Freeway Fighter - Attempt 6

I'm on the right track now, but last time I was done in by some bad stats.  My Luck in particular was very low.  With better die rolls, I was pretty hopeful of making a good showing this time around, and making it back to New Hope with that tanker of sweet, sweet petrol.

I rolled a 12 for Skill, a 32 for Stamina, and an 8 for Luck.  For my vehicle, I rolled a Firepower of 11 and an Armour of 26.  Those were not bad, but I was still concerned about that Luck score.  Freeway Fighter has a habit of requiring lots of Luck tests, but not offering a lot of Luck bonuses.

I felt like changing things up a bit for this attempt, so I didn't blow through the early encounters.  Normally I'd ignore the barking dogs and the confrontation with Johnson, but this time I decided to see what would happen if I provoked a fight with him.  Rather than tell him the truth - that I was from New Hope - I lied, and told him I was a lone road warrior.  Johnson said that I reminded him of the man that had killed his family, and demanded that I draw my gun.  (The book was quick to tell me that I'd made a mistake, and my Luck was reduced to 7.)  With amazing speed I drew my pistol (with a Skill test that was impossible for me to fail), and held Johnson at gunpoint while I explained my actual story.  We parted on good terms, as he headed for New Hope and I continued on my quest.  (I really need to stop doing dumb things like this when I'm closing in on beating a book.  It's really not helping me.)

I drove past Joe's Garage, and was approached by a hostile gang in a Red Chevvy.  (In previous games I've been killing this enemy instantly with my a rocket, but this time I didn't want to waste one; I'd need them for the path through Rockville if I was going to rescue Sinclair.)  I engaged the Red Chevvy (Firepower 8, Armour 15) in vehicle combat, pretty confident that I'd be able to beat it with minimal damage to myself.  I was wrong, and the Chevvy proved more formidable than I'd expected, shooting my Dodge up before I could blow it off the road.  (My car's Armour was reduced from 26 to 14.  My Firepower was 3 points higher than theirs, but the dice really turned on me.)

Soon I came to a junction, where I turned east.  I saw an ambulance abandoned on the side of the road, and stopped to investigate.  Unfortunately, the back was booby-trapped, and I was caught in an explosion when I opened it.  I dragged myself into the long grass to wait for whoever had set the trap.  (My Stamina was reduced to 28.  I was well aware from previous games that the ambulance was trapped, but I wanted the credits you get from this encounter.)

Soon enough a Highwayman (Skill 8, Stamina 12) appeared, and fired his gun into the grass at me.  Luckily, he missed (due to a Luck test that reduced my score to 6).  I fired back, and killed him.  I was wounded a couple of times during the battle, though, which would be sure to hamper me physically from that point on.  (My Stamina was reduced to 17, and as a result of being shot more than once my Skill was reduced to 11.)  In the Highwayman's pockets I found 150 credits, and a pair of knuckle-dusters.

Further on I ignored a road to the south, and continued until I reached a barricade of upturned cars.  I fired a rocket (leaving me with 3), and the barricade disappeared in a roar of flames.

Satisfying.

Two bikers sped away from the blaze on a Motor Cycle (Firepower 6, Armour 9), and I gave chase, killing them easily with my machine guns.  I investigated the wreckage of their bike, and one of them threatened that "Fat Jack" would get me before he died.  I found 200 credits and a pair of handcuffs in a side pannier, as well as a map to their hideout.

At the next junction, I turned south to their gang's hideout, a town called Rockville.  One of their number fired a bazooka at my car, but luckily it missed (due to a Luck test that reduced my score to 5).  I drove further into town and returned the favour, blowing up the farmhouse they were hiding in with a rocket (leaving me with 2).  The gang were all killed, but there was one survivor in the wreckage: Sinclair, one of the leaders of New Hope, who this gang had recently kidnapped.  (This restored my Luck to 6.)  Sinclair took a motorbike back to New Hope, while I looted the town, finding a can of meat (which restored my Stamina to 19), a can of petrol, and a pair of wirecutters.

I headed south, east at the next junction, and south again.  Soon I had to refuel, and then I slept the night in the Interceptor (which restored my Stamina to 21).  In the morning I was attacked by an Armoured Car, but I took care of it with an oil slick.  At the next junction I turned back west, then headed south again.

I saw a dirt road with lots of recent tracks, and followed to the location of a Blitz Race, where I paid 200 credits for the opportunity to race for a can of petrol.  My opponent was in a Yellow Ford.  The race was hard-fought, and I sustained a lot of damage from the Ford's grenade launchers, but in the end I triumphed and was able to claim the can of petrol.  (I skimmed over this race, because I've covered it pretty extensively in previous posts.  By the end of the race my Luck had been reduced to 5, and I only had 4 Armour points left.  I was also down to 2 oil slicks, and 2 barrels of iron spikes.).

A bit further down the road, I saw a sign pointing to a place called "Spark Plug Pete's".  I pulled in, and Pete offered to fit my car with a supercharger.  I paid his price (100 credits and two packs from my medi-kit), and waited as Pete did his work.  As I drove off I could feel the extra acceleration, and was pleased with my choice.  (This restored my Luck to 6.)

