Voyage of the Moonstone (5 page)

Weapons

The maximum number of Weapons that you can carry is
two
. Weapons aid you in combat. If you have the Grand Master Discipline of Grand Weaponmastery and a correct Weapon, it adds 5 points to your
COMBAT SKILL
. If you find a Weapon during your adventure, you may pick it up and use it. You may only use one Weapon at a time in combat.

Bows and Arrows

During your adventure there will be opportunities to use a Bow and Arrow. If you equip yourself with this Weapon, and you possess at least one Arrow, you may use it when the text of a particular section allows you to do so. The Bow is a useful Weapon, for it enables you to hit an enemy at a distance. However, a Bow cannot be used in hand-to-hand combat; therefore it is best to equip yourself also with a close combat Weapon, such as a Sword or an Axe.
In order to use a Bow you must possess a Quiver and at least one Arrow. Each time the Bow is used, erase an Arrow from your
Action Chart
. A Bow cannot, of course, be used if you exhaust your supply of Arrows, but the opportunity may arise during your adventure for you to replenish your stock of Arrows.

Backpack Items

These must be stored in your Backpack. Because space is limited, you may keep a maximum of ten articles, including Meals, in your Backpack at any one time. You may only carry one Backpack at a time. During your travels you will discover various useful items which you may decide to keep. You may exchange or discard them at any point when you are not involved in combat.
Any item that may be of use, and which can be picked up on your adventure and entered on your
Action Chart
, is given either initial capitals (e.g. Silver Mirror, Gold Key), or is clearly identified as a Backpack Item. Unless you are told that it is a Special Item, carry it in your Backpack.

Special Items

Special Items are not carried in the Backpack. When you discover a Special Item, you will be told how or where to carry it. The maximum number of Special Items that can be carried on any adventure is 12.

Kai Weapon

Your Kai Weapon is a Special Item and it can be carried and used in addition to two normal Weapons. If you possess the Discipline of Grand Weaponmastery for a weapon type which is the same as your unique Kai Weapon, you may add the Grand Weaponmastery bonus of +5 to your
COMBAT SKILL
. This is in addition to the bonus gained when you use your Kai Weapon in combat.

Food

Food is carried in your Backpack. Each Meal counts as one item. You will need to eat regularly during your adventure. If you do not have any food when you are instructed to eat a Meal, you will lose 3
ENDURANCE
points. However, if you have chosen Grand Huntmastery as one of your four Disciplines, then you will not need to tick off a Meal when instructed to eat.

Potion of Laumspur

This is a healing potion that can restore 4
ENDURANCE
points to your total when swallowed after combat. There is enough for one dose only. If you discover any other potion during the adventure, you will be informed of its effect. All potions are Backpack Items.

Gold Crowns

The currency most readily accepted in eastern Northern Magnamund is the Gold Crown. These are always carried in the Belt Pouch. It will hold a maximum of fifty Crowns.

There will be occasions during your adventure when you will have to fight an enemy. The enemy's
COMBAT SKILL
and
ENDURANCE
points are given in the text. Your aim in the combat is to kill the enemy by reducing his
ENDURANCE
points to zero while losing as few
ENDURANCE
points as possible yourself.

At the start of a combat, enter your own and the enemy's
ENDURANCE
points in the appropriate boxes on the Combat Record section of your
Action Chart
.

The sequence for combat is as follows:

1. Add any extra points gained through your Grand Master Disciplines and Special Items to your current
   COMBAT SKILL
   total.
   
2. Subtract the
   COMBAT SKILL
   of your enemy from this total. The result is your Combat Ratio. Enter it on the
   Action Chart
   .
   Example
   You, Grand Master (
   COMBAT SKILL
   32), are attacked in a forest by a pack of Wild Dogs (
   COMBAT SKILL
   31). You are taken by surprise and are not given the opportunity of evading their attack. You possess the Grand Master Discipline of Kai-surge to which the Wild Dogs are not immune, so you add 8 points to your
   COMBAT SKILL
   . You also possess the Kai Weapon ‘Ulnarias’, so you add an additional 5 points to your
   COMBAT SKILL
   . This gives you a total
   COMBAT SKILL
   of 45.
   You now subtract the Wild Dogs'
   COMBAT SKILL
   from your own, giving a Combat Ratio of +14 (45−31=+14). +14 is noted on your
   Action Chart
   as the Combat Ratio.
   
3. When you have your Combat Ratio
   , pick a number from the
   Random Number Table
   .
   
4. Turn to the
   Combat Results Table
   . Along the top of the chart are shown the Combat Ratio numbers. Find the number that is the same as your Combat Ratio and cross-reference it with the random number that you have picked (the random numbers appear on the side of the chart). You now have the number of
   ENDURANCE
   points lost by both yourself and your enemy in this round of combat. (E represents points lost by the enemy; GM represents points lost by yourself — Grand Master.)
   Example
   The Combat Ratio between you and the Wild Dogs has been established as +14. If the number picked from the
   Random Number Table
   is 1, then the result of the first round of combat is:
   
   • You (GM) lose 3
     ENDURANCE
     points (plus an additional 1 point for using Kai-surge. This loss is in addition to the loss suffered as a result of combat).
     
   • Wild Dogs lose 9
     ENDURANCE
     points.
     
5. On the
   Action Chart
   , mark the changes in
   ENDURANCE
   points to the participants in the combat.
   
6. Unless otherwise instructed, or unless you have an option to evade, the next round of combat now starts.
   
7. Repeat the sequence from
   Stage 3
   .
   

This process of combat continues until the
ENDURANCE
points of either your enemy or yourself are reduced to zero or below, at which point that combatant is declared dead. If you are declared dead, the adventure is over. If the enemy is dead, you can proceed but with your
ENDURANCE
points possibly reduced.

