Legion of Shadow (2 page)
The maps
The story is divided into three chapters – known as ‘Acts’. Each of the three Acts has a map, which shows you the locations of all the different quests that
your hero can take part in. (The maps are available in the colour section at the beginning of your book.) To select a quest you simply turn to the corresponding numbered entry in the book and read on from
there, returning to the map when you have finished.
Choosing quests
Each map will provide you with a number of different quests. Some quests are harder than others. A simple colour-coded system ranks the quests in order of difficulty:
*
Green quests
: These are the easiest quests to complete. Heroes with even the most basic of equipment will still emerge victorious.
*
Orange quests
: Heroes will find these tasks a little more challenging, requiring them to defeat numerous enemies to succeed.
*
Blue quests
: Things get a lot tougher with blue quests. Monsters are more likely to have special abilities and higher attribute scores, meaning your hero will need to
be fully prepared and equipped for the dangers they may face.
*
Red quests
: These quests should only be attempted once you have completed the majority of green, orange and blue quests. Your hero will need to use everything
they’ve got to overcome these difficult challenges and triumph.
Quests can be done in any order you wish – although note that it is wiser to complete the easier quests (green and orange) before you attempt the harder ones (blue and
red).
Legendary monsters
On each map you will also see some spider symbols. These represent special monsters that your hero can choose to fight if they so wish. Known as ‘legendary
monsters’, these powerful foes will provide you with some of the toughest challenges in the game. Only the bravest of heroes, who are confident in their abilities and have good gear from
their questing, should seek out and battle these mighty opponents.
Boss monsters
Each Act of the story has a final boss monster that must be defeated before you can advance the story to the next Act. These boss monsters are represented by the skull symbol on
the map.
It goes without saying that these final bosses are no pushovers and should only be attempted once you have fully explored each map and completed most of the quests.
Towns, villages and camps
Every Act of the story has its own town, village or camp, which your hero can visit any time between quests. They are represented on the map by the building icon. Simply turn to
the corresponding page entry whenever you wish to visit. These locations can provide your hero with items to purchase, additional quests, hints and tips and even some career trainers.
It is always a good idea to visit these areas first, whenever you start a new map. The inns and taverns can be a great source of rumour and information regarding the challenges ahead.
Upgrading equipment
The primary goal of DestinyQuest is to equip your hero with better weapons, armour and equipment. These will boost your hero’s attributes such as
brawn
and
magic
, and help them to survive longer in battle.
At certain times in the story you will be offered a choice of rewards for your hero. Usually this will be the result of killing a monster or completing a quest, but there are also many other
ways of gaining rewards – some easier to find than others.
When you are offered a choice of rewards, you will be told how many items you may pick from the selection. It is up to you to decide which reward/s will be best for your hero. These rewards,
such as rings, pieces of armour, weapons and necklaces, will commonly give boosts to certain attributes. Select your rewards wisely to boost the attributes that are the most essential for your
hero.
When you have chosen your reward, you write its name and details in the corresponding box on your hero sheet. Make sure to update any attributes that are affected by the new reward. Remember, it
is your decision what rewards you take. You can always pass on items if they don’t interest you.
Replacing equipment
Your hero can only carry one item in each box. When you choose a reward and your hero already has an item in the corresponding box, the new item
replaces
the old one
– and the old item is
destroyed.
When you destroy the old item, all attribute bonuses and abilities that it provided are lost, to be replaced by those from the new item.
Combat
Valeron can be a wild and dangerous place. Most of the creatures you encounter will be hostile and it will be up to you (and your hero!) to battle and defeat these monsters, to
emerge victorious.
When you enter into combat, you will be given your opponent’s attributes. These are usually
speed
,
brawn
(or
magic
),
armour
and
health.
Some may also
have special abilities that you will need to take note of.
The combat sequence
Combat consists of a number of
combat rounds.
In each round of combat you roll dice to determine who hits who and who takes damage. (Note: A dice is considered to be a
standard 6-sided dice.) Once damage has been applied, a new combat round starts. Combat continues until either your hero or their opponent is defeated.
In each combat round:
1.
Roll
2 dice
for your hero and add their current
speed
score to the total. This is your hero’s
attack speed
.
2.
Roll
2 dice
for your opponent and add their
speed
score to the total. This is their
attack speed
.
3.
The combatant with the highest attack speed wins the combat round. If both scores are the same, it is a stand off – the combat round ends (see step 7) and a new
one begins.
4.
The winner of the round rolls
1 die
and adds either their
brawn
score or their
magic
score to the total, whichever is highest. (Note: Monsters
will only have one or the other, not both.) This will give you a
damage score
.
5.
The loser of the round deducts their
armour
value from the damage score. Any remaining damage is then deducted from their
health.
(If the damage score
was 8 and the loser had an
armour
of 2, they would take 6
health
damage.)
6.
If this damage takes your hero’s or your opponent’s
health
to zero, they are defeated. If both combatants have
health
remaining, then the
combat continues.
7
. At the end of each combat round, any damage from passive effects (such as
bleed
or
venom
) are applied to each combatant. If both opponents still have
health
remaining, then a new combat round begins. Return to step 1.
Example of combat
Sir Hugo has awoken a slumbering serpent and must now defend himself against its venomous attacks.
Special abilities
Venom: Once you have taken health damage from the serpent, at the end of every combat round you must
automatically lose 2
health.
Round one
1.
Sir Hugo rolls 2 dice to determine his attack speed. He rolls a
and a
giving him a total of 6. He adds on his
speed
score of 4 to give him a final total of 10.
2.
The serpent rolls 2 dice to determine its attack speed. The result is a
and a
making 11. The serpent’s
speed
is 6, making its final total 17. The serpent has won the first round of combat.
3.
A die is rolled for the serpent to determine its damage score. The result is a
. Its
brawn
score is added onto this, to give a final total of 9.
4.
Sir Hugo deducts his
armour
value from this total. This means he only takes 4 points of health damage (9−5=4). His
health
is reduced from 30 to
26.
5.
Sir Hugo is also poisoned by the serpent’s venom. He automatically takes another 2 points of health damage, reducing his
health
to 24.