[LP] Fighting Fantasy 46 - Tower of Destruction (Take 2!)

[Thaluikhain]

"Right is always left" doesn't make any sense, so go with "Left is always right".

[SGamerz]

You make your way along a winding, featureless passage which opens into a bare, spherical chamber, a very odd design. You are about to enter it when a smoky shape starts to take form within the room, and drifts soundlessly towards you! If you've been here before and fought this enemy, another has appeared in its place. If you want to stay and see what happens, turn to 237. If you want to flee and return to the main junction we came from, turn to 379.

Do we want to stay and watch?

[Darth Rabbitt]

I recall us specifically not fighting this creature in the previous run, so let's try fighting it this time.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Yes, perhaps it has some relevant loot.

[SGamerz]

The wisps of smoke form into vaguely humanoid form, and the creature radiates hatred and malice. It glides over towards you and tries to choke the life out of you!

SMOKE WRAITH SKILL 8 STAMINA 9

If you win, you may enter the spherical chamber and search it thoroughly or return to the original three-way junction.

COMBAT LOG:

Smoke Wraith 14, Tallpipe 18. Smoke Wraith is at 7.
SW 10, Tallpipe 19. SW is at 5.
SW 15, Tallpipe 15. Tie.
SW 15, Tallpipe 16. SW is at 3.
SW 17, Tallpipe 21. SW is at 1.
SW 19, Tallpipe 18. Tallpipe is at 16.
SW 12, Tallpipe 17. SW is killed.

An extremely (un)lucky stray blow from the Wraith makes this just short of a flawless.

I'm assuming you guys want to search here, since there's no point fighting that thing here otherwise....

The chamber appears to be featureless and bare, but will you be able to find anything here? Roll two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your SKILL, turn to 18. If the total is greater than your SKILL, return to the three-way junction.

Tallpipe is so perfect that he can't fail this test.

Hidden very cleverly in one of the walls is a secret sliding panel Do you want to:

Open this secret door?
Return to the junction and take the right-hand turning?
Return to the junction and follow the passage straight ahead of you?

The text indicated that it's possible to come back here again (although that means we need to fight the Smoke Wraith again each time we come this way). Do we want to open the secret door now, or check the other 2 branches first?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jefferson Tallpipe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 16/24
LUCK 9/12
Honour: 7
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern, Backpack, Blanket, Climbing Gear, Tasrin's Ring, Potion of Stamina (restores 1/2 of Initial STAMINA), Crowbar, Bag of Salt, Crossbow (w/ 10 bolts), Flask of Akvavit (+5 STAMINA, +1 SKILL for next combat only)
Gold: 3
Provisions: 6/10
Time Elapsed: 7 days

[angelfromanotherpin]

I think it's more likely that the door hides something relevant to the other passages than the other passages hide something relevant to what's behind the door. Open it.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I think it's more likely that the door hides something relevant to the other passages than the other passages hide something relevant to what's behind the door. Open it.

[SGamerz]

Through the secret door we go.....

The number of days you have taken on your journey now becomes important. If you have spent 4 or fewer days on you journey here, tum to 135. If 5 or more days have elapsed, turn to 254.

We have spent 7 days getting here. In order to get here in 4 or less days, we need to skip ALL the below options that delayed our journey:

1) Staying to help the villagers
2) Sidetrack to Tasrin's house
3) Saving the barbarian and following him back to his village

All 3 of these delays had been fruitful, so what's the cost?

The creator of the Sphere has had extra time in which to create guardians and monsters here; one of then lunges at you as soon as you open the secret door. It takes you by surprises, so you must deduct2 points from your STAMINA because of its unexpected attack. The expressionless face of a Zombie stares at you; since its body, that of a northern barbarian, has not yet decomposed, it is tougher than most Zombies!

BARBARIAN ZOMBIE SKILL 7 STAMINA 9

If you win, tum to 135.

Yes, the advantage of coming here early is that we get to skip this SKILL 7 monster.....I think it's safe to say that rushing here is not worth what we'd have to give up, not even for a weaker character.

