[Let's Play] Rider of the Black Sun

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Tue Dec 01, 2020 5:39 pm

Agree. Also, "warrior mountain cat" is a reasonably dopey character name.

angelfromanotherpin · Wed Dec 02, 2020 12:21 am

50 At first you lean with your back against the thick trunk. Your neck relaxes as your head comes to rest on the rough bark. For a short moment you forget your surroundings, your situation, but then, through the rustling treetops, you see a shadow dart over the roof of the temple.

He's too far away to see any more, but his supple assured movements on the slanted slippery roof appeared to be somehow inhuman. You are still musing about what you've seen when the storm calms a bit and you can hear the ominous clicking of a crossbow's winch from an open window. The soldiers are preparing to hunt down the assassin!
If you carry an Oil Lantern, turn to 32.
If you don't have this item, turn to 83.

83 Protected by the darkness, you run past some more trees. The twisting gravel paths as well as the many bushes and trees could perhaps offer you enough cover. The first bolts cut through the air. You begin to sprint.
Decide your destiny based on the moon!
If it's New Moon or Crescent Moon, turn to 3.[/color]
If it's Half Moon to Full Moon, turn to 25.

I think the moon is basically a d5, but I'm not going to count them all up to find out if there's some kind of biased distribution. We flip Gibbous Moon.

25 Miraculously, you're not hit by any of the bolts. Just barely missing you, all of them fly past you, hissing. Nevertheless you've crossed only half of the park. In front of you lies the tranquil temple of Kar in the shelter of many trees. You don't know why, but this building with its steep roof of red clay tiles holds a certain attraction for you.
If you want to enter the temple, turn to 16.
If you want to struggle against this feeling and avoid entering the sanctuary of the sun goddess, turn to 94.

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 1:14 am

Enter the temple.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:20 am

Enter the temple.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 6:03 am

Enter temple

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 2:04 pm

O 16 Carefully and without making any suspicious sounds, you slip through the temple's wooden portal, richly decorated all over with carvings. No sooner has the heavy iron lock snapped shut than everything suddenly turns dark. Only occasional bright flashes of lightning through the tall windows of leaded glass light up the room from time to time.

You are alone. After taking a few steps past the prayer benches you find yourself standing in front of a large floor panel made of pitch-black basalt. Dark alcoves all round divide the room. From their depths, oversize saints keep watch. Their unfaltering gazes, sculpted in marble, demand your respect.

While you're examining the temple, you can hear a strange scraping and scratching above you. Dirt trickles from the timberwork onto your head and the stone floor. There's no doubt: somebody's on the roof! Some shingles break loose, slide down the sloped roof, and smash not far away. Rain falls through the newly exposed hole. For safety's sake, you seek cover next to a column.

Another flash of lightning! For a fleeting moment a vague shadow appears on the roof. You hold your breath.

>Where did he go?<

Outside of the temple, quite a din has arisen.Your pursuers obviously think the stranger on the roof is the assassin. You listen intently, but all is quiet above you. The soldiers move away. You breathe a sigh of relief and look around again. Adjacent to the impressive organ, whose tallest pipes reach up under the domed roof, you notice a brass lever on one of the columns next to the black floor panel. The lever is decorated with dozens of skulls.
If you want to use the lever, turn to 75.
If you want to look for a quiet place in this part of the temple, turn to 89.
Cross off the circle next to the section number 16 to note that you've read this section.

Checkpoint!

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:39 pm

Use lever! I'm highly pro lever in most cases, and I don't think it's a dumb pipe-organ noisemaker trap.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Wed Dec 02, 2020 5:58 pm

Use lever.

I wonder if they seriously expected users to draw on and erase pencil from the existing paper. Sounds like they'd need sturdier stuff than these books usually got for such a plan.

angelfromanotherpin · Thu Dec 03, 2020 11:39 pm

75 With a short forceful jerk you pull the lever down. The stone panel in the floor swings to theside with an almost inaudible scraping sound, revealing a narrow worn set of stone steps leading downwards. An earthy musty smell greets you.
If you want to use the lever again and remain above, turn to 89.
If you want to climb downthe stairs, turn to 78.

Given that the lever was covered in skulls, I'd usually expect it to lead to some sort of ossuary, but IME very few good-coded fantasy religions have those.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 12:52 am

Down the stairs. You don't pull levers to not follow secret passages.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:19 am

Down we go.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 3:36 am

78 Without a moment's hesitation, you walk down the stairs. When you reach the last step, the mechanism is activated once more, and the floor panel swings back again. Darkness surrounds you.
Turn to 46.

46 Cautiously, you move with faltering steps. Beneath your naked feet you feel the wet rough stone floor of a cellar vault. The coolness of the place makes you shudder. Still, you know that you're safe from your pursuers, who are still roaming the park.

After a while you begin to feel your way around and realize that you're in a crypt with several stone coffins. Despite your fear of angering the spirits of the dead, you continue searching. In a far corner you stumble across a heavy wooden chest with metal fittings. There is no lock.
If you want to open the chest, turn to 14.
If you want to ignore it, turn to 88.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:01 am

Open the box like we are in a game show from before I was born.

Whatever · Post by **Whatever** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:55 pm

angelfromanotherpin wrote:

If you want to open the chest, turn to 14.
If you want to ignore it, turn to 88.

excuse me what the fuck

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Fri Dec 04, 2020 5:46 pm

Open the chest. (Cue Brad Pitt shouting "WHAT'S IN THE BOX")

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:14 pm

Whatever wrote:excuse me what the fuck

Oof, that is unfortunate. Let's hope it was an honest accident.

14 With a short squeak the heavy lid opens and you reach into the unknown. In the chest your fingers can make out several tabards made of embroidered linen, tidily folded.
If you want to put on a Linen Shirt (Clothing, Cloak), note it on your character sheet.
Turn to 88.

I'm going to assume we take it unless you tell me otherwise.

O 88 After almost an hour you're done searching the catacomb. Exhausted and shivering from the cold, you cower in an empty alcove. The stillness of the crypt gradually transmits itself to you, and your breathing becomes calmer. With a feeling of safety, you try to find some sleep.
If there are glass shards in your body, turn to 24.
If you've been hit by a bolt, turn to 33.
If you've been hurt by both, shards and bolt, turn to 67.
If you're unhurt, turn to 70.
Cross off the circle next to the section number 88 to note that you've read this section.

70 Examining your arms and legs with your hands, you're happy to find that you didn't get hurt during your escape. Nevertheless, a feeling of unease wells up in you:

>This body – how much pain did it have to endure?<

Tears of desperation run down your face. But at some point you are overcome by a liberating form of exhaustion.
What is the thought that you fall asleep with?
If you think that you've killed Hierarch Kathum, turn to 68.
If, however, you believe in your innocence, turn to 73.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Sat Dec 05, 2020 5:31 pm

Philosophically speaking, a continuity of memory is required to be "the same person" in any meaningful sense; thus to be meaningfully considered the person that did the murder we ought to have some memory of the deed or our intentions for the deed, or come to that some memory at all of the world in any sense.

So I vote we turn to 73.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Sun Dec 06, 2020 3:55 am

Half vote for 68.

I had imbued this character with certainty we killed him in my head canon. Omegon's philosophical argument carries some water, as does the other assassin wandering around.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:37 am

Half vote for innocent, but that's not based on much.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Sun Dec 06, 2020 3:35 pm

88 Feral grunting and snorting fills the darkness. You're trapped! The enemy has surrounded you and your strength is waning. But you're not alone! you fight side by side with priest emperor Kathum, the greatest champion of Rhenus. In the end, the beasts lunge at you from the darkness in an inferno of bloodthirsty screams and the martial clash of weapons. A fleeting glance and a quick nod suffice, and together you draw your weapons before your final battle...

With a smile on your lips you wake up. For a short moment you don't know where you are, but then you realize that what you've experienced was only a dream.
If you've slept in the crypt, turn to 13.
If you've spent the night in the temple, turn to 95.
If you're unsure, check if you've crossed off the marking at section 88 (crypt) or 89 (temple).

Since there's no note or tag or marking for the choice of guilty/innocent, I think it exists simply to make the player think about it, which might inform their attitude going forward. I think that's a worthwhile technique.

13 Although only a few rays of light pierce the narrow gaps in the stone slab and traverse the long air shaft to reach your hiding place, you can nevertheless sense how strong the morning sun must be today. The thought causes you to shiver instinctively. Thanks to the sparse light you are now able to see the entire crypt. In ten alcoves, built of stone masonry, lie eight richly decorated stone coffins. Although you are not able to read the symbols carved into the stone, they suggest to you that the ancestors of the priests of Kar must rest here. In one corner stands a bulky wooden chest; you don't see a lock.
If you want to examine the chest more closely, turn to 54.
If you want to take a look at the stone coffins, turn to 31.
If you want to walk up the stone steps and leave the crypt, turn to 80.
If you want to climb through the air shaft and out into the park, turn to 98.
If you want to do nothing and remain in the crypt until night falls, turn to 38.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:28 am

Look at the chest

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 3:30 am

Agree, examine the chest.

angelfromanotherpin · Post by **angelfromanotherpin** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 5:05 am

54 You hear a soft creaking as you lift the lid. Lying inside the chest are shirts made of linen, the breasts of which are artfully embroidered with a large sun made of golden thread. You also find a small prayer book pressed by the cloth against the side of the chest.
If you don't wear a Linen Shirt (Clothing, Cloak) and want to put one on, write it down on your adventure sheet. Do the same with the Prayer Book (Utensil) if you want to keep it.
If you want to take a closer look at the sarcophagus, turn to 31.
If you want to stay in the crypt and do nothing until nightfall, turn to 38.
If you want to leave the crypt behind and climb the stone stairs to the temple, turn to 80.
If you want to climb the air vent to the park outside, turn to 98.

It's the same chest as last night, but now that we can actually see it turns out there's an extra collectible in it. As before, I'll assume we take the book unless I'm told otherwise.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:37 am

Check the sarcophagus (which was stone coffins, plural, before)

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Mon Dec 07, 2020 7:15 am

Agree