[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 59 - Curse of the Mummy

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to use the statuette of a god, as I don't think firepowder will be any good against sand.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, try statue.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I doubt we have enough firepowder to turn this thing into glass, so try using the statuette of a god.

[SGamerz]

I forgot a picture of the Sand Golem in my last update post. It has now been added.

Brandishing the statuette in front of the Golem has no effect, but can you invoke its power? If you know the name of the deity whose image you hold in your hand, convert the letters of the name into numbers using the code A = 1, B = 2, C + 3...Z = 26. Add the numbers together then turn to the paragraph whose number is the same as the total. If you do not know the god's name, you have no choice but to draw your sword, since the Golem is upon you.

Fortunately, we learn the name of the god from Cranno:

"By Assamarra, God of the Sands, I command uou to begone!" As soon as you have spoken the words, the wind picks up again, but this time it blows the Golem's insubstantial, shifting form apart, scattering the sand throughout the wilderness. The deity of deserts and arid places has aided you. Regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 183.

LUCK is back to full.

Using Firepowder or Yokka Egg actually IS sufficient to turn the golem to glass. But because fire attacks are much more versatile and useful for various different encounters in this book, using the statuette (and saving fire resources) is definitely the better option.

There can be no doubt that the Golem was an emissary of the Cult of the Cobra, sent to stop you reaching the tomb. As the day grows hotter, you redouble your efforts and force yourself onwards, determined to thwart the evil sect's plans. At last you find yourself gazing over the top of a great rift in the hills. At the bottom of the steep-sided, sand-blown valley you can clearly see a dark rectangular opening in the side of a cliff, surrounded by large, carefully cut blocks of stone bearing carved reliefs which are unmistakably Djaratian. You have found the Tomb of Akharis! However, you may still not be able to enter safely, since from your vantage-point you can see two giant, four-legged lizards standing close to the entrance. Both are saddled and harnessed, but there is no sign of whoever or whatever has ridden them here. Do you want to approach the tomb immediately or will you wait to see whether any further developments ensue?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 16/18
LUCK 12/12
Poison: 1/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Torch, Lantern, Skins of Oil (x2), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones)
Provisions: 9
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 2
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one."
[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Wait and look.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, wait and see what happens.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Wait.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to wait and see whether any further developments ensue.

[SGamerz]

You do not have to wait long before you notice a disturbance down in the valley. From nowhere, it seems, a sandstorm suddenly blows up but, as quickly as it appeared it dies down again; once the sand has settled, you see a red-robed figure standing at the entrance to the tomb. It is the same cultist you encountered at the temple! He looks around for a moment then disappears in to the tomb. Swiftly you descend into the valley and dash across the sand, hoping to get there before the Giant Lizards notice you. Test your Skill, adding 2 to the dice roll. If you are successful, turn to 348.If you fail, tum to 306.

I don't know why we're so certain it's the exact same cultist, considering they all seem to be dressed and masked similarly.

We can actually fail this Skill test for once, due to the +2 condition.

Dice roll = 5 +2 = 7 (Success).

Before the lizards can react to your presence you have run past them and through the dark portal. Regain 1 LUCK point and tum to 204.

That was a Skill test and not a Luck test, so nothing to regain for us, since we were already at max.

You find yourself walking along a rectangular passageway cut into the rock of the cliff. Daylight entering from outside illuminates the tunnel for only a short way - beyond that there is nothing but darkness. If you have a permanent light-source, say a lantern, torch or lamp, turn to 307.If you have no means to light your way, turn to 233.

We have more than 1 possible light source.

Having lit your light, you make your way along the passage, able to see about ten metres ahead of you. The tunnel soon ends at the top of a steep flight of steps, cut out of the rock, that leads down into the darkness.

