[Let's Play] GrailQuest 4: Voyage of Terror

RogueOne · Post by **RogueOne** » Fri Jun 29, 2018 4:10 pm

SGamerz wrote:Or we can leave and head for Lost Island now......

If the Argonauts will let us leave without the golden sheep, we should definitely do that.

Odds are low we'll find anything useful on the island before succumbing to death...

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 12:54 am

Agree to leave for Lost Island if we can (although it'll more than likely end with a death by boss monster - so maybe try sleeping first? we're bound to get a good sleep roll at one point, that's how probabilities work, right?)

If our Dear Leader rules that we're really not supposed to leave without the Golden Fleece, go to the lake. It's described as dark so it's probably made of healing ointment or something.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 2:16 am

Yeah, even though the Argonauts kill us if we choose not to dock here, there's nothing to prevent us from leaving as soon as we've set foot on the island. The book never, ever checks whether we found the Golden Fleece or not (although yes, we can help Jason find it if we explore the right area).

Trying Sleep first:

Die roll = 3! No luck.

Dream roll = 7!

A sorcerer has given you a scroll containing a GNURLBASH spell. You have no idea what a GNURLBASH spell does, but are determined to find out. The instructions on the scroll suggest you roll two dice. Score 2-6 and the spell calls up a Gnurlbash Monster with 30 LIFE POINTS and +2 fangs which attacks you viciously, getting first strike. If it kills you, go to 14. If you can kill it with your bare hands, go back to the section where you decided to SLEEP. Score 7-10 and the Gnurlbash Monster will appear but wander off, allowing you to return safely to the section where you decided to SLEEP. Score 11-12 and the Gnurlbash Monster will actually accompany you out of the Dreamtime and fight on your behalf against one (but only one) monster in your adventure before disappearing.

Okay, this has the potential to be lethal or awesome.....

Dice roll = 8!

We avoid combat, but fail to gain the ally (this could potentially have been a solution to any Boss Fight we might go through on Lost Island).

We return to the ship and sail for Lost Island:

Cross-eyed Navigation roll = 8.

This island is impossible! You've sailed the Argo all the way around it four times running and not only are you unable to find a mooring, but neither are you able to find even a yard of beach where you could land a rowing boat. No wonder it's called Lost Island.

It looked welcoming enough at a distance, but now you are closer, you can see that it is a veritable bastion, its entire coastline enclosed by a massively ancient stone wall, high as cliffs, and built to all appearances, by giants.

Your crew are not happy at this development. The superstitious bunch are already muttering that perhaps this place would be better left alone. You, of course, are made of sterner stuff: but how to get on to the island?

On your fifth circuit, your eagle eyes catches sight of what might just be an opening in the wall. It's narrow indeed: even a single rowboat would have trouble negotiating the inlet, but it might just be possible. Ignoring the mutterings of the Argonauts--none of whom has volunteered to accompany you--you set out in the little boat, rowing strongly towards that narrow gap.

You reach it and experience a moment of panic as a strong current seizes your craft and sweeps it inwards. Yet this might be a blessing in disguise, for the current runs true, carrying you squarely between the looming walls before slackening into still water near what was obviously built as a mooring.

You look around. You are bobbing lightly in a tiny, totally enclosed harbour, built, presumably, when that great wall was constructed, aeons of years ago. Before you is a dock, little more than a ledge really, and beyond it, set into the wall, is a gigantic door of solid bronze.

You tie up your craft and approach the door. It towers above you as if it had been made for someone at least four times your height. Experimentally, you press your hands against it, and find, with no surprise at all, that it does not move. There is a massive bronze handle, some distance above your head and below it, just within reach, no fewer than ten tiny keyholes.

Those keyholes intrigue you. They are totally out of proportion with the door, yet something tells you that they, and not the massive handle, hold the secret of opening this portal.

If you happen to have ten tiny golden keys, you may fit them in the keyholes and see what happens at 153.

If you do not have all ten keys, your only option is to return to the Argo and pick another destination. Unfortunately this is not as easy as it sounds, since the current running in the entrance passage will make the manoeuvre very dangerous. Roll two dice. Score 2-4 and your craft is dashed against the wall so that you sink through the icy waters all the way to 14. Score 5-8 and you reach the Argo minus one third of your LIFE POINTS due to exhaustion. Score 9-12 and you reach the Argo without mishap.

