TEXT: Multiplayer Game Book
  Matthew Sprange 
  Matthew Sprange 
  & Joe Dever
  & Joe Dever
  
  1
  Multiplayer Game Book
  A Mongoose Publishing Book
  Published by Mongoose Publishing Limited
  52-54 Cricklade Road, Swindon, SN2 8AF
  With thanks to Jonathan Blake and all at Project Aon.
  'Lone Wolf' is a registered trade mark owned by Joe Dever.
  All rights reserved.
  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, 
  by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or 
  otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent 
  in any form of binding or cover other than that which it 
  is published and without a similar condition including this 
  condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
  Printed and bound in the USA by Mongoose Publishing.
  ISBN 978-1-905850-77-8
  © Matthew Sprange (2010) & Joe Dever (1984-2010)
  Written by Matthew Sprange & Joe Dever
  Written by Matthew Sprange & Joe Dever
  Additional Text by Darren Pearce
  Edited by Charlotte Law
  Layout & Graphic Design by Will Chapman
  Interior Illustrations by Rich Longmore
  Cover Illustration by Alberto dal Lago
  Proofreading by Nick Robinson
  
  2
  Contents
  Introduction 
  3
  Creating a Character 
  8
  Defeating the Enemies 
  16
  Kai Training 
  22
  Adventuring 
  24
  Tactics and Strategies 
  31
  Being the Gamesmaster 
  39
  Monsters and Adversaries 
  46
  The History of Magnamund 
  54
  The Lastlands 
  61
  The Merchants Task 
  70
  
  3
  Welcome to Lone Wolf, a Multiplayer Fantasy Gamebook. If you have 
  enjoyed the previous Lone Wolf gamebooks, you will ﬁ nd this one to be 
  a little different.
  In the other Lone Wolf gamebooks you read through the story, making 
  decisions as you go to guide your character through dangers and 
  adversities. This Gamebook instead shows you how to create your own 
  stories and play them out with your friends. 
  You will not have a single Kai lord battling against the evil plans of the 
  Darklords but a whole group of heroes. You will not be constrained by 
  options offered to you on each page; instead you’ll be free to take any 
  action you wish at any time, although you will also have to live with the 
  consequences if you should do something foolish!
  Think of a Multiplayer Fantasy Gamebook as being your chance to create and 
  star in your own ﬁ lm. 
  Remember the Lord of the Rings? If that was a Multiplayer Fantasy 
  Gamebook, you might well have been playing the part of one of the 
  hobbits. For instance, if you were playing Frodo, then your friends might 
  have been taking the parts of Sam, Merry and Pippin.
  However, instead of simply reading lines from a script, you would be 
  free to decide what Frodo does and what he says. Another player, the 
  Games Master, acts as the narrator or director, describing what you and 
  your friends see and hear – it is then up to you to decide what to do. 
  You describe your actions and the Games Master will then tell you what 
  happens as a consequence.
  You may also hear this kind of game being described as roleplaying and 
  that is literally what it is – playing the role of a character in a story.
  Chapter One :
  Introduction
  
  4
  How to Play
  If you have played the other Lone Wolf gamebooks, you already know 
  much of what you need to know. If not, then do not worry – you will ﬁ nd 
  things a lot easier than they may ﬁ rst appear!
  Start by reading Chapter Two and have a go at creating your own Kai 
  Lord character. Once you are familiar with that, grab some friends and 
  get them creating characters too. Ideally, you should have between four 
  and six people playing the game.
  One friend (perhaps yourself) needs to take the part of the Games 
  Master. The Games Master does not take the part of a single character 
  like the other players. Instead, he has a whole world to control! The 
  Games Master (and only the Games Master – don’t spoil any surprises 
  for yourself!) should read Chapter Four and then quickly skim through 
  the ﬁ rst adventure in Chapter Ten. This should not take very long and 
  there is not too much to remember. The Games Master can always refer 
  back to this book at any time.
  Once every player has a character ready and the Games Master is familiar 
  with what he needs to run the adventure, you can begin. The Games 
  Master will tell the players where their characters are and what they can 
  see. Once he has set the scene, the players will tell the Games Master 
  what they want their characters to do – and so the game begins.
  A Game in Progress
  This kind of game is a little bit like free form acting or improvisation with a 
  few rules attached. If you have not played a Multiplayer Fantasy Gamebook 
  or a Roleplaying Game before, you will ﬁ nd that it is quite unlike anything 
  you might have tried before. For a start, there is no game board!
  Featured here is a short excerpt from a game that was played. It will 
  give you an idea of what to expect. Chris is the Games Master and Ian, 
  Richard, Nick and Kelly are the players.
  Chris:
  Chris: Having left the Kai Monastery on your mission to discover what 
  has happened to the lost patrol, you ﬁ nd yourself walking through 
  the forest. Before long, it starts to get dark as the sun sinks below the 
  horizon. Are you guys going to keep on walking?
  
  5
  Richard:
  Richard: I knew we should have stayed in the Monastery until morning. 
  We’ll never get through the night without something big and bad wanting 
  to eat us for its supper.
  Nick:
  Nick: Doomwolves, most like. A pack of those nasties is going to cause us 
  some serious trouble.
  Ian:
  Ian: Nah, we had to leave quickly. That patrol could be in real danger and 
  in need of our help. I say we push on.
  Richard:
  Richard: Perhaps we should sleep up in the trees or something?
  Kelly: 
  Kelly: I would rather face Doomwolves with a sword in my hand than while trying 
  to hide up a tree!
  Nick:
  Nick: She’s right. Come on Richard, let’s keep going.
  Richard:
  Richard: Alright, agreed, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
  Chris:
  Chris: Okay, you carry on walking through the night. The moon is full and 
  its silvery light just about penetrates the canopy of the trees, but you really 
  cannot see much ahead of you. Oh, and you had better now cross off a 
  meal, you are all hungry.
  Richard:
  Richard: I have the Discipline of Hunting, I don’t need the meal.
  Ian:
  Ian: Lucky ol’ you. Kelly, do you still have that lantern?
  Kelly:
  Kelly: Ah, yes! Good thinking. Chris, I light my lantern – we can see much 
  further now.
  Chris:
  Chris: The lantern casts really weird shadows as you move through the 
  trees. You keep thinking you can see a Doomwolf or two lurking in the 
  surrounding woodland but when you stare at the shadows you realise that 
  there is nothing there. A little further on and you can make out an unusual 
  shape ahead. Getting closer, you suddenly realise that it is a mound of 
  bodies, with the Sommlending ﬂ ag draped over them. It seems unnaturally 
  quiet in this part of the forest,
  Nick:
  Nick: Oh dear, I think we just found the patrol, guys. . .
  And so the game continues. No doubt our heroes will start spreading out 
  to see if their enemies are still nearby before checking out the remains of 
  the patrol. However, absolutely anything can happen in games like this, 
  which is why they are such great fun to play!
  How Do You Win?
  This is actually a tricky question. If you have played the other Lone Wolf 
  gamebooks, you will likely have completed them and thus ‘won’. This 
  doesn’t always happen in a Multiplayer Fantasy Gamebook.
  In this game, you will play several (perhaps a great many) adventures. 
  After you complete each one, your character will get a little better at 
  
  6
  adventuring and may be rewarded with special items or favours from the 
  lords of the land. However, this does not mean you have won in the ﬁ nal 
  sense, because there will always be the chance for another adventure soon 
  after.
  You can think of Lone Wolf as a kind of television series, where you play 
  one of the lead characters. Every week you see the same characters but 
  the stories, and the trouble they ﬁ nd themselves in, changes with each 
  episode. In this sense, each adventure you play in Lone Wolf can be seen 
  as a single episode of a much larger and greater story.
  Chance and Random Numbers
  It is unfortunate but things do not always work out exactly how you want 
  them to. If you swing a weapon at an enemy, he may dodge out of the 
  way at the last moment. If you jump across a yawning chasm, you may 
  slip and fall. If you try quietly to creep past a guard, he may well notice 
  you are there.
  In a Multiplayer Fantasy Gamebook, all of this is worked out by random 
  numbers. On p112 at the end of this book you will ﬁ nd the Random 
  Number Table. Whenever you need to ﬁ nd a random number, turn to this 
  table, close your eyes and place the blunt end of a pencil on the page. 
  The number under the end of the pencil is the number you have picked 
  by chance.
  Tests
  Any action that has an element of chance or risk in it is called a Test. A 
  Test is made by picking a random number on the table and then adding 
  a Bonus to it to arrive at a total. Your Games Master will tell you what 
  Bonuses may be added to any Test.                      
  Your Games Master will decide the Difﬁ culty of the Test.
  If the total is higher than, or equal to, the Difﬁ culty then you have passed 
  the Test and are successful in what you were trying to do. If your total is less 
  than the Difﬁ culty, then you have failed.
  
  7
  Blind Luck
  Sometimes you may try to do something that cannot be inﬂ uenced by a 
  Bonus, no matter how good you are at other actions. Your character may 
  ﬂ ip a coin, for example. In this case, getting the result you need to succeed 
  is purely down to chance.
  A Luck Test is performed in exactly the same way as other Tests, except 
  a Bonus is never added. A result of 0–4 on the Random Number Table 
  means you have failed. A result of 5–9 means you are successful.
  Using Dice
  If you play Lone Wolf a lot, you may ﬁ nd it easier to use dice rather than 
  the Random Number Table. You will need one or more 10 sided dice for 
  this game, which you can ﬁ nd at most hobby stores. You can simply roll a 
  10 sided dice instead of using the Random Number Table.
  Many 10 sided dice are numbered from 1–10. In Lone Wolf, a 10 should 
  always be read as a 0, so the highest number that can be rolled is a 9.
  
  8
  Chapter Two : 
  Creating a Character
  Every player of Lone Wolf needs a character, their own Kai Lord who 
  will take missions from the Grand Masters and protect Sommerlund from 
  its many enemies. This character is the ﬁ ctional person you will become 
  when you explore the world of Magnamund.
  You will need a blank Action Chart for every player. Permission is granted for 
  you to photocopy the Action Chart on p108, or you can freely download one 
  from our website. The Action Chart allows you to record details about your 
  character and what happens to him, or her, during their adventures.
   
  COMBAT SKILL AND ENDURANCE
  First, you have to see what your character’s  COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE 
  is like. COMBAT SKILL is a measure of your character’s ability in ﬁ ghting 
  situations, while ENDURANCE is a measure of how tough your character is. 
  COMBAT SKILL will not change very often, while ENDURANCE can go up and 
  down quite a lot, depending on how many battles you ﬁ ght and how many 
  other dangers you face.
  To ﬁ nd out what your character’s COMBAT SKILL is, go to p112 at the back 
  of this book and pick a random number. Add 10 to this number and the 
  result will be your COMBAT SKILL (so, COMBAT SKILL will always be numbered 
  between 10 and 19).
  For ENDURANCE, you do exactly the same thing, except that you add 20 
  to the random number you select (so, your starting ENDURANCE is always 
  numbered between 20 and 29).
  Once you have determined what your  COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE scores 
  are, enter them on your Action Chart.
  
  9
  Kai Disciplines
  Over the centuries, the Kai have mastered the skills of the warrior. These 
  skills are known as the Kai Disciplines and they are taught to all Kai Lords. 
  Your character has been training for many years but has yet to master all 
  of the Disciplines and so you may choose just ﬁ ve from the following list. 
  You will have a chance to learn the others later.
  When you have chosen your ﬁ ve Kai Disciplines, write them down on your 
  Action Chart.
  Camouflage
  This Discipline enables a Kai Lord to blend in with his surroundings. In the 
  countryside, he is able to hide undetected among trees and rocks and pass 
  close to an enemy without being seen. In a town or city, it enables him to 
  look and sound like a native of the area and it can help him to ﬁ nd shelter 
  or a safe hiding place.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Camouﬂ age’ on your Action Chart.
  Hunting
  This skill ensures that a Kai Lord will never starve in the wild. He will 
  always be able to hunt for food himself, except in areas of wasteland and 
  desert. You will not need to cross off a Meal when instructed to eat. The 
  skill also enables a Kai Lord to be able to move swiftly and stealthily.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Hunting’ on your Action Chart.
  Sixth Sense
  This skill may warn a Kai Lord of imminent danger. It may also reveal the 
  true purpose of a stranger or strange object encountered in the adventure.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Sixth Sense’ on your Action Chart.
  Tracking
  This skill enables a Kai Lord to make the correct choice of a path in the 
  wild, to discover the location of a person or object in a town or city and to 
  read the secrets of footprints or tracks.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Tracking’ on your Action Chart.
  
  10
  
  11
  Healing
  This Discipline can be used to restore ENDURANCE points lost through injury. 
  If you possess this skill, you may enter a meditative trance in order to heal 
  yourself. You will restore 1 ENDURANCE point for every full ﬁ ve minutes that 
  you are in the trance and are not disturbed. You may only do this after 
  your ENDURANCE has fallen below its original level. Be sure to remember 
  that your ENDURANCE score cannot rise above its original level.
  You may also heal others, though you are not so good at doing this. You 
  may restore 2 ENDURANCE points to one other character. This can be done 
  once per day for each character you heal. You can only heal one other 
  character at a time. 
  If you choose this skill write ‘Healing’ on your Action Chart.
  Weaponskill
  Upon entering the Kai Monastery, each initiate is taught to master one 
  type of weapon. If Weaponskill is to be one of your Kai Disciplines, pick a 
  number from the Random Number Table and then ﬁ nd the corresponding 
  weapon from the list on page 12. This is the weapon in which you already 
  have a proven skill. When you enter combat carrying this weapon, you 
  can add a +2 Bonus to your COMBAT SKILL rating.
  You cannot carry more than 2 weapons and may only use 1 weapon at 
  a time. If you choose this skill, write ‘Weaponskill in _______’ on your 
  Action Chart. You will also automatically start with this weapon as part of 
  your starting equipment.
  Mindshield
  Some of your enemies will have the ability to attack you using psychic force,  
  the power of their mind. The Kai Discipline of Mindshield can protect you 
  from taking any damage when subjected to this form of attack.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Mindshield’ on your Action Chart.
  Mindblast
  This skill enables a Kai Lord to attack an enemy using the force of his 
  mind. It can be used at the same time as a normal combat weapon and 
  adds a +2 Bonus to your COMBAT SKILL. Not all the creatures encountered 
  
  12
  0 = DAGGER
  1 = SPEAR
  2 = MACE
  3 = SHORT SWORD
  4 = WARHAMMER
  5 = SWORD
  6 = AXE
  7 = BOW
  8 = QUARTERSTAFF
  9 = BROADSWORD
  
  13
  will be harmed by Mindblast. You will be told by the Games Master if a 
  creature is immune.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Mindblast’ on your Action Chart.
  Animal Kinship
  This skill enables a Kai Lord to communicate with some animals and to be 
  able to guess the intentions of others. In some cases, it can allow a Kai Lord 
  to control an animal’s instincts or actions.
   
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Animal Kinship’ on your Action Chart.
  Mind Over Matter
  Mastery of this Discipline enables a Kai Lord to move small objects with 
  his powers of concentration.
  If you choose this skill, write ‘Mind Over Matter’ on your Action Chart.
  Starting Equipment
  Your basic possessions comprise the green tunic and cloak of a Kai initiate. 
  You also have a backpack, a belt and a leather pouch in which you keep 
  your money (Gold Crowns). To ﬁ nd out how much money you start with, 
  pick a number from the Random Number Table and add 10. The number 
  you choose equals the number of Gold Crowns you possess (Note this 
  number in the Belt Pouch section of your Action Chart).
  Upon entering the Kai Monastery, every initiate is given a Map of the 
  Lastlands. This map shows the location of your native country – Sommerlund 
  – and its capital city – Holmgard. It also shows the land of Durenor away to 
  the east and the Wildlands, which separate the two kingdoms 
  If you have the Kai Discipline of Weaponskill, you will also start with the 
  weapon that you are proﬁ cient with.
  You may also choose ﬁ ve items from the following list
  Bow (Weapon)
  Broadsword (Weapon)
  Chainmail Waistcoat (Special Item, adds 4 to your ENDURANCE)
  Helmet (Special Item, adds 2 to your ENDURANCE)
  
  14
  Lantern (Backpack Item)
  Mace (Weapon)
  Meal (Backpack Item)
  Potion of Laumspur (Backpack Item, one dose, restores 4 ENDURANCE 
  points to your total)
  Quarterstaff (Weapon)
  Quiver (Special Item, contains 12 arrows)
  Rope (Backpack Item)
  Shield (Special Item, grants a +2 Bonus to your COMBAT SKILL)
  Spear (Weapon)
  Sword (Weapon)
  How to Carry and Use Your Equipment
  Weapons 
  If you ﬁ nd a weapon during the adventure, you may pick it up and use it. 
  You may only use one weapon at a time in combat. You can only carry 
  two weapons at any time. Most weapons are carried either sheathed or 
  tucked into your belt.
  Backpack Items
  During your travels you will discover various useful items that you may 
  wish to keep but you may only carry eight items in your Backpack at once. 
  If you ever lose your Backpack, you automatically lose all of the items it 
  contains. You will be unable to pick up and keep any new backpack items 
  until you acquire a new Backpack. You may exchange or discard items at 
  any point when you are not involved in combat. 
  Special Items 
  Each Special Item has a particular purpose or effect. This may be explained 
  when the item is ﬁ rst discovered or the Games Master may reveal it to you 
  later in the adventure.
   
  Gold Crowns 
  The currency of Sommerlund is the Crown, which is a small gold coin. 
  Gold Crowns can be used on your adventures to pay for transport, food 
  or may even be used as a bribe. Some of the creatures that you may 
  encounter will possess Gold Crowns or you may discover them while 
  searching. Any Gold Crowns that you acquire should be carried in your 
  Belt Pouch. The maximum number you can carry is 50.
   
  
  15
  Food 
  You will need to eat each day while on adventures. 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 Kai Discipline of Hunting as one of your 
  ﬁ ve skills, you will not need to cross off a Meal when instructed to eat, 
  except in areas of Wasteland or Desert. 
  Naming Your Kai Lord
  It has long been a tradition to bestow a new name upon each young 
  novice when they complete their ﬁ rst year’s training at the Kai Monastery. 
  Kai names are chosen by senior Kai Masters with the aim of reﬂ ecting the 
  individual strengths and qualities of each novice.
  You can choose your Kai name for yourself or create one at random using 
  the following name tables. Pick two numbers from the Random Number 
  Table and consult the two tables for the ﬁ rst and second parts (the preﬁ x 
  and sufﬁ x) of your Kai name.
  Prefix 
   
   
   
  Suffix
  0 – Swift 
   
   
   
  0 – Blade 
  1 – Sun  
   
   
   
  1 – Fire 
  2 – True 
   
   
   
  2 – Hawk 
  3 – Bold 
   
   
   
  3 – Heart 
  4 – Moon 
   
   
   
  4 – Friend 
  5 – Sword 
   
   
   
  5 – Star 
  6 – Wise 
   
   
   
  6 – Dancer 
  7 – Storm 
   
   
   
  7 – Helm 
  8 – Rune 
   
   
   
  8 – Strider 
  9 – Brave 
   
   
   
  9 – Shield 
  Ready for Your First Mission
  Once you have determined your COMBAT SKILL and ENDURANCE scores, 
  chosen your ﬁ ve Disciplines, selected your equipment and chosen a name, 
  you are ready for your ﬁ rst adventure! 
  You will need some friends to help you, each with their own Kai Lord 
  character and one more friend to act as a Games Master (who should read 
  Chapter Seven before playing). Once you are all ready, get your Games 
  Master to have a look at the adventure in Chapter Ten and you can set off 
  on your ﬁ rst mission from the Kai Monastery. . .
  