COMBAT LOG:

Barbarian Zombie 15, Tallpipe 19. BZ is at 7.
BZ 14, Tallpipe 20. BZ is at 5.
BZ 14, Tallpipe 17. BZ is at 3.
BZ 19, Tallpipe 18. Tallpipe is at 12.
BZ 14, Tallpipe 16. BZ is at 1.
BZ 11, Tallpipe 22. BZ is destroyed.

Somehow, for the second time in a row, a weak monster gets in a lucky blow and ruined Tallpipe's attempt at getting a flawless.

You look into a round chamber in which a black stone circular staircase leads up into a gloom where nothing is discernible. There is a strong humming sound coming from the top of the stairs. You pluck up courage and climb the stairs, then you come to a door which you force open. Inside is a long, narrow, chilly room - very different from the rest of the Sphere - with many marble slab6 lying along its sides. You can dearly make out the shapes of bodies beneath dirty shrouds on the slabs, At the far end of the chamber is another door, and the humming sound is coming from that direction.

Instinctively you know that what lies beyond the door in the distance will give you the clue to the mysteries of the murderous Sphere, so you press on. Now, if you have spent 5 days or more getting to the Sphere, turn to 108. 1f you have spent 4 or fewer days getting to the Sphere, turn to 390.

The exact same time check, and this time the consequence of getting here late is....

As you near the far door, a body on one of the slabs jerks upright. Blue-veined, grey-skinned and radiating a deep chill and malice, the dead eyes of the animated horror roll back in its eye sockets, but still it senses your presence and wants to kill you! You must fight the Ice Ghost here. If you have only a sword or a spear, your weapon will do only 1 point of damage on a roll of 1-3 on a singled die after you win an Attack Round. If you roll 4-6, then you inflict the usual 2 points of damage. If you have a heavy mace, the weapon always causes 2 points of damage when you hit because a blunt weapon crunches into the frozen tissues of the Ice Ghost, causing more damage.

ICE GHOST SKILL 7 STAMINA 8

If you win, something awful happens to the Ice Ghost. Its head appears to crack open, and its spirit hangs in the air in a tiny cloud of frosted fog before seeping away and a ghastly moan isles from its throat while this is happening. Repulsed by this sight and eager to get away, you rush to the door beyond and fling it open, tum to 79.

....another SKILL 7 monster. Okay, this one might give you more trouble if you don't come with a heavy mace, but again, doesn't feel too rewarding for getting here ahead of time. Besides, you are far more likely to get here without the mace by skipping sidetracks anyway, and there will still be trouble with facing the 2 Ice Ghosts outside the sphere.

COMBAT LOG:

Ice Ghost 14, Tallpipe 18. Tallpipe rolls 2 and does 1 damage. IG is at 7.
IG 15, Tallpipe 21. Tallpipe rolls 2 and does 1 damage. IG is at 6.
IG 16, Tallpipe 22. Tallpipe rolls 5 and does 2 damage. IG is at 4.
IG 15, Tallpipe 15. Tie.
IG 16, Tallpipe 15. Tallpipe is at 10.
IG 11, Tallpipe 24. Tallpipe rolls 6 and does 2 damage. IG is at 2.
IG 16, Tallpipe 22. Tallpipe rolls 5 and does 2 damage. IG is at 0.

For some reason, Tallpipe keeps coming up short at getting a flawless, and gets hit once every fight against puny opponents. He's actually now at below 50% STAMINA. Do we want to use anything to heal us up before we proceed?

And yes, the secret door was the way out of the previous "hub" areas, so we miss all the stuff on the another corridors by coming here first. On the plus side, there was only 1 nice loot that we actually missed (and it comes with a fight with a fairly tough Fire Demon), which is the Potion of Fire-Breath that was found in the previous LP. It's a fun loot, but fortunately not a necessary one. All the other branches lead to fights or traps without rewards.

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jefferson Tallpipe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 10/24
LUCK 9/12
Honour: 7
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern, Backpack, Blanket, Climbing Gear, Tasrin's Ring, Potion of Stamina (restores 1/2 of Initial STAMINA), Crowbar, Bag of Salt, Crossbow (w/ 10 bolts), Flask of Akvavit (+5 STAMINA, +1 SKILL for next combat only)
Gold: 3
Provisions: 6/10
Time Elapsed: 7 days

[angelfromanotherpin]

We can be pretty cavalier with 12 SKILL. Very little in these books does more than like 4 at a time, and you don't want to walk around topped off in case of ambient heals. Still, eat 1 Provision in case they spring a hard fight on us.