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

During your adventure you may be given the chance to evade combat. If you have already engaged in a round of combat and decide to evade, calculate the combat for that round in the usual manner. All points lost by the enemy as a result of that round are ignored, and you make your escape. Only
you
may lose
ENDURANCE
points during that round (such is the risk of turning tail and running away during combat!). You may only evade if the text of the particular section allows you to do so.

The following table is a guide to the ranks and titles you can achieve at each stage of your journey along the road of Kai Grand Mastership. As you successfully complete each adventure in the
New Order
series, you will gain an additional Grand Master Discipline and progress towards the pinnacle of Kai perfection — to become a Kai Supreme Master.

1.  
   
2.  
   
3.  
   
4.  
   
5. Kai Grand Master Senior —
   (You begin the
   New Order
   adventures at this level of Kai Grand Mastery)
   ⁷
   
6. Kai Grand Master Superior
   
7. Kai Grand Sentinel
   
8. Kai Grand Defender
   
9. Kai Grand Guardian
   
10. Sun Knight
    
11. Sun Lord
    
12. Sun Thane
    
13. Grand Thane
    
14. Grand Crown
    
15. Sun Prince
    
16. Kai Supreme Master
    

As you rise through the higher levels of Grand Mastery you will find that your Disciplines will steadily improve. The nature of these additional improvements and how they affect your existing Disciplines will be noted in the Improved Disciplines section of future
Lone Wolf New Order
series books.

You are about to embark upon the first stage of an essential mission to return the fabled Moonstone of the Shianti to its creators.

Some of the material items that you will encounter during your quest will be of use to you, while others may be red herrings of no real value at all. If you discover items, be selective in what you choose to keep.

Pick your four Disciplines with care for a wise choice will enable any player to complete the quest, no matter how weak their initial
COMBAT SKILL
and
ENDURANCE
scores may be. Successful completion of previous
Lone Wolf
adventures (Books 1–20) is not essential for the completion of this
New Order
adventure.

May the light of the Gods Kai and Ishir guide you during your vital quest.

For Sommerlund and the Kai!

‘Understand that your mission must be conducted with the utmost secrecy to ensure its success,’ says Lone Wolf, fixing you with his steely gaze. You nod your head in acknowledgement and watch with growing anticipation as the Supreme Master of the Kai rises from his throne and moves silently across the polished stone floor of his magnificent vault. From a concealed safe in the granite wall he removes a seemingly plain leather satchel which he unbuckles and holds open, inviting your inspection. Nestled within lies the legendary Moonstone, surrounded by a shimmering halo of golden light.

‘The inner lining of this bag is woven from strands of fine-spun korlinium,’ says Lone Wolf, as he carefully buckles the satchel's leather flap.

‘The mineral will hide the Moonstone's powerful energies, especially from those who have no need to rely solely upon their eyesight to detect its power.’

He offers you the satchel and you accept it with trembling hands. Yet the moment you touch the bag you feel all your anxieties suddenly vanish and the natural air of calm confidence, for which you are noted among your brother Kai, swiftly returns. (Record the Moonstone on your
Action Chart
as a Special Item. You carry it slung over your shoulder in its leather satchel.) Lone Wolf informs you that you are to journey 2,000 miles to Elzian — the principal city of the jungle realm of Dessi. There you are to seek out Lord Rimoah at the Tower of Truth. He will assist your onward passage to the Isle of Lorn. In the interests of secrecy, Rimoah is the only other person who knows about your mission. Lone Wolf has arranged for you to travel aboard a Sommlending trading ship, sailing out of Holmgard for Bisutan by way of Barrakeesh. You will be met in Barrakeesh by Lord-lieutenant Fernant, the Sommlending envoy to Vassagonia, who will join you on the voyage to Bisutan where his rank and reputation will help speed the final leg of your journey to Elzian. To allay suspicion you will travel in the guise of a Kai journeyman. At the same time, as you embark upon your long voyage south, so Lone Wolf will leave the monastery aboard the skyship
Cloud-dancer
and journey to distant Lencia, in the far west of Magnamund. He shall carry with him a replica of the Moonstone to draw away the attention of any who would seek to thwart your true quest.

Upon concluding your briefing, Lone Wolf orders you to go to your quarters and rest. You are to return to the vault at midnight in full readiness to begin the mission.

Turn to 235
.

You usher the marines into your room and lock the door to prevent the tavern-keeper from entering. Then, one by one, you leave by the window and climb up onto the roof. Hidden by the darkness and by a low parapet wall which encircles the tavern's upper floor, you stay here and observe as more than a hundred City Guardsmen round up all the foreign merchants and crewmen who are lodging at the quayside taverns. These innocent men are then made to form a long column before they are marched away towards the Funtal's castle. When dawn breaks over the harbour, this normally busy trading centre is unusually quiet. The only people you can see going about their business are native Bir Rabalonians.

When you can no longer see any City Guardsmen in the harbour, you re-enter the tavern and hurry down to the taproom. Here you find Kol, the Casiornian merchant, enjoying a large plateful of meat and cheese. With a wide grin he tells you that he has spent a very comfortable night hiding in the kitchen cellar.

Turn to 255
.

You utter the words of the Brotherhood Spell
Lightning Hand
and extend your right fist towards the onrushing creature. A tingle runs down your arm and a burst of blue-white light illuminates the surrounding jungle when a bolt of energy leaps from your hand and arcs towards the creature's chest. The bolt strikes, and the Deathstalker's mate shrieks as it burns deep into her shoulder. She falters but she does not abandon her attack, and quickly you raise your weapon in readiness to receive it.

Turn to 300
.