[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 53 – Spellbreaker

[Thaluikhain]

Just fight, usin g dark magic that we don't know about and that's currently set up to harm us seems unwise.

[Omegonthesane]

It would be quite weird for a voodoo doll to just be able to select a new target like a rifle, and in any case we got dinged for using demonology even when it was actually quite necessary; attempt to fight Nazek "fairly".

But do take the healing salve.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, don't use the voodoo doll.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes counted; Ariel Faust Constantine will fight her way through the mêlée to reach the Warlock, as that won by a 4-1 vote. She will also use the Healing Salve before heading into combat, as there were two votes to do so.

319
Shouting a battle-cry, you leap into the throng of the assembled coven. All round you members of the Resistance are engaging witches – and worse things – in combat. You turn on your nearest foe. Roll one die. If you roll 1-3, turn to 295; 4-5, turn to 384; 6, turn to 69.

Rolling the die yielded a 3, so we will turn to paragraph 295.

295
You are facing a thin, horned Devil with cloven hoofs and long, razor-like claws. However, the Hob is not particularly powerful and will be affected by your FAITH. Roll one die and add 3. If the total is less than, or equal to, your FAITH, the Hob backs away from you, letting you pass through the crowd (turn to 69). If the total is greater than your FAITH, you must fight the thing.

HOB       SKILL 7       STAMINA 6

If you win, turn to 69.

Rolling the die and applying the appropriate modification yielded a 4, which is obviously less than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Faith.

69
The mass of fighting bodies parts and you find yourself confronting a grotesque, goat-headed Demon wielding a heavy spiked mace.

GOAT-HEADED DEMON       SKILL 9       STAMINA 10

If you defeat the hellspawn, turn to 397.

Important Note: The Wizard publication has reduced the Goat-Headed Demon’s Skill from 9 to 8, and this change will be applied in Ariel Faust Constantine’s battle with the Goat-Headed Demon.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Goat-Headed Demon Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Goat-Headed Demon Stamina: 8, Player Stamina: 23
Round 2: Goat-Headed Demon Attack Strength: 12, Player Attack Strength: 23;
Goat-Headed Demon Stamina: 6, Player Stamina: 23
Round 3: Goat-Headed Demon Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Goat-Headed Demon Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 23
Round 4: Goat-Headed Demon Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Goat-Headed Demon Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 23
Round 5: Goat-Headed Demon Attack Strength: 16, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Goat-Headed Demon Stamina: 0, Player Stamina: 23[/spoiler]

As expected, Ariel Faust Constantine flawlessly defeats the Goat-Headed Demon.

397
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Your opponent falls and you break through the coven’s ranks and find yourself at the foot of the plinth. You arrive just in time to hear Nazek shout, ‘Oh Kurakil, great Infernal Beast! Oh Miphreas, the Sould Destroyer! Be free of your prison!’ The spell is complete! A rumble of thunder reverberates round the crypt and the night sky is torn apart by a bolt of lightning that streaks down out of the clouds, through the hole in the vaulted ceiling and into the crypt, striking the Demafrauge. There is a dazzling explosion of light and the lid of the chest flies open. Stepping out of the thick smoke that is rising from the casket is a foul monstrosity at least five metres tall. The creature’s torso is humanoid and covered with shimmering bronze scales. Sprouting from its shoulders are a pair of enormous, leathery, bat-like wings; vicious spikes protrude from its spine, which ends in a dragon’s long tail. The demonic beast’s head is like that of a wolf, but on a larger scale, with fangs as long as knives and two horns growing from the top of its skull. The Kurakil throws back its head and lets out an animal roar. At last it is free after many centuries trapped in limbo. Although you were too late to prevent its release, you may still be able to defeat the Infernal Beast. Will you attack the Demon with Deliverer (turn to 250) or use something else against it (turn to 270); or will you first read the Spell of Locking, if you have it, by turning to the number on the page from the Grimoire on which the spell is written?

