Hall of Fame (hardcore)

[longhairyuppiescum]

It is time for the HCHOF!
Laaaydies aaand Gentleman:
Welcome to the hardcore [glow=red,2,300]Hall of Fame![/glow]

Until now I am not too successful in my lifetime quest for completition of the Magnakai in real hardcore style.
But in famous threads as "Start to finish..." or "Can Lone Wolf survive" I found proof of the amazing achievements of some of our members.
Enlightened by the true spirit of Kai they proved to be real Grandmasters.

I would like to invite us all to use this thread to post our 'highscores'. It would make me happy if this thread become a collection of our successes (or better: Lone Wolf's).
And we would have one place to honor the many Lone Wolfs died in order to lastly fulfill the wishing of Kai.
As well as a collection of (house-) rules.
Since even the hardcorest gamer implies his own interpretation of the rules and often uses interesting houserules or rule variations.
That's what I'm interested in.

For this thread I'd like only 'hardcore' games to be permitted. Defining hardcore as not using the common practice of 'savepoints' and holding to the rules as straight as possible. As this is of course open to interpretation as well, please include a description of used rules/interpretations as detailed as possible.

My entry for now would be something like:
Completed The Dungeons of Torgar.
Started at book one, completed book ten. Died against the Chaosmaster at book eleven.
Houserules / rule variations used:
Healing/Curing applicable to restore all kinds of EP loss.
All weapons usable with a shield.
NO 'Loyalty Bonus'.
Lost Backpack NOT automatically replaced at start of next book.
'Only one Potion at a Time' rule.
Used Sommerswerd at archery contest (book six). (Chopped Altans leg off. )
Dagger of Vashna thrown at the Zakhan (book nine) even while in posession of the Sommerswerd. (Pretended not to have Sommerswerd. )

Hoping soon to make a 'real' entry.

To cite Sol: "Go brave Kai-Lords, go!"

[Sol]

OK! I'll take a crack at it!
Here is my official entry:

Name: Sol
Re: Hardcore Stats

High Score - Reached Book 17 and defeated the Deathlord.

Rules Variants used:

Stacking Variants:
* Stacking of every kind allowed unless specifically disallowed in the original books.

* Stacking of WS, WM, and even GWM allowed (max +11 bonus)
* Possible to regain +2 EP/Section once Healing and Curing have been obtained
* Deliverance and Curing are BOTH able to generate 20 EP for you.
* not possible to stack Mindblast, Psi-Surge, or Kai-Surge.
* I allow myself the +8 Kai-Surge bonus when using Kai-Blast. I simply change the amount of damage that the enemy receives. I lose 4 EP when doing this (not 5).
* I allow myself to use Healing as a way to recover any kind of wound or EP loss.
---
Safekeeping Variants:

* Safekeeping allowed for all items beginning with Book 6.
* Safekeeping is allowed for Backpack items as well.
---
Special Item Variants:

* I count maps as special items
* I allow myself the option to count keys and whistles as Special Items.
* I allow myself to keep a Special Item Weapon in a Weapons Slot if desired

---
Potion interpretation:

* I allow multiple potions - I can drink as many potions as I want before a single battle.

---
Specific Fights:

* I do not use the Sun-Sword on Altan. I do use the Silver Helm and Mindblast, however.
* I occassionally leave the Sun-Sword in Safekeeping to avoid dangerous fights.

---
Extra Hardcore:

* I never reroll Lone Wolf's initial stats. If he gets double 0's, I play him through the adventure anyway.
* No do-overs. No savepoints.
* I only allow myself one try on any puzzle-game before admitting that I can't do it.
* And of course, if I die, I ALWAYS go back to Book 1!

If I think of more, I will add these later!
Sol

This post is in memory of Iron Wolf - the most powerful Kai Lord I have ever run.

[North Star]

Holding to the rules as strictly as possible, you pretended NOT to have the Sommerswerd vs. Zakhan Kimah?

NS.

[longhairyuppiescum]

Otherwise my success would not have been possible. - Yes!

longhairyuppiescum said:

Hoping soon to make a 'real' entry.

[Zipp]

Well, why shouldn't i be able to chuck a dagger at his face before slicing him in half with my beautiