[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure 3: Prey of the Hunter

[Beroli]

Btw, where can one find back issues of fighting fantasize? The official website is giving me 404s.

Welcome to the Gaming Den. It's surprising that the site's down; they came out with the latest issue recently.

If you want to PM me an email address, I can send you all the issues.

[Beroli]

The foreman doesn’t seem greatly concerned by your news. ‘No one cares. Plus it keeps morale up.’

‘I wonder whether the police would see things the same way,’ you state, your meaning obvious.

The foreman sighs and orders two Aquanarians (whose species are immune to the effects of ethessal gas) to seal the leak. You head back to work and are greeted by dirty looks and dark mutterings. You shrug and continue working. It seems no-one appreciates those with a conscience. Add one to your TRAIL.

Nothing else of interest happens for the rest of the day. After several hours’ tiring labour with few breaks the horn for the end of your shift goes off. You collect your 45 credits and head back into the city.

You’re feeling tired after the day’s trials. Time to get some rest.

You reach your apartment without mishap and pay your slob of a landlord 10 credits. You tuck into the frugal complementary meal provided before crawling into bed.

Test your Trail; a 7 fails (and would have succeeded if you hadn't reported the leak, too!).

The gentle morning sunlight shines through the window upon your face. You yawn and stretch before opening your eyes... to see Omoz sitting right in front of you, a horrible grin on his ugly visage. ‘Wakey, wakey,’ he laughs. ‘You know, I’d really hoped you’d give me more of a challenge than this. This is exactly the kind of place I expected you to stay at and sure enough here you are, sleeping like you don’t have a care in the world. Oh well, at least you’ll be well rested before meeting your god.’

He pulls forth a disintegrator pistol. Quickly you try to struggle out of bed, but it’s too late. Omoz squeezes the trigger and soon you are nothing more than a small pile of atoms.

(And thus you encounter the major downside to the cheap apartment: if you're caught in a squat or an expensive apartment, you have a chance to get away, but here, failing that TRAIL check kills you.)

Rewinding, you succeed on that Trail check. Restore up to 4 STAMINA points. You have over 350 credits.

Without dawdling you make your way to the spaceport. You find Parnal Kyras sitting outside his ship in much the same position as when you left him (has he even moved?). You hurriedly tell him you have the money.

‘Great,’ he replies. ‘I was beginning to think you’d been disintegrated by whoever’s after you.’

‘How did you know—’ you start but Kyras cuts you off with a loud chuckle.

‘Parnal Kyras doesn’t miss much, my friend. Well climb aboard then. I’m sure you’re as eager to leave this dump as I am.’

He doesn’t have to tell you twice. A sullen crewmember shows you to your cabin and you stretch out on the hard bunk. You feel the hum of the ship’s engines and soon you are being carried through the air into the darkness of space. You’ve done it! You’ve bested Omoz! And soon you will be among friends. You drift into a blissful sleep.

You wake up somewhat refreshed (restore 2 Stamina points). Someone appears to be knocking on your cabin door. You crawl out of bed and press the switch to open the door. The door slides open – and a blood drenched crew member collapses into the room! You prop him up and ask what happened, but he just gargles his own blood before dying.

Quickly lock your door?
Enter the corridor to investigate?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 16/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 5

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to enter the corridor to investigate, as I doubt a locked door will keep out Omoz or anyone else who wants to kill Alan Schaefer.

[Thaluikhain]

Hiding isn't going to help, yeah, and we've got two guns.

[Beroli]

The corridor is deserted, the only noise being the steady hum of the ship’s engines. A fluorescent light flickers dimly above you.

Open the door of the cabin opposite you?
Head down the corridor?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 16/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 5

[fotan]

I vote the cabin door opposite.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, check the room opposite.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to open the door of the cabin opposite Alan Schaefer.

[Beroli]

You open the cabin door to reveal one of the crewmen hanging by his neck from an air vent! You rush forward and pull him down, but he is already dead.

‘Enjoying my handiwork?’ asks a horribly familiar voice behind you. You turn to see Omoz in the doorway, a sadistic leer on his face and a flamethrower in his taloned hands. ‘The entertainment doesn’t stop there though,’ he continues amicably. ‘How about some barbecue?’

With a laugh he sends a stream of flame flying towards you. You are not wearing flame-resistant armour.

The fire burns into your flesh and singes your hair. You collapse screaming to the floor, your senses flooded with pain. And Omoz just laughs as you are burnt to a crisp.

Rewinding, you head down the corridor instead of into the cabin.

You hear heavy footfalls coming from the dim corridor before you. Then a horribly familiar shape appears out of the gloom. ‘Surprise!’ yells Omoz, sending out a spray of fire from his flamethrower. You race back down the corridor as tongues of searing heat lick you (lose 5 stamina points, or 2 if you have flame-resistant armour).

