[AD&D Gamebook] The Sorcerer's Crown (Kingdom of Sorcery, book 2 of 3)

[Jfdlsjfd]

We state that our only chance is to get off this “scow” before the marines board it, and thus we will transform Rufyl into a Roc.

Honestly, I don't know the power of a Roc in AD&D (and I haven't used it in the later edition I played) but Rocs are supposed to be able to carry an elephant in its talons. It is a credible threat from the galley. Rufyl could easily have saved the other sailors in our party after dispatching the boarding galley. But no, let's let them die, they have outlived their usefulness.

Tears spring to Dalris’s eyes and she begs us not to risk Rufyl’s life because only “experienced” magic-users ever try to polymorph things.

Stop mansplaining us, Dalris! Erm...

We respond that Landor polymorphed Rufyl many times and that we’re going to read Landor’s incantation exactly as written.

Which if she is sooooo smart she could do. Didn't thief gain Use Magical Device skill-equivalent in AD&D?

We command Rufyl to show himself so we can see his shape. The sight of a miniature Draco conflagratio horribilis draws the attention of the marines on the nearby war galley who shout to each other “Kill it and its friends!” but make no move to do so. [Even though on the failed roll, they immediately riddle everyone’s body with crossbow bolts.]

So, our INT rolls determines whether the marines are quick or not.

Rufyl goes limp, “entering a dangerous phase of the spell when he exists only on another plane.” [Still not remotely true to the AD&D version of polymorph.]

Honestly, I like the added flavour. I prefer when my players are inspired and say "the blow is blocked by a shimmering light surrounding me for a brief moment just before it lands" rather than "21? Fecal matter of the male cow! I only have AC 18, I cast Shield." I can't demand that from players. But in books, the author isn't improvizing!

We expect to hear Rufyl’s thoughts, but the transformation seems to have damaged his telepathy. Dalris asks Rufyl to “squak three times if you can understand me”, which the roc does. We hope the spell didn’t alter Rufyl’s personality or intelligence.

There's a chance he can't turn invisible either, then. Which is a shame. An invisible Roc would probably be able to reduce the entire Saven fleet to floatsam before anyone can realize what's happening.

We ask Rufyl to Roc to fly us to land. He encircles us loosely with his talons, “forming two secure cages for [us] to ride in.” He leaps into the air and soars away from the angry shouts of the galley “as [we] fly towards Saven.”

A form I expect him to keep for 3 weeks as he's much more useful this way. Arno would respect us more if we were throwing small cottages upon his cathedral from 1,000 ft in the sky

Fakus Latinus in the original text. Because all worlds use the same dead language for precise nomenclature.

Or it's a smart translation. Dalris and Carr have no reason to speak English, they are supposed to speak Common. If the authors writes Common as English, he could very well translate Old, Academic Common into Latin.

In my game, Common is French, Infernal is German (sorry friends from across the border), Draconic is Latin, Undercommon is English, Old Giant is Classical Greek, and we've had handouts using them (OK, deepl helps).

I did not recall the extreme body horror of the polymorph transformations in these books. Gnarly!

It explains the System Shock roll quite well IMHO.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Rocs are supposed to be able to carry an elephant in its talons.

Indeed! The AD&D 1e roc has a 60-foot wingspan and “prey upon large creatures such as cattle, horses, and elephants.” The Monster Manual has a picture of a roc with an elephant in its talons — the largest elephant IRL (the African bush elephant) stands 11 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs up to 7 tons. We’re not told how much a roc weighs but given the Dragon Turtle’s 30-foot diameter shell was enough to sink the boat, what must the roc’s twice-as-long wingspan do?!

Didn't thief gain Use Magical Device skill-equivalent in AD&D?

At 10th level, thieves gain the ability to use magic scrolls: you otherwise must be a spellcasting class to use a scroll. However, Dalris stopped learning thief stuff at thief level 5, in order to become a bard.

Now, in this case, Carr is actually reading from his father’s spellbook as if it were a scroll, and those words open up all sorts of rules-lawyering opportunities. (Though I do think Gygax would slap us down if we suggested a non-magic-user, non-10th+-level-thief could possibly make any sense out of a borrowed spellbook being improvised as a scroll.)

