[Gamebook] Blood Sword #1 - Game Has Started

[yawetag]

Characters

(listed in Battle Order)
[mrow]

Name:

[col]

bird1111

[col]

Lowell

[col]

chenhsi

[col]

Ermrock

(Cybele)

Class:

[col]Warrior[col]Sage[col]Enchanter[col]Trickster

Rank:

[col]Second[col]Second[col]Second[col]Second

Experience:

[col]250[col]250[col]250[col]250

Endurance:

[col]12/12[col]10/10[col]10/10[col]12/12

Fighting Prowess:

[col]8[col]7[col]6[col]7

Damage:

[col]1d6+1[col]1d6[col]1d6-1[col]1d6

Psychic Ability:

[col]6[col]7[col]8[col]6

Awareness:

[col]6[col]6[col]6[col]8

Gold:

[col]5[col]5[col]5[col]0

Weapon:

[col]Sword[col]Quarterstaff[col]Sword[col]Sword

Armour (AR):

[col]Chainmail (3)[col]Ringmail (2)[col]Silver (2)[col]Studded Leather (2)

Arrows:

[col][col]6/6[col][col]6/6

Spells in Mind:

[col][col][col][col]

Other Items:

[col](7 open)[col](5 open)[col](7 open)[col](5 open)

[yawetag]

Introduction

Your world is the magical land of Legend. In Legend there are many kinds of Adventurer, each with unique skills and techniques for dealing with creatures of the supernatural. Those who rely on a good sword and the strength of their right arm are called Warriors. The practitioners of the magical arts are called Enchanters, with many deadly spells always ready at their fingertips. Sages are a class of ascetic monks - wise in ancient lore, but also skillful in the use of quarterstaff, bow and the unarmed martial arts. Lastly there are the Tricksters; they are swift and dextrous swordsmen, but their true forte is the use of stealth, guile and cunning to achieve their ends.

For the most part, the moderator will hold true to the book's play style. However, a few changes will be made to accommodate forum-based play, most specifically in cases of death.

Terminology

The usual role-playing abbreviation is used to indicate different Dice rolls. This uses the basic format of:

Xd6+Y

, meaning that

X

6-sided dice are rolled and

Y

is added to the total.

As an example, 2d6+3 means 'roll two Dice and add three' - giving a number from 5 to fifteen. Taking another case, 1d6-1 means 'roll one Die and subtract one' -

negative numbers count as zero unless otherwise stated,

so this would give a score from zero to five.

Fighting Prowess, etc.

Each character is described by four

attributes

. These are:

Fighting Prowess:

a measure of how powerful a fighter the character is

Psychic Ability:

an indicator of the character's resistance to attack spells and (in the case of an Enchanter) his or her aptitude for magic

Awareness:

a difficult concept, as it encompasses quickness of thought, dexterity and general nous

Endurance:

the attribute measuring the character's state of health; wounds are deducted from Endurance, and if it reaches zero then the character dies.

Combat

Combat takes place in

Rounds

. Each Round, everyone who is taking part in the combat gets the opportunity to perform one action if he or she wishes: to attack, cast a spell, or whatever. Actionsn are taken in sequence based on each combatant's Awareness score. The combatant with the highest Awareness acts first, then the combatant with the next highest Awareness, and so on. Combatants with equal Awareness scores act simultaneously. A combatant who is killed (reduced to zero Endurance) before his turn does not get to act!

These are the possible combat options and the circumstances in which they may be used. A character may choose any option for which he or she is eligible as his or her action for the Round:

Move:

This action allows the character to close and

fight

an enemy, or move to an exit (if any). If you take the

move

option while an opponent is fighting you, then (unless your Awareness is higher than the opponent's) you take an automatic wound. Once all surviving characters in the party have

moved

to an exit, the party may

flee

at the start of the next Round.

Fight:

The character must have previously chosen the

move

option in order to be close enough to an opponent to

fight

. (But there are exceptions to this rule; sometimes the tactical maps in the text will show that your opponents are directly adjacent to you at the start of the combat, in which case an immediate attack is possible.)

Defend:

You cannot attack in the Round in which you choose this option, but it has the advantage of making you harder to hit. This is explained more fully below.

