Let's play FF#44 Legend of the Shadow Warriors.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:57 am

We can probably do without the ring for all future rolls until we pick up a SKILL penalty OR encounter a roll with negative modifiers.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:18 am

We roll an 8.

OK, unless anyone objects I will automatically roll any Test Your Skills that have a 91.66% or better chance unless the text explicitly states failure is instant death, in which case I'll still ask.

You don't let anything distract you as you run over the slick quaking ground. However, the way ahead is blocked by the huge mound. Will you approach the screaming face, make for the copse which is off to your right, in the hope of veering back south later or retreat and head back north-west, towards the road

?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 1:06 pm

The hell is all this?

I guess divert to the copse? A copse might afford cover and probably won't constitute much of a detour, whereas I don't think an incoherently screaming face formed from earth is going to say anything useful or plot relevant and is probably going to be relentlessly negative about everything when engaged in conversation.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:33 pm

The giant face seems almost too obvious a trap. That being said we already know how to defeat the Shadow Warriors now so go to the copse.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:05 am

The weirdness shows no sign of abating as you enter the copse; nor do the twisted trees offer you any protection from the rain. Suddenly, a fork of lightning cuts down through the darkness and blasts a tree right in front of you. You take another path . . but find your way blocked by another fork of lightning, and another and another! You run, but no matter which way you turn, you come close to being incinerated. It is only after several minutes of this deadly cat-and-mouse game that you realize you are being herded into the heart of the copse; there, you are confronted by a Mahogadon, a long-dormant tree monster that has been stirred into wakefulness by the changes in the earth. One of its boughs swoops down and lifts you up, its leafless branches wrapping round your waist You cry out as the woody tentacle begins to squeeze the life out of you. If you have a vial of Sleeping Draught... √ If you do not, you will have to fight...

The text doesn't actually give you a choice, although there are other locations where the Draught can be used. However the Mahogadon is a bear of a fight, so it is probably the best place, should you reach this encounter.

Rain pours down your face as you reach into your pack for a vial of the precious potion. The Mahogadon squeezes ever tighter and starts to pull you towards its gaping, gnashing maw. Mere inches away fiom certain death, you open the vial and fling its contents down into the pool of sludge that surrounds the monster's roots. Almost immediately, the Mahogadon sags, limp and unconscious. Its branches unwind and roll you away, down on to the muddy earth. The lightning no longer hounds you as you make your way out of the copse to freedom. If you now wish to continue southwards across more open country, towards Hustings... If you prefer to head back to the safety of the road....

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 8:02 am

Onward to Hustings!

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 12:27 pm

Yeah, we didn't use that Sleeping Potion for nothing.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 2:11 pm

I actually fancied the road to begin with, although I wasn't around to vote at the time. Still slanting towards that, but I don't feel that strongly about it. Willing to be outvoted.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 3:48 pm

I think we're committed to cross country now, so I vote that, but I'm worried it's gonna be Shadow Warrior induced apocalypse-weather and living terrain the entire way : /

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 5:20 pm

All is dark and a storm rages overhead as you make your way towards Hustings. The road is little more than a track that winds its way across the infamous Hustings moors and, because of the downpour, is submerged in places, becoming part of the mire. Wary of encroaching quicksand, you press on, your efforts aided by the occasional lightning flashes of the storm. Suddenly you catch sight of a peculiar, grinning face. At first you think that someone must be hiding in the reeds, but then you realize that the leafy face is the reeds, moving from clump to clump as if blown by the wind. It speaks in a spry and mischievous voice: "Tis Jack-in-the-Green, the ancient king, here to offer you guidance. The world is dying, the soil corrupt and the trees astir with violence. Warriors five seek their lord, the one who must not be freed. Earth-mother seeks a healing hand, but 'tis proof of your worth she needs.' If you have a green Leaf Brooch,... Otherwise, Jack-in-the-Green will offer you a chance to prove your worth. If you will accept his task... √ If not,...

'There is too much corruption in the world,' says Jack-in-the-Green. 'The sleepers who should not be disturbed have been aroused. Your task is to lay Hustings to rest. Let the earth reclaim its own - but be warned! Violence can never be the final answer. Evil must be left to consume itself, Your duty is to help, not to beget further chaos. When you think you have succeeded, say the word "Cerunnos" in your mind and we will see what unfolds.'

