Let's Play Fighting Fantasy 41: Master of Chaos

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:18 am

You are close enough to sense the elemental malice and hatred for life which radiates from this evil thing that was once human - and you had better fight well! His iron-clawed hands are as good a weapon as any blade!

NECROMANCER SKILL 9 STAMINA 13

If you reduce the Necromancer's STAMINA to 5 or less, turn at once to 342.

Toughest opponent we've faced so far. Good thing we picked up the armour and shield, though our lack of a sword means this guy has an effective stamina of 26... though, maybe the book should've given us a sword from that one kidnapper we killed. There's quite a few other occasions where killing an armed opponent specifically nets you a sword, for sure. Possibly the lack of one from the kidnapper was just an oversight?

I guess we'll see how we do without one and consider "redo fight, but armed" as a possible retcon.

Combat Log

Huge 19, Necromancer 11. Huge at 15, Necromancer at 12.
Huge 15, Necromancer 11. Huge at 13, Necromancer at 12.
Huge 16, Necromancer 17. Huge at 11, Necromancer at 12.
Huge 20, Necromancer 16. Huge at 11, Necromancer at 11.
Huge 15, Necromancer 16. Huge at 9, Necromancer at 11.
Huge 14, Necromancer 13. Huge at 9, Necromancer at 10.
Huge 22, Necromancer 17. Huge at 9, Necromancer at 9.
Huge 15, Necromancer 20. Huge at 7, Necromancer at 9.
Huge 20, Necromancer 17. Huge at 7, Necromancer at 8.
Huge 20, Necromancer 11. Huge at 7, Necromancer at 7.
Huge 16, Necromancer 11. Huge at 7, Necromancer at 6.
Huge 14, Necormancer 15. Huge at 5, Necromancer at 6.
Huge 22, Necromancer 12. Huge at 5, Necromancer at 5.
Necromancer's STAMINA at 5 or less, we turn at once to 342.

Dude's been shredding us to bits with his claws, but we are the superior combatant, so things are the moment are roughly even...

The Necromancer will now try to cast a spell! If he has the higher Attack Strength in any Attack Round from now on, he will be able to cast it; turn to 217. If you win, turn to 121.

Well, that can't be good. We need to win five consecutive attack rounds to avoid him cooking off his spell. If we Test our Luck twice to double our damage, we can reduce that to three rounds, but we might waste our Luck and the spell will go off anyway. That won't matter if the spell is something offensive that does more than 5 points of STAMINA damage without a Luck save and we die, of course...

What do we think?

Adventure Sheet

Huge Nuge

SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 5/17
LUCK 11/12

Notoriety: 5/8

Skills: Blindsight, Acute Hearing, Tracking, Move Silently

Equipment: 2/12 Provisions
Boots with hidden coin compartments
25gp (including 2 hidden)
Silver Whistle
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather armour and shield
Lantern
Ring of Endurance
Boots of Stealth
Medicinal herbs, 2 bags
Preservative spices, 2 bags
2x Potion of Healing
Bronze Bracelet

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:26 am

Test our luck at least once.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:30 am

Huge Nuge should make like Harry Potter and rely on his LUCK when fighting Voldemort.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 6:25 am

Test Luck once.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 8:37 pm

Testing Luck once, aye aye.

Huge 21, Necromancer 14. Huge at 5, Necromancer at 4.
Huge 18, Necromancer 17. LUCK TEST vs 11: 5, Lucky. Necromancer at 2.
Huge 16, Necromancer 15. Necromancer at 1.
Huge 17, Necromancer 16. Necromancer is dead.

Damn, that was close! About as intense as rolling dice against other dice can get.

The Necromancer's body falls dead at your feet; you have slain this vile servant of Evil! If he gave you some money, turn to 179. If he did not, turn to 16. (He did).

On the corpse of the Necromancer you find some very evil-looking charms which you certainly don't want to have about you, but he also has an Iron Key which might be useful, so you take this (add it to your Possessions) It's time to find somewhere safer in town to sleep, so turn to 27.

If you are willing to pay 1 Gold Piece for bed and breakfast, turn to 220. If you are too mean (or are unable) to pay this, turn to 175.

