[Let's Play] Virtual Reality Gamebooks: Twist of Fate

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu May 30, 2019 1:32 pm

The four riders are garbed all in white, with silver filigree around the borders of their robes. Three look down with fierce eyes. The emotions of the fourth remain a mystery, for he wears a mask of carved ivory. All carry bristling lances. Knives and long swords hang at their belts.
The masked rider points to the fallen gazelle. ‘This was our game, which we’d pursued since before sunrise. You’ve stolen it.’ His voice sounds as sweet as the melody of a harp, as sweet as a fresh brook, as sweet as poisoned syrup.
Abdullah becomes truculent. ‘Who are you, to lay such accusations on us?’
The masked stranger leans forward in his saddle. ‘I am the Sultan of Nishapur.’ (We do not have FOLKLORE.)

The Sultan makes a soft clicking sound with his tongue. It is almost too faint to be heard, but it is the signal for his knights to begin their butchery. Riding forward, they slash and stab at the terrified donkey-handlers. Abdullah scrambles for his sword but is cut down in front of you. So far you’re unscathed.

Stand and fight?
Run off along the woodland path?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu May 30, 2019 1:35 pm

Half vote for fighting.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu May 30, 2019 1:47 pm

Fight!

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu May 30, 2019 1:51 pm

You vow that you will kill them if they do not leave you in peace.
‘You have the claws of a cat, youngster,’ says the Sultan, his voice half-mocking, ‘but the voice of a lion. Choose: will you fight my three Arab knights, or face me alone?’

Accept a duel with the Sultan himself?
Square off against his knights?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu May 30, 2019 1:56 pm

I feel like the choice is so obvious it must be a trap. Fight the knights.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu May 30, 2019 2:29 pm

Sure.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu May 30, 2019 2:39 pm

Folklore would probably have told us something about how either the Sultan or his knights are immune to physical damage or must be killed by a certain specific method. And it's more likely to be the Sultan, so I guess fighting the knight has a better chance of working.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu May 30, 2019 2:45 pm

The three attack as one, launching themselves from horseback with spears raised. Straight away you see that just one of these men would be a hard foe. Together they are almost unbeatable.
If you have SWORDPLAY and a sword, lose 3 Life Points. If not but you have WRESTLING, lose 6 Life Points. (If you have neither skill, you have no chance and are cut down at once.)
Assuming you survive, you manage to drive the knights back and they abandon the struggle. Mounting up, they ride off after their master.

Given our skill selection and items, this was definitely the better choice.

You wander for days in the hills until you find a trail that leads down into a region of steaming swampland. Skirting this, you travel on until you see a city of tall towers and eggshell domes straddling both sides of a great river. When you arrive at the gates, you enquire where you are.
The sentries give you an unwelcoming look. ‘This is Daibul,’ they say. ‘Be warned, we give short shrift here to penniless vagabonds.’
‘Perhaps I am no vagabond, but heir to a kingdom,’ you reply, sauntering between them into the teeming city streets. Seeing their curious looks, you laugh, adding, ‘Or perhaps not. God alone is all-knowing!’

You can refill your water bottle here if you have one – mark it as full if so. This city has nothing else to offer you. Passage on a ship back to Iraq will cost you 50 dinars. If you have that much...
If not, you must resort to your skills – perhaps STREETWISE or ROGUERY. If you have neither of those...

You visit the market – not to buy, but to sell. You must raise at least 50 dinars to get back home. With heavy heart, you survey your belongings and see how much each will fetch. You are offered the following prices:
For an ordinary sword 20 dinars
For a jewelled sword 50 dinars
For a cloak 20 dinars
For a magic ring 50 dinars
For a bow 20 dinars
For a black jewel 50 dinars
For the lamp of Antar 90 dinars
For Indian rope 80 dinars
Those are the only items that are of interest to anyone.

So what (if anything) do we want to sell? We'd need to sell the ring to be able to afford passage back, but we're not required to sell anything (there is a section to go to if we don't).

