Beggars of Blacksand
by hosted
Beggars of Blacksand
by Al Sander
illustration by Zeffin
(Beggars of Blacksand was originally a 50 paragraph FightingFantasyGamebooks.com Competition entry. It has been re-edited (which it sorely needed) and expanded out to 64 paragraphs without really adding anything new. Thanks to Ulysses Ai for his insightful comments. Enjoy!)
Two dice, a pencil and an eraser are all you need to embark on this competition adventure, which comes complete with its own elaborate combat system and a score sheet to record your progress. It is up to YOU to decide which routes to follow, which dangers to risk and which foes to fight.
INTRODUCTION
You are about to take the lead roll in an adventure that will make you into a living legend, renowned and respected throughout the world. Before you take part in this quest, you must first determine your own strengths and weaknesses. You use dice to work out your initial scores. On pages 9-10 is an Adventure Sheet, which you may use to record details of your adventure. On it, you will find boxes for recording your SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK scores. You are advised either to record your scores on the Adventure Sheet in pencil or to make photocopies of the sheet for use in future adventures.
Skill, Stamina and Luck
Roll one die. Add 6 to the number rolled and enter this total in the SKILL box on the Adventure Sheet.
Roll two dice. Add 12 to the number rolled and enter this total in the STAMINA box.
Roll one die. Add 6 to the number and enter this total in the LUCK box.
For reasons that will be explained below, all your scores will change constantly during the adventure. You must keep an accurate record of these scores, and for this reason, you are advised to write small in the boxes or to keep an eraser handy. However, never rub out your Initial scores, except on those very rare occasions when the text specifically tells you so.
Although you may be rewarded additional SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK points, these totals may never exceed your initial Scores, except on very rare occasions, when you will instructed on a particular page.
Your SKILL reflects your general expertise in fighting and combat; the higher the better. Your STAMINA score reflects your general constitution, your overall will to survive, your determination and overall fitness; the higher your STAMINA score, the longer you will be able to survive. Your LUCK score indicates how naturally lucky a person you are. Luck - and Magic - are facts of life in the fantasy kingdoms you are about to explore.
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Battles
During your adventure, you will often come across pages in the book, which instruct you to fight a creature of some sort. An option to flee may be given, but if not - or if choose to attack the creature anyway - you must resolve the battle as described below.
First, record the opponent’s SKILL and STAMINA scores in the first empty Encounter box on your Adventure Sheet. The scores for each opponent or creature are given in the book each time you have an encounter. You should also make a note of any special abilities or instructions, which are unique to that particular opponent.
The sequence of combat is then:
1. Roll two dice for your opponent. Add its SKILL score. This total is the opponents Attack Strength.
2. Roll two dice for yourself. Add the number rolled to your current SKILL score. This total is your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is higher than your opponent’s is, you have wounded it. Proceed to step 4. If your opponent’s Attack Strength is higher than yours is, it has wounded you. Proceed to step 5. If both Attack Strength totals are the same, you have avoided each other’s blows - start the next Attack Round from steps 1 above.
4. You have wounded your opponent; so subtract 2 points from its STAMINA score. You may use LUCK here to do additional damage (see below). Proceed to step 7.
*AFF players may use the Damage Tables at the back of the book.
5. Your opponent has wounded you; so subtract 2 points from your STAMINA score. You may use LUCK to reduce the loss of STAMINA (see below). Proceed to step 7.
6. Make the appropriate adjustments to either your opponents or your own STAMINA scores (and your LUCK score if you used LUCK - see over).
7. Begin the next Attack Round, starting again at step 1 with your current SKILL score. This sequence continues until the STAMINA score of either you or your opponent reaches zero (death). If your opponent dies, you are free to continue with your adventure. If you die, your adventure ends and you must start all over again by creating a new character.
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Escaping
On some pages you may be given the option of running away from a battle should things be going badly for you. However, if you do run away, your opponent automatically gets in one wound on you (subtract 2 STAMINA points) as you flee. Such is the price of cowardice! Note that you may use LUCK on this wound in the normal way (see below). You may only escape if that option is specifically given to you on the page.
Fighting More Than One Opponent
In some situations, you may find yourself facing more than one person or creature in combat and will have to fight them all at the same time! When you find yourself fighting multiple opponents, each adversary will make a separate attack on you in the course of each Attack Round, but you can choose which one to fight. Attack your chosen target as in a normal battle. Against any additional opponents you roll the dice for your Attack Strength in the normal way; if your Attack Strength is greater than your opponent’s is, in this instance, you will not inflict any damage; you can regard it as if you have parried an incoming blow. If your Attack Strength is lower than your adversaries however, you will be wounded in the normal way.
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Luck
At various times during your adventure, either in battles or when you come across other situations in which you could either be Lucky or Unlucky (details of these are given in the relevant pages themselves), you may use LUCK to make the outcome more favourable to you. However, beware! Using LUCK is a risky business and, if you are unlucky, the results could be disastrous.
The procedure for using your luck is as follows: roll two dice. If the number rolled is less than or equal to your current LUCK score, you have been Lucky and the outcome will be in your favour. If the number rolled is higher than your current LUCK score, you have been Unlucky and will be penalised.
This procedure is known as Testing your Luck. Each time you Test your Luck, you must subtract 1 point from your current LUCK score. Thus, you will soon realise that, the more you rely on your LUCK, the more risky this procedure will become.
Using Luck in Battles
On certain pages of the book, you will be told to Test your Luck, and will be told the consequences of your being Lucky or Unlucky. However, in battles you always have the option of using your LUCK either to inflict more serious damage on an opponent you have just wounded or to minimise the effects of a wound you have just received.
If you have just wounded an opponent, you may Test your Luck as described above. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound; deduct an extra 2 points from your opponent’s STAMINA score. However, if you are Unlucky, however, your blow only scratches your opponent, and you deduct only 1 point from your opponent’s STAMINA (instead of scoring the normal 2 points of damage, you now only score 1).
Whenever you yourself are wounded in combat, you may Test your Luck to try to minimise the wound. If you are Lucky, your opponent’s blow only grazes you; deduct only 1 point from your STAMINA. If you are Unlucky, your wound is a serious one and you must deduct 1 extra STAMINA point (i.e., a total of 3 points from your own STAMINA). Remember: you must subtract 1 point from your LUCK score each time you Test your Luck.
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More about your Attributes
Skill
Your SKILL score will not change much during the course of your adventure. Occasionally a paragraph may give you instructions to increase or decrease your SKILL score, but it may not exceed its Initial value unless you are specifically instructed to the contrary.
At various times during your adventure, you will be told to Test your Skill. The procedure for this is the same as that for Testing your Luck: roll two dice. If the number rolled is less than or equal to your current SKILL score, you have succeeded in your test and the result will go in your favour. If the number rolled is higher than your current SKILL score, you have failed the test and will have to suffer the consequences. However, unlike Testing your Luck, do not subtract 1 point from your SKILL each time you Test your Skill. Your SKILL score can never exceed its initial value unless specifically instructed on a page.
