Sorcery! Attempt 7, 8 & 9 - Book 3: The Seven Serpents

I'm back!  After a couple of months of personal issues (pretty much dealt with now) and a month off to watch the G-1 Climax (because Japanese pro-wrestling is the greatest), I'm making my return to blogging, and to writing about gamebooks in particular.

My busy schedule hasn't been the only thing stopping me from blogging here, though.  I'm somewhat regretting my decision to tackle the Sorcery! epic as one single, long gamebook.  Going back to the beginning from Book 1 or 2 isn't so bad, but now that I've reached Book 3 it feels like a slog.  I still enjoy it once I get started, and I'm still discovering new things when I play the first two books, but it's a daunting prospect to begin again.  I'll stick with it, because I'm stubborn like that, but I'll honestly be happier working on the blog once I have Sorcery! out of the way.

That's enough preamble, it's time to get into my ill-fated attempts at conquering The Seven Serpents.  (You know at least some of them are ill-fated, because I have multiple attempts in the post title.)

ATTEMPT 7

This is one I can cover pretty quickly.  I rolled a Skill score of 5, which is the first time I've had to play the series with such a weak character.  I could have tried to boost my Skill with various items (there are at least two good ones in The Shamutanti Hills), but instead I opted to focus heavily on spells, and obtaining the various items needed to cast them. 

The first domino leading to my demise was my encounter with Flanker, the assassin who tries to waylay you in Book 1.  You can't use magic during that encounter, and with such a low Skill score I had all sorts of trouble beating him.  So much trouble that my Stamina score wasn't high enough to allow me to spare his life: you need a score higher than 6, or he just keeps fighting to the death.  I did kill Flanker (barely), but now I was unable to call on his help for Book 2.

This posed a serious problem, because I have no idea how to find the first part of the spell needed to open the North Gate of Khare without Flanker's aid.  I know how to find Flanker, and have him lead me to Lortag the Elder, but I haven't a clue how to find Lortag on my own.

Once inside Khare, I decided to head north at the first junction, which is a path I had never explored before.  This led me into a shabby part of town, with a body lying on the ground.  I investigated, and was soon attacked by a Living Corpse.  This is a monster I've seen in Out of the Pit, but have never encountered in any of the gamebooks.  It's deal is that at first it seems like a normal Zombie, but when you hit it it splits into six body parts and attacks from all directions.  The body parts are weak (we're talking Skill 2 or 3, and Stamina scores of 1 each), but the part you attack is randomly determined.  The real killer is that the body parts you've already destroyed remain as valid targets, so for the last body part you'll have a 1-in-6 chance of hitting it.  If I'd had a decent Skill I would probably have lasted, but with a Skill of 5 I was gradually whittled down and killed.

(This raises the question of when you can call on the goddess Libra to restore your stats.  I had it in my head that you can't do it in the middle of a fight, but that's not supported by the text, which says "you may call on her if and when you wish".  So now I know, by the rules I can restore myself in the middle of battle.  That's handy.)

ATTEMPT 8

This was another ignominious failure.  Again I rolled low for Skill (this time scoring 6), but I decided to go for the Skill-boosting items and had no trouble subduing Flanker this time.  My real trouble came in Khare, where I took a wrong turn somewhere after meeting Lortag and gaining the first line of the spell.  Not long after that, I was supposed to meet a fellow calling himself Slangg, who would have given me directions to the Temple of the God of Malice.  Instead I found myself in the home of Vangorn the Murderer, who was quite insistent about trying to get me to drink some poisoned ale.  I was able to escape from him, but eventually I realised that I had missed the second spell line.  After that I powered through the rest of the adventure, skipping as many encounters as possible, and made it to the North Gate with just a single line of the spell.  Once again, my adventure was over (the text said I could start again, but I'm not sure how literally I'm supposed to take that, and I was happy enough to let this character die.)