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

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Ariel Faust Constantine
SKILL: 13 Initial Skill = 14
STAMINA: 23 Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 10 Initial Luck = 12
FAITH: 12
GOLD PIECES: 15
PROVISIONS: 7
INFECTION: 0
Turn to 13 if INFECTION is 15 or more
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Sword
Lantern
Tinderbox
Backpack
Silver Key With ‘252’ Engraved
Shroud
Falcon
Protective Leather Gauntlet
Ilithorn Rose
Charmed Pipes
Jar of Powder
Golden Sickle
Shield
Deliverer
Necklace of Elven Prayer-Beads
Venom’s Bane Potion (Page 331)
Holy Amulet
Black Grimoire Page 376 With Spell of Locking
Rune-carved Bone Ring
Notes:
Knows Demonic Word of Command
Say ‘One, two, away’ to send a falcon with SKILL 7 STAMINA 5 against an opponent
Reduce any additions to INFECTION by 1 point
Password is ‘The four phases of the moon’
Raven
RESURRECTIONS: 3[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

I think it would be safest to read the spell of Locking and close the Demafrauge first.

[Omegonthesane]

Agreed - close the box.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, let's do the spell that we already know the BBEG doesn't want us to cast (suggesting it's good in foiling the enemy plans).

[SGamerz]

Ok, it's checking us for the number reference, so using the spell should work this time!

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; Ariel Faust Constantine will read the Spell of Locking by turning to page 376.

376
Unfolding the page from the Black Grimoire, you begin to read. As your lips form the words that will lock the chest, you see Nazek, still a short distance from you, mouthing something. Your concentration starts to waver and you almost lose your place in the spell. The Warlock is using a Charm of Confusion against you. Test your Skill. If you succeed, turn to 109. If you fail, turn to 2.

Rolling the dice yielded a 7, which is obviously less than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Skill.

109
By strength of will alone, you overcome the mind-clouding charm. With a loud, hollow boom, the chest lid drops shut. You look up, to see that the Beast is almost upon you. Turn to 250.

250
Is the Demafrauge still open? If it is, turn to 356. If it has been locked, turn to 263.

The Demafrauge has been locked.

263
The Demon roars and swings a taloned hand in your direction; it misses your throat by a whisker. Deliverer is ablaze with blue light as you wield the Blessed Blade against the Infernal Beast.

KURAKIL       SKILL 12       STAMINA 18

After every Attack Round, roll one die. If you roll 5-6, the Beast’s tail lashes around, striking you for an additional 2 points of damage to your STAMINA. If you are triumphant at the end of this titanic battle, turn to 283.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Kurakil Attack Strength: 22, Player Attack Strength: 18;
Tail Roll: 4;
Kurakil Stamina: 18, Player Stamina: 21
Round 2: Kurakil Attack Strength: 16, Player Attack Strength: 17;
Tail Roll: 6;
Kurakil Stamina: 16, Player Stamina: 19
Round 3: Kurakil Attack Strength: 22, Player Attack Strength: 22;
Tail Roll: 6;
Kurakil Stamina: 16, Player Stamina: 17
Round 4: Kurakil Attack Strength: 18, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Tail Roll: 4;
Kurakil Stamina: 14, Player Stamina: 17
Round 5: Kurakil Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 24;
Tail Roll: 4;
Kurakil Stamina: 12, Player Stamina: 17
Round 6: Kurakil Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 24;
Tail Roll: 6;
Kurakil Stamina: 10, Player Stamina: 15
Round 7: Kurakil Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Tail Roll: 6;
Kurakil Stamina: 8, Player Stamina: 13
Round 8: Kurakil Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 18;
Tail Roll: 6;
Kurakil Stamina: 8, Player Stamina: 9
Round 9: Kurakil Attack Strength: 16, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Tail Roll: 1;
Kurakil Stamina: 6, Player Stamina: 9
Round 10: Kurakil Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 22;
Tail Roll: 6;
Kurakil Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 7
Round 11: Kurakil Attack Strength: 21, Player Attack Strength: 22;
Tail Roll: 1;
Kurakil Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 7
Round 12: Kurakil Attack Strength: 22, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Tail Roll: 1;
Kurakil Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 5[/spoiler]

So, the battle has progressed to the point where the Kurakil has only 2 Stamina left, and Ariel Faust Constantine’s Stamina is down to 5. Should Luck be used for the rest of the fight to reduce the damage that our hero takes?

