by Joe Dever
If you wish to pull this concealed lever, turn to 115.
If you decide to ignore it, turn to 127.
343
The creature's spittle eats through the right arm and back of your tunic, causing you several deep and painful burns: lose 6 ENDURANCE points.
If you survive this grievous wounding, turn to 117.
344
A sizzling splash of blue-white sparks erupts in front of your eyes as the bolt of crackling energy lances deep into your chest: lose 10 ENDURANCE points.
If you survive this wounding, turn to 135.
345
You drop back a few rungs, just far enough to put you beyond reach of the spear blades, and then you perform the movements of a battle-spell that Lord Rimoah calls The Invisible Fist. You clench your right fist, and then extend your arm and open your palm towards the enemy. A tingling rush of power surges along your arm and, an instant later, you see the Acolytes tumbling backwards, knocked over by the concussive force of the spell.
You seize your chance and swiftly ascend to the platform. A well-aimed kick sends one of the Acolytes toppling over the edge to fall, screaming, into the midst of some glass boxes on an experiment table far below. His partner is back on his feet, weapon in hand, and he meets your stare with a sneer that readily conveys his hatred of your race. Then, spurred on by the yells of his confederates in the hall below, he jumps forward and thrusts his weapon at your throat.
Illustration XX—One of the Acolytes meets your stare with a sneer that readily conveys his hatred of your race.
Acolyte of Vashna (with Medallion of Protection): COMBAT SKILL 25 ENDURANCE 40
If you win this combat, turn to 29.
346
Your ascent to the gap goes undetected by the Vazhag guards and you emerge on a mountainside, at a place hidden beneath an outcrop which is ringed by wind-worn boulders and scrub. Early morning sunlight illuminates the surrounding hills, and beyond them you see a vast expanse of forest, a sea of sickly grey-green trees, which radiates an unmistakable aura of evil. The position of the sun and your Pathsmanship skills inform you that you are now looking upon the Forest of Ruel from the eastern foothills of the Skardos Mountains.
The land appears deserted, the only unusual feature being a wide dirt track which wends its way eastward through the hills towards a gap at the edge of the grim forest. You consult your map and conclude that this must be the Skardos Trail, the secret route used by the Ceners, which leads all the way to their stronghold of Mogaruith. You resolve to follow the trail, but first (unless you possess the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery) you must eat a Meal or lose 3 ENDURANCE points.
To continue, turn to 230.
347
At the bottom of the stairs the tunnel continues in a straight line towards a stout wooden door that is studded and braced with iron. You sense that it is locked even before you have reached it. When you do reach the door you notice a keyhole located beneath its rust-pitted handle.
If you possess a Copper Key, turn to 102.
If you do not, turn to 261.
348
Without a sound you raise your weapon and tense yourself in readiness to strike. At first the Vazhag and the Cener seem unaware of your presence. But as they move to enter the south tunnel, the Vazhag suddenly freeze in their tracks and begin squealing frantically.
The sound galvanizes you into action. Like a panther hungry for the kill, swiftly and silently you leap among the Vazhag and strike down the two nearest with one scything blow. Before they have fallen you kick out at the chest of another and feel its bones crack under the impact. A side-swipe puts paid to a fourth of their number, neatly parting its disease-riddled head from its shoulders. You pause for breath, and see the remaining enemy backing away in shocked confusion.
Ineptly they fumble to unsheathe their weapons whilst the Cener screams at them to avenge their slain comrades. One Vazhag plucks up enough courage to attack you and, with ease, you duck its whistling sword stroke. Before it can strike again, you can dispatch the beast with a lightning-fast stab through the heart. Your strike is executed with such economy of movement that, to the druid and the remaining Vazhag, it looks as if you hardly moved at all. For the sole surviving Vazhag it is the last straw and, with a squeal of abject terror, it drops its torch and rusty blade and scurries for the dark safety of the north tunnel.
