Re: [Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 49 - Siege of Sardath
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2022 4:20 pm
I will vote to use Queen of Swords' order to make the potion found in paragraph 317.
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So it looks like we also inherit a tiny per cent of the Dark Elves' vulnerability to sunlight (does that mean Elf bane also becomes more dangerous to us too?). I wonder if it also means a Dark Elf who shape-shifts into human/other surface creatures would be less vulnerable to it (we encountered all the imposters during night time)?The apparatus bubbles furiously for a few minutes and some parts of its complex tubing rattle and shake. Eventually a clear liquid drips out of the end into a small phial. Feeling some trepidation, you drink the potion. You immediately experience an itching sensation and a tightness in your muscles. Various parts of your body warp and twist, as if trying to transform into something else, but no definite shape takes hold. Perhaps this is the very magic that the Dark Elves have been using to impersonate other species. Suddenly you have have an idea. Without wasting another second, you run back through the Library and Observatory into the Games Room. As soon as you see the body of the Dark Elf, you feel a great pressure being released. You are now one of them (whenever you come to the phrase 'because you are human' do not read on: deduct 10 from the number of the paragraph with that number). However, for your disguise to work, you will have to hide your twin's body, so you decide to leave it in the Library. If the Dark Elves haven't got in there so far, it must be impregnable. As you leave the Games Room and enter the Observatory, the sunlight feels very hot on your skin, but you are essentially a human, so you reach the Library door unharmed.
But will our new disguise save us?When you open the door, you suddenly realize your terrible mistake: there are at least ten Dark Elf warriors in here and they are still furious at being tricked by the Eagle. Because you are human, they attack without hesitation. You defend yourself with great fury, bringing all your resources to bear, but there are just too many of them. Your adventure is over.
Sadly, these group of Dark Elves are apparently not "dark" enough for our Lightning Sphere to activate...The Dark Elves snap to attention. "Lord Chaugh," one of them says, "we were..." His voice trails off. "How did you get past the sunlight?" he asks. You rack your brains for a plausible reply but, before you get a chance to tell your story, he starts to gabble at you in some unintelligible language - probably Dark Elf. You try to answer in Allansian, but he is not convinced. "Take the imposter," he shouts. You fight the Dark Elves with great fury, bringing all you resources to bear, but there are just too many of them. Your adventure is over.
Adventure Sheet:You walk down the torch-lit tunnel, tensely excited at the possibility of encountering a Dark Elf in this gloom. After a few hundred metres, you come to a junction, with one tunnel going up to the right and another going down the left. While you are standing here, trying to decide which way to go, you hear two sets of footsteps, one approaching from each direction. You could run back to the Laboratory, but they might follow you. However, there is a small, dark niche on the opposite side of the tunnel, where even Dark Elves may not be able to see you. If you decide to hide in here, turn to 335. If you would prefer to stand and face the Dark Elves, turn to 287.
So, apparently, the Dark Elves have orders to communicate in the common Allansian tongue (most likely to practise for being sent on impersonation missions), which is no doubt convenient for us (and also explains why the Elves behind the unmarked door only switched to his own language after he got suspicious).When he reaches the junction, the Dark Elf coming from the left stops, waiting for the other to arrive. Thankfully he doesn't see you. "Valethion, Clasyar," he says when the other reaches him.
"Hello, Dernath," the other answers. "We were ordered to practise our Allansian, remember."
"Yes," says Dernath. "I forgot." Then he looks puzzled. "But where are you going? I was just coming to join the Cohort."
"That self-righteous Eagle has opened the Observatory roof again, and Lord Chaugh got himself trapped in the Games Room. I was sent to try and get him out. Why don't you come with me? It's a futile assignment, so we can forget it and play Wrist-Dagger."
"That suits me," says Dernath, and they both set off up the tunnel.
You wait for a few minutes, then climb out of the niche. It sounds as if there are a lot of Dark Elf warriors in the tunnel to the right, and you can't afford any unnecessary combat, so you decide to go to the left.
We don't know about any knocking sequence, but will the companion check make it unneccessary?The tunnel twists and turns, leaving dark shadows in the corners, and you proceed very warily, half expecting something sinister to leap out at any moment. After several hundred metres, you reach a heavy stone door with a huge iron knocker set in the centre. If Istu is with you, turn immediately to 256. If you are alone, you pish the door but it is as form as the rock all around you. If you know the knocking sequence, add the numbers together and turn to the paragraph with that number. If you do not, turn to 374.
The Eleventh Veiled Guardian sounds like it might be a rank higher than Istu, but then it also only has 11 SKILL, which is 1 lower, so maybe bigger numbers indicate higher ranking? On that, assumption, First Veiled Guardian may be weaker than a child (although I guess they'd still kill any normal humans with no magical weapons).A huge booming voice comes from nowhere: "Istu! So you are released. You were to remain in your puzzle until I was returned to the Abyss." Istu roars and raises his talons. "If you want to fight," says the voice, "so be it! I, Pnea, the Eleventh Veiled Guardian, will destroy you and damn you to another period of imprisonment in the mortal world." Istu lashes out; the two demons fight.
