Deathtrap Dungeon - Attempts 5, 6 & 7

I keep playing Deathtrap Dungeon, and I keep racking up deaths.  These books were never so hard when I was in primary school.  Probably because I was a remorseless cheater.  Playing Fighting Fantasy by the rules is a mug's game, but I refuse to give in.  Onward!

(As usual, I'm going to skim over parts of the book that I've detailed in previous posts.  Those not intimately familiar with it may wish to read my previous Deathtrap Dungeon posts.)

ATTEMPT 5

CHARACTER CREATION
I rolled a Skill of 9, a Stamina of 18 and a Luck of 7.  There was no escaping reality here: this guy was never going to make it through Deathtrap Dungeon.  I armed him with a Potion of Strength, and determined to seek a quick death in a previously unexplored portion of the dungeon.  This was a suicide mission, plain and simple.

THE ADVENTURE
After entering the dungeon I turned left at the first junction, and continued on straight at the next (last time I went north, and ended up with a Skill of 2).  I came to an iron bell hanging from the ceiling, and could not resist the urge to ring it. The reverberations shook the passage, and caused my own body to tremble uncontrollably (at the cost of 2 Skill and 2 Stamina).  I had the option to try to deaden the bell with my boot, but instead I chose to scream as loudly as possible.  The noise attracted two hobgoblins, who promptly ran me through.  Well, I succeeded in my goal I suppose.  Death doesn't come much faster than this one.

ATTEMPT 6

CHARACTER CREATION
This time my character was far more viable: Skill 11, Stamina 17 and Luck 8.  With scores like these I stood a decent chance of completing the book, so I chose the Potion of Fortune and set off.

THE ADVENTURE
I went right at the first junction, and passed through the initial areas with little incident: the spore ball, the hot passage, the Flying Guardians.  The only thing to note is that, when I fought the two Orcs, it described one of their morning stars crashing on my shield.  There it is, incontrovertible proof: you do begin Deathtrap Dungeon with a shield, as there's definitely no other shield to be found before reaching this encounter.  I am vindicated.

From there I went to the room where the disembodied voice asks you to name the master of the dungeon.  With the knowledge that I wouldn't need the Ring of Wishes to complete the book, I decided to explore the alternate option, by sucking up to Lord Sukumvit.  The answer given by the voice is pretty hilarious: it insults you for being spineless, and calls you a "loathsome creep".  Then the room becomes flooded with water.  I was able to escape by rolling less then my Skill on two dice.

Continuing on, I stepped through the beam of light to hear the girl's rhyme, and fought the giant fly.  After that I came to a junction with passages heading east and west.  Straying from my usual path, I went west.

(At this point I had a Skill of 11, a Stamina of 13, and a Luck of 6. I had 8 provisions remaining, and had found a rope, a hollow tube, a dagger, and an emerald.)

As I headed west, I could hear the sound of rocks being crushed.  Suddenly the wall to my right started to collapse, and a huge Rock Grub emerged, having burrowed its way through.

I stood my ground against the Rock Grub (Skill 7, Stamina 11), and was able to kill it without taking a single hit.  I had the option of entering it's bore-hole, but I opted against crawling down a slimy tunnel with no guarantee that it would lead anywhere useful.

I continued on, and the tunnel came to a dead end.  There was a large mirror here, but for once I mastered my curiosity, and decided not to investigate.  (I remembered that this is a trap, and one of the more memorable instant death passages in the book.  Looking in the mirror causes your head to swell to the size of a pumpkin until you black out and die.)

With nothing else to explore, I returned to the junction and went east along a more familiar path.  I fell in the pit (deliberately, so that I could claim the ruby at the bottom), answered the crazy old man's riddle, and came to the door with the letter X scratched into it.  I remembered that this door leads to the room with the Skeleton, and knew I had to go this way, but I felt like exploring, so I headed north instead.  I followed a long, straight tunnel with no doors, and nothing to investigate, and grew so complacent that I failed to notice a tripwire stretched across the passage.  Tripping the wire caused a large boulder to be released, rumbling down the passage towards me.  I was forced to drop my shield (lowering my Skill to 10) as I turned to flee.  Escaping the boulder required that I roll two dice, and get a result lower than both my Skill and Stamina scores.  With 10 Skill and 12 Stamina I had little trouble, and was able to make it to the skeleton room without being crushed.  (Funnily enough, dropping my shield actually lowered my chance of escaping the boulder. The relationship between Skill as fighting ability and Skill as athletic ability is often a screwy one, and rarely helped by the way that weapons and armour interact with both.)

I made short work of the Skeleton Warrior, and the two Goblins in the room beyond.  From that room I had two doors to choose from: north and west.  The last time I was here I chose west, and missed a vital jewel, so this time I went north (after eating two provisions to return my Stamina to 14).