[SGamerz]

Tallpipe consumes 1 mean to bring his STAMINA up to 14.

Beyond the heavy door a startling scene confronts you: the chamber you have entered is large, measuring twenty metres across. It has black walls. and a large wall screen pulsing red and orange stands at the far end. Otherwise the room is largely bare, but you can make out several stone thrones in the distance; they are set out before what looks like a huge black sarcophagus. On top of the sarcophagus is a sculpted figure of a Demon, and this stone figure holds a metal lever in one hand and a whip constructed of glowing metal links in the other. Glowing gems are set into
the eye sockets and fingers of the statue.

Two figures are standing behind the thrones: one is a massively muscled Man-Orc, clad in heavy, banded armour and wielding a powerful-looking curved scimitar; the other is a slender, wiry, dark-haired man in wizardly robes, not tall and slightly stooped. Neither appears to be bothered at your entry; the wizard looks at you and then at the Man-Orc. "Kill him will you, Dazrakk? I've got more important things to do,' the wizard says contemptuously and turns away. Your blood boils at this insult to your ability, and you charge to fight the Man-Orc. You soon discover that he is no ordinary Man-Orc: he is very powerful and nimble on his feet despite his considerable size; his eyes burn with a malign intelligence rare among his people. He's not going to be easy to defeat!

MAN-ORC CHAMPION SKILL 10 STAMINA 10

After thee Attack Rounds have passed make a note of the Man-Orc's SKILL and current STAMINA scores and tum to 149.

Tallpipe's luck in combats rolls haven't been that good thus far, so a SKILL 10 opponent can actually be a fair challenge. Let's see if his luck improves in this fight.....

COMBAT LOG:

Man-Orc Champion 17, Tallpipe 20. MOC is at 8.
Man-Orc Champion 15, Tallpipe 16. MOC is at 6.
Man-Orc Champion 19, Tallpipe 20. MOC is at 4.

So far, so good....

Suddenly something odd occurs. The outline of the wizard appears to glow slightly with energy and he points both hands at you. A blue dart spins through the air, screaming as it moves, and strikes you. Deduct 2 points from your STAMINA. The wizard laughs and prepares to cast another spell. You can't get to him because the huge Man-Orc blocks your path. Fighting both of these enemies at once is a desperately dangerous outlook. Think carefully! Will you:

Look quickly at the wizard to search for a clue?
Look carefully at the Demon statue and check for any clue?
Continue fighting the Man-Orc?

How do we deal with this?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jefferson Tallpipe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 12/24
LUCK 9/12
Honour: 7
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern, Backpack, Blanket, Climbing Gear, Tasrin's Ring, Potion of Stamina (restores 1/2 of Initial STAMINA), Crowbar, Bag of Salt, Crossbow (w/ 10 bolts), Flask of Akvavit (+5 STAMINA, +1 SKILL for next combat only)
Gold: 3
Provisions: 5/10
Time Elapsed: 7 days

[angelfromanotherpin]

There are a lot of light signposts on that statue, give it the eye.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, look at the statue.

[SGamerz]

As the wizard claps his hands and casts mother spell, you notice the gem in the left eye socket of the Stone Demon glow blue - the same colour as the dart which flies at you, inflicting another 2 points of damage to your STAMINA. Maybe the Demon is aiding the wizard in some way! Do you want to:

Look carefully at the wizard to try and find a clue?
Try striking at the gem you saw glow?
Continue fighting the Man-Orc?

STAMINA down to 10 again. Do we think the gem is the key?

[angelfromanotherpin]

Stab that eye!

[Thaluikhain]

Smack it in the eye.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Shoot the weak point for massive damage.

[SGamerz]

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye....then it's just fun!

