[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 57 - Magehunter

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 1:50 pm

Go shopping, pity we can't find someone to deal with bullet wounds anymore.

Queen of Swords · Post by **Queen of Swords** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 3:07 pm

Shopping spree.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 3:16 pm

Shopping, maybe the doctor is an option from that page

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 4:52 pm

My vote is to go shopping and see if we can get basic supplies to replace the ones that we lost before we entered the portal.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 4:11 am

I think it's time for a shopping spree.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Oct 17, 2020 3:27 am

The market contains many things which may be of use to you. However, prices here are outrageous. You may buy items only if you have enough money - if you do, cross it off the Adventure Sheet. If you have some jewellery, you may use it to buy any one article. Cross it off your Adventure Sheet if you use it in this way.

You may buy more than one of any item if you wish. you may also buy things and give them to a companion, if you have one. Ten Silver Pieces (sp) are worth one Gold Piece (gp).

Candles, 12 - 1sp
Cloak, fine silk - 18 gp
Clothing, undyed - 2gp
Dagger - 1gp
Gloves, leather - 4gp
Lantern - 3gp
Mirror, small - 5sp
Provisions (each meal) 5sp
Rope, hemp, 10 metres - 7gp
Sword (heavy, wide and curved) 40gp

If you have a crystal goblet, you can offer it in exchange for one item. If you do this, turn to 272. Once you have made your purchases, if you have 'Kurt' written down on your Adventure Sheet, turn to 304. If you have a ruby ring, turn to 130. Otherwise, continue your search by turning to 198.

Sadly, no vizier's discount for us. We can't even afford the cloak or the sword here. BTW, this reminds me: there was one point that I forgot to bring up during the introduction - if we enter a combat without a weapon, we suffer a -2 penalty to our Attack Strength (given our current low SKILL, that's really bad). Right now, we're still relying on that rapier Reinhardt's carrying.

The only item that we can "replenish" the stock after losing our initial equipment are the mirrors and the provisions, and thankfully those are cheap enough that they're more than affordable.

What do we buy with our 10gp (if anything)?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jaime Van Ginyu
SKILL 5/5
STAMINA 13/13
LUCK 10/11
Money: 10 Gold Pieces
Equipment: Rapier, Fine Red Clothes, Silver bullet, Rope of Human Hair,
Provisions: 0
Codewords: basic kal,

Companion (Switched)
SKILL 5/5
STAMINA 8/8
Equipment: Undyed clothes, Vizier's Robe

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Sat Oct 17, 2020 5:26 am

My vote is to buy 12 mirrors (the same number that we started out with), a dagger, and 2 Provisions. This will cost us 8 gp, leaving us with 2 gp, which hopefully is enough to pay a doctor to deal with our bullet wound.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:34 am

That seems reasonable.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:05 pm

Undyed clothes, leather gloves and some light source all jump out as valuable to me too. I'd humor 1 fewer provision or 4 fewer mirrors to try to get some of that (especially undyed clothes).

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:44 am

JourneymanN00b's shopping list wins by 2 votes to 1. Moving on...

How do you plan to track the wizard?

Draw a Holy Symbol?
Make enquiries in the town?
Train a dog?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jaime Van Ginyu
SKILL 5/5
STAMINA 13/13
LUCK 10/11
Money: 2 Gold Pieces
Equipment: Rapier, Fine Red Clothes, Silver bullet, Rope of Human Hair,
Provisions: 2
Codewords: basic kal,

Companion (Switched)
SKILL 5/5
STAMINA 8/8
Equipment: Undyed clothes, Vizier's Robe, 12 Mirrors, Dagger

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 7:45 am

My vote is to draw a Holy Symbol, since the consensus seems to be that Mencius is still considered to be a sorcerer who is inhabiting our own body.

Making inquiries to the town might alert Mencius to our presence, and training a dog takes a week for it to sniff out wizards, according to the Most Revered Treatise of Mage Hunting.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 8:10 am

Holy symbol.

I guess we were unable to salvage the burst-out-of undyed clothes from our original body.

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:55 am

Drawing a holy symbol seems like it should be simple and easy to do, try that.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:41 pm

Draw a holy symbol.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 2:59 pm

Yeah, holy symbol seems most expedient.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:11 pm

Omegonthesane wrote:I guess we were unable to salvage the burst-out-of undyed clothes from our original body.

What? Where was that implied?

You find a quiet back-alley and scratch the Holy Symbol in the dirt. After composing yourself for a while, you pick up a pebble and toss it into the circle. Now that you have some idea as to which direction to follow, you walk along the alley to its end and arrive at...the town wall. According to your divination, the sorcerer is to be found outside the town. Hurrying to the gate, you leave the strange settlement, moving in the direction indicated by the pebble. After several hours, the light fades; you have still detected no trace of Mencius. You settle down for a hard night. Your body aches and you quickly drift off to sleep. If you have a wizard's pouch, turn to 286. If you have a Shauca or Sneeka Scar, turn to 150. Otherwise, turn to 341.

