[Let's Play] Dragonsword of Lankhmar: Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser

[deaddmwalking]

Laissez le bons temps rouler.

[Beroli]

You easily lose the two wizards. Arriving in Punishment Square, you and the Gray Mouser stop to catch your breath and laugh at the memory of those two old geezers stumbling along behind you.

But the laughter dies on your lips as you hear a voice say, "How fitting you have come here--now take your punishment!"

The Fire Wizards! They must have teleported themselves here!

The wizards are attempting to capture you, not kill you. Each time they score a double damage result, one of you is paralyzed.

Fafhrd hits with Heartseeker for 8 damage and misses twice with Graywand. Gray Mouser misses twice. The Wizards fail to paralyze you.

Fafhrd hits twice with Graywand for 24 total damage. Gray Mouser hits with Scalpel for 11 damage and misses with Cat's Claw. The Wizards fail to paralyze you.

Wizards: 15/58

Fafhrd hits with Graywand once for 12 damage. The Gray Mouser misses. The Gray Mouser is paralyzed.

Fafhrd hits with Graywand, finishing off the wizards. Gray Mouser's paralysis wears off as the battle ends.

You see guards coming. You:

1) notice a trap door hidden behind the gallows. "Let's escape this way!" you shout to the Gray Mouser.

2) "Wait, Fafhrd," the Mouser warns. "We don't know what's down there! One of our hide-outs is near. Let's go there."

[deaddmwalking]

I like option 2. Let's try one of our hideouts. Hopefully the spy networks aren't aware of it yet.

[Beroli]

The Wizards manage to rouse the good citizens of Lankhmar against you. A huge crowd gives chase, hurling stones at you. After five attacks you will have escaped.

Double damage result for 6 damage, hit for 3, hit for 3, hit for 3, hit for 3. Well then.

You go to the last temple on your list, the Temple of the Earth God.

Ningauble and Sheelba would summon you to meet with them now had you not already done so.

"Now, this time we're going to do things my way," Mouser says, poking a finger in your ribs to stress his point.

"What's wrong with the way we've been doing things so far?" you ask, hurt.

"Nothing, if you like facing death every thirty heartbeats," the Mouser remarks sarcastically.

"So, have you got a better plan?"

"Of course," the Mouser answers smugly. "We're going to the Great Library on Atheist Avenue and find a map of this temple. That way, we won't be bumbling about blindly."

"I must admit that's an excellent idea, Gray Mouser," you say in undisguised admiration for your partner's ingenuity.

Unfortunately, going to the Grand Library does end your turn, so we wait for the Assassins. And they have found you!

[deaddmwalking]

Looks like I got lucky, but it seems you forgot the spider egg.

[Beroli]

Fafhrd 21/50
Gray Mouser 7/45

For only a few hundred gold rilks, the scribes at the Great Library of Lankhmar sell you a map of the Temple of the Earth God. You consider mentioning to the Gray Mouser that you could buy a magic sword for less than you paid for a piece of old parchment, but you keep quiet. For the first time on this quest, the Gray Mouser actually seems to be enjoying himself.

"This is great!" the Mouser says while walking toward the Temple. "Here's the map. The scribes said we won't have any trouble getting inside. We're well rested. We've thrown those assassins off our trail, at least for a while. What more could we ask for?"

"How about a squad of the Overlord's troops?" you say.

Suddenly, you hear the sounds of laughter to your left. Turning quickly, you see three hooded figures staring at you, grinning. Their laughter sends cold chills up your spine. You don't feel so confident anymore, but you enter the Temple. As you do so, you think you see several slinking figures follow you inside.

A burly, red-headed priest smiles pleasantly as he lets you inside.

"May we go into the worship area?" you ask.

He looks at you and smiles again. "How brave are you?"

"Brave enough!" the Mouser answers stoutly. "Let us in!"

The priest nods and stands aside, but--as you pass him--you hear those three robed figures outside the door laugh again.

The walls in the maze temple are hot to the touch, and occasionally blasts of steam will rise up from the floor, making it difficult to see but otherwise doing no harm.

Temple of the Earth God.jpg (21.71 KiB) Viewed 19624 times

"Look, Gray Mouser, a magical fountain! Maybe it's a healing potion or a potion of giant strength or something," you say, bending down to sniff at the water. "Do you think we should drink it?"

