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Well maybe he's friendly, and those arrows were simply warning shots because he thought we were the bad guys!Section 84 posted:'Ahoy there!' you call. 'Don't think you can frighten me with that ghostly bow. Your ghostly arrows will go right through me without doing any damage!' Or maybe not. Let's see if he can beat his bad touching. Phantom Archer's initiative roll: 1 + 4 = 5 Pip's initiative roll: 3 + 2 = 5 Jason's initiative roll: 1 + 3 = 4 Phantom Archer's initiative re-roll: 6 + 2 = 8 Pip's initiative re-roll: 5 + 6 = 11 Pip casts ILLUSION SPELL! 3 + 2 = 5, didn't work. Phantom Archer attacks! 2 + 1 - 1 = 2, missed. Jason attacks! 4 + 4 = 8, Phantom Archer is hit for 3 + 3 = 6 LIFE (?) POINTS and is down to 29. Pip attacks! 5 + 5 = 10, Phantom Archer is hit for 4 + 3 = 7 LIFE (?) POINTS and is down to 22. Phantom Archer attacks! 1 + 1 = 2, well aren't we clumsy tonight. Jason attacks! 5 + 3 = 8, Phantom Archer is hit for 3 + 3 = 6 LIFE (?) POINTS and is down to 16. Pip attacks! 3 + 3 = 6, Phantom Archer is hit for 0 + 3 = 3 LIFE (?) POINTS and is down to 13. Phantom Archer attacks! 1 + 2 = 3, another miss. Jason attacks! 5 + 1 = 6, Phantom Archer is hit for 1 + 3 = 4 LIFE (?) POINTS and is down to 9. Pip attacks! 4 + 6 = 10, Phantom Archer is hit for 4 + 3 = 7 LIFE (?) POINTS; is down to 2 and is knocked out. (Can ghosts be knocked out? According to The Rules they can, but I wonder...) (For the record, I don't fudge dice rolls as a matter of principle: whatever the RNG says, goes. The Phantom Archer really did roll that bad ) Section 173 posted:The ruins were well worth exploring. Beneath the remains of a crumbling wall you find a smallish casket and within the casket is... A second casket! Those are the same options we would have gotten had we just gone back to 39. *sad_trombone.wav* Since there's only one place we haven't visited yet on this island, the village at 65, let's go check that out. Section 65 posted:What's going on here? You set out for a village and you've ended up in a pigsty! No question about it. The moment you set foot within the boundaries of that pleasant little village, it turned into a monumental pigsty. Full of pigs, too, although they're nothing to worry about. Well even if it's ignoring Jason, it doesn't mean that Jason is going to ignore it. Let's make some bacon. Boar's initiative roll: 4 + 2 = 6 Pip's initiative roll: 2 + 1 = 3 Jason's initiative roll: 5 + 4 = 9 Jason attacks! 6 + 3 = 9, Boar is hit for 3 + 3 = 6 LIFE POINTS and is down to 29. Boar attacks! 2 + 2 - 1 = 3, missed. Pip attacks! 2 + 5 = 7, Boar is hit for 1 + 3 = 4 LIFE POINTS and is down to 25. Jason attacks! 3 + 2 = 5, Boar is hit for 0 + 3 = 3 LIFE POINTS and is down to 22. Boar attacks! 6 + 6 = 12, Pip is hit for 7 + 3 - 3 = 7 LIFE POINTS and is down to 38. Pip attacks! 2 + 5 = 7, Boar is hit for 1 + 3 = 4 LIFE POINTS and is down to 18. Jason attacks! 4 + 3 = 7, Boar is hit for 2 + 3 = 5 LIFE POINTS and is down to 13. Boar attacks! 2 + 1 = 3, missed. Pip attacks! 4 + 2 = 6, Boar is hit for 0 + 3 = 3 LIFE POINTS and is down to 10. Jason attacks! 3 + 2 = 5, Boar is hit for 0 + 3 = 3 LIFE POINTS and is down to 7. Boar attacks! 1 + 5 = 6, Pip is hit for 1 + 3 - 3 = 1 LIFE POINT and is down to 37. Pip attacks! 5 + 4 = 9, Boar is hit for 3 + 3 = 6 LIFE POINTS, is down to 1 and falls unconcious. Let's see what's in the pigsty. Section 76 posted:This is not a particularly pleasant place to search. (But maybe you didn't think it would be.) Nonetheless you do find something: a little golden key, very small - like something you would see on a charm bracelet. Another one of those keys. And we're officially done with this island! Let's take a look at the sea chart: The only islands we haven't visited yet are Demondim Isle and Lost Island. Lost Island is our final destination, so let's check out the other one. Section 12 posted:This does not look like a South Sea Island paradise. No glistening beaches, no waving palms, no hula dancers trying to avoid the lawnmower. Instead, your trusty vessel draws towards a desolate, gloomy cliff-face with the barren, rock encrusted sweep of land stretching out beyond it to a dark horizon. In for a penny... Section 19 posted:'A brave decision!' exclaims one of the Argonauts. But which inlet will you take?' ...Why $64,000? Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 37 / 44+1 Pip's Allies posted:Jason: 25/25 LIFE POINTS, hits on a 5, armed with sword (+3 damage), wearing Good Armour (-3 damage) Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 20, 2015 23:38 |
