[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 14 - Temple of Terror

[Darth Rabbitt]

Burn a single point of Luck on an attempt to deal extra damage; it's going down in 2 hits regardless and it might go down in 1 if we're lucky.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, second that.

Also eat a provision immediately afterwards.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for your votes. A single point of Luck will be used to attempt to deal extra damage to the Giant Centipede, since we have 2 votes in favor of this.

The rest of the fight:
[spoiler]Round 5: Giant Centipede Attack Strength: 19, Player Attack Strength: 17;
Giant Centipede Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 4
Round 6: Giant Centipede Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Luck roll: 6, Player is Lucky and deals 2 additional damage
Giant Centipede Stamina: -1, Player Stamina: 4, Player Luck: 7[/spoiler]

Captain Dirk Slayington takes another hit from the Giant Centipede before he manages to score a Lucky hit, which slays the foul beast. As requested, Captain Dirk Slayington also eats a provision immediately afterwards to bring his Stamina to 8.

393
If you wish to cut down the bucket from the ceiling, turn to 60. If you would rather open the iron door in the far wall, turn to 21.

Please vote before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Captain Dirk Slayington
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 8 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 7 Initial Luck = 12
ITEMS OR EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Sword
Shield
Leather Armour
Rucksack
Lantern
Arrows x1
Mirror
Water Canister (Empty)
Sealing-wax
Ivory Beetle Charm
Bracelet of Mermaid Scales
Crystal Key
Ebony Facemask
Bone Flute
Sandworm Tooth
Polished Iron Helmet (+1 SKILL)
GOLD: 12
SPELLS:
Open Door (-2 STAMINA)
Read Symbols (-1 STAMINA)
Detect Trap (-2 STAMINA)
Jump (-3 STAMINA)
PROVISIONS: 1[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Cut down the bucket.

[Queen of Swords]

We didn't go through all that to leave the bucket. Cut it down.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, not enough hacking in the centipede, start hacking up things supporting buckets.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, the centipede was probably guarding something worth examining.

[Queen of Swords]

Yeah, the centipede was probably guarding something

Hopefully not baby centipedes.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Captain Dirk Slayington will cut down the bucket from the ceiling.

60
The bucket clatters to the stone floor when the rope is cut, spilling its contents – old bones – all around the room. Gathering them all together, you discover that one of them has been carved into the shape of a Dragon. This is one of the artefacts you have been seeking! You put the carved bone in your pocket and walk over to the door in the far wall. Turn to 21.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

21
[spoiler][/spoiler]
The door opens into a corridor at a T-junction. One passageway runs to the left and right of the door, and another begins immediately in front of you. You see nothing of interest either to your left or right, and you decide to walk directly ahead. Turn to 46.

46
[spoiler][/spoiler]
After walking for some fifty metres, your progress is halted by a deep pit which spans the width of the corridor. If you can and wish to cast a Jump spell, turn to 215. If you are forced to jump the pit without magical aid, turn to 259.

Please vote before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Captain Dirk Slayington
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 8 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 7 Initial Luck = 12
ITEMS OR EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Sword
Shield
Leather Armour
Rucksack
Lantern
Arrows x1
Mirror
Water Canister (Empty)
Sealing-wax
Ivory Beetle Charm
Bracelet of Mermaid Scales
Crystal Key
Ebony Facemask
Bone Flute
Sandworm Tooth
Polished Iron Helmet (+1 SKILL)
Bone Dragon
GOLD: 12
SPELLS:
Open Door (-2 STAMINA)
Read Symbols (-1 STAMINA)
Detect Trap (-2 STAMINA)
Jump (-3 STAMINA)
PROVISIONS: 1[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Jump spell, and eat our last provision to make up for it. Fingers crossed that we can find more food soon.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, jump while eating.

[Beroli]

Eat and cast Jump.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Dine and dash (and by dash, I mean jump).

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Captain Dirk Slayington will cast a Jump spell and eat his last Provision.

215
You utter the words of the spell (deduct 3 STAMINA points) and leap over the pit with ease. Landing gently on the far side, you set off along the corridor. Turn to 152.

152
[spoiler][/spoiler]
In the gloom of the torch-lit corridor, you see a horrible creature hovering in the air and blocking your path. It is round, with a large eye in the centre of its dark green scaly skin, which is covered with spines. The Eye Stinger floats towards you, trying to mesmerize you with its hypnotic gaze and sting you with its spines. If you wish to fight the killer with your sword, turn to 236. If you would rather look through your backpack for something to use, turn to 387.

Please vote before 9:00 AM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Captain Dirk Slayington
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 9 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 7 Initial Luck = 12
ITEMS OR EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Sword
Shield
Leather Armour
Rucksack
Lantern
Arrows x1
Mirror
Water Canister (Empty)
Sealing-wax
Ivory Beetle Charm
Bracelet of Mermaid Scales
Crystal Key
Ebony Facemask
Bone Flute
Sandworm Tooth
Polished Iron Helmet (+1 SKILL)
Bone Dragon
GOLD: 12
SPELLS:
Open Door (-2 STAMINA)
Read Symbols (-1 STAMINA)
Detect Trap (-2 STAMINA)
Jump (-3 STAMINA)
PROVISIONS: 0[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Look through backpack.

