The Triad of Skulls.pdf

The Triad of Skulls

You are a famous bounty hunter who has just completed your most dangerous mission

yet. To capture three deadly criminals known as the Trio of Skulls alive. You are

travelling across the ocean, back to Allansia to collect your huge bounty, but you are

about to realise that it’s not going to be plain sailing all the way…

Skill, stamina and luck

Roll one die and divide the result by 2, rounding fractions up. Add 9 to this number and

enter this to the skill box in your adventure sheet.

Roll two dice. Add 12 to this number and enter this to the stamina box in your adventure

sheet.

Roll one die. Add 6 to this number and enter this to the luck box in your adventure sheet.

Your skill score represents your prowess in combat. The higher your skill, the more

formidable you will be in combat. Your stamina score represents your strength and your

durability. The higher your stamina score, the longer you will be able to survive. Your

luck score represents how lucky a person you are.

Testing your skill, stamina and luck

In some situations in the adventure, you may be called upon to test your skill . Roll two

dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than your skill score then you have

succeeded the test of skill. If it is higher, you have failed.

If you are ever called upon to test your stamina , roll one die 4 times. If the number rolled

is less than or equal to your current stamina score, you have succeeded. If it is higher,

then you have failed.

You may also be called upon to test your luck. The procedure for this is similar to testing

you skill. Roll two dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than your luck score,

then you have been lucky. If it is higher, you have been unlucky. Every time you test

your luck, you must subtract 1 from your current luck score. Using luck is a risky

business, so don’t test it too much!

Battles

You will often come across situations in the book where you are instructed to fight a

creature of some sort. You must resolve the battle as set out below.

Make sure you take into account of any changes to your attack strength. If you are

unarmed, you must subtract 2 from your attack strength. If you use 2 weapons in combat,

you have 2 separate attacks, but you must subtract 1 from your attack strength.

First, record the creature’s skill and stamina scores in the first vacant encounter box on

your adventure sheet . The scores for each creature are given in the book each time you

have an encounter. The sequence of the combat is then:

1. Roll both dice once for the creature. Add its skill score. This total is the

creature’s attack strength.

2. Roll both dice once for yourself. Add the number rolled to your skill score. This

total is your attack strength. If you are using two weapons repeat this process.

3. If your attack strength is higher than your opponent, you have wounded it:

proceed to step 4. If the creature’s attack strength is higher than yours, it has

wounded you: proceed to step 5. If both attack strength totals are the same, you

have avoided each other’s blows – start the next combat round from step 1, above.

4. You have wounded the creature, so subtract 2 from its stamina score. You may

use luck to inflict additional damage (see below). Now proceed to step 6.

5. The creature has wounded you, so subtract 2 from your own stamina score.

Again, you may use luck at this stage (see below).

6. Make the appropriate adjustments to the stamina score of either the creature or

yourself (and to your luck score if you used luck – see below).

7. Begin the next attack round by repeating steps 1 to 6.

This sequence continues until the stamina score of either the creature you are fighting or

yourself has been reduced to 0 (death). If you die, you must start your adventure again

from the start.

Fighting more than one opponent

Sometimes you will have to fight more than a single opponent. If you are told to take

them on one at a time, proceed by fighting them individually in the order in which they

are listed. If you are instructed to fight them all together, at the start of each combat

round, you must design which one you are attacking. Next roll both dice for each of your

opponents to determine their individual attack strengths. Resolve your personal combat

against your chosen adversary in the usual way for that combat round. Then compare

your combat strengths for that round with the attack strengths of all your other

opponents. Any creature with a higher attack strength than yours has scored a hit against

you, and you must subtract 2 points from their stamina. If you have a higher attack

strength than an opponent you haven’t chosen to attack then you do not wound it.

Two weapon combat

You are a mighty warrior and have seen many battles. Throughout your years of combat,

you have learnt to use two weapons. Your adventure sheet has a box for wielding

weapon you wield in your main hand and a weapon you wield in your off hand. If you

ever find two weapons, you can wield both of them in combat so you can have the benefit

of two attacks. If you fight multiple opponents, you can use each attack on separate

opponents. However, if you do, you must reduce your attack strength by 1 when

calculating your attack strength for both of these attacks.

Using luck in combat

On certain pages, you will be told to test your luck and will be informed as to the

consequences of your being lucky or unlucky. However, in battles, you have the option

of using your luck, either to inflict a more serious wound on a creature you have just

wounded or to minimize the effects of a wound a creature has just inflicted on you.

If you have wounded a creature, you may test your luck as described above. If you are

lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound and may subtract an extra 2 points from the

creature’s stamina score. However, if you are unlucky, the wound was a mere graze and

you must restore 1 point to the creature’s stamina score (i.e. instead of scoring the normal

2 points of damage, you have now scored only 1).

If the creature has just wounded you, you may test your luck to try to minimize the

wound. If you are lucky you have managed to avoid the full damage of the blow.

Restore 1 point of stamina (i.e. instead of doing 2 points of damage, it has done only 1).

If you are lucky, you have received a more serious blow. Subtract 1 extra stamina point

(i.e. instead of doing 2 points of damage, it has done 3).

Remember that you must subtract 1 point from your own luck score each time you test

your luck .

Restoring skill, stamina and luck

Skill

Your skill will not change much during your adventure. Occasionally, a paragraph may

give you instructions to increase or decrease your skill score. Your skill score can never

exceed its initial value unless otherwise stated in the text.

Stamina

Your stamina score will change a lot during your adventure as you battle enemies and

undertake arduous task. As you near your goal, your stamina score may be dangerously

low and battles may be particularly risky, so be careful.