It won't be easy to get an accurate strike at the gem: roll two dice and add 1 to the number rolled. If the total is less than or equal to your SKILL, tum to 220. If the total rolled is greater than your SKILL, tum to 267.

A SKILL test that Tallpipe can actually possibly fail....although not likely to.

Dice roll = 8+1 = 9 (Success)!

While you are distracted, the Man-Orc hits you and you lose 2 points from your STAMINA. If you are still alive, you are now able to smash the gem......and the wizard begins to fade away. You realize that he cannot have been fully real. His expression changes to one of fury, and the Man-Orc redoubles his efforts to kill you. You must fight to the death with the Man Orc, but you don't have to worry about the wizard any more. If you defeat the Man-Orc, tum to 168.

STAMINA down to 8....but at least it's still double that of our remaining opponent, so we should be able to win this.....

COMBAT LOG:

Man-Orc Champion 20, Tallpipe 19. Tallpipe is at 6.
MOC 21, Tallpipe 17. Tallpipe is at 4.
MOC 22, Tallpipe 17. Tallpipe is at 2.
MOC 17, Tallpipe 17. Tie.
MOC 21, Tallpipe 24. MOC is at 2.
MOC 16, Tallpipe 17. MOC is killed!

Down to out last 2 STAMINA! But we just managed to survive.

Having defeated you adversaries, you slump into one of the throne chairs, gasping for breath. Then you look down at the Man-Orc and decide you like the look of his scimitar, so you take it. This is a Magic Sword, and you may add 1 to your SKILL when using it. This does permit you to exceed your Initial SKILL, unless your score was 12! Now you examine the lever, the glowing gems and the metal-chained whip, and you guess that these must form some kind of control system for operating the Sphere. What on earth to do?

As you reach out, uncertainly, for the controls you hear a muffled groan coming from your right. In the heat of battle you hadn't noticed a heavy door there. But the groan sounded as much like that of an animal as of a human; dare you risk opening the door to see what is beyond, or will you ignore it and try tinkering with the controls?

And this time there's a negative to our max SKILL: we don't get any bonus for this Magic Sword!

Do we want to checking on the unknown groaning thing?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jefferson Tallpipe
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 2/24
LUCK 9/12
Honour: 7
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern, Backpack, Blanket, Climbing Gear, Tasrin's Ring, Potion of Stamina (restores 1/2 of Initial STAMINA), Crowbar, Bag of Salt, Crossbow (w/ 10 bolts), Flask of Akvavit (+5 STAMINA, +1 SKILL for next combat only), Magic Sword
Gold: 3
Provisions: 5/10
Time Elapsed: 7 days

[Thaluikhain]

Check out the groaning, but we might want to do something about our stamina first.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Check out groaning, but not before downing a meal and the flask. 11 stamina should be enough for now.

[SGamerz]

Tallpipe pauses to wolf down a meal and wash it down with some akvavit, bringing his STAMINA to 11. He also gets a +1 SKILL bonus for the next fight.

You open the door of a cell a chained and manacled man is slumped against a wall inside, groaning. With keys taken from the Man-Orc's corpse, you free him and help him over to one of the stone seats. He is feeble but is not badly hurt, and he thanks you for your courage in rescuing him. Gain 1 HONOUR point and 1 LUCK point for your deeds. He doesn't even have time to tell you his name, though, before he says, "Let's make sure we've all seen the end of this," and his hands manipulate rapidly the lever, the chain-whip and the gems. The screen at the end of the room starts to glow redly. "Time to go," says the man - and then a sudden tremor runs through the room, causing him to fall heavily to the floor. "I've miscalculated," he sighs, picking himself up, "it's all going to blow up at any moment!" Will you help him to get out of the Sphere, taking a risk on getting blown to pieces yourself or - since it's his fault you're in danger - will you run off and save you own skin, leaving him to try to get out unaided?

Should we punish the guy for screwing up?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jefferson Tallpipe
SKILL 12/12 (13 for next combat)
STAMINA 11/24
LUCK 10/12
Honour: 8
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern, Backpack, Blanket, Climbing Gear, Tasrin's Ring, Potion of Stamina (restores 1/2 of Initial STAMINA), Crowbar, Bag of Salt, Crossbow (w/ 10 bolts), Magic Sword
Gold: 3
Provisions: 5/10
Time Elapsed: 7 days

[angelfromanotherpin]

We help the feeble fuckup. Because that's what heroes do.