This time, we have enough keys:

You insert the keys one after another. As the tenth is pushed home, there is a grinding of massive gears and the huge door swings slowly open.

Behind it is a stone-lined corridor, as gigantic as the door itself. Although gloomy and forbidding as the door opened, the walls of the corridor quickly begin to glow with a soft, warm, inviting light. Encouraged, you step forward, wondering what you will do if the great door slams shut behind you, but nothing happens. You take a cautious step forward.

The great door slams shut behind you.

For a moment you stand seized by panic, then, with a gentle musical note, a luminous green arrow appears in the floor almost beneath your feet. Then another appears a short way ahead, then another and another, making a trail. With nowhere else to go, you follow.

The arrows continue to appear as you move forward, taking you some two hundred yards along the massive corridor until, quite suddenly, it branches. The arrows continue to the right. To your left, another corridor opens.

To continue following the arrow trail, turn to 196.

To turn left, go to 119.

No more turning back!

Left or right?

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 3:36 am

Follow the arrow trail.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 8:15 am

Agreed, do as the arrows say

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sat Jun 30, 2018 10:11 am

You follow the luminous green arrows as the tunnel turns upwards and eventually emerge into blinding sunlight.

When your eyes adjust, you can see you are standing on a broad, flat, grassy plain, slap bang centre of which stands a towering pyramid. And hurrying towards you from the direction of the pyramid is a very familiar white-robed figure wearing his pointed wizard's hat over a thick bandage round his head.

'Merlin!' you call excitedly. 'Merlin, it's you!'

'Of course it's me!' Merlin exclaims grumpily. 'Who else would it be? And what kept you? Messing around with monsters, I'll be bound, like all young adventurers now. No sense of proportion. No, no indeed.'

'Excuse me, sir, but what happened to your head?'

'It collided with a bucket,' Merlin tells you irritably. 'But never mind that now. While you've been amusing yourself and lolling about in the sun, the Saxons have been invading Avalon. Hordes of them. Great hairy men in ships. Worse still, the King has lost his sword, Excalibur itself. Mislaid it, or had it stolen or some such, so he can't even fight. We have to get back. At least you do. You're the only one who can stop the Saxons. And find Excalibur, come to that, although that will have to be later when you've dispatched the Saxons. Quickly now.'

'I'm afraid I don't have my sword with me either,' you tell him apologetically. 'I mean I haven't had EJ on this whole adventure.'

'Sword?' asks Merlin. 'Sword? Why are you blathering about a sword? You can't see off a whole army with just a sword, however good it is. You need magic. Great magic. Superlative magic. Magic of almost unimaginable potency.'

'I'm afraid I don't have any of that either: nothing that would put paid to anentire Saxon army.'

'Neither do I,' says Merlin, 'but there's something suitable in the pyramid. All you have to do is get it and we'll be off back to Avalon.' He hesitates, almost imperceptibly, then adds, 'Watch out for the Mummy.'

And since Merlin never gives you a choice about anything, you'd better enter the pyramid at 203.

Well, Merlin just confirmed that there will be an End Boss in the form of a Mummy. Do we try Sleeping one last time before we enter?

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 1:13 am

Try for another Gnurlbash ally.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 3:40 am

Sleepy time.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 3:54 am

Sleep roll = 6! Success!

No Gnurlbash ally for us, but we can finally regain some LP!

Healing roll = 9! Pip is now at 13/25.

You notice with growing alarm that Merlin is ranging well back as you step into the gloomy tunnel which plunges into the heart of the towering pyramid. But there is nothing else for it except to press on.

The tunnel runs level for about a hundred yards, then ends in a flight of stone steps downwards. You descend into what seems to be a cubical, stone-lined crypt, in the centre of which is a granite sarcophagus. There is nothing else at all within the chamber; not even a hint of the superlative magic Merlin mentioned.

You move forward to examine the sarcophagus. The lid has been beautifully carved and decorated to resemble the reclining body of some ancient Pharaoh. Egyptian hieroglyphics have been cut into the sides. The workmanship is so perfect that it takes you nearly five minutes to discover the hidden clasp. But discover it you do and when you release it, the lid of the great granite coffin swings soundlessly open.

'Hello, Sucker!' says the Mummy within, reaching for you with huge bandaged hands.

