[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 64(?)-Night of the Necromancer

[SGamerz]

The chapel, with the priest's meagre dwelling attached, is a seemingly innocuous building tat stands within the bounds of a walled cemetery - complete with hummocks of earth and undulating turf - that has been used in decades for the burials of family members. Flickering candlelight fills the leaded panes of the stained glass windows, pouring out across the small plot of the graveyard and onto the cobbles of the courtyard beyond it. It would appear that somebody is inside. Do you want to:

Enter the chapel?
Explore the graveyard behind it?
Leave this consecrated ground and explore elsewhere?

Do we want to check out some ancestors' graves (and possibly get some inspiration for designing our own) before we go for the chapel?

[angelfromanotherpin]

Hm, the sword could be in either place, but the graveyard has bad connotations of eternal rest and might forcibly RIP us before our job is done. Check the chapel first, if there's no sword to be found there we can brave the 'yard.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Agreed.

[SGamerz]

The door to the chapel is closed, but not locked. If you have the Poltergeist special ability or the Apparition special ability you should be able to gain access.

We have both listed abilities, so I'm going to skip the rest of the text in this section that basically is identical to all the other sections that asks you to test your WILL to determine if you unlock said ability to get past the obstacle.

As you cross the threshold and enter the chapel, your ethereal form is burned by the holy wards protecting this place from the undead. (Lose 4 STAMINA points and if this has taken your STAMINA score to zero or lower, write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.)

Ahead of you, at the other end of the sanctuary beneath a cast-iron candelabrum festooned with the wax of a hundred melted candles, two figures stand before a trestle bier bearing......you can't quite see what. One of the figures is Father Umberto, Valsinore's confessor. He is decked out in the robes of a priest of Telak. The other is a young woman wearing a flowing woolen dress....It is your sister, the Lady Oriana! If you want to reveal yourself now to the priest and your sister, turn to 268. If you would prefer to hide yourself away in a shadowy corner and observe what they are doing for a moment first, turn to 353.

Do we want to show our dead selves yet?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Isolde Laodegan
SKILL: 12/12
STAMINA: 15/19
LUCK: 7/7
WILL: 14
Equipment: Nightslayer
Abilities: Apparition, Poltergeist, Shade, Spook
Codewords: Ironheart, Barking, Best Friend, Steed, Gateway, Devourer

Note: When fighting opponents with physical forms, opponents' Attack Strength is reduced by one while Korzen ("Best Friend") is with us.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Creep on them for a little while.

[Berkserker]

Yeah, probably better to watch them first. That whole 'trust not the trusted' bit might apply here, though it seems a bit early.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Isolde likes to watch.

[SGamerz]

Father Umberto finishes intoning prayers over what you can now see is a body laid out on the bier and then, having given Oriana his final blessing, departs the sanctuary, leaving her alone with the corpse...your own dead body!

Seeing your own corpse like this, without realizing it was even here, shocks you to the core. (Add the phrase Rest In Peace to your Adventure Sheet and deduct 1 from your WILL score.)

You cannot help yourself as you give a cry of shock. Oriana spins around, a look of abject horror on her face. 'No! No, it can't be!' she cries, and immediately reaches for the silver crucifix that hangs abut her neck. 'Get back! Get back!' she screams.

If you want to leave your sister in peace you can either leave the way you came, through the chapel door, or down a flight of stone steps to the right of the sanctuary that leads to the castle catacombs. Alternatively you could speak to her and try to calm her down.

Seems like we might have found the entry to what lies "below hallowed grounds". But do we want to try talking to our sister first?

[angelfromanotherpin]

Steps. She's already panicked, insisting on interacting will just make it worse.

[SGamerz]

And so you find yourself in the dripping castle catacombs. It was within these dank tunnels that Castle Valsinore's first founders were laid to rest when it was their time to go into the ground. The other-worldly glow emanating from your own ethereal presence illuminating the way onward, you come at last to a crossroads. You can see that the passageway in front of you, and the one to your left, both end at solid looking doors. The tunnel to your right leads further into the dark with no sign of stopping. Which way do you want to go? Will you:

Continue straight on?
Head left?
Follow the passageway to your right?
Leave the catacombs and return to the Inner Ward courtyard?

I'm wondering if there's any FF gamebook that's completely without a section with random left/right options.

Well, at least the text made it clear that Isolde hadn't been down here before, so this time she has a excuse for not giving us a clue....

Two doors, one passage, which way do we go?

[Darth Rabbitt]

The passageway to the right is the only substantially different part of the catacombs. That being said, I assume at least one of the doors has something good behind it.

Go left, I guess.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Left is always right, provided the author doesn't subscribe to bizarre medieval anti-leftism.

[SGamerz]

The door at the end of the passageway is an ornate affair, decorated with complex pattern marked in bands of gold. On it is inscribed the following verse:

A wizard of great power and might,
Lies sleeping through eternal night.
If you would with him consult,
And see to enter this stone vault,
If you wouldst the wizard see,
Answer then this riddle-me-ree,

You can waste it, make it, kill it, take it,
But like the tide, no king can break it.