  16
  There will be occasions during your adventures when you will have to 
  ﬁ ght an enemy. Your Games Master will know your enemy’s COMBAT SKILL 
  and ENDURANCE points. Your aim as a Kai Lord is to defeat the enemy 
  by reducing its ENDURANCE points to zero, while losing as few ENDURANCE 
  points as possible yourself.
  The sequence for combat is as follows.
  1. Add any extra points gained through your Kai Disciplines or 
  equipment to your current COMBAT SKILL total.
  2. Subtract the COMBAT SKILL of your enemy from this total. The result 
  is your Combat Ratio.
  For example:
  You, as a Kai Lord (COMBAT SKILL 15), are ambushed by a Winged 
  Devil (COMBAT SKILL 20). You are not given the opportunity to 
  evade combat but must stand and ﬁ ght as the creature swoops 
  down. You have the Kai Discipline of Mindblast, so you add the +2 
  Bonus to your COMBAT SKILL, giving you a total COMBAT SKILL of 17.
  You subtract the Winged Devil’s COMBAT SKILL from your own, giving a 
  Combat Ratio of –3 (17 – 20 = –3). 
  3. When you have determined your Combat Ratio, pick a number 
  from the Random Number Table.
  4. Now turn to the Combat Results Table on p110. 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 
  Chapter Three : 
  Defeating Enemies
  
  17
  
  18
  have the number of ENDURANCE points lost by both yourself and 
  your enemy in this round of combat. E represents points lost 
  by the enemy; H represents points lost by the Hero – you.
  For example; 
  The Combat Ratio between yourself and the Winged Devil has been 
  established as –3. If the number taken from the Random Number Table is 
  a 6, then the result of the ﬁ rst round of combat is:
  You lose 3 ENDURANCE points
  Winged Devil loses 6 ENDURANCE points
  5. On the Action Chart, record the changes in ENDURANCE points to 
  yourself.
  6. Unless otherwise instructed, or unless you have an option to 
  evade, begin the next round of combat.
  7. Repeat the sequence from Stage 3.
  This process of combat continues until the ENDURANCE points of either 
  the enemy or yourself are reduced to zero, at which point the one with 
  the zero score is declared dead. If you are dead, your adventure is over. 
  If the enemy is dead, you proceed but with your ENDURANCE points score 
  reduced.
  Evasion of Combat
  During your adventure your Games Master may give you 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 you may lose ENDURANCE points during an evading 
  round but then that is the risk of running away in the middle of a ﬁ ght! You 
  may only evade if your Games Master allows you to do so.
  
  19
  Battles
  The previous section deals with how combat is worked out when it is just 
  you and one enemy going toe-to-toe. More often, you will have several 
  friends on your side and your enemies are likely to have allies as well!
  If you have several characters ﬁ ghting at once, the following rules apply.
  Order of Battle
  The character with the highest COMBAT SKILL chooses who they will attack, 
  combat is resolved as normal.
  The character with the next highest COMBAT SKILL then chooses who to 
  attack and resolves his combat and so on, until everyone is engaged in 
  combat (this usually means the characters with the lowest COMBAT SKILL 
  will rarely get a chance to choose who they will ﬁ ght, unless their side 
  outnumbers the other).
  Ganging Up
  It is quite possible for multiple enemies to gang up on a single character, or 
  vice versa. So long as the Kai Lords stick together, most combats should 
  be like this.
  If a character or enemy is not currently engaged, when it is his turn to act 
  in the Order of Battle, he is free to attack anyone he wishes, even if they 
  are already engaged. He will gain a temporary +2 Bonus to his COMBAT 
  SKILL if the enemy has already fought one attacker, +4 if the enemy has 
  already fought two and +6 if the enemy has already fought three.
  A maximum of four characters can attack one enemy at any one time. A 
  character may not attack one enemy if he has already been engaged in 
  combat by another – he has to attack the enemy who attacked him.
  Once the bonuses to COMBAT SKILLS have been worked out, combat 
  takes place as normal.
  After every character has fought a combat at least once, a new round 
  of combat begins. If a character is no longer engaged (because he has 
  defeated the enemy he was ﬁ ghting), he may move to attack another.
  
  20
  Engaging Many Enemies
  A character can intentionally choose to engage in combat with multiple 
  opponents if he is currently unengaged, diving forward into their midst. 
  This is dangerous but very heroic!
  All of the enemies will count as being engaged by the character and they 
  will immediately receive a +2 Bonus to their COMBAT SKILL for every enemy 
  present after the ﬁ rst. Up to four enemies may be engaged in this way.
  Fighting Without a Weapon
  If you are ever forced to enter combat without a weapon in hand, you 
  will suffer a –4 penalty to your COMBAT SKILL.  If you are able to ﬁ nd an 
  improvised weapon, such as a table leg, chair or a branch, then the penalty 
  to your COMBAT SKILL is reduced to –2.
  Slings & Arrows
  Some weapons can be thrown or ﬁ red, such as bows, daggers and 
  slingshots. This allows characters to defeat their enemy at range – safely, 
  as long as the enemy does not close the distance or does not have ranged 
  weapons of their own!
  Ranged combat is very similar to the close combat described before. 
  Characters act in order of their COMBAT SKILL, choosing who to target. 
  You may never Gang Up or Engage Many Enemies when using a ranged 
  weapon. Every character may choose to attack with a ranged weapon, 
  even if they have already been attacked by a ranged weapon.
  Combat Ratios are worked out in the same way but the attacking character 
  (he who is ﬁ ring the weapon) will never suffer any loss of ENDURANCE.
  Every time you ﬁ re a ranged weapon, remember to cross off an arrow, 
  stone or whatever ammunition it uses from your Action Chart.
  In Battles
  Ranged weapons are quite often used right at the start of a battle as 
  enemies rush towards one another. However, once a character is engaged 
  in close combat, he may not use ranged weapons at all. He must switch 
  to a normal weapon.
  
  21
  It is possible for you to use a ranged weapon throughout a battle, so long 
  as you are not engaged in close combat by an enemy. You may use your 
  ranged weapon against an enemy already engaged by one of your allies 
  but your COMBAT SKILL will temporarily drop by 6 points during the attack, 
  as you will be trying very hard not to hit your friend!
  Healing
  Once injured, you will want to be ﬁ ghting ﬁ t and back on your feet again 
  as quickly as possible. However, healing usually takes time.
  Natural Healing
  Under normal circumstances, you will regain all lost ENDURANCE points at the 
  end of an adventure. However, there are quicker ways to be healed.
  Kai Discipline of Healing
  As described on p11, you can enter a meditative trance to regain ENDURANCE 
  points, though this is a slow process and it can leave you vulnerable to 
  enemy attack while you are in the trance. You can also help others heal, 
  though to a lesser extent.
  Laumspur
  Potions of Laumspur immediately restore 4 ENDURANCE points for every 
  dose taken. This is the best way to be healed but such potions are rare 
  and expensive. There are other herbs and magical remedies that can heal 
  damage in Magnamund but ﬁ rst you will have to ﬁ nd them.
  
  22
  Chapter Four : 
  Kai Training
  You begin the game as an Initiate in the Order of the Kai. While you 
  have a long way to go before you can consider yourself to be a Grand 
  Master of the Order, you are not an absolute beginner either, as your ﬁ ve 
  Kai Disciplines show. The ranks of the Kai Lords and the titles they are 
  granted at each level of their progress, are shown here.
  Rank / Number of Kai Disciplines 
   
  Kai Title
  1 
  Novice
  2 
  Intuite
  3 
  Doan
  4 
  Acolyte
  5 
  Initiate (you start here)
  6 
  Aspirant
  7 
  Guardian
  8 
  Warmarn or 
  Journeyman
  9 
  Savant
  10 
  Master
  Beyond these ranks are the levels of the Magnakai and Grand Masters. 
  These advanced Kai Lords, who having mastered all of the basic Disciplines, 
  are capable of some incredible and supernatural feats. Magnakai’s and 
  Grand Masters are detailed in Book Three: Heroes of Magnamund.
  
  23
  Getting Better
  As you engage in missions for the Order of the Kai, you will gain 
  experience in dangerous situations and get better at handling them. This 
  is represented by increases in your Kai Rank.
  After you successfully complete each adventure, you will rise by one Rank, 
  gaining another Kai Discipline in the process. Choose your new Discipline 
  from the list in Chapter Two and note it on your Action Chart.
  You will also ﬁ nd that many of the other Disciplines you already have get a 
  little better, allowing you to do more things or achieve them more easily.
  If you do not complete an adventure successfully (but you still manage 
  to survive!), you will not increase in Rank and will not gain a new 
  Discipline.
  
  24
  Chapter Five : 
  Adventuring
  Having read this far, you now know almost everything you need to in 
  order to begin playing Lone Wolf. You know how to make Tests, how to 
  create a Kai Lord and how to ﬁ ght in combat. There are just a few other 
  things to learn that may come in very handy from time to time.
  Climbing. . . and Falling
  Sometimes you have to think (and travel) vertically; whether you should 
  climb a tree to get a better look at the surrounding area, or scale a wall or 
  a cliff in order to carry on with your mission. 
  In order to climb something, make a Test, adding your COMBAT SKILL as a 
  Bonus for every 10 metres you want to go up. 
  Your Games Master will inform you of the Difﬁ culty of the climb but, in general, 
  you can assume something as easy as a tree will be Difﬁ culty 15, while a sheer, 
  wet cliff in the middle of a storm may be Difﬁ culty 25 or even 30.
  Unfortunately, what goes up often comes down. You may lose your grip 
  when trying to climb a sheer cliff, or you may fall foul of a pit trap in an 
  underground tomb. Either way, once this happens, there is not much you 
  can do until you hit the ground (although your Games Master may allow 
  you a Luck Test in order to grab a branch or something similar as you 
  fall).
  Hitting the ground after a high fall hurts. A lot. For every ﬁ ve metres (or 
  part of ﬁ ve metres), that you fall, pick a random number. This is how many 
  ENDURANCE points you will lose upon impact.
  If you fall a distance of two metres or less, you will not lose any ENDURANCE 
  at all.
  
  25
  
  26
  Poison and Disease
  Many creatures in the wildernesses of Magnamund have poison-tipped 
  claws, poisonous venom or are carriers of virulent diseases. Towns and 
  cities can prove to be equally hazardous places, with assassins targeting 
  Kai Lords with poison or plagues running rampant in some areas.
  Poison and disease are treated in the same way in this game. The only 
  difference is that poison will normally effect you straight away and then 
  leave you alone, while a disease takes at least a day to have any effect 
  but will stay with you until you manage to develop a limited immunity to 
  them.
  All poisons and diseases have a Difﬁ culty – this is the Test you must make 
  to avoid their effects, using your current ENDURANCE as a Bonus. The Test 
  is taken immediately after you have been poisoned or are at risk of being 
  infected by disease. 
  If you succeed, you suffer no ill effects and can continue adventuring. 
  If you fail, the effects of the poison or disease will be felt. Most poisons 
  simply cause you to lose an amount of ENDURANCE, as do some diseases. 
  Others have very special effects, such as making you blind, bed-ridden, 
  repulsive to look at or all three! The exact effects of a poison or disease 
  will be noted in its description.
  Once you have suffered the effects of poison, you can usually ignore it 
  from then on (unless it has killed you!). Disease is a little different. At the 
  start of every day in which you are infected by a disease, make another 
  Test, using your ENDURANCE as a Bonus, against the disease’s Difﬁ culty. If 
  you succeed, you have shaken the effects of the disease and are no longer 
  infected (though there is often a chance that you can be infected again in 
  the future). If you fail, the effects of the disease are applied again.
  You will ﬁ nd the very worst diseases are those that, among other things, 
  steadily reduce your ENDURANCE, almost guaranteeing that you will succumb 
  to them in the end, unless you ﬁ nd a cure…
  Lighting Your Way
  Even Kai Lords cannot see in the dark (generally speaking, at least) and 
  your missions may take you into the darkest regions of Magnamund, be 
  
  27
  they under the canopies of brooding forests, or underground in long lost 
  ruins. In these circumstances, you will ﬁ nd it useful to have something to 
  light your way.
  A torch or lantern will light an area approximately 20 metres around you, 
  which is normally far enough to detect enemies without them being able 
  to ambush you. You should always carry spares, as accidents can happen 
  and a doused torch can spell your doom if you are in the middle of a 
  ﬁ ght.
  If you ﬁ nd yourself ﬁ ghting in the dark, your COMBAT SKILL will drop by 8 
  points until you can see clearly again. Note that there are many creatures 
  that can see quite well even in pitch blackness and so you may be at a very 
  serious disadvantage.
  Breaking Things
  Whether it is a door barring the way, a tasteless stained glass window or 
  a chest containing gold, at some point you are going to want to break 
  something.
  Whenever you try to break something, make a Test. The Games Master 
  will decide on the Difﬁ culty, based on how tough the object is. He may 
  allow you a Bonus if you use a suitable implement to help you or otherwise 
  weight the odds in your favour. A +2 Bonus for using an axe against a 
  wooden door would be reasonable, for example. Asking for the same 
  bonus while wielding a dagger would not.
  As a guide, a ﬂ imsy barricade may have a Difﬁ culty of no more than 4 or 
  5, whereas a tough iron-bound door in a castle may have a Difﬁ culty of 
  10, 12 or even higher, depending on its condition and construction.
  Travelling
  For the most part, you will not have to worry about travelling. You will 
  know where you need to go for your mission and the Games Master will 
  simply announce you have arrived, so you can get on with the adventure. 
  Walking, after all, is quite boring and, aside from the occasional ambush 
  planned in advance by the Games Master, we can ignore most of it in this 
  game in order to get straight to the exciting bits.
  
  28
  
  29
  Sometimes, you may need to know how long it takes to get somewhere, 
  however. You may be engaged on a mission, for example, and you 
  might need to work out whether you have time to travel back to the Kai 
  Monastery to warn of an imminent attack, or whether you will not be able 
  to reach it in time and so be forced to ﬁ nd another solution.
  In general, you should be able to cover about 25 miles every day if on foot 
  and 40 miles if on horseback (there are other more exotic, forms of travel 
  in Magnamund but we will cover those at a later date).
  This assumes you are using a road or the ground is relatively easy to 
  traverse. If you are travelling through rough terrain, such as mountains, 
  swamps or thick forests, you will likely travel only 10 miles a day on foot 
  and about the same on horseback (horses do not like rough ground).
  A ship or boat will typically travel 40 miles a day, sometimes more 
  depending on the prevailing winds, but they will be subject to powerful 
  currents and storms which could decrease this to almost nothing if they 
  should strike.
  Trading
  By and large, the Kai Monastery will provide everything you need to 
  complete your missions. The Order of the Kai is famously self-sufﬁ cient. 
  However, you may ﬁ nd yourself far from the Monastery and in need of a 
  vital piece of equipment. In such cases, you may want to ﬁ nd a trader and 
  purchase what you need.
  The following is a listing of what can be found among traders in a typical 
  town or city and what they will usually charge. All prices are in Gold 
  Crowns, the currency of Sommerlund.
  
  30
  Armour (counts as Special Item) 
   
   
   
  Price
  Chainmail Waistcoat (adds 4 to your ENDURANCE) 
   
  45 gc
  Helmet (adds 2 to your ENDURANCE) 
   
   
   
  15 gc
  Shield (grants +2 Bonus to your COMBAT SKILL)  
   
  10 gc
  Weapons 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Price
  Axe 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  8 gc
  Bow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  25 gc
  Broadsword 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  25 gc
  Dagger  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  2 gc
  Mace 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  10 gc
  Quarterstaff 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  Short Sword 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  7 gc
  Spear  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  2 gc
  Sword  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  10 gc
  Warhammer 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  10 gc
  Backpack Items 
   
   
   
   
   
  Price
  Lantern  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  Meal   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  Potion of Laumspur (one, restores 4 ENDURANCE) 
   
  5 gc
  Rope (17 metres) 
   
   
   
   
   
  2 gc
  Special Items  
   
   
   
   
   
  Price
  Arrows (x12) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  Backpack 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  2 gc
  Bedroll  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  Belt Pouch 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  Horse  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  250 gc
  Quiver  
   
   
   
   
   
   
  1 gc
  
  31
  Chapter Six : 
  Tactics & Strategies
  Once you have mastered the basic rules of Lone Wolf (and they really are 
  very easy), you are going to want to know how to play the game well. This 
  means using solid tactics when facing your enemies and learning how to 
  shift the odds in your favour when confronted by seemingly impossible 
  challenges.
  Choosing Disciplines
  The ﬁ rst step is ensuring that you have a wide range of abilities among the 
  other players. Do not choose the same Disciplines as the other players, 
  simply because you think there are ﬁ ve Disciplines better than all the rest 
  (there are not, they equally have their uses). 
  Instead, make sure that every Discipline has been chosen by at least one 
  player and, preferably, two. This will give your group the best spread of 
  abilities possible and ensure that if one player gets separated from the rest, 
  or is killed, then the remainder will not suffer too badly as a consequence 
  (because the lost player was the only one with Healing for example).
  Combat
  As you travel throughout Magnamund, completing adventures and 
  succeeding in quests, you will ﬁ nd that there are many creatures that are 
  largely immune to some forms of attack and vulnerable to others. These 
  you will mostly discover through experience, battling with them to ﬁ nd 
  out what their strengths and weaknesses are, then remembering how you 
  succeeded the ﬁ rst time should you ﬁ nd yourself facing them again. 
  Such knowledge is gained only through experience. There are, however, 
  some things you can do in order to improve your chances of survival right 
  from the start.
  
  32
  
  33
  Battles
  Study the combat rules in Chapter Three and learn how Ganging Up and 
  Engaging Many Enemies work. These can often swing difﬁ cult battles in 
  your favour, either by allowing you to concentrate all players against a 
  single tough enemy, or cleave through many weaker ones without slowing 
  you down or delaying you from your mission.
  Watch what happens during a battle carefully and, more to the point, watch 
  out for one another. If one of your fellow players suddenly gets mobbed by 
  three Gourgaz, do not wipe your brow in relief as you charge into a bunch 
  of Giaks, thankful that they did not pick on you. Remember, you are a hero! 
  Finish off those Giaks as quickly as you can and then take on one of those 
  Gourgaz, doing anything you can to help your comrade out. 
  After all, you never know when it will be you that needs help…
  Endurance
  When you reach 0 ENDURANCE in Lone Wolf, you are dead. It is the end, 
  the ﬁ nish, complete oblivion. Nothing more to do except create another 
  Kai Lord (starting back at Rank 5 as well!).
  So, the obvious solution is to never let yourself get that low on ENDURANCE. Do 
  not treat your Laumspur or Healing Disciplines as silver bullets – use them as 
  soon as you need them. After all, it is difﬁ cult to be healed in combat and you 
  never know when a massive amount of damage might be coming your way. 
  If you are at full ENDURANCE, you might just survive it. If you have been going 
  around with ENDURANCE of about half of your normal total because you were 
  saving a potion for ‘later’, you might end up feeling pretty foolish.
  Gaining Bonuses
  Figuring out how to apply Bonuses to Tests is a big part of this game 
  and you should always be on the look out for ways to tilt the odds in 
  your favour. Bonuses generally come from one of two sources – your 
  Disciplines and your own inventiveness.
  Disciplines
  Some Disciplines are easy to use in Lone Wolf. For example, Mindblast 
  always adds 2 to your COMBAT SKILL when used against an enemy that is not 
  immune to it. The rules for Healing are quite comprehensive and allow 
  
  34
  you to restore ENDURANCE for yourself and others. But what about the other 
  Disciplines?
  The description for Camouﬂ age, for example, tells you that you can pass 
  undetected in the countryside. But how do you apply that in a game?
  Let us imagine there is a Giak patrol a little ahead of the players in the 
  forest. They need to get past the Giaks in order to continue with their 
  mission but there are too many to ﬁ ght. Instead, the players decide they 
  will try to sneak past.
  The Games Master might decide that this is a Difﬁ culty 6 Test – the Giaks 
  are not particularly alert but there is always a chance that one of the 
  players will step on a dry twig and get their attention. However, players 
  with the Camouﬂ age Discipline will gain a Bonus to the Test because this 
  situation directly uses their talent in the Discipline.
  The same might be true for applying Hunting to following a suspected 
  criminal, Sixth Sense for detecting an ambush, Animal Kinship for 
  calming a wild dog and so forth. It is up to you to decide which Discipline 
  might apply to any given situation but be ready to justify your choice – the 
  Games Master is always the ﬁ nal judge as to when a Discipline can apply 
  and when you are trying a little too hard to make it ﬁ t!
  Under normal circumstances, the Bonus you get in a Test related to a 
  Discipline you possess will be equal to your Kai Rank divided by two, 
  rounded down. So, when you ﬁ rst start out at Rank 5, you will be getting 
  a +2 Bonus to such Tests.
  Other Factors
  Using your Disciplines will account for most of the Bonuses you get to use 
  in Tests. However, there are other ways you can swing the odds in your 
  favour, using guile and ingenuity!
  Your Kai Lord is far more than just the sum total of a few Disciplines, a 
  COMBAT SKILL and an ENDURANCE score. He is a living, breathing person in 
  a dangerous world and it is up to you to make sure he is smart and can 
  ﬁ gure things out!
  Whenever you are called upon to make a Test and it seems as though 
  none of your Disciplines will be suitable, try to see if there is something 
  
  35
  else your character can do in order to make things easier for himself. Most 
  of this will be common sense, as you will see, but the key is always to think 
  of a better way of doing things before you actually try to do them – not 
  when you have already failed and it is too late.
  For example, wading across a fast-ﬂ owing stream can be difﬁ cult – but it 
  gets easier if you use a rope to stop you from getting swept away. In this 
  situation, you might ask your Games Master if a +2 Bonus to the Test 
  would be suitable.
  Travelling quickly across deep snow is difﬁ cult without getting bogged 
  down – but by wearing snow shoes, your Games Master may allow a 
  Bonus.
  Jumping across a wide river may be extremely difﬁ cult – but by using 
  a pole to vault across, you may be able to add a large Bonus to what 
  otherwise might be an almost impossible challenge.
  As you can see, the only limits are a) your own imagination and b) what 
  the Games Master will allow – this normally comes down to what might 
  realistically be possible. There is no use asking if you can cross a wide ravine 
  by hopping on the back of a sparrow. It is just not going to happen!
  Using Disciplines
  Up to now, we have looked at using your Kai Disciplines in combat or 
  in conjunction with Tests – using Camouﬂ age to help you sneak past 
  enemies, for example, or maybe using Mind Over Matter to help you 
  pickpocket a key from a guard.
  However, there may be times when you want to use a Discipline by itself, 
  to do something unique that cannot be achieved any other way. For 
  example, using Mind Over Matter to tip over a mug of ale in order to 
  distract a guard while you are tied up in a prison cell.
  These situations can be resolved with a Test, with the Games Master 
  quickly assigning a Difﬁ culty to the action. That said, players will always 
  want to know whether their intended action is possible or not.  Tipping a 
  glass over with Mind Over Matter is a good use of the Discipline. Trying to 
  move a beached wagon with the power of your mind is impossible though 
  – it is simply too large.
  
