[Let's Play] Fighting Fantasy 29 - Midnight Rogue

[pragma]

Investigate and maybe drink potion of fortune. We're low-ish on luck and probably near the end. Seems like time for a re-up to me. And, double checking, the bronze helmet cancels out or 1 skill penalty, right?

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, investigate.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to investigate the bodies, eat a provision, and quaff the Potion of Fortune.

[Beroli]

Investigate the bodies.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Eat some Provisions, wash it down with our potion of fortune, and investigate the bodies.

[SGamerz]

And, double checking, the bronze helmet cancels out or 1 skill penalty, right?

Right, I overlooked that thanks.

Carmen consumes a meal and his Potion of Fortune. STAMINA is now at 13, and LUCK is now at 11.

As you make your way across the web, you notice that some strands are sticky and some are not - the Spider obviously uses the non-sticky strands to retrieve prey that has been caught on the sticky ones. You must try to avoid the sticky strands as you investigate the bodies. Roll two dice - you may subtract 2 points from the amount rolled if you have SPOT HIDDEN skill. If the result is equal to your SKILL score or less, turn to 382; if not, turn to 222.

Dice roll = 9-2 = 7 (Success).

Carefully cutting the spider-silk from around the body, you find that it is indeed human. You avoid the face - you don't want to find out whether it's anyone you know - and concentrate on looking for usable equipment. You find a backpack with enough Provisions for two meals, but that is all. You decide that you can't face investigating the other bodies, and resume your climb to 341.

Ok, the book doesn't state that there's a maximum limit to Provisions (most of the earlier books don't), but Provisions also count as backpack items, so I don't think we should be allowed to carry more than the default 10 without taking up extra space.

In this case, I will resolve this by having Carmen consume the extra meal, since he's still 3 STAMINA points away from max. If you prefer to keep the extra meal instead, let me know, but note that I'm going to rule that every 10 meals takes up 1 backpack space, so 11 meals with occupy 2 (having drunk our potion, we'll still be able to take it).

At the top of the shaft, another passage leads away. As you follow the passage, it gets damper and damper, until moisture is running down the walls and the walls and ceiling are coated with occasional patches of mould. Finally, the passage comes to an end. The wall at the end is covered with a thick coating of bright yellow mould, which looks almost like the fur of some strange animal. There seems to be no way onward, but you are sure there must be a hidden exit - you've seen more than one apparent dead end already. If you have SPOT HIDDEN skill, turn to 88. If you do not, turn to 378.

You notice something glinting in the blanket of mould that covers the end of the passage. Looking closer, you see that it is metal - part of a doorknob, by the look of it. You reach to turn the doorknob, and then you see something else. To one side of the door that must be underneath all the mould, there is a lump which you thought was just an irregularity in the rock. But as you look more closely, you can see that it is a body. The mould has grown over it and obscured its shape, but it is definitely a body. You stop and think. You remember hearing somewhere that there are types of mould which fire clouds of spores into the air the moment that anything disturbs them. The spores are poisonous, and cause death almost instantly, giving the mould a fresh supply of organic matter to grow on. The problem is, you have to open the door without destroying the mould.

If you have PICK POCKET skill, turn to 197. If not, what will you do? Will you try to burn the mould away with your torch, or cover your nose and mouth, charge the door and hope for the best?

We pass the skill, check, therefore avoiding having to choose another potentially more risky way.

You reach cautiously for the doorknob, and manage to get a three-fingered grip on it without disturbing the mould. Slowly, painfully slowly, you begin to turn it, praying that the door isn't locked. There is a slight click, and the door shifts a fraction. Holding your breath, you throw the door open and run through the dense mustard-coloured cloud of spores that suddenly fills the air, and into a small chamber. You don't stop to breathe until you are well clear of the spore-cloud.

You find a passage leading out of the chamber and hurry down it, eager to escape the spores. The passage forks, and you can see a number of turnings leading off from each side of either passage, like a maze. Do you have a map? If you have, turn to 362; if not, turn to 81.

Oh no, we're trapped in a maze with no navigation aid!

On instinct, you set off down the left-hand passage, but you are not sure which is the right way, and soon you realize that you are lost in a maze of tunnels. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn 178. If you are Unlucky, turn to 370.

I am ever so glad that this is not one of those books that wastes sections of random featureless mazes like so many other gamebooks seem to be fond of. Just a single LUCK test to resolve this...and we only just boosted ours with a potion!

Dice roll =7 (Lucky)!

