[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 63 - Stormslayer

[Dogopolis]

Yeah, one choice seems as good as another here

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, Witchtooth Line.

[SGamerz]

If we are doing them all, doesn't seem to matter much the order

The starting and ending point of each journey actually does matter to some extent in this book, although weirdly no map is provided...

For three days you head north-east, under an almost permanently overcast sky. (Move the Day of the Week on 3.) Gradually, green fields give way to scrubby heathland, which in turn becomes the foetid mire that borders the shores of mist-shrouded Lake Eerie and the town that takes its name from the sinister mere.

The town lies under a dark cloud; threatening storm-clouds mass overhead, turning the day so dark that you could have sword it was dusk. There is an air of anxious expectancy within the town of Eerieside, as if the building pressure of the storm was affecting the townsfolk in some way too. Arriving within the market square you come across a gathering hunting party. Approaching a lean-faced man with a wolf-hound restrained on a chain, you ask him what has brought the hunters to Eerieside.

"Haven't you heard?" he asks in a conspiratorial whisper. "Word is the Stormdrake has awoken and is on the loose."

The Stormdrake - you have heard tell of this monster yourself. The legend goes that when the Stormdrake flies, apocalyptic storms will assault the land, leaving waste in its wake. Can it really be that such a creature actually exists? You had thought that the terrible weather was down to Balthazar Sturm's Weather Machine.

"So you're all planning on tracking it to its lair and putting an end to it," you say.

"That's right. And put an end to this terrible weather," the hunter says. "Only we're not in this together. The mayor's offering a reward to whoever brings back proof that the monster's dead. Here, you look like you might be bit handy with that sword of yours. Why don't we go after the Stormdrake together? I'll split the reward with you, fifty-fifty. What do you say?"

Do you want to join the hunter and go after the Stormdrake? If so, turn to 313. If not, you see no point in hanging around the dour town of Eerieside - you've been here before and it's a grim, unwelcoming place - so set off again. Another two days of walking brings you into the foothills of the Witchtooth Mountains. Move the Day of the Week on 2 and turn to 250.

We're currently on Earthday. If we continue our journey towards the Witchtooth Mountains, we will reach it on Seaday again on the next section.

Do we want to hunt the Stormdrake?

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I vote to hunt the Stormdrake.

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, hunt the Stormdrake.

[Thaluikhain]

Hunt the Stormdrake.

[SGamerz]

The hunter, who introduces himself as Sylas, decides that it is best if you set off on your beast quest without further delay; the first to return with the prize wins the reward after all. All manner of fell creatures are known to make their lairs within the crags to the north of Eerieside, in the marshes to the east, and even within Lake Eerie itself. But where would the Stormdrake have its haunt, if it really does exist?

Once you are out in the wilds, well beyond the town, you put your tracking skills to good use. Test your Skill, subtracting 2 from the dice roll if you possess a Sabretooth Fang. If you succeed, turn to 357. If you fail, turn to 195.

We've been check on 2 of the optional starting equipment so far, but unfortunately, neither are the ones we picked. We don't get to enjoy the -2 bonus for our test...

Dice roll = 5!

...fortunately, we manage to pass anyway!

Your hunt for the Stormdrake takes you into the rough terrain north of Eerieside, until you reach a tall crag that looks down over the now-distant town, with an ominous-looking cave - like a great fanged maw - near its summit. It is too late in the day to attempt an assault on the peak now so you build a fire and settle down for the night, the wolfhound keeping watch over you both.

Come the dawn (move the Day of the Week on 1), you start to climb the peak, Using goat-tracks and knotty brushes to aid your ascent, you all make it safely to the top. And here you stand, facing the forbidding cave mouth. The entrance at the peak is huge, certainly big enough for something the size of a dragon. Cautiously, swords drawn and lanterns lit, you you, Sylas and the dog enter the echoing darkness beyond.