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# ? Jun 8, 2024 01:04 |
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The $64,000 Question is like a 50's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
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# ? Dec 20, 2015 23:52 |
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I think we should make like the Pet Shop Boys and Go West.
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# ? Dec 24, 2015 16:14 |
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Let's go to b.
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# ? Dec 24, 2015 19:42 |
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Go West, young Pip, go West.
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# ? Dec 24, 2015 19:58 |
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b is actually a secret cypher for Section 23 posted:As you pull bravely towards the inlet, a sweep of white water across its mouth catches your attention, and while you're new to this seafaring business, you suspect it indicates a line of reefs. The problem now is can you navigate them safely. And since you have no chart to guide you, it seems to be largely a question of luck. Roll: 1 + 2 = 3. Section 53 posted:You have scarce made your decision when a current seizes your little craft, carrying you swiftly towards the white water and the reefs. Frantically you pull on the oars, but it takes no more than an instant to discover you are out of control. The rowboat smashes into an underwater reef and spins, miraculously escaping serious damage. But no sooner are you congratulating yourself than it strikes another. Still no serious danage, but now you are in the midst of a churning maelstrom. Section 21 posted:You awaken on a rocky shore. Your body is bruised and aching and your head feels as if it has been put through a mincer. The weapons and equipment you brought with you are gone with your boat. You try to stand and stagger weakly. It is obvious you have lost LIFE POINTS. But how many? And can you survive? Roll two dice. The score indicates how many LIFE POINTS you have lost. We lose (roll) 10 LIFE POINTS, so we're down to 27. And for the purpose of this LP, let's assume we left all non-combat or non-healing-related stuff on the Argo, and that we were still wearing our armour so we didn't lose it. Also, we learned the two spells we'd found already so we can still cast those. Section 38 posted:After all the hassle getting here, you might be wondering why you bothered. This is quite the grottiest island you have ever visited. The towering cliffs you noticed when you were trying to find a way in with your boat aren't just confined to the coastline. Towering cliffs are everywhere. The island itself is almost bare of vegetation - no more, really, than a gigantic rock which has lurched out of the seabed. But out of the rock have been gouged craters and valleys so that cliff-faces seem to rise around you wherever you go. It's also quite chill here, which is peculiar considering the overall climate. Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 27 / 44+1 Pip's Allies posted:Jason: 25/25 LIFE POINTS, hits on a 5, armed with sword (+3 damage), wearing Good Armour (-3 damage) Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 24, 2015 21:31 |
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Just because they're terrifying and have "demon" in their name doesn't necessarily mean they're out to kill us. Stride forward.
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# ? Dec 24, 2015 22:15 |
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Demondim? I 'ardly know 'im. Steam in there. 86.
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# ? Dec 24, 2015 22:23 |
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Try climbing up to the cave in the hope there is a way out of this mess, in which case go to 136. I'm sure there aren't more in there.
