[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 38 - Vault of the Vampire

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 3:06 am

Send Major Snuffleupagus to meet its little brother. In pieces. By Shattering it.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:31 am

Behold our mighty spell:

Which spell will you cast? Will it be:

Forcewall?
Jandor's Bolt?
Shatter?

Our players have already stated that their intention to Shatter this bugger.

The spell snaps the spine of the monster, destroying it instantly. The last of the malevolent green glow fades from the eye-sockets and the great black scythe falls to the floor with a crash.

After coming close to being killed (well, actually we were killed in one alternate reality) by its Minor counterpart, it really feels good to one-shot this fellow.

Three sets of stairs lead downwards from the end of the corridor: northwards, eastwards and to the south. Each set of steps is dusty, the walls are mildewed and the air is dank. A powerful sense of evil seems to pervade even the nooks and crannies here! Which set of steps will you follow? Will it be:

The northern steps?
The eastern steps?
The southern steps?

Another three-way!

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Blade Belmont von Alucard
SKILL 9/10 (10 in combat!)
STAMINA 17/21
LUCK 5/8
Faith: 11
Possessions: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Garlic, Magic Sword, Shield of Faith, Silver Mirror, Silver Key, Book of Swords, Silvered Stake, Castellan's Keys, Ring of Regeneration (+2 STAMINA after each battle won), Crypt Key, Crucifix, Siegfried's Magic Chainmail (+1 SKILL in combat), Brandy (+4 STAMINA), Magical Ring of Spell-storing (2 spells left).
Spells: Shatter, Greatstrike, Jandor's Bolt.
Provisions: 2
Afflictions: None
Gold Pieces: 9
Treasure: assorted ornaments & jewellery (worth 7 gp), crystal birds (worth 3 gp), silver pin (worth 2 gp), small trinkets (worth 4 gp)
Clues: "Forward and back" (clue to something the Count has hidden with magic lock)
No. of coffins destroyed: 2
No. of Deaths: 2

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:46 am

West... hm. Well, if we came in from the west, then north would be west to us. North.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:36 am

North sounds good to me.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:43 am

Sure, north.

Out of curiosity, what was the ugly bugger's SKILL score?

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:57 am

Sirocco wrote:Sure, north.

Out of curiosity, what was the ugly bugger's SKILL score?

Major Thassaloss? SKILL 10, STAMINA 15.

But that's not what's bad about this enemy. Remember Minor Thassaloss could fire eye-beams that has a 50% chance of damaging us every round irregardless of who won the Attack Round? Major Brother has the same ability, except his eye-beam can hurt us every 5 out of 6 roll of the die!

You take the steps down until you come to a door which bears no plaque or sign, although you can see that there are some scratch marks in the door, as if something has been removed or or some creature has been trying to get in or perhaps just defaced the door. Will you:

Open this door?
Retrace your steps and head east?
Retrace your steps and go south?

Another "are we sure?"

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:03 am

Can we go back and similarly examine the other 2 doors?

Also, ouch. Good thing we had that SHATTER spell.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:17 am

Sirocco wrote:Can we go back and similarly examine the other 2 doors?

I think giving an answer here would be as good as telling you which is the right choice to take, which I don't think I should. I mean, if I were to say "if you go to door X you'll go straight in and won't be allowed to turn back" it's basically telling you not to take that option!

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:30 am

Fair enough. Let me rephrase that: Does anyone else think we should go back and examine, let's say the southern door, since we're going east?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 12:49 pm

I'd be down with that.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:48 pm

So, looks like the agreement is to check out the south door first.....

You open the door with your keys and enter a bare stone antechamber, decorated with wall-carvings of rats, bats and wolves. Opposite you is a door and, from a narrow slit along its base, baleful red light spills out from a chamber beyond. Roll one die. If you roll 1 or 2, turn to 279. lf you roll 3 or 4, turn to 325. If you roll5 or 6, tum to 356.

Die Roll: 2!

As you cross the room, one of the carved stone rats comes to life and nips your heel! Lose 1 STAMINA point; as you tum to strike, it is gone! You cross the room and open the door.

Oops, looks like we don't get the chance to check out the other 2 doors!

We just missed the chance to unlock Nightstar from the Book of Swords! This is going to make the final encounter a LOT more difficult!

