Beyond the Nightmare Gate (3 page)

If you enter combat without your Staff, deduct 6 points from your
COMBAT SKILL
. If you have no weapon at all, you must deduct 8 points from your
COMBAT SKILL
.

You wear the grey robe and hooded cloak of a Shianti Wizard. Your only weapon is your Wizard's Staff (note this on your
Action Chart
under Weapons). You wear a Backpack containing 4 Meals (note under Meals on your
Action Chart
), and you have been given a
map of the Shadakine Empire
(note under Special Items on your
Action Chart
), which you place inside your robe.
⁷

If you have chosen Alchemy as one of your Magical Powers, then you will have a leather pouch for herbs and potions hanging from your belt. The Herb Pouch contains the following:

• 2 empty Vials for carrying potions
  
• 1 Vial containing Saltpetre
  
• 1 Vial containing Sulphur
  

Mark these 4 items in your
Action Chart
.

Your Herb Pouch will carry a maximum of eight items.

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.

• Wizard's Staff — carried in the hand.
  
• Backpack — slung over the shoulder.
  
• Meals — carried in the Backpack.
  

Weapons

The maximum number of weapons that you may carry is
two
. Your Wizard's Staff counts as one weapon.

Backpack Items

These must be stored in your Backpack. Because space is limited, you may only keep a maximum of 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.

Nobles (Shadakine currency)

These are carried in the pocket of your robe.

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 capital letters in the text. Unless you are told it is a Special Item, carry it in your Backpack.
⁸

Weapons

Your
COMBAT SKILL
depends on your Wizard's Staff. If you do not possess your Staff when you enter combat you must deduct 6 points from your
COMBAT SKILL
. If you enter a combat without a weapon, deduct 8 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.)
⁹

Backpack Items

During your travels you will discover various useful items which you may wish to keep. (Remember that you can only carry a maximum of eight items in your Backpack at any one time.) You may exchange or discard them at any point when you are not involved in combat.

Special Items

Each Special Item has a particular purpose or effect. You may be told this when the item is discovered, or it may be revealed to you as the adventure progresses.

Currency

The currency of the Shadakine Empire is the Noble, which is a small jade stone. The system of money is alien to the Shianti, and for this reason you begin your adventure with no money. Whenever you kill an enemy, you may take any Nobles belonging to him and keep them in the pocket of your robe.

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.

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. Grey Star's aim during the combat is to kill the enemy by reducing his
ENDURANCE
points to zero while at the same time losing as few
ENDURANCE
points as possible himself.

At the start of a combat, enter Grey Star's
ENDURANCE
and
WILLPOWER
points 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:

1. Calculate your current
   COMBAT SKILL
   total, based on the weapon you are using. (Remember, if you enter combat without your Staff, you must deduct 6 points from your
   COMBAT SKILL
   . If you have no weapon at all, you must deduct 8 points.)
   
2. Subtract the
   COMBAT SKILL
   of your enemy from this total. The result is your Combat Ratio. Enter it on the
   Action Chart
   .
   
3. If you are using your Wizard's Staff
   , decide how many
   WILLPOWER
   points you wish to use. (Remember, you must expend at least 1 point.) Enter this number on your Combat Record in the box marked
   WILLPOWER
   .
   Example
   Grey Star (
   COMBAT SKILL
   15,
   WILLPOWER
   23) is ambushed by a Deathgaunt (
   COMBAT SKILL
   20). He is not given the opportunity to evade combat, but he can use his Wizard's Staff against the creature as it swoops down on him. He subtracts the Deathgaunt's
   COMBAT SKILL
   from his own, giving a Combat Ratio of −5. (15 − 20 = −5). −5 is noted on the
   Action Chart
   as the Combat Ratio. Grey Star decides to use 2
   WILLPOWER
   points, which is noted on the
   WILLPOWER
   box of the Combat Record.
   
4. When you have decided upon the number of
   WILLPOWER
   points you wish to use and have determined your Combat Ratio, pick a number from the
   Random Number Table
   .
   
