Saturday 13 July 2019

Delirious Fancies Such as the Madman Fashions

Issue 3 of Flying Buffalo's magazine Sorcerer's Apprentice didn't contain a Tunnels & Trolls solo adventure, so the next one to be reprinted in the Adventurers Compendium is Michael Stackpole's Golden Dust, Red Death from issue 4. It involves Gull, the notorious City of Terrors, where I had one of my more rapid failures, and I wouldn't be surprised to find this adventure proving similarly lethal, given the nature of the exploits it concerns. The introduction indicates that my character wishes to become part of Gull's criminal fraternity, but lacks the right connections, and has consequently resorted to taking a job where being an unknown is not such a bad thing - smuggling drugs.

Let's take a look at this reprobate's stats:
Strength 11
Intelligence 10
Luck 13
Constitution 11
Dexterity 15
Charisma 10
Speed 13
Above average, for once. The rules recommend that if Luck is higher that Strength or Intelligence, the character should become a Rogue, but in solo play Rogues tend to get a rough deal, so I'm making him a Warrior. His starting gold isn't bad, either, so he starts out equipped with a sabre, a little armour, and a horned shield known as a Madu, which can be used offensively rather than just soaking up damage.

My services have been engaged by an individual named Dajal. All I have to do is take a boat through the harbour to a specific boathouse at nightfall. Oh, and drop off the three sacks of the magical narcotic Demregh-mno that are concealed within it. And that will net me enough cash to properly equip myself for further adventures, and potentially set me up with some decent contacts if I want to go in for a proper life of crime.

Well, it will if I complete my mission successfully. But as I enter the harbour, a patrol boat heads in my direction. Am I about to be stopped and searched, or are they on their way to deal with someone else? Alas, the Saving Roll I must make is just that bit too tough - I'd have passed if it were a lower level - so the boat makes for me. Lacking the wherewithal for a bribe, I must either jettison my cargo or attempt to talk my way out of trouble. Knowing the sort of unpleasantness that tends to be reserved for smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of a patrol boat (and being uncertain of what might happen if a substantial quantity of a magical drug should be dumped into the sea - we wouldn't want Gull to wind up attacked by giant mutant junkie cephalopods with laser breath), I opt to try and brazen it out.

It doesn't work. And Demregh-mno-smuggling carries the death sentence, so my hopes of getting shunted into some other solo to face justice look low. The captain of the patrol boat offers a slender chance, though: help them capture the dealer and I won't be executed on the spot. I'd rather not die if it could be avoided, so I agree to cooperate with the law.

There's something vaguely familiar about the captain. He hides in the boat while I sail to the boathouse to meet with my contact, the infamous Al-Dajjal (is this the same character mentioned in the introduction, only spelled differently, or was Mr Stackpole just woefully low on inspiration when it came to naming characters here?). As I enter the boathouse, I see that Al-Dajjal is accompanied by three men armed with crossbows.

Okay, time to take a chance. What if I almost recognised the captain because he's secretly my employer, and this is all a test of my loyalty? I decide to show Al-Dajjal the patrol boat captain concealed on board, but when I fling back the tarpaulin concealing him, he's not there. Somebody uses magic to blow open the boathouse doors. A hand emerges from the water, grabs my belt and yanks me overboard.

Before I can fight back against my assailant, I must make a Saving Roll on Constitution, and I roll poorly enough that I'd have failed even at the easiest level, so I almost drown. Further such Saving Rolls are required during the underwater battle, and between my already reduced Constitution and another appalling roll, I choke on water before my enemy gets a chance to land a blow on me.

Well, that was certainly an occasion on which crime didn't pay.

No comments:

Post a Comment