'Troubled times are ahead,'continues the enigmatic figure To help you, the Horned God sends a gesture of goodwill: find the man of numbers, or his book. Without either, you will fail.' Then the face is gone. It seems that Jack-in-the-Green is a messenger for powerful elemental forces, forces which you decide to join. You will strive to be the Earth-mother's champion, against the evil of the Shadow Warriors. Squinting through the blinding rain, you can just make out the lights and rooftops of Hustings. To the right of the town is a slender column of earth which has been forced up out of the ground by magic. Atop this hundred-foot-high pinnacle is a tower made of oozing, living sludge. You hear a slushing sound coming from somewhere just off the road and just as you look a flash of lightning reveals a man rising up out of the bog - at least it looks like a man. If you want to walk the few yards over to the figure... If you would rather stay on the road,....

I auto-accepted the quest as I didn't imagine anyone would refuse a chance to 'prove our worth' to a weird face in the grass and refusing leads back to the same paragraph, ("Troubled Times...") anyway.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Apr 13, 2016 5:27 pm

No reason to fight a swamp ooze zombie if we don't have to, stay on the round.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 12:35 am

Agreed. Stay on the road this time.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 6:00 am

Are you sure this doesn't relate to the sidequest we just got drafted into? I'd approach it just to be on the safe side.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 10:31 am

I think he's referring to the pillar of earth and that we're still addressing that by diverting round the zombie and heading for the source?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 2:42 pm

SlyJohnny wrote:I think he's referring to the pillar of earth and that we're still addressing that by diverting round the zombie and heading for the source?

That's what I assumed, too.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:33 pm

Successive buffets of sheet lightning enable you to see that, all across the marsh, creatures resembling pumpkin-headed scarecrows are stirring They are the Haggwort. Formed of the earth and roused by the growing corruption in the land. Groaning, the mindless hulks rise and make their sluggish way towards Hustings, their paws gripping a variety of murderous weapons. They are great fighters, but they suffer one weakness: they are animated by mystic fires which are held under pressure within their heads; any cut to the head, no matter how tiny, wlll free the energy, and the sudden release will cause the Haggworts head to explode! Hustings must be warned of the imminent attack, but a Haggwort stands on the road, in your way. Will you:

Attack it?

Head out on to the moors in a bid to sneak round it?

Put on a Chameleon Cloak - if you have one?

Spoopy Cojones, Gallantarian ex-captain

SK 10/10 ST 19/19 LU 12/12
Sword
Loaded Die
Chameleon Cloak
1 fire cracker
3 Provisions
Mirror
Ring of Agility (3 charges)
Calthrops (1),
Metal Rot,
Rope and grapple,
Lantern
Oilskin*2
2 gold pieces

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 5:36 pm

Blue option sneak past it.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:37 pm

No reason not to use the blue option here.

On a side note, a new enemy that can be defeated by making its head explode....that alone is enough to makes this book worthwhile.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:42 am

No wonder they put those things on the cover. Exploding heads are as metal as you can get.

Use the Invisibility Cloak.

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 7:47 am

The Chameleon Cloak works like a dream: the Haggwort does not see you as you slip past it and press on along the road. Further on you remove the cloak and study your surroundings. The moors look too dangerous, so you decide to keep to the road. Will you now go to the town or towards the strange tower?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 9:02 am

Hmmm. I have no idea. We have to warn the town, but also violence isn't the final answer and we need the earth to reclaim it's own?

Half a vote for town first, then tower.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:23 am

I think we should go to the oozy tower first. Maybe we'll find something useful.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:36 pm

I'd be in favor of town first, as I think it's more likely to give us the option to go from the town to the tower than the other way around.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Apr 16, 2016 1:35 am

Town first

Mr Shine · Post by **Mr Shine** » Sat Apr 16, 2016 6:20 am

The people of the small town are already preparing for war, collecting whatever weapons they can lay their hands on. Upturned wagons, wooden boxes and bits of fencing form a pitiful makeshift barricade between the town and the moors.

Seeing that you are human, and a stout fighter to boot, the townsfolk hurry you through the blockade but they have no time for pleasantries. They tum their abstention back to the dark silhouettes stalking the moors.

Inside the barricade an armoured figure rallies his people with a call to arms: 'Stand fast We must not fall. The witch and her devilry be damned! To arms! To arms! The Haggwort are upon us!' Will you:

Use the confusion of the battle to flee southwards, out of the town?

Make yourself known to the brave warrior and offer your services?

Slip away and investigate the strange tower on the pinnacle?

The reference for going to the tower has not changed.