That skill score isn’t great, particularly as a lack of shield at the start means it is actually 8.
In this adventure I live in a fishing village but things
have started to go wrong on the nearby island of Solani which is inhabited by
wizard. The dead are rising up and attacking
people, which is never good!
I, and a bunch of other adventurous locals get in a boat to
head to the island and sort things out.
Sadly we don’t reach us and our boat is wrecked. I do survive, however, but have to resolve a
battle even before the book as properly started as the dead navigator has washed
up and is now attacking me. I kill him
and decide to head North East along the coast line.
When I get there I go diving at a wreck and pick up some
goodies. I find some gold, glue and a
sword in a chest along with some olive oil.
I fail to get the net though and am attacked by an Octopus. I kill it and decide to head to the hill in
the centre of the island. This isn’t the
safe haven I think it is, however, and I am attacked by skeletal hands. I run away but suffer some stamina loss.
Next I head to a monastery that I see from the top of the
hill. Of course I am attacked by a zombie
monk as soon as I enter but I fight off this tricky foe and head through a door
I see on my left. The first room is a
kitchen so I take some mouldy cheese to add to my provisions. The next room is a cellar that yields a
pestle and mortar and some rejuvenating herbal liquor.
In the next room I am fortunate in a search and find a torn
up piece of paper which gives me a clue about what happens. It also tells me the hermit’s name is
Ralsteen, which I need for later. The
room opposite has a trapdoor which needs a gold key that I don’t have to open.
I head upstairs and see a pentagram on the floor. I decide to try and remove it with some olive
oil but this just succeeds in summoning a golem. I don’t have a magic sword so am forced to
flee (again!)
Next I head to the forest..
I end up in a clearing with loads of interesting fungi. I don’t have a book about plants, however, so
I can’t do anything here and have to head South. Eventually I find the hermit and am able to
ask him about the wizards and other people on the island. I am not convinced this
is useful but I also get a pearl. I
leave and explore more of the woodland.
I find an arch but it doesn’t seem to do anything. I explore further but only have to eat a meal
and trip over a rabbit hole. I feel I
have wasted enough time here so I head to the marshes.
I decide to climb up to a higher vantage point but am
attacked by some Grupplers. I fight them
off but there is nothing else up here so I take a different route. I then encounter a Swamp Alligator. I am close to death by now but this doesn’t
matter as a roll of 12 for the alligator means the Alligator bites me and I die
of Shock!
Damn. This is quite tricky but I did quite like it. It seems to be a good, traditional adventure.
So, we are returning to Firetop Mountain, the scene of the
first ever adventure. Zagor has risen
from the dead and is now more evil than ever.
He is still holed up in his lair at Firetop Mountain so I vow to go and
slay him. First of all though, I head to
visit Yaztromo the wizard for some help.
Before I can do that, though, I need to take care of some trackers who have
seen me and are rushing off to warn Zagor.
With the barman I was talking to, I give chase and slay them. I take some gold and daggers from their dead bodies
but also notice a bit of paper. I have
already gained some goodies from this encounter so this is probably a
trap. I open up the paper and sure
enough it is a cure which costs me two skill points.
I head off towards Anvil and come across a guy who talks to
me in riddles. He is clearly high as a
kite so I accept his gift of a mushroom with good grace. When the path forks I head South to find
Yaztromo. On the way I help a guy
covered in ants who gives me a ring of invisibility. When night falls, I am attacked by a vampire
bat but nothing else happens and I get to Stonebridge. Sadly the wizard isn’t here, he is helping
some sick people in another town so I hop on a boat to get there…
As we sail down the river I see an apparently dead Orc floating
in the water. Sensing a trap I instruct
everyone to sail on. Correct assumption
but the orc throws an axe which thuds into a crewman’s back and kills him. Sailing on, a dove comes to give us a
message. Unfortunately it is eaten before
it can do so – oh.
