by Joe Dever
Huntmastery
Primates with this skill have a greatly increased agility and are able to climb without the use of climbing aids, such as ropes, etc.
Psi-surge
Primates with the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-surge will, by concentrating their psychic powers upon an object, be able to set up vibrations that may lead to the disruption or destruction of the object.
Nexus
Primates with the skill of Nexus will be able to offer a far greater resistance than before to the effects of noxious gases and fumes.
Tutelary
Weaponmastery
Tutelaries are able to use defensive combat skills to great effect when fighting unarmed. When entering combat without a weapon, Tutelaries lose only 2 points from their COMBAT SKILL, instead of the usual 4 points.
Invisibility
Tutelaries are able to increase the effectiveness of their skill when hiding from an enemy by drawing the enemy's attention to a place other than that in which they are hiding. The effectiveness of this ability increases as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Pathsmanship
Tutelaries with this skill can detect an enemy ambush within 500 yards of their position unless their ENDURANCE score is low due to wounds sustained or lack of food.
Psi-screen
Tutelaries with this skill develop mental defences against magical charms and hostile telepathy. These defences increase in strength as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Divination
Tutelaries who possess this Magnakai Discipline are able to recognize objects or creatures with magical skills or abilities. However, this improved Discipline can be negated if the creature or object is shielded from detection.
Principalin
Animal Control
Principalins with this skill are able to call on a woodland animal (if nearby) to aid them, either in combat, or to act as a messenger or guide. The number of animals that can be summoned increases as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Invisibility
Principalins are able to mask any sounds made by their movements while using this skill.
Huntmastery
Principalins with this Magnakai Discipline are able to intensify their eyesight at will, giving them telescopic vision.
Psi-surge
Principalins using this skill in combat are able to confuse an enemy by planting seeds of doubt in its mind. The effectiveness of this ability increases as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Nexus
Principalins with this ability can extinguish fires by force of will alone. The size of the fire, and the number that can be extinguished using Nexus increases as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Mentora
Weaponmastery
Mentoras skilled in Weaponmastery are more accurate when using all missile weapons, whether fired (e.g. a bow) or thrown (e.g. a dagger). When using a bow or thrown weapon and instructed to pick a number from the Random Number Table, add 2 to the number picked if you are a Mentora with the Magnakai Discipline of Weaponmastery.
Curing
Mentoras with this skill are able to neutralize the effects of any poisons, venoms, or toxins with which they come into contact.
Pathsmanship
Mentoras who possess this Magnakai Discipline are able to cross any kind of terrain on foot without leaving any tracks, even if the ground is covered in snow.
Psi-screen
Mentoras with this ability can protect themselves from evil spirits and other non-corporeal beings that attack with psychic energy. The effectiveness of this ability increases as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Divination
Mentoras who possess this skill are able to detect psychic residues lingering in a place where a dramatic event, such as a battle, a murder, a ritual sacrifice, or a ritual ceremony, has taken place. By meditating at the scene of the incident, a Kai Mentora is able to visualize the event, even though it may have occurred in the distant past.
Scion-kai
Weaponmastery
When entering combat with a weapon they have mastered, Scion-kai may add 4 points (instead of the usual 3 points) to their COMBAT SKILL. Also, when in combat without a weapon they lose only 1 point from their COMBAT SKILL.
Invisibility
Scion-kai are able to alter their physical appearance at will in order to deceive an enemy. The duration and effectiveness of this deception increases as a Kai Master rises in rank.
Pathsmanship
Scion-kai with this ability are able to converse with any sentient creature. They are also able to make themselves invisible when subjected to any psychic or magical spells of detection.
Psi-screen
When engaging in psychic combat Scion-kai are able to absorb and control some of the energies directed at them. By deflecting or inducing the hostile energy they can either reduce the damage they sustain, or increase the power of their own psychic attacks.
Divination
Scion-kai are able to leave their body in a state of suspended animation and, in spirit form, explore their immediate surroundings unhindered by physical limitations. This ability is called ‘spirit walking’. The length of time a Kai Master can spirit walk increases as he rises in rank. When the spirit is separated from the body in this fashion, the body remains inanimate and vulnerable to attack. If a Kai Master's body is killed whilst he is spirit walking, his spiritual self will also cease to exist, and vice versa.
Archmaster
Animal Control
Archmasters with this skill are able to command most animals to do their bidding, although effectiveness is diminished when attempting to control a hostile creature.
Curing
Archmasters are able to use their healing power to repair serious wounds sustained in battle. If, whilst in combat, their ENDURANCE is reduced to 6 points or less, they can use their skill to restore 20 ENDURANCE points. This ability can only be used once every 100 days.
Huntmastery
Archmasters who possess this ability benefit from greatly increased senses of hearing, smell, and night vision. These senses become even more acute upon attaining the rank of Kai Grand Master.
