[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 21 - Trial of Champions

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will obey the Trialmaster.

369
‘The three things I am instructed to test you in are strength, intelligence and fighting ability. Should you fail any of these tests, you will not be allowed to continue the Trial of Champions. We insist on a worthy winner. The first test will be a tug-of-war against a caveman.’ A door behind the Trialmaster opens, and a huge man with long hair, dressed in ragged furs, strides into the room. The Trialmaster taps the floor in front of him with his pole and the floor drops away to reveal a dark pit. He then orders the caveman to fetch a thick rope from the cupboard. He gives you the end of the rope and tells you to take the strain with the rope pulled taut over the pit. He counts to three and then shouts, ‘Heave!’ The caveman’s strength is incredible and you grit your teeth and pull as hard as you can. The caveman has SKILL 7. Resolve the tug-of-war as you would in normal combat, but do not reduce STAMINA, as no wounds are inflicted. Make a note of who wins each Attack Round. If you are first to win four Attack Rounds, turn to 352. If the caveman is first to win four Attack Rounds, turn to 99.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

The tug-of-war:
[spoiler]Round 1: Caveman Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 16;
Caveman Attack Rounds Won: 0, Player Attack Rounds Won: 1
Round 2: Caveman Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Caveman Attack Rounds Won: 0, Player Attack Rounds Won: 2
Round 3: Caveman Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 23;
Caveman Attack Rounds Won: 0, Player Attack Rounds Won: 3
Round 4: Caveman Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Caveman Attack Rounds Won: 0, Player Attack Rounds Won: 4[/spoiler]

As expected, Ben Richards flawlessly wins four Attack Rounds.

352
Your strength is greater than that of the caveman. With a mighty heave you pull him forward and watch him fall headlong down the pit. Unconcerned by the loss of his servant, the Trialmaster speaks again. ‘I will now ask you a question. Think carefully before answering.’ He points at the wooden chest in the middle of the room and says, ‘Inside this chest there are six more chests, and each of those contains three smaller chests. How many chests are there altogether?’ If you know the answer, turn to the reference with the same number. If you are wrong or you do not know the answer, turn to 72.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Darth Rabbitt]

1 + 6 + 18 = 25.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, unless there's a weird trick, this is a nice easy one, 25.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will give “25” as the answer.

25
The Trialmaster remains silent for a moment and then says slowly, ‘You have passed the second test. Now comes the final part: combat with me! We will fight with bamboo poles – not to the death, but as a simulation of a sword-fight. Any strike to the head or chest will be considered a death blow. For your information, my blindness is no handicap, as my ears will tell me where you are. Now fetch your pole from the cupboard, for I am ready,’ As you take the pole, the Trialmaster stands up and the wooden blocks fall to the ground. Treading silently on bare feet, he moves towards you, his head turned to one side to aid his hearing. If you wish to lunge at him with your pole and catch him off-balance with a quick strike, turn to 134. If you would rather ready yourself to counter a blow, turn to 204.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Please make your votes before 6:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Thaluikhain]

Wait to counter.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, ready to counter a blow.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will ready himself to counter a blow.

204
The agile old man strides nimbly towards you with the bamboo pole held to one side. You cannot tell whether he is going to bring the pole down over his head and strike at your head, or sideswipe you in the ribs. If you wish to anticipate a strike to the head, turn to 111. If you wish to defend your ribs, turn to 32.

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Queen of Swords]

If he's holding the pole to one side, seems like it would be easier for him to go for our ribs.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, he's not trying to actually kill us, so I suspect ribs.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, held to one side and this being "first to hit the other" rather than "fight to kill" both suggest he's going for the ribs rather than the headshot.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will defend his ribs.

32
You anticipate the Trialmaster’s move. He brings the pole around in a sweeping arc towards your side, but you block it with ease. His pole strikes your own with a loud crack. If you wish to take the initiative and strike back, turn to 239. If you wish to defend again, turn to 267.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

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[Darth Rabbitt]

I think this is like the Scorpion Master from The Way of the Tiger and we’re supposed to remain patient.

[Queen of Swords]

I'd rather try to strike back.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for your replies. I am going to break the apparent 1-1 tie by having Ben Richards defend again.

