Post by Snowshadow on Mar 26, 2012 13:25:06 GMT
On another Thread members were asking about the changes that Mongoose Publishing’s extended 550 Section Flight from the Dark has: basically the expansion occurs at the beginning when the monastery is attacked, then follows a similar route to the original (although Fogwood and Malis Mound are expanded), the Alema Bridge section is expanded too and the final sections when you reach Holmguard are extended, including the Graveyard of the Ancients.
This is a Massive SPOILER. Do not read it if you want the Mongoose Publishing edition to remain a surprise for you when you read it. It is now one of if not THE HARDEST Lone Wolf book to complete – forget Kimah, the Chaos Master & Ixiataaga, the final fight is practically impossible, plus unless you have Mindblast or Mind Over Matter there is a 50% chance of instant death at the hands of a crossbow wielding Drakkar before you have even left the monastery.
Okay for the rest of you here are the main differences & clarifications that jump out at me…
The Story so Far & Kai Monastery:
In the northern land of Sommerlund, it has for centuries been customary for parents to send their most gifted children to the monastery of Kai on the occasion of their seventh birthday.
We are told that King Ulnar I was a gifted Kai Master (battle of Maakengorge).
It is to be your eighth Fehmarn, which puts you at age 15.
Inattention in class - the question you are asked by Kai Master Star Fire during Lastlands Geography is "What is the name of the Wildlands coastal city?" [Ragadorn].
He tosses a coin and you are given extra weapons training, [instead of collecting firewood].
You have a Backpack and Belt Pouch containing Random Number Gold Crowns and a Map of the Lastlands (not carried as a Special item) and that is all the equipment you begin with.
You are awoken by your timepiece (Sommlending not as technically backwards as I always assumed in the early books). You leave your dormitory by north door which leads to the training park which is in the centre of the Kai Monastery. You are sparring with a wooden Sommlending Oak practice Sword with Star Fire when the attack begins.
The attacking Kraan drop their Giak riders and Master Star Fire orders you to accompany him and shut the half-open Gatehouse door. You either run or can grab a Weapon from the rack [Random Number Dagger (0), Mace (1), Short Sword (2), Warhammer (3), Short Sword (4), Sword (5), Axe (6), Sword (7), Broadsword (8), Axe (9)].
You fight Giaks and Master Star Fire orders you to fire the crystal beacon, atop the Tower of the Sun, once the Gate is closed. The beacon will warn the king that the Darklords are attacking and Star Fire is concerned that the sentinels stationed there have not already done so. Star Fire dual-wields a Sword and Axe, if you did not select a weapon from the rack he tosses the Sword to you. He also uses a Vakeros Power Word [remember he is ‘only’ a Kai Master not a Grand Master, interesting]. Grand master Brave Blade also dual-wields twin Swords.
Then Zlanbeast drop more Giaks in nets (like option 0-1 aboard the Green Sceptre in Book 2 '224' onwards) and you fight as you make your way to the Kai Master’s Chambers – the only unbarricaded entrance.
Master Swift Owl thinks you are being cowardly but you explain your quest and he uses his psychic skills to confirm you are indeed being sent to fire the beacon. You can search cupboards to get a Coil of Rope and Dagger as you pass. You get the opportunity to go to your dormitory where you can pick up 10 Gold Crowns and an Axe, afterwards you meet Snow Falcon being attacked by a Giak and if you have the Axe automatically kill the Giak just like playing Greel(!). At the Kai Armoury you may pick up Dagger, Warhammer, Spear, Sword or Quarterstaff.
You make for the stables and the secret passage to the Tower of the Sun, all the time the descriptions make the situation seem more perilous – smoke everywhere, more Giak fights. At the stables the passage is blocked by blazing timbers and shattered roof tiles. You can now see the last Kai Sentinel fighting for their life at the base of the crystal beacon. Your only hope is to enter the Tower of the Sun via the Kai Chapel but that is across the burning battlefield that was the training grounds. You almost reach it when you are faced with a Drakkar with a Crossbow; unless you have Mindblast or Mind Over Matter you have an instant death on 5-9 Random Number Table.
At the Chapel you meet some wounded Kai Healing themselves. You may pick up an Iron Pearl Broadsword (replica of Grand Master’s Weapon that may only be used when defending monastery from attack according to Kai lore). Then you must do a puzzle door lock.
Beyond this is the Grand Hall of the Kai, a tapestry above a large marble fireplace in gold and silver thread and gemstones depicts the battle of Maakengorge and Sun Eagle’s victory. Either side are Kai Master’s Weapons – Dagger, Sword, Mace, Quarterstaff; each adds +1CS! In a mahogany and gold chest of draws from Queen Evaine of Talestria you find Potion of Laumspur, Kai Battle Crystal [Grenade], Kai Sleep Crystal [Gas Grenade] and a Gold Key; All Backpack Items. You ascend the grand marble staircase to the first floor and the four Lore Halls, first time you have been here. In the north-west corner of the Hall of Solaris is a staircase and you ascend to the Kai Master’s Hall which has large pillars of fluted granite and a stone throne where Grand Master Brave Blade sits when he addresses the Kai Masters.
