[Let's Play]Grailquest 2: The Den of Dragons

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:39 am

Agreed with Omegon on both counts.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 1:26 am

Pip casts the Firefinger spell, bringing his current LP down to 31...

Dice roll = 5+3 = 8. Success! Pip now has 17 Firefinger bolts at his fingertips.

He then proceeds to 41, where he meets another kangaroo-thing.

Kangaroo-thing rolls 5, Pip rolls 3+3 = 6. Pip hits first.

COMBAT LOG:

Pip rolls 5+3 = 8 and hits for 4+5 = 9 damage. Kangaroo-thing is at 6 (just short of a KO!)
Kangaroo-thing rolls 6 and hits, but can't penetrate Pip's armour.
Pip rolls 9 and finishes off his foe.

Pip now has 20 SP and 4 daggers.

Where does he search next?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 31/37
Permanent Life Points: 1

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
Luckstone (modifies all of Pip's dice rolls by 3 in his favour)
Double-headed Copper Coin (can be used to win any gambling games)
Tinglering x2
Magic Wooden Duck (can neutralize any magic once per book)
Globule Wand (roll 6+ during combat to hit, allows 4 free strikes before foe gets free), 5 charges remaining.
Scroll of Teleportation Spell (sends Pip to any section previously visited, can be used only once)
Backpack
Carpentry Hammer
Axe
Rope (15m coil)
Torches
Waterbag
Tent
Sack (six)
Blanket
Lamp
Container of oil
Climbing spikes
Fish-hooks
Harp
Horn
Bandages (15m roll)
Knife
Tinderbox
Stakes
Change of boots
Parchment
Quill and powdered ink
Food pack (10 days rations)
Cooking utensils
Healing Potion (5 doses)
War Hammer (+3 damage)
Daggers x4

MONEY: 20 SP

MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 3/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 3/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 3/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 17/18
Fireballs 2/2

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 3
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
2 Kangaroo-things
Phantom of the Village Church
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:18 am

The well.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 4:51 am

Very well (pun totally intended).....

Haven't you anything better to do with yourself than waste time staring down a well, Pip? Especially a well with a Water Weird in it? That's right--a Water Weird!

This creature has only 10 LIFE POINTS but if you think that's good news, think again--it can only be harmed by magic. You're going to have to use a P.A.D. or P.O.W. spell (if you have any left).

If either spell is successful, the creature dies and you can return to your map and continue exploring the village.
If the spell fails or you don't have any spells left, the creature will soak up your LIFE POINTS like a sponge. Go to 14.

I guess the Firefingers and Fireballs don't work here because it's made of water.....

We have only one chance, but it's a very good one thanks to the Luckstone. Which spell do we use? POW or PAD?

Also, if we survive this encounter, which location do we check next?

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 6:22 am

POW since relying on spell buffs to damage instead of Firefingers and Fireballs seems a bit marginal.

Ikeren · Post by **Ikeren** » Sun Sep 17, 2017 11:30 pm

Agreed. Pow Pow Pow!

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 3:41 am

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 4:01 am

Please also vote on where to go next after we survive this. There's nothing else at the well after we kill the Water Weird.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:38 am

Have we been to 34?

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 11:49 am

Omegonthesane wrote:Have we been to 34?

No, we've only been to 69, 41, 24 and 60.

Pip spends 3 LP to cast POW, bringing him down to 28/37.....

Dice roll = 7! He succeeds even without having to use the Luckstone. The Water Weird is killed.

Now to 34.....

Why would anybody in their right mind want to explore this place? It's a graveyard, Pip. You knew it was a graveyard--you could see that quite plainly before you decided to come here! What on earth do you expect to find in a graveyard?

Well, what you have found is graves. And tombstones. And... Oh dear, it looks as if you've done it again, Pip: that grave over there is open! As you watch, a hand reaches up out of it and scrabbles at loose earth by the graveside!

