[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 30 - Chasms of Malice

[SGamerz]

Throw three dice. This is the distance to jump. Throw one die. If this, plus your STAMINA score, is greater than, or equal to, the distance, you are successful. Turn to 203. If not, then you fall to your death into the chasm.

Dice roll = 3+3+3 = 9 (Success, without having to roll another die to add to STAMINA).

After a long walk you stop for a rest at a comfortable-looking rock.

You are now embarking on the most dangerous phase of your quest. Check your Adventure Sheet for LUCK, SKILL, STAMINA and Provisions. Check your Abilities and and any special knowledge gleaned so far.

You stab the Sword into the ground, and you see a wisp of blue smoke swirl out of the hilt until it becomes the face of a Warrior Knight. The face looks at you and begins speak: "You are my heir and have proved yourself fit to carry my Sword. BEWARE, now that you are close to the evil of Orghuz. I will grant you the Spell of Life; use it once, when you are in the greatest need." The image fades and a small parchment flutters to your feet. You pick it up. It is covered in antique runes that have no meaning for you. Mark the spell on your Adventure Sheet. Use it once only, if your STAMINA has been reduced to zero in any combat. In such a case you may carry on as though you have won the fight, with a STAMINA score of 4. Do not use it unwisely, for it is a strong spell and you will have to reduce your SKILL by 1 after using it.

You are now refreshed and feel able to set off on your quest for the Shield. After a long time you come to what looks like a stone sentry-post. On either side of the tunnel there are two small slits in the rock. Do you rush past quickly, or do you crouch down and crawl under the slits?

We now know crawling under leads to capture, but not Game Over, and we don't know if rushing past might be better of worst. Which do we try this time?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 13/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 9
Fuel: 2
Tabasha's Favour: 5/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed:
Extra Lives remaining: 0/4
[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Rush past. No reason to rewind this far only to take essentially the same path.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to rush past as well.

[SGamerz]

You race past and kick a trip line, which disturbs a mass of Dwarf skulls. As they rattle they alert half a dozen Orcs from the elite 'fighting Xokusai', who rush out and chase you. Unlike most of the Orc warrior clans, they do not squabble among themselves but follow with speed, efficiency and cunning. Do you run up some stairs on the left, or go straight ahead?

Good thing they only thought to set up an alarm system with the tripwire, but not any form of lethal traps, for some reason.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to run up the stairs to the left to stand against fascism.

[SGamerz]

You run up the steps, go through a metal door, and close it behind you. Just then you hear deep breathing and hissing: "Tancred'ssss blood heir...ssssss." You are face to face with a Khuddam. "I am Barkek Khuddam. My master waits for you...sssssss." He approaches; you can see the blood dripping from his long thing fangs. He moves his black cloak aside and pulls out a jagged-edged swords, full of treacherous rip-hooks.

KHUDDAM BARKEK SKILL 10 STAMINA 12

If you win, the Khuddam disappears, leaving only his black cloak. Cross the Khuddam from the list of the Adventure Sheet.

As you stand and stare at the empty cloak, a group of Orcs rush in a hit you over the head.

Our first encounter with one of the Khuddam! And...still not sure that it is, except it's clearly not entirely human. And apparently hisses like a snake and has protruding fangs.

COMBAT LOG:
Khuddam Barkek 18, Sir Gareth 15. SG is at 11.
KB 18. SG 21. KB is at 10.
KB 14. SG 16. KB is at 8.
KB 21. SG 22. KB is at 6.
KB 19. SG 21. KB is at 4.
KB 14. SG 19. KB is at 2.
KB 20. SG 17. SG is at 9.
KB 17. SG 16. SG is at 7.
KB 20. SG 17. SG is at 5.

A close one, but Sir Gareth's high SKILL carries him through!

