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  • Locked thread
Odysseus S. Grant
Oct 12, 2011

Cats is the oldest and strongest emotion
of mankind

Cathode Raymond posted:

Peaks of Slayers because it's been a few books since we've been sword'd to death by many dozens of people at once.

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AutistTree
Mar 28, 2010
Our nomad blood says go to Egypt :colbert:.

ManicVolcanic
Jun 5, 2016
We need the cash, but it would be wiser to use skills we have. To Egypt we go.

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





The Peaks of Slayers

Fight fight fight

Comstar
Apr 20, 2007

Are you happy now?
Egypt. I want to see Pyramids.

Telegnostic
Apr 24, 2008
Egypt for previously stated reasons.

Darkest Auer
Dec 30, 2006

They're silly

Ramrod XTreme
Egypt sounds good.

Brerose
Jun 10, 2016

Cathode Raymond posted:

Peaks of Slayers because it's been a few books since we've been sword'd to death by many dozens of people at once.

Snorb
Nov 19, 2010
Ten dinars to risk the wrath of thousands of brigands? No deal! Our talents are best suited for the desert to Egypt anyday!

Parenthesis
Jan 3, 2013
The Peaks of Slayers

MysticalMachineGun
Apr 5, 2005

The desert sounds a lot friendlier than "Peak of Slayers" :ohdear:

Ratatozsk
Mar 6, 2007

Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 400 posted:

The merchant caravan leaves the city, heading out across the desert. The camels lope sedately along, refusing to be hurried. You trudge beside them on sands the color of dried blood, gazing at dunes sculpted by the wind into patterns like snakeskin. The air is dry as flint.

After several days you come in sight of a group of tents crouching in the shade of a mountainous sand dune. The Bedouin emerge to greet you, glancing with shame at their scrawny goats. ‘Alas, we have almost nothing to offer you by way of hospitality,’ laments their chief. ‘But take this bread and the stew of vegetable roots that I was about to share with my family.’

If you accept, it will mean that the Bedouin themselves go hungry.

If you have WILDERNESS LORE, turn to 104.
If not, decide whether to eat the food they have set before you (turn to 127) or insist they keep it (turn to 171).

For a little while, at least, we've chosen well for our skill set.

Page 127 posted:

The law of hospitality means that you must accept. The Bedouin would rather starve than lose face by failing to feed you.

Turn to 127.

Page 127 posted:

The meager meal is surprisingly good. The Bedouin watch with empty stomachs as you enjoy the only food they have to spare. The children of the tribe begin to cry, so the chief starts a song to distract them from their hunger. The meal over, you recline on soft cushions. Night rushes across the sky, unfolding a multitude of stars while the stirring strains of the desert song resound off the looming dunes around you.

Hakim makes a gift of salt to the tribe. The chief tries to hide his almost pathetic gratitude at this kindness. ‘Beware when you cross the desert,’ he warns you. ‘The tribes of the remote interior show no shame in stealing from others.’

Thanking the Bedouin for their hospitality, you spend the night with them and head on at first light.

If you have WILDERNESS LORE, turn to 168.
If not, turn to 217.

: I'm learned as hell in the ways of the wasteland!

Page 168 posted:

By noon of the following day your nostrils are thickly clogged with dusty sand stirred up by the wind. The sky resembles a plate of molten lead; the ground is hotter than a kiln.

One of your scouts returns and leads you and Hakim, the merchant, to a blue flag set on a long cane in the sand. ‘What can it mean?’ Hakim wonders aloud. ‘Is it a Bedouin grave?’

Falling to your knees, you begin to dig. ‘God preserve us!’ cries the scout. ‘Do you mean to loot the corpse?’

You only laugh. ‘There is no corpse here,’ you tell him. ‘Quite the opposite.’

Turn to 263.

Page 263 posted:

Scooping the sand away from the pole, you uncover a stretched piece of camel leather. When this is removed, water trickles forth from a hidden well. There is not much, but enough to clear the clogging sand from your mouth and fill your limp waterskins.

You are careful to replace the leather so that other travelers will also find water here. ‘In the face of the desert’s callous ways, all men are brothers,’ remarks Hakim, adding a short prayer of thanks before signalling for the caravan to move on.

Turn to 308.

Page 308 posted:

Time becomes a blur. Leaving the sand dunes behind, you enter a region of barren grey rock. The howling of the wind is like a dirge, and the trembling waves of heat cause strange images to hover above the horizon.

‘I have heard the voices of the celestial maidens calling me to Paradise,’ avers one man. The next morning he has wandered away from the camp and cannot be found.