You finally come to a small chamber, carved out of the bedrock, and devoid of ornament except for the occasional patch of bluish-green mould growing on the walls and ceiling. In the middle of the chamber there is a chest on the floor, flanked by two statues of armed warriors, apparently carved from some kind of translucent crystal. On the other side of the room is a door. As you approach the chest, one of the crystal statues starts to move. It draws a slim, needle-like sword of crystal, and steps between you and the chest. You must fight the Crystal Warrior.

CRYSTAL WARRIOR SKILL 10 STAMINA 13

When you win a round of combat, turn to 169.

COMBAT LOG:
Crystal Warrior 19, Carmen Garrett 20,

If you are using a stone axe, the Crystal Warrior is wounded. Conduct the rest of the combat normally.

CRYSYAL WARRIOR SKILL 10 STAMINA 11

If you are using any other kinds of weapon, the CRYSTAL WARRIOR is unharmed. You realize that you need a blunt weapon to wound it. Conduct the rest of the combat using the pommel of your sword, deducting 2 points from your Attack Strength. If you win, turn to 99.

Another weird case of retroactively asking what the player did after it was already done when he doesn't know he had the choice to do something different. Well, nonetheless, I'd say possessing the axe ought to be enough to assume that we did use it.

COMBAT CONTINUES:
CW 17, CG 16. CG is at 14.
CW 18, CG 21. CW is at 9.
CW 18, CG 15. CG is at 12.
CW 20, CG 16. CG is at 10.
CW 16, CG 19. CW is at 7.
CW 14, CG 19. CW is at 5.
CW 20, CG 20. Tie.
CW 16, CG 20. CW is at 3.
CW 15, CG 16. CW is at 1.
CW 21, CG 14. CG is at 8.
CW 19, CG 20. CW is defeated.

Without the Magic Sword's bonus, it was an even fight, and Carmen was fortunate enough to emerge victorious with half his STAMINA left!

The first Crystal Warrior lies shattered on the floor. You watch the second closely, but it does not move. You take a look at the chest; it is securely locked. Turn to 360 if you have PICK LOCK skill. If not, you cannot open the chest. Leave the room and turn to 316.

As you pick the lock, a jolt of electricity lashes up your arm and throws you across the room - lose 4 STAMINA points. If you are still alive, you open the chest. Inside is a disc of black obsidian, almost a food across and so highly polished it reflects the light of your torch like a mirror. You reach in to take it. Turn to 182 if you have SPOT HIDDEN skill. If you do not, turn to 20.

If we did not consume the extra meal earlier, we would be a 1 STAMINA! If we did, we'd be at 4 now.

You see that the disc is resting on a fine silver wire, which runs out of the chest and connects to the ankle of the second Crystal Warrior. What will you so? Will you cut the wire, try to lift the disc without setting off the trap (if you have PICK POKCET skill, turn to 208; if you do not, turn to 49), or will you leave it alone and go to the door?

A last, we have a choice again!

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Carmen Garrett
SKILL 11/11 (+1 from Bronze Helmet)
STAMINA 4/16
LUCK 10/11
Special Skills: Spot Hidden, Sneak, Pick Pocket
Backpack Items:
1) Provisions (10 meals)
2)
3) Rope and grapnel (gives CLIMB Special Skill)
4) Bottle of Brandy (3 doses, +2 STAMINA each, worth 1 GP)
5) Heavy wire with hook
6) Stone Axe
Other Items: Shortsword, leather jerkins and leggings, torch, hand-lamp, tinderbox, dagger, lock-picks (gives PICK LOCK Special Skill), key marked with the letter 'L', Magical Longsword (+1 Attack Strength in the next round after winning a combat round), Bronze Helmet (+1 SKILL), throwing knife
Provisions: 10
Gold & Treasure: 39 GP, silver paper-knife (5 GP)
Clues:
1) Look in a place of sleep and a place of work to find dark place of death where we will find what we're looking for (section 289)
2) Brass recently bought a piece of land called Barrow Hill; the Wizard Barbantius "refitted" it according to Brass's instructions (section 90)
3) Wizard "fitted out" Brass's property on Barrow Hill. 'E.O.B' penciled on ledger of Barrow Hill's purchase by Brass (section 335)
[/spoiler]

[Beroli]

Eat 3 meals. 4 meals. Er. A number of meals that bring us to 16.

Then lift the disc without setting off the wire.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to allow Carmen Garrett to consume the extra Provision, have him consume 3 additional Provisions, and then to try to lift the disc without setting off the trap.

[Queen of Swords]

Blue option, and eat as many meals as we can.

