Sorcery! Attempts 4 & 5 - Book 1: The Shamutanti Hills

The Shamutanti Hills is easy.  That's the conventional wisdom; it's the warm-up adventure before things really kick off in the second book.  I've always believed it to be the case, but it's not necessarily true.  While it doesn't have a narrow path to victory, or any particularly difficult encounters, what I'm finding is that there are plenty of ways to die in this book.  Plenty.

ATTEMPT 4

My scores for this attempt were Skill 8, Stamina 16, Luck 8; a perfectly serviceable adventurer.  Taking a look at my map, I decided that I would investigate a previously unexplored path: the bridge crossing the river just before the Elvin village.  If I was going to keep failing this book, the very least I could do was figure out the path that gets me the best stuff.

And so I set out, into the Shamutanti Hills and the village of Cantopani.  I made my way to the merchant (as I'm going to do in every game, because he has a lot of cool stuff), and chose a couple of items I had yet to investigate: the pipe, and the jewel.  The jewel cost a whopping 10 gold pieces, which I paid begrudgingly, but it was a swindle; it turned out that it was a magical ice jewel, and would melt in my backpack.  Next I chose the pipe, the cost of which was determined by rolling one die.  I paid 2gp for it, but on further investigation it had no special properties.  It's useful for a certain spell, though, so I was happy to have it.

Finally I chose Glandragor's Axe.  As I've mentioned before, it's too good to pass up, and I'm dead keen to find out how Glandragor's friend will help me in book 2.  I rolled a total of 8 while trying to haggle for it, though, and it ended up costing me the last of my gold.

I was ambushed by bandits on the way out of Cantopani (they only attack you if you've bought something from the merchant, it seems). Armed with my pipe, I cast a JIG spell (reducing my Stamina to 15) and watched in satisfaction as they danced away.

Once outside the village, I encountered the old man with the spell book page, and took some honey and beeswax from the nearby hive (reducing my Stamina to 13 due to beestings).  From there I ventured down into the valley, and found a place to rest (eating some provisions to restore my Stamina to 15).

Halfway through the night I was awakened by Elvins splashing in the river.  In an earlier game I had hidden from them, but this time I stood up and announced my presence.  One of them floated over to investigate, and I greeted him cheerfully. Seeing that I was friendly, he invited me to join his companions, which I did. I was expecting some sort of mischief, but while the Elvins were fond of pranks they were quite harmless so long as I kept my temper.  We parted ways on friendly terms.  (This looks like an encounter I can safely skip; the Elvins didn't give me anything, or impart any useful information. Sleeping through the night is of greater benefit.)

I soon came to the aforementioned bridge, and crossed to the far side of the river. I came to a field of long grass, and decided to stop and eat. A flock of nearby woodgulls were startled by something and took to the air, but I ignored them and kept on eating.  But as I bit into my bread, I was hit in the leg by a poisoned dart. I had been ambushed by a Headhunter, and my adventure was over.

So what did I do wrong? I must admit to some complacency. I knew something was going to attack me when those woodgulls flew off, but I wasn't expecting an instant death. I just wanted to know what it was, and I assumed that I'd be able to find a way out of whatever predicament befell me.  I was wrong, I suppose.

It also wasn't clear that I was in Headhunter territory.  If you enter from the mountain path there's obvious foreshadowing, but there are no warnings when you cross the bridge.  I also thought there was a major mapping discrepancy here, to the point where I backtracked a bit just to double-check that I hadn't jumped to the wrong paragraph. The problem was with my own map; there are no directions indicated at the first junction, and I had drawn them the wrong way around. It worked well enough once I rearranged things.

So yeah, I need to stop exploring and just get on with winning the damn book.  If I'm having trouble with this one, there's little hope for Khare, let alone The Crown of Kings.

ATTEMPT 5

 

The next hapless adventurer to be fed into the Kakhabad meatgrinder had Skill 5, Stamina 21 and Luck 7.  This fellow was probably more suited to be an exploratory probe than a legendary warrior, but I figured I'd still give it a fair go: magic can be a great equaliser in this series, after all.