The next level is the Grand Master’s personal chambers, a wood paneled room lined with bookshelves. Above which is a gallery holding the most precious and oldest tomes of the Order. The ladder is broken. Gazing out of a window of Caron crystal you are unable to see anything because of the smoke. There is a trapdoor in the ceiling, if you have the Rope you can easily reach it. Otherwise you press a button on a globe of Magnamund and are able to grab a rising map panel and ingeniously cling on and rise that way, except you cut yourself in the process.
At the base of the trapdoor is the body of Master True Path, sent by Grand Master Brave Blade to perform the same task as you. In the last agonizing moments of his life he was able to seal the trapdoor preventing the enemy from entering. You can then use the Kai Battle Crystal or Sleep Crystal to clear enemies from the base of the Crystal Beacon (Drakkar & 2 Giaks, Laumspur if you fight them). You then have to fight the Giak Captain who is under a Nadziranim spell and immune to Mindblast; he has a Sword, Dagger, Meal and Laumspur.
You fire the crystal beacon – a beam of orange light that reaches all the way to Holmguard in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately that draws attention to you…
On returning to the Grand Master’s chambers you see a black hawk. You look it in the eye and can see the battle at the training park where you are shocked to see only a few Kai survive. The image swirls and suddenly you realize you can see the battle through the eyes of your Grand Master [If you avoid the dormitory route completely you see that Brave Blade killed more than two hundred Giaks earlier, his dual-wielded Swords a blur]. He telepathically tells you to go to the vault and escape, to warn the king. Eventually he is defeated and a hooded figure (nadziran or maybe Vonotar) fires a bolt of scarlet fire at your position.
You use the Gold Key at the base of the staircase in the Grand Hall of the Kai (or Dagger or Mind Over Matter or die). You now enter the Vault of the Sun and heal yourself a bit as you look at holy paintings[+5EP]. You can pick up some laumspur and +1CS Weapons – Dagger, Axe, Broadsword, Warhammer, Quarterstaff, Spear. [N.B. The only +1CS Weapon you cannot pick up at the monastery is a Short Sword, well and Bow I suppose. If near the end you take the Highway Route just outside of Holmguard instead of the River/Graveyard, the 3 false soldiers have +1CS Durenese Swords too.]
You then realize you are Lone Wolf (you are now effectively at Section ‘1’ in the original story). You still have to warn the king – although the royal family are aware the beacon has been fired they of course do not know you are the last of the Kai. You leave the monastery by a secret passage from the Vault of the Sun (like Book 18 in reverse).
Now you can use Sixth Sense at this point – it will not take you directly to Banedon (you can meet him without that Discipline now) but it will make you avoid Fogwood.
Fogwood:
The reason why the hamlet is deserted is because the Giaks are taking the villagers away… You have to fix the mill because Giaks have vandalized it and built a dam so that the whole village will end up underwater. After a couple of Giak fights here you save the villagers and they fight back against the Giaks.
After leaving Fogwood you encounter the Vordak with Raven, [he is immune to Mindblast, which is new whereas the Kraan-riding Vordak after the Drakkar 'ferryman' is not immune].
Malis Mound:
A mile or so later you encounter a tunnel in the hillside, which is too steep to climb. Giaks are looking up into the sky expecting something [villagers from Fogwood delivered via Kraan]. You have no choice but to enter the tunnel. This section sort of replaces the 'bear cave' '195' on in he original FftD. In Mongoose's version, if you fight the bear (on another route, not Fogwood) you can find the Silver Key and 15 Gold Crowns in it's cave but you cannot enter the tunnel and use the key, you hear strange noises in the tunnel and come back out: '158' of the original FftD. Originally it was only after the Bear that you could discover the secret temple, now it is one or the other. Hope that makes sense.
You enter a massive subterranean hall with carved pillars depicting plague, disease and decay: the demise of the Drodarin over seven thousand years ago. If you search the hall you find a small incendiary – a Fire Flask (Backpack Item).
The next hall has piles of clothing (if you are thinking World War II Gas Chambers you are on the right track). You can disguise yourself as a Cener Druid with a Purple Robe (Special Item), gives you a surprise advantage for fights.
Then you walk into an acid chamber which liquifies Sommlending and uses their remains in the production of a plague virus. [Instant death Random Number to avoid this ‘trap’.]
As you explore you have the chance to fight a Cener Druid, one of them is playing on a large bone pipe organ.
