The door shudders under your charge but does not open. Lose 1 STAMINA point. You try again and this time the bolt is torn from the frame. The door flies open and you step inside the room, ready for the creature inside. The room itself has a door in each wall. Scattered around one corner is an untidy pile of bones. In another corner is a half-eaten human carcass. Standing over the carcass – and evidently annoyed that its meal has been disturbed – is a bulky creature with a hairy face, razor-sharp teeth, and wild eyes. As you enter, it turns to attack you and you must resolve your battle with the Manic Beast:
The original art just looks like kind of a grumpy caveman, but in a later printing, this bad boy made the cover somehow.
MANIC BEAST: SKILL 7, STAMINA 8
(The book takes far too many words to say that if the MB is wounded in a round of combat, it fights at SKILL 9 the following round.)
Creature 16, Beast 14; Beast at 6
Creature 11, Beast 15; Creature at 7
Creature 12, Beast 12; no result
Creature 18, Beast 15; Beast at 4
Creature 16, Beast 15; Beast at 2
Creature 16, Beast 19; Creature at 5
Creature 18, Beast 13; Beast defeated.
(Creature am hurting...)
You may, if you wish, regain your strength by waiting for a few moments in the room before continuing. You can pass the time by feasting on either of the dead creatures. Which looks the tastiest:
• The Manic Beast?
• The human carcass?
• Neither, ignore the food, leave the room?
SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 5/12
LUCK: 10/11
marked piece of hide
secret door pendant
crystal club
We have no idea how good Maniac Beasts taste, but that human is probably fairly delicious if the Maniac Beast made so much noise while eating it and was so pissed by our intrusion on its meal that it attacked us.
What I'm saying is eat the human carcass.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
...and on the other hand, we know *we* killed the Manic Beast, the human might have died to poison or something.
Eat the human.
(And in today's good news, we must be on the right track if we met a monster from the cover.)
Starmaker wrote:.
(And in today's good news, we must be on the right track if we met a monster from the cover.)
Not neccessarily. Beneath Nightmare Castle and Demons of the Deep, (amongst many others I'm sure) feature creatures it is sub-optimal to meet on the cover.
Eat the human.
Last edited by Mr Shine on Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Starmaker wrote:.
(And in today's good news, we must be on the right track if we met a monster from the cover.)
Not neccessarily. Beneath Nightmare Castle and Demons of the Deep, (amongst many others I'm sure) feature creatures it is sub-optimal to meet on the cover.
I mean, it made the cover the second time around. The original covers seem to be "lol, whatever".
(I'm not out to argue about the assumption itself, I'm just defending it as reasonable within the scope of limited available evidence. I know next to nothing about this book; before Angel started the LP, I had thought it was a sort of Reverse Dungeon setup where you played a monster on Team Monster and guarded your home dungeon against adventurers all the way through.)
You tuck into your meal. The meat is rather tough, as it is no doubt several days old. But while you are eating, something catches your attention. Tied around the human's waist you find a small leather pouch which contains 2 gold pieces. You may take these with you; and you gain 4 STAMINA points from the meal. Your attention is also captured by two glass flasks lying by the side of the unfortunate human. Though they have been battered in the struggle, they are not broken and each contains a coloured liquid.
• Drink the green liquid?
• Drink the blue liquid?
• Neither?
SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 9/12
LUCK: 10/11
marked piece of hide
secret door pendant
crystal club
pouch w/2 gold pieces
This is completely random. I suggest drink green liquid for no reason.
Actually, it's because I suspect that if you drink the first potion it will do something good and offer you the chance to drink the second potion, but if you drink the second potion it does something bad. Because that is how Fighting Fantasy trapped objects work. Have to give people the taste of something good before shitting on them.
I'm not spoiling anything that I'm aware of; I genuinely don't recall which (if either) of these liquids are ideal, and the emote was just my vote for Green.
As I told angel, I wasn't going to weigh in on anything I remembered, and I don't remember much about this book other than being frustrated by it. And the only taking 1 point of damage in combat, and the choice with the Dwarf in the beginning.
