Let's Play - Duelmaster: Challenge of the Magi

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Thaluikhain
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Let's Play - Duelmaster: Challenge of the Magi

Post by Thaluikhain »

Thinking of doing another Let's Play, in this case, Duelmaster: Challenge of the Magi. This would require at least 2 players, playing as mages chasing each other around 16 magic realms accessed by magic with the one left alive at the end becoming the leader of all the mages.

There is a way to play with only one player, and it's quite decent given that it's less than 2 pages of rules to turn a 2 player game into a 1 player game, or in other words not very good. I suppose doing it via forum would allow to have more than 2 players with some minor tweaking of the rules if people were keen. In any case, this would require one thread per mage.

There is a bit of an issue with game balance. There's 6 types of mages, selecting from 5 colours of spells, containing 3 spells each. Some spells are rather better than others, and there is one very powerful trick. However, there's only a brief description of each, and you only find out exactly what happens when you use a spell. Each player can only chose 6 of the 15 spells, and each colour can only be used in 3 of the 16 realms, so many spells wont be used in a single game.

So, could leave things as they are, and each player has an equal chance of choosing and using good or bad spells. Alternatively, could point out some of the strengths and weaknesses of spells so players could make informed choices. Or possibly tweak things about to even things out.
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

I'd run it as-is and no hints. Even with perfect knowledge of the circumstances and a map of the wtf environment, the game would mostly be a crapshoot anyway. CotM's strength is in the wild phantasmagoria and sense of exploring the weirdness, so run with that.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

I'm interested. I vote leave it as-is, if either magi discovers any awesome combos through experimentation or shrewd choices, then more power to them.

We should have full disclosure about who has played/knows the powers, though.
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Post by SGamerz »

Run it as it is.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

As is. Part of the fun of gamebooks is seeing bizarre/unusual/potentially broken mechanics.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

SlyJohnny wrote:We should have full disclosure about who has played/knows the powers, though.
Oh definitely. And also, no googling things, players only read their own thread (and this one), people who aren't playing be careful what they write in this or players threads to avoid giving things away and so on.

Yeah, I know, sounds really obvious, but I cam across a Let's Play on another forum where one person on one team googled a minor thing to see if it was based on mythology to help with a puzzle, which is a bit unfair, especially if the site they came to had lots more info. So it bears spelling out.

Another rules things, the books keep track of what people are done with codewords, a player will come across a paragraph and it might say something like "if you have the codeword xxxxxx or your opponent has the codeword yyyyyy, go to 147". I could skip that and just go to 147 in that case, so people don't know that the other person has gotten there first from the code. Unless people wanted to keep that to be truer to the game. Could even announce to the other player that their opponent wanted to know if they had a codeword, because that's how it would be in the books, but seems unnecessary via forum.

Anyway, the rules (copied and pasted from elsewhere on the net to avoid typing out again):

The Law of the Land
The Challenge

You are a powerful mage, one of the Inner Council of Magicians, all of whom have mastered the greater magics. Each of you specialises in one of the five types or colours of magics. The head of your arcane Council, Emeritus the Sorceror, is dead and his successor among the councillors must be chosen in the time-honoured fashion - by ritual duel to the death in the Rainbow Land. As one of the Inner Council, you have put yourself forward as a claimant. Only one other has dared to oppose you, but you know not which of your illustrious colleagues feels mighty enough to challenge you.

The Rainbow Land

The Rainbow Land is a mystical realm of magic which only mages and those able to Invoke the Portals may visit. Long ago it was peopled by a magician who thought of himself as a god and now it is populated by those he placed there to be his subjects. He perished long ago but the denizens of the Rainbow Land live on. He shaped the Land into sixteen different planes. In some of these there is a colour or even two colours of magic and those possessed of the Knowledge may cast the greater magic spells of those colours. Others are places without colour magic, where only some lesser magics may be cast. The planes are linked by magical portals that open into the Nexus, a nowhere place of coruscating colours, where a mage may find portals to certain other areas of the Land. This ancient Land, rich with varied cultures, legends, terrifying creatures and powerful artefacts, like an oasis in time, has changed little in centuries.