You wake up to find yourself chained to a rack on a great cliff top, overlooking a vast cavern. Your Sword and belongings are still on you and you can feel Tabasha in your pocket. Standing all around are Orcs wearing the fighting armour of the Mailed Fist: the symbol of the elite Xokusai Orcs. The captain stands next to you and is obviously waiting for someone: "Damn Khuddam; kill my soldiers for sport and then don't turn up for the Chase." A nearby lieutenant reminds him that the ceremony must begin at the appointed time laid down by the Prophecy of Mukinahdun. At the mention of this word all the Xokusai Orcs kneel down and stab their daggers into the ground. Then the captain calls out: "The Chase has begun. Release the prey and summon the Gryphons!" Your bonds are cut and a drum pounds out a regular rhythm, until a flapping of wings and snarling and snapping announce the arrival of the Gryphons: flying, fire-breathing creatures, each with the body of a lion and the wings of a dragon.

The drums beat and you are pushed forward to in the edge of the cliff as the Orcs recite an incantation in a strange dialect. Finally you are pushed down on to a narrow ledge and told to 'Run for your life'.

Unfortunately, we still got captured and sent into this deadly sequence. But at least we got 1 of the Khuddam (and unlocked 1 more life) this time, so it's not an entirely wasted detour.

You can hear the drum and the chanting as you edge along the small ledge. Suddenly you notice that the ledge divides into two. Which one do you take: the one sloping down to the left, or the one going down to the right?

I'm using a cooked meal here, since STAMINA is dangerously low. Voice out if you object.

Which way do we go this time?
Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 11/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 8
Fuel: 1
Tabasha's Favour: 5/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 1/5
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I still say left is right, so I vote to resist fascism yet again.

[Beroli]

Go right this time.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Eat the meal, and I think we should try going right.

[SGamerz]

The beat of the drum stops, and you hear a cheer as you edge your way down the steep slope. You see three routes ahead of you. Which do you choose:

The ledge to the left?
A drop down to a lower ledge?
A slope to the right?

[JourneymanN00b]

I choose the ledge to the left to take a clear stance against fascism.

[SGamerz]

You edge along and look up to see lava dribbling down the cliff face. An Orc appears behind you and gets showered. He falls off. Eventually you reach another ledge sloping to the right. Do you take this route, or do you prefer to drop down on to another ledge just below you?

We've been to this section before. We went right the last time, which led to a STAMINA test.

[Beroli]

More to the point, it led to four "heads you die" tests, so, drop down.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Drop down.

[SGamerz]

More to the point, it led to four "heads you die" tests, so, drop down.

I think you're mistaking this with another section. The part with 4 OSCs only came some time after we get out of this cliff stretch, neither choice here will put us definitely on that route yet.

Not that I blame anyone for confusing sections in this book. Too many flavourless and interchangeable ones. I think Daggers of Darkness not only improved on the difficulty level, but the overall writing, while still minimalistic, was certainly less boring than this one.

You land on the ledge with great ease but, it does not hold your weight. It collapses and drops you on to a lower ledge. You are hurt, but not badly. Deduct 2 STAMINA points.

STAMINA down to 9.

You work your way along the ledge, trying not to look down into the dark abyss, when suddenly you hear a snarling and flapping of wings a Gryph9on appears above you. It attacks you with its deadly claws.

GRYPHON SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

If you survive, an Orc appears along the ledge and you both swing at each other in One-Strike Combat. If you lose you fall to your death. If you win, you have a choice of three ledges to follow. Will you choose the left, the right, or the middle path?

COMBAT LOG:
Gryphon 16, Sir Gareth 19. Gryphon is at 8.
Gryphon 17, SG 21. Gryphon is at 6.
Gryphon 10, SG 17. Gryphon is at 4.
Gryphon 14, SG 18. Gryphon is at 2.
Gryphon 16, SG 15. SG is at 7.
Gryphon 15, SG 16. Gryphon is killed.

And now for the OSC:

Orc rolls 8, Sir Gareth rolls 10. Sir Gareth wins!

Which way do we proceed now?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 7/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 8
Fuel: 1
Tabasha's Favour: 5/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 1/5
[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

I know we weren't just one step behind the four One-Strike Combats, but close enough that I opted to go another way.

Now. Left.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go left to stand against fascism, of course.

