[Fighting Fantasy] House of Hell

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

1E AD&D was my first fantasy RPG, but probably the second-most formative one for me were the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks published in the early 1980s. My parents worked for the government, and we were stationed overseas when the first Fighting Fantasy books were released, meaning my brother and I picked up Warlock of Firetop Mountain, Citadel of Chaos, Forest of Doom, Deathtrap Dungeon, City of Thieves, the interconnected Sorcery! trilogy, and about half a dozen others at school book fairs.

I never saw 1984's House of Hell at one of these book sales. Either it came out after we went back to the US or school officials weren't keen on selling an aggressively horrific gamebook to American school kids during the Satanic Panic years. So I missed it until years later when it was reissued in the states and available via Tin Man Games' apps. The book is one of the most popular of the Fighting Fantasy books, with a pitch-black tone and deadly reputation. I've only played it once and, true to its reputation, got whacked extremely early on.

So, for Spooky Season 2024, I'm going to try again, playing through House of Hell until I get killed. So this could be a two- or three-post Actual Play, or this could go quite a bit longer. Who knows?

I will not be copying and pasting the text from the books, but rather rewriting it, treating this like any actual play session. (Also, piracy is bad, y'all. You can pick up a digital version of this book for only a few dollars and the paperback is relatively available in the newest printings. It's also a good bet that it'll be in the first 10 Fighting Fantasy books that Steve Jackson Games brings to the US next year.) (Not the same Steve Jackson who wrote House of Hell. Probably. They've enjoyed people getting them confused in the past, so who knows.) I will note the page number of each post, for people who want to track what I'm doing more closely.

For people unfamiliar with Fighting Fantasy's rules, it uses 2d6, Skill, Stamina and Luck stats and mostly uses a universal roll-under resolution system. Individual books add additional stats or rules subsystems, which aren't always thought out perfectly and which don't necessarily work the same from book to book (Citadel of Chaos and the Sorcery! books both introduce spellcasting systems, but they don't work the same.) In House of Hell, Fear is added to the core three stats -- if my character accrues too much Fear, they die of fright, in addition to the danger of being hacked to bits or something by denizens of the house. I'll include my stats in each post, so readers can see how I'm doing.

My nameless character is starting with 8 Skill (determined with a 1d6 + 6). This is the roll I'll use all the time, if other Fighting Fantasy books are a guide, both in combat but to do any other sort of "skill" rolls we might see in other RPGs.

His Stamina (a combination of Hit Points and Constitution in D&D terms) is 22 (2d6 +12).

His Luck is 8 (1d6 + 2). This stat, unsurprisingly, is what's used to see whether the character succeeds in purely random situations. It can also be used in combat to do extra damage or for the player character to take less damage. But Luck also goes down every time it's used. Eventually, a character's Luck will run out, leaving them a sitting duck for the next time it's needed.

Finally, his Fear stat is 11 (1d6 + 6), which appears to work like Stamina for being scared. Eleven is pretty darn good, so I'd expect my character to probably die in some other horrible fashion rather than a heart attack.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I have never played this book. I missed it at the time (probably for similar reasons) but have heard the… horror… stories about it. (Ba dum TISH)

I’ll be interested to see how generous or stingy this book is with Luck refreshes. Some of the books are generous enough that you can and should use Luck aggressively to end combats quickly. Of course, I don’t expect the Tomb of Horrors of Fighting Fantasy to reward such behavior!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My cell phone is dead and even before that, I've had no signal for hours. Where I am is only a guess; without GPS, I had to ask an old man a while back for directions but either he gave me bad ones or I misunderstood them.

The rain is coming down so heavily, the wipers are almost useless as I thump along a muddy track, hoping to find a proper road soon.

A figure darts out into my headlights and I spin the wheel frantically, tires spraying mud and suddenly the car goes over the edge and into a ditch.

I pull myself out of the car and I limp out to check on the person I had to have hit.

But there is no body.

I remember the figure -- was it the old man from before? -- his arms upraised, as though trying to fend off the car, face contorted with fear.

Shuddering, I head back to the car. I turn the key and the engine gives a choking shudder. I turn it again, and there's the sound of a fitful clicking and then the headlights begin to dim.

There was a garage some 20 miles back. Maybe ...

And then a light appears in the darkness -- someone has switched on an electric light in a house that had been invisible in the darkness and rain. There hasn't been another house for at least 15 miles. Some good luck at last.

I flip my collar up and bundle myself up tightly, trying to stay dry and warm as I head toward the light, finding a long driveway in the brush. It's at least five minutes up the drive to the house and, hopefully, a phone.

