[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 56 – Knights of Doom

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed. Find the sage.

[SGamerz]

Find the sage.

[Thaluikhain]

Find the sage.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; Belushi Jackson will try to find out more here in Wendeford.

317
Wendeford’s only inn is the Bristling Boar, and you decide that this would be as good a place as any in which to acquire information. Inside, the bar is dark and musty, although the clientele seems friendly enough. ‘Well, what can we do for you?’ asks the rotund landlady. If you want to buy a drink, a tankard of ale will cost you 1 Gold Piece and will restore up to 2 points of STAMINA. What will you ask the landlady?

Where you can find Herluin the Sage? Turn to 362
About any local rumours? Turn to 268
About the inn’s name, if you are curious? Turn to 134

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PST to be sure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Belushi Jackson
SKILL: 12 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 24 Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 11 Initial Luck = 12
SPECIAL SKILLS:
Battle Tactics
Ride
Tracking
Arcane Lore
Banish Spirit
HONOUR: 6
TIME ELAPSED: 1 day
WEAPON: Magic Sword (can harm undead and Demons)
GOLD PIECES: 20
EQUIPMENT AND NOTES:
Chainmail Coat
Horse named Firemane
Backpack
5 Provisions
Lantern
Tinderbox
Purse
Aranandus’s Restorative Potion (two tots, restores STAMINA to Initial level)
Griffin Shield (-1 to enemy Attack Strength)
Helmet of Ventarc
Assassin’s Dagger (weapon in Firemane’s saddle)
RESURRECTIONS: 5[/spoiler]

[Darth Rabbitt]

Ask where we can find the sage.

[Queen of Swords]

Sage and then the inn’s name if we’re allowed a second question.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; Belushi Jackson will ask the landlady where he can find Herluin the Sage.

362
‘That old recluse!’ the landlady exclaims, surprised. ‘What do you want with him?’ You tell here that you are just seeking his advice on a certain matter. ‘Well, if it’s about curing warts or when the next eclipse is, don’t bother. He’s got no patience for time-wasters.’ You persist, and she tells you that Herluin has his cell in the woods to the west. If you want to follow her directions and go in search of the sage, turn to 102. Otherwise, you can either ask the landlady about any local rumours that may be going around (turn to 268), ask her about the inn’s name (turn to 134) or leave Wendeford and continue southwards (turn to 49).

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PST or a 4-vote majority is reached to be sure that they will be counted.

[Thaluikhain]

Looks like looking for the sage means we can't look to ask the landlady any other questions about things we'd like to look into, which I don't like. I'd like to look for the sage.

[SGamerz]

Yeah, I'm interested in finding out about the other information too, but there's a risk that we may lose access to the choice to follow her direction to the sage, if we ask further question. Look for the sage.

(Possibly, the optimal order of choice might have been to leave asking about the sage as the last question, but it may be too late for that.)

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, we can't risk losing our chance to find the sage.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, look for the sage.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; Belushi Jackson will follow her directions and go in search of the sage.

102
The start of the track into the woods is marked by two stone posts; it does not look as if the path has seen much traffic recently. The landlady also told you that the villagers leave Herluin alone and that some say he talks to the woodland creatures. As you guide Firemane along the path between the trees, you become aware of the fact that the further you go, the less birdsong you can hear. At least you enter a clearing, which is completely silent, where you find the sage’s simple round stone cell, built as two storeys. Disturbingly, you see that no smoke is rising from the chimney on a cold Close day such as this. You knock on the cell’s sturdy door but get no reply. You knock again and call out to the sage, but to no avail. Trying the door, you discover that it is unlocked. You sense that something is very wrong here. Will you enter the cell (turn to 26) or leave the wood and Wendeford as quickly as possible (turn to 49)?

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PST or a 4-vote majority is reached to be sure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Belushi Jackson
SKILL: 12 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 24 Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 11 Initial Luck = 12
SPECIAL SKILLS:
Battle Tactics
Ride
Tracking
Arcane Lore
Banish Spirit
HONOUR: 6
TIME ELAPSED: 1 day
WEAPON: Magic Sword (can harm undead and Demons)
GOLD PIECES: 20
EQUIPMENT AND NOTES:
Chainmail Coat
Horse named Firemane
Backpack
5 Provisions
Lantern
Tinderbox
Purse
Aranandus’s Restorative Potion (two tots, restores STAMINA to Initial level)
Griffin Shield (-1 to enemy Attack Strength)
Helmet of Ventarc
Assassin’s Dagger (weapon in Firemane’s saddle)
RESURRECTIONS: 5[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Enter the cell.

[Thaluikhain]

Enter.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, go in and find out what's happened.