When I finally do arrive at the town I am greeted by the
wizard himself. This seems too convenient. The text goes to great lengths to say he’s
got green eyes. Suspicious…. I decide I
have nothing to lose by not shaking his outstretched hand and sure enough, it
is a doppelganger. One touch will kill
me so this is a hard fight which I technically have a 50/50 chance of
winning. Thankfully I do.
When I finally do find Yaztromo he gives me some advice about
how to kill Zagor. Something about
throwing dragon’s teeth on the floor.
Before I leave I go to visit Deep Sea’s store for some items but he’s not in.
A small boy will tell me where he is if I give him a wooden brick but I
don’t have one so I have to leave it.
Where am I supposed to get that from?
The orc in the river maybe?
Next I head to Zoot Zimmer who is going to fly me back to
the mountain on a huge eagle. This he
does and the flight goes by without incident.
I am put down and enter the mountain….
First choice, I turn left.
Then when given the option head straight on and open a door into a room
of skeletons. I rush to attack them but get
no treasure for my troubles. The next room
as a load of rubbish on the floor. I rummage
around and find a few things. There is
also a chain to pull… Hmm.. again, this is probably a trap given I have rinsed
this room of valuables but I can’t resist and give it a pull. This opens up a secret compartment. I try to put my head in it! Dear God, I did not ask for that! It doesn’t fit.. I am then asked if I want to stick my hand
in. I’ve had enough warnings, I’m out of
here.
The next room is some sort of armoury. When I enter, all the weapons animate and threaten
me. There is no choice but to drop my
sword resulting in another skill penalty.
This is now at 7! There is nothing else to do but leave so I open the
next door. This is a torture chamber and
I notice the long dead victim has a ring on its finger. Of course I take this. This is another trap. A net falls down on me. Due to my crap skill score I fail the test of
skill roll and I am killed by the goblin after being caught in the net.
Not great, that luck score will end up killing me.
In this book there is something evil lurking around the
forest that I know well and someone arrives in town to tell us about it. Turns out this guy is not what he appears,
however, and is in fact a winged creature that tries to kill me. Eventually I manage to overpower him but
before I can question him the assassin kills himself. I tell the council what has happened and it
is decided that the best course of action will be for me to go alone and investigate
this. Before I leave I visit the
astrologer and a merchant and then I am ready to go.
I start following the Grimway path and before long get to a
river. I decide to swing across using
vines, but would you know it they are carnivorous! I manage to spot this just in time an swing
over using the non-carnivorous ones… On
the other side I head into the forest and come to a fork in the road and am met
by some elves, one of which is my friend.
I try and say who I am but he shoots an arrow at me, and
unfortunately it pierces my heart. I am
dead. He was not my friend by a dark elf
pretending to be him. Seem a bit unfair!
In this book I am a bounty hunter tasked with tracking down
an evil general who committed atrocities in a recent war. I don’t do this for financial gain, this is
personal! I am given some options of how to conduct my investigation by Guard
Marshal Bennet. Sadly at the end of our
conversation, someone has thrown a dagger through the window into his back. I try and help him but nothing can be
done. I am told the knife is made by a
chap called Lugosh though which might be useful later.
I decide then to see if I can go after the assassin. I see him from the window so jump out and
follow him. He briefly talks to someone
in a carriage so I decide to investigate that instead. It speeds off so I jump onto the top and fall
inside. I am now unable to get out and it
seems I am trapped as it crashes into a river.
Thankfully I have the sleight of hand skill so I can make my escape.
When I reach the river bank, I am greeted by an old beggar. She asks for gold, which I decide to give to
her and she tells me about a pub and gives me a vial of liquid which is
apparently the antidote for something. I
leave but hear a scream so I decide to give chase.. I can’t catch up with him but notice that
there is a lose manhole cover so this could be how he gets around. Could be useful information later.
I now decide to head for Craven Asylum. I decide to put on a disguise so I slay a
Troll guard for his uniform (maybe could have just knocked him out?) and am
given a choice of rooms to explore. I
decide to go one market “Wipefeet”. I
arrive at a room inhabited by the deputy director. He insults me.. Thankfully I have my disguise and am able to
con him out of some keys.
