[LP] The Way of the Tiger. (Complete)

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:27 pm

I'm gonna say Accept, because we did defeat a fucking demon lord 2 books ago, and Honoric clearly isn't totally immune to poison should it come to that. Even if he is more hardcore than Yaemon, we're more hardcore than when we killed Yaemon.

Korgan0 · Post by **Korgan0** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:31 pm

I mean duh, we're a fucking ninja. Hell yeah we accept.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:16 pm

Accept his challenge.

Corsair114 · Post by **Corsair114** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 10:59 pm

We didn't figure out was in Honoric's three chests... and we're going to go out and duel him?

This kinda feels like a bad idea.

angelfromanotherpin · Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:17 pm

You ride forward on your white stallion and shout: 'I accept your challenge, Honoric!' A great roar comes from your troops. They have great confidence in their Ninja-lord in single combat.

Honoric, his three-horned helmet and studded armour looking too heavy for any normal man to carry, rides forth, his own troops also shouting frenziedly. Honoric rides to the ditch between Woodnugget Wood and the Wickerwood, and you ride to join him. The duel is on, and it will probably decide the battle. Without you, your force will disintegrate.

Honoric, a great bull of a man in black-studded chainmail, rides up to the ditch opposite and glares at you. 'So we meet again, Avenger, you lily-livered lackey of Kwon, the Babbler of Half-Truths.' He dismounts as do you. 'This time I will kill you,' he says through gritted teeth. His hatred for you is almost tangible.

He draws his sword, Sorcerak, with a flourish. The black, smoking blade emanates an evil aura and you are riven with fear. To throw off its effects you must expend a point of Inner Force; otherwise the horror you feel affects your ability to fight. Subtract one from all your Modifiers for this combat only.

(Man, if you meet this guy in Usurper! all it takes is having ShinRen to avoid the fear effect. Oh well, spent; no way we want to fight this guy at less than full ability.)

Honoric bellows angrily and leaps over the ditch towards you, swinging his sword. A cheer goes up from the serried ranks of his army.

• If you have the skill of Acrobatics, you can try jumping high and somersaulting over his charger [sic] to land behind him?
• Leap forwards to meet him and try a Whirlpool throw as he comes down?
• Jump back out of range?

Avenger I, Overlord of Irsmuncast-nigh-Edge, Grandmaster of the Five Winds
Modifiers: Kick +1, Throw +1, Fortune +1
Inner Force: 2/5
Endurance: 20/20
Techniques: Acrobatics, Climbing, Disable Device, Poison Needles, Kwon's Flail, ShinRen.
Shuriken: *****-*****-*****
Ninja Tools: Ninja Costume, Breathing Tube, Iron Sleeves, Garotte, Flint & Tinder, Spiderfish.
Special Items: Opal Ring, Pouch with 34 Gold Pieces, Locket with Saint's Hair, Silver Shuriken, Statuette of Dama, Coronation Day Coin, Ruby Circlet, Scorpion Ring, several gems, Amulet of Nullaq, the Orb (in eye), the Sceptre.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:35 pm

Let's use the skill we didn't have when we fought him before.

Corsair114 · Post by **Corsair114** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:45 pm

We're a flippin' ninja, what do you think?

Acrobatics.

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:47 pm

"No, Anakin! I've got the high ground!"
Flip! Nothing can go wrong!

angelfromanotherpin · Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:50 pm

You jump high into a somersault, drawing shouts of approval from your own lines and surprising Honoric completely. He wheels to face you, but you lash out with incredible speed, a Winged Horse kick that sends him staggering back. Note that he has lost 5 Endurance. He growls in anger and pain.

You circle each other warily. Honoric's features are a mask of concentration, the concentration of a master swordsman.

Will you try:
• a Forked Lightning Strike kick?
• an Iron Fist punch?
• a Teeth of the Tiger throw?

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:56 pm

Called Shot to Groin
Forked Lightning Strike!

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:41 am

Sure, why not?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 1:18 am

As you close in, Honoric slashes at your head, but you lean back and then drive your foot at his knee and then up to his throat.