There will be opportunities in your adventure to restore stamina through food and rest.

They may not come often, so make sure you take these opportunities whenever you can.

Remember also that your stamina score may never exceed its initial value unless you are

specifically instructed to otherwise.

Luck

Additions to your luck score are awarded during your adventure after you have been

particularly lucky; details are given in the appropriate paragraphs of the book.

Remember that as with skill and stamina, your luck score may never exceed its initial

value, unless you are specifically instructed otherwise in the paragraph.

Equipment

You will start this adventure with no equipment, but you may acquire other items on your

travels. Since you have no backpack or any other means of storage, you may only carry a

maximum of four items of equipment. The items you are carrying in your hands do not

count towards these items.

Background

‘You have faced worse than this.’ You mutter to yourself as the wind howls around you

and the rain pelts you in the face. A flash of lightning briefly lights up the frantic crew of

the Barbaran desperately trying to keep the ship steady in the storm. It goes dark. Then

thunder crashes right over your heads. ‘Damn the Gods!’ Shouds Captain Maktas over

the storm. ‘Get that sail down! Helmsman, hard port!’

As you wrestle frantically with the mainsail, you briefly reflect on the misfortune that led

you to get caught in the ocean in one of the worst storms you have seen. You crossed this

ocean once, on the way to Khul but the seas were calm and you were leader of a band of

bounty hunters, full of enthusiasm and ready for adventure. Three months later, you are

trying to return to Port Blacksand, your companions all dead and nothing to show for it

but three dangerous criminals.

‘Oi! Stop messing with that sail and check on the prisoners! The last thing I want is

three maniacs running around during a storm!’ Barks the captain to you. You hastily

drop the mainsail and head down below deck, relieved to be out of the storm. You think

of your three prisoners, each of them mad, vicious, sadistic bastards. The Triad of Skulls

as they were called caused havoc in Port Blacksand for months. The thieves’s guild at

first tried to recruit them, but when their messenger’s head was found on the doorstep of

the guild building, they decided to enlist the help of their close allies, the assassins’ guild.

Even that didn’t work, with seven good assassins killed before they could carry out their

deeds. So the Thieves’ guild had to find someone else. They ordered Lord Azzzur to put

out a 5000 gold piece reward for each member of this gang. Eventually, with so many

attacks and close calls, the Triad of Skulls decided to leave Blacksand and sail to Khul.

However, they finally met their match. Although all of your companions died in the

attempt to capture them, you finally have them in chains.

As you enter the cell, they look at you. There is Pyrro, a mad dwarf with a fixation on

firepowder. He blew open Port Blacksands prison and released all the prisoners. He also

sank a merchant’s ship when the merchant refused to pay him 10,000 gold pieces. Then

there is Uria, a necromancer. Her skin is pale and her eyes hard and cold. She raised the

dead of Port Blacksand and had them attack any who roamed the streets at night. Finally

there is Gunther, a huge barbarian who slaughtered dozens of solders and townsfolk to

steal their money. They stare back at you with contempt. You turn to leave them, when

an explosion rocks the ship. You hear the captain bellow for pitch to fill the leak when a

heavy blow lands on your head. ‘Aye Gunther, those chains Were weak!’ laughts Pyrro.

‘Yes! While the crew is trying to stop their ship from sinking, we will escape!’ You hear

Uria mutter some incantation and waver her arms and then your vision fades as you fall

unconscious.

You climb back into consciousness. The captain is slapping you.

‘Damn you! The ship’s doomed! We have to abandon it! Those criminals of yours have

escaped on a giant sea serpent to Fire Island! We must go!’

You curse and stumble up the stairs to the deck. As you get on there, the ship lurches to

the right and you are flung into the sea. You are hit hard by the cold water as land . You

struggle to get to the surface. As you get there, you are flung this way and that by the

waves. In the distance, you can see Fire Island, so you try feebly to get there. You start

to panic and swim desperately for the shore. You don’t remember much after that. You

remember the feel of the sand on the beach. You remember many painted faces and

feeling many hands drag you along the ground. Then all goes black…

You are lying in a cage, dazed and bleeding. Lose 3 stamina points. Until you find a

weapon, subtract 2 from your attack strength in combat. You try to break the wicker

bars, but in your weakened state, you cannot manage it. As the light of the dawn shines

into the clearing, you are able to examine your surroundings. The area you are in

contains many primitive mud huts. Around the edge of the clearing stand sharpened

sticks. Impaled on each stick is a human skull. However, you notice that there is one

sharpened stick that does not have a head on it.

Headhunters start to emerge from their huts dressed in their primitive clothing and

covered in paint. Some of them start to pile up wood for a large fire. The children of the

tribe start to dance around your cage and jeer at you. Eventually, the fire is lit and a

headhunter approaches your cage with a vicious grin on his face. As his hand reaches for

the door, the look of glee turns to one of pain and confusion. The headhunter keels over

and you notice a dart sticking out from his neck. A cry of alarm goes up as darts and

arrows fly out of the jungle. Headhunters grab their weapons as goblins emerge from the

undergrowth, stabbing at the headhunters with daggers. Chaos erupts as a battle ensues

for the village. Everyone has forgotten you, so you attempt your escape. The headhunter

lying on the floor near your cage is holding a weapon that you can reach. You grab it

with the plan of using it to break the bars of your cage. Roll 1 die. If you roll a 1-2, turn

to 78. If you roll a 3-4, turn to 40. If you roll a 5-6, turn to 22.

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: