[Let's Play] Blood Sword IV - Doomwalk

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 5:59 pm

I'll Defend repeatedly. If he moves away from me, I'll re-engage and begin stabbing.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 7:10 pm

His armor is crap enough that it actually might be worth shooting at him. Hopefully we don't come across a melee brute boss with more HP and no armor (a la Seven-In-One) later on. But in case we do, I'll start defending after firing two shots.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 10:26 pm

That guy has a kick like a mule! I'll drop deliverance and sheet lightning, and cast Swordthrust first round; maybe he won't think I'm enough of a threat to justify turning his back on the warrior and trickster. If that works, I'll cast Nemesis Bolt second round, and then play keep-away afterwards, trying to lead him next to Iron Knight Kiki. If I get a chance I'll prep another Nemesis Bolt.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:18 pm

I'll defend at first (attacking once with Quick Thinking). If it lands a hit on me, I'll retreat and start shooting at it.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:20 am

Typhon won't be chasing the Enchanter as long as someone is engaging him in melee, because his low Awareness means that he takes automatic hits when he dis-engages. He'll only do that if everyone runs away from him.

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior Defends.

Trickster Defends.

Enchanter attempts to cast Swordthrust. Roll = 5+ 2 = 7. Success! Damage = 11+3-3 = 11. Typhon has 59 END left.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage shoots Typhon. Roll = 10. Miss.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Typhon fights Warrior. Roll = 14. Miss!

Quick Thinking bonus:

Trickster fights Typhon. Roll = 7. (Hit!) Damage = 8-3 = 5. Typhon has 54 END left.

Round 2 ...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior Defends.

Trickster Defemds.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 10+5 = 15. The spell fizzles!

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage shoots Typhon. Roll = 7. (Hits!) Damage = 6+1=3 = 4. Typhon has 50 END left.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Typhon fights Warrior. Roll = 8. (Hits! - would have missed if he were aiming for Trickster) Damage = 19+1-7 = 13. Warrior has 18 END left!

Round 3 ...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior Defends

Trickster Defends.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 6+5-1 = 10. Success! Damage = 23+7-3 = 27. Typhon has 23 EN left.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage shoots Typhon. Roll = 9. Miss.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Typhon fights Trickster. Roll = 12+3 = 13. Miss.

Round 4...

Awareness 8 acts ...

Warrior Defends

Trickster Defends.

Enchanter re-calls Nemesis Bolt.

Awareness 7 acts ...

Sage shoots Typhon. Roll = 6. (Hits!) Damage = 4+1-3 = 2. Typhon has 21 END left.

Awareness 6 acts ...

Typhon fights Trickster. Roll = 12+1 = 13. Miss.

Round 5 ...

Warrior Defends.

Trickster Defends.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt. Roll = 7+5 = 12. Success! Damage = 27+7-3 = 31. Typhon is killed!

Typhon got in one hard blow, but the party prevails with no casualty.

Typhon disintegrates again, but this time he does not rematerialise. Only his eye is left. It is a glaring yellow sphere of hard crystal, about the size of a child's skull. You can take it if you wish.

The sky rumbles. No, it isn't the sky - the sound of horses' hoofs comes from the air around you, a phantom stampede like a dozen thunderstorms. There is a crack, and a smoking hoofprint appears in the seared grass nearby. As you watch, another appears, and another. The hoof prints form a trail, leading inland across the rolling downs.

If you follow the trail, turn to 154. If you ignore it and choose a different route inland, turn to 250.

Who wants to keep Typhon's eye? (Trickster and Sage must drop something if they want to take it.)

Follow the prints?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:44 am

I'll drop my empty coin purse for it.

I'm mildly in favor of following the tracks.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 3:14 am

Yeah, follow.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 3:26 am

The Sage loves to collect eyes, it seems (he still has a couple of those from Book 2).

The trail of sulphurously smoking hoofprints takes you across inhospitable downs where the mist sits sullenly in the hollows. You feel as though eyes are peering at you from the thickets of sedge and heather, but you can see no signs of life.

