So far, Deathtrap Dungeon has been living up to its name. My first death came through forgetfulness, and my second through carelessness. This time around, I blame the dice.
ATTEMPT 3 - CHARACTER CREATION
With a Skill of 7, a Stamina of 23 and a Luck of 7, I knew that there was only the slightest mathematical hope of success. A low Stamina can be worked with, a low Luck is problematic but survivable. Low Skill? Forget it. For this game I determined to explore off the beaten path, and find a quick and glorious death. I chose the Potion of Strength, but it barely mattered; failure was inevitable no matter which potion I took.
THE ADVENTURE
At the first junction, I went left instead of right, following the majority of the wet footprints. (I think you can actually finish the book by going this way, but you miss the rope, which is vital for skipping one super-lethal combat). I soon came to another junction, where two sets of footprints went west, and one went north; I followed the latter.
With little warning, and no chance to avoid combat, I was attacked by a Caveman (Skill 7, Stamina 7). It was an even combat, and he was able to hit me five times with his club before I killed him (leaving me with 13 Stamina). (This is the sort of encounter that Ian Livingstone uses a lot: a monster that appears as nothing more than an unavoidable combat. It's not interesting, and it's not fun. At best they're an irritation, and at worst they simply serve to make the book needlessly difficult. It's one of Ian's worst tendencies.)
The Caveman was wearing a leather wristband adorned with four rat skulls. I put it on, and to my dismay I discovered that it had been cursed by a Hag. The bracelet slowed my reactions and dulled my senses, causing me to lose 4 Skill points. (At this point, my Skill was reduced to 3. Keep reading, it gets worse. I also wonder: does this mean that the Caveman's true Skill was 11? Guy was badass.)
Further north I found a backpack propped against the tunnel wall. I looked inside and saw a single gold piece lying at the bottom. Against my better judgment (i.e. the book gave me no choice) I reached inside, and was bitten by a Black Widow Spider (reducing my Stamina from 13 to 7). Not only that, but my Skill was reduced by a further point (leaving me with 2; and no, it still gets worse). It wasn't all bad though: I had an extra gold piece! Huzzah! Totally worth it. (I've always thought that this was a trap set by the ninja, one of my rivals in the Trial. The book brings up the possibility that one of the other contestants left it there, and he does set some traps later. It fits pretty well.)
I passed a couple of junctions, but kept following the footprints north until I emerged in the cavern with the statue and the Flying Guardians. I was ready for the game to be over, so I decided to climb the statue and pry out its jewelled eyes. Without a rope the climb was difficult: I had to successfully Test my Luck to get to the top. Once there I set about taking the jewel on the left, and the Flying Guardians attacked as expected. Usually I climb the statue using the rope, and suffer a -2 penalty during this fight. In this game, without the rope, the penalty is increased to -3. This meant that my effective Skill for this battle was an extraordinary -1.
Needless to say, I lost, without striking a single blow upon my enemies. The rules don't take into account the possibility of your Skill slipping into the negatives, so I had to use my own judgment. I went with it, because why not? I wouldn't have won with a Skill of 0, or even 1, and what makes for a better story? I'll certainly never forget it.
ATTEMPT 4 - CHARACTER CREATION
My results were a little more respectable this time: Skill 9, Stamina 17, and Luck 12. My chances of success were still slim, but with a bit of luck (and also my hefty Luck score), I might make it. I decided to make a proper go of it, but also to do some things that I usually avoid. I took the Potion of Fortune, and started my quest.
THE ADVENTURE
I entered the dungeon, opened the box left by Sukumvit containing two gold pieces, and turned right at the first junction. I came to the spongy obstruction (which I usually climb over), and decided to hack it open with my sword. It released a cloud of spores, that stuck to my skin and itched horribly (reducing my Stamina to 15).
I continued on, drinking the magic water to pass safely through the hot tunnel (and restoring my Stamina to 16 in the process). Soon I came to the door with the sliding window plate, and rather than open the plate to look inside I opened the door and barged in. I fell into a pit, and lost 4 Stamina (reducing my total to 12), but there were enough handholds that I could easily climb out. I took the rope I found in the room and continued.
Further on I encountered a pair of Orcs, who disarmed me, and I was forced to fight them bare-handed. The fight went badly for me, and my Stamina was reduced to 4; I was forced to Test my Luck twice to defeat them.
I continued west, finding the barbarian's corpse and eating his rations. I ate a pair of my own rations as well, and in total my Stamina was restored to 15. It didn't matter. In the cavern with the Flying Guardians I once again climbed the statue (this time using the rope) and tried to pry out its left eye. The Skill penalty for my precarious perch was my undoing, as once again I fell prey to the Flying Guardians.
THE POST-GAME
There wasn't much I could do this time, as my scores just weren't good enough. Still, I did some exploration, and refreshed my memory on some options I rarely choose. It was worth it just to get that -1 Skill score. I said it in Fighting Fantazine, and I'll say it again here: in gamebooks, a glorious death can be just as satisfying as a victory.
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