Shoot:

This is an option for Sages and Tricksters only. You fire an arrow at any one opponent. Unlike the

fight

option you do not have to

move

first because (of course) arrows are long-range weapons. You cannot choose to

shoot

if an opponent is striking at you in the Round - that is, you must dispose of any opponents who have closed to attack you before picking off others with your bow.

Flee:

Sometimes the text will give your party the option to

flee

from a fight. All surviving Adventurers must have made a

move

before the party can

flee

. When this option is taken, the entire party

flees

at the start of the Round, so their opponents get no chance to hack at them or cast spells as they run off.

Call/cast a spell to/in mind:

These are options for Enchanters only. They are explained in the special section on Enchanters.

You can perform

one

of these actions in each Round. (Tricksters sometimes get the opportunity for two actions in a Round, though, as explained later in their special rules.

The rules for combat are designed for ease of play but require a short explanation. When striking at an opponent (that is, when you take the

fight

option for a Round), you roll 2d6. A score of

equal to

or

lower than

your Fighting Prowess means that your blow has hit. If you hit, you roll a damage Die (or Dice, at higher ranks) to see how much of an Endurance loss you have inflicted. If your opponent has an Armour Rating, you must reduce your Die roll for damage by this amount, and the result (if greater than zero) is deducted from the opponent's Endurance.

Take an example. You have a Fighting Prowess of seven and a damage roll of one Die. You are attacking a Troll whose Fighting Prowess is six and which also rolls one Die for damage. You have the higher Awareness, so you get first blow. Rolling twow Dice, you score a three; this is less than your Fighting Prowess score, so you have succeeded in hitting it. Next you roll one Die for the damage your blow inflicts. You get a six, but the Troll has an Armour Rating of two so only four points are deducted from its Endurance. If still alive (that is, if it hasn't yet been reduced to zero Endurance) the Troll now gets to hack back at you. It rolls six on two dice - equal to its Fighting Prowess, so good enough to hit you. For its damage Die roll it scores a one; because you have an Armour Rating of two this means that you lose no Endurance. The Troll's claws hit you, but scrape harmlessly off your studded leather jerkin. The battle rages on for another Round...

Two other factors need to be considered. If you

defend

, then your opponent must roll equal to or less than his Fighting Prowess on

three

Dice in order to hit you. You do not get to strike a blow yourself in the Round you are

defending

.

The other point concerns the

move

option. If you have a high Awareness and can

move

away from an opponent before that opponent gets his or her action for that Round, all well and good. If you try to

move

away from an opponent who has already attacked you earlier in the Round, however, then he or she immediately gets a second strike at you -

and this is an automatic hit

. For this reason it is usually best to dispose of one opponent before you

move

to engage another.

Armour

You will start your adventure with a suit of armour. This gives an

Armour Rating (AR)

of three if you are a Warrior or of two if you belong to one of the other adventuring types.

Your armour protects you in combat by absorbing its Armour Rating from any damage you would otherwise take. For instance, if a monster rolls 2d6+1 for damage and gets a total of thirteen, that is the number of Endurance points you would lose if you were not armoured. If you are wearing armour with an Armour Rating of two, you would take only eleven (that is, thirteen minus two) points of damage.

You

cannot

wear two suits of armour in combination. Thus, if you were to lose your armour and later come across two breastplates of Armour Rating one, say, then you could put on one breastplate - but you could

not

put on both and claim a total Armour Rating of two.

Weapons

If you lose your weapon, you must reduce your Fighting Prowess and damage Dice rolls by two until you find a replacement. An eighth-rank Warrior normally has a Fighting Prowess of nine and rolls 3d6+1 for damage when he or she hits an opponent. If he or she were to lose his or her sword and be forced to fight bare handed, he or she would have a Fighting Prowess of seven, and 3d6-1 for damage rolls.

Special Character Options

Sometimes there will be the option for a character of a given class to act - for example, 'If there is a Trickster in the party, (action).' If such an option is taken, text will be given to the complete party. Sometimes part of a section will be 'restricted'. This text will be sent to the class player by PM. The playaer can, if he or she wishes, keep that part of the information withheld from the other players. For instance, there might be the option for a Sage to read an ancient piece of parchment. The party will read "The Sage deciphers the faded runes on the parchment," while the Sage will receive a PM stating, "It tells you that the safe route to the Emblem of Victory lies beyond the gold door."

