Post by pip on May 8, 2020 11:27:12 GMT
In Book 6, Avalon and just about everything in it is rotting, due to a curse placed by the dreaded Phantom Grunweazel (Dum da dum dum!), who resides in the mysterious Astral Plane. This volume is highly creative as always, and introduces the option to, should you die, restart your adventure at the start of the sequence where you were killed (you still lose your possessions as usual, though). This is a welcome addition when you consider how deadly the last part of the book can be.
Puzzlingly, there are instructions at the end of the book to build the Spook Basher, which is nowhere to be obtained during your adventure. At some point, you are asked if you own said Spook Basher, which gives you an advantage during a fight, indicating you really were supposed to find it somewhere... except you can’t. I know Grail Quest books like to troll you, but even by the series' standards this doesn't seem right, so I'm considering it to be a mistake. Thankfully, it is not a mandatory item. There is also a seemingly important encounter with Wizard Kran who gives you plot exposition and the universal key, supposedly required to obtain Uther's mirrored shield. But when you do find the shield, you do not actually need the key, nor is it ever used on anything else (I'm wondering whether that one is intentional or not, you never know with Brennan). On another note, the English speaking version of this book unfortunately contains several reference errors which I will point out here.
SOLUTION
- Get a recap of the rules if needed. Note that, unlike with the previous two books, this time you do start the adventure with your trusty dragonskin jerkin.
- You may take up to six items from Merlin’s inventory list. Take the brass talking head which is the only required one. The stake can also be useful in a specific situation, but if you follow the solution, you won’t need it. The other items on the list have no use.
- Visit Glastonbury.
You may now refer to the Glastonbury map at the end of the book to choose your next destinations.
- Go to section 47.
- Do not back down.
- Take the mutt with you. He will be a great help during fights.
- Go to section 38.
- Challenge the monks.
- You still wish to fight them.
- Fight the two Monks (20 LP, hit with 5+, +3 damage), you have to lower their LP below 5 without killing them, lest you will also die.
- You are told about the secret entrance to Camelot, at section 60. Note that there is another option to find out about the secret entrance, but it is more dangerous than this one.
- Go to section 60.
- Enter the cave.
- Go north.
- Go northwest.
- Go south.
- Go east.
- Go north.
- Go northwest.
- Go northwest.
- Go northeast.
- There is a pit trap here. Roll 1d6:
o 3+: You avoid the trap and may go back to the previous section.
o 2-: Lose 2d6 LP, but you find a secret passage at the bottom of the pit.
Tricky, you have to “fail” the roll here. If you avoid the trap, just come back here until you fall and are able to take the secret passage.
- Leave the cell (there is nothing to be found if you search it).
You may now take a quick optional trip which includes a fight, with healing potions as a reward. The healing potions should largely cover whatever LP you will lose during the fight. If you’re not interested, skip to the next section. Note that you can obtain the Prehistoric Creeping Machine during this sequence, but obtaining it is more dangerous than the penalty you will have later on for not having it, so I’m skipping this. There is also the encounter with Wizard Kran here (which is harmless if you pick the correct options), but as stated in the introduction, there is no need for that so I'm skipping it as well.
- Go north.
- Open cell 6.
- Fight the Great Hairy Thing (30 LP, hits with 5+, +3 damage).
- Take 6 doses of healing potion.
- Go back to the southern corridor.
Back to the rest of the solution.
- Go west.
- Fight three Fungoid Guards (25 LP each, hit with 5+, +3 damage). Go west.
- Climb the stairs.
- Go north.
- Go through the first opening on the western wall.
- Explore the branch corridor north.
- Go through the door in the wall further south.
- Make a move towards the chest.
- Roll 2d6:
o 2: Fight the Two-Headed Dog (25 LP per head, hits with 5+, +3 damage), then you may open the chest.
o 3+: You may open the chest without fighting.
Take the minor amulet of destruction.
- Go through the door in the western wall (the correct reference is 180).
- Try to get past either of the Manx cats.
- Fight the cat.
- Lose 5 LP. Fight the Manx Cat (50 LP, hits with 4+, +3 damage).
- Take 1000 gold and swallow the pill.
- You wake up in the throne room of Camelot.
Refer to the Camelot map at the end of the book to choose your next destinations.
