Fighting Fantasy The Introductory Roleplaying Game

[johnbrawn1972]

Jul 4, 2019 21:18:38 GMT a moderator said:

Jul 4, 2019 16:45:14 GMT vagsancho said:

One of my closest friends was turned into a frog by one of those... I can tell for the smell that this "man—thing" is not a wizard... But if he was i would crush him with my crutch!

"Even if he's not a wizard, it is not wise to hurl abuse at people without provocation.
"Though apparently Sukumvit once rewarded impudence. So if you can't control that tongue of yours, I suggest you go to Fang and tell the Baron that his dungeon-designing skills stink like a Bloodbeast's slime pit, and see how he rewards you."

"I doubt your wise words will have any effect".

"We can only hope the Gods that be direct their ire onto the evil-doer and not the multitude at hand".

"If wise words act as an emollient on a person with power we will have to see what happens".

[champskees]

The man maintains his eyebrow-up expression as the rest of the party enters. Once they are all inside the room, he stands up, smiling, and you realise that in fact he is not a man, but a DWARF. He coughs and pieces of nut fall out of his mouth and onto the table. Each of the adventurers introduce themselves and begin querying the Dwarf. While they are doing so, the Dwarf closes his eyes and is muttering to himself quietly. It is not certain whether he actually listened to any of them at all. After they finish, his eyes open widely and he returns to his friendly, outward manner.

'Thrushbeard at your service', he pronounces loudly, giving a slight bow to the group. He then slumps back down to his chair and sings a discordant, almost drunken, melody:

'Hoo hoo, look what we have here!
Eight little heroes come to trade and share!
I've got things in my head,
That might stop you from being dead,
In the big bad's lair!

Hoo hoo, but but but,
You've each got to eat a nut.
Except for the old man,
He's rude like me ol' nan,
He'll have to eat two, tut tut!'

Thrushbeard then wipes his mouth, pulls out another nut and pops it into his mouth. He then opens the pouch of nuts and offers it across the table to the group.

[johnbrawn1972]

Civil takes a nut and eats it.

The others can watch if they like.

"I accept your offer".

[vagsancho]

Never liked dwarves.
Neither heroes.
Not even nuts.
But be as you wish.
Hand me those smelly nuts.

[deadshadowrunner]

I take a nut and pretend to put it in my mouth and eat it but secretly palm it instead.

[johnbrawn1972]

"I wonder if your name is an example of nominative determinism".

[kieran]

Talbion takes a nut, but hesitates to eat it until he see Civil and (apparently) Prex do so. He then pops it in his mouth.

[a moderator]

Also tries to palm a nut while pretending to eat it. (8)

[johnbrawn1972]

"I always take food from strangers".

[vagsancho]

Kradon gets the nuts and eats them.
"rotten eggs"

[champskees]

Jul 5, 2019 13:24:29 GMT deadshadowrunner said:

I take a nut and pretend to put it in my mouth and eat it but secretly palm it instead.

Test your skill.

[deadshadowrunner]

Rolled a 7

[thealmightymudworm]

I'm also going to palm the nut. (5)

Mutters: "The number of times the Cap'n found 'special' rations when it was time to divide the plunder!"

[andrewwright]

Murg takes a nut and eats it.

"Mere nuts cannot harm us comrades!'

[champskees]

For those who have eaten a nut, Roll a die. A roll of 1 means you have eaten a diseased nut which inflicts 1 Stamina damage. Kradon must roll twice. The adventurers who have palmed the nut have been successful, and you may add the Nut to your inventory.

The dwarf looks much more settled now. 'My Moira always said that I should be nicer to others. I'm guessing by the looks of you, you're a bunch of heroic adventurers, eh? Come for the king's treasure? Better off running straight out of here, but not my business to be telling you how to live your life.'

He grabs another nut and starts humming along to himself again, enjoying the chirping of the birds nestled in his beard.

[johnbrawn1972]

(Rolled a 5)

"Can you tell us anything about the treasure and what lies beyond the doors here?"

[vagsancho]

(rolled a double 4)

"Quick! Let's choose any door!
This place stinks of bird shit."

[a moderator]

"Good nut. Very... nutty.
"Who is this king you mention?"

[andrewwright]

(I rolled a 4) Murg lets others talk as he is busy eating a nut.