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# ? Dec 25, 2015 00:54 |
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Merry Christmas, Grailquest LP thread! It's time to celebrate by getting together with friends!Section 86 posted:The creatures hesitate at your brave move and for a moment it seems as though they might actually be considering a retreat. But they carefully count how many of you there are and when they fail to get higher than one, they break into a delighted waihng and rush towards you swiftly. Have at you, you fiends! Section 92 posted:You roll your dice, record a massive hit and swing your club. A jarring shudder half paralyses your arm as the club makes contact with a Demondim head. But the creature only grins at you, unharmed. ...Or not I guess our foes this time are literally made of stone! Section 34 posted:This is not, by and large, the one place you would naturally choose for a picnic. You are in a vast natural amphitheatre, open to the sullen sky, with rock terraces packed to capacity with Demondim. The noise is terrifying, since the creatures continually call to one another in their weird, high-pitched, trilling voices as they leap from terrace to terrace before squatting to regard you grimly with those huge black orbs of eyes. Human sacrifice, eh? You're in the wrong place pal, the Necklace of Skulls thread is thataway Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 27 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 25, 2015 17:05 |
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Merry Christmas! Let's just wait and see.
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# ? Dec 25, 2015 22:23 |
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Try cunning by falling down on the ground, drumming your heels, frothing at the mouth and generally trying to convince these creatures you are, essentially, a harmless lunatic. Which makes perfect sense.
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 09:25 |
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Going out without a fight? Not Merlin's #1 troubleshooter! Slaughter this fool...by makin' him into bacon. (Pigform Scroll if we start losing the fight.)
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 12:01 |
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Three options, one vote each. Can I have a tiebreaker here? I'd hate having to roll a dice to determine where we go from here. Since this is possibly the last choice of import that's left in this book.
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 17:40 |
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Nothing could possibly go wrong here, just wait and see.
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 17:45 |
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Section 45 posted:The hooded figure throws back its hood to reveal a chalk-white face with glittering red eyes and canine fangs protruding delicately over his lower lip. With the hood back, the robe falls open at the neck to give a glimpse of a high wing collar and white tie over the ruffled opera shirt. This guy ...No, seriously, how did you get here anyway, dude? We're pretty far from where we last met in both space and time. Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 27 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 18:02 |
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Awwww, its our buddy! Just lay down and relax
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 19:16 |
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Trust the Poetic Fiend. Mainly because, in my experience, not doing as the Poetic Fiend says fangs you straight to 14.
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 19:30 |
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Our old pal the Poetic Fiend has never steered us wrong so far. I think that we ought to trust him. What? We're supposed to reply in rhyme? Uh, he'll soon help us get back to Avalon to recover, uh, Excalibar, If we follow his quaint local customs.
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# ? Dec 26, 2015 23:38 |
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He's clearly a fiend most poetic (though frankly, I expected something goetic). I say we trust him though Pip's really quite dim and the result could be quite pathetic.
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 02:41 |
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To avoid a sharp fang subcutaneous We'll accept his help (how'ere extraneous) And if things go wrong (As they have all along) We'll handle it extemporaneous
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 02:58 |
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As we repose on the suggested stone bed We could speak of the poems we’ve read “My dear Fiend, we’ve seen quite a flood Of odes like yours, but none half so good, And for that matter, nor quite so undead”. Edit: Pip’s courage is unlikely to falter As we lie down on this stone altar The Fiend’s poems are toss But he won’t double-cross In no way is he a defaulter. Russ L fucked around with this message at 08:29 on Dec 27, 2015 |
# ? Dec 27, 2015 08:23 |
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You guys are the best Section 148 posted:Meekly (stupidly?) you stretch out on the altar stone. The Fiend bends over you, clutching the wicked, crystal-bladed knife. Moving right along, just to show you what's in Section 103: Section 103 posted:At once a huge, crackling, electrical arc leaps from one crystal to the other and races down the pillars, spitting and hissing with a distinct smell of ozone until it reaches the altar stone where you are lying prostrate. Now, after you complete the limerick, there is a choice to be made: we can go to Lost Island right away and get this book over with, since it's our final destination. Or, we could make a quick trip to check out all the tiny things we missed (one of them in particular is really really useful); but there is a chance (several, actually) that this might kill you, sending us to 14. And I will show you the things we missed after we complete the book anyway, so you'll see it no matter what you choose. So, straight to the end, or 100% completion? Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 27 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 12:45 |
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An adventurer bold named young Pip, Was required to return to his ship. But he never dreamed With the help of the Fiend, He would see all the sections he missed!