- Go to section 164.
- Nothing here. Go to section 172.
- Nothing here either. Go to section 179.
- Still nothing. Go to section 185.
- Take the mirrored shield.
- Make your way back to the courtyard and go to section 199.
- Go to the Tor (the correct reference is 32).
Back to a regular sequence of events.
- You have the mirrored shield.
- Lose 5 LP. Fight the weakened Wyrm (40 LP, hits with 6+, +2 damage).
- Take 12 doses of healing potion and 20000 gold’s worth of gemstones. Skip the third pouch.
- Investigate the standing stones.
- Enter the mist.
- Go through the door.
You may now explore the Astral Plane using the rules and the map at the end of the book. It is hard to write a precise solution here because of the randomness, so I will outline three objectives:
1) Find the Bonkers Helmet
2) Find the Amulet of Sarabanda
Both of these can be done in any order. When you have both items:
3) Find the Phantom Grunweazel.
All of these objectives are accomplished in the non-lettered spheres, so you will need to become a pathwalker to reach them. If the odds of a path detailed below sound too risky, you might be better off rolling again and hope you are teleported to a more conveniently placed sphere.
Objective 1: find the Bonkers Helmet
(easiest path: from sphere A)
Note that when you are in the sphere leading you to the helmet, you have the option of taking the winding path that will eventually lead you to Merlin’s equipment store, so you may take the brass talking head again if you no longer have it. You will find yourself in this situation if you die and resume your quest directly in the Astral Plane. This will be at the cost of a fight with a vampire, and, although the stake from Merlin’s store helps here, there is no reason to take that path unless you have precisely lost your equipment.
From sphere A (1 pathwalker point):
- Fight the Crawman (40 LP, -4 from your damage). Go southwest.
- Go to the tunnel.
- Set the brass talking head on the figure’s shoulders.
- Take the Bonkers Helmet.
From sphere B (3 pathwalker points):
- You can attempt the puzzle and give the correct answer (third zombie) even though we didn’t pick up the Prehistoric Creep Machine. I’ll leave the legality of that up to you, but the text doesn’t specifically say you are not allowed to guess. Otherwise you have to fight Pondifilous (18 LP to knock off, hits with 5+, +4 damage).
- Go east.
- Fight the three Spooks (30 LP each, hit with 4+, +3 damage, on a roll of 12 they make you miss a hit). If you have the Spook Basher (which cannot be found anywhere), all you have to do is roll 6+ with 2d6 to dispose of them. Since it doesn’t seem normal that you can’t find the Spook Basher, I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you “have it”.
- Take the Amulet of Sarabanda.
- Go northwest to sphere A and follow the solution above.
From sphere C (2 or 5 pathwalker points):
- Roll 2d6 for yourself, then 2d6 for the Kootbraker:
o Your roll >= the Kootbraker’s roll: Proceed.
o Your roll < the Kootbraker’s roll: You die.
The references in that section should be: go west to 146 or go east to 138. From here, you can either go east, then northwest to B, and follow the solution above, which requires no less than five pathwalkers points. The other option is to go west for a dice roll that has a 27,8% chance of killing you, then northwest where you can then take the tunnel as in the solution above.
From sphere D (2 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Squand (80 LP, hits with 6+, 2 damage points regardless of the dice but insta-kills you on a roll of 12, attacks only every other round). Go northwest for that same dice roll that has a 27,8% chance of killing you, then do as above.
From spheres E, F or G, you are certainly better off rolling again.
From sphere H (6 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Squackdiddle (55 LP, hits with 8+, +10 damage). Go northwest (it shouldn’t be northeast) to section 170.
- Go northwest.
- Go northwest to sphere B and refer to the solution above.
As unlikely as it is that you will get these six pathwalker points, the path to sphere B here is entirely harmless, so it is worth trying after dealing with the Squackdiddle.
Objective 2: find the Amulet of Sarabanda
(easiest paths: from sphere A or B)
From sphere A (1 pathwalker point):
- Deal with the Crawman as explained above. Go southeast.
- Deal with the three Spooks as explained above.
- Take the Amulet of Sarabanda.
From sphere B (1 pathwalker point):
- Take the same path as in the solution for the helmet, you will find the amulet on your way.
