Sorcery! Attempt 2 - Book 1: The Shamutanti Hills

Sometimes we make promises that we regret. We set ourselves goals that defy sanity, and stretch our capabilities beyond the breaking point. This is how I feel right now, as I restart the Sorcery! epic, starting over from the beginning.  Still, a promise is a promise, and I'll do this if it kills me.  Which it probably will do, multiple times.

First, I have to roll my new character. Once again I'm going to pay as a wizard, because that's where the fun of this series lies.  I rolled a Skill of 10, a Stamina of 17 and a Luck of 9. As usual I begin with 20 gold pieces, two provisions, a sword and a backpack. The kingdom of Analand has spared no expense to ensure the success of my mission.

(Readers less familiar with The Shamutanti Hills may want to go back and read my first play-through of the book.  I'll be skimming quickly over areas that I have already detailed there.)

And now, to begin! I passed through the Wall, and after a short journey came to the first village, Cantopani. In my last game I had asked for directions onward, but this time I decided to masquerade as a trader. The guard led me to a large hut, where the quartermaster offered me a number of goods for sale: a potion, a broadsword, a pipe, an axe, a bag of teeth, and a jewel.  I was able to inspect three of these.

I bought the axe for 7 gold pieces, and the bag of teeth for 3 gold pieces (leaving me with 10gp). (I tried to haggle, which is done by rolling two dice and trying to get a score under 7. I rolled a 7 exactly, and the quartermaster wasn't having it.) I could have investigated a third item, but I'd already spent enough money, and I thought better of it.

The axe was covered with runes, which read: "This axe was crafted in the Year of the Ox for Glandragor the Protector. Its powers may be realized only by its owner." True to the message, the axe wasn't all that useful for me, as using it would reduce my Attack Strength by 1. Rather more useful was the number 233 that was carved on it; if there's one thing I've learned about Fighting Fantasy it's that you hold on to stuff with numbers on it.

The bag contained several Death-Hound teeth, three from an Ape, four from a Goblin, two from a Snattacat and a Giant's molar. The Goblin and Giant teeth in particular were handy for spells, and I held on to the rest as well, just in case.

On my way out of the village I noticed a lot of shifty people staring from windows, right before I was ambushed by a pair of Bandits. They demanded my backpack, but I was not about to give it to them. I had stuff in there! Stuff with a number on it!

I tried to cast a LAW spell, only to discover that it only works on non-intelligent beings. One of the bandits wounded me, and from the wound and the failed spell my Stamina was reduced to 11. Not wanting to risk another spell, I fought them with my sword. They wounded me once more (reducing my Stamina to 9), but I was able to take care of them. It was no wonder they had turned to banditry: there was nothing to loot in their pockets.

After leaving Cantopani I came to a fork in the road, where I met an old man sitting in the tree. I've detailed this encounter in my previous attempt, so I'll skim over it here. He recited a cryptic rhyme, and gave me a page from a spell book.  I also retrieved some honey and beeswax from a hive behind the tree (reducing my stamina to 6 due to bee stings).

In my last game I had taken the high path into the hills, so this time I took the low path leading into a valley. I stopped by a stream to eat my honey, which restored my Stamina to 8. After journeying for a few more hours it was dusk, and I decided to make camp.

A splashing noise awoke me in the middle of the night, and I saw three thin, humanoid creatures throwing stones into the river.  Sometimes at the place where the rocks splashed a fish would fly out of the water to land at their feet. They were Elvins, and they were glowing with magic, so I decided to remain hidden. I successfully tested my Luck (reducing my score to 8), and they didn’t notice me. (I have misgivings about skipping this encounter, but the Luck test has eased my fears somewhat. Surely nothing good can come from a failed Luck test.)

I awoke the next morning, and after a short travel I came to a rope bridge that spanned the river. I ignored the bridge, and continued along the south bank. Soon I came to a ring of huts surrounding a bonfire. There was no sound to be heard, so I ventured into the village to have a look. There were three huts that I could investigate: one with a red door, one with a green door, and one with a brown door.

I entered the hut with the green door, and saw that it was filled with cushions. Strange music filled the air, but I had no pipes that I could play to accompany it, and the soothing music made me drift off to sleep.

When I awoke I was bound hand and foot, and surrounded by Elvins. They asked if I was a magician, and if so whether I would do some tricks for them.

There's something inexplicably hilarious to me about that dog.

Though I was not altogether happy about my predicament, I agreed to entertain the Elvins. I chose to cast the SIX spell (reducing my Stamina to 6), not on myself but on the Elvin Chieftain. Six illusory images of him appeared, and this caused the Elvins no end of amusement. They were suitably pleased, and they returned my gear and allowed me to leave the village.

I followed the river upstream for an hour, and found another bridge. I crossed it and headed up into the hills, where I was ambushed by Elvins throwing acorns.

This was hardly a life-or-death scenario, but I was a bit low on Stamina. I cast a WOK spell, transforming a gold piece into a shield, and used to to get by unharmed (though the spell reduced my Stamina to 5, and I was left with 9 gold pieces).

