Knockdown (sp): (see Webbed). You can only use knockdown once per combat.
Last laugh (mo): You may force your opponent to re-roll all of their dice (for either their attack speed or for their damage score). This ability can only be used once per combat and you must accept the re-rolled results.
Lay of the land (sp): You can now use the natural features of the land to your advantage. Add one extra die when rolling for your attack speed, for one combat round only.
Leech (pa): Every time your damage score/damage dice causes health damage to your opponent, you may restore 2 health. This cannot take you above your maximum health.
Life spark (pa): Every time you roll a double, you automatically heal 4 health. This cannot take you above your maximum health.
Lightning (pa): Every time you take health damage as a result of an opponent’s damage score/damage dice, you automatically inflict 2 points of damage to them in return. This ability ignores armour. (Note: If you have multiple items with lightning, you still only inflict 2 damage.)
Loot master (pa): If you do not wish to choose a reward when you defeat an enemy, you may award yourself an extra 20 gold crowns instead.
Martyr (mo): Instead of taking the result of your opponent’s damage, you can choose to lose 5 health instead. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Mend (mo): You can cast this spell any time in combat to automatically heal yourself or an ally for 15 health. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Merciless (pa): You may add 1 to each die you roll for your damage score if your opponent has been inflicted with bleed, disease or venom.
Midas touch (pa): Every time you destroy an item of equipment (by replacing it with a new item) you gain 30 gold crowns. This ability does not work on backpack items.
Might of stone (mo): You may instantly increase your armour score by 3 for one combat round. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Nature’s revenge (co): Use this ability instead of rolling for a damage score, to automatically bind a single opponent in deadly thorns. This inflicts 2 damage dice to your opponent, ignoring armour. It also reduces their speed by 1 for the next combat round. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Nightwalker set: If your hero is wearing both pieces of nightwalker armour (chest and gloves) then you may use the gut ripper ability (see Gut ripper).
Overload (co): You can use the overload ability to roll an extra die when determining your damage score. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Overpower (co): This ability stops your opponent from rolling for damage, after they have won a round, and automatically inflicts 2 damage dice, ignoring armour, to your opponent. You can only perform overpower once per combat.
Parry (co): Use this ability to stop your opponent rolling for damage after they have won a round. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Patchwork pauper (pa): When replacing an item of equipment in your chest, gloves, cloak or feet locations on your hero sheet, you can keep the special ability from the old item but replace its name and attributes with those of the new item.
Piercing (co): Use piercing to ignore your opponent’s armour and apply your full damage score to their health. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Poison mastery (pa): Health damage from the venom special ability is increased by 1 (causing 4 points of health damage instead of only 3).
Pound (co): A mighty blow that increases your damage score by 3. However, in the next combat round, you must lower your speed by 1. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Puncture (co): Instead of rolling for a damage score, you can puncture an opponent with a well-aimed arrow. This does 2 dice of damage, ignoring armour. It also reduces your opponent’s armour by 1 for the remainder of the combat. You can only use puncture once per combat.
Quicksilver (sp): Increase your speed by 2 for one combat round. You can only use quicksilver once per combat.
Radiance (sp): Dazzle your foes, temporarily blinding them. This lowers your opponent’s speed by 2 for one combat round. Radiance can only be used once per combat.
Raining blows (mo): Every time you get aresult when rolling for your damage score, you may automatically roll another die to add further damage. If you roll aagain, you may roll another die – and so on.
Rake (co): Instead of rolling for a damage score after winning a round, you can rake an opponent. This inflicts 3 damage dice, ignoring armour. (Note: You cannot use modifiers with this ability.) You can only use rake once per combat.
Reflect (co): If your opponent is a vampire then you can use the magic mirror to reflect any health damage that they would have inflicted back onto the vampire. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Regrowth (mo): You may instantly restore 6 health any time during combat. If you have multiple items with the regrowth ability, each one can be used to restore 6 health.
Retaliation (co): When your opponent’s damage score/damage dice causes health damage, you can immediately retaliate by inflicting 1 damage dice back to them, ignoring armour. You can only use retaliation once per combat.
Riposte (co): (see Retaliation). You can only use riposte once per combat.
Royal regalia: If your hero is wearing both pieces of the majesty set (shoulders and greaves) then you may use the cripple ability (see Cripple).
Rust (co): If your damage score causes health damage to your opponent, you can also cast the spell rust. This lowers your opponent’s armour by 2 for the remainder of the combat.
Sacrifice (co): You may use this ability after an opponent has rolled their damage dice/damage score, to instantly sacrifice your shades. The shades absorb all the damage instead and you are unharmed. This destroys your shades instantly.
Savagery (mo): You may raise your brawn or magic score by 2 for one combat round. You can only use savagery once per combat.
Sear (mo): Add 1 to the result of each die you roll for your damage score, for the duration of the combat. (Note: if you have multiple items with sear, you can still only add 1 to the result.)
Second sight (mo): Your reflexes are heightened. This lowers the result of each die your opponent rolls for damage by 2.
Second skin (pa): You are immune to the piercing ability. If an opponent uses piercing, you may use armour as normal to absorb the damage.
Second wind (mo): You may use second wind at any time to restore one speed ability that you or an ally has already played. This allows you/your ally to use that speed ability a second time in the same combat.
Seeing red (pa): If your health is reduced to 20 or less, you may add 2 to your speed. If you are healed and your health rises above 20, you lose your bonus.
