anyway as a slave in the ice caverns. You manage to struggle on for another hour, carrying poor Redswift on your back. Suddenly his fingers dig into your arm and then his whole body relaxes; the Death Spell has won. After burying your elfin friend in a leafy glade, you set off as quickly as you can toward the Moonstone Hills. But you are weak and cannot walk very fast. Lose 1 Skill and 1 Stamina. The ground becomes steeper as you approach the foothills, and you wonder which way you should go to find the Healer.

Continue east following the river into the hills?
Cross the river by the rope bridge ahead of you and walk south along the base of the hills?

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 10/11
Stamina 12/16
Luck 5/11
Provisions 0
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Sling
1 iron ball (sling-sized)
Large dragon egg
Star-shaped disc
Square-shaped disc
Boots of the elder elves
Shield
148 Gold Pieces
Air elemental protection spell
Deaths: 7 (chomped by white dragon, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch and then mauled by zombies, converted into Provisions by a hungry werewolf, slaughtered by two Hill Trolls, slaughtered by a different two Hills Trolls, killed by a Death Spell)

[Queen of Swords]

Follow the river into the hills.

[Thaluikhain]

Follow river, I guess.

[Darth Rabbitt]

This has just been a whole lot of stumbling around the wilderness. Following the river sounds just as likely to work, sure.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I also vote to follow the river into the hills.

[Beroli]

The river narrows and the ground becomes steeper. As you climb, you feel yourself becoming weaker by the minute. Lose 1 Stamina point. You walk past a large hollow tree stump, paying it no attention, until you notice a thick vine, which is tied to its roots and runs up over the edge of the stump. You look inside the hollow stump and see the vine disappearing into its black depths.

Pull the vine?
Climb down the vine?
Ignore the vine and keep walking?

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 10/11
Stamina 11/16
Luck 5/11
Provisions 0
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Sling
1 iron ball (sling-sized)
Large dragon egg
Star-shaped disc
Square-shaped disc
Boots of the elder elves
Shield
148 Gold Pieces
Air elemental protection spell
Deaths: 7 (chomped by white dragon, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch and then mauled by zombies, converted into Provisions by a hungry werewolf, slaughtered by two Hill Trolls, slaughtered by a different two Hills Trolls, killed by a Death Spell)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to pull the vine to test it.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, may as well pull on the random thingy.

[Queen of Swords]

Pulling on it seems safer than climbing down into a dark hollow.

[Beroli]

As you pull the vine into the light, you see that it is crawling with revolting FLESH GRUBS, their blind heads writhing around in search of living flesh in which to burrow. You release the vine, but one of the Grubs crawls onto the back of your hand. Fortunately you manage to pull it off and stamp it underfoot. Regain 1 Luck point. You will not find the Healer in the tree stump so you decide to carry on walking up the river valley.

To your left, you see a narrow footpath leading from the bank of the river into the trees.

Walk up the footpath?
Go on up the valley?

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 10/11
Stamina 11/16
Luck 6/11
Provisions 0
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Sling
1 iron ball (sling-sized)
Large dragon egg
Star-shaped disc
Square-shaped disc
Boots of the elder elves
Shield
148 Gold Pieces
Air elemental protection spell
Deaths: 7 (chomped by white dragon, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch and then mauled by zombies, converted into Provisions by a hungry werewolf, slaughtered by two Hill Trolls, slaughtered by a different two Hills Trolls, killed by a Death Spell)

[Queen of Swords]

I suppose we should be grateful the book didn't make us fight the flesh grubs.

Go on up the valley.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to take the footpath since that has a higher chance of civilization and thus the Healer.

[Thaluikhain]

You will not find the Healer in the tree stump

Huh, odd that this had to be specified. Anyway, footpath.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Maybe we will find the healer in the footpath

[Beroli]

The footpath twists and turns through the trees before ending outside a wooden hut. You creep up to the hut and look through the window. An old man wearing purple robes and a grey skull cap is asleep in an ornately carved rocking chair. The shelves on the wall behind him are lined with jars of herbs and berries.

Old Man.PNG (167.52 KiB) Viewed 1144 times

Enter the hut?
Walk back down the path to continue up the valley?

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 10/11
Stamina 11/16
Luck 6/11
Provisions 0
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Sling
1 iron ball (sling-sized)
Large dragon egg
Star-shaped disc
Square-shaped disc
Boots of the elder elves
Shield
148 Gold Pieces
Air elemental protection spell
Deaths: 7 (chomped by white dragon, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch, blasted with magical energy by the spirit of the Snow Witch and then mauled by zombies, converted into Provisions by a hungry werewolf, slaughtered by two Hill Trolls, slaughtered by a different two Hills Trolls, killed by a Death Spell)