[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 23 - Masks of Mayhem!

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Sun Dec 20, 2020 6:22 am

Sigh ... I told you so about getting water.

King Arthur has 12 SKILL, so of course we fight the Kraken and hope that we can do better than these adventurers did when they fought their own lake monster.

Queen of Swords · Post by **Queen of Swords** » Sun Dec 20, 2020 6:36 am

Well, at least we didn't gulp down the necro-water.

Fight the Kraken.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sun Dec 20, 2020 6:41 am

Kraken was a pretty serious fight for Peter Woody, and I just don't see that we have anything to gain from defeating a dumb animal whose loot is in its underwater lair. On the other hand, escaping from an aquatic creature when we are already on land seems both easy and sensible.

Begin the famous advance-to-the-rear-dust-kick attack.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:11 am

I think as king we should probably chastise the beast for being rude, so attack.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Sun Dec 20, 2020 8:52 pm

Yeah, stabbing seems likely to avoid another luck test. Fight the kraken.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Dec 21, 2020 8:01 pm

I'd be slightly in favor of fleeing, myself.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 8:54 am

The Kraken's ghastly head, with its huge beaked mouth snapping, appears out of the water behind its five tentacles. Will you move in close, thus exposing yourself to the tentacles but hoping for an opportunity to finish the horror off with one blow to its head, or will you slash at the tentacles themselves?

Do we want head, or would we rather play with the long fleshy implements?

Queen of Swords · Post by **Queen of Swords** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 12:57 pm

Slashing at the tentacles seems safer. I'm concerned that if we get too close, it'll be like that scene in Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo gets caught by the Watcher in the Water.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 3:09 pm

Having some experience with cephalopods, they head-dodge like nobody's business. Stick to the arms.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 8:22 pm

Tentacles seems good to me too

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Tue Dec 22, 2020 10:42 pm

My vote is to slash at the tentacles themselves. After all, that is what the said adventurers in the video from my previous post did.

Queen of Swords wrote:Slashing at the tentacles seems safer. I'm concerned that if we get too close, it'll be like that scene in Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo gets caught by the Watcher in the Water.

Nice to know that you are also a user of culture.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 4:28 am

Tentacles are easier to cut off.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:31 am

The headshot actually allows us to 1-shot him. There's technically a risk of insta-gib for us too...but it's a SKILL test, and our max-SKILL PC can't fail that.

In your exposed position, the tentacles can lash at you two at a time. Thus every time you determine your Attack Strength for normal combat with the first tentacle, you must also determine the Attack Strength of the second tentacle: if its Attack Strength is higher than yours, it wounds you; if it is lower or equal, you have merely avoided it (you cannot wound it). When you have finished with the first tentacle, you turn to deal with the second directly, and the third gets free attacks at you; and so on, until you have finished with them all...if you get that far!

First TENTACLE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
Second TENTACLE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
Third TENTACLE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
Fourth TENTACLE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
Fifth TENTACLE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6

You can at any time escape by turning to 183, though the tentacles will cause you 2 further STAMINA points of injury as you gather up your belongings and flee. If you remain, and win the battle, turn to 85.

Choosing to fight this way is a lot more of a hassle and messier than headshot, but since the tentacles aren't too skilled, we're probably not in too much danger...

COMBAT LOG:

Tentacle#1 18, Tentacle#2 10, PC 20. Tentacle#1 is at 4.
T1 12, T2 14, PC 16. T1 is at 2.
T1 15, T2 13, PC 14. PC is at 13.
T1 17, T2 12, PC 23. T1 is severed.
T2 10, T3 14, PC 20. T2 is at 4.
T2 12, T3 13, PC 17. T2 is at 2.
T2 12, T3 18, PC 19. T2 is cut off.
T3 12, T4 12, PC 23. T3 is at 4.
T3 13, T4 10, PC 20. T3 is at 2.
T3 11, T4 16, PC 20. T3 is defeated.
T4 15, T5 12, PC 19. T4 is at 4.
T4 10, T5 15, PC 18. T4 is at 2.
T4 14, T5 16, PC 23. T4 is diced.
T5 16, PC 19. T5 is at 4.
T5 13, PC 16. T5 is at 2.
T5 14, PC 22. T5 is minced.

One of the tentacles got in a stray blow, but as expected, we were never in real danger.

You sit down to rest after your labours. Then to your amazement a spectral army glides across the surface of the lake. There are at least forty of them, and most are dressed in the battered remnants of armour of bygone days. You jump to your feet in alarm. You can see through them, but you also have no doubt that they are substantial enough to make their presence felt in this earthly realm.

While you are wondering what to do, one of them steps forward on to the bank. He was once a man in the prime of his life, long-haired and with noble and stern features. "Fear not," his ghastly voice whispers. "You have done us great service. With the death of the Kraken we, its victims, are released from our bondage to this spectral form. But we repay our debts. Before we go to our final rest in the underworld, we will assist you once in the course of your quest - but my advice would be not to call us except in the direst need. You can summon us by my name: it is Galrin." With that, the leader and his host of followers vanish. When the book tells you that you can call on Galrin, turn to 100. For now, add 2 LUCK points. You decide not to spend any more time by the lake shore: you head north and slightly east, through rolling hills. A heavy mist descends at dawn, and you are soon hopelessly lost.

The LUCK we just spent in the test is now restored.

Will you stay where you are until the mist clears, or press on regardless?

Walk into the mist or not?

Adventure Sheet:

SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 13/15
LUCK 9/9
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Backpack, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Helmet, sorrels
Provisions: 10 (only restores 3 STAMINA each until new water flask is found)
Notes: 1) When allowed to call on Galrin's help, turn to section 100.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:01 am

If you already lost, running round vaguely makes you even more lost, so wait.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 6:26 pm

Yeah, wait.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 6:59 pm

Wait - blindness in mountains leads to falling off cliffs

Queen of Swords · Post by **Queen of Swords** » Thu Dec 24, 2020 8:03 pm

Stay where we are until we can see where we're going.

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 12:10 am

Waiting until the mist clears seems like an invitation for King Arthur to get picked off and killed like a sitting duck. My vote is to press on regardless.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 2:33 am

Press on. I have little faith that 'waiting until the mist clears' and 'waiting until the big bad's plan is complete' are distinguishable.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 6:17 am

We risk an insta-fail section if we keep moving, depending on which direction we take, but by staying put we also missed the opportunity to pick up a magic weapon with a +1 SKILL boost (allows it to raise above Initial level) after a fight.

The chill mist seeps into your bones. You slap yourself and jump up and down to keep warm, but you still lose 2 STAMINA points.

STAMINA down to 11...

As the mist begins to clear, you can see buildings in the shallow valet below you. You duck down behind a stone. When you dare to peek around the stone, you find that the buildings are in fact the dilapidated remains of a mine of some kind. They are obviously uninhabited - at any rate, by their former inhabitants. Will you have a look around or skirt the area?

Do we check out the old mine?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 6:18 am

Investigate random thingy.

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 7:40 am

My vote is to eat a provision, and to take a look around, as there could be treasure to pick up.

Queen of Swords · Post by **Queen of Swords** » Fri Dec 25, 2020 7:52 am

What sort of adventurer doesn't search ruins or abandoned places?

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Dec 26, 2020 1:53 am

Will you investigate the main shaft, the outhouse whose roof has collapsed, the hut which looks fairly intact?

Where do we begin our search?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat Dec 26, 2020 2:55 am

Hut, hut, hut.