Stamina
Your STAMINA score will change a lot during your adventure. It will drop because of wounds received through combat, or by falling foul of traps and pitfalls; and it will drop after you perform any particularly arduous task. If you’re STAMINA score ever falls to zero or below, you have been killed and should stop reading the book immediately. Brave adventurers who wish to pursue their quest must roll up a new character and start all over again.
You can restore lost STAMINA by eating Provisions. You can consume a portion of Provisions (crossing it off your Adventure Sheet) to restore up to 4 STAMINA points. You do not start the game with any Provisions. You may stop and eat any number of Provisions (as many as you have left in fact) at any time except when engaged in a battle or, of course, when you have run out. Your STAMINA score may never exceed its initial value unless specifically instructed on a page. If you are told you must eat a portion of Provisions, you must still cross 1 portion of Provisions off your Adventure Sheet, but in this case you do not gain any STAMINA points back.
Luck
Additions to your LUCK score may be awarded in the adventure when you have been particularly lucky or created your own luck by some other action. Details are given, where appropriate, in the paragraphs of the book. Remember that, as with SKILL and STAMINA, your LUCK score may never exceed its initial value unless specifically instructed on a page.
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Equipment and Potions
You will start your adventure with almost no equipment, but you may find or buy other items during your travels. The few possessions you do have will be outlined at the beginning of your adventure.
Secret Refs
When attempting this adventure you must remember that this book is devious beyond belief! If ever you come to a point in the adventure that seems impossible to past beyond, you may require a Secret Ref to help you. Secret Refs are paragraph numbers that can only be reached if you have acquired special knowledge of their existence, but how do you go about finding that knowledge? Play the book and look for it!
Time
One uncommon feature about this adventure is you must keep track of the time. The time will be split up into the morning, afternoon and (rarely) evening of each day. The adventure starts on Stormsday morning and continues from there. There is a space on your Adventure Sheet where you can record the current day and time.
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Hints on Play
This adventure is dangerous. You might well fail on your first attempt. Make notes and draw a map as you explore - this map will prove invaluable when making further forays in this adventure, and it will enable you to progress more rapidly to unexplored sections. Remember: when you are travelling through any environment, it is a good idea to make a note of where such encounters lie in the adventure ahead, including useful objects and information to aid you on your dangerous quest.
Be wary about testing your Luck, unless a paragraph instructs you to do this! When it comes to fights, you should Test your Luck only to keep yourself alive if an opponent's blow would otherwise kill you. However, be warned! If you decide to use Luck in this way, be certain your adversary is worth it- Luck points are precious!
You start this mission with very few possessions, but will be given opportunities to collect food, weapons, and items. However, choose your equipment carefully - although many are precious or magical, others are red herrings and of no real value at all.
You will soon realise that paragraphs make no sense if read in numerical order. It is essential that you read only the paragraphs you are instructed to go to. Reading other sections lessens the excitement and surprise during play. The only true way to success in this adventure involves minimal risk; even if your character scores are low, you should be able to find magical artefacts and weapons that may increase your chances of victory in battle.
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BACKGROUND
You are dreaming and it is the same dream every time. The intoxicating feeling of success, standing over your dead foe, it’s like nothing you have ever felt before. You are triumphant, your powers are unmatched? but already you are doomed. You turn back the way you came. If only you had chosen differently, but no, it is too late now. Too late for anything but torment. You awake, screaming.
You look around in a panic, your mind still half dazed from your terrible dream. Everything is in order. Everything is in place. You slowly calm down and consider your situation. You are an unnamed beggar of the infamous Port Blacksand. You know nothing of your past except for a vague belief, fuel by terrible dreams, that you were once someone important, someone powerful.
Your difficult life on the streets has taken its toll on you. If the figure you rolled for your initial SKILL is 7 or 8, reduce your current SKILL to 5. If your initial SKILL is 9 or 10, reduce your current SKILL to 6, otherwise for 11 or 12 initial SKILL, reduce your current SKILL to 7.
For STAMINA, you must take your initial STAMINA and halve it (rounding up) - this figure is your current STAMINA. Although all the gods seem to have deserted you, your initial and current LUCK remain unchanged.
You own little of value. Your home, little more than a few pieces of sloped wood just sufficient to keep out the worst of the rain, is at the end of a small alleyway. It is just large enough to hold you and a few precious threadbare blankets.
As terrible as your fading dreams were, it was not the nightmares that awoke you; you are more than used to them. It is the sound of footsteps coming from outside your hovel. Clutching your knife tightly in one hand you carefully peer out.
Read on?
Turn to 1
NOW TURN OVER
This is the healing Salve you bought at the Market. Click here to it.
You apply the Salve and something starts happening... Turn to 32
(Stormsday Morning)
Outside you see Big Dave, one of the largest and meanest of all the beggars living in this town. He has a couple of his cronies with him. You are helpless to resist as Big Dave and friends throw you out, ransack your possessions and loudly proclaim that your hovel is his now. Even if you wanted to stop him, you would be foolish to try. He is well connected with the underworld. Your entire possessions now consist of a small blunt knife (-1 to your attack strength if you ever have to fight with it) and 1 gold coin. Cross everything else off your adventure sheet.
You slink away. You need to find somewhere else to live and for that you need coins but you are also in desperate need of food. If you want to try going around scavenging for food, turn to 31. If you think your situation is desperate enough to try a bit of thievery, always a high-risk occupation, turn to 41. If you want to try to earn your keep by begging, turn to 39.
(Moonsday Morning)
You get up early Moonsday. The day is damp and foggy. People are on the street, wearily making their way through the heat absorbing damp. You have a lot you need to get done today to get your life back into some sort of order. First however, you need to look for accommodation, as you will have trouble surviving another night in this sort of weather, turn to 19.
In a flurry of furious blows you send the assassin tumbling to the ground, grievously wounded. Your enemy lives but barely. You move over cautiously, with your weapon at the ready and question him. He looks up as you demand to know who sent him.
“It was a woman, a woman with glowing red eyes”, he croaks out. “She is in Forever Lane?number 25. I don’t know?I don’t know why she wants you dead but?” He slumps down from the effort of speaking. You have learnt all you need to know. If you want to finish off your helpless foe, turn to 42. If you want to leave him and head straight for Forever Lane, turn to 22.
You throw up a Shielding spell. Alas, too late you remember that it does not protect against magical attacks. The fire lashes your face blinding you. You are assaulted by wave upon wave of searing heat. Finally consciousness fades to the sound of Lucretia’s cruel laughter.
You rummage through your meagre possessions and the imp’s eyes light up when it sees the spell gem. You decide the spell gem is a good exchange and pass it over. The imp puts it in its sack and heads out of the building - off to find another suitable building to infest you suspect.
Pleased with securing a room for yourself, you head back out into the street. If it is the afternoon of Stormsday, turn to 24. If it is the morning of Moonsday, turn to 38.
(Fireday Morning)
Like its namesake, Fireday, the day is bright and hot, with the sun soon burning away the early morning fog. You join the procession of mostly honest folk making their way to the docks, shops and other places where the more trustworthy city-folk work for their living.
You are in trouble and feel the need to equip yourself better. Two options spring to mind. The first is to visit the daily bazaar next to the fish market; here you can expect to find just about anything on offer from the trivial to the unique, all at a good price, most of it stolen. If you want to visit the fish market, turn to 46. The other option is to head to the Street of Knives and look for a weapon with which to defend yourself. The Street of Knives has a selection of just about any weapon you can imagine, mostly of excellent quality, mostly at a very high price. If you want to go shopping for a weapon of the Street of Knives, turn to 18. If you want to ignore your peril, or feel the need to try and earn some money before going shopping, turn to 39.
Madame Star quickly enters a trance. “I can see?fire. It begins and ends in fire, fire everywhere. You are being shadowed by a dark man, an assassin, but another guides his action. I can see her?her eyes are pools of fire?it burns!” she shrieks, awakening from her trance.
She looks at you white faced, panting for breath. “Your foes are terrible but it is not without hope,” she exclaims. “You have power within you, deep but strong. You will triumph, if only you can bring it forth. Here, have my blessing, it may help a little.”
You leave her booth, in some ways even more confused than before. Madame Stars blessing is not without power however - next time you have to test your luck, you are automatically successful without needing to deduct a point of LUCK. Turn to 28.
The imp had managed to collect an impressive horde of small items, most of it junk. The owner of the house is so grateful he allows you to take the best of the stuff. You find 5 gold pieces, a silver bracelet (which can be sold for 2 gold pieces at any market), and an iron ring. Trying on the ring, you feel a surge of strength pass through your body. This is a Ring of Skill. Whenever you wear the Ring of Skill, you can add 1 to your SKILL score so long as that does not bring you over your initial SKILL. Add 1 LUCK point for your valuable find.
Well pleased with securing a room for yourself and with the treasure you have obtained, you head back out into the street. If it is the afternoon of Stormsday, turn to 24. If it is the morning of Moonsday, turn to 38.
You don’t talk to the thieves’ guild that much, but you do have a contact you occasionally pass information onto. When you approach him he smiles.
“We do have a small job for you. Someone has been stealing from our clients.” He senses your confusion and explains. “People pay us money so they don’t get burgled. It’s easier all round, cuts out the middleman so to speak. Anyway, someone has been targeting people that pay us protection and we need it stopped. There are a lot of places to be watched so any extra set of eyes is going to help us.”
He is willing to pay 1 gold piece for you to watch with a substantial bonus if you see anything that leads them to the ‘illegal’ thieves. You agree to his terms and head to Temple Street where you are to keep watch over one of the small shrines.
You hunch down out of the wind and lightly driving rain, waiting to see if anything will happen. Quite to your surprise, just as the sun is going down, a short, cloaked figure makes his way to the alleyway down one side of the shrine. They jimmy open the shrine’s window, scurry in, and minutes later scurry out, carrying a sack full of stuff. You decide to follow. Test your SKILL. If you are successful, turn to 15. If you fail, turn to 47.
Suddenly, it is like a dam breaks inside you and out flows fire. Fire! Fire surges from your hands and strikes the building. Still more fire. Shouts of alarm, then panic come from the building, but it is too late for those inside. The house is an inferno, consuming all within. You fall back away from the conflagration, howling with glee. This may not be a heroic solution to your problems, but it is the perfect beggar’s solution. After all, you are the Beggar of Blacksand.
From Port Blacksand: a wretched hive of scum and villainy, by Johan Golden
?and amongst the inhabitants there are many strange and curious folk, but few more strange than the so-called Beggar of Blacksand. Dressed in tatters and rags he appears no different than any one of hundreds like him within Port Blacksand. It is only once you see the respect, even fear, accorded to him by the other inhabitants of the streets and hear the rumours about him, rumours of wild and uncontrolled magic such as was said to have caused one of the worst fires within Blacksand in living memory, that you realise?
The power builds inside you, then is released. You see a figure, identical to the man on the roof, appear next to the feral dog pack and start to run back towards you. You somehow know it is an illusion. The illusion catches the interest of the pack and they chase after it. They surge past you, straight towards the spot where the assassin is lurking behind you. You hear a startled cry from behind and you run the other direction, loosing yourself in the city.
Some time later you stop. You need more information about the assassin or he will surely catch you sooner or later. There is one place you can think of to get the information - The Noose. You slowly navigate through the city till you reach it, turn to 35.
(Moonsday Morning)
You get up early Moonsday. The day is damp and foggy. People are on the street, wearily making their way through the heat absorbing damp. You think about what you need to do to get you life back in order. If you want to go back to your old hovel, perhaps in the hope you can somehow gain it back, turn to 48. If you would rather spend the morning begging, turn to 39.
As you reach an intersection, a man runs around the corner faster than you can avoid and collides into you. He is a sun browned, athletic man with a gold ring on one finger and a rucksack over his back. You only barely have time to recover when two thugs round the corner. Without a pause they lay into you and the other man with drawn daggers.
THUG SKILL 5 STAMINA 5
After two combat rounds, turn to 34.
As her power builds you quickly shout, “You should have paid your assassin more. He works for my cause now”, as you make the final touches to your Illusion spell. The dark form of the assassin you fought appears to lunge at Lucretia from behind one of the shelves. She recoils and sends rays of fire lashing towards your illusion, setting the curtain and books behind on fire.
You run forward also, intending to finish the fight as she realises her error.
LUCRETIA, DARK SORCERESS SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
If Lucretia ever wins an attack round you do not take normal damage. Instead you are lashed with flames doing 1-6 (1 dice roll) points of STAMINA damage to you. Even if you win, you are still in peril. The house is a blazing bonfire around you. As you make for the door you need to avoid the flames and debris. Roll one dice and subtract one, to get a number between 0-5. This is the amount of STAMINA points you lose. This amount can be halved (rounded down) by successfully testing your luck.
If you make it safely outside, turn to 50.
You trail them across several streets, down an alleyway and finally to a sewer entrance. They open the sewer grate and in a practised move, hop in and close the grate behind them. You head back to the guild representative and show him the sewer entrance.
“Excellent,” he chortles. “Next time they try and use that exit they will be in for a surprise. You have earned your payment and feel free to contact me if you ever need a favour.”
You are given a pouch of 7 gold pieces and sent on your way, turn to 27.