The trail wends between a number of ancient burial mounds. They squat along the ridge of a hill, their moss-covered stones looking like the hunched shoulders of beasts of prey.

A moan comes out of the ground. A loose stone clatters from one of the mounds. A breath of mist gusts from the entrance of another.

Their inhabitants have sensed your presence. They are waking up.

If the Trickster is here and has a harp, turn to 15. If the Sage is here and wants to try something, he or she should turn to 229. Otherwise, you can carry on; or turn back from the barrow downs and find another route inland.

Does either the Trickster or the Sage wish to see what they can do? Or if neither does, carry on or not?

Adventure Sheet:

WARRIOR:

NAME: Dame Caecilia Wither-Stoat
RANK: 5th

Battle Order: 1

Fighting Prowess: 12
Psychic Ability: 7
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 18/39
Damage: 2 Dice +4 (+3 from Enchanted Sword)

*Extra Notes: Takes no FP/damage penalty when fighting unarmed, +1 Armour Rating from Potentiation on top of normal armour bonus

Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+3 Damage)
2 Enchanted Chainmail armour (Armour Rating five)
3 Money pouch (empty)
4 Silver crucifix (with finger-bone of St Ashanax)
5 Iron Bell
6 Bedroll
7 Shielding Charm (+1 AR)
8 Dog-faced Creature's Spear
9 Ointment of Healing (10 Applications, +2D6 END each)
10 Empty slot

TRICKSTER:

NAME: Benedict of the Crimson Spires, Honourable Duelist
RANK: 5th

Battle Order: 2

Fighting Prowess: 8 (+1 from Enchanted Sword)
Psychic Ability: 7
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 31/31
Damage: 2 Dice

Items:
1 Enchanted Sword (+1 FP)
2 Studded Leather Armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Golden Snuffbox
4 Dervish's scroll
5 Gloves
6 Bow
7 Harp
8 Quiver (6 arrows)
9 Fur Cloak
10 Gilt-edged scroll
*11 Screebo the Raven

SAGE:

NAME: "Pepito" Cascadero, Master of the Mystic Way
RANK: 5th

Battle Order: 3

Fighting Prowess: 7
Psychic Ability: 8
Awareness: 7
Endurance: 26/26
Damage: 2 Dice

Items:
1 Quarterstaff
2 Ringmail Armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Seafaring Charts from Hunguk's ship
4 Bedroll
5 Magic Bow (Damage 1 Die+1)
6 Quiver (2 arrows)
7 Skull Amulet
8 Blue Crystal Eyes
9 Typhon's Eye Gem
10 Silver key to Fatima's garden

ENCHANTER:

NAME: Enchanter Reed, Ninth of the Inverted Tower
RANK: 5th

Battle Order: 4

Fighting Prowess: 1
Psychic Ability: 15 (+1 from Ring of Sorcery)
Awareness: 8
Endurance: 26/26
Damage: 1 Die +2

Items:
1 Brazier
2 Silver armour (Armour Rating two)
3 Bedroll
4 Magical Bread Crust of Infinity
5 Fur Cloak
6 Money pouch (26 gold pieces)
7 Ring of Sorcery (+1 PA)
8 Iron rations (7 days)
9 Amber Tinderbox
10 Empty slot

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 3:53 am

The Trickster option is more specific so my vote is to go with that.

Starmaker · Post by **Starmaker** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:47 am

Yo dawg, we put a cemetery in your underworld...

I've been carrying that harp for three books now. Let's rock.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:59 am

LET'S JAM!

TRICKSTER:

You have a sudden inspiration. Taking up the harp, you strum a light and joyous tune and begin to sing:

'Summer is come, for every spray now springs.
On every blossomed branch a bird now sings.
The sun pours down his warmth all the day long.
Bees gather pollen; and I, I sing my song . . .'

The wights inside the burial mounds hear you. Their dead voices are raised for a moment in a plaintive wail. Affrighted by the image of sunny days evoked by your song, they do not emerge. You pass safely by.