Then you have a choice, one direction [dead end] leads to a chamber where plague infected birds are being released out into Sommerlund – and there is nothing you can do about it *shivers*.
The other direction leads to a small cavern which has a giant armoured skeletal, warrior-like entity trapped in the middle of black pit [Shadow Gate, only half his body is visible so is his ‘duress’ somehow keeping the gate open as long as he is half in/half out?]. Hundreds of root-like tendrils have grown out of its bony torso holding it in place. This is Vurnos and he taunts you before trying to break free, which causes a cave-in. You can use the Fire Flask to help you escape. [Secretly think we’ll see wounded Vurnos again Books 29-32]. You leave Malis Mound and resolve to tell the king so he can send an army here to destroy the Cener/bird threat. You do not meet the Burrowcrawler if you go to Malis Mound.
Banedon:
Then it is possible to meet Banedon if you head East, Downstream, South, stay undercover of the forest, [Trimis], head towards noise of battle. [There are other routes to Banedon, including avoiding Malis Mound but you cannot now ignore him and leave him to his fate - only throw the marble, attack the giak or shout the warning].
Alema:
Banedon directs you to Alema. The River Unoram is described as a mile wide at this point. At the entrance to the bridge the Giak and Drakkarim Assault Troops are forming up, this area used by merchants to trade is known as the Alema Mitre along with the Durnstone – a massive pier in the middle of the bridge used as a marketplace for traders.
The fierce battle is taking place on the bridge where Prince Pelethar’s troops are fighting the Darklanders, here’s the clever bit – THE PRINCE WAS ALERTED BY THE CRYSTAL BEACON! That’s how the army ended up here; it is the only way the Darklord’s forces can make their way overland to Holmguard. Preventing passage here will buy the king an extra day or two in mustering Holmguard’s defences.
You have to sneak under and over the bridge behind enemy lines. If you have a Tinderbox or Flint you can ignite some Bor Boom Powder to create a diversion. Eventually you get to the Gourgaz fight (using a fallen Giak as a springboard) but do not have the chance to pick up Prince Pelethar’s Sword! As far as I can tell you cannot avoid Alema and therefore cannot avoid the Gourgaz fight.
As you leave the bridge you pass a wagon of explosives heading for the Durnstone, I assume they blow the bridge [in Book 18 the bridge has been destroyed long ago and only a ford remains].
Graveyard of the Ancients:
The Graveyard of the Ancients has three tunnels instead of two – the third straight ahead tunnel takes you to a chamber with seven green viscous liquid pools illuminating Shianti pictograms that Master Amber Owl could translate for you if they were here. The pools bubble and you must fight Antah Wasp Hatchlings. After that it is down a dark passage where you discover a crypt with a poor Sword (-1CS) and laumspur. If you search the sarcophogi you find the Golden Key. You then have to fight a Rusty Portcullis to escape (CS10 EP15) if you lose 5 or more EP you must use Laumspur or lose 2 more EP due to rust slivers in your fingers. After that it is the normal Graveyard Golden Key/Mind Over Matter door.
Holmguard:
The area between the outer fieldworks and Holmguard itself is known as the Holmguard Pale, normally a shanty town for undesirables it is now bursting with refugees and farmers - including the first arrivals from Toran.
The young officer escorting you is ordered to return to his post by a cruel captain, who tramples Sommlending under the hooves of his horse and you can't keep up [it would appear that he is a Darklord Agent]. If you don't follow him you get the madman encounter as usual, if you follow him you have the choice of the madman encounter or Fars Lane.
Fars lane has an inn - Prince Fedor Tavern which you ideally should enter (5 GC entry fee) because the Royal Scribes inside give you a Guild Pass (Special Item) which helps you get to the king.
Further along is Escutcheon Square with a statue of King Tor III, Ulnars great-grandfather who saved Holmguard from destruction during the Great Fire of MS4935.
The is a Weaponmith & Armourer shop (Rendar Bucklar) selling Backpack (2 GC), Helmet - Special Item +2EP (2 GC), Dagger (2GC), Quarterstaff (2GC), Sword (3GC), Axe (3GC), Chainmail Waistcoat +4EP (4 GC), Broadsword 4GC. The Armour and Broadsword are unusually cheap. N.B. You NEED the Helmet and Chainmail!
You then enter the Guildway and have a much easier time if you have the Guild Pass. It's much less crowded here - quite posh. You get to meet the Guildmaster, a personal friend of Grand Master Brave Blade, normally you'd have to wait weeks for an appointment. He leads you by a secret canal system to the king's palace. You meet Phamister the king's physician (+8EP). He confirms Prince Pelethar rode to Alema to destroy the bridge after being alerted by the crystal beacon. He is rendered speechless when you tell him the Kai are all dead and he holds a silver disc pendant dedicated to Ishir (Talisman of Ishir?) which warns him to destroy the Vordak Gem (if you have one) because it threatons the king [reminds me of Loi-Kymar asking why you carry a Doomstone Bk 3].