267
The Trialmaster tries to press home his advantage in attack against your continued defence. He leaps in the air in a do-or-die aerial attack. You thrust your pole upwards in a desperate attempt to strike him as he lands on top of you. Roll two dice. If the total is the same as or less than your SKILL score, turn to 140. If the total is greater than your SKILL score, turn to 274.

Rolling the dice yields a 9, which is unsurprisingly less than Ben Richards’ Skill.

140
The leaping Trialmaster tries to deflect your blow with his feet, but you sidestep and strike him in the ribs as he lands. You let out a victory cry, delighted with your triumph against the odds in ritual combat. Turn to 362.

362
The Trialmaster stands back, panting heavily. Once he has caught his breath again he ways, ‘You have passed the third test. You may now continue your walk through the dungeon. Leave this room through the door behind me.’ The old man offers you no words of advice or encouragement, so you leave his room. You open the door and pass through the squalid sleeping-area of the caveman into another long, gloomy tunnel. You soon come to a stone fountain in the shape of a leaping fish. If you wish to drink at the fountain, turn to 95. If you would rather continue walking, turn to 329.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Please make your votes before 9:00 AM PDT or a choice gets a 3-vote majority to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Drink; it might give us stamina or just be necessary for a future puzzle (maybe some sort of water breathing potion?) I suppose it could also just turn us into a fish or something else bad but doing things is more fun than not doing things.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, may as well try it, unless we get a stamina boost it's not going well

(Also, I remember the caveman tug of war, but nothing else about that bit)

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will drink at the fountain.

95
The cool water of the fountain is refreshing, but has a terrible side-effect. Add 1 STAMINA point, but deduct 2 SKILL points as the water rapidly accelerates your ageing process. You have aged thirty years in less than a minute. But you do not realize what has happened and continue walking resolutely along the tunnel. Turn to 329.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

329
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Soon you hear the sound of hoofs clattering along the stone floor. The sound echoes down the tunnel – then you see a shape emerging from the gloom. Seated astride a white skeleton horse is an armoured Skeleton with a crown on its skull. Seeing you, the Skeleton King kicks its undead horse into a gallop and holds its sword aloft. You must fight the mounted undead.

SKELETON KING SKILL 9 STAMINA 7

Edged weapons like swords and daggers do little harm to Skeletons. Unless you have a hammer with which to fight the Skeleton King, you will only cause it to lose 1 STAMINA point during a successful Attack Round. If you win, turn to 209.

Should Luck should be used to improve our hero’s chances of surviving the fight? If so, should we use it to reduce the damage that Ben Richards takes or to inflict additional damage?

The first choice to receive a 2-vote majority will be used to resolve the battle. If no choice has a winning margin before 11:00 AM PDT, I will make the choice based on which votes are cast.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 4 Initial Stamina = 21
LUCK: 5 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
3 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
BOONS:
2 Rewinds
2 Restorations
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

With a luck of only 5, it'd be too risky...except to reduce damage if we get hit on Stamina 2 when we've nothing to lose.

Though, I'd almost not bother rolling for this one, we're going to lose.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I agree with Thal.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for your posts. Judging by the intent, Luck will only be used to reduce damage to reduce damage if Ben Richards got to 2 Stamina.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 14;
Skeleton King Stamina: 7, Player Stamina: 2
Round 2: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 16;
Luck Roll: 8, Player is Unlucky and gets dealt 1 additional damage
Skeleton King Stamina: 7, Player Stamina: -1, Player Luck: 4

Player is killed, restoration used to restore Stamina to 19. Initial Stamina is now 19.

Round 3: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 18;
Skeleton King Stamina: 6, Player Stamina: 19
Round 4: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 16;
Skeleton King Stamina: 5, Player Stamina: 19
Round 5: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 15;
Skeleton King Stamina: 4, Player Stamina: 19
Round 6: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 18, Player Attack Strength: 21;
Skeleton King Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 19
Round 7: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 13;
Skeleton King Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 17
Round 8: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 15, Player Attack Strength: 13;
Skeleton King Stamina: 3, Player Stamina: 15
Round 9: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 16, Player Attack Strength: 20;
Skeleton King Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 15
Round 10: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 16;
Skeleton King Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 13
Round 11: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 14;
Skeleton King Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 11
Round 12: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 22;
Skeleton King Stamina: 1, Player Stamina: 11
Round 13: Skeleton King Attack Strength: 17, Player Attack Strength: 18;
Skeleton King Stamina: 0, Player Stamina: 11[/spoiler]

Well, Ben Richards was Unlucky and was not able to prevent a second hit from the Skeleton King from killing him. After using a restoration, his lack of a hammer really hurt, as he loses 8 more Stamina before he takes out the Skeleton King.