  36
  The following list will give Games Masters some idea of what is possible 
  with Disciplines and what the limits to their use should be.
  Camouflage 
  Hiding and sneaking about with Camouﬂ age is handled as granting a 
  bonus whenever you make a Test to do so. However, Camouﬂ age can be 
  used in other ways, such as helping to ﬁ nd shelter or a safe hiding place 
  when it might otherwise be impossible – do not forget, this can be done in 
  cities as well as the wilderness.
  Hunting
  As well as allowing you to never starve (expect in areas of great desolation), 
  you can also use Hunting to try to recall useful information about the 
  animals, creatures and dangers of speciﬁ c areas. When confronting a 
  creature (so long as it is not conjured from another world) you may try to 
  recall information on its habits, weaknesses and methods of attack.
  Sixth Sense
  You should periodically remind the Games Master that you have Sixth Sense, 
  as he may tell you that your character is starting to get a ‘bad feeling’ when 
  the other players are fairly oblivious to any dangers. This is normally handled 
  by the scenario you are playing and the Games Master will be told when to let 
  players know that their Sixth Sense is trying to tell them something.
  Tracking
  If you are looking for someone or a speciﬁ c location in a strange city, 
  most players may be at a loss of where to start without asking around. 
  However, if you have Tracking, you can try to ‘follow your nose’ and be 
  led to the person or place you are looking for (though this might be quite 
  difﬁ cult – an obscure person in a very large city may have a Difﬁ culty of 9 
  or more to ﬁ nd).
  Healing
  As well as treating wounds on yourself and others, Healing can be used to 
  inform you of how badly wounded another person or creature is.
  
  37
  Weaponskill
  This is primarily used in combat but you may ﬁ nd Weaponskill useful in 
  recalling the tactics or weapons that certain armies or creatures tend to use.
  Mindshield and Mindblast
  Both are used only in combat (though the Games Master may allow you 
  to use one or the other in very special circumstances – these are normally 
  dictated by the scenario being played).
  Animal Kinship
  Almost everything you do with this Discipline will be unique and impossible 
  to replicate by other means, as it gives you an almost supernatural ability 
  to communicate with some animals and at least be able to guess what 
  others intend.
  Mind Over Matter
  Only small objects, up to the size and weight of a single book or bottle of 
  liquid, can be moved with this Discipline. Larger objects are simply not 
  possible. Very small objects or very complicated actions with a small object 
  (such as trying to move the mechanism of a lock) should be quite hard 
  Tests (Difﬁ culty 8 or 9, perhaps).
  Finally, you may want to use Mind Over Matter as a weapon, by throwing 
  a small stone at an enemy.  This may well cause a distraction but Mind 
  Over Matter cannot throw an object with enough force to cause any actual 
  damage.
  New Uses for Old Disciplines
  Players are ever inventive and will always come up with new and interesting 
  uses for their Disciplines. The Games Master should always be the ﬁ nal 
  judge in whether a speciﬁ c action is possible with Disciplines, using the 
  previous limitations as guidelines. His word is the law!
  
  38
  
  39
  Chapter Seven : 
  Being The Gamesmaster
  So, you have volunteered to be the Games Master, have you? The Games 
  Master is the cornerstone of the Lone Wolf game. Using the ﬁ lm analogy 
  in the Introduction, the Games Master is the director and narrator of the 
  stories told in the game. He is also an actor who takes the part of every 
  character who appears, except those played by the players themselves. 
  His power over the world in which the game takes place is god-like and 
  yet his responsibility is just as great.
  As the Games Master, you will have a little more preparation to do before 
  the game starts. After all, the players need only create a single character 
  – you have to manage an entire world!
  The ﬁ rst thing you should do as a Games Master is learn the rules. 
  Fortunately, there are very few to learn in Lone Wolf but you should aim 
  to know them at least as well as any of the players.
  Second, you should read this chapter thoroughly. It is not very long but 
  it details what you have to do in the game, as well as introducing you to 
  some rules that the players do not need to know.
  Finally, you should familiarise yourself with the adventure in Chapter 
  Eleven. This is an easy adventure to get to grips with and it assumes you 
  have never been a Games Master before, so it is ideal to use for your ﬁ rst 
  game.
  Playing the Game
  Most games of this type are played around a table, with the Games Master 
  at the head. This means there are few distractions, everyone will be facing 
  one another and there will be a solid surface for players to write on their 
  Action Charts and for you to make notes. Some prefer to sit on chairs 
  and settees, scattered around a room – whatever feels comfortable to you 
  will be the best way.
  
  40
  Most adventures will begin with an introduction which you should read out 
  for the players. This sets the scene for the adventure and tells the players, 
  more or less, what they are expected to do in order to be successful. From 
  there, the game begins.
  You must remember that, as Games Master, you are the players’ eyes and 
  ears in the world of Magnamund. You must tell them what they can see, 
  hear, smell and touch as they travel around the world. They will explain 
  what they want to do in any given situation and you will work out whether 
  they are successful. Have another look at the example in the Introduction 
  that shows a game in progress – this demonstrates very well how a game 
  is normally played.
  Think of yourself as being the text in a gamebook, informing the players 
  what is going on. The players are the readers but, instead of having to 
  choose from three or four options at the end of each section, they can 
  literally attempt anything they can reasonably think of. 
  This is the advantage of a Multiplayer Fantasy Gamebook compared to 
  the solo varieties and even computer-based roleplaying games – there are 
  no limits to what may be tried. Have you ever played other gamebooks or 
  computer games and thought to yourself ‘well, I don’t want to do that!’? 
  With Lone Wolf, you will never have that problem.
  Characters
  The players each have a Kai Lord with which to explore the world you lay 
  out before them. You, on the other hand, play everyone and everything 
  else. The wandering knight that the players encounter on a mission, the 
  beggars in the streets of cities, wily merchants eager to get their hands on 
  the players’ gold, scheming villains trying to bring down the rightful rulers 
  of the land – all of these and more will be played by you.
  Because you are playing so many different characters, a good trick is 
  to give each one a memorable trait that will stick in the minds of your 
  players. One character may stutter, for example, while another has a 
  deep, booming voice. A noble may speak with an upper class accent, 
  while a thief may have a weasel tone. This is a simple thing to do but it will 
  immediately identify who the players are talking to, without you having to 
  introduce them each time.
  
  41
  To begin with, you might feel quite self-conscious being the Games Master, 
  sitting at the head of the table and pretending to be several different 
  characters. This is okay and everyone feels a little nervous when they ﬁ rst 
  start out. Begin slowly and with easy adventures (such as the one included 
  in this book) and add new voices for characters gradually. Your players will 
  soon catch on and begin to enjoy the game and, from then on, things will 
  get progressively easier!
  Tests
  Whenever a player wants to do something in the game, you must consider 
  whether a Test is required or not. 
  Tests should only be used when the attempted action is difﬁ cult, dangerous 
  or has some penalty for failing. For example, if a player wants to climb a 
  ladder at the side of a building to get on to the roof, then no Test should 
  be required. After all, anyone can climb a ladder. If, on the other hand, 
  the player wants to climb a sheer cliff in the middle of a thunder storm, a 
  Test would most certainly be required if he is not to fall to certain injury, 
  or even death!
  There will also be situations where a player can avoid making a Test 
  altogether, simply by having a good idea or playing well. For example, 
  a player may be talking to a merchant and trying to get a sword cheaper 
  than the marked price. If the player simply says;
  ‘I try to get the sword cheaper.’
  Then a Test will be necessary. On the other hand, if the player instead 
  says:
  ‘I look over the sword carefully, pointing out any ﬂ aws or defects. I’ll tell 
  the merchant “This is a nice enough sword, my friend, but it has a little rust 
  which may have weakened it and will at least take some work to remove. I 
  would like to take it off your hands but it seems a little expensive. Suppose 
  I give you six Gold Crowns for it instead, would that seem fair?” Okay, 
  what does he say?’
  Then you might think a Test is not necessary, as the player has put quite 
  a bit of effort into the action and has not left anything to chance. You can 
  and should reward players for clever or inventive play in this way, allowing 
  
  42
  them to swing the odds in their favour by avoiding a random Test. Of 
  course, whether or not this player actually succeeds in getting the sword 
  cheaper or not is another question.
  Difficulty
  Whenever a Test arises, you must set the Difﬁ culty. For most Tests, a 
  Difﬁ culty of 8 or 9 means a player has to be very lucky to succeed. A 
  Difﬁ culty of 2 or 3 can be considered to be very easy.
  When a player attempts a task that you deem necessary to require a Test, 
  consider just how difﬁ cult it sounds. Most Tests should have a Difﬁ culty of 
  around 4, 5 or 6. If the task seems difﬁ cult, raise the Difﬁ culty. If it seems 
  easy, lower it.
  For example, a player wanting to jump across a narrow stream might be 
  considered an average task, with a Difﬁ culty of 5. Hopping across a small 
  brook would be easier, with perhaps a Difﬁ culty of 3. Leaping across a 
  wide and yawning ravine might require a Difﬁ culty of 9 (and a great deal 
  of bravery on the part of the player!).
  Bonuses
  The other side of Tests are Bonuses. As Games Master, you must decide 
  what can be applied as a Bonus to a Test and how much of a Bonus it will 
  grant.
  For example, climbing up sheer cliff in a thunder storm is a very difﬁ cult 
  action. However if a player has access to a rope, you might allow him a 
  +2 Bonus on the role, as it will make the action a little easier.
  Your players should feel free to bring possible Bonuses to your attention 
  and you can allow them to be quite inventive, especially when it comes to 
  their Kai Disciplines. A player who has chosen Sixth Sense, for example, 
  should get a Bonus when he is trying to guess if someone is lying. One 
  who chose Healing should get a Bonus when they try to work out what 
  type of disease has infected a friend and so on.
  A Bonus should generally be between +1 and +5, with the average being 
  +2. When deciding what a Bonus should add, always start at +2. If you 
  feel it should only add a little beneﬁ t, make it +1. If you feel it will have a 
  powerful effect on the Test, make it +4 or +5.
  
  43
  Bonuses that are being applied because of a Kai Discipline that a player 
  has should usually be applied at half the player’s Kai Rank, rounded down. 
  So, a starting Kai Lord (Rank 5) using one of his Disciplines would have a 
  Bonus of +2 applied to relevant Tests. An experienced Kai Lord of Rank 
  8 would have a Bonus of +4 applied to relevant Tests and so on.
  Only one Bonus should be applied to any given Test, so players cannot 
  simply add Bonus after Bonus until they automatically succeed!
  combat skill Tests
  Some Tests already given in earlier Chapters suggest using a player’s 
  COMBAT SKILL as a Bonus. In general, COMBAT SKILL can be used as a Test for 
  any task that requires brute strength, agility or skill in weapons. However, 
  there are two points you should remember when using COMBAT SKILL as a 
  Bonus.
  First, always add at least 10 to the Difﬁ culty you would normally choose 
  for the Test, as COMBAT SKILL is much larger than other Bonuses.
  Second, always use a character’s starting COMBAT SKILL, without counting 
  any additions for Disciplines or Special Items, unless you really think they 
  will apply. For example, Mindblast will not help in dodging a trap that 
  ﬁ res arrows and so its +2 addition to COMBAT SKILL should not be counted. 
  A shield, however, might work very well against such a trap and so its +2 
  addition perhaps should count.
  Luck Tests
  If you cannot decide whether a Bonus should be added, or what the 
  Difﬁ culty of a Test should be, use a simple Luck Test, as described on p43. 
  Whether or not a player succeeds in his mission or not can sometimes rest 
  on a simple stroke of fate!
  Remember They are Heroes
  As a Games Master, you should always remember that the game is not 
  about winning or losing and it is not about you ‘beating’ the players. If 
  you pose dangerous challenges before them and end up killing off each of 
  their characters, you will not have won. In fact everyone, including you, 
  will have lost, as the game will be over.
  The trick to being a good Games Master is getting the balance right. You 
  want your players to feel as if they are being posed problems that require 
  
  44
  a good deal of wit and luck to get past but, on the other hand, you do not 
  want them feeling that things are either too easy or impossibly difﬁ cult.
  A good rule of thumb is to always think of them as heroes, starring in their 
  own ﬁ lm. Do not put them in impossible positions with no way out and 
  always give them at least a chance of success in what they want to do if it 
  seems reasonable.
  The greatest fun to be had in being a Games Master is dependent upon 
  how well your players do. If they struggle against the odds and ﬁ nally 
  succeed in an adventure, they will feel really good about it – and so will 
  you.
  Your Own Adventures
  After you have played the scenario in Chapter Eleven, you will be able to 
  consider yourself a proper ﬂ edgling Games Master. We will be releasing 
  more adventures in the future (look out for more gamebooks in this series 
  and free adventures in our online magazine, Signs & Portents) but in order 
  to get the most out of being a Games Master, you should also consider 
  creating your own.
  The easiest type of adventure to write in Lone Wolf games is the ‘Mission 
  from the Monastery.’ The adventure will start off with a Kai Master giving 
  the players a task to complete and then go on to cover how they might 
  attain this goal. Some possible missions could be:
  
  Locate a noble hunting party that has got lost in the forest near 
  the monastery.
  
  Investigate reports of a Giak raiding party in the area.
  
  Travel to a city to stop the assassination of an important 
  ambassador.
  
  Escort a wagon carrying this year’s taxes to the capital.
  
  Stop a group of bandits from terrorising local villagers.
  
  Track down a Kai Lord rumoured to have become a renegade.
  
  45
  You can also use the Lone Wolf solo gamebooks as inspiration for much 
  larger adventures, crossing vast regions of Magnamund and ﬁ ghting 
  against the foul plans of the Darklords. You could even get ideas from 
  novels and ﬁ lms, taking their plots and adapting them to ﬁ t Lone Wolf and 
  your players. 
  The next three Chapters in this book detail various creatures that inhabit 
  Magnamund, the history of the world and what lies in the immediate 
  vicinity of the Kai Monastery. There are many things in these Chapters 
  that might spark ideas for adventures, villains and adversaries that you can 
  use to confront the players and wrongs they can right during the course 
  of their missions.
  Once you have become comfortable running a good game of Lone Wolf in 
  which the players and yourself all enjoy the challenges you present, creating 
  your own adventures is the next step. It can take a little preparation before 
  a game begins but it is immensely satisfying to take your players through 
  an adventure entirely of your own making.
  
  46
  Chapter Eight : 
  Monsters & Adversaries
  Fiendish monsters and the foul servants of the Darklords – no Lone Wolf 
  adventure would be truly complete without these creatures of nightmares 
  threatening to overturn the goals of the heroes at every step.
  This chapter provides a listing of creatures found throughout Magnamund, 
  ready for the Games Master to drop into his adventures. He may also use 
  the creatures here as a guideline when creating his own monsters with 
  which to surprise the players.
  Each creature here has a description, telling you where in Magnamund it 
  is usually found and how it likes to ﬁ ght in combat. Its COMBAT SKILL and 
  ENDURANCE follow next, presented as a range to allow Games Masters to 
  tweak them to suit the players (and keep them guessing as to how tough it 
  really is!). Finally, any special rules which apply are also given.
  Bandit
  Wherever weak peasants settle, travel or trade, you can usually ﬁ nd others 
  willing to prey on them. Bandits form groups all over Magnamund, hitting 
  at those unable to defend themselves, before retreating when real resistance 
  appears. The soldiers of various nations constantly patrol to keep bandit 
  activity to a minimum but they can never be everywhere at once.
  COMBAT SKILL: 15–17   ENDURANCE: 23–28
  
  47
  Bandit Leader
  Whenever bandits gather, there is always one with a little more charisma 
  than the others. In a surprising show of democracy, bandits often elect such 
  leaders, who will lead their group to steady pickings or pay the ultimate 
  price for failure. Bandit leaders can be dashing characters who choose to 
  live outside the law but more often they are vicious and evil, keen to take 
  advantage of anyone they can bully into submission.
  COMBAT SKILL: 17–20   ENDURANCE: 28–30
  Bear
  Black and brown bears are quite common in the forests of Sommerlund. 
  While preferring to shun the presence of humans, retreating further into 
  the trees, a bear that has been cornered or wounded can be a fearsome 
  enemy. 
  COMBAT SKILL: 17–20   ENDURANCE: 28–30
  Burrowcrawler
  These gargantuan worm-like creatures are a bane to farmers and travellers 
  anywhere on Magnamund where the earth is soft enough for them to tunnel 
  through. Capable of moving underground at great speed, Burrowcrawlers 
  have caught many heroes in their grasping tentacles. Burrowcrawlers resemble 
  insectoid earthworms with a dozen tentacles and six segmented legs.
  COMBAT SKILL: 16–18   ENDURANCE: 7–10
  Crypt Spawn
  These loathsome creatures can be summoned by Darklords from the Plane 
  of Darkness, the terrifying abode of their evil creator – the Dark God Naar. 
  Completely insane and utterly hostile to any creature not allied with their 
  masters, the ﬁ rst instinct of Crypt Spawn is to attack. Though they are 
  telepathic, Crypt Spawn rarely communicate intelligently.
  COMBAT SKILL: 22–26   ENDURANCE: 38–42
  Special Rules: Crypt Spawn are immune to Mindblast.
  