Next I head to Nosh where I am promptly arrested and chucked in a room. It is a room that contains a doctor and his mother, which it turns out is actually his mother’s brain in a body that has been patched together with bits of old bodies. I am attacked by this monster and it is much stronger than me so I die. And become the new host for the doctor’s mother’s brain. At least I am doing some good after I die…
I did not get far but this book has potential. It reminded me a bit of Appointment with FEAR with the special skills and the clues.
So this book is a little different as a start off as a child, hence those low scores. Unfortunately that stamina score is terrible – it could be a maximum of 12, and I am not going to last long!
The story starts with some foreign mercenaries rounding up all the women to use as slaves and my father is cut down trying to prevent this. He dies in my arms and I am tasked with avenging the village. I gather some friends and head to the magistrates.
I decide not to travel down the road and instead take to the rice paddies where I encounter a Giant Mudworm. There is an error here in the book – the author has confirmed the skill score should be 6, not 12! Still, with a skill of 6 and stamina of 6 this beast is more than a match for me and it eats me for breakfast. Game Over.
Tower of Destruction seems like a fairly standard book with
the addition of an “Honour” stat and a time limit in the first part of the book.
The adventure starts off with me sat in an out of town pub
waiting for my friends to get back from a hunting trip but as I’m waiting a
huge ball of rock ploughs into my home village.
I arrive to find destruction everywhere and my parents are dead so I
pledge to go after the sphere. But first
I do what I can to help the injured. As
I do, I rescue a small child, unfortunately a heavy boulder rolls down and
crushes my arm, losing some skill and stamina.
I get some climbing gear and some brandy which, just like in real life,
heals a lot of stamina. In the morning I
set off northwards after the sphere.
I trek north for a day and need to find somewhere to
sleep. I decide to bed down next to a
large owl. Of course this owl talks and
tells me to find Tasrin the Sage to the East to help with the quest. Owls are notoriously wise so I bed down for
an uneventful sleep and in the morning head east looking for Tasrin…
Eventually I find his hut but something isn’t right… I enter to find a Smoke Demon. It’s quite a hard battle but I defeat the
foul creature and get to Tasrin just as he breaths his last. He tells me the sphere belongs to a guy called
Zeverin and that I need to go to the Ice Palace. He dies.
Of course I loot his body and take his ring. I also find a potion of stamina, some gold and
some food. I stay the night and head off
in the morning.
As I continue North I see a half conscious man. I dress his wounds and continue on deciding
that I don’t have time to stay with him.
I continue on and finally come to the resting place for the sphere. I have to kill two Ice Ghost guards. I decide to sneak round to the side entrance
but am met with a Demonic Servant guarding it.
I despatch it and head inside.
Once inside I come to a junction and head right. At the end of the corridor is a door which contains
a Brimstone Golem that is warming up rocks and putting them into an aperture in
the wall. It is hinted that this might
be the engine room of the sphere so I dash in to attack. Once I defeat the golem I find a gold nugget
but not much else. I decline the opportunity
to climb into the aperture in the wall, retrace my steps and head down the left
passage.
As I enter the cavern at the end of the passageway I
encounter a Smoke Wraith. I kill that
and manage to find a secret door. I have
dawdled on my way here so there is also a creature guarding this – I dispatch
the Barbarian Zombie and head down the secret passage. I climb some stairs and am attacked by another
Ice Ghost.
At the top of the stairs I get to a large room that contains
a wizard dude and a Man-Orc Champion. I
have to fight the Orc but the wizard is shooting magical darts at me. I glance at the wizard to look for clues which
doesn’t really help but looking at the statue I see a blue gem which might have
something to do with the wizard. Sure
enough when I smash the gem the wizard disappears and I can slay the orc. He has a magic sword so I take that. I also notice a cell containing a man. I free him and he helps destroy the
sphere. We run out in the nick of time
but not before I am hit on the head by
some falling debris.