Rush to 91 before the Thing gets you!

What ghastly corpse will emerge from the open grave? What mouldering monster? What vicious vampire? What ghostly ghoul?

'Avast there, Matie--give us a hand, then!'

It's either a very fresh corpse or the Gravedigger. You decide it must be the Gravedigger, and since he's the only relatively normal soul you've seen in Stonemarten Village (apart from the fact he's crawling out of a grave, that is) you decide to give him a hand. And up he comes, a portly, bearded man with a distinctly florid face and nautical air about him, not to mention the scent of rum on his breath, which might explain how he came to fall into the open grave.

'Thank 'e kindly, me brave young gallant. A man in my condition doesn't find it all that easy to climb out of a grave. Cedric's the name. Long John Cedric they call me, on account of my seafaring background. At your service. Former Captain. Former pirate. Presently in retirement as a gravedigger.'

'I'm Pip,' you say, wondering if he's mad.

'Heered tell once of a Pip that put paid to the Wizard Ansalom. Hardly likely to be you, would it--?' And before you have a chance to answer, he goes on: 'No, I thought not. Never mind, if you've stumbled into Stonemarten Village you'll be wondering what's the matter with the place. I'll tell you, since you were decent enough to help me out of the grave. It's cursed, that's what. The whole place, except for me. Couple of cottages turned to solid stone. The local banker was turned into a gnome. The Vicar is a Phantom now. All the horses ran away. Most of the ordinary folks got turned into stone monsters--petrified, you might say: And a very strange class of person started to move in. I'd have been in trouble myself if the rum hadn't protected me. Very hard to curse man with rum in him. At least that's my theory.' His eyes are glazed, as if the mention of rum had sent the liquor recirculating through his system.

'Who cursed the village?' you ask excitedly.

But he is already collapsing with the drink. As he sinks to the ground and slowly rolls back into the open grave, you catch one muttered word: 'Dragons...'

'Dragons?' you shout. 'What about dragons?'

But your only reply is a snore from the open grave. Better return to your map and explore some more of the village: you won't get anything else here.

I think we've already met the ex-Vicar of the village....

Looking at the map, the building in the graveyard has its own section number (47), although due to the shadows it's possible to miss it.

Next location?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 28/37
Permanent Life Points: 1

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
Luckstone (modifies all of Pip's dice rolls by 3 in his favour)
Double-headed Copper Coin (can be used to win any gambling games)
Tinglering x2
Magic Wooden Duck (can neutralize any magic once per book)
Globule Wand (roll 6+ during combat to hit, allows 4 free strikes before foe gets free), 5 charges remaining.
Scroll of Teleportation Spell (sends Pip to any section previously visited, can be used only once)
Backpack
Carpentry Hammer
Axe
Rope (15m coil)
Torches
Waterbag
Tent
Sack (six)
Blanket
Lamp
Container of oil
Climbing spikes
Fish-hooks
Harp
Horn
Bandages (15m roll)
Knife
Tinderbox
Stakes
Change of boots
Parchment
Quill and powdered ink
Food pack (10 days rations)
Cooking utensils
Healing Potion (5 doses)
War Hammer (+3 damage)
Daggers x4

MONEY: 20 SP

MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 2/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 3/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 3/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 17/18
Fireballs 2/2

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 4
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
2 Kangaroo-things
Phantom of the Village Church
Water Weird
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Sep 18, 2017 12:29 pm

Try the building (47).

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 12:05 am

Count Dracula used to say that when you'd seen one crypt you'd seen them all. But whatever about that, this really does seem to be a rather special sort of crypt. For a start it's all done up in pink marble. And then again there's a brass plaque on the heavy wooden doorway which bears the words:

Oh footsore and weary traveller
With dust on your feet and quite possibly
Nits in your hair:
Enter here and rest awhile
And with fine poetry you I will beguile
So push the door, my traveller fair
And partake of my hospitably.