  48
  Doomwolf
  Specially bred within the Darklands, doomwolves are used primarily as 
  mounts to carry giaks into battle but are also allowed to roam freely in 
  packs so as to serve as vicious patrolling guards. They are easily trained 
  and intimidated by their cruel masters, turning their anger upon innocent 
  victims. Doomwolves are both fast and powerful and just one of them can 
  easily bring down a horse or armoured human.
  When operating in packs, doomwolves demonstrate a high degree of 
  cunning and even forethought. They can be observed laying ambush to 
  victims, after having tracked them for many hours to a place where they 
  will be at their most helpless. When used as mounts by giaks, they respond 
  well to commands, though no other race has been able to tame them.
  COMBAT SKILL: 13–17   ENDURANCE: 20–26
  Special Rules: Doomwolves can see in the dark.
  Drakkarim
  The Drakkarim are the human servants of the Darklords, pledging 
  themselves to evil and swearing to die in its service. They are fanatical 
  in their devotion and are known for never giving up, no matter the odds. 
  They take to the ﬁ eld in black iron armour, acting as foot soldiers or 
  archers, causing great carnage wherever they are unleashed
  COMBAT SKILL: 15–18   ENDURANCE: 23–35
  Special Rules: Drakkarim Archers use Bows.
  Drakkarim Captain
  Trained in the arts of war by the ﬁ nest military minds of the Drakkarim, 
  these warriors are not promoted from the ranks but selected at a very 
  young age to command. They are subjected to worse punishment and 
  living standards than even other Drakkarim, hardening them and making 
  them utterly without pity. 
  A Drakkarim Captain can be spotted by his cragged shield and red-plumed 
  helmet with ornate death-mask. They often ride Kraan into battle.
  COMBAT SKILL: 17–20   ENDURANCE: 25–40
  
  49
  Giak, Mountain
  Mountain Giaks form the bulk of the troops available to the Darklords 
  of Helgedad and stream out of the infernal city in huge warbands when 
  called to ﬁ ght the enemies of their masters. Their ancestors were slaves of 
  the Darklords, forced to build the city of Helgedad and only the strongest 
  survived the heat and poisonous atmospheres. Today, they are callous 
  soldiers who take delight in mindless destruction and killing, the scourge 
  of all civilised nations bordering the Darklands.
  Left to their own devices, mountain Giaks will maim, pillage and burn to 
  their heart’s desire, for there is nothing they truly enjoy doing more, and it 
  takes an incredibly strong giak leader to suppress their natural tendencies. 
  However, they can make for devastating assault troops when gathered in 
  great numbers and led by the more powerful forces of the Darklords, such 
  as senior Drakkarim or Vordaks.
  COMBAT SKILL: 9–16   ENDURANCE: 9–18
  Special Rules: Giaks can see in the dark. They also gain a +2 Bonus to 
  any Test involving hard physical activity or resisting poison and disease. 
  Giaks may also ride Doomwolves. If they do so, treat them as a single 
  creature but add 4 to the Giak’s COMBAT SKILL and 10 to its ENDURANCE.
  Gourgaz
  Armoured with thick grey-scales, Gourgaz are a swamp dwelling race who 
  have been harnessed by the Darklords of Helgedad to become their main 
  shock troops in battle.
  Gourgaz are utterly fearless and ruthless in battle and will never retreat 
  from a ﬁ ght. Their cold reptilian minds know no pity and they will eagerly 
  butcher soldier and innocent alike to satiate their blood lust. Gourgaz 
  favour giant black axes in battle, though other weapons are sometimes 
  forged for them in the black depths of Helgedad.
  COMBAT SKILL: 18–22   ENDURANCE: 28–35
  Special Rules: A Gourgaz is immune to Mindblast. Its scent also increases 
  the COMBAT SKILL of any Giaks in the same battle by 2.
  
  50
  Guard/Soldier
  Employed by governments or nobles to protect their interests, guards and 
  soldiers exist in every nation and are equipped in a variety of uniforms. 
  However, they all serve the same purpose, with varying degrees of diligence 
  and morale and often pose a barrier to the goals of heroes.
  COMBAT SKILL: 14–18   ENDURANCE: 21–25
  Guard/Soldier Officer
  Either working his way up through the ranks or born into privilege, ofﬁ cers 
  are skilled at commanding groups of men, wielding them as an effective 
  ﬁ ghting unit. When under attack, a good ofﬁ cer will realise that he may 
  have to ﬁ ght himself, demonstrating his willingness to share in the risks 
  that his soldiers take and boosting their morale.
  COMBAT SKILL: 19–21   ENDURANCE: 29–32
  Helghast
  One of the greatest assets available to the Darklords, Helghasts have 
  spread throughout Magnamund where their inﬂ uence shapes the downfall 
  of nations. Their ability to shape-change allows them to destabilise 
  governments from within and bring about the defeat of an enemy without 
  lifting a single black blade. The natural form of a Helghast is of a rotting, 
  skeletal human with blazing sockets instead of eyes.
  They are able to summon a Blueﬁ re Spear from Helgedad no matter 
  where they are in Magnamund, a ﬁ ve foot shaft of black iron topped with 
  a carved stone head. Using this, they can launch a malevolent blast of blue 
  ﬁ re at their enemies. 
  COMBAT SKILL: 21–23   ENDURANCE: 30
  Special Rules: Helghast possess the Mindblast Discipline. It cannot lose 
  ENDURANCE to non-magical weapons and its blistering touch will double 
  the ENDURANCE loss of any character that ﬁ ghts it in combat. It may use its 
  Blueﬁ re Spear as a ranged weapon, again doubling any ENDURANCE loss it 
  causes. Finally, it may take the appearance of any humanoid creature it 
  chooses.
  
  51
  
  52
  Kraan
  Commonly called black wings, Kraan are giant reptilian creatures that 
  perpetually circle the skies of Helgedad, a sub-species of the larger 
  Zlanbeast. Tamed by the Darklords, they are used as aerial scouts, soaring 
  high above bordering nations to report on the actions of enemies. A 
  healthy Kraan is easily capable of ranging over 150 miles in a single day. 
  They are also sometimes used as ﬂ ying mounts by the vordak, from which 
  they scream down upon foes to rend them apart in seconds.
  Kraan will circle prey for hours, often at such high altitude that they appear 
  to be little more than crows or vultures, black specks in the sky. When 
  launching an attack, Kraan prefer to dive at great speeds towards their 
  enemies, making a vicious bite before soaring off once more. Flocks of 
  kraan will take turns at diving on a victim, never allowing them to recover 
  from one attack before facing another. 
  COMBAT SKILL: 15–18   ENDURANCE: 22–28
  Special Rules: If a Kraan dives down from the sky to attack, it will add 2 
  to its COMBAT SKILL in the ﬁ rst round of combat.
  Szall
  The Szall are the cast offs of the Darklords, an experiment to create a new 
  slave race that went wrong. Similar to Giaks, the Szall are weak and small, 
  and made poor servants or warriors. Discarded by their masters, they left 
  the Darklands and scraped a living in the wildernesses of Magnamund. 
  They are a constant nuisance to farmers and travellers wherever they live 
  but are rarely a serious threat. Unlike Giaks, Szalls are capable of natural 
  reproduction. Giaks are spawned in huge vats in the fortresses of the 
  Darklands and have no natural reproductive capability.
  COMBAT SKILL: 5–8   ENDURANCE: 7–10
  Special Rules: Szall can see in the dark.
  Thug/Street Thief
  The urban equivalent of bandits, thugs bully others into handing over their 
  possessions and usually work in gangs conducting protection rackets on local 
  shops or organising pick pocketing sprees. They are unused to victims putting 
  up any kind of resistance and will often ﬂ ee against superior opposition.
  COMBAT SKILL: 12–16    ENDURANCE: 18–23
  
  53
  Vordak
  Created in the spawning pits of Helgedad, the Vordak are vile undead 
  created from a single gem – when a Vordak is killed, it reverts back into 
  the form of this gem. Vordaks are the lieutenants of Darklord armies and 
  often lead Drakkarim or Giak regiments into battle.
  When wreathed in their red cloaks, a Vordak can sometimes pass for a human. 
  However, they have glowing, blood-red eyes and exude an undead aura.
  COMBAT SKILL: 17–19   ENDURANCE: 24–28
  Special Rules: Vordaks possess the Mindblast Discipline. They will 
  automatically regain one point of ENDURANCE every round in combat. When 
  not in combat, they can fully heal themselves within an hour. Anyone 
  touching a Vordak Gem within one minute of its death will automatically 
  lose 4 points of ENDURANCE.
  Warhound
  Bred to ﬁ ght, warhounds are extremely loyal to their masters and absolutely 
  savage to their enemies. A pack of warhounds can bring down even the 
  greatest warrior, his blows raining off their backs which are protected by 
  crude leather armour.
  COMBAT SKILL: 16–18   ENDURANCE: 24–27
  Zlanbeast
  Related to Kraan, the Zlanbeasts are larger and much tougher. Each 
  Zlanbeast carries in its vile heart the power of ancient dragonblood, 
  transforming it into a powerful creature capable of decimating entire 
  armies or settlements. 
  Zlanbeasts serve only the Darklords and their most powerful servants, 
  often as mounts. Similar to Kraan, Zlanbeasts are huge winged reptiles 
  with long, vicious talons and piercing eyes of darkness.
  COMBAT SKILL: 20–24   ENDURANCE: 38–50
  Special Rules: Zlanbeast can see in the dark and automatically regain one 
  point of ENDURANCE every round in combat. When not in combat, they can 
  fully heal themselves within an hour. 
  
  54
  Chapter Nine : 
  The History of Magnamund
  In the silent darkness before the creation of Magnamund, a titanic struggle 
  raged between the formless, shapeless gods of Good and Evil. Ageless and 
  unceasing was their conﬂ ict until the Peace of Ishir heralded an uneasy 
  truce between the powers of life and death. Goddess Ishir, High Priestess 
  of the Moon, sealed a promise with Naar, the King of the Darkness, by 
  which their endless war might cease. A great vessel was shaped from the 
  truth of her pledge into which Naar infused the essence of his terrible 
  power. Their creation became Aon, the Great Balance, and from this seed 
  grew a universe ﬁ lled with light and dark, life and death, hope and despair. 
  The Lords of Good and Evil looked down upon Aon in wonder and so 
  greatly did they desire to enter and control their creation that the Peace of 
  Ishir was ended and their struggle born anew.
  The many jewels of Aon shone brightly in the darkness and swiftly were 
  they claimed by the gods. As one world fell to Evil so another was saved 
  by Good until just one, the brightest jewel of them all, remained unclaimed 
  and unconquered. The great powers marshalled their forces in preparation 
  for the ﬁ nal momentous battle that would decide the fate of Aon, for 
  control over the last world would tip the balance in favour of the victor and 
  banish the defeated gods to the void from whence they came. So it was 
  that Magnamund, the last free world of Aon, became a battleground of the 
  gods, the keystone of power in the war between Good and Evil.
  The forces of the noble God Kai, Lord of the Sun, were the ﬁ rst to 
  enter the primeval world of Magnumund and in doing so became mortal 
  creatures. They chose to dwell in the depths of the ocean where they 
  took the shape of sea dragons, massive in size and power. Kai spoke to 
  Nyxator, a dragon of immense wisdom and warned him of the birth of 
  evil amidst his brethren. Nyxator led the true dragons onto the land and 
  created the realm of Cynx, to avoid the evil spawn of Naar who were 
  hatching in the depths of the sea. In his wisdom, Nyxator created the 
  
  55
  Lorestones in order to preserve the powers bestowed upon him by the 
  great God Kai. The dragons of Naar emerged from the sea and waged 
  war on Cynx, destroying it with a rain of ﬁ re that lasted many centuries. 
  Nyxator escaped and rallied his brothers to ﬁ ght again but he was ﬁ nally 
  defeated and forced to take refuge in the molten core of the planet. The 
  dragons of Naar burned and savaged the land, laying all to waste in an 
  orgy of triumphant destruction. In doing so, they sealed their own fate, for 
  they were now mortal creatures.
  Following their extinction, the King of Darkness sought to destroy Nyxator 
  by other means. He caused the land to seethe and boil, to erupt, twist 
  and tear. For 2,000 years Magnamund was tortured but refused to yield its 
  hidden refugee. In desperation, Naar sent forth his most powerful servant 
  – Agarash the Damned. In the year 6700 MS, he arose and conquered 
  Southern Magnamund, creating the Doomstones in mockery of the 
  Lorestones of Nyxator. In the depths of his fortress of Naaros, he used 
  them to breed a legion of dreadful forms – the Agarashi, the Creatures of 
  Darkness. They were let loose upon the ravaged land and nowhere was safe 
  from their insatiable hunger. The power of Agarash grew unchecked; he 
  forged great weapons of power and raised the dead to do his bidding. He 
  became invincible but still his purpose was unfulﬁ lled – Nyxator still lived.
  In the year 5248 MS, with all Magnamund at his feet, Agarash began 
  the Great Hunt. His search took him to the depths of the world and 
  culminated in a ﬁ ery duel at the very core, in which Nyxator was slain 
  and the Lorestones captured. For 200 years Agarash sought the means 
  of destroying the Lorestones. They were the last vestige of Good in 
  Magnamund and their destruction would bring total victory to his master. 
  For the gods Ishir and Kai, it was the nadir of their struggle. Yet, in the 
  depths of their desperation, they conceived a new power to save their 
  cause – the power of magic.
  In the year 4570 MS, the gods Ishir and Kai sent forth the magical Elder 
  Magi to challenge the mighty Agarash, servant of Darkness. They planned 
  and undertook a daring assault upon his fortress of Naaros and recaptured the 
  stolen Lorestones while he slept, entranced by his spells. Enraged to a terrible 
  fury, Agarash unleashed his Creatures of Darkness and waged a horriﬁ c war 
  upon the Elder Magi that lasted 1,000 years. Outnumbered by their foes, the 
  Elder Magi used their powers to devastating effect by charming the Agarashi 
  and turning them against one another. It was thus that they brought about the 
  downfall of Agarash and the destruction of his fortress in 3572 MS.
  
  56
  With the ruin of the Agarashi Empire, the pendulum of fate swung in 
  a favourable arc towards the powers of Good. The land became stable 
  and fertile, ﬂ ora and fauna grew in abundance and the Elder Magi grew 
  in wisdom through the study of the Lorestones. The Age of the Old 
  Kingdoms welcomed the arrival of new civilisations and new hope for a 
  world scarred by war. However, it also saw the emergence of a sinister 
  force. The Cenerese, a race of treacherous druids, appeared in central 
  Magnamund shortly before the outbreak of the Great Plague (2514 MS) 
  which swept slowly and systematically across the world, leaving the Elder 
  Magi decimated in its wake. Cenerese power grew until the arrival of the 
  Herbalish, a holy order devoted to the healing arts, defeating the druids 
  in a bitter war.
  In the year 1600 MS, an accident took place that was to alter the balance 
  and course of history. A race of lesser gods called the Shianti appeared 
  by means of a Shadow Gate, a door between the material world of 
  Magnamund and the astral world of the Daziarn. At ﬁ rst they settled in 
  the southern reaches of Magnamund but as the centuries passed, they 
  grew ambitious and sought to increase their knowledge of their new 
  home and discover the secrets of the Daziarn. Their culture spread to 
  the north and east where they were known by many different names, 
  such as the Majhan, Suukon and the Ancients. Their quest for knowledge 
  was successful and it culminated in the creation of the Moonstone, a gem 
  of power formed in the astral Daziarn, that became the focus of their 
  wisdom, magic and very existence. It saw the dawn of their Golden Age, 
  an era that brought health and plenty to all creatures of Magnamund. 
  Many humans arrived during this age: the Mythenish and Tianese to the 
  south; the Vassa in the east; the Vaderish, Nael and Aluvians in the west 
  and the Ice Barbarians and Ulnarians in the north. However, the presence 
  of the Shianti and especially their Moonstone on Magnamund, disturbed 
  the balance between the Lords of Good and Evil.
  Ishir appeared to the Shianti and persuaded them to relinquish their 
  Moonstone and exile themselves to the remote Isle of Lorn. The Moonstone 
  was returned to the Daziarn and a great exodus took place in which the 
  Shianti abandoned their cities and pledged never to interfere in the affairs 
  of Man or the course of future history. In the years prior to the exodus, a 
  new and evil force had arrived in the west. A barbaric horde of warriors 
  called Drakkarim were laying claim to vast tracts of the north-west, putting 
  to the sword and torch all that stood in their path. Their name was enough 
  to strike terror into the hearts of man but they were merely a prelude 
  
  57
  to the nightmare that was about to begin. Naar, King of the Darkness, 
  had laboured unceasingly to create new champions of evil and now his 
  task was complete. In the year MS 3072, the Darklords appeared for 
  the ﬁ rst time in Northern Magnamund and began their terrible war of 
  desecration. Huge areas of fertile, cultivated land were devastated by ﬁ re 
  and pestilence, and turned into volcanic wastelands through the use of 
  evil magic. The Drakkarim nations, in fear and awe of Darklord power, 
  allied themselves to this new force and constructed huge city-fortresses to 
  dominate the lands they helped to conquer. Not since the rise of Agarash 
  the Damned had Magnamund faced such overwhelming evil.
  The gods Ishir and Kai mustered their forces to counter the Darklords 
  but they were woefully ill-prepared for the speed with which Naar’s new 
  champions of evil were conquering the land. They sent forth a race of men 
  called the Sommlending, a noble breed of warriors both wise and strong, 
  and fortiﬁ ed them further with new magic and a weapon of great power 
  called the Sommerswerd – the Sword of the Sun. In the year MS 3434, 
  this host of fair-headed warriors led by a ﬁ erce and lordly king called Kian, 
  came to the Lastlands in ships of yellowed oak. They had sailed across 
  the Northern Void, through storm and ice, to turn back the tide of evil. 
  For three centuries the Darklords had conquered the lands of Northern 
  Magnamund but the arrival of the Sommlending reversed their victories in 
  the east and drove them back beyond the Durncrag Mountains.
  They established their homeland of Sommerlund on territory wrested 
  from the Darklords, making it a land of fertile beauty. King Kian’s victory 
  was but the ﬁ rst battle in a long and vindictive war to be raged over the 
  coming centuries. 
  Darklord Vashna had sworn to destroy Sommerlund and in the depths of 
  his stronghold, deep within the black city of Helgedad, he schemed and 
  plotted the downfall of the sun-realm. In the face of this constant threat, 
  King Kian ordered the construction of four great cities – Holmgard, Toran, 
  Anskavern and Tyso, along with a number of smaller fortiﬁ cations to guard 
  the mountain passes through the Durncrag Range. Command of these 
  cities, forts and surrounding lands was given into the charge of the Barons 
  of Sommerlund, high-ranking warrior lords who had achieved great honour 
  and distinction during the war against Vashna. The barons ruled over the 
  Sommlending who lived and worked on their lands and they in turn were 
  bound to serve the King, supplying him with soldiers to protect the realm. 
  Although King Kian had decreed that every Sommlending must have a 
  