Psi-surge
When using their psychic ability to attack an enemy, Archmasters may add 6 points to their COMBAT SKILL instead of the usual 4 points. For every round in which Psi-surge is used, Archmasters need only deduct 1 ENDURANCE point. When using the weaker psychic attack — Mindblast — they may add 3 points to their COMBAT SKILL without loss of ENDURANCE points. Archmasters cannot use Psi-surge if their ENDURANCE score falls to 4 points or below.
Nexus
Archmasters with the skill of Nexus are able to withstand extremes of heat and cold, and possess limited immunity to harmful elements, such as flames, toxic gases, and corrosive liquids. The duration of this immunity increases greatly upon attaining Kai Grand Mastership.
Magnakai Wisdom
Your mission to destroy Darklord Gnaag will be fraught with awesome dangers. Be secretive and be on your guard at all times, for the creatures of the Darklands will stop at nothing to destroy you should your return to Magnamund become known to them.
Some of the things that you will find during your mission will be of use to you, and some may be red herrings of no real value at all, so be selective in what you decide to keep.
If this is your first Magnakai adventure be sure to choose your three Magnakai Disciplines with care, for a wise choice enables any player to complete the quest, no matter how weak their initial COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE points scores. Successful completion of previous Lone Wolf adventures, although an advantage, is not essential for the completion of this Magnakai adventure.
At last the chance to avenge the massacre of the Kai is within your grasp. The restoration of your warrior brotherhood and the future of Magnamund depend on your success. May the spirit of your ancestors and the wisdom of the great God Kai guide you to victory and the fulfilment of your destiny.
1
Upon entering the
Shadow Gate you are submerged in total darkness and fall into a lightless void. Relentlessly you are buffeted and numbed by an intense coldness that drains the strength from your body and fills your mind with strange, dream-like images. It is as if you are being sucked into the heart of a swirling black abyss, and, as your senses fade, you pray that you have enough strength to survive your return to Magnamund.
Barely a flicker of consciousness remains when the sensation of warmth returns to your frozen limbs. It revives you and slowly you become aware of a fluorescent mist and a pinpoint of light in the far distance. The sensation of falling is replaced by a smooth forward movement, as if you are gliding to a halt at the end of a steep slide. Rapidly the tiny light grows larger until suddenly you emerge from the darkness and find yourself standing in a place that you recognize immediately.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table (if you pick a 0 it counts as 10). The number you have picked represents the number of ENDURANCE points you have lost during your passage through the Shadow Gate. Deduct this number of points from your ENDURANCE score.
Turn to 94.
2
You unsheathe your weapon and brace yourself to avoid the creature's leap. It springs forward and you roll aside, striking upwards as it blocks out the light. It shrieks as your blow tears deep into its shoulder; then it hits the ground, which shudders beneath the vast stone weight. You jump to your feet and prepare to strike another blow as the creature, squealing pitifully from the pain of its wound, draws itself up and leaps again.
Egorgh: COMBAT SKILL 22 ENDURANCE 27
This creature is particularly susceptible to psychic attack; double all bonuses you would normally be entitled to if using Mindblast or Psi-surge during the combat.
If you win the combat, turn to 153.
3
You unsheathe a weapon and attempt to parry Gnaag's sword, but the supernatural blade shears straight through it and buries itself deep in your chest. An icy chill engulfs your body and you feel your chest constrict as Gnaag withdraws his hellblade. Darkness engulfs your vision and your ears are filled with a ghastly sound — the mocking laughter of Darklord Gnaag. He raises his infernal sword, Nadazgada, and prepares to deliver the blow that will seal your doom and destroy the hopes of those who oppose the empire of the Darklands.
Your life and your mission end here.
4
Your senses tingle: someone is about to attack you from behind. Without turning to see who is approaching, you twist aside, and your would-be attacker crashes chest-first against the rail. He is a Drakkarim marine armed with a stiletto dagger, whose needle-thin blade glows wetly crimson in the flickering light of the fire. Maddened by the pain of the fearful burns he has sustained on his face and hands, he screams a curse and leaps at you wildly, determined to drive his dagger into your chest.
Drakkarim Marine: COMBAT SKILL 19 ENDURANCE 23
Owing to the frenzy of his attack, he is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
You can evade combat after two rounds by leaping into the sea: turn to 58.
If you win the combat, turn to 91.
5
Your adversary is little more than a few feet away when you release your bowstring to send an Arrow streaking towards his chest. It hits with terrific force but, to your utter amazement, it fails to penetrate his flesh; the shaft shatters into a dozen harmless shards. With a scream of gleeful vengeance, the Drakkarim officer swings his scimitar down to cleave your neck in two. Instinct alone saves you from its razor-sharp edge. Immediately, he strikes again, swinging his blade back in a vicious arc that is aimed at your throat. You block the blow but it costs you your Bow, chopped almost in half as it stops the blade barely inches from your chin (remember to delete this Weapon from your Weapons List). Hurriedly you fumble for a hand weapon as he steadies himself to strike again.