209
[spoiler][/spoiler]

You open the horse’s saddlebag and find a mirror and a wooden whistle. You slip them inside your pouch and continue along the tunnel. It soon ends at a T-junction. If you wish to go left, turn to 129. If you wish to go right, turn to 351.

Please make your votes before 12:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Ben Richards
SKILL: 10 Initial Skill = 12
STAMINA: 11 Initial Stamina = 19
LUCK: 4 Initial Luck = 11
NOTES AND ITEMS:
Leather Pouch
3 Gold Rings
Bone Medallion
Phial of Red Dust (turn to paragraph 238 to use)
Boots of Speed
Magic Broadsword
Glass Balls
Iron Key
Mirror
Wooden Whistle
BOONS:
2 Rewinds
1 Restoration
2 Extra Gold Rings[/spoiler]

[Thaluikhain]

There's 215 bones in the human body, and we broke them all...eventually.

Go left.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Take the left, as per your signature.

[JourneymanN00b]

Votes registered, Ben Richards will attempt to reject fascism by going left.

129
The tunnel extends only twenty metres before it ends at the edge of a dark pit. You drop a stone down the pit and hear it hit the bottom a few seconds later. The sides of the pit are too smooth to climb down and it would be foolish to jump down. If you are carrying a climbing rope over your shoulder and wish to climb down the pit using that, turn to 264. If you do not wish to climb down the pit or are unable to do so, you must walk back along the tunnel and past the last T-junction (turn to 351).

Ben Richards does *not* have a climbing rope over his shoulder, so he must walk back along the tunnel and past the last T-junction.

351
[spoiler][/spoiler]

After twenty metres or so, you come to an iron grate in the floor. If you wish to lift the grate, turn to 74. If you would rather keep on walking, turn to 174.

Please make your votes before 2:00 PM PDT to guarantee that it will be counted.

[Queen of Swords]

I doubt there's food behind the grate, but lift it anyway.

[JourneymanN00b]

Vote registered, Ben Richards will lift the grate.

74
[spoiler][/spoiler]

As you begin to lift the grate, it suddenly flies up in the air, pushed from below by a powerful and hideous creature. A grotesque head appears on a long segmented body. It has no eyes, but a large suckered mouth surrounded by sharp hooks, and it strongly resembles a giant tapeworm. Attracted by the heat of your body, the Bloodworm extends its body forwards in an attempt to hook on to your flesh. Roll one die. If you roll 1-3, turn to 325. If you roll 4-6, turn to 234.

Rolling the die yielded a 6.

234
The Bloodworm’s head darts forward as it tries to sink its mouth hooks into your flesh to suck your blood. But you step deftly to one side, at the same time bringing your sword down on the extended body. The stricken Bloodworm rears up and attempts to hook you again.

BLOODWORM SKILL 4 STAMINA 4

If you lose any Attack Rounds, you will automatically lose 2 STAMINA points every Attack Round thereafter, whether or not you win it, due to loss of blood. If you win, turn to 123.

The fight:
[spoiler]Round 1: Bloodworm Attack Strength: 9, Player Attack Strength: 12;
Bloodworm Stamina: 2, Player Stamina: 11
Round 2: Bloodworm Attack Strength: 13, Player Attack Strength: 17;
Bloodworm Stamina: 0, Player Stamina: 11[/spoiler]

Ben Richards flawlessly slays the Bloodworm.

123
You look into the Bloodworm’s foul lair beneath the grate, but see nothing. The floor is covered with fetid sludge and the smell makes you feel nauseous. If you wish to climb down into the lair, turn to 243. If you would rather walk on up the tunnel, turn to 174.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

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