ATTEMPT 9

Finally, I rolled a strong character: Skill 10, Stamina 23, Luck 8.  That's something to work with.  I blew through The Shamutanti Hills, gathering all the combat bonuses and spell items I could.  I passed through Khare - Cityport of Traps with similar ease, and this time I was able to locate the entirety of the spell.  I even found a new section with lots of magical goodies: after fleeing from the Red-Eyes, I stumbled into a shop that was stacked with items.

The shop was run by a Gnome, who would not accept gold; I could only take his items by offering my own items for trade.  The items he had on offer were a Bamboo Flute, a Bag of Goblin Teeth, a Lucky Talisman, an Enchanted Compass, a Large Backpack, and some Beeswax.  I already had a Flute and some Beeswax, so I tried to trade for the Talisman and the Compass (you can only take two of his items).  In return you have to offer him four items: I offered a mirror, a parchment scroll, a Bomba Fruit and another mirror.  The items he chooses is determined randomly.  There's also a chance he won't want anything you're offering, or that he'll demand two items for one of his, but I was lucky.  He took a mirror, and the parchment scroll, and gave me his Talisman and Compass.

The Compass was enchanted to lead me instantly to the final person in Khare who knows a line of the spell to open the North Gate.  At any point I could use it, and be led to that person.  This seems handy, but I feel like it's impossible to miss that encounter, except through willful stupidity.

The Lucky Talisman was better: when wearing it, you don't lose Luck on an unsuccessful Luck test.  At first I had interpreted this as not losing Luck on any Luck test, but that's not the case: you still lose a point if you are Lucky.  Still, it's pretty good.

The rest of the book went as planned, and I was soon out of Khare and into the Baklands, with the following stats:

SKILL: 10 (+3 to Attack Strength)
STAMINA: 23 (currently 15)
LUCK: 9

GOLD: 46, and 1 gem worth 10gp
PROVISIONS: 2 meals, Bomba Fruit (doubles Stamina gain from meal)

EQUIPMENT: Sword, Backpack, Broadsword (+1 Attack Strength), Bamboo Pipe, Beeswax, Silver Key '111', Armband of Swordmastery (+2 AS w/ sword), Skullcap, Magic Chain (autokills enemy with less than 3 Stamina, two Luck tests to retrieve), Green Wig, Mirror, Lucky Talisman (no Luck lost when Unlucky), Enchanted Compass, Silver Ring '130'

The Seven Serpents opens with a battle against four Nighthawks.  I defended against them for three rounds, until a Goldcrest Eagle from my homeland of Analand showed up to aid me and drop a message explaining the plot: seven magical serpents are speeding to warn the Archmage that I'm coming, and I have to stop them.  Good, let's get on with it.  (I'm still annoyed that this isn't dealt with in the Background section.)

From there I went to meet Shadrack, who gave some more exposition about the Serpents, and provided me with a Galehorn.  I ate a meal and slept (which restored me to 20 Stamina), and left in the morning by following the main trail.

Further along, I was accosted by a trio of Centaurs.  In a previous game I'd acted with hostility towards them and ended up in a fight, so this time I decided to be friendly.  Even when one of them threatened to rob me I kept my cool, and wonder of wonders it all worked out.  After I cast a fake Luck spell on them, they offered to take me to Manata the Snake-Charmer, or to a caravan heading towards Khare.  I was looking for snakes, so I figured that a snake-charmer was the man to visit.

When I found Manata, he was sitting in a pit playing a pipe for a half-dozen snakes.  I shouted down to him, and he asked me to join his friends in the pit.  I climbed down, and he asked me to show him the various artifacts I'd collected.  I was getting suspicious, but I decided to play along to see if he had any clues regarding the Serpents.  He wasn't interested in anything I had (I would have gotten a reaction if I'd had any Borrinskin Boots, but I've got no idea where those are found).