The gaping cave-mouth leads to a broad tunnel that descends through the crag. At the bottom you find yourself in a huge echoing chamber. Two more massive tunnels, really just off-shoots of the main cavern, lead away to left and right. The air is redolent with the stench of rotting meat. Do you want to explore to the left, of the right?

It's bound to come at some point: we've finally hit our first random left/right option in this book!

We're now on Windsday.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: ???
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 15/19
LUCK 7/8
Equipment: Backpack, Leather Armour, Lantern and Tinderbox, Wyrmbiter (+2 Attack Strength & +1 damage against dragonkind), Dragon Tattoo, Hunting Horn, Potion of Giant Strength (+2 SKILL and 1 damage when drink before battle)
Provisions: 10/10
Gold: 19
Day of the Week:
Stormsday
Moonsday
Fireday
Earthday
Windsday
Seaday
Highday
Codewords:
Time Track:
Damage:
Extra Lives remaining: 4/4
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

I will vote to explore to the left to take a strong stance against the threatening ideology of fascism.

[Thaluikhain]

May as well.

(Wonder if the Sabretooth Fang helps because it's magic, or because we have to be a great hunter to have gotten it.)

[Queen of Swords]

Sure, try left.

[SGamerz]

(Wonder if the Sabretooth Fang helps because it's magic, or because we have to be a great hunter to have gotten it.)

There's no real explanation, but it may also be that the PC would be more experienced in tracking through mountain regions, since he got the fang in the mountains of Mauristatia.

****

The stench of rotting meat intensifies as you proceed through the cave, until you enter a smaller cavern piled high with bones. By the light cast by the lanterns, you see skeletons of all manner of creatures, from cows and human beings, to goblins and even that of a griffin, the meat stripped from all of them. Whatever it is that calls this place home, it is a voracious carnivore.

Always on the lookout, in case the hungry beast should return at any moment, you and Sylas carry out a quick search of the cave. As you suspected, whatever it is that devoured all these creatures, it has no interest in treasure. Among the bones you find...

A Bag of Gems (worth 8 Gold Pieces)
A Warhammer
A Rope and Grapple
A Bow and quiver with 6 arrows
A Golden Bracelet (worth 5 Gold Pieces)
A bottle labelled 'Potion of Levitation'

Sylas suggests that you split the hoard you have recovered fifty-fifty, just as you would the reward for slaying the Stormdrake. Choose three of the things from the list (noting that you can only take one of the treasure items) and add them to your Adventure Sheet; the hunter takes the rest.

The Warhammer is not magical but it is a crushing weapon; if you hit an opponent with the Warhammer, roll 1 die and if you roll 5-6 it does 1 extra STAMINA point of damage. You may use the Bow once in each battle, before having to engage in hand-to-hand combat (as long as you still have arrows left to shoot); Test your Skill and if you succeed you cause your opponent 2 STAMINA points of damage.

With your new possessions safely stowed in your backpack, you return to the main chamber to delve deeper into the cavernous lair in search of the Stormdrake.

Please pick your 3 loot items before we move on. Note that the text says we can only take one of the treasure items, so we cannot take both the gems and the bracelet.

[Thaluikhain]

Hmm, I vote for Warhammer, Rope and Grapple, and the Bow and Arrows.

Though, we might want some money, so I'm ok with losing the warhammer for a treasure item.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote for the bag of gems (since it appears to be the most valuable treasure item), a rope and grapple, and potion of Levitation. I would rather maximize the odds of having the correct utility items (and the ability to buy additional items) than get combat items.

[Queen of Swords]

I vote for the potion of levitation, the rope and grapple and the warhammer.

[Dogopolis]

I want to take the gold bracelet. It's explicitly worth less than the gems, and you can only take one, so why would you ever take the bracelet? Kind of trick a book writer might put in to hide a useful item. I'd also go for the rope and the potion but I don't really care about that.

[SGamerz]

Tallying the votes, the 3 items that each received more than 1 vote each are Rope and Grapple, Potion of Levitation and Warhammer, so these are the items, we end up with.

