[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 28 - Phantoms of Fear

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, search the cavern.

[SGamerz]

You grope around the cavern: it is too dark for even a Wood Elf to see much. You find no exits from the cavern, but you do come across foul evidence that its captors were feeding it - perhaps with their own troops. You also find the shattered remnants of furniture, as if in some past time this cavern had been used for a more civilized purpose. Among the broken and rotten wood, you hands make contact with something hard and spherical, which you take; then you leave the cavern.

You return to the junction. There is no one around for the moment, so you risk an inspection of what you found. It is a crystal ball, mounted on a black metal base. On the base are engraved runes which read, 'Ride the winds of time.' There is also the number 30 engraved next to the runes. Will you risk looking in the ball now, or will you put it in your pack and walk along the eastward passage?

Do we want to do some fortune-telling now?

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is to put it into the pack and walk along the eastward passage. Yes, I know this will endorse fascism, but if my D&D experience holds, looking at crystal balls is an invitation to be immobile for a long period of time, during which some stupid enemy will kill the player in a humiliating manner.

[pragma]

Worth noting that when you're leaving the Banshee cave, the eastern passage is on the left. While I don't like the moral relativism of whether or not a path is fascist depending on where you're standing, it is a way out of your current conundrum.

[Thaluikhain]

Half vote for keeping it for later and leaving.

[SGamerz]

*

You walk boldly down the well-lit passage, trying to look as if you belong here. You pass a narrow, dark tunnel to your right, but you think that this main passage must be leading somewhere important, so you carry on down it. You meet a couple of Troglodytes, but have no difficulty bluffing your way past these pea-brains. After some time, the passage ends at a junction, where you could turn right or left.

A random left or right option! I have absolutely no idea what you are going to choose....

....well actually, there's a third option here too: go back to dream world (*).

Btw,

if we try to look into the crystal ball immediately, we see an accurate prediction of our immediate future: getting slain by an Orc who sneaked up on us from behind while we were busy looking into the ball.

Which way do we go now?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Dickolaus Von Scrotunheim
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 15/19
LUCK 10/10
POWER: 20
Equipment: Telessa (sword), Leather Armor, Backpack, Water Flask, Potion of Strength (restores STAMINA to Initial value), Wild Boar's tusks, Antler-horn (12 branches), Elder Tree Branch (22 branches in the tree), Bowl (number "9"), Crystal Ball (number "30").
Provisions: 3

[Thaluikhain]

Dream world

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, let's try the dream world.

[JourneymanN00b]

Go to sleep.

[SGamerz]

You walk for a while through low shrubs, which glow with unnatural light and ooze blood. Without warning, the ground beneath you gives way and you land in an underground tunnel, through which a steaming river flows sluggishly.

Suddenly, the tunnel starts to move; the earth itself is heaving. The river seeps through cracks in the ground and disappears. Great rocks come crashing down, but none touch you - they are not meant to. The way ahead and behind is now blocked, but there is open air overhead. But an Angaroc is slithering through this vent.

Angarocs are hell-spawned creatures which exist only in the dream world - until some sorcerer discovers how to bring them through to the real world! They are servants of the Snake Demon Sith, whi values them highly among her pets. They are like huge snakes, but at intervals along their bodies four legs sprout from either side. The legs are thick and hairy like a spider's, and enable the Angaroc to leap surprising distances. Angarocs have no weaponry - no armour, claws or teeth. They need none, for their very being is venomous. Anyone who comes near an Angaroc will lose POWER: their life-force will be gradually drained off. Roll two dice. If you roll 2-7, the Angaroc reduces your POWER by 2 points; if you roll 8-12, however, you do not effect the Angaroc at all. But if you roll 8-12 three times in succession, you may be able to escape from the monster. If you manage to do this, turn to 168.

Unfortunately, we've just run into one of the most deadly encounters in this book. The format may look like most dream combats (where the odds are already slightly biased against a player winning a round), but having to win 3 rounds in succession makes it far more challenging, considering how much POWER it may be draining off us in the meantime. Also note that most of the time, even when we lose a dream combat after losing all our POWER, we don't actually die from it, but simply wake up and take a 1-point POWER penalty, but in this scenario, we're NOT given any section to turn to after we lose the "combat" which means losing all our POWER here = Gamer Over.

And to make things worse,

the encounter isn't even over after we succeed in rolling 8-12 3 times in succession.

But before I go further into how much this encounter sucks for us, let's see if we can even get as far as the next step:

COMBAT LOG:

Dice roll = 5. DVS is at 18 POWER.
Dice roll = 7. DVS is at 16 POWER.
Dice roll = 10. DVS evades Angaroc once.
Dice roll = 9. DVS evades Angaroc twice.
Dice roll = 10. DVS evades Angaroc thrice.

