| This is a fantasy gamebook adventure and you are its hero. It is you who will decide how your journey progresses and it will be you who will determine your ultimate success or failure. Within these pages you control your own destiny. Windhammer is a gamebook that has its own unique rules which you will need to be aware of prior to beginning your quest. These rules are outlined below. The following links will help you to find specific information if needed:
Your Quest | Artifacts
Your Character | The Shimmera
Your Combat Value | Adversary Combat Values
Endurance Points | Combat
Equipment List |
To play Windhammer you will need; a pencil or pen, two six-sided dice, and a printout of the character status and combat record sheet provided with this book. Prior to commencing your journey you should read the directions and other information that has been provided. Within the history of Stoneholme and the circumstances of Halokim Vesh's recruitment to his quest lies much information that may help you on your journey. Subtle clues can be found throughout your quest and the following information will help you discover them. Before beginning though, we should look first at what is a gamebook adventure. It is not a novel in the usual sense. It is a work of interactive fiction, a solo adventure that allows you to make choices as to how you wish to proceed. You will combat those that stand in your way and ultimately win through to your quest's end. To read Windhammer in the same way that you might read a normal book will make no sense. To play Windhammer begin by reading this page of instructions and then the background information in the section describing the inhabitants of Arborell. From there you commence your quest at the section entitled "Maenum" and proceed on your journey according to the directions you encounter as you read the text. You will find that making a map of your progress whilst in Stoneholme will greatly assist you in finding your way through the many passages and halls of the fortress. A map will be especially useful if you wish to avoid traps on subsequent attempts to restore the Tellandra. Deep in the subterranean labyrinths of the ancient mountain fortress of Stoneholme stands a pillar of stonewood known to all the peoples of Arborell as the Tellandra. For more than a century it has been lost, hidden far from the sight of men by the minions of the Horde as they assail it in an effort to destroy its power. Until now it has withstood the onslaught of both the Hordim and the great Dragon Windhammer. Now it lies shattered. Whole, the Tellandra is the most powerful conduit of magic in the known world. Broken, its power ebbs like blood from an open wound, dispersing unseen into the darkness of Stoneholme's deepest chambers. With each passing day the powers of Magic and Lore weaken. It is your quest to find the stonewood before its magic passes completely from the land. Once found it can be restored and then, with its power renewed, the forces of chaos can be contained and destroyed. This is your task. Before beginning your quest you will need to establish the strength and attributes of your character. This is done in the following way. In this book is a character status sheet. This sheet should be printed out prior to commencing. The sheet requires you to record a number of facts about your character; how strong he is, how experienced, his luck and his level of endurance. This sheet is also used to record equipment carried, artifacts found along the way and the number of times during your quest that you may use the ancient Dwarvendim skill known as the "Shimmera". All these things will be explained fully in the next few pages. We will begin however, by determining the attributes that establish your characters "combat value". How strong you are is the first quality to establish when measuring your combat value. Roll one die and add 10 to it. The total should be recorded on your status sheet. This is your strength factor and it will only change during the quest if you suffer severe injury. The text will tell you by how much you should reduce your strength value if you sustain such an injury. With rest injuries can be healed and the text will give full instructions on how you must account for these changes. The level of experience you bring to a combat is very important when determining your combat value. Roll one dice. This is your initial experience level for this quest. With each successful combat that you engage in your experience level will increase by one point. This will then increase your overall combat value by the same amount. Record this initial value on your character status sheet. Important note: Always remember to increase your experience level by one point each time you complete a combat. Do this even if the text does not direct you to. Because your experience level is a part of your overall combat rating this must be increased by one point as well. If you do not make this adjustment, winning combat later in your quest may be very difficult. Luck plays a large part in the success of any quest. In your journey through the pages of Windhammer you will find that luck will play a significant role in determining how easy or how difficult your road will be. Throw one die and add 6 to it. This is your luck factor. It is constant and will not change whilst you are on your quest. A high luck score will make your survival easier but it is not absolutely necessary. After recording all of these values on your status sheet, add them all together. This is your characters initial combat value. It is a measure of your characters ability to survive in the cruel dominion that is now Stoneholme under the occupation of the Horde. Have no illusion about the danger of the quest you are about to undertake. If you are sighted by any creature of the Horde you will be immediately attacked, and the combat will not end until one of you has fallen. No quarter is asked, no quarter is given. There is no opportunity for escape. Survival will depend on how well you fight. After having determined your combat value you will next need to measure your level of endurance. Throw two dice and add 20 to the amount you have thrown. This is your maximum endurance rating and is recorded on your status sheet as your initial value. It cannot be exceeded during the game. As you encounter the creatures of the Horde, or the even more lethal traps that litter the halls and secret places of Stoneholme, you will find your endurance rating rising and falling as you are either injured or take meals or sleep. Your endurance rating determines how fit you are and how well you are fairing against the aggression of the Horde. Should your endurance rating fall to zero then, unfortunately, you have died and your quest has ended. It will then be to your next life that you must look for better luck. To begin your quest you have the following equipment; a sword, a