The tunnel beyond sloped upwards for a time, until I came to a door with a withered hand nailed on it.  Inside there was a man chained to the wall, and one of his hands was missing.  There was something familiar about this fellow, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it...

Mr. Livingstone, I presume?

He cowered away from me, pleading for mercy.  I decided to cut him free, hoping that he had some useful information to impart.  He was grateful, and explained that he had entered the Trial four years ago, but had been captured and forced to work as a slave.  He had recently tried to escape, but was recaptured by an Orc patrol, and had his hand cut off as punishment.  He had little to say that would help me survive the dungeon: all he knew was that I needed to collect gems in order to escape.  I let him go on his way, but I had little hope that he would be able to escape on his own.  Ah well, at least I killed the Orcs for him.

Further down the tunnel there was a pipe on the right-hand wall.  I decided to crawl down the pipe, and was soon in total darkness.  While I was crawling I found a wooden box, and decided to return to the tunnel so that I could look inside.  The box contained an iron key and a large sapphire, and this find raised my Luck back to 7.

I continued north, and soon met the barbarian Throm.  This time I declined his offer to join forces, and headed east on my own.  The tunnel soon came to a dead end, with a piece of parchment nailed to the wall that read "Beware the Trialmasters".  I was forced to return the way I came and join forces with Throm after all.  ("Beware the Railroaders" more like it.)

We explored together, and Throm expressed his disdain while I read some books we discovered.  We fought some Cave Trolls together (and my Stamina was reduced to 7, but restored to 10 by a magical bone ring that one of the Trolls was carrying).  Just as our camaraderie was growing, we were met by the evil Dwarf Trialmaster, and told that we could go no further together, and that we must be tested to see who was most worthy to continue.

I did well at the Trialmaster's tasks, beating him at dice and catching his cobra bare-handed (not a euphemism).  At this point he led me to an arena, and handed me two pieces of paper.  One read "NO CROP IS" and the other "RUIN MOAT".  I was told to rearrange the letters to make the names of two monsters, and choose which one I wanted to fight.  I usually translate RUIN MOAT into Minotaur, but this time I was feeling cocky, and decided to fight the NO CROP IS Scorpion.

I'd forgotten how deadly this thing is.  Its stats (Skill 10, Stamina 10) are tough, though not insurmountable.  It also has two attacks per round, but other than that we were pretty evenly matched, and I felt that by using my Luck score I'd be able to defeat it.   It has a special ability, though: if at any point it rolls a double-6 for its Attack, it instantly grabs and stings you to death.  So guess what happened to me?  Dead in the third round.

I was done in by my own stupidity.  I blame the blog.  Because I need content for a post every week, I find that I have a strong urge to explore different options, and sometimes ones that I know are detrimental to finishing the book.  I took a few of those options here: taking the path to fight the rock grub, exploring the tunnel with the boulder, abandoning Throm for a short time.  The decision to fight the Scorpion proved my undoing; I hadn't fought it years and years (probably decades), and I'd forgotten it was so deadly.  Needless to say, I won't be doing it again.  Next time I get a character with high stats, I won't be taking any chances.

ATTEMPT 7

CHARACTER CREATION
Skill 10, Stamina 16, Luck 12.  My Skill score was in the lower bounds of what I need to finish the book, but I decided to make a decent go of it this time.  Finishing the book with a Skill of 10 would be something to boast of.

THE ADVENTURE
I took much the same path that I had taken during Attempt 6, though I opted not to fight the Giant Fly, as I'm pretty sure that I don't need the dagger to win.  I had a close call with the Flying Guardians, who reduced my Stamina to 2.  By the time I got to the Trialmaster I had a Skill of 10, a Stamina of 11 and a Luck of 10.  I had 8 provisions left, and had found a rope, a hollow tube, a ring of wishes, a piece of parchment, a wooden mallet, 10 iron spikes, an iron key, an amulet of strength, a bone ring, an emerald, a sapphire, and 3 gold pieces.

Just for curiosity's sake, I decided to see what would happen if I joined Throm in attacking the Dwarf Trialmaster.  He paralyzed both of us with poisoned darts (reducing my Stamina to 9), and simply waited until we recovered to force us to take part in his trials.

When faced once again with the choice of which monster to fight, naturally I chose the Minotaur this time.  Although it did come within a hairsbreadth of kill me (reducing my Stamina to 1, and forcing me to use a Luck point) I found it a pleasant alternative to the Scorpion.  The follow-up battle with the crazed Throm was much easier.  I had restored my Stamina back to 15 with provisions beforehand, and he only hit me once despite our Skill scores being equal.