So...the dice wasn't too bad to us, and we made it. The danger should be over...right?

Nah....

If your POWER is 18 or more, turn to 242; otherwise, turn to 94.

Our POWER was 20 heading into the encounter, so getting drained more than once leads us to the bad result:

You struggle to change your dream, to get away from the Angaroc. Roll 1 die. On 1-3 turn to 52; on 4-6, turn to 242.

Die roll = 2.

You run and run, but seem not to be moving at all. You hear the Angaroc behind you; you sense that it is about to pounce. It smothers you with its vast body and pins you down while it drains your life-force. There is no escaping this monster, since it is not just a figment of your imagination, but one of the guardians which Ishtra has set in the dream world. Your adventure is over.

...which is a 50/50 chance of Game Over.

So, what do we do now? Pretend/re-roll for the better result and proceed? Or do you prefer to rewind back to an earlier point and avoid this encounter?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Dickolaus Von Scrotunheim
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 15/19
LUCK 10/10
POWER: 16
Equipment: Telessa (sword), Leather Armor, Backpack, Water Flask, Potion of Strength (restores STAMINA to Initial value), Wild Boar's tusks, Antler-horn (12 branches), Elder Tree Branch (22 branches in the tree), Bowl (number "9"), Crystal Ball (number "30").
Provisions: 3
No. of failures: 1

[JourneymanN00b]

Jeez, DVS encountered a pretty ridiculous death. That's a pretty stupid way to go, and I honestly don't see why this type of fight should be in the book.

This may be a unpopular opinion, but my vote is to end the adventure and start another gamebook. My reasoning is that DVS is brown bread now. That's it. He's not coming back. I think we need to apply a dose of reality when resolving this situation. There are no second chances or mulligans at life if you die in the real world.

Or, if we really have to abide by the options, my vote is to rewind to the first dream world adventure at the home village and fight the fearsome dream tiger that was a false amalgam of DVS' friends and family in an attempt to get DVS more POWER in this adventure.

[Thaluikhain]

Is dreaming at that point the only way to reach that encounter?

Anyhoo, that's a bit excessive, but then you get instakills easy enough.

I vote going back and not entering the dream world.

[Darth Rabbitt]

what the fuck is even up with that encounter
I like the idea of going back and fighting the dream tiger; hopefully that isn't a "you get screwed either way" scenario. After that follow our current path but don't go to sleep at the point where the fuck you monster lives.

[Queen of Swords]

I like the idea of going back and fighting the dream tiger; hopefully that isn't a "you get screwed either way" scenario. After that follow our current path but don't go to sleep at the point where the fuck you monster lives.

Another vote for this.

I remember the Angaroc encounter from when I played the book, and I couldn't get past it either.

[SGamerz]

Ok, so it looks like the inclination is to rewind back to attack that tiger-thing in the dream, so let's see how that turns out:

Tears well in your eyes as you raise your sword against this nightmare-spawned monster, which has taken over your village. As soon as you strike the first blow, the image changes and you see the peaceful village you left, where Elves go about their daily business as if they had no cares in the world. Again, you are viewing the scene from above, not as part of it, and the village recedes as if you were floating away. Gain 1 POWER and turn to 231.

Definitely the right move here, as DVS comes away from this encounter with a net gain of 2 POWER points higher than his alternate-reality self who refrained from attacking the tiger did, bringing his total up to 22!

After that we follow the same path, as voted, obeying the unspoken warning to stay still for a bit, then visiting the garden to gain another POWER point, now having a total of 23.

We then flip back into the real world and surprise 2 Orc guards, get an insta-kill on one of them, and fight the other:

COMBAT LOG:

Orc Guard 19, DVS 17. DVS is at 13.
OG 14, DVS 21. OG is at 4.
OG 16, DVS 19. OG is at 2.
OG 14, DVS 18. OG is killed.

Alas, in this reality, the Orc Guard got in one luck blow and ruined out flawless streak in Ishtra's lair!

We then locked the door (and leave the key stuck in the lock), grab the numbered bowl, and proceed until we reach the next junction, go left until we see the DANGER sign. We then investigate the "danger", remain impervious to the Banshee's initial scream, and fight it:

COMBAT LOG:

Banshee 11, DVS 17. Banshee is at 6.
Banshee 16, DVS 15. DVS is at 11.
Banshee 14, DVS 21. Banshee is at 4.
Banshee 16, DVS 15. DVS is at 9.
Banshee 18, DVS 18. Tie.
Banshee 16, DVS 17. Banshee is at 2.
Banshee 16, DVS 19. Banshee is defeated.