The blue option isn't necessarily a good one. While we avoided fight, we also missed the chance to loot some quest tokens from the barrows.

The trail leads to a monolith carved of red-flecked green stone. Inlaid into its base is a corroded bronze plaque. You brush away mud and moss to reveal a map engraved there:

You make a rough copy of this on a scrap of parchment you had among your belongings. Note the number 111 in case you want to refer back to this map. Also, note the codeword TABULA on your Character Sheet(s).

From here you can head towards the village marked on the map or towards the Shrine of Summoning.

If you make for the village, turn to 265. If the Shrine, turn to 157.

NOTE: Actually, I'm fairly sure this is a printing error in the book. It makes more sense that this map shown here on section 111 should have been the map at the beginning of the book.

The map that I posted at the start of the topic is the one that actually displays the locations in Hell, so this should have been the one we just found:

To the village, or the Shrine?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 1:46 pm

I'd be in favor of the Shrine.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 1:51 pm

I'm torn, as the village might provide an opportunity for underbooze. But I think we're less likely to be outnumbered at the shrine if the locals prove hostile, so let's go see what the local worship culture is like, and if they posit an afterafterlife.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:06 pm

The Shrine of Summoning lies in the middle of a vast moor. Trekking across the bleak landscape, you espy a tree where a stranger stands. He is wearing a wide-brimmed hat and ragged cloak, and carries a lantern on a crook across his shoulder.

'Well met,' he says, performing a graceful bow. 'I am called the Traveller, and it is my function to guide you to what you seek.'

How will you reply to this?

'And what exactly is that?';
'Who are you?'; or
'What is the Shrine of Summoning?'

What would you like to know?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Aug 08, 2015 2:52 pm

Somehow I doubt the mysterious guy will be clear about who/what he is, and we know that we're seeking the Sword of Life and Cordelia. What we don't know that the Traveler might tell us is what exactly the Shrine of Summoning is, so let's ask that.

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 2:49 am

Agreed; ask about the Shrine.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:52 am

He falls into step beside you as you pass. 'The Shrine,' he tells you, 'is a place where one can summon any soul that now resides in Sheol. Perhaps you wish to locate a lost comrade, or someone who can aid you in your quest? The Shrine of Summoning is the place to do it.'

That sounds handy......

The shrine comes into view across the moor. It comprises a white marble rotunda with a white fluted dome, entered by means of a portico surrounded by demon-carved pillars. Beside it is a small lake in which you can see glowing fishes swimming to and fro.

'This is the Pool of Remembrance,' says the Traveller, cupping his hand to collect some of the water and then letting it trickle away through his fingers. 'I have heard a tale that it restores lost memories, and is an antidote to the waters of Lethe.'

If the Sage is here, he or she should turn to 348. If not, turn to 407.

This one isn't listed as a option, but an auto-effect, so....

SAGE:

[According to another account, drinking the water of the Pool of Remembrance causes one to experience again all the trials and ordeals of one's life. If you drank from it now, you would feel all the wounds you have ever suffered all in one instant. The experience would either kill you or drive you mad. However, it is also written - as the Traveller just said - that water from the Pool of Remembrance acts as an antidote to the memory-stealing waters of the River Lethe.]

If the Enchanter is here and wants to cast Prediction, he or she should turn to 344. If not, turn to 423.

This one is listed as option....so does Reed want to do that?

Shiritai · Post by **Shiritai** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:58 am

Yeah, I'll try Prediction.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 4:07 am

ENCHANTER:

The spell enables you to see some of the possible futures that may lie ahead of you. Concentrating on an image of yourself drinking the water of the pool, you experience a frightening jolt of pain and madness. Lucky that you tried the Prediction spell first, then!

You focus next on the possibility that you will enter the shrine. The image you see is of the inside of the marble dome, where a large copper horn hangs from the centre of the roof by a slim thread. The spell fades.

For some reason, this wasn't in italics....so I guess everyone else can see what he predicts this time? Or maybe they just interpreted it from Reed's scream of terror.

