She-Hulk Goes to Murderworld, page 1
part #1 of Marvel Multiverse Missions Series
Marvel Multiverse Missions
She-Hulk Goes to Murderworld
Your employer must see some unease on your face, because she smiles reassuringly and reaches down to pat your shoulder gently. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
At six foot seven, with the build of an Olympian, she’s a reassuring presence. She’s right, no mugger on Earth is going to voluntarily attack She-Hulk. “Thank you, Ms Walters. I’m fine. It’s just… atmospheric.”
“It certainly is, and please, do call me Jen.”
“I will,” you promise. Again. You remind yourself it’s OK to be slightly rattled that you’re walking through a notoriously sketchy murder-park in the middle of the night with a full-on super hero who has hired you as her in-state paralegal and local advisor.
To think you expected this to be a slow week…
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First published by Aconyte Books in 2022
ISBN 978 1 83908 159 0
Ebook ISBN 978 1 83908 160 6
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Cover art by David Nakayama • Interior art by Xteve Abanto
Technical assistance by Jonathan Green • Book design by Nick Tyler
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HELLO!
This is an adventure gamebook. If you don’t know what that is, maybe flick on through the next few pages for a moment, then head back here…
Yep, that’s right, lots of numbered entries. You start at entry 1, but must then decide which numbered entry to turn to next, according to what the text tells you. You do not just plough straight on to read the next page in order. Not because it’s secret, but because it’ll be really confusing, and that’s no fun. We want you to have a good time.
In this adventure, you take on the role of She-Hulk’s paralegal assistant as she investigates a case that keeps getting more complex. In addition to making decisions as part of an ongoing assessment for a permanent role, you are going to need to keep track of some stuff and roll some six-sided dice. So grab paper and pencil, or open up a text file, and track down a six-sider or two.
You have three core statistics in this book: Power, Charm, and Concentration, represented by numbers. Power is physical stuff, Charm is social stuff, and Concentration is mental stuff. Easy. They will change a lot over the course of your travels and you’ll use them often, so keep a close eye on them. Don’t panic too much if they drop below 0 – except where the text says otherwise, all that does is make rolls harder for you. As a reward for reading this introduction before diving in, ignore what it tells you at entry 32, 53, or 280 (which one you hit will depend on your first choice) and instead, start with each of these statistics at 3. Well done, you.
There is also a whole range of secondary qualities you might pick up… {Waves}, for example. Qualities are always in {curly brackets}. Secondary qualities start afresh each new time you play, so if the book tells you to take a Quality you haven’t encountered yet, that Quality starts with a score of 1. Keep track of them, because they can seriously change how events unfold. If there’s ever a reference to a bonus awarded by a Quality you don’t currently have, you don’t get that bonus – maybe try to find and acquire it.
You’ll also find physical objects you can take with you, and they’re always marked in [Square Brackets] to show they’re special. They might provide bonuses or help with specific situations. Or not. You can have up to five objects at once. After that, to take something new, you must drop (cross off) something you already have. Some objects are used up when you employ them, so can be deleted at that point.
During your adventures, you’re going to run into tests, fights, minigames, and puzzles. They’re all clearly labeled. Just follow the instructions at the time. Oh, and there are also some entries with no obvious link leading to them. The clues on how to find them are in the text, mostly. They’re worth your while to sniff out.
You can get killed, at least fictionally. Terminal mistakes finish with The end. If that happens, your adventure is over. Chalk it up to experience and try again from the start. There are several quite different routes through the book, so you definitely won’t see everything in one play-through anyway.
Lastly, as you progress you’ll be given achievements after certain groovy choices or results. There’s a full list at the end of the book. When you’re given an achievement, tick it off the list – these are good for multiple play-throughs. If you’re reading this in ebook format, you’ll have to keep notes somewhere else.
There are also some super-achievements listed at the end of the book for finishing the adventure with certain objects or qualities in your possession.
And that’s all there is to it. Now it’s time for adventure – turn the page!
