House of Hell - Attempts 4 & 5

Once again, it's time for me to have another crack at House of Hell.  With the location of the Kris Knife firmly ensconced in my brain, I should have little trouble getting to the end of the book and dealing with Master.  Right?

ATTEMPT 4

For attempt 4, I rolled a Skill of 7, a Stamina of 17, a Luck of 12, and a Fear of 11.  Not bad, although that Skill score was a definite worry.

I didn't take any detours this time, dining with the Earl of Drumer, avoiding the poisoned wine and cheese, and being shown to bed.  After going to sleep I was awakened by someone bringing me a glass of water.  Somehow this shocking turn of events led to me trying to bust my way out of the room, which attracted the attention of the hunchback, Shekou.  I beat up Shekou with no trouble, and after he surrendered I asked him how I might escape from the house.

This was a huge mistake.  Shekou showed me around the landing outside my bedroom, and said that I should go downstairs and out the front door.  He then disappeared, and I was left standing at the top of the stairs.  Unfortunately, this meant that I had missed looking at a certain window, one that provides a vital clue.  With my chances of success in a shambles, I entered the storeroom at the top of the stairs and drank a bottle of white wine, which was poisoned.  My adventure was over!

So yeah, I committed suicide on that one.  It's a shame that asking Shekou a perfectly valid question can make the book unwinnable, but that's Fighting Fantasy for you.  Maybe I could have used this go to explore some different rooms, but I'm honestly pretty keen to finish House of Hell as quickly as I can, so I chose a quick death in order to squeeze in another attempt.

(Also, I completely forgot to subtract 3 from my Skill for being unarmed when I fought Shekou.  Not that it matters now, but I would have felt pretty bad if I'd actually beaten the book on this go after that bit of accidental cheatery.)

ATTEMPT 5 

For my fifth attempt, I rolled Skill 9, Stamina 20, Luck 7 and Fear 12.  That's a pretty good character, aside from the Luck score.  I can't remember any instances of Luck being vital to success in this book, so I was feeling pretty confident.

I followed a path very similar to the one I took in Attempt 2, so I'm going to summarise things in point form until it deviates.

• I knocked on the door, summoned the butler and dined with the Earl of Drumer.
• I went to bed, only to be woken by Shekou.  After a scuffle with him I was left with 14 Stamina.  I asked him about the people in the house, not how to escape.
• Out on the landing I turned left, and ignored a couple of rooms until I found the one leading to a short passage and the window with the secret message: "Mordana in Abaddon'.
• I entered the storeroom at the top of the stairs, pocketing a meat-knife and some garlic.
• Following the landing around, I entered the Abaddon room and tried to wake up the dead old lady (raising my Fear to 2).  I had to fight her Great Danes, which absolutely mauled me despite my Skill being higher than theirs.  They left me with 4 Stamina, but after killing them I was able to question Mordana, and learn about the secret room under the cellar stairs.
• Heading downstairs, I entered a drawing-room, where I drank some brandy (restoring my Stamina to 7) and took some for later in a hip flask.  I also read some letters on the mantelpiece, which said that the password to the Master's secret room used to be Goatshead, and implied that it might now be Pravemi.
• The fireplace sprang to life, and I was attacked by Fire Sprites.  Rather than foolishly dousing them with alcohol, I grabbed a potted plant and smothered the flames with the soil.
• I discovered a secret button on the mantelpiece, which opened a trapdoor that dumped me in the cellar (raising my Fear to 3).  In the cellar I met Shekou once again, and plied him with brandy until he revealed that the password was the name of the house mixed up.
• I remained in the cellar, ignoring several rooms until I came to a larger chamber where I was swarmed by bats (raising my Fear to 4).  I hid under the stairs, where I found a secret room and opened it with the password MURDER.
• Inside the room I found the Kris Knife.  I also found another secret door, which I ignored completely (because I'd died there during Attempt 2).

Armed with the Kris Knife, I headed upstairs to seek out the Master of the house.  The stairs emerged in a hallway that continued to the left, with a door opposite, and another door to the right.  I tried the door to the right, but it was locked (with no way to open it, unless Steve is being sneaky).  The other door opened into a room with a long table and six chairs.  There was also a large mural of a country scene, a wall covered in curtains, and a full-length mirror.  I was shocked to see that the mirror cast no reflection of me (raising my Fear to 5).  My curiosity piqued, I placed my hand on the glass, and was surprised that it passed right through.

I wanted to investigate the mirror further, but first I searched the room, and found a box hidden in a drawer on the underside of the table.  Before I could open it, though, I heard the sound of men approaching.  I grabbed the box and, ignoring the too-obvious hiding place behind the curtains, jumped through the mirror.  I emerged into a small room, and now that I was safe I opened the box.  It contained a golden key, which I took with me.

There were two doors leading out of this room, but I decided not to bother with them.  Instead I waited until the other room was silent, and stepped back through the mirror.  My only option now was to step out of the room and follow the passage around to my right.  This passage crossed a hallway (which the book forced me to ignore), and I found myself at the end of another passage with a door on either side.

I tried the door to the left, but it was locked, and my golden key would not open it.  I had no other option but to enter the other door, which led into a kitchen.  I could see some keys on top of the stove, but when I tried to grab them I found that they were hot, and my hand was burned terribly (reducing my Skill to 7, and my Stamina to 4).  I let out a scream, which attracted the attention of four white-robed cultists wearing severed goat heads like hoods.  They took me away and locked me in a cell, where I would await the Master's pleasure.  My adventure was over!

THE POST-GAME
Well, I have to say that that failure was definitely unexpected.  I'd found the Kris Knife, I'd found a key, and I really thought I had it in the bag.  But no, that Steve Jackson is a devious sod, and there's another key hidden somewhere.  I have no memory of this whatsoever.  I suspect it's in one of the rooms past the mirror, but I don't know for sure.  It's honestly refreshing to find a big hole in my memory of a book I've played dozens of times, but it's also frustrating when I'm more than ready to move on.  Next time House of Hell!  Next time for certain!