There's a chance he can't turn invisible either, then.

Rules definitely open to interpretation.

“… the creature then acquires all of the form and abilities of the creature it has been polymorphed into.”
[…]
“An 8th level fighter successfully polymorphed into a blue dragon would know combat with weapons and be able to employ them with prehensile dragon forepaws if the fighter did not take on dragon personality and mentality.”

First of all, I must immediately rush off to stat up a blue dragon which is actually a high-level fighter who’s been polymorphed, and he fights you with his Rod of Lordly Might gripped in one prehensile dragon forepaw, or shoots at you with his Crossbow of Speed (it looks so cute and tiny in his paws) firing Arrows of Human Slaying.

Second of all, while Polymorph Other doesn’t explicitly say that a non-character-classed creature turned into something else would retain its innate abilities… it doesn’t say that such a creature would NOT retain such abilities! Thus an argument can definitely be made that a Rufyl who survives his System Shock roll and also maintains his own personality should retain the pseudodragon’s “chameleon-like power” to blend into its surroundings (which by the book makes it “80% undetectable to creatures not able to see invisible objects” and thus is not literally invisibility, anyway).

An invisible Roc would probably be able to reduce the entire Saven fleet to floatsam before anyone can realize what's happening.

That would be AWESOME. It would be like the giant invisible hand in the novel Bridge of Birds, but it also flies. Yikes!

[The gnarly body-horror polymorphing] explains the System Shock roll quite well IMHO.

That it does, that it does. Morris Simon brings the “sense of wonder” to these books, which should please anyone who complains it’s been lost in “modern” D&D. (A complaint that has existed since the 1990s, at least, LOL!)

 

[Joshua Randall]

99

Being tucked up against the roc’s body shields us from the tremendous wind generated by his flight. But Dalris yells out that Rufyl is not headed for the mainland but for Seagate Island.

We realize the reason for this is that the only rocs in Tikandia have a nesting ground in the craggy highlands on Seagate. Rufyl’s brain must have been altered, giving him the homing instincts of a giant bird.

Dalris says she can “try” to talk to Rufyl, but if he misunderstands what she wants, he might just drop us from his great height. It may be safer to let him land on the island.

(166) to have Dalris use her Druid skills to talk to Rufyl, or
(15) to wait until Rufyl lands.

---

Commentary:

… the only rocs in Tikandia have a nesting ground in the craggy highlands on Seagate.

Umm, what?! The same craggy highlands which are dotted with various villages of superstitious Marla-relatives? And this never came up until now?

(Although the presence of rocs may explain why the goatherder’s shed was abandoned and thus available for Carr and Marrrrrla to occupy in book 1’s backstory. The rocs first carried away all the goats, then the goatherd.)

Rufyl’s brain must have been altered, giving him the homing instincts of a giant bird.
Dalris says she can “try” to talk to Rufyl…

She cannot fail to talk to Rufyl, because Speak with Animals affects the spellcaster, not the animal. She could fail to accomplish anything if the DM is a jerk and rules that the animal remains recalcitrant despite communication and despite the spell’s statement that the animal becomes “amicable”.

She could also straight up charm Rufyl, as she did with the Manticore. It would save as a fighter of level equal to its HD, which are… (checks AD&D Monster Manual)… 18, holy crap!

An 18th level fighter would need only a 6+ on d20 to save vs. Spell, so Dalris’s chance of success with Charm Mammal would be small, but nonzero.

(166) to have Dalris use her Druid skills to talk to Rufyl, or
(15) to wait until Rufyl lands.

In case it wasn’t obvious in how I’ve been playing these books, in the Kingdom of SORCERY trilogy, I operate by a simple algorithm:

1. Is there a choice to cast a spell? If yes, do that.
2. Else: who cares it’s not sorcery.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

We realize the reason for this is that the only rocs in Tikandia have a nesting ground in the craggy highlands on Seagate. Rufyl’s brain must have been altered, giving him the homing instincts of a giant bird.

No natural roc would have let us take a high in its paws, and answered by yelling three times if he understood us. His mind must be perfectly functional. Maybe Rufyl is just geographically inept and flying forward out of fear of falling. It's not like he knows how winged flight works, apparently, since he never bothered to fly off the ground with his little wings.