[pragma]

Eat food, use blue text to lift disc

[Thaluikhain]

You find a passage leading out of the chamber and hurry down it, eager to escape the spores. The passage forks, and you can see a number of turnings leading off from each side of either passage, like a maze. Do you have a map? If you have, turn to 362; if not, turn to 81.

Oh no, we're trapped in a maze with no navigation aid!

On instinct, you set off down the left-hand passage, but you are not sure which is the right way, and soon you realize that you are lost in a maze of tunnels. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn 178. If you are Unlucky, turn to 370.

I am ever so glad that this is not one of those books that wastes sections of random featureless mazes like so many other gamebooks seem to be fond of. Just a single LUCK test to resolve this...and we only just boosted ours with a potion!

Yeah, I like that. We even go left by default.

[SGamerz]

I have added the missing pictures to my previous post.

We stuff our face until our STAMINA is back to max, then try to pick up the disc.

Painfully slowly, you lift the disc off the silver wire. Nothing happens, and you breathe a sigh of relief. Note the obsidian disc on your Adventure Sheet - it counts as a backpack item.

We have a free backpack space, so I'm adding the item in the backpack. Voice out if you object.

You go through the door into another rock-cut chamber - and find that you have reached the hiding-place of the Eye of the Basilisk! The huge yellow gem stands on a black stone pillar in the centre of the chamber, and a column of light shines from an unseen source, engulfing the gem and the pillar in light from floor to ceiling. You are elated to have come to the end of your quest, but your elation is tempered by caution: there is bound to be a final trap of some kind. What will you do now?

Take the gem?
Throw something to knock it out of the light?
Try to block the light?

Some inconsistency, as the gem on the cover is red instead of yellow as the text describes.

Adventure Sheet:
[spoiler]Name: Carmen Garrett
SKILL 11/11 (+1 from Bronze Helmet)
STAMINA 16/16
LUCK 10/11
Special Skills: Spot Hidden, Sneak, Pick Pocket
Backpack Items:
1) Provisions (7 meals)
2) Black Obsidian Disc
3) Rope and grapnel (gives CLIMB Special Skill)
4) Bottle of Brandy (3 doses, +2 STAMINA each, worth 1 GP)
5) Heavy wire with hook
6) Stone Axe
Other Items: Shortsword, leather jerkins and leggings, torch, hand-lamp, tinderbox, dagger, lock-picks (gives PICK LOCK Special Skill), key marked with the letter 'L', Magical Longsword (+1 Attack Strength in the next round after winning a combat round), Bronze Helmet (+1 SKILL), throwing knife
Provisions: 7
Gold & Treasure: 39 GP, silver paper-knife (5 GP)
Clues:
1) Look in a place of sleep and a place of work to find dark place of death where we will find what we're looking for (section 289)
2) Brass recently bought a piece of land called Barrow Hill; the Wizard Barbantius "refitted" it according to Brass's instructions (section 90)
3) Wizard "fitted out" Brass's property on Barrow Hill. 'E.O.B' penciled on ledger of Barrow Hill's purchase by Brass (section 335)
[/spoiler]

[pragma]

Block the light with our handy, reflective disc

[Queen of Swords]

Agreed, use the disc to block the light.

[Beroli]

Block the light, and yes, when it asks, use the disc.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to block the light and use the obsidian disc if the book asks what to block it with.

[SGamerz]

What have you got that can be used to block the light?

An obsidian disc?
A black cloak?
Something else?

There have been enough pre-emptive votes for the disc for us to proceed:

Carefully, you move the obsidian disc into the light. As the light strikes the disc, it is absorbed, and the disc is unharmed. You reach carefully beneath the disc to take the gem. The disc is very heavy to hold steady in the light one-handed, and it begins to waver - roll 2 dice. If the result is equal to your SKILL score or less, turn to 214; if not, turn to 380.

Dice roll = 9 (Success)!

You keep the disc steady as you reach in beneath it to take the gem. Withdrawing the disc from the light, you hold the gem in both hands - you can hardly believe that you have passed the test. Then you look at the gem more closely, and your heart sinks. There is a crack on one side, and a small bubble in the middle. The gem is a fake - a worthless piece of glass!

As you stand looking at the fake gem, a secret door opens in the back of the chamber, and out steps Rannik, followed by several oher promoinent Guild members. They are all smiling.

"Yes, I know it's a fake," grins Rannik, "the whole job was. But the dangers were real enough, and you used your skills and equipment well to overcome them. You've passed your test, and the Guild Council, whom you see here, has no hesitation in admitting you to full membership of the Thieves' Guild of Port Blacksand." Your disappointment turns to a choking mixture of elation and relief as the other thieves crowd round to congratulate you.

