25) Beneath Nightmare Castle Solution

[champskees]

I reckon this is a pretty good adventure. Interesting monsters with good gamebook balance & design. It is possible to complete this adventure with minimum stats (I just made it with 3 Stamina left!). Note that there is no limit to Skill increases; the book does not state that Skill cannot exceed its Initial value. Also note that you can only eat provisions when instructed.

- Trust the voice and shuffle nearer.
- Escape up the staircase.
- 8 D6 Skill + Stamina Test. Fail =
        o Fight Sk 5 St 5 Swordsman.
        o Fight Sk 6 St 4 Swordsman.
        o Fight Sk 4 St 6 Swordsman.
        o Fight Sk 5 St 5 Swordsman.
        o Fight Sk 4 St 3 Little Bitch.
        o Fight Sk 4 St 8 Swordsman.
- Reveal your past association with Baron Tholdur (+4 Stamina).
- Show it to the innkeeper.
- Return to your room and go to bed.
- Take 5 Gold Pieces (+4 Stamina).
- Walk about the town.
- Go east to the Temple Quarter.
- Press on & visit the last temple.
- Hide in the rocks & watch the temple entrance.
- Fight Sk 5 St 4 Snuff Hound.
- Fight Sk 6 St 5 Swordsman.
- Take Potion of Berserk Rage (+4 Skill for next fight).
- Accept the invitation.
- Offer him Baron Tholdur’s ring (+4 Stamina).
- Take 3 Food.
- You would rather get on with your quest.
- Go to the Merchant’s Quarter.
- Test Luck. (One of the most important rolls in the book).
        o If succeed:
                o Fight Sk 4 St 3 Gamine Thief for one round (-1 Stamina).
                o Continue your quest for food.
                o Buy three meals (-1 Gold Piece, +3 Food).
                o You are interested in buying a piece of old junk from the trader.
                o Pay him (-3 Gold Pieces).
                o Take Blue Spear Head.
        o If fail:
                o Lose all gold.
- Go up Castle Hill to visit Neuburg Keep.
- Take the right hand trail.
- Turn right.
- Enter the base of the battlement tower.
- Investigate the compost heaps with the tip of your sword.
- Test Willpower. Fail = <6 Willpower = Death. >6 Willpower = 2 Damage.
- Fight Sk 6 St 8 Giant Spiders.
- Put it in your backpack.
- Take Green Globe.
- Enter the tower through the door.
- Fight Sk 5 St 8 Unknown Assailant.
- Climb the stairs.
- Yell: ‘I’ve just killed the Ogre. Let me in!’
- Tell him about your quest (+1 Luck).
- You have some food (-1 Food, +4 Stamina).
- Offer some food to the Dwarf (-1 Food).
- Ask for a preparation to bolster your willpower (+2 Willpower).
- Use the secret passage to the cellars.
- Press on along the main passage.
- Roll D6:
        o 1,2 = +2 Stamina.
        o 3,4 = +2 Stamina, -2 Skill until you eat food.
        o 5,6 = 2 Damage. Roll D6. 1-3 = +2 Stamina. 4-6 = +2 Stamina, -2 Skill until you eat food.
- Surrender.
- Remain silent while Tholdur dispenses justice.
- Continue to follow your captors (+1 Luck).
- Eat some food if you want (-1 Food, +4 Stamina).
- If you have a blue trident head:
        o Try to prise up the flagstones.
        o Descend into the darkness.
        o You have a blue spearhead.
        o Open the large wooden door to your right.
        o Insert one of the tridents points into the keyhole.
        o Reply ’Xakhaz’.
        o The name you shouted was ‘Xakhaz’.
        o Continue down the steps (+1 Luck).
        o Snatch it from the coffin.
        o You have a three pointed spearhead.
        o Take Trident of Skarlos (+2 Skill, +2 Damage to human opponents, +4 Damage to non human opponents). +2 Willpower, +1 Luck.
        o Return down the side tunnel to your dungeon cell.
- If you don’t have the trident head:
        o Do not pull out the Green Globe. Just sit morosely in your cell.
- You can eat another meal here if you wish (-1 Food, +4 Stamina).
- Say you are on a mission to cleanse Neuburg of evil.
- Restrain him & demand more information.
- Go down the stairs.
- Take the right passage.
- Slip away back to the entrance of the corridor & await developments.
- Fight Sk 8 St 8 Southern Swordsman (-2 to his Skill due to Talisman of Loth). Human.
- Fight Sk 11 St 6 Southern Swordsman (-2 to his Skill due to Talisman of Loth). Human.
- Sneak through them secretly.
- Go through the left door (+4 Stamina).
- Go through the other door from this room.
- Walk into the web.
- Attack her immediately.
- Fight Sk 9 St 8 Senyakhaz. Human.
- Inspect its surfaces.
- Drink Potion of Berserk Rage here.
- Push it towards ‘X’ for Xakhaz.
- You have the Talisman of Loth. Reveal it.
- If you have the Trident of Skarlos:
        o Evade the warrior’s advance & taunt him.
        o Peer through the doorway.
- If you do not have the Trident of Skarlos:
        o Fight Sk 11 St 14 Luminous Warrior (+1 Damage to enemy every round due to Talisman of Loth).
        o Go straight to the doorway & peer through it.
- Test Willpower (+2 to Willpower for this roll due to Talisman of Loth).
        o If succeed:
                o You have the Talisman of Loth & Green Globe and want to use them.
                o Test Skill (w/o weapon bonuses).
                        • If succeed:
                            o Xakhaz is destroyed (victory).
                        • If fail:
                            o Test Luck.
                                o If succeed:
                                    • 3 Damage.
                                    • Fight Sk 9 St 10 Xakhaz.
                                o If fail:
                                    • Fight Sk 14 St 32 Xakhaz.
        o If fail:
                o <6 Willpower = Death. >6 Willpower = 3 Damage.
                o Fight Sk 14 St 32 Xakhaz (-1 to his Skill due to Talisman of Loth). Trident inflicts +5 Damage on enemy per hit.