(Also, since none of the suggested names have been seconded, I've added a new poll and listed all the names. The poll ends in 2 days.)

The cavern opens onto another small cave, but what you see here sends a shiver down your spine. If there was ever any doubt in your mind that this place was the lair of some monstrous beast or other, it is gone now. In the centre of the cave is a nest, constructed from the bleached bones of dead animals - and some of them are human bones. The nest is as big as hay-cart and slithering from it, blinking uncomfortably in the lantern-light, are four ugly reptilian creatures. Their bodies are black and scaly and they crawl towards you on four clawed limbs. There are also the nubs of wings growing from their shoulder blades, while their saurian heads are already full of razor-sharp teeth. The hatchlings squawk as they catch sight of you, sensing that another meal has just arrived. Moving with startling speed, the young Drakes dart across the cave and attack. As Sylas and the wolfhound take on two of the hatchlings, you are left to deal with the remaining pair.

First HATCHLING SKILL 7 STAMINA 7
Second HATCHLING SKILL 6 STAMINA 7

If you kill the young Drakes, turn to 32.

The book does list rules on fighting multiple opponents in the rules section, but unfortunately they didn't make it clear whether we're fighting the hatchlings together or one at a time here. I'm going to assume the former in such cases.

On the bright side, they are "drakes", so Wyrmbiter gives us attack and damage bonus!

(On this subject, we obviously should use Wyrmbiter for this battle, but please vote whether we should be using the Warhammer or Wyrmbiter as our default weapon for future opponents.)

Targeting the lower-SKILLed hatchling first for this combat...

COMBAT LOG:
Hatchling#1 10, PC 20. PC takes no damage.
Hatchling#2 14, PC 15. H2 is at 4.
H1 11, PC 18. PC takes no damage.
H2 16, PC 17. H2 is at 1.
H1 12, PC 14. PC takes no damage.
H2 12, PC 18. H2 is killed.
H1 14, PC 15. H1 is at 4.
H1 14, PC 19. H1 is at 1.
H1 16, PC 18. H1 is killed.

Wyrmbiter's bonus helped a bunch, giving us a flawless win even though the drakes rolled better than us multiple times and would have hit us or blocked our attacks without its bonus.

With the hatchlings dead, you wipe your sword clean of their repulsive purple ichor. Certain that you have penetrated the lair of the Stormdrake, it is also apparent that the creature is not here. However, by disposing of the next generation of Drakes, if such monsters are responsible for creating climate chaos throughout Femphrey, then you have done the kingdom a favour. (Add the codeword Mortsleam to your Adventure Sheet and regain 1 LUCK point.)

You and Sylas between you decide that there is nothing to be gained by waiting for the Stormdrake in its lair - you have no idea how long it will be before it returns, and if the monsters you have just fought were only its young, imagine how terrible the parent must be. Besides, you have another quest to complete.

Damn, so we left after only killing the poor babies? (Okay, so they're man-eating babies, but I'm sure they were just misled by their parent's bad example at an impressionable age.)

Having failed to find the mythical Stormdrake, you and Sylas make your way back to Eerieside. Even the wolfhound is quiet now, sloping along behind, its tail between its legs. The mood in the town is the same - none of the other hunting parties have found any sign of the Stormdrake either.
"
"What will you do now?" Sylas asks, and you tell him that you need to push on to the Witchtooth Mountains. Bidding the gunter farewell, you go one your way. Two days later (move the Day of the Week on 2), you reach your destination.

Am I the only one who think it's not a very fitting behaviour for a Hero to have found the monster's lair and then kept quiet about it just because he can't stick around to kill it and claim the reward himself?

The Hero not being willing to stay because he has another important mission is reasonable, and I'm assuming Sylas chose not to wait because he didn't think he could take the adult Stormdrake by himself, but why would the Hero not spread the news around so that the local authorities can send out a horde of hunters to stake out at the lair until it returns? There's a good chance that it will come back for its hatchlings.