We gobble down a meal to bring our STAMINA to 20 (1 below full), before we confront:

You step into a palatial chamber, lit by glowing oil-lanterns with red crystal lenses. Black, crimson and silver wall-hangings obscure the walls, and you an see no other exits. The room is magnificently furnished with teak and walnut, and sllverware and marble gleam in the soft light. Some twenty feet way is a raised balcony at the top of marbled stairs with gilded banisters, and there stands a dark-haired man with blazing eyes, wrapped in a cloak of he deepest black and crimson. The Count! Behind him you can see a chained girl, her long auburn tresses tumbling over her bare houlders, struggling without hope to free herself. Her lovely fair facet turns to you and she cries out for help. But your eyes are fixed on the terrible, dark, charismatic Count; his green eves are afire as he gazes at you and parts his lips in anticipation. Roll one die and add 6 to the number rolled. If the total is less than or equal to your FAITH, turn to 274 lf the total is greater than your FAITH, turn to 157.

The hardest FAITH test in the book, but not really too hard given our high FAITH....

Dice roll: 3 + 1 = 4 (<11)! Not even close!

The Count has tried to cast his vampiric charm upon you, but he has failed to control your mind and now you can fight freely! Will you:

Run at him and strike with your sword?
Throw Holy Water at him, if you have any?
Cast a spell, if you can?
Get an item out of your backpack?

Alright guys, this is our climatic big fight! What do we start with?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Blade Belmont von Alucard
SKILL 9/10 (10 in combat!)
STAMINA 20/21
LUCK 5/8
Faith: 11
Possessions: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Garlic, Magic Sword, Shield of Faith, Silver Mirror, Silver Key, Book of Swords, Silvered Stake, Castellan's Keys, Ring of Regeneration (+2 STAMINA after each battle won), Crypt Key, Crucifix, Siegfried's Magic Chainmail (+1 SKILL in combat), Brandy (+4 STAMINA), Magical Ring of Spell-storing (2 spells left).
Spells: Shatter, Greatstrike, Jandor's Bolt.
Provisions: 1
Afflictions: None
Gold Pieces: 9
Treasure: assorted ornaments & jewellery (worth 7 gp), crystal birds (worth 3 gp), silver pin (worth 2 gp), small trinkets (worth 4 gp)
Clues: "Forward and back" (clue to something the Count has hidden with magic lock)
No. of coffins destroyed: 2
No. of Deaths: 2

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:41 am

Oops, just noticed I rolled the wrong sort of dice for the FAITH test. It should be 1 die + 6, not 2 dice.

Doing a re-roll: 3 + 6 = 9 (<11). We still passed! Now we can proceed as before!

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:43 am

God fucking damnit! Sorry guys.

I think we should start with the big guns. Jandor's Bolt sounds good.

WhenIf we die in this fight, I preemptively vote we rewind and open the north door. Man, blind choices suck ass!

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 8:06 am

Can we put Sirocco as a cause of death?

Also Jandor Bolt his ass.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:14 am

Jandor Bolt this sucker.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:11 pm

Vengeance for Jandor!

The only spells of use here are Greatstrike or Jandor's Bolt. If you have neither spell available, tum back to 224 to select another method of attack.

No vote necessary here, voters already made their choice.

The Count is unusually resistant to this magic. Roll one die. On a roll of 5 or 6, he manages to evade the full forces of the Bolt and tales only 3 points of damage. II you roll any other number, he suffers the full 6 points of damage. Now you must fight with him. You can use the Greatstrike spell if you have it and wish to use it; otherwise, tum to 26. Remember to note how many points of STAMINA the Count has already lost.

Die roll: 2! The Count takes 6 points of damage!

I took a look at the section where we casts Greatstrike and it works no different than normal.....and if we cast it and don't win that Attack Round the spell is wasted, so I think we might as well just move to 26, since Greatstrike can be cast any time during combat anyway.

Do you have a Magic Sword?

Yes, although not the most powerful one that the Count is afraid of.....

You can strike the Vampire with your magical weapon and wound him. He uses no weapon but deploys his inhuman strength to smash and bludgeon you with his powerful fists, and claw at your face and arms. With a SKILL higher than the limitations of a mere mortal, Count Reiner Heydrich is a very powerful enemy indeed!

COUNT REINER HEYDRICH SKILL 13 STAMINA 21 15

If the Count's STAMINA is reduced to 4 points or below in this fight, turn at once to 28. Keep a record of not only the Count's current STAMINA score, but his SKILL score too, since you may come across him again later!

It's on!

COMBAT LOG:

Count 18, Blade 22. Count is at 13.
Count 22, Blade 16. Blade is at 18.
Count 19, Blade 14. Blade is at 16.
Count 19, Blade 19. Tie.
Count 21, Blade 16. Blade is at 14.
Count 22, Blade 19. Blade is at 12.
Count 19, Blade 22. Count is at 11.
Count 22, Blade 21. Blade is at 10.
Count 23, Blade 17. Blade is at 8.
Count 19, Blade 13. Blade is at 6.
Count 23, Blade 20. Blade is at 4.
Count 23, Blade 16. Blade is at 2.
Count 15, Blade 15. Tie.
Taking a gamble now and casting Greatstrike:
Count 23, Blade 15. Blade is struck down!

