The Dervish Stone - Attempt 1 & 2

Only one skull? This looks way safer than most FF adventures.

The Dervish Stone is an adventure from the back half of Warlock magazine #4, the first of a number that I'll be covering as the blog progresses.  It's written by Paul Struth, and illustrated by Tim Sell.  We know Tim Sell's work from House of Hell, but Struth is new to me.  I'm pretty sure that this is his only contribution to the franchise, but he did have an unofficial adventure published in Fighting Fantazine #7.  By my timeline, he gets the distinction of being the first person not named Steve Jackson or Ian Livingstone to write an FF adventure.

The background to The Dervish Stone is a simple one: a diamond known as the Stone of Shanhara has been lost for centuries, but YOU have found a parchment that says the stone is located in Twin Sun Desert.

You have to respect a guy who uses "whomever" while on the verge of death.

The rules are similarly basic, with no deviations from standard Fighting Fantasy game-play.  Like most adventurers on Titan, you begin with a sword, leather armor and a backpack, as well as 20 gold pieces.  This being half-length adventure, you only begin with 5 provisions, but you still get to choose between a Potion of Skill, Strength or Fortune.  The potions have two doses, which seems generous.

ATTEMPT 1

I rolled the following stats: Skill 10, Stamina 20 and Luck 8.  With such a low Luck score, I opted for the Potion of Fortune.  Having never played this adventure before, I have no idea whether these stats will be good enough.  For the first time in the history of the blog, I'm genuinely flying blind here.

At the beginning of the adventure, I was on my way to the town of Alasiyan, on the edge of Twin Sun Desert.  As I slid down a hill, I found the partially buried body of a fellow named Jakor One-Eye, and upon unearthing it I found 20 gold pieces and a piece of parchment (the aforementioned note from the background).  Being a customarily treasure-hungry and foolhardy adventurer, I determined to hunt for the Stone of Shanhara, risking my own life in the process.  (Obviously these 20 gold pieces are the sum mentioned in your equipment list at the beginning, but you could count it as extra if you're feeling pedantic.)

I decided to search for Jakor's potion, eventually finding it in a cleft as the note indicated.  The label read "CONTROL HUMAN".  While I was pocketing it a small lizard bit me on the hand (reducing my Stamina to 19); the "guardian" that the noted warned of had obviously died or wandered off long ago  (To be honest, I had thought that the guardian in the note would be guarding the Stone of Shanhara, not the potion.)

I approached Alasiyan, and some town guards accosted me and asked to have a look in my backpack.  This sort of situation never ends well for backpack owners, so I popped open my Potion of Human Control and used it to charm the guards into letting me pass by freely.  (I'm sensing a strong Star Wars, jedi mind-trick vibe.  This would have increased my Luck if I wasn't already at maximum.  I'm not sure it's even possible lose any Luck by this point.)

As I walked through Alasiyan, I noticed a crowd surrounding a dwarf nomad, who was tattooed with the mark of the Twin Sun.  He was telling stories about life in the desert, so I moved closer to listen.  Upon seeing me, he declared that I was a "man of the world", and that I'd need to buy some items from him if I was going into the desert.  I had a look at his wares: gas capsules, a glass eye, a sword, and a knife.  I bought the capsules, the eye and the knife, which left me with 5 gold pieces.

The capsules released a poisonous gas on impact, but I only bought one of them.  The glass eye was "fashioned by a Master Mage of Alasiyan called Ylaruam", and allowed me to see objects that were far away.  The knife was magical, and could be used in battle only once to automatically inflict a wound.  Pleased with my new gear, I moved on.  (Miraculously, everything I bought was useful.  Normally there's a dud or cursed item in every FF shopping list.  I should also mention that Ylaruam is a country in the Dungeons & Dragons setting known as Mystara.  I'm not sure which came first, but it seems far more likely that Paul Struth nicked the name from D&D than the other way round.)

