[Let's Play] Dragonsword of Lankhmar: Thieves' Guild Assassins

[Beroli]

You break into a large crypt, containing nothing but a sarcophagus. There's no sign of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. You can tell by the dust on the floor that no one has been here for a long time. And here comes the reason why!

You are being attacked by an invulnerable magical statue. Your only choice is to run. It attacks you three times before you can escape the Spire. One of them hits, doing 8 damage. I'll assume that damage goes to Zandor himself by default; let me know if this is mistaken.

Zandor: 16/24
Zombie Warrior: 15/30
Trainees: 3/15

The Thieves' Guild spies now tell you that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are outside the city of Lankhmar entirely. Where will you guess they are?

Leaving Lankhmar for Horborixen
The City of Horborixen
Grain Fields Outside City of Lankhmar
Ningauble's Caves
Tombs Under Lankhmar
Sheelba's Hut
Mountains of Hunger
Lakes of Plea
River Hlal
The City of Quarmall
Country of Klesh

[Dogopolis]

So I'm guessing that the fact we've left the street of the gods and left Lankhmar means that they are 2 stages on their way to victory. How many total stages are there? (Don't answer Beroli, that's rhetorical) Probably not more than 4. I think our best plan now, assuming we don't stumble on any healing, is to try to get Zandor killed so that we get a new team, so I would give the damage to Zandor.

I don't care where we go, have absolutely no preference, I w ill suggest the mountains of hunger as I haven't had my dinner yet but if you want to go anywhere else I'm happy.

[JourneymanN00b]

Agree to deal damage to Zandor. I vote to go to the Lakes of Plea in the hope that we get to plea for healing here.

[Beroli]

Again, the only real effect of where you look for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is that if it's where they actually are you catch them; getting an encounter won't necessarily be an encounter at that location, any more than you just had an encounter at the Great Library of Lankhmar.

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are not at the Lakes of Plea.

You don't trust soothsayers, but this old hag is said to have true magical power. It cost you a gold rilk, but since Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have left Lankhmar, you need all the help you can get!

"The ones you seek will not be gone from Lankhmar long," the soothsayer moans as her eyes stare into the glowing crystal ball. "If you leave by way of the Marsh Gate, you will have a chance to catch them before they arrive at their destination. If you leave by way of the Grand Gate, you will meet them on their way back. But either way, first you must face your own menace."

She slumps over, her head on the table.

1) This was a total waste of money. Stay in Lankhmar and wait for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser to return. This will mean skipping your next turn (they will finish their current turn, and have another turn during which you have no chance to catch them before you can guess again), but nothing else will happen as a result of not having guessed the pair's location.

2) Leave by way of the Marsh Gate.

3) Leave by way of the Grand Gate.

[Dogopolis]

Leave by Grand Gate and catch them after their next option.

[JourneymanN00b]

Agree with leaving by the Grand Gate to hopefully guarantee that we meet our targets.

[Beroli]

You leave town, hoping to find the pair. The old soothsayer's words echo in your mind--first you must face your own menace!

Suddenly, dark black storm clouds fill the sky. Huge bolts of lightning strike the ground. Hail the size of walnuts nearly beat your head to mush. Riding in the hills, searching for shelter, you see a large cave opening and rush inside.

"Ah, ha! So nice of you to drop by in time for dinner!" growls a fearful voice. "You've even brought the main course!"

As your eyes focus on the enormous dragon leering at you from out of the shadows, you realize that the main course is going to be YOU!

How will you fight the dragon?

[JourneymanN00b]

Use the daggers, except if the dragon has _8 or _9 hit points, where the beads should be used.

[Dogopolis]

I agree with JN's strategy. Since we are probably going to get a guaranteed encounter if we win, (which our replacements probably wouldn't get) I guess we' should try to win, but Zandor without the zombie is useless so kill off the mooks first but if we have a choice where we have to kill Zandor or zombie, half vote for letting Zandor die, and get a new group.

[JourneymanN00b]

I agree with the damage distribution choice, as I think there is no point in letting Zandor live without the Zombie Warrior.

[Beroli]

Zandor stabs at the dragon with his daggers and misses twice. The Zombie Warrior hits once and misses once. The trainees hit.

The dragon hits twice. Its claws do 10 damage, killing the trainees. It bites Zandor in half for 20 damage.

The Zombie Warrior misses once and hits once again. The dragon's claws hit and its bite misses.

The Zombie Warrior hits, and hits for double damage. The dragon's claws and bite both hit, shredding the Zombie Warrior.

The Zombie Warrior hits three more times, killing the dragon, before collapsing on the cave floor. Everyone is dead.

[Beroli]

PRIMARY PLAYER CHARACTER: Yala

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Class: Warrior Woman

Level: 17

Armor: Her faith in her good left arm

Hit Points: 40/40

Weapon: The Golden Sword of Death. The weapon was given to you by your mother, the queen, after you killed your first man in a hand-to-hand combat. The sword deflects the first successful magical attack that would hit you in a combat, from either spell or magic weapon.

Damage: Against human males, the weapon does 15 damage per hit. Against any other opponent, it does 10 damage per strike.

Description: You and your twin sister, Alay, are princesses from a war-ravaged land. The strongest warriors of your tribe, you have been sent on a quest by your queen to learn the ways of war in far-off lands. You have accepted this assignment for the Thieves’ Guild only because you have heard that Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are the most powerful warriors in Lankhmar and you want to test your battle skills against them.





