The Heart of Fire (3 page)
Round two
1.
As before, Sir Hugo and the Serpent roll 2 dice and add their
speed
to the result. Sir Hugo ends up with an attack speed of 15 and the serpent has an attack
speed of 10. Sir Hugo wins.
2.
Sir Hugo rolls a
for his damage score. He chooses to add on his
brawn
(which is higher than his
magic
score). His final total is 12.
3
. The serpent has an
armour
value of 2, so takes 10 points of damage. The serpent is left with 2
health
.
4.
Because the serpent applied its venom special ability in the last round, Sir Hugo must now deduct another 2 points from his
health
– reducing it from 24
to 22.
Combat then moves to the next round, continuing until one combatant’s
health
is reduced to zero.
Restoring health and attributes
Once you have defeated an enemy, your hero’s
health
and any other attributes that have been affected by special attacks or abilities are
immediately restored
back to their normal values (unless otherwise stated in the text). In the above example, once Sir Hugo has defeated the serpent, he can return his
health
back to 30 and continue his
adventures.
Using special abilities in combat
As your hero progresses through the story, they will discover many special abilities that they can use in combat. All abilities are explained in the glossary at the back of the
book.
There are four types of special ability in DestinyQuest. These are: speed (sp), combat (co), modifier (mo) and passive (pa) abilities.
* Speed (sp)
: These abilities can be used at the start of a combat round (before you roll for attack speed), and will usually influence how many dice you can roll or
reduce the number of dice that your opponent can roll for speed. You can only use one speed ability per combat round.
* Combat (co)
: These abilities are used either before or after you (or your opponent) roll for damage. Usually these will increase the number of dice you can roll, or
allow you to block or dodge your opponent’s attacks. You can only use one combat ability per combat round.
* Modifier (mo)
: Modifier abilities allow you to boost your attribute scores or influence dice that you have already rolled. You can use as many different modifier
abilities as you wish during a combat round.
* Passive (pa)
: Passive abilities are typically applied at the end of a combat round, once you or your opponent has taken health damage. Abilities such as
venom
and
bleed
are passive abilities. These abilities happen automatically, based on their description.
Damage score and damage dice
Some special abilities will refer to a damage score and others will refer to rolling damage dice. A damage score is when your hero rolls one die and adds their
brawn
or
magic
to the total (as in the previous combat example). This is the most common means of applying damage to your opponent. Some abilities allow you to roll damage dice instead. Damage dice
are simply dice that are rolled for damage, but you do not add your
brawn
or
magic
score to the total. For example, the special ability
cleave
allows you to inflict 1 damage
die to all your opponents, ignoring
armour
. You would simply roll 1 die and then deduct the result from each of your opponents’
health
. You do not add your
brawn
or
magic
to this total.
Using backpack items in combat
The outcome of many a combat can be decided by the clever use of backpack items, such as potions and elixirs. From restoring lost
health
to boosting your
speed
,
never underestimate how useful these items can be in turning the tide of battle. However, you can only use
one
backpack item per combat round so choose wisely! Also note that every useable
backpack item has a number of charges. Once these have been used up, they are gone forever.
Runes, glyphs, dyes and other special items
During your adventures, you will come across a number of
special
items that allow you to add attribute bonuses or additional abilities to the equipment you are already
wearing. These items cannot be stored in your backpack and must be used
immediately
when they are found, to add their relevant attribute/ability to a chosen item. Each item of equipment can
hold up to three of these special bonuses.
Death is not the end
When your hero dies, their adventure isn’t over. Simply make a note of the entry number where you died and then return to the quest map. Your
health
is immediately
restored back to full. However any consumable items that were used in the combat (such as potions and elixirs) are gone forever!
You can now do the following:
1.
Return to the entry number where you died and try it again.
2.
Explore a different location on the map, such as a town or another quest.
You can return to the entry number where you died anytime you wish. If you are having difficulty with a particular combat, then try a different quest, or purchase some helpful
potions or items from a local vendor.
