(text-style:"italic")[The lawyers of Yongardy are people of legend. You grew up with their portraits on your wall, spent your weekends crowded into the court’s public gallery, you jostled and pushed for a glimpse of the barristers fighting their cases on the trial floor. You remember the air filled with sweat and the cheering and the clash of steel on steel, the groans and screams of the crowd as their favourite lawyers squared off against one another.
So you trained for years, studying the law and the blade with all the diligence you could muster – never quite top of your class, but never far away. Always consistent. They called you a contender, an up-and-comer. Everyone knew you were destined for at least moderate fame.
Now the day is here. You are finally a qualified barrister, granted licence to don the wig and the leather, to take up steel on the trial floor, that ancient tradition you devoted so much of your life to.
Your first trial is here. It’s time to see how much you learned. It’s time to show everyone how much you love the Law.]
Know how it all works already? Skip to [[Character Creation]]!
[[Introduction Contd.]]
You are a newly-qualified Yongardy Lawyer about to fight your first trial – and, with a little luck, make a name for yourself as one of the great Lawyers you so admire.
Before embarking on your adventure, you must determine your own strengths and weaknesses. Some of this you will discover as you play – the decisions you make during the game will provide you with equipment and Advanced Skills.
To see how well your training as a lawyer went, use dice to determine your initial Skill, Stamina, and Luck. Use the kind of dice with six sides – henceforth known as d6. 1d6 means one die, 2d6 is two dice, and so on. To roll a d3, just roll 1d6 and halve it, rounding up.
You can use the //Adventure Sheet// found in the downloads on the Itch page to record the details of your adventure. It has spaces to record your scores and equipment, as well.
[[Character Creation]]Writing and Layout by Chris Bissette.
Illustrated by Rowan A./Monsieur Le Battlier.
Editing by Jared Sinclair.
Special thanks to Batts, Luke Gearing, Fiona Maeve Geist, Michael T. Lombardi, Matt Sanders, and Daniel Sell.
Copyright 2021 Chris Bissette, Rowan A./Monsieur Le Battlier.
This product is an independent production of Loot The Room and is not affiliated with the Melsonian Arts Council.
Redistribution without prior written consent is prohibited.
Permission is granted to photocopy and otherwise reproduce for personal use. The author retains their right to be identified as such. In all cases this notice must remain intact.#Character Creation
(link-rerun:"Click to Generate")
[<br>
(set: $skill to (random: 1,3)+3)Skill: $skill
(set: $stamina to (random: 2,12)+12)Stamina: $stamina
(set: $luck to (random: 1,6)+6)Luck: $luck
You start with (set: $sp to (random: 2,12))$sp Silver Pence and 6 Provisions. (set: $prov to 6)]
---
0. Roll 1d3+3 to determine Skill.
0. Roll 2d6+12 to determine Stamina.
0. Roll 1d6+6 to determine Luck.
0. You start with 2d6 Silver Pence and 6 Provisions.
For a traditional experience you can record these totals on your //Adventure Sheet//, but this digital version will also keep track for you. Your scores will change during an adventure, so write small or keep an eraser handy – just make sure you never rub out your starting scores. You might be awarded additional Skill, Stamina, and Luck, but these totals can never exceed their starting values, unless the text specifically says otherwise.
[[Rolling Dice]]#Rolling Dice
To do actions you’ll be required to roll 2d6, adding them together, as Roll Under or Roll Versus.
''Roll Under'' is when you try to score equal to or under a target number. You’ll do this when your roll isn’t opposed by another character, like when climbing a wall or catching something, Rolling two 6s is always a failure.
''Rolling Versus'' is mostly used for combat and other contests, where you try to score equal to or over a target number - usually an opponent’s Attack (see [[Battles]]). When you Roll Versus you add any applicable bonuses like Advanced Skills to your roll before you calculate your result.