Our rolls actually aren't too bad against him, but the SKILL difference was just too much.

I know there's already one vote to rewind and go back to the defaced door. Any agreements? Or anyone who votes to just try the fight again?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Blade Belmont von Alucard
SKILL 9/10 (10 in combat!)
STAMINA 0/21
LUCK 5/8
Faith: 11
Possessions: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Garlic, Magic Sword, Shield of Faith, Silver Mirror, Silver Key, Book of Swords, Silvered Stake, Castellan's Keys, Ring of Regeneration (+2 STAMINA after each battle won), Crypt Key, Crucifix, Siegfried's Magic Chainmail (+1 SKILL in combat), Brandy (+4 STAMINA), Magical Ring of Spell-storing (spent).
Spells: Shatter, Greatstrike, Jandor's Bolt.
Provisions: 1
Afflictions: None
Gold Pieces: 9
Treasure: assorted ornaments & jewellery (worth 7 gp), crystal birds (worth 3 gp), silver pin (worth 2 gp), small trinkets (worth 4 gp)
Clues: "Forward and back" (clue to something the Count has hidden with magic lock)
No. of coffins destroyed: 2
No. of Deaths: 3

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:29 pm

Defaced door.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:42 pm

So, in yet another alternate universe, Blade isn't turned off by the deflowered door and penetrates it like he would another other holes:

You open the door into a chamber that is lit by a pearly globe of magical light, shining softly over a quartz-crystal coffin which stands on a magnificently decorated catafalque. Inside the coffin you see a man Of extraordinary height, almost seven feet tall, and with flowing blond hair, he is smooth of face, fine of feature, and thickly muscled; the body must surely be embalmed. On the catafalque is a small ornamental shield with lettering which reads, simply, 'Siegfried Heydrich'.

Although you can see no belongings of the blond giant inside his tomb, there might well be something concealed within it. Will you:

Try to open the coffin?
Wait a while to see if anything happens?
Leave and take the steps back up?

Oh boy, how cliché.....all of Reiner's family and ancestors share his black hair and green eyes......but Siegfried is a good guy and a hero, so he must be a blonde, right?

.....I'm going to rule that Blade has black hair just like most of the Heydrich family. >.>

Do we open the casket, or wait (I gather that nobody wants to leave now)?

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:26 pm

Wait. We can always open it later. (Famous last words...)

Silent Wayfarer · Post by **Silent Wayfarer** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 2:28 am

Let us wait.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:35 am

Wait.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 4:59 am

We wait respectfully beside the tomb of the only blonde hero in this territory.

Front the body, a ghostly double of the man rises and sits up, then moves out of the co{fin to stand before you. Towering over you, the shade of Siegfried Heydrich stares grimly down and gestures for you to follow him - pointing to the coffin! You lift the lid and gently move the body aside. Your shaking hands find a secret door in the base of the coffin; the gap is large enough for you to squeeze through, following the impatient ghost. You drop a few feet down to a stone floor and, half crouching, using your light-source you follow Siegfried's ghost along a short, narrow passage which opens into a kind of small shrine. Siegfried points first to a small, rosy quartz vial of colourless liquid. 'Holy water,' he explains, 'you'll find that useful.' (Add Holy Water to your Possessions.) Then Siegfried looks at a very strange gilded bronze globe, lying on the white clothed table before you next to a silver chalice. Do you have a Stake?

We got an additional useful weapon (Holy Water) to use against the Count!

And we do have a Stake, thanks to Lothar the Castellan.

Do you also have a crucifix or the Shield of Faith?

We have both!

'You already possess what is needed to destroy Reiner in his coffin,' Siegfried whispers softly. 'He rests to the south of here; you know where to find him. But we have more work here. Pick up that globe and concentrate upon it. If you are of sufficient faith, it will serve you well. 'Roll one die and add 4. If the total is less than or equal to your FAITH, turn to 12. If the total is greater than your FAITH, turn to 56.

We have 11 FAITH, and automatically pass that test!

You feel a surge of well being from the blessed item, and your STAMINA is returned to its full Initial level!

Huzzah!

'You possess all that is needed to destroy Reiner in his coffin,' says the ghost softly, 'but can you fight him?' Do you have the Book of Swords? If you do, turn to that paragraph which is half the number of the magical page in that book.