  58
  lord, only the poorest of men did not consider themselves free. Many 
  skilled craftsmen, especially in the cities, banded together to form guilds. 
  From these, ofﬁ cials such as Mayors and Lord-Justices of the City Courts 
  were often elected. Rich merchants or wealthy farmers were sometimes 
  declared Fryemen of the Realm, a rank which freed them from service to 
  a Baron. For acts of great honour or bravery, the King could award the 
  title Fryearl of Sommerlund, a rare and greatly coveted rank which could 
  elevate a man to be the equal of a Baron in wealth and status.
  With the threat of war so constant, every child, male and female, was 
  trained in the use of weapons at an early age. This training was organised by 
  the Barons and took place in the grounds of their castles and strongholds. 
  Any child who displayed a natural instinct for combat was placed into 
  the household of a Knight of the Realm, where they were groomed for 
  the Sommlending Army. Similarly, the magician’s guild, the Brotherhood 
  of the Crystal Star, recruited children into their ranks at an early age. 
  Those who showed exceptional intelligence or a natural ability to grasp 
  the secrets of their craft were raised and educated in the ways of magic at 
  their guildhall in Toran.
  Defeat had inﬂ amed the Darklord commander, Lord Vashna, and he 
  vigorously pursued his vow to destroy Sommerlund and its race of men 
  who had dared to challenge his power. For 300 years he waged wars of 
  attrition against the Sommlending but his efforts were to end in his defeat 
  at the great Battle of Maakengorge. Aided by the army of Durenor, King 
  Ulnar I and his warriors broke Lord Vashna’s forces at the Pass of Moytura 
  and drove them all the way back to the Maakengorge. There, Lord Vashna 
  was slain in mortal combat with the Sommlending King upon the very brink 
  of the abyss. The defeat of Vashna halted the Darklord invasion but it did 
  not destroy their considerable power. In order to triumph over each other, 
  both the Darklords and Sommlending undertook similar quests. Aided by 
  the magicians of Dessi (the last remnants of the Elder Magi), one man, a 
  Baron of Toran, sought to ﬁ nd the lost Lorestones of Nyxator. Meanwhile, 
  in the black city of Helgedad, the Darklords were commencing a quest for 
  the Doomstones of Agarash, lost during the destruction of Naaros.
  Of all the Sommlending who ﬁ rst appeared from out of the Northern 
  Void to establish the sun-realm of Sommerlund, a few possessed a great 
  strength that lay dormant within them. Greater powers of mind and body, 
  unattainable by other men, were within their reach. These remarkable 
  warriors became known as the Kai Lords of Sommerlund. The ﬁ rst Kai 
  
  59
  Lord was a noble warrior, a Baron of Toran, who achieved distinction 
  during the Great Battle of Maakengorge. Guided by the magicians of 
  Dessi, he came to realise the true nature of his powers and the purpose 
  for which they had been bestowed. His quest to locate the Lorestones of 
  Nyxator was successful and through them he unlocked the wisdom and 
  strength that had lain silent within him for so long.
  In the year MS 3810, he built a monastery high in the hills of Western 
  Sommerlund, on lands of the Royal Estate, establishing the Order of the 
  Kai. The monastery became a warrior school devoted to the development 
  of the powerful disciplines that lay within all true Kai Lords. He took 
  the name Sun Eagle, partly in honour of the sun-realm and partly in 
  recognition of his baronial eagles’ crest and recorded the wisdom of his 
  discoveries in a great tome that came to be known as the Book of the 
  Magnakai. Guided by the wisdom of this book and the personal tuition of 
  Kai Grand Master Sun Eagle, the Order of the Kai ﬂ ourished and grew. 
  Children in the households of Knights of the Realm who were seen to 
  possess dormant Kai disciplines were sent to the monastery to receive 
  special training. There, they entered a caring but very strict society where 
  their true potential as warrior lords was developed to the very highest level. 
  The skills by which they had come to the attention of their liege-lords were 
  honed to perfection under the watchful eyes of the Kai Masters. Besides 
  the Kai disciplines, they were also taught the virtues of truth, honour and 
  selﬂ ess courage.
  After one year, each student received a new name, given to them by their 
  teachers on the feast day of Fehmarn, reﬂ ecting qualities in their growing 
  personalities. Gradually, as the young novices mastered each of the 10 
  basic Kai disciplines, they were awarded ranks and titles and also given 
  greater responsibilities both inside and away from the monastery. At the 
  rank of Warmarn or Journeyman, a Kai Lord was sent into the service of 
  the Sommlending Army to accustom himself to the command of troops, 
  or sent abroad to gather information about the lands bordering the realm. 
  Upon complete mastery of all 10 basic Kai disciplines, a Kai Lord became 
  a Kai Master. The pupil was now a teacher whose role it was to train 
  young novices in the ways of the Kai.
  However, a Kai Lord’s learning was never complete and beyond the 10 
  basic skills awaited higher disciplines. These Magnakai skills were handed 
  down through each generation of Kai Masters by personal instruction and 
  study of the Book of the Magnakai. The skills were divided into groups, 
  
  60
  each of which was governed by a separate training school called a lore-
  circle. By mastering all of the Magnakai disciplines of a lore-circle, the Kai 
  Masters increased their ﬁ ghting prowess and their physical and mental 
  stamina to a level far higher than any normal warrior could ever hope to 
  attain.
  Many years after the formation of the Order of the Kai, the Darklords 
  completed the Doomstone quest and a new leader, Lord Zagarna, emerged 
  to claim the throne of Helgedad. Under his command, the Darklords 
  began the lengthy construction of fortresses in the Durncrag Mountains, 
  in preparation for the eventual invasion of Sommerlund. The Kai Lords 
  would be the key to maintaining peace and stability throughout the entire 
  region.
  
  61
  Chapter Ten : 
  The Lastlands
  This chapter reveals the settlements, peoples and dangers of the Lastlands, 
  the northernmost part of Magnamund, where Lone Wolf himself started 
  his adventures. You will ﬁ nd plenty of villains, threats to Sommerlund and 
  hazards here to keep your games going for a very long time before you 
  feel the need to start exploring further aﬁ eld.
  The Kingdom of Sommerlund
  Ruler: 
  King Ulnar IV
  Cities: 
  Holmgard 100,000 (Capital)
  Toran 100,000
  Tyso 50,000
  Anskaven 25,000
  Ruanon 3,000
  Eshnar 3,000
  Other villages of less than 1,000
  Population: 
  325,000 (Sommlending)
  Resources: 
  Timber, ﬁ shing, agriculture, ores, metalcraft, gems
  Currency: 
  Gold Crowns
  Allies: 
  Durenor (primary ally), good relations with many  
   
  other nations
  The brightest and most powerful nation on the face of Magnamund, 
  Sommerlund is the leader of the Free Nations League and the ﬁ rst line of 
  defence against the coming of the Darklands. As its brave and powerful 
  warriors have done for centuries, Sommerlund’s forces stand ready to turn 
  aside the vile machinations of Naar’s dark generals whenever they show 
  themselves in the light. Sommerlund’s steel, engineering and tactics of 
  war are all the most advanced in the world, made possible by the support 
  of its many allies.
  
  62
  
  63
  
  64
  History
  The Sommlending arrived in Magnamund in MS 3434 led by their King, 
  Kian. They came from the Northern Void and sailed in ships of yellowed 
  oak. Their mission became clear – to prevent the forces of the Darklords 
  from conquering Magnamund. The Sommlending arrival stopped the 
  Darklords conquest in the east, drove them back through force of arms 
  behind the Durncrag Mountains where they stayed until Vashna’s disastrous 
  campaign many years later.
  Ever since then, the Sommlending have lived with the threat of the 
  Darklords over them. King Kian ordered the construction of four great 
  cities: Holmgard, Toran, Tyso and Anskaven. Command over these 
  cities and the surrounding area was delegated to Barons who had served 
  Sommerlund well in the war. Due to the constant threat of war, every child 
  was trained in how to use a weapon. The education was organised by the 
  Barons themselves and took place at their castles. Those who showed 
  skill were taken into a Knight’s household and later trained in the army of 
  Sommerlund. 
  After the defeat of Vashna in MS 3799, the Baron of Toran started his 
  search for the Lorestones of Nyxator, taking with him the wise council 
  of the Elder Magi of Dessi. His search was successful and in MS 3810, 
  he erected the ﬁ rst Kai Monastery, taking the name Sun Eagle to 
  commemorate both the Sun God Kai and his former baronial crest. Sun 
  Eagle wrote down the wisdom passed to him through the Lorestones in 
  the great Book of the Magnakai, the Kai’s greatest treasure until its theft 
  and subsequent disappearance.
  Game Notes
  Sommerlund is a kingdom of chivalry and high fantasy, with magicians 
  and plate-clad warriors keeping the peace amid the splendour of perfect 
  feudal order. Travel through Sommerlund is considered the safest and 
  most proﬁ table venture a merchant can make and people generally feel 
  safe year-round. Between the Knights of the Realm and the Kai Lords, 
  there is little that can seriously threaten this land.
  
  65
  The Kingdom of Durenor
  Ruler: 
  King Alin II
  Cities: 
  Hammerdal 30,000
   
  Port Bax 10,000
   
  Ryme 10,000
   
  Blave 10,000
   
  Lof 10,000
   
  Verik 5,000
   
  Trelesk 500
   
  Durwood 500
  Population: 
  96,000
  Resources: 
  Iron ore, agriculture, shipbuilding, gold, silver,  
   
  copper, ﬁ shing, gems, timber, stone quarrying
  Currency: 
  Gold Crowns
  Allies: 
  Sommerlund, Dessi
  The largest and most enduring nation settled by the Ulnarian when they 
  came up through Northern Magnamund, Durenor is one of the richest 
  and most widely self-sufﬁ cient nations on the continent. These riches are 
  not measured in gold as much as they are in the balance and quality of 
  life and safety enjoyed by its citizens. Durenor is a strong country, able to 
  fend for itself against any threat and – with the aid of its ally Sommerlund 
  – forms the backbone of the Free Kingdoms League.
  History
  Durenor was the ﬁ rst country colonised by the Ulnarian when they came 
  to Northern Magnamund in MS 2829. Their ﬁ rst expansion met little 
  resistance from the lawless people and pirates (refugees from Vassagonia), 
  most of whom ﬂ ed to Cloeasia and the Lakuri Isles when the Ulnarian armies 
  arrived. During the second migration of the Ulnarian, they encountered 
  the Sommlending. This led to Sommerlund becoming Durenor’s greatest 
  ally. It was during this time of expansion that the capital of Durenor, 
  Hammerdal, was founded. 
  
  66
  After the death of Vashna and the apparent defeat of the Darklords, the 
  Sommerswerd, Sommerlund’s greatest treasure, was entrusted to the 
  Durenese as a sign of the trust and allegiance that existed between their 
  two countries. In return the Sommlending received a magniﬁ cent gold 
  ring called the Seal of Hammerdal as a reciprocal sign of trust and good 
  will. The pact sealed between them by this exchange of gifts stated that if 
  Sommerlund ever returned the Seal, it meant the Darklords were on the 
  move again and that the Sommerswerd was needed once more. Since 
  then, both sides have lived in the constant hope that this day would never 
  come.
  Game Notes
  The Durenese are a hospitable people with a history of honouring their 
  agreements and providing more than their side of any bargain. This makes 
  them loyal allies and favoured trading partners. It also shows in every 
  aspect of their daily lives. Most merchants from other lands will take the 
  extra time to visit a port in Durenor simply to enjoy the simple honesty of 
  a transaction made with the spirit of the bargain being lived up to as well 
  as its wording. 
  The Wildlands
  Ruler: 
  Overlord Torrost
  Cities: 
  Ragadorn 19,000 (Capital)
   
  Gorn Cove 500
   
  Vanosa 100
   
  Duncrick 100
  Population: 
  20,000
  Resources: 
  Shipbuilding, ﬁ shing
  Currency: 
  Gold Crowns
  Allies: 
  None (Sommerlund and Durenor, coastal  
   
  cities only)
  The Wildlands is a lawless realm with civilisation only existing in a thin 
  crescent along the northern coast of the nation. The rest of the country 
  is completely untamed and dangerous to enter, though an ancient road of 
  wide, ﬂ at stones exists and bisects the territory in half from east to west. 
  The road does not seem to lead anywhere but the creatures that prowl the 
  Wildlands seem afraid of it for some reason and do not bother those who 
  
  67
  stay within its broad conﬁ nes. The Grey Road, as it is called by the people 
  of the North, is used heavily for mercantile trafﬁ c between Sommerlund 
  and Durenor.
  History
  Once the northern half of Cloeasia, this area was lost and ruined when 
  the Maakengorge opened and split off the land from its southern colonies. 
  The foul creatures loosed upon Magnamund from the chasm gravitated 
  toward the populous northern half and devastated them, leaving the entire 
  area in ruins within a generation. A mass exodus of Cloeasians managed 
  to move north out of the killing zone but most entered Sommerlund or 
  sailed the channel to Durenor. Only a scant few remained.
  The Wildlands, as it became known after this disaster, has been effectively 
  written off by its neighbours except for the ﬁ shing villages and the large 
  city of Ragadorn on its northern coast. These towns are fortiﬁ ed enough 
  to keep the peace and have been doing so for centuries. Ragadorn is a 
  heavily defended city because of its use as a port city between Sommerlund 
  and Durenor. Its location allows ships to have a berth during the otherwise 
  long voyage, making the journey more pleasant for all concerned. In MS 
  4040, a sea invasion of amphibians threatened to destroy Ragadorn but a 
  combined ﬂ eet from the city’s allies drove them away.
  The most impressive thing about Ragadorn’s past it how it has managed 
  to overcome its beginnings as a town of criminals and bandits. Settled by 
  unsavoury characters too lawless to enter Sommerlund or Durenor, the 
  lack of any free peoples to rob forced these criminals to ply an honest 
  trade in order to survive. Within a generation, the free port of Ragadon 
  was opened for business and has become an important stop on any coastal 
  tour.
  The beasts of the Wildlands remain a constant threat to the safety of 
  travellers and the villagers of the north but this situation may change 
  soon. A proposed task force of Sommerlund soldiers and Durenese 
  infantrymen is set to march on the interior of the Wildlands in an effort to 
  halt the encroachment of these monsters and open the country back up 
  to settlement south of the coast. Darklord Zagarna has his own plans for 
  the creatures of the Wildlands and his agents have been moving to block 
  this proposal from ever seeing fruition.
  
  68
  Game Notes
  The humans of the Wildlands are a rare breed, honest folk descended 
  from hardened criminals with a will to survive and a desire to see their 
  nation expand at any cost. Anyone entering one of the Wildland villages 
  or Ragadorn itself is sure to be struck by the dedication and hard-working 
  nature of these good folk, though like any nation in Magnamund there are 
  unsavoury throwbacks to the country’s past.
  The Darklands
  Ruler: 
  Darklord Zagarna
  Cities: 
  Helgedad 1,000,000 (Capital)
   
  Kaag 500,000
   
  Akagazad 200,000
   
  Gournen 200,000
   
  Mozgoar 100,000
   
  Gazad-Hellkona 100,000
   
  Aarnak 100,000
   
  Nadgazad 100,000
  Population: 
  3,000,000
  Resources: 
  Black iron ore, minerals, spawned horrors
  Currency: 
  Kika
  Allies: 
  None
  A foetid land where only vicious and poisonous things grow, the creatures 
  of the Darklands are all tainted and twisted in some way by the power 
  of Naar. The heart of the Darklands is dominated by the Iron City of 
  Helgedad, the domain and fortress of the Darklords. Its foul shadow falls 
  over the tallest point in the Darklands, a terrible mountain riddled with 
  shadowy passages and caverns ﬁ lled with unspeakable evil.
  History
  The Darklands are blackened and befouled by the remnants of the powerful 
  magic used by Naar when he sent the Darklords to subjugate Magnamund. 
  The excessive power of this summoning aided the foundation of Helgedad, 
  lending its ancient evil to the newer spires of the black and twisted citadel. 
  For millennia, Helgedad has been the centre of all activity in the Darklands; 
  its hell-pits churn out horror after horror while the city itself garrisons the 
  commanders of the Darklord’s powerful armies of the damned.
  
  69
  The Darklands have a long legacy of invasion and destruction, though 
  every time it swells past its borders it is turned back by the valour and 
  might of Northern Magnamund’s allied nations. During the thousands of 
  years since its founding through the power of the evil God Naar himself, 
  the Darklands have been the source of terrible calamity throughout 
  Magnamund. Even the destructive force of the Tentarias Rift did little to 
  disrupt the foul machinations of this land of darkness. 
  The greatest setback the Darklands and its Darklords has suffered in its 
  history has been the slaying of Vashna at the Maakengorge. Even the 
  death of Agarash was not as telling a defeat of the forces of Naar, as 
  his destruction only cost the Darklands its leader and the greater sum 
  of its forces for a short time. The death of Vashna was a more serious 
  loss because with his death, the greatest tactician of the Darklords was 
  lost to them and they were thrown into turmoil through inﬁ ghting for 
  generations. Even now, as the Darklands are once again reaching out with 
  their agents, the Darklords are being cautious because they have not been 
  able to regain the sheer power they possessed under Vashna’s rule.
  Northern Magnamund has become somewhat lax in its vigilance against 
  the Darklands, a lapse the Darklords are keen to take advantage of in any 
  way they can. The new Archlord, Zagarna, will make his move to conquer 
  his hated foes, the Kai Lords and the forces of Sommerlund, slowly and 
  subtly. It may take decades but he will strike at them with terrible power 
  and wrath when the time is right.
  Game Notes
  Travel through the Darklands is a nightmare from the moment one crosses 
  the border until the second one leaves its darkness behind and escapes to 
  another kingdom. Most of the roads in the Darklands lead nowhere or are 
  traps to mislead the unwary and creatures of unimaginable horror dwell 
  in every shadow, waiting to leap out and tear apart anything that disturbs 
  them.
  
  70
  Chapter Eleven : 
  The Merchant’s Task
  Welcome to this introductory adventure for the Lone Wolf Multiplayer 
  Gamebook series. The adventure is designed for 2–4 Kai monks, with 
  new players and new Games Masters in mind. 
  All text in script needs to be read aloud to the players.
  Part 1: A dawn breaks
  You are all summoned by your Kai Master, Stormsong. He is an older, taciturn man who has 
  trained you throughout your lives. It is a crisp winter’s morning and as the sun rises over the walls 
  of the Kai Monastery you all stand before him in the courtyard.
  ‘My blessed Kai monks,’ he begins. ‘We have a small task for you. A merchant has come to us for 
  aid and we have need of your skills. He claims his cargo wagon was attacked by murderous bandits 
  and they have stolen his goods. He has provided us with the location. It is only a few miles to the 
  west of our very walls. You are to go there, find out the truth and recover his cargo if you can.’
  He waits for a few moments and seems to be testing you, will you ask questions or not? 
  Some players just want to get right into the action; some players are 
  content to speak to NPCs (Non-Player Characters) like Stormsong. It is 
  your role to play these characters to the hilt. You can give NPCs amusing 
  mannerisms or serious attitudes, just like the director of a TV show or 
  ﬁ lm. You have ultimate control of the Non-Player Characters and their 
  actions.
  Stormsong is a patient man and will answer some of the players 
  questions.
  1. If the players ask, the name of the merchant who has asked 
  for aid is Harbold.
  
  71
  
  72
  2. The cargo he was carrying was important trade goods for far 
  off shores. A small manifesto of Harbold’s goods include: silks 
  and spices from Dessi, steel from Lencia, Ember Ale from 
  Durenor and carved toys from Ruanon. 
  3. Is there a reward? The players are playing Kai monks, so 
  helping the needy should be reward enough.
  4. Was the caravan guarded? Yes, three guards were set upon by 
  the bandits but the merchant does not know their fate.
  Once it is obvious that Stormsong has no more questions to answer, or his 
  patience to get the Kai Monks on the right track is wearing thin, he will 
  suggest the following:
  ‘It is time that you were about your task; we have many students who require our attention. I 
  cannot stress the importance of even the smallest job that we give you. I will speak to you upon 
  your return.’ 
  Part 2: Tracking the cargo
  When the players leave the Kai Monastery, it is up to the Games Master 
  to make their journey to the quest location an interesting one. Remember 
  to give them visual clues and immerse them in the sights and sounds of 
  the area around the Monastery. When describing the location pay close 
  attention to what the player’s can see around them, what they can smell, 
  for example; does the air smell damp because it just rained, where they 
  are and so on.
  Once you leave the safety of the Kai Monastery, the rest of Sommerlund beckons in all directions; 
  frosty winds blow against your faces and the air is fresh. A dim yellow sun pokes through the thick 
  white cloud cover and barely warms the land below. You walk through the surrounding landscape 
  for a few miles. 
  Test: Clues to the merchant’s flight.
  As the players get closer to the location of the attack, they must make a 
  Test. Have each player pick a random number from the Random Number 
  Table on p112. The Difﬁ culty for this Test is 3. If your players have the 
  Kai Disciplines of Tracking or Hunting they may add the following bonuses 
  to this Test.
  