In the first village, now armed with a knowledge of every item on sale, I bought Glandragor's Axe, the pipe, and the Blimberry Potion.  I considered the broadsword for the combat bonus, but decided to go with spell components instead.  All up it cost me 10 gold pieces, which was a fair bargain (I did some good haggling).

So, past the bandits (dealt with using the JIG spell), the old man, and the beehive (with my Stamina reduced to 17 overall).  I chose the path up into the hills.

As night fell I decided to continue walking rather than camp, just to see if anything different happened. It's different, though not helpful: my Stamina was reduced to 15 due to lack of sleep, and if my die roll had been lower I would have encountered a wandering monster.  I also realised in the morning that I hadn't eaten, and so lost even more Stamina (leaving me with 12).  It was an inauspicious beginning.  (I'm not quite sure why I can't just sit and eat now, though.)

Soon I came to the junction with the heads on poles, and the warning scratched into a tree.  I'm aware that I had said I would stop with the needless exploring, but I couldn't help myself. I chose the path leading into Headhunter territory, and towards the unfair pit trap that I had so vehemently decried in my last post.

(This is where the path links with the one over the bridge near the Elvins. If I'd continued on instead of stopping to eat, I would have been on the same track as in this attempt.)

When I reached said pit trap, I voluntarily failed the Luck test and allowed myself to fall in. I wasn't injured by the three-metre fall, but I was knocked unconscious. When I awoke, I was bound hand and foot, and surrounded by Headhunters.  I tried casting a HOT spell, but I had forgotten that I could only cast spells with my hands free (and my Stamina was reduced to 8 for my forgetfulness)

The Headhunters took me to their village, and started boiling water over a fire.  With the implications clear, and no other means of escape, I prayed to the goddess Libra. It took a while, but eventually Libra replied with a timely downpour that doused the fire and loosened my bonds.  The Headhunters scattered, and I escaped into the woods after collecting my all-important stuff.

After a panicked flight I realised that I was lost, and I had to throw a die to determine which path I had taken.  I rolled a 1, and emerged near the Schanker Mines, where a number of goblins were milling about in front of a cave.

Despite my low Stamina, I decided to sneak into the cave and see what I could find. The first path took me to a fight with a blind goblin, who wounded me once before I could kill him (leaving me with 6 Stamina; I also used a Luck point to kill him a bit faster).  I looted a key (silver, with the number 111) from his corpse. The door beyond led into pitch darkness, and a SUS spell told me that it was dangerous and I should turn back (reducing my Stamina to 4).  The other path led to a room with an Ogre (I had to charge the door down to get in, further reducing my Stamina to 3).  In my current state I didn't fancy tackling an Ogre, so I retreated from the mines completely. (I had to make a Luck test to avoid Goblins on the way out, but I was successful, leaving me with a Luck of 5.)

Much to my relief I came to a village, and went to the ale-house to relax (buying an ale for 1gp, which left me with 9). A conversation with an old man revealed to me that one path on from the village led to a realm of giants, and another past the home of the witch Alianna. He also gave me a Bomba Fruit, which when eaten would double any Stamina gained from eating a meal. My luck was restored to 7 for meeting with this guy, and I went happily from there to the inn. At the inn I paid the 5gp for some food and a room (leaving me with 4gp); I needed a Stamina boost, and the combination of a meal and some sleep restored my Stamina to 11.

Heading out of the village, I chose the path leading past Alianna's house. I investigated her house, and found her locked inside a cage. I decided to help her escape. The key that I had found on the blind goblin didn't work, so I used a DOP spell to unlock the cage (reducing my Stamina to 9).  (I've never been able to find the right key, but given her story about being locked up by Elvins I suspect it's on one of the tents in their village).

Alianna offered me a reward, and I had to choose between a magical item or increasing my combat prowess. I chose the item, and she gave me 7 gold pieces, a vial of glue, some nose-plugs and four small pebbles.  (Pebbles?  Why don't I have these on me at all times? They can't be that hard to find.)

Alianna then attacked me with a Wood Golem (claiming that she doesn't give up her possessions without a fight). I hit it with a HOT spell (reducing my Stamina to 5), which torched the Golem and sent Alianna scurrying to put it out before it burned down her house.