Hospitably? Maybe he meant 'hospitality' but couldn't get that to rhyme with 'possibly'. Not that 'hospitably' rhymes very well with 'possibly', either.

Only one creature in the universe could write rhymes as badly as that. His fame is so widespread almost everybody in Avalon has heard of him at some time or another. Could it be...? Yes, it is! Below the plaque is an iron plate bearing the words:

THE CRYPT OF THE FIEND
(Please Knock)

Don't waste another moment, Pip! This will certainly be dangerous, but it should be well worthwhile. Go in! Go in!

If you decide to enter the Crypt of the Fiend, go to 107.
If not, return to your map and explore some other part of the village.

You can probably tell where this leads to next.....

Do we dare enter the crypt and risk suffering the agony of horrendous poetry? If not, where do we go next?

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 1:32 am

Raid tomb.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 4:21 am

Meet up with recurring character again.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Tue Sep 19, 2017 4:53 am

I'd recommend saying the same. You'd be missing out if you don't keep running into the Fiend.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 12:10 am

Wow, that was a pretty good reveal.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Sep 20, 2017 11:40 am

Missed out a pic in my last update, here it is:

The interior of the crypt is hung with black velvet drapes in remarkably good condition, while the floor, walls and ceiling are all in the very finest white marble. In the centre of the floor is a small dais and on it an ebony coffin with gleaming brass inlay. There is an inscription on the dais which reads:

Wearily you journeyed on
All hope near gone
But now you're here
On your last breath
In the hope of finding someone dear
Or death

You groan inwardly at the standard of the verse (although all the while recalling that if this really is the Poetic Fiend, then you must be very careful to praise his poetry when he awakes) and climb up on the dais. Sure enough, there is a brass plaque set into the lid of the coffin, bearing the following inscription:

To awaken the Fiend, speak aloud the answer to this riddle:

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DUCK?

Speak your answer aloud now.

If you answered, 'That's a stupid riddle' go to 116.
If you answered, 'I don't know' go to 121.
If you answered, 'One of its legs are both the same' go to 122.

As the text says, speak your answer aloud now!

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 2:58 am

One leg is both the same. Old joke.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:40 am

Agreed.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:42 am

At once the coffin lid slams back and a slim, deathly pale figure dressed in an evening suit and opera cloak leaps out with alarming speed. His eyes are pink and his top teeth jut out over his lower lip--even when he is smiling, which he is now.

'Well done, my dear brave visitor! Well done! I could not have answered the riddle better myself.

'Except in rhyme, of course. Something along the following lines:

'It was the riddle of the sphynx:
What is the difference between a duck?
That one is easy, I thinks
And so I am in luck.
And ever game
I look the sphynx right in the eye
And answer: One of its legs are both the same!'

'There,' says the Fiend, eyes gleaming. 'What do you think of that as a poetic answer?'

'Magnificent!' you breathe, remembering the Fiend likes to be flattered about his poetry. 'I felt the mythological allusions were particularly apposite.'

'Yes,' says the Fiend, obviously pleased, 'so did I. Now, as you are clearly a young person of taste and discernment, let me give you an award for your intelligence.'

With which he takes from the pocket of his opera suit a small silver snuffbox. 'Do you take snuff?' he asks.

You shake your head.

'Good,' nods the Fiend. 'A filthy habit and most unhealthy. However, you may make an exception of this snuff. It's not made of tobacco, but rather of ground mugwort blessed by a vicar of the Anglican Communion. This gives it amazing healing properties. Take a pinch when you are feeling low and roll two dice twice. The total is the number of LIFE POINTS restored to you up to your natural maximum. But you may only use the snuff once in any Section, otherwise it will send you directly to 14. Got that? Good. Now on your way, adventurer bold, for it is cold and I must get back to my coffin before I catch a chill and start coughin'.'

And he slams down the lid, leaving you with the snuffbox of healing stuff.