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 12:50 |
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An adventurer bold named young Pip, Was required to return to his ship. But he never dreamed With the help of the Fiend, He could focus on getting the 100% completion achievement for this entire book in but a single death-defying trip! *breath* New thread rule? Every post with anything to do with the Fiend has to be in rhyme. Yes, all the time. Unless you're a mime.
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 14:09 |
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An adventurer bold named young Pip, Was required to return to his ship. But he never dreamed With the help of the Fiend, he'd be sent on one hell of a trip!(To all the islands for that sweet, sweet, completion percentage.)
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 15:04 |
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An adventurer bold named young Pip, Was required to return to his ship. But he never dreamed With the help of the Fiend, Of the gear with which he could equip! (By acquiring it from the sections that we haven't visited). Also, is this the first time that the Grailquest books have outright specified that Pip is 'he'? I thought that they carefully avoided that.
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 16:51 |
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An adventurer bold named young Pip, Was required to return to his ship. But he never dreamed With the help of the Fiend, He'd gear up under our stewardship But I've another verse left to share While we for the Lost Island prepare We should really let loose And re-recruit that mongoose In case any snakes we find there
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 21:35 |
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Getting back to help old Camelot's ruler Will be easier with Helogale Parvula IDNLP's plan should proceed That mongoose we need After all, we have plenty of moolah.
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 22:47 |
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I love you, goons. Let's take a look at the sea chart: We've seen everything there's to see on most islands, except this very one: Demondim Isle. (And excepting "You fail, here's a monster to fight" sections, which I'll show in the post-book.) First step in 100% completion is to... Get the moongoose, as it happens. So let's retread our steps: it's on to Skull Island at 109 (ignoring the Shadows on the coast since we've already killed them), on to 117, into the cave at 124, through the right-hand tunnel at 167, stepping towards the snake at [193, and at that very same Section recruiting Gopi Kirshna. Who, you might remember, automatically kills "Any sort of snake or serpent". Step one completed. Now, back to Demondim Isle. This time, we shall go through the southern inlet at 33. Section 33 posted:Drawing steadily on the oars you approach the southern inlet. The stretch of still water points like a finger inwards. Beyond you can see the barren beach and sullen pall of this lonely, menacing island. What will you find there? What adventures await you? What - Oh, no, a sea-serpent! Whatever shall we do? Gopi, if you'd please do your thing... And then we find ourselves back on Demondim Island at 38, facing the Demondim. Now it gets tricky: this time, let's climb up to the cave at 131 instead of stepping forward to confront them. Section 131 posted:This will not be an easy climb. Especially since the creatures are moving faster now and will almost certainly be at the foot of the cliff before you are even halfway up. 25 is a "You fall, lose 15 LIFE POINTS and have to face the Demondim" Section. I rolled 5, so we're down at 12 LIFE POINTS and have to circle back again (to the sacrificial altar, to the Argo, through the inlet, to 38). This time I rolled 10, so we're able to climb up. Section 48 posted:Below you, the Demondim are congregated, staring upwards and wailing, but making no attempt to emulate your climb. You reach the cave mouth and squeeze through without a backwards glance. And back to you, since going through unexplored paths on autoplay isn't fun where a choice is actually involved. In case you can't make out the letters on the diagram, they are (left to right): <-- DRBZOD 27 CDSZG 66 XFBQPO CDSZG CDLNMCHL --> Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 12 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 23:41 |
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It's a simple off-by-one cipher. The dead-ends are, of course, 'DEATH'. To the left is 'ESCAPE', to the right 'DEMONDIM', and in the center... 'YGCRQP'? Okay, going the other way gives 'WEAPON'. So I'm guessing we want 66.
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# ? Dec 27, 2015 23:52 |
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Hfu uif... Xfbqpo? 66.
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# ? Dec 28, 2015 09:41 |
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FredMSloniker posted:
One of these days, these books will have a cipher that isn't just an off-by-one, off-by-two, or off-by-thirteen, and I can contribute my true skills. He's right, go to 66.
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# ? Dec 28, 2015 11:07 |
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If it was good enough for Caesar it is good enough for me.