  73
  
  74
  Tracking: +3
  Hunting: +1
  If the players are successful in their investigations then read the following 
  text:
  You can see the undergrowth has been pushed aside; a body of some girth has passed through here 
  at some speed. The bracken has been broken and several small branches are torn to indicate this 
  must be where the merchant fled. 
  If the players fail their test, you should not give them any clues and should 
  instead lead them onto the road.
  You finally come to the road side and it seems to be clear. According to Stormsong, this is the place 
  where the caravan was attacked. 
  Give the players some time to discuss their tactics as they reach the 
  road side, if they search for clues then have them make another Test at 
  Difﬁ culty 4 since ﬁ nding clues is a little harder. Again, have each player 
  pick a random number from the Random Number Table on p112. If they 
  have the Kai Disciplines of Tracking or Hunting then they may add the 
  following bonuses to the Test.
  Tracking: +3
  Hunting: +1
  If the players are successful in their investigations then read out the 
  following text:
  To your keen eyes this area tells more of a story. You can see several marks that indicate a scuffle; 
  there are tell-tale splashes of blood on the ground. A few pieces of torn canvas and broken wood 
  lead off in a North-Westerly direction, to a copse of trees that line the side of the road. You spot a 
  couple of bolts at the road side, these wicked dark barbs can only be from a Giak’s crossbows.
  If one of your players want to take these items they can. Make sure 
  that they enter the barbed crossbow-bolts onto their Action Chart. The 
  two bolts combined are small enough that they only count for one item 
  space in the player’s backpack. Remember that they can only carry eight 
  backpack items.
  
  75
  If the players fail the Test then read this text instead:
  You are unable to find any important clues amongst the wreck and the sun dips behind a few 
  clouds, off in the distance one of you spy movement; you may have been spotted. A shape darts 
  behind a tree. 
  Give the players some time to discuss the area, role-play their characters 
  and if they want to search for clues again with a Test, inform them that 
  they have done all they can here and it is time for them to move on. You 
  do not want to railroad the players but if they do waste time you can nudge 
  them in the right direction by reading out the following:
  A shadow moves off to the North West, briefly as it passes through the trees you can see that it is a 
  Giak. The creature does not seem to have spotted you and vanishes from sight. 
  Alternative Test: A helping paw
  A good GM knows the ins and outs of their player group, in terms of 
  Lone Wolf, making a note of the Kai monk’s disciplines and important 
  information can help you construct a tailored adventure for your players. 
  In this case one of your Kai players may have taken Animal Kinship as 
  their chosen discipline; if so then this is the perfect time for you to replace 
  one of the Tracking tests with this alternative.
  You are suddenly aware of a sound off to your right, a flash of red in the undergrowth and a small 
  muzzle that pokes out inquisitively. You can see it is a red fox, cowering in the bushes and watching 
  you with fear filled eyes. 
  Have the player with Animal Kinship make a Test at Difﬁ culty 5. Have 
  them pick a number from the Random Number Table on p112.
  If the player succeeds, read the following aloud:
  As you turn your thoughts inwards, your mind clears and you are able to pick up the fox’s feelings 
  and emotions. It regards you warily as you do this; however, you sense that it understands your 
  intentions. As you remain in contact with the fox, you get images of large monsters, all claws and 
  teeth with dark skin and glowing eyes. They trample through the fox’s domain and head off to the 
  North West growling and snarling. The fox does not recognise them but you do. They are Giaks, 
  servants of the foul Darklords. You relax your mind and let the link fall away slowly. 
  
  76
  The players now know that the trail leads on to the North West. The 
  fox has never seen a Giak before so they appear to the creature as 
  towering monsters, whilst Kai monks may regard them as little more than 
  a nuisance. They now also know that Giaks are involved in the attack. 
  Having disciplines and tests like these in your own adventure helps make 
  the game a better experience for the players and many of them are sure 
  to remember the fox as an interesting and unusual encounter.
  If they fail read the following aloud:
  You try to focus your mind but the animal is too frightened, too nervous and you receive only a 
  jumble of thoughts and images that you are unable to decipher. The creature looks at you fearfully 
  and darts off into the undergrowth, vanishing from sight. 
  They cannot get any information from this creature now; it is too frightened 
  and has ﬂ ed the area. If they want to follow it, you should inform them 
  that they are Kai monks and their duty is to the mission at hand, not 
  following random woodland creatures. Players sometimes like to go off 
  the beaten track and if this is the ﬁ rst adventure that you have Games 
  Mastered, you should be aware of this. In later adventures there will be a 
  greater scope for freedom.
  Once the Test has been resolved, success or failure, allow the players 
  some time to role-play this and then nudge them onwards to the North 
  West. 
  You move towards the North West, the trail is far from cold here and even an untrained eye is able 
  to pick up signs of passage. There is broken undergrowth, splintered wood and even a few specks of 
  blood that fall in dappled red across the leaves. You continue onwards until you reach the edge of 
  what appears to be a small clearing.
  Test: Can they see the Giak?
  There are numerous Giaks here looting the wreckage and the dead. Ask 
  the players to make a Test but do not tell them what it is for yet. Part of 
  being a good Games Master is the ability to surprise the players and make 
  encounters like this interesting. The Test is Difﬁ culty 3 since the Giaks 
  are making quite a bit of noise. Once the players have picked a random 
  number from the Random Number Table on p112, they will either spot 
  the Giaks or blunder right into the looters. 
  
  77
  If the players succeed, read the following aloud: 
  You suddenly catch sight of several small humanoids rifling the dead and picking through 
  the broken remains of the caravan. They have several backpacks full of goods taken from the 
  merchant’s wagon.
  Skip ahead since they will be able to approach the Giak quietly.
  If the players fail then read the following aloud:
  You walk through the forest clearing and suddenly you are face-to-face with several Giaks, who 
  are picking through the corpses and remains of the caravan. Their ill-gotten gains are collected in 
  several backpacks next to a broken wheel. 
  Skip ahead to the next section since the Giak will be aware of them now.
  As you approach closer, you can now see that the wagon has been looted. Small humanoid 
  monsters, with cruel faces and beady eyes are picking through the dead and cargo alike, debris is 
  strewn around the area. They have not seen you yet. 
  If the Giak have detected the players, read the following:
  Two of the creatures stand and draw their weapons, whilst the others gather as much of their ill-
  gotten gains as is possible. They look at you, their tiny eyes glittering with an unspoken challenge. 
  If the Giaks have not detected the players:
  It seems that you have not been noticed; now you have a choice. You are Kai, not murderous 
  avengers and monster hunters. You may fall upon these creatures with rage and revenge in your 
  hearts for the attack on the caravan, or you may yet spare them trusting these creatures to surrender 
  their spoils and leave without a fight. 
  You should let the players discuss this in character and out of character for 
  a little while and then read:
  It is time now to make this choice, remembering who and what you are. 
  Attack:
  If the players choose this option, then they have a ﬁ ght on their hands as 
  the Giaks will defend their cargo and spoils to the bitter end. 
  
  78
  There should be at least an even number of Giaks to the players. For 
  example if there are three players, then there should be three Giaks. If 
  you want to spice things up a bit and make things a little more fun, then 
  add one or two extra Giaks but always remember the object is not  too 
  win or lose, you are there to bring this adventure, and Magnamund, to life 
  for your players. No one likes to lose on their ﬁ rst time out but everyone 
  likes a good story.
  You should read the following to the players:
  The creatures prepare to defend themselves, hissing and spitting in your direction. You are now 
  committed to a battle for the cargo against these monsters. 
  Running a combat for the ﬁ rst time can be a daunting task, there always 
  seems like there is too much to keep track of. Fortunately, Lone Wolf is 
  a simple system and leaves a lot of room for dramatic descriptions. This 
  is a key point in the battle to come, you should try to make it fun for the 
  players and encourage them to describe how they attack the monsters and 
  how their abilities work. For example you could say:
  The lead creature leaps at you, its short sword sings through the air and it laughs as it manically 
  tries to impale you on the tip of the blade. 
  Mountain Giak 
  COMBAT SKILL 10   ENDURANCE 9
  Special Rules:  Giaks can see in the dark.  They also gain a +2 Bonus to 
  any Test involving hard physical activity or resisting poison and disease. 
  Remember to be dramatic, describe the attack or the defence if they 
  miss or the creature parries their blow. Battles should be vibrant and an 
  important part of the players experience in Magnamund. This will be their 
  ﬁ rst combat and a lot hinges on their success here.
  If the players lose this ﬁ ght then their adventure is over, the Giaks have 
  won and the Kai monks lie slain. In the event that the combat is lost, read 
  the following aloud to the players:
  
  79
  As the last of your number falls, your vision dims and you can hear the triumphant screeching of 
  the Giaks. Darkness embraces you, your life and adventure ends here.
   
  If the players win this battle then read the following aloud:
  The last of the raiders are defeated. Now that the combat is over, the Giaks, the foul creatures that 
  serve the Darklords as grunts and shock troops, lie slain. The last breath escapes the leader’s lips as 
  it tumbles to the ground muttering a blood flecked curse at you.
  The players should now search the caravan and since the Giaks had 
  already packed the goods away, it is easy enough to return them to their 
  rightful owner. If the players get the goods back, they will notice that there 
  are a good deal of luxuries amongst the items; silks, satins, bangles and 
  bracelets. On the other hand, there are also iron chains and a few other 
  things like metal bracelets. There are four backpacks in total.
  The bodies of the guards, two male and one female are of Sommlending 
  origin and they look like mercenaries. They have little of worth upon 
  their person. The coin taken from them has been neatly piled up near the 
  middle of the makeshift Giak camp. Now it is time to bring things to a 
  close, the characters should start their journey home. 
  You search the wagon’s remains; look over the remains of the camp and the bodies of the Giaks. 
  They will trouble this region no more. You shoulder the merchant’s stolen goods and turn your 
  backs on the clearing and as a few flecks of snow tumble down from the wintery sky overhead, you 
  make your way back to the Kai Monastery. 
  You should skip to Part 3 now. p82
  Negotiation:
  If your players are less into ﬁ ghting and more into talking, give them the 
  chance to do this. They can exchange words with the Giaks and attempt 
  to get them to surrender their stolen cargo. If they approach the Giaks 
  with a negotiation read out the following:
  You are Kai monks and the Giaks look as though they fear you; it is plain to see on their faces. You 
  sense that they will not give the cargo up easily; you may have to take it by force. Yet, the leader 
  steps forwards and in his hissing tongue he speaks. 
  
  80
  ‘Kai, we know you are, from your pretty cloaks and smell.’ The others laugh a little at this and 
  wrinkle their noses. ‘We will fight if you take what is ours.’ 
  Grimtooth is a scraggly Giak, who has been leading this rag-tag band of 
  thieves for a while. He is not a fool though, he knows that the Kai could 
  easily cut him down and as much as he hates them, he does not want to 
  die unless they force his hand.
  If the players are willing to strike a deal, you should give them the chance 
  to do so. There are several angles that they could play in this regard, so 
  creative thinking should be encouraged.
  1. The players may try to intimidate the Giaks with tough-talk and 
  threats. Have them make a Test, Difﬁ culty 5 since the Giaks are 
  trying to hang onto their ill-gotten gains. If they succeed at this 
  Test then the Giaks will back down and you can skip as the Giaks 
  surrender.
  2. If one of your Kai monks has Mindblast, allow them to make a Test 
  against a Difﬁ culty 4. If they succeed read the following aloud: 
  You lash out with your Kai discipline of Mindblast, the creature known as Grimtooth is unprepared 
  and he collapses under a mental assault. His morale breaks and he drops to the ground begging for 
  his life wailing ‘Please no kill, we leave now, you have all goods and gold!’ Then he orders his Giak 
  band to flee, leaving you in the clearing with the cargo and gold intact. 
  3. If they fail then read this:
  You lash out with your Kai discipline of Mindblast but it does not seem to bother the Giak at all. 
  He snarls and orders his men to attack!
  Go to p77 and the section marked: Attack.
  4. You may have a group of players who decide to barter with the 
  Giak. They may suggest that the Giak take the gold and leave the 
  cargo. If this is the case then Grimtooth will agree to it. There is 
  no need for any player to make a Test since the Giaks are greedy 
  enough to jump at the opportunity and they really do not want to 
  have to ﬁ ght Kai if they can help it. This is a good example of using 
  role-playing to resolve a situation and these kinds of encounters 
  can be extremely rewarding. Skip to p81 and have the Giaks leave 
  peacefully.
  
  81
  5. Reason with Grimtooth. Extremely diplomatic player groups will 
  want to talk without threats, violence or tricks. They will want 
  to role-play their way out of the situation without using Kai 
  disciplines. In this case you can use a Test at Difﬁ culty 3 to see 
  how persuasive the characters are. If they succeed then skip ahead 
  and have the Giaks leave, if they fail then skip ahead and have the 
  Giaks attack.
  6. Other ideas. Be prepared to react to the players other ideas, 
  players are a tricky bunch and will often do the unexpected, 
  downright opposite of what you planned for. It is impossible to 
  account for every kind of trick they might try. In this case you can 
  call for a Luck Test to see if the players’ actions succeed and if 
  they do, then the outcome will be the Giaks leaving peacefully, if 
  they fail then the Giaks will attack. 
  Give them a little time to discuss what they plan to do, based on the 
  options, and then read this aloud:
  Grimtooth looks at you expectantly, as if he waits for some kind of answer. His men on the other 
  hand look ready for a fight. You are going to have to act soon or they might force your hand.
  If they fail to convince Grimtooth, then he orders his Giak band to 
  attack.
  ‘Our cargo, you cannot have it. We would rather die than surrender to Kai scum!’ 
  The battle is joined; go to the previous section on page 77 marked: 
  Attack.
  If the players succeed convincing Grimtooth, then read:
  ‘You speak wise Kai, you make Grimtooth understand. Yes, you can keep this cargo, we leave 
  now.’ 
  The Giaks turn their backs on you and melt into the rest of the trees as it begins to snow again. 
  The sun vanishes behind a thick white veil of cloud. You are left alone but have the cargo that 
  Stormsong asked you to retrieve. You will have quite a tale to tell him. 
  
  82
  You should give the players some time to talk over what happened, if they 
  desire it. You can ﬁ ll in the details of the camp site if they explore a little 
  and make sure to describe what they can see, touch, taste and smell as 
  well as hear. The world should be a living and breathing place for them. 
  Once they have had their ﬁ ll, give them a little nudge.
  A soft howl echoes through the surrounding area. You listen for a moment and the sky is starting 
  to become even more clogged with snow, you decide that it is now time to return to the Monastery. 
  Leaving the camp site behind you begin your trek back to the stone walls of your brothers and 
  sisters. 
  Part 3: A triumphant return
  A few hours pass and you arrive safely back at the entry, the great gate opens and admits you 
  in. There in the courtyard as if he is an expectant father awaiting news of a newborn’s birth, is 
  Stormsong. His face is stern yet pleased as his expression changes. 
  ‘It is good to see you back Kai monks, do you have news for me?’ 
  You should give the players time to interact with Stormsong and bring 
  him to life for them. He is pleased they are back but not overly fussy. 
  Remember he has a stern manner; he is their master and conﬁ dant. He 
  will not lavish praise on them but he does congratulate them when they 
  have ﬁ nished reporting in.
  ‘I am most pleased that you have managed to resolve this matter, the merchant will be extremely 
  happy to have his cargo back. You are a credit to the order and you one day, should make fine 
  Kai Masters yourselves. Now go, rest, clean up and be ready since I have a feeling an ill wind 
  blows for us all soon.’ 
  They are dismissed from Stormsong’s side and are now free to explore 
  the Kai Monastery. 
  Should any player ask for a monetary reward then read this aloud:
  
  83
  Stormsong gives you an odd look; it is a mix of pride and sudden revulsion. That you, a Kai monk 
  would ask for a physical reward. He narrows his eyes and calls you over to a large cluster of wood. 
  He presents you with an axe and looks back at the wood.
  ‘A Kai monk’s reward is to know that they have helped the people, not themselves. Perhaps you 
  will better understand this after a good few hours toil chopping all of this wood and stacking it 
  over there.’ He points at an empty space on the floor then says, ‘Return to me once this task is 
  accomplished.’
  You are left with the axes and wood to contemplate the words of your Kai Master.
  Part 4: A morning summons...
  Read this aloud to your players.
  After a restful night’s sleep at the Kai Monastery, you wake refreshed and eager for a day of hard 
  work and training. As you leave your bed chambers and make your way down to the courtyard, 
  ready to face the challenges of a new morning, you are greeted by your Kai Master, Stormsong. 
  He smiles a little as you pass close by and then speaks softly. 
  ‘Good morning,’ he chuckles gently. ‘I suspect you are ready for more training today but I am 
  afraid after your excellent performance recently I must call you away from your assigned tasks 
  once more.’
  He gives you a few moments to take this in and then speaks once again. ‘The merchant who 
  you assisted has requested an escort to Toran. I have decided since you made such a favourable 
  impression with your last mission, to send you with him as guards.’ 
  Once again players should be given time to communicate with Stormsong. 
  He will provide a few answers to some common questions. Remember 
  any useful quirks you may have given him from last time and use those 
  again; this will help you to make Stormsong a memorable character in the 
  eyes of your players.
  1. If they ask about any other guards, they are told that there are 
  none; the Kai monks are the only guard and they are all Harbold 
  should need.
  2. How far is Toran? Stormsong will tell them that it is approximately 
  150 miles away. They will be travelling more slowly since Harbold 
  has been given a new cart and horse by the Kai Masters.
  
  84
  3. Do they have to come right back once they deliver the merchant 
  and his cargo? Stormsong would like them to return as quickly as 
  they can but he also adds that if Harbold needs the aid of the Kai 
  they are to remain in Toran as long as the merchant requires their 
  assistance. 
  4. What of their training? Stormsong will suggest that this ‘ﬁ eld’ 
  training is an excellent way for the Kai to build their skills, rely 
  on each other and experience the world beyond the monastery 
  walls.
  You should give them a little time to talk in character and when you feel 
  they are ready, Stormsong speaks once again.
  ‘It is high time that you left and meet the merchant at the front gate. He will be there by now 
  I am sure, wagon and horse in tow. Good luck on your journey and may Kai watch over you.’ 
  Stormsong then walks off towards the other end of the courtyard and a group of Kai acolytes who 
  stand waiting there. 
  As the players leave the Kai Monastery, read the following to them.
  A sliver of sunlight burns through the heavy cloud cover around the monastery, catching the wall 
  with a sudden gleam. It almost appears as if Kai himself has blessed your journey. The mist has 
  just begun to lift from the surrounding fields and there is a medium sized covered wooden wagon, 
  one heavy cart horse and an impatient looking man. He spots you and waves you over.
  ‘Name’s Harbold,’ he says with a bit of a grin. He is of medium height, a slightly rotund and 
  tanned man. He wears a pair of dark leather boots and a well worn tunic, a single button undone 
  over his belly. Around his shoulders is a travellers cloak and atop his head he has a fur lined, leather 
  hat with a single tatty feather. ‘Looking forward to travelling with you, yes indeed I am. Oh and 
  I am eternally grateful for your efforts previously.’
  Harbold Dakr is a man who does not really care much about his appearance 
  and he has a habit of interrupting people when they speak. He walks 
  with a limp on his right leg and favours it a little too much, as though 
  exaggerating the pain. He often uses this to garner sympathy. He is a 
  shrewd businessman most of the time, though of late since he agreed to 
  partner with Kleth he has been regretting his decision in that area. He 
  speaks with a rough accent, rolling his r’s a little. All of these quirks can be 
  used to make him an interesting NPC.
  
