[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 49 - Siege of Sardath

[SGamerz]

This is a sufficiently overt clue that I am wondering that no elf noticed it.

Yeah, I did wonder about that myself. The clue may not be that obvious to a reader just reading the descriptions, but for those who see him face-to-face everyday, it should be obvious.

Before the Elves have time to react, you draw your bow and fire a arrow at Sorrel. If it hits, turn to 272. If it misses, turn to 204.

Dice roll = 5 (Hit!)

The very instant your arrow hits Sorrel, he lets out a horrific, piercing scream. His scar vanishes and his skin darkens into an inky black colour. One of the Elves shouts, "Dark Elf!" and they all attack him. In seconds, the creature is dead.

When the excitement has died down, Bistort, and Elf Commander, explains. "Dark Elves have somehow acquired the ability to assume any form they wish. I am afraid that, rather than looking after the paths, we have spend all our energies in seeking them out and destroying them. Dark Elves are our oldest and most despised enemy." He laughs hollowly. "We nearly killed you because we thought you were one." Bistort hands you a Seven-coiled Snake Ring. "Please accept this token with our apologies for misjudging you!"

Suddenly a shout comes from the tall look-out tree above you, and you both climb up. From above the Forest treetops, you can make out two black shapes silhouetted against the night sky, flying south-west. Eventually, they swoop down somewhere to the east of the village.

"Sorrel was in charge of tracking the Black Flyers," Bistort informs you. "He said he had seen them and that they were not Dark Elves. That was clearly a lie. I will dispatch a tracking party at once." If you decide to track them yourself, you tell Bistort of your intentions, climb down the tree, and set off into the Forest. Otherwise, you decide to stay in Ash Cleeve for the night.

Tracking Black Flyers? That sounds familiar...

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 11/15
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune, Mystery Potion X (turn to 96 when used as an arrow), Seven-coiled Snake Ring
Arrows: 5
Bundles of Herbs: 7
Gold: 6 GP
Companions: Istu (SKILL 12, STAMINA 15, can fight alongside us in combat, does not take damage from opponents, but lose 3 STAMINA per use)
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (2/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to track them ourselves, as the Elves are clearly too incompetent to do that on their own.

[SGamerz]

You walk through the Forest for several hours, trying to follow a straight line to where you saw the creatures land. It is difficult to find your way in the dark without getting caught in a Giant Spider web, but you are used to the Forest and so make unfaltering progress. Some time in the middle of the night, when you estimate that you must be getting near, you hear a sound: two voices, talking in a language you have never heard before. You creep up close and hide behind a stand of young trees. In the darkness it is difficult to be sure but they seem to be the same sort of creature as the imposter who tried to kill you in Grummund. Beside them is a small mound, in which is set a huge, stone door, covered with lichen. They are trying to open it, but are not having much success. Will you try a surprise attack on them with bow or sword or wait to see what will happen?

Back in familiar territory again!

After a few moments they abandon whatever it was that they were doing and step back. Once of them holds up a small phial; when the other nods, he throws it at the door. There is a loud explosion and a cloud of smoke and you duck down to shield yourself from the blast. When you look up again, the smoke has cleared and you can that the door is completely untouched. The two black creatures, however, have been blown to pieces! You walk across to the mound and examine the door. It is just as it was when you saw it from a distance - cold, heavy stone covered with lichen - except now you can see something engraved on its surface. "Here within lie the remains of Khornus Whych, Seer and Visionary. Whosoever desecrates this tomb shall be haunted by my spirit and destroyed." This is quite a threat. Nevertheless, there must be something vital in this tomb, or your secret enemy wouldn't be so desperate for it. You decide that it is up to you to break into the tomb and get this thing before they do. If you think you might know the password and wish to try it, turn to 2. Otherwise, will you search for an opening mechanism or, if you have one, break down the door with your sword?

Since we already know how to open it, let's just proceed straight to the Sign of Summoning.

The door reverberates with a dull thud but does not give; the stone is not even chipped. Will you:

Search for an opening mechanism?
Try saying a password?
Hit the door again?
Give up?

Once again you hear a dull thud but the door does not give; the stone is still not chipped. Will you:

Search for an opening mechanism?
Try saying a password?
Hit the door again?
Give up?

