[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 9 - Caverns of the Snow Witch Redux

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, two meals and go left.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to eat 3 meals and reject the resurging threat of fascism by going left.

[Darth Rabbitt]

2 meals and go left.

[Beroli]

Eating two meals wins 3-1, going left wins 4-0.

The tunnel ends at a wooden door which opens when you turn the handle. You walk into a massive high-ceilinged chamber which ends in a wall of ice. In the centre of this chamber is an open marble sarcophagus with its lid propped up against its side. A white rat suddenly jumps out of the sarcophagus and runs toward you. It stops in front of you and begins to grow and change shape. You do not have ground minotaur horn. (As per the dwarf's warning you beware the creature with all your might, which does absolutely no good.) The creature soon towers above you and develops a rough white reptilian skin. Its neck extends to support a giant head with smoking nostrils, and wings protrude from its back. Before you stands an ancient WHITE DRAGON.

White Dragon.PNG (167.76 KiB) Viewed 463 times

You are wearing a copper ring.

As the White Dragon prepares to strike, you rub the copper ring vigorously. A warrior begins to take shape in front of you: either a knight, a barbarian, a dwarf, an elf, a ninja, or an axeman. You roll a 4 and get an elf. The elf has 7 Skill and 5 Stamina, the White Dragon has 12 Skill and 14 Stamina. The good news is that, based on the lack of any rules for breathing in the "you do have a copper ring" entry, the dragon has apparently been confused enough by this not to use their freezing breath.

Round One: Elf 14, Dragon 22. Elf is at 3 Stamina.
Round Two: Elf 14, Dragon 21. Elf is at 1 Stamina.
Round Three: Elf 15, Dragon 21. Flawless victory for the dragon. Even the Knight, with the highest Skill at 9, would not have won any of those rounds. Now you have to fight the (uninjured but not using frost breath) dragon. Vote on how to use Luck here.

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 11/11
Stamina 12/16
Luck 9/11
Provisions 3
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Warhammer
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Mysterious Runecarved Stick
Sling
2 iron balls (sling-sized)
Copper ring
Invisibility wish

[JourneymanN00b]

Same deal as with the last fight. Use Luck to deal extra damage when Stamina is down to 6.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Barring some really good rolls on our part (and/or bad ones on the dragon's part) Scott still probably falls in battle here but JN's plan sounds like our best bet.

[Queen of Swords]

Too bad we don't even get in a free strike while the dragon is pulverizing our elf.

[Thaluikhain]

Too bad we don't get too use multiple combat rules against it.

I vote use luck to increase damage from the get go, and continue until it's at 2 Stamina or our luck drops below 7.

[Beroli]

Using Luck to do damage only after reaching 6 Stamina wins 2-1.

Unless there is a strong objection, I'm going to summarize more in combat, because it takes a lot longer for me to go "these were the exact numbers" than to go "X won."

Round One: Draw.
Round Two: Robert wins by 1. Dragon is at 12 Stamina.
Round Three: Dragon wins by 6. Robert is at 10 Stamina.
Round Four: Dragon wins by 2. Robert is at 8 Stamina.
Round Five: Draw.
Round Six: Dragon wins by 4. Robert is at 6 Stamina and will use Luck to deal damage.
Round Seven: Dragon wins by 3. Robert is at 4 Stamina.
Round Eight: Dragon wins by 4. Robert is at 2 Stamina.
Round Nine: Dragon wins by 4. Robert automatically tests Luck to avoid dying; Luck Test result is 9, success. Robert is at 1 Stamina, 8 Luck.
Round Ten: Robert wins by 4. Luck Test result is 7, success. Dragon is at 8 Stamina, Robert is at 7 Luck.
Round Eleven: Draw.
Round Twelve: Dragon wins by 2. Death.

[Beroli]

Rewinding, you retcon that you did not pick up weapons at the trapper's hut, since the spear did no good anyway. You face the Crystal Golem unarmed...or do you?

You did rescue the Genie from the prism and you call upon him now.

The Genie appears, hovering above the Crystal Warrior. He snaps his fingers and you immediately become invisible. The Crystal Warrior punches the air with his rough quartz fists, but you are able to slip by him unnoticed. By the time the invisibility spell wears off, you are well away from your adversary. Further on, the tunnel ends at a T-junction. Somehow sensing that white draconic death awaits to the left, you go right.

The tunnel ends at a wooden door which is locked. You press your ear to it and hear the sound of feet slowly shuffling across the floor.

Knock on the door?
Return to the junction and go the other way?