[SGamerz]

Enter.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered; Belushi Jackson will enter the cell.

26
You step through the door into a scene of utter devastation. The lower storey of the cell is a single room, furnished with bookcases, a large desk and a high-backed chair. However, several of the bookcases have been pulled over, spilling their contents of scrolls, ancient tomes and strange artefacts across the room. Bottles lie smashed on the floor, their precious contents soaking into the packed earth. Lying in the middle of the debris is Herluin the Sage, his body scored by deep gashes that look as though they were made by the claws of some huge creature. As you survey the wreckage, there is the sound of beating wings, and a tawny owl alights on its perch near the desk and gazes at you with large, blinking eyes. If you have the Commune Special Skill, turn to 99. If you do not, Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 99. If you are Unlucky, turn to 166.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Belushi Jackson does not have the Commune Special Skill. Rolling the dice yielded a 2, meaning that Belushi Jackson was Lucky.

99
As you are deciding what to do next, all of a sudden you hear a voice speaking inside of your head. Brave knight, it says, listen carefully, for my spirit is swiftly departing form this world. The clerics are in league with the Usurping Serpent. The forest is in danger. Waste no more time here. Do not ... I was foully slain ... a Demon. Then the spirit of Herluin the Sage is gone. Turn to 166.

166
The owl continues to fix you with a piercing stare. You see that a large book has been left lying open on the desk, and next to it is another volume, bound in red leather, that may be of interest. You may now choose to carry out two of the following actions. (You will be told to return to this paragraph after each choice.) However, once you have performed two of them, you must turn immediately to 15. Will you:

Read the large open book? Turn to 119
Take a look at the red book? Turn to 392
Make a thorough search through the wreckage in the cell? Turn to 274
Leave immediately? Turn to 49

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PST or a 4-vote majority is reached to be sure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Belushi Jackson
SKILL: 12 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 24 Initial Stamina = 24
LUCK: 10 Initial Luck = 12
SPECIAL SKILLS:
Battle Tactics
Ride
Tracking
Arcane Lore
Banish Spirit
HONOUR: 6
TIME ELAPSED: 1 day
WEAPON: Magic Sword (can harm undead and Demons)
GOLD PIECES: 20
EQUIPMENT AND NOTES:
Chainmail Coat
Horse named Firemane
Backpack
5 Provisions
Lantern
Tinderbox
Purse
Aranandus’s Restorative Potion (two tots, restores STAMINA to Initial level)
Griffin Shield (-1 to enemy Attack Strength)
Helmet of Ventarc
Assassin’s Dagger (weapon in Firemane’s saddle)
RESURRECTIONS: 5[/spoiler]

[SGamerz]

Don't touch the large book. That's probably what summoned the murdering demon.

Search the wreckage first.

(And I think we should leave after the first action. He warned us not to waste time here, and something happens after 2 actions. If it wasn't for the 2-action trigger, I'd leave immediately, but I think we have time to search the wreckage.)

[Beroli]

Look at the red book. Then leave.

[Queen of Swords]

I'd be okay with looking at the red book and searching the wreckage, because I doubt the demon which returns after that point is so powerful that it'll end our adventure right here.

[Thaluikhain]

Hmm...look at red book, because, even though the gamebook probably doesn't treat it as such, a thorough search seems like it'd take a while

[JourneymanN00b]

Okay, so I counted the votes, and it looks like that only taking one action before leaving barely won out, and that looking at the red book got the most votes.

392
The volume is a bestiary; thumbing through its pages, you come across a section about the rare mythological beast called the Cockatrice. You read on with interest. Also known as the ‘king of serpents’, the Cockatrice is said to come from a hen’s egg hatched by a toad. It is a strange combination of a large cockerel, a bat and a snake, and is a fearless carnivore. A distant relative of the Basilisk, the Cockatrice is renowned for is poisonous breath which paralyses anything it touches. However, the monster does have one major weakness: if it should catch sight of its own reflection in a mirror the creature will die. The text is accompanied by a woodcut of wone of these monsters. Now return to 166.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Belushi Jackson then leaves immediately, so we will turn to paragraph 49.

49
Firemane carries you southwards across many kilometres of bleak moorland in the direction of Havalok. After you have been travelling for several hours, you catch sight of a horse and rider galloping along a track that runs from the east, parallel to the edge of the dark forest that is still a long way off in the distance. It looks as if the horseman’s course will intercept yours if you continue at your present speed. If you are happy to meet this rider, turn to 147. If, however, you want to spur Firemane into a gallop to avoid the stranger, turn to 191.

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PST to be sure that they will be counted.

[Beroli]

Meet them.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, let's meet the rider.

[Thaluikhain]

Meet rider.