White Dwarf 61-63) The Dark Usurper Solution

[a moderator]

The Dark Usurper was a Fighting Fantasy mini-adventure by John Sutherland and Graham Hill, which was serialised in issues 61-63 of White Dwarf magazine during the first quarter of 1985.

I'm no champskees or johnbrawn, so my solution isn't necessarily the safest or quickest route, but life is too short and the adventure too unengaging for me to work through every possible permutation of choices.
Right at the start, attempting to overpower the guard is almost certainly less risky than knotting together bedding, but the sequence of Test your Lucks that it involves gets so convoluted that charting all the possible ways in which it could play out would have practically doubled the length of the solution. If someone with a copy of the adventure and the patience to chart out the safer path wants to post a better solution, they are welcome to do so.

Part 1
- Begin to knot together your bedding in the hope that it will reach a lower window.
- Bravely begin the descent downwards.
- Attempt to swing over to the window.
- Test Luck. Succeed = +2 Luck. Fail = Die.
- Storm in, like a hero of old.
- Fight Sk 3 St 6 Guard (-1 to your Attack Strength for this fight).
- Fight Sk 5 St 4 Guard (-1 to your Attack Strength for this fight).
- Fight Sk 4 St 4 Guard (-1 to your Attack Strength for this fight).
- Towards the armoury to get a decent blade.
- Enter the room cautiously.
- Follow him.
- Escape through the secret passageways that Julian knows.
- Take your father’s sword.
- Emit a high-pitched whistle barely audible to the human ear.
- Mount your horse.
- Head for the woods over the hill.
- Continue to head for the woods.
- Gathering some leaves for a bed you fall into a fitful sleep.

Errata
The directions in section 28 are the wrong way round: if you are lucky turn to 84. If you are unlucky go to 27.
Section 63 is missing, but there are plenty of viable routes to success that don't include the one choice that can lead to it, so the impact on gameplay is negligible. 

Parts 2 & 3 to follow.

[a moderator]

The rules for the battle between armies are reproduced verbatim: any grammatical sloppiness is Sutherland and Hill's own work. 

Part 2
- Lose your horse.
- Head west and make for the road and the village beyond.
- Wait.
- Follow them.
- Fight Sk 5 St 4 Goblin.
- Fight Sk 4 St 5 Goblin.
- Fight Sk 5 St 3 Goblin.
- Say whatever you want to – you wind up facing the same choice regardless.
- Follow him.
- Agree.
- Take new set of clothes, hunting lance and shield.
- Hold out your hand and concentrate.
- You now have the gift of Asmund’s floating spheres (not that you’ll ever do anything with it).
- Take gem stone fragment and pumas.
- Head due north.
- Head straight for the gate.
- Do what you like – you wind up facing the same choice regardless.
- Go to find Jorkell at the barracks.
- Leave it to him.
- Investigate the situation to the west.
- Engage the enemy.
- There are two hundred Goblins. You have fifty men plus Jorkell.
- Stand your ground and let them come to you.
- For every five of your men, throw 1 die. Each 1 or 2 that is thrown means a casualty for your side, multiply the die roll by 4 and this is how many goblins have been killed. There are two hundred of them. Repeat the same procedure for yourself and Jorkell, a throw of a 1 means death, multiply yours or Jorkell's roll by 5 for enemy casualties. Continue until either of the following has happened: you are killed or your force has been wiped out, or the enemy has been reduced to 100..
- Slaughter them or spare them – the outcome is the same either way.
- If Jorkell was a casualty
     Test Luck. Succeed = he lives. Fail = he survives. Either way, return to Kari.
- If he was not hit return to Kari.
- Search the surrounding forest for him.
- Ride straight for Jorkell.
- Decide your strategy to free Asmund and regain the throne of Skeln.

Errata
The directions in sections 63 and 85 are the wrong way round: if you are lucky turn to 57. If you are unlucky go to 79. Not that it matters, as the end result is the same either way, but the flavour text differs in such a way that it makes more sense this way round.

[a moderator]

Part 3
- You have six hundred able-bodied men.
- Remain in the town and prepare for their attack.
- Reinforce with 100 men.
- Counter-attack.
- Throw 2d6 x 10 for your casualties, and 4d6 x 10 for the enemy.
- If you have killed more
     The enemy is in rout.
- If they kill more
     Test Luck.
           Fail = Defeated regardless of what you choose next.
           Succeed = Throw 2d6 x 10 for your casualties, and 3d6 x 10 for the enemy.
                 If the enemy loses less than you
                       Test Luck. You can’t win, but the roll determines whether you survive in exile or die.
                 If the enemy loses more
                       Throw 2d6 x 10 for your casualties, and 4d6 x 10 for the enemy.
                             If you have killed more
                                   The enemy is in rout.
                             If the enemy kills more of you
                                   Test Luck. You can’t win, but the roll determines whether you survive in exile or die.
- Do what you like – you wind up facing the same choice regardless.
- Keep your force together and move to link up with Berwin.
- Ride towards the castle as one force.
- Attempt entry by subterfuge.
- Take ten volunteers.
- Test Luck. Fail = lose two men.
- Seek the cell of Evald and free him.
- Try subterfuge.
- Add Evald to your men.
- Wait and see what is happening.
- Throw 1d6.
     If you throw 4,5,6
           Evald falls through a plot hole, never to be seen again, by man or monster, upon this earth.
           Receive +3 Skill, +4 Stamina. (The Skill bonus should probably be an Attack Strength bonus, but you know how it is.)
           Fight Sk 9 St 10 Barnak.
     If you throw 1,2,3
           There are only twelve guards, your men will fight one each (but see errata). You must take care of the remainder.
           Fight as many Sk 6 St 5 Goblins as your men are unable to engage.
           Evald dies pointlessly.
           Throw 1d6.
                 If you throw 4,5,6
                       Receive +3 Skill, +4 Stamina. (See above regarding the Skill bonus.)
                       Fight Sk 9 St 10 Barnak.
                 If you throw 1,2,3
                       Fight Sk 9 St 10 Barnak.
- He is already dead.
- Shout out that Barnak is dead.
- Slaughter them or expel them: it makes no difference to the outcome.
- Once more you are the true Duke of Skeln: providence has smiled upon you this time, and your struggle to regain your country is now completed.

Errata
Section 10 is missing a ‘Turn to’ direction. It should probably lead to 34. 
Section 17 says ‘Turn to 73’ where it should probably say ‘Turn to 75’.
Section 46 says ‘Turn to 5’ where it should probably say ‘Turn to 56’.
Section 77 says 'your men will fight one each day' when it should surely say 'your men will fight one each'.

[a moderator]

I got curious about the mass battle in part 2, and played it through 5 times, calculating the outcome of each roll for both the strategy I originally recommended and the alternative one I thought might also be viable. Hardly the rigorous testing you'd have got from champskees or scouserob, but even that was enough to show that I had miscalculated.

In every battle, rolling just once for each quintet of your troops, plus your character and Jorkell, accumulated more than enough enemy casualties to trigger victory conditions. In fact, on one occasion the 'stand your ground' strategy resulted in the deaths of 228 of the 200 Goblins in the enemy army. However, 'encircle the enemy' resulted in the death of your character twice as often as 'stand your ground'.

I have therefore edited the solution to part 2 to favour the approach that 'you' have a higher chance of surviving.