During the last playthrough, I've been looking for something that moves away from the standard premise, and I think this is one of the books that has an interesting enough plot an setup, and hopefully will give us a more fun playthrough. Let's look at what the back cover tells us:
So yes, we'll be playing a ghost who attempts to find our murderer and gain our revenge! Also, we're apparently a warrior/knight Lord of some sort with our own castle and household staff.....and we would be searching among them for both murderers as well as allies.Returning to your castle home, Valsinore, after three years away crusading against the forces of darkness, it seems as though evil has been laid to rest. But then, out of nowhere, you are cut down in the final stages of your journey.
Caught between the living world and the Lands of the Dead, your ghostly form must battle to uncover the most malignant evil of all that has taken root in the heart of Valsinore. Before the night is out you must have your revenge or face a fate even worse than death itself.
As usual, with regards to the rules, there's always the following Standard FF Boilerplate Rules!:
Skill, Stamina, & Luck
STAMINA score: Roll two dice. Add 12 points to the result.
LUCK score: Roll one die. Add 6 to the result.
SKILL score reflects your expertise in combat, your ability with weapons, and your dexterity. STAMINA is your general constitution and "Life points" . LUCK score shows how lucky you are. None of them may exceed their Initial score unless specifically stated.
Eating a meal restores up to 4 points of STAMINA; you may only eat one meal at a time.
Testing your Luck: When instructed by the book to Test your Luck, roll two dice. If the result is equal to or less than your current LUCK score, you are Lucky. If the result exceeds your current LUCK score, you are Unlucky. Whatever the outcome, you must deduct one point from your current LUCK score every time you Test your Luck. The more you use your LUCK, the less likely you are to be Lucky.
The combat sequence is then:
1. Roll two dice for your opponent. Add the total rolled to its SKILL score. This is the Attack Strength of your enemy.
2. Roll two dice and add the total to your own current SKILL score. This is your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is the higher, you have wounded your opponent: deduct 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA..
If your opponent's Attack Strength is higher, it has wounded you: deduct 2 points from your own STAMINA.
If both Attack Strengths are equal, you have avoided each other's blows.
4. Begin the next Combat Round, starting again at step 1. This procedure continues until either you or your opponent has a STAMINA score of zero. If your opponent's STAMINA score reaches zero, you have killed it and can continue with your adventure.
Often you will have to fight more than one opponent at a time. Sometimes you will treat them as a single opponent; at others, you will be able to fight them one at a time; and sometimes all of them will be able to attack you, while you defend yourself and may attack only one of them. Specific instructions will be given whenever you meet more than one opponent.
Using Luck in Combat
You can use your LUCK in combat to inflict a particularly serious wound, or to minimize a wound that has been inflicted on you.
Whenever you wound an opponent, you may Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you have inflicted a severe wound: deduct an extra 2 points from your opponent's STAMINA. If you are Unlucky, you have merely grazed it, and you deduct 1 point less than normal from its STAMINA.
If you have been wounded, you can Test your Luck in exactly the same way. If you are Lucky, the wound upon you was only a glancing blow and you can deduct 1 less point of STAMINA than usual. If you are Unlucky, the wound is serious: deduct 1 extra point from your STAMINA.
WILL: Your WILL is "a measure of your determination and strength of purpose". It always starts at 6, but is not limited by Initial score. It also cannot fall below 1.
Another special note about this book is with regards to Equipment.....we don't start out with Provisions or other normal equipment like most other books because....well, we're dead, after all, and we lack a material body to carry anything. The only exception is that we somehow can wield a spiritual equivalent of our magic sword, Nightslayer, even in death. Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to pick up stuff in later parts of the book.
Because of the lack of Provisions, the book usually tries to balance this somewhat by allowing us to "absorb" energies of defeated opponents to regain STAMINA points. Also, because of the unique set-up for this book, losing a battle does not automatically equate to death Game Over (can't really reveal more without spoiling parts of the book).
Now, for the pre-created characters, there are 3 of them. One of them (Evrain Peredur) is apparently supposed to be the PC in Knights of Doom (FF 56, another Jonathan Green book).
For such a supposedly enthusiastic combatant, his SKILL looks a little lacking....Name: Anvus Ravalan
SKILL: 8
STAMINA: 21
LUCK: 9
WILL: 6
Equipment: Nightslayer
Known to some as Nightsbane, to others as the Remorseless Hunter, Anvus earned himself a fearful reputation during the Bathorian Crusade as a warrior who was relentless in his pursuit of the forces of darkness. The first into the fray, always the last to leave the battlefield, he put many a vile Darkspawn to the sword and led the final charge at the Battle of the Fang Rock.
Luck has had its part to play in Anvus' success, as has his great strength. Serious and prone to dark moods, some say that he is not that different from his enemies in his nature - but never within the earshot of the humourless warrior! But it may be true, in part, as Anvus has made the study of the agents of evil his life's work that he might understand his enemies better, learn of their weaknesses and thereby put an end to them all the more ruthlessly.
I haven't read Knights of Doom, but from what I've heard of that particular book, "escaping from seemingly impossible predicaments" sounds about right with regards to its difficulty.Name: Evrain Peredur
SKILL: 10
STAMINA: 17
LUCK: 11
WILL: 6
Equipment: Nightslayer
Having trained with the Knights of Telak, Evrain serves for some years within the Demonkeep Outpost on Ruddlestone's border with Brice, before taking up the mantle of the Lord of Valsinore, following the death of his father under suspicious circumstances. Early in his career he distinguish himself when he single-handedly thwarted the plans of the Sorcerer Belgaroth, who sought to conquer the kingdom of Ruddlestone with an army of Beastmen and Chaos Knights that he was raising in the southern Banarask Hills.
During the Bathorian Crusade he added to his list of noteworthy achievements by earning himself the title Zombie Killer. A skilled swordsman and a skilled horseman too, it would seem that Evrain is blessed by the gods themselves, such is his ability in escaping from seemingly impossible predicaments at the very last minutes by the skin of his teeth.
No flashy title or nickname for the only female character? Oh well....Name: Isolde Laodegan
SKILL: 12
STAMINA: 19
LUCK: 7
WILL: 6
Equipment: Nightslayer
Isolde Laodegan, the Shield Maiden of Libra, swore her life to the service of Good following the death of her mother. She has trained at abbeys, monasteries and temples all across the Old World becoming equally proficient with the sword, bow, spear, and mace. Through physical exercise and spiritual meditation she has honed her body to perfection so that she is just as adept an athlete as she is a deadly sowrdswoman.
However, a curse seems to hang over her family line, both her parents dying before their time and in recent years Isolde has begun to feel that some ill fate awaits her, dogging her every step, waiting until it can bring her down too and have its final, villainous victory.
Anyone interested so far? Which (if any) do we play as?