Yala’s Ally: Alay

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Class: Warrior Woman

Level: 17

Armor: Her faith in her good right arm

Hit Points: 40/40

Weapon: The Silver Sword of Death. The weapon was given to Alay by her mother, the queen, after she killed her first man in a hand-to-hand combat. The sword deflects the first attack that would hit her in a combat.

Damage: Against magic-users or any being with a magical weapon, the weapon does 15 damage per hit. Against any other opponent, it does 10 damage per strike.

Description: Alay is devoted to her sister. She is the more bloodthirsty of the two.


Thief Trainees

Each Primary Thief Character gets one set of trainees who Hoorik sends along on this mission. They are not particularly competent, but they are completely devoted to whoever is in charge. They fight collectively, as one unit. They do 6 damage per attack and have 15 total hit points.

[Beroli]

"I tell you, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are on Kronia's Estate! She's throwing a lavish party. Everyone's invited."

You weren't invited, but you're going anyway! You know a little about Kronia. She's called the Countess of 77 Secret Pockets because she's a thief and quite insane. You bribe your way into her island estate.

It's a lavish party, all right. You never aaw so many people! You don't see anyone you recognize, let alone the two you're searching for. Suddenly a masked figure approaches you and beckons you to a secluded room. It's Ren, Master Swordsman of the Thieves' Guild.

"Fafhrd and the Mouser have gone off to look over the rest of the estate. I saw them as they came in," Renn says with his wickedly charming smile. "I thought I should let you have the first crack at them, but remember--they're fair game for anyone if you fail."

He leaves the room and is immediately surrounded by beautiful women. Shaking your head, you consult the map he handed you.

The map has been placed in the main thread. Will you look for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser first in the northwest, northeast, southwest, or southeast building?

If you die on Countess Kronia's Estate, the next (and final) set of assassins will not be able to look for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser here further, and will spend their first turn automatically having a City Encounter.

[Dogopolis]

I think the Mouser is a magic user so Alay will damage him fully? (rhetoric question)

Half vote for Southwest for no particular reason.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I vote to go southwest.

[Beroli]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are not in the Countess' museum.

Looking around, you can't believe the wealth! Your fingers itch to grab any one of a number of precious baubles that you see here. But you haven't forgotten that you're looking for that cursed barbarian and his weasely little friend.
You search the room, looking under furniture and into closters. Then you hear a noise. Turning around quickly, you accidentally knock over a statue in the center of the room. It crashes to the floor, but it doesn't break....

It comes to life and goes for your throat!

Yala misses.
Alay hits the statue for 10 damage.
The trainees miss.
The statue scores a double damage result, which is deflected by the Silver Sword of Death.

Yala gets a Special result. A noxious green mist rises from cracks in the ground. She can't see a thing and misses this Combat Round.
Alay misses.
The trainees score double damage, 12 damage to the statue.
The statue hits for 12 damage to Alay.

Yala misses.
Alay hits the statue for 10 damage.
The trainees hit for 6 damage.
The statue scores a double damage result, for 24 damage to Yala.

Yala misses.
Alay hits the statue for 10 damage.
The trainees hit for 6 damage.
The statue misses.

Yala scores a double damage result, hitting the statue for 20 damage and finishing it off.
Alay hits the statue for 10 damage, finishing it off.

Yala has 16/40 hit points, Alay has 28/40 hit points.

You can look for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser elsewhere. Do you choose northwest, northeast, or southeast?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go northeast.

[Dogopolis]

NE is fine.

[Beroli]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are not in the entertainment area.

You are captured by the Countess's bodyguards. Dragging you to the arena, they give you your weapons, then send you out to face two professional gladiators! This is not your idea of a great party!

Yala misses.
Alay misses.
The trainees score a double damage result for 12 damage to the gladiators.
One gladiator misses, the other hits for 8 damage to Alay (deflected by the Silver Sword of Death).

All four of you miss.

Yala gets a Special result. The Overlord orders the fight halted, and you are free to resume searching Countess Kronia's Estate for Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

Each of you has 16/40 Hit Points.Yala has 16/40 Hit Points, Alay has 24/40.

Where will you look next?

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go northwest.

[Dogopolis]

Am I missing something, or shouldn't Alay have got a free deflection per combat?

NW is fine

[Beroli]

Ah yes, my mistake! Alay took no damage before the Overlord intervened.

[Beroli]

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are not in the Library and Art Gallery of the Countess Kronia.

You wonder why Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are here. They must be after a small fortune. Those two don't go after small stakes. Perhaps you could beat them to it!

(The text often assumes the Assassins are greedy members of the Thieves' Guild, even when the description of the later characters clashes with that.)

Searching this room, you easily find the secret compartment behind one of the paintings.

Healing Ointment: restores 12 Hit Points when used. A Small Coffer of Magical Dust: When you use it, all enemies will miss two Combat Rounds choking and sneezing. A Small Jeweled Box: Contains the biggest blue diamond you've ever seen.

Pleased with your discovery, you continue trying to find the two. Where will you look next? Also let me know if you want to use the healing ointment immediately.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go southeast and immediately use the healing ointment on Yala. And to use the dust on Fafhrd and Gray Mouser in the first round.

[Dogopolis]

OK let's do SE. I agree with the ointment and dust.