Since you have already struck the door twice without pause, this third strike completes the Sign of Summoning, the secret code of Khornu Wych's tomb. There is a loud click and the door slides open. When you step inside, the door closes behind you and you gaze upon the dead seer's richly adorned crypt. At the back of the chamber, leaning against the wall, is a beautifully carved sarcophagus. There is no front to it, so you can see the mummified body of Khornu standing inside. As well as the life-preserving bandages, the body is draped in robes bearing astrological symbols and it wears a large golden amulet. There are no exits from this room. You walk up to the body of the seer and examine it very carefully. The robe is clearly of no special interest, but the amulet might be. If you reach into the sarcophagus and take it, turn to 289. Otherwise you will have to leave.

As soon as you lift the amulet from around Khornu's neck, the body begins to crack and crumble as several centuries of decay catch up with it. If you decide to make your escape from the crypt before the process has finished, turn to 12. If you do not, a few moments pass and then there is nothing left but a fine later of dust on the floor. Suddenly an icy wind blows up out of nowhere, penetrating through to your very bones. A faint light appears inside the sarcophagus, and an awe-inspiring figure forms within it: it is the Ghost of Khornu Wych. Roll two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your SKILL, turn to 214. If the total is greater than your SKILL, turn to 316.

Dice roll = 8 (Success)

As the Ghost emerges, you observe behind it the faint outline of a door in the sarcophagus, a secret opening that it must be trying to defend. At the moment, however, this is inaccessible since the Ghost is in the way. If you ever want to make a run for the secret door, add 20 to the number of the paragraph that you are reading at the time, then turn to the paragraph with that number. For now, turn to 316.

If you have a silver weapon of some kind, turn to 111. Otherwise, turn to 163.

We still don't have one, but as we found out last time, we can survive without that once we spotted the secret door.

Normal weapons cannot touch the creature, let alone destroy it. Without a silver weapon you have no hope but to try to run back the way you came.

You turn away from the Ghost and run back to the door. You try the Sign of Summoning, but the door remains shut. From behind you, you hear the ghostly voice of Khornu Whych: "You do not think I would let you escape that easily, do you?" The Ghost floats out of its sarcophagus and begins to move towards you. Surely there must be some escape...surely...sur...

Now that the Ghost has moved out of its sarcophagus, you will be able to get through the secret door. As the Ghost approaches, you sett off; you swerve past it, leap into the sarcophagus and push at the door. It opens...and you step through into the small chamber beyond. Suddenly there is a rumbling sound and the ceiling begins to cave in. Luckily it is only in the area of the doorway - opening it must have weakened the age-old construction. However, when you looked around, you realized that you have not been as lucky as you thought, for there is no other exit from this chamber! If you have been hit by the Ghost, turn to 44. Otherwise, turn to 92.

This time, of course, we would not have made the same mistake as the last time, so we did not get hit.

You have found Khorni Wych's secret treasure hoard. There isn't a vast amount, but what there is looks valuable and some of it may even be magical. At first you ignore the treasure and concentrate on searching for a way out. After a while, it becomes apparent that, if there is any hope of escape, it lies with one of the objects here. There are two goblets on a marble slab: one is made of silver and contains a thick black liquid, the other is golden and contains a deep red liquid. Above these, hanging on the wall, are a beautifully fashioned silver shield and a gold amulet. The shield has a smooth, shiny surface and the amulet as an engraving of a tall, powerful-looking humanoid with the head of an octopus. Will you:

Take the golden amulet?
Take the silver shield?
Drink from the silver goblet?
Drink from the golden goblet?

Which item do we look at first, this time?

[Queen of Swords]

Let's try the golden amulet.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to get the golden amulet this time.

[Thaluikhain]

Golden amulet, and not regularly using Istu unless/until something scary looking comes up.

[SGamerz]

Both the amulet and its chain are made of solid gold and are very heavy. The octopoidal humanoid engraved on the front of the amulet is a Brain Slayer, a creature renowned for feeding on the mental energy of its victims. It is writhing in flaming torment. On the back of the amulet is carved the symbol 'IX'. When you put the amulet on, you can feel its magic. though you can only guess at its function. Unfortunately the amulet is so big and cumbersome that it is difficult for you to do anything like fight or move stealthily (deduct 2 points from your SKILL; this penalty can be relieved only by taking off the amulet). If you remove the amulet and put it in your pack, you will not suffer its debilitating effects; you may put it back on again at any time when you are not engaged in combat or any other restrictive activity. (If you are asked whether you are wearing the amulet, it will already be too late for you to put it on.) Make a note on your Adventure Sheet that you have the Brain Slayer Amulet keep a record of whether you are wearing it or carrying it in your pack. Now turn back to 92 and select another item.

