The Cauldron of Fear
Page 2
The fact that you are skilled with three weapons does not mean that you begin the adventure carrying any of them. However, you will have opportunities to acquire weapons during your adventure. For every Lone Wolf book that you complete in the Magnakai series, you may add an additional weapon to your Weaponmastery Checklist.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Weaponmastery: +3 COMBAT SKILL points’ on your Action Chart, and tick your chosen weapons on the Weapons List. You cannot carry more than two Weapons.
Animal Control
This Magnakai Discipline enables a Kai Master to communicate with most animals and to determine their purpose and intentions. It also enables a Kai Master to fight from the saddle with great advantage.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Animal Control’ on your Action Chart.
Curing
The possessor of this skill can restore 1 lost ENDURANCE point to his total for every numbered section of the book through which he passes, provided he is not involved in combat. (This can only be done after his ENDURANCE has fallen below its original level.) This Magnakai Discipline also enables a Kai Master to cure disease, blindness, and any combat wounds sustained by others, as well as himself. Using the knowledge that mastery of this skill provides will also allow a Kai Master to identify the properties of any herbs, roots, and potions that may be encountered during the adventure.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Curing: +1 ENDURANCE point for each section without combat’ on your Action Chart.
Invisibility
This Magnakai skill allows a Kai Master to blend in with his surroundings, even in the most exposed terrain. It will enable him to mask his body heat and scent, and to adopt the dialect and mannerisms of any town or city that he visits.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Invisibility’ on your Action Chart.
Huntmastery
This skill ensures that a Kai Master will never starve in the wild; he will always be able to hunt for food, even in areas of wasteland and desert. It also enables a Kai Master to move with great speed and dexterity and will allow him to ignore any extra loss of COMBAT SKILL points due to a surprise attack or ambush.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Huntmastery’ on your Action Chart.
Pathsmanship
In addition to the basic skill of being able to recognize the correct path in unknown territory, the Magnakai skill of Pathsmanship will enable a Kai Master to read foreign languages, decipher symbols, read footprints and tracks (even if they have been disturbed), and detect the presence of most traps. It also grants him the gift of always knowing intuitively the position of north.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Pathsmanship’ on your Action Chart.
Psi-surge
This psychic skill enables a Kai Master to attack an enemy using the force of his mind. It can be used as well as normal combat weapons and adds 4 extra points to your COMBAT SKILL.
It is a powerful Discipline, but it is also a costly one. For every round of combat in which you use Psi-surge, you must deduct 2 ENDURANCE points. A weaker form of Psi-surge called Mindblast can be used against an enemy without losing any ENDURANCE points, but it will add only 2 extra points to your COMBAT SKILL. (Psi-surge and Mindblast cannot be used simultaneously.) Psi-surge cannot be used if your ENDURANCE falls to 6 points or below, and not all of the creatures encountered on your adventure will be affected by it; you will be told if a creature is immune.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Psi-surge: +4 COMBAT SKILL points but −2 ENDURANCE points per round’ and ‘Mindblast: +2 COMBAT SKILL points’ on your Action Chart.
Psi-screen
Many of the hostile creatures that inhabit Magnamund have the ability to attack you using their Mindforce. The Magnakai Discipline of Psi-screen prevents you from losing any ENDURANCE points when subjected to this form of attack and greatly increases your defence against supernatural illusions and hypnosis.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Psi-screen: no points lost when attacked by Mindforce’ on your Action Chart.
Nexus
Mastery of this Magnakai skill will enable you to withstand extremes of heat and cold without losing ENDURANCE points and to move items by your powers of concentration alone.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Nexus’ on your Action Chart.
Divination
This skill may warn a Kai Master of imminent or unseen danger or enable him to detect an invisible or hidden enemy. It may also reveal the true purpose or intent of a stranger or strange object encountered in your adventure. Divination may enable you to communicate telepathically with another person and to sense if a creature possesses psychic abilities.
If you choose this skill, write ‘Divination’ on your Action Chart.
If you successfully complete the mission as set in Book 9 of the Lone Wolf series, you may add a further Magnakai Discipline of your choice to your Action Chart in Book 10. This additional skill, together with your other Magnakai skills and any Special Items that you have found and been able to keep during your adventures may then be used in the next adventure in the Lone Wolf Magnakai series, which is called The Dungeons of Torgar.
Equipment
Before leaving Dessi on your journey to the city of Tahou, the Elder Magi give you a map of the Republic of Anari and its surrounding lands, and a pouch of gold. To find out how much gold is in the pouch, pick a number from the Random Number Table. Add 10 to the number you have picked. The total equals the number of Gold Crowns inside the pouch, and you should now enter this number in the ‘Gold Crowns’ section of your Action Chart. If you have successfully completed books 1–8 of the Lone Wolf adventures, you may add this sum to the total sum of Crowns you already possess. You can carry a maximum of only fifty Crowns, but additional Crowns can be left in safekeeping at your Kai Monastery.
The Elder Magi offer you a choice of equipment to aid you on your perilous mission. You can take five items from the list below, again adding to these, if necessary, any you may already possess. However, remember that you can carry a maximum of two Weapons and eight Backpack Items.
Sword (Weapons)
Bow (Weapons)
Quiver (Special Items) This contains six Arrows. Tick them off as they are used.
Rope (Backpack Items)
Potion of Laumspur (Backpack Items) This potion restores 4 ENDURANCE points to your total when swallowed after combat. There is enough for only one dose.
Lantern (Backpack Items)1
Mace (Weapons)
3 Meals (Meals) Each Meal takes up one space in your Backpack.
Dagger (Weapons)
3 Fireseeds (Special Items) When thrown against a hard surface, these Fireseeds explode and burn fiercely.
List the five items that you choose on your Action Chart, under the heading given in brackets, and make a note of any effect they may have on your ENDURANCE points or COMBAT SKILL.
How to Carry Equipment
Now that you have your equipment, the following list shows you how it is carried. You do not need to make notes, but you should refer back to this list in the course of your adventure.
Sword — carried in the hand.
Bow — carried in the hand.
Quiver — slung over your shoulder.
Rope — carried in the Backpack.
Potion of Laumspur — carried in the Backpack.
Lantern — carried in the Backpack.
Mace — carried in the hand.
Meals — carried in the Backpack.
Dagger — carried in the hand.
Fireseeds — carried in your pocket.
How Much Can You Carry?
Weapons
The maximum number of weapons that you may carry is two.
Backpack Items
These must be stored in your Backpack. Because space is limited, you may keep a maximum of only eight articles, including Meals, in your Backpack at any one time.
Special Items
Special Items are not carried in the
Backpack. When you discover a Special Item, you will be told how to carry it.
The maximum number of Special Items that can be carried on any adventure is twelve. Surplus Special Items may be left for safekeeping at your Kai Monastery.
Gold Crowns
These are always carried in the Belt Pouch. It will hold a maximum of fifty Crowns.
Food
Food is carried in your Backpack. Each Meal counts as one item.
Any item that may be of use and can be picked up on your adventure and entered on your Action Chart is given initial capitals (e.g. Gold Dagger, Magic Pendant) in the text. Unless you are told it is a Special Item, carry it in your Backpack.
How to Use Your Equipment
Weapons
Weapons aid you in combat. If you have the Magnakai Discipline of Weaponmastery and a correct weapon, it adds 3 points to your COMBAT SKILL. If you enter a combat with no weapons, deduct 4 points from your COMBAT SKILL and fight with your bare hands. If you find a weapon during the adventure, you may pick it up and use it. (Remember that you can only carry two Weapons at once.) You may only use one Weapon at a time in combat.
Bow and Arrows
During your adventure there will be opportunities to use a Bow and Arrow. If you equip yourself with this weapon, and you possess at least one Arrow, you may use it when the text of a particular section allows you to do so. The bow is a useful weapon, for it enables you to hit an enemy at a distance. However, a Bow cannot be used in hand-to-hand combat; therefore it is strongly recommended that you also equip yourself with a close combat weapon, like a Sword or Mace.
In order to use a Bow you must possess a Quiver and at least one Arrow. Each time the Bow is used, erase an Arrow from your Action Chart. A Bow cannot, of course, be used if you exhaust your supply of Arrows, but the opportunity may arise during your adventure for you to replenish your stock of Arrows.
If you enter combat armed only with a Bow, you must deduct 4 points from your COMBAT SKILL and fight with your bare hands.
Backpack Items
During your travels you will discover various useful items which you may wish to keep. (Remember you can only carry a maximum of eight items in your Backpack at anytime.) You may exchange or discard them at any point when you are not involved in combat.
Special Items
Special Items are not carried in the Backpack. When you discover a Special Item, you will be told how to carry it. If you have successfully completed previous Lone Wolf books, you may already possess Special Items.
The maximum number of Special Items that a Kai Master can carry during an adventure is twelve. Surplus Special Items may be left in safekeeping at your Kai Monastery.
Gold Crowns
The currency of Anari is the Lune, but Gold Crowns are readily accepted at an exchange rate of four Lune for every 1 Gold Crown.
Food
You will need to eat regularly during your adventure. If you do not have any food when you are instructed to eat a Meal, you will lose 3 ENDURANCE points. If you have chosen the Magnakai Discipline of Huntmastery as one of your skills, you will not need to tick off a Meal when instructed to eat.