The first choice to receive two votes will be used to resolve the rest of this battle. If no option has a winning margin before 9:00 AM PST, I will make the choice based on which votes are cast.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Ariel Faust Constantine
SKILL: 13 Initial Skill = 14
STAMINA: 5 Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 10 Initial Luck = 12
FAITH: 12
GOLD PIECES: 15
PROVISIONS: 7
INFECTION: 0
Turn to 13 if INFECTION is 15 or more
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Sword
Lantern
Tinderbox
Backpack
Silver Key With ‘252’ Engraved
Shroud
Falcon
Protective Leather Gauntlet
Ilithorn Rose
Charmed Pipes
Jar of Powder
Golden Sickle
Shield
Deliverer
Necklace of Elven Prayer-Beads
Venom’s Bane Potion (Page 331)
Holy Amulet
Black Grimoire Page 376 With Spell of Locking
Rune-carved Bone Ring
Notes:
Knows Demonic Word of Command
Say ‘One, two, away’ to send a falcon with SKILL 7 STAMINA 5 against an opponent
Reduce any additions to INFECTION by 1 point
Password is ‘The four phases of the moon’
Raven
RESURRECTIONS: 3[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Sure. No point in using Luck to inflict damage because one normal hit will finish off the Kurakil (and hopefully we can eat a meal afterwards).

[SGamerz]

Yeah, and no reason to save LUCK at this point since we're probably right at the endgame. Use LUCK to reduce damage.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for your votes. Luck will be used to reduce the damage that our hero takes.

The fight, continued:
[spoiler]Round 13: Kurakil Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 15;
Luck Roll: 3, Player is Lucky and only takes 1 Stamina damage
Tail Roll: 3;
Kurakil Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 4, Player Luck: 9
Round 14: Kurakil Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Tail Roll: 1;
Kurakil Stamina: 0, Player Stamina: 4[/spoiler]

The Kurakil lands another blow on Ariel Faust Constantine, who gets Lucky and only loses 1 Stamina. She then deals the finishing blow to the Kurakil.

283
With all the force you can muster, you drive Deliverer between the scales of the Demon’s chest and into its diabolical heart. Blue flames race along the length of the sword, bathing you and the Demon in their cool light. At once the body of the Kurakil starts to burn with the fires of Hell as its spirit is banished to the Outer Planes.

With the Infernal Beast destroyed, you can turn your attention to Nazek. He is holding the Black Grimoire in front of him. Too late you realize that he is casting yet another spell! Materializing all over your body are dozens of small, hairy, black bodies. Desperately you try to brush the spiders off, but some manage to crawl inside your clothes and bite you with their venomous fangs. If you have the potion called Venom’s Bane, turn to the paragraph with the same number as that of the page containing the recipe for this potion in Sam’s book. If you do not have this potion, turn to 209.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Ariel Faust Constantine does have the Venom’s Bane potion, so we will turn to paragraph 331 after eating a Provision, as there was a request to do so.

331
With shaking hands you take the potion from your pack and gulp it down. The antidote takes immediate effect and the spiders drop from you, repelled by the Venom’s Bane. As Nazek begins another incantation you rush at him, knocking the book from his hands. The Warlock pulls a long, sacrificial knife from under his robes and prepares to finish you off. At last you have a chance to exact your revenge on the evil Warlock.

NAZEK       SKILL 10       STAMINA 9

If you reduce Nazek’s STAMINA to 2 points or less, turn at once to 258.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Nazek Attack Strength: 18, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Nazek Stamina: 7, Player Stamina: 8
Round 2: Nazek Attack Strength: 16, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Nazek Stamina: 5, Player Stamina: 8
Round 3: Nazek Attack Strength: 18, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Nazek Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 8
Round 4: Nazek Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 16;
Nazek Stamina: 1, Player Stamina: 8
Nazek’s Stamina is reduced to 1[/spoiler]

Ariel Faust Constantine manages to reduce Nazek’s Stamina to 1 point without taking a single hit in the process.