Brain Slayers are technically supposed to be "original" monsters in FF, but since most gamebook players are familiar with D&D and RPG, most of them rightfully know them to be a ripoff of Mind-flayers.

And yes, this amulet as Roman numerals on its back, which gives us a numeric reference, which in FF means that this is the real important quest token.

Even though it may not be made explicit in the text, the one in the sarcophagus outside is actually a decoy (which means we didn't get the right item the previous round). It actually makes sense, when you consider how ridiculously easy it really is to open the outer doors of the tomb, that Khornu Wych should have hidden his prized possessions within the internal vault while using a fake one to distract potential tomb robbers.

Please indicate whether you wish to wear the Amulet or keep it in the backpack.

Which of the other items do we try next?

Take the silver shield?
Drink from the silver goblet?
Drink from the golden goblet?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 11/11
STAMINA 11/15
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune, Mystery Potion X (turn to 96 when used as an arrow), Seven-coiled Snake Ring, Brain Slayer Amulet (symbol 'IX' carved on its back, -2 SKILL when worn)
Arrows: 5
Bundles of Herbs: 7
Gold: 6 GP
Companions: Istu (SKILL 12, STAMINA 15, can fight alongside us in combat, does not take damage from opponents, but lose 3 STAMINA per use)
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (2/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

Brain Slayers are technically supposed to be "original" monsters in FF, but since most gamebook players are familiar with D&D and RPG, most of them rightfully know them to be a ripoff of Mind-flayers.

Not to be confused with Flayers, which resemble Mind-Flayers somewhat, but aren't particularly monstrous and are in high demand amongst rich people because they are naturally gifted cooks.

Also not to be confused with Octomen, which are when a parasitic Octobeast attaches itself to a human's head and takes control of them, which is sort of Mind-Flayery, and it seems they debuted in 2020.

Half vote for drinking from gold goblet.

(Also, they use roman numerals here, it seems)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to drink from the silver goblet, and to keep the amulet in the backpack for now.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, keep the amulet in the backpack for now.

[SGamerz]

Quincey will drink from the silver goblet, since a full vote beats half.

The goblet contains a spicy, black liquid known as Mead of Great Power. It tastes very strong but has a piquancy that induces you to drain the whole cup. After a few moments you feel the very essence of life flowing through your veins, making you feel better than you have ever been. You may regain any points of SKILL and STAMINA that you have lost. In addition, you may add 1 point to your Initial SKILL, as long as this does not take your score above 12. Now turn back to 92 and select another item.

This is of course a great find, although one does have to wonder why a dead guy would want to keep a power-enhancing drink in his tomb which can only benefit a tomb raider, since his Ghost probably can't drink it. I can understand wanting to keep personal valuable baubles as momento, but keeping items for consumption in a tomb makes less sense. Maybe because the Mirror Demon guardian could have taken advantage of that?

STAMINA back to max, and SKILL is up to 12 (we were just at the right level to reap this extra benefit).

Anyway, we're left with the golden goblet and the shield. We know the exit is through the shield, so the question is whether we think we can get something beneficial out of the last goblet before we leave.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 15/15
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune, Mystery Potion X (turn to 96 when used as an arrow), Seven-coiled Snake Ring, Brain Slayer Amulet (symbol 'IX' carved on its back, -2 SKILL when worn)
Arrows: 5
Bundles of Herbs: 7
Gold: 6 GP
Companions: Istu (SKILL 12, STAMINA 15, can fight alongside us in combat, does not take damage from opponents, but lose 3 STAMINA per use)
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (2/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

I think we've benefited from as much good stuff as possible. Let's get out now.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to take the shield, as I do not think the other goblet will be good for us.

[SGamerz]

As you reach out for the shield, a wild, horrific screaming fills the cavern and you see a creature forming in its silvery metallic surface: it's a screaming, slashing woman with four arms and four heads. You smash your sword into the shield in an attempt to stop her getting through but only succeeding in denting it. Soon the form is complete and her long nails are slashing at you, barely missing your face, before you realize that she has materialized into the treasure chamber. If Istu is with you, multiply his number by 10, then turn to the paragraph with that number. Otherwise, you must fight the Mirror Demon. She is too close for you to use your bow, so you attack her with your sword.

MIRROR DEMON SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

If she wins an Attack Round, turn immediately to 6. If you defeat her, turn to 70.

This time, we have help!