"I think you should bathe your brain, Fafhrd! Magical fountains are best left alone! Let's get out of here now!" the Gray Mouser states firmly.

You can't let Gray Mouser have the last word. Taking a sack of golden rilks, you toss it into the fountain, hoping some magical creature will reward your kindness.

It vanishes in a puff of flame.

"Satisfied?" the Gray Mouser asks grimly.

Well, you lost the rilks, but you're leaving with your life.

(You entered the temple maze from the northeast. You're now in the central room, the one marked 59 on the map. You can now go northwest, northeast, southwest, or southeast.)

[deaddmwalking]

I'd wager that I need to get to 63, and the obvious way to get there would be to head Southwest. And if I do the obvious thing I'll be killed by assassins. So we'll go Northeast instead. *crosses fingers*

[Beroli]

You stumble through the halls, nearly dying of the heat. Suddenly, half blinded by the steam, you catch yourself just before you fall headlong into a pool of molten lava!

As you back away in alarm, strange shapes begin to take form. Leaping out of the lava pool, they make a grab for you!

None of your weapons work on these Lava Men. You notice, however, that the steam appears to weaken them. Instead of fighting them normally, you try to lead them into a blast of steam. Each round you check once to do so, and if you get a double damage or special result, they take 8 damage. Otherwise they take none.

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They fail to decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast, and the Lava Men fail to hit them.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They fail to decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast, and the Lava Men hit Fafhrd for 8 damage.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast. The Lava Men take 8 damage and fail to hit them.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They fail to decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast, and the Lava Men fail to hit them.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They fail to decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast, and the Lava Men fail to hit them.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They fail to decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast, and the Lava Men hit Fafhrd for 8 damage.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast. The Lava Men take 8 damage and hit the Gray Mouser for 8 damage, killing him.
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser lead the Lava Men through the maze. They decoy the Lava Men into a steam blast. The Lava Men take 8 damage and hit Fafhrd for double damage, killing him.

You wake up...

[Beroli]

...and see the ugly Guildmaster of the Slayer's Guild grinning evilly at you. Maybe you were better off dead!

"You owe us your lives," the Guildmaster growls. "We've healed you (you are both once again at full hit points) and you will do a little service for us in return. A member of my guild has been captured by the Thieves' Guild. She's being held prisoner in the Guild Hall. You must get her out."

You consider your options. Escape is out of the question. The Slayer's Guild has only missed one kill in two hundred and ninety-eight years, and that one was a minor god! Plus, they did save your lives....

"How will we recognize her?" you ask, nudging the Gray Mouser until he comes to his senses.

"The girl has a star birthmark on her right hand, just like this one." The assassin shows you his hand. "In fact, she's my daughter!"

"I hope she doesn't look like her dad!" Gray Mouser grumbles as you both leave, heading for a safe hiding place above the Tall Mug to work out your plans.

You explain your plan to the Gray Mouser and, though he shakes his head dubiously, he agrees to go along with it.

Now you're disguised as a wealthy merchant. With your hands bound behind your back, the disguised Mouser drags you to the Thieves' Guild Hall. (You have no allies currently.)

"This is a northern merchant who wouldn't pay protection. I'm supposed to lock him up until he changes his mind," the Mouser tells the guard.

"Fine!" snarls the guard at the door, jabbing you painfully in the ribs. "Take him down the corridor, turn left twice, then right, then down the stairs. The cell keeper will know what to do with him."

You're in the Guild House and headed for the cells. So far, your idea is working perfectly. But when you get to the cell area, the Mouser nudges you.

"There's more guards than you said there'd be!" he whispers. "What do we do now?"

1) Fight the guards first, try to free the girl after defeating them.
2) Free the girl before facing the guards.

[deaddmwalking]

She's probably a bad ass. Let's free her first.

[Beroli]

"My name is Alania. Give me a sword!" are the only words the girl says as the Gray Mouser craftily opens her cell. She slashes at the guards and, before you can even move, three lie dead! Dispatching the other two guards is easy and you all flee the Thieves' Guild. Alania offers to help you in your quest. You readily accept, although you are a bit disconcerted to have the daughter of the Slayer's Guildmaster on your side!

Alania has 21 Hit Points and does 10 damage with her sword per Combat Round. You won't let her die, and if she's brought below 5 Hit Points in a combat, you send her home, not wanting her father to come after you!

