[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure #2 - Shrine of the Salamander

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go south next.

[Queen of Swords]

Makes sense, go south.

[SGamerz]

The floor of this central chamber is treacherous and unstable, and dotted with pits and sinkholes. Roll two dice and Test your Skill. If you are unsuccessful, turn immediately to 20. If you are successful, you manage to navigate your way past the hazard. Which direction are you headed in?

North (back to last section)
South (back to beginning of the maze)
West (back to 3 sections ago)
East

Oh no, we've been here before, and it's still the one risky spot we've been to so far in the mines!

(if you think about, it actually still makes sense direction-wise if you're mapping the place.)

Dice roll =4 (Success). Our luck is holding thus far, but for how much longer?

[JourneymanN00b]

Arrrgh, my mistake. I vote to go back north and then east.

[SGamerz]

Heading back to the previous section, then continuing east instead:

The dusty floor of this chamber shows many footprints of miners passing along this way. A faint breeze blows from a corridor leading north - this could be an exit. If you want to head this way, turn to 41. Alternatively, there are two other dark tunnels you could travel down:

South
West

[JourneymanN00b]

I half vote to go north to see whether it is indeed an exit.

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, let’s try north.

[Thaluikhain]

Why not?

[SGamerz]

You enter a huge cavern where an armoured RHINO-MAN guard wielding a barbed flail watches over a host of slaves - Dwarfs, humans, Black Elves, Klattamen, and even the odd Gnome or two. The slaves are clad in tattered rags and manacled together in small groups, mining an enormous glittering seam of translucent crystal with picks and hammers. Even as you enter, a trio of Dark Goblins brandishing swords erupts from another tunnel next to the Rhino-man.

"There he is!" they scream, pointing at you. "Kill the intruder!"

You can fight, or cast a spell:

YOB
POP
PEP

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to cast YOB.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, YOB.

[SGamerz]

Deduct 1 STAMINA point. Do you have a Giant Tooth with you? If not, return to 41 and choose again. If you have a Giant Tooth (remember to cross it off your Adventure Sheet), you can throw it on the ground and cast your spell on it to create a hulking Giant with a mane of dark hair. You order the Giant to free the slaves, which it starts to do, only to be interrupted from this task by the Dark Goblins. The freed slaves attack the Goblins however and a furious battle begins. Meanwhile, your summoned Giant has been once again disturbed from its task of unchaining slaves by the approach of snarling Rhino-Man. Resolve this combat:

RHINO-MAN SKILL 8 STAMINA 9
MAGICAL GIANT SKILL 8 STAMINA 9

If your Giant wins, it will disappear in a cloud of blue smoke. If your Giant loses, you will have to finish off the fight yourself. You cannot Escape. If you and/or the Giant slay the Rhino-Man, you notice that the miners have now disposed of the three Dark Goblins. You take the ring of keys from the belt of the dead Rhino-Man and begin to free the rest of the mining slaves. Turn to 8.

The Rhino-Man and the Giant and exactly evenly matched. Let's see if the dice favour us (pity we can't use LUCK for the Giant's battle).

COMBAT LOG:
Rhino-Man 16, Magical Giant 12. MG is at 7.
RM 13, MG 15. RM is at 7.
RM 16, MG 11. MG is at 5.
RM 11, MG 17. RM is at 5.
RM 12, MG 15. RM is at 3.
RM 16, MG 18. RM is at 1.
RM 15, MG 13. MG is at 3.
RM 18, MG 15. MG is at 1.
RM 16, MG 12. MG is defeated.

The two are as evenly-matched in the fight as their stats. Now it's up to us to deliver the final blow...

COMBAT LOG:
Rhino-Man 14, John Constantine 14. Tie.
RM 16, JC 17. RM is killed!

Luck is with us once again, as John Constantine finishes off the dying Rhino-Man without taking another hit.

A rousing cheer goes up from the emancipated miners throughout the cavern, as they are all freed from their captivity. Restore 3 LUCK points for your good deeds here in the Crystal Mines. The miners also shower you with gifts that they had hidden away during their enslavement. Add any of the following to your Adventure Sheet: 3 meals worth of Provisions, 14 Gold Pieces, and a coil of Rope. The miners cannot help your with the rest of your quest however, as there are still other slaves in the deeper levels of the Crystal Mines that need to be liberated. They begin arming themselves for a further assault on the Dark Goblin guards, but they wish you good luck as you leave this area.

Turns out we can get a rope here too, and the gold would have been better-spent on something else. Still, it's a good haul here.

We then return to the central hub area:

Once again you find yourself standing on the sands of the Earth End Coastline, pondering a way onwards. You also notice plenty of material here that is useful for casting spells. Add any of the following to your Adventure Sheet if you wish: three small pebbles, stone dust, and some sand. Then, choose - where will you go? Bear in mind you cannot return to any place you have already visited, no matter how briefly.