From sphere C (3 pathwalker points):
- Deal with the Kootbraker as explained above. Go east (to 138), then northwest to sphere B, then follow the solution above.
From spheres D, E, F or G, you are certainly better off rolling again.
From sphere H (4 pathwalker points):
- Take the same path as in the solution for the helmet, you will find the amulet on your way.
Objective 3: find the Phantom Grunweazel
(easiest paths: from sphere E or F)
From spheres A or B, you are certainly better off rolling again.
From sphere C (3 pathwalker points):
- Deal with the Kootbraker as explained above. Go west for that dice roll that has a 27,8% chance of killing you, if you want to risk it.
- If you survive, go west.
- Go south-east and refer to the next section.
From sphere D (4 pathwalker points):
- Deal with the Squand as explained above. Go southeast.
- Pull the left lever.
- Go west to sphere E.
- Fight the Hoopberk (35 LP, hits on 5+, +3 damage, lays an egg with another Hoopberk if you miss three strikes in a row). Go west.
- Pull the centre lever.
- Go north northwest and refer to the next section.
From sphere E (2 pathwalker points):
- Refer to the solution for sphere D, which goes through sphere E.
From sphere F (2 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Mervillion (40 LP, hits with 5+, +3 damage, automatically wins every third round with 10 damage). Go northwest.
- Pull the centre lever.
- Go north northwest and refer to the next section.
From sphere G (3 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Ghast (33 LP, hits on 5+, +5 damage, you cannot use weapons). Go north northwest (it shouldn’t be north northeast) to 159.
- Fight the Little Old Man (30 LP, hits with 6+, +7 damage, you instantly die if you roll 5 or 7). Go southeast.
- Pull the centre lever.
- Go north northwest and refer to the next section.
From sphere H, you are certainly better off rolling again.
Once you hit the force field, the rest of the solution is straightforward.
- You are wearing the Amulet of Sarabanda.
- Fight the six sisters (10 LP, hit with 5+, +3 damage) along with the seventh sister (20 LP, hits with 4+, +5 damage, instantly kills you on a roll of 12). You hopefully still have the mutt with you, as he’s going to be your only help here.
- You are wearing the Bonkers Helmet.
- Fight the Phantom Grunweazel (55 LP, hits with 6+, 6 damage, -3 from your damage).
- You remove the curse and Avalon is saved.
Puzzlingly, there are instructions at the end of the book to build the Spook Basher, which is nowhere to be obtained during your adventure. At some point, you are asked if you own said Spook Basher, which gives you an advantage during a fight, indicating you really were supposed to find it somewhere... except you can’t. I know Grail Quest books like to troll you, but even by the series' standards this doesn't seem right, so I'm considering it to be a mistake. Thankfully, it is not a mandatory item. There is also a seemingly important encounter with Wizard Kran who gives you plot exposition and the universal key, supposedly required to obtain Uther's mirrored shield. But when you do find the shield, you do not actually need the key, nor is it ever used on anything else (I'm wondering whether that one is intentional or not, you never know with Brennan). On another note, the English speaking version of this book unfortunately contains several reference errors which I will point out here.
SOLUTION
- Get a recap of the rules if needed. Note that, unlike with the previous two books, this time you do start the adventure with your trusty dragonskin jerkin.
- You may take up to six items from Merlin’s inventory list. Take the brass talking head which is the only required one. The stake can also be useful in a specific situation, but if you follow the solution, you won’t need it. The other items on the list have no use.
- Visit Glastonbury.
You may now refer to the Glastonbury map at the end of the book to choose your next destinations.
- Go to section 47.
- Do not back down.
- Take the mutt with you. He will be a great help during fights.
- Go to section 38.
- Challenge the monks.
- You still wish to fight them.
- Fight the two Monks (20 LP, hit with 5+, +3 damage), you have to lower their LP below 5 without killing them, lest you will also die.
- You are told about the secret entrance to Camelot, at section 60. Note that there is another option to find out about the secret entrance, but it is more dangerous than this one.
- Go to section 60.
- Enter the cave.
- Go north.
- Go northwest.
- Go south.
- Go east.
- Go north.
- Go northwest.
- Go northwest.
- Go northeast.
