Let's Play Lone Wolf

[Hiebe 2493]

Drop mace and get spear then calls the man

[Auron 0]

Drop mace take spear (can we use as quaterstaff?) then call to man.

[pi4t 6]

No, we can't use it as a quarterstaff. The stick part's too thin, or something.

We lose a mace!

We gain a giak spear!

342

As your voice echoes through the trees, the stranger slowly turns to face you. Your heart pounds and your blood freezes as you realize that the stranger is not human. It is a Vordak, a hideous lieutenant of the Darklords and one of the undead. A piercing scream fills your ears, and the creature raises a huge black mace above its head and charges at you. Frozen with horror, you can also feel the Vordak attacking you with the force of its mind.

Deduct 2 points from your COMBAT SKILL unless you have the Kai Discipline of Mindshield. You must fight this creature. It is immune to Mindblast.

Vordak: COMBAT SKILL 18 ENDURANCE 26

If you win, turn to 123.

Combat time! Fortunately, we have Mindshield, although we can't use mindblast.

(At this point, I realised that I forgot to factor Mindblast into the last combat. It wouldn't have made any difference to the final result, though, so it doesn't really matter)

CR= 14-18 = -4

Our E total = 22/23

Vordak's E total = 26/26

To be honest, I don't think we're going to survive this combat...

Round 1

Random number = 6

We take 3 damage = 19/23

Vordak takes 6 damage = 20/26

Round 2

Random number = 3

We take 5 damage = 14/23

Vordak takes 3 damage = 17/26

Round 3

Random number = 5

We take 4 damage = 10/23

Vordak takes 5 damage = 12/26

Round 4

Random number = 0

We take no damage = 10/23

Vordak takes 10 damage = 2/26

We're lucky that 0 is basically a critical, in which you do big damage without being injured at all yourself.

Round 5

Random number = 6

We take 3 damage = 7/23

Vordak takes 6 damage = DEAD!

Our final E total = 7/23

Ok, we survived. Whew!

123

As the creature dies, its body slowly dissolves into a vile green liquid. You notice that all of the grass and the plants beneath the smoking fluid are beginning to shrivel and die. A large valuable looking Gem lies on the ground near to the decaying body.

Further along the track you can see a large war party of Giaks running towards you.

If you wish to take the Gem, turn to 304.

If you would rather leave it and run, turn to 2.

So, what are we going to do now? Apart from wish that we had Healing, that is.

[Hiebe 2493]

Take the gem and eat some food ;)

[Auron 0]

This thing is melting everything with acid and you want to take a gem from its stomach while giaks are charging at us when we are almost dead.

I suggest we forget the gem and run all the way to page 2.

[pi4t 6]

Eating food doesn't heal us of damage like in MC, it only stops us from taking more damage from hunger. Think of Healing as the 1.8 full food mechanic, healing you gradually. Of course, we don't have Healing...never mind, there are places to heal in this book, though. You can reconsider your choices if you want.

[pi4t 6]

Ok, so. One vote to take the jewel, one not to (and I'll ignore the meal part, as we're not allowed to anyway). As usual, 0-4 we take the jewel, 5-9 we leave it.

2. Ok, guess we'll find out whether Auron was right or not.

304

The Gem feels incredibly hot and burns your hand. Lose 2 ENDURANCE points.

You quickly pick it up with the edge of your Kai cloak and slip it into your Backpack. A Gem that size must be worth hundreds of Crowns. But the Giaks are very close and their arrows whistle past your head as you turn and run for the safety of the forest.

Turn to 2.

Ouch. Still, we have standards to maintain. What sort of roleplayer wouldn't go for the loot? :)

We lose 2E : Our E total = 5/23

We gain a Vordak Gem

2

As you dash through the thickening trees, the shouts of the Giaks begin to fade behind you. You have nearly outdistanced them completely, when you crash headlong into a tangle of low branches.

Pick a number from the Random Number Table.

If you have picked a number 0–4, turn to 343.

If you have picked a number 5–9, turn to 276.

Ooh, completely random sections. My favourite! (Actually they probably are my favourite, as we can get on with the story instead of waiting a day before we can carry on :P)

We get a 5.

276

Reaching for your weapon you manage to hack your way through the tangle of wood and twisted branches to the clearer forest beyond. Your cloak is torn in several places and your right leg is badly bruised above the knee.

Lose 1 ENDURANCE point and turn to 213.

We lose 1E : Our E total = 4/23

Er, guys? Not meaning to worry you, but we're kinda low on Endurance here!