Although largely rotted away, this animated corpse still retains 33 LIFE POINTS. Which may not seem all that much until you realise it is magically protected so that every dice roll you make to hit is at -5. (Even magical weapons which would normally hit automatically require a roll of 5 or better to work against this horror.) The Mummy, on the other hand, scores full dice damage (no plusses) and hits successfully on four or better. What's even worse, the Mummy's touch is poison, so that after his first successful hit you will lose 5 additional LIFE POINTS during each subsequent combat round (including your own strikes) due to poison eating away your insides.

The only good news is that you manage to kill the Mummy, the action of the poison stops. Should you fail, it's off to 14, although you may return directly to this island at 122 (with golden keys intact) when you have rerolled your LIFE POINTS. Should you manage to slaughter the Mummy, you will find a black ebony staff in the bottom of the sarcophagus. Take it quickly and read on...

I....don't think this fight is really possible. The only good news is that even Brennan isn't that much of a sadist to make us start all over again if we fail at this last fight. We can come straight back if we fail.....and we'll be rid of the beetle curse, at full LP.

Not much strategies for us right now....the -5 penalty means that it's impossible to use thrown spears on him and we can only hit him with melee weapon via a roll of 12!

Let's get this over with:

Mummy rolls 9, Pip rolls 6. Mummy goes first.

COMBAT LOG:

Mummy misses automatically due to Pip's multi-colouredness.
Pip rolls 4 and misses.
Pip rolls 8 and misses.
Mummy rolls 5 and hits for 1-2 = no damage....but Pip is poisoned! (Armour check = 11 - doesn't shatter)
Pip rolls 6 and misses.
Pip rolls 4 and misses.
Mummy misses automatically due to Pip's multi-colouredness.
Pip rolls 7 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and misses.
Pip loses 5 LP from poison and is at 8.
Mummy rolls 4 and hits for 0-2 = no damage.
Pip rolls 10 and misses.
Pip rolls 6 and misses.
Pip loses 5 LP from poison and is knocked out.

We've died more times in this book alone than the previous 3 books combined....

As mentioned before, the slight comfort is that we don't have to collect all the keys again. This is the very last fight in the book. Do you guys prefer to:

1) Roll up new LP and come back to fight at full LP? (Although we still need to roll 11-12 to hit the skeleton)
2) Explore the rest of Shipwreck island first?
3) Retcon past this fight and move on to the next book?

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Sun Jul 01, 2018 3:14 pm

Pretend we got the snake killer before fighting the hydra and defeated the cyclops "fairly" allowing us to cast Pig on the mummy.

Alternately pretend we cast Pig on the T-Rex and used the instakill item on the mummy.

Explore Shipwreck either way though. CONTENT.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:40 am

Omegonthesane wrote:Pretend we got the snake killer before fighting the hydra and defeated the cyclops "fairly" allowing us to cast Pig on the mummy.

Since the vote is to explore the rest of Shipwreck, I'll do the retcon if we've explored all the areas (or if you choose to give up and leave Shipwreck) and still haven't found anything better.

Re-rolling LP:

1st roll = 8.
2nd roll = 10.
3rd roll = 4.

So Pi's new LP is 10x4+15 = 55 LP.

Also, I'm assuming that the mongoose is no longer with us after our last death.

After that Pip sails for Shipwreck Island again.

Cross-eyed navigation roll = 12 (If only we can roll that for our attacks earlier....or our LP).

Pip makes it back to Shipwreck, and can explore the following areas again:

Lake
Well
Cottage (partially explored)
Village
Farm
Castle
Mansion

QUEST JOURNAL:

Pip's LIFE POINTS: 55/55
Permanent Life Points: 15

EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Piece of Driftwood (weapon, +2 damage)
Sword (hits on 6, damage +3)
Spear (hits on 6/thrown 8, damage +5/thrown +10, only attack once every 2 rounds/thrown once every 3 rounds)
New Dagger (hits on 6, damage +1, attack twice per round)
One-piece armour (worn) (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Spare armor x2 (damage -2, shatters on 12 after taking the 1st hit in every combat)
Rope (50ft coil)
Grappling hook
Backpack
Flint and steel (for lighting fires)
Ceramic lamp
Box of biscuits
Golden Key (x10)
Bottle of Grog
Axe