Yes!

'You have the Book,' the apparition says approvingly. 'My sword is imprisoned within it. Reiner's magic used blood to put it there, and blood is needed to free it again.' Siegfried points to an ornate silver chalice on the table. 'You must give up blood to release Nightstar. It will cost you stamina, but the weapon is a peerless one.' If you are ready to do this, turn to 328.

Normally, I'd wait for a vote here, but we already know what happened when we faced Reiner without Nightstar. Besides, we only just got a full STAMINA restore and can certainly spare some!

Trembling, you open a vein and allow blood to run into the chalice. As the scarlet liquid drips into the bowl, red runes glow before your eyes and seem to dance round its rim.

You snap into alertness as a cold hand touches your shoulder 'You nearly fainted,' Siegfried says. 'but the magic is woven. Behold!' He points to a matchless longsword, glowing with bluish white light, lying on the table before you. Although you lost STAMINA when you gave your blood, on picking up Nightstar energy pours into you and you recover not only this lost STAMINA but a further 4 STAMINA points as well! Nightstar is a magical sword of considerable power. When using it, you may add 1 point to your SKILL when fighting any creature; however, when fighting a Vampire you may add 2 to your SKILL. Theses SKILL bonuses do allow you to exceed your Initial SKILL and can even raise your total SKIILL above 12, if your Initial SKILL was high enough for this to be the case with the bonus. You may also gain 1 FAITH point and 2 LUCK points for finding this excellent prize.

Woohoo! This sword is just about awesome enough to replace Jandor's ring as our most awesome loot. Pity the STAMINA restore is rather wasted here. We could really have used it earlier. And now we can even risk testing our Luck again if necessary!

You ascend back into the coffin and leave the Undertomb; the ghost fades as you depart. You climb the stairs back to the T-junction, and from here you can go down the east stairs or the southern stairs.

We know where the Count is, lets get to it!

Going east just gives us the chance to get another bonus-less Magic Sword, which will help any player who somehow missed both Nightstar and Mikhail's Magic Sword.

We make our way through the room with wall-carvings of bats/rats/wolves, and roll another die: this time we roll a 6!

As you cross the room, one of the stone wolf-heads snarls at you and seems about to rear from the wall to strike at you, but you evade the magical guardian and get to the opposite door safely.

And we reach the Count in full health!

The Count tries to charm us once again, but with our recently-acquired additional FAITH bonus, our FAITH is too high to fail the test, and successfully resist him!

Now, back to where we left off:

The Count has tried to cast his vampiric charm upon you, but he has failed to control your mind and now you can fight freely! Will you:

Run at him and strike with your sword?
Throw Holy Water at him, if you have any?
Cast a spell, if you can?
Get an item out of your backpack?

We know that casting Jandor's Bolt at him takes us straight to combat after that.....do we want to try something else first this time?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Blade Belmont von Alucard
SKILL 9/10 (11 in combat, 12 in combat against Vampires!)
STAMINA 21/21
LUCK 7/8
Faith: 12
Possessions: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Garlic, Magic Sword, Shield of Faith, Silver Mirror, Silver Key, Silvered Stake, Castellan's Keys, Ring of Regeneration (+2 STAMINA after each battle won), Crypt Key, Crucifix, Siegfried's Magic Chainmail (+1 SKILL in combat), Brandy (+4 STAMINA), Magical Ring of Spell-storing (2 spells left), Holy Water, Nightstar (+1 SKILL in combat, +2 SKILL when fighting Vampires)
Spells: Shatter, Greatstrike, Jandor's Bolt.
Provisions: 2
Afflictions: None
Gold Pieces: 9
Treasure: assorted ornaments & jewellery (worth 7 gp), crystal birds (worth 3 gp), silver pin (worth 2 gp), small trinkets (worth 4 gp)
Clues: "Forward and back" (clue to something the Count has hidden with magic lock)
No. of coffins destroyed: 2
No. of Deaths: 3

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 5:05 am

I'd try either using the Holy Water or pulling out the Crucifix. Probably the Holy Water.

Sirocco · Post by **Sirocco** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 7:56 am

I'm guessing Holy Water will cause him some damage, but the Crucifix might give him a SKILL penalty. So ... Crucifix. Then Holy Water, if we're given the chance.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:51 am

Darth seems to be leaning slightly towards Holy Water, but Sirocco made a definite decision to check for backpack item first, so I'll take that option as priority....