213

You have been trudging through the forest for nearly two hours. The nagging fear that you are lost begins to seem a reality. Apart from the occasional cry of a Kraan in the far distance, you have seen or heard no evidence that the enemy is in this part of the forest. As you descend a rocky hillock, you see something unusual in the tangled woods ahead.

Turn to 331.

331

Surrounded by thorny briars and closely packed roots, you see the entrance of a tunnel disappearing into the hillside beyond. It is approximately seven feet in height and just over ten feet wide. As you get closer, you can feel a slight breeze coming from the inky blackness. If the other end of this tunnel emerges on the far side of the hill, it could save you many hours of difficult climbing. But it could also harbour unknown danger.

If you wish to enter the tunnel, turn to 170.

If you would prefer to climb the hillside, turn to 280.

Hmm.What do we do here?

[Auron 0]

Lets enter the tunnel its just as likely we will die if we go over and im sure we wont find any healing items up top.

[pi4t 6]

I really don't want to carry on with just one person. Please could someone else respond?

[pi4t 6]

Bump :(

[Hiebe 2493]

Sorry go around I say I dont wanna die

[pi4t 6]

Oh well, you responded in the end! So, 0-4 tunnel, 5-9 hill.

0. Through the tunnel we go!

170

The tunnel is dark and the air is much cooler than outside. You carefully advance with one hand on the tunnel wall to aid your sense of direction. You have been in total darkness for three minutes when you detect the foul smell of decay ahead, similar to rotting meat. If you have a Torch and Tinderbox in your Pack, you may light the Torch to see your way ahead.

Suddenly, something heavy drops from the tunnel ceiling onto your back and you fall to your knees. It is a Burrowcrawler and you must fight it, for it is trying to strangle you with its long slimy tentacles.

Burrowcrawler: COMBAT SKILL 17 ENDURANCE 7

If you do not have a torch, deduct 3 points from your COMBAT SKILL during this fight. The Burrowcrawler is immune to Mindblast and Animal Kinship.

If you win, turn to 319.

Uh oh.

CR = 14-17-3 = -6

Our E total = 4/23

Burrowcrawler's E total = 7/7

Round 1

Random number = 4

We take 5 damage = DEAD!

Burrowcrawler takes 3 damage = 4/7

Well. Erm. Yes, we died, so now might be the time to decide what we do when we die. I would never have suggested that we immediately give up, if only because a couple of ridiculously difficult books make the series practically impossible to win like that. One thing I saw was an idea that when we die, we lose 1 point of maximum E, refill to full E and carry on. We also keep a count of how many times we've died, and obviously we want that to stay as low as possible!

So, tell me what you think of that proposal. Vote yes or no, and if you vote no you may want to make an alternative suggestion.

[Hiebe 2493]

Carry on I say !

[Auron 0]

Ok sounds fair as long as we dont have to repeat the combat or event we died in.

[pi4t 6]

Suddenly, as you lie dying on the ground, you feel new life enter you. For some reason, you have been given a second chance. Yet something is missing, still, you feel. You are weaker than before, and somehow, you know that you will never be quite as strong as you would have been had you not had this encounter. Still, this is not the time to worry about that. You spring up to fight the burrowcrawler.

Our Death Count = 1

Our Endurance = 22/22

Round 2

Random number = 1 (wow, we're unlucky today!)

We take 6 damage = 16/22

Burrowcrawler takes 0 damage = 4/7

Round 3

Random number = 9

We take 0 damage = 16/22

Burrowcrawler takes 8 damage = DEAD!

Our final E total = 16/22

Well, we got there in the end. Let's move on.

319

The slimy creature lets out a long, ghastly death-cry and collapses. You are near to panic and scramble to your feet, grabbing what you think to be your belt from the jaws of the dead beast. You can see light in the far distance, and you sprint for it as fast as you can. When you finally emerge into the daylight, you fall onto the leafy ground and fight for breath in painful gasps.

Slowly sitting upright, you notice that you are still wearing your belt—you had not lost it after all. What you grabbed from the jaw of the Burrowcrawler was a leather strap with a small pouch and a sheathed Dagger halfway along it. You break open the clasp to find it contains 20 Gold Crowns. You may take both the Dagger and the Crowns if you are able to.

Feeling a little better now, you gather your Equipment together and push on eastwards into the forest.

Turn to 157.

We gain 20GC. Remember to tell me if you want us to keep the dagger, and if so, which weapon to drop in favour of it.

157

The forest begins to thin out until finally you can make out a road through the trees ahead. The highway is full of people heading south. Many are wheeling their possessions along on handcarts.

If you wish to join the refugees and perhaps learn more of what has happened in the north, turn to 30.

If you would prefer to continue to move south but under cover of the trees, turn to 167.

Yay, choices!