The only argument I can think of is that maybe Sylas still wants to claim most of the reward and is going to organize and lead a bigger hunting party to come back later, and asks the PC not to leak the info to anyone else Sylas doesn't recruit? Still doesn't seem like a heroic act, though.

The foothills of the Witchtooth Line rise up gradually before you. The mountain range that separates Femphrey from the Kingdom of Gallantaria to the north is a forbidding wall of black rock. Heavily laden rainclouds are massing over the jagged peaks, some of which are permanently covered with snow. You fancy you see a black, winged shape flapping over a spot a league or more to the west. You are going to have to watch yourself in this wild land. It is that afternoon that you reach the village of Clast.

During your travels, gossip and rumlour keep making mention of this place. Rumour has it that the place has been decimated by a series of terrible earthquakes. Gossip has it that they were caused by a foul-tempered Earth Elemental trapped beneath the mountains. But whatever the truth of the matter, there is no doubt that some tragedy or other has befallen Clast.

Everywhere you look you can see structural damage to buildings - collapsed roofs, slumping walls, broken timbers. One or two smaller hovels have collapsed altogether, while others look like they are about to go the same way. The villagers return your appalled gaze with very wary looks of their own, as they go about repairing the damage as best they can.

As you wander through Clast you start to acquire a small following. Perhaps it is the magnificent sword sheathed at your side that has attracted them, but then again, it is possible that some of them recognize you. After all, the Hero of Tannatown is known throughout the kingdom of Femphrey and beyond.

It is not long before your presence in the village attracts the interest of the headman. He is a barrel-chested individual with a bristly red beard and muscular arms like sledgehammers. His leather apron, with its scorch-marks and soot stains, tells you that he is also the local blacksmith.

"Well, well, well. We are honoured indeed," he says, regarding you with eyes narrowed. "To have the Hero of Tannatown in our midst! I am Arturo the Ironsmith and you find yourself in the village of Clast. What can we do for you?" he asks suspiciously.

You see no reason to hide anything from this man, seeing as he might be able to help you, and so you tell him everything.

"Well, it sounds to me like the solution to your problem could be the saving of Clast as well," he says at last. "Further up into the hills lies the entrance to a Dwarf mine. It's said that the Dwarfs found something buried down there, in the darkness deep below the earth. Some say it was an Earth Elemental, some say it was a Dragon, and some, a dread portal to the domain of Demons. But whatever the truth of the matter they shut down the mine, quick as you like, and left. No one from Clast has dared enter the mine to find out what's down there, but the tremors and quakes have been getting worse in recent weeks, and soon someone's going to have to go down.

"But if you're planning on mounting your own expedition into the dark, I would advise you to take a guide. One of the Dwarfs who used to work the mine still lives in these parts. He's called Brokk and he spends his days making beer now. He could be persuaded to take you down into the mine, if your money's good."

You thank Arturo for his help. Will you set out for the mine straight away, alone, or will you go in search of Brokk the brewer?

Do we try to hire a guide first (and will this be where we regret not taking any Treasure items from the Stormdrake's lair earlier)?

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: ???
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 15/19
LUCK 8/8
Equipment: Backpack, Leather Armour, Lantern and Tinderbox, Wyrmbiter (+2 Attack Strength & +1 damage against dragonkind), Dragon Tattoo, Hunting Horn, Potion of Giant Strength (+2 SKILL and 1 damage when drink before battle), Rope and Grapple, Potion of Levitation, Warhammer (does +1 damage after hitting an opponent if 5-6 is rolled on 1d6)
Provisions: 10/10
Gold: 19
Day of the Week:
Stormsday
Moonsday
Fireday
Earthday
Windsday
Seaday
Highday
Codewords: Mortsleam
Time Track:
Damage:
Extra Lives remaining: 5/5
[/spoiler]

[JourneymanN00b]

For future fights, I vote to use the Wyrmbiter against dragonkind, and the Warhammer for other enemies. I also vote to see if we can find Brokk, as I see no reason not to search for help.