The player is not obliged to tell the rest of the party what it says.

In any situation where general actions are needed, the players in the party are free to discuss their choice. However, the moderator will only accept a

bolded

action from the player first in the battle order (see below). There are times, however, where choices are given to a specific Adventurer. In these times, the player controlling the Adventurer will have full control of decisions, but may ask the party for their opinion.

Encounters

At all times players must specify their battle order. The order will always be found in the Status (first) post. Battle order may be changed at any time except when in combat.

Obviously, battle order may be crucial. Generally (but not always!) the first player, being at the front, will be the one to get hit by surprise attacks and so on. In addition, the first player has the final decision on choices the party makes. If players cannot agree on a battle order then they must adopt the following standard arrangement: first Warrior, then Sage, then Enchanter, then Trickster.

Encounters (fights, that is) are almost always played out on a tactical display of the room, corridor or what-have-you. An example is shown here:


The numbers on this tactical map show where the Adventurers are standing when the combat starts. The Ms refer to the monsters' starting locations.

It is possible to

fight

a monster only in an adjacent square,

not

across a diagonal, and it is not possible to

move

on to a square already occupied by a monster or another player. When a monster or character is slain, the marker will be removed from the map. The spaces then become open. You cannot

move

where there are no squares, nor on to a blacked-out square, which represents an obstacle such as (in the map above) a pillar or a large statue. Shaded squares (colored in green) can be

moved

through by monsters but not by players. In the map above, for instance, the shaded squares indicate a bed of coals which the monsters are immune to.

Unless otherwise stated, a monster will always

move

to attack the nearest Adventurer. The nearest Adventurer is determined by counting the number of square the monster would have to pass through (using straight-line moves, not diagonals) to reach a position where it could

fight

. In the diagram above, the monster in space G10 is closest to Adventurer 2 (three steps) than Adventurer 1 (four steps) or Adventurer 3 (four steps). If several Adventurers are equidistant from the monster, the moderator will roll 1d4, matching the die roll to the Battle Order, rerolling as needed. A similar roll will also be made when a monster is adjacent to more than one Adventurer to see which of them it will

fight

.

All actions will be decided before the Round begins. In other words, the Adventurer in spot 4 on the battle order cannot wait to see what happens before deciding their action.

When moving, please give a location, using either the cell number (using the letters/numbers) or a general statement ("I will move to the spot above the monster.")

Encumbrance

There is a limit to how much you can carry. As shown on the Status post, you can usually have

ten

items at a time. If you are fully encombered and find another item you want, you must discard one of the items you're already carrying (or give it to another player) in order to make space for it in your backpack.

Two special points need to be made. A quiver (available to Sages and Tricksters) will hold up to six arrows. The quiver counts as one item for encumbrance purposes

regardless

of the number of arrows it contains. That is, if you have a quiver containing six arrows then it still counts as only one item and not as seven items.

Your money pouch counts as one item, too. As with the quiver, the contents are not relevant. The money-pouch will hold a maximum of a hundred coins (of any type), but whether it is full or empty it counts as only one item.

Magic

Magic is the special province of Enchanters and, to a much lesser extent, Sages. The way in which magic functions for these classes is fully set out in their personal PM, but there is one thing that

every

Adventurer must know about magic.

There are two types of magic. BLASTING spells simply inflict damage when they are cast, and if you happen to be the target there i s not much you can do about it! You deduct the damage the spell does (less your Armour Rating) from your Endurance score. The other sort of spells are PSYCHIC spells, and these you can try to resist. To resist a PSYCHIC spell you must roll 2d6 and obtain a score equal to or less than your Psychic Ability score. If you make this roll, the spell fails to work against you.

You will always be told whether a spell is of the Psychic or Blasting variety.

Experience Points

Experience points are a measure of a character's skill and power. If you complete The Battlepits of Krarth successfully, you will be awarded a number of experience points to be divided among all surviving characters. At the same time you add up any special bonus awards (or penalties) you were given during the adventure. The total experience points a character accumulates will enable him or her to rise in rank.