It turns out that the prisoner was Aliadas, Zevverin’s old apprentice. The wizard illusion in the sphere was
him. Apparently he is building a flying
tower that will rain fire, acid and destruction down on anything in its
path. He is also planning on open a door
to the underworld so that demons can rush through and destroy all life on the
planet. Blimey. I guess I should try and stop this dude.
I am transported to Aliadas’ study and he tells me to go to
the Ice Palace to gather magic and clues.
In the morning Aliadas casts a spell on me, gives me a potion of stamina
and I can replenish my provisions. But alas
Aliadas dies, due to some sort of curse of Zeverin’s doing. I leave him be and head towards the Ice
Palace.
On the way I meet some barbarians selling provisions, I
decline and carry on and decide to investigate some snarling noises. I see a Polar Bear mauling a trapper and don’t
have any choice but to fight the bear. I
kill it, which turns out to be a trapper cursed with a Warebear affliction, and
rifle through the trapper’s belongings.
I find some gold, some provisions and a bag of salt and continue on my
way.
Eventually I arrive at the Ice Palace. I decide to try and enter through the
gatehouse but am met by two dark elves who I have to kill. I am now in and decide to head off to
investigate the houses inside. They have
been cleaned out but begore I leave a spirit tells me to help the ghost of his
father trapped in the workshops and to “Beware the evil one” in the great tower. I head to the workshops.
In one of the workshops I see the ghost that I was told
about. I hold it’s hand, it drains my
stamina but I gain some honour. I am
also told of a sword that Zeverin might be scared of in the Cathedral – I am
thinking I need this sword. In a
different workshop I encounter a dark elf who gets me in the face with some
noxious gas. Tasty. I have to fight him and loot 12 gold from is corpse.
I head to the stores but don’t have a key for one of the
doors. I search some of the warehouses
and find a few bits and pieces before heading off. I decide to head to the cathedral but I have
no ice bird so need to try again later.
Next up, the Tower of Shielding. As
I enter I encounter another Dark Elf who I despatch and find a funky Shield of
Warding. Sadly opening the next door I
find only uncovers a Ghost who attacks me so after destroying that I head off
to the Tower of Black Ice.
In the Black Tower I encounter a Spectre which is a nasty
opponent and drains some of my skill score.
I kill it though and a concealed door swings open so I step through but
again I need the ice bird go further… Therefore I have no choice but to search
out elsewhere.
Next up is the tower of airy light. This has light beams that transport me to
various parts of the tower. The colours
don’t seem to mean anything so I take note of the paragraph numbers. Basically, not a lot happens in some, I
encountered an ice mite twice, which stole my lantern oil one time, and finally
in the beam of black light a talking statue gave me a silver amulet (pretty
standard fare then).
I next head to the rainbow tower. I can’t get the incense burner as I need a
spell or potion and there is nothing when I head left. Down the right passage, and after a puzzle, I
get my hands on the ice bird! This is
something which I feel will be useful! I
then head to the Cathedral and I need an ice bird to get in. Hoorah.
Sadly it needs to be singing, which it isn’t. Damn.
It is becoming apparent that I need to go to each of these towers in a specific
order – and I can’t go back to them once I have been once.
OK, well, onto the Great Tower then I guess. I encounter a dark elf leader who shoots
various magical bolts at me, thankfully my shield deflects them and I am able
to get him within an inch of his life.
He begs me to keep him alive so I do and he tells me some info about
Zeverin. Not sure its all that useful
but I keep him alive nonetheless. I take
his dagger, which jabs some poisoned spikes into my hand. Ouch.
I also take some keys that open the doors in this tower.
I open the door the basement which seems to be some sort of living
quarters for the elf leader. I replenish
my provisions and find a Potion of Flying.
Hmm.. that’s for the incense burner I guess. I then head up to the top floor. Here I find the spirit of an old elf who
teaches me some spells and tells me Zeverin’s weakness… cold! Seems a bit unfortunate that he choses a cold
land and magical ice palaces to hang around.
So… I have explored everywhere and don’t have the keys I need so… I guess that’s it then. I’ve failed and Zeverin will conquer the world.