I took my leave of the Trialmaster, and when I came to a junction I headed west to investigate the sound of buzzing.  I came to the room that was full of insects behind a pane of glass, but I didn't investigate.  I also didn't return to the junction, as I'd done in Attempt 1; that way led to failure, so I continued west.

I could hear footsteps in the tunnel ahead, but I stood my ground to wait for whatever was coming.  A man appeared, his feet shackled, carrying a tray of bread and water.  He wasn't hostile, so I spoke to him.  He was another of the Trialmasters' slaves, and was hoping one day to gather enough gold to bribe his way to freedom.  I slipped him a gold piece (leaving me with two) hoping he would have some information for me.  He told me that, in a chair shaped like a demon-bird, I would find a secret compartment containing a Doppelganger Potion.  I thanked him for the information, an we parted ways.  Arriving at a junction, I headed north, and soon found the chair he had spoken of.

I took a seat in the chair, found the secret compartment with no trouble, and retrieved the potion from within.  It was a Doppelganger Potion as he had said, with the power to create an illusion disguising me as a nearby creature.

Continuing on, I came to a dead end.  There was a deep pool at the end of the tunnel, and I was reminded of the spirit girl's poem.  (If you'll recall my earlier posts, there's a beam of light with laughing faces that is found earlier in the dungeon.  If you step inside, a spirit girl recites a poem that tells you that "If corridor doth water meet/do not make a quick retreat/hold your breath and jump deep in/if your Trial you hope to win".)  I dove underwater, and swam through a submerged tunnel to surface in a passage on the other side of the wall.  At this point I had to Test My Luck to determine what had happened to the equipment in my backpack.  I was Lucky, and all that I lost were two of my provisions (leaving me with 3 provisions, and a Luck score of 8).

Further along the tunnel, I heard cries for help coming from a cavern to the left.  I rushed to investigate, and saw a female elf being crushed to death by a Boa Constrictor.  It was one of the other contestants in the Trial.  Should I save her, or let her die and take her out of the Trial?

(There should be an image here, but amazingly, of all the illustrations in this book, the one I couldn't find was the one with the elf maiden being squeezed by a Boa Constrictor,  I thought I knew you, internet.)

My good nature won out (or perhaps my desire to take her stuff), and I beheaded the snake with a swipe from my sword.  I tried to resuscitate her (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it), but she was too far gone.  Before she died, she told me that I would need a diamond to pass the final door leading out of the dungeon.  With her safely dead, I set about looting her corpse, and found two daggers (meaning that I definitely don't need to bother fighting the Giant Fly), some bread, a mirror and a bone charm in the shape of a monkey.  I ate the bread (restoring my Stamina back to 16), took the other items, and continued north.  (Funnily enough, even though the bread contains special elven healing herbs, it's still not as effective as my provisions.  What the hell is in those things?  Wolverine?)

I soon came to an iron grille in the floor.  I wanted to investigate it, but I was feeling uneasy about my current Luck score of 8, so I drank my Potion of Fortune (raising my score to 12).  Bursting with good fortune I investigated the grille, and saw a grappling iron and a leather pouch at the bottom of a hole.  I reached down to retrieve them, and was horrified when a tentacle wrapped around my arm.  I was able to cut myself free, but had to Test My Luck to determine which arm I had used.  I was Lucky (reducing my score to 11), and had not used my sword arm.  My Skill was still reduced to 9, but it could have been much worse.  I took the grappling iron, and opened the pouch to find a tiny brass bell.

I soon came to another door, and could hear nothing from behind it.  Inside was a dusty room with a chest on the far wall.  The dust was thick with footprints, possibly from one of the Trialmasters, or perhaps another of the contestants in the Trial (I'm pretty sure that the Ninja is the only one left by this point).

I was about to open the chest, but because of the magic potion I had drank earlier in my quest I was warned of a trap.  (It's the potion you find inside the book while you're paired up with Throm.)  Forewarned, I opened the chest from a distance with my sword, and was thus protected from the gas trap inside.  Unfortunately, there was nothing in the chest but a pendant chain.  The chain had once held a gemstone, but the stone had been taken from its setting.  That bloody ninja!

I continued on, and the tunnel soon widened into an enormous cavern.  Inside the cavern there were a score of tiny Troglodytes, dancing around a large golden effigy.  I wasn't about to talk to them: people who dance around effigies are rarely hospitable.  I decided to drink my Doppelganger Potion, and cross the cavern while thus disguised.

The potion created the illusion that I was a Troglodyte, and I was able to cross the cavern unmolested.  Unfortunately it wore off too early, and the Troglodytes spotted me. I fled, crossing a bridge over an underground river, but my path was blocked by a heavy wooden door.  I hastily tried my iron key, was relieved when it worked, and I was able to scramble through the door to safety.

