[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 61(?) - Howl of the Werewolf!

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:25 pm

Left.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Jun 05, 2017 12:43 pm

Only 1 vote for left, so I guess that's where we proceed:

Opening the door, you enter Castle Wulfen's extensive library. Row after row of bookcases groan under the weight of innumerable dusty tomes. Within this great repository of knowledge, one book has been given pride of place, lying on a lectern carved to resemble a dragon. The book is bound in black leather and bears the title On the Conjuration and Banishment of Demons. The air around the book seems suffused with a grim malfeasance and you are sure it is colder at this spot. If you dare to open this forbidding book to see what aid it can offer you, turn to 100. If you would rather leave well enough alone, you vacate the library and take either the door that is now to your left, or the one directly ahead of you.

Oooh, how to summon our own demon! Sounds fun, right? Shall we do it?

If not, where do we go next?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Mon Jun 05, 2017 1:19 pm

Banishing demons is a reward worthy of triggering this obvious trap.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Jun 05, 2017 2:47 pm

I'd take the new door to our left.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Jun 05, 2017 3:00 pm

Yeah, obvious trap, but I want to see what happens.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:55 am

Darth Rabbitt wrote:I'd take the new door to our left.

Just to clarify, it's actually not a "new" door. It's basically the "centre" door from the previous section. Basically, the only difference is that we just exited via the left door, so we're facing a different direction.

You heave open the huge book and start to flick through its pages. As you do so, a strong smell of sulphur fills the library and a thick black cloud coalesces in front of you. You jump back startled knocking the book from the lectern, but hear nothing vaguely man-like shape, with strong, clawed arms, velvety black skin and - most horribly of all - no face! Trapped within the demon's veil of silence you prepare to defend yourself against the Silent Death.

SILENT DEATH SKILL 10 STAMINA 10

Being a demon, the Silent Death can only be harmed by magical weapons or ones cast from silver. If you have neither, the demon will slay you where you stand. If you can defend yourself, and you manage to kill the Silent Death, turn to 459.

No special rules for once, so straight-forward fight here....except clearly we can't use our howl here since Silent Deaths are surrounded by magical auras of silence.

COMBAT LOG:

Silent Death 19, Triple W 25. SD is at 8.
SD 17, Triple W 18. SD is at 6.
SD 12, Triple W 24. SD is at 4.
SD 16, Triple W 25. SD is at 2.
SD 19, Triple W 16. Triple W is at 17.
SD 16, Triple W 17. SD is defeated.

Damn demon broke our flawless streak....

At your killing blow, the demon dissolves into a sulphurous black cloud again, leaving you free to study the book to which it had been bound. On page 216 you find a ritual to banish demons. It involves marking out a pentacle - a five-pointed star - using consecrated artefacts. Who knows when such information might come in useful? With this knowledge safely stored away, you leave the library before it suffers any further demonic visitations. Returning to the junction, will you take the door now to your left, or pass through the one directly ahead of you?

Reminder: the left door now = centre door earlier, while the door "directly ahead" was previously the right-hand door.

Which way next?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Tue Jun 06, 2017 4:52 pm

Directly ahead.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Jun 07, 2017 3:58 pm

Agreed.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:28 pm

Passing through the door you enter what appears to be an artificer's workshop. The mechanical guts of all manner of clockwork contraptions cover shelves and workbenches, along with the tools used to construct them. However, one object stands out beyond all others. It is a life-size, brass replica of a man. The metal mannequin, an exquisite work of art more delicate than any suit of armour, stands immobile, like nothing so much as an artist's poseable maquette. Right over where the figure's heart would be is a large keyhole. If you have a Brass Key and want to turn it in the keyhole, turn to 452. If not, there is nothing else for you in the artificer's room and take the door that is now ahead of you, or the one that is to your right.

We didn't buy the Brass Key, so nothing for us to do here...

Which means we're left with one choice, the last door which we haven't tried:

You open the door and step through into a vast banqueting chamber. What was obviously once a luxuriously laid table - with finest bone china, gleaming gilt cutlery and magnificent glittering crystal centerpieces - is now nothing better than a dog's dinner. Platters of rotting food, white with solidified grease, litter the soiled tablecloth, while the carcasses and bones of many passed meals lie strewn across the table and over the floor. Hearing a chomping, slavering sound you look towards the far end of the hall. Sitting at the other end of the table are three veiled women wearing gowns that were once no doubt fabulous examples of the dressmaker's art, but which are now torn and disheveled. The noise is the sound of their disgusting table manners, as they pick at the remains of chicken carcasses. One of the women stops abruptly, even as she is sucking the marrow from a leg bone, and sniffs the air sharply. 'We have company, sisters,' she snarls. The other two women both cease their messy eating then and sniffs the air, turning your way, their faces hidden behind their veils. Moving as stealthily as cats, the three women glide towards you across the banqueting chamber.

'What's this,' asks another, her tone imperious and mocking, 'another guest for dinner?'

'Or another course?' says the third, gleefully. 'I do hope so. I'm still hungry.'

'What have you brought us, fresh meat?' the first asks, addressing you directly. 'Are you the next course or do you have something else to delight us with?' At that she pulls aside her veil and you gasp in unexpected horror as you catch sight of the face beneath. It is a hideous amalgam of human being and animal, somewhere between that of a woman and a she-wolf. The wolf-woman licks a long pink tongue across canine fangs and something like a smile splits her horrible visage. How will you react to this revelation? Will you ready your weapon and prepare to fight or will you offer the wolf-women something from among your Possessions?

Would it be cannibalism if they eat us, seeing as we're on our way to becoming a werewolf?

Bribe or fight?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:25 am

Bribe with provisions, if we can.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:49 am

SGamerz wrote:We didn't buy the Brass Key, so nothing for us to do here...