1
The park is less tame than you had hoped. Sure, there are elegant pathways snaking between the trees, and the lampposts are spaced so that the lanterns give everything a nice, warm glow. Beyond these ribbons of safety though, the trees are dense, and there are frequent thickets of shrubbery. Even the roar of the city’s eternal traffic is muted, this deep into the grounds. It’s probably beautiful during the day, a much needed haven away from San José’s grind, but right now, as the mist creeps in, it’s just eerie.
Your employer must see some unease on your face, because she smiles reassuringly and reaches down to pat your shoulder gently. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
At six foot seven, with the build of an Olympian, she’s a reassuring presence. She’s right, no mugger on Earth is going to voluntarily attack She-Hulk. “Thank you, Ms Walters. I’m fine. It’s just… atmospheric.”
“It certainly is, and please, do call me Jen.”
“I will,” you promise. Again. You remind yourself it’s OK to be slightly rattled that you’re walking through a notoriously sketchy murder-park in the middle of the night with a full-on super hero who has hired you as her in-state paralegal and local advisor.
To think you expected this to be a slow week.
You’re about to say something more when you hear an unearthly moan from up ahead. It’s not pain, not exactly. There’s a hollow note to it, but also a horrible edge of glee. You freeze, skin prickling all over. Is the mist thickening? The moan continues, getting slowly louder and nastier.
She-Hulk glances back at you and nods approvingly. “Good, keep behind me.” Her voice is calm and confident, and you feel momentarily better.
You blink. Swooping down out of the sky, wickedly long fangs gleaming, eyes glowing as vividly red as the lining of its opera cape, is… a cow?
“Don’t meet her eyes,” Jen says urgently.
The cow lands on her back legs a few feet in front of She-Hulk, front legs raised in front of her chest in a clear karate stance. “Mooooo,” she says again, and pulls her mouth into a ghastly parody of a smile. You realize that like her eyes, her fangs are as red as blood.
Jen takes a step forward, dropping into a wrestler’s half-crouch. “Bessie,” she says, her voice suddenly grim. “You’re making a bad mistake.”
“Moooo,” the vampire beast replies. It sounds defiant.
“Fine,” She-Hulk says. She shoots a glance back in your direction. “Any tips for dealing with an evil vampire farm animal?”
This has to be a dream, you think with sudden relief. Everything’s fine. Of course you’re not in a midnight park with She-Hulk being asked how to deal with undead cows. That would be insane. You’re just in bed. Too much cheese, probably. You smile, and decide what to reply.
If this is your first time playing an adventure gamebook, you don’t read the numbered entries in numerical order. Instead, at the end of each entry, you pick an option and turn to that number in the book. Time to try it…
“Try punching the undead horror?” Turn to entry 53.
“Can you reason with her?” Turn to entry 32.
“Does she have any weaknesses?” Turn to entry 280.
2
If you’re reading this because you finished the first section and kept right on going, we must warn you that you’re going to get confused and bored very quickly. This book really only makes sense if you hop from entry to entry according to the directions. You do you, but we recommend that you go back and decide how to approach Bessie.
Here because you dodged a grab? Great, good to have you. Make a note of the number 98. Thanks!
Jen sways back as the huge man grabs at her, and kicks him in the chest. He leaps as she does, twisting to impact the wall across the street feet first. He then springs off it somehow, cheering wildly, and jumps back to land on a hotel balcony several floors up.
“Kangaroo, of all idiots,” she mutters. “This is so undignified.” She jumps, sailing up toward Kangaroo’s position as he hops over his balcony and falls.
Make an aerial maneuvers test. Roll two dice, add your Power and Concentration, and subtract your {Flat-Footed}, if any.
The total is 15 or more: turn to 135.
14 or less: turn to 9.
3
The dining room is surprisingly modernist. There’s a bar area just to your left. A dozen simple bench-like wooden tables each offer seating for four. The brown carpet and extensive pot-plants give a subtle feeling of natural space. It looks charming, in a high-end way.
A tall, bald, dark-skinned man is standing between the tables. He’s wearing leather trousers and nothing else, showing off an impressive physique. He carries a flaming torch in one hand and a dark ball in the other. Jen snatches something off the bar and is suddenly leaping through the air.
Make a surprise attack test. Roll one die and add your Power.
Total is 7 or more: Before the man can even blink, she is sitting on his chest.
