Testing the 9Qs: Questions 7-9

Overall, playing out the 9Qs has been surprisingly satisfying, and the comments about it from other players have been both complimentary and exceedingly helpful. I'm now VERY motivated to neaten it up and package it into a nifty PDF for myself and anyone else who wants to tuck it away into the ol' PDF game collection!

Before then, here is the finale of the solo Advanced Fighting Fantasy adventure I've been playing to test the 9Qs system. The previous three questions of this adventure are HERE.

I did make revisions to these questions from their original form based on this week's testing and the observations of others. As always, comments are most welcomed!


7. Where can the heroic motivation be most effectively redeemed? The player chooses and plays a scene of defiance, infiltration, pursuit, and/or combat. The GM rolls a Story Cube afterwards.

Scene: Pursuit

As player: Though aching from their encounter with the Bricians, William and Trinette return to their horses and speed their way back to the place where the creature composed of armor and weapons is trapped. There, they hope to find the Gallantarian commander who is working for the Lords of Brice - the one who had helped make possible the Brician mission to set free this bizarre destructive force on Gallantaria as part of what may be a conspiracy led by a Netherworld Sorcerer.

Story Cube: Airplane

As GM: Near the pile of wood that rattles with the bladed being beneath it, the Gallantarian commander - Captain Hurston - hears the returned heroes demanding to speak with him. He immediately grabs a horse and takes off.

As player: William and Trinette give chase after Hurston. William fails to keep up, but Trinette's riding is superior to Hurston's, and her Mounted Combat ability knocks Hurston off his horse, leaving him on the ground and at the War-Sister's mercy.


8. Where does the final showdown between the hero(es) and the enemy take place in relation to the results of Question 7? The GM rolls a Story Cube and then rolls d6 twice for a scene where (1-2) the enemy closes in on success, (3-4) the enemy targets innocent victims, and/or (5-6) the enemy targets the heroes - all within the context of the adventure's entirety.

Story Cube: Beetle
Scene: The enemy targets innocent victims

As GM: The golem of blades suddenly bursts through the ground, burrowing out of the earth and slashing at the remaining unarmed Gallantarian soldiers. Though its legs are still fused together, the creature crawls and drags itself along, mercilessly cutting through the Gallantarians.

As player: Trinette abandons Hurston to come to the aid of the unarmed Gallantarians, maneuvering her horse around the metal creature to give the soldiers a chance to escape. Behind the creature's back, William casts MUD, and the creature immediately slides into quicksand, but not before striking Trinette off her steed, seriously injuring her. Daring to push himself to his limits, William uses almost all of the rest of his STAMINA to ZAP to creature, fusing more of its metal body together and hardening the quicksand around most of its form.

As GM: The golem of blades is trapped in the earth and warped enough to be of little threat to anyone unless more metal is brought near it. Hurston has escaped, surely returning to his masters to report the names of the heroes who have undone their plans. The remaining soldiers come to the aid of William and Trinette, thankful for their intervention.


9. Where does the world stand after the results of Questions 7 and 8? The GM rolls a Story Cube and takes setting notes. The surviving heroes are advanced.

Story Cube: Cane

As GM: As the word spreads about the events at the watchtower, Gallantaria's reputation is weakened even though the mysterious stone-then-blade golem is safely disenchanted. The nobles of the land begin to mistrust one another and bicker, causing a further weakening and a need for stronger support from its allies. Though it has not been proven yet, there may very well be a Netherworld Sorcerer among the powerful in Royal Lendle, waiting to strike again...

As player: William and Trinette earn 50 experience points each. William increases his Sorcery Special Skill to 3 and saves the remaining 20 points. Trinette saves all 50 points.

Thanks, everyone, for reading and helping with this! It really felt like I was both running the game and playing in it at the same time with little effort! I'll definitely come back to the 9Qs again very, very soon.