  85
  ‘So are we ready to leave then, you’re all sorted I hope?’ It is obvious that he is very eager to be 
  off; his wagon is loaded and ready to roll. He looks at you expectantly and waits for you to climb 
  on board. 
  The wagon has space enough for at least three Kai monks in amongst 
  the goods and one Kai up front with Harbold. He is a talkative man and 
  whoever sits up front is in for an interesting time as they journey to Toran. 
  Once the Kai are all aboard and secured their journey begins in earnest.
  You feel the wagon shift slightly as the wheels begin to roll; the horse pulls you and the cargo with 
  apparent ease. It is not long before you once more leave the Kai Monastery behind and head out 
  into the wider world. A cool but gentle breeze blows through the air as the sun begins to rise and 
  burns away the cloud cover. Soon you are on the open road and rattling towards Toran. 
  Part 5: A not-so subtle approach
  If the players want to talk to Harbold during the journey, let them discuss 
  things with him. He will answer a few simple questions, though he will not 
  really go into too much detail about his business. It is not because he does 
  not trust them; it is because he truly ﬁ nds talking about it boring. He will 
  however try to talk to the Kai monks; he is fascinated by them and their 
  adventures.
  1. He will try to ask the Kai about their training at the monastery. 
  However he will not press for secrets and assures them that his 
  intentions are honest.
  2. He will engage any female Kai ﬁ rst; he is a bit of a ladies’ man. He 
  will ask them why they joined the order, what makes them want to 
  protect people like him?
  3. Do they have any interesting stories to tell, any battles that they 
  have fought in?
  4. What was it like when they faced down their ﬁ rst monster (assuming 
  they did) (note: Giak do count for this).
  5. Have they ever done anything they regretted since joining the 
  Kai?
  The first day winds closer and closer to evening, you have travelled for quite a while and the horse 
  looks in need of a rest. Five figures move out across the road, they are dressed in Sommlending 
  colours and seem to bear the royal coat of arms, the coat of arms of King Ulnar V himself. The 
  leader of this group of soldiers steps forwards and raises his left hand. 
  
  86
  ‘In the name of the King of Sommerlund, Ulnar V, I demand you stop this cart and surrender 
  your goods and selves to me. If you do so, I promise you will not be harmed and you may go freely 
  on your way. The merchant known as Harbold Dakr is under arrest however, so lay down your 
  weapons and get off the wagon quietly.’ 
  Test:  Sixth Sense
  Any Kai player with the Discipline of Sixth Sense can make a Test. The 
  Difﬁ culty for the Test is 5 since the faux guard are not quite prepared for 
  the Kai to be here. 
  Failure will give the players no advanced warning when the bandit leader 
  orders an attack.
  You can read this aloud to the players if the Test fails.
  You focus your mind for a moment, there seems to be nothing awry with this man and his 
  companions. Perhaps the shifty nature is natural to the guard captain. 
  Success will give the players advanced warning of the man’s intentions 
  and they will gain a +2 bonus to COMBAT SKILL.
  You can read this aloud to the players if the Test succeeds.
  As you focus your mind, your Kai Sixth Sense warns you that the man before you is preparing 
  to attack. He hopes to take you all by surprise; there is a great deal of hostility that emanates from 
  him. 
  Test: Without Sixth Sense
  If the players do not have Sixth Sense, they may ask questions about 
  the encounter, in that case they should make another Test. The Test is 
  a Difﬁ culty 7 due to the faux-guard costumes and armour being quite 
  accurate.
  If they succeed then read the following:
  Something does not quite look right about these guardsmen, their leader has shifty-eyes and his 
  stance is not one of confidence. He does not seem to have the poise that the King’s Guard would 
  have. Upon closer inspection the heraldry is also slightly off and one of the men has a mis-matched 
  pauldron. These are not King’s Guard! 
  
  87
  The players gain a +1 bonus to COMBAT SKILL.
  If they fail then read the following:
  The guard captain seems quite insistent and he stands there, with his men. There are six of them 
  compared to you and the merchant. If these are King’s Guard and you draw steel on them, it 
  would be a disaster for the order. 
  Test: Who is the guard captain?
  If the players ask who the guard captain is, he tells them that he is none 
  other than Remir D’Val of the King’s Guard. Allow the Kai another Test, 
  this time at Difﬁ culty 8 to see through the ruse. If they fail at this Test then 
  they will have to use their discretion.
  If they do not think to ask this question skip right ahead to the section 
  marked: Merchant’s Plight!
  If they succeed then read the following:
  The man who claims to be Captain Remir D’Val is neither as noble looking or as impressive as you 
  may remember. He also seems to have forgotten to secure his armour on properly. The heraldry is 
  definitely off in places and he looks to be far too nervous. It is likely this man is an imposter, your 
  Kai Master was right to send you to guard this merchant’s belongings. 
  The Kai will gain a +1 bonus to COMBAT SKILL against these men.
  If they fail then read the following:
  The guard captain waves his men forwards, obviously impatient to get the merchant under wraps. 
  They move in closer. 
  Merchant’s Plight
  The man is not Remir D’Val; he is a hired thug working for Harbold’s 
  partner. Jasper Kleth, Kleth is an agent of the Darklords, described later in 
  the adventure and part of a larger conspiracy that is taking root in Toran. 
  For now, he simply wants the merchant and his guards dead. His real 
  name is Dunal Torn and he is a vicious killer.
  Read the following:
  
  88
  As the guards close towards you, one of them drops their sword on the ground with a clatter, 
  clearly nervous as he recovers it. The man’s helm falls forwards and drops off his head. The guard 
  captain does not look happy about this, nor does the merchant. He stabs a pudgy finger forwards 
  and screams.
  ‘They’re not King’s Guard...that man doesn’t look anything at all like Remir D’Val. I know 
  the other one; he tried to steal some sweetmeats from my cart when I was in Toran last. They’re 
  imposters I tell you!’
  Their clumsy behaviour lends legitimacy to Harbold’s claim. The guard captain sighs, throws 
  down his shield and draws his sword. 
  ‘You had to make this harder than it was didn’t you, Harbold. Now I’m going to have to slit you 
  from belly to chops. Kill them all!’ 
  The combat is joined in earnest.
  The players gain the following bonus if they were successful in the Sixth 
  Sense or the other two Tests.
  +2 to COMBAT SKILL if they succeeded in their Sixth Sense Test.
  +1 to COMBAT SKILL if they succeeded in the Test without Sixth 
  Sense.
  +1 to COMBAT SKILL if they succeeded in the Who is the guard captain 
  test.
  False Soldiers
  These are the hirelings of Dunal Torn, paid for in the ill-gotten gains from 
  many a successful mugging and brutal slaughter. They are not trained 
  soldiers but they are dangerous in large numbers. They are not quite 
  bandits, more lawless mercenaries looking to make a few extra coins doing 
  Dunal Torn’s dirty work. They wear armour and weapons that make them 
  appear to be King’s Guard but they are really imposters.
  COMBAT SKILL 14   ENDURANCE 20
  
  89
  False Guard Captain (Dunal Torn)
  A dangerous man, dark eyed with short black hair and a slight twitch on 
  his upper right lip. Dunal Torn has been paid to silence Harbold for good. 
  He will not back down from a ﬁ ght and he will battle to the death, he 
  would rather take his secrets to the grave with him. He prefers to spring 
  elaborate traps and disguise himself as a member of the King’s Guard to 
  stop travellers on their way, this is the ﬁ rst time he has used Remir D’Val’s 
  name as an alias though. This may also be his last.
  COMBAT SKILL 16   ENDURANCE 26
  The bandits are not seasoned warriors; they are six men versus the Kai 
  and their merchant charge. Harbold will dive into the wagon and try to put 
  as many of his goods between him and the bandits. Dunal Torn will leave 
  Harbold until he has dealt with the troublesome guards. Unless the Kai are 
  openly presenting themselves as Kai, he will be cocky and arrogant during 
  the battle. If the Kai reveal themselves, he will shut up and concentrate on 
  trying to kill them and stay alive.
  Once again, make this ﬁ ght as evocative and memorable as you can. If 
  the players want to do something acrobatic and death-defying, like leaping 
  through the air you can always make them take a Test for it. In this case 
  the Difﬁ culty is a 4 since we want the players to feel like heroes and have 
  their actions succeed; just not without risk.
  If they fail any of their Tests you can always give the attacking bandits a +1 
  to their COMBAT SKILL, to simulate the Kai’s lack of decent footing or 
  landing prone from an acrobatic ﬂ ip gone wrong. Part of the fun of these 
  encounters is to let your players try out new things and feel like heroes. 
  Remember, it is never you versus your players; they have enough to worry 
  about with the hostile people and creatures in Magnamund than adding 
  you to their list of enemies. Always be fair but remind the players that you 
  are the ﬁ nal judge of anything. 
  If they do not succeed in defeating their adversaries then read the 
  following:
  You watch in horror as the merchant is dragged from his wagon, skewered through the heart and 
  then thrown to the ground. The bandits laugh as they put your companions to the sword, slowly...
  until at last you die along with them. Your adventure here is over, your life has ended. 
  
  90
  If they succeed in defeating Torn and his men read this:
  The false guard captain drops to the ground, his blood stains the floor and he looks at his hands 
  almost in disbelief. He tries to speak but he is gripped by an intense pain. Blood floods his mouth 
  and his eyes go wide. He collapses forwards and lies still. It is over. 
  ‘You did it, oh my friends, you saved me again. How can I ever rep...Oh yes, Kai, must not receive 
  a reward. Nasty business this,’ Harbold comes tumbling out of the wagon, all feet and bluster. 
  ‘Who would want me dead...who I ask?’ 
  If the players are clever they will search the bodies, this will provide them 
  with a vital clue. You can also use Harbold to nudge them towards the clue 
  if you feel it necessary to do so.
  If they search the bodies for evidence read this:
  You spend some time looking through the blood stained corpses, finding only material goods and 
  weapons. Until you spot a side bag that had been concealed amongst the foliage at the edge of the 
  road. As you open it you discover a sealed scroll case. You break open the seal and begin to read. 
  Skip to the section marked: Kleth’s Letter
  If you want Harbold to do the searching to prompt your players, read 
  this:
  The merchant begins to search around the bodies but he leaves them be. He does aim a vicious kick 
  at the leader’s corpse though. He stops and then scrabbles at the edge of the road and takes up a 
  small side bag from the dirt, the kind used to carry documentation. He opens it and tips the contents 
  out, a few coins and a sealed scroll case. He brings the case to you for examination. 
  ‘I wonder what it says,’ he looks at you all expectantly. 
  If the players read the letter now, skip to the section marked: Kleth’s 
  Letter.
  If the players choose to get back on the road, skip to Part 3.
  
  91
  Kleth’s Letter
  You crack the dark seal on the scroll case and open the letter, reading it over.
  Dunal, why in the name of Vashna did you send the Giaks to kill that useless partner of mine, 
  Harbold? What possessed you to think that those ingrates could actually do the job assigned to 
  them, you idiot. I want this fixed, you are to camp on the gods-forsaken road until he shows up 
  and then put him out of our misery. We can afford no further delays here, none. My masters will 
  not be pleased and you know what kind of fate awaits us both if we fail. I hear the slave pens in the 
  Darklands are quite nice at this time of year. So, fix it. Kill that fat idiot and allow us to proceed 
  with the plan. If you fail me again, I’ll have you shipped to the mine. JK. 
  They can either keep this information to themselves or tell Harbold, if 
  they do tell the merchant then read this:
  Harbold goes pale, he begins to shake, first with anger and then fear. He almost passes out. He 
  shivers and then says, ‘But, Jasper is my partner in the business, what does he mean, masters...
  surely he’s not in league with the Darklords. Oh no, that means I’m in league with the Darklords 
  by default, please don’t kill me!’ 
  If the Kai reassure him that he is in no danger then the rest of the journey 
  will proceed safely with Harbold in a fairly happy frame of mine, despite 
  this information. If they do not tell him, then read on ahead to Part 3, 
  Harbold will be oblivious of the true danger.
  Part 6: Toran
  The remainder of the journey passes without further incident. In the City 
  of Toran, Jasper Kleth draws his next stage of plans ready to take over his 
  ex-partner’s business. He is oblivious to the failure of Dunal Torn and his 
  men. As the Kai draw closer to the city gates, a spy ﬂ ees before anyone 
  can spot him and reports directly to Kleth. The man ﬂ ies into a rage and 
  nearly kills the informant before he recovers his composure. He will have 
  to take matters into his own hands and has not yet learned of the Kai. 
  His spy only saw Harbold brieﬂ y and did not stop to see who he might be 
  travelling with.
  Read this aloud to the players:
  
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  After a long journey that has been tiring for you, Harbold and the cart horse, you have finally 
  reached Toran. The massive dominating tower that houses the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star 
  rises over the city and the large gates look impressive against the early morning light. One hundred 
  and fifty miles away, your Kai brethren will be already well on the way to their next day of 
  training and you are stuck out here in the field. Yet it was worth it to see the city, a beautiful place 
  indeed. Harbold drives his cart through the gates past the guard and the wagon makes a creak now 
  and then as it starts to rumble over the stones. 
  ‘Thank you my friends,’ Harbold says as he looks around Toran. ‘Safe and sound, but I would 
  ask you to hang around a little, just a few days. I can see to it that you are given a good place to 
  stay.’ 
  If the players have shown him Kleth’s letter he will say:
  ‘I don’t trust Kleth, not now, not after that letter. Please help me stop him, well; you can stop him 
  I’ll just find a place to hide. You can have my room at the Golden Sun Inn.’
  He puts on an imploring expression and you remember the words of Master Stormsong, he did 
  say you could assist the merchant if he asked. You would not be very good Kai if you left the man 
  to be murdered. 
  If the players have not shown him the letter he adds:
  ‘Yes, I can put you up in one of the best inns here. The Golden Sun, you can have my room.’
  Give the players a few moments to discuss this and then move them on 
  through the streets. Read the following.
  Harbold begins to move off, you must make a choice. Stay and assist him or leave him to his fate 
  whatever that might be, here in Toran. 
  If the players leave him, then read this:
  You leave the man behind, confident that the danger has passed even though you have the 
  information to save him. You journey back to your Kai Master; Stormsong is somewhat perturbed 
  that Kai monks would do such a thing and clucks his tongue. He looks at you all and shakes his 
  head, it is obvious that you have failed in your duty and for those who do not succeed there can be 
  no reward. He waves you off with a casual flick of his wrist. 
  
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  As you reflect on your actions for several days to come, word eventually reaches you of Harbold’s 
  death in Toran. Stormsong must have sent other Kai to investigate, they return with grave news. 
  The man called Jasper Kleth is now in control of the merchant’s business and holdings. The other 
  Kai were unable to get further information and by the time they started to investigate Kleth’s 
  operation, they were discovered and had to flee the city. 
  It is highly unlikely that your master will appoint you to another task; there is no place in the Kai 
  Order for complacency or selfish thinking. Your adventure here is over. 
  The players should not go up a rank or get any reward; they have ended 
  the adventure prematurely and caused the death of Harbold by their 
  inaction. Their reward is being given another chance at a further mission 
  but only after they have toiled hard in the monastery in many mundane 
  jobs for at least six months if not more.
  If they follow Harbold, determined to help him, read this.
  You stay with the merchant and follow him through the streets of Toran. There are many people 
  all thronging through the alleys and byways. Finally your journey reaches its conclusion at the 
  back door of the Golden Sun Inn. It is a splendid place and has many wealthy looking folk in the 
  walled off garden at the back. Harbold pulls his wagon to a stop and hops off, he hands some coins 
  to a stable lad and then ushers you inside.
  ‘Farah!’ he bellows at a middle aged looking dowager woman who turns from talking to a 
  customer.
  ‘Harbold, well, it is nice to see you back. Do you want your usual room and who are your 
  guests?’
  ‘They’re Kai,’ he explains. ‘They’ve come to help me with something.’
  ‘Honoured then,’ Farah offers a curtsey and smiles. ‘Are they staying long?’
  ‘As long as it takes,’ he seems to speak for you for the moment and then stops. ‘Oh I did not mean 
  to presume, as long as they wish to stay.’ He blusters. 
  Eager to get to your rooms, you wait for the pair of them to stop talking. Finally Farah calls a 
  maid over and then says.
  
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  ‘Well, Harbold is going to pay for your stay and I have to admit I have never had such illustrious 
  guests as Kai before. I’ll keep it quiet though; don’t want me blabbering to all and sundry about 
  this. Well, Nyssa will show you to your room.’
  Nyssa the maid, a young Sommlending lass with bright blue eyes and dark blonde wavy hair, 
  bobs a little curtsey and leads you off. In a few minutes you are safe inside the room at the Golden 
  Sun Inn. 
  Now you should let your players discuss their plans, see what ideas they 
  come up with and give them some time to talk in character. You should be 
  a lot more familiar with many of the concepts of this RPG now and have a 
  good idea of how long you need to give players to talk and discuss things 
  in and out of character. 
  Once they appear to be ready, you can proceed to part 7.
  Part 7: Kidnapped!
  The angry Jasper Kleth has decided to take matters into his own hands; 
  he has set out from his hideout with himself and his bodyguard, Astella. 
  Astella is a fast thief and a dangerous swordswoman, she can be bought 
  for the right price and her loyalty only goes so far. Whilst Astella distracted 
  Farah, Kleth made off with Harbold.
  When you are ready or the players are ready to make a move read this:
  The door bursts open and a bedraggled looking Nyssa runs in, ‘Oh it’s terrible, awful,’ she exclaims. 
  ‘Mister Harbold has been taken, you have to help!’
  The girl is close to hysteria and the Kai can get some useful information 
  out of her, if they can role-play well enough to calm the woman down.
  Some of the ideas that players may attempt:
  1. Give her a herbal drink of some kind.
  2. Speak calmly and softly to her (does not require a Test, she will 
  respond very well to a soft voice and a helping hand)
  3. Other methods.
  a. An impromptu Test. Players may ask to see if they can 
  calm her with a Test. Set the Difﬁ culty to 6 since she is 
  bordering on hysteria.
  
  96
  b. The Kai Discipline of Healing, since they could argue that 
  part of it is a good bedside manner.
  c. The Kai Discipline of Mindshield, there is nothing to say 
  that they cannot try and shield her mind from the terrible 
  event. 
  d. Other uses of Disciplines. You are going to have to be 
  tough but fair here and veto anything that is completely 
  out of the scope of the scene. Such as Camouﬂ age or 
  Hunting/Tracking for example. It might sound silly but 
  never underestimate a player’s desire to try to bend the 
  rules a little.
  If they are successful at calming Nyssa down using any of the above, or 
  even a combination of tactics, you can let them know the following:
  1. Nyssa saw a big man haul off Harbold whilst Farah was 
  distracted.
  2. Farah was distracted by a thin woman with dark hair.
  3. Nyssa did not see where Mister Harbold went.
  4. Nyssa did see the thin woman escape over the rooftops. 
  5. She is sure that the woman went off to the East.
  If they fail at calming her down, she collapses into a heap on their bed and 
  bursts into tears. The Kai are not going to get much out of her.
  Read the following aloud regardless:
  You leave Nyssa in your room and head down the stairs; you are able to find Farah talking to a 
  guard at the bottom of the stairs. The man is just leaving as you approach and is out of the door 
  before you can stop him. Farah on the other hand seems eager to speak to you.
  ‘Hello my dears, did you speak to Nyssa. I sent her to find you.’ 
  The players should be able to get some sense out of Farah. She knows the 
  following about the attack:
  1. Harbold was taken as he checked on his wagon.
  2. There were two people involved; one was a big heavy set man 
  that she had seen before. Jasper Kleth. The other was a thin dark 
  haired woman, possibly of Vassagonian decent. She cannot be 
  sure of that. The woman took off across the rooftops not too long 
  ago, she ran east.
  