I'm pretty sure we did buy the Brass Key:

Darth's Revised Shopping List wrote:6 Silver Bullets (6 GP and one silver item)
Iron Padlock (5 GP)
Brass Key (4 GP)
Rope and Grapple (3 GP)
Breastplate (8 GP)

Bribe the fools.

edit: fixed links, etc.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:38 am

Yeah, I though we did, too.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 8:15 am

SGamerz wrote:Two days, and no other votes, so Triple W in a rare occurrence decides to skip a potential side-quest (purchases have been made in accordance with Darth's revised shopping list)....

...

Adventure Sheet:
...
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern & Tinderbox, Signet Ring, Flintlock Pistol, Mace (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 damage per blow), Shield (+1 Attack Strength), Silver Candlestick, Gilt Mirror, Brass Telescope, lodestone, 2 Silver Daggers (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Wulfen Sword (+1 Attack Strength, does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Silver Bullets (x6), Iron Padlock, Brass Key, Rope and Grapple, Breastplate (reduce damage taken by 1 on roll of 1-3)

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 12:07 pm

Yikes! Don't know how I missed that, I did scan the Adventure Sheet, but didn't flip all the way back to check.

Sorry......so rewinding to the previous room: do you guys want to use the Key?

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:05 pm

Sure, let's hope it's a blue option and the thing doesn't just come alive and murder us.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:44 pm

Eh, if we were afraid of potential murder, we'd not have started this book. Turn the key and hope for teh worst.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 1:04 am

Inserting the key in the hole, you turn it until you hear a ratcheting click. With a sudden lurch the automation takes a step towards you, and without the hesitation tries to strike you with its crushing gauntlet-hard hands. You have no choice but to take up your own weapon to defend yourself.

CLOCKWORK AUTOMATION SKILL 9 STAMINA 9

As it was the key that activated the Automation, perhaps removing it would shut down your clockwork attacker again. If you want to try to knock out the key you must fight with your Attack Strength reduced by 2 points. However, if you win two consecutive Attack Rounds, fighting in this way, turn to 317. If you defeat the automation, leaving its exquisite bodywork battered and broken on the floor of the workroom you quit and return to the junction, from there you take the door which is now ahead of you, or, alternatively, the one that is now to your right.

Exactly what we were afraid of.

Worse, there seems to be no reward from this encounter.

Try to remove the key or just destroys it?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 1:32 am

Try knocking the key out, maybe something fun will happen.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:16 am

Yeah, definitely take the key out of it if the book has a special paragraph for it.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:29 am

Even taking this strategy, our effective SKILL is still 3 points higher.

COMBAT LOG:

Clockwork Automation 14, Triple W 21.
CA 11, Triple W 24.

Success!

With deft move you cut in under the automation's guard and succeed in knocking out the key out again. Straightaway, just as you hoped, with a grinding of gears the attacking automation becomes still again. (Regain 1 LUCK point.) There is nothing else of interest to you in the artificer's room so you return to the junction and take the door which is now ahead of you, or the one to your right.

Bah, still a waste of time. At least we didn't actually lose anything....

Fasting forward to the dining room again, we choose to bribe the she-wolves:

'Ooh, pretty things,' chuckles the last of the wolf-women as you carefully extract an artefact from your backpack. But what can you offer the bribes a Garnet Ring, a Gilt Mirror, a Bloodstone Amulet, or a Moonstone Amulet, turn to 312. If you offer them a Silver Mirror, a Charm Necklace, a Silver Locket, a Silver Crown, or a Silver Dagger, turn to 381. If you have none of the above, snarling, their patience used up, the brides stalk towards you.

We have a Gilt Mirror and 3 Silver Daggers. Do we offer any of those?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Wolfgang W. Wolfenstein (a.k.a Triple W)
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 19/19
LUCK 12/12
CHANGE: 1
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern & Tinderbox, Signet Ring, Flintlock Pistol, Mace (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 damage per blow), Shield (+1 Attack Strength), Silver Candlestick, Gilt Mirror, Brass Telescope, lodestone, 3 Silver Daggers (-1 Attack Strength, but does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Wulfen Sword (+1 Attack Strength, does 3 point damage on Were-creatures), Silver Bullets (x5), Iron Padlock, Rope and Grapple, Breastplate (reduce damage taken by 1 on roll of 1-3), Crone's Cook Book (Transformation spell on page 79).
Gold: 4 GP
Provisions: 7 Meals (+4 STAMINA)
Codewords: Avokez, Egnarts, Dloterof, Dehctaw, Daednu, Stoggam
Special Abilities:
1) The Call of the Wild (Reduce opponent's AR by 1 in combat, does not work on magical beings, artificial constructs, or undead)
2) Unnatural Vigour (regain half of STAMINA lost during fight after each combat, reduce damage taken in non-combat situations by 1 point)

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:34 am

I'm tempted to offer the mirror in case they get chatty afterwards. I think offering them silver will just cause them to attack. Where did we get the gilt mirror again? How likely is it to be a plot coupon.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 10:42 am

SlyJohnny wrote:Where did we get the gilt mirror again?

The Vampire Lady of Maun's tower.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:32 pm

We've got 3 silver daggers. Though, am expecting a negative reaction from that, but still, offer one.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:45 pm

Give them the mirror.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Jun 11, 2017 1:29 am

Since SlyJohnny seems to be leaning towards offering the mirror, we proceed with that.

'Pretty things indeed,' agrees the second.

'Wondrous, my sweeting, wondrous!' warbles the first, snatching the item from you. (Cross it off from your Possessions.) 'Now, be on your way.'

Will you now depart, as instructed, or will you turn on the brides when they are least expecting it?

Are we sure we want to let them live?