PNEA SKILL 11 STAMINA 17
Resolve the battle remembering to deduct points from Istu's STAMINA score since he is directly engaged in combat. If Istu wins the battle, turn to 363. If Pnea wins, he will turn on you, rending you to pieces in seconds since you do not have a magical weapon.
Once again, it appears that normal Dark Elf warriors aren't quite dark enough to make our Lightning Sphere useful...Because you are human, the Dark Elf coming up from the left shouts a warning as soon as he reaches the junction. You both draw your swords, and a fierce battle ensues. This Dark Elf is a strong and skillful warrior and, by the time you have gained the upper hand ten or eleven more Dark Elf warriors have arrived. You fight valiantly but there are just too many. Your adventure is over.
We do in fact gain the knocking sequence that was referenced earlier. However...When the Dark Elf coming up from the right reaches the junction, he stops and salutes you. You copy his action. "Valethion, Chaugh," he says, but then stops himself. "I apologize," he says, "I forgot we must speak Allansian."
Quite severely, you tell him that a slip like that could cost him his life, and that it is not enough to look human, you must also act and speak like one. By this time the other Dark Elf has arrived. "Lord Chaugh," he says, saluting you. You return the gesture. "How did you get out of the Games Room?" he asks. Thinking very quickly, you tell him that you discovered a secret door into the Laboratory by manipulating one of the puzzles.
"We should report back with this information," says the first Dark Elf. "I nearly forgot, the knocking sequence has been changed. It's no six, one, five, seven, eight." They both salute you and set off up the tunnel to the right. It sounds as if there are a lot of Dark Elf warriors in the tunnel to the right and you can't afford to take part in any unnecessary combat, so you decide to go to the left.
...the check for Istu still takes precedence, so we still need to risk the demon combat!The tunnel twists and turns, leaving dark shadows in the corners, and you proceed very warily, half expecting something sinister to leap out at any moment. After several hundred metres, you reach a heavy stone door with a huge iron knocker set in the centre. If Istu is with you, turn immediately to 256. If you are alone, you push the door but it is as form as the rock all around you. If you know the knocking sequence, add the numbers together and turn to the paragraph with that number. If you do not, turn to 374.
COMBAT LOG:A huge booming voice comes from nowhere: "Istu! So you are released. You were to remain in your puzzle until I was returned to the Abyss." Istu roars and raises his talons. "If you want to fight," says the voice, "so be it! I, Pnea, the Eleventh Veiled Guardian, will destroy you and damn you to another period of imprisonment in the mortal world." Istu lashes out; the two demons fight.
PNEA SKILL 11 STAMINA 17
Resolve the battle remembering to deduct points from Istu's STAMINA score since he is directly engaged in combat. If Istu wins the battle, turn to 363. If Pnea wins, he will turn on you, rending you to pieces in seconds since you do not have a magical weapon.
Cutting out the rest since it's the same as what we'll read in the new section anyway...You walk towards the stone door, but Istu stops you. "There is a Warding," he says. "Written in a magical form that only Demons can see is a symbol which prevents me from passing through, but you may go on." He walks up to he door and heaves it open, using his supernatural strength. "I will stay here and pretend to be the door's Guardian. Since no one can see me, they will think that the voice is Pnea's." You thank the Demon for his help, then step through the door into a narrow tunnel.
Because you are human, the Dark Elves' lair will become very dangerous. The first time you are spoken to by a Dark Elf, you should ignore what the text says and turn immediately to 328 (make a clear note of this on your Adventure Sheet)....
Adventure Sheet:You follow the tunnel for about fifty metres until it emerges into a seemingly bottomless cavern. For a moment, you are seized by an unexpected attack of vertigo, but in soon passes and you see that you are standing on a long narrow walkway. You glance across the cavern to find out where it goes, and you catch a terrifying glimpse of the Dark Elf lair. It is of such a wild geometry and architecture that it makes you flinch and avert your gaze. Will you force yourself to look at the lair or go along the walkway, keeping your eyes down.
If this sort of thing can happen multiple times, it can be a really significant LUCK drain even if we have high LUCK. Thankfully, Lokimur's family heirloom protects us from having to risk that at all.Test your Luck twice. If you are Lucky both times, turn to 124. If you are Unlucky either time, turn to 395.
I hope none of you go insane from seeing that picture of Dark Elf architecture!The architecture is more than wild - it is completely illogical! The elements of the lair are as you might expect: walkways, stairs and archway: but the way they are put together is insane; it seems to defy all the laws of nature. Perhaps what you see is not the reality of the place but the only way in which your logical mind can interpret it. You stand there for a moment, entranced by its strangeness, feeling yourself becoming lost, your mind chasing through endless paths of unreason. But your will is strong and you are able to draw yourself away at last. Convinced that it would be too dangerous to look again, you decide to rely on what you have see already to guide you through the alien world, so you walk tentatively along the walkway, keeping your eyes on the path just in front of you. It is unnerving not knowing where you are going, but you force yourself to walk on. Eventually the walkway meets another. Will you go left or right?