At the next junction I kept heading south.  I came across an overturned Dodge, and pulled over to take one of its spare wheels.  I also decided to have a look in the glove compartment, and got bitten by a rattlesnake for my trouble (reducing my Stamina to 19 and my Skill to 10, and requiring me to use a pack from my med-kit).  I shot the snake in vengeance, and found a length of coiled tube in the glove box.

As I drove south a motorbike with a side car came up behind me, and opened fire (reducing my Armour to 3).  I dropped an oil slick, and the motorbike slid off the road as I sped away.  Soon I had to refill my petrol tank before continuing south.

I spotted an abandoned police car, but without a crowbar I wasn't able to pop the boot open, so I had to continue on.  Not much later I found myself under attack from a pick-up truck modified to resemble a chariot, but I blew it off the road with a rocket and kept on driving.  Further south I came to another junction, and was relieved to see a sign that promised engine and body repairs.  I turned east, hoping I'd be able to get my battered car fixed.

Luckily the sign was true, and I found a garage where the mechanic offered to fix my car for the cost of 200 credits.  I paid the money, and soon my car was ready to go (with my Armour score restored to 13).

Not much further east, I was stopped at a blockade, where a crazy masked man wouldn't let me pass without engaging him in a duel.  I accepted, and we both missed our shots.  This was still good enough for the duellist, and he let me through.

I continued east through a canyon before turning south, where I came to yet another blockade.  I was told that I wouldn't be allowed through unless I could beat a man named Leonardi in a drag race.  I accepted, and with the supercharger on my car I was able to do so with ease.  (This race involves rolling 1d6 every round for both racers.  The first to reach 24 is the winner, but if you have the supercharger you get a +1 bonus to every roll.  Leonardi still rolls first though, which seems like an unfair advantage to me.  I guess his car's just faster.)

Further south I came to a truck parked on the side of the road, and I was pleased to discover that it had a full tank of petrol.  Using the tube that I had found earlier, I siphoned the truck's tank to fill my own, and continued on (which restored my Luck to 7).  I also stopped and did some quick repairs on my car (which restored my Armour score to 15).

Soon I spotted the burning wreck of a Corvette, and pulled over to investigate.  I was confronted by a woman in overalls with a shotgun, who introduced herself as Amber.  She was from San Anglo, and had been sent out here to watch for me.  San Anglo was under attack from a gang called the Doom Dogs, and there was no way I'd get in without being killed.  Our only chance was to sneak into the Doom Dogs camp and try to disable their vehicles.

Amber seems remarkably unconcerned by
the burning car right behind her.

We safely approached the camp, before I his my Dodge behind some rocks.  While we waited, Amber handed me some glucose tablets and energy synthi-pills (which restored by Stamina to 23).  I also took the opportunity to patch myself up with a couple of packs from my med-kit (restoring my Stamina to 31.  The above paragraphs also involved two Luck tests, which reduced my score to 5).

After night fell, we approached the Doom Dogs' camp on foot.  As we neared the fence, Amber kicked a stone, which made a loud noise in the still night air.  A guard heard the noise (due to a failed Luck test, which reduced my score to 4), and came to investigate.  I stayed perfectly still, hoping I wouldn't be spotted, but the guard raised the alarm, and Amber and I were soon captured by the Doom Dogs.  My adventure was over.

THE POST-GAME

Stupid Amber.

Also, stupid Ian.  Three Luck tests in a row?  That's just mean, especially right before heading into what I assume is the final stage of the book.  Ah well, I can't put too much of the blame on Ian, as the final decision was mine.  Next time, I won't hesitate to silence that guard.

Freeway Fighter - Attempt 5

Regular commenter Unknown reminded me last week that my first attempt at Freeway Fighter ended when I was blown up while crossing a bridge, so not every attempt I've had ended by running out of petrol.  Still, three such anticlimactic endings in a row are bad enough.  I'm confident now that I've figured the petrol thing out: I've found the first two cans, and I know how to get the third.  If my sense of Fighting Fantasy pacing is correct, I shouldn't need any more, so I feel like I have a decent shot this time.

For my stats on this attempt I rolled a Skill of 10, a Stamina of 27, and a Luck of 7.  For my car I rolled a Firepower of 8 and an Armour of 26.  Skill aside, those are some very bad rolls indeed.  A lot of 1s and 2s in there (literally and figuratively, if you know what I'm saying).  I may have cracked the fuel problem, but I get the feeling that I'll struggle to win through otherwise.

I kicked off the adventure in my now customary fashion, ignoring the first few encounters and shooting the Red Chevvy with a missile.  (It bugs me that Ian spells it with two Vs, but my personal style guide dictates that I have to follow his lead.  That don't mean I gotta like it!).  I soon got a radio message about an attack on New Hope, and the kidnapping of Sinclair.  At the first junction I decided to turn right rather than left.  I knew from previous games that there was petrol to the left, but there was also a bridge I had to jump, and I didn't want to risk failing the required Skill check.  I passed an ambulance on the side of the road, and decided to ignore it (having discovered that it was booby-trapped in an earlier game).  I also ignored a road leading south, which is where I got blown up on my first attempt at the book.  I continued east, into unexplored territory.