[Queen of Swords]

Look through our backpack.

[Thaluikhain]

Backpack, maybe for mirror again.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, this seems like another opportunity for the mirror.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Captain Dirk Slayington will look through his backpack for something to use.

387
Looking for a likely object with which to defeat the Eye Stinger, you must make a quick decision. Will you take:

A Mirror? Turn to 65
A Pearl? Turn to 319
An Onyx Egg? Turn to 361
None of these? Turn to 200

The only item we have of the three options presented here is a mirror. Please vote on whether to use it or not before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Thaluikhain]

Try the mirror.

[Beroli]

Mirror.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Mirror.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Captain Dirk Slayington will take the mirror from his rucksack.

65
[spoiler][/spoiler]
The reflection of its own gaze does not affect the Eye Stinger, and it bears down on you. You drop the Mirror on the floor and hear it shatter, as you hurry to draw your sword. Lose 1 LUCK point and turn to 236.

236
Trying desperately to avoid the Eye Stinger’s gaze, you cut blindly through the air with your sword. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 182. If you are Unlucky, turn to 299.

The Luck roll yielded a 7, meaning that Dirk Slayington was Unlucky.

299
The Eye Stinger floats over your thrusting sword and brushes your face with its deadly spines. All your muscles suddenly tighten as its petrifying poison races through your veins. Later that day the Serpent Guards will take you away to join the other gargoyles on top of the city walls. Your adventure ends here.

Bonus death entry:
”Well, that just sucks big time,” were Captain Dirk Slayington’s thoughts as he turns into stone. He felt that it was a sad and stupid way to die and that fate had cursed him to an inescapable hell in that life. As he loses consciousness for the last time, Captain Dirk Slayington whispers a silent prayer to have a better life in the next world, and prepares for his soul to be released in the infinite afterlife.

With a face of total despair, Captain Dirk Slayington has finished turning to stone. When the Serpent Guards discover his statue, they immediately laugh and begin to vandalize it by chipping away at its eyes. Upon dragging it to top of the city walls, they immediately slather green paint all over it, and spit in the statue’s mouth in contempt of those who would defy Malbordus.

Ouch, talk about getting precisely unlucky here. If we simply decided to attack the Eye Stinger, our hero would have barely passed the Luck test and survived. Funnily enough, the Onyx Egg was the item that our hero needed in order to get past the Eye Stinger. However, our hero still would have died eventually, as he needed to buy passage on the barge to Port Blacksand instead of crossing the bridge. Taking that path would have not only allowed Captain Dirk Slayington to arrive at Vatos in a much better condition, but also would have supplied him with some critical items needed to overcome certain obstacles and get all five Dragon artefacts. While I believe that the writing is certainly better than Freeway Fighter, the game design was just as horrid. I am sorry to say.

The life lesson here to learn from this death is that time is valuable, and that sometimes, it is worth the risk to choose the fastest way possible at any cost. I apply that lesson every day when it comes to either walking to places by foot or taking a carpool service like Uber. The extra fifteen or so minutes that I generally spend by walking does add up.

So now that I have gotten that life lesson lecture out of the way, I can now answer the following question:

ETA : After this is done, could you please let us know if the oasis was safe to drink from?

The oasis was not safe to drink from, as it is poisoned, and the birds were indeed vultures, who are waiting for victims to fall dead by the side of the poisoned water-hole. I will also be able to answer any other questions that you might have for this book.

I will be starting a new thread for my latest Fighting Fantasy acquisition very soon. Thank you all for playing, and I hope to see you in my next thread when it is ready.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Captain Dirk Slayington
SKILL: 11 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 9 Initial Stamina = 16
LUCK: 5 Initial Luck = 12
ITEMS OR EQUIPMENT CARRIED:
Sword
Shield
Leather Armour
Rucksack
Lantern
Arrows x1
Water Canister (Empty)
Sealing-wax
Ivory Beetle Charm
Bracelet of Mermaid Scales
Crystal Key
Ebony Facemask
Bone Flute
Sandworm Tooth
Polished Iron Helmet (+1 SKILL)
Bone Dragon
GOLD: 12
SPELLS:
Open Door (-2 STAMINA)
Read Symbols (-1 STAMINA)
Detect Trap (-2 STAMINA)
Jump (-3 STAMINA)
PROVISIONS: 0[/spoiler]

[Queen of Swords]

Well, that bites. There was no indication that the onyx egg was of any use, or even why it would have worked against the eye stinger.

Disappointed, but looking forward to the next gamebook.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, I'm genuinely curious how the Onyx Egg beats the Eye Stinger.

Livingstone really seems to have burned out after Island of the Lizard King. He's had a few duds in a row now. I thought he burned out after Legend of Zagor, but now I'm questioning that. I suppose it's possible that Trial of Champions is a step up though. All I know about that one is its notorious difficulty.