258
Nazek stumbles, falling backwards to the ground. You raise Deliverer above your head to deal the death-blow when a thunderclap reverberates round the crypt. You are frozen to the spot in fear as a terrible, evil sentience, millennia old, tries to force its way into your mind. The night of Shekka’s Moon is the time when the dark goddess’s influence is at its greatest in the world, and at this moment she is using her own powers directly against you. Roll one die and add 7. If the total rolled is less than, or equal to, your FAITH, turn to 400. If it is greater, turn to 169.

Rolling the die and applying the appropriate modification yielded a 10, which is less than Ariel Faust Constantine’s Faith.

400
The evil of Shekka is strong, but your faith is stronger. You feel the dark goddess’s grip as your mind begins to fail. With every fibre of your being you force yourself to move again. With one hand you manage to trace the Rune of Good in the air. Suddenly your mind and body are free of all tension and restraint. Yelling, you bring the Blessed Blade down with such force that it goes straight through Nazek’s body into the plinth beneath. The Warlock’s body suddenly goes limp. Nazek is dead. The rest of the fighting is soon over and the Cauldron of Midnight is no more.
     Dawn comes and you see that the heavy, grey clouds of the last week have given way to clear skies. The month of Close is almost upon the land and there is a sharp chill in the air, but the oppressive atmosphere of evil has lifted. Lying beside Nazek’s immobile body is the object of your whole quest: the Black Grimoire. When you have rested for a few days at Claybury, you will return the evil book to Rassin Abbey, and never again will it threaten the safety of your homeland. As you think of the abbey, you can just imagine the scene: Brother Calamus is illuminating a text narrating the story of a truly heroic adventurer who overcame the forces of evil to bring peace to the land. The story of the Spellbreaker. Your story.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Bonus victory entry:
Upon returning to Rassin Abbey, Ariel Faust Constantine is greeted by Abbot Dunstan, Prior Alwyn, and Brother Calamus. Upon seeing the Black Grimoire, Brother Calamus falls to his knees and cries out “Praise be to Alishanka and to you for delivering us from this evil, Spellbreaker!”

“Please, it is the least I can do after causing the theft of the Grimoire in the first place, Brother.” Abbot Dunstan replies. “You are forgiven. If there is anything we can do to help you in your next step of your adventure, please let us know.”

“I would just like to have a rest for two days, if that is okay with all of you.”

“Done!” replies Prior Alwyn with a rare enthusiastic smile.

After two days have passed, Ariel Faust Constantine returns to her adventuring days with two weeks’ worth of food on her backpack and 250 Gold Pieces, both of which was supplied by the monks of Rassin Abbey as a sign of eternal gratitude.

As Ariel Faust Constantine disappears into the wilderness for her next adventure, the air is filled with chants and praises from the Monks.

“Long live the Spellbreaker! Long live the Spellbreaker!”

Well, it took a quite a bit of edits and resurrections, but we actually managed to survive this monstrosity of a gamebook! So give yourselves some massive accolades, as we can now say that we conquered the true granddaddy of hardest Fighting Fantasy gamebooks!

Some of the critical slip-ups that needed intervention on my part started with failing the Faith test when sleeping at the Pilgrim’s Rest. We needed to pass that test, which only has a 50% percent of success in order to get a boost of 2 Faith points and the Pilgrim’s Staff, the latter of which was key to getting the Ilithorn Rose later from the High Priest of Gwythain’s Barrow. Missing the boost of 2 Faith points was the game-ender, as that put our hero’s Faith at too low a score to get essential quest items such as the Heal All. The next mistake happened at the Market Square when we decided to look round the stalls instead of heading to the healing well. Due to bad game design, our hero would have had the choice of checking the stalls after visiting the healing well, but not vice versa. After giving a Gold Piece to a beggar to get another Faith point, we needed to pay another 2 Gold Pieces, which would have been the last 2 Gold Pieces that our hero had at this point, to take the waters of the well. We would then be subject to another Faith test with only a 1 in 3 chance of succeeding (at best) in order to get the Heal All that was necessary to survive the plague. As you can see, the Faith mechanic was a primary reason why this gamebook has a microscopic chance at success at its unedited form. The alternate option that I used to provide the necessary quest items and Faith boost at Hemlock and Hogweed’s Apothecaries was not perfect, but I think it as plausible story-wise in order to keep the adventure winnable and improve this adventure’s entertainment factor.