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# ? Dec 28, 2015 11:15 |
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Moving through the cave to 66, we get to...Section 66 posted:You negotiate the wider passage to the north-east without incident until it opens abruptly into a large cavern. Now that your eyes have become accustomed to the fungus glow, you notice immediately that this cavem has three exits - a passageway leading due east, a passageway leading almost due north, and a third opening, wider than the others, that seems to lead into a second, smaller cavern to the north-east. ...A cavern with three exits. (Well, four, counting the one we came in from.) Of course, we don't want any of those! The diagram Fred translated has it right: going east would get us to the same sacrificial altar we got dragged to by the Demondim, and north and north-east lead to death (via falling down a very deep shaft concealed by the luminescent fungi growing on the floor) and death (via falling into a boiling pit of lava), respectively. So let's try searching the room. (Here I would chug a healing potion or two, just to be safe, but we lost them in the shipwreck. Bummer.) Section 151 posted:Since this is quite a large cavern, you begin to search methodically, mentally dividing it into sections, visualizing mini longitude and latitude lines criss-crossing the floor, allocating letters of the alphabet to those running north/south and numbers to those running east/west, correlating these co-ordinates and memorizing segments you have already searched by means of an ingenious system of colour-coding. well then. Superlizard attacks! 2 + 6 = 8, missed. Pip casts ILLUSION SPELL! 6 + 5 = 11, the spell works and (roll: 3) Superlizard does NOT disbelieve the illusion and is incinerated! That was a very lucky shot, and we're doubly lucky that the Superlizard missed the first strike. Now, what XFBQPO... I mean, weapon... did we find here? Section 28 posted:You've found something! It was half buried in a small heap of rubble in the comer and not at all easy to see, but your eagle eye spotted it and now you are scrabbling at the rubble to find out what it is. Very nice. Very, very nice. We'll get some mileage out of this. Now let's get back to 48, and from there go towards the path marked Section 27 posted:The narrow passageway runs north-west for only a short distance before widening, then opening out into a high-roofed cavern chock-a-block with stalactites and stalacmites. STRENGTH of the six pillars: 6, 6, 1, 4, 6, 2. Let's hope this works. Three of them are right out, since we'd need at least a fourteen to smash them, so let's try the remaining three, starting with the strongest one. Pip smashes! 3 + 1 = 4, nope. Next up, the one with 2 STRENGTH. Pip smashes! 6 + 2 = 8, not quite. What about the weakest one? Pip smashes! 6 + 5 = 11, there we go. What was at 32 that was worth all this effort? Section 32 posted:The passageway runs westwards for quite a distance before you see light at the end - real day-light, that is, not the grotty fungus glow that seems to be all over this place. Nothing much, except two new paths to explore. Where to now? Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 12 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 28, 2015 19:16 |
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Let's check out the smoke to the south! (I'm hoping that this is what my vague and dim recollections of this book think it is.)
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# ? Dec 28, 2015 20:49 |
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South it is, then!Section 107 posted:This does not look particularly promising. The smoke you saw is not smoke at all, but volcanic fumes. They rise from craters in the rocks, filling the air with a choking pall. All the same, your choice of direction may not have been entirely bad. From beyond a rise you can hear a peculiar sound, like the hammering of metal. You move forward cautiously to investigate, peer over the rise half hidden by a rock, and find yourself staring down at one of the most remarkable sights you have ever seen. Well. It's not every day you get a chance to throw down with a god. Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 12 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 29, 2015 20:57 |
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When someone asks you to wrestle a god, you say yes!
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# ? Dec 29, 2015 21:05 |
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Section 29 posted:Vulcan flexes his muscles and moves towards you. 'Now then,' he says, 'the ground-rules. I have 100,000 LIFE POINTS and -' Wait, wasn't this unarmed combat? What about the hammer? Actually, can we have the hammer instead of the armour? It would be more useful, and we could pretend to be Thor while smacking enemies into submission... Pip's Stat Block posted:LIFE POINTS: 12 / 44+1 Roll of the Dead posted:Death the First: Snacked on by Babysaurus Rex
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# ? Dec 29, 2015 23:01 |
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# ? Jun 8, 2024 01:04 |
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Of course! Onward to the great contest with Vulcan which will take place at section 14! Uh, I mean section 144.
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# ? Dec 29, 2015 23:09 |