You go back to the Temple of the Earth God, back to the central room with the fountain. You know there is nothing useful northeast. Will you go southeast, northwest, or southwest?

[deaddmwalking]

I'm a little less worried about the assassins. The lava men did me a real favor.killing me. So I'll go Southwest now.

[Beroli]

You have no more than entered this chamber when the blacksmith looks up at you and growls, "So you're here for the Dragonsword of Lankhmar? Well, I can tell you where it is, but you're going to have to pay for it!"

You glance at the Gray Mouser, both thinking the same thing. Should we beat the information out of the blacksmith? But then you see the blacksmith pick up a piece of white-hot metal and bend it with his bare hands.

"Uh, what would you like us to do for you, s-sir?" stutters the Mouser.

"I need two bars of metal from down below," the smith growls. "There are two portals down there. In each is a bar of metal. Bring these back to me. When you return, I will tell you how to find the Dragonsword."

"That sounds easy enough," you say, shrugging. "Let's go, Gray Mouser."

"Fafhrd," says the Gray Mouser as you head down the stairs, "don't you think you should have asked for some more information?"

"Look at it this way, Gray Mouser," you say, "if I had, we probably would have heard something we didn't want to hear--like who's guarding those portals. This way, we can go get the bars and not worry about what we have to face.

Mouser walks beside you with a stunned look on his face.

You are also rather impressed with your logic.

(This is where I conclude that Fafhrd's judgments about what other people's expressions mean are unreliable.)

Moving down the stairs to the portals, you feel a growing sense of uneasiness.

"Mouser, there's something odd about this place," you say nervously.

"Fafhrd, I don't know how you can say that. Just because this temple is heated like an oven, just because we've been sent on an errand by a blacksmith made of lava, just because we could die any moment, you think there's something odd. I have to disagree with you this time, my friend. Everything seems perfectly natural to me as far as this wild quest of yours is concerned!"

Ignoring the Mouser's sarcasm, you:

1) Stop and look around carefully.

2) Go down the stairs, hoping to get this over with as quickly as possible.

[deaddmwalking]

Maybe there's something useful. Let's stop and look around.

[Beroli]

Taking time to search the room paid off--at least you hope so.

"Look here, Gray Mouser!" you shout. "A secret door!"

Opening it up, you see stacks and stacks of metal bars!

"You don't suppose it could be this easy do you, Gray Mouser?" you whisper, looking at the stacked bars of metal in the secret chamber.

"Sure it could. We weren't supposed to find this secret door. Grab a couple of bars and let's go back upstairs!"

Picking up two of the metal bars, you follow the Gray Mouser back to the blacksmith.

"You've done well," the blacksmith admits grudgingly. "The Dragonsword you seek can be found under the Shrine of the Black Virgin in the Plaza of Dark Delights. Take the Enchanted Mirror Sheelba gave you and reflect the light of the full moon onto the face of the statue of the Black Virgin. It will move. Then, use the Dragon Statue you took from Countess Kronia as a key to the magical gateway you will find. Now leave before I reconsider and use your blood to harden some of my weapons."

On the way out of the temple, you discuss what to do next. You're all for going to the statue tonight, but the Gray Mouser talks you out of it.

"We need rest and we need to spend some rilks on healing. Let's find a safe place to hide and go tomorrow night."

Unfortunately, you cannot point out to the Mouser that none of you are wounded. You are fully healed, but the next night, when you head to the Shrine of the Black Virgin, you run into the assassins from the Thieves' Guild. Check the main thread.

[Beroli]

Fafhrd: 16/50
Gray Mouser: 3/45
Alania: 16/21

"This is it! I know it! I can sense it!" you whisper in excitement as the Gray Mouser shines moonlight onto the face of the statue.

The Mouser won't admit it, but you can tell he's just as excited as you are.

You are startled to hear the statue sigh with pleasure as the light of the full moon strikes its face. It almost sounds like a real person standing there! Then a section of the platform slides back.

Looking down cautiously, you see a huge door shining in the moonlight at the bottom of a spiral staircase.

"Fafhrd, be careful! This place could be filled with traps," the Mouser shouts.

But you're eager to reach the sword you've gone through so much to find, so you ignore your friend. You hurry down the stairs. The Gray Mouser comes right after you, grumbling. Quickly, you insert the Dragon Key into the door lock. The door swings open, and--

A pit opens at your feet. You and the Gray Mouser fall down a long, pitch-black chute and land in a dimly lit treasure room!