Adventure Sheet:

Name: ??
Gender: Female
Skills: CUNNING, LUCK, MAGIC and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 7/10
Possessions:
1) Ring
2) Sword
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Money: 21 dinars

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu May 30, 2019 2:50 pm

Yeah, don't sell the tools of our trades. Keep going.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu May 30, 2019 2:51 pm

Keep stuff, look for new quest.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu May 30, 2019 4:26 pm

The streets of the city are tiered thoroughfares that snake up between the clustered houses to the palace at the top of the hill. As you ascend the steps of one such street, you are shouldered aside by a patrol of stern-faced soldiers. Affronted at their rudeness, you give them a glowering look as they descend towards the docks.
A passing barber notices the incident and says to you: ‘The palace guards are looking for a thief who stole a ruby from the treasury. The Sultan is furious, and he has decreed that if the thief is not caught by the time the moon rises tonight, the captain of the palace guard will be crucified.’
Your pride is still ruffled. ‘I can understand their urgency, then. All the same, there is no excuse for manhandling an honest traveller in that way.’
He peers at you in the dusk. ‘Ah, you are a stranger to the city?’
‘Yes,’ you say, nodding. ‘What of it?’
He suddenly leaps back and cries: ‘Here is the thief! Here!’ Before you can react, the soldiers turn and race back up the street. As you start to raise your hands, the barber leaps on your back, bearing you to the ground.
The soldiers grab you. ‘Well done, friend,’ their officer says to the barber. ‘You’ll be rewarded for this.’
‘My reward awaits me in heaven,’ he says.
‘I’ll give it to you myself,’ you growl at him, ‘once I’ve explained there’s been a mistake.’

Despite your protests, you are dragged in front of the palace gates. The Sultan’s executioner was already preparing to execute the captain of the guard, who is relieved to see his men arriving in the nick of time.
The Sultan looks down from his palanquin. ‘Is this the thief?’
The captain barely glances at you. ‘Yes, O master of justice,’ he says.
The Sultan orders you to be thrown into prison while he decides your eventual punishment. You are too stunned by the sudden wretched twist of fate to react. Hauled away by guards, you are stripped of your bow if you have one. They also take any money you are carrying, although they leave your other belongings.
They lower you into an oubliette. The grating drops into place with a harsh clang. You listen in shock as the heavy iron padlock is sealed. You can hear rats rustling through the dank straw carpeting the cell. ‘So you’re the jewel thief, then,’ says a voice in the gloom. ‘Doesn’t look like much to us, eh, Shahrazad?’
As your eyes adjust, you make out a figure crouching beside you. He is an old man with limbs as thin and gnarled as twigs. On his lap he has a mangy cat which he is cosseting as though it were a princess.

Talk to him?
Ignore him and sit in silence?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: ??
Gender: Female
Skills: CUNNING, LUCK, MAGIC and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 7/10
Possessions:
1) Ring
2) Sword
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Money: 0 dinars

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu May 30, 2019 4:31 pm

Well, this isn't working out great. Talk to the nice man and his cat.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu May 30, 2019 4:40 pm

Good manners cost nothing.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Thu May 30, 2019 5:27 pm

You explain to the old man that there has been a mistake. You are not the one who stole the Sultan’s ruby.
Surprisingly, his answer to this is a thin wheeze of laughter. ‘Not the Shadow, eh? I thought not. I doubt they’ll ever catch that one.’
‘Who is the Shadow?’
‘The most daring of knaves. The rogue who purloined the jinn ring of Ala al-Din and the flying rug once owned by the Emir of Cordoba, as well as the crown of the infidel ruler Shah al Ma’in. He – or she, for the Shadow is a figure veiled in mystery – has vowed next to steal the diamond egg of the rokh.’ (We do not have the codeword Kismet.)

