After the Imaginary Consultation, the Imaginary Character Creation Session, and the new Press Gang Questionnaire, I "solo ran" the Adventure of the Boisterous Device using the updated Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG. Here are the results as reached by the answers given for each character by the participants:
When traveling through a dangerous swamp in a race against evil to reach a critical location, what is your preference?
Terrima, wizard: a moderately fast and moderately dangerous journey
Dalvik, priest: a speedy yet dangerous journey
Thom, warrior: a speedy yet dangerous journey
Daeuk, thief: a speedy yet dangerous journey
And the majority went for speed! When I "secretly" rolled to see what direction Gravemystic would take, it turned out that he and the Valjoons would be going in the same direction and would meet the heroes at Site C. But what state would they be in when they got there? A very poor state, as it would turn out...
Within the first hour of travel, the group had to do battle with a five-headed hydra. The hydra snacked Dalvik down to half his STAMINA, but the creature wasn't too much of a threat, and the group made quick work of it. Not so bad, and they only had one more hour of travel ahead of them.
Unfortunately in that next hour, the heroes crossed paths with four barbarian lizard men riding giant lizards! This was an awful encounter. The group got severely thrashed as they were clearly outmatched. At the end of it all, only Terrima - the character who did not want to take the fast, deadly route - was left conscious to minister to the others. Honestly, only luck and the chance that the mounts would stop fighting if their riders were killed saved the heroes. The adventure almost ended here! Though it continued, the group's resources were sorely depleted, and not everyone was combat-ready.
Upon reaching Site C, the heroes ran into Gravemystic and the Valjoons - no chit-chat, straight up battle! Because the Valjoon family is essentially a criminal organization, Dalvik's divine protection prayer aided his allies. Gravemystic raised lizard man skeletons to prevent Terrima from getting to him. Zoras Valjoon fumbled and fell face-first into the swamp, giving Daeuk a few easy shots at him. Thom critically hit Amira Valjoon just as she cursed him - but she was killed by his arrow, and the curse instantly was lifted! Gravemystic cast a Fly spell and took to the air. Dalvik struck Tremere Valjoon with a critical hit at the same time that Tremere fumbled and lost one of his swords! While Thom fired uselessly-not-silver arrows at Gravemystic, the undead mage tried to cast a Sleep spell on him only to Oops and gain blue hair! The villain then flew off, leaving his patrons on their own. Terrima pulverized the skeletons, Dalvik finished off Tremere, and Thom and Daeuk took care of Zoras. The heroes won, but I hate to think how it would have turned out if the villains hadn't rolled three double-ones...
After patching up wounds, the heroes made the roll to see if Site C was the location of the ruins of the Registry of Magical Pets. It was not, so that meant Gravemystic had flown off to try to find it before they did.
The race was on again!
If the critical location is not immediately found, what is your preference?
Terrima, wizard: double-back
Dalvik, priest: push through the swamp
Thom, warrior: push through the swamp
Daeuk, thief: push through the swamp
Though I considered the previous majority choice to have been a bad one and, as such, deserving of demerits, there was no tie here, so majority ruled again. The group was literally on the flying heels of Gravemystic, but they had three chances to run into wandering monsters.
And they did. First up, two Marsh Giants. The giants surprised Terrima and Daeuk, so only Dalvik and Thom could respond to the creatures rising out of the mire. The large size and speed of the creatures made them more formidable than expected, and Thom fell quickly. Daeuk pulled Thom to safety, while Dalvik stood his ground against both giants. Dalvik was pretty badass here, but the group still got bruised up before dispatching the brutes.
At this point, so many encounters in the swamp had profoundly depleted the heroes' ability to press on. The initial decision to go for speed over safety was clearly the worst choice of all, and they were suffering for it. Rationally, they ought to have turned back at this point, but, because I just had to see what would happen next, I made them continue.
The next encounter was an unfortunate one - 6 Giant Leeches. None attacked the stone golem, so they (randomly) attached themselves to the others. Four leeches got Daeuk, two got Thom, and one got Dalvik. Daeuk was unlucky, and the leeches drained him to unconsciousness. Dalvik had to use his final permitted heal spell on the thief physician.
The situation was ridiculous at this point and would have been so in any game system. After over seven hours of slogging through a swamp, engaging in four serious battles, and getting chomped on by big leeches, this group had to rest...but this was a race, so I pushed them some more!
And I pushed them right into the webbed clutches of THREE more Marsh Giants! It was brutal. Dalvik and Daeuk were killed, and only because Terrima's stone body was invulnerable to the giants' spears did she last long enough for Thom to help her dispatch the monsters.
So, both healers were out, Thom had no more arrows, and provisions were all gone. Still, Site B was just up ahead. Would this be the ruins of the Registry?
It was!
After encountering how many dangerous magical wards should you take the hint and go back home?
Terrima, wizard: I never retreat!
Thom, warrior: I never retreat!
Of course.
The Eagle Ward frightened Thom, leaving him with a -2 penalty to his SKILL for the next 24 hours. Terrima was unaffected, having no ears.
Neither Thom nor Terrima could avoid the Bull Ward, and both were injured by it.
The final ward - the Serpent Ward - gave Thom a terrible squeeze. He remained on his feet, but only just barely. Could things get worse for the warrior?
Who should lead the party into a dark, narrow stairwell?
Terrima, wizard: The warrior should always be in the lead.
Thom, warrior: The warrior should always be in the lead.
Oh, Thom...
With his SKILL suffering from a -2, Thom fell right into the quicksand at the base of the stairs, giving Terrima only three chances to rescue him instead of five. Luckily, as a stone golem, she was strong enough to do so. The pair moved on into the basement using light cast by Terrima to see their way through.
If a living being claims that it wants to die, should you kill it?
Terrima, wizard: Yes
Thom, warrior: No
With demerits on Thom's side, Terrima finally took the lead on this decision! (Thank goodness!)
A successful Magic Lore roll allowed Terrima to understand what the krell wanted. Using her stone golem strength, she bashed open its cage, watched as it opened the magic locks to the Boisterous Device, and then ripped the krell's head off.
So, Terrima and Thom stepped into the final encounter of this long journey, another fight with Gravemystic and a confrontation with the Boisterous Device!
Once you finally reach your objective, what should you do?
Terrima, wizard: Obey the mission objective and destroy the powerful artifact
Thom, warrior: Obey the mission objective and destroy the powerful artifact
Gravemystic Oops-ed again, but the error was in his favor as it turned all weapons into flowers! Thom was now completely unarmed!
Terrima cast a Lightning Blast spell at the same time that Gravemystic regained his composure and cast the only spell he could - Sleep. Terrima made her LUCK roll and avoided nap time, but Gravemystic was not so lucky. The damage from the blast utterly obliterated him! Success, finally!
The Boisterous Device let loose with its scream attack, dropping Thom's SKILL by another -3, but Terrima could not hear it, so the stone golem attacked! After her second Lightning Blast failed, it was animated-statue-versus-animated-statue mayhem!
But it ended poorly for the heroic golem. The Boisterous Device left her a pile of rubble.
And what about Thom? He was in no position to fight the Device. He could barely get away from it. By resting on the first floor of the Registry, he was able to gather just enough strength to make it out of the ruins the next morning.
Did he make it back to safety? I didn't have the heart to roll the dice for that.
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