It wasn't long before I came to a roadblock made of upturned cars and trucks.  I thought about blowing it up with a rocket, but I'd already used one, and decided to keep it in reserve.  Instead I drove around the roadblock, and as I did I was surprised by two leather-clad bikers in an armoured motorcycle.  One of them shot at my car while the other slammed a limpet mine against my rear wheel arch (reducing my Luck to 6).  I decided to keep on driving as the mine exploded, blowing my wheel off the rear axle (and reducing my Armour to 24).  

I had to fight the Motor Cycle (Skill 6, Firepower 9) while my car was stationary, so I was at a disadvantage (my Firepower was temporarily reduced to 6).  The bikers got one good hit on me before I was able to kill them (reducing my Armour to 18).  I went over to the wrecked bike with a med-kit in one hand; it might have looked like I was trying to save them, but I still had my pistol drawn and I was really going over there to finish the buggers off.  I needn't have bothered.  One was already dead, and the other only survived long enough to utter his final words: "Fat Jack and the boys will get you for this."

I looted their bike's side pannier, where I found 200 credits and a pair of handcuffs.  I also found a map, and on it was the location of New Hope circled in red.  No doubt this was the same gang that attacked my home town, and took Sinclair.  I noted that a town named Rockville was also marked with an X, and figured that it was probably their home base.  Fat Jack better watch his back, because I was coming for him.

I changed the wheel on my car and took off.  Soon I came to a dirt road heading south, with a sign that said "Rockville".  I turned to the south, determined for a measure of vengeance.  As I neared the town, worried that the dust I was kicking up would announce my presence, I saw a flash of light from some boulders in the distance.  A bazooka shell exploded a few metres to my left (missing due to a successful Luck test that reduced my score to 5).  I pressed down on the accelerator to close the distance on my attackers, and saw them race off on a pair of motorbikes.  I gave chase, and saw them disappear into a cluster of farmhouses.

Add this one to the roster of Very Boring
FF Illustrations.

I heard gunfire coming from the houses, and once again thought about using a rocket to flush my attackers out.  I was feeling conservative though, so I kept on driving towards the houses.  I avoided the gunfire (with a successful Skill test), but was not so lucky when they fired another bazooka shell at me.  A bullet punctured my tire, and I was a sitting duck as the bazooka shell exploded, badly damaging my car (this left me with an Armour score of 12, and a Luck of 4).

With little choice remaining to me, I fired a rocket at the farmhouse, and watched in satisfaction as it was blown to pieces and engulfed in flames.  Eat that, Fat Jack.  I quickly fixed my punctured tyre, and heard someone calling for help from the wreckage.  Against my better judgement I want to investigate, and found Sinclair, miraculously alive (which restored my Luck to 5).  He gave his thanks, and drove off on a motorcycle, heading for New Hope.

I decided to stay and search the general store.  I found a can of meat, which I greedily devoured, and a can of petrol, which I chucked in my boot.  Feeling good about my finds, I decided to keep searching the town, and headed for the nearest house.  Inside, I was faced with a hallway and a choice between two doors.  I chose the door to the right, only to find that it was booby-trapped with a crossbow.  The crossbow bolt thudded into my shoulder (reducing my Stamina to 21, and my Luck to 4).  Figuring that both doors couldn't be booby-trapped, I tried the other.  Inside I found a toolkit containing a pair of wire-cutters.  They were hardly worth getting shot with a crossbow, but I took them anyway before driving out of town.

I soon came to a junction, and turned east.  After a time I came to another junction, and turned south towards San Anglo.  As night was falling I had to stop and refill my car with petrol.  I slept in my car overnight (restoring my Stamina to 23) before heading off in the morning.

As I was driving, and Armoured Car attacked me from behind, but I took care of it with an oil spray, which sent it skidding off the road.  At the next junction I turned west, and drove about 80 km before turning south again.  I soon came to a rough road leading off to my right, and decided to investigate.  I had found a Blitz Race, and I decided to stake 200 credits to enter and win a can of petrol.

My opponent was driving a yellow Ford.  We drove up to the starting line, and waited until the flags were waved.  I got the better start (with a successful Skill check) and took the lead.  The Ford rammed me from behind, but I was able to maintain control (with a Luck test that reduced my score to 3).  I decided to slow down and let the Ford overtake me for a bit, but realising that I had no forward weapons that were legal in the race, I tried to overtake again.  I rammed the Ford, but it had steel-plated crash bars, and I only succeeded in damaging my car further (reducing my Armour to 10).

My son tells me this could be a GT40, or
maybe a Ford Capri. I have no idea.

I managed to overtake the Ford (with a successful Skill check), and decided to retaliate with some iron spikes.  Unfortunately, the spikes failed to release correctly (due to a failed Luck test that reduced my score to 2).  The Ford fired a grenade at me from its launcher, and it exploded underneath my car (reducing my Armour score to 1).

We reached the halfway point of the race, and both U-turned to head back to the finish line.  I was slightly in front, and the Ford decided to start ramming me once again.  My car was in such a bad state that the first ram wrecked it.  With no car I had no chance of reaching San Angle, and my adventure was over.

THE POST-GAME

I had a real run of bad luck with the dice in the game.  I started by rolling some terrible scores, particularly that Luck of 7, and from there had a string of bad rolls that significantly damaged my car.  I was probably too conservative with my rockets, as well.  My only consolation is that it's likely I wouldn't have survived to make it through the rest of the book anyway.  Ah well, at least I didn't run out of petrol this time.