[[Battles]]#Battles
Sometimes you’ll have to fight a creature of some sort. You might have the option to flee, or to use one of your Advanced Skills instead (ppxx), but if you get in a fight, resolve the battle as described below.
Each encounter in the book provides all the information you need to fight an enemy. It looks something like this:
(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[''CYCLOPS''
''Attack 16''
''Stamina 14'']
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage Roll</strong></td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage</strong></td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">8</td>
<td align="center">10</td>
<td align="center">12</td>
<td align="center">14</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
''Special'': Ignores 1 point of Armour.
First, record the enemy’s Attack and Stamina in the first empty Monster Encounter box on your //Adventure Sheet//. Now you’re ready to do combat.
The sequence of combat is:
1. Roll 2d6 and add your Skill and a relevant Advanced Skill if you have one (for example, if you attack with a rapier, add your Rapier Fighting).
2. Compare your result to the enemy’s Attack. If your result is higher, you successfully hit them! If your result is lower, they hit you. Enemies win on ties.
3. Roll 1d6 and compare it to the Damage chart for your weapon (if you hit), or for the enemy’s weapon (if they hit you). Deduct the result from the wounded party’s Stamina. You can Test your Luck to increase your Damage roll, or to decrease your opponent’s Damage roll (ppxx).
If you have a bonus to Damage, it modifies the roll of the die, not the amount of Damage inflicted. For example, if you have +1 to Damage with your rapier, and you roll a 5, your Damage roll is a 6 instead, and you inflict 8 damage.
Armour reduces the Damage roll by its value, to a minimum result of 1. Some enemy attacks ignore an amount of Armour. For example: you are wearing a chain kilt that offers Modest protection (Armour 2). The Cyclops above strikes you and rolls a 6 for Damage. Normally, you would reduce the roll to 4 due to your Armour, but the Cyclops has a Special that says “Ignores 1 point of Armour.” You modify the Cyclops’s roll by 1 instead, reducing it to 5, and the Cyclops inflicts 12 damage.
4. Begin the next Combat Round, repeating the steps above until either your Stamina or your opponent’s is reduced to 0.
##Escaping
At times, you might be given the option of running away from a battle. If you do run away, the enemy automatically strikes you for 2 Damage as you flee. Such is the price of cowardice (or self-preservation, if you prefer). You may Test your Luck (ppxx) to reduce this Damage to 0. You may only attempt to escape if that option is specifically given to you on the page.
##Fighting More Than One Enemy
If an encounter presents you with multiple enemies, the instructions on that page will tell you how to handle the battle. Generally this involves building an Initiative Stack and entering a chaotic fray where nobody really knows what’s happening until one participant or another is left standing atop a pile of dead bodies.
[[Luck]]#Testing Your Luck
Luck represents your fortune and intuition, tested whenever fate swipes at you. At various times during your adventure, either in battle or when you come across a situation in which you could be either lucky or unlucky, you may call on your Luck to make the outcome more favourable. Individual encounters will explain how Luck comes into play.
To use Luck, roll 2d6 and try to roll equal to or less than your current Luck score. Testing your Luck is always optional – you may refuse to roll, and instead accept your fate. If you accept your fate, or if your roll is higher than your current Luck score, you are unlucky and gain no benefit (or suffer the consequences). After you Test your Luck, reduce your current Luck by 1 whether the Test was successful or not.
#Using Luck in Battles
In battle, you can Test your Luck to inflict a more serious wound on an enemy you successfully hit, or to minimise the damage when an enemy hits you.
If you hit an enemy, you may Test your Luck. If you succeed, add 2 to your Damage roll. If you do not succeed, subtract 1 from your Damage roll instead.
If an enemy successfully hits you, you may Test your Luck. If you succeed, subtract 2 from the enemy’s Damage roll. If you do not succeed, add 1 to the enemy’s Damage roll instead. This is the only way for enemies to roll 7 for Damage and deal maximum damage to you – Testing your Luck is risky!