Here you must play a dangerous game and hunt your opponent down while finding the magical artefacts that will help bring you victory. As Duelmaster, undreamed-of power will be yours. Only one foe stands between you and glory.
The Five Colours of Magic
RED - Red magic is fire magic, the magic of heat and raw energy and those evil spirits that live in flame. Mages that specialize in red magic are called pyromancers. They may find their Inner Sanctum in the Palace of Flames.

BLACK - Black magic is death magic, the power of evil and the undead. Mages that specialize in black magic are called necromancers. They may find their Inner Sanctum in the Citadel of the Skull.

BLUE - Blue magic is mind magic, the magic of illusion and the power of thought, which transcends good or evil. Mages that specialize in blue magic are called sorcerors. They have their Inner Sanctum in the Sea of Glass.

GREEN - Green magic is earth magic, the magic of nature and living things. Mages that specialize in this magic are called druids. They have an Inner Sanctum in the Forest of Arden.

WHITE - White magic is holy magic, the power of good. Mages that specialize in white magic are called wizards and they have an Inner Sanctum within the Silvered Spires.

MASTER OF FIVE MAGICS - Some there are who study magic of many colours. These are called magicians. They attain mastery in no single colour but may have knowledge of all. A magician has no Inner Sanctum, but may find a friend at the Rainbow Inn.

Each class of mage knows various greater colour magics, as follows.

Pyromancer: 3 red, 1 black, 1 blue and 1 green.
Necromancer: 3 black, 2 red and 1 blue.
Wizard: 3 white, 2 green and 1 blue.
Druid: 3 green, 2 white and 1 red.
Sorceror: 3 blue, 1 black, 1 red and 1 white.
Magician: any six but no more than two from any one colour.

Choose the class you wish to be and the spells you wish to take from the following list. Write your choice on the Character Sheet provided. Do not tell your opponent your choices.
So, two types of evil, two types of good. Druids and pyromancers have one spell from each other's magic, not sure if there is anything to be read into that. Sorcerors are neutral in the "beyond good and evil" sense. Magicians are unaligned.

(Also, in the book it's "sorcerors", my spell check tells me it should be "sorcerers")

The Book of Spells

Greater Magics

BLACK MAGIC

The Blight of Desponde
Causes your enemy's flesh to putrefy.
Cost: 3 CP

The Finger of Death
Causes the target's heart to stop beating. You cannot cast this spell unless you have the Sceptre of Doom.
Cost: 2 CP

The Deathknight
Summons an undead warrior to attack your enemy.
Cost: 1 CP


WHITE MAGIC

Holy Fires of Judgement
Brings down a pillar of white fire upon your enemy.
Cost: 3 CP

Archangel
Summons an Archangel to slay your opponent. You cannot cast this spell unless you have the Sacred Relics.
Cost: 2 CP

Hallowed Word
A word of power that prevents your enemy from casting red or black magic until they have prayed at the Altar of Darkness.
Cost: 1 CP


GREEN MAGIC

Tanglevines
Causes plant-life to writhe around and entrap your opponent.
Cost: 3 CP

Creeping Doom
Brings forth a plague of insects to swarm over your enemy.
Cost: 2 CP

Juggernaut
Summons the giant earth elemental to kill your opponent. You cannot cast this spell without the Bones of the Earth.
Cost: 2 CP


RED MAGIC

Immolation
Causes your enemy to burst momentarily into flames.
Cost: 3 CP

Firestorm
Unleashes a bolt of flaming energy to vapourize your opponent. You must have the Eye of Flame Ruby to cast this.
Cost: 2 CP

Spirit of Flame
Summons a fire elemental to engulf your enemy. It may also destroy objects.
Cost: 1 CP


BLUE MAGIC

Domination
Allows you to enslave your opponent's will. You must have the Diadem of Rulership to cast this.
Cost: 2 CP

Phantasm
Creates the illusion of a terrible monster with which to assail your opponent.
Cost: 2 CP

Feeblemind
Drains your enemy's power to cast spells.
Cost: 1 CP
Generally that's one 3cp spell that can't be countered (see below), one 2cp spell that needs a magical artifact, and a 1cp spell. Some colours have slightly different cp costs, though.