Freeway Fighter - Attempt 4

So far every single try that I've had at Freeway Fighter has ended the same way: with my Dodge Interceptor running out of petrol, and me left to find my way back to New Hope on foot.  It's not the most exciting way to end an adventure, but it's good to know exactly what my goal is at all times.  It just means that at the end of every game I'm going to be annoyed that the people of San Anglo aren't the ones making the journey.  You know, the people with a whole tanker full of petrol, not the people with enough to fill a car and one spare canister.

Anyway, for this game my dice were on fire.  I rolled a Skill of 12, a Stamina of 35, a Luck of 12, a Firepower of 8 and an Armour score of 28.  Well, they were on fire for my physical stats anyway. Those car stats could be a problem.

I began my journey by ignoring the first few encounters, and blowing the Red Chevvy off the road with a rocket.  At the first junction I turned west, because I knew from previous games I could find petrol that way.  Plus my Skill was super-high, so I was in no danger from jumping the bridge.  Continuing west, I drove right past a motorcyclist who tried to flag me down.  It's a pointless combat encounter, and I was hoping that the throwing-knife it provides wasn't vital to my mission.  Soon I came to a car pile-up, where I found a crowbar and a can of petrol before continuing south.

I came to a junction and turned east (trying to cover as many paths as possible that I hadn't been down in earlier games).  I drove a long way east, ignoring two roads from the north, before eventually turning south, where I had to refill my petrol tank.  I spent the night sleeping in my car before moving on.  (Don't ask me how sleeping in a car restores Stamina.  I've done it more than a few times, and restful it ain't.)

As I was driving, I spotted an armoured car coming up behind me in my rear-view mirror.  It fired a shell at me which exploded to my left.  I responded by spraying an oil slick onto the road, and laughed as the armoured car went skidding off the road.  (This required a roll on one die, with only a roll of 6 resulting in the car staying on the road.)

Nice dutch angle. Must be a Batman villain
in that armoured car.

At the next junction I turned west, and drove a long way before finding a road heading south again.  Soon I spotted a rough road to my right, with lots of fresh tyre tracks.  I decided to investigate, and what I found was a barbed wire gate guarded by a bare-chested man with a machine-gun.  He asked me what gang I was from, and I quickly replied "Black Rats".  He informed me that there was a blitz race going on, with some heavy bets being laid.  I played along, and drove my car through the gate to check it out.

The post-apocalypse has been kind to
Chuck Norris.

As I pulled up, a small man with a scarred face challenged me to a race.  I'd have to stake 200 credits, but the prize was a can of petrol.  I couldn't pass that up, so I accepted the challenge, and handed over all of my money.  He explained the rules of the race: we had to drive 8 km to a white house and back, and anything was legal except for bullets and rockets.  I noted with chagrin that his Ford was armed with a grenade launcher.

The race started, and I pulled ahead (with a successful Skill check).  The Ford, with its supercharged engine, accelerated to ram me, but I was able to keep my car under control (with a Luck test that reduced my score to 11).  I decided to race away rather than let him overtake me, but the other driver anticipated, and fired a grenade in front of my car.  I hit the gas, hoping I could drive past before it exploded.  Again I was lucky (reducing my Luck score to 10), and the grenade failed to explode.  I was fifty metres ahead of the Ford.

It was time for me to use my own weapons, but I decided against the oil spray, as I was pretty sure it would soak harmlessly into the dirt road.  Instead I released some iron spikes, but the canister they were contained in failed to open (because I failed a Luck test, reducing my score to 9).  The Ford fired another grenade at me, and this time it exploded underneath me, heavily damaging the Interceptor (reducing my Armour from 28 to 21).

I reached the white house and turned around, and the Ford did likewise.  It caught up to me, and we engaged in a ramming duel (it was Skill 8, Stamina 16, and I had to survive four rounds of ramming).  The Ford was no match for my Interceptor, and I managed to get through its ramming onslaught with just a little damage (reducing my Armour to 19).

With one kilometre to go, the road narrowed to a single lane over a bridge.  I accelerated to cross first, and the Ford stayed with me: we were in a game of chicken.  At the last second his nerve broke, and I crossed the bridge first.  (This was done by rolling a die, and adding to each of our Skill scores.  With my Skill of 12 and his of 8, it was not much of a contest.)

As we neared the finish line, the Ford's super-charged acceleration became obvious, and I knew that it would pull out of my slipstream and overtake me at the last second.  I took a guess and swerved left.  Luck was with me, and I blocked his pass.  I had won the race, and was grudgingly gifted with a can of petrol.  (And my Luck was restored to 10.)

(This is the best encounter in the book so far, but it kind of sucks that after everything it all comes down to a left-or-right guessing game.  Also, do I get my credits back?  If it was placed as a wager I should, but the book makes no mention of it.  I'll assume I don't have them anymore.)

After the race, the man from the gate approached me, and asked me to remind him what gang I was from.  I remembered that I had earlier told him "Black Rats", and he accepted my answer and left.  I took my petrol and headed back down the road, turning south again.

Further down the road, I passed a sign that said "Pete Makes Engines Sweet."  Soon I came to a place called Spark Plug Pete's, where Pete offered to modify my engine for 150 credits and a couple of packs from my med-kit.  I no longer had the credits he wanted, so I had to reluctantly decline.

Pete makes engines sweet!