You cannot help grinning at the old man. ‘Well, you certainly seem to have a fund of strange stories.’
‘You doubt them?’ he leaps to his scrawny feet, eyes flashing. ‘Watch, as I prove the truth of all I’ve said. You see my cat, Shahrazad? She has heard my words, yet you’ll note her tail is not an inch longer than before.’
You bite your lip and take half a step backwards. The old man is undeniably mad. ‘Incontrovertible proof,’ you say to humour him. ‘I no longer doubt you at all.’
‘Don’t talk to me like I’m daft, you young sprat. Now watch the cat’s tail while I tell her a few lies. Shahrazad, it’s my birthday today and I’m just ten years old. This morning the gaoler gave me a fine confection of dates, saffron rice, spiced mutton and buttermilk for breakfast. I ate so much my belly ached! The Caliph is my second cousin and I myself heard the Prophet’s last sermon, peace be upon him.’
You blink and rub your eyes, but there can be no doubt. With each lie, the cat’s tail grows a couple of inches, then after a few seconds it returns to its normal length.
‘What a miraculous animal,’ is all you can say.
‘She’s a sure indicator of when people are telling the truth,’ agrees the old man.
(We do not possess a coil of Indian rope or a pair of magic slippers.)

The oubliette is a bell-shaped chamber lined with muck and straw. There are several other prisoners here. Seeing you pacing around, one of them sighs and points to the grille in the middle of the ceiling. ‘Some of us have been here for years,’ he says. ‘Food is thrown down every day or so, if we’re lucky. Other than that we’re forgotten here. There’s no escape.’
‘What about water?’
‘You must lick what you can off the walls.’ He shows you his tongue – black and covered with sores.
You position yourself directly below the grille and stare up. A distance of almost twenty feet. The walls funnel in towards it, so there is no chance of climbing up.
If you possess either magic slippers or Indian rope and wish to use them now...

A week later, the grille is hauled up and another prisoner is lowered into the oubliette. ‘Here is the real Shadow!’ calls down a guard. ‘Now you worthless wretches have got some distinguished company for a change.’
The grille drops back into place with a clang. ‘What about me?’ you shout up. ‘If you’ve got the real Shadow, you must know I’m innocent!’
The guard’s face reappears at the top. He has a broad smirk as he says, ‘Innocent? You can’t be innocent if you’re in gaol, can you? So maybe you didn’t steal the Sultan’s ruby – who cares? No doubt there’s some other crime we can mark down to you.’
‘This is rank injustice!’ you call back, but he has gone.
The newcomer places a hand on your shoulder. ‘I too am the victim of injustice, my friend, for I am not the Shadow. I thought you were. In fact, I got myself caught in order to meet you. My name is Azenomei.’
You turn and look at him: a handsome beardless young man with sparkling gaze. He has a small scar across the bridge of his nose.
‘In that case, you’re in for a big disappointment. And why are you smiling? Don’t you know we’ll probably stay here till we die?’
His grin grows all the wider as he brings out a huge bunch of keys. ‘Here I have the answer to nine hundred and ninety-nine locks. All we need is a way to reach the grille.’
If you use a pair of magic slippers
If you try a coil of Indian rope
If you have a long tailed cat

Lacking any of those, you have no way of reaching the grille and you really will end your days in this miserable pit.

So yeah, this is a game over. No clue why we can't use our djinn to carry us out of here.

Start over from the beginning (possibly picking new skills)?
Go straight to the Caliph's palace?
Try traveling to Egypt instead of the Peaks of the Slayers?
Try traveling by sea?
Try hiding from the Sultan and his knights?
Try selling stuff to get passage to Baghdad?
Try a different book?

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Thu May 30, 2019 5:39 pm

I like our skillset. Try Egypt instead and hope Wilderness Lore isn't a hard requirement.

SlyJohnny · Post by **SlyJohnny** » Thu May 30, 2019 6:37 pm

The alternative would be to have seafaring, I suppose.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Fri May 31, 2019 9:46 am

Sail the seas.

What skills would have let us duel the Sultan, if fighting off three knights was the easier option?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri May 31, 2019 12:45 pm

Omegonthesane wrote:What skills would have let us duel the Sultan, if fighting off three knights was the easier option?

