by Joe Dever
Bardsmanship
Through mastery of this Discipline a Kai Grand Master of the New Order becomes a multi-talented performer, proficient in the use of any musical instrument. He is able to sing or chant, recite or compose tales of legend, mimic speech or dialect, and stimulate a wide range of emotions among sentient creatures. The effect and power of his bardic abilities will steadily increase as he advances through the Grand Master ranks.
If you successfully complete the mission as set in Book 23 of the Lone Wolf New Order series, you may add a further Grand Master Discipline of your choice to your Action Chart in Book 24. For every Grand Master Discipline you possess, in excess of the original four Disciplines you begin with, you may add 1 point to your basic COMBAT SKILL score and 2 points to your basic ENDURANCE points score. These bonus points, together with your extra Grand Master Discipline(s), your original four Grand Master Disciplines, your Kai Weapon,4 and any other Special Items and Backpack Items that you have found and been able to keep during your adventures, may then be carried over and used in the next New Order adventure, which is called: Rune War.
[2] Given the rules for the previous Lone Wolf books, it seems odd that a Grand Master is only allowed to choose to be proficient in one of the few Weapons listed in the Equipment section. In view of the unprecedented nature of this rule, you might decide that it is acceptable to be proficient in any of the ten Weapons that the Kai typically train to use.
[3] The rules in the Collector's Editions state that the bonus for Grand Weaponmastery with Bow is 5. Certain sections direct the reader to use different bonuses when using a Bow, ranging from 3 to 5, if you have Grand Weaponmastery with Bow. This may be the author adjusting the Grand Weaponmastery bonus on a case-by-case basis (and therefore this bonus should be used instead of the standard bonus) or an error (and therefore all of these bonuses should be 5). It is up to you to decide, but it seems most reasonable to follow the first alternative, to replace the Grand Weaponmastery bonus with whatever bonus is mentioned in that section.
[4] Details about the Kai Weapon appear in the next section of the game rules.
Equipment
Before you leave the Port of Suhn and begin your long voyage to the Isle of Sheasu, you take with you a map of central Southern Magnamund and a pouch of gold. To find out how much gold is in the pouch, pick a number from the Random Number Table and add 20 to the number you have picked. The total equals the number of Gold Crowns inside the pouch, and you should now enter this number in the ‘Gold Crowns’ section of your Action Chart.
If you have successfully completed either of the previous adventures in the Lone Wolf New Order series (Books 21–22), you may add this sum to the number of Crowns you already possess. Fifty is the maximum number of Gold Crowns you can carry in your pouch at any time. You may also select five items from the list below, only two of which may be Weapons.
Quarterstaff (Weapons)
Bow (Weapons)
Quiver (Special Items) This contains six Arrows; record them on your Action Chart.
Flute (Backpack Item)
Dagger (Weapons)
Sword (Weapons)
2 Meals (Meals) Each Meal takes up one space in your Backpack.
Rope (Backpack Item)
Potion of Laumspur (Backpack Item) This potion restores 4 ENDURANCE points to your total when swallowed after combat. There is enough for only one dose.
Axe (Weapons)
List the five items that you have chosen on your Action Chart, under the appropriate headings, and make a note of any effect that they may have on your ENDURANCE points and/or COMBAT SKILL.
Kai Weapons
Upon reaching the ultimate rank of Kai Supreme Master, Lone Wolf received as a reward from the God Kai many new skills and abilities. One of these skills was Kai Weaponcraft. Using his newfound mastery, Lone Wolf forged ten weapons of magical power in the armoury furnaces of the Kai Monastery. These magical weapons are reserved for the élite of the New Order Kai who attain the rank of Grand Master.
In recognition of your rank and achievement, you may choose your own Kai Weapon from the table below or, if you prefer, you can generate one at random. To generate a Kai Weapon, pick a number from the Random Number Table and consult the first column. The magical Axe, Sword, or Broadsword which corresponds to the number you have picked will be your own personal Kai Weapon. Record this magical weapon and its unique properties in the Kai Weapon section of the Special Items List.5
Example
Say you choose the number 8 from the Random Number Table, your Kai Weapon will be the Broadsword ‘Illuminatus’.
When using this Kai Weapon in normal combat you may add +5 points to your COMBAT SKILL. Each Kai Weapon has a unique property. When you use your Kai Weapon in combat against the type of enemy that matches its unique property, or use it at the optimum time or location, then you may add the higher bonus to your COMBAT SKILL.6
Example
If you were to use ‘Illuminatus’ in combat against an enemy in an underground cavern, cave, or tunnel, you could add the higher bonus of 7 to your COMBAT SKILL. If you were to fight this enemy in any other location, the bonus to your COMBAT SKILL would remain at 5.