- You have saved Neuburg and there is a public celebration. It is announced that you have been appointed as Baron Tholdur’s heir in all things!

Note that the fight with Sk 14 St 32 Xakhaz can be quite easy considering the effects of your inventory: Berserk Potion (+4 Skill), Trident (+2 Skill & 7 Damage per hit) & the Talisman of Loth (-1 to Xakhaz’ Skill). A natural Sk 12 Character would be at Skill 18 for this fight!

[johnbrawn1972]

Beneath Nightmare Castle. Minimum stats. 7/14/7/7
-If so
-or will you escape up the staircase
-skill+stamina 8d6 <21=ok >=22=1st Swordsman sk5 st5 2nd Swordsman sk6 st4 3rd Swordsman sk4 st6 4th Swordsman sk5 st5 5th Swordsman sk4 st3 6th Swordsman sk4 st8
- +4 stamina. You have to choose whether you will reveal your past association with Baron Tholdur
-If you want to show it to the innkeeper
-If you decide to return to your room, secure the shutters, throw off your cloak and boots and go to bed
- +4 stamina. 5gp. If you want to walk about the town
-If you go north to the Merchants’ Quarter
- 2d6 <=luck=-1 stamina. Gamine Thief sk4 st3. Or will you continue your quest for food >luck=-5gp
-If you want to buy three meals
- -1 gp. 3 meals
-If you are interested in buying a piece of old junk from this street-trader
- -3gp
- 3 pronged spear head
-If you walk into the Temple Quarter
-If you want to press on and visit this last temple
-If you would rather hide in the rocks and watch the temple entrance
-Snuff Hound sk5 st4 Southern Swordsman sk6 st5
-Potion of Berserk Rage +4 skill for next fight only. If you accept this invitation
-Offer him Baron Tholdur’s ring
- +4 stamina. 3 meals
-If you want to try the Ordeal
-willpower+stamina 8d6 <21=+1 initial stamina. +1 initial willpower. +2 stamina. +2 willpower >=21=-1 stamina. -1 willpower. If you decide it is time to leave
-Neuberg Keep
-If you would rather take the right-hand trail
-Will you turn right
-Do you want to enter the base of the battlement tower
-You can investigate the compost heaps with the tip of your sword
- 2d6 <=willpower=ok >willpower=willpower >=6=-2 stamina
-Giant Spiders sk6 st8
-Put it into your backpack
-If you would like to enter the tower through the door
-Unknown Assailant sk5 st8. Climb the stairs
-Yell: ’I’ve just killed the Ogre. Let me in!’
-or will you tell him about your quest
- +1 luck. If you have some food
-Eat 1 meal. -1 meal
-A preparation to boost your willpower
- +2 willpower
-If you want to use the secret passage to the cellars
-If you would rather press on along the main passage
- 1d6 1-2=+2 stamina 3-4=+2 stamina. -2 skill until next meal 5-6=-2 stamina 1d6
-If you decide to surrender
-If so
-If you continue to follow your captors
- +1 luck
-Eat 1 meal. Or you can take out the trident head
-If you decide to try to raise some flagstones
-If you want to descend into the darkness
-If you have a blue spear-head
-If you want to try to open this door
-If you want to insert one of the trident’s points into the keyhole
-If you reply, write down the name you choose to call out
-If it was ‘Xakhaz’
-If you would rather continue down the steps
- +1 luck
-If you decide to snatch it from the coffin
-If so
- +2 skill. Human extra 2 damage. Non-human extra 4 damage. +2 willpower. +1 luck
-The only other alternative is to return down the side tunnel to your dungeon cell
-Eat 1 meal. Or say that you are on a mission to cleanse Neuberg and its Keep of their infestation of evil
-Talisman of Loth. If you decide to restrain him and demand more information
-If you decide to go down the stairs
-or the right one
-If you prefer to slip away back to the entrance to this corridor and await developments
-Southern Swordsman sk8 st8(-2 skill)
-Southern Swordsman sk11 st6(-2 skill)Or try to sneak through them secretly
-the left
- +4 stamina. If you now decide to go through the other door from this room
-If so
-If you want to attack her immediately
-Senyakhaz sk9 st8. If you inspect its surfaces
-or towards ‘X’
-Otherwise
-If you have the Trident of Skarlos
-If you decide to evade the warrior’s advance and taunt him in the hope of obtaining more information
-If you want to peer through the doorway(Drink Potion of Berserk Rage)
- 2d6 <=willpower(+2 boost)=ok >willpower(+2 boost)=willpower >=6=-3 stamina. Xakhaz sk14 st32. Talisman of Loth -1 skill. Trident of Skarlos 5 extra damage
-If you have both of these items, and want to try to use them
- 2d6 <=skill=ok >skill=2d6 <=luck=-3 stamina. Xakhaz sk9 st10 >luck=Xakhaz sk14 st32. Talisman of Loth -1 skill. Trident of Skarlos 5 extra damage