If you know the answer to the riddle, turn the word into numbers using the code A=1, B=2,, C=3....Z=26. Add the numbers together and turn to this paragraph. If you do not know the answer, or if the paragraph you turn to makes no sense, you cannot gain access this way. If you have the Apparition special ability and want to use it now, turn to 284. If you not, you will have to search elsewhere within the catacombs.

Well, this doesn't look too hard, right?

In the unlikely event that no one can think of an answer, let me know whether you wish to use Apparition.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Time (47), I think.

[SGamerz]

Since this is a riddle, I think I'll proceed once someone has the correct answer instead of waiting for multiple votes:

'Time,' you state in as clear a voice as you manage. There is an audible click, the magically-locked door swings open and you enter the lavish tomb of Aramanthus the White who was court wizard during your father's time. A likeness of the dead wizard lies upon the lid of the black granite sarcophagus that dominates his burial chamber, while various items of magical paraphernalia fill the vault around it. As you are taking in all of the crystal balls, glass alembics and a veritable library's worth of books and scrolls, the ghost of Aramanthus materializes before you.

'Ahh!' the ghost exclaims, a broad smile breaking his wizened features. 'Company at least! Albeit if of the recently deceased variety, but company nonetheless,' the wizard goes on excitedly. 'After all, homunculi are not know for their conversational skills, no offence intended, Fizzgig.'

At this last comment a grotesque, bulbous-bellied winged imp tumbles out from between a collection of glass instruments sending a number of them crashing to the stone-flagged floor. The creature half-falls and somersault in mid-air before alighting on top the wizard's tomb, and then, scowling at the ghost, embarks upon a furious bout of squeaking. The spectral wizard raises a despairing eyebrow, as much as to say, 'See what I mean?'

'But I sincerely doubt you came all this way from the Other Side to discuss the various merits or otherwise of artificially created life-forms, did you? So, why don't you enlighten me as to the reason for your presence here?'

Sensing that the wizard is a goodly soul who genuinely wants to help, you tell Aramanthus everything that has befallen you since the daylight died, and you with it. But fearing that the longer you linger here, the sooner you might be discovered by those that mean you harm, will you ask the wizard:

About the ghosts of Valsinore Castle?
About the evil that has taken root within its walls?
How to make the most of your ghostly abilities?

What if we do want to ask about artificially-created life-forms? I want my own pet homunculus! :/

[maglag]

Didn't daddy warn us to not trust the helpful?

Well, one vote to ask about the evil that has taken root within its walls, we need to learn who put us in this situation.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, tell us about the villains of the book.

[SGamerz]

'I have tried scrying to find its source but I cannot see beyond the walls of the Keep. That place is closed to me now. What I do know is that this evil is rooted within the castle and it will take a great deal to free Valsinore from its grip.'

So much for that.... :/

A banshee wail cuts through the stillness of the tomb. 'Your presence here has been discovered!' the wizard's ghost exclaims, his features knotted in consternation. 'You must go, but take Fizzgig with you. He will be of more use than perhaps it first appears. Besides,' Aramanthus adds with what would appear to be a ghostly tear in the corner of his eye, 'I'm not much company for him anymore.'

No questioning the wizard's decision for a second you leave the vault, the bat-winged homunculus flapping after you, burbling to itself. (Add the codeword Banshee and Fizzgig the Homunculus to your Adventure Sheet.) Fizzgig is actually a Spell Sprite, a creature imbued with great thaumaturgical potential. This manifests itself in the form of four spells, which are listed below along with their effects.

Banish Spirit - this spell will send one undead spirit back to the netherworld.

Luck Spell - this spell will rise your spirit-form's LUCK score to its Initial level.

Skill Spell - this spell will rise your spirit-form's SKILL score to its Initial level.

Strength Spell - this spell will rise your spirit-form's STAMINA score to its Initial level.

However, you may only call on Fizzgig's help three time; after that the creature's reservoir of magical energy will have been drained and the sprite will disappear in a puff of logic.

Why is everyone's who's given us information either in a hurry to leave or in a hurry to send us away?

Well, we do get the pet homunculus after all, which makes up for the lack if useful information he can give us.

Back where you began, choosing somewhere that you haven't been already, will you follow the passageway to your left, the one directly in front of you, or the one to your right? alternatively, if you prefer, you could leave the catacombs altogether.

Check out the other door or the passage?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Isolde Laodegan
SKILL: 12/12
STAMINA: 15/19
LUCK: 7/7
WILL: 13
Equipment: Nightslayer
Abilities: Apparition, Poltergeist, Shade, Spook, Fizzgig the Homunculus (3 uses out of 4 following spells: Banish Undead, Luck, Skill, Strength)
Codewords: Ironheart, Barking, Best Friend, Steed, Gateway, Devourer, Rest In Peace, Banshee

Note: When fighting opponents with physical forms, opponents' Attack Strength is reduced by one while Korzen ("Best Friend") is with us.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Directly ahead.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yup, go through the other door.