We have none of the items (or scars).

The chaos nears its end...your lungs are bursting...Mencius turns his head and sees you...a silver bullet from your pistol brings him crashing down..."I curse you to the end of eternity...to the end of eternity...to the end of eternity...to the end...

You wake up, to find yourself lying in a comfortable bed, staring up into brown eyes.

"Forgive me for hypnotizing you," says their owner. "It was necessary in order to cast the spell which places our language into your mind." You start to reply, then realize the implications of what he has said. Note down the word 'kal' on your Adventure Sheet (if you already have 'basic kal', erase 'basic'). He continues, "I have also learnt something about your mission. The foe you pursued through the dimensional portal into our land - the Chaos Mage, Mencius - is a great danger. His power is such that I can sense his presence in this land - and day by day he is growing stronger!"

This is a most confusing development. This man is clearly a sorcerer, yet he is like no other you have ever met. In your years as a magehunter you have found you can almost feel the malice exuded by a mage. Could it be that there are some wizards who are not evil? Surely not, since magic is the gift of the evil one. And yet...

"By the way," says your unusual host, "my name is Khasim the Unowrthy. Anything that is within my power to help you in your mission, I will do." If you have the shackles key, turn to 180. If you have Shauca Scarm turn to 367. Otherwise, turn to 396.

Still no items, or scars (except possibly one in the stomach)....

"Yes!" Reinhardt pipes up. "There's something you must do for me." If the box marked 'Switch' on your Adventure Sheet is ticked, turn to 266; otherwise, turn to 133.

"Catch the treacherous rogue who brought me here! I want him flayed alive - you hear me? Flayed alive!" Reinhardt has lost little of his arrogance, it seems. He appears to have learnt no humility, despite the fact that it was his foolishness which caused this mess in the first place. Luckily, Khasim seems more concerned with your wound. Brushing aside Reinhardt's blathering, he takes a tiny jar of powder out of a small pouch, recites a short chant, and places his hand on your stomach. A wave of well-being comes over you. For the first time since you switched bodies with Reinhardt, the pain from your bullet wound completely disappears. In the Companion box of your Adventure Sheet, erase any current entries for STAMINA and SKILL and enter the values SKILL 6, STAMINA 12. Also erase the 'Shauca Scar' if you have it on your Adventure Sheet.

And we're finally in a (slightly) stronger state than Reinhardt! This is probably better than anything a doctor in that town could have done.

The doctor would only manage to restore our STAMINA to 10 (but we do still gain the SKILL raise).

However, there was still a point to picking the doctor first (we would still have the chance to learn language from Al-Bakbuk after that), depending on which route we pick after we leave Al-Bakbuk's house. It was potentially possible for us to die of exertion on one of the routes if our bullet-wound was left untreated for too long. Fortunately, Khasim takes care of both the wound and the language in this route.

"I can help you in several ways," says Khasim. "First, I can give you some protection from his magic." He hands you and amulet with a chain to go round your neck (note down the Magic Amulet on you Adventure Sheet). "I don't guarantee that it'll protect you completely, but it should help against a direct attack. Secondly, I can advise you to be careful. Because our world is so rich in magic, Mencius's power is growing daily. He will no doubt already have gained some knowledge of Kallamehr. Finally," he says, unfurling a short, luridly patterned carpet. "I can get you to Kallamehr quickly and secretly...We fly in thirty minutes!" Turn to 353 if you have any of the following noted down on your Adventure Sheet: turban, Vizier's Robe, Al-Bakbuk's Glass, or Kurt. If you have none of them, turn to 188.

Finally, an item check that we passed!

Khasim's cryptic remark remains a mystery for thirty minutes, during which time he urges you to rest and prepare for the journey. He points out that Mencius has been in Kallamehr for a couple of days already, but that you will be able to evade detection on entering the city. Finally, he bids you prepare for departure. He carries the carpet out of the cave into the fresh air of the valley. If you have a shackles key, turn to 56; otherwise, turn to 227.

...and promptly fails the next one!

Reinhardt complains when Khasim lays the carpet on the ground and tells him to get on it. It's true that you too feel a little foolish, but if you don't trust Khasim a little, you won't be able to get anywhere. Finally, you are all on the carpet, sitting down. With barely a jolt the carpet floats up into the air. Reinhardt lets out a shriek of fear but, without giving him a chance to speak, Khasim says, "To Kallamehr!" and you shoot off with the speed of a diving falcon, the air buffeting your face and making your scalp prickle.