Kai Weapon Table
RNWeapon TypeWeapon NameCSUnique PropertiesCS
0 Axe ‘Spawnsmite’ +5 versus reptilian enemies +6
1 Axe ‘Alema’ +5 versus undead enemies +7
2 Axe ‘Magnara’ +5 versus rock or stone +8
3 Sword ‘Sunstrike’ +5 when used in daylight +6
4 Sword ‘Kaistar’ +5 when used at night +7
5 Sword ‘Valiance’ +5 when used versus magicians7 +8
6 Sword ‘Ulnarias’ +5 when used underwater +9
7 Broadsword ‘Raumas’ +5 versus winged enemies +6
8 Broadsword ‘Illuminatus’ +5 when used underground +7
9 Broadsword ‘Firefall’ +5 versus fire-emitting enemies +8
RN = Random Number CS = COMBAT SKILL
Equipment — How to use it
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
<
br /> 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 of Siyen is the Lune. These are always carried in the Belt Pouch. It will hold a maximum of 200 Lune or 50 Gold Crowns. Gold Crowns are also readily accepted at a rate of 1 Gold Crown for 4 Lune. In the course of your journey you may also come across Ren. Ren is accepted at a rate of 10 Ren for 1 Gold Crown, and accordingly your Belt Pouch can hold a maximum of 500 Ren.
[5] If you have completed any of the previous Lone Wolf New Order adventures (Books 21+), you already possess a Kai Weapon.
[6] These bonuses are not cumulative.
[7] ‘Valiance’ is also effective against magical creatures.
Rules for Combat
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:
Add any extra points gained through your Grand Master Disciplines and Special Items to your current COMBAT SKILL total.
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.
When you have your Combat Ratio, pick a number from the Random Number Table.
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.
On the Action Chart, mark the changes in ENDURANCE points to the participants in the combat.
Unless otherwise instructed, or unless you have an option to evade, the next round of combat now starts.
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.
Evasion of Combat
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.
Levels of New Order Kai Grand Mastership
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.
Kai Grand Master Senior — You begin the New Order adventures at this level of Kai Grand Mastery8
Kai Grand Master Superior
Kai Grand Sentinel
Kai Grand Defender
Kai Grand Guardian
Sun Knight
Sun Lord
Sun Thane
Grand Thane
Grand Crown
Sun Prince
Kai Supreme Master
[8] It is unclear why a New Order Grand Master becomes a Supreme Master by mastering only 15 of the 16 Grand Master Disciplines. It is also unclear why New Order Grand Masters must master four extra Disciplines in order to receive the same improvements to their Disciplines as Lone Wolf did with fewer.
Improved Grand Master Disciplines
As you rise through the higher levels of Grand Mastery you will find that your Disciplines will steadily improve.
Kai Grand Master Superior
If you are a New Order Kai who has attained the rank of Kai Grand Master Superior, you will now benefit from improvements to the following Grand Master Disciplines:
Animal Mastery
Kai Grand Master Superiors who possess this Discipline are able to deter predatory animals in the wild by exuding a scent which is repellent to them. In order for this improved Discipline to work effectively, a Kai Grand Master Superior must be aware of the species of predatory animal he/she wishes to deter. The scent can only be detected by the targeted animal.
Assimilance
Kai Grand Master Superiors who possess this skill are able to create a noise and project it up to 15 yards away from their location. The noise is akin to the rumbling sound of thunder and it can be used to distract or divert an enemy's attention. This improved Discipline requires a degree of preparation and therefore it cannot be used during combat.
Astrology
Kai Grand Master Superiors who possess this Discipline are skilled in the use of all mechanical devices designed to measure and/or observe the cosmology of Magnamund. Such devices include sextants, astrolabes, and orreries.
Herbmastery
Kai Grand Master Superiors who have this Discipline are able to purify water, thereby making contaminated or briny water suitable for consumption. Roughly two pints of water per day can be purified using this skill alone. This daily total steadily increases as a Grand Master advances in rank.
Elementalism
Kai Grand Master Superiors who possess this skill are able to condense pure water out of the surrounding air. This water can be made to fall as a fine spray or as a sudden deluge. It can also be made
to fill any suitable container or receptacle. Using this skill, Grand Master Superiors can create the equivalent of one large bucketful of fresh water.
Bardsmanship
Kai Grand Master Superiors who possess this Discipline are able to utilize their musical skills to pacify an excited or hostile animal.
Kai Grand Sentinel
If you are a New Order Kai who has attained the rank of Kai Grand Sentinel, you will now benefit from improvements to the following Grand Master Disciplines:
Grand Weaponmastery
Kai Grand Master Sentinels who possess this Discipline are, when physically parted from their Kai Weapon, able to detect its location. This power of detection will pass through solid objects, with the notable exception of lead. Accuracy and range of detection steadily increase as a Grand Master rises in rank.