Coming to a junction, I turned east, and drove a long way before turning south again.  Once again I had to refill my fuel-hungry car with petrol before continuing on.

After an hour of driving, I noticed two trails of dust on either side of the road.  They were two dune buggies, headed right for me and obviously hostile.  I blew one up with a rocket, and engaged the other in battle with my machine guns.  The Dune Buggy (Firepower 7, Armour 10) was no match for my Interceptor, and I shot it to pieces without taking any fire in return.  (This would have been a battle with two cars at once, and I didn't believe my Firepower was high enough to get through that without a lot of damage, so I took out the first buggy as quickly as possible.)

It's hard to feel all that threatened by a
dune buggy.

The road soon ended at a range of flat-topped hills, and I was faced with the choice of turning east or west.  I decided to head east, but I didn't get far finding that the road was blocked.  Someone had piled up a barricade of logs across the road, and there was an ominous gun barrel protruding from the pile.  I tried to negotiate with the person behind the barricade, but he told me that this was a car-free zone, and that I should go back.  I didn't like the look of his gun, so I heeded his advice and drove west.

I'm not taking this thing on.

After a while driving through the desert my engine started to misfire.  Checking it out, I discovered that there was sand in the carburettor. Just as I was finishing the job, I heard an engine overhead, and looked up to see an armed helicopter hovering above. The pilot told me to empty all of the rockets from my car.  I told him to go screw, and jumped back inside my car, which was still immobile.  Since he wanted my rockets so badly, I let him have one right in the face, and watched in satisfaction as the helicopter exploded in a ball of fire.  (My Firepower would have been reduced by 2 for this fight, because my car couldn't move.  I thought it better to use a rocket rather than risk such a disadvantage.)

I'm still wondering how this thing
snuck up on me.

I continued west until reaching a junction and turning south.  I passed an abandoned police car, and decided to stop and investigate.  The boot was locked, but I was able to pry it open with my crowbar.  Inside I found a bullet-proof vest, and happily took it with me. (This restored my Luck to 11, and gave me a +1 Skill bonus. I go back on forth on applying Skill bonuses from items that would take me over my Initial total.  In this instance, I decided not to apply it.)

As I drove on, I was confronted by an odd sight: a pick-up truck converted to look like a Roman chariot, complete with a helmed gladiator in the back.  I engaged the Chariot (Firepower 9, Armour 15) in battle, but after it hit me once (reducing my Armour to 13) I decided to end thing quickly with a rocket.  I had none left now, and would be forced in the future to rely on my machine guns.

I wish I could play as this guy.

I soon drove past a sign that said "engine and body repairs", pointing down a road to the east.  I turned that way, but was disheartened when the mechanic asked for 200 credits to fix my car.  I had no choice but to continue east.

Ahead I saw a range of hills, and the road soon passed under them through a tunnel.  Blocking the tunnel was an abandoned bus.  I got out to see if I could start the bus and move it, but a masked man jumped out of the bus and held me at gunpoint.  He said that I would either have to pay him 200 credits to pass, or engage him in a pistol duel.  I had no money, so the duel was my only way forward.

This guy is way too happy for someone who's
about to be shot at.

The man pulled out a mahogany box with two pistols inside, and we stood back to back.  We each took ten paces, turned, and fired.  The Duellist (Skill 9, Stamina 9) missed his shot, and I hit him dead center (I rolled a 6 for my damage).  He survived the wound, and graciously moved his bus out of the way.

I drove through a canyon, and the road turned gradually south.  There was a landslide, but I was able to stop my car and wait for it to finish before proceeding.  (This landslide is just described in the text, and doesn't appear to be any sort of danger. I'm not sure what the point of it is.)  I soon drove out of the canyon, only to find that the road was blocked by two cars.  Two men in uniforms approached and told me that I'd only be able to pass if I took on their champion in a drag race.  The champion was a former baseball player named Leonardi, who pulled up in an E-type Jaguar.  I'm not sure why I couldn't just drive around these chumps and keep going, but for some reason I found myself racing against Leonardi.  Without no supercharger on my engine, the Interceptor was too slow, and I lost the drag race.

Piss off Leonardi.

(This wasn't an automatic loss, I had to race Leonardi by rolling a die for each of us in turn, and adding the results until one of us got to 24.  He got the first roll, and so had an advantage.  I started well by rolling a 4 and two 6's, but after a slow start he rolled a 4, a 5, a 6, and a 5, and blitzed past me.)

I decided to honour the result of the race rather than drive past everyone, so I headed back through the canyon.  Luckily the duellist didn't accost me again this time, and I was able to drive all the way back to the main road and turn south.  The road soon ended, apparently having not been finished before the virus wiped out civilisation (a fact which reduced my Luck to 10).  There was nothing to the south but sand, so I drove east across some rocky terrain.  Along the way one of my tyres was punctured, but I was able to change it with a spare.

Eventually I reached a north-south road (presumably the same one that Leonardi and his fellow chuckleheads were blocking).  I turned south, and came to an overturned truck.  I decided to stop and examine the truck, and was delighted to find that its tank was full of petrol.  Unfortunately, the tank was made from reinforced steel, and I would need a length of tube to siphon it out.  I didn't have one, so I had no choice but to leave, with the feeling that my mission was now doomed.  Sure enough, a bit further down the road my car ran out of petrol, and I had to get out and try my best to walk back to New Hope.  (At this point, wouldn't I be closer to San Anglo?  Why don't I try going there to complete the mission? I'd appreciate the option, even if it was an instant failure.)