He speaks to you in a quiet voice, “Forever Lane, number 25.” It is all you need to know. You slowly make your way through the streets towards Forever Lane. Now that you finally have all the pieces in place to protect yourself, you feel strangely reluctant to finish things. You have a nagging suspicion that you have forgotten something, that there is something you need to do.
You shake your head to clear it and continue on your way, turn to 52.
You back away, quickly casting the Creature Copy spell. Cross the spell off your list of known spells. As the spell takes effect, an exact duplicate of the assassin appear. You command it to attack. The original assassin reels in surprise and takes a vicious cut to his sword arm before recovering his senses and fighting back. This original strike is enough to doom him however as he cannot keep up with the dazzling swordplay of your magical copy.
The end comes quickly. Your copy is standing over the assassin, striking downwards for the death blow, when you dispel your spell. Your enemy lives, but barely. You move over cautiously, with your weapon at the ready and question him. He looks up as you demand to know who sent him.
“It was a woman, a woman with glowing red eyes”, he croaks out. “She is in Forever Lane?number 25. I don’t know?I don’t know why she wants you dead but?” He slumps down from the effort of speaking. You have learnt all you need to know. If you want to finish off your helpless foe, turn to 42. If you want to leave him and head straight for Forever Lane, turn to 22.
You wander down the Street of Knives, looking for the right sort of shop. You look through the iron bars on the window of one of them and see a huge selection of second-hand weapons on display, just what you need. You enter.
There is a large man-orc at the counter and several small goblins hunched up in the corners of the room, sharpening and polishing old weapons. The shopkeeper smiles, showing off his small gold-capped tusks, and displays a small selection of weapons for you to examine.
Highly sharpened sword 9 gold pieces
Good quality sword 7 gold pieces
Battered sword 4 gold pieces
The highly sharpened sword carries an excellent edge. If you win an attack round and have rolled doubles on the dice when rolling for your attack strength when wielding this sword, you do 4 STAMINA damage instead of the usual 2 (you cannot use LUCK to increase this damage). The good quality sword allows you to attack at your normal SKILL score, as does the battered sword, but if you ever roll double 1’s on the dice when rolling your attack strength with the battered sword, it will break. If the sword breaks you automatically lose that attack round and must fight the rest of the battle at a -2 attack strength penalty unless you have a spare weapon you can use.
After making any purchases you want, you head back out into the street. Turn to 40.
You need somewhere both fairly sturdy and cheap. You check with the hostels along Wall Street but it seems that there are no rooms available or they are too expensive or the owners are not happy to have a beggar staying. Then you get a stroke of luck. As you approach the end of the street, a door to one of the houses opens and a family, man, woman and three children, storm out carrying all their worldly possessions. The man shouts out to the owner, who has come to the door, “I’m not spending another day in your house. The rooms are haunted. We can’t get any sleep and I’m not going to risk my family to vengeful ghosts.”
You take this as your opening and approach the owner. After a bit of bargaining he agrees that you can stay in one of his rooms, the smallest one, free of charge for the rest of the month if you can somehow sort out the haunting problem. You enter the house and get shown around.
“It all started not long after the wizard got himself killed in his sleep.” The owner is leading you along a passageway and points to a boarded up door. “We took out the corpse and boarded up the room, as is custom here to keep the spirit from returning to the place it was killed. In another few months we should have been able to open the room up again, but?”
He goes on to explain about the noises in the night. The sound of things being moved in the boarded up room and skittering noises from both the ceiling and sometimes in other rooms of the house.
“But never when someone is in the room. It’s always quiet then.”
He then goes onto mention small items going missing from his boarders, then talks about bits and pieces of food going astray. It starts to make you think. You check the kitchen and the pantry and soon enough find what you are looking for - small footprints, from the chimney.
You explain to the owner that you need the boarded up door open. As he stands back you charge the door. Test you LUCK. If you are lucky, turn to 37. If you are unlucky, turn to 43.
As your spell takes effect, an exact duplicate of Lucretia appears in front of her, eyes also burning with fire. Flames lash the room and books explode in flames, shooting from the shelves as the sorceress and her duplicate lash each other with flames. You must flee before you are killed.
As you flee you must test your LUCK. If you are unlucky, you are struck with a beam of fire, lose 1-6 (1 dice roll) points of STAMINA. Assuming you survive, you make it to the door and throw yourself out of the house, with the sound of Lucretia’s death shrieks resounding behind you. Turn to 50.
The power builds within you, then fades. In desperation you hurl yourself into the midst of the feral dog pack and try and fight your way through. If you can just get to the alleyway on the other side of the road, the pack should block your trail so the assassin can’t immediately follow. The dogs jump back startled then start to bite and nip you from all sides. One dog blocks your path. You must fight.
WILD DOG SKILL 5 STAMINA 4
Each attack round you automatically lose 1 STAMINA point from the bites of the other dogs, in addition to any wounds you receive from fighting the wild dog. If you win the fight you have broken through the pack. You run down the narrow alley, leaving the feral dog pack behind you howling in confusion. You race onwards, losing yourself in the city.
Some time later you stop. You need more information about the assassin or he will surely catch you sooner or later. There is one place you can think of to get the information - the noose. You slowly navigate through the city till you reach it, turn to 35.
You turn to leave. It was foolish to leave such a highly trained assassin alive. There is an overwhelming spike of pain as the assassin lunges from the ground and rams his sword through your back and into your heart. “?she sure pays well,” he pants, finishing his sentence as he slowly gets to his feet. Your adventure ends here.
With one final blow you cut him down. You stand over his body and feel relief flow through your body. You have defeated the fearsome assassin. You search his body but find no marks or evidence to tell you who sent him to kill you.
You have regained your sanity, your powers and the knowledge that someone bears you ill will. This is enough for you now. When you have gained greater control over your powers you vow to track down your unknown foe and confront them but for now this is THE END.
It is getting late on in the day. You need to eat. Cross off one of your provisions. This provision does not restore any STAMINA points. If you don’t have any provisions, you can buy some from a local street trader at the cost of 2 gold pieces per provision. If you still don’t have any provisions, you must lose 2 STAMINA points due to hunger.
You go back to your room to rest. Turn to 53.
You approach number 25, Forever Lane. It is a small building, nestled in between larger buildings. The windows are shuttered and boarded but you can dimly make out a sitting room inside, crowded with book-filled shelves and surrounded by clutter. You head to the door and stand there for a time. You have reached the end of your journey and yet find yourself strangely hesitant. Finally you knock.
The door swings open from inside, unaided. You look into a dimly lit sitting room. At the far end, partially hidden by the gloom and the general clutter is an indistinct figure. The figure motions you in, and as you do the door closes firmly behind you.
“Why?” you ask. “Why did you try to have me killed? Who am I to you?”
She hisses back at you in fury. “Don’t play the fool with me. You know why.”