And that's a wrap! Congratulations for completing the mission without having to use any of the "extra life" mechanisms. Although to be fair, there aren't that many choke-points in this book that I can remember, no more than 2 or 3.

In a way, I'm glad that we're able to complete this today, since I've been starting to feel unwell since yesterday, and I'm not sure I could have kept up the update schedule for a few more days, and it'll be a shame to postpone the ending when we're that close.

As Thaluikhain said, there was quite a bit of that, but most of them were not on the optimal path, so it was better for us to miss them during the playthrough. I think we took very close to the perfect path for this book, which was why we were in almost perfect condition until we ran into the mandatory Crystal Warrior fight. There were only 2 points, I think where we deviated from the optimal path. One is the brief side-trip to the Poltergeist room (Fascism rules even the Thieves' Guild in Blacksand!), which we corrected pretty quickly, and the other was when we chose not to break into the house with the oars sign (we could have picked up an item that gives us HIDE, although it's not really that important).

I will be posting the usual summary and listing some of the missed content, although it might be delayed for about 2-3 days because of my condition. In the meantime, as usual, feel free to ask about anything in particular that you wish to know more about.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I hope you enjoyed this one.

[JourneymanN00b]

Thank you for running this gamebook. The difficulty was actually okay for a Fighting Fantasy adventure, although I have my qualms about easily missing one of the three vital clues if we decided not to stay at the Noose, since there was no option to go back to it.

Oh, and get better soon.

[Beroli]

Thanks for running this.

[Thaluikhain]

Thanks for running this.

[Queen of Swords]

Hope you feel better soon, and thank you for hosting this!

[Darth Rabbitt]

I hope you feel better and thanks for running!

[Beroli]

I hope you feel better soon, SGamerz.

We just picked up the 1 Special Skill that nobody voted for!

For my part, I didn't vote for Climb for two reasons: 1) Because I knew you could get it from the beggar and 2) because I remembered the gargoyle on the roof.

I guess it depends on whether or not The Rat and Ferret will take time that will keep us from looking at the other two places. I could see this book penalizing us for that so I think it’s time to leave the Noose.

No time. Required bribes, though, and "do you have Special Signs? No? The bartender sees your incomprehension of the symbol he's showing you and clams up."

Carmen Garrett slips the painting into his pack and goes to the window:

You think about the information you've collected and the obstacles you've overcome. You must be close to the Eye of the Basilisk by now - at least, you now know where it is hidden. You do know, don't you? Where will you look for it?

Clock Street?
Singing Bridge?
Lord Azzur's Palace?
Barrow Hill?

This part is potentially darkly hilarious because of the callbacks to other gamebooks in what happens if you choose the wrong place. Singing Bridge? If Nicodemus turns you into a newt you won't get better. Lord Azzur's Palace? Yes, why don't you try your level ~3 self against the CR 20 defenses of the lord of the city?

I don't think whatever's making the slithering sound will help us, so ignore the darkened room and the bottle, and carry on up the passage.

This is one bit where the members of the Thieves' Guild who designed the trap are sadistic. "If they sneak past the basilisk, let's give them the ability to light it up if they choose to look back!"

Also noteworthy that Brass must be in on this. I wonder how his family feels about being volunteered to potentially be woken up by nocturnal intruders.

[Thaluikhain]

No time. Required bribes, though, and "do you have Special Signs? No? The bartender sees your incomprehension of the symbol he's showing you and clams up."

And if you fail the bribe roll, they take your money and still give you deliberately rubbish info.

Though, you can gamble on your skill at that knife game from Aliens.

Also noteworthy that Brass must be in on this. I wonder how his family feels about being volunteered to potentially be woken up by nocturnal intruders.

IIRC, he has a son that sleepwalks, and you can confuse him with a ghost and attack and wound him.

Also, it seems you can get special skills pretty easily with items, though you can't get the footwrappings that give you sneak if you have climb, because you automatically avoid fighting the people who have them. And using climb hurts you if you try it and find out the owners of the building have cemented broken glass on top of the wall, though I don't remember which one.

[SGamerz]

Apparently, I might have gotten both COVID and dengue.

This creates weird situation where I was supposed to be self-quarantined at home because o COVID, but at the same time I need to constantly go back to the clinic for blood tests reviews on dengue so they can track my condition.

Either way, my absence is likely going to be much longer than I expected,