King Ulnar:
You are then taken to the Chamber of State where you meet the King, Chancellor Galden and Princess Madelon and tell them of the massacre. Then who should enter but Prince Pelethar who declares you to be an imposter(!). The king surprised at the prince's quick return begins to doubt you and think you are a spy. If you have the Crystal Star Pendant it blazes into life, [kind of 'Sense Evil' that everyone can see] and Madelon comments it is only at the arrival of Pelethar that it activates (and as a goodly artefact you presumably couldn't wear it if you were evil). If you don't have it Madelon (suspicious) asks Pelethar to kiss his lovely wife (her) and when he tries to she declares him as an imposter.
At that point 'Prince Pelethar' transforms into a Helghast! The two guards holding you immediately move to attack it but they are beheaded with his glowing cold blue sword. If you do not have Mindshield you then lose -3EP. Chancellor Galden moves for the doors but the Helghast throws a scarlet dagger at him and it changes course in mid-air to hit him in the back, killing him.
The Helghast then offers to spare Madelon and Ulnar if they surrender you, whether you choose to or not the result is the same - Madelon tells you the Helghast is incapable or mercy. Ulnar presses a button on his throne causing an alarm bell to toll so the Helghast reacts by sliding a bolt across the doors trapping you all inside and keeping the guards outside. As the Helghast does this you grab a loaded hunting crossbow from the wall and fire it at it's back. If you pick a low Random Number (Weaponskill helps) you have a chance of instant death when the Helghast hurls the bolt back (Hunting helps avoid) otherwise -2EP.
If you get a good result you pin the Helghasts hand to the door and can either reload or attack it with a hand Weapon. If you fire the Helghast hurls the bolt like the result of a poor shot with a chance of instant death but Hunting helps avoid. If you move to attack him the Helghast pulls the bolt free just before you reach it and hurls it back - you raise your Weapon if it is a Quarterstaff or Dagger it is destroyed but you lose no EP, if it is any other Weapon it is not destroyed.
As the guards try breaking through the door Princess Madelon tosses you the Helghast's Dagger from Galden's body informing you that only magical weapons can harm the creature [funny how Lone Wolf, who pays so much inattention in class, knew so much about Helghasts in Book 2 previously]. You have to discard a Weapon if you have two. If you do not have Mindshield you lose -2EP. Then you must fight the Helghast with the Dagger (CS22 EP 30), it is immune to Mindblast. [Such a hard fight makes the book practically impossible - your only real chance is if Lone Wolf has CS19 and Weaponskill in Dagger he is 'only' -1 on the Combat Results Table then. It is possible to get the Potion of Alether still after the marsh. Thank goodness it does not use Mindforce.]
The Helghast's Dagger disappears when you destroy it sadly so no taking into Book 2! Madelon and the king praise you and ask your name; "'Si...' you begin. After a moment's thought you finish your reply: 'Lone Wolf. My name is Lone Wolf.'"
The King unbolts the door and the guardsmen rush in and then the book ends in the same way as the original with you being asked to go to Durenor.
SUMMARY:
• Silent Wolf has to take extra weapons training before dawn as punishment for inattention in class, determined by the tossing of a coin.
• When the monastery is attacked Master Star Fire orders Silent Wolf to fire the monastery's crystal beacon to warn the king that the Darklords are attacking.
• After successfully firing the beacon, Silent Wolf is ordered telepathically by Grand Master Brave Blade in his final moments to escape via the Vault of the Sun and warn the king the Kai are lost.
• The villagers of Fogwood are being kidnapped by Cener Druids to have plague virus experiments performed on their remains and the Giaks attempt to flood and destroy the village.
• A giant skeletal warrior known as Vurnos is trapped partially inside a Shadow Gate at Malis Mound, he is wounded but not destroyed.
• Alema Bridge, once used as a trading platform, is unavoidable. Prince Pelethar, forewarned by the beacon, takes his elite guard to destroy the bridge and delay the attack to give Holmguard time to fortify itself. He is slain by a Gourgaz.
• The Graveyard of the Ancients was indeed once a Shianti site but has fallen into evil and now also has Antah Wasps.
• Holmguard provides the chance to purchase armour and a new route to the king via the Guildway and an underground canal system.
• A Helghast disguised as Prince Pelethar declares Lone Wolf to be an imposter and the king has you arrested only for you to eventually save him and his daughter Princess Madelon in a desperate fight which sees Lone Wolf use the Helghast's own dagger against it before the dagger disappears.
.........................................................................................