Archery is the only skill that will kill him, but it does so without losing any Life Points. There are two other items that it's possible (albeit difficult) to have picked up that also win the duel with the Sultan. If you have any of those it's actually easier than what we did, but without them it's a literal death sentence.

So that's 2 votes for traveling by sea:

Seen from the docks, the towers of Baghdad are like a carving of pale wood against the sky. Ships bob up and down at the quayside, sails wrapped tight around their high slender masts. You pass groups of sailors drinking wine and playing at dice, carousing now that the rigours of Ramadan are behind them.
Several captains are hiring crew members. If you have SEAFARING they will pay you 8 dinars. If not you will only be trusted with menial tasks and your pay is just 3 dinars. Add the appropriate sum to your Character Sheet.
Do you wish to sail east to the Indies, westwards towards Egypt, or south in search of the fabled Scarlet Isle?

So that's just 3 dinars for us. Where do we want to sail to?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: ??
Gender: Female
Skills: CUNNING, LUCK, MAGIC and SWORDPLAY
Life Points: 10
Possessions:
1) Ring
2) Sword
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Money: 14 dinars

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri May 31, 2019 1:16 pm

The first two are known sources of enormous wealth, but the last sounds most like an adventure, so let's do that.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri May 31, 2019 2:01 pm

It's also the only place that is fabled, so yeah, Scarlet Isle.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri May 31, 2019 2:21 pm

The sailors move like monkeys through the rigging. The sails billow as they catch the wind, and your vessel moves out from the dock and drifts gracefully downriver towards Basra. In the dawn the water is splashed with light like liquid gold. It flows sluggishly past as the day wears on, dark and deep as a draft of cool wine.
A week passes. Moored one night in midstream, you find yourself unable to sleep. Climbing quietly over the dozing forms of your fellow sailors, you look out from the rail. The sky is filled with stars, and the moon watches its twin in the dim black depths of the river. You hear the soft plash of oars and, gazing upriver, you see the lamps of a barque approaching.

Wake the captain?
Wait and watch?

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri May 31, 2019 2:24 pm

Wake the captain. And then yell at the lookout, cause that is exactly their job.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri May 31, 2019 2:38 pm

Man, if there are pirates on the trade river than the local rulers have really let things slide. Still, better safe than sorry.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri May 31, 2019 4:07 pm

The captain is grumpy at being woken. ‘Why does God ordain that the sun shall set at dusk and rise again at dawn?’ he says sarcastically. ‘It is because He wishes the same for us. It reminds me of the parable of the holy man who was so tormented by the screech of owls outside his window at night that he gave up his vows and became a drunkard.’
‘Would you rather I let you snore like a contented camel while river pirates steal upon us in the night-time? Or perhaps while wizards cast a spell on us?’ You take him by the arm. ‘Come and see what I have to show you.’
When you lead him to the rail, however, there is no sign of the silent barque. ‘All you saw was the reflection of moonlight on the water,’ snaps the captain. ‘Go back to your mattress and let us all get some sleep.’

You sail on to Basra and beyond, now leaving the river and entering open sea. Crossing the Persian Gulf as far as the Straits of Hormuz takes a week, in weather as serene as an idyll from the ancient epics. ‘But wait till we’re on the ocean,’ mutters one of the sailors. ‘We’ll earn our pay then.’
The glittering port of Suhar lies a day’s sailing down the coast from the straits. Here the ship will take on supplies for the long ocean voyage. You have the opportunity to stroll through the market and examine the goods on offer. You may purchase any of the following that you have money for:
Water bottle 1 dinar
Mirror 20 dinars
Whistle 3 dinars
Gloves 5 dinars
Hawk 20 dinars
Once you have made your purchases, you head back to the harbour.

Pick what (if anything) we want to buy. We currently have 14 dinars.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri May 31, 2019 4:39 pm

Water bottles, gloves and whistle all look useful.