by Michael Eckenfels, 4 June 2023
Champions of Krynn AAR: Part 7, The More The Merrimac
So after that little transparent scheme has been put to rest, we continue westwards. The Soldier had said the treasure was this way. Who knows? There may be one.
Probably not. Rather, certain death with lots of nasty, big, pointy teeth.
And here’s a screenshot to show you where we are located.
click images to enlarge
We go west, then south, until we come to a door that opens into a room with an occupant.
But, one that doesn’t get all holier-than-thou about us “breaking and entering” into their homes, or going on about “stealing priceless family heirlooms.”
We’re adventurers, capiche? Breaking, entering, and stealing are all part of the CV.
Journal Entry 82:
“So! At last, you’ve come to rescue me. You know these things are quite clever. Not clever enough for me of course. I’ve just been improving them somewhat. Oh dear. I do hope you didn’t come through from the North . . . oh, sorry.
“I suppose you’ll be wanting to get me out of here now. Oh, there are more people back there. Strangbourn is around here somewhere, He’s looking for Caramon. Oh, you want to find him, well that’s an interesting story, you see when we first got together about two weeks ago . . .
“Uh, I can help, you know. Caramon was taken somewhere south of here . I’ve been trying to reset traps in case more draconians and hobgoblins get here.
“Why don’t we team up, OK?”
Sir Fsup ~ “What do you guys think?”
Izzie ~ “Are you really questioning whether or not a Kender is reliable and trustworthy?”
Sir Fsup ~ “Izzie, I saw you just yesterday drop a coin into a beggar’s cup.”
Izzie ~ “Yes? It’s not a bad thing to do nice once in a while.”
Sir Fsup ~ “Yet, you had a string tied to that coin.”
Izzie ~ “You…saw that. Well…uh…throw stability, you know?”
Sir Fsup ~ “You literally had the string coin on one hand, and plucked the coins in the cup out with the other.”
Izzie ~ “A natural 20 and thieving go hand in hand. What can I say.”
After deliberating a bit, I decide we can trust this Kender.
I mean, we already were almost led into a trap once. If we’re going to do it again, should we be fearing a Kender?
Izzie ~ “Watch yer mouth, human.”
Oh. Sorry.
Ahem.
Anyway, we need to decide.
I’ll allow it. Why not.
Kildirf the Kender (hopefully, their middle name, if they have one, doesn’t also start with a ‘K’) has joined our party.
A third level thief, apparently. Oh well. We will see if betrayal is in the cards.
The place at this point is more like a maze. After wandering a short way past where we found the Kender, we find some kind of evil library.
However, we cannot resist taking a quick look around, and find a scroll in one room and another scroll in the room across from it.
A White Scroll and Red Scroll. No idea what that means. I’m guessing we’ll need to identify them in the Outpost, or elsewhere. I don’t even know if the Outpost Armoury can even identify anything.
After running into a dead end, we backtrack a bit and stumble into a Knight of Solamnia.
Can this be Carmaronirionian or whatever his name is?
Journal Entry 67:
“I was with the patrol that followed Caramon in here. We ran into trouble almost immediately. We were not really expecting much opposition but . . .We were ambushed by a large force of hobgoblins and draconians. I was knocked out by a blow to the head early in the battle. I awoke in a dark corner, alone. It took me a while to get my bearings but I finally went out in search of my companions. I overheard from passing patrols that everybody except Caramon was killed.
“You must help me find Caramon. He must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the leaders of this band.”
Wait, now NPCs are gonna tell ME what to do?
What are we, collecting them now?
I guess. I mean, the guy’s a Knight and all, and if there’s some Gee Whiz Huge Encounter coming up, the more the merrier, right?
Journal Entry 7:
“Listen, Sir Karl is the most honorable of men. I would follow him anywhere. But there is something very dark and strange going on around him. He seems obsessed with a young girl named Maya. The fact that he’s about 40 years older than she is isn’t really the problem; if they’d just settle down and declare themselves! All that would happen is that a few gossips will snicker and that’ll be the end of it. But they won’t do that. Maya is extremely valuable to us. She has sources of information that are astounding, especially for one so young. But whenever the two of them are in the same room the tension is so obvious that. . .