She shifts forwards, revealing her face. Recognition flows through you. Lady Lucretia, once the wife of Balthus Dire, she is a noted black sorcerer; you met her when you infiltrated Craggen Rock and stole from her a fleece that allowed you to get past one of the guardians, a terrible Hydra.
“I can see the knowledge in your eyes,” she spits. “Bad enough that you killed? assassinated, Balthus. I survived the aftermath of that.” She states proudly. “I always do. But now my son is ready to take his father’s mantle. I have taught him well. You made a mistake in not destroying Balthus’s grimore. My son is marshalling his troop, gathering his power and I couldn’t let you interfere with my plans. Not again.”
She looks at you coldly but her eyes begin to burn red.
In confusion you state. “But I was never a danger to your son. If you hadn’t tracked me down I would be a beggar still.
“You lie” she shrieks, standing proudly with her eyes now burning blood red. They are pools of liquid fire - directed at you!
If you have a Shielding spell and wish to cast it to protect yourself, turn to 4. If you want to try an Illusion spell in an attempt to trick her, turn to 14. If you have a Creature Copy spell and wish to use it, turn to 20.
If you wish to ignore your magical powers and instead charge towards her, risking the wrath of her powerful magic, turn to 54.
You head to a quiet part of the marketplace and examine your purchases more closely. The spiked club is of good enough quality that you can use it to attack without penalty. The rings of invisibility and fire turn out to be poor quality costume jewellery; you can’t find any way to activate their supposed magic powers. The salve you can attempt to use at any time you are not in a fight. If you use it, turn to 32. The good luck charm actually works, sending a shudder of shock through your system when you put it on, adding 2 LUCK points to your total. You rub the battered lantern in the hope of summoning a genie, but nothing happens. It will be useful to light your way, especially if you also thought to purchase a flask of oil. None of your other purchases appear to have any special qualities.
You head away from the market, thinking about your next move, turn to 40.
Turn-To Implementation Edit: Please click here if you bought the Healing Salve to gain this item.
It is evening and the weather has turned foul. You need to eat. Cross off one of your provisions. This provision does not restore any STAMINA points. If you don’t have any provisions, you can buy some from a local street trader at the cost of 2 gold pieces per provision. If you still don’t have any provisions, you lose 1 SKILL and 2 STAMINA points due to hunger.
You also need to rest. You can get an overpriced, lice-ridden room in a local inn for 3 gold coins if you can afford it. Otherwise, sleeping on the street in such poor weather will cause you 1-6 (1 dice roll) STAMINA points of damage due to the icy cold weather and driving rain. Either way, turn to 55.
It is getting late on in the day. You need to eat. Cross off one of your provisions. This provision does not restore any STAMINA points. If you don’t have any provisions, you can buy some from a local street trader at the cost of 2 gold pieces per provision. If you still don’t have any provisions, you lose 1 SKILL and 2 STAMINA points due to hunger.
You go back to your room to rest. Turn to 56.
And suddenly, the power within you is gone. You howl with frustration and collapse to the ground, defeated. So great is your emotion that you do not even hear the door to 25 Forever Lane open and do not hear the soft footsteps coming towards you. It is only the intense pain of a sword being thrust through your heart that you notice and even then only momentarily before you sink down, never to rise again. You have failed.
You carefully move up to the sword. Nothing seems amiss. You grab the sword, then scuttle into the shadows. Nothing happens. Slightly puzzled, you examine the sword. It is exceptionally well made, add 1 to your attack strength when you use this sword. The hilt of the sword has a crude S carved into it. Turn to 57.
You scavenge around behind the best and worst inns Blacksand has to offer in an attempt to find food. It is behind the Riddling Reaver Inn that you strike with success. There is a large amount of food, dumped from the previous night’s function, which has not yet been grabbed by any other desperate beggar. You gather up 2 provisions. Then a rat of unusual size slinks out of the shadows to challenge you for the rest. You can leave the food to the rat and leave without a fight, turn to 13.
Otherwise you throw some rocks at the rat, then rush at it hoping to overcome it.
GIANT RAT SKILL 4 STAMINA 5
Test your SKILL for each of the 2 rocks that you threw at the rat before combat. Each time you are successful, deduct 1 STAMINA point from its total before the fight begins.
If you win, you are able to gather up a further 3 provisions worth of food. Then you leave, well satisfied with your findings, turn to 13.
You carefully apply the salve to the wounds on your body. A wave of calm relief spreads through your body. All your old familiar aches fade and you relax - at peace for the first time you can remember. You lie on the ground almost senseless for who knows how long. Certainly long enough for the sun to have past through much of the sky. When you finally stand you are much changed. You stand straighter, your eyes are clear and most importantly, you can remember. Restore your STAMINA to its initial value and add 1 to your SKILL. The effects of the Healing Salve are most potent indeed.
You wander the street, collecting and trying to make sense of your memories. You remember infiltrating the Citadel of Chaos, you remember the Hydra, standing over your defeated foe Balthus Dire and most of all, the Ganges. The Ganges who you bribed to let you past, with a salve, just?like?the one you have used. The Ganges who, upon you trying to get past them a second time, shattered your mind with their illusions, subjecting you to unending mental torments. Oh how you wish you had learned one more Levitation spell with which you could have avoided them?escaped. Finally they must have released you when your mind so shattered you were no longer an amusement to them. You somehow made your way here, to Port Blacksand.
You can feel the power of your spells deep in your mind and spend several more hours wandering almost unseeing through the city, trying to bring them into focus. By the time you give up, you have recovered the knowledge of several spells. Roll one dice to see what spells you now know.
If you rolled a 1, 2 or a 3 you know the spells Fire, Illusion and Shielding. Each of these spells can only be used once.
Fire
This spell allows you to conjure fire either as a burst or as a wall of fire to protect you.
Illusion
This is a powerful spell that creates an illusion to fool a creature. It is best used against intelligent foe and is cancelled if the subject finds any reason to disbelieve in the illusion.
Shielding
This creates a shield of force that protects you against physical, but not other magical, attacks for several seconds. You cannot attack physically through your own shield of force.
If you rolled a 4 or a 5 you know the spells Fire, Illusion, Shielding plus Creature Copy.
Creature Copy
Creates an exact duplicate of any creature under your control.
If you rolled a 6 you know the spells Fire, Illusion, Shielding, Creature Copy plus Luck
Luck
You can cast this spell at any time except in battle. When you do, restore as number of LUCK points equal to half your initial LUCK (round down). The amount gained cannot bring your LUCK score over its initial value.
Once you have determined your spells known, if you have been told an address of a building on Forever Lane, turn to the number that corresponds to the number of that address. If you do not know this address, turn to 49.
You have always quite liked the Black Widow. Sure, she preys on men that visit the city and are unlucky enough to stay in her house, but she never harms any person who lives in Port Blacksand, and she is a great source of information. She greets you cheerfully as you stop by. She is a youthful, handsome woman, always full of life.
