There's no fluff in the introduction section, and most of the contents are standard fare, but there are a few new sections on various game mechanics:The Night Dragon must not awaken!
It is a creature of pure evil from before time existed, a Dragon so immense nothing will be able to contain it. Deep beneath the savage Dragon Reaches, it is sucking in powerful magical energy which will soon allow it to cross into this world. If it succeeds, all Allansia will be crushed beneath its claws!
Even the legendary Conclave of Dragons is powerless to stop the creature. A human hero is needed — a hero like YOU! Many monstrous adversaries are ranged against you, but along the way you may find ancient artefacts to help you in your quest. Ultimately, however, only extraordinary heroism will stand against the Night Dragon. Dare YOU accept the quest?
Honour:
Nemesis Points:Honour is a measure both of your unselfish readiness to help others, even if this delays you or puts you at some disadvantage, and of your readiness to forgo help offered you, which might imperial the person offering it.It is also a measure of your standing as a hero of your word, adhering to voluntary agreements you have made! You will have few opportunities to increase Honour during this adventure, and your Honour score starts at zero. Gaining Honour can have priceless value at the end of the arduous quest which awaits you. Just as you can gain Honour, you may also lose it by behaving in evil, unscrupulous or exploitative ways (and yes, Honour can go below zero!). Be at pains not to dishonour yourself, and keep track of your Honour score in the box provided on the Adventure Sheet.
Magic:Certain people and forces will come to learn of your activities during your adventure. The more they learn of yoru activities, the more they wull fear you and try to strike you down. This is reflected in your Nemesis score, which begins at zero and should also be kept track of in the appropriate box on your Adventure Sheet. The higher this score climbs, the more desperately your enemies will try to thwart you - but also the more readily you will be helped by those who have no love of those enemies!
Poison:During this adventure you mat find many magic items, although at first you will probably not be sure what they do! Such items may give you the ability to cast a magic spell or create a magical effect; if you find such an item, you will be instructed in its use in a particular paragraph. Finding powerful magic is a major goal of this adventure, so do your best to gain all that you can - but alas, you are also pressed for time and cannot tarry overlong.You will have to make hard choices about which magic items you try to obtain for yourself in this adventure.
Time Track:You are going to face some very evil opponents who will not hesitate to use poisoned weapons against you! Such weapons will inflict damage in addition to the usual Stamina loss caused by physical harm; this varies, depending how powerful the Poison is. You will be told how much damage you will sustain from poison separately from physical weapon damage; you lose Stamina points from both, of course - but if you are fortunate enought to acquire herbal preparations which counter poison, you will be able to use them either to avoid or heal damage by poison. Such herbal antidotes will not, however, prevent or heal the normal 2 points of Stamina loss caused by the physical effect of a weapon striking you.
Background:This adventure is something of a race against time. You are not under intense time pressure, but you can't afford to waste it either. On the Adventure Sheet there is a Time Track box. At the start of your adventure, the score here is zero. You will be instructed in appropriate paragraphs when to add to this number. The higher it gets, the harder your final task will be, so be careful when you choose where to go and what to do during the arduous adventure which faces you!
"Beware Blacksand!" The words still ring in your ears. This is a city ruled by evil, full of thugs and rogues. Every new morning brings a slumped body in a back alley, its throat cut from ear io ear. Port Blacksand isn't a place anyone wants to stay in for long. You're here because a man you trusted whispered that a great challenge might be found here for you. You
live for adventure and great deeds, and your friend's expression told you that this was no trivial summons. Setting aside your dislike of Blacksand, you found yourself sitting in the Hemlock tavern in Clog Street until late into the night, waiting for a messenger who seemed never to come. It was long after the witching hour, with the tavern about to close for the night, when you were finally shown down to the cellars where a mysterious, robed guest was waiting. You drew your sword when you found that a Dark Elf awaited you, but the weary way he held up his hand and mumbled that he was not here to harm you made you draw back.
Now you listen to his strange tale. He speaks as if he does not have much time left to him to deliver it. "l have come from the far north, From the Dragon Reaches. A great and terrible enemy is growing even more powerful there, and he will come to threaten all Allansia if he is not overcome. My people have tried, but we are few in number and we could not even defeat the Stalkers protecting the monster. The sands of time run low. Only a great hero could hope to overcome the Night Dragon It is an ancient being, more powerful than the Old Ones. The Dragons themselves have said to me that even a mortal Dragon could not hope to scratch a single scale on the Ancient's hide."