**Remember to reduce your current Luck by 1 each time you Test your Luck.**
[[Advanced Skills]]
#Advanced Skills
At certain points in the game you can learn new Advanced Skills, and possibly even Spells. Advanced Skills and Spells always have an associated number (known as their rank). Your Advanced Skill’s rank plus your Skill is the Advanced Skill Total. There is space to write your Advanced Skill Totals on your //Adventure Sheet//.
EXAMPLE: You have completed your training, specialising in the rapier. You gain 4 Rapier Fighting as an Advanced Skill. At character creation, you rolled a Skill of 5, so your Advanced Skill Total in Rapier Fighting is 9. You use this any time you fight with your rapier.
[[Restoring Skill, Stamina, and Luck]]
#Restoring Skill, Stamina, and Luck.
##Skill
Your Skill will not change much during your adventure. Occasionally, a page may instruct you to increase or decrease your Skill, but it can never exceed its starting value unless specifically stated otherwise.
##Stamina, Healing, and Provisions
Your Stamina will change a lot during your adventure, as you fight monsters and undertake arduous tasks. When your Stamina is reduced to 0, you are in danger of dying. If this happens outside of combat, you can attempt to heal yourself by rolling under your Healing Advanced Skill Total (or just your Skill, if you do not have Healing). This restores you to 1 Stamina if you succeed – otherwise, YOU ARE DEAD.
If your Stamina is low (but not yet at 0), you can eat a Provision to regain 1d6 Stamina. You can eat Provisions at any time, provided you are not currently in combat and you still have some Provisions in your inventory. There may be other forms of healing available, such as visiting a bathhouse or drinking a potion. These opportunities will be indicated when they occur.
##Luck
Sometimes an encounter will reward you with extra Luck. As with Skill and Stamina, your Luck may never exceed its starting value unless specifically stated otherwise.
[[Continue]]//''You now know everything you need to know to begin your career as a Lawyer. Good luck!''//
Go to [[1]]
Or, if you need a refresher:
[[Character Creation]]
[[Rolling Dice]]
[[Battles]]
[[Luck]]
[[Restoring Skill, Stamina, and Luck]]
[[Advanced Skills]] At last, the day has arrived. You rose early and breakfasted, but you were too anxious and excited to eat much. You watched the sun rise, the light glinting off the glass towers and bronze domes of Yongardy, refracting through the kaleidoscopic wings of the golden barges drifting high overhead, and you paced in circles in your chambers as the clocks of the city slowly chimed away the hours.
Yongardy comes alive around you. The streets outside your window slowly fill with the clamour and rumble of daily life. As the Trial draws near, the people passing your house move with more purpose. They all head toward the Courts in the wide square at the centre of the city – you’ll join them soon.
First, though, you have some time to kill before you meet your Trainer for one last lesson. Your family will want to see you on the morning of your big day, but you also plan to spend some time in the Portrait Gallery where images of lawyers past and present have hung for generations. You only have time to do one. Which will it be?
Visit the portrait gallery (turn to [[15]]).
Go and see your family (turn to [[9]]).
You’ve made the walk to the portrait gallery hundreds of times, but today it feels different. The sun is brighter and warmer. The breeze blows gentle and welcoming at your back, as if to shepherd you along the crowded avenues of Yongardy.
Above the rooftops and the winding cobbled streets you make out the glinting glass dome of the Courts, but your journey takes you around a corner before the building comes into full view. You will get your fill of it later.
The portrait gallery is a tall, red brick townhouse along a quiet road. Broad steps behind black wrought iron gates lead to an imposing set of double doors, one standing open to allow entry to the cool halls beyond it.
You spend an hour slowly wandering the quiet corridors, your heels clicking on the marble floors as you stop and gaze upon the faces of the barristers you most admire: Moncrief Collywobble, who famously won every case she ever fought before retiring at the age of 27 to become a Demon Stalker, and was never seen again; Architrex the Bald, the only man to ever successfully prosecute himself, in a bloody spectacle that lasted three full days; and Lucidna Of No Other Name, who successfully tried an entire family of North End mobsters at the same time, and emerged victorious.
