[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 55 - Deathmoor

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, let's see what he does if we don't pay.

[SGamerz]

Riding on the crest of your current popularity in the tavern, you grab a handful of the landlord's jerkin, pull him halfway across the top of the bar and tell him in no uncertain terms what you think of his suggestion. You then leave the tavern.

Well, that was easy.

Will you now head west out of the city, to begin your quest, or stay in Arion for a while?

Where to now?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to stay in Arion for a while to see if we get any additional clues before Waluigi visits the kidnappers.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, try staying around some more.

[Queen of Swords]

I don't feel any urgency to begin the quest, so sure, stick around.

[SGamerz]

You turn into Creel-makers' Alley and see two more taverns further along, on opposite sides of the street. If you do not have the royal letter which the king and queen gave Fang-zen, you now feel that your task is hopeless and that you ought to start again, or perhaps go in search o[ another adventure Otherwise, you may as well carry on drinking, now that you've started! Will you go to 'The Bushel' on the right or 'Elfbane Bar' on the left?

So right after getting the important major quest, the first thing out hero feel he should do is "carry on drinking".

Which bar do we visit next?

[Darth Rabbitt]

It sounds like Waluigi has a drinking problem. Elfbane Bar is a more interesting name, so go there.

[Queen of Swords]

If you do not have the royal letter which the king and queen gave Fang-zen, you now feel that your task is hopeless and that you ought to start again, or perhaps go in search o[ another adventure Otherwise, you may as well carry on drinking, now that you've started! Will you go to 'The Bushel' on the right or 'Elfbane Bar' on the left?

This is hilarious. Even the book suggests that we should "perhaps go in search of another adventure". Everything just feels dull and uninspired.

Might as well carry on drinking ourselves into a stupor, I suppose. Elfbane Bar.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to The Bushel on the right, since our hero is technically named after a Mario villain (at least in the sports realm), and Waluigi needs to embrace fascism in order to get enough clues to dispatch the rival fascists who have kidnapped the princess.

[SGamerz]

Waluigi heads off to the Elfbane Bar, because everyone knows Elves smell and have no friends.

Unfortunately, you guys just missed the classic encounter with Oiram and Igiul because of this choice.

A skein of geese in V-formation wings its way overhead as you tum into the bar - maybe this is a good omen. You sit on a high stool at the bar and try to engage the landlord in conversation, but he is too busy to do more than grunt. Mind you, your neighbour tells you that that's the most intelligent comment he's heard from the landlord in years. You swivel around on your stool to survey the scene. At that moment a vile-lookrng old crone walks into the bar, clutching some withered sprigs of heather She is clearly a well-known figure, because she hardly has lime to utter, "Buy my lucky heather," before the landlord has hustled her out through the door, prodding her with the brush end of a broom. Will you follow the horrid crone out into the street or investigate the gambling wheel at the back of the tavern?

[JourneymanN00b]

I half-vote to use a Cape Feather to go to the Bushel so that we can get to the encounter with Oiram and Igiul, since it seems that this encounter seems to be really fun to run into, and could even be on the correct path for this adventure. But if nobody else goes for that,

I vote to investigate the gambling wheel at the back of the tavern.

[Queen of Swords]

Buy some of the heather.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I think the heather is more likely to be useful than the gambling wheel. Don't feed Waluigi's gambling addiction.

[SGamerz]

You step out along the cobbled street until you catch up with the ghastly hag. "Here," you say, "I'll buy some of your heather. How much is it?" You find her price of 1 Gold Piece outrageous, but she insists that the heather is really lucky Will you pay her price or not?

Are we sure we want to buy the heather for the price of 1/12 of a kingdom?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote not to pay, as this is obviously a scam.

[Queen of Swords]

Mmm... I could go either way on this, but let's try paying her.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, 1 gp isn't that much (normally), may as well.

[SGamerz]

Cross 1 Gold Piece oft your Adventure Sheet. The hag bites the coin to make sure it is genuine before scuttling off down a back alley. You wait for something to happen, but nothing does. You hurl the crumbling heather on to the ground in anger, and scratch at the bite one of the crone's countless lice has already given you.

I don't think the hag said that something lucky would happen immediately, but I guess this is just the author's way of telling us that we'd been duped. At least it's not a trapped item that gets us killed 30 sections later.

You return to your boat for the night. In the early hours of the morning, two fish-like shapes pull themselves over the side of your boat. Scarlet pearls are sacred to Pelagines, and they have sent a raiding party to recover the one you 'stole' (as they see it) from Takio. Under their law, this crime is punishable by death. Pelagines are an amphibious race, equally at home on land or under water. Their fish like heads belie cunning and intelligence, and the scales that cover their humanoid bodies are like armour plating. You can inflict only 1 STAMINA point of damage on them (unless you use LUCK too) in each Attack Round that you win. The male wields a trident, while the female advances tossing a coral-handled dagger from one hand to the other. In the narrow confines of your cabin, they have to approach one at a time.

PELAGINE SKILL 7 STAMINA 8
PELAGINETTE SKILL 6 STAMINA 5

If you win, you decide to slay awake for the rest of the night. In the morning, will you leave Arion to seek out Telessa's kidnappers or will you remain in the city for a while longer?

COMBAT LOG:
Pelagine 17, Waluigi 20. Pelagine is at 7.
Pelagine 16, Waluigi 18. Pelagine is at 6.
Pelagine 16, Waluigi 18. Pelagine is at 5.
Pelagine 16, Waluigi 16. Tie.
Pelagine 18, Waluigi 20. Pelagine is at 4.
Pelagine 12, Waluigi 14. Pelagine is at 3.
Pelagine 16, Waluigi 15. Waluigi is at 14.
Pelagine 13, Waluigi 19. Pelagine is at 2.
Pelagine 18, Waluigi 13. Waluigi is at 12.
Pelagine 16, Waluigi 20. Pelagine is at 1.
Pelagine 11, Waluigi 16. Pelagine is killed.
Pelaginette 14, Waluigi 15. Pelaginette is at 4.
Pelaginette 14, Waluigi 17. Pelaginette is at 3.
Pelaginette 13, Waluigi 14. Pelaginette is at 2.
Pelaginette 17, Waluigi 19. Pelaginette is at 1.
Pelaginette 14, Waluigi 16. Pelaginette is killed.

They took some killing due to the tough scales, but at least they couldn't much damage to Waluigi.

Is it time to leave the city yet?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Waluigi
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 14/16
LUCK 10/11
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, scarlet pearl, Potion of Fortune, King Jonthane's letter (number '88')
Provisions: 10
Gold: 10
Boons: Cape Feather (x2), Magic Mushroom (x1)
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Stay in the city. We didn't even get a chance to buy equipment and items yet.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to remain in the city for a while longer.

[Thaluikhain]

I think we've pushed our luck enough and should leave the city now.

[SGamerz]

Assuming you have nothing better to do, will you go to the market-place or hang around the docks?

[JourneymanN00b]

The market-place.

[Queen of Swords]

Heh. "Assuming you have nothing better to do." Sure, let's try the market-place.

[Thaluikhain]

To the market, I guess, since we have nothing better to do. This book is weird.