Adventure Sheet

Huge Nuge

SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 5/17
LUCK 10/12

Notoriety: 5/8

Skills: Blindsight, Acute Hearing, Tracking, Move Silently

Equipment: 2/12 Provisions
Boots with hidden coin compartments
25gp (including 2 hidden)
Silver Whistle
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather armour and shield
Lantern
Ring of Endurance
Boots of Stealth
Medicinal herbs, 2 bags
Preservative spices, 2 bags
2x Potion of Healing
Bronze Bracelet
Iron Key

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:20 pm

Pay up.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:45 pm

book wrote:The Necromancer's body falls dead at your feet; you have slain this vile servant of Evil! If he gave you some money, turn to 179. If he did not, turn to 16. (He did).

I guess in 16 the hero finds the money on the body? How very [unironically] thoughtful. It always pisses me off when someone demands payment, we pay up, then we still have to fight them and the money we paid is not on the body.

Pay.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 10:56 pm

Huge Nuge needs food (and rest) badly. Pay up.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:10 pm

You sleep comfortably and next morning eat a fair meal; regain up to 4 lost STAMINA points. Turn to 229 to find another part of town to visit.

Ashkyos is divided into districts; these are shown on the map on the inside front cover of this book.

You are now free to go where you wish. You can visit:

The shops
The warehouses
Entertainer's Square
The markets
The docks
The infamous Old Quarter

When you are ready to leave the city, turn to 243 (make a note of this paragraph number now). If your Notoriety total reaches 8 or higher, you must leave the city at once to avoid being arrested by the militia (keep careful track of your Notoriety score, using the box for this on your Adventure Sheet) so when it reaches 8 or more, turn to 243 immediately!

Incidentally, the spell the necromancer was trying to cast would have let him to turn into a wraith and automatically escape, drawing the attention of the militia and gaining us 2 points of NOTORIETY, and ruining our sleep for a night with freaky nightmares (resulting in stamina loss for sleeping rough and no gain for paying for a bed and breakfast.

Adventure Sheet

Huge Nuge

SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 9/17
LUCK 10/12

Notoriety: 5/8

Skills: Blindsight, Acute Hearing, Tracking, Move Silently

Equipment: 2/12 Provisions
Boots with hidden coin compartments
24gp (including 2 hidden)
Silver Whistle
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather armour and shield
Lantern
Ring of Endurance
Boots of Stealth
Medicinal herbs, 2 bags
Preservative spices, 2 bags
2x Potion of Healing
Bronze Bracelet
Iron Key

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:20 pm

I'd scoff our 2 povisions, buy a ferry ticket, a sword and all the provisions we can carry, (10+5+6 gold) + 1 Noteriety and then go to the docks.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Nov 13, 2014 11:29 pm

I vote to buy a sword, crossbow & crossbow bolts (we can afford to +2 Notoriety now that there's only one area left to visit), then fill our backpack with food.

Don't particularly want the ferry ticket, since travelling over water seldom bode well these gamebooks.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:40 am

I'll go with Sgamerz' plan.

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 7:36 am

I'm fine with delaying/avoiding the purchase of a boat ticket and heading to the docks. I figure that a full bag of food and the ring of Endurance will probably let us reach the endgame.

If we do get enough money to purchase a fully loaded camel, however, I think we should.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 7:59 am

I agree with MisterDee. If we get enough money we should buy a camel to double our food carrying capacity. Other than that, I'm fine with sword, crossbow & bolts and a full backpack of Provisions.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:49 pm

So we nom down the hard tack we found on the jolly boat we escaped on, boosting our STAMINA back up to nearly full. We retrace our steps and pay a visit to our good friend Ali Haji-Sheikh and buy a sword, a crossbow, and five bolts for a total of 10 gold. Our NOTORIETY goes up to 7; one more point and we'll be driven out of the city.

Then we go to the food shops and spend 6 gold on various foods and sweetmeats, acquiring 12 provisions. This leaves us with 8 gold, which we're saving toward a camel rather than a ferry ticket at the current voting.

Now. To the docks!

(We haven't been to the docks before and this is our first visit here.)

The docks are teeming with stevedores and seamen of a wide and disgusting diversity: there are men, certainly, but there are also Orcs and even some Ogres and one small crew of things which might once have been men, but now... you shudder and look away.

One group of drunken sea-dogs is brawling and cursing, and out of the comer of your eye you notice a figure in a small passageway behind one wharf handing a package to a hunchbacked Dwarf and taking a purse in return. It must be money - why, the brown-robed figure is even counting the coins, and you can see the glint of gold in the sunshine! The Dwarf vanishes down the alley.