You press on. Everyone fears that the desert will become their grave, but no one dares to say it. Then you see a band of six white-robed Bedouin riding towards you with raised spears. ‘God has abandoned us!’ wails Hakim, falling to his knees. ‘These devils will slay us and eat our flesh.’

The Bedouin rein in at a spear-cast’s distance and call out to you in arrogant tones: ‘This is our desert. To pass on you must pay a toll of half your goods.’

You glance around. Hakim is too terrified to take charge. The others look on with dull leaden looks. It is left to you to decide how to deal with this challenge.

If you try to negotiate, turn to 330.
If you attack, turn to 352.
If you turn aside to avoid any trouble, turn to 373.

: Look, I'm just a lost in time unfrozen mayan jewish pirate elf hater. Your desert ways confuse me.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay Sherifman the Nomad

Skills: AGILITY, FOLKLORE, MAGIC, WILDERNESS LORE

Life Points: 10

Dinars: 16

Possessions: Ring

Codewords:

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech, pretty much every conceivable thing (x2), the post-apocalyptic speed limit, a second weird future ghost thing (albeit vicariously), the bestest robofriendship we're likely to come across this side of godhood, two traitorous Bocheii, whatever remained of the concept of privacy, Vajra Singh, our last (probably) shot at godhood

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd, second shot'd, hypnotic trance'd, reality ripped right out from under us'd, Volent'd

Thuryl
Mar 14, 2007

My postillion has been struck by lightning.
Apparently Wilderness Lore also means we know about Bedouin customs, so maybe that'll help us negotiate.

Darkest Auer
Dec 30, 2006

They're silly

Ramrod XTreme
We don't even have a sword to fight with, it's better to negotiate.

Comstar
Apr 20, 2007

Are you happy now?
We don't need tonegotiate. These aren't the druids you're looking for.

Telegnostic
Apr 24, 2008
Our wilderness lore gives us much knowledge of nature's subtlest creature, the Bedouin. We must negotiate.

Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
Negotiate

"This desert's a real shithole, amirite? Also, uh, maybe don't spear us please?"

Snorb
Nov 19, 2010
We are no warrior, and we are already involved just by being here. Negotiation is our only real chance at survival.

AutistTree
Mar 28, 2010
We're a nomad, not a fighter - Negotiate!

Parenthesis
Jan 3, 2013
Negotiate

Ratatozsk
Mar 6, 2007

Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
Well, the voting was a bit ambiguous, so let's coin toss.
.
..
.
Maybe again.
.
..
.
Ok fine, negotiate.


Page 330 posted:

If you have CUNNING or WILDERNESS LORE, turn to 394.

If not, the Bedouin refuse to see reason and are now so indignant that they also demand your water.

You must either leave (turn to 373) or fight (turn to 352).


Page 394 posted:

‘Why should we pay any toll?’ you reply in a challenging voice. ‘No man owns the desert.’

The Bedouin leader makes a sweeping gesture with the point of his spear. ‘These skies are the canopy of our tents. The sands are our rugs. The rocks, our cushions. Hence you must pay.’

‘Are we your enemies?’ you ask him. ‘Have we caused you any harm?’ When he does not find a ready answer, you go on, ‘No – for, if we had, then you would have already struck us down, as honour demands.’

‘And so?’ he mutters darkly.

‘You say the desert itself is your home. If we are not your enemies, we must be your guests. The law of hospitality forbids you to profit from us.’

There is no sound at all for several seconds. Then, to your relief, the Bedouin dismount and lead their camels over. The chief’s face is like a mask of granite as he says, ‘Well spoken. I am abashed. I shall kill my camel for your meal, and here is water from my own flask.’

The water tastes like the contents of a ditch, but you do not complain. After spending as short a time with the Bedouin as courtesy allows, you make your excuses and travel on into the west.

Turn to 218.

: Boom, right in the reason!

Page 218 posted:

The days crawl by. The sun, a boulder of light rolling relentlessly across the sky, plummets each evening beyond the edge of the world, draining all heat behind it so that you are left shivering in the chill of night. Even with strict rationing, you soon have barely enough water to moisten your lips, and barely food enough to make one mouthful at supper.

You have almost lost hope when, in the long shadows of dusk, you see an olive-green splash of colour against the dusty ochre landscape. You blink, rubbing your eyes to make sure, then call back to the others: ‘An oasis!’

Hakim stumbles forward. Barely able to stand, he leans on your shoulder and peers into the middle distance. ‘Yes, but look. See those tents? That smoke from campfires? Do we dare risk provoking the inhabitants? If they’re hostile, we’re too weak to put up a fight.’

What will you advise: that you should stop at the oasis (turn to 416), or go past and hope to find water elsewhere (turn to 438)?

: Passing on this opportunity would just be an oas-te...