NOTE
: In some quests, when your hero is defeated, there are special rules to follow. You will be given an entry number to turn to, where you can read on
to see what happens to your hero.
Taking challenge tests
Occasionally, during your travels, you will be asked to take a challenge by testing one of your attributes (such as
speed
or
brawn
). Each challenge is given a
number. For example:
Speed | |
Climb the cliff face | 9 |
To take a challenge, simply roll 2 dice and add your hero’s attribute score to the result. If the total is the same as or higher than the given number, then you have
succeeded. For example, if Sir Hugo has a
speed
of 4 and rolls a
and a
, then he would have a total of 9. This means he would have successfully completed the above challenge.
Advanced rules: Team combat
Occasionally some monsters are just too powerful to overcome, even for your hero. To stand a chance of defeating these epic foes you will need to team up with your hero (or a
friend’s hero) from
DestinyQuest 1: The Legion of Shadow
. (A sample hero is provided at the front of this book.)
A team combat is shown on the map as a black sword symbol. These battles follow a slightly different set of combat rules to take into account two heroes fighting alongside each other against a
powerful opponent.
The combat sequence
In each combat round:
1.
Each hero can decide if they will
attack
or
support
.
If a hero attacks they roll for their attack speed as normal (using speed abilities if they
wish)
. If one hero chooses to be a support hero, then they do
not
roll for attack speed. (See support hero, below.) One hero
must
attack in each round.
2.
Roll
2 dice
for your opponent and add their
speed
score to the total. This is your opponent’s attack speed.
3. The combatant with the highest attack speed wins the combat round.
If the highest set of scores are the same (for a hero and their opponent), it is a stand off
– the combat round ends (see step 6) and a new one begins. If two attacking heroes get the same score, then they can choose which hero will strike against the opponent.
4. If a hero wins a combat round, they can roll for damage as normal against their opponent.
Damage is applied and the combat round ends (see step 6).
5. If the opponent wins the combat round, then they strike against the hero who last dealt health damage to them
(this excludes passive effects, such as
bleed
and
venom
).
If no hero has caused health damage, then the opponent strikes against the hero with the highest armour
. The hero who is being attacked can use their combat and modifier
abilities as normal. Their ally can also play any helpful modifier abilities (depending on the ability’s description).
6.
At the end of each combat round, any damage from passive effects (such as
bleed
or
venom
) are applied to each combatant. If opponents still have
health
remaining, then a new combat round begins. Return to step 1.
Support heroes
Heroes who choose not to attack during a combat round (see step 1) are referred to as
support heroes
.
They can still be hit in combat if the opponent wins (see
step 5), but by choosing not to attack they give their ally a chance to win combat rounds and apply abilities/damage.
A support hero can use modifier abilities on themselves or their ally as
normal (depending on the ability’s description)
. This includes abilities like
heal
and
greater heal
.
* Top tip:
Swap your heroes regularly, between attacking and support, to share out damage. Remember, an opponent always attacks the last hero to win a round and cause
health damage – so your heavy hitters (such as mages and rogues) need to be careful that they don’t become the sole target of the opponent’s attacks. Swapping a hero into a
support role, while their ally becomes the sole attacker, can be a vital strategy to control an opponent’s aggression.
Passive abilities
If both heroes have the same passive effect (such as
bleed
or
venom
) then these abilities can
all
be applied to an opponent (providing each hero has met the
criteria for applying that passive). For example, if both heroes have the
bleed
ability and both have done health damage to their opponent, then the opponent takes damage from each
bleed
effect (2 damage (1+1) at the end of each round).
Defeating and looting an epic monster
Providing one hero is still alive at the end of the combat, then both heroes are considered to have defeated the monster. This means that each hero can now choose one reward
from those on offer. (
NOTE
: a hero can only choose a reward when they defeat the monster for the first time. If they fight the monster multiple times to aid other heroes
then they cannot choose further rewards.)