I cannot recommend highly enough that fans of the original get hold of a copy and play this version. Yes it is hard, extremely, but there is just so much more depth and so many answers to questions that you may not have even considered until then.
If you have any more questions as to what has changed or not just ask and I'll try to help.
Regards, Richard.
This is a Massive SPOILER. Do not read it if you want the Mongoose Publishing edition to remain a surprise for you when you read it. It is now one of if not THE HARDEST Lone Wolf book to complete – forget Kimah, the Chaos Master & Ixiataaga, the final fight is practically impossible, plus unless you have Mindblast or Mind Over Matter there is a 50% chance of instant death at the hands of a crossbow wielding Drakkar before you have even left the monastery.
Okay for the rest of you here are the main differences & clarifications that jump out at me…
The Story so Far & Kai Monastery:
In the northern land of Sommerlund, it has for centuries been customary for parents to send their most gifted children to the monastery of Kai on the occasion of their seventh birthday.
We are told that King Ulnar I was a gifted Kai Master (battle of Maakengorge).
It is to be your eighth Fehmarn, which puts you at age 15.
Inattention in class - the question you are asked by Kai Master Star Fire during Lastlands Geography is "What is the name of the Wildlands coastal city?" [Ragadorn].
He tosses a coin and you are given extra weapons training, [instead of collecting firewood].
You have a Backpack and Belt Pouch containing Random Number Gold Crowns and a Map of the Lastlands (not carried as a Special item) and that is all the equipment you begin with.
You are awoken by your timepiece (Sommlending not as technically backwards as I always assumed in the early books). You leave your dormitory by north door which leads to the training park which is in the centre of the Kai Monastery. You are sparring with a wooden Sommlending Oak practice Sword with Star Fire when the attack begins.
The attacking Kraan drop their Giak riders and Master Star Fire orders you to accompany him and shut the half-open Gatehouse door. You either run or can grab a Weapon from the rack [Random Number Dagger (0), Mace (1), Short Sword (2), Warhammer (3), Short Sword (4), Sword (5), Axe (6), Sword (7), Broadsword (8), Axe (9)].
You fight Giaks and Master Star Fire orders you to fire the crystal beacon, atop the Tower of the Sun, once the Gate is closed. The beacon will warn the king that the Darklords are attacking and Star Fire is concerned that the sentinels stationed there have not already done so. Star Fire dual-wields a Sword and Axe, if you did not select a weapon from the rack he tosses the Sword to you. He also uses a Vakeros Power Word [remember he is ‘only’ a Kai Master not a Grand Master, interesting]. Grand master Brave Blade also dual-wields twin Swords.
Then Zlanbeast drop more Giaks in nets (like option 0-1 aboard the Green Sceptre in Book 2 '224' onwards) and you fight as you make your way to the Kai Master’s Chambers – the only unbarricaded entrance.
Master Swift Owl thinks you are being cowardly but you explain your quest and he uses his psychic skills to confirm you are indeed being sent to fire the beacon. You can search cupboards to get a Coil of Rope and Dagger as you pass. You get the opportunity to go to your dormitory where you can pick up 10 Gold Crowns and an Axe, afterwards you meet Snow Falcon being attacked by a Giak and if you have the Axe automatically kill the Giak just like playing Greel(!). At the Kai Armoury you may pick up Dagger, Warhammer, Spear, Sword or Quarterstaff.
You make for the stables and the secret passage to the Tower of the Sun, all the time the descriptions make the situation seem more perilous – smoke everywhere, more Giak fights. At the stables the passage is blocked by blazing timbers and shattered roof tiles. You can now see the last Kai Sentinel fighting for their life at the base of the crystal beacon. Your only hope is to enter the Tower of the Sun via the Kai Chapel but that is across the burning battlefield that was the training grounds. You almost reach it when you are faced with a Drakkar with a Crossbow; unless you have Mindblast or Mind Over Matter you have an instant death on 5-9 Random Number Table.
At the Chapel you meet some wounded Kai Healing themselves. You may pick up an Iron Pearl Broadsword (replica of Grand Master’s Weapon that may only be used when defending monastery from attack according to Kai lore). Then you must do a puzzle door lock.
Beyond this is the Grand Hall of the Kai, a tapestry above a large marble fireplace in gold and silver thread and gemstones depicts the battle of Maakengorge and Sun Eagle’s victory. Either side are Kai Master’s Weapons – Dagger, Sword, Mace, Quarterstaff; each adds +1CS! In a mahogany and gold chest of draws from Queen Evaine of Talestria you find Potion of Laumspur, Kai Battle Crystal [Grenade], Kai Sleep Crystal [Gas Grenade] and a Gold Key; All Backpack Items. You ascend the grand marble staircase to the first floor and the four Lore Halls, first time you have been here. In the north-west corner of the Hall of Solaris is a staircase and you ascend to the Kai Master’s Hall which has large pillars of fluted granite and a stone throne where Grand Master Brave Blade sits when he addresses the Kai Masters.