Potion of Laumspur
This is a healing potion that can restore 4 ENDURANCE points to your total when swallowed after combat. There is enough for one dose only. If you discover any other potion during the adventure, you will be informed of its effect. All potions are Backpack Items.
[1] The Lantern is designed to be self-lighting. You will not need a Tinderbox or any other means of creating a flame to light it.
Rules for Combat
There will be occasions during your adventure when you have to fight an enemy. The enemy's COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE points are given in the text. Lone Wolf's aim in the combat is to kill the enemy by reducing his ENDURANCE points to zero while losing as few ENDURANCE points as possible himself.
At the start of a combat, enter Lone Wolf's and the enemy's ENDURANCE points in the appropriate boxes on the Combat Record section of your Action Chart.
The sequence for combat is as follows:
Add any extra points gained through your Magnakai Disciplines and Special Items to your current COMBAT SKILL total.
Subtract the COMBAT SKILL of your enemy from this total. The result is your Combat Ratio. Enter it on the Action Chart.
Example
Lone Wolf (COMBAT SKILL 15) is attacked by a Nightstalker (COMBAT SKILL 22). He is not given the opportunity to evade combat but must stand and fight as the creature leaps on him. Lone Wolf has the Magnakai Discipline of Psi-surge to which the Nightstalker is not immune, so Lone Wolf adds 4 points to his COMBAT SKILL, giving a total COMBAT SKILL of 19.
He subtracts the Nightstalker's COMBAT SKILL from his own, giving a Combat Ratio of −3. (19 − 22 = −3). −3 is noted on the Action Chart as the Combat Ratio.
When you have your Combat Ratio, pick a number from the Random Number Table.
Turn to the Combat Results Table. Along the top of the chart are shown the Combat Ratio numbers. Find the number that is the same as your Combat Ratio and cross-reference it with the random number that you have picked (the random numbers appear on the side of the chart). You now have the number of ENDURANCE points lost by both Lone Wolf and his enemy in this round of combat. (E represents points lost by the enemy; LW represents points lost by Lone Wolf.)
Example
The Combat Ratio between Lone Wolf and the Nightstalker has been established as −3. If the number taken from the Random Number Table is a 6, then the result of the first round of combat is:
Lone Wolf loses 3 ENDURANCE points (plus an additional 2 points for using Psi-surge)
Nightstalker loses 6 ENDURANCE points
On the Action Chart, mark the changes in ENDURANCE points to the participants in the combat.
Unless otherwise instructed, or unless you have an option to evade, the next round of combat now starts.
Repeat the sequence from Stage 3.
This process of combat continues until the ENDURANCE points of either the enemy or Lone Wolf are reduced to zero or below, at which point that combatant is declared dead. If Lone Wolf is dead, the adventure is over. If the enemy is dead, Lone Wolf proceeds but with his ENDURANCE points possibly reduced.
A summary of Combat Rules appears in the back of this book.
Evasion of Combat
During your adventure you may be given the chance to evade combat. If you have already engaged in a round of combat and decide to evade, calculate the combat for that round in the usual manner. All points lost by the enemy as a result of that round are ignored, and you make your escape. Only Lone Wolf may lose ENDURANCE points during that round, but then that is the risk of running away! You may only evade if the text of the particular section allows you to do so.
Levels of Magnakai Training
The following table is a guide to the ranks and titles that are achieved by Kai Masters at each stage of their training. As you successfully complete each adventure in the Lone Wolf Magnakai series, you will gain an additional Magnakai Discipline and progress towards the ultimate distinction of a Kai Warrior — Kai Grand Mastership.
Kai Master
Kai Master Senior
Kai Master Superior — You begin the Lone Wolf Magnakai adventures with this level of training.
Primate
Tutelary
Principalin
Mentora
Scion-kai
Archmaster
Kai Grand Master
Lore-circles of the Magnakai
In the years before their massacre, the Kai Masters of Sommerlund devoted themselves to the study of the Magnakai. These skills were divided into four schools of training called ‘Lore-circles’. By mastering all of the Magnakai Disciplines of a Lore-circle, the Kai Masters developed their fighting prowess (COMBAT SKILL), and their physical and mental stamina (ENDURANCE) to a level far higher than any mortal warrior could otherwise attain.
Listed below are the four Lo
re-circles of the Magnakai and the skills that must be mastered in order to complete them.
Circle of Fire
Weaponmastery & Huntmastery
Circle of Light
Animal Control & Curing
Circle of Solaris
Invisibility, Huntmastery & Pathsmanship
Circle of the Spirit
Psi-surge, Psi-screen, Nexus & Divination
By completing a Lore-circle, you may add to your COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE the extra bonus points that are shown below.