THE POST-GAME

Predictably, I once again failed due to lack of petrol.  I know where to find that length of tube though, so I should be good for my next attempt.  I suspect that this might be the last petrol can I need, but I'm not certain about that.  Still, I'm confident that I can get past that petrol barrier next time around.

Freeway Fighter - Attempts 2 & 3

Well, I'm back for another couple of cracks at Freeway Fighter.  Last time I stupidly drive over a bridge that was obviously dangerous.  I tend to get a lot of instant deaths in my early play-throughs, because I am not at all cautious.  What can I say, I like to explore my options and try everything.  Hopefully I'll do better this time.  Obviously the post title gives away the result of Attempt 2, but hey, there's always Attempt 3 to keep you in suspense!

ATTEMPT 2

For this attempt I rolled a Skill of 9, a Stamina of 29, a Luck of 11, a Firepower of 11, and an Armour score of 30.  I can't really remember how tough the vehicle combats in this book are, but I figure those stats are all good enough to get through.  Time will tell.

Starting off on my drive from New Hope to San Anglo, I decided to ignore the initial encounter with the guy who is heading for New Hope.  All he does is give you information, so there's no point now.  I did stop at Joe's Garage, and fought the Thug.  He hit me once (dropping my Stamina to 27).  His girlfriend/accomplice drove off, and this time I decided to give chase.  Unfortunately, she had placed a small mine under my front wheel during the battle, and when I tried to take off it blew up one of my front tyres.  I was forced to replace it with a spare (and also to reduce my Luck to 10).  (I have to call bullshit on this a little bit.  So if I chase here she placed a mine, but if I don't chase her she didn't?  How does that work?  The placement happened before my decision, either the mine is there or it isn't.  It's a bit annoying, but I can fudge it in my head like this: she used a weak adhesive to place the bomb, and if I choose to explore the garage it falls off before I get back to the car.  You're welcome Ian.)

Further up the road I fought a Red Chevvy, which caused me some trouble before I blew it off the road (dropping my Armour from 30 to 21).  After that - and a radio warning from New Hope about the kidnapping of the leader Sinclair - I came to a T-junction.  I'd gone east last time, so I decided to head west.

After a bit the road ended at a bridge over a river.  The bridge was slightly raised, so I'd have to fire my Interceptor up to 180 kp/h to jump it.  I decided to give it a go, and made the jump (with dice roll under my Skill).  Unfortunately, there was an overturned truck on the road on the far side, and I plowed right into it (after rolling over my Skill).  My car was badly damaged (reducing my Armour to 14), but I survived, and was able to keep driving.

I soon came to another junction, and decided to turn south in the direction of San Anglo.  Soon I came to another junction, and turned left.  This was followed by yet another exciting junction, where I turned south again (with no option from the book).  Then my car ran out of petrol, and my adventure was over in one of the most banal fashions ever.

ATTEMPT 3

This time I rolled a Skill of 12, a Stamina of 33, a Luck of 11, a Firepower of 12 and an Armour score of 29.  Those were some cracking stats; as long as I could find petrol I'd be in business.

I blew through the early stages, ignoring the first couple of encounters and blowing the Red Chevvy to bits with one of my rockets.  At the first junction I turned west again, and with my high Skill I had no trouble jumping the bridge and avoiding the overturned truck.  At the next junction I continued west instead of turning south as I had last time.

As I drove on, a man in jeans, jacket and a motorbike helmet ran onto the road and tried to flag me down.  I pulled over, and spotted that his motorbike was lying down beside the road.  I warned him over my loudspeaker not to try anything, and got out of the car.  As soon as I took a few steps, he jumped into a ditch just a grenade came flying out of nowhere to land at my feet.  I avoided the worst of the explosion (with a successful Luck test that reduced my score to 10; the explosion dropped my Stamina to 31), and drew my pistol.  I was in a shoot-out with two Bikers (Skill 7, Stamina 13 and Skill 5, Stamina 14).

Despite being caught in a crossfire (because I was shooting it out with both of them at the same time) I was able to kill them both and come out unscathed.  Searching their bodies I found a throwing-knife, which I slid into my boot.

Continuing west, I came to another junction.  The way further west was blocked by a huge pile-up of cars, but I decided to have a look around before turning south.  I found a crowbar, and started using it to jimmy open the boots of several cars.  At one point I got worried about leaving the Interceptor unattended, but I decided to keep exploring, and was rewarded for my diligence with a can of petrol (which restored my Luck to 11).

Heading south, I came to an east turn but decided to ignore it.  Further south my petrol gauge started running low, but I was able to refill it with my petrol can.  The sun was setting, so I decided to drive off the side of the road behind a wall and sleep in my car (which restored my Stamina to 33).

Further south I drove through some mines completely unawares (avoiding them with a 50/50 roll).  At another junction I turned east, but after 80 km the road ended at a junction and I had to turn south.

While I driving under a bridge, a crazy laughing man pushed a stone pillar off the top, trying to crush my car.  With supreme skill I swerved around it, and got out to deal with this miscreant.  Before I could get to the top of the bridge, he escaped on a motorbike.  There was caravan there, though, and I decided to search it.  Inside I found a tin of corned beef, which I ate, and a grenade, which I pocketed.