Character Sheet posted:

Jay Sherifman the Nomad

Skills: AGILITY, FOLKLORE, MAGIC, WILDERNESS LORE

Life Points: 10

Dinars: 16

Possessions: Ring

Codewords:

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech, pretty much every conceivable thing (x2), the post-apocalyptic speed limit, a second weird future ghost thing (albeit vicariously), the bestest robofriendship we're likely to come across this side of godhood, two traitorous Bocheii, whatever remained of the concept of privacy, Vajra Singh, our last (probably) shot at godhood

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd, second shot'd, hypnotic trance'd, reality ripped right out from under us'd, Volent'd

Darkest Auer
Dec 30, 2006

They're silly

Ramrod XTreme
This caravan seem quite badly prepared for crossing a desert. Anyway, the law of hospitality will probably get us water and food from the residents at the oasis, so go say hello.

Thuryl
Mar 14, 2007

My postillion has been struck by lightning.
Being friendly seems to have worked okay for us so far. Stop at the oasis.

MysticalMachineGun
Apr 5, 2005

Darkest Auer posted:

This caravan seem quite badly prepared for crossing a desert.

No poo poo, without us they'd have been dead ages ago.

Go to the oasis. Worst case it's a mirage.

Comstar
Apr 20, 2007

Are you happy now?
Go to the Oasis. I heard their music isn't very good though.

ManicVolcanic
Jun 5, 2016
Why don't we stop by? It can't possibly be that bad.

Tuxedo Ted
Apr 24, 2007

I'm pretty sure there's some universal law about not causing a ruckus at a rare oasis, we'll be fine if we're polite. Let's all go to the lobby oasis.

Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
I agree that this caravan should have its caravaner license revoked.

I also agree that we should go to the oasis.

Snorb
Nov 19, 2010
The laws of hospitality require whoever's at the oasis to treat us as guests, as we told these last Bedouins.

Ratatozsk
Mar 6, 2007

Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 416 posted:

People in flowing black robes come out from the gardens of the oasis to welcome you. They bring pitchers of fresh water which you drain gratefully. Then you are led to the tents of their camp, beneath the wall of the ruined fort, and made comfortable on rugs and cushions.

After so long in the desert, to be surrounded by swaying palms and trickling streams is like a visit to Paradise. You rest at the oasis for several days. Regain 1 Life Point if you were wounded.

Eventually, with reluctance, you load your camels and set out on the last leg of your journey. ‘We have nearly reached the Red Sea coast,’ Hakim says as you walk beside him. ‘The worst is behind us now. Although I cannot pretend the roads to Cairo are wholly safe, at least we’ll not perish of hunger or thirst.’

‘Our route takes us close to Mecca,’ you reply. ‘Out of gratitude for our safe deliverance, we should stop and make the pilgrimage.’

Hakim clicks his tongue. ‘Oh, another time, perhaps. On the way back. I really can’t afford to waste time at Mecca. I’ve got all these wares to sell in Cairo, you see.’

If you try to convince him to stop at Mecca, turn to 101.
If you let the matter drop, turn to 123.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay Sherifman the Nomad

Skills: AGILITY, FOLKLORE, MAGIC, WILDERNESS LORE

Life Points: 10

Dinars: 16

Possessions: Ring

Codewords:

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech, pretty much every conceivable thing (x2), the post-apocalyptic speed limit, a second weird future ghost thing (albeit vicariously), the bestest robofriendship we're likely to come across this side of godhood, two traitorous Bocheii, whatever remained of the concept of privacy, Vajra Singh, our last (probably) shot at godhood

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd, second shot'd, hypnotic trance'd, reality ripped right out from under us'd, Volent'd

Deceitful Penguin
Feb 16, 2011
We gotta Mecca detour!

Darkest Auer
Dec 30, 2006

They're silly

Ramrod XTreme
I hear the hotels in Mecca are a bit gaudy, let's not visit there.

Cathode Raymond
Dec 30, 2015

My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
Soiled Meat
I think it's super lovely that we're about to burden this honest merchant with an unnecessary stop but gently caress it we're going to Mecca cause we don't wanna miss content :v:

Comstar
Apr 20, 2007

Are you happy now?
Allah waits for no mans merchant goods. Mecca.

Brerose
Jun 10, 2016
Who is this guy to make the travel decisions, doesn't he know we're the protagonist? Mecca, ho!

Thuryl
Mar 14, 2007

My postillion has been struck by lightning.
We gotta make the pilgrimage at some point in our lifetime, and considering we're at pretty significant risk of dying in the near future we'd better get it done now. Head to Mecca.

TheGreatEvilKing
Mar 28, 2016





Mecca for God points. It could matter!