At the end of the hallway, in a small room lit only by the light from a high window, you come to the portraits of the most recent graduates. You knew them all, watched them graduate just one year ago, knowing that you would be in their shoes in 12 short months. You watched their first trials, taking notes with your trainer. You watched half of them die.
Tomorrow, your portrait will hang in this room. It is up to you to forge your legacy, up to you to determine whether your face ever finds its way into the prestigious halls of the main gallery.
Outside, the bells chime thirteen, and you realise you have been here for far too long. It’s time you went to meet your Trainer and receive your final instructions before your trial.
You hurry back through the gallery corridors. As the main doors come into view, and the road outside, you hear a sound – a thud from behind a nearby door, and a muffled cry. What do you do?
Ignore it and go to meet your Trainer (go to [[18]]).
Investigate the noise (go to [[21]]).
Your parents’ house is only a short walk up the narrow street where you live, but today it takes longer than normal. The crowds already flow toward the courts where your trial will take place later. The mass of bodies chokes the tight roads, and you push between them, fighting up the hill toward your childhood home. Even the wind seems against you – the hot breeze whistles past your ears, telling you to turn around, go to court, meet your fate.
Eventually you stand outside your parents’ home, a squat bungalow pushed back from the road and hidden behind thick hedges. A heavy wooden gate opens onto a winding path between knee-high grasses and wildflowers, eventually ending at the front door of the cottage. The windows are dark and still curtained – unusual for this time of day. No one answers when you knock.
What do you do?
Your parents must have left already. You’re sad to miss them, but you’ll see them later. Go to see your tutor before the trial (go to [[18]]).
Let yourself into the house (go to [[23]]).
The old man slumps to the floor, lifeless, and you drop your bruised knuckles to your sides. As the haze of battle leaves you and you stand over the man’s body catching your breath, your heart still pounding in your chest, you realise what you’ve done. You, a newly-qualified lawyer, sworn to Uphold and Revere the Law of the Land, have just committed and extra-judicial murder for a crime that you can’t even be sure occurred, let alone name.
You pull his body into the corner of the room, throwing the dusty tarp over him, and flee. Someone will find him eventually, but with a little luck no one will ever connect the crime to you. Your career would never survive it.
Go to [[18]].
Van Deet is already waiting in the Robing Room when you arrive at the courthouse, impatiently pacing back and forth across the worn parquet floor. You hear the thrum and rumble of the waiting crowd through the wall. The air crackles with nervous tension.
"Good, you're here," Van Deet says. "Took you long enough. I thought for a moment you weren't coming." They fix you with that hard look you know so well, and as you open your mouth to explain yourself, their face cracks into a rare smile. "You've done yourself proud to get here. I'd love to give you the pep talk you deserve, but there isn't time."
They gesture to the hooks on the wall behind you, where the traditional wig, mask, and robes of the Yongardy lawyer wait for you to don them for the first time.
"Get dressed," they say. "It's time for you to decide what kind of lawyer you'll be."
To become a Prosecutor, go to [[19]].
To become a Defender, go to [[13]].
(set: $enemyattack to 11)(set: $enemystam to 8)
He is startled by your onslaught, but his face turns hard as you approach.
“Oh, it’s like that, is it? Well then, see how you like this!” He grabs another one of the busts and throws it at you! Now you have no choice but to fight.
**OLD MAN**
**Attack $enemyattack** | **Stamina $enemystam**
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage Roll</strong></td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage</strong></td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
If you defeat him, you may inspect his body and the room (go to [[2]]), or leave and go to find your trainer (go to [[18]]).
After a brutal engagement, you strike your opponent again and they fall to one knee, their sword clattering to the ground. Etiquette dictates that you never strike an unarmed foe on the trial floor, but this could be your chance to end it. You must decide.