Soon I came to a four-way junction.  The way east was blocked with abandoned cars, so I decided to turn west.  Driving 80 km back west, I soon came to the end of the road and had to turn south again, into the desert.

On the side of the road I saw an overturned Dodge Interceptor.  I pulled over, and took one of its tyres as a spare.

On no, it's the Stig!

I decided to open the car and have a look inside, but to my horror I disturbed the nest of a rattlesnake.  The snake bit me.  I was able to stop the poison from killing me, but I was weakened by the ordeal (my Skill was reduced to 11, and my Stamina to 31).  I shot the snake dead (with vengeful glee, the book says) and found a coil of plastic tubing in the glovebox.

As I drove south, I spotted a motorbike with a sidecar coming up behind me.  It had a sidecar-mounted machine gun, and the passenger opened fire on me (reducing my Armour to 28).  I thought about taking them out with iron spikes or an oil spray, but I figured I could handle them with my machine guns.

The Motorbike and Sidecar (Firepower 9, Armour 8) proved more resilient than I expected, and inflicted some damage on my car before I killed them (reducing my Armour to 22).  Fearing they might be part of a gang, I continued south.

At that point my petrol gauge ran low, and I had no spare canister to do a refill.  Once again, with a great sense of anticlimax, my adventure was over.

THE POST-GAME

Attempt 2 was a complete bust, but I did find a petrol canister on the third go, which I consider a win.  The question is, do I have to go that way every time, or is there another canister on an alternate path?  Jumping the bridge requires a roll under Skill, and I suspect that failure will be an instant death.  It's fine to go that way if my Skill is good, but if it isn't I think I'll try the other path and see how it goes.  Knowing Ian, it won't go well, but you never know.

I've also started keeping a map, which I make in Trizbort.  It's designed for mapping text adventures like Zork, but it work's well for gamebooks too.

Clicken to embiggen

Freeway Fighter - Attempt 1

Cover by Jim Burns

After a rogue killer virus, a vast, barbaric wilderness is all that remains of the world. Survivors like you either live in scattered, fortified towns, or roam outside as bandits. Life is lawless and dangerous.

YOUR mission is to cross the wilderness to the far-distant oil-refinery at San Anglo and bring vital supplies back to the peaceful town of New Hope. Even in the armed Dodge Interceptor you are given, the journey will be wild and perilous. Will YOU survive?

I can't tell you what a massive relief it is to be back playing a book in the main series.  Sorcery! is great, but tackling all of those wrap-up posts one after the other was a real slog.  I finished playing The Crown of Kings back in August, so they took the better part of a year.  I'm back on a more regular schedule now though - with all three of my blogs - and hopefully I can make some headway.  My whole goal with this blog was to make a point of playing every book in the series, especially those in the back half, so it's about time I properly got to it.

That brings me to Freeway Fighter, written by Ian Livingstone and illustrated by Kevin Bulmer, a book based on Australia's greatest contribution to science fiction and pop culture at large.  The UK gave us Doctor Who, the USA gave us Star Wars and Star Trek, and in return we gave the world Mad Max.  It's a smaller property, but for a window in the 1980s it inspired a shed-load of imitators in almost every medium you can name: movies, books, video games, pro-wrestling, you name it.  And yes, gamebooks, most notably Freeway Fighter and Joe Dever's Freeway Warrior.  (Jeez Joe, couldn't you have at least come up with a more original name?)

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little disappointed to be playing a sci-fi book.  None of them are among my favourites, and if my memory is correct I never owned any of them when I was a kid.  My friends had them, and I'd happily borrow them - well, all of them except Sky Lord - but when the time came to choose I always went for the fantasy books.  I don't think I've ever met a Fighting Fantasy fan who felt differently.  At least this one has its own novelty, though, being the only non-fantasy book that Ian wrote (in the original series, anyway).

The premise is this: in July 2022, when civilisation is at its peak, a killer virus wipes out 85 percent of the world's population in four days.  The survivors are left to carry on, with some choosing to band together in small settlements and others living lawlessly on the outside.  The hero of the book lives in a town called New Hope, and he's been tasked with driving to the distant town of San Anglo to collect a big tanker of petrol.  To accomplish that task, he's been provided with a modified Dodge Interceptor, complete with machine guns, rockets, and other gadgets.  The premise is a little bit close to home right now, but Ian puts a silver lining on it by frequently reminding the reader that, if civilisation falls, at least you'll get to drive really fast with no police around.

Reading the rules for this book was something of a revelation for me.  I've played Freeway Fighter plenty of times, but I don't think I've ever played it properly.  Here's a summary of the things that have changed from the baseline Fighting Fantasy rules:

• Instead of rolling 2d6 + 12 for Stamina, you roll 2d6 + 24.
• Nothing is mentioned about being able to Test your Luck in combat.
• Stats are rolled for your car.  Firepower is rolled on 1d6 + 6, and Armour is rolled on 2d6 + 24.
• Melee combat follows the usual process, but punches only do a single point of damage.  The first opponent to lose 6 Stamina points is knocked out.
• Shooting combat also works the same, but guns do more damage (usually 1d6).
• Vehicle combat works like missile combat, with the car's Firepower standing in for Skill and its Armour standing in for Stamina.  You can win any vehicle combat instantly by firing a rocket.