The overall experience points needed for each rank are set out below:
[mrow]Rank[col]Experience Points first[col]less than 250 second[col]250-499 third[col]500-749 fourth[col]750-999 fifth[col]1000-1249 sixth[col]1250-1499 seventh[col]1500-1749 eighth[col]1750-1999 ninth[col]2000-2249 tenth[col]2250-2499 eleventh[col]2500-2749 twelfth[col]2750-2999 thirteenth[col]3000-3249

You start the adventure with 250 experience points. If you play through the adventure and receive an award of 1000 experience points, each character still alive will receive an equal share of the points.

After successfully completing the adventure and all experience points have been totaled, the character information will be used for Blood Sword 2:

The Kingdom of Wyrd

.

Getting Killed

Ed. Note: I've changed this extensively from the book's way of handling death.

If a character dies, their death will be noted in that character's official list of deaths and, after the encounter is complete, they will be resurrected with half their maximum Endurance score. If the

entire party

dies in the same encounter, this will also be noted and the party will go back in time and/or the combat will just be counted as won as deemed appropriate.

At the end of the book, the character with the fewest deaths in the book will get a bonus 125 experience points! If you win the bonus twice, you will have enough for an extra rank. If several characters tie for fewest deaths, the prize points will be split between them.

[yawetag]

MODERATOR NOTES

General

In general, I want to make the game fun and easy for you to play. The rules below are meant to keep the game from stalling.

The game will encompass five gamebooks, so players are required to stay active. Stats and items will carry over from book to book. Experience points will be given throughout the books, but ranks will only change between books.

Choice of Players

After the deadline, all players that /in will be placed in a random order using random.org's List Randomizer. The top four players listed will be chosen. Each player, in order, have the choice of the character to play and the character's name.

After a player chooses a character, I will PM the player information on their character. This information may be shared with others, but it is not mandatory.

Past Playing

If you have completed the gamebook before, feel free to join! However, I do ask that you not use the past experience to influence decisions in this game.

Replacements

Players that /in but are not chosen will be added to a replacement queue in the order they were randomized. If a player deadlines twice in a row without reason, a replacement will be placed in the spot.

If a current player is going V/LA for an extended period, they may choose a replacement to take the spot until they return. This replacement will also be taken from the replacement queue, but will not lose their spot. When the original player returns from V/LA, the replacement will be placed back at the top of the queue.

Throughout the game, replacements may /in and will be placed at the bottom of the queue. If the queue is exhausted and replacements are needed, I may stall the game until replacements can be found.

Replacement Queue

None

Choices

When choices are needed, I will give the party 4 days (96 hours) to make a decision. Discussion is a must -- don't rely on one player's decisions. Because decisions take some discussion between the party, I will only accept the decision from the player listed first in the Battle Order (Warrior is default), and only when that choice is obvious in being a party decision (bolded, italicized, colored differently, or explicitly stated as the party's decision); the player with the decision is welcome to discuss with the party.

There will be times that a certain player has a decision. In these situations, I will only accept the decision from the player that needs to take the decision. As before, discussion is allowed.

If no choice has been decided at the deadline, I will randomly choose an option, using a die roll equal to the number of choices.

Battles

During battles, I will give the party 2 days (48 hours) to make a decision for the Round. Each player must make their own decision, and such decision should be obvious. If no choice has been made at the deadline, I will randomly choose an option for that player, using a die roll equal to the number of choices.

After all players have made their decision, the Round will be completed. If another Round is needed, another 48 window will open. If players would like for faster battles, they may elect a "battle plan" (i.e. "I will attack this monster until it's dead, then I will move to the other monster to attack it."), which I will stick with as much as possible. Note that the whole party should make such plans to allow the battle to complete without stopping.

Battle Order

As the rules state, Battle Order determines placement during battles. The default order has been set. To change, the party must agree to a new order. The status in the first post will always reflect the current Battle Order.

