[Let's Play] Blood Sword II - The Kingdom of Wyrd

[Shiritai]

Listen to his story.

[SGamerz]

The old knight is well into his story and will not let you get away lightly now. After a long tale about how the Lady in Grey lured his three brothers into a trap in which they were all slain, he tells you that her tower is but a league south of here. His voice quakes with emotion as he speaks of her: 'Truly she is a demon in mortal guise. No earthly woman could be so lovely, yet nurture such evil in her breast. Now, will you help me in my quest?'

If there is a Warrior in your party, turn to 125. If you agree to help the old man, turn to 164. If you don't want to help him, turn to 207.

OMG, a special Warrior section! Without being override by other characters!

WARRIOR:

Your duty as one of the warrior caste is clear: 'Truly, noble sir,' you swear, 'this demon woman will account for her misdeeds.' You make an oath for yourself, and also on behalf of any of your comrades. They may or may not be too happy about you involving them, but the old man is overjoyed: 'For ten years no one has taken up my quest, although many have heard my tale. Truly you are the bravest of the brave.'

....really? The Warrior finally gets to do something, and all she does is railroad her companions into accepting a quest without a choice?

Maybe she's deliberately taking her revenge for them hogging the spotlight all the time.

Varadaxor is overjoyed that you will aid him. Through tears he says: 'Let us ride now together. The Lady in Grey will look upon the setting sun today with lifeless eyes!'

He gets up out of his chair and hobbles off, returning soon while buckling on his harness. Though he is frail, good cheer makes him sprightly. He calls to the innkeeper to saddle his horse - an aged but still powerful beast with a fierce glint in its eye - and soon you are heading south.

The dew shimmers in the pre-dawn light. A few birds are singing from the hedgerows. You pass a group of peasants beginning their hard day's toil in the fields. Varadaxor, as lightly as if he were riding to a fair rather than a deadly battle, regales you with stories of his youth, and it seems almost no time before you reach the tower. 'Now the grim task is upon us,' says Varadaxor. 'May the souls of my three noble brothers see our deed this day, and may the Mother of God grant that our courage is strong.'

The sides of the tower are choked with ivy, and dusty skulls lie by the open portcullis. You enter cautiously, treading with great stealth up a flight of stairs until you enter a low chamber. It is still filled with gloom, as the sun has not yet risen to shine through the narrow windows. As your eyes become accustomed to the dim light you see a woman sitting on a marble throne at the end of the room. An empty suit of armour stands to either side of her. Her hair is stark white and her skin, for all that she has the features of a young woman, is stony grey. She turns her gaze upon you - a thrilling stare, like the look that a hawk gives its prey. She starts to rise ...

The first pink rays of the morning sun wash the room. As the light touches her, the Lady in Grey stops as though frozen rigid.

'She is petrified by the light of dawn!' cries Varadaxor triumphantly. 'We must seize our chance and slay her now.' He jumps forwards, sword upraised, but suddenly stops moving himself. He stands beside the Lady in Grey, sword-edge poised a mere arm's length from her neck, frozen as stock still as she is.

Straight to the boss-fight already? The authors certainly don't waste any extra sections with sidequests.

The Lady in Grey is frozen by the sun's light, but she can still work her sorcery. She struck Varadaxor motionless by magic before his death-stroke could descend. You look at her, noticing now that her gaze still roves the room although she is unable to move her limbs.

Her voice enters your mind: 'Depart my tower at once and I shall permit you to live. Refuse, and all the forces of the netherworld will be unleashed against you.'

If you do as she says, turn to 394. If you refuse to leave without Varadaxor, turn to 421.

Do we abandon the knight?

[Starmaker]

Refuse to leave. I trust the book to be better than having the Warrior's only special option so far be full of fail. We'll lose the right to complain if we expect the book to suck, act accordingly, and suffer because of that.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Let's help out our ally/quest-giver and stand against the Grey Lady. I can exorcise her if needed.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Pff, I refuse to believe she has access to worse netherworld forces than we've already defeated. Leaving now probably just gets us cursed in the back.

[Shiritai]

It's not time for knight-fall; stay with the old man.

I'll also call to mind Sheet Lightning and Nemesis Bolt.

[SGamerz]

Her eyes flash with hot anger. 'So be it!' she snarls telepathically. The two empty suits of armour beside her throne suddenly heft their spears, then move forwards with clanking footsteps to attack you.




Suits of Armour
Fighting Prowess: 7 Psychic Ability: 9
Awareness: 4 Damage per blow: 3 Dice
Armour Rating: 5
Endurance: 21

Varadaxor cannot move. Neither can the Lady in Grey, and although you can direct spells and blows at her she is well defended by her sorcerous wards.

The Lady in Grey
Psychic Ability: 9
Armour Rating: 4
Endurance: 20

If you cast any spell at her, turn at once to 514. If you kill her, turn to 9. If you flee, turn to 193.