The next level is the Grand Master’s personal chambers, a wood paneled room lined with bookshelves. Above which is a gallery holding the most precious and oldest tomes of the Order. The ladder is broken. Gazing out of a window of Caron crystal you are unable to see anything because of the smoke. There is a trapdoor in the ceiling, if you have the Rope you can easily reach it. Otherwise you press a button on a globe of Magnamund and are able to grab a rising map panel and ingeniously cling on and rise that way, except you cut yourself in the process.
At the base of the trapdoor is the body of Master True Path, sent by Grand Master Brave Blade to perform the same task as you. In the last agonizing moments of his life he was able to seal the trapdoor preventing the enemy from entering. You can then use the Kai Battle Crystal or Sleep Crystal to clear enemies from the base of the Crystal Beacon (Drakkar & 2 Giaks, Laumspur if you fight them). You then have to fight the Giak Captain who is under a Nadziranim spell and immune to Mindblast; he has a Sword, Dagger, Meal and Laumspur.
You fire the crystal beacon – a beam of orange light that reaches all the way to Holmguard in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately that draws attention to you…
On returning to the Grand Master’s chambers you see a black hawk. You look it in the eye and can see the battle at the training park where you are shocked to see only a few Kai survive. The image swirls and suddenly you realize you can see the battle through the eyes of your Grand Master [If you avoid the dormitory route completely you see that Brave Blade killed more than two hundred Giaks earlier, his dual-wielded Swords a blur]. He telepathically tells you to go to the vault and escape, to warn the king. Eventually he is defeated and a hooded figure (nadziran or maybe Vonotar) fires a bolt of scarlet fire at your position.
You use the Gold Key at the base of the staircase in the Grand Hall of the Kai (or Dagger or Mind Over Matter or die). You now enter the Vault of the Sun and heal yourself a bit as you look at holy paintings[+5EP]. You can pick up some laumspur and +1CS Weapons – Dagger, Axe, Broadsword, Warhammer, Quarterstaff, Spear. [N.B. The only +1CS Weapon you cannot pick up at the monastery is a Short Sword, well and Bow I suppose. If near the end you take the Highway Route just outside of Holmguard instead of the River/Graveyard, the 3 false soldiers have +1CS Durenese Swords too.]
You then realize you are Lone Wolf (you are now effectively at Section ‘1’ in the original story). You still have to warn the king – although the royal family are aware the beacon has been fired they of course do not know you are the last of the Kai. You leave the monastery by a secret passage from the Vault of the Sun (like Book 18 in reverse).
Now you can use Sixth Sense at this point – it will not take you directly to Banedon (you can meet him without that Discipline now) but it will make you avoid Fogwood.
Fogwood:
The reason why the hamlet is deserted is because the Giaks are taking the villagers away… You have to fix the mill because Giaks have vandalized it and built a dam so that the whole village will end up underwater. After a couple of Giak fights here you save the villagers and they fight back against the Giaks.
After leaving Fogwood you encounter the Vordak with Raven, [he is immune to Mindblast, which is new whereas the Kraan-riding Vordak after the Drakkar 'ferryman' is not immune].
Malis Mound:
A mile or so later you encounter a tunnel in the hillside, which is too steep to climb. Giaks are looking up into the sky expecting something [villagers from Fogwood delivered via Kraan]. You have no choice but to enter the tunnel. This section sort of replaces the 'bear cave' '195' on in he original FftD. In Mongoose's version, if you fight the bear (on another route, not Fogwood) you can find the Silver Key and 15 Gold Crowns in it's cave but you cannot enter the tunnel and use the key, you hear strange noises in the tunnel and come back out: '158' of the original FftD. Originally it was only after the Bear that you could discover the secret temple, now it is one or the other. Hope that makes sense.
You enter a massive subterranean hall with carved pillars depicting plague, disease and decay: the demise of the Drodarin over seven thousand years ago. If you search the hall you find a small incendiary – a Fire Flask (Backpack Item).
The next hall has piles of clothing (if you are thinking World War II Gas Chambers you are on the right track). You can disguise yourself as a Cener Druid with a Purple Robe (Special Item), gives you a surprise advantage for fights.
Then you walk into an acid chamber which liquifies Sommlending and uses their remains in the production of a plague virus. [Instant death Random Number to avoid this ‘trap’.]
As you explore you have the chance to fight a Cener Druid, one of them is playing on a large bone pipe organ.
Then you have a choice, one direction [dead end] leads to a chamber where plague infected birds are being released out into Sommerlund – and there is nothing you can do about it *shivers*.