The Under-Temple of Throff
The Crystal Mines
The Tunnels of Ooze
The Croaking Caves

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 17/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x8), Sand (x3), Stone Dust (x3), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Crystal Jar
Provisions: 7
Gold: 24
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Now that we have enough money, let’s try the shrine to capitalism, the temple of Throff.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote to head to the under-temple of Throff, and to eat a provision.

[Thaluikhain]

Eat and to the temple, yeah

(And, after a pointless wander in a tunnel for a bit, I was not expecting us to liberate slaves with the assistance of a magical giant, that's pretty cool)

[SGamerz]

Many of the caves on the southern part of the cliffs have been walled up with crude bricks and mortar. One cave, though, boasts two huge oaken doors, originally painted red, but now bleached and weathered through exposure to the elements. Carved into the stone lintel above the doors are symbols and runes dedicated to Throff the earth goddess. You could knock on the doors, or cast a spell:

TEL
HUF
PEP

EDIT: forgot to update the Adventure Sheet for the meal eaten.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 21/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x8), Sand (x3), Stone Dust (x3), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Crystal Jar
Provisions: 6
Gold: 24
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

We know they’re going to want a bribe, so knock.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to cast TEL first in order to reduce the bribe price, and then pay the bribe.

[Thaluikhain]

TEL and pay, yeah.

[SGamerz]

Deduct 1 STAMINA point. Do you have a Cloth Skullcap with you? If not, return to 43 and choose again. If you have a Cloth Skullcap, you cast your spell, close your eyes and concentrate, trying to detect the thoughts of any intelligent creatures nearby. Immediately, you sense the mind of an old human priest lurking directing behind the doors. The priest is thinking about gold, or more specifically, how much you should pay him to enter the Under-Temple of Throff. If you are given the option in the future to bribe the priest, you may deduct 2 from the die roll, down to a minimum score of 1, to reflect the insight gained here. For now, you step up to knock on one of the doors.

We have enough to afford even the maximum sum required for the bribe, but we'll save as many gold pieces as we can anyway...

You step up and rap your knuckles on one of the doors. There is a faint sound of shuffling feet, and the door slowly opens inwards a little. Standing in the gap is a bald, bearded priests in long robes and holding a crystal-topped staff, which he lowers towards you in a menacing, spear-like manner.

"No visiting unbelievers!" he croaks. "The Under-Temple is closed."

Will you try and bribe your way into the temple, or will you attack the priest? Or, you could leave this area entirely, and try somewhere else in Daddu-Yadu.

You open your money pouch and begin counting out Gold Pieces. The priest's eyes light up.

"Let it not be said that Throff's servants turn away those willing to make the proper donations," he intones. "My name is Zhiamle the Under-Priest, and I believe we may be able to come to an agreement."

Roll one die. This is the number of Gold Pieces that Zhiamle will accept to allow you to enter the temple. However, if you previously cast the HUF or PEP spells you must roll two dice to pa for the damage you have caused.

If you cannot afford to, or do not wish to pay the bribe, you can either fight the priest, or leave this area and try somewhere else.

If you can afford to and wish to pay the bribe, cross the amount of Gold Pieces off your Adventure Sheet. "Welcome to the Under-Temple of Throff!" says Zhiamle. You can visit the Library of Throff, or the Holy Pool.

Die roll = 1! Turns out we didn't even need that modifier!

Do we go to the Library or the Pool first?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: John Constantine
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 20/23
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Warhammer, Lantern, Cloth SkullCap, Small Pebbles (x8), Sand (x3), Stone Dust (x3), Rope (x2), Galehorn, Lumps of coal (x5), Crystal Jar
Provisions: 6
Gold: 23
Boons: Galehorn, SkullCap, Giant's Tooth, Potion of Firewater
Notes:
1) Anyone entering the maze of tunnels that forms the Crystal Mine itself, must first turn left and then travel in a clockwise direction if they wish to remain safe.
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the library first.

[Queen of Swords]

I forgot that TEL reduced the amount of the bribe, good thing everyone else remembered!

Go to the library first.

[SGamerz]

To get to the Library of Throff, Zhiamle leads you past numerous empty cells cut into the rock.

"Most of the priests have left here to help rebuild Shalla's Temple out on the Klatta-Bak Steppes," says Zhiamle, watching you looking at the derelict living quarters. "Just myself and old Kasmanti remain to hold the fort, so to speak."

Kasmanti turns out to be the Arch-Librarian - another ancient priest with a beard longer than that of Zhiamle, and a staff topped with a weird star-shaped crystal. The library is a small, cramped cave, with books and scrolls jammed into shelves carved into the rock, and piled up on the floor in stacks.

"A visitor, seeking lore!" says Zhiamle to the librarian.

"It's not cheap," says Kasmanti gruffly. "It will cost you 2 Gold Pieces per consultation."

What are you interested in?

Horntoads
Salamanders
Other denizens of Daddu-Yadu

[Queen of Swords]

Let’s start with Horntoads.

[JourneymanN00b]

I also vote Horntoads.