Concentrations Points (CPs)

Casting spells drains you of concentration. Each time you cast a greater magic or a counterspell (see below) you must subtract the correct number of CPs from the total on your Character Sheet. You begin the game with 14 CPs. Your CPs cannot go higher than 14 (except where otherwise stated). If you do not have the required amount of concentration you may not cast the spell. A spell may be used as many times as your concentration points allow but not more than once in a single magical combat. So, if you were a wizard, say, you could cast Holy Fires of Judgement only once whilst fighting your opponent. The next time you both meet, you could cast Holy Fires again.

Counterspells
Some, but not all, of the greater magic spells may be negated by a counterspell. Choose six from the following list and write them on your Character Sheet. Each counterspell costs 1 CP to cast. Counterspells may be cast as many times as your CP total allows but, as with greater magic spells, they cannot be cast twice in the same combat.

The Chalice of Incorruptible Life
Counters the Finger of Death.

Rite of Exorcism
Banishes the Deathknight to its rightful resting place.

Meltstone
Dissolves the Juggernaut.

Fireskin (no cost for the pyromancer)
Counters Creeping Doom.

Tower of Indomitable Will
Shields the caster from a Domination spell.

Absorption
Absorbs the force of the Feeblemind spell.

Wall of Ice
Shields the caster from the Firestorm spell.

Extinguish (no cost for the druid)
Vanquishes the Spirit of Flame.

Iron Maiden
Incarcerates the Archangel.

Mouth of the Void
Silences the sound of the Hallowed Word.
Lesser Magics
These spells cost nothing to cast and may be used in any colour area - some may even be used in areas without colour magic. Each lesser magic spell may only be cast once but you may take more than one of each type, up to six. Choose six lesser magic spells and write them on your Character Sheet.

Focus
Restores 4 CPs. Can be used at any time, but not in combat.

Heal
Restores 4 Life Points (see later). Can be used at any time, but not in combat.

Ambuscade
Sets a magical trap for your opponent. You will be told when you can cast this.

Dispel Trap
Negates an Ambuscade.

Bless
Dispels evil influence. Only a wizard can take this spell.

Raise the Dead
Creates a zombie servant. Only a necromancer can take this. You will be told when you can use it.

Animal Kinship
Befriends an animal. Only a druid may choose this.

Fire Imp Familiar
Can only be cast in physical combat. Gives +1 to your combat rolls for that combat only. Only a pyromancer can take this.

Teleport
Only a sorceror can choose this. May be used at any time, but not in combat, and only in an area of colour magic. Teleports you to any area in the Land. If you cast this, turn to the Beginning section of the Law of the Land and choose a place to go to.
Combat
Both of you begin with 20 Life Points (LPs). Keep a running total of your LPs on your Character Sheet. When your LPs are down to zero you are dead. Your LPs can never go higher than 20.

There are two types of combat, magical and physical. When you begin a paragraph, read out loud the three letter code at its head if there is one. If your opponent's paragraph is headed by the same letters you will both be teleported to the same place in the area. If this is an area of colour magic, you may engage in magical combat. Otherwise any combat wil be physical.

Physical Combat

Both players roll a dice and add any pluses they may have. The player with the highest score hits the other with a dagger or any other weapon. Roll another dice to determine how many Life Points the loser loses. This continues until one flees or is dead. In those situations where you may be fighting a creature in the Land you will have to roll a dice for the creature as well.

Magical Combat

This is explained clearly in the text. You will be casting spells and counterspells, if able. Note that you may cast any number of a particular spell throughout the game if you have sufficient CPs but you cannot cast the same spell more than once in a single combat - the laws of magic do not allow it. However, scrolls are available in the Land that will enable you to cast a certain spell once only. If you can already cast that spell, then you can cast that spell twice in a single combat.
I'd probably want to skip the three letter code business, as that might allow players to know where each other is, but would keep it if people wanted to be true to the books.
Codewords

You will be told at times to record certain codewords. Record them in the box provided on your Character Sheet. Then, when you are asked whether you have a particular codeword, just check your box. If you need to know whether your opponent has a codeword recorded, just ask him or her to do the same. When you have checked for codewords, follow the instructions in the text.