Overall I quite enjoyed this one. Next read through might be easier now I know the correct order to visit the towers. Also it seems that the time limit at the start isn’t so much of a limit so I might be better off exploring more.
Well the stamina could be better (and is actually what ends up killing me).
In this book I have been entrusted with an item called an Aleph and I am supposed to transport it to its rightful owner. It is quite a good bit of kit and enables me to transport across different dimensions. As I travel between the “spheres of the macrocosmos” I leave traces of energy that can be detected by the Spectral Stalkers so there is something called Trail that increases at certain times and can be tested similar to luck or skill.
At the start of the adventure a creature falls out of the sky and it’s last action before it dies is to hand me the Aleph. It is shrowded in a cloth so naturally I take a peak underneath. As I do this, I am transported to a vast building with a desk, a bell and a sign saying “Silence”. I decide to head off and explore.
I search around but don’t seem much apart from a load of books. I don’t meet anyone and am hopelessly lost so I take a random corridor. Eventually I come to a door with a sign that says Classification department – No Admittance. I’ve never been one to follow instructions so I push the door open.
Inside the door are a group of creatures called Ranganathans. They are attempting to classify things and ask if I am “Admittance” Ha! They then ask what I am and decide that I am a difficult case so attempt to take me apart to see how I work. I make a run for the door but their claws lacerate me – ouch! I still manage to get out and they don’t seem to follow me so I take a different corridor.
Eventually I come to a door to the Office of the Artefacts Specialist so I knock and am told to insert 4GP into the door which I do and as I walk in a bucket of water falls on my head. A guy called Wayland is laughing at me – funny guy! Through gritted teeth I introduce myself and he gives me a bottle of Siccator – I am reluctant to drink any but he seems genuine enough and the drink dries me off completely. I am allowed to keep the rest of the bottle. I end up showing Wayland the Aleph and he is amazed! He tells me I should take it away from limbo (which is apparently where I am). Wayland tells me to bring anything I don’t understand to “Semeion Cryptoglyphus” and with that, I step through the exit. I am then told by a dwarf at a desk that I can go anywhere so I decide to let the Aleph take me where it wants…
I arrive in a corridor where I can hear chanting sounds. As I edge forward, the floor gives way and I am deposited in front of a priest who thinks I am the victory sacrifice that they have been chanting for. I don’t put up any resistance and I am knocked out. I wake up in a war chariot in the middle of a battle with the priest Syzuk standing over me. At this point a solitary arrow flies across the sky and embeds in Syzuk’s shoulder. The arrow is poisoned – for some reason I try to help him but don’t have any corrective fluid. He doesn’t appreciate this act of kindness so I am obliged to kill him. I kick his body out of the chariot but it is out of control. Eventually a wheel hits a rock and breaks, sending me flying. I manage to pick up a bit of the broken wheel before getting the Aleph out and transporting somewhere else.
I am now in a garden in my homeworld of Titan. I see a procession of creatures entering the garden and when they see me they stare in astonishment. It seems these people are the Feliti and they think I am their lord, arrived to save them from a Tyrant. They gather up some flowers which turns into a jewel of sleep. When I get the gem, I leave the garden to see if I can find the tyrant… I arrive at his castle and he seems a bit pitiful. He then notices the Aleph and tries to snatch it away from me. Thankfully I am able to snatch it back before he can get it and use it to get the hell out of there…
I am now in a dessert with a small village. There is a woman selling candles so I buy one and she tells me that the guy who makes them has been missing for some time. I agree to help them find him and enter his cave where I eventually come across a clay golem that he has created. It starts lumbering towards me so I fling the contents of the Siccator bottle over it. It stops in its tracks and starts crumbling before my eyes. When it is just dust, I rescue the potter who lets me take something for my troubles. I chose a clay ball and low and behold, it is a great artefact that will protect me from some magic attacks. Cool. It rattles when I shake it but I resist the urge to break it open and use the Aleph to go somewhere else.