Pseudo Stupidity wrote:This Applebees fucking sucks, much like all Applebees. I wanted to go to Femboy Hooters (communism).
Mr Shine wrote:Did I miss something, or shouldn't we only lose 1 STAMINA per attack?
No, you're totally right. Good call, and keep an eye out for that, because I'm so used to the 2 per that I'll probably mess that up again at some point. In any event, it's moot at the moment, because...
You put the bottle to your mouth and gulp down the liquid. Almost immediately, you begin to feel strength flowing through your body. You have discovered and drunk a Potion of Strength, and it takes effect quickly. You may restore your STAMINA to its Initial level.
You leave the room through a door in the east wall. the door opens into a dingy corridor, which is quite short and ends at a wooden door. When you listen at the door, you can hear conversation rising and falling in pitch as if two or three creatures (or humans) were locked in a long discussion. This is your only way onwards.
• Will you try the door and attempt to creep slowly into the room?
• Or attempt to surprise whatever is inside by charging into the room with claws drawn?
SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 12
LUCK: 10/11
marked piece of hide
secret door pendant
crystal club
pouch w/2 gold pieces
You carefully open the door. It creaks on its hinges but opens easily, allowing you into the room. You are ready for the creatures inside and hope to surprise them. But when you enter, it is you who are surprised at what you see.
The room is roughly circular, with doors in the north, south, and west walls. Around the walls, in between the doors, are dark arches – a total of six – which are large enough for you to enter. But from your position it is impossible to know how deep they are. The voices which you heard earlier have stopped, as if your entrance has surprised whoever – or whatever – was talking. There is no sign of any living creature in the room. You step into the centre and you are startled when the door slams shut behind you!
• Leave the room through one of the doors?
• Investigate the room further?
Not necessarily, there's just one option and it might lead to a three-pronged "now pick a door" to which another branch is funneled. In the interest of moving the lp forward, investigate and hope for the vapor of language, although I suspect surprise!lava.
You glance from arch to arch, trying to decide whether to investigate them. The stillness is unnerving. Whatever happened to the voices you heard? As if in answer to your question, a sound drifts out from one of the alcoves: 'Pvf Rehfrf. Cpm fep vfrehfr fe jfiypvu wb nta tpolf brnapfog rf bta rj chfs ejn ithfs fe prbts. Dpoy pvu nptov ndf rstb nd ath fehvm bnatpn gvf? Pf rhb psa thfneypvus pf bkat hfetrpl lolbn g vbgf. C'rgga gvonusoog mg pa'sthwag ig thaang. Va n'oigg? What about this? Is that better? Ah, yes. I can tell you understand me. Look, I can help you. Maybe you would like me to direct you to a tasty morsel? Two fat Hobbits? Or shall I tell you about he who knows all your secrets? I speak, of course, of Zharradan Marr. Come, talk to me.'
You are stunned to silence by the voice speaking to you in your own tongue. It is inviting you towards one of the arches.
• Enter the arch and speak to the being within?
• Leave?
SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 12
LUCK: 10/11
marked piece of hide
secret door pendant
crystal club
pouch w/2 gold pieces
Obvious trap is obvious, but maybe it does guard the vapor of languages, since it speaks human, troll, and whatever it is we are. Half a vote for investigating further.
You are intrigued by the voice and find yourself strangely attracted to it. It guides you towards one of the central arches in the east wall. 'Come closer, so I may speak to you in private. No, not that arch, this on. That's right. Have no fear. I will tell you of the all-knowing one and tell you where you will find some juicy Hobbits. Just a little firther. It is so long since I have enjoyed company and I do so love to find out what happens in the outside world...'
You pass through the arch and look around. When your eyes have adjusted to the light, you can see that you are standing in a short tunnel which ends several paces ahead in a dead end. There are no glowstones, but a glistening sheen covers the ceiling. At the end of the short passage is a shape which you can just make out. It appears to be a human, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, a tattered cowl over its head. A leather flagon stands at its feet. 'Come closer,' says the voice. 'My hearing is not good. Can I offer you drink?'