The other direction leads to a small cavern which has a giant armoured skeletal, warrior-like entity trapped in the middle of black pit [Shadow Gate, only half his body is visible so is his ‘duress’ somehow keeping the gate open as long as he is half in/half out?]. Hundreds of root-like tendrils have grown out of its bony torso holding it in place. This is Vurnos and he taunts you before trying to break free, which causes a cave-in. You can use the Fire Flask to help you escape. [Secretly think we’ll see wounded Vurnos again Books 29-32]. You leave Malis Mound and resolve to tell the king so he can send an army here to destroy the Cener/bird threat. You do not meet the Burrowcrawler if you go to Malis Mound.
Banedon:
Then it is possible to meet Banedon if you head East, Downstream, South, stay undercover of the forest, [Trimis], head towards noise of battle. [There are other routes to Banedon, including avoiding Malis Mound but you cannot now ignore him and leave him to his fate - only throw the marble, attack the giak or shout the warning].
Alema:
Banedon directs you to Alema. The River Unoram is described as a mile wide at this point. At the entrance to the bridge the Giak and Drakkarim Assault Troops are forming up, this area used by merchants to trade is known as the Alema Mitre along with the Durnstone – a massive pier in the middle of the bridge used as a marketplace for traders.
The fierce battle is taking place on the bridge where Prince Pelethar’s troops are fighting the Darklanders, here’s the clever bit – THE PRINCE WAS ALERTED BY THE CRYSTAL BEACON! That’s how the army ended up here; it is the only way the Darklord’s forces can make their way overland to Holmguard. Preventing passage here will buy the king an extra day or two in mustering Holmguard’s defences.
You have to sneak under and over the bridge behind enemy lines. If you have a Tinderbox or Flint you can ignite some Bor Boom Powder to create a diversion. Eventually you get to the Gourgaz fight (using a fallen Giak as a springboard) but do not have the chance to pick up Prince Pelethar’s Sword! As far as I can tell you cannot avoid Alema and therefore cannot avoid the Gourgaz fight.
As you leave the bridge you pass a wagon of explosives heading for the Durnstone, I assume they blow the bridge [in Book 18 the bridge has been destroyed long ago and only a ford remains].
Graveyard of the Ancients:
The Graveyard of the Ancients has three tunnels instead of two – the third straight ahead tunnel takes you to a chamber with seven green viscous liquid pools illuminating Shianti pictograms that Master Amber Owl could translate for you if they were here. The pools bubble and you must fight Antah Wasp Hatchlings. After that it is down a dark passage where you discover a crypt with a poor Sword (-1CS) and laumspur. If you search the sarcophogi you find the Golden Key. You then have to fight a Rusty Portcullis to escape (CS10 EP15) if you lose 5 or more EP you must use Laumspur or lose 2 more EP due to rust slivers in your fingers. After that it is the normal Graveyard Golden Key/Mind Over Matter door.
Holmguard:
The area between the outer fieldworks and Holmguard itself is known as the Holmguard Pale, normally a shanty town for undesirables it is now bursting with refugees and farmers - including the first arrivals from Toran.
The young officer escorting you is ordered to return to his post by a cruel captain, who tramples Sommlending under the hooves of his horse and you can't keep up [it would appear that he is a Darklord Agent]. If you don't follow him you get the madman encounter as usual, if you follow him you have the choice of the madman encounter or Fars Lane.
Fars lane has an inn - Prince Fedor Tavern which you ideally should enter (5 GC entry fee) because the Royal Scribes inside give you a Guild Pass (Special Item) which helps you get to the king.
Further along is Escutcheon Square with a statue of King Tor III, Ulnars great-grandfather who saved Holmguard from destruction during the Great Fire of MS4935.
The is a Weaponmith & Armourer shop (Rendar Bucklar) selling Backpack (2 GC), Helmet - Special Item +2EP (2 GC), Dagger (2GC), Quarterstaff (2GC), Sword (3GC), Axe (3GC), Chainmail Waistcoat +4EP (4 GC), Broadsword 4GC. The Armour and Broadsword are unusually cheap. N.B. You NEED the Helmet and Chainmail!
You then enter the Guildway and have a much easier time if you have the Guild Pass. It's much less crowded here - quite posh. You get to meet the Guildmaster, a personal friend of Grand Master Brave Blade, normally you'd have to wait weeks for an appointment. He leads you by a secret canal system to the king's palace. You meet Phamister the king's physician (+8EP). He confirms Prince Pelethar rode to Alema to destroy the bridge after being alerted by the crystal beacon. He is rendered speechless when you tell him the Kai are all dead and he holds a silver disc pendant dedicated to Ishir (Talisman of Ishir?) which warns him to destroy the Vordak Gem (if you have one) because it threatons the king [reminds me of Loi-Kymar asking why you carry a Doomstone Bk 3].