The Mirror Demon comes to a halt and looks in the direction of your Veiled Guardian; being a Demon herself, she can see him. "Istu," she says, "free yourself from the bondage of this himan and side with me. After all we are both Demons; this pathetic creature is but a mortal."

Istu laughs. "You cannot tempt me, Lix Tetrax. You must know that my servive to this human is the final stage of my release from the Ivory Cube. Once my earthly form has been destroyed in honest service, my exile will be over." He leaps at her, talons flashing.

MIRROR DEMON SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

You decide to stand well back and await the outcome. Play out the battle between Lix Tetrax and Istu, remembering to deduct points from Istu's STAMINA since he is in direct combat. If Istu wins, turn to 70. If the Mirror Demon wins, you will have to finish her off. If she wins an Attack Round against you, turn immediately to 6. If you destroy her, turn to 70.

I wish the text had made it clear whether or not Istu still takes the default 3-STAMINA loss for this fight, which he's supposed to do for "each fight he takes part in". My interpretation is that he does, but only after the fight is over, so he still has 15 for the duration of it.

COMBAT LOG:
Mirror Demon 11, Istu 22. MD is at 8.
MD 12, Istu 18. MD is at 6.
MD 15, Istu 23. MD is at 4.
MD 19, Istu 20. MD is at 2.
MD 19, Istu 20. MD is defeated.

Istu gets a flawless win and emerges with STAMINA at 12.

As your final blow hits the Mirror Demon, a network of cracks appears on her face and body. With an ear-splitting crash, she shatters into a million pieces of glass. The shield from which she emerged falls to the floor and shatters, revealing a narrow tunnel sloping upwards. As the noise of breaking glass dies down, another takes its place: a deep rumbling sound. Realizing that the whole place is beginning to break up, you clamber into the tunnel and set off on all fours for the surface. After a few metres, the tunnel ends at a stone slab in the ceiling. You push, but it won't budge. Then you remember the Sign of Summoning; you tap the slab three times with your sword and it slides open. All that stands between you and freedom are a few centimetres of soil and grass roots and you break through easily. As you drag yourself out on to the top of the mound, an icy wind springs up, and the ground begins to shake. You leap off the mount just as the entire crypt caves in. Khornu's tomb is sealed forever.

It is the middle of the night. You are very tired and a little stiff from the cold, so you make camp at the base of the mound and settle down to sleep.

Later the next day (regain 1 STAMINA point and tick off the next day on your Adventure Sheet), you wake up, hardly refreshed at all. You have dreamt of Colrhyn, and now you are sure he is in some kind of danger, so you decide to travel north as quickly as possible. The Forest is as dark and as cold as ever but, as you march further north, the Giant Spider webs get fewer and further between. Towards the end of the day, you arrive at the second rope-bridge and set up a camp near by. The site is often used by traders and, even though the Forest is becoming darker, it still seems safe.

The morning arrives (regain 2 STAMINA points and tick off the next day on your Adventure Sheet), and you feel refreshed by your sleep on a soft bed of trampled ferns. This time you didn't dream - perhaps the dream of last night were just some sort of strange after-effect of Khornu's tomb, and not a true warning at all. Will you now continue along the trail or follow the river?

We've been to this section before, and we know following the river takes us to Sardath, but do note that we're at Earthday this time, so we won't be triggering the same event there.

Which way do we go this time?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 15/15
LUCK 10/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune, Mystery Potion X (turn to 96 when used as an arrow), Seven-coiled Snake Ring, Brain Slayer Amulet (symbol 'IX' carved on its back, -2 SKILL when worn)
Arrows: 5
Bundles of Herbs: 7
Gold: 6 GP
Companions: Istu (SKILL 12, STAMINA 12, can fight alongside us in combat, does not take damage from opponents, but lose 3 STAMINA per use)
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (2/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Continue along the trail.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to continue along the trail this time.

[SGamerz]

The trees loom overhead as you walk along Colrhyn's Track; it grows darker and darker, until you can hardly tell what time of the day it is. In the absence of sunlight, the cold penetrates your bones, dampening your spirit. If the path is in this state, something dreadful must have happendd to Colrhyn. A sudden thundering noise alerts you and you turn. In an instant, a Giant Wolf Spider appears, a webless predator much fiercer than the wolf it is named after. It moved towards you on its immense legs, its huge mandibles clicking hungrily. There is just time to fire one arrow if you want to.

