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I'm honestly surprised we haven't ended up at 14 yet. Check the double doors.
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Apr 19, 2015 16:35
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Seyser Koze posted:I'm honestly surprised we haven't ended up at 14 yet. We have, actually. Pecked to death by chickens. The OP just didn't add death info to the stat block. Also, that thing with the trap door is actually pretty clever!
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Apr 19, 2015 18:27
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We're down here now--let's make the most of it. Corridor and cave mouth please!
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Apr 19, 2015 23:36
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Down the corridor it is, then!Section 53 posted:You've fallen down a pit trap! It was ten metres along the corridor, a flagstone that swivelled, dumping you into the black depths five metres below. There are poison spikes set in the bottom of the pit trap. Roll dice to see if you missed being skewered on the spikes. I remember dying this way in Nethack. Lots of times. Dice roll: 5 + 5 = 10, just barely enough to get hurt by the fall. We have more than 20 LIFE POINTS, though, so this won't be an immediate problem. Section 53 posted:If you survived this nasty, use your rope and spikes to climb out and continue down the corridor to 40. Section 40 posted:The corridor slopes downwards quite sharply for most of its length, then widens abruptly into what seems to be a natural cave. Although far too irregular to map properly, the cave dimensions are roughly twelve metres north/south by fifteen metres east/west. There is a wide opening in the south-eastern wall, leading into a further cave. The floor of this first cave is littered with dried bones. Several of them look suspiciously like human bones. Human bones, eh? That's not ominous at all   Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS:
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Apr 20, 2015 12:49
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4/40
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4 life points?! We clearly need to scavenge the bone pile for a lucky break!
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Apr 20, 2015 13:00
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Uh, are we the readers supposed to keep track of items? In that case it might be useful to use some healing items before doing anything else.
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Apr 20, 2015 13:09
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Let's quaff a potion before doing anything else.
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Apr 20, 2015 13:45
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Aw, you noticed  I was hoping to get at least one death in due to life point depletion  but fair enough, it's a boring way to die. There are many more interesting deaths to be seen.I guess we'd best drink a potion if we want to make progress. Potion roll: 5 + 3 = 8, up to 12 LIFE POINTS. ...Let's make that some potions, shall we? Potion roll: 6 + 1 = 7, up to 19 LIFE POINTS. Potion roll: 1 + 2 = 3, up to 22 LIFE POINTS. Potion roll: 2 + 5 = 7, up to 29 LIFE POINTS. Potion roll: 1 + 3 = 4, up to 33 LIFE POINTS. There, all better. I'm saving some potions for later rather than maxing out LIFE POINTS and risking wasting some of the effect. (My inner min-maxer talking here.) Now let's see what those bones have to offer! Section 51 posted:Nope,nothing here. What did you expect among a load of old dried bones? Go to 54 Fake choice! The fourth one in the book. The first two were during the introduction, and we've passed the third one already (I'll let you guess what it was). Section 54 posted:This second cave is rather larger than the first. Again accurate mapping is impossible, but approximate size is twenty metres north/south by fifteen metres east/west. There is an exit to the eastern side of the north wall. In the middle of the cave floor is what appears to be a Compost Heap.  Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: Mikl fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Apr 20, 2015 |
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Apr 20, 2015 17:30
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A compost heap could hold something interesting.
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Apr 20, 2015 17:38
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I have never seen a compost heap I wanted to search. Press on.
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Apr 21, 2015 02:13
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Ah, what the hell. Sounds horrible. Let's do it. Leavemywife posted:A compost heap could hold something interesting.
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Apr 21, 2015 09:56
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Search the compost heap, please.