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  3. Jasper Kleth had a house in the slums at one point, until he met 
  Harbold and the kind man gave him a good head start.
  The players should be given a few minutes to discuss their actions in 
  character and out, and then you should ask them what they plan to do.
  They can either follow the woman or try to track down Kleth through 
  the streets. It will be nigh on impossible to track the man using any kind 
  of tracking but asking the right questions and speaking to the population 
  could well deliver the results the players want. 
  You can tell them they have two choices: To run the rooftops after the 
  woman, or ask around the streets after Kleth and the merchant. Someone 
  is bound to have seen something. If they want to go to the guard, remind 
  them that as Kai they are capable of stealth and subterfuge, the guard are 
  likely to come crashing in and get the merchant or themselves killed.
  Running the Rooftops
  If the players decide to take this route then have them make a Test to get 
  onto the area where the woman ﬂ ed. The Test will be a Difﬁ culty 4 since 
  it is not too hard to get on the roof.
  If they fail then they simply cannot get up there at this point. In a Test like 
  this it is important to realise that whilst they could make Tests until they 
  succeed, there is a price for failure. Every time that they fail to get onto 
  the roof, make a note of it. If they fail four times, the woman has gotten 
  away and they will not be able to follow her. 
  Read the following:
  You have taken too long, by now the woman has gotten away. You will need to seek Harbold by a 
  different method. Disgruntled you climb back down and head out towards the streets; perhaps you 
  can get help from the watch or ask questions of the population? 
  Skip to the section: Street Questions
  If they succeed then the chase is on. Read this:
  
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  As you crest the top of the roof, you can just see the shape of a slender woman leap from one corner 
  to another. She is definitely heading east. You decide to follow her and head off at some speed 
  across the rooftops of the city. You realise that if you remain out of sight, you can follow her all the 
  way to Kleth! 
  The objective of this particular encounter is to create a rooftop chase 
  ﬁ lled with suspense. The players should not be trying to catch up to the 
  woman and harm/kill her; they should use her as a trail to follow. They 
  will have to keep out of sight, jump across several dangerous gaps and 
  head towards the eastern side of the city.
  There are three separate sections to the chase, to keep things simple. 
  1. Flat rooftops: The players must make a single Test at Difﬁ culty 3 to 
  keep up with the woman. If they succeed at this Test then they can move 
  onto the next section of the rooftops, if they fail then they are going to 
  take a tumble. They are allowed one chance to climb back up with a 
  second Test at the same Difﬁ culty to get back up and into the chase; if they 
  fail then they will have to follow on ground. As long as one player is still 
  on the rooftops, the woman will not get away. Players on the ground will 
  not need to Test to keep up with their companion on the roof.
  Read this if they succeed: 
  You keep on the woman’s tail, moving from roof-to-roof as she crosses the city. She doesn’t even 
  know you are there.
  Read this if they fail:
  You miss your footing and take a fall into the street below. You land on some wooden boxes with 
  a soft crash. 
  The boxes cushion the fall; the player that falls looses 2 ENDURANCE as 
  damage.
  2.  Pointy Rooftops: These are black slate rooftops and they are peaked, 
  so the players will ﬁ nd their next Test to be harder. They must make a 
  Difﬁ culty 5 Test to continue their pursuit and stay on the woman’s trail. If 
  they fall from here they will get one chance with another Test at the same 
  Difﬁ culty to climb back up. If they fail this Test then they will need to try 
  to follow from the ground. As long as one player remains on the rooftops, 
  
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  the woman will not get away. Players on the ground will not need to Test 
  to keep up with their companion on the roof.
  Read this if they succeed:
  You sail across the sharp rooftops as though they were nothing, just air in your way. You make 
  this look easy. The woman you are following has no idea you are tracking her to Kleth’s hideout 
  and the merchant. 
  Read this if they fail: 
  You slip and tumble off the roof, landing in a tangle of washing line and limbs. It cushions your 
  fall a little and you scrape along a rough section of wall. You finally come to rest in a muddy puddle 
  below. 
  The player that fails the Test looses 5 ENDURANCE as damage and can 
  make a Test at Difﬁ culty 6, due to the mud, to get back into the chase; 
  otherwise they will have to follow from the ground.
  3. Ramshackle Houses: Now the players are in the slum area of the 
  city, the rooftops are dangerous and tricky to navigate. Have them 
  make a Test at Difﬁ culty 6 due to footing and the risk of collapse. 
  If they fall here then they will get one chance to get back up and 
  follow the woman with a Difﬁ culty 4 Test. Players who are on the 
  ground do not need to Test to keep up with their companions on 
  the rooftops.
  Read this if they succeed:
  You once more make this look easy; you take off and clear a massive gap as though you are a flying 
  eagle. Perhaps you have the blessing of Kai this day. As you land you spot the woman jump down 
  into a ramshackle garden and vanish through a rickety door. This has to be the place. 
  Read this if they fail:
  With a yelp you fall through the roof of one of the buildings, the footing you chose could not bear 
  your weight. You land in a heap in an old metal bathtub, cracking your head on the edge. 
  The player that fell looses 4 ENDURANCE as damage, since the fall was 
  not as high but it came with a nasty bump.
  
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  They will arrive at a ramshackle building and you can skip to Part 5 now.
  Street Questions
  Read this aloud:
  You leave Farah behind and move off into the streets of Toran, you begin to question people and 
  start asking the right kind of questions. A few answers are positive but nothing you could really use 
  to track Kleth. Then, you spot a shifty looking man who beckons you over. He rubs his chin and 
  inclines his head.
  ‘Gents,’ he says with a smirk, he is a bedraggled and wiry man. A mop of shaggy grey hair sits 
  atop a creased brow. His piggy little green eyes stare out at you. He wears ragged clothes and his 
  knees show through the holes in his trouser legs. ‘I can see that folk like you are in need of some 
  guidance, for the measly sum of say, one crown each...I could tell you what you wanted to know. 
  But for three crowns each, I’ll take you where you need to go.’ 
  This man is Tinker Grime, a beggar and a squealer/snitch for the Toran 
  Watch. He has seen the chance to make a proﬁ t since he saw Kleth 
  dragging the merchant to the eastern side of the city and he knows that 
  Kleth has a hideout there.
  If the players ignore the beggar, then they are going to be hard pressed 
  to ﬁ nd Kleth in time. In this case you can skip to the section called: Failed 
  Hunt.
  If they give Tinker a crown each then he will say:
  ‘Oh that’s kind of you, not quite as kind as I might expect. You need to go to the slums friends, to 
  the eastern side of the city. Jasper Kleth has a small house there, big basement. It’s a rickety place 
  with a single walled section. I can’t tell you more than that, unless of course you want me to show 
  you and in that case, two more crowns a piece would do the trick.’
  He gives the players one more chance to earn his help as a guide. 
  Otherwise he wanders off into the crowd and he does not return. He will 
  be too busy stashing his coin.
  If they give him the right amount he grins and says:
  
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  ‘Lovely friends, lovely, this will do the trick, oh yes it will!’ he waves at you to follow him. He moves 
  with a quick pace through the streets of Toran and keeps you in sight at all times. After a few odd 
  turns, some strange back alleys and a few crowded avenues you find yourself in the slums and 
  opposite the lair of Jasper Kleth. 
  The beggar fishes in his pockets and produces what looks like a crude-looking key. ‘This is a bit of 
  a funny thing. I was going to use this to rob that git blind, don’t look at me like that, it’s kill or be 
  killed here in the slums. I figure that since you’re so generous, you can have it and you can use it to 
  get into Kleth’s place, to rescue that fat halibut of a merchant.’
  He then pushes the key into your hand and quickly wanders off out of sight before Kleth can spot 
  him. 
  One of the players can write Kleth’s Key down on their Action Chart.
  Failed Hunt:
  If the players ignore Tinker or basically give up, then they have failed. 
  You can use a variant of the same speech from earlier to indicate the Kai 
  Master’s displeasure. Read this: 
  You have failed; you give up the search for the merchant. You find your way back to the monastery 
  and back to your Kai Master; Stormsong is somewhat perturbed that Kai monks would do such 
  a thing and clucks his tongue. He looks at you all and shakes his head, it is obvious that you have 
  failed in your duty and for those who do not succeed there can be no reward. He waves you off with 
  a casual flick of his wrist. 
  As you reflect on your actions for several days to come, word eventually reaches you of Harbold’s 
  death in Toran. Stormsong must have sent other Kai to investigate, they return with grave news. 
  The man called Jasper Kleth is now in control of the merchant’s business and holdings. The other 
  Kai were unable to get further information and by the time they started to investigate Kleth’s 
  operation, they were discovered and had to flee the city. 
  It is highly unlikely that your master will appoint you to another task; there is no place in the Kai 
  Order for complacency or selfish thinking. Your adventure here is over. 
  The players should not go up a rank or get any reward; they have ended 
  the adventure prematurely and caused the death of Harbold by their 
  inaction. Their reward is being given another chance at a further mission, 
  only after they have toiled hard in the monastery in many mundane jobs 
  for at least six months if not more.
  
  103
  Part 8: Kleth’s Place
  Whether by rooftop or by beggar’s guidance the characters will eventually 
  reach the slums. If they aided Tinker and gave him 3 crowns each, then 
  they have Kleth’s Key. This will make this encounter a lot easier. If not 
  then they will still end up at Kleth’s Place, they will just have to break into 
  his cellar and risk alerting the man of their presence. Read this:
  You now stand in the slums. Across the Jasper Kleth’s place, you spot the merchant’s hat on the 
  floor outside and you are sure this is where he was taken. You cross the street quickly and arrive 
  at a small rickety walled courtyard. A single wooden door is set into the rear of the area; there is a 
  chain and a padlock across it. You can just about hear muffled cries for help beyond the door, it 
  sounds like Harbold. 
  The Kai monks can use Kleth’s key to open the cellar and free the 
  merchant, he is ecstatic that someone would have come for him.
  ‘Oh my skies,’ he burbles, ‘Again you save me, the stories about the Kai are all true.’ He positively 
  gushes at you. ‘I will never forget this, ever. But what do we do with Kleth, he is sure to have 
  something in that house, something that will incriminate him. I could run and fetch the Watch if 
  you like?’ 
  There are several choices here that the players could make:
  1. They could allow Harbold to fetch the Watch and have Kleth 
  arrested.
  2. They could confront Kleth in his home and ﬁ ght it out.
  3. They could spirit Harbold away and lock him safely in a room, 
  then set a trap for Kleth. Though in this case he will ﬂ ee to return 
  later, unless you decide to go with option 4.
  4. They could devise a plan beyond the scope of the adventure; in 
  this case you are going to have to be ready to alter it to suit 
  the players. Again, part of the fun of being a Games Master is 
  working with the players to create a memorable story and if that 
  is best served by letting them do something that you have not 
  planned for, then you should allow them that freedom as long as 
  it is not too far outside your theme
  If the players let Harbold fetch the watch, read this:
  
  104
  Harbold scurries off, he is gone for some time but eventually returns with an escort of armed guards 
  with a heavy set man at the lead. The Watch captain braces himself by the door and suddenly 
  the Watch burst into Kleth’s home and you can hear the sound of some kind of struggle, a sharp 
  crack of a mailed fist and a woman’s yelp of agony. The sounds of battle echo from within and 
  then all is silent. Harbold remains outside with you and watches over your shoulder. A few more 
  minutes pass and then the Watch captain drags a wounded woman out, followed by Kleth who 
  seems to be bleeding from a severe head wound. He is a wicked looking man, rough shaven with 
  bloodstained clothes. He is dragged off with the woman, the Watch do not stop to question you or 
  even speak to you and they seem more concerned with getting a dangerous pair out of the slums 
  and into a lockup.
  Harbold peers in through the door, ‘Are you going to check it,’ he asks. ‘There might be evidence 
  that you can present to your masters.’ He sounds hopeful. As if the letter was not evidence 
  enough! 
  If the players search Kleth’s dingy home read this:
  You spend a few minutes poking through the filth that is Kleth’s lair, it is a disgusting squalid 
  place. Then in a small lockbox you chance upon something very interesting. There is a ledger 
  that has been hand written with a list of names and various physical features. It appears to be 
  something to do with slavery in Toran. You should present this to Master Stormsong as soon as 
  possible, he will want to know. No use in asking the Watch or the Brotherhood, since you are not 
  Kai Lords, you will be overlooked and mostly ignored at the moment. 
  Have one of them mark down Slaver Ledger on their Action Chart.
  If the players do not search Kleth’s home, they can return to the Golden 
  Sun Inn. You can now skip to the section: Wrapping Up.
  If the players decide to take a more confrontational approach, Harbold 
  will say:
  ‘Friends, I will leave you to it. I do not wish to seem ungrateful but blood and battle are things I’ve 
  seen all too much of recently. If all goes well, I shall be back at the inn, in my room.’ He takes off 
  into the city before you can stop him and you can only pray that Kleth has no more cronies out 
  there watching for him. 
  Not long after Harbold leaves Kleth comes out to check on him. He is not 
  best pleased to ﬁ nd people there. His thief companion remains quietly 
  
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  observing and the moment that Kleth looks close to being defeated, she is 
  gone. She should not play a part in this ﬁ ght, she will slip out and vanish 
  whilst the Kai are distracted defeating Jasper Kleth.
  Read this:
  The door flies open and an angry rough looking man barges out, he looks at the cellar and then 
  at all of you. His broad sword is drawn with a hiss of steel and he does not even bother to speak, he 
  screams abuse and charges at you with the intent to stick you with his blade. 
  Kleth is in no mood to talk, his prisoner has gone, his plans are thwarted 
  at the moment and he is going to kill whoever is responsible. He will not 
  care if they are Kai monks; in fact if they reveal themselves, he ﬂ ies into 
  an even deeper rage.
  Jasper Kleth
  A mean man, one who has spent his life in brutal competition with almost 
  everyone he has ever known. He is a rough looking customer and he 
  really enjoys inﬂ icting pain. Kleth has been a servant of the Darklords in 
  Toran for a few years, under the command of a vicious slave master. He 
  uses every dirty trick in the book to get his own way and he was going to 
  murder Harbold and take his business over, using it as a front to increase 
  slave trade in Toran.
  COMBAT SKILL 17   ENDURANCE 27
  If Kleth wins the ﬁ ght then the players will die, he will not take prisoners 
  and you should read this:
  As Kleth bludgeons you down, you look at your fallen comrades. You feel his steel pierce your 
  heart and he twists his sword savagely. Your life and adventure here is over. 
  If Kleth loses then read this:
  Jasper Kleth looks wide-eyed at you in disbelief before he topples to the ground, his blood leaking 
  from his wounds. He twitches a couple of times and then lies still. A soft hiss escapes his lips leaving 
  blood flecked spit in its wake. He is dead and you are triumphant. 
  If the players decide to search Kleth’s body they will ﬁ nd nothing of use, if 
  they search his home however, read this: 
  
  106
  You spend a few minutes poking through the filth that is Kleth’s lair, it is a disgusting squalid 
  place. Then in a small lockbox you chance upon something very interesting. There is a ledger 
  that has been hand written, it has a list of names and various physical features. It appears to be 
  something to do with slavery in Toran. You should present this to Master Stormsong as soon as 
  possible, he will want to know. No use in asking the watch or the Brotherhood, since you are not 
  Kai Lords, you will be overlooked and mostly ignored at the moment. 
  Have one of them mark down Slaver Ledger on their Action Chart.
  If the players do not search Kleth’s home, they can return to the Golden 
  Sun Inn. You can now skip to the section: Wrapping Up.
  If the players do not engage Kleth in any way shape or form, he ﬂ ees after 
  learning that the Kai are hunting him. He will not appear to engage them 
  again in this adventure but will be standing by the right hand of his master 
  in a later adventure of this introductory series. 
  Part 9: Wrapping Up
  You can read this aloud to the players.
  After you return to the Golden Sun, Harbold lavishes you with gifts which you are forced by 
  the Kai code to refuse. He seems fine however, he has told everyone at the inn of your heroism 
  and you are welcomed with open arms. You want for nothing for the next day as you arrange 
  your transportation back to the monastery. The merchant assures you that he is now under the 
  protection of the city Watch and the Brotherhood of the Crystal Star but he also assures you that 
  he will not forget your deeds this day. You leave the following morning on fresh horses, elated with 
  your victories and prepared to face Kai Master Stormsong.
  The 150 miles of travel under the beautiful blue Sommerlund sky pass in the blink of an eye and 
  you return finally to your home. The Kai Monastery gleams in the bright sunlight as you ride 
  through the gates. Stormsong is there, as if he knew you would be back.
  ‘Welcome home my students, how did you fare?’ he is eager to hear the tale of your journey. As 
  you explain to him what has happened, filling him in on many details, he listens carefully. When 
  you are done he smiles. ‘Once again,’ he says, ‘You have done the order proud. You may go and 
  rest, then continue your studies. I will summon you again in due course.’
  
  107
  If the players present the letter and/or the ledger to Kai Master Stormsong 
  then read this:
  ‘I am impressed, you have displayed cunning and a cleverness as I hoped you would. These will be 
  useful weapons to discover our enemies’ plans. This ledger is very important. I had a feeling that the 
  merchant was in trouble. You have done exceedingly well, you are dismissed Kai monks.’
  The players are now free to explore the monastery, rest, recuperate and 
  talk to any friends they may have there. You can give them time to role-
  play some more or wind down the session and hand out the rewards.
  Rewards
  Remember, every player that has participated in this adventure goes up 
  a Rank and gains a new Discipline. If they ask for monetary gain, remind 
  them that Kai are not rewarded in gold crowns and gems, they gain 
  spiritual and personal reward from helping others.
  May the wisdom and light of Kai guide you and your adventurers!
  
  ACTION CHART
  ACTION CHART
  KAI DISCIPLINES  
  NOTES
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.
  5.
  6.
  7.
  8.
  9.
  10.
  BACKPACK (maximum 8 articles)
  MEALS
  –3EP if no meal available 
  when instructed to eat.
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.
  5.
  BELT POUCH
  Containing Gold Crowns
  (maximum 50)
  6.
  7.
  8.
  CS = COMBAT SKILL 
   EP = ENDURANCE POINTS
  WEAPONS (maximum 2 Weapons)
  1.
  2.
  If combat entered holding Weapon and appropriate Weaponskill +2CS.
  If combat entered carrying no Weapon –4CS.
  
  SPECIAL ITEMS
  COMBAT SKILL
  ENDURANCE
  POINTS
  Can never go above initial score.
  0=dead
  COMBAT RECORD
  COMBAT RECORD
  ENDURANCE POINTS                                 ENDURANCE POINTS
  COMBAT
  RATIO
  ENEMY
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  ENEMY
  COMBAT
  RATIO
  ENEMY
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  RATIO
  ENEMY
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  RATIO
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  RESULTS TABLE
  
  1 3 9 3 2 7 5 0 2 5
  5 6 2 5 1 3 8 4 3 5
  7 6 7 8 1 4 3 1 4 5
  4 0 8 7 3 0 8 7 2 5
  7 4 0 0 9 6 2 0 8 1
  1 6 7 9 6 9 0 3 3 9
  8 9 2 8 1 3 4 9 7 1
  6 3 0 7 5 0 5 4 6 6
  7 2 1 4 2 9 6 4 2 6
  0 9 6 4 8 2 8 5 8 3
  RANDOM NUMBER TABLE
  
  Launched in the 80’s, the Lone Wolf series 
  Launched in the 80’s, the Lone Wolf series 
  of gamebooks quickly became ﬁ rm favourites 
  of gamebooks quickly became ﬁ rm favourites 
  among a growing fan base. Alone among the 
  among a growing fan base. Alone among the 
  gamebooks of their day, Lone Wolf was the 
  gamebooks of their day, Lone Wolf was the 
  only one to feature a cohesive and exciting 
  only one to feature a cohesive and exciting 
  world, and an extended campaign in which 
  world, and an extended campaign in which 
  your character could grow and expand as he 
  your character could grow and expand as he 
  travelled through all 28 books of the original 
  travelled through all 28 books of the original 
  series. This was the ﬁ rst true mega-campaign!
  series. This was the ﬁ rst true mega-campaign!
  Prepare to return to the world of 
  Prepare to return to the world of 
  Magnamund, this time with your friends. 
  Magnamund, this time with your friends. 
  The Lone Wolf Multiplayer Gamebook is a 
  The Lone Wolf Multiplayer Gamebook is a 
  full roleplaying game, based on the simple 
  full roleplaying game, based on the simple 
  rules system of the solo books – it is so easy, 
  rules system of the solo books – it is so easy, 
  anyone can play! The ﬁ rst book in this range 
  anyone can play! The ﬁ rst book in this range 
  brings you the core rules, introduces the 
  brings you the core rules, introduces the 
  Kai Lord character class and presents three 
  Kai Lord character class and presents three 
  introductory scenarios to get you started.
  introductory scenarios to get you started.
  Mongoose
  Mongoose
  Publishing
  Publishing
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Lone Wolf Adventure Game/Lone Wolf Multiplayer Game Book.pdf