“Ah, never mind. You say that he seems to be all right. I will go on that hope, and let troubles find me in their own good time. Let’s go.”
Alrighty then. Didn’t think a Knight would be so betrothed to such drama, but…what can ya do.
Other than let him join the party.
So that we do, and moving on through the dilapidated alleyways cracked through age and use, I find that Sir Strangleborn or whatever his name is, actually has good things to offer us.
Not much further from this inept trap is yet another one.
I never would have expected the Spanish Inquisition here, but…I would have expected to see THEM before I saw a trap door open from above and just a random number of monsters tumble down to attack.
The problem with this is, it’s a tough encounter.
There’s several enemy Fighters, whom are screening two Clerics and one Black Robe Mage. The spellcasters are a huge concern.
Right off the bat, though, Sir Fsup gets to go first, and he strikes the first blow, taking out one of the Clerics.
Next, we have Izzie hurl her usual insults, which further as usual causes the enemy to lose their minds.
You may say, “okay, that’s funny and all; your Kender is mouthy and likes to point out the shortcomings of the enemy. But what does it MEAN, man?”
Fair enough. Here’s an explanation, from the game’s manual.
The taunt will only work against intelligent opponents and they must save against magic or attack in a berserker rage. Opponents that fail their save will direct most of their efforts against the Kender and suffer a -2 THACO and +2 AC for the duration of the combat.
So, it’s pretty effective in that regard. Any little edge can help a lot in this game.
I follow up the insults with a Sleep spell.
Better than a stand-up comedy showcase from the mid-1980s!
The Mage and one Cleric have been dealt with, and the enemy Fighters are starting to fall as well, but that leaves one Cleric. Dude actually got a Charm Person spell off, which he threw at Izzie, failing miserably (thankfully; I hate having to take out friendly party members that get Charmed).
So, to return the favor, I Charm him, too.
The Charmed Cleric is pretty bad at melee combat, but he does get a Curse spell off to affect his erstwhile allies.
With the spellcasters under wraps, the Fighters fall pretty quickly, and what started as a seemingly very challenging battle turned out to be fairly effortless.
We get a whole 25 Steel, but 183 XP each, so…not bad I suppose.
Guess I missed that Smashen took a few licks in that last combat and is down to two whole hit points. Whoopsie.
Well, a quick FIX command and then encamping and re-memorizing spells is in order, and we get through spell memorization resting without any interruptions. So far, so good in that regard. The Gold Box games are excellent, though, at causing trouble when you least expect it in such situations. At this point, it’s WAY too far to go back to the Outpost just to rest, but not too far to go back to level up.
We’re healed fully, spells loaded, and the game is saved, so we’re ready to move on.
In the next part, of course.
End of Part 7
CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN AAR
PART ONE ~ PART TWO ~ PART THREE ~ PART FOUR ~ PART FIVE ~ PART SIX ~ PART SEVEN ~ PART EIGHT ~ PART NINE ~ PART TEN
PART ELEVEN ~ PART TWELVE ~ PART THIRTEEN ~ PART FOURTEEN ~ PART FIFTEEN ~ PART SIXTEEN ~ PART SEVENTEEN ~ PART EIGHTEEN ~ PART NINETEEN ~ PART TWENTY
PART 21 ~ PART 22 ~ PART 23 ~ PART 24 ~ PART 25 ~ PART 26 ~ PART 27 ~ PART 28 ~ PART 29 ~ PART 30
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There once was a game called Krynn,
With warriors, mages, and dragons within,
In Champions of might,
They battled all night,
For glory, for honor, to win.
The heroes were brave and true,
Fighting foes, both old and new,
With spells and with swords,
They faced their rewards,
To vanquish the dark and break through.
From the streets of Solace they roamed,
To the lairs where dragons called home,
With quests to fulfill,
And battles to thrill,
Champions of Krynn, on they’d roam.