I pressed him for more information on the Seven Serpents, and he didn't like that at all.  I had to fight all six of his snakes in sequence, followed by the Snake Charmer himself.  The fight was more of an annoyance than a challenge; I wasn't wounded at all, I just got irritated with the amount of book-keeping involved.  Something bad might have happened had I not defeated the Snake Charmer within five Attack Rounds, but I did that easily enough.  Looting his pit, I found another Bamboo Pipe, and a Bottle of Holy Water.  Luckily I hadn't been bitten, so I didn't have to worry about poison and I was able to continue on to the north-west.  (I feel like I missed something important with this encounter.  I was convinced I'd find one of the Serpents here; it's a snake-charmer, right?  But no, nothing.  Perhaps it's just a red herring.)

I didn't stop to eat when I had the chance, and later on when I made camp it didn't give me the option of eating.  So while I regained Stamina for sleeping, I lost more due to starvation even though I had some food right there.  I probably should have just ignored the letter of the text here, but instead I dutifully lowered by Stamina to 19.  Like an idiot.

The next day I veered to the north-east, but my progress was slowed by strong winds.  I took shelter near a large boulder, but again I opted not to eat.  While I sheltered, I was approached by a small whirlwind.

I cast a HOW spell to determine the best course of action (reducing my Stamina to 17), and it warned me that the whirlwind was dangerous and had nothing to offer me.  I kept my distance, and continued on my way without investigating further.

I continued to the north-east, and was soon approached by a rapidly-moving figure: a gnome.  I offered him a gift - my spare Bamboo Pipe - and the die roll to determine his reaction came up with the most favourable result.  The gnome was revealed as the female sorceress Dintainta.  She warned me about the Sleepless Ram in the Archmage's fortress, and gave me a vial of gas that could overcome it.  She also warned me about the Earth Serpent, telling me that I would have to separate it from the ground to weaken it.  Finally, she gave me her staff, a special Serpent's Staff that would deduct 2 Skill points from any of the Seven Serpents I fought.  I thanked Dintainta before moving on.

I headed due north, and soon stopped to rest on a large rock.  As I stood to leave, a rock hit my ankle painfully (dropping my Stamina to 16).  Rocks were showering down on me from above.  I tried to blow them away with my Galehorn (which reduced my Stamina to 15), but it was ineffective, and I lost a further 3 points of Stamina from falling rocks (leaving me with 12).

A fall landed me in a pit, where the rocks started to grow red-hot.  Something but my hand when I tried to climb out, but I persisted in escaping from the pit and suffering another bite (leaving me with 10 Stamina).

At the top of the pit I was menaced by cracks in the ground, a teetering boulder, and a snake coiling around my leg.  I grabbed the snake and threw it to the ground, where it was revealed as the Earth Serpent.

(At this point I used my Serpent Ring - obtained in Book 2 - and got  a clue from the Earth Serpent: "Offer no gold to Valignya".  I should be writing these down.)

I cast a HUF spell using my Galehorn (reducing my Stamina to 9), and this time I was rewarded.  The Earth Serpent was blown into the air where it lost its powers, and I was able to kill it easily.  One down, six to go.

I had reached the Forest of Snatta, but I decided to rest and eat before entering (leaving me with no meals, but restoring my Stamina to 14).

Inside the forest, I chose the middle path at the first junction.  I could hear a strange noise, but there was nothing around.  I investigated further, and was attacked by an invisible beast (reducing my Stamina to 12).  It gradually materialised, and I saw that it was a Snattacat, but it disappeared and left before I could do anything.  I was relieved, but that was short-lived, as I was soon surrounded by a dozen of the buggers!

II wasn't about to fight twelve Snattacats, so I cast a FOF spell (reducing my Stamina to 8) and fled while they were blocked by my force field.

At the next junction I turned left, and soon found a hillock with a door in the side.  I was feeling cautious, so cast a TEL spell (reducing my Stamina to 7), but I received no psychic messages.  So I forgot caution and opened the door, following the sound of voices.  At the end of the passage I saw a spindly figure hunched over a glass orb.