- There is a pit trap here. Roll 1d6:
o 3+: You avoid the trap and may go back to the previous section.
o 2-: Lose 2d6 LP, but you find a secret passage at the bottom of the pit.
Tricky, you have to “fail” the roll here. If you avoid the trap, just come back here until you fall and are able to take the secret passage.
- Leave the cell (there is nothing to be found if you search it).
You may now take a quick optional trip which includes a fight, with healing potions as a reward. The healing potions should largely cover whatever LP you will lose during the fight. If you’re not interested, skip to the next section. Note that you can obtain the Prehistoric Creeping Machine during this sequence, but obtaining it is more dangerous than the penalty you will have later on for not having it, so I’m skipping this. There is also the encounter with Wizard Kran here (which is harmless if you pick the correct options), but as stated in the introduction, there is no need for that so I'm skipping it as well.
- Go north.
- Open cell 6.
- Fight the Great Hairy Thing (30 LP, hits with 5+, +3 damage).
- Take 6 doses of healing potion.
- Go back to the southern corridor.
Back to the rest of the solution.
- Go west.
- Fight three Fungoid Guards (25 LP each, hit with 5+, +3 damage). Go west.
- Climb the stairs.
- Go north.
- Go through the first opening on the western wall.
- Explore the branch corridor north.
- Go through the door in the wall further south.
- Make a move towards the chest.
- Roll 2d6:
o 2: Fight the Two-Headed Dog (25 LP per head, hits with 5+, +3 damage), then you may open the chest.
o 3+: You may open the chest without fighting.
Take the minor amulet of destruction.
- Go through the door in the western wall (the correct reference is 180).
- Try to get past either of the Manx cats.
- Fight the cat.
- Lose 5 LP. Fight the Manx Cat (50 LP, hits with 4+, +3 damage).
- Take 1000 gold and swallow the pill.
- You wake up in the throne room of Camelot.
Refer to the Camelot map at the end of the book to choose your next destinations.
- Go to section 164.
- Nothing here. Go to section 172.
- Nothing here either. Go to section 179.
- Still nothing. Go to section 185.
- Take the mirrored shield.
- Make your way back to the courtyard and go to section 199.
- Go to the Tor (the correct reference is 32).
Back to a regular sequence of events.
- You have the mirrored shield.
- Lose 5 LP. Fight the weakened Wyrm (40 LP, hits with 6+, +2 damage).
- Take 12 doses of healing potion and 20000 gold’s worth of gemstones. Skip the third pouch.
- Investigate the standing stones.
- Enter the mist.
- Go through the door.
You may now explore the Astral Plane using the rules and the map at the end of the book. It is hard to write a precise solution here because of the randomness, so I will outline three objectives:
1) Find the Bonkers Helmet
2) Find the Amulet of Sarabanda
Both of these can be done in any order. When you have both items:
3) Find the Phantom Grunweazel.
All of these objectives are accomplished in the non-lettered spheres, so you will need to become a pathwalker to reach them. If the odds of a path detailed below sound too risky, you might be better off rolling again and hope you are teleported to a more conveniently placed sphere.
Objective 1: find the Bonkers Helmet
(easiest path: from sphere A)
Note that when you are in the sphere leading you to the helmet, you have the option of taking the winding path that will eventually lead you to Merlin’s equipment store, so you may take the brass talking head again if you no longer have it. You will find yourself in this situation if you die and resume your quest directly in the Astral Plane. This will be at the cost of a fight with a vampire, and, although the stake from Merlin’s store helps here, there is no reason to take that path unless you have precisely lost your equipment.
From sphere A (1 pathwalker point):
- Fight the Crawman (40 LP, -4 from your damage). Go southwest.
- Go to the tunnel.
- Set the brass talking head on the figure’s shoulders.
- Take the Bonkers Helmet.
From sphere B (3 pathwalker points):
- You can attempt the puzzle and give the correct answer (third zombie) even though we didn’t pick up the Prehistoric Creep Machine. I’ll leave the legality of that up to you, but the text doesn’t specifically say you are not allowed to guess. Otherwise you have to fight Pondifilous (18 LP to knock off, hits with 5+, +4 damage).
- Go east.