[Darth Rabbitt]

If this was a UK Steve Jackson book I'd say ditch the sucker. It isn't, so be a man of honor and try to save his life.

[Thaluikhain]

Help.

[SGamerz]

"Bless you, friend," the man croaks, and he does his best to keep up with you, limping along at you side as the Sphere begins to shake itself apart. You get outside just as the Sphere begins to rumble and crack, and as you run you can feel the heat of the reddening Sphere on your back. You are only half-way to safety when the Sphere explodes. Your weakened friend is lucky - but you set struck on the head by a lump of rock; deduct 4 points from your STAMINA. If you are still alive, turn to 321.

Good thing we healed up a little before, or that'd have killed us. Still, 4 STAMINA loss when we're only "halfway to safety" is surprisingly tame, actually.

Aliades, the man you have helped from the Sphere, says he can tell you a great deal about Zeverin, the wizard who created it, and his purpose. "He's a very powerful wizard. He's hundreds of years old, and he has reincamated himself through many lives of power and evil. It would not have been him inside the Sphere in person, only an illusion, and he will be alive yet and scheming. The knowledge he has gained over centuries he has put to work in the service of Demonkind. The Sphere was built to test whether his ideas would work, and it's clear that they do. The great Tower he plans to make by magic will be a much more terrible artefact.

"The Tower will fly as the Sphere does, bur it will rain fire, choking smoke and acid for kilometres around. But that will be the least of its powers of destruction. As the Tower gains in strength and power it will cut a swathe of death, which will allow Zeverin to open up a great necromantic highway to the plane of the Demon Lords. The hordes of the hells will pour forth and utterly annihilate every living thing in Allansia." Aliades is silent, to let this sink in. "Then the Old World, then Khul, then all of Titan. Zeverin is mad;
he thinks Sith and her henchman, Relem, will reward him for this service. They will just leave him until last, that's all."

"How do you know all this?" you ask Aliades quietly. His eyes are cast down, looking away from you.

"I was fooled into becoming his apprentice. I didn't realize what his experiments with flying structures and buildings really meant, and by the time I did, it was too late. But it isn't too late to stop him altogerher." Painfully he struggles to his feet. "Time is very short. Zeverin will soon learn that I'm not dead. We must go," and he mutters the syllables and phrases of a spell as his hand grips your arm.

A named companion in an FF gamebook! How many sections will he last?

Your surroundings change very suddenly, as does the temperature. Instead of being out of doors in frozen terrain under a slate-grey sky, you find yourself in a pleasant study. "Brr, cold in here," says Aliades and snaps his fingers; a fire bursts into life in the formerly empty grate. Another wave of the hand, a pitcher of mulled wine is on the table, together with the bread and cheese and cold meat. You can eat as much as you wish while you rest here, enough to return your STAMINA to its full Initial level.

Aliades finds a map and sits down to pore over it with you. "I can think of only one way to stop Zeverin in the time you have left. You'll have to go to the Ice Palace. It's nearly eighty kilometres to the north-east." You look over the map and memorize its contents. "It's the resting place of the Ice Elves, their last great mausoleum, sculpted from pure ice by Elokinan. There were always three great Elves in their numbers: the Clan Chief, the High Mage and the Architect, the sculptor of their homes and lives. Elokinan played all three roles, and he was among the very last of his people.

There is magic in the Ice Palace which you will have to find and take. There may be clues too, for Zeverin studied under Elokinan in one of his past lives. You'll need what you may find in the tombs there - but you'll have to be wary of offending the spirits of their dead." Aliades suddenly looks very tired. "Time to rest now," he says; you're half asleep yourself. At least you can sleep safely tonight.

Sounds very much like your typical run-of-the-mill Titan-based evil wizard thus far. The flying buildings are novel I guess, but I really don't see how it's a particularly brilliant idea compared to other "destroy the world" schemes.

STAMINA is back to full, so he's at least more than paid us back for the 4-point loss we took in the process of saving him.

