Legion of Shadow
For Mary
Who had the good fortune to let a
bona fide geek into her life.
This destiny would never have been realised, without the help of the following heroes:
Marcus Gipps: For giving me the phone call I’ve waited my whole life for – and taking a chance on a gamebook, of all things.
Paul Cheshire: For working stupid hours to produce the maps, logos and website art. And never complaining. Much.
Robbie Scourou: For doing ‘all that coding malarkey’ to turn my first-grade sketches into something resembling a website. Then teaching me how to actually use it . . .
Dominic Harman – For a stunning cover that paints 193,000 words.
And a big thank you to the friendly and talented team at Gollancz, who make all the magic happen. It’s an honour to be a part of.
‘It is through our choices that the seeds of destiny are sown.’
Carinold the Wise
U
nlike ordinary storybooks, DestinyQuest puts
you
in charge of the action. As you guide your hero through this epic adventure, you will be
choosing the danger that they face, the monsters that they fight and the treasures that they find. Every decision that you make will have an impact on the story and, ultimately, the fate of your
hero.
Your choices, your hero
With hundreds of special items to discover in the game, you can completely customise your hero. You can choose their weapons, their armour, their special abilities – even
the boots on their feet and the cloak on their back! No two heroes will ever be alike, which means your hero will always be unique to you. And even better, you can take your hero into battle
against your friends’ heroes too!
Limitless possibilities, endless adventure
You can play through DestinyQuest multiple times and never have the same adventure twice. With so many options and paths to choose from, the monsters that you encounter, the
people that you meet and the loot that you find, will be different each time you play. There are numerous hidden secrets to discover, bonus items to collect and unique special abilities to unlock
– in fact, every turn of the page could reveal something new for you and your hero.
Discover your destiny . . .
The next few pages will take you through the rules of the game, outlining the hero creation process and the combat and quest system. Don’t worry, it won’t take long
– and then your first DestinyQuest adventure can begin!
The Hero Sheet
Let’s start with one of the most important things in the game – your hero sheet. This is a visual record of your hero’s abilities and equipment. You will be
constantly updating this sheet throughout the game, as you train new abilities and find better armour and weapons for your hero. (Note: The hero sheet is also available as a free download from
www.destiny-quest.com
.)
Attributes
Every hero has five key attributes that determine their strengths and weaknesses. These are
speed, brawn
,
magic
,
armour
and
health
. The goal of
DestinyQuest is to advance your hero from an inexperienced novice into a powerful champion – someone who can stand up to the biggest and baddest of foes and triumph!
To achieve this, you will need to complete the many quests throughout the lands of Valeron. These quests will reward you with new skills and equipment, such as weapons and armour. These will
boost your hero’s attributes and give you a better chance of survival when taking on tougher enemies.
The five attributes are:
*
Brawn
: As its name suggests, this score represents your hero’s strength and muscle power. A hero with high
brawn
will be able to hit harder in combat,
striking through their opponent’s armour and dealing fatal blows.
Brawn
is the main attribute of the warrior.
*
Magic
: By mastering the arcane schools of fire, lightning, frost and shadow, a hero can command devastating spells and summon fiendish monsters. Heroes that choose
this path should seek out the staffs, wands and arcane charms that will boost their
magic
score, granting them even deadlier powers to smite their foes.
Magic
is the main attribute of the mage.
*
Speed
: The higher a hero’s
speed
score, the more likely they are to score a hit against their opponent. A hero who puts points into
speed
can
easily bring down stronger enemies thanks to their lightning-fast reflexes.
Speed
is the main attribute of the rogue.
*
Armour
: Whenever a hero is hit in combat, by weapons or spells, they take damage. Wearing armour can help your hero to survive longer by absorbing some of this
damage. Warriors will always have a high
armour
score, thanks to the heavy armour and shields that they can equip. Rogues and mages will typically have lower scores, relying instead on
their powerful attacks to win the day.
*
Health
: This is your hero’s most important attribute as it represents their life force. When
health
reaches zero, your hero is dead – so, it goes
without saying that you should keep a very close eye on it! Armour and equipment can raise your hero’s
health
score – and there are also potions and abilities to be
discovered, to help your hero replenish their
health
during combat.
Starting attributes
Every hero begins their adventures with a zero score for
brawn
,
magic
,
speed
and
armour.
These attributes will be boosted throughout the course of
your adventures. All starting heroes begin with
30 health
.
Equipment boxes
The hero sheet displays a number of important boxes. These boxes each represent a location on your hero where they can equip an item. Whenever your hero comes across a new item
in the game, you will be told which box or boxes on the sheet you can place it in.
Backpack
Your hero also has a backpack that can hold five single items. On your travels you will come across many backpack items, including useful potions and quest items. Each backpack
item you come across takes up one space in your backpack – even if you have multiple versions of the same item (for example, health potions).
Special abilities
The special abilities box, on the right of your sheet, is where you can record notes on your hero’s special abilities. Every hero has two special abilities, which they
learn when they train a career. Some items of equipment can also grant special abilities for your hero. All special abilities are explained in the glossary at the back of the book.
Paths and careers
Your hero starts their adventure as a simple traveller, with no remarkable skills or abilities. Once your hero has gained some experience however, three paths will become
available to you – the paths of the warrior, the rogue and the mage. Your hero can only choose one of these paths, and once that decision is made, it can’t be changed – so choose
wisely. The chosen path will determine the careers and abilities that your hero can learn throughout their adventures.
Your hero’s path and current career should always be recorded at the top of your hero sheet, and its special abilities should be recorded in the special abilities box on the right of your
sheet. A hero can only be trained in
one career
at a time, but they can swap careers any time they wish, providing you have found the relevant trainer or reward item. When your hero trains
for a new career, all abilities and bonuses from the old career are lost.
Gold
The main currency in Valeron is the gold crown. Your hero starts their adventure with 10 gold crowns. These can be used to purchase potions and other special items whenever you
visit a town, village or camp. More gold can be discovered by killing monsters and completing quests.
Quests and Monsters
The kingdom of Valeron is a dangerous place, full of ferocious monsters, wild beasts and deadly magical forces . . . bad news for some people perhaps, but for a would-be
adventurer it means plenty of paid work! By vanquishing foes and completing quests, your hero will grow stronger and more powerful, allowing you to take on tougher challenges and discover even
greater rewards.