The Gaming Den

Green cream...though, do we have any reason to think it will do something here?

Green cream is the blue option, so go with that.

Use the cream.

Votes recognized; Shaggy will use the Green Cream and turn to paragraph 290.

290
Smearing the slimy Cream on your skin repels the twisting tendrils of the plant and you can pass safely through. You arrive at the front door of the monastery, which is slightly ajar; there doesn’t appear to be any other entrance to the building. Roll two dice. If the total is less than, or equal to, your PRESENCE, turn to 206. If the total is greater than your PRESENCE, turn to 222.

Rolling the dice yielded a 10, which is higher than Shaggy’s presence.

222
In the doorway crouches the residue of a monk, still dressed in the simple brown robe of his monastic order, while the slack-jawed grin and mouldering flesh tell that you are facing a Zombie. This creature retains some of the weaponless combat discipline the monk trained with during his years of life; an agility and strength unknown in ordinary Zombies confronts you, as purple-yellow, atrophying hands flash through the air to strike you down!

ZOMBIE MONK SKILL 9 STAMINA 7

If you win, you step over the remains of your enemy and stare into the darkened corridor beyond. There are doors to your left and right, and the corridor leads past them to a junction with another passage. Will you:

Open the left-hand door? Turn to 180
Open the right-hand door? Turn to 398
Continue as far as the passageway junction Turn to 154

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Zombie Monk Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 22;
Zombie Monk Stamina: 5, Player Stamina: 14
Round 2: Zombie Monk Attack Strength: 16, Player Attack Strength: 23;
Zombie Monk Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 14
Round 3: Zombie Monk Attack Strength: 11, Player Attack Strength: 16;
Zombie Monk Stamina: 1, Player Stamina: 14
Round 4: Zombie Monk Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 19;
Zombie Monk Stamina: -1, Player Stamina: 14[/spoiler]

Shaggy flawlessly destroys the Zombie Monk and is now at the darkened corridor.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PST or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Shaggy
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 11
STAMINA: 14 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 8 Initial Luck = 10
PRESENCE: 5
TIME ELAPSED: 0 days
ENEMY ENCOUNTER:
None
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Knife
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather Jerkin
Pot of Thick Glue
Sword
Potion of Stamina (restores up to one-half of Initial Stamina when used)
Flask of Grog (+4 Stamina, +1 Attack Strength temporary bonus for one combat)
Magic Sword (+1 Attack Strength)
Shield
Rope
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 11
POSSESSIONS:
Bottle of Olive Oil
2 Pouches
13 Gold Pieces
Small Gold Key (Found in paragraph 40)
Glass Bottle
Boons:
2 Entity Wishes[/spoiler]

Open the right-hand door.

In absence of any indicators, right is as good a direction as any (it's just as possible we'll need to fight fascism as avoid it).

Right, and pray it doesn't stop us from checking the other door afterwards.

Votes registered; Shaggy will open the right-hand door.

398
Going through the doorway, you set off down a passage into a warren of rooms where the junior monks lived. Each room is tiny and contains only a hard pallet bed, a simple chair and one or two small ornaments. Will you:

Spend some time searching the individual rooms? Turn to 243
Return to the main passage and leave the building? Turn to 281
Return to the main passage and open the door opposite, if you haven’t done so before? Turn to 180
Head along the main passage towards the T-junction? Turn to 154

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

Search everything.

Search everywhere.

Spend time searching.

Spending some time searching the individual rooms already received 3 votes, so Shaggy will do this.

243
Your time spent searching is wasted: the cells contain nothing of interest or value. You find yourself yawning, and you settle down for a badly needed nap on one of the beds.

When you wake, a couple of hours later, you are ravenously hungry. You must eat a meal. Now will you:

Return to the main passage and leave the building? Turn to 281
Return to the main passage and open the door opposite, if you haven’t done so before? Turn to 180
Head along the main passage towards the T-junction? Turn to 154

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

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Shaggy
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 11
STAMINA: 14 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 8 Initial Luck = 10
PRESENCE: 5
TIME ELAPSED: 0 days
ENEMY ENCOUNTER:
None
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Knife
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather Jerkin
Pot of Thick Glue
Sword
Potion of Stamina (restores up to one-half of Initial Stamina when used)
Flask of Grog (+4 Stamina, +1 Attack Strength temporary bonus for one combat)
Magic Sword (+1 Attack Strength)
Shield
Rope
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 10
POSSESSIONS:
Bottle of Olive Oil
2 Pouches
13 Gold Pieces
Small Gold Key (Found in paragraph 40)
Glass Bottle
Boons:
2 Entity Wishes[/spoiler]

Open the door opposite.

Agreed, let's try the door opposite.

May as well.

Votes registered; Shaggy will return to the main passage and open the door opposite.

180
You enter the spartan kitchens of the monastery. If you need food, you can cut the rind off some mouldy cheeses and take some jars of bottled fruit to replenish your supplies (add up to 4 to your Provisions total). There are steps leading down to a door opposite you; if you want to go down the stairs, turn to 45. Alternatively you can leave, re-enter the passage and open the door opposite if you haven’t done this before (turn to 398) or set off down the passage towards the T-junction (turn to 154).