Equipment

You begin the game with three daggers, a flint and tinder, and a water bottle (full). You will be told when you can refill your water bottle if it becomes empty. You must keep a record of whether your bottle is full or not.


Gold

You will probably need some gold during your quest to become Duelmaster. You begin the game without any but there are various sources of gold scattered throughout the Land. Gold is the common currency of the Rainbow Land and you will have to discover for yourself how to get hold of it.


Travel in the Rainbow Land

To travel from plane to plane in the Land a mage 'Invokes the Portals' to create a magical gate to the Nexus. As a mage is an interloper in the Land, on occasion you will be transported to the Nexus against your will. Such is the Law of the Land.


Time in the Rainbow Land

At points in the text you will be told to WAIT. This means you must wait until your opponent is also told to WAIT. Both of you then turn on to the next paragraph simultaneously. When you are told to WAIT/STEED and you have a steed, do not wait for your opponent - turn on immediately.
The Beginning
When you have chosen what type of mage you are and your list of spells, you must decide which area of the Land you wish to begin the game in and turn to the paragraph number indicated. The time has come, the duel is about to begin. You gather up your spell books and place three daggers at your belt then, leaving your Inner Sanctum, walk to the place where you may Invoke the Portals. When you are ready for the ultimate test, you Invoke and sixteen darkly-shimmering doors appear in the air, forming a circle around you. Each one opens onto a dangerous and strange land. Somewhere behind one of these you must meet your opponent and kill or be killed. Making your choice you step through one of them and are surrounded by a whirlpool of coruscating colour. Well-versed in the lore of the Rainbow Land you know exactly where each of the portals leads.

Areas of no magic

The Scorched Sands of Akhneton (522)
The Shrine of the Martyrs (410)
The House of Mausolus (74)
The Greenwood (14)
The Rainbow Inn (668)
The Desolation of Illexmanan the Aggrieved (382)

Areas of colour magic

The Citadel of the Skull (88) - Black
The Silvered Spires (6) - White
The Forest of Arden (78) - Green
The Palace of Flames (16) - Red
The Sea of Glass (428) - Blue
The Phoenix Crags (506) - Red and Blue
The Sacred Grove (492) - Green and White
The Garden of Contemplation (212) - Green and Blue
The Caverns of Perdition (2) - Black and Red
The Tower of Immutable Paradox (682) - Black and White
Map:
Image
There are some special rules in the back of the book, about victors going up a level and fighting a new challenger who knows what type of mage there are, and about other things different types of mages can do for bonus points, but those aren't really needed. They've also got a list of sample characters but not really seeing any point to them, and there's no way of ensuring that both players don't pick the same one. One of them is "Vommh the Morbid", who you may encounter in the Arena of Death book, so they share continuity.
So, will wait to see who is playing, then will create separate threads for them to create their characters in and then we shall see who will be the next ruler of the council.

It strikes me that this would be more topical a month ago during the US elections. The pyromancer sample character is even described as being orange, though apparently with little interest in draining swamps or building walls.
Last edited by Thaluikhain on Sat Dec 24, 2016 5:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Ok, seems to be a lack on interest in Challenge of the Magi. Would people be more interested in a more familiar FF title? I've got a few sequel types, such as Return to Firetop Mountain, Midnight Rogue (set in Blacksand again) or Trial of Champions (set in Deathtrp dungeon again). Or a number of more unrelated titles such as Slaves to the Abyss or Magehunter.
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Post by Mr Shine »

Return to Firetop and Trial of Champions I would say are pretty unsuitable for this format, being One True Path or Else adventures, the others I don't recall, but I would be happy to give a go.
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Post by Omegonthesane »