Shackle (sp): (see Webbed). You can only use shackle once per combat.
Shades (pa): At the start of combat, you automatically summon a group of shades to aid you. The shades add 2 to each die of damage you roll, for the duration of the combat. Once the shades have been summoned, they remain in play until you sacrifice them.
Shadow fury (co): Use this ability to add the speed of both your weapons (main hand and left hand) to your damage score. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Shadow speed (sp): When rolling for your attack speed, all results ofautomatically become a.
Shield spin (pa): (requires a shield in the left hand). Each time your opponent gets awhen rolling for attack speed, they are hit by your shield, taking 1 damage die, ignoring armour. They cannot use a re-roll to avoid this.
Shield wall (co): (requires a shield in the left hand). Use this ability to double your armour score and inflict 1 damage die to your opponent, ignoring their armour. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Shock! (co): If your damage score causes health damage to your opponent, you can also electrocute them with the shock! ability. This inflicts 1 extra damage for every 2 points of armour your opponent is wearing, rounding up. (If your opponent had an armour of 15 they wou
ld take an extra 8 damage.) You can only use shock! once per combat.
Sidestep (co): (see Dodge). You can only use sidestep once per combat.
Sideswipe (co): (see Retaliation). You can only use sideswipe once per combat.
Slam (co): Use this ability to stop your opponent rolling for damage when they have won a round. In the next combat round, your opponent’s speed is reduced by 1. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Spider sense (co): (see Dodge). You can only use spider sense once per combat.
Spindlesilk set: If your hero is wearing all three pieces of spindlesilk armour (chest, boots and cloak) then you may use the spider sense ability (see Spider sense).
Spore cloud (co): When your opponent’s damage score/damage dice causes health damage, you can use spore cloud to inflict 2 damage dice back to them, ignoring armour. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Stake (sp): If your opponent is a vampire and their health is reduced to 10 or less, you may immediately stake them. This reduces their health to zero and you automatically win the combat.
Steadfast (pa): You are immune to knockdown. If an opponent has this ability, you can ignore it.
Steal (mo): Use this ability any time in combat to automatically raise one of your attributes (speed, brawn, magic or armour) to match your opponent’s. The effect wears off at the end of the combat round. You can only use steal once per combat.
Stun (sp): (see webbed). You can only use stun once per combat.
Surge (co): A powerful attack that increases your magic score by 3. However, in the next combat round, you must lower your speed by 1. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Swamp legs (sp): Reduce your opponent’s speed by 1 for one combat round. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Swift strikes (pa):(requires a sword in the main and left hand) For eachthat you roll for your attack speed, you can inflict damage to any opponent equal to the speed of your fastest weapon (either main or left hand). This ability ignores armour.
Thorn armour (co): Use this ability to raise your armour by 3 for one combat round. It also inflicts 1 damage die, ignoring armour, to all your opponents (roll once and apply the same damage to each opponent). This ability can only be used once per combat.
Thorn fist (co): When your opponent’s damage score/damage dice causes health damage, you can immediately retaliate using your thorn fist. This inflicts 2 damage dice back to them, ignoring armour. You can only use thorn fist once per combat.
Thorns (pa): At the end of every combat round, you automatically inflict 1 damage to all of your opponents. This ability ignores armour.
Time shift (sp): You may raise your speed to match your opponent’s for three combat rounds. You cannot play another speed ability until time shift has faded. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Tourniquet (mo): This spell can be cast at any time to remove any bleed, venom and/or disease effects that you or an ally have been inflicted with. This ability can only be used once per combat.
Trickster (mo): You may swap one of your opponent’s speed die for your own. You can only use trickster once per combat.
Usurper (mo): (only usable in hero vs. hero combat). Use any time during a combat to steal a speed or modifier ability that your opponent has already played. You may then play this ability against them during the combat, based on the ability’s description. Usurper can only be used once per combat.
Vampirism (mo): When you inflict damage on your opponent, you can heal yourself for half the amount of health that your opponent has lost, rounding up. Vampirism can only be used once per combat.
Vanish (co): (see Dodge). Use vanish to turn invisible for several seconds, avoiding your opponent’s damage. You can only use vanish once per combat.
Vanquish (mo): You may raise your brawn score by 2 for one combat round. You can only use vanquish once per combat.
Venom (pa): If your damage dice/damage score causes health damage to your opponent, they lose a further 2 health at the end of every combat round, for the remainder of the combat. This ability ignores armour.
Vitriol (pa): Use at the start of combat to coat your weapons in deadly bile. This does 1 damage to all combatants, including your hero, at the end of every combat round.
Webbed (sp): This ability reduces the number of dice your opponent can roll for attack speed by 1, for one combat round only. You can only use this ability once per combat.
Windblast (sp): (see Webbed). You can only use windblast once per combat.
Zapped! (sp): Use this ability to automatically shrink your opponent, making them weaker. Your opponent’s speed, brawn and magic are lowered by 3 until the end of the combat round. Then the ability wears off and their stats are restored. You can only use this ability once per combat.
A Gollancz eBook
Copyright © Michael J. Ward 2012
All rights reserved.
The right of Michael J. Ward to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Gollancz
The Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Orion House
5 Upper Saint Martin’s Lane
London, WC2H 9EA
An Hachette UK Company
This eBook first published in 2012 by Gollancz.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 0 575 11874 4
All characters and events in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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Legion of Shadow Page 64