Soon I passed a large house with a pair of hobgoblin guards.  I approached them, but they told me that there was no seeing the governor without an appointment.  Not wishing to start any trouble, I took my leave.

On the outskirts of town, I saw the 'One Safe Wall Inn'.  Weighing the danger inherent in the name against a stiff drink, I chose to enter the bar, but had second thoughts when a goblin went flying past me into the wall.  (The one safe wall, I assume.)  A sign at bar read 'Humanoids Welcome', so I approached.  (The book hasn't specified that I'm humanoid, though, so this could be dangerous if I'm a talking dog or an amoeba or something.)

I'm still trying to figure out if that goblin's head has been twisted the wrong way round.

At the bar I bought a glass of "spliced liquor".  (Spliced? Does it taste like cricket bats?)  I took my drink to a table, where I was approached by a goblin who asked if my name was Snurd Hideflayer.  Having heard it, I suddenly wished my name really was Snurd Hideflayer, so I answered yes.  He drew a sword from his "belt of death weapons" and attacked.  The battle was vicious, and the goblin wounded me four times before I could kill it.  Wherever Snurd Hideflayer was, I just saved his ass.  (This left me with 11 Stamina.  Due to his ferocity this goblin got a +2 bonus to his Attack Strength, which I can't really see the point of.  Why not just give him a Skill of 9, it amounts to the same thing as far as monsters are concerned.  Either way, that's a damn tough goblin.)

I left the inn (presumably leaving my cricket-bat-flavoured drink behind), and walked out of Alasiyan just as the sun was setting.  Not wishing to sleep in the lawless town, I sought refuge in some beehive buildings nearby.  Lawlessness, however, is probably preferable to lifelessness; as I lay sleeping a rotting Night Ghoul crept up on me.  I woke up just in time to defend myself.

That defense proved inadequate, though, as the ghoul struck me four times.  Paralysis set in, and I resigned myself to the horrible fate of being eaten alive.  My adventure was over before I even made it to the desert!

THE POST-GAME
Well, there wasn't much I could do about that.  The ghoul only had a Skill of 8, while my Skill was 10, but the dice betrayed me.  I could have avoided the battle if I'd gained an invitation to the 'den of thieves', so I'll have to look out for that next time.

ATTEMPT 2

I was disappointed with such a short adventure, so I decided to have another crack at it straight away.  This time I rolled a Skill of 10, a Stamina of 18 and a Luck of 11.  Despite my high Luck, I still chose the Potion of Fortune, because I just love using it to jack my score up over 12.

Once again I claimed the Potion of Human Control and used it to get into Alasiyan without being searched by the guards.  From the dwarf nomad, I bought the glass eye, and a magic sword, which left me with 5 gold pieces.  (The sword granted a +1 bonus to my Attack Strength, which is absolutely the right way for an FF adventure to handle magic weapons.  Give Paul Struth a medal, he gets it.)

I ignored the house guarded by the hobgoblins, and went to the tavern.  This time, after buying another spliced liquor, I stayed at the bar.  (Maybe it tastes like the delicious icy pole/ice cream?  The red ones are the best.)  A gnoll and a lizard-man started hassling me.  "He doesn't like you," said the gnoll.  "I don't like you either."  I knows fightin' words when I hears 'em, so I drew my sword and - despite each of them wounding me once - slaughtered the both of them.  (This left me with 14 Stamina, and a fervent hope that this adventure might stop quoting Star Wars at me.)

I left the inn, sought refuge in a hut, and was attacked by the Night Ghoul.  This time it only wounded me once before my enchanted sword sent it shrieking back to its grave.  After a fitful night's sleep, it was time to head out into the desert.