… the only rocs in Tikandia have a nesting ground in the craggy highlands on Seagate.

Umm, what?! The same craggy highlands which are dotted with various villages of superstitious Marla-relatives? And this never came up until now?

Also, why are they afraid of lions when they are routinely attacked by rocs?

(166) to have Dalris use her Druid skills to talk to Rufyl, or

If we're rolling for Dalris, we might get to know her CHA score. It must be very high. Not because she's wildly beautiful, not because she often forgets to wear pants, but because we discovered in book 1 that being a demeaning jerk increases this stat. And given the recent comments Dalris made about our spellcasting ability, her charisma must be over-the-top.

In case it wasn’t obvious in how I’ve been playing these books, in the Kingdom of SORCERY trilogy, I operate by a simple algorithm

Understable. Though the idea of visiting Seagate Island could be a way to meet the relatives of Dead Drunk Thayne, since their village on the craggy mountains is surrounded by roc's nests, unbeknownst to them. Sneaky rocs, those ones.

Also, the plan consisting to make our grand entrance in Saven by landing a Roc on the main square, then turning him back into a little Roc, in front of everyone on market day, is probably WIS 3. If the town is in high alert, I think there is a chance that this event is reported by the security personnel.

 

[Joshua Randall]

No natural roc would have let us take a high in its paws, and answered by yelling three times if he understood us. His mind must be perfectly functional.

Based on this and other sections to come, apparently Rufyl’s mind starts out OK but becomes progressively more bestial as time progresses. Which is not at all how Polymorph Other works in the PH, but <insert usual disclaimer here>.

Also, why are they afraid of lions

Wendel has a lion-skin rug, so rather than fear of lions, the people of Seagate Island may have hunted lions to extinction, which is what allowed the rocs to take over.

…

OK, maybe not.

her CHA score. It must be very high. Not because she's wildly beautiful, not because she often forgets to wear pants

Now now: wild beauty would be an aspect of her Comeliness, while pantlessness would be an aspect of… her… what were we talking about?

Also, the plan consisting to make our grand entrance in Saven by landing a Roc on the main square […] I think there is a chance that this event is reported by the security personnel.

Only if the paladins cast Detect Magic on the roc, which shouldn’t show anything, because rocs are not inherently magical in AD&D. (They’re “just” 60-foot-wingspan eagles.)

 

[Joshua Randall]

166

We ask Dalris to use her “druid magic” to talk to Rufyl the Roc to convince him to turn around. [That is: to stop flying towards the roc nesting ground on Seagate Island and to go back to the mainland, towards Saven, which was our original destination.]

Dalris says she’ll give it a try although she’s never tried to communicate with a giant bird while it’s in flight. She’s quiet for several seconds, “perhaps” asking her patron goddess Brigit for help. Eventually Dalris speaks in a commanding tone:

”Hear me, great bird! Hear me, friend Rufyl! It isn’t time to roost. You must return to the mainland.”

We grip one of Rufyl’s talons tightly as we wait for Dalris’s spell to succeed or to fail. While “the stones of her druid’s torc will enchant her throat so that her words can be understood by animals”, whether or not Rufyl obeys her commands will also depend upon how much our spell altered his mind.

Test the power of your Polymorph Other spell by rolling 2 dice. Add the result to your intelligence skill score.

(191) if 26 or more;
(125) if less.

[We want to roll low here.]

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

Raaaaaah, you're penalized for having a high stat!

 

[Joshua Randall]

I grit my teeth as the first of two Google “dice roller” dice comes up a 5. The second one spins and comes up… a 1! Woohoo! Seldom have I inwardly cheered so loudly for a 1 on a d6.

INT 19 + 5 + 1 = 25. A successful failure.

---

125

Rufyl squawks loudly and turns away from Seagate Island. Dalris’s spell worked! Ours didn’t, fully. Yay!

The roc swoops low over the forested coastline, looking for somewhere to land. “Below you, a barren marsh blanketed in thick yellow fog seems to offer no visible clearing large enough for the legendary beast’s huge body.”

We tell Dalris to tell Rufyl to take us further inland, near the road. She replies that she did, but he may not have understood her, because Rufyl’s mind “is getting duller every minute.”