5. 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 Grey Star. To calculate the number lost by the enemy, multiply the number listed for the enemy by the number of
   WILLPOWER
   points that Grey Star elected to use. Now you have the final number of
   ENDURANCE
   points lost by both Grey Star and his enemy in this round of combat. (E represents points lost by the enemy; GS represents points lost by Grey Star.)
   Example
   The Combat Ratio between Grey Star and the Deathgaunt has been established as −5, and Grey Star's
   WILLPOWER
   points used as 2. If the number taken from the
   Random Number Table
   is a 6, then the result of the first round of combat is:
   
   • Grey Star loses 4
     ENDURANCE
     points.
     
   • Deathgaunt loses 5
     ENDURANCE
     points, multiplied by 2
     WILLPOWER
     points, giving a total of 10
     ENDURANCE
     points lost in all.
     
6. On the
   Action Chart
   , mark the changes in
   ENDURANCE
   points to the participants in the combat, and Grey Star's amended
   WILLPOWER
   points total.
   
7. Unless otherwise instructed, or unless you have an option to evade, the next round of combat now starts.
   
8. Repeat the sequence from
   Stage 3
   .
   

This process of combat continues until the
ENDURANCE
points of either the enemy or Grey Star are reduced to zero or below, at which point that combatant is declared dead. If Grey Star is dead, the adventure is over. If the enemy is dead, Grey Star proceeds but with his
ENDURANCE
and
WILLPOWER
points possibly reduced.

A
summary of Combat Rules
appears in the back of this book.

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 Grey Star 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.

You are about to begin a quest of utmost importance and terrible danger. Beware, for you enter a world quite different from the one you leave behind. Here, even the natural laws are strange and you will need all your wits and cunning to survive in this alien world.

You will find items that might be of assistance. Some Special Items will help you on your quest, others may be of no use at all. You must decide what to keep.

Be cautious in your use of
WILLPOWER
points, as your
WILLPOWER
is the energy source for your Magical Powers and your Wizard's Staff. A
WILLPOWER
score of zero or below will leave you weak and vulnerable to attack, unable to offer effective resistance.

Follow the path of wisdom, Wizard Grey Star. The way of fools is the road to destruction!

Tanith takes you by the hand and you step forward into a tunnel of swirling mist. As the outline of the Shadow Gate fades behind you, you gaze at your new surroundings. Horrified, you perceive strange shapes and pale faces writhing within the tunnel wall. The faces stare at you vacantly, mouthing indistinguishable words, and you walk along the tunnel to a barrage of murmuring voices, muffled cries, moaning, and sobbing. Tanith looks at you but says nothing, the terror in her eyes mirroring your own. ‘Such a place could drive a man insane,’ you say, quietly.

The two of you walk faster into the unknown, your hearts pounding with anticipation. Finally, the tunnel opens on to a vast plain of white cloud suspended beneath a sunless sky. Stepping onto this twilit plain, you notice that the light of the sky casts no shadow and disappears into absolute blackness above your head. Looking down, you can see no solid ground beneath the cloud, which somehow supports you. Like the Shadow Gate before, the tunnel of mists fades away and you find yourself staring out across the bleak silence of the Daziarn. Scanning the distant horizon, you sight the outline of a building. Tanith tugs your arm. ‘Look!’ she says, pointing away to the left. You follow the direction of her outstretched arm to see the hunched figure of a man, gliding slowly across the plain.

If you wish to head towards the distant building,
turn to 211
.

If you wish to question the man,
turn to 122
.

There are mirrors of every conceivable size and variety hanging both on the walls and the ceiling. You can see only one other exit from the room.

If you wish to search the room,
turn to 198
.

If you wish to leave by the other exit,
turn to 221
.

Tanith takes a step towards Drear, her mind bewitched by his enchantment. You resist the power of his call, using the strength of your will but you expend 2
WILLPOWER
points before Drear's spell is completely banished from your mind.

With an anguished cry, Drear suddenly vanishes and Tanith regains her senses with a start. ‘I was almost his to command,’ she comments, breathless and frightened.

‘Come,’ you reply, ‘to the Crystal Tower. We are sure to learn something of the Moonstone there.’

Turn to 50
.