GIANT WOLF SPIDER SKILL 8 STAMINA 8

If you win, you leave the body of the unfortunate Spider behind you and keep on walking. Some time in the late afternoon you arrive at an even narrower and darker track running south-east. Do you choose to go down this track or carry on north-east along the main trail?

Do we wish to use an arrow for this fight? And which way do we want to go after this (the odds of us losing this fight is sufficiently low that I feel safe to ask this in advance).

[Queen of Swords]

Fire an arrow, and after the fight, go down the other track.

[SGamerz]

Quincey fires an arrow, which auto-hits due to his 12 SKILL making him immune to SKILL-test failures. The Giant Wolf Spiders is at 6.

COMBAT LOG:
Giant Wolf Spider 14, Quincey Stridemoore 17. GWS is at 4.
GWS 11, QS 14. GWS is at 2.
GWS 12, QS 21. GWS is killed.

You walk down the badly overgrown trail, thinking about your old friend, Colrhyn, who usually keeps this path open. Even though this hugely built and heavily bearded man spends a lot of his time in the mountains, he is the only human whose knowledge of the Forest comes close to your own. You are brought up short by a strange sight: a red log is lying by the side of the path; when you look more closely, you see that the colour is caused by a covering of deep red mould. A sudden hissing from behind startles you and you spin around. A huge, red, Zombie-like creature is lumbering awkwardly along the path. You may escape by running northeast (the Zombie is blocking the other way); after a few minutes you leave the Zombie far behind you, so you slow down to a walk. If you don't run, the Mould Zombie lurches towards you,its arms outstretched, hissing unnaturally. It is already too close for you to use your bow.

MOULD ZOMBIE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6

Fight the battle for two Attack Rounds only. At the end of that time, if the Zombie is still alive, turn to 114. If you have managed to destroy it, turn to 179.

It's slow enough for us to run away but too close for us to use a bow? So why can't we then run a few steps and enlarge the distance and then use the bow?

Anyway, seems like every other combat in this book has us fighting and otherwise weak opponent that triggers certain events after a number of rounds or number of hits.

Should we run away? Try to finish it in 2 rounds (either using LUCK or Istu)? Or fight normally and face whatever happens after 2 rounds?

[Thaluikhain]

Fight it, using luck to increase damage.

(And yeah, I wondered about the bow thing while reading that too).

[Queen of Swords]

If it's "lumbering awkwardly", we can probably take it on without Istu. Fight it.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to fight the Zombie normally, as I am curious on what will happen if the Zombie survives past two rounds.

[Beroli]

Fight the Zombie, use Luck to destroy it within two rounds.

[SGamerz]

2 votes to use LUCK to speed it up, 1 for fighting normally. QoS voted against using Istu, but not against using LUCK, so we'd be doing that.

COMBAT LOG:
Mould Zombie 12, Quincey Stridemoore 24. Luck Test roll = 3 (Lucky), MZ is at 2.
MZ 10, QS 16. MZ is destroyed.

The Zombie slumps to the ground. Its body bloats and the skin begins to erupt. Before you can react, the thing bursts, showering you with red mould spores, which immediately start burrowing into your skin, attacking your nerves. You feel a sudden pain, and then nothing. You are now a Mould Zombie, completely in the power of the Vampire Slime Mould.

And we hit our second death!

Do we rewind to before the fight and choose something different? Or would you prefer to rewind further back?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Quincey Stridemoore
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 15/15
LUCK 9/10
Equipment: Sword, leather armour, bow, quiver, Council Signet Ring, 1: Dried Chameleonite Blood, 2: Condensed Mist from the Mithrir Forest, 7: Pickled Whole Shapechanger Brain, Four-leaf Clover, Sleeping Draught, Potion of Fortune, Mystery Potion X (turn to 96 when used as an arrow), Seven-coiled Snake Ring, Brain Slayer Amulet (symbol 'IX' carved on its back, -2 SKILL when worn)
Arrows: 5
Bundles of Herbs: 7
Gold: 6 GP
Companions: Istu (SKILL 12, STAMINA 12, can fight alongside us in combat, does not take damage from opponents, but lose 3 STAMINA per use)
Day of the Week:
Stormsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Moonsday (2/3 extra lives remaining)
Fireday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Earthday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Windsday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Seaday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
Highday (3/3 extra lives remaining)
[/spoiler]

Note: I have a certain assignment that will keep me outdoors with no workstation access (much like today, although today's was a last-minute one), so the next update may take a while to come as well).

[Queen of Swords]

This time, let's fight it normally without using Luck and see what happens after two rounds.