“Yes, you sure are in trouble,” she states. “There is an assassin after you; an outsider, one who’s been staying at the Black Lobster tavern for some time. I don’t know who has hired him but I will try and find more. In the meantime, I suggest you avoid your normal haunts and lay low for a couple of days.”
You thank her and leave. Turn to 28.
(Stormsday Afternoon)
Your companion easily finishes off his foe and your opponent, seeing which way the battle is going, turns tail and flees.
“I thank you for your help,” the man says with a strange sounding accent. “Good to see you are not all unfriendly around here. This is for your troubles. It is magic.”
He hands you a spell gem and before your have the chance to reply, strides off. As you examine the gem you get a sense of dislocation come over you. You feel some power inside you respond to the forces within the gem, then you feel the power of the gem slide into you, leaving the spell gem powerless.
The whole encounter leaves you somewhat bemused. As the cold wind slaps you in the face, you decide to move on. It looks like you are in for a storm this Stormsday. You place the used spell gem in a safe place on your body, add it to your list of possessions. Now you have to decide what you want to do for the afternoon.
If you decide that finding a place to stay is the most important thing to do, turn to 19. If you want to try and earn some more money by contacting the thieves guild and seeing if they have any jobs for you, turn to 9. Otherwise, if you want to try and earn some money by begging, turn to 39.
You head into The Noose, stronghold of the thieves’ guild. Ironically, this is the safest place in Blacksand, at least for those that belong to the guild. You have had dealings with the thieves before. You head up to a certain door and knock in a certain way. A long faced man lets you in. You explain what you need to know. You want to know who the assassin after you is, who sent him, and most importantly, where to find him. You want the hunt to end on your own terms, not the assassins.
He looks at you solemnly. If you have aided the thieves’ guild at any time in this adventure, turn to 16. Otherwise he states quietly that the information you require will cost you 9 gold coins. If you have the money and want to pay up for the information, cross off 9 gold coins and turn to 16. Otherwise he shakes his head and leads you out, turn to 45.
Examining your loot, you find 6 gold pieces in the small wooden box if you managed to acquire the days takings. The ‘Healing Mixture’ is a bundle of smelly herbs will only be of use to you before you go to sleep. Use the herbs then and you will regain an extra 1-6 STAMINA points overnight. There are only enough herbs for one use.
Satisfied with you haul, you continue down the street, turn to 13.
As you strike the door you feel a surge of strength flow through you. The door bursts open, showering pieces of wood across the room. At the far side of the room, looking at you in surprise, is a demonic little imp. No doubt the dead wizard’s familiar. The imp only just has time to look startled before you are upon it.
IMP SKILL 5 STAMINA 3
You gain +2 to your attack strength for the duration of the battle owing to your unusually great strength. If the imp ever rolls a 12 on the dice when rolling its attack strength and wins the attack round, it has struck you with its poisonous tail. The poison does an extra 1 SKILL and 2 STAMINA damage over and above the normal 2 STAMINA damage for a successful strike. If you win the battle, you feel your strength return to normal, turn to 8.
(Moonsday Afternoon)
As you head through the streets, another beggar you are on good terms with calls out to you and motions you over.
“Did you hear the news?about your hovel. It got burned down. Not only that, it was deliberate - and Big Dave was in there at the time,” he enthuses. “I heard that he tried to escape, but a man was waiting, struck him over the head, and threw him back in! Could have been after you mate. Better watch out.”
After imparting this gruesome news the beggar moves on. You need to find out more information about this attack. Two sources of information spring to mind. Madame Star is renowned for her accurate and informative fortune telling. If you want to get your fortune read, turn to 44. The other source is the Black Widow - she is one of the best sources of information you have about the city underworld. If you want to try the Black Widow, turn to 33. If you are not worried about the burning of your old hovel and want to try and earn some more money begging, turn to 39.
You settle in to do what you're best at - begging. It's a difficult and sometimes dangerous occupation in a place like this but you have your own "patch" - an area not too far from one of the markets where you get substantial amounts of out of town visitors you can fleece. You have vigorously driven off any other beggars from your domain as it's the source of your livelihood. Now roll one dice to find out how successful you are. If you spend 1 point of LUCK (by subtracting it from your current LUCK score), you can add 2 to the roll.
If you rolled a 1, turn to 58.
If you rolled 2, turn to 59.
If you rolled a 3, turn to 60.
If you rolled a 4 or a 5, turn to 61.
If you rolled a 6, turn to 62.
If you rolled 7 or higher (only possible if you spent LUCK), turn to 63.
(Fireday Afternoon)
You have not got far, just to the corner of Net Lane and the Street of Knives, when your senses, attuned to the city after so many years, inform you that you are being followed. A chill goes down your spine. You catch of glimpse of the tailing figure from the reflection off one of Mythra’s mirrors in her shop front. It is the assassin. Moving in for the kill.
You come close to panic, trying to wrack your mind for possible escape routes, when you notice something unusual up ahead.
There is large pack of feral dogs, roaming the street, scattering the pedestrians around them. As you watch, they chase a fit looking man towards a house - he leaps and pulls himself up onto the roof. You feel power build up inside you. Test your LUCK. If you are lucky, turn to 11. If you are unlucky, turn to 21.
You have an idea of who you would like to steal from - a particularly obnoxious man-orc herbalist on Market Street. You find some street urchins hanging around nearby and give them your last gold piece. As per your instructions, they dash into the herbalist’s shop and seconds later dash out with handfuls of herbs. They run down the street, scattering the herbs all about as they go. Moments later the herbalist runs out of his shop, shouting and swearing at the urchins. Much to your delight, he takes off down the street, trying to gather up the scattered herbs. You slip into the shop.
You don’t have a lot of time. Although you don’t know what most of the herbs do, there is a glass jar on one of the shelves that reads ‘Healing Mixture’. Behind the counter is a small wooden box that contains the day’s takings. For each of the two items that you want to take, test your LUCK. If you have got what you want without being unlucky, you leave the shop, chortling to yourself, turn to 36.
If you are unlucky at any point in time, turn to 64.
You plunge your weapon into your helpless foe, killing them. You feel no remorse - he was a skilled assassin and would have certainly struck you down had the tables been turned. Searching him you find a finely crafted sword and a pouch containing 8 gold pieces - no doubt partial payment for your death. Now you head for Forever Lane, turn to 25.
You smash into the door painfully, then rebound off it and fall sprawling to the ground. Lose 1 STAMINA point. You get to your feet and with the help of the owner, pry away several pieces of wood before attempting to open the door again. Inside the room is a spartan bedroom. At the far side of the room near the chimney, is a demonic little imp. No doubt the dead wizard’s familiar. The imp is hurriedly throwing all sorts of small trinkets into a bag. It backs away so it is almost into the chimney itself and hisses at you, “My room, my things”, and waves its poison tipped tail in a threatening manner towards you.