If you strike them, you hit them automatically – roll Damage and lower your Etiquette Advanced Skill by 1 point. You can’t do this if your Etiquette is already at 0.
If you let them recover and rejoin the fight, heal 1d3 Stamina as you take a breather.
If your opponent is still alive, go to [[6]].
If your opponent is dead, go to [[17]].
(set: $enemyattack to 16)(set: $enemystam to 12)
You’ve walked these floors a thousand times, packed tight into the stalls with the rest of the crowds. You’ve screeched and hollered and cheered and called for blood. The trial floor always looked big, a wide space with ample room for lawyers to dodge and weave and thrust and bleed.
Standing here now, it seems much smaller. The wooden floor is old and chipped, the varnish cracked and scraped by blades and hammers and teeth. It feels like your opponent – anonymous, masked like you, casually carving the air with a massive two-handed sword – is already on top of you, far too close before the trial has even begun. You hear the creak of their leather, the rasp of their breath on the inside of their mask, the jangle of chain cascading over their wrists.
Above you, the judge bangs her gavel and shouts out words you can’t hear over the roar of the crowd. Your opponent advances.
No time to think – it’s time to practice law.
**ANONYMOUS LAWYER**
**Attack $enemyattack** | **Stamina $enemystam**
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage Roll</strong></td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage</strong></td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">8</td>
<td align="center">13</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
**Special:**If the Anonymous Lawyer strikes you twice in a row, +1 to their second Damage roll.
If you strike your opponent 3 times without defeating them, go to [[4]].
If your opponent strikes you 3 times without defeating you, go to [[24]].
If you kill your opponent, go to [[5]].
If you die, go to [[10]].
A hush falls over the crowd as you move to execute your opponent. As they scramble for their blade, you put your boot on their back – they have no chance in hell of defending themselves. You know that this will follow you forever, that your reputation as a lawyer will be inextricably linked to this first act of malice, but you don’t care.
And neither does the crowd. Not really. There’s a hush, yes – but only for a second – and the roar that swells up as the blood leaves the other lawyer’s body is unlike anything you’ve ever heard.
“Order!” the judge shouts, completely ineffective, slamming her gavel into the bench. “Order in the court!”
No one needs to tell you what to do next. You’ve seen too many trials to be in any doubt. You step forward, reach down, and remove your opponent’s mask to add to your trophy case – and your heart feels like it fell out of your chest.
This has all gone horribly wrong.
Go to [[7]].
The blow lands true! Your opponent staggers back, their sword falling from suddenly-limp fingers to the ground. Screams and shouts erupt from the crowd as they topple over, the sound of their body hitting the floor inaudible against the thunder of a thousand spectators stamping their feet. The judge hammers the bench with her gavel.
“Order!” she shouts, completely ineffective. “Order in the court!”
No one needs to tell you what to do next. You’ve seen too many trials to be in any doubt. You step forward, reach down, and remove your opponent’s mask to add to your trophy case – and your heart feels like it fell out of your chest.
This has all gone horribly wrong.
Go to [[7]].
“It can’t be,” the judge says, peering down over the bench as you back slowly away from the body at your feet. You notice the silence spreading over the crowd, the whispers and sharp gasps as word spreads.
Who lies dead at your feet?
Lotantine Badundonk, Third Duke of Dezbet.
Winona Marmalade, Princess of the Bear Kingdom.
Judge Dauphine Kafala, Supreme Keeper Of The Law.
Once you have decided, go to [[26]].
The blow comes out of nowhere and sends you reeling. Your face meets the wooden floor and your weapon skids away out of reach. Etiquette forbids your opponent from striking you while you are unarmed, but their shadow falls across you and your heart sinks.
If you successfully Test your Luck, your opponent gives you time to recover your weapon and return to your feet (go to [[6]]).
If you do not, they strike you while you are on the ground. Roll their damage as normal.
If you are still alive, go to [[6]].
If you die, go to [[10]].