Is this the extent of the ""all the forces of the netherworld" she spoke of? Two animated armour? Hardly as impressive as it sounds, huh?

Strategies?

[angelfromanotherpin]

That 'any spell' line makes me nervous. Maybe it's just spell resistance, but it might have some sort of reflect or similar effect. In any case, wow, does anything in these books do less than 2d damage? A warrior's armor edge is basically cosmetic.

Focus fire on the armor that's adjacent to the Trickster, focus on the second when the first goes down, then chip away at the lady.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I'm down with Angel's plan.

[Shiritai]

I'll cast Nemesis Bolt on the highest endurance suit, and then Sheet Lightning if it doesn't trip the Lady's wards. Then I'll ready and cast Swordthrust at the remaining suit. If combat continues after that, I'll ready and cast Eye of the Tiger and cheer on the rest of my party.

[Starmaker]

3d6 and armor rating what? And Awareness 4. These are puzzle monsters if I ever saw one, which is why we should exploit the shit out of the combat rules. Specifically, the noncasters should run around the room aggroing the suits and retreating from melee while Reed kills the suits with Nemesis Bolts (also retreating if a suit gets close), for as many rounds as needed. Then, after both suits are down, we stab the chick in melee.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Oo, I didn't see that Awareness 4. I'm down to kite.

[SGamerz]

First off....Sheet Lightning (and other Mass-target spells) will count as casting a spell at the Lady.

Next....if you guys are going to focus on the Armour, then the fight is over once you've beaten them, because the Lady can't move or fight back, so she can't stop you from whittling down her END once her goons are dead. She doesn't even have an Awareness or FP stat, so there's no point rolling for combat if she's the only foe left.

Also, regarding abusing the low Awareness of the armour.....as mentioned before, the GM (me) determines the strategy of the enemies. I've not deviated from the standard NPC strategy of "targeting the guy that's closest to you" so far, because usually I think that's the logical way combatants will react in a fight. In the chaos of a melee, most fighters will probably make do with whichever target that is available close at hand. But if you're just going to play the obvious retreating game, I think it would be logical for the Lady, who's controlling her Armour, to direct them to attack the Enchanter (forcing him to run and disrupting his spellcasting) to counter your strategy once she sees what's happening.

I will not object if you guys decide to rotate between your melee guys and have 1 of them stay close at a time to distract both suits of armour, but having everyone just run away is a little too obvious a plot for me.....

[angelfromanotherpin]

Hm, how about this?

1. #1 moves one square east, #2 moves one square south.
2. Enchanter bolts, likely taking out one suit.
3. When the surviving suit moves adj to the Enchanter, they'll also be engaging #1 or #2.
4. Engaged person Defends while Enchanter withdraws to the SE corner.
5. The two free adventurers move to N and W of the Enchanter, forming a barrier.
6. The surviving suit either swings at the defender or moves to engage one of the Enchanter's meat shields.
7. Enchanter readies new bolt. Anyone adjacent to the suit moves away.
8. Suit moves to engage someone.
9. Enchanter bolts remaining suit.

Obviously there are some low-probability fail points, but it gives them a minimum of swings.

[Starmaker]

Round 1:
Tanks retreat.
Enchanter casts Nemesis Bolt (maybe loses Sheet Lightning before so as to increase chances of NB working).
Suit(s) reengage with the tanks.

Round 2:
Tanks retreat again.
Enchanter preps Nemesis Bolt.
Suit(s) preferentially engage Enchanter.

Round 3, best case:
Tanks play Smash Bros.
Enchanter casts Nemesis Bolt. The second suit dies.

If it takes longer than that and the suit(s) start actually chasing Reed around, the tanks will stay close to each suit, Defending and landing free hits if the suits disengage.

Edit:
There's no delaying in this system. We can't form a barrier unless SGamerz allows the Warrior or the Sage to act after the Enchanter but before the suits (given that all three have Awareness 6 and "act simultaneously").

[angelfromanotherpin]

There's no delaying in this system. We can't form a barrier unless SGamerz allows the Warrior or the Sage to act after the Enchanter but before the suits (given that all three have Awareness 6 and "act simultaneously").

I don't get the problem. If they're all moving simultaneously, there's no reason they'd get in each other's way.

[SGamerz]

That sounds reasonable to me, although Moving isn't limited to a square, so let's try this with some minor modifications:

COMBAT LOG:

Round 1 ... FIGHT!

Trickster retreats and moves to 2 squares west of Enchanter (if Armour goes for Enchanter from the west, it also engages the Trickster).

Warrior moves to NE square from Enchanter (he will engage any Armour that approaches Enchanter from north or east.

Sage Moves behind Enchanter to guard his back (just in case the Lady decides to circle Armour around to the back).

Enchanter dismisses Sheet Lightning from mind and attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt on Suit #1. Roll = 6+5 = 11. (Success!) Damage = 25+7-5 = 27. Suit #1 is destroyed.

Suit #2 Moves to west of Enchanter (I determined his direction via random die roll), engaging him and the Trickster.