I find myself in a futuristic transporter and there are voices who have identified the fact that I have arrived in their transporter. I quickly search for somewhere to hide and find a cupboard which I manage to break into. It is too small to hide in but I pick up a fire extinguisher thinking it’s a weapon and wait to see what happens. The door opens and some sort of robot enters – it is a grappler and it is trying to capture me as it assumes I have escaped. I spray the extinguisher on it which gets into its mechanism and stops it in its tracks. At this point, the doors fly open on all of the cages that I notice are surrounding me and many different animals escape. They then start to flee from the forming Spectral Stalker behind me. I decide not to hang around either and use the Aleph to get away, but not before my TRAIL score has increased by one.
I find myself in a large area of grassland near a forest. After a while a load of animals flee the forest and are being chased by large creatures but strangely it is all silent. I decide to stand well clear of this commotion, they pass by and leave me alone. There is nothing else to do here, however, so I use the Aleph again to go somewhere else.
Next I arrive at a clearing where I see a minstrel fighting with a hog-man on a beast. Two more beasts arrive and attack but the minstrel plays his harp and they enter go into some sort of daze when he starts killing them. I decide to help him but it soon turns out he is some sort of blood-thirsty warrior. I decide that perhaps it is not for me so I bid him farewell. Sadly he doesn’t take too kindly to this and starts playing his instrument again. I fail a dice roll and am unable to resist it. I walk towards him and he just slices me in two. The End.
Overall this was a decent book although the different encounters made it seem a little disjointed.
Things start with me moping around my home town getting bored until a group of farmers inform me that they are being terrorised by the return of the so called Shadow Warriors. I decide on the spot to help them and prepare myself before leaving town. In the inn, just after I was approached by the farmers, a professional gambler enters and challenges me to a game of dice. 50/50 chance of winning so I gamble a small amount of gold. If I roll a 4-6 then I win. Strangely after I roll a 6, the dice jumps back to a 1. I accuse him of cheating (obviously) and luckily someone in the audience also sees what happened. The man is forced to give me my money back, plus 6 more gold and I take his loaded dice for good measure! I decide to waste no more time and look for some supplies.
First I head for the Western side of town and pick up a Chameleon Cloak, some Fire Crackers and a bargain Mirror. On my way to the Eastern side of town I am intercepted by some guards as I apparently have a warrant for my arrest out on me. I decide to let the guards arrest me. In the cells I manage to trick the guard into letting me out and I make good my escape. I need to leave town quickly and head for the East Gate. I jump onto a rubbish cart, which seems to be a good move as the guards are waiting for me at the gate. Thankfully as I am covered in rubbish, they don’t see me and I am able to get out of town.
On my way out of town, I sadly bump into the Shadow Warriors themselves. They hack down the farmers and knock me to the ground. I decide my best chance is to play dead. Luckily I am able not to react when they get down and stab me on the floor. They ride off to the south. Getting up, I shortly come to a junction and decide to head East to look for a hermit who might have some information to help me with the Shadow Warriors. On the way I see a Wizard’s well and decide to drink from it. As I attempt to do this, a Highwayman tried to hold me up. He is not pleased with the amount of gold I offer him so I slay him. Afterwards I drink from the well and gain a few stamina points. I then head off to find the hermit.
When I get to the Hermit’s place he offers me a meal and tells me a bit of back story about the Shadow Warriors. At this point there is a knocking on the door from someone claiming to be the Hermit’s dead son. I manage to restrain the hermit and stop him opening the door. I think this probably saves his life and in return he tells me that if I kill a Shadow Warrior I need to rip its mask off to stop it coming back from the dead. I feel this is very important information… I leave the next morning and head South.
As I am heading South, the ground starts moving and opens up into a huge mouth. I don’t hang around and head for a copse of trees. The copse isn’t all that safe, though, as it contains a tree monster type thing. It puts up a good fight but I kill it and carry on South. I am coming towards a town called Hustings but before I get there I talk to some sort of face in the grass… I decide to help him and he tells me to say a secret word if I feel that I have helped Hustings. With this in mind I head towards the town. Before I get there, though, I see some scarecrow type men emerging from the fields. They have pumpkin heads and are depicted on the front cover of the book. I put on my chameleon cloak and sneak past but the one near the road that has spotted me.