In the tunnel beyond, I could hear a voice beckoning me on, telling me that I was on the right track.  I followed it, and was greeted my a bearded old man standing behind a large wicker basket.

He reassured me that he posed no threat, and offered to raise me to the upper level in his basket in exchange for an item from my backpack.  I gave him my hollow wooden tube (hope you enjoy it, mate), and climbed into his basket.  He pulled on the rope to raise me up, but when I got to the top a female Troll grabbed me around the neck and demanded payment as well.  I decided to talk my way out of it, and diverted her attention to a painting of another Troll on the wall.  While she waxed rhapsodic about the virtues of her brother, Sourbelly, I slipped up behind her and knocked her out with a broken stool.  (Sourbelly, of course, is one of the Troll guards you encounter in City of Thieves.  This really is the book where Allansia begins to be formed.)  In her cupboards I found an old bone, which came in handy in the passage beyond, as I used it to distract a pair of Guard Dogs.

The tunnel soon came to an end at a high wall,  There was a door in the wall, and a loud roaring could be heard.  Using my rope and grappling iron, I climbed the wall to investigate.  Thrashing about in a sand-covered pit was a huge dinosaur-like creature: a Pit Fiend.  If I was to reach the door leading onwards, I would have to lower myself into the pit to get past.

Lacking any other good ideas, I threw my bone monkey charm at the Pit Fiend.  The Pit Fiend snatched it in its mouth, and to my surprise the charm grew larger, forcing its jaws apart.  While the creature was distracted I tried to lower myself to the ground, but it tried to crush me against the wall.  With a successful Luck test (reducing my score to 10) I was able to avoid the blow and escape through the doors.

Further along the tunnel there was a line drawn across the floor, and a sign reading "No weapons beyond this point".  I ignored these instructions and continued on.  Soon I came to a large room full of pillars, and unbeknownst to me I was being watched by the Ninja.  He stepped forth and launched a throwing star at my back.  I successfully Tested My Luck (reducing my Luck to 9), and the throwing star sailed over my shoulder.

The Ninja advanced (Skill 11, Stamina 9), and we did battle.  This one got very hairy, as he reduced me all the way down to 1 Stamina.  I had to use my Luck to save my life by reducing the damage on the final blow, and I used it again to try to kill the Ninja more quickly.  By the end I had a Luck score of 7.

The ninja had some rice and water (which restored 1 point of Stamina) and a healing ointment (which restored a further 3 points).  He also had the diamond I was searching for.  Before leaving the chamber, I ate two provisions, leaving me with one, and a Stamina of 13.

(At this point we should stop to consider the actions of the ninja.  He probably left the backpack with the black widow spider in it.  He definitely set up the gas trap in the chest that he stole the diamond from.  He wrote a sign telling people to leave their weapons behind, and then he lay in wait to ambush any other contestant that came by.  This guy is a proper ninja.  Sometimes, if he kills me, I like to continue on using his stats to try and finish the book.)

The only way onwards was by a chute, which I slid down to emerge into a room filled with noxious vapours.  Wallowing in a pool of fetid slime was a bulbous creature with many eyes upon its head: a Bloodbeast.  Luckily I had read about the Bloodbeast in a book earlier, so I knew to cover my mouth to ward away the poisonous fumes.  It flicked its tongue at me, but I cut it off with my sword, and closed in to fight it.  The Bloodbeast was strong (Skill 12, Stamina 10), but I also knew its other secret: most of the eyes on its head were fake, and it could be killed by piercing its true eyes.  It struck me four times (reducing my Stamina to 5), but on my second blow I was able to pierce its eyes and kill it.

I wasted no time in running away from the creature's lair, but in the next room I encountered another terrifying beast: a Manticore.  Forewarned by the Skeleton's parchment I was able to block its spikes with my shield, but fighting the Manticore up close proved more difficult.  With Skill 11 and Stamina 11, it was much stronger than me, and I didn't have a high enough Luck score to offset the difference.  I was killed by the Manticore, and my adventure was over.

THE POST-GAME
Of the three games I played, there was only one where I could have changed the result: I shouldn't have fought the Scorpion during Attempt 6.  I did nothing wrong in the other games: I just didn't have high enough stats.  I might have beaten the Manticore in Attempt 7 with my Initial Skill of 10, but the encounter with the Pit Fiend makes that difficult: you either take the Skill hit when retrieving the grappling iron, or you have to fight the Pit Fiend hand-to-hand.  My chances of surviving that encounter would have been minuscule, so I opted for the grapple.  The only other thing I could have done was to take the Potion of Skill, but again, if you fail a Luck test at the Pit Fiend you have to fight the thing.  It's a bad situation, and it makes completing the book without a high Skill and Luck an iffy proposition.