[SGamerz]

The door is made of some black wood ensorcelled with silver that forms unsettling signs and symbols. As you approach you can feel its power, like a crackling magical shield. The energy field sparks violently and you are suddenly hurled backwards by a powerful burst of magical energy. (Lose 2 STAMINA points and if this has reduced your STAMINA score to zero, or below, write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.) The door is resisting essence somehow and keeping your ghostly form at bay. You cannot even get close enough to touch it.

The door before you is a Spirit Door, a portal intended to prevent undead spirits lie you from passing through it. There is nothing you can do to conquer the spells bound into it - at least, not yet - so you have no choice but to search elsewhere. Add the codeword Catacombs to your Adventure Sheet and turn to 264.

We're being directed back to the previous section. Do we still want to check out the passage before we leave?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Isolde Laodegan
SKILL: 12/12
STAMINA: 13/19
LUCK: 7/7
WILL: 13
Equipment: Nightslayer
Abilities: Apparition, Poltergeist, Shade, Spook, Fizzgig the Homunculus (3 uses out of 4 following spells: Banish Undead, Luck, Skill, Strength)
Codewords: Ironheart, Barking, Best Friend, Steed, Gateway, Devourer, Rest In Peace, Banshee, Catacombs

Note: When fighting opponents with physical forms, opponents' Attack Strength is reduced by one while Korzen ("Best Friend") is with us.

[angelfromanotherpin]

Check it all!

[Darth Rabbitt]

We've come across one good and one bad, so we have a pretty decent chance of the last one being good. Explore.

[SGamerz]

We've come across one good and one bad, so we have a pretty decent chance of the last one being good. Explore.

That last door was "bad" in the short-term, but the text sort of indicates we may be able to come back later if we have the means to overcome that barrier, so it may still be good in the long-term.

You wander aimlessly along the mouldering tunnels, further and further under the foundations of Valsinore Castle with really no idea of where you are going. Roll one die. On a roll of 1-3, turn to 139; on a roll of 4-6, turn to 158.

Die roll = 6.

The part of the catacombs is thick with spider webs. However, spiders shouldn't trouble you in your ethereal form and so you press on. But the further you go the thicker they become. Where the moisture-clad web are at their thickest you are not entirely surprised when a monstrous arcachnid descends from the ceiling above. Shock quickly turns to horror when you see the monster's face for the first time; where you would have expected to see the blunt head of a spider, with its myriad black pearl eyes and venom-dripping fangs, there in its place a malevolent travesty of a human face. Hissing horribly, the demonic Death Spider stalks towards you, determined to snare your soul within its unearthly web and drag you to its own hellish dimension.

DEATH SPIDER SKILL 12 STAMNA 9

If the Death Spider wins two consecutive Attack Rounds, turn to 177. If not, keep fighting until either you or the minster is destroyed. If it is you who 'dies', write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If it is the demons spirit that is returned to the Realm of the Damned, turn to 207.

Strongest enemy Isolde has met so far! Death Spiders are classified as demons in FF, but they can usually be fought normally by adventurers, which I think indicates that our dog should be able to help. This, at least, gives us the slight edge in this fight, and we need all that we can get!

COMBAT LOG:

Death Spider 16, Isolde 21. DS is at 7.
DS 18, Isolde 18. Tie.
DS 14, Isolde 19. DS is at 5.
DS 17, Isolde 17. Tie.
DS 14, Isolde 18. DS is at 3.
DS 22, Isolde 16. Isolde is at 11.
DS 17, Isolde 19. DS is at 1.
DS 20, Isolde 15. Isolde is at 9.
DS 23, Isolde 18. Isolde is at 7.

Damn, we were so close to finishing it off, but it hit us twice consecutively!

The Death Spider seizes your ethereal form in its hellish fangs and, making the most of your vulnerable state, tries to drag you into the middle of its web, which is its extra-dimensional link to the Realm of the Damned. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky return to 158 and keep fighting until either you or the monster is destroyed. If you are Unlucky, the Death Spider succeeds in dragging you into the centre of its web. Write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

Crap, our LUCK is our worst stat....

Dir roll = 6 (Lucky!)

COMBAT LOG (continued)

DS 19, Isolde 21. DS is killed.

And it's done....good thing doggie was here to save us from 2 blows.

Having wandered these tunnels of the dead for what feels like far too long, you eventually find yourself back where you started. So where will you go now?

Along the tunnel ahead of you?
Along the tunnel to the left?
Out of the Catacombs and back to the Inner Ward courtyard?

Nothing more to see here....

Back to the Inner Ward. Where do we go next? Kitchen, feast hall, well, or leave the courtyard and cross the moat now?

[Mr Shine]

I'm not sure that encounter was bad. For a 2 ST cost we've got a codeword and a hint we may be able to come back later when we find a way past such doors.

However I agree with angel, let's search everything.

Edit: too late.