You could try sidling over and having a go at stealing the gold; or do you prefer to ignore the robed figure and continue looking around?

Adventure Sheet

Huge Nuge

SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 16/17
LUCK 10/12

Notoriety: 7/8

Skills: Blindsight, Acute Hearing, Tracking, Move Silently

Equipment: 12/12 Provisions
Boots with hidden coin compartments
8gp (including 2 hidden)
Silver Whistle
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather armour and shield
Lantern
Ring of Endurance
Boots of Stealth
Medicinal herbs, 2 bags
Preservative spices, 2 bags
2x Potion of Healing
Bronze Bracelet
Iron Key
Sword
Crossbow, 5 bolts

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 12:54 pm

We're not thieves.

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 5:56 pm

Robbing some nerd in an alley isnt much of a sidequest. Look around instead.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 10:43 pm

Huge Nuge is probably not a thief. Look around.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Nov 14, 2014 11:19 pm

Well, we did help Vesper steal the saffron. And we were happy to steal that fat merchant's gold after Jesper bit him and made him drop it... maybe the mongoose is a bad influence on Nuge.

You round the corner of a small warehouse and bump right into Captain Shagrot! There's no mistaking the eye-patch, the wooden leg or the scimitar in those gnarled, shovel-like hands. 'Thought you'd escape, did yer?' he snarls in fury, drawing his scimitar. Shagrot's crew members are beginning to form a circle round you! You can either fight or try to make a run for it.

Adventure Sheet

Huge Nuge

SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 16/17
LUCK 10/12

Notoriety: 7/8

Skills: Blindsight, Acute Hearing, Tracking, Move Silently

Equipment: 12/12 Provisions
Boots with hidden coin compartments
8gp (including 2 hidden)
Silver Whistle
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather armour and shield
Lantern
Ring of Endurance
Boots of Stealth
Medicinal herbs, 2 bags
Preservative spices, 2 bags
2x Potion of Healing
Bronze Bracelet
Iron Key
Sword
Crossbow, 5 bolts

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:27 am

Revenge is sweet!

Stab him!

And then stab that oaf of a Second Mate of his is we can find him too!

Dr_Noface · Post by **Dr_Noface** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:33 am

Take this fool, we have a swords.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:51 pm

Showing up pirate nemeses is a gamebook tradition (see also: Captain Bloodaxe, Abdul the Butcher, Skarvench.) Especially if they've wronged you in the past). Huge Nuge is feeling traditional.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:13 pm

In the name of vengeance and tradition both, Huge Nuge produces his weapon and prepares to give the good captain a terminal case of swords through the gut.

The crew look reluctant to intervene directly. They hate their sadistic Captain as much as you do! But they hem you in and you must fight!

CAPTAIN SHAGROT SKILL 9 STAMINA 11

Unfortunately a demented parakeet takes off from one of the sailor's shoulders and tries to fly at your face and distract you! You have a choice here. You can ignore the parakeet and attack the Captain; but if you do this, you must fight with a temporary reduction of 1 to your SKILL until the Captain is killed. Or you can attack the parakeet- two blows will kill it, but this gives the captain time to strike you twice, for a total of 4 points of damage to your STAMINA. Decide what you want to do and finish the fight!

Before I roll out the fight, how are we choosing to approach the complication of that asshole parakeet? Kill it and eat the STAMINA loss, or ignore it and endure the SKILL penalty?

Adventure Sheet

Huge Nuge

SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 16/17
LUCK 10/12

Notoriety: 7/8

Skills: Blindsight, Acute Hearing, Tracking, Move Silently

Equipment: 12/12 Provisions
Boots with hidden coin compartments
8gp (including 2 hidden)
Silver Whistle
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather armour and shield
Lantern
Ring of Endurance
Boots of Stealth
Medicinal herbs, 2 bags
Preservative spices, 2 bags
2x Potion of Healing
Bronze Bracelet
Iron Key
Sword
Crossbow, 5 bolts

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:33 pm

Go straight for the captain. By the time we hit him 6 times I don't think the missing SKILL will have caused us to get hit twice extra.

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Sat Nov 15, 2014 4:24 pm

Yeah, ignore the bird.