[SGamerz]

You come to a dead end. The ledge stops and there is no way to leap on to another. Suddenly three Orcs appear. Fight each in turn (One-Strike Combat). If you win, go back and choose another route. Do you with to go right, or take the centre path?

It's not clear whether we'd be able to avoid the 4 consecutive OSCs later, but we just trapped ourselves in a situation almost as bad!

First OSC:
Orc rolls 5, Sir Gareth rolls 6. Sir Gareth wins.

Second OSC:
Orc rolls 2, Sir Gareth rolls 7. Sir Gareth wins.

Third OSC:
Orc rolls 4, Sir Gareth rolls 12. Sir Gareth wins.

Lucky break for Sir Gareth, who somehow survives 3 OSCs in a row. But communism isn't working for him at the moment, and he now needs to follow a different political stance, at least for the time being!

[JourneymanN00b]

Sigh ... I vote to take the centre path, as I refuse to have Sir Gareth embrace fascism, since it is exactly the wrong ideology for him to adopt.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Sure, I’m fine going down the middle.

[Beroli]

Right.

[SGamerz]

You hear the sound of the chase as you teeter along the ledge. Just then an arrow is shot at you from above. Throw a die to indicate your position. Throw a second die to show where the arrow hits. If the two throws match, you are wounded (deduct 2 STAMINA points). Repeat twice. If you survive, you see a dark cave ahead of you. Taking shelter in the cave, you sense a beast in the pitch-black depths. Suddenly there is a flash of fangs and claws.

LONG-TOOTH BEAR SKILL 6 STAMINA 8

If you win, you rush back.

Luke Sharps wants to remind the player that he's playing the heir to a king, and it's his destiny to follow the right-hand way, as we get redirected back to that if we survive these series of tests.

1st Arrow roll = 2, Position roll = 4. Miss.
2nd Arrow roll = 1, Position roll = 6. Miss.
3rd Arrow roll = 1, Position roll = 1. Hit!

STAMINA down to 5!

COMBAT LOG:
Long-tooth Bear 14, Sir Gareth 22. LTB is at 6.
LTB 11, SG 18. LTB is at 4.
LTB 9, SG 20. LTB is at 2.
LTB 11, SG 18. LTB is killed.

You come to a break in the ledge. You will have to jump across. Throw three dice to determine the distance. If your STAMINA is equal to, or greater than, the distance, you have managed to jump across. If not, then you have fallen to your death.

Once on the other side, you have the choice of taking a gentle slope to the right or dropping down on to a slightly wider ledge below.

Critical test here, so Sir Gareth takes the time to cook a meal and restore STAMINA to 11.

Dice roll 4+4+2 = 10. Sir Gareth makes the jump.

The last time we were here, we went down, and fought another Gryphon. Do we want to do that again?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Sir Gareth
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 11/15
LUCK 11/11
Equipment: Shining Sword, Leather Armor
Provisions: 7
Fuel: 0
Tabasha's Favour: 5/9 (can be used once to restore LUCK to max and increase Initial LUCK by 1)
Abilities: Life Spell (can be used once, when killed in combat, to proceed as it the battle was won, with 4 STAMINA remaining and SKILL deducted by 1)
Khuddam killed: 1 (Barkek)
Extra Lives remaining: 1/5
[/spoiler]

[Darth Rabbitt]

Try the slope this time.

[Beroli]

Slope.

[SGamerz]

Three fanatical Orcs rush at you; one slips and falls off the ledge. Fight the other two in One-strike Combat. If you win, you can choose to drop down to a lower ledge, or to take a slope on the right?

First OSC:
Orc rolls 4, Sir Gareth rolls 6. Sir Gareth wins.

Second OSC:
Orc rolls 8, Sir Gareth rolls 11. Sir Gareth wins.

Our luck holding out thus far, although that was certainly a more dangerous section then fighting a SKILL-8 Gryphon.

Now, same direction choice as before (but both leading to different section numbers). Did I mention that the writing between different sections feel interchangeable?