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 11/11
Stamina 14/16
Luck 11/11
Provisions 5
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Mysterious Runecarved Stick
Sling
2 iron balls (sling-sized)
Copper ring of warrior summoning
Deaths: 1 (chomped by white dragon)

[Queen of Swords]

Let's knock on the door.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to knock on the door.

(Also, I'm sad that fascism was the way to go there. And I wish we could have used the genie to evade the golem, even if our hero did have the warhammer.)

[Beroli]

(Yes, when house ruling this gamebook, doing something related to the warhammer seems to be the most popular--either "no book, I do not take some weapons, I take the spear [which would have reduced the Yeti's Skill by 1 as well as doing a couple points of damage if it had hit] and avoid touching the warhammer" or "Yes, book, I have a warhammer, but I'm looking to see what option pops up if I don't anyway.")

A man comes to the door. His skin is a sickly grey-white colour. His vacant eyes and slow movements are definitely those of a mindless ZOMBIE. Skipping past the repeated option to go back to the crossroads and go the other way, you attack him.

The ZOMBIE picks up a club from behind the door and shuffles forward to fight you.

ZOMBIE Skill 6 Stamina 6

You could Escape and, yet again, return to the crossroads; you won't.

Round One: Robert wins by 12. Zombie is at 4 Stamina.
Round Two: Robert wins by 2. Zombie is at 2 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert wins by 6. Flawless victory.

The Zombie was probably in charge of the storeroom that the door opens into. Jars and bottles of various shapes and sizes line the walls and many boxes and barrels are stacked up on the floor. You search quickly through them and find little of interest except for a jar of ground minotaur horn, some garlic, a box full of teeth, a jar of pickled lizards' tails and four large dragon eggs. As you will not be able to fit everything into your backpack, you may only take three of the items.

Executive decision: Each dragon egg counts as an item, so choose three things from the following list:

Jar of ground minotaur horn
Garlic
Box of teeth
Jar of pickled lizard's tails
Large dragon egg
Large dragon egg
Large dragon egg
Large dragon egg


Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 11/11
Stamina 14/16
Luck 11/11
Provisions 5
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Mysterious Runecarved Stick
Sling
2 iron balls (sling-sized)
Copper ring of warrior summoning
Deaths: 1 (chomped by white dragon)

[Queen of Swords]

Oh, jackpot!

Take the ground minotaur horn, because that could have helped us against the dragon. And the garlic, because garlic = potential vampire encounter. Finally, a dragon egg. Maybe it'll hatch and we can set our sights on the Iron Throne.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to take the ground minotaur horn, garlic, and a dragon egg.

[Thaluikhain]

That seems reasonable.

[Beroli]

Unanimously taking the jar of ground minotaur horn, garlic, and a dragon egg, you head back past the crossroads.

The tunnel ends at a wooden door which opens when you turn the handle. You walk into a massive high-ceilinged chamber which ends in a wall of ice. In the centre of this chamber is an open marble sarcophagus with its lid propped up against its side. A white rat suddenly jumps out of the sarcophagus and runs toward you. It stops in front of you and begins to grow and change shape. You do have ground minotaur horn.

You remember an old legend that ground minotaur horn is the only substance that can stop a metamorphosis spell from working. You quickly sprinkle some on the growing creature, and relax a little as it shrinks back to a white rat again. The legend was true! Intrigued by the open sarcophagus, you decide to walk over and examine it.

Snow Witch.PNG (157.25 KiB) Viewed 361 times

As you approach the sarcophagus, a woman's eerie laughter echoes around the chamber. A beautiful woman wearing white fur slowly rises out of the sarcophagus, and when she smiles you see the tell-tale fangs and realize with horror that the SNOW WITCH is a vampire! You do have garlic.

The Snow Witch recoils from the garlic, giving you time to think. You know that a Vampire can only be killed by driving a stake through its heart. You do have a carved rune stick.

Taking the stick from your backpack, you thrust it at the heart of the Snow Witch. Your Skill is higher than 10.

The stake pierces the Snow Witch's heart and her death wail makes you shudder. She starts to decompose, and soon all that is left is a pile of dust on the floor. You see a vague shape in the wall of ice at the end of the chamber, and decide to investigate.

You see frozen into the ice wall an ornate trunk open and filled with gold and jewels. You hack away at the ice until you reach the trunk. A golden idol is the first thing you pick up, but suddenly it bursts out of your hands and changes into a golden warrior--a SENTINEL left to guard the treasure.