A tunnel leads onwards, but this one is faced with stone. Following this new passageway, you soon emerge in a long, pillared hall. You cannot see its end, and in the flickering light you can just make out the ceiling, high above you. Your light also picks out intricate Djaratian carvings covering the pillars and walls; they depict priests and servants carrying offerings, all looking towards the interior of the tomb. You pause in awe at the skill of the ancient Djaratians whose achievements have lasted for centuries. Suddenly the whole chamber is lit up in a burst of vermilion fire as a flaming ball flies past your head. In shocked surprise you face your attacker. Standing nextto a pillar in the distance is a figure wearing voluminous robes of linen and muslin. In one scaly hand it holds a curved sword and you see that its head, far from being human, is that of a snake! In horror you realize that you are facing one of the Caarth, the legendary Snake People of the Desert of Skulls! The Caarth raises its free hand and another fireball forms in its palm as a second Snakeman, wielding a cruelly jagged blade, steps out from behind a pillar a few metres away. As the warrior advances towards you, the sorcerer releases the fireball. Work out Attack Strengths for both you and the Caarth sorcerer (who has a SKILL of 10 9) but do not deduct any STAMINA points. If your Attack Strength is higher, turn to 267. If the sorcerer's Attack Strength is higher, tum to 335. If they are the same, calculate them again.

This is another bugged attempt at making the later publications "easier", by reducing the SKILL of an opponent, this time from 10 to 9. But as I said, it's still bugged because in the book, they forgot to change the SKILL score in this section, and only changed it in the combat section, so the Carth Sorcerer would have a SKILL of 10 here, but a SKILL of 9 later. I guess theoretically it's possible that the sorcerer has higher SKILL at spellcasting than at fighting, but I'm fairly sure it's really an editorial rather than any attempt to differentiate between the 2.

COMBAT LOG:
Carth Sorcerer 19, Boris O’Connell 19. Tie.
CS 16, BOC 20. BOC wins.

The fireball misses your head by mere centimetres, exploding into a pillar. Before they can try anything else, you run at your reptilian attackers with your sword drawn; tum to 50.

Keeping your back against one of the tall pillars, you are able to fight the Caarth one at a time.

CAARTH WARRIOR SKILL 1110 STAMINA 1110
CAARTH SORCERER SKILL 109 STAMINA 108

The first time you are hit by either of the Caarth, you must add 1 to your PoISON score, as well as losing the usual 2 points from your STAMINA, because of the venom with which the evil Snakemen coat their weapons. If you win and you did not suffer any damage from the Caarth, regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 231. If you did suffer some damager, roll one dice. On a roll of 6, turn to 158; otherwise, turn to 231.

These are among the strongest of opponents we've faced thus far, and apparently has a chance of triggering some unknown result if we get hit (although the chance of triggering it isn't too high, only 1/6), so I'm pausing here to see if anybody want to use LUCK to speed up the fight with extra damage (since we regain a LUCK point after the combat anyway) to reduce chance of getting hit.

[Thaluikhain]

We are at max luck and regain luck if we flawlessly win, so yeah, I'd say use luck to increase damage twice on the warrior.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to use Luck to increase damage once on the warrior.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Luck twice on the warrior seems good. I don’t think we have to worry about using it on the sorcerer because of the 3 point skill advantage we have.

[SGamerz]

COMBAT LOG:
Carth Warrior, Boris O’Connell 24. Luck Test roll = 2 (Lucky). CW is at 6.
CW 20, BOC 19. BOC is at 14 (+1 POISON).
CW 15, BOC 18. CW is at 4. Luck Test roll = 10 (Lucky). CW is at 2.
CW 18, BOC 16. BOC is at 12 (+1 POISON).
CW 20, BOC 22. CW is killed.
Carth Sorcerer 17, BOC 16. BOC is at 10 (+1 POISON).
CS 17, BOC 24. CS is at 6.
CS 13, BOC 18. CS is at 4.
CS 17, BOC 23. CS is at 2.
CS 20, BOC 20. Tie.
CS 17, BOC 20. CS is killed.

Unfortunately, Boris got nicked 3 times before he downed both his opponents.

Die roll= 1. We do not incur whatever side effect their attacks may have brought...

The side effect is a mutation which, while it would be a horrifying one in real life, is actually a positive in terms of game mechanism, because it gives us reptilian scales that can give some protection from damage in combat.