Round 2

Trickster defends.

Warrior and Sage move towards the SE part of the room.

Enchanter move to the corner.

Suit #2 fights Trickster. Roll = 13 + 1 = 14. (Miss)

Quick Thinking bonus

Trickster fights Suit #2. Roll = 12. (Miss)

Round 3

Trickster and Warrior arrange themselves in the corner to shield the Enchanter.

Enchanter prepares Nemesis Bolt.

Suit #2 Moves to engage Warrior.

Round 4

Trickster waits.

Warrior defends.

Sage waits.

Enchanter attempts to cast Nemesis Bolt on Suit #2. Roll = 8+5 = 13. (Success!) Damage = 28+7-5 = 30. Suit #2 is destroyed.

The Lady can't defend herself and is cut down

As the Lady in Grey dies, the suits of armour slowly fall apart. Each metal section strikes the floor with a mournful knell, and rust spreads across them as you watch.

Varadaxor groans, shaking his head to clear it. He rubs his limbs as if they were cold, and slowly walks over to the body.

Btw, casting a spell at her.....

...is and insta-win. She will deflect the spell, but it ruins her concentration on holding Varadaxor still and he just completes his killing-stroke on her.

I believe most first-time players would have been scared off by that special section for targeting spells at her...myself included.

You look in horror as the grey dust spills from the woman's head over the floor. Varadaxor manages a smile, however: 'Now my brothers' souls may rest in peace,' he says, spitting for emphasis into the pile of dust.

If you wish to leave the room now, turn to 406. If you would like to search it, despite the ominous grey dust, turn to 311.

Do we want to dig through her dusty remains?

EDIT: Oops, I missed the last 2 posts while I was writing up my own post. Well, angel's idea (with some modifications) worked out fine.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Search. I would like the sidequest loot, and I'm not scared of dust.

[Starmaker]

Aargh. The book has trolled us.

Search the room.

I don't get the problem. If they're all moving simultaneously, there's no reason they'd get in each other's way.

Being able to act "whenever" within one initiative count presents a distinct discontinuous advantage in this one edge case, so there might be a rule prohibiting it in the book. If I were coding a vidya, I'd have made same-Awareness characters move according to the party marching order and before the monsters. I don't actually expect it to be much of a zomg!hax, because most of the fights requiring advanced strategies will feature higher-Awareness opposition which costs Endurance to retreat from.

[SGamerz]

Being able to act "whenever" within one initiative count presents a distinct discontinuous advantage in this one edge case, so there might be a rule prohibiting it in the book. If I were coding a vidya, I'd have made same-Awareness characters move according to the party marching order and before the monsters.

The way I ran the combat, the party did move in the Battle Order sequence, but since the Armour took one round to take a swing at the Trickster while they were engaged, the party has more than enough time to re-arrange themselves before the Armour reaches them. Also the Trickster could have used his Quick Thinking bonus move to get into shielding position if necessary.

The main thing that could have gone badly is if the Armour got really lucky and somehow got a killing blow on the Trickster.

You contemptuously flick aside the covering of dust on your boots and stride over to the ivory throne. You think this would be a likely hiding-place for any treasure. You quickly find a catch on the base of it and, pushing it back, you discover that the whole throne hits over to reveal a descending passageway. Lighting a torch, you see that the walls of the passage are painted with scenes depicting the worship of foul demons. You descend the steps, which wind downwards for a long way. Finally you are confronted by two doors; in front of them squats a small toad-like demon with a broad grin.

If you wish to attack the demon, turn to 69. If you would prefer to talk to it, turn to 139.

Do you want to kill the cute little toad-thing?

[Starmaker]

I'll just save everyone time:
"If I had asked you which of these two doors leads to certain doom, what would you have said?"

[Darth Rabbitt]

^This.

[SGamerz]

'You may have killed my mistress,' the small creature says. 'But I am still bound by her command. One of these two doors leads to her treasure, the other to a grisly fate. In order to find which is the right door, you will have to answer this riddle:

'Sharper than steel,
Softer than cloth,
Brighter than emeralds,
Yet a thing with no value.'

Once you have decided what answer you will give to the demon's riddle (only one answer is allowed per party), write in on a piece of paper and turn to 171. If you feel you have no time to waste on riddles and ought to attack the creature right away, turn to 69.

As the text says, only one answer allowed for the whole party, so you need to reach a consensus on this....

[angelfromanotherpin]

Hm, when I hear sharp and soft, I think tongue - but tongues aren't bright and definitely have value. A sound can be sharp and soft and of no value, but is difficult to describe as bright. Eyes fits the first three, but...

Maybe light? It could be said to be of no value, and can be sharp or soft (though rarely both at the same time). Seems kind of weak...

[Shiritai]

The "no value" part... must be talking about monetary value. Sunlight maybe? You can't buy that, and it ties into the Lady in Grey's weakness. Yeah, sharp to the eyes, soft to the body, and certainly bright.