HONORIC
Defence: 8
Endurance: 24 19
Damage: 1 Die+5

If Honoric is not yet seriously wounded (≤6 Endurance), his sorcerous blade speeds towards your abdomen. Your Defence is 7.

(That's not great at all. We're basically even, except he does more damage. I guess we're going to have to Inner Force it to make up the difference. Except the odds of any particular attack hitting are also poor. Agh!)

(6+1 is a miss. His 7 is a miss. I'ma try a punch to see if that's any better.)

HONORIC
Defence: 9
(Other text as before. So no, quite a bit worse, actually)

(8 is a miss. His 7 is also a miss, but he's parting Avenger's hair with that thing.)
(I do not trust Teeth of the Tiger to not be an insta-death. Back to kicking.)

(5+1 is a miss. His 7 (again!) is a miss.)
(I feel the rhythm moving in my favor; Inner Force Kick! 8+1 is a hit, barely. Sweet. [3+2]x2=10 damage. His 7 – again – is another miss. That's getting ridiculous, but I'm not complaining.)
(8+1 is a hit again, for 5+2 damage. That brings him below threshold for what's next. Lucky, shinobi, lucky.)

Your last blow sends Honoric sprawling backwards gasping in pain. Shouts of joy and anger rise up from the warriors on either side. Desperately he points at you with his sword and rasps, 'Fly, Sorcerak!' The sword shoots from his hand straight at you.

(Avenger does not have the skill of Arrow-Cutting.)

It gashes your shoulder and you lose 4 Endurance. If you still live, Sorcerak spins in the air and hurtles back to its master's outstretched hand.

Before you can finish, a cry goes up from the Doomover line and a small group of cavalrymen – members of the élite Bringers of Doom – gallops forwards amid roars of approval and cries of rage from both armies. The cavalrymen ride towards you. Those of your own troops nearest to you cry 'Back, my lord, back!' and you are forced to retire.

The cavalrymen sweep up Honoric, who though barely alive is cursing them loudly for besmirching his honour. You make your way through the ranks of your cheering soldiers to your command post, where some Healers of Avatar are waiting to tend you. A similar situation must be occurring on the other side of the stream, for it is not until the priestesses have used their magic to restore up to 10 points of any Endurance you may have lost that battle is joined.

(Avenger's allies are of Serakub and Aveneg, following Gwyneth's plan.)

Trumpets blare harshly, and shouted orders echo on the breeze to you from Honoric's lines. The troops near Ruric's Bridge begin to cross it, headed for the Old Bridge, where you hope Glaivas can hold them up for a time. The Legion of the Sword of Doom begins crossing the ford. When the Legion begins to march around Crossway Copse, Honoric's cavalry and the Doomover Levies charge forwards, the hoofbeats of the cavalry drumming like thunder as they hurtle onwards.

Honoric's cavalry begins to founder and lose coherence as it crosses the stream, but the men regroup and charge on, followed by the Levies headed for your troops between the farm and Colwyn's Mound. The Legion of the Sword of Doom's crossbowmen, the Rain of Death, unleash a deadly volley of bolts at the defenders between the farm and the Greenridge and draw back. The swordsmen of the Legion then charge forwards with a roar, assaulting your whole left flank with frightening ferocity.

A bitter bloody mélée ensues, and your men begin to falter and give ground. Only the men in the farm itself are holding their position. Honoric's cavalry, with a blood-curdling battle-cry, slams into the Warrior Women of Dama with a resounding crash, the ring of steel on steel. The Warrior Women hold firm, and the cavalry is flung back, but then the Levies, four thousand strong, follow up their charge. The women of Dama still seem to be holding well.

A messenger arrives to see you. It appears that the Monks of the Scarlet Mantis are trying to force a passage through the Wickerwood, but the Elves are holding them back. A deadly cat and mouse game is being fought in the wood.

• Order the men at the Old Farm and the cavalry at Colwyn's Mound to swing around into the flank of the levies?
• Order Antocidas' mercenaries to hurry forwards and reinforce your hard-pressed left flank?