I left her to it, and moved on to the next village, Dhumpus. When I tried to talk to the villagers they refused unless I left my sword behind. There was no chance of that, so I moved on. At a merchant's hut I found several items for sale: a sword, a skullcap, and some provisions. I bought the skullcap for 4gp (leaving me with 7), and left the rest.  At the inn I paid 3gp for a meal (leaving me with 4gp, and restoring my Stamina to 8), but I decided not to pay for a room.  I made camp outside of the village, and again a good dice roll meant that I wasn't attacked my wandering monsters. The rest restored my Stamina to 10.

Next was the plague-infested village that I'd previously avoided.  This time I knocked on the door of one of the huts, and tried to talk to the inhabitants.  I cast a DOC spell, and aided by my Blimberry Juice I was able to cure them (while reducing my Stamina to 9).  They warned me about the Black Lotus flowers, but there was no reward otherwise. I suppose I should be happy to have done a good deed, but I'd really rather have some treasure.

I came to another village, where I was soon accosted by Jann the irritating Minimite. I told him to nick off, but he insisted on following me anyway. In Birritanti I visited Glandragor's Tavern and returned his axe, garnering all sorts of bonuses: +2 Stamina, +3 Luck, a free pass to the waterfall, some knowledge of the book's final encounter with the manticore, and the promised help of VIK in the next book.  Now there's a guy who knows how to reward a good samaritan.  I visited the waterfall, restored all of stats back to their initial levels, and camped safely out in the wilderness (and eating a meal, which left me with 1 remaining).

Heading out of the village, I chose the path downhill, and was soon ambushed by the assassin known as Flanker. I tried to cast a WOK spell to aid me in the battle, but I had forgotten about Jann's negation of my spellcasting again (reducing my Stamina to 20). Flanker wounded me three times (leaving me with 14 Stamina), but I used a Luck point to get his Stamina below 3 in one hit.  I then spared his life, and he offered to help me once I reached Khare. My Luck was restored back to 7 for this fortuitous encounter.

Further along I passed by an old woman sitting in front of a hut. I tried to pass her by, but she got angry when I ignored her, and ordered me to come back. Thinking better of it (you never know who's a wizard, after all), I went back and we enjoyed a cup of tea together (restoring my Stamina to 15).  (There was a bit where she poisoned her own tea, which I think was her way of determining if you are trustworthy.)  It turned out that the spell book page the old man had given me earlier in my adventure had been stolen from her, and she was able to use it to get rid of Jann.  Huzzah!

Soon I came to Torrepani, home of the Svinns. I tried to talk to them, but soon I was boasting about my exploits, and they realised that I was a heroic adventurer. I was seized, and held captive in a hut, where I decided to eat a meal and sleep.  In the morning they gave me a hearty breakfast, and all of this eating and sleeping restored my Stamina back to 21. The chief came to see me, and told me that he wanted me to rescue his daughter from the local Manticore. Without much choice in the matter, I was happy to oblige, and soon found myself being lowered into the Manticore's cave.

(At this point you're given the option of trying to escape, or allowing yourself to be lowered into the cave because you're "thinking of the rich treasures you may win".  Not thinking of rescuing an innocent girl, or avoiding being murdered by Svinns. Thinking of treasure.  It puts me in the mind of a Paul Mason interview about Slaves of the Abyss, in which he claimed that Steve Jackson made him change the ending because the players should "jolly well get a lot of treasure".)

After a few twists and turns,  fell into a pit full of snakes.

I tried to levitate out with a ZEN spell, but without the required Jewel-Studded Medallion the spell fizzled. I was bitten by snakes, and this combined with the spell reduced me to 19 Stamina.  Not that it mattered; I tried to look for another means of escape, but there was none.  I could have called on Libra, but I'd already done so to escape from the Headhunters. With no way out, I was killed by the snakes, and my adventure was over.

Well, I nearly made it.  My mistake here was heading through Headhunter territory, but I had no idea that it was a fruitless endeavour.  I'm pretty sure now that I know the optimum path through the book, so my next go will have no frivolous deviations.  Probably.