"Mouser, we're rich," you say in awe, running your hands through gold rilks and jewels.

"Fafhrd, we're trapped," the Mouser says, looking around the chamber.

"You're not trapped! Come this way," shouts a booming voice. Now you can see a long, dark corridor. The voice comes from that direction.

"Uh--just a minute, we'll be right there!" you shout, looking around for another way out.

"No luck," the Mouser whispers, "we'll have to go that way. But let's take what we can with us before we go!"

"I would appreciate it if you would stop mucking around my treasure pile! If you're looking for what everyone else has been looking for, you won't find it in there. I keep all the swords in here!"

You find the following: four Potions of Healing which heal 8 damage each, a Magical Shield that absorbs the first 3 damage in every battle, a Ring of Protection that makes the first spell cast against you in each battle miss without consulting the Combat Table, and 2 small silken bags of gems each worth 125000 gold rilks.

If you wish to keep the Dragon Statuette, you'll need to leave one of the bags of gems behind. Let me know if you do so, and if you drink any or all of the healing potions immediately, and who drinks them if so.

[deaddmwalking]

Fafhrd will drink 1 potion and Gray Mouser will drink 3.

I had hoped to use the spider egg already, but it got forgotten again. Next fight definitely plan to use it.

I'll leave one of the bags of gems and keep the dragon statue.

Now to read the other thread...

Do you want to move everything to the main thread? Any assassins want to join me?

[Beroli]

Oops, sorry about the spider egg!

The opposed team would still win if you die here, so they're not really out of the game, just out of being able to influence it.

[deaddmwalking]

I drank the potions to hopefully avoid dying here. We'll see!

[Beroli]

Fafhrd: 24/50
Gray Mouser: 27/45
Alania: 16/21

"No, no, no!" The dragon sighs. "When will you idiots learn to read! It doesn't say Dragonsword of Lankhmar, it says Dragon's Sword of Lankhmar! It all comes of skimming the text. No one takes time to read closely for detail anymore. Rush, rush, rush!"

"You know I wondered about that translation," you say, looking around hurriedly for the way out. "Thank you for clearing up the matter."

"We'll be leaving now," the Gray Mouser adds loudly, backing up. "Thanks for your help. If we get out of this alive, I'm going to kill you, Fafhrd," he hisses out of the corner of his mouth.

"I hope you get the chance, Gray Mouser," you reply solemnly.

"See there--rush, rush, rush," mutters the dragon gloomily. "Just when we were going to have some fun."

You do still have the key, so you can flee through the door to your right as the dragon attacks. If you do, you take 30 damage, which will kill the Gray Mouser as there is no other legal and not-game-ending place you can assign it, but you leave the dragon behind.

1) Flee?
2) Fight?

[deaddmwalking]

Would that I could let Alania die. Or that I used all the potions on one person. So regrettably we'll give Mouser the damage and flee. I think I need something more before facing the dragon.

[Beroli]

You rush out the door and down the street, hearing the awful roars of the dragon behind you. Then, suddenly, the earth begins to quake! In its anger, the dragon starts an earthquake!

Looking back, you see half of the houses around the Plaza of Dark Delights start to crumble and fall. People rush out into the street in a panic!

(The Mouser would express regret to be unable to go back for the treasure, but he's dead. Your next quest will be to get him resurrected.)

(The Thieves' Guild Assassins would automatically attack you now, but they're all dead.)

The game ends in a draw: you have survived but didn't get the Dragon's Sword.

[deaddmwalking]

That makes me sad. I thought I'd get another bite at the apple. Guessing that there was virtually no way to beat the dragon if I fought it there, right? Did I screw up by not visiting all the temples and finding some major power-ups?

Guessing fire resistance would have been helpful. Probably failed to pick that up?

[Beroli]

The dragon had 65 hit points and two attacks per round for 20 damage and 10 damage respectively, so...no, I would not say it was impossible to beat. But if you had chosen to fight it, whether you won or lost would have come down to die rolls; that was one of the cases where "you die" means "you lose the game."

The biggest disadvantage you had was fighting the Assassins right before the dragon with no heal in between. Ironically, if they had succeeded in finding you on that last check, you would have been better off at meeting the dragon.