You step forward, arms pumping as you aim your next blow, but your body meets unexpected resistance. You stop with a sudden jolt. Your head falls forward, suddenly too heavy for your neck to hold, and a glittering steel foot briefly fills your sight as it joins with your chest. Your vision dims, and the trial floor fades to black.
Alas, your career as a Yongardy Lawyer ends as have so many others before - in defeat, before you could ever prove yourself. Maybe in another life your portrait will hang on the walls of the gallery, but this one is over.
**Better luck next time**.
Go to [[26]].
This concludes the preview of Down in Yongardy. If you made it this far, congratulations!
I hope you’ll tell me all about it <a href="http://www.twitter.com/pangalactic" target="_blanl">on Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.instagram.com/ltrrpg" target="_blank">on Instagram </a>. You can support this project <a href="http://bit.ly/DownInYongardy" target="_blank">on Kickstarter</a> to find out how it ends!
As you head further into the house, it becomes clear that something isn’t right. Your parents’ boots are still lined up neatly by the front door, which is chained from the inside. Your mother’s walking cane is propped by the foot of the stairs, your father’s bowler hat still hangs from the end of the bannister.
You scour the house but find no sign of them, and no clue as to where they might have gone. Nothing seems out of place. You realise that if you spend any more time here you'll miss meeting your Trainer – and your first trial.
As you head back through the kitchen to leave, you spot something you missed before – a **Box of Chocolates** and a **Bottle of Fine Wine, Vintage ‘93** beside a **Greeting Card** with your name on it and the words "Good luck!" in your mother's hand. If you take them, write them in your Inventory.
Go to [[18]].
You pick your way through the weeds and brambles to the back door, recovering the spare key from its hiding place beneath a ceramic statue of a sleeping bear. You let yourself into the dim kitchen. The air is still and cool, quiet in a way that tells you the place has been empty for hours.
What do you do?
Head further into the house (go to [[8]]).
Leave to go and meet your Trainer (go to [[18]]).
Van Deet nods in approval. "Excellent," they say. "Now get dressed. I'll be waiting outside. It's nearly time."
They turn and leave the room. For the brief second that the door is open the roar of the crowd fills the room. A chill runs up your spine as you begin preparing yourself for your first trial.
Add the following possessions to your //Adventure Sheet//:
* Hammer.
* Gargantuan Shield (Armour 1).
* Manual on Yongardy Law.
* Barrister’s Wig.
You also gain the following Advanced Skills (write them on your Adventure Sheet):
* 4 Hammer Fighting (set: $weaponskill to 4)
* 2 Etiquette
* 1 Healing
When you are ready to leave, speak to Van Deet one final time (go to [[22]]).
(set: $weapon to "Hammer")
(set: $wattack1 to 1)
(set: $wattack2 to 2)
(set: $wattack3 to 4)
(set: $wattack4 to 6)
(set: $wattack5 to 8)
(set: $wattack6 to 10)
(set: $wattack7 to 12)Van Deet meets you outside the Robing Room, next to a pair of heavy double doors that lead to the trial floor. You’ve stood in the crowded stalls on the other side of those doors countless times, watching your favourite lawyers strode through them to face their foe – and then again as one of them was dragged out, leaving behind nothing but a trail of blood and a legacy cut short.
“The Prosecutor is inside already,” Van Deet says. “I don’t know who they are, and neither will you. That’s the way with the first trial. Could be a name, could be a nobody.” The crowd roars from beyond the doors, reacting to something you can’t see, and you swallow hard. This suddenly seems very real.
“Just remember your training. They’ll try to draw you in, get you to do something stupid. Take your time, keep your guard up, and only strike when you know you’re going to hit.”
Go to [[6]].
“I thought so,” Van Deet says. “It always suited you. Now get dressed. I'll be waiting outside. It's nearly time."
They turn and leave the room. For the brief second that the door is open the roar of the crowd fills the room. A chill runs up your spine as you begin preparing yourself for your first trial.