Trawgs are many things but they are not fast. You manage to outdistance him running down the corridor, but where on the ship will you make for now? Decide quickly because Omoz’s heavy footfalls are getting ever closer! Go to the bridge, the docking bay, or the canteen?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 11/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 6

[fotan]

Hmmm I vote bridge.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the docking bay to see if we can find a craft out of there.

[Darth Rabbitt]

The docking bay is the only one of those with a way out but I think that we should go to the bridge, since getting control of the ship seems most likely to actually take down Omoz rather than just keeping running from him.

[Thaluikhain]

Bridge.

(And, is that guy laser pistol proof? Why can't we at least try shooting him?)

[Beroli]

You could theoretically stop and try to shoot it out with the "huge creature resembling a spiny gorilla," but Alan is sufficiently confident that he'd lose (and you may recall that Omoz has had no trouble slaughtering his way through all opposition so far) that the gamebook isn't offering you that as an option.

You reach the bridge and see Captain Parnal sitting at the controls, his back to you as he gazes out the ship’s view screen at the onrushing stars.

‘Captain!’ you shout, grabbing his shoulder. ‘There’s a killer on the ship. He’s...’

You cut yourself short. Parnal is dead, his face twisted into a ghastly approximation of a grin. As you back away from this horrific sight, there is a whoosh as the door to the bridge closes behind you. A recorded voice comes on: ‘Hello, my friend,’ says Omoz. ‘I guess you have discovered the fate of the good captain. Still you needn’t end up like him. Look under his seat.’

You pull out a box from under Parnal’s seat. It displays a sequence of numbers and has a key pad attached. The sequence goes: 1 – 2 – 7 – 32 – ?

‘All you have to do,’ continues the voice. ‘Is type in the next number in the sequence. Get it right and the door will open and you will be free to leave to be killed by me in some other way. Get it wrong and the box will explode. And when I say “explode” I mean “explode.” Your Earth ants will have trouble seeing your remains. And answer quickly because if you don’t guess in thirty seconds the box explodes anyway. Aren’t I a devil?’

What's the next number in the sequence?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 11/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 6

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to try 157 as the next number, as the sequence seems to be adding powers of 5 starting from 0 (1,5,25), and 125 is the next in that sequence to add.

[Beroli]

You type in 157.

The box beeps as you enter the digits and the door slides open with a whoosh. Breathing a sigh of relief, you set the box down gingerly before hurriedly take your leave of the bridge. You may have survived Omoz’s sadistic trap, but he’s still scouring the ship for you.

Go to the docking bay or the canteen?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 11/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 6

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the docking bay.

[Darth Rabbitt]

If he's set traps in the bridge, he's probably set traps in the docking bay (the most obvious place to trap if we're looking to escape the ship itself). He might have avoided setting them in the canteen since he has no particular reason to think we would go there, which means we might be able to get the jump on him there.

[Thaluikhain]

Yeah, may as well try canteen.

I vote to try 157 as the next number, as the sequence seems to be adding powers of 5 starting from 0 (1,5,25), and 125 is the next in that sequence to add.

Well spotted.

[Beroli]

The canteen wins 2-1.

You flee down the deserted, dimly-lit corridors to the canteen. There you see two Mercanii crewmen sitting at a dining table apparently rapt in a card game.

‘You guys have got to help,’ you yell. ‘There’s a killer on board.’

They make no reaction. Apparently it must be a very intense game indeed.

Shake one of them?
Turn back the way you came and try the docking bay?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 11/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 6

[fotan]

Guess they’re probably rigged to explode. Head to the docking bay.

[Thaluikhain]

Half vote for shaking one until they explode.

[Darth Rabbitt]

Yeah, these guys are dead and probably rigged to explode or something. To the docking bay.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to go to the docking bay.

[Beroli]

Going to the docking bay wins over literal suicide by 3 to 0.5.

You reach the docking bay and make your way through the maze of dangerously stacked crates. Unfortunately you soon find yourself confronted by a steel wall. The only exit seems to be the massive cargo doors and you don’t really want to pull the lever to open them and let yourself be sucked into the void of deep space. You hear a low snicker behind you and turn to see Omoz advancing. He has discarded his flamethrower and is approaching with his claws thrust out, ready to tear you limb from limb. ‘Caught like a nubaxx in a trap,’ he chuckles.

‘You said you’d let me go if I escaped the planet,’ you plead.

‘True,’ he remarks. ‘But I climbed aboard before you left the planet so I think this counts. Luckily there’s no referee to call things differently.’

His smile fades as he stalks ever closer.

Look around for something to use against him?
Prepare to fight him to the death?

Adventure Sheet:
Name: Alan Schaefer
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 11/16
Luck: 10/10
Villainy: 2
Trail: 8
Credits: 28
2 Laser pistols
Gas mask
Number of deaths: 6