[Thaluikhain]

Look for Brokk, and regret having no money.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, see if we can hire the guide anyway.

[SGamerz]

It takes half a day to reach Brokk's brewery. The copper and stone building stands nestled in a mountain valley pass where it is fed by a clear mountain stream, tumbling from the cold mountain peaks in a series of dramatic waterfalls.

Approaching the entrance via the ornate stone bridge that spans another roaring cascade, you knock on the door. It is opened by a silver-haired Dwarf with a plaited white beard, wearing a beer-stained apron. "What do you want?" he says testily. "Disturbing old Brokk when he's making beer is not to be done lightly."

You tell him of your need for a guide to take you into the abandoned Dwarf mine. "The Fathomdeep Mine, eh?" he says sucking at his teeth and looking at you thoughtfully. "Yes, I used to work that seam, until the curse came upon that place. I've not been back since. But yes, I'll be your guide, but it'll cost you - 10 Gold Pieces!"

You give a sharp intake of breath. 10 Gold Pieces is a lot of money. Do you really think it's worth it, when an adventurer like yourself could surely find your own way through the abandoned tunnels and mine workings? If you are willing and able to pay the necessary 10 Gold Pieces to hire the ex-miner, turn to 77. If not, turn to 98.

While it's apparently a steep price we actually do have enough starting gold to cover that. Do we want to hire him?

[Thaluikhain]

Pay.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote not to pay the gold, as I want to see if we can negotiate a better price here.

[Dogopolis]

when an adventurer like yourself could surely find your own way through the abandoned tunnels and mine workings?

That form of words seems to be clear shorthand for "you will die if you don't have a guide"

I vote to pay him, and not risk that we can negotiate.

[Queen of Swords]

I agree, pay him.

[SGamerz]

Cross the 10 Gold Pieces off your Adventure Sheet. Brokk ducks back inside the brewery and reappears some minutes later. He has exchanged his grubby apron for a coat of chainmail armour and is gripping a battle-axe in his ham-like fists. Slung over his shoulder is a coiled rope and iron grapple. He is also wearing a helmet which has the waxy stub of a candle stuck to the brim. You ask him what it is that awaits you in the mine, but he won't be drawn on the subject. "You hired me to be your guide, that's all," he says grimly.

When the two of you reach Fathomdeep Mine, if you find yourself reading a paragraph that has an asterisk (*) next to the number, subtract 50 from that reference and turn to the new paragraph to see what Brokk has to tell you. For as long as Brokk is with you, you may also assume that you have a Rope and Grapple (if you don't already). Brokk will also join in any battles you face underground. When faced with two opponents, you need only fight the first one to win the battle, as the Dwarf will do away with the other with his battle-axe. His attributes are SKILL 10, STAMINA 8. If you face only one opponent you will gain two Attacks, both of which can injure that opponent. In this case, if injuries are sustained they will only affect you on a dice roll of 1-3. Keep a careful note of Brokk's STAMINA score; if he dies, down there in the mine, you will have to continue alone (obviously losing the benefits gained by having the Dwarf fighting with you).

Much like in Howl of the Werewolf, Green seems to be borrowing a lot of the classic stuff from older FF gamebooks for his newer works, and here he uses an identical companion mechanism from Creature of Havoc.

The weird thing here is that Brokk is only ever in danger of dying when he's fighting alongside you against a single opponent 2-on-1. If he takes on any extra opponents by himself, he apparently auto-wins all the combats without needing to lose STAMINA. Which kind of suggests that our Hero is in fact a liability to his partners in battle.

"Look," the Dwarf says, as you prepare to set off, "you are going to need to get your strength up before you head down into that mine, so why don't you sample one of my 'special' brews?"

Brokk leads you inside the brewery, past huge copper cauldrons to his liquor store. He points out a number of earthenware jars lining a high shelf and tells you of their potential benefits. However, like anything the Dwarf has to offer, it's going to cost you. Take a look at the list of brews below. As long as you are willing to pay for them, you can choose to drink as many as you like. However, if you try more than two, for ever one you sample after that, you must reduce your Attack Strength by 1 point (which is a cumulative penalty) while you are down in the mine, as you become intoxicated by the alcohol.