I head towards a suspicious looking tower near the town and am promptly ambushed by a number of Haggworts who take me up to witch who is their leader. I decide to decline her dubious offer of food and instead ask her to prove she has the power over the Haggwort by setting them free. Amazingly she agrees and she is promptly pushed into the fire. I take the iron band she was using to control them and remember the word that Jack in the Green told me to say. I get transported to the Cauldren Ring and get given the Spear of Doom, which is a damn useful bit of kit!
I travel south towards Cumbleside but before I get there I see another tower. I decide to investigate this too. I ring the bell and am greeted by a young woman who invites me in and offers me some food. There is something I don’t like about her so I leave it alone. I talk to her and it seems she has been experimenting and has created a creature out of bits of other people. Nice. She is now after my brain so I have to kill her monster before the whole place goes up in flames. I grab a lantern before I escape.
I decide to head back to the junction and go towards Shattuck. After a while I am caught up in an Orc hunting party. Just at this point, however, I spot a cave and decide to hide out in that. The cave contains an Ogre, but it is probably preferable to a whole troop of Orcs so I kill it and remain in the cave. I light my lantern and head on into the cave – it goes back a long way and seems to be a viable way South. After some time I encounter a rather nasty looking chap called, errr, Smegg. I don’t like the cut of his jib so decide not to let him help me onwards. When I refuse his help, he stabs me in the back and I am forced to kill him. Probably a good thing I didn’t trust my life to him then! I step over his body and enter a nightmarish maze which doesn’t seem to make sense.
I stumble around the maze for ages before being put to sleep by the true gate keeper! Ah well…
Not too bad, that Resolve score might be the source of some problems though.
This feels like a good, traditional Fighting Fantasy yarn. The Arrowhead islands are under attack from Lord Mortis, the long dead leader who ruled over the islands with fear several hundreds of years ago. He is risen from his tomb, assembled an army of undead and is hunkered down in a fort somewhere on Stayng Island. It is my job to assassinate him.
I arrive in siltport (It was a much more uneventful trip than in a few books ago in Master of Chaos). I decide to stay around in the local tavern but decide not to mention the fact that I am on a mission to kill the local warlord. There is nothing else to do here so I leave town and head north towards Mortis’ tomb.
Along the road to the north is a town called Menela. The men there are being terrorised by some sort of fluffy creature. Of course I help them kill it and collect the bounty. I also manage to find a guide to take me to the tomb but when I get there, I get a bit scared and run away! Doh! I end up South of Siltport and carry on my adventure.
The road turns East and I see a cave in the hills. I go in and it turns out to be a Temple of Luck. After defeating the guardian I take a whistle, a potion and some gold. The potion turns out to be a healing draught but I am not sure what to do with the whistle. I decide to use the ring to ask the guys back at home but they don’t know and tell me off for wasting a charge on the ring.
I then travel for some time before coming to a crossroads and an Inn. The inn is connected to a graveyard with some rather ominous graffiti. On entering the inn, it seems it is covered in garlic – I can see where this is going! I get talking to some of the locals, buy a puffball from a merchant and just when I am about to go to bed, a hooded figure grabs my arm. At this point, a soldier comes up to us and gets it to let go. I decide to tell the soldier about my mission and he wants to come with me. We share a room and in the middle of the night, the hooded figure comes back. The soldier, Kandogor, is about to kill it until I stop him…
The hooded figure turns out to be a wood elf who is trying to kill the vampire in the graveyard. Much to Kandogor’s disgust I agree to help and in the morning we search the cemetery. All day we have found nothing but when the sun starts to go down, the vampire finds us – it is Lady Lotmora, and she attacks me. At this point, the hateful Kandogor joins her and attacks me too – I knew there was something dodgy about him! Anyway, the Lady Vampire herself is far too powerful for me and I become her latest victim.