Thank you all for playing, and I hope to see all of you in my next thread, which will be for Knights of Doom, very soon. Now this book is definitely easier than Spellbreaker, but we will still need to be on our toes to have a good chance of surviving that adventure. The storytelling is decent, and I hope that we can have an enjoyable experience as we round out the original Puffin Books series!

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Ariel Faust Constantine
SKILL: 13 Initial Skill = 14
STAMINA: 8 Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 9 Initial Luck = 12
FAITH: 12
GOLD PIECES: 15
PROVISIONS: 6
INFECTION: 0
Turn to 13 if INFECTION is 15 or more
EQUIPMENT AND TREASURE:
Sword
Lantern
Tinderbox
Backpack
Silver Key With ‘252’ Engraved
Shroud
Falcon
Protective Leather Gauntlet
Ilithorn Rose
Charmed Pipes
Jar of Powder
Golden Sickle
Shield
Deliverer
Necklace of Elven Prayer-Beads
Holy Amulet
Black Grimoire Page 376 With Spell of Locking
Rune-carved Bone Ring
Notes:
Knows Demonic Word of Command
Say ‘One, two, away’ to send a falcon with SKILL 7 STAMINA 5 against an opponent
Reduce any additions to INFECTION by 1 point
Password is ‘The four phases of the moon’
Raven
RESURRECTIONS: 3[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

This was exciting! Thanks for hosting it and for applying the necessary modifications.

What would have happened if we hadn't bought the falcon and Mistress Crowfoot's raven got away? That falcon did nothing afterwards (or even before).

[Thaluikhain]

Thanks for running this.

[Beroli]

Thanks for running this, JourneymanN00b.

[SGamerz]

That falcon did nothing afterwards (or even before).

Technically, it could have done something every battle (the text stated it could attack 1 of our opponents during battle), but we never made use of it. Although with its low SKILL it probably wouldn't have made too much difference. And since it has a STAMINA score, I'd assume it can get killed during battle, which might be why JourneymanN00b never used it during battles - chances are, if we get it killed too early, we'd have failed due to not having it to catch the raven later.

****

This book isn't a bad read if the player doesn't get bored/frustrated with dying and having to restart too many times. By this stage in the series (last 10 books or so), you can tell that most of the few older writers still are losing their enthusiasm. Keith Martin was said to have admitted to being burnt out (which possibly contributed to the bug-ridden last book he wrote). Robin Waterfield's writing in Deathmoor looks uninspired and bland compared to his last one (Phantoms of Fear). Livingstone had been going through the motions as early as the late 30s part of the series. Only Paul Mason still seemed to be trying to experiment with new things. Jonathan Green, being the newest guy on the job, is clearly still enthusiastic on his writing, and you can tell he's putting in effort to create an epic story arc and making the encounters interesting, even if the difficulty level came out horribly balanced as a result. It's clear that he was still writing like a big fan of the series.

Thanks for running this, and I look forward to the next one. That's one of the last few that I never read before.

[Thaluikhain]

Jonathan Green used to work for GW for a bit, and he wrote a few novels and short stories and stuff for WD. I never was very impressed with those but he always seemed to be trying, you know?

[JourneymanN00b]

Appreciate the many thanks headed my way. Makes me feel that running Let's Plays are worthwhile.

SGamerz is right on the money on why I never used the falcon in the battles. If it gets killed, or if the hero didn't buy it, the raven would have warned the Cauldron of Midnight of the hero's approach, and dozens of foul Demons would have appeared and bore down on the hero upon leaving Tallow. Which would have led to a sad death.