Add the following possessions to your //Adventure Sheet//:
* Rapier (damage as Sword). (set: $weapon to "Rapier")
* Puffy Shirt (Armour 1).
* Manual on Yongardy Law.
* Barrister’s Wig.
You also gain the following Advanced Skills (write them on your //Adventure Sheet//):
* 4 Rapier Fighting (set: $weaponskill to 4)
* 2 Etiquette
* 1 Healing
When you are ready to leave, speak to Van Deet one final time (go to [[20]]).
(set: $wattack1 to 4)
(set: $wattack2 to 6)
(set: $wattack3 to 6)
(set: $wattack4 to 6)
(set: $wattack5 to 6)
(set: $wattack6 to 8)
(set: $wattack7 to 10)Van Deet meets you outside the Robing Room, next to a pair of heavy double doors that lead to the trial floor. You’ve stood in the crowded stalls on the other side of those doors countless times, watching your favourite lawyers strode through them to face their foe – and then again as one of them was dragged out, leaving behind nothing but a trail of blood and a legacy cut short.
“The Defendant is inside already,” Van Deet says. “I don’t know who they are, and neither will you. That’s the way with the first trial. Could be a name, could be a nobody. Could be somebody you shared a bunk with just last week.” The crowd roars from beyond the doors, reacting to something you can’t see, and you swallow hard. This suddenly seems very real.
“There’s nothing I can do for you now,” Van Deet says, “You’re as prepared as any lawyer I’ve ever known. All that’s standing between you and a glittering career in law is whoever’s in there riling up the jury. Now get in there, and throw the book at them.”
Go to [[6]].
"Smart choice," Van Deet says. "Not tempted by the flamboyance of prosecution, ey? You'll go far."
They turn to a pair of heavy chests against the back wall of the room and throw them open with a flourish. One holds a padded suit of armour with a long sword laid atop it, the other a sturdy shield and a long-handled hammer with a thick, heavy head.
"Which will it be?" they ask.
Choose the sword and armour (go to [[25]]).
Choose the hammer and shield (go to [[11]]).
Van Deet nods in approval. "Excellent," they say. "Now get dressed. I'll be waiting outside. It's nearly time."
They turn and leave the room. For the brief second that the door is open the roar of the crowd fills the room. A chill runs up your spine as you begin preparing yourself for your first trial.
Add the following possessions to your //Adventure Sheet//:
* Longsword. (set: $weapon to "Longsword")
* Padded Shirt (Armour 3).
* Manual on Yongardy Law.
* Barrister’s Wig.
You also gain the following Advanced Skills (write them on your //Adventure Sheet//):
* 4 Longsword Fighting (set: $weaponskill to 4)
* 2 Etiquette
* 1 Healing
When you are ready to leave, speak to Van Deet one final time (go to [[22]]).
(set: $wattack1 to 4)
(set: $wattack2 to 6)
(set: $wattack3 to 8)
(set: $wattack4 to 8)
(set: $wattack5 to 10)
(set: $wattack6 to 12)
(set: $wattack7 to 14)The man is clearly distressed and a little confused. He stands over the broken bust, holding his head and muttering nonsense to himself. Slowly you manage to guide him over to the tarp-covered sofa, where he sits and begins to sob quietly.
“She just wanted to see his face again,” he says, once he has calmed down a little. “Just one more glimpse, but now it’s broken forever.” After a few minutes, a sense of purpose settles over him, and the confusion lifts from his eyes.
“Take this,” he says, pushing something into your hand. “I don’t need it any longer. Now please, excuse me, I have to go before somebody finds this.”
Before you can stop him, he leaps from the sofa and flees the room. By the time you reach the door he is out of sight, with no sign of where he went. The only evidence he was here at all is the broken bust and the item he thrust into your hand – a tarnished pocket watch that seems stuck at 15 o’clock, engraved with the name Ambode.
