This book, in a slight difference from the previous ones, has a 1st page that displays the sypnosis. The back cover blurb s actually a shorter version of this, so I'll skip that and post the paragraphs in this first page:
Now, let's quickly run through the things that have changed about our heroes since the last book. First of the all, the default leve-up improvements as our heroes reach the 6th rank:It is Midwinter's Eve of the year 1000. The Great Fear sweeps across the civilised world. Everyone knows that the Day of Judgement is at hand. It is seven hours to Doomsday.
An arctic wind freezes your bones, but ahead of you lies a smoking chasm that goes right down to the glimmering fires of hell. You stand at the lip of the abyss which surrounds Spyte, the ruined fortress of the lords of Krarth. In the darkening sky above, five ominous stars have come into conjunction for the first time in two hundred years. Out of the vault of the sky they cast their baleful influence across the frozen landscape - unearthly objects, but far from heavenly ones. They are the disembodied spirits of the last of the Magi, seeking to return to the mortal world at midnight and usher in a new era of terror.
You wield the sole force in the world capable of destroying the Magi. The Sword of Life is mankind's only hope - but it is no guarantee of victory. The Magi have had two centuries of exile to plan their reincarnation. Their power has grown immeasurably since they last walked upon Middle-Earth. You will need greater courage and strength than ever before, but you are determined to succeed in your sword quest. You will prevent the Magi from bringing their unholy force back into the world - even at the cost of your own life!
Warrior:
Damage: +1
Endurance: +6
Trickster:
Damage: +1
Endurance: +6
Sage:
Damage: +1
Endurance: +5
Enchanter:
Damage: +1
Endurance: +5
Nothing impressive.....but we've also gained the unique upgrades for coming back from Hell in the last book!
THE WARRIOR
THE TRICKSTER
....
Two special rules apply to you:
Ambidextrousness
You can wield two weapons (one in each hand) and make two strikes each Round. Any bonuses due to magical weapons should be figured separately - eg, if one of your swords gives +2 Fighting Prowess, you only get the +2 bonus for the attack you make with that weapon.
Unarmed martial arts
When fighting without a weapon, you do not reduce your Fighting Prowess of damage rolls.
THE SAGE....
Dodging technique
You are very adept at evading attacks. When an opponent makes a fight roll against you, he or she (or it) must roll three Dice (four Dice if you chose to defend for that Round).
...
Healing
You can use this psionic ability at any time except during a combat. When you attempt to Heal, you decide how many points of Endurance you are going to use. You deduct these from your Endurance, then roll 1 Die-1 and multiply this by the number of points you expended. The result is the Healing energy (in the form of Endurance points) that you are able to draw from the Cosmic Flux. These points may be distributed as you wish among the players (including yourself). No player can increase his or her Endurance above its initial score, of course.
THE ENCHANTER
Our starting equipment consists of what we took from Entasius' island at the end of the last book......but even this book's default staring equipment corresponds to that: 1 suit of +4 Plate Armour (assigned to the Warrior by default), the other 3 start with +2 Studded Leather Armour (even the Enchanter, who normally starts with "Silver Armour"). So it's safe to assume that those Leather Armour will not affect the Enchanter's spellcasting.....
The attempt to cast a spell takes one Round. It does not happen automatically. In order to cast a spell successfully, you must roll equal or less than your Psychic Ability on one Die. You must add the Complexity Level of the spell to the Dice roll. If you fail to cast it, you can try again the next Round; this time the roll is easier, as you subtract one from the one-Die-plus-Complexity roll. If you fail again, you subtract two from your roll on the next Round. If the spellcasting process is interrupted (for example, you take a Round out to dodge or fight) then you have to go back to stage one.
Everyone also start with their default bonusless weapon (Quarterstaff for Sage, sword fro everyone else), but there's also the Blood Sword:
The book advises that the Warrior should hold the Blood Sword, but she's also the one who doesn't need any FP bonuses....so it's up to you to decide who to hold it!THE BLOOD SWORD
You have just one magical item at the start of the adventure. However, it is as Aesop said: 'Only one, but a lion!' This item is the Sword of Life, known in folktales as the Blood Sword. It was created by the Archangel Abdiel and has extraordinary powers. The least of these powers is that it adds 3 to its wielder's Fighting Prowess and scores an extra two Dice damage when it hits.
More significantly, any undead creature struck by the Blood Sword must roll two Dice. If the creature fails to score equal to or less than its Psychic Ability it is instantly destroyed by the Blood Sword's holy power. The reincarnated Magi would count as undead, so you can see how important the Blood Sword will be to the outcome of your adventure.
It also has other properties. You may discover these in the course of your quest. For now, decide which player is to wield the Blood Sword. (A piece of advice: if the party includes a Warrior, he or she is the one who's likely to make best use of it.)
Sage and Trickster also start with (non-magical) bows and full quivers (6 arrows).
Unlike previous books, there's no map provided at the beginning. There's no Glossary either, (maybe they're assuming that the readers should be familiar with the setting by his point0, but there IS an "Introduction":
And with that, we head straight to the first section.....let's sort out our equipment before we begin! And most importantly, who will carry the Blood Sword?INTRODUCTION
It has been many years since you were given your quest by a mysterious troubadour whom you met in the forests of southern Krarth. As he lay dying after a murderous attack, he told you of the entities known as the True Magi, sorcerers of ancient times who died in the cataclysm of the City of Spyte. They became the Five Stars, small luminous objects visible in the night sky, and since that far-off day they have laid plans for their return to earth at the end of the millennium. To the ruins of Spyte they will return - ruins that have stood dark and deserted these last two centuries - and from there they will spread their despotic rule over the lands of men, encircling the world in a sorcerous thrall that none can escape.
To help you in your quest to prevent this, the troubadour entrusted you with the holy relic known as the Sword of Life - the Blood Sword. Its power is the only thing that will be able to destroy the reincarnated Magi. Its power ... and your own steadfast courage.
Now it is the year 1000. After many years of wandering across the world, you have returned to Krarth to fulfil your destiny. In all the lands you have travelled through, plague and famine have cut a swathe through people's lives. It is the time of the Great Fear. Everyone has become lethargic and terror-stricken, for it is known that the world will end at midnight on Midwinter's Eve. Then, as the clerics and theologians foretell, God will summon all the dead back to life for the Day of Judgement.
Only a week ago, you met a trader on the road who was frantically giving all his furs and silk gowns to the poor. 'Sic transit gloria mundi!' he said to you, eyes frantic with the thought of the judgement to come. 'By distributing my wealth now to these wretches, I make myself a pauper and secure a position in Paradise. At the same time, by enriching them I disqualify them from entry. This ensures that those of us who are admitted to Paradise will not have to tolerate the company of unworthy peasants.' His sentiments were typical of the venality and selfishness which many people are giving themselves into in the extremity of their fear. You sense that God's judgement of such individuals has already begun.
However, you have also encountered good people. As you journeyed northwards across the ice-locked wastes of Krarth, many poor peasants have given you shelter and shared what little food they had. One told you of the Krarthian folk tales concerning the Magi: 'Since the Blasting of Spyte the world has been in a deep sleep. The dread gods are still there, and they will bring their Sacerdotes, the True Magi, back from the heavens. We will awaken then back into the nightmarish tyranny of reality. All this will happen at the midwinter festival of this year, which is the three thousand, one hundred and twenty-fifth year of the Old Calendar. So it is written.'
Another way of looking at things. The people of Krarth are not of your faith, but many of them live virtuous lives all the same. The details vary in their belief, but all are agreed on the final outcome: the world will end at midnight on Midwinter's Eve.
And that is tonight ...