You try and talk with it and find that the creature has been fending for itself since its master’s death. It is willing to find another place to live, but only if you give it something else for its collection. If you want to try and bribe it to leave, turn to 5. Otherwise you must fight it.
IMP SKILL 5 STAMINA 3
If the imp ever rolls a 12 on the dice when rolling for its attack strength and wins the attack round, it has struck you with its poisonous tail. The poison does an extra 1 SKILL and 2 STAMINA damage over and above the normal 2 STAMINA damage for a successful strike. If you win the battle, turn to 8.
You make your way across town to where Madame Star has her booth set up in the Market Square. She is an older, plump woman and quickly puts you at ease. She informs you that readings are 3 gold pieces .If you can’t afford to pay you will have to either go and try and get information out of the Black Widow, turn to 33, or else try your luck at begging to earn a few coins, turn to 39. If you are able and wish to pay Madame Star for a reading, turn to 7.
You wander the streets in blind despair, not know where to go or what to do. Your last lead is gone. A sudden scrape of metal makes you spin around, just in time to take the blow from the assassin’s sword, which slices through your neck, severing it cleanly.
The world spins over and over as your head rolls down the street until, mercifully, the world darkens forever.
Carefully you make you way to the bazaar, trying to blend in with the other townsfolk as much as possible. Once you sight the coloured tents and hectic crowds that make up the market you relax - it would be almost impossible for someone to find you here.
You move through the stalls, listening to the cries of the sellers and looking at what’s on display. You see many interesting things, a stall selling wicked looking hardwood clubs, spiked at the top for extra damaging power, a stall selling jewellery that apparently has magic properties, “Just like what Trendar makes over in Clock Street but half the price”, the woman running the stall exclaims. From the corner of your eye there is a strange glimmering and looking around you see a small vial of salve marked with a crude S, “It, uh, is good a curing wounds and stuff,” the man behind the stall grunts. You also see several other items that either strike your fancy, such as a carved ivory skull good luck charm, or look to be of use, such as a rope and grapple. You examine the prices.
Spiked Club 7 gold pieces
Ring of Invisibility 5 gold pieces
Ring of Fire 4 gold pieces
Vial of Salve 3 gold pieces
Good Luck Charm 4 gold pieces
Battered Lantern 2 gold pieces
Flask of Oil 1 gold piece
Rope & Grapple 2 gold pieces
Leather Gloves 3 gold pieces
Provisions 1 gold piece each
When you have finished with your purchasing, turn to 26.
You follow the cloaked figure down the street and through several back streets. They scurry down an alleyway and you dash forward to keep them in sight. Looking down the alleyway, there is no one to be seen! Suddenly the cloaked figure springs at you from the shadows, throwing back its cloak. It is a fur-covered, feral man with sharp claws - a rat-man. You are in a fight for your life.
RAT-MAN SKILL 5 STAMINA 6
If you win, you hide the body and get the thieves’ guild representative. He thanks you and hands over a pouch of 6 gold pieces. “One piece for keeping watch and 5 gold for your help this night.” You do detect a trace a disappointment in his voice that you weren’t able to track the creature further. Turn to 27.
You carefully head back to your hovel. As you get close, you are shocked to see smoke, and a crowd. You hovel has been burnt down. Working your way through the crowd you listen in on a conversation between another beggar that witnessed the burning and a guardsman. The story the beggar relates chills you. It seems not only did a man deliberately set fire to your home, not an easy task in this weather unless he was using fire magic, but when Big Dave tried to escape the fire, the man threw him back in, laughing as he did so at Big Dave’s screams. You wonder if you were really the target and Big Dave was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You decide you had better leave quickly. If someone is after you, they will soon realise their mistake.
You have not travelled far when, looking down a side street, you spot a magnificent looking sword lying on the ground in plain view. Your first thought is - ‘it must be a trap.’ If you want to cautiously make you may into the side street and examine the sword, turn to 30. If you want to ignore the sword, turn to 57.
You are walking through the city, almost oblivious to your surroundings when the sudden scrape of metal make you spin around. A sword is sweeping for your neck, wielded by a large villainous looking man. You cast your Shielding spell, just in time! The blade deflects off your spell only inches from your neck. Cross Shielding off your list of spells.
The man steps back and eyes you appraisingly.
“I heard you had magic powers beggar, but it won’t save you this time” he states. You stare him in the eye. “I am a beggar no longer” you declare, staring him down and using this momentary pause to draw your weapon. You are in a fight for your very life.
If you have a Creature Copy spell and wish to use it, turn to 17. Otherwise you face down your opponent.
ASSASSIN SKILL 9 STAMINA 12
If you manage to reduce your opponent to 2 STAMINA or less without killing him, turn to 3. If you kill him outright, turn to 23.
You stride away from the burning house, a sense of accomplishment growing in you. You have regained your sanity, your health and your magic powers, as well as defeating the attempt on your life. Looking beyond that, you now have a feeling of purpose, as you know that within Craggen Rock, within the Citadel of Chaos, festers an evil that has risen from the ashes of destruction - an evil that is your destiny to confront.
First however, you need to travel, harden your body and your mind and, you smile at the thought, you need to greet an old friend.
It is getting towards midday and you are collecting up your day’s takings when a shadow falls over you. You look up to see the fearsome form of the assassin standing above you. “Found you at last,” he exclaims as he brings his sword down, severing your head cleanly from your body.
As the world fades into darkness your last vision is of the assassin smiling and bending down towards you to collect proof (your head) of his successful killing.
(Fireday Evening)
You are almost there. You make your way through Nowhere Street, where the dregs of the city make their largest and often final gamble, until you reach Forever Lane and you can see the house you are after, number 25.
It is a small, unassuming building, surrounded by larger, taller structures but you know that the force that has been hounding you these last days lives there. You wait, sinking down into some rubble and trash to hide yourself. Your years as a beggar has made you perfect at this. Finally, as the sun starts to recede, a dark shape, the assassin, makes its way to the house and enters.
You creep across the road and listen at one of the partially boarded windows. You hear a mummer of conversation from within. The assassin must be receiving instructions from his employer. Anger builds up within you, a killing anger, but there is nowhere to release it. You cannot hope to kill the assassin, let alone his patron. Tears of frustrated anger roll down your cheeks. You feel a powerful feeling build up inside you. Test your LUCK. If you are lucky, turn to 10. If you are unlucky, turn to 29.
You sleep, and in sleep, dream.
You approach the group around the fire, an ugly looking Orc, who is cooking food over the fire, an unfriendly Dwarf and a pair of Goblins. They are too surprised to act as you sit down next to them but they soon start to become unfriendly as you pry information out of them. Weapons are drawn and combat begins but this rabble is no match for your swordsmanship. Soon they are scattered or dead. You bend down to pick up your spoils which includes a jar of ointment?ointment you will later give away?give away to?to?You wake up screaming, sweat from your terror covering your body. A pallid dawn light is beginning to show in the sky. Add 1 STAMINA point for your rest, despite your disturbed sleep. Now turn to 12.
