[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 23 - Masks of Mayhem!

[pragma]

Grab the shaft while there's still time and rattle it around until stuff falls out.

[JourneymanN00b]

and to eat a Provision.

I just want to be sure...you do remember that we won't be reaping the full benefits of Provisions until we find a new water flask, right?

Yes, at this moment I would like to confirm my vote to eat a Provision despite not getting the full STAMINA boost. This is because I feel that 10-11 STAMINA is too low for King Arthur's comfort. If there are any objections, I would be fine withdrawing this particular vote.

I also vote to investigate the shaft.

[angelfromanotherpin]

This book's rep suggests that we're far more likely to die from bullshit insta-kill than slightly-inefficient provision management.

Work the shaft.

[SGamerz]

And now we might have rabies from the rat-bite. Or did that happen in a different FF book?

You may be thinking of FF13 (Freeway Fighter), although since it's 1 of the Sci-fi books, I find it unlikely to be confused with this one. I wouldn't be surprised if it has happened in any other books that I do not recall at the moment.

We eat a meal and restore STAMINA to 13 before approaching the shaft...

When you peer down the shaft, you can see a series of wooden rungs set into the smooth stone side and disappearing into darkness. A stale smell from the depths of the mine assails your nostrils. Will you go down or not? If not, you leave the area. If you go down, you can either trust to the ladder or, if you have a rope, you can tie it to a sturdy-looking beam and let yourself down.

Since we didn't pick up a rope (what, we don't even have the budget for one of these before we left our kingdom?), our choices are again limited to investigating or leaving. Although it might not sound like a wise move, I'm surprised we're not given the option to just try jumping down.

Adventure Sheet:

Name: King Arthur Anric
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 13/15
LUCK 9/9
Equipment: Sword, Leather Armor, Backpack, Potion of Fortune (+1 to Initial LUCK, restores LUCK to new Initial value), Helmet, sorrels, Iron Sceptre ("There should be just one ruler")
Provisions: 9 (only restores 3 STAMINA each until new water flask is found)
Notes: 1) When allowed to call on Galrin's help, turn to section 100.

[angelfromanotherpin]

In rod we trust. Or in this case two long rods joined by several short rods.

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is trust to the ladder.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, penetrate the hole and all. If the ladder fails, I guess we penetrate it at speed, so still kinda a win.

[Queen of Swords]

You may be thinking of FF13 (Freeway Fighter), although since it's 1 of the Sci-fi books, I find it unlikely to be confused with this one.

Oh, that's right, the ending where you get the shipment to the city but die alone in the wilderness thanks to the disease.

And yes, let's try the ladder.

[pragma]

I'm very leery of this ladder, and suspect it's an instakill if we don't have rope, but I'm thoroughly outvoted at this point.

[SGamerz]

The rungs of the ladder remain secure for quite a way down. By this time, you can hear dripping below you, and the dank smell is strong, so you must be getting close to the bottom. But the increased dampness, you find, has rotted the rungs: they get more and more wobbly, and then end altogether. You look down and can see the bottom, but cannot judge exactly how far it is; and the shaft is too wide for you to chimney out again, so once you're down, there will be no exit unless you can find one in the mine itself. Will you climb back out, or let yourself go into space?

Well, I guess the choice to jump (or drop) down is there after all.

Do we go all in for this penetration?

[Darth Rabbitt]

Hmm, I suspect that since we don't have the blue option we'd end up trapped down here or missing something good. So I'd suggest that we climb back out.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, jump into the hole with no way out? Maybe not the best idea, suggest climbing back out.

[JourneymanN00b]

Hold on a sec, the passage says "so once you're down, there will be no exit unless you can find one in the mine itself." So that means that there must be an exit and something good down the mine, as there have been too many movies and stories where such a situation was the case.

My vote is to let King Arthur go into space. I'm sure we can find the said exit.

[Queen of Swords]

There has to be more than one way in or out of that mine (I hope). So let's go into space.

[Thaluikhain]

I'll change my vote to half a vote if it will avoid a tie.

[SGamerz]

Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 124; if you are Unlucky, turn to 18.

Dice roll = 7 (Lucky).

You land safely.

Mr Waterfield isn't a fan of lengthy or detailed descriptions. Which explains why no less then 2 of his gamebooks are known to have the most underwhelming ultimate victory sections (both with only a single sentence).

You pick yourself up and look around. Misses and lichens have sprouted on the floor and the well-made walls, and moisture drips and forms puddles. The tunnels extends on both directions. Will you go west or east?

It's only a matter of time before we come upon one of those random direction choices (we missed one by choosing to stay still in the fog).

Which way do we go?

[angelfromanotherpin]

West, I hear there's gold.

[Queen of Swords]

<---

Or, in more words, west.

[pragma]

West, it's only two letters away from left.

[Darth Rabbitt]

East just to be contrarian. Honestly I'm fine with west. Blind choice is blind.

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is to go west. That is not even a question. We have had enough of fascism over the past year. No need to start this one by choosing to go right.

[Thaluikhain]

My vote is to go west. That is not even a question. We have had enough of fascism over the past year. No need to start this one by choosing to go right.

Well, we don't know which way we are currently facing, so...

Hang on, how does the character know which way is east or west? We should know which way we are facing then.

Anyway, there's more terrible but catchy songs about going West than going East by the Village People, so Go West.

[SGamerz]

As you proceed west, you notice that there are evenly spaced shafts, smaller than the one you came down, drilled through to the ground above. These afford light and air, but are out of reach and unclimbable. You conclude that the mine was once worked by slaves, who needed to breathe and see, but also had to be prevented from escaping.

It turns out that this was a copper mine; the vein is worked out, but you find a nugget of greenish ore, and keep it. Later, a side-passage opens up to your left. Will you take it, or continue along the main tunnel?

Another option to turn left. But since the alternative here is to go straight rather than turn right, at least there are no concerns over fascism here!

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is to continue along the main tunnel, since it’s not pointing in a fascist direction. I do want King Arthur to be on the ideological mainstream some of the time, and now is one such instance.

[Queen of Swords]

Oh, I remember this part now.

There's an item we must find inside the mine! What I don't remember is which way to go.

I guess straight on is fine, in the absence of any other information.