6 or less: The man belches flame as she lands on him, knocking him over. She pins him down, swatting irritably at the small fire in her hair. It smells dreadful. Take -1 Charm and +1 {Intensity}.
Jen grabs a big jug of water from the bar. She pours it over the man’s torch and face in equal measure. “Sorry, Tomás,” she says. “I can’t risk you burning Ruby’s house down.”
His angry struggles have absolutely no effect. He says something furious in Spanish as she pulls a cloth off a table, rips it up, then gags and hogties him as easily as if she was changing a toddler.
She pats him on the cheek before standing up. “There, there.” He shoots her a look of pure humiliation.
Jen turns to you. “You’re doing well so far. Where next? The parlor or the spa?”
“The parlor.” Turn to 292.
“The spa.” Turn to 137.
4
“Keep your head down,” Jen says. She’s grinning, and limbering up her shoulders. You nod, close your eyes, and pull your jacket up over your face. The smashing starts, and with the extra feedback from the speaker system, it sounds like a Greek god cutting loose on all the plates in the world. Shards smack into your jacket repeatedly, as well as other places, but fortunately Jen is being careful, and you don’t take any damage.
But how long does this take? Make a clobbering test. Roll one die and add your Power. If the total is 10 or less, take +1 {Watched}.
Eventually, silence falls, and you look out to see the floor is ankle-deep in broken glass. The walls are concrete though, and there are three doors onwards. One shows a flower, one a painting, and one a statue.
For the flower door, turn to 255.
For the painting door, turn to 264.
For the statue door, turn to 175.
5
You catch up with Steve, Marion’s ex, at the car salesroom where he works. You spot him easily – he’s the one who glances over, sees the two of you, and instead of just staring openly like everyone else, he shoves his customer away, and takes off at a dead sprint. Jen ducks back out the front door and leaps easily onto the roof. Ten seconds later, you hear a loud scream, and thirty seconds after that, she comes back round to the front of the building, Steve tucked under one arm.
Take +1 {Waves}.
“Repeat all that,” she says.
“It was some huge Aussie thug! He said he was an old friend of Marion’s, and he just wanted to surprise her. He didn’t even pay me the $500. That’s all, I swear!”
She-Hulk jumps again, forty feet straight feet up. Steve is still wailing in terror as she lands, absorbing the impact smoothly in her legs.
Make an intimidation test. Roll one die and add your Power.
8 or more: turn to 57.
7 or less: turn to 95.
6
She-Hulk and Chtylok collide in mid-air. The beast must weigh several tons, but She-Hulk’s leap has so much force behind it that as the two impact, they drop to the sand together. She’s swinging savage punches at the beast as they land, but it completely ignores them to grab her by the head and fling her straight into the stone arena wall as if she was a rag-doll.
She groans and slides down to the sand, but she’s already rolling painfully away. A moment later, Chtylok slams a huge fist down, clipping her side. She-Hulk sways aside as she pulls herself to her feet, grabs a hoofed leg, and tries to wrench it. With another shattering “Kraw!”, the beast aims a brutal peck at her head.
This is a fierce fight.
Round one: roll two dice, add your Power, and subtract your {Wobbly}. If the total is 14 or more, you win the first round.
Round two: roll two dice, add your Power, and subtract your {Wobbly}. If the total is 14 or more, you win the second round.
If you won both rounds, turn to 245.
If you lost either round, turn to 108.
7
She-Hulk circles the robot for a moment, looking a bit winded. It lashes out with its sword, then spins to target you with the gun-nozzles that sprout out of its shoulders. There’s a burst of gunfire and… nothing.
Achievement: Falling at the First Hurdle.
The end.
8
Arcade sighs dramatically. “So violent.” Jen growls menacingly, and he shrinks back into his big chair. “Okay, okay,” he says quickly. “You win. Don’t kill me.”
Over the next couple of hours, Arcade is carted away by the police, and the surviving tech gurus and privacy campaigners have been taken to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment, trauma counseling, and/or medical examination, as appropriate. Arcade cheerfully admits he designed this Murderworld to break them and leave them pliable, but even so, the final VIP death toll is eleven.