King Ulnar:
You are then taken to the Chamber of State where you meet the King, Chancellor Galden and Princess Madelon and tell them of the massacre. Then who should enter but Prince Pelethar who declares you to be an imposter(!). The king surprised at the prince's quick return begins to doubt you and think you are a spy. If you have the Crystal Star Pendant it blazes into life, [kind of 'Sense Evil' that everyone can see] and Madelon comments it is only at the arrival of Pelethar that it activates (and as a goodly artefact you presumably couldn't wear it if you were evil). If you don't have it Madelon (suspicious) asks Pelethar to kiss his lovely wife (her) and when he tries to she declares him as an imposter.
At that point 'Prince Pelethar' transforms into a Helghast! The two guards holding you immediately move to attack it but they are beheaded with his glowing cold blue sword. If you do not have Mindshield you then lose -3EP. Chancellor Galden moves for the doors but the Helghast throws a scarlet dagger at him and it changes course in mid-air to hit him in the back, killing him.
The Helghast then offers to spare Madelon and Ulnar if they surrender you, whether you choose to or not the result is the same - Madelon tells you the Helghast is incapable or mercy. Ulnar presses a button on his throne causing an alarm bell to toll so the Helghast reacts by sliding a bolt across the doors trapping you all inside and keeping the guards outside. As the Helghast does this you grab a loaded hunting crossbow from the wall and fire it at it's back. If you pick a low Random Number (Weaponskill helps) you have a chance of instant death when the Helghast hurls the bolt back (Hunting helps avoid) otherwise -2EP.
If you get a good result you pin the Helghasts hand to the door and can either reload or attack it with a hand Weapon. If you fire the Helghast hurls the bolt like the result of a poor shot with a chance of instant death but Hunting helps avoid. If you move to attack him the Helghast pulls the bolt free just before you reach it and hurls it back - you raise your Weapon if it is a Quarterstaff or Dagger it is destroyed but you lose no EP, if it is any other Weapon it is not destroyed.
As the guards try breaking through the door Princess Madelon tosses you the Helghast's Dagger from Galden's body informing you that only magical weapons can harm the creature [funny how Lone Wolf, who pays so much inattention in class, knew so much about Helghasts in Book 2 previously]. You have to discard a Weapon if you have two. If you do not have Mindshield you lose -2EP. Then you must fight the Helghast with the Dagger (CS22 EP 30), it is immune to Mindblast. [Such a hard fight makes the book practically impossible - your only real chance is if Lone Wolf has CS19 and Weaponskill in Dagger he is 'only' -1 on the Combat Results Table then. It is possible to get the Potion of Alether still after the marsh. Thank goodness it does not use Mindforce.]
The Helghast's Dagger disappears when you destroy it sadly so no taking into Book 2! Madelon and the king praise you and ask your name; "'Si...' you begin. After a moment's thought you finish your reply: 'Lone Wolf. My name is Lone Wolf.'"
The King unbolts the door and the guardsmen rush in and then the book ends in the same way as the original with you being asked to go to Durenor.
SUMMARY:
• Silent Wolf has to take extra weapons training before dawn as punishment for inattention in class, determined by the tossing of a coin.
• When the monastery is attacked Master Star Fire orders Silent Wolf to fire the monastery's crystal beacon to warn the king that the Darklords are attacking.
• After successfully firing the beacon, Silent Wolf is ordered telepathically by Grand Master Brave Blade in his final moments to escape via the Vault of the Sun and warn the king the Kai are lost.
• The villagers of Fogwood are being kidnapped by Cener Druids to have plague virus experiments performed on their remains and the Giaks attempt to flood and destroy the village.
• A giant skeletal warrior known as Vurnos is trapped partially inside a Shadow Gate at Malis Mound, he is wounded but not destroyed.
• Alema Bridge, once used as a trading platform, is unavoidable. Prince Pelethar, forewarned by the beacon, takes his elite guard to destroy the bridge and delay the attack to give Holmguard time to fortify itself. He is slain by a Gourgaz.
• The Graveyard of the Ancients was indeed once a Shianti site but has fallen into evil and now also has Antah Wasps.
• Holmguard provides the chance to purchase armour and a new route to the king via the Guildway and an underground canal system.
• A Helghast disguised as Prince Pelethar declares Lone Wolf to be an imposter and the king has you arrested only for you to eventually save him and his daughter Princess Madelon in a desperate fight which sees Lone Wolf use the Helghast's own dagger against it before the dagger disappears.
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I cannot recommend highly enough that fans of the original get hold of a copy and play this version. Yes it is hard, extremely, but there is just so much more depth and so many answers to questions that you may not have even considered until then.
If you have any more questions as to what has changed or not just ask and I'll try to help.
Regards, Richard.