BROKK'S 'SPECIAL' BREWS

Dwarf Ale 3 Gold Piece

Drinking this clear, honey-coloured ale has the effect of restoring 4 STAMINA points.

Trollbreath Beer 4 Gold Pieces

This muddy brown beer smells like a Troll's armpit, is the colour of a Troll's armpit, but actually tastes quite good, restoring up to 4 points of STAMINA. It also leaves you with the worse case of halitosis you've ever had! For every battle you have to fight down in the mine, you may reduce your opponent's Attack Strength by 1 point of it is a living creature (so not Elementals, magical creatures, Demons or Undead) as they recoil from the noisome stench of your breath.

Skullbuster Spirit 4 Gold Pieces

Just a few swigs of this notorious Dwarf drink will leave you with a splitting headache (reducing your Attack Strength by 1 point for the first battle you have to fight down in the mines), but it also fills you with incredible strength. Every blow you lay against an enemy, while you are in the mine, does 1 extra point of STAMINA damage.

Cadwallader's Old Battleaxe Cider 5 Gold Pieces

This powerful scrumpy has the effect of making you even braver than normal, filling you with fighting spirit. For the duration of your time in the mine you may add 1 point to your Attack Strength (but still bear in mind that if you drink too much, you could lose this benefit again).

Wyvern's Wing 5 Gold Pieces

Brokk doesn't know what it is about this particular ale - whether it's the melt-water that comes down off the Witchtooth peaks or the hops he grows himself - but it works not unlike a Luck Potion. Every time you have to Test your Luck while you are down in Fathomdrrp Mine, you may assume you are Lucky and you do not have to deduct any LUCK points for making the test.

Brokk's Blistering Brew 6 Gold Pieces

This one tastes like liquid fire and leaves you light-headed at the merest sniff (reducing your Attack Strength by 1 point for the first battle you have to fight down in the mines). However, it will also restore your SKILL score to its Initial level and up to half your STAMINA points.

When you are done sampling Brokk's wares, you set off for the mine. Move the Day of the Week on 1 and turn to 190.

Major revelation that Demons are apparently immune to bad breath attacks.

I'm going to assume that Wyvern's Wing only works when the text instructs you to test your Luck, and not when you use it voluntarily in battles, otherwise it'd be way to overpowered.

What special Dwarven booze do we wish to sample?

Note that we're left with 9 Gold Pieces after paying for the guide.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: ???
SKILL 9/9
STAMINA 15/19
LUCK 8/8
Equipment: Backpack, Leather Armour, Lantern and Tinderbox, Wyrmbiter (+2 Attack Strength & +1 damage against dragonkind), Dragon Tattoo, Hunting Horn, Potion of Giant Strength (+2 SKILL and 1 damage when drink before battle), Rope and Grapple, Potion of Levitation, Warhammer (does +1 damage after hitting an opponent if 5-6 is rolled on 1d6)
Provisions: 10/10
Gold: 9
Day of the Week:
Stormsday
Moonsday
Fireday
Earthday
Windsday
Seaday
Highday
Codewords: Mortsleam
Time Track:
Damage:
Notes:
1) For as long as Brokk is with you in the Fathomdeep Mine, if you find yourself reading a paragraph that has an asterisk (*) next to the number, subtract 50 from that reference and turn to the new paragraph to see what Brokk has to tell you. Brokk will also join in any battles you face underground. When faced with two opponents, you need only fight the first one to win the battle, as the Dwarf will do away with the other with his battle-axe. His attributes are SKILL 10, STAMINA 8. If you face only one opponent you will gain two Attacks, both of which can injure that opponent. In this case, if injuries are sustained they will only affect you on a dice roll of 1-3.
Extra Lives remaining: 5/5
[/spoiler]