If anyone wishes to drink from the pool, turn to 458. If you think it is worth collecting some of the water from the pool to use later on, turn to 314. If you have not already entered the shrine and wish to do so now, turn to 355. If you have finished here and are ready to move on, turn to 322.

Drinking from the pool is up to individual option, not group votes, anyone can take a drink if he/she chooses to (although now that you've seen what Reed did I doubt you'd want to anyway). If any of you want to collect the water (also individual option), let me know, and Trickster and Sage will also need to tell me what they wish to drop for it.

The only thing that must be determined by party vote is whether to enter the shrine.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 4:28 am

Pepito will tell everyone about the effects of the spring (basically confirming Reed's prediction) and bottle some of its crazy juice memory water for future use, dropping his bedroll to make room for it.

I'm in favor of entering the shrine.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 4:58 am

Yes, enter.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 5:07 am

The Sage collects some of the water:

The Traveller agrees that your idea is good. 'It might be dangerous to drink this water,' he says, 'but who is to say it won't come in useful later?' He fills a water-bottle from the pool and hands it to you.

If any player wants to drink some of this water, note the number of the entry you are reading at the time and then turn to 496. It is important to note the entry you are reading first because, of course, 496 will not route you back there. You can drink the water at any time except when in combat.

There is enough water in the bottle for all players to drink if and when they wish. One player should note it among the items on his or her Character Sheet: 'Bottle of water from the Pool of Remembrance - to drink, turn to 496.'

Now that we're carrying it with us, I guess there's no need to wait around to see if anyone votes to drink from the pool, so let's move on into the shrine:

Inside, a large copper horn hangs by a long thread from the centre of the domed ceiling. You can reach it but, even though the thread seems thin, you find it impossible to break.

'You will not be able to remove the horn,' says the Traveller. 'However, you can use it summon individuals from anywhere in the land of Death. Just blow through the horn while thinking the name of the person you wish to summon.'

If you decide to use the horn, turn to 386. If not, you go back outside: turn to 423.

That's the author taking precautions against the typical PC who loots everything in sight! We can't loot the horn!

Do you have anyone in mind that you wish to summon from Hell?

angelfromanotherpin · Sun Aug 09, 2015 11:24 am

Well, that's convenient. No need to search the numberless shades for Cordelia. Blow!

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 11:57 am

Blow and summon Cordelia.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 12:52 pm

If you defeated Circe and she told you the name of the seer whose ghost Ulixes sought in the Afterworld, turn to 110.

If not, you can try summoning one or more of the following:

Tobias - turn to 98.
Icon - turn to 272.
Cordelia - turn to 504.

Any player slain earlier in the adventure before you reached Sheol - turn to 274. Prince Susurrien - turn to 381. Psyche - turn to 64.

Once you have summoned everyone you want to, turn to 423.

We would have encountered Circe if we chose Providence as our ship earlier. This is probably the biggest reason why Providence can be seen as the better choice: if we learnt about that seer from her, we could have summoned him here, and he would have given us a nice summary of all the significant encounters and dangers in Hell. It's not essential to completing the game, and we can get some of those hints individually from other places, but it would have been real helpful to have that seer sum everything up for us in one section!

We never met Circe, Psyche or Tobias, and none of the party has died yet, so not many choices available. There're already two votes to summon Cordelia, so let's try that first:

The horn gives out a low, mournful note. Even before it has died away, you sense a presence in the dome with you. Turning, you see that a slender young woman has entered softly through the portico. She lingers on the threshold and seems unwilling to speak, but somehow you know that she is Entasius's lost love, Cordelia.

The Traveller reaches out his hand to her but she shrinks away. 'If she has been in Sheol a very long time then she may find the proximity of your vital force somewhat disconcerting,' he suggests. 'Give her time and she will speak.'

Hey, that's half of our quest done, right?

We now turn back to the previous section where we can choose someone else to summon if we want (or not). Do we want to summon Icon? Or even Susurrien (in case some of you want to make up for not getting to stab him personally in the last book)?