DVS just doesn't fare as well in the real world combats in this alternate timeline, getting hit twice by the Banshee before he overcomes it.

He then searches the Banshee's lair and loot the crystal ball to somewhat smoothen his injured pride, and turn back.

And now we're back to this below section:

*

You walk boldly down the well-lit passage, trying to look as if you belong here. You pass a narrow, dark tunnel to your right, but you think that this main passage must be leading somewhere important, so you carry on down it. You meet a couple of Troglodytes, but have no difficulty bluffing your way past these pea-brains. After some time, the passage ends at a junction, where you could turn right or left.

It looks like most players agree not to go back to the dream world at this point, so we must now decide which way to proceed in the physical world: left or right?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Dickolaus Von Scrotunheim
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 9/19
LUCK 10/10
POWER: 23
Equipment: Telessa (sword), Leather Armor, Backpack, Water Flask, Potion of Strength (restores STAMINA to Initial value), Wild Boar's tusks, Antler-horn (12 branches), Elder Tree Branch (22 branches in the tree), Bowl (number "9"), Crystal Ball (number "30").
Provisions: 3
No. of failures: 1

[JourneymanN00b]

First of all, I took a look at the previous posts, and DVS' POWER was at 20 before the dream tiger fight. Originally, the tiger bite took DVS' POWER to 19. So the new calculations from the POWER increases should take DVS' current POWER score to 22, not 23.

Second of all, I vote to consume 2 Provisions before proceeding any further in this adventure, as 9 STAMINA is way too low for comfort.

And finally, my vote will be to go left, as there is no reason to take the fascist route.

[Omegonthesane]

agreed with everything journeymanN00b said for this instance

[SGamerz]

POWER score amended to the right value, DVS consumes a meal, restoring it to 13.

You find yourself in a corridor with numbered doors on either side of it. To your left are doors numbered 11, 33 and 55; to your right are doors numbered 22, 44 and 66. Roll two dice until you roll a double, and then try the appropriate door (so, if you roll double 1, try the door marked 11, and so on). To try a door, turn to the paragraph with the same number as that marked on the door. If you choose to ignore all the doors and walk on up the corridor, turn to 217.

One of the weirdest parts of the book, no explanation given as to why we have to let the dice decide which door to check....

Do we want to stop and randomly be compelled to try any particular door?

Adventure Sheet:

Name: Dickolaus Von Scrotunheim
SKILL 12/12
STAMINA 13/19
LUCK 10/10
POWER: 22
Equipment: Telessa (sword), Leather Armor, Backpack, Water Flask, Potion of Strength (restores STAMINA to Initial value), Wild Boar's tusks, Antler-horn (12 branches), Elder Tree Branch (22 branches in the tree), Bowl (number "9"), Crystal Ball (number "30").
Provisions: 2
No. of failures: 1

[Thaluikhain]

Why do we need to roll a double? Can't we just go t 33 if we roll 3, say?

Half vote for trying a door.

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is to ignore all the doors and walk on up the corridor, as I really don't think that DVS is lucky when it comes to dice rolls.

Also, I vote to consume another Provision, since 13 STAMINA is still a little too low for my tastes.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Agreed on eating here but I think we should take a gamble with the doors. I suspect that at least one of them contains something awesome.

[SGamerz]

Stopping to check a random door wins by half a vote.

DVS consumes another meal to bring STAMINA to 17.

Roll 1 = 5+3
Roll 2 = 5+4
Roll 3 = 1+5
Roll 4 = 3+6
Roll 5 = 4+1
Roll 6 = 1+6
Roll 7 = 5+2
Roll 8 = 1+2
Roll 9 = 5+4
Roll 10 = 3+2
Roll 11 = 1+5
Roll 12 = 1+3
Roll 13 = 2+2

Ironically, we get a double on the unlucky 13th roll!

The door is locked. If you have a key, you could try it in the lock; otherwise, you could try another door by rolling another double on your dice, or you could walk on up the passage.

Since we don't have a key (the only one we found was left stuck in a lock somewhere), we can't open this.

Shall we try for another?

[Darth Rabbitt]

That's probably the good one and we were supposed to not lock the door. Try again anyways.

[Omegonthesane]

Just roll 1d6 and pretend it was a double, it doesn't change the odds of which double we get.

[JourneymanN00b]

My vote is to not try another door. DVS’ luck is really not good when it comes to random stuff like this, and getting a double on number 13 is a *really* bad omen.