An Ancient Dragon! Even a mortal Dragon is a terrifying enemy. How can you possibly hope to overcome one far more powerful than its mortal kin? A human would be destroyed with a single flick of such a monster's claws.
The Dark Elf sees your thoughts reflected in your eyes- There would be no hope at all, were it not for buried magic which the Dragons know of They say it could make a warrior powerful far beyond mortal limits, if the right person came lo take the sword, shield and armour of heroes of legend and face the Night Dragon. I sought for such a warrior for a long time; yours was the name I heard mentioned over and over again."
You are disbelieving, astonished by what the Dark Elf says. Suddenly he coughs violently and you see blood staining the handkerchief heholds over his mouth.
When he can speak again, there is a terrible urgency in his voice. "Listen, human. Dragons themselves have told me that when the creature awakens, his shadow will lengthen over all the land and his dreams of
carnage and slaughter will be a reality. They told me that the Night Dragon was within Death's army in the war of gods, before time came to Titan and brought the mortal race with it. Can you imagine how powerful this horror is becoming as it awakens? Never mind your arch-mages, necromancers, petty tyrants and despots. If the Night Dragon reawakens, they will be scattered like dust in the wind. As will you and I. There are signs already of his stirring from Dreamtime; his Stalkers have begun to roam the northern mountains - marauding reptile nightmares that they are. Fortunately, they are still few, and not yet as strong as they will become, else I would not be here."
You notice the heavy scars on the Dark Elf's arm as he gestures to emphasize the point, and your initial suspicion of him begins to evaporate. He continues beseeching your help.
"The Dragons say that they are bound by their own oath to Kilanirax, therr god and creator. This oath forbids any mortal Dragon to offer force to an Ancient One; should one so much as lift a claw against an Ancient, it would be struck down at once by a deadly curse. Thus they are forced to seek help from others. They are surely not indulging in lies or deceit; in the
Conclave, I saw a Dragon of each type Gold, Silver, White, Black, Green, Red. Only extraordinary circumstances could bring together a full Conclave; the Dragons of Law and Chaos have no love for each other. For them to meet means that a terrible danger must be at hand, as they say AlI I ask is that you travel to meet the Conclave of Dragons and hear what they have to say."
"Go north to the port of Rentarn, and there take a room at the Rudderless Galley tavern. Here - take this silver key and use it to admit yourself to the room there which has been readied for you. A messenger will meet you in the tavern and he will tell you how to find the Dragon Conclave. Look, I even give you the ten Gold Pieces you will need to pay for the sea
voyage there." For a moment, the Dark Elf almost grins, albeit painfully. "Although you could save some gold by taking the coast road, of course. Please. I only ask you to travel and listen."
How can you refuse? You take the silver key and the 10 Gold Pieces. The Dark Elf gets up and makes to leave, first telling you that you can sleep in this sale tavern tonight. He looks back at you with eyes dulled by pain, and his hands have a fine tremor you didn't see before. "l do not want my people to die, any more than you wish all the humans in this land to be slaughtered. If it has cost me my own life to find you, my people will remember me." He tums on his heel, coughing horribly, and limps out of the cellar.
You do not have pleasant dreams this night...
Tum to paragraph 1.
So yeah, decide.A dark morning sky glowers over Port Blacksand and a chill wind blows in from the Sword Coast. You can head for Lobster Wharf to find a ship bound for Rentarn (tum to 354), or leave the city by Weaver Gate to take the north coastal road there (tum to 212). You may prefer to buy some extra equipment first (if you wish to do this, turm to 65).
Also, I automated most of the character generation, but there are a couple of decision I'll leave to you. Being a veteran adventurer, on top of the usual Skill 6+1d6, Stamina 12+2d6, Luck 6+1d6 trinity, we have 2 bonus points, which we can use to increase Skill or Luck by 1, or to increase Stamina by 2. We can't pump the same stat twice, nor can we boost Skill or Luck over 12.
Then again, given the stats I rolled, there is pretty much no choice other than to boost both Skill and Stamina, since Luck is 12. I've altered the stats accordingly.
Finally, we need a suitably badassful name for a badassful adventurer!
Skill 11
Stamina 22
Luck 12
Honour 0
Nemesis 0
Time Track 0
Gear:
Sword
Leather armor
Shield
Lantern
Backpack
12 Provisions
24 golds
Silver key