I chose to go up a rise rather than continue along the flat ground, and at the top I spied some tents.  Using my magic glass eye I had a closer look, and saw a bunch of cat-man hybrids.  I should have been watching my back, though, because another of them had snuck up behind me intending to crack my head open.  I avoided the blow (with a successful Luck test), but dropped my glass eye.  The creature was a Lauper, and it was accompanied by a vicious war-cat.  Miraculously, I was able to fight back and kill them at the cost of but a single wound.  (This left me with a Stamina of 12, and a Luck of 9.  Also, more bloody Star Wars.  Hey, Paul Struth!  Star Wars wasn't cool in 1985!)

A loin-cloth shot for the furries.

Searching the bodies of my foes, I found a Ring of Animal Control and a pair of iron war claws.  I stopped to eat a provision (restoring my Stamina to 16) before moving on along the rise.  Soon the rise sloped down and came to a road, where I could hear the sound of cartwheels.  Three lizard-men were riding in the cart, so I hid and let them pass by.

Lizard-men with horses weirds me out.

The road soon came to a gully.  Without the magic glass eye, I was taken by surprise by a trio of nomads, who shot me with blowdarts.  One of the darts hit me (as I failed one of a series of Luck tests), and I was knocked out.  When I woke up, they had stolen my sword, my Ring of Animal Control, and my war claws.  I drank my Potion of Fortune in order to restore my luck.  (This raised my Luck score to 12.  I got to choose which three items the nomads stole, so I rather cheekily had them nick my regular, non-magical sword.  It counts!)

Night was falling as I came to a weird castle.  (At this point, I was told to lose 5 Stamina if I hadn't eaten since leaving Alasiyan.  Outside of Sorcery!, where they don't restore Stamina, this isn't how provisions usually work in FF.  This adventure combines the Stamina boost for eating one with a Stamina loss for not eating, which I take issue with for no other reason than traditionalism.  It's one or the other, Struth!)

If I made a castle out of clay,it would look a lot like this.

I walked up to the castle, and decided to light my lantern and step through the open gates.  (I have a lantern now?)  Suddenly the gates shut behind me, and out of the dark loomed two huge Bugbears.  Wielding my magic sword I cut them down, though one of them was able to wound me (leaving me with 12 Stamina).

Tim Sell needs to learn what plate mail looks like.

The corridor continued, ending at some stairs that led down to a chamber full of Nomads, Bugbears, Laupers, and the like.  I was caught by a Bugbear and dragged in front of a Fire Giant who named himself Kuperan, Monarch of the Sands.  Beside the Giant was an Orc Mercenary.  I drew my sword, but rather than fight me himself, the Giant summoned Talus, his Bronze Golem.  The Golem was filled with liquid fire, and every time I wounded it the spraying blood burned me.  It only struck me once, but I was badly hurt by the time I had defeated Talus.  (My Stamina was reduced to 5.  Winning the fight would have granted me 3 Luck points, but I was already at maximum.)

What is with that Orc?  I don't even know where to begin.

The enraged Giant told me that I'd be given as a tribute to the Earth Demon tomorrow, and I was marched off to a cell.  The guards took my sword, but left my other gear, so I ate a meal (restoring my Stamina to 9.)  I tried to escape, but was unable to find a way out, and was greatly fatigued when the guards came to fetch me in the morning (leaving me with 7 Stamina).

I was dragged outside, where a pack of griffons was waiting.  Rather than go peacefully, I tried to make a run for it.  A guard fired an arrow at me, but it missed (due to a successful Luck test).  Now I was lost in the desert though.  My water dried up, and my food went bad.  Luckily (another successful Luck test) a merchant caravan crossed my path, and offered to take me back to Alasiyan for 5 gold pieces.  I didn't have that much gold, so presumably the buggers left me to die.  Regardless, my adventure would have been over either way.

THE POST-GAME
Well, that was a lot of stumbling around with no particular idea of what exactly I'm looking for.  I know I need to find a cave, but I have no idea if I was on the right track or not.  Hopefully next time I'll make more progress, or get a better idea of where I'm meant to go. I suspect that maybe I shouldn't have escaped at the end there, but I can test that next time around.