[andyzero]

I always love how oddly random that green globe is.

ONE way to kill the primal evil is with this legendary weapon that blah blah blah.

Oh, btw, there's a buried sunlight nuclear grenade you could use too.

[Sergio]

In my opinion there's not enough going on in the true path again. There's not enough interesting things going on throughout the book. The horror genre doesn't justify it in its ability to be interesting. A crude failure of a book.

[greenspine]

This isn't a 'one true path' book, though. Yes, there's a route that's less hazardous than the others, but if you want to take a more eventful one, you still have at least a chance of winning as long as you don't do anything stupid.

[sylas]

Agreed. If you only played the true path through the game (which definitely isn't from your first attempt) you ruined your own experience. The whole point of a gamebook is to explore the available paths. TBH even the true path has many fun and interesting encounters. I'm really not sure what book you think you read.

[sylas]

All this time I never noticed the fifth Swordsman!

[The Count]

Oct 20, 2013 4:35:01 GMT champskees said:

        o Fight Sk 4 St 3 Little Bitch.
   

Did they change that in a subsequent printing as I don't remember that...

[greenspine]

Is that a reference to the Swordsman's having the same stats as the Gamine Thief?

[Charles X]

This book is so well-written RPG designers could take lessons from it. The dwarf axe which is powerful but makes the wielder attack whenever given the option. The portal which transports you across the world, or across the universe. The brilliant Y1900\Lovecraft atmosphere.
   As another poster recently pointed out, FF books this well-written (such as Legend Of The Shadow Warriors and Slaves Of The Abyss) perhaps aren't as common as they could be.

[Peter]

Oct 20, 2013 4:35:01 GMT champskees said:

Note that there is no limit to Skill increases; the book does not state that Skill cannot exceed its Initial value.

I'm not sure about this.

On pp14-15, it specifically states that Stamina and Luck can't exceed their Initial values, while it does not say this for Skill or Willpower. But on pg 10, after rolling your stats, it says "All your scores may change during your adventure, but they will exceed your Initial amounts only on very rare occasions." This suggests (without explicitly stating) that all your Initial stats are maximum limits.

Furthermore, there are several places where you are instructed to restore lost Willpower points, further suggesting that they are capped at their Initial totals.

It's a grey area...