A flash of lightning illuminates the house. It's old and in serious disrepair. The light in the window flickers -- not an electrical light then, maybe an oil lamp or candles.

Soaked through, I climb the steps to the front door, sheltered from the rain on the porch. No lights downstairs in the house. I duck back in the rain and look back at the upstairs light, but it's gone out. I check my watch -- five minutes to midnight.

I sigh and prepare to knock. Just then, a light to the left, around the corner of the house. By its dim glow, I see also that there's a door knocker and a bell pull to the right of the door.

((Rap the door with the knocker: Page 357))
((Pull the cord: Page 275.))
((Creep around the house to look at the light: Page 289))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I want whoever's awake to hear me over the sound of the storm, rather than going back to bed, and peeping on perfect strangers whose phone I hope to use seems ill-advised, so I use the knocker.

A moment later, the door slowly opens. A tall man dressed in a dark formal suit opens the door, his face solemn.

"Yes?"

"My car," I gesture back toward the road, where of course my car is nowhere to be seen, stuck as it is in a ditch on the far side. "I need to use your phone, call the garage."

The man watches me, showing no reaction to this.

"Come in," he says finally. "The master is expecting you."

I'm too rattled by the night's events to ask what he could possibly mean -- did the master see me approach through the upstairs window? -- and he leads me to a reception hall.

From the outside, it seemed like the house was in danger of imminent collapse, but this hall is nice, with rich tapestries, oak panels and a solid carved wooden chair, set next to what looks like an antique table. Portraits line the walls.

The butler, or whatever he is, vanishes.

((Wait for the host to arrive: Page 277))
((Study the paintings: Page 304))
((Search for a phone: Page 238))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Not seeing a phone at first glance in the room, I decide to be patient and check out the paintings. Three of them are especially interesting.

((Look at the painting of a beautiful young woman in a tiara: Page 151))
((Look at the painting of a portly middle-aged gentleman in half-moon glasses: Page 37))
((Look at the painting of an elderly woman with gray hair and a cold expression: Page 250))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

After the night I've had, I look first at the painting of the young woman.

Lady Danvers: 1802 - 1834

I admire the woman -- dead so young. In the dim light, it almost seems as though her lips are moving. This has to be exhaustion or a fever, but I lean closer to hear the whisper of sound coming from the painting.

"Beware -- this house is cursed," she whispers. "Lord Kelnor is already plotting your death. Do not drink his white wine. Escape while you can!"

I step back, feeling any icy chill that has nothing to do with my soaked clothes go down my spine.

((Gain 1 Fear. ))

((Skill 8, Stamina 22, Luck 8, Fear 1/11))

((Run for the door: Page 391))
((Wait to see what happens: Page 277))

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I don't need to be told twice -- or to poll the rest of the creepy paintings in this place. I run to the door and twist the handle.
I have to stifle a scream. The handle is electrified.

((Take 2 stamina points damage.))

((Skill 8, Stamina 20, Luck 8, Fear 1/11))

There's nothing to do but wait for my host to arrive.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I like how we’ve gone from 0 to 60 in 3 passages. THIS IS HOW YOU GET PEOLE INVESTED. No long boring buildups!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There's the sound of footsteps and the door opens. The butler steps inside, opening the door for a tall man dressed in a red smoking jacket.

"May I present Lord Kelnor, Earl of Drumer," the butler says.

The same name as the vision from the painting. All of which seems impossible, of course.

I shake his hand. It's strong and he holds my hand a moment, looking deeply into my eyes, smiling slightly.

"My car, a phone ..." I begin.

He raises a hand to cut me off.

"Of course, you've been caught in this storm. Sit by the fire and we'll see whether we can help. Franklins, have the cook prepare some food for our guest."

I try to tell him I'm fine and that he shouldn't go to any trouble, but Kelnor ignores me, leading me to a drawing room where a fire is burning. I take off my soaked and dripping jacket and sit down. The fire feels amazing, warming and drying me almost immediately.

Franklins reappears with two glasses of brandy.

((Relax, drink the brandy, ask if I can use the telephone: Page 394)
((Wait to see what Kelnor asks of me: Page 111)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I want to ask about the telephone but I'm not going anywhere without Kelnor's help, no matter what I thought I heard in my earlier hallucination. I bite my tongue.

Kelnor seems oddly annoyed at this.

"Has your little accident so shaken you? Drink. You'll soon forget all your fears."

He watches me like a cat watching a mouse. In the flickering firelight, his expression seems less friendly than it did a moment ago.

I shiver in fear.

((Take 1 fear point.))

A moment later, Franklin reappears and announces that the meal is served.

Kelnor and I rise and go into the dining room.

((Skill 8, Stamina 20, Luck 8, Fear 2/11))