MONEY: 7730 GP

EXPERIENCE POINTS: 12
ENEMIES DEFEATED:
Old Sea Dog (2x)
Poisonous Spider
Ship's Cook (2x)
19 Guards
10 Scoundrels (3x)
Rock Thern (2x)
T-Rex
Greater Spotted Pondoozlewazzle Bird
Hecate
Hydra Pig
4 Shadows
Cyclops
Harpy
PUZZLES SOLVES: 5

No. of Deaths:
1) LP drained by Shadows on Skull Island
2) Devoured by a T-Rex on Dragon Island
3) Killed by Mummy on Lost Island

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:35 pm

Lake.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 11:49 am

There is definitely something peculiar about this place. As a seasoned adventurer, you've seen dark stretches of water before--lots of them. You've seen boats on them and birds on them and even the occasional Loch Ness type monster on them, but this is the first time you've ever seen one that grazed a flock of sheep!

You blink twice and rub your eyes, but the sheep are definitely there, calmly grazing on the surface of the lake. You glance across at Jason, who is staring slack-jawed, just as amazed as you are, so presumably he is seeing the same thing.

The flock moves restlessly and from somewhere in its centre the sun picks up a glint of gold. Jason's jaws closes with an audible snap. 'The Golden Fleece!' he hisses excitedly. He turns and grabs you by the lapels (or at least by where the lapels would be if you weren't wearing a Grecian tunic). 'You said we could go after the Fleece! You did! You promised! You promised we could go after the Fleece!'

'Calm yourself, man,' you tell him sternly. 'Of course we shall go after the Fleece.'

But how? That dark water looks miles deep and the flock is grazing so far out that swimming the distance could be tricky. Maybe you could walk across--the sheep seem to be doing all right. Or perhaps it would make more sense to look around for a boat.

If you decide to swim, dive in to 64.

If you want to try walking, stride forward to 59.

If you prefer to search for a boat, a good place to look would be 69.

How do we cross the lake?

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Wed Jul 04, 2018 3:01 pm

Look for a boat.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:50 am

You just got lucky. There's one hidden in a clump of bushes not more than a hundred yards from where you were standing. And not even a dice roll needed to find it.

You examine the boat carefully, convinced this has been just too easy, but it seems sound enough: all the timbers are intact and there are even two oars stashed neatly inside.

There might be one small problem, though: it looks a fairly heavy boat and you are going to have to carry it to the water's edge. Throw one die to calculate the weight of the boat. Now throw one die for yourself and one for Jason. If your score plus Jason's score is higher than the boat's score, then you can carry it between you to 43. If not, you'll have to go back to 88 and decide on another course of action.

Shouldn't be too hard to pass, for once....

Boat's weight = 5.
Pip's strength = 3.
Jason's strength = 5.

Success!

This is ridiculous. The boat won't move an inch! You pull on the oars with all your might and the stupid thing simply will not budge.

'You try,' you tell Jason. But though his muscles bulge and strain, he is no more successful than you were.

Looks as though the boat idea was a bummer. Go back to 88 and try something else.

....ok, now Brennan is just outright trolling us.

If you decide to swim, dive in to 64.

If you want to try walking, stride forward to 59.

If you prefer to search for a boat, a good place to look would be 69.

So does Pip now try to channel Caeleb Dressel, or Jesus?

MisterDee · Post by **MisterDee** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:45 am

Walk on water then. Logic seems absent in this book.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 11:38 am

Feeling like a complete idiot, you step on to the dark surface of the dark and threatening lake. Reflex action causes you to hold your nose and stiffen in certain anticipation of being swallowed by the waters. But nothing happens. The water feels as firm underfoot as an English meadow.

Cautiously you step forward. It's still firm!

'Eeeeeyaaaa!' With an excited howl, Jason streaks past you heading for the flock of sheep. With just the barest hesitation, you race after him. As you do so, the lake seems to fade and you are running headlong over a grassy plain. The lake was a magical illusion!

But the sheep are real enough; and now you are racing closer, you can see there is definitely a Golden Sheep in the centre of the flock.

Can you catch it? That excited cry of Jason's has spooked the whole flock good and proper. They are milling around a bit at the moment in the stupid way sheep do, but they're bound to find somebody to follow soon, in which case you might never reach them.

Suddenly the flock divides. The Golden Sheep bounds off towards a distant clump of trees. You must head off the creature before it reaches them, otherwise you might lose it forever.