If we didn't save this guy and also didn't meet the Snow Owl, it would have been a game over as we have no idea how to find Zeverin after we destroy the Sphere. If we let the guy die in the Sphere but did meet the Owl, it'd come and direct us to the Ice Palace (after it scolds us for selfishly leaving a human to die - and of course, us taking HONOUR loss - but without the lengthy background exposition Aliades gave, and also without the full restore, of course). We'd also take longer to get to Ice Palace without the benefit of Aliades' teleportation spell.

You are woken at dawn by a tottery Aliades. His breath is coming in ragged gasps and he can barely stand, yet he has just finished casting a spell on you, and he thrusts a vial, labelled 'Potion of Stamina', into your hand. This single potion can be drunk at any time, except during a combat, and it will restore STAMINA points equal to one-half of your Initial STAMINA score, rounding fractions up. Then he made falls to the ground.

You get out of bed and light a lamp. Aliades is dea, his body afflicted by a terrible withering disease. You know somehow that Zeverin has had his revenge - and you can only be thankful that, for some reason, he hasn't been able to strike at you too. You gather your gear together and say a quiet prayer for poor Aliades. Then you fill your backpack with the Provisions he put out for you up to its full carrying capacity (10 meals). You step outside - and again you are somewhere else, this time in the middle of an ice tundra. Remembering the map Aliades showed you, you guess you are about half way to the Ice Palace; this must be the effect of Aliades' final spell, you surmise.

And in grand FF companion tradition, our new companion is dead within 2 sections! At least he also restocked our Provisions before he goes.

The landscape here is still hilly, but in the distance a plateau is clearly visible ahead of you. The wind is whirling little flurries of snow about. The sky is as blue and as clear as you have ever seen in your life, and the rays of the winter sun, lacking warmth, reflect from the snow and ice and half blind you. This may be why you don't see the Skyriders until the flapping of their mounts' wings are close by. You look around, startled, to see two barbarians of a kind you don't know clambering down from what look like large, thick-haired Pegasi to see who is entering their land. They say they are Skyriders of the Frostwind tribes; they are carrying large axes and knives and they look strong and fierce. you don't want to fight such powerful warriors. unless you have to! Do you have a bronze medallion? If you have, turn to 152. If you haven't turn to 177.

We don't have the medallion....

There's actually a minor bug involving this object, although it's not gamebreaking. I think we needed to encounter the "White Dragon" earlier to have picked this up. Anyway, the bug is that this particular encounter is unavoidable no matter which path we took earlier, and we will always lose the medallion here if we have it (it's a holy item belonging to this tribe), as we exchange the medallion for either food or brandy (and also some hint about an upcoming encounter). There's no option to keep the medallion, but somehow we can still get checked for this item much later in the game.

The barbarians don't threaten you, but they don't seem to be favourably disposed when you speak of being on a quest. "Another one on a quest," mutters one of them, "like the one last week. Trampled by a mammoth, he was. Don't expect any different for you." Clearly he is unimpressed by you. But at least they aren't hostile, and they are prepared to sell you food: 1 Gold Piece will buy enough for 2 meals, and they will see up to 3 Gold Pieces' worth. If you buy, adjust your Treasure and Provisions accordingly. Then the barbarians fly off.

We can't carry any more meals, so no deal made here.

After a further two hours or so, you hear some howling and snarling, and a scream echoes from behind some rocks to your south. Obviously, an unpleasant fight is going on there, with a lot of creatures - which sound as if they could be wolves - involved. Will you dash off an enter the fray or sneak quietly past and keep going on you way?

Finally, a choice! Do we want to get involved in some fight potentially involving wolves?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jefferson Tallpipe
SKILL 12/12 (13 for next combat)
STAMINA 24/24
LUCK 10/12
Honour: 8
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Lantern, Backpack, Blanket, Climbing Gear, Tasrin's Ring, Potion of Stamina x2 (restores 1/2 of Initial STAMINA), Crowbar, Bag of Salt, Crossbow (w/ 10 bolts), Magic Sword
Gold: 3
Provisions: 10/10

[angelfromanotherpin]

Enter the fray!