We tried to do a couple DuelMasters books a while ago. The one with a hunter versus his prey was successful, the one with two different armies gathering allies to start a war ended in embarrassing death in the "gather allies" phase twice in a row before we actually got to conflict. All I remember was "The knight Matchless Queen throws a stone the knight down the valley to attract dragons" or words to that effect (the book didn't actually support this option, sadly).
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Thaluikhain
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Mr Shine wrote:Return to Firetop and Trial of Champions I would say are pretty unsuitable for this format, being One True Path or Else adventures, the others I don't recall, but I would be happy to give a go.
Hmm, ok, maybe Midnight Rogue then. I happen to like that one because it's not about saving the world again. If you get killed, then you don't get promoted, the rest of the world doesn't end because you failed a luck roll or chose the wrong option.
Omegonthesane wrote:We tried to do a couple DuelMasters books a while ago. The one with a hunter versus his prey was successful, the one with two different armies gathering allies to start a war ended in embarrassing death in the "gather allies" phase twice in a row before we actually got to conflict. All I remember was "The knight Matchless Queen throws a stone the knight down the valley to attract dragons" or words to that effect (the book didn't actually support this option, sadly).
Yeah, read that thread. Challenge of the Magi doesn't really have that sort of stuff, players are unlikely to be defeated except by other players.
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Post by SlyJohnny »

We've got two people who haven't played and one person who has for duel of magi, right? I say go for it and people can join either team later on.

But then I'm biased because I really like the sound of it.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

I'd honestly be down for either. I just haven't been on much.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Ok, then, so it seems we will have Challenge of the Magi, with Mage1 controlled by SlyJohnny (and anyone else who wants to join later) and Mage2 controlled by Darth Rabbitt (and anyone else who wants to join later).

If nobody objects, I'll avoid mentioning testing for codewords, just show the results (and codewords a player has gotten will be seen by that player).
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Ok, so the battle has begun.

Was slightly worried that both players would happen to choose the same realm and bump into each other right away, but that was only a 1/16 chance and has not happened.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

And the duel is over, the victor being:
The Amazing Rando
There are rules for a re-match, or rather the victor holds the position of leader of the mages for a while, and a younger mage challenges them later. The older mage has the advantage of going up a level, gaining one more greater and lesser spell, and also one more LP and CP. The younger mage has the advantage of being unknown, whereas they know the older mages spells.

The wording is "A new opponent will know the class and spells of your character". I would think that that meant the new opponent, being played by the same player as last time, would know the class and any spells the older mage tried to use on them. But it could be read as them knowing all the spells the older mage had, or maybe even all the spells including their new ones.

EDIT: I also think a rematch could work, in that neither player got to do much exploring at all, the setting is still mostly unexplored, most realms weren't visited, no items were collected and most spells weren't cast.
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SlyJohnny
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Post by SlyJohnny »

Well done, Darth Rabbit. I'm down for a rematch, either as two new mages or A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS.
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Post by Ikeren »

I'm actually kind of interested in playing this, but I guess it's already started and you already got 2 players? Maybe in a week or two if you're still going? I'm outta town next weekend anyways.
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Post by angelfromanotherpin »

There's a fair amount to explore, I wouldn't be surprised if there were several runs.
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Post by Ikeren »

Coolio. I'll keep an eye.
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Post by Darth Rabbitt »

Honestly Ikeren you can take over for me if you want. I haven't exactly been on much lately.
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Post by Ikeren »

I'm outta town the next 4 days. But then yes, if Thaluikhain is chill about it?
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Post by Thaluikhain »

Sure..."The Amazing Rando" has retired, and new mages are fighting to be the next boss.

As it stands, SlyJohnny has a (very slight) advantage of having played a little before, though without really seeing much of the realms or the spells, so it might be fair for you to read one or the other of the threads. Alternatively, go in blind and find out for yourself what things are like, which is part of the appeal after all.
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Post by SlyJohnny »

It was a very short game with almost no exploration, just a lot of early confrontations and then a sudden, unexpected death. I learned very little, and I imagine it was the same story for my opponent. Probably the fairest thing is that you read my opponent's thread, Ikeren? Unless you've already read one or both.

Do let me know if you wind up reading mine, I might make different initial choices.
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Post by Ikeren »

Haven't read either, don't super care to. I like the WTFuckery that seems common with these sorts of things.
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Post by Thaluikhain »

In that case I'll create a third thread for your mage then.
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