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Apr 21, 2015 12:49
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Let's root around in a rotting pile or organic matter! What could go wrong?Section 35 *B posted:It's not a Compost Heap - it's something big and nasty and alive! And it didn't like the way you poked it, Pip. This vegetable (but certainly not vegetarian) monster is rising up to a height of over two metres and attacking. What's more, since you were poking around searching for heaven knows what, it has the first strike against you.  Section 35 *B posted:The creature has 35 LIFE POINTS and does an additional 4 points of damage every time it lands a blow, on account of its great strength. And since it's so big, it only needs throw a 5 or better to hit you. No fun at all. Get those dice rolling, Pip, and see what happens in this fight. First things first: note the *B beside the Section number - this means it's possible to bribe the enemy in this Section. As detailed in the rules (see the second post of this thread), we can give the Compost Heap 100 gold coins (or equivalent wealth), roll dice, and if we score 8 or better proceed as if we'd won the fight. If we had any gold coins, that is. (What use does a Compost Heap have for gold anyway?) Also, like the Boar fight, the +4 damage the Compost Heap does is negated by our dragonhide jerkin. Now let's get rolling. Compost Heap attacks! 2 + 1 = 3, Pip dodges expertly. Pip attacks! 5 + 1 = 6, E.J. strikes true, Compost Heap is hit for 5 LIFE POINTS and is down to 30. Compost Heap attacks! 2 + 1 = 3, "Maybe if I do the same exact attack I'll hit this time!  " (except not)Pip attacks! 1 + 2 = 3, missed! Compost Heap attacks! 2 + 4 = 6, Pip is hit for 2 LIFE POINTS and is down to 31. Pip attacks! 4 + 5 = 9, Compost Heap is hit for 8 LIFE POINTS and is down to 22. Compost Heap attacks! 3 + 2 = 5, Pip is hit for 1 LIFE POINT and is down to 30. Pip attacks! 2 + 6 = 8, Compost Heap is hit for 7 LIFE POINTS and is down to 15. Compost Heap attacks! 4 + 6 = 10, Pip is hit for 6 LIFE POINTS and is down to 24. Pip attacks! 3 + 1 = 4, Compost Heap is hit for 5 LIFE POINTS and is down to 10. Compost Heap attacks! 4 + 3 = 7, Pip is hit for 2 LIFE POINTS and is down to 22. Pip attacks! 1 + 5 = 6, Compost Heap is hit for 5 LIFE POINTS, is down to 5, and falls unconcious. Well, that was exausting. Let's proceed. Section 39 posted:As this shambling brute sinks down bleeding clorophyl from every wound, something catches your eye on the floor, half hidden by the massive body. On closer inspection, you discover it is a leather purse. Open it (carefully) and inside you will find 10 - yes, 10 - solid Gold Pieces. Not exactly a Queen's ransom, but enough to buy a whole heap more chickens for your adopted mother, with cash left over for a lot of other necessities about the farm. (Alternatively, you could spend it all on sweets.) Sweet!  Section 39 posted:Pop the gold in your backpack, Pip. You're entitled to keep any booty you find in this place. Just don't forget you can't take it with you if you're killed. Should you find yourself back at the dreaded 14, there will be no gold, or anything else you may have collected, in your backpack. And booty, once collected, won't be here second time around either. Still, you have it for now and with luck you may survive. Leave the cave by going directly to 37. Section 37 posted:The cave exit leads into a corridor running north only six metres before turning sharply west and running west for twenty-five metres before ending in a stout wooden door. The corridor is empty and there are no traps, so what do you do when you reach the door, Pip? Three options this time! What will it be?  Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS:
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Apr 21, 2015 17:53
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Chivalry, politeness, yada yada, let's knock.
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Apr 21, 2015 20:22
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Politeness has a pretty good record so far.
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Apr 21, 2015 20:29
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What will happen when we knock on the door?  Section 38 posted:Nothing happens. Better go back to 37 and reconsider your options.  Section 37 posted:
Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 22/40
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Apr 21, 2015 21:25
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What the... Who runs head-on at doors? Use your common sense, Pip: use the handle.
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Apr 21, 2015 23:26
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Use your head, Pip!
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Apr 22, 2015 01:37
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Amusing as the idea of headbutting the door is, I suspect we can't afford the life-points. Use the handle.
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Apr 22, 2015 17:20
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Be cautious and courteous: use the handle
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Apr 22, 2015 17:30
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Section 45 posted:Would you believe the door swings slowly open, that being what handles are for, obviously. You are looking into a six metre (east/west) by fifteen metre (north/south) chamber, the door set in the northernmost two metres of the east wall. This room is actually lighted - by torches set in iron brackets around the walls. There is, however, no sign of anyone in here. A flight of stone steps leads upwards to a small door high in the north wall. There is a second door (at ground level) set to the southern end of the west wall. Well of course the handle opens the door, what else would it do?  Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 22/40
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Apr 22, 2015 18:02
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Well, the upstairs door is higher on your map thingummy, so let's try that 
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Apr 22, 2015 18:52
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There's no penalty for trying for a Friendly Reaction, is there? Is there a reason we're not doing this first every time we get in a fight?
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Apr 22, 2015 20:06
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No "real" reason, except for the fact that all fights so far (Mean Jake, the Boar, and the Compost Heap) are situations where they attacked us. The Boar fight Section even had "no choice here, it's fight or get killed" in the description. I'll be sure to try for a friendly reaction first chance we get, though!