The only item of use in the present situation is a Silver Mirror. If you do not possess a Silver Mirror, turn to 25. If you do have a Silver Mirror, Reiner recoils from it. This gives you time to throw Holy Water if you can and if you wish to do this (tum to 216), or to cast a spell (turn to 158); after you have done this, you still have a little extra time, as the Vampire hesitates before the Silver Mirror. You will be able to get a free sword strike at him, causing 2 points of damage to his STAMINA, when you begin a swordfight, so make a note of this!

So, no Crucifix check like both of you predicted.....but at least we do have the Mirror, and using this first was the right choice, since it lets us get a free strike later, which is better than nothing. Unfortunately, it's not stated whether we can use Greatstrike on this free blow. If we can it'd be even more awesome.

Next, I presume, we want to use Holy Water.....

You throw your Holy Water at the Vampire. Roll one die and add 1, to get a number between 2 and 7; this is the number of points of damage the blessed liquid does to the maddened undead creature, whose skin now seems to be on fire! If you have another one available, you have time to throw a second vial, with the same results; or you can attack by sword (turn to 25) or spell (tum to 158). Keep a note of how many points of STAMINA loss you have already inflicted on the Count!

Die roll: 4! (+1 = 5). The Count takes 5 points of damage.

We only have one vial of Holy Water, unforuntately, but we still have spells! We cast Jandor's Bolt, and the Count tries to resist:

Die roll: another 4! The Count takes 6 points of damage (total 11)!

We then charge at the Count swinging Nightstarwhile still waving the Silver Mirror at him.....giving us another free strike: 2 STAMINA! The Count has taken 13 points of damage in total before he even has the chance to fight back!

You can strike the Vampire with your magical weapon and wound him. He uses no weapon but deploys his inhuman strength to smash and bludgeon you with his powerful fists, and claw at your face and arms. With a SKILL higher than the limitations of a mere mortal, Count Reiner Heydrich is a very powerful enemy indeed!

COUNT REINER HEYDRICH SKILL 13 STAMINA 21 8

If the Count's STAMINA is reduced to 4 points or below in this fight, turn at once to 28. Keep a record of not only the Count's current STAMINA score, but his SKILL score too, since you may come across him again later!

We only need to hit him twice to get his STAMINA down to 4! Let's go!

COMBAT LOG:

Count 21, Blade 18. Blade is at 19.
Count 25, Blade 23. Blade is at 17.
Count 22, Blade 22. Tie.
Count 19, Blade 20. Count is at 6.
Count 17, Blade 21. Count is at 4!

We made it!.....but the Count isn't dead yet!

Before you can finish it off, the hateful undead thing transforms itself into a gas cloud and floats away! If you have a Forcewall spell and wish to cast it, tum to 111. lf you cannot - or do not wish to - cast the spell, tum to 63.

We don't have this spell....Uh oh.......

The Count floats away behind some wall-hangings - you search but can find no doorway behind them! You know that vampires can regenerate, and you know too that you didn't kill him off. You guess that he may be back before long! You have time to perform four - and only four - actions. Decide what these will be. You could eat a meal (this takes two actions, and you can wolf down only one meal in time), drink a Potion of Healing or restorative brandy (one action per drink), release the girl with your keys (two actions), cast a spell such as Trueheal or Luckspell (one action per spell cast), or get some object from your backpack (one action per item you want to retrieve).W hen you have decided what to do, tum to 178.

We're still in pretty good shape, so I'm not sure we even need all 4 actions.....still, what to do now?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Blade Belmont von Alucard (w/ black hair!)
SKILL 9/10 (11 in combat, 12 in combat against Vampires!)
STAMINA 17/21
LUCK 7/8
Faith: 12
Possessions: Sword, Leather Armor, Shield, Lantern, Garlic, Magic Sword, Shield of Faith, Silver Mirror, Silver Key, Silvered Stake, Castellan's Keys, Ring of Regeneration (+2 STAMINA after each battle won), Crypt Key, Crucifix, Siegfried's Magic Chainmail (+1 SKILL in combat), Brandy (+4 STAMINA), Magical Ring of Spell-storing (1 spell left), Nightstar (+1 SKILL in combat, +2 SKILL when fighting Vampires)
Spells: Shatter, Greatstrike, Jandor's Bolt.
Provisions: 2
Afflictions: None
Gold Pieces: 9
Treasure: assorted ornaments & jewellery (worth 7 gp), crystal birds (worth 3 gp), silver pin (worth 2 gp), small trinkets (worth 4 gp)
Clues: "Forward and back" (clue to something the Count has hidden with magic lock)
No. of coffins destroyed: 2
No. of Deaths: 3

The Gaming Den

[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 38 - Vault of the Vampire

Which of the below should be the official name of our hero?