Finally, a choice! Well, not directly, but we now have the hidden option to switch bodies with Reinhardt again. Sadly, we only got that opportunity after our current body's stats are actually now better than his (Our SKILL is now 1 point higher, and his slightly higher STAMINA - also 1 point - isn't quite enough to compensate for that)! Still, the choice is there, so it's up for vote (and I need a break anyway). Do we want to switch?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Jaime Van Ginyu
SKILL 5/5
STAMINA 13/13
LUCK 10/11
Money: 2 Gold Pieces
Equipment: Rapier, Fine Red Clothes, Silver bullet, Rope of Human Hair,
Provisions: 2
Codewords: kal,

Companion (Switched)
SKILL 6/6
STAMINA 12/12
Equipment: Undyed clothes, Vizier's Robe, 12 Mirrors, Dagger, Magic Amulet

Thaluikhain · Post by **Thaluikhain** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:36 pm

Oh, I remember this bit.

Higher skill seems a good reason to stay as we are.

(Also, obviously we shouldn't attack the mage despite being a magehunter, but not so sure our character would think so)

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:19 pm

The extra STAMINA isn't worth the lower SKILL. Let Reinhardt keep his body.

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:31 pm

Agreed, stay in our own higher SKILL body

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:41 pm

My vote will be not to switch, as Jamie Van Ginyu's current body has the higher SKILL, which is the most important right now.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:48 pm

Thaluikhain wrote:(Also, obviously we shouldn't attack the mage despite being a magehunter, but not so sure our character would think so)

Depending on which path we took to meet him, it's possible for the PC to be given the choice to attack the mage (and yes, possibly successfully kill him).

The journey lasts but a few minutes. Thanks to the carpet beneath you and the clouds which surround you, you see nothing of the country over which you are travelling. Finally, you spiral downwards, landing gently on a flat roof in a large city.

"I covered our approach with a charm of invisibility, but if I remain here for any length of time, Mencius may detect me and flee," says Khasim. "So I will wish you the luck of Hazah, and depart." So saying, he floats up into the air once more. The carpet dwindles in the distance at an unbelievable speed. You rest a moment to steady your legs, then descend by some stone steps to the busy street.

The city comprises a dazzling variety of buildings, most of which are unlike any you've seen before. The people show a similar variety: although hair and skin tend to be dark coloured, there are people here of all heights and sizes, rich and poor, gentle and fierce-looking. There are even some strange creatures who don't seem to be human at all. All this variety doesn't make your task any easier. If you have a ruby ring, turn to 57. If you haven't but you do have a scar (Sneeka or Shauca) or the word 'abandoned' written down, turn to 199. Otherwise, turn to 241.

Still not having the checked item or scars...

If you have three crosses marked on your Adventure Sheet and do not have the word 'home' written there, cross off the word 'early' if you have it, and turn to 194. If you have the word 'fame' underlined on the Sheet, turn to 383. If you have the word 'fame' but it is not underlined, underline it now. If you have five or more crosses on your Adventure Sheet, write down the word 'fame' if it is not there already. Otherwise you should choose which of the following actions you wish to take. Will you:

Approach the authorities (you must have 'kal')?
Make enquiries and hunt for clues...
...if you have 'kal'?
...if you have 'basic kal'?
...otherwise?
Look for a storyteller (you must have 'kal' or 'basic kal')?
Use magehunting methods?
Go to the market?

If you have somewhere to stay, you may turn to that paragraph. Or, if you know where Mencius is, you may go there now if you wish.

Our knowing the local language opens up a few extra actions.

Anyway, this city, as Khasim mentioned, is Kallameher. Those who participated in or read the LP topic for the Riddling Reaver RPG will be familiar with that name. This book is set way after that story, however. The baron ruler of the city was murdered by the Riddling Reaver and his wife Lady Carolina took over the position...and sadly she, too was murdered in another book also set before this one (FF32, also by Paul Mason). Not a peaceful city to rule, apparently (even whomever that succeeded Lady Carolina at the end of that book is apparently no longer the ruler now, as we may find out in certain paths...and it hasn't been that long either, since another character in that book is still alive and may appear in this one). And current events probably doesn't help, since I doubt Mencius intends to just hide and live peacefully for the rest of his life.

Anyway, how do we start our hunt?

JourneymanN00b · Post by **JourneymanN00b** » Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:08 pm

My vote is to find a storyteller, as Jamie Van Ginyu was told to find the storyteller Al-Haddar by his brother if we reached Kallamehr.

NOTE: I recently changed my vote after looking at the previous pages. Anyone saying "I agree" should double-check.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Tue Oct 20, 2020 6:17 pm

Agreed with journeymannoob's updated suggestion to find a storyteller

pragma · Post by **pragma** » Tue Oct 20, 2020 8:32 pm

Look for a storyteller, good catch Journeyman

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Wed Oct 21, 2020 2:03 am

Seek out Al-Haddar.