box of matches, a compass, 1 eating knife, 10 silver coins in a money pouch, a small water bottle, a spare set of clothes, including a heavy travel cloak and 6 rations, contained in a small backpack. (This pack can only carry up to 8 rations at any one time) To begin your quest you have in your possession enough food to last for 6 meals. This should be enough food for 3 days. These meals can be taken at any time (but not during combat) and each will restore 6 endurance points to your ongoing endurance rating. There is a limit of one meal per section unless the text specifically allows you to. You cannot exceed your initial maximum endurance rating at any time during the game. There will be opportunities in the text to eat food found as your quest progresses. The text will tell you how such windfalls should be used. The text may also suggest you eat a meal at certain points in the story. It is your choice whether you do or not. The following rule does apply in this situation however. Generally, these meal breaks are indicated because of the time of the day in the story, or because of the time that may have elapsed since your last meal. If you choose not to eat a meal then it means you will go hungry and two endurance points must be deducted from your endurance rating. If you do eat a meal then your endurance rating will be increased by the usual six points. The rations that you have with you will need to be recorded properly on your status sheet. Each meal eaten should be noted on this sheet. Remember you may only carry a maximum of 8 rations at a time in your pack. All the equipment items listed are extremely valuable to your task. Do not lose them. Other items of equipment may well become available to you as your journey progresses. If you find anything you should record it on your status sheet. In days long gone, the fortress of Stoneholme was the seat of power of the Stone Kings. Within its walls there are still many treasures scattered, hidden in secret rooms or discarded within long disused passages. If you find any of these artifacts and you think they might be useful to you, take them and record them on your status sheet. Roll one die. This is the number of times during your quest that you will be able to use the uniquely Dwarvendim skill known as the 'Shimmera'. It is not magic by any means, but a trick of illusion that has proven invaluable when in combat against large, powerful opponents. As it is a trick, somewhat like a magician's sleight-of-hand, the circumstances for its use must be exactly right. This means that its use is somewhat limited, but can be very useful when the circumstances permit. The Shimmera can only be used in two situations. The first is combat. To be able to use the Shimmera in combat you must be facing only a single opponent (the text will tell you when it is possible to use this skill properly). Upon commencing the illusion you appear to fade from view only to reappear behind your opponent where you have the opportunity to strike one lethal blow. It will not work if you are facing more than one opponent or if you are confronting a Dragon. The second situation where the Shimmera can be attempted is to aid escape from pursuing enemies. Use of the Shimmera renders you temporarily invisible and your pursuers will pass you by. Use of this skill under these circumstances is difficult however, the text will tell you if it is an option you can use. Each time you use the Shimmera you must record it on your status sheet. Remember that you can only use it during your quest the number of times indicated by your throw of the die and only when the text gives you the option to use it. Each of the creatures that you encounter will have their own combat value and endurance level. The combat record sheet allows you to record these details in the boxes provided. This sheet should be printed out prior to starting your adventure. How you use these values is described in the following section on combat. Your quest to restore the pillar of stonewood will lead you into the depths of a chaotic realm. And there, alone, you will encounter the many creatures of the Horde. Stoneholme is now their dominion and they will protect it any way they can; no matter what the cost in their own lives. You will be attacked and you will be forced to fight for your life. The combat sequence must be conducted as follows;
Step 1: | Determine the creature's combat value and endurance points. Record these on your combat record.
Step 2: | From the text determine if it is your character or a creature of the Horde that is initiating the attack. Whoever is attacking throws two dice. The number thrown is added to the attacker's combat value. This is the attacker's attack strength (AS) for this round.
Step 3: | Next throw for the defender's turn. Throw two dice; add this to the defender's combat value. This is the defender's defence strength (DS).
Step 4: | Whoever has the greatest strength value wins the combat round. The loser must then have deducted from their endurance rating the number by which they lost the combat. As an example, if the loser rolled 5 points less than their opponent they should have that number of points deducted from their endurance rating. A drawn combat round leaves neither combatant injured.
Step 5: | Repeat steps 2 to 4 for the next combat round. Combat continues in this way until either your endurance rating or the endurance rating of your opponent falls to zero. At this point the combatant's wounds are fatal and he or it will die.
With your character attributes determined you are now ready to continue on to the next stage of your preparation. Copies of the status sheet, combat record and Tak Lovar's map of Northern Kalborea are provided at the link on the home page. As mentioned before, these sheets should be printed out and in the case of the character status sheet, completed prior to starting your journey. In the accompanying pages you will find considerable information about your character, who the Dwarvendim are, and the reasons why you are about to undertake a most hazardous journey into the heart of a dark domain. Read these words carefully. Although the nature of the Horde may at first be sketchy you will know as much as most adventurers do. For most of the peoples of Arborell, whether they be Dwarvendim, Kalborean, Faeyen or NomDruse, the Horde is the stuff of legend and myth. But now the Horde has returned and the worst nightmares of Men have come to reality. If the names Morg, Hresh, Mutan, Reaver or Jotun are unfamiliar do not be concerned as a short introduction to these creatures is provided in the background section of this book. You will find as you progress through this adventure that they will become all too familiar. __________________________________________________________ Home | ReadMe | Instructions | Inhabitants | Map of Northern Kalborea Quick Find Page| Email | Book Two - Earth and Stone