I must have only ever skimmed there rules, because I've always played it with the standard number of Stamina points, and I've never used the knockout rule.  I don't think I ever knew that you could use rockets in battle, either.  No wonder I've always found this one difficult to win.

For Skill I rolled an 11, for Stamina a 31, and for Luck an 11.  For my car, I rolled an 11 for Firepower and a 31 for Armour.  Those were very solid stats all around, and I had some confidence of at least making it a decent way through the book.

For my mission I'm given 200 credits.  I guess I have a gun as well.  My car has an unlimited supply of bullets, four rockets, three canisters of iron spikes, and two rear-mounted oil sprays.  The Adventure Sheet shows that I have two spare tyres, even though they're not mentioned in the text.  I've also got a med-kit, with ten packs of medical supplies. Each pack can be used at any time to restore 4 Stamina points.

Al Bundy had a beloved Dodge.
You don't think...?

I tore out of New Hope in my Dodge Interceptor, surprised at how quickly the world had fallen into disarray.  About 15 kilometres out of New Hope, I stopped at a small town and switched off the engine.  (Why?  That's like a five or ten minute drive.  Did I forget to take a wee before I left or something?)  I was about to get back in the car when I hear a gunshot, and I decided to investigate.

I tried to be stealthy, but upon rounding a corner I heard a voice threatening to fill me full of holes.  He asked me where I was from, and I decided to tell the truth: I was from New Hope.  The man stepped out into view and introduced himself as Johnson.  His wife and son had been killed a week ago, and he'd just now been attacked by dogs while looking for food.  He seemed like a good bloke, so I directed him to New Hope.  In turn, he warned me to avoid Joe's Garage, where they apparently rob anyone who stops there.  We shook hands and said our goodbyes.

She must have found the last bottle
of conditioner in the wastelands.

Further down the road I came to Joe's Garage, where I saw a girl in jeans and a t-shirt.  Johnson hadn't mentioned anything about a girl, so I pulled over.  I stepped out of the car to try out some of my smoothest moves, but a before I could start a bearded man stepped out with a crowbar and demanded my keys and credits.  I wasn't about to allow myself to be robbed by anyone armed with a crowbar, so I pulled my knife and went for his neck.

The Thug (Skill 7, Stamina 10) took a few hits from my knife before passing out from blood loss.  The girl took off in a hot rod, but rather than chase her I decided to search the garage.  All I found was a heavy chain, which I took with me.

I took off again, smiling as I got my engine up to 190km/h.  Further up the road I spotted an armour-plated Red Chevvy (Firepower 8, Armour 15) coming right at me, with a machine-gunner in a turret on the roof.  The occupants were obviously hostile, so I let them have it with my machine guns.  I took a small amount of return fire (reducing my Armour to 27), but soon enough the Chevvy was destroyed and I was on my way.

Is he wearing a bathrobe?

Not long after I was contacted on the radio by one of New Hope's leaders.  A gang of bikers had attacked them, killing eight people and kidnapping Sinclair, the council leader.  I promised to keep an eye out for them.  (I'm going to pretend that this is actually Clive Sinclair, eccentric English entrepreneur and the man responsible for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Knowing Ian's gaming history, I doubt that he picked the name by accident.)

I also stopped and refilled by petrol tank.  With no petrol left, I was going to have to find more if I was going to make it to San Anglo.  (No wonder New Hope needs petrol, they only have enough to fill a car up twice.)

The road north soon ended at a road heading east and west.  I turned to the east, and soon spotted an ambulance parked off to the right.  Thinking that I might be able to find some petrol, I pulled over to investigate.  The cab was empty, and there were no other signs of life, so I decided to take a look in the back.

I got no caption here, it's just
an ambulance.

As I opened the rear door there was a blinding explosion, and I was sent reeling backwards (with my Stamina reduced to 30).  Feeling too weak to reach the Interceptor, I decided to crawl into the long grass at the side of the road. A scruffy man wearing a headband and smoking a cigar soon appeared to investigate.  He was carrying a gun, and when he saw my blood trail he turned and fired blindly into the grass.  His shot missed (because of a Luck test that reduced my score to 10), and I returned fire on the Highwayman (Skill 8, Stamina 12).

Hampered by my injuries (which temporarily reduced my Skill to 10), I had some trouble killing the Highwayman, and he shot me multiple times before I finished him off.  (This reduced my Stamina to 17, and made the aforementioned Skill loss permanent.)  In his pockets I found 150 credits and a pair of knuckle-dusters.

Taking off again, I came to a side road heading south, and decided to check it out.  After a few miles (make up your mind Ian, is this world metric or not?) the road ended at a river.  A crude wooden bridge crossed it, and there was a sign warning me to keep out.  No skull and crossbones could deter me, so I decided to cross.

I bet he doesn't really mean it.

I steered carefully across, but my caution was all for naught, as somebody detonated a bomb underneath the bridge when I was halfway to the other side.  My adventure was over.

THE POST-GAME

That went pretty badly.  I got shot up at the ambulance, and then my desire to explore everywhere - regardless of warnings - got me an instant death.  I should have known better than to go driving off in the opposite direction of my destination.