Sentinel.PNG (157.42 KiB) Viewed 361 times

SENTINEL Skill 9 Stamina 9

Round One: Sentinel wins by 4. Robert is at 12 Stamina.
Round Two: Sentinel wins by 5. Robert is at 10 Stamina.
Round Three: Robert wins by 2. Sentinel is at 7 Stamina.
Round Four: Robert wins by 1. Sentinel is at 5 Stamina.
Round Five: Robert wins by 3. Sentinel is at 3 Stamina.
Round Six: Draw.
Round Seven: Sentinel wins by 2. Robert is at 8 Stamina.
Round Eight: Robert wins by 3. Sentinel is at 1 Stamina.
Round Nine: Robert wins by 5. Victory.

The guardian of the Snow Witch's treasure is dead and you are free to help yourself to her riches, although there is a limit to how much you can carry. For each 50 Gold Pieces you take, you must leave behind one item from your backpack (not worn). Just as you finish filling your backpack, you hear the sound of running feet coming down the tunnel toward the chamber. You stand up and draw your sword, wondering if you can survive much more hard combat. Two men suddenly appear at the door, a Dwarf and an Elf, but they do not look as if they are about to attack you. They are smiling broadly and they both try to speak at once, the Elf finally taking command. 'You have killed her! We are free! We will soon be able to take off our obedience collars! Now we wish to repay you, friend, by helping you to escape. You cannot leave the caverns by the way you came, because the Snow Witch's followers are waiting for you, and the tunnels are alive with Goblins. Our fellow Elves and Dwarfs are battling against them now, to give you time to flee--we must waste no more time.' To your surprise the Elf walks straight towards a cavern wall opposite the door, and appears to pass right through it. 'Another of the Snow Witch's illusions,' comments the Dwarf, 'an escape route she never got the chance to use. The trouble is, we've never used it either.' The Dwarf laughs to himself and walks towards the wall, you following behind. Walking through the illusion you find yourself in a narrow torchlit tunnel which you walk down in single file. It soon ends at a junction and you discuss which way to turn.

Items you can leave behind for gold:
Provisions 5 (each individually counts)
Magic Flute
Sling
2 iron balls (each individually counts)
Jar of ground minotaur horn
Garlic
Large dragon egg

Also vote on whether to eat any Meals and how much, and finally, on whether to go left or right at the junction.

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 11/11
Stamina 8/16
Luck 11/11
Provisions 5
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Magic Flute
Mysterious Runecarved Stick
Sling
2 iron balls (sling-sized)
Copper ring of warrior summoning
Jar of ground minotaur horn
Garlic
Large dragon egg
Deaths: 1 (chomped by white dragon)

[Thaluikhain]

Get rid of the minotaur horn, garlic and flute since they've been checked before.

I guess we have to leave provisions behind rather than eating them, but eat a least 1 provision in any case.

If we leave 8 things behind we'd be able to carry a total of 400, which just so happens to be where the best win entry usually is, I think that might not be a coincendence.

Half vote for leaving the sling and two balls and 2 provisions behind as well, which by my count brings us to 400 gold.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Drop the sling, 2 balls, Minotaur horn, garlic, and flute. Eat a meal but don’t drop any other provisions.

[Queen of Swords]

I agree with Darth's suggestion.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to drop the minotaur horn, garlic, and flute for gold, but not the sling and balls since I can still see it being used as a ranged weapon later. I also vote to eat 1 Provision and go left to reject fascism once again.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Oh, right. Completely forgot about direction. Left is fine by me.

[Beroli]

Leaving behind the minotaur horn, garlic, and flute wins unanimously. Leaving behind the sling and iron balls wins 2.5 to 1. Eating one meal wins approximately unanimously. Discarding two more meals loses 3 to 1. You take 350 gold. Heading left wins 2-0.

As you walk along, the Elf introduces himself. "My name is Redswift, and he is known as Stubb," he says, pointing to the smiling Dwarf. "We met here as slaves in the service of the vile Snow Witch. We both now hope to return to our villages. I live in the Moonstone Hills and Stubb comes from Stonebridge. If we manage to escape from these infernal caverns, you are more than welcome to come and stay with us. Stonebridge is on the way to my village in the hills. It's also a long way off." Before Redswift can continue, Stubb shouts and points to an orb lying on the floor. It is made of glass and in the torchlight it seems to glow with swirling colours. "Leave it," says Redswift, "we do not need it and it could be a trap."

Ignore Redswift's advice and pick up the orb?
Keep walking?

Adventure Sheet:
Robert Scott
Skill 11/11
Stamina 12/16
Luck 11/11
Provisions 4
Sword
Leather armor
Backpack
Cloak
Amulet of Courage
Mysterious Runecarved Stick
Copper ring of warrior summoning
Large dragon egg
350 Gold Pieces
Deaths: 1 (chomped by white dragon)

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to ignore Redswift's advice and pick up the orb. Maybe we could get an important clue from it.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, let's pick it up.