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Apr 22, 2015 20:15
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Going up!Section 55 posted:You climb the stone stairway. At least you climb the first five steps. The remaining steps, like the door, are, unfortunately, an illusion created by the Wizard Ansalom. You discover this by the simple process of falling through them once you reach step six. You plunge downwards into sudden darkness and even your own torch goes out abruptly as you strike the bottom somewhere below the level of the floor of the room you have just left. Going down What is with the Wizard Ansalom and pit traps anyway? This is the third one we've Section 55 posted:As you lie winded in the darkness, roll one die to find out how many LIFE POINTS you lost in the fall. (If this kills you, go to 14.) Then go to 46. Rolled 6, down to 16 LIFE POINTS. Oof. Section 46 posted:If you use your rope and spikes to climb out of this black pit, go to 45. Pardon me, I'll shall quaff a couple potions before proceeding, just in case: Potion roll: 4 + 4 = 8, up to 24 LIFE POINTS. Potion roll: 1 + 3 = 4, up to 28 LIFE POINTS. Now let's go on. What shall we do?  Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS:
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Apr 22, 2015 22:12
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We won't get far in the dark. Light 'em up!
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Apr 22, 2015 22:16
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I'm leery of wasting too many of our potions. Let's take a nap the next time our Life Points take a hit.
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Apr 23, 2015 01:22
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Ratatozsk posted:I'm leery of wasting too many of our potions. Let's take a nap the next time our Life Points take a hit. Will do! Section 43 posted:It takes a little while to get your torch lit again. (Torches are never easy, especially in an emergency.) And when you do get it lit, you discover something very disturbing. You are not alone in the pit! Merlin did tell us E.J. talked, although not very often. This is one of those times. Every single time it's worth an "  " smilie.Section 43 posted:So there you are, faced by a giant Spider the size of a big Great Dane and probably poisonous if the truth be told, with a shivering cowardy-custard sword in your hand, a torch that looks as if it might go out any second, and no easy escape. What do they say about spiders? "It's probably more scared of you than you are of it"? I wonder if applies to huge, capital-S Spiders too... Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 28/40
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Apr 23, 2015 06:56
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rorJCGF1aM I say RUN.
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Apr 23, 2015 07:38
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Friends! And if that doesn't work, then I'm sure that trying to outclimb a spider couldn't possibly go wrong.
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Apr 23, 2015 17:37
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Coin flip! Heads we run away, tails we try to make friends. The result is in... Run away!  Section 66 posted:You make a mad, panic-stricken leap upwards, scrabbling desperately at the wall, Excalibur Junior clenched between your teeth. Roll two dice to see if you make it. Roll: 3 + 4 = 7, juuuuuuust barely made it  Now we're back in the torch-lit room, and there's only one way to go, assuming we don't want to backtrack or lower ourselves back into the Spider's pit: onwards to 44, through the door in the west wall. Section 44 **B posted:The door opens into a large, ten metre (north/south) by twenty-five metre (west/east) hallway, entirely lined, floor, walls and ceiling, in shimmering green-veined marble. A curtained doorway stands in the western end of the north wall. Between you and it, ranged in two rows of three, are six (yes, six)... Our first Undead enemies, and the book has pretty much explained how it works. Undeads have no LIFE POINTS (with a couple exceptions), but when they are hit they are destroyed outright. Hitting them is a bit harder than hitting normal enemies, however. Also note how we could bribe the Zombies into letting us go our way. Again, what use do Zombies have for valuables?  Section 44 **B posted:For this fight (and if you don't fight you're dead, Pip) the sequence runs: And here we have our first Status Effect. Yes, there are Status Effects in these books. Surprisingly complex. I won't be trying for a friendly reaction, since the Section contains the magic words (if you don't fight you're dead), so let's get rolling. Pip attacks! 3 + 6 = 9, and Zombie 1 is cleaved neatly in half. Pip attacks again! 3 + 2 = 5, missed. Zombie 2 attacks! 1 + 1 = 2, can't do any worse than this. Zombie 3 attacks! 4 + 2 = 6, almost got hit there, but not quite. Zombie 4 attacks! 6 + 3 = 9, we would have been hit for 3 LIFE POINTS had our dragonhide jerkin not blocked it all. Zombie 5 attacks! 2 + 4 = 6, another miss. Zombie 6 attacks! 1 + 2 = 3, yet another miss. Pip attacks! 4 + 6 = 10, Zombie 2 has its head cut off. Pip attacks again! 5 + 6 = 11, we're on a roll and Zombie 3 is down. Zombie 4 attacks! 4 + 3 = 7, our jerkin saves the day once again. Zombie 5 attacks! 3 + 6 = 9, see above. Zombie 6 attacks! 2 + 4 = 6, no dice. Pip attacks! 3 + 4 = 7, we hit Zombie 4 but not hard enough to do any real damage. Pip attacks again! 6 + 5 = 11, this time Zombie 4 is down for the count. Zombie 5 attacks! 6 + 4 = 10, I love this armour. Zombie 6 attacks! 4 + 4 = 8, its fists uselessly punch our dragonskin coat. Pip attacks! 