Cursing vilely, the Cener retreats until his red-robed back is pressed flat against the cavern wall. His mask hides his entire face, yet even so you can sense the blazing hatred that is pouring from his eyes, as if it were a stream of liquid fire. You raise your weapon and advance, eager to finish the druid swiftly, but you are halted by a sudden, unexpected pulse of psychic energy that crashes like a wave against your mind.
If you possess Kai-screen, turn to 107.
If you do not possess this Grand Mastery, turn to 272.
349
The Cener's dying scream alerts the Vazhag pack and they come scampering back to investigate the sound. The moment they see you, standing over their leader like a hunter over his kill, their nerve appears to crumble. They lower their weapons and begin to edge away. Then the leading rat-men panic; they turn and run, and the others quickly follow suit, leaving you alone in the clearing with the body of the dead druid lying crumpled at your feet.
Curiosity prompts you to prise away the druid's green mask and look upon the face of this servant of evil. It is an ugly, disease-riddled face, human in shape yet lacking any trace of humanity. Reluctantly you search him and discover the following items:
Dagger
Cener Robe (If kept, this item will occupy 2 spaces in your Backpack)
Cener Mask
20 Lune (equivalent to 5 Gold Crowns)
If you decide to keep any of the above, remember to adjust your Action Chart accordingly.
Your Magnakai skills tell you that the golden rod no longer possesses any magical aura; its destructive powers vanished the moment its wielder breathed his last. You stoop to prise it from the dead druid's hand, but as soon as your fingers touch its metallic surface it disintegrates into a fine, foul-smelling dust.
With twilight but an hour away, you leave the clearing via the gap and hurry along the muddy track beyond.
Turn to 10.
350
Drawing upon your very last reserves of strength, you fight against the powerful current and succeed in avoiding being hit by the deluge of rocks and flames. As your strength subsides, you are swept under the bridge and, minutes later, you find yourself washed up on the west bank of the Storn. A company of Slovian archers drag you from the icy water and, fearing you to be a Cenerese spy, they take you to their captain. Fortunately he recognizes your Kai cloak and tunic, and at once you are afforded the treatment and respect which befits one who holds the title of Kai Grand Master.
The captain sends word of your survival to the Palmyrions at Holona where, the following day, you are reunited with Captain Cearmaine and Guildmaster Banedon. Later that same day, the president of Palmyrion — Elector Manatine — arrives with his entourage and, upon learning of the success of your daring mission, he orders that an official celebration take place throughout the republic. You receive the thanks of a grateful nation and, in recognition of your bravery, the Elector presents you with the ‘Golden Star of Palmyrion’, the highest award his country can bestow upon a warrior.
Congratulations Lone Wolf! — you have won a major victory over the Cenerese and removed a threat which could have devastated all of Magnamund. Yet the struggle against Evil goes on. Within a few months of your triumphant return to Sommerlund a grave situation develops, a situation which threatens the life of your closest friend — Guildmaster Banedon.
The nature of this threat and your quest to overcome it awaits you in Book 14 of the Lone Wolf series, entitled:
The Captives of Kaag
Numbered Sections
1-10: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11-20: 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
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21-30: 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31-40: 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
41-50: 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51-60: 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
61-70: 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70
71-80: 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
81-90: 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
91-100: 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
101-110: 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110
111-120: 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
121-130: 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130
131-140: 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
141-150: 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150
151-160: 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
161-170: 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170
171-180: 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
181-190: 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190
191-200: 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
201-210: 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210
211-220: 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220
221-230: 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230
231-240: 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240
241-250: 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250
251-260: 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260
261-270: 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270
271-280: 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280
281-290: 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290
291-300: 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300
301-310: 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310
311-320: 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320
321-330: 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330
331-340: 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340
341-350: 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350
The Dark Realm of Ruel
Action Chart
Combat Rules Summary
Add your COMBAT SKILL to any extra points given to you by your Grand Master Disciplines.
Subtract the COMBAT SKILL of your enemy from this total. This number = Combat Ratio.
Pick a number from the Random Number Table.
Turn to the Combat Results Table.