Soon I came to another village, and I decided to head to an ale-house to relax. I purchased an ale (leaving me with 8gp), and eschewed the company of an old man for a younger fellow with sharp features. I soon found out that I was conversing with the "village idiot" (Steve Jackson's words, not mine), and I quickly finished my ale and headed for the inn. At the inn I paid 5 gold for a meal and a good night's sleep (reducing my total to 3gp), and awoke very refreshed (with my Stamina restored to 13).

And now we come to the biggest bullshit decision in the book: the branching path that just gives you two numbers. No directions, no descriptions of what those paths look like, nothing. Just two numbers, and nothing else. I suppose it's a kind of gamebook minimalism, boiling the form down to its very abstract essence, but I can’t say I like it. Anyway, I chose number 226.

Not far from the village, I found a blind beggar sitting against a wall. At the exact same time a wagon driver stopped and offered me a ride. For some reason I was incapable of throwing the beggar a coin and taking the ride; I had to choose one or the other. I told the beggar to sod off, and hopped aboard the wagon. The driver was friendly, and riding with him allowed me to restore my Luck to 9. As payment I helped him collect some vegetables, and he rewarded me with enough veggies for one meal. (Blucch.)

After a time I came to a huge gate, which was ajar. I entered warily, as the gate was obviously not wrought by human hands. The path beyond passed between two caves, and I decided to have a look in the cave to the right. Sure enough, waiting inside was a Hill Giant.

The Giant was almost as strong as myself, so rather than fight it I cast a YOB spell (reducing my Stamina to 12), which transformed my giant's molar into a Magical Giant that would fight for me. He was no match for the Hill Giant, but he did wound him a few times before being killed, and I was able to finish the Hill Giant off without being wounded myself.

The Giant had 8 gold pieces, which I pocketed (raising my total to 11gp). I also pried out some of its teeth. The book doesn’t specify how many teeth the Giant has, it simply tells you to take any body parts you want.  I consulted the above illustration, which shows ten teeth. I also ate a loaf of the Giant's bread, which was too big for me to carry, and it restored my Stamina to 14.

I soon left the domain of the Giants, and came to a fork in the path. I chose the path running along the crest of the hill. Soon it was dark, and I had to make camp. No monsters attacked me in the night, and I awoke somewhat refreshed (with my Stamina restored to 16).

The next village I came to was full of miserable, maimed people, who fled at my approach. Remembering from my last game that this was a plague village, I quickly passed through.

After some more journeying, I saw another village in the distance. I was also accosted by the Minimite Jann, the sprite-like creature that insists on accompanying you. I didn’t bother wasting a spell on him, because I remembered that magic doesn’t function when he is near. I simply had to sigh, bear his presence, and make my way down to the village of Birritanti.

The village was in the middle of its "festival of the young", in which children are allowed to whatever the hell they like for a time. I noticed that the sign on the local ale-house read "Glandragor's Tavern", and decided to head inside. Sure enough, Glandragor was there to serve me, but rather than buy a drink I handed him the axe I had bought with his name carved on it. He was overjoyed to have it returned, and gave me a free ale (restoring my Stamina to 17). He also told me that I should visit the local Crystal Waterfall, and gave me a pass that would allow me entry. Following that he told me about the Svinns and the disappearance of their chieftain's daughter, left as a sacrifice to a Manticore (basically the whole endgame of this book). Finally he told me that he was well-connected in Khare, and that I should contact his friend Vik when I arrived there. (This will be given as a spell option, with the code VIK). He even offered me a sword to replace the axe, if it was my only weapon. What a guy!

After leaving Glandragor I visited the waterfall, and was able to use my pass to get in for free. Bathing in the waters would have restored all of my stats to their initial levels, but for me it was useless; I was already in tip-top shape.

From there I went to the inn, and bought a meal for 4 gold pieces (leaving me with 7).  I didn't want to pay 5gp for a room though, so I spent a pleasant night camped out in the wilderness.

The next morning I continued on until I came to a fork in the road.  I chose the eastern path leading uphill, and after travelling for some time I came to a field of pleasant-smelling black flowers.  Jann the Minimite said that it was the quickest path to the next village.  I tried to cast a SUS spell to determine if it was dangerous (reducing my Stamina to 15), but I had forgotten that Jann's presence negates my magic.

Not wanting to retrace my path, I decided to press on through the field, and soon I was frolicking merrily.  Then I got dizzy and collapsed, landing next to a skeleton.  I was breathing the poisonous aroma of the Black Lotus, and my adventure was over.

(Normally I hate gamebook deaths that result from simply choosing a path, but at least this one is suitably suspicious and gives you a couple of chances to turn back.  I think it would have benefited from showing the illustration in an earlier paragraph, thus making the skull in the bottom corner a subtle clue.)

THE POST-GAME
So, I didn't even make it through the first book.  Two things happened here.  The first is that I was getting tired, a state in which I often make reckless decisions when playing gamebooks.  The second is that my curiosity, and my desire to explore every facet and path, got the better of me.  I had an inkling that the flowers were dangerous, and I'm certain that they've killed me in the past, but I pressed on anyway in the interests of exploration.  Ah well, now I know this path is a dead end, and I won't make the same mistake again.