But before you can even make the attempt, you're going to have to do something about the giant Ram which is now thundering towards you, intent on guarding his flock. The Ram has 30 LIFE POINTS, strikes successfully on 5 and can do ferocious +4 damage with its horns. As against that, there are two of you to fight him. If the Ram wins, go to 14. If you kill the Ram between you in three rounds or less then you can chase the Golden Sheep to 42. If it takes you more than three rounds to kill the Ram, you can still go on to 42, but you may find it more difficult to catch the sheep.

(In this instance, your dice roll, Jason's dice roll, Jason's dice roll and the Ram's dice roll together count as one round of combat.

What weapons and how much armour will Pip and Jason be using for this fight? (Jason wasn't wearing any armour in the fight on the ship, but there's nothing stopping him from carrying spare armour around like Pip does.)

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 3:16 am

Everyone should be using daggers for the 2 attacks/round. Just go with one piece of armor each because more than that has a decent chance of killing Pip.

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:16 am

Sure, that.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:46 am

I will determine the Ram's target randomly (50/50 chance).

Ram rolls 5, Pip (and Jason) roll 7. Pip goes first!

COMBAT LOG:

Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Ram is at 28.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Ram is at 27.
Jason rolls 8 and hits for 3+1 = 4 damage. Ram is at 23.
Jason rolls 8 and hits for 3+1 = 4 damage. Ram is at 19.
Ram attacks Pip and rolls 5, hitting for 0+4-2 = 2 damage. (Armour check = 9 - doesn't shatter)
Pip rolls 9 and hits for 3+1 = 4 damage. Ram is at 15.
Pip rolls 6 and hits for 0+1 = 1 damage. Ram is at 14.
Jason rolls 9 and hits for 4+1 = 5 damage. Ram is at 9.
Jason rolls 6 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Ram is at 7.
Ram attacks Jason and rolls 8, hitting for 3+4-2 = 5 damage. (Armour check = 9 - doesn't shatter)
Pip rolls 7 and hits for 1+1 = 2 damage. Ram is at 5 and is knocked out!

We managed to kill it within 3 rounds!

That sheep could still get away. Roll two dice to determine the sheep's speed. Now roll two dice on behalf of Jason and yourself. If you took more than three combat rounds to kill the ram in the last section, subtract 1 from your score for every round above three that it took. Now compare your final figure with the sheep's speed. If your roll is higher, go to 75. If not, you have lost the sheep.

Should you lose the sheep, you have the option of returning to 39 and trying another destination, or risking another bout with the ram at 59.

Sheep's speed = 10!
Pip and Jason's speed = 11!

We just managed to beat it!

'We've caught it!' Jason roars excitedly as he brings down the sheep in a rugby tackle.

'Yes,' you agree with a little less enthusiasm since you aren't quite so hung up on sheep as the Argonaut.

'Well, now you've done your macho bit, perhaps you could see your way to taking your great ugly hands off me,' says the sheep coldly.

Jason leaps back as if stung. (And even you, hardened adventurer though you are, are just a little surprised.) 'You can talk!' Jason stammers.

'Of course I can talk!' snaps the sheep (which has quite an upper-crust accent now you come to listen carefully.

A thought suddenly occurs to you. That old fool back in Avalon was always big into shape shifting. 'Excuse me,' you say, 'but you aren't Merlin, by any chance?'

'Don't be ridiculous!' the sheep tells you shrilly. 'My name is Media.'

Jason falls back even further, a stricken look on his handsome features. 'Princess Media?' he gasps.

'Quite.'

'But what are you doing in the shape of a sheep?'

'I'm not in the shape of a sheep,' says Princess Media. 'I merely look as though I'm in the shape of a sheep. There's a big difference.'

'Is there?' Jason frowns stupidly.

'Of course there is. My father, King Colchis, is a most remarkable illusionist--a rather specialized type of wizard, you appreciate. He has spells going all over this island, so almost nothing is what it seems to be. Pigsties look like villages, palaces look like hovels, plains look like lakes... he's even made the calm seas look like rocks around the island: it stops people bothering us. You are the first visitors we've had for nearly fifteen years.'

'But why has he made you look like a sheep?' Jason asks, then adds as an afterthought, 'Your Highness.'

'Because I am stunningly beautiful,' says Princess Media matter-of-factly. 'If men knew how beautiful I was, we'd have invasions all the time, illusionary rocks or not. Look what happened to Troy just because of Fair Helen.'

'But don't you mind looking like a sheep?' Jason asks.