[yawetag]

Glossary

the Battlepits:

The name of a large underground complex of tunnels and chambers, located beneath the plains of Krarth. Also used as the name of the contest staged by the Magi of Krarth every thirteen lunar months, wherein a group of champions are sent down into the Battlepits to vie with each other. The aim of the contest is to get through a succession of magical opponents and problems to the Emblem of Victory. The magi bet among themselves on the outcome, of course, and sometimes a Magus will intervene covertly to assist his champions or hinder the progress of those sponsored by a rival.

the Blasting:

The demon-spawned disaster in which Spyte (qv) was laid to ruin and the True Magi were killed. After this holocaust, which lasted for three days and nights, Spyte was left isolated by a deep chasm which many believe goes right down to the fires of Hell.

the Cauldron:

The name by which peasants and travellers know the deep gorge surrounding the ruins of Spyte. Steam rises in sulphurous clouds from this, thickening in the chill air so that the ruins are rarely visible. The only way across is by flying, as the Cauldron is too wide even for spells such as

Immediate Deliverance

.

the Coradian:

The sea around whose shores are located the richest ports and cities of the world. Also used as a collective adjective for the countries of the True Faith - Algandy, Chaubrette, Kurland, the New Selentine Empire, Asmuly, and Emphidor - surrounding this sea.

Krarth:

A large country in the far north of Legend, divided into several dozen separate states each of which is ruled over by a Magus. It is divided from the civilised lands around the Coradian Sea by a deep rift valley which cuts through the Coradian continent from eastern to western shore. A cold, inhospitable country full of ancient and xenophobic traditions, Krarth is avoided by most merchants from the southern lands.

Legend:

The mortal world; Midgard, or Middle-Earth

the Magi:

The lords of Krarth. There are some thirty magi, each essentially a local despot with absolute dominion over his territories. Since the country cannot support a standing army of any size, disputes are settled by means of the Battlepits contest (qv) - and sometimes by assassination.

Selentium:

The capital of the Old Selentine Empire which once took in most of the western world. After the fall of the Old Empire seven hundred years ago, Selentium has risen to a new importance as the centre of the True Faith.

Spyte:

The "holy city" of the True Magi, who convened there every seven years in order to commune with the gods of Krarth. Today it stands in ruin, atop a pinnacle of rock in the middle of a vast rift in the earth ("the Cauldron").

the True Faith:

The principal religion of modern Legend.

the True Magi:

The original rulers of Krarth, wizards of unimaginable power, who were all slain in the Blasting of Spyte centuries ago. The present magi are for the most part the descendants of seneschals or apprentices who seized power in the ensuing confusion.

[diginova]

you took my next choice after Way of the Tiger finished

[chenhsi]

/in...

[Cybele]

/possible in
unless someone else wants the spot.

[bird1111]

/in

[yawetag]

you took my next choice after Way of the Tiger finished

Then join this one.

[yawetag]

Current /ins:
chenhsi
Cybele (possible is good enough)
bird1111

Remember, I'm taking /ins until the deadline, then randomly choosing the players

[Bogre]

/in

[yawetag]

We have enough for a full team. However, I'll wait until the deadline to see if any others want to attempt to get in the game.

[yawetag]

I'm surprised no one else is interested in joining. Few more days left, though.

[Lowell]

/in

I'm the greatest something something ever.

[Bogre]

/in

Uh, tank/bash/tag?

[yawetag]

Current /ins:
chenhsi
Cybele (possible is good enough)
bird1111
Bogre
Lowell

About 24 hours left to sign up.

[Rhinox]

/in

glad I saw this. Looks like loads of fun. Never played before though, but I get the basics of gamebook games.

[yawetag]

Time's up to /in, so it's time to randomize:

There were 6 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.Cybele
2.bird1111
3.chenhsi
4.Lowell
5.Bogre
6.Rhinox
Timestamp: 2010-01-06 11:23:17 UTC

We will go down the list to select which character you would like to play as, starting with Cybele. Feel free to give your character a different name; if you don't, I'll use your name.

Bogre and Rhinox: I'll PM if anyone times out -- you're in line for replacements.

Cybele: Select which character you would like, and name him/her if you wish. After you select,

[Cybele]

I suppose I'll take the Trickster, unless someone else really wanted it.
Naming my character Ermrock.

[Rhinox]

*pouts*

[yawetag]

bird1111's turn to choose.

[bird1111]

Taking Warrior.

[yawetag]

chenhsi's turn. Once he chooses, the game is set and will start. I am about to go to bed, so the game will probably start tonight around midnight Central.

[chenhsi]

Idrc. I'll go with enchanter unless Lowell says that he really wants it.

[Lowell]

Nah I'm cool. Go for it.

I'll crush you all. Or cooperate the shit out of you all. Depending on whether we work together or not.