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 1:27 am

This reminds me weirdly of the Battle of Gettysburg, so I think we should order the cavalry to flank the levies in a surprise textbook maneuver.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:07 am

Flank the levies.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:33 am

Your orders are carried out to good effect and the Levies are forced to withdraw with heavy losses. But by this time the Legion of the Sword of Doom has stormed the farm and your left flank is in full rout. Honoric's cavalry regroups, and soon your whole army has been rolled up from the left and routed. You are caught in the open, trying to rally your forces, by a squadron of the Bringers of Doom and slain out of hand

(Nope, not a real decision point, only a trap.)

You ride forwards and order Antocidas to reinforce the left flank, but he just looks up at you evenly and says: 'Yes Overlord, if you pay us an extra talent on return to Irsmuncast.' You gasp in outrage and anger.

• Refuse and curse him for a money-grabbing swine?
• Swallow your anger and agree?

(I don't think it comes up, but we don't even have an extra talent to give him.)

Ancient History · Post by **Ancient History** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:36 am

Agree. We'll float a bond when we get back. Damn mercs.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:38 am

Agree, we can curse him for such (and more) after the battle.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:58 am

(Personally, I would have him executed for treason after the battle. That shit will not stand.)

He turns away and bellows orders and his men move off at a run to reinforce the left flank. They arrive just in time to stem the tide. The bitter struggle goes on. Honoric's cavalry has charged once again, and the Warrior Women on the right flank are beginning to give ground.

Then, to your left, you see galloping towards you, Glaivas, with perhaps ten of his Rangers left. He has held the bridge for as long as possible, but now three thousand warriors are filing across. You will have to act quickly.

• Order the cavalry of Irsmuncast, the Dama cavalry of Serakub, and the four hundred men at the Old Farm to charge the Doomover Levies and their cavalrymen?
• That, and also personally lead the charge?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:10 am

(That's what I meant by the "and more.")

Let's personally lead the charge, and show these Doom Warriors how a real badass warlord leads his army.

Corsair114 · Post by **Corsair114** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:14 am

Let's get dangerous-

-is what I want to say. Except that'd mean we'd no longer in position to continue leading the battle.

We'll order the cavalry out, but otherwise stay put. We *probably* shouldn't take the field again until Honoric shows up.

Korgan0 · Post by **Korgan0** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 4:26 am

Our men's morale is probably starting to falter, and we can find Honoric by ourselves in any case. Lead the charge.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:06 pm

You spur your horse forwards and Doré le Jeune accompanies you. Quickly, you draw all your Cavalry together on Colwyn's Mound and take up a position at the head.

(Avenger fought a duel with Honoric before the battle.)

(Avenger did [retcon]not discover the contents of three large boxes in Honoric's camp.)

As you hurtle down Colwyn's Mound, three winged reptiles flap up above the Wickerwood. You recognise them as wyverns, vicious creatures with poison-barbed tails and powerful jaws. They streak town to attack you. Instantly your charge is thrown into confusion as the horses, in terror, rear back uncontrollably, throwing off riders everywhere. You are struggling to control your horse when the great sting of a wyvern's tail slams into your chest and you fly back through the air to fall in a heap, dead from the blow, let alone from the effects of its virulent poison. Suddenly it is all over.

Ugh, this book. So, I was willing to put up with a lot of the increased bullshit, because I remembered the battle sections being great. The rosters, the maps, the deployment, the reports, etc. etc. If that was where they spent the budget, that was fine by me.

Except that the battle is also filled with bullshit; like, really large amounts. The optional scouting mission isn't optional and can't be failed. The duel isn't optional and can't be failed (if you don't fight, the charge you lead just fails). And all the decisions you make in the battle (so far) are right path/game over path as well. Choose the wrong tactic: game over; don't give in to Antocidas: game over; don't lead the charge yourself: game over. It's completely linear in the worst way.