'Not in the least. Besides, I only look like a sheep to outsiders. All the people who live here see me as I really am. That ram you fought was my latest boyfriend, actually: a young noble by the name of Pericles.'

'I'm sorry,' says Jason, looking sheepish.

To divert this embarassing turn in the conversation, you ask curiously, 'Why is your fleece golden?'

'I'm wearing a yellow sweater,' says the Princess. She sighs. 'Oh, I suppose I'd better break the illusion and let you see me the way I really am or you'll never be satisfied.' And with a wave of her front hoof, she transforms into one of the most stunningly beautiful young women you have ever set eyes on.

Jason stares at her thunderstruck for a moment, then asks, 'Will you marry me?'

'Now, just a moment, Jason--' you begin, for in truth you are not at all sure this Media would make a good wife for Jason, Princess or not.

But Media is shaking her head in any case. 'Don't be silly,' she tells him severely. 'I have no intension of marrying anybody until I'm too old to have fun any more. But you can have my sweater as a keepsake, if you like. I have a tunic on underneath, so I shan't catch cold.' With which she peels off the sweater and tosses it to him before reacing off towards a clump of trees which are probably an illusionary herd of deer.

Jason stares after her open-mouthed, then turns to you. 'What shall I do? She has stolen my heart away!'

'Pull yourself together, man!' you tell him firmly. 'Your life would be a misery married to her. You've got the Golden Sweater now: be content with that.'

'No, no--I shall pursue her to the ends of the Earth. I shall conquer lands for her. I shall fight foes for her. I shall trek across deserts for her. I shall battle through flames for her. I shall--'

'Not on my time you won't!' you snap, utterly fed up with this lovesick lunatic. 'Right now, we shall return to 39 and see if there is anything more worth exploring on this stupid island; if not, we will return to the Argo.'

Alright, that's the Argonauts' mission completed......and it was utterly pointless (for Pip). Absolutely zero reward. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy that warm fuzzy feeling inside for helping Jason complete his quest!

Next location?

Lake
Well
Cottage (partially explored)
Village
Farm
Castle
Mansion

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:23 pm

Throw Timmy down a well.

Darth Rabbitt · Post by **Darth Rabbitt** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:05 pm

If DestinyQuest 2 has taught me nothing else (and it hasn't), it's that searching in wells is worthwhile.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:26 am

Keep in mind that what looks like a well on this island probably isn't really a well, given what the princess just told us. That was probably the reason why the cottage was so big on the inside. It was either a mansion or castle in disguise.

The approach to the well is not quite so easy as it looked from a distance. In fact, it is positively marshy.

'Stay close to me,' you order Jason, who seems to be in something of a daze, possibly due to marsh gas. But as you press further towards your objective, you realize these surroundings are not merely difficult, but positively dangerous. The marsh gives way to swamp and but for your eagle eye, you would certainly have slipped into that small patch of quicksand.

But how long you can continue to avoid the quicksand is a different matter. To reach the well, you must throw two dice. Score 8-12 and go to 41. Score less and you lap gaily into a patch of quicksand.

Once trapped in the quicksand, there is a small chance Jason may be able to pull you out. Roll one die. Score 5 and 6 and you are safely rescued in which case you may make another attempt to reach the well if you wish. Score anything else and you are sucked all the way down to 14.

If you decide not to bother with the grotty old well, you can return to 39 and pick another option.

Do we risk the quicksand?

Omegonthesane · Post by **Omegonthesane** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:21 pm

Just under 50% chance of success, and failure has a 2/3 chance of causing death. Screw that, we're off to find that the castle is actually a landmine.

SGamerz · Post by **SGamerz** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:02 pm

The castle looms grimly over you as you approach. It is solidly built from granite slabs, a sinister collection of Gothic spires and turrets, vaguely reminiscent of the Castle of Darkness where you once put paid to the Wicked Wizard Ansalom. The recollection makes you hesitate momentarily, but where a lesser adventurer might have run off screaming, you are made of sterner stuff and press on stupidly.

Hiss-thud! It sounds as though an arrow has just whizzed past your ear and buried itself in a tree. But when you look round there is no sign of it. You press on.

Hiss-thud! Another arrow? Again you turn, but can see no sign of the missile. All the same, it might be time to have second thoughts about this place.

If you want to go on, turn to 126.

If you prefer to turn back, you can pick another destination from 39.

Do we want to keep getting shot at? If not, please pick another location.