Black Vein Prophecy is a slightly different book to those I have done up to now. A bit like in Creature of Havoc you have no idea who you are and it is not necessary to roll any dice for stats as this is explained in the text as and when they are needed. It is an interesting approach and the story jumps straight into you waking up in your own sarcophagus. Looking around I can see another body and it appears that a silvery creature has taken an interest in it. On closer inspection it seems the creature belongs to the dead man. It is still held on a lead. The man seems to have stuffed his pockets with jewels but was hit around the back of his head. I wonder who did that? My attention turns to my sarcophagus again but when I look at it, the chamber starts to crumble and bits of rock are coming down on me. I make like a tree and go.
I stumble through some rooms and as I go, the place seems to be falling in on itself. I make may way through some sort of Terracotta army into another room where there is a colourful light flashing. I roll for my first stat, luck and luckily do not get hit by the flash and make it into the next room. I carry on, roll for my stamina, hear someone tell me its too soon and to remember everything I have been taught (oops!), roll for my skill and finally escape from the tomb. I find myself in the charred remains of a seaside town.
First I decide to investigate the sea wall and notice some catapults ready for firing. I make a mental note of this and search on. I am disturbed by a talking horse with a rainbow rider. It says something about rats and sinking ships so I decide to chase after it. When I catch up, it keeps babbling about rats and meadows. I reach out to try and touch it and I gain the mutation power – hoorah. It runs off and I am left to head towards the sea. I find those catapults I saw earlier and decide to catapult myself into the sea (why not, eh?!). Luckily I manage to survive the fall and float to the surface.
Shortly after I land in the water, I am rescued by a woman called Velkos in a boat. I tell her about the dead man in the tomb and she seems upset for a while but soon gets over her loss. Next we are approached by a man in a sphere. I use my sword to cut him out but he attacks me. He is a criminal who has been sentenced to spend the rest of his time in the sphere – he is mad so I have to kill him. I then decide to get a bit of shut-eye. While I am asleep the treacherous Velkos starts going through my things. I wake up and she mutters something about trying to find out who I am. The thing she is trying to take is a broach. Something weird happened when I open the broach and I end up losing it. Oops. Shortly after this we arrive at the shore.
Next we head towards a forest and there appears to be a group of people tracking me. Velkos suggest trying to hunt them down so I agree. Eventually we find a group of bandits and hide up a tree. It doesn’t fool them, though, and they spot me. I sidle down to meet them face to face. I tell them I have lost my memory, one thing leads to another and I end up joining the outlaws. They put me to the test by asking me to rob a peasant but I refuse and explain that the bandit life probably isn’t for me. The bandit leader seems understanding but he still takes my sword from me and sends me on my way.
I walk down a road and the fields start to look like they have been left to die. I see two peasants stuck in the mud in one of the fields and decide to help them. I think this might be a trap though as I am attacked by a Shael beast. It carries me away and drops me some way away at its lair. I manage to kill it, but not before it does me quite a bit of damage. I find another road leading away from the lair. The road seems to lead to a settlement but on the way I see a pile of clothes at the side of the road. I decide to look for their owner and discover a man tied up with a scroll in this helmet. I take the scroll and untie the man. I wonder if the scroll is of some use…
When I enter the village I sit down with some travellers who share a meal with me. I pass out from exhaustion and when I wake up they are all gone. I do see a large battle wagon, however, so I investigate. The inhabitant seems to recognise me so I bluff him. He gets suspicious though so I end up having to kill him. I grab his battle map and leap from the carriage to make my escape.
Walking down the path I come to a cliff face. I see some bandits scaling the cliff and entering a cave system so I decide to investigate them. I end up going down a tunnel in a tree and end up in the cave system myself. I meet a guy called Creddas who tells me my own name and offers to help me. He gets rid of the bandits, gives me some orange syrup and tells me to go on a treasure hunt for him to the South. I agree and head off.
After a day or so I get to a river and head down stream to the jungle. After a while I cannot travel any further on the bank but spot a boat I think I can use. I swim out to it and set off but am set upon by a mass of eels. I do not have a “Chang Whistle” which would probably drive them off and the eels end up eating me! Ouch!