As you search the Snakemen's bodies, you wonder what they are doing in the tomb. The Giant Lizards you encountered must have been their mounts. It is likely that the Caarth were investigating goings-on here because of the proximity to their lands and the connection with the Demon Prince, Sith, whom they worship. These two can only have been scouts from a larger party, as they are carrying nothing of use to you in terms of provisions or treasure.

Leaving the dead Caarth, you make your way to the far side of the pillared hall and leave through an archway, which is the only exit. You enter another short passage which ends at a T-junction. Both routes look exactly the same, so far as you can see by your light, so will you take the left- or the right-hand tunnel?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 10/18
LUCK 10/12
Poison: 4/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Torch, Lantern, Skins of Oil (x2), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones)
Provisions: 9
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 2
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one."
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

No increased chance of getting treasure? Not a ruler to be? It looks like there is no valid reason to succumb to Nazism even more than our hero already has. I will instead choose to turn to socialism and have Boris O'Connell take the left-hand tunnel.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, let's try the left-hand tunnel.

[Thaluikhain]

Great, more blind choices. Left it is.

[SGamerz]

You cannot have gone more than twenty metres along the passage when you feel a slab shift under your foot as you take your next step. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 201. If you are Unlucky, turn to 318.

Dice roll = 8 (Lucky).

Your sixth sense screaming danger, you throw yourself forward just as the floor gives way beneath you. You land heavily just on the far side of the pit-trap, winded but alive. The bottom of the deep, sheer-sided pit is filled with cruelly pointed metal spikes! You had a close escape indeed! You continue on your way extremely cautiously. The passage soon turns to the right and, following it, you come upon an archway, surrounded by carvings, in the left-hand wall. If you followed a cultist into the tomb, tum to 45. If you did not, tum to 71.

We did, and it looked like he was somehow able to get past those Carth people earlier (at least from the PC's speculation, they didn't seem to be working together).

Peering round the edge of the arch, you look into a small chamber which is faced with stone; its walls are covered in hieroglyphs and carvings of animal-headed people. Standing in front of a statue of a bull-headed man that reaches up to the ceiling is a red-robed figure: the cultist you chased into the tomb! Will you enter the chamber and attack him immediately or wait to find out what the cultist is doing?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Boris O’Connell
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 10/18
LUCK 9/12
Poison: 4/18
Equipment: Sword, backpack, Rope and Grapple, Firepowder (can be thrown at opponent at start of combat, hit after successful Skill test for 1D6 damage), Torch, Lantern, Skins of Oil (x2), Oil of Lotus, Crystal Pyramid, Papyrus Scroll (subtract 20 from section number to translate hieroglyphic script), Statuette of Assamarra, God of the Sand, Ankh (Key of Life, set with 12 precious stones)
Provisions: 9
Gold: 3
Extra Lives remaining: 2
Notes: We received Cranno's Warning. "And all those who would despoil the shrine of Cracca, Lord of Rivers and Ferryman of the Gods, beware the wrath of the crocodile-headed one."
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Wait to find out what he's doing.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, wait.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to wait to find out what he is doing.

[SGamerz]

The cultist is busy doing something in front of the wall of the chamber next to the statue. Suddenly a section swings open and the man steps through into darkness. You run into the room but, before you can reach the secret door, it slams shut with a hollow boom. You try to force the slab of stone open again by pushing against it and using your sword as a lever, but all to no effect. There must be some. hidden catch or lever that will open the secret door. Then you see it: on the front of the slab, surrounded by hieroglyphs, three symbols have been carved out of the wall on squares of stone that look as if they can be pressed inwards. The three symbols are a snake, a scarab beetle and a vulture. If you do not want to take the risk of trying to open this door, you follow the original funnel, which tums to the right before coming to a flight of stone steps that take you deeper into the tomb. If you do want to attempt to open the secret door, which symbol will you press first:

The snake?
The scarab?
The vulture?

Do we want to try and open it? If we do, which symbol do we try first?

[Queen of Swords]

Let's try the scarab.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I also vote to try the scarab.

[SGamerz]

The scarab symbol slides easily into the wall. Will you press the snake next or the vulture?

[Queen of Swords]

The vulture.