”Try again,” we say, because otherwise Rufyl will set us down in Yellow Marsh and we’ll never be able to find our way out before nightfall.

We must once again hope that our Polymorph Other spell wasn’t as powerful as it could have been.

INT test.
(202) if 26 or more.
(118) if less.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Commentary:

“Below you, a barren marsh…”

barren
adjective
1. (of land) too poor to produce much or any vegetation.
2. (of a place or building) bleak and lifeless.

How does the adjective barren differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of barren are bald, bare, naked, and nude. While all these words mean "deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering," barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.

marsh
noun
1. a tract of soft wet land usually characterized by monocotyledons (such as grasses or cattails)

swamp
noun
1. a wetland often partially or intermittently covered with water; especially: one dominated by woody vegetation

---

Things that can be arid, bleak, and lifeless because they do not produce much vegetation:

• Mountains.
• Deserts.
• Plains when they don’t get rain for a long time.

Things that cannot be arid because they are by definition wet and cannot be bleak and lifeless because they are dominated by various types of vegetation:

• Marshes.
• Swamps.

---

We tell Dalris to tell Rufyl to take us further inland, near the road.

Cast your minds back to when we originally planned our route to Saven.

Dalris sketches a rough map in the dirt.

She explains that there is a main road heading into Saven, which will be faster, but "might" be guarded by paladins.

Dalris has also sketches the "network of trails" [plural] along the coast. We point to the dirt-map and ask if "the" coastal trail [singular] enters Yellow Marsh, "several miles" from Wealwood. Our interior monologue informs us that "Yellow Marsh is a barren wasteland extending along the coast and reputed to be a haven for giant monsters from Tikandia's primordial past."

Dalris answers in the affirmative but says that we "could" detour around Yellow Marsh "and be on the main road for less than an hour at most."

Rufyl's suddenly panicky thoughts invade our mind to state that anything is better than Yellow Marsh. He went there once with Landor and doesn't want to go again.

We tell Rufyl that if we do take the coastal trail [singular], we will "try" to detour around the marsh.

If anyone can explain the geographical relationship among the main road, the barren yellow wasteland marsh that lies along the coast, the forest of Wealwood, the coastal trail(s), and the also forested coastline… please do so. Because I cannot make any sense out of how flying further inland gets us to a road that could be a detour around the marsh that is also not entered by the coastal trails through the forested coastline and those trails are an alternate path that start out in a forest that gives way to a coastal marsh that is not entered by the coastal trails.

 

[Joshua Randall]

This time the Google dice do not cooperate: they deliver a 6 & 1 for a total result of exactly 26. I assume (and hate) that we are being punished for choosing to max out our INT.

202

Dalris cries out that it’s no use: Rufyl can’t understand her any more. He’s headed for “the nearest landing spot, and it looks like that’ll be the barren area to our left.”

”That’s Yellow Marsh!” [we] shout. The desolate marsh is blanketed with a curious yellow fog that extends beyond its shore into the sea. Through the murky haze, you can see the skeletons of countless dead trees and pools of stinking, stagnant water lying on the barren, muddy ground.

The roc begins to choke on the sulfurous fumes [we’re fine, though] as it comes in for a landing. Fortunately it instinctively brings its talons up into its downy belly feathers, which cushion the impact. The roc then opens its talons to scrabble for footing in the swamp, allowing us to escape across the “yellow ooze”.

Dalris hides behind a half-submerged log and tells us to cancel the spell upon Rufyl, because he is fully roc now and will eat anything he can get his talons on — including us.

(70) to use Dispel Magic, or
(147) if we’ve already used it “or want to save it for a different situation.”

---

Commentary:

I was convinced we were dead here, but we’re back to roll high = better outcome. If we had rolled less than 26, we would’ve had a rough landing and lost 1d6 HP. Then we’d still get the chance to cast Dispel Magic.

Through the murky haze, you can see the skeletons of countless dead trees and pools of stinking, stagnant water lying on the barren, muddy ground.

Dead trees might fit within a barren wasteland, but pools of water only come about if there is some source of liquid to keep refilling them (else the water evaporates). Thus I continue to object strongly to any description of this marsh as “barren”.