I announced my presence, and the figure - possibly an elfwoman - invited me in.  Her name was Fenestra, and she asked about my business in the forest.  I tried to steer the conversation in the direction of the Seven Serpents, and despite her nervousness about the subject she revealed some of their weaknesses: the Fire Serpent is extinguished by sand, the Sun Serpent hates water and the Water Serpent hates oil.  Before I left, Fenestra offered me a choice of three items: a medicinal potion, a lucky charm, or a calling-whistle.  I already had a charm, so I picked the whistle, which she told me I could use to summon the ferryman of Lake Ilklala.  (I knew this was an important find, because it restored 3 of my Luck points.)

At the next junction I chose the centre path, and was soon on the shore of the lake, where I camped overnight.  I had a sense that I was approaching dangerous territory here, so I prayed to Libra to restore my scores to their initial levels.  Then I blew the whistle to summon the ferryman.

The ferryman was a surprisingly jovial sort, though not so friendly that he didn't demand 4 gold pieces for the crossing.  He disappeared to get his boat, and when he returned he was suddenly very rude.  I decided to confront him about it, and to my surprise his body shriveled up, and from inside emerged the Air Serpent!

(I used my Serpent Ring again here, and the Serpent gave me a clue: "In the dark chamber of night, do not light your way with the blood candle.  Good advice.  Personally, I don't advocate the use of blood candles in any situation.)

Rather than cast a spell, I investigated the ferryman's body, and found an old snakeskin.  The Air Serpent recoiled when I found it, so I tore it apart (remembering the advice of Shadrack from the beginning of the book).  Another Serpent dead!

I rowed the ferry-man's boat out onto the lake, and soon encountered a patch of bubbling water.  I investigated the bubbling, only for it to move under my boat and try to unseat me.  I succeeded in a Luck test, and remained in the boat, but soon after that I was attacked by the Water Serpent.

(The ring's clue: "Pay respect to Naggamanteh the torture master.")

I opted not to use a spell, and had no items that would be effective against it (like oil), so I fought it with my sword.  The Water Serpent had its Skill reduced to 8 by my Serpent Staff, so I was able to knock it off without sustaining a hit.  Three dead serpents, huzzah!

Soon enough I had reached the opposite side, and entered the Vischlami Swamp.  I passed a mysterious Luck test (not really sure what I avoided here), and stopped to rest.  I heard a crashing sound followed by cries.  Something was approaching, and I decided to hide.  A few minutes later, a group of Marsh Goblins appeared.  I waited until they left before coming out of hiding and moving on.

As I was leaving, I heard a hiss, and a giant snake appeared.  The Time Serpent!

(Serpent Ring Clue: "The Archmage may be disguised.")

The swaying of the Serpent stopped me from casting spells, so I had to draw my sword.  Then things got weird.  Time became distorted somehow, and the snake bit me to death in a series of disjointed scenes.  My character was dead, but the real-life me was impressed (and a little bewildered) with the way it was written.  So I guess it's not a total loss.

THE POST-GAME
Every path in that last encounter led to instant death, so obviously I've missed something.  Perhaps I was meant to talk to the Marsh Goblins, or maybe I should have done something different with Fenestra; I have an inkling or a memory that she has more important information than what I got out of her.  It could be something else entirely.  The one thing I'll rule out is that I need something from Book 1 or 2; each book in the Sorcery! series stands alone, and should be beatable without the others, so the key to beating the Time Serpent should be in Book 3.

In this game I defeated the following serpents: Air, Earth, and Water.  I met the Time Serpent, but didn't win.  In a previous game I beat the Moon Serpent, which means that I've found five in total.  I need to find the Fire Serpent and the Sun Serpent, and maybe I can knock off all seven.  Fenestra gave me clues about how to defeat Fire and Sun, so it stands to reason that I'll find them after encountering her.  Or maybe not.  Steve Jackson does love to mislead the reader.

Ah well, back to the beginning.  Time to slog it out all over again.