Fire lashes from her eyes, once, twice. Fire splashes the room. Books burst into flames but most of the flames are directed directly at you! Test your luck two times. You lose 1 dice worth of STAMINA points each time you fail a luck test from horrific burns inflicted by her fire magic. If your luck test is successful, you somehow manage to avoid that particular attack.
If you survive these flames, you reach. You must quickly strike her down.
LUCRETIA, DARK SORCERESS SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
If Lucretia ever wins an attack round you do not take normal damage. Instead you are lashed with flames doing 1-6 (1 dice roll) points of STAMINA damage to you. Even if you win, you are still in peril. The house is a blazing bonfire around you. As you make for the door you need to avoid the flames and debris. Roll one dice and subtract one, to get a number between 0-5. This is the amount of STAMINA points you lose. This amount can be halved (rounded down) by successfully testing your luck.
If you make it safely outside, turn to 50.
You sleep, and in sleep, dream.
You approach the group around the fire; an ugly looking Orc who is cooking food over the fire, an unfriendly Dwarf and a pair of Goblins. They are too surprised to act as you sit down next to them but they soon start to become unfriendly as you pry information out of them. Weapons are drawn and combat begins but this rabble is no match for your swordsmanship. Soon they are scattered or dead. You bend down to pick up your spoils which includes a jar of ointment?ointment you will later give away?give away to?to?
You wake up screaming, sweat from your terror covering your body. A pallid dawn light is beginning to show in the sky. If you slept on the street you believe that the storm at least kept the usual bad elements inside and away from you while you were sleeping. Now turn to 2.
You fall deep asleep, drifting down into the core of your being where long suppressed memories lie. You dream.
He is just a wee little fellow but by the gods, he makes you angry. Somehow, despite all his tricks and taunts you start to see the funny side of things. Together you laugh. As you leave he passes you a gift?a gift?a gift of?
You wake with a start. Light shines in through the window, warming your room. Add 1 STAMINA point due to your night’s rest. Now turn to 6.
(Moonsday Afternoon)
You move through the secret alleyways and narrow thoroughfares of the city, keeping to routes that you hope would be unknown to an outsider. Finally, after you are sure you’re not being followed, you sit in a concealed alcove to consider what to do.
You may want to try and find out more information about the burning of your home. Two sources of information spring to mind. Madame Star is renowned for her accurate and informative fortune telling. If you want to get your fortune read, turn to 44. The other option is the Black Widow - she is one of the best sources of information you have about the city underworld. If you want to try the Black Widow, turn to 33.
If you are not worried about the burning of your old hovel and want to try and earn some more money begging, turn to 39.
Foulbreath and her band of goblin thugs shake you down for your earnings. They will take 6 gold pieces off you or only 3 gold pieces if you decide to test your LUCK and are successful (no extra penalty for failure). If you don't have that much money, they will beat you for 1 STAMINA point of damage per gold piece you are short.
Roll 1 dice again to see how the rest of your begging session g?s. You can spend 1 point of LUCK (by subtracting it from your current LUCK score) to add 2 to this roll.
If you rolled a 1 or a 2, turn to 59.
If you rolled a 3, turn to 60.
If you rolled a 4 or a 5, turn to 61.
If you rolled a 6, turn to 62.
If you rolled 7 or higher (only possible if you spent LUCK), turn to 63.
Another beggar contests you for the rights to beg on their turf. They have SKILL 4. After you win an attack round against them, they will flee.
Roll 1 dice again to see how the rest of your begging session goes. You can spend 1 point of LUCK (by subtracting it from your current LUCK score) to add 2 to this roll.
If you rolled a 1, 2 or a 3, turn to 60.
If you rolled a 4 or a 5, turn to 61.
If you rolled a 6, turn to 62.
If you rolled 7 or higher (only possible if you spent LUCK), turn to 63.
Business is slow. There are no convenient rich adventurers who you can fleece, gaining a handful of coins in return for a muttered blessing. No merchants, having made their money and drunk with success (as well as stronger substances), casually throw money away in celebration of their good fortune. Instead it is just the usual denizens of the city, all who know you too well to make a contribution. In the end you get a meagre 1 gold piece for your efforts before deciding things are not going to improve and calling it a day.
You have finished half a days begging and must decide what to do next. If you started begging on the morning of the first day (Stormsday), you head off down the street, turn to 13.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the first day, turn to 27.
If you started begging on the morning of the second day (Moonsday), turn to 38.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the second day, turn to 28.
If you started begging on the morning of the third day (Fireday), turn to 51.
You work the crowds with modest success before the flow of people thins and the donations start drying up. You have earned 1 dice plus 1 worth of gold pieces for your efforts.
After you have finished half a days begging you must decide what to do next. If you started begging on the morning of the first day (Stormsday), you head off down the street, turn to 13.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the first day, turn to 27.
If you started begging on the morning of the second day (Moonsday), turn to 38.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the second day, turn to 28.
If you started begging on the morning of the third day (Fireday), turn to 51.
You get 1 dice worth of gold pieces for your efforts and spot some interesting goings on across the road from where you are begging. You can sell this information to the thieves' guild for 4 gold pieces if you ever have any dealing with them in this adventure.
After you have finished half a days begging you must decide what to do next. If you started begging on the morning of the first day (Stormsday), you head off down the street, turn to 13.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the first day, turn to 27.
If you started begging on the morning of the second day (Moonsday), turn to 38.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the second day, turn to 28.
If you started begging on the morning of the third day (Fireday), turn to 51.
You get 1 dice worth of gold pieces for your efforts and spot a mugging gone wrong. After the (triumphant) adventurer has left, you go over and check the body of the mugger, finding a small gem hidden in one boot that can be sold for 5 gold pieces.
After you have finished half a days begging you must decide what to do next. If you started begging on the morning of the first day (Stormsday), you head off down the street, turn to 13.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the first day, turn to 27.
If you started begging on the morning of the second day (Moonsday), turn to 38.
If you started begging on the afternoon of the second day, turn to 28.
If you started begging on the morning of the third day (Fireday), turn to 51.
The man-orc returns to find you stealing his stuff. His face contorts with anger, making him even uglier than he normally is (if that is possible), then he draws a wicked looking axe. You must fight him to the death; he is blocking the only way out.
MAN-ORC SKILL 8 STAMINA 5
If you defeat him, you take both the ‘Healing Mixture’ and the small box containing the days takings. Unfortunately his final attempt to strike you embedded his axe deep into the shop counter. Try as you might, you cannot budge it and have to leave it behind. You quickly leave. Turn to 36.