If you keep the **Pocket Watch**, add it to your inventory.
Go to [[18]].The door opens onto a square room filled with pedestals. Each pedestal holds a stone bust of a different court judge. A heavy tarp covers a low couch or chaise lounge in the corner of the room. The air is dusty and dim – it seems that no one has been in this room for some time. In the midst of the clutter, you see a little old man in a grubby white gown standing over a broken bust, his head in his hands. He has clearly just knocked it to the floor and broken it.
He turns as you enter and his eyes widen in shock.
“Oh!” he says, “I thought I was alone.” He glances down at the broken bust, and back up at you. “Oh no, oh dear.” What do you do?
Make conversation with him (go to [[14]]).
Raise your fists and come at him (go to [[3]]).
Decide not to waste time with him and leave to meet your trainer (Go to [[18]]).
Van Deet eyes you with approval. “Bold choice,” they say. “That will definitely get everyone talking. Now get dressed – or undressed, I suppose. I'll be waiting outside. It's nearly time."
They turn and leave the room. For the brief second that the door is open the roar of the crowd fills the room. A chill runs up your spine as you begin preparing yourself for your first trial.
Add the following possessions to your //Adventure Sheet//:
* Sjambok (damage as Club). (set: $weapon to "Sjambok")
* Lots of Scars.
* Manual on Yongardy Law.
* Barrister’s Wig.
You also gain the following Advanced Skills (write them on your //Adventure Sheet//):
* 4 Sjambok Fighting (set: $weaponskill to 4)
* 2 Etiquette
* 2 Healing
When you are ready to leave, speak to Van Deet one final time (go to [[20]]).
(set: $wattack1 to 1)
(set: $wattack2 to 1)
(set: $wattack3 to 2)
(set: $wattack4 to 3)
(set: $wattack5 to 6)
(set: $wattack6 to 8)
(set: $wattack7 to 10)"I thought as much," Van Deet says. "You always have been on the flamboyant side." They pause, their eyes darkening slightly. “And aggressive.”
They turn to a pair of lockers and throw them open with a flourish. One holds a rapier and a puffy, decorative shirt. The other holds a long, thick whip – Van Deet’s own Sjambok, which has cut open your flesh many times in training.
"Pick your poison," they say.
Choose the Rapier (go to [[12]]).
Choose the Sjambok (go to [[16]]).
---
(t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"Click to Attack")
[(set: $attacktotal to (random: 2,12)+$skill+$weaponskill)
(if: $attacktotal > $enemyattack)[You hit with $attacktotal! Roll damage.](else:)[You missed with $attacktotal! Roll your enemy's damage and deduct it from your Stamina.]]
---
**Your Weapon**
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>Damage Roll</strong></td>
<td align="center">1</td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">6</td>
<td align="center">7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left"><strong>$weapon</strong></td>
<td align="center">$wattack1</td>
<td align="center">$wattack2</td>
<td align="center">$wattack3</td>
<td align="center">$wattack4</td>
<td align="center">$wattack5</td>
<td align="center">$wattack6</td>
<td align="center">$wattack7</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>(set: $weapon to "Unarmed")(set: $weaponskill to 0)(set: $attacktotal to 0)(set: $wattack1 to 1)(set: $wattack2 to 1)(set: $wattack3 to 1)(set: $wattack4 to 2)(set: $wattack5 to 2)(set: $wattack6 to 3)(set: $wattack7 to 4)(set: $skill to (random: 1,3)+3)(set: $stamina to (random: 2,12)+12)(set: $luck to (random: 1,6)+6)(set: $sp to (random: 2,12))(set: $prov to 6)(set: $enemyattack to 1)(set: $enemystam to 1){
#Down In Yongardy
}
A Troika! Solo Gamebook by Chris Bissette
[[Click To Begin|Introduction]]
[[Credits]](t8n:"instant")+(link-rerun:"Click to Roll")
[: (random: 1,6) | (random: 1,6)]