2 + 2 = 4, swoooosh. Pip attacks again! 4 + 5 = 9, and Zombie 5 will never eat brains again. Zombie 6 attacks! 6 + 5 = 11, and we actually take 1 LIFE POINT of damage. Pip attacks! 6 + 6 = 12, a critical hit, and we're done. That wasn't so bad, wasn't it? Just one damage overall. Let's go to 42 and see what our reward is. Section 42 posted:Nice going, Pip. Hold your nose and search the Zombies. One is wearing a silver ring with strange hieroglyphic writing inscribed around it. Put it on (you'll notice a slight tingling as you do so) and go to 49. Section 49 posted:You draw back the curtain from the doorway leading out of the marble-lined room and find yourself looking at a torchilit corridor which runs directly north. Then metres ahead, further corridors branch off east and west, while the main corridor continues north and ends in a door. Searching carefully is a good idea. As we've seen, pit traps are kind of the Wizard Ansalom's thing. Section 75 posted:No pit traps, Pip, but better safe than sorry, eh? Well this was a long update, but we're finally at another decision point. What shall we do?  Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: Mikl fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Apr 23, 2015 |
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Apr 23, 2015 17:52
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The book straight out tells you to put on an unidentified ring that might well be cursed.  I'm in favour of elongating the map. Let's go further north!
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Apr 23, 2015 21:42
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Carbon dioxide posted:I'm in favour of elongating the map. Let's go further north! Sounds compelling to me!
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Apr 24, 2015 10:27
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North it is then!Section 74 posted:Some twenty-five metres beyond the junction where you made your choice, the corridor ends abruptly in what appears to be a solid stone wall. Since it seems a bit daft to have a corridor leading nowhere, your suspicions are instantly aroused, as well they might be. Thus you begin to search very carefully, feeling along the wall for cracks. Roll two dice to see if you find anything.  There is a mistake in the book here! Section 49 told us the north corridor ended with a door, but in this section it's a blank wall.Sometimes things like this happen, no matter how careful the authors are. Luckily, this time it's a benign mistake which doesn't affect anything except for some flavour text. Incidentally, we can't fail this dice throw, because besides being an easy throw, if we score 1, 2 or 3, we get: Section 58 posted:No luck so far, Pip. Maybe you should go back to 74 and try rolling those old dice again. So we can try as many times as we like. Moving on to 78! Section 78 posted:Nice bit of close observation there, Pip: you've found a secret door! As you press against it, a whole section of the stone wall slowly pivots with a loud, echoing, grinding noise, revealing a flight of damp stone steps descending into total blackness. Section 63 posted:Mind those steps - they're very slippery. Your torchlight reflects from the damp sheen that's over everything down here. In fact, the walls are actually dripping, running little rivulets of water. The whole place smells damp. E.J. What do we do now? Should we climb aboard? No map this time, since I'm updating from work during my lunch break and I left the map files at home, but it's not that hard to figure out where we are. Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 27/40
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Apr 24, 2015 12:24
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Let's find out if this book has narrative sense... I'm expecting some creature to appear and take a gold coin as soon as you climb aboard the boat. Also, what could possibly go wrong? Climb aboard the party boat! ...That sword really hates spiders.
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Apr 24, 2015 13:17
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Leap into the boat that totally isn't the well-disguised tendril of some hideous aquatic monster.
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Apr 24, 2015 16:47
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Section 57 posted:You step into the boat and at once it pulls away silently from the shore. Within minutes, you can no longer see land... only the still, dark waters of the lake gently reflecting the glow from the boat itself. From the scabbard by your side, E.J. continues to mumble discontentedly. The temple seems the obvious choice, but might there be something else worth checking out on this island before heading there? Note that since the boat left, we can't backtrack from this point. We're stuck here until we find either the way forward or some way to go back to the underground. Pip’s Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 27/40
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Apr 24, 2015 19:43
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Temples are a dime a dozen, but islands? Those are pretty rare and warrant further exploration.
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Apr 24, 2015 19:52
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I wonder if we're still in the castle somehow. Check out the island.
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Apr 24, 2015 20:18
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 09:45 |
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Search the Island
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Apr 24, 2015 22:05
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