[kieran]

(rolled a 3) Talbion gulps down the nut, eyeing the others warily

[thealmightymudworm]

"That nut was delicious. It tasted like nothing, on Earth. Is there anything that's especially worth running from and how can we avoid it? Arr."

[champskees]

The dwarf listens as the adventurers push for details. At the mention of treasure you notice he becomes much more focused. He engages with Throma first. 'Wait, what do you mean, you don't know about the king? Surely you people are here because of the rumours?' After getting only blank faces in response, Thrushbeard sighs. 'Wow, and I thought we were ill prepared. I'm sure you all know that this well was used by some ancient rulers in an old good luck ritual, right? But sometime after they disappeared from Titan, there was another great ruler from a distant land who travelled here. See, apparently this site wasn't just chosen at random; it's got all sorts of magical energies and such. This ruler, this king, see he was ill. Set up down here in search of some secret, some way to cure himself. Spent years down here, carved out chambers, guard rooms, the whole deal. Thing is, the rumours end there. No idea what happened to him. Some say he finally succumbed to his illness, others say he managed to cure himself and left for his homeland.'

Thrushbeard pops another nut into his mouth before he continues. 'But who cares about him, right? All everybody talks about is the treasure that must've been left behind. I only came here about a week ago. I'm done with treasure hunting now, done with it all. But i'll share the little that I know. Firstly, I think the air is good in here. I'm a miner by trade, and these birds here are my lungs, my eyes and my ears. Can't understand why any adventurer worth their salt wouldn't travel without one. If they suddenly die, it means the air has gone foul and you need to get out of whatever space you're in. Anyway, they're all still ticking away, which is a very good sign, even for old men.' He glares at Kradon.

'The other thing I know is that the king's inner chambers are locked. You need a special Crystal Key. I don't know where you can get one, I don't know if you could get around it, never got that far in here. But i'm guessing that's where any treasure would be.'

He is about to let you go when he stands up and addresses the party one last time. '...look, I don't know what's behind these doors, never hear anything coming from the other sides of them. But Moira...she went through the west one. I was right behind her... door slammed shut, her yell...long...yell...' Thrushbeard drifts off and stares off into space. After a couple of minutes, he recovers, slumps down in his chair, and looks up at the party. His voice is little more than a rasp. 'Just...be careful.'  

...and so the adventurers prepared for their next move. Which door would they choose?

[andrewwright]

Murg (usual loud voice mode): "Sorry for your loss Thrushbeard, but many thanks for the nuts. By the ears of Almor I feel mightily conflicted, comrades! The warrior part in me says go west for death or glory, but the ex-slave part says caution and a different door may be a better choice. What say you's?"

[johnbrawn1972]

"I suggest we leave west door alone. It sounds like a pit trap so the issue becomes one of whether there is anything in there of value. It sounds like an abyss because of the description so it is unlikely there is a pit base containing fallen adventurers. If we find ourselves lacking an item we can work our way back here and take a risk. I suggest the east door".

[deadshadowrunner]

"I agree with east door. Gets us as far away from the west door as possible."

[a moderator]

"Glory is about the foes you face, Murg. The people want to hear about the confrontation with the Pit Fiend, the battle against the Manticore, not the avoidance of the phial of gas - or the not falling down the hole. If there is indeed a trap to the west, avoiding it is wisdom, not cowardice.
"Thank you for the warning, Thrushbeard. I too say we should go east."

[vagsancho]

I am fed up of this birdman. The hell with him.
I smell death in the west door.
A man is not a man before he faces death.
Let us go west.

[deadshadowrunner]

"A man is not a man if he is dead."

[johnbrawn1972]

Jul 7, 2019 13:49:35 GMT vagsancho said:

I am fed up of this birdman. The hell with him.
I smell death in the west door.
A man is not a man before he faces death.
Let us go west.

"Do you wish to go through the west door Kradon?"

"I would suggest to have a look first. The hardiest adventurer can try to hold the door open if it is a spring loaded trap".

"If someone is bold enough to volunteer then I suggest to let them try".

"One final question is can we have one of your birds in case there is a gas trap of some sort ahead?"

[kieran]

"I see no need to take unnecessary risk by heading west. Heading east should take us furthest away from whatever befell the dwarf's companion."