[spoiler][/spoiler]

I will assume that we eat a Provision and take 3 more Provisions from the mouldy cheeses and bottled fruit, unless anyone wants to object here. Shaggy has already opened the door opposite him.

Please make your votes on whether to go down the stairs or leave and set off down the passage towards the T-junction before 9:00 AM PST or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Shaggy
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 11
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 8 Initial Luck = 10
PRESENCE: 5
TIME ELAPSED: 0 days
ENEMY ENCOUNTER:
None
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Knife
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather Jerkin
Pot of Thick Glue
Sword
Potion of Stamina (restores up to one-half of Initial Stamina when used)
Flask of Grog (+4 Stamina, +1 Attack Strength temporary bonus for one combat)
Magic Sword (+1 Attack Strength)
Shield
Rope
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 12
POSSESSIONS:
Bottle of Olive Oil
2 Pouches
13 Gold Pieces
Small Gold Key (Found in paragraph 40)
Glass Bottle
Boons:
2 Entity Wishes[/spoiler]

Go down the stairs.

Agreed, down the stairs.

Votes registered; Shaggy will go down the stairs.

45
Pushing open the door at the bottom of the stairs, you stumble into the extensive cellars of the monastery. They’re dark, but fortunately there is a lantern with plenty of oil here, so you take this to light your way (add it to your Possessions). You also take two small bottles of Monks’ Herbal Liqueur; each half-bottle dose is a wonderful stimulant, restoring 4 points of STAMINA when drunk, which you can do at any time except during combat. You can’t carry more than two small bottles. Now, if you want to make an extended search of the cellars by prodding around in dark and dingy corners, turn to 313. Alternatively, you can leave the kitchens and go back to the passage, either opening the door opposite if you haven’t done this before (turn to 398) or heading down the passage to the T-junction further into the building (turn to 154).

Shaggy has already opened the door opposite him.

Please make your votes on whether to make an extended search of the cellars or leave and set off down the passage towards the T-junction before 6:00 PM PST or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Shaggy
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 11
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 8 Initial Luck = 10
PRESENCE: 5
TIME ELAPSED: 0 days
ENEMY ENCOUNTER:
None
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Knife
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather Jerkin
Pot of Thick Glue
Sword
Potion of Stamina (restores up to one-half of Initial Stamina when used)
Flask of Grog (+4 Stamina, +1 Attack Strength temporary bonus for one combat)
Magic Sword (+1 Attack Strength)
Shield
Rope
2 Small Bottles of Monk’s Herbal Liqueur (each half-bottle gives +4 Stamina)
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 12
POSSESSIONS:
Bottle of Olive Oil
2 Pouches
13 Gold Pieces
Small Gold Key (Found in paragraph 40)
Glass Bottle
Lantern
Boons:
2 Entity Wishes[/spoiler]

We've already got good stuff, so... half a vote for making an extended search. I think this is as likely to turn up something nasty as it is for us to stumble across something useful.

Keep searching. So far extended searches just cost us Provisions and we’re not short of those.

Extended search.

Votes registered; Shaggy will make an extended search of the cellars.

313
[spoiler][/spoiler]

The cellars are extensive and a search is time-consuming; you must eat a meal. But you find a pestle and mortar here (you may take them, if you wish) and, scrawled on a wall in the far corner of the cellar, you find what seems to be some kind of map. Below, on the floor, is the broken flint the unknown cartographer used to scratch the map with. All that remains of him is a large, smeared, dark-red bloodstain on the floor.

After your search, you return to the passage; here, you can open the door opposite if you haven’t done this already (turn to 398 if you do this), leave the monastery (turn to 281), or go further into the building towards the T-junction (turn to 154).

Shaggy has already opened the door opposite him. Please make your votes on whether to take the pestle and mortar and whether to leave the monastery or go further into the building towards the T-junction before 9:00 AM PST or a 3-vote majority is reached to ensure that they will be counted.

Adventure Sheet
[spoiler]Shaggy
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 11
STAMINA: 17 Initial Stamina = 17
LUCK: 8 Initial Luck = 10
PRESENCE: 5
TIME ELAPSED: 0 days
ENEMY ENCOUNTER:
None
EQUIPMENT LIST:
Knife
Backpack
Waterskin
Leather Jerkin
Pot of Thick Glue
Sword
Potion of Stamina (restores up to one-half of Initial Stamina when used)
Flask of Grog (+4 Stamina, +1 Attack Strength temporary bonus for one combat)
Magic Sword (+1 Attack Strength)
Shield
Rope
2 Small Bottles of Monk’s Herbal Liqueur (each half-bottle gives +4 Stamina)
PROVISIONS REMAINING: 11
POSSESSIONS:
Bottle of Olive Oil
2 Pouches
13 Gold Pieces
Small Gold Key (Found in paragraph 40)
Glass Bottle
Lantern
Boons:
2 Entity Wishes[/spoiler]

Go further into the building.

Further in, I guess.

EDIT: And always take random not cursed looking items, in this case mortar and pestle.