I didn't notice any of this on my original playthrough because apparently by now I was very good at reading the author's mind, but it's really not acceptable; especially the part where you pre-lose the battle and have to keep going through the rigamarole until that comes back to bite you in the ass. Which is a shame because I was really jazzed to see all the call-backs to previous books. Having a lot of your earlier allies (or potential allies) show up to help out in your hour of need is a fucking spectacular idea. I'm actually amazed that they introduced the White Mage instead of roping in the cat-faced sorceress from book 1.

The book also suffers from a lot of sloppy writing. It's not just the needed Endurance refill(s) which clearly got missed, the original printing had a bunch of choices which sent you to the wrong reference. And the errata'ed reprint only fixed most of those. It really feels like on some level the writers just stopped giving enough cares.

Which is weird because stuff like the sheer joy of replacing your lost eye, or shattering an adamantine blacksteel sword with a throwing star, or fighting a shapeshifting duel (we missed it) with Shadazar, that's all great stuff and displays a real enthusiasm for the piece. So I don't even know.

Let me know if you'd like to retcon in the successful scouting, otherwise I'm willing to let the book have what it apparently wants so, so badly.

(All Retconjured away, do ho ho ho.)

You had told the White Mage of what you had seen some hours earlier. Standing nearby, he says quietly, 'My time has come, Overlord,' and then he mutters something inaudible. Suddenly he takes to the air, to the astonishment of all those on Colwyn's Mound, and flies towards the Wickerwood. Just then, three winged creatures, the wyverns, flap up from behind Manor Ridge and streak towards the men of the Spires. The White Mage, high in the sky, his robes glittering in the sun, flies to meet them with bolts of lightning, words of power, and potent magic. The wyverns encircle him, lungeing with their jaws and whipping their poison-barbed tails.

Meanwhile, you raise the Sceptre high and cry, 'For Irsmuncast and Freedom!' Doré le Jeune shouts, 'For Rocheval!' The Warrior Women give a roar of approval and you charge forwards, a thousand soldiers at your back. The feeling is exhilarating as you race to battle wielding the Sceptre above your head.

Suddenly, in the midst of the battle, a figure appears before you. Your Orb glows brightly – magic sight reveals that it is an Old One, perhaps the same one you fought when you strove for the Crown of Irsmuncast in Usurper! From its robes protrude tentacles, and its mouth is rimmed with long tentacular appendages. One writhing 'hand' is curled around a heavy glowing mace. Those battling groups of warriors nearby back away, leaving a small arena.

'So, Avenger, you have come this far. But this is where your upstart reign ends,' it whispers sibilantly. You must fight it. You cannot kick or throw as you are on horseback, but you can use your macelike Sceptre and your fists.

• Tiger's Paw punch?
• Drive your Sceptre at it?
• Spur your charger forwards and try to knock the Old One to the ground?

(If you use your sceptre to attack it, you cannot use Inner Force to double the damage.)

Avenger I, Overlord of Irsmuncast-nigh-Edge, Grandmaster of the Five Winds
Modifiers: Kick +1, Throw +1, Fortune +1
Inner Force: 1/5
Endurance: 20/20
Techniques: Acrobatics, Climbing, Disable Device, Poison Needles, Kwon's Flail, ShinRen.
Shuriken: *****-*****-*****
Ninja Tools: Ninja Costume, Breathing Tube, Iron Sleeves, Garotte, Flint & Tinder, Spiderfish.
Special Items: Opal Ring, Pouch with 34 Gold Pieces, Locket with Saint's Hair, Silver Shuriken, Statuette of Dama, Coronation Day Coin, Ruby Circlet, Scorpion Ring, several gems, Amulet of Nullaq, the Orb (in eye), the Sceptre.

Korgan0 · Post by **Korgan0** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:19 pm

I'd like to see the retcon, personally.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:25 pm

Retcon that shit, we're ignoring the supposed "sixth" book so we can afford to play fast and loose with the "canon" if you can call anything in a gamebook that.

hogarth · Post by **hogarth** » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:35 pm

What answer are you supposed to give the soldiers in the camp in order to see the boxes? "I'm here to see the quartermaster"?