Drakkarim Marine Officer: COMBAT SKILL 27 ENDURANCE 38
You are unable to draw a weapon until the beginning of the second round of the combat, and must fight the first round unarmed.
If you win and the fight lasts four rounds or less, turn to 232.
If you win and the fight lasts longer than four rounds, turn to 148.
6
As you sunder the last of the Crypt Spawn, Kraagenskûl reaches out to touch the surface of a bowl that rests on a plinth beside his throne. It is filled with a bright, silvery liquid and at once you sense its purpose. It is a communicator, a device that enables him to speak with his leader, Darklord Gnaag. The Sommerswerd has betrayed your identity and Kraagenskûl is about to warn his master that you have returned from the Daziarn and are here in Argazad. As his bony fingers dip to within inches of the shimmering surface, your only hope of stopping him is to hurl the Sommerswerd at his back.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table. If you have completed the Lore-circle of Solaris, add 2 to the number you have picked. If you have completed the Lore-circle of Solaris and the Lore-circle of Fire, add another 1 to the number.
If your total is now 0–5, turn to 275.
If it is 6 or more, turn to 75.
7
You pull away from your adversary and retreat towards the middle of the ship. There, a group of Kirlundins have drawn up in a circle and are holding their ground behind a wall of shields. You join them and take command as a second wave of Drakkarim clamber over the side and come howling across the deck. With a noise like thunder they fall upon the group, their swords and axes drawing sparks as they rain down upon the shield-wall with numbing force. The shock of their impact drives the Kirlundins back, opening gaps in their defence through which the strongest Drakkarim hurl themselves recklessly. One breaks through close to where you stand and stabs at your neck with his blunted sword.
Illustration I—A Drakkarim marine stabs at your neck with his sword.
Drakkarim Marine: COMBAT SKILL 23 ENDURANCE 27
Owing to his state of battle-frenzy, this foe is immune to Mindblast (but not Psi-surge).
If you win the combat, turn to 294.
8
‘Ok zee okak!’ whispers a Giak scout, a sneer spreading slowly across his ugly grey face. He has scrambled onto a boulder and, using his infravision (the ability to see warm objects radiating in the dark), he has caught sight of you crawling towards the cliffs. Your Sixth Sense informs you that you have been spotted. To continue to crawl is futile, so you scramble to your feet and sprint towards a V-shaped cleft that marks the start of a steep trail. You have taken less than a dozen strides when three squat shapes loom out of the shadows ahead: they are Giaks, armed and ready for combat.
Giaks: COMBAT SKILL 19 ENDURANCE 27
Unless you have the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery or Divination, deduct 2 points from your COMBAT SKILL for the first two rounds of the fight.
If you win and the fight lasts three rounds or less, turn to 311.
If you win and the fight lasts four rounds or more, turn to 252.
9
You dive aside, but you are hit by the whirring tip of the sword, which slices through your cape and lays open your shoulder: lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
Gritting your teeth against the sharp pain, you grab the rear of the cannon and revolve it on its mounting until it points directly at the advancing Drakkarim marines. Their faces freeze with terror when they find themselves staring into the muzzle of their own formidable weapon. ‘Death to the Darklords!’ you cry, and pull the firing lever.
Turn to 285.
10
The day is but an hour old when suddenly it begins to get darker. A ceiling of black cloud spreads across the sky, fed by billowing plumes of noxious gases that pour from the cracks and craters of the southern wastes. Violent electrical storms rage in these plumes and a thunderous rumbling, like the growling of an angry giant disturbed from sleep, echoes in the bowels of the lifeless earth.
A redness in the clouds grows stronger as the Zlanbeast flies westwards. It fills the horizon, setting your pulse racing as you sense that Nengu
d-kor-Adez, the chasm of fire that surrounds Helgedad, is the source of the scarlet glow. You correct your course, steering the Zlanbeast away to the north, and within minutes you catch your first glimpse of Aarnak.
It is a grim spectacle, a mass of huge steel buildings grouped haphazardly around the mouth of a frigid estuary, surrounded in turn by a defensive ring of spike-topped earthworks. Everything appears to be eaten by rust, aggravated by clouds of corrosive steam that arise from rivulets of black water criss-crossing the ground. It strikes you as an uninhabitable place, yet its murky thoroughfares are teeming with thousands of grey-skinned creatures all pulling or pushing great iron carts filled with ore. As the Zlanbeast speeds towards the city, you search for somewhere suitable to land.
If you possess the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery and have reached the Kai rank of Principalin or higher, turn to 127.
If you do not possess this skill or have yet to reach this level of Magnakai training, turn to 301.
11
Using your Kai skill, you will the Zlanbeast to cease its incessant caw. Immediately it obeys your psychic command and shuffles to the end of its perch, its head bowed and its eyes half closed. The Death Knight starts to turn away from the parapet, but his movements are slow and relaxed, and he is totally unprepared to receive your attack. Like a striking viper you lash out at his chest with deadly effect.
Turn to 139.