- Fight the three Spooks (30 LP each, hit with 4+, +3 damage, on a roll of 12 they make you miss a hit). If you have the Spook Basher (which cannot be found anywhere), all you have to do is roll 6+ with 2d6 to dispose of them. Since it doesn’t seem normal that you can’t find the Spook Basher, I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you “have it”.
- Take the Amulet of Sarabanda.
- Go northwest to sphere A and follow the solution above.
From sphere C (2 or 5 pathwalker points):
- Roll 2d6 for yourself, then 2d6 for the Kootbraker:
o Your roll >= the Kootbraker’s roll: Proceed.
o Your roll < the Kootbraker’s roll: You die.
The references in that section should be: go west to 146 or go east to 138. From here, you can either go east, then northwest to B, and follow the solution above, which requires no less than five pathwalkers points. The other option is to go west for a dice roll that has a 27,8% chance of killing you, then northwest where you can then take the tunnel as in the solution above.
From sphere D (2 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Squand (80 LP, hits with 6+, 2 damage points regardless of the dice but insta-kills you on a roll of 12, attacks only every other round). Go northwest for that same dice roll that has a 27,8% chance of killing you, then do as above.
From spheres E, F or G, you are certainly better off rolling again.
From sphere H (6 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Squackdiddle (55 LP, hits with 8+, +10 damage). Go northwest (it shouldn’t be northeast) to section 170.
- Go northwest.
- Go northwest to sphere B and refer to the solution above.
As unlikely as it is that you will get these six pathwalker points, the path to sphere B here is entirely harmless, so it is worth trying after dealing with the Squackdiddle.
Objective 2: find the Amulet of Sarabanda
(easiest paths: from sphere A or B)
From sphere A (1 pathwalker point):
- Deal with the Crawman as explained above. Go southeast.
- Deal with the three Spooks as explained above.
- Take the Amulet of Sarabanda.
From sphere B (1 pathwalker point):
- Take the same path as in the solution for the helmet, you will find the amulet on your way.
From sphere C (3 pathwalker points):
- Deal with the Kootbraker as explained above. Go east (to 138), then northwest to sphere B, then follow the solution above.
From spheres D, E, F or G, you are certainly better off rolling again.
From sphere H (4 pathwalker points):
- Take the same path as in the solution for the helmet, you will find the amulet on your way.
Objective 3: find the Phantom Grunweazel
(easiest paths: from sphere E or F)
From spheres A or B, you are certainly better off rolling again.
From sphere C (3 pathwalker points):
- Deal with the Kootbraker as explained above. Go west for that dice roll that has a 27,8% chance of killing you, if you want to risk it.
- If you survive, go west.
- Go south-east and refer to the next section.
From sphere D (4 pathwalker points):
- Deal with the Squand as explained above. Go southeast.
- Pull the left lever.
- Go west to sphere E.
- Fight the Hoopberk (35 LP, hits on 5+, +3 damage, lays an egg with another Hoopberk if you miss three strikes in a row). Go west.
- Pull the centre lever.
- Go north northwest and refer to the next section.
From sphere E (2 pathwalker points):
- Refer to the solution for sphere D, which goes through sphere E.
From sphere F (2 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Mervillion (40 LP, hits with 5+, +3 damage, automatically wins every third round with 10 damage). Go northwest.
- Pull the centre lever.
- Go north northwest and refer to the next section.
From sphere G (3 pathwalker points):
- Fight the Ghast (33 LP, hits on 5+, +5 damage, you cannot use weapons). Go north northwest (it shouldn’t be north northeast) to 159.
- Fight the Little Old Man (30 LP, hits with 6+, +7 damage, you instantly die if you roll 5 or 7). Go southeast.
- Pull the centre lever.
- Go north northwest and refer to the next section.
From sphere H, you are certainly better off rolling again.
Once you hit the force field, the rest of the solution is straightforward.
- You are wearing the Amulet of Sarabanda.
- Fight the six sisters (10 LP, hit with 5+, +3 damage) along with the seventh sister (20 LP, hits with 4+, +5 damage, instantly kills you on a roll of 12). You hopefully still have the mutt with you, as he’s going to be your only help here.
- You are wearing the Bonkers Helmet.
- Fight the Phantom Grunweazel (55 LP, hits with 6+, 6 damage, -3 from your damage).
- You remove the curse and Avalon is saved.