Find your Combat Ratio on the top of the chart and cross-reference to the random number you have picked. (E indicates loss of ENDURANCE points to Enemy. LW indicates loss of ENDURANCE points to Lone Wolf.)
Continue the combat from Stage 3 until one character is dead. This is when the ENDURANCE points of either character falls to 0 or below.
To Evade Combat
You may only do this when the text of the adventure offers you the opportunity.
You undertake one round of combat in the usual way. All points lost by the enemy are ignored; only Lone Wolf loses the ENDURANCE points.
If the book offers the chance of taking evasive action in place of combat, it can be taken in the first round of combat or any subsequent round.
Combat Results Table
Random Number Table
Errata
Introduction
We have taken our unique opportunity to correct errors and to enforce a standard of English usage. We list our changes here. If you see anything that needs correction, please contact the Project Aon Staff.
Errata
(Title Page) Replaced ‘THE PLAGUE LORDS OF RUEL’ with ‘The Plague Lords of Ruel,’.
(The Story So Far) Replaced ‘elite’ with ‘élite’. Replaced ‘freestate’ with ‘Freeland’. Replaced ‘monastery of the Kai’ with ‘Monastery of the Kai’. Replaced each occurrence of ‘Kai monastery’ with ‘Kai Monastery’. Replaced ‘Kai lord’ with ‘Kai Lord’. Replaced ‘new-found’ with ‘newfound’. Replaced ‘left-handed’ with ‘Left-handed’. Replaced ‘right-handed’ with ‘Right-handed’. Replaced ‘north-east’ with ‘northeast’. Replaced ‘Gournen and’ with ‘Gournen, and’. Replaced ‘Ragador’ with ‘Ragadorn’. Replaced ‘Arch-Druid’ with ‘Arch Druid’. Combined the last two paragraphs into one. Replaced ‘comprised’ with ‘were part of’.
(The Game Rules) Removed ‘ that you will find in the front of this book. For ease of use, and for further adventuring, it is recommended that you photocopy these pages’. Replaced ‘To do this take a pencil and, with your eyes closed, point with the blunt end of it on to the Random Number Table on the last page of this book’ with ‘To do this, pick a number from the Random Number Table’. Replaced ‘fall to zero’ with ‘fall to zero or below’. Replaced all occurrences of ‘ie,’ with ‘i.e.’. Replaced ‘These scores may include Weaponmastery, Curing, and Psi-surge bonuses.’ with ‘These scores may include Lore-circle bonuses. You may also benefit from the Disciplines that you've mastered (e.g. Weaponmastery, Curing, and Psi-surge bonuses)’. Replaced ‘Chart (you’ with ‘Chart. (You’. Replaced ‘Items).’ with ‘Items.)’. Italicised ‘Lone Wolf Grand Master’ when referring to the series.
(Grand Master Disciplines) Replaced ‘gods’ with ‘Gods’. Replaced ‘venoms and’ with ‘venoms, and’. Replaced ‘When you enter combat with one of your Grand Master weapons, you add 5 points to your COMBAT SKILL. The rank of Kai Grand Defender, with which you begin the Grand Master series, means you are skilled in two of the weapons listed below.’ with ‘When you enter combat with one of your Grand Weaponmastery weapons, you add 5 points to your COMBAT SKILL. The rank of Kai Grand Defender, with which you begin the Lone Wolf Grand Master series, means you are supremely efficient in the use of two of the weapons listed below. For each book that you complete in the Lone Wolf Grand Master series (Books 13–20), you will gain mastery of an additional weapon. For example, if you complete The Plague Lords of Ruel and have the Grand Master Discipline of Grand Weaponmastery at the beginning of the next Lone Wolf Grand Master book, you may choose an additional Weapon to gain mastery of.’ in harmony with the Collector's Editions. Replaced ‘Magi-Magic’ with ‘Magi-magic’. Replaced ‘battle magic’ with ‘battle-magic’. Replaced ‘artifacts’ with ‘artefacts’. Replaced ‘THE CAPTIVES OF KAAG’ with ‘The Captives of Kaag’. Replaced ‘weapons listed overleaf’ with ‘weapons listed below’. Replaced ‘disciplines’ with ‘Disciplines’. Replaced both occurrences of ‘left-handed magic’ with ‘Left-handed magic’. Replaced ‘gases, corrosive’ with ‘gases, and corrosive’. Replaced ‘COMBAT SKILL is reduced to 8 points or less’ with ‘ENDURANCE is reduced to 8 points or less’ as clarified in Lone Wolf Club Newsletter No.24. Replaced ‘fortresses increases’ with ‘fortresses increase’. Replaced ‘body, increases’ with ‘body, increase’. Added ‘These skills include the basic use of Old Kingdom Spells such as Shield, Power Word, and Invisible Fist.’ as found in the Magi-magic section in Books 19 and 20. Added ‘These spells include Lightning Hand, Levitation, and Mind Charm.’ as found in the Kai-alchemy section in Books 19 and 20. Replaced ‘smell and’ with ‘smell, and’. Added ‘ If you have chosen the Discipline of Grand Huntmastery as one of your skills, you will not need to tick off a Meal when instructed to eat.’ to the section on Grand Huntmastery. Replaced each occurrence of ‘battle wounds’ with ‘battle-wounds’. Added Brian Williams' Grand Master Disciplines illustrations from later books. Replaced ‘will be of use’ with ‘may be of use’. Added ‘If you have the Discipline of Grand Weaponmastery with Bow, you may add 5 to any number that you pick from the Random Number Table, when using the Bow.’ from the Equipment section. Replaced ‘Kai and Magnakai Disciplines’ with ‘Kai & Magnakai Disciplines’ for consistency with later books. Italicised ‘Lone Wolf Grand Master’ when referring to the series. Replaced ‘the next Grand Master adventure’ with ‘the next Lone Wolf Grand Master adventure’. Replaced ‘darkness, and have’ with ‘darkness and have’. Replaced ‘plants, and have’ with ‘plants and have’. Replaced ‘Duration, and the protection of his inanimate body, increase’ with ‘Duration and the protection of his inanimate body increase’.
(Eq
uipment) Removed ‘(see the inside front cover of this book)’. Replaced all occurrences of ‘arrow’ or ‘arrows’ with ‘Arrow’. Amended the text to correctly reflect the +5 COMBAT SKILL bonus for Grand Weaponmastery. Replaced both occurrences of ‘safe-keeping’ with ‘safekeeping’. Replaced ‘eg,’ with ‘e.g.’. Replaced all occurrences of ‘bow’ with ‘Bow’. Replaced ‘quiver’ with ‘Quiver’. Replaced ‘combat, therefore’ with ‘combat; therefore’. Replaced ‘arrows’ with ‘Arrows’. Replaced ‘Grand Weaponmastery with a Bow’ with ‘Grand Weaponmastery with Bow’. Replaced ‘weapons list’ with ‘Weapons List’. Replaced ‘Kai monastery’ with ‘Kai Monastery’. Replaced ‘a sword or axe’ with ‘a Sword or an Axe’. Replaced ‘weapons’ with ‘Weapons’. Replaced ‘weapon’ with ‘Weapon’. Deleted ‘If you have the Discipline of Grand Weaponmastery with Bow, you may add 3 to any number that you pick from the Random Number Table, when using the Bow.’. Replaced ‘record these on your Weapons List’ with ‘record these on your Action Chart’ for clarity. Added ‘You may only use one Weapon at a time in combat.’ in harmony with the Collector's Edition.
(Rules for Combat) Removed ‘on the inside back cover of this book’. Replaced ‘reduced to zero’ with ‘reduced to zero or below’. Replaced ‘on the page after the Random Number Table’ with ‘in the back of this book’. In the example combat, changed Lone Wolf's initial COMBAT SKILL to 27 and corrected the Kai-surge bonus to +8 COMBAT SKILL. Replaced ‘points reduced’ with ‘points possibly reduced’. Replaced ‘at which point the one with the zero score is declared dead.’ with ‘at which point that combatant is declared dead.’.