Go back to your map of Stonemarten Village and explore further. And don't lose that snuffbox! In fact, make a note that you have it.

Free healing in every new section! This is enough to compete with the Luckstone for Most Useful Loot of the Series position!

No reason not to use it immediately:

Dice roll = 4. Pip is now at 32/37.

Next Location?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 32/37
Permanent Life Points: 1

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
Luckstone (modifies all of Pip's dice rolls by 3 in his favour)
Double-headed Copper Coin (can be used to win any gambling games)
Tinglering x2
Magic Wooden Duck (can neutralize any magic once per book)
Globule Wand (roll 6+ during combat to hit, allows 4 free strikes before foe gets free), 5 charges remaining.
Scroll of Teleportation Spell (sends Pip to any section previously visited, can be used only once)
Backpack
Carpentry Hammer
Axe
Rope (15m coil)
Torches
Waterbag
Tent
Sack (six)
Blanket
Lamp
Container of oil
Climbing spikes
Fish-hooks
Harp
Horn
Bandages (15m roll)
Knife
Tinderbox
Stakes
Change of boots
Parchment
Quill and powdered ink
Food pack (10 days rations)
Cooking utensils
Healing Potion (5 doses)
War Hammer (+3 damage)
Daggers x4
Snuffbox of Healing (can restore 2D6 LP every new section)

MONEY: 20 SP

MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 2/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 3/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 3/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 17/18
Fireballs 2/2

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 4
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
2 Kangaroo-things
Phantom of the Village Church
Water Weird
PUZZLES SOLVES:

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:01 pm

Our options are in no particular order,

24 chapel
57 forum?
40 house
66 house
30 house with garden
54 longhouse
38 east gate
72 house
45 house
41 house
43 house
33 house
63 house
51 house
69 house
74 southeast gate
48 house
89 southwest gate
39 house
50 house
44 house
52 house
61 house
55 house
20 longhouse
28 wolf garden
79 west gate
60 well
34 cemetery
47 crypt

Out of those let's try number 28.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:39 am

Stone leeks and letuces, stone cabbages, stone pens, stone carrots, stone spinach, even stone potatoes. And over there you can clearly see stone flowers--roses, hyacinths, rhododendrons, lily of the valley, bachelor's buttons, buttercups and daisies. There must be an awful lot of lime in the soil here.

Those monster statues don't look too pleasant, Pip. Huge great fanged things with hairy chests and claws. Very nasty. And very lifelike. You would almost expect one of them to move at any second. In fact, that one over there actually seemed to move. A trick of the light, no doubt.

The ground isn't stone. It's ordinary soil, just like a normal garden. Except it's growing stone plants. What a weird place. Why would anybody want to grow stone plants, then set the whole garden through with lifelike statues of monsters? Are you sure that one didn't really move? No, of course it didn't.

You tug experimentally on a stone cauliflower and up it comes, roots and all. Stone roots, of course. What a very weird place. Have you noticed how cold it's become?

That monster DID move! It's turning towards you, all hairy chest and fangs!

Like a stroke of lightning you go for your sword, except your arm won't move! Run, Pip! Run! Your legs won't move either! You feel so cold. So very, very cold. The monster is walking towards you on great flat stone feet. You can't move a muscle and you're cold! Desperately you try to chant a spell but even your lips and tongue won't move.

You're turning to stone, Pip! That's what it is. That's definitely what it is! The monster is only a few metres away now. It opens its great fanged mouth.

At least you can still roll dice, Pip. Roll two now to find out if you can get out of this mess.

Score 2-6 and go to 67.
Score 7-10 and go to 70.
Score 11 or 12 and go to 75.

Turns out that those figures on the map are stone statues. Unfortunately, speaking to the gravedigger earlier doesn't ring any alarm bells for Pip when he sees those statues.

Dice roll = 7. (In this case, again the middle section turns out to be the best, so not using the Luckstone here!)