Snorb
Nov 19, 2010
We can go to Mecca and pay God back for saving our miserable hides in the desert! If Hakim believes we are wasting his time, then so be it!

SatansOnion
Dec 12, 2011

It's never a bad idea to suck up to God. Let's go to Mecca!

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Ratatozsk
Mar 6, 2007

Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...

Page 101 posted:

‘What you say is full of pragmatic wisdom,’ you say to Hakim. He nods and smiles, thinking you agree, but then you go on, ‘However, it reminds me of the sad story of the man who passed Mecca every year with his camels. Each time he would pause, and bow, and say, “Next year I will make the pilgrimage.” ’

‘And what happened to him?’

‘His excuses outlasted the years God had allotted to him. Whether or not he entered the gates of Paradise, I cannot say. God alone is all-knowing. But what do you think?’

Hakim turns from you to the holy city with a look of concern. ‘Even the most foolish of men knows the value of prudence,’ he mutters at last. ‘And surely I can spare ten days of my life for He who has given me everything I possess.’

He gives the orders for the caravan to halt.

If you have the codeword Mordant, turn to 493.
If not, turn to 146.

I do wish that I was more familiar with the 1001 Arabian Nights. These books are fairly rich in the worlds they create and I'd love to be able to pick up on the various nods to a larger canon.

Page 146 posted:

This is no carefree jaunt for the half-hearted. The rituals are rigorous and take many days. First you visit the Great Mosque, where the looming black block of the sacred Kaaba stands like the very fingerprint of God against the sky. Circling this seven times, as tradition demands, is wearying in the intense desert heat. You are soon soaked in sweat and coughing because of the dust thrown up by hundreds of feet.

After kissing the black stone, you drink and wash in the sacred well, Zamzam. Then there is an arduous run to and fro between two mountains just outside the city walls. You see an old man falter and drop to his knees. By now you are suffused with understanding of the Prophet’s teachings and you stop to help him even though you, too, are close to fainting.

Your kindness is repaid. The old man helps you with your prayers in the days that follow. On the eighth day, you listen to a sermon preached at the same spot where the Prophet last spoke to his people in this life. Then, as the sun pulls streamers of red fire out of the sky to the west, you must walk to the Pillars of Mena where you spend the next day collecting pebbles. When you wonder at the meaning of this, the old man is on hand to instruct you. It seems that when Ismail was tempted by the Devil to disobey his father, Abraham, he drove the Devil away by throwing stones at him.

On the last day you sacrifice a sheep and distribute the meat to the poor. This symbolizes the sheep that Abraham sacrificed to God in place of his son Ismail.

The rituals are over. You are now a hajji, a pilgrim, and may wear a green turban to show this. Note the codeword Hajji on your Character Sheet. The next morning you awaken invigorated after your first good restful sleep in many days.

Regain 2 Life Points if injured, then turn to 123.

: Wait a minute -

: HI! HOW'S IT GOING?

: Oh dear.

Page 123 posted:

You journey on for several days. The road turns away from the coast and rises towards some hills which present an outline of dull grey-brown against the clear indigo hues of the sky. Hakim eyes the pass through the hills with a worried frown. He fears an ambush by bandits.

If you have the codeword Mordant, turn to 191.
If not, turn to 214.

Page 214 posted:

Hakim asks if you will go ahead of the main group and see if there are bandits lying in wait. ‘It is a dangerous job,’ he admits, ‘and I will pay you two dinars.’

‘Two dinars for my life? That is hardly fair.’

He nods. ‘Three, then.’

If you accept, add the three dinars to your money and turn to 478.
If you point out that is not in your contract to take such risks, turn to 191.

: Hey, do you think that caliph is still ok?

: How do you know about him? That was like 5 updates before you appeared?

: It's only a page back. What kind of a sidekick would I be if I didn't read up first?

: Oh. Thanks, I guess.

: Don't get too ahead of yourself, you've got some ground to make up you goddamn antisylvanic racist.

: Aaaaand that's the other shoe I was waiting to drop.

Character Sheet posted:

Jay Sherifman the Nomad

Skills: AGILITY, FOLKLORE, MAGIC, WILDERNESS LORE

Life Points: 10

Dinars: 16

Possessions: Ring

Codewords: Hajji

Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech, pretty much every conceivable thing (x2), the post-apocalyptic speed limit, a second weird future ghost thing (albeit vicariously), the bestest robofriendship we're likely to come across this side of godhood, two traitorous Bocheii, whatever remained of the concept of privacy, Vajra Singh, our last (probably) shot at godhood

Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd, second shot'd, hypnotic trance'd, reality ripped right out from under us'd, Volent'd

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