You're in luck, Pip. You totter backwards until your foot reaches the edge of the stone garden. At once the monster freezes, while you, by contrast, find that you have ceased to turn to stone. That was close call!

Go back to your map and explore a safer part of the village.

Before moving on, I recall that I actually meant to count the Fiend's riddle as a puzzle, but forgot to add Exp for solving it, so now I've added it to the Quest Journal. Pip now has 5 Exp.

Where next?

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 32/37
Permanent Life Points: 1

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Excalibur Jr. (hits on 4, damage +5)
Dragonskin Jacket (damage taken -4)
Luckstone (modifies all of Pip's dice rolls by 3 in his favour)
Double-headed Copper Coin (can be used to win any gambling games)
Tinglering x2
Magic Wooden Duck (can neutralize any magic once per book)
Globule Wand (roll 6+ during combat to hit, allows 4 free strikes before foe gets free), 5 charges remaining.
Scroll of Teleportation Spell (sends Pip to any section previously visited, can be used only once)
Backpack
Carpentry Hammer
Axe
Rope (15m coil)
Torches
Waterbag
Tent
Sack (six)
Blanket
Lamp
Container of oil
Climbing spikes
Fish-hooks
Harp
Horn
Bandages (15m roll)
Knife
Tinderbox
Stakes
Change of boots
Parchment
Quill and powdered ink
Food pack (10 days rations)
Cooking utensils
Healing Potion (5 doses)
War Hammer (+3 damage)
Daggers x4
Snuffbox of Healing (can restore 2D6 LP every new section)

MONEY: 20 SP

MAGIC:
PANIC 3/3
POW 2/3
PILL 3/3
PAD 3/3
PIP 3/3
PIN 3/3
PiR2 3/3
INVISIBILITY 1/1
Firefingers 17/18
Fireballs 2/2

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 5
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
2 Kangaroo-things
Phantom of the Village Church
Water Weird
PUZZLES SOLVES: 1

No. of Deaths:
None yet

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:49 pm

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Sep 23, 2017 1:14 am

As he heads for the new section, Pip uses the Snuffbox again:

Dice roll = 3! Pip is at 35/37

Close up, this doesn't look nearly so impressive as it does at a distance. In fact, it doesn't look impressive at all. It looks decidedly seedy, if not exactly tumbledown. The sort of place that might have been a beautiful Abbey once, but has certainly seen better days. Past its prime, as you might remark. Over the hill. But still used, by the looks of this.

Approaching you, faces lost in the voluminous hoods of their voluminous robes are six--count them--black-clad Monks. The one in front carries an embroidered banner on a long pole. Your eyes move upwards to the banner. On it is a golden death's head. The one next to him carries a censor in which he appears to be burning old socks, to judge from the stench that is emerging from it. They turn towards you: They are chanting. What they are chanting is: 'Come with us, little adventurer, and stay with us forever.'

If you want to stay with them forever, go to 110.
If you run really fast now, you can go back to your map and explore some other part of the village. (The Monks will not follow outside their Abbey.)
If you fancy your chances in a scrap, the good news is that the first two Monks will not take part whatever happens. The other four are Martial Monks each with 25 LIFE POINTS. They strike with bare hands for additional damage of +3. They move so fast all four will have a strike against you before you can do anything in return. And they hit on 4 or better. But it's your choice, Pip. If you fight and they kill you, go to 14. If you fight and win, go to 94.

4 against 1 and they can hit pretty well. First semi-decent challenge Pip has faced in this book thus far.

Fight, run or stay with them forever?

If we fight, do we want to use any spells or items?

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Sat Sep 23, 2017 7:43 am

Can we cast a spell before committing to a decision? 'Cause my inclination is to cast PANIC as a battlecry, then spend our first combat round casting PIR2, then hope to Cthulhu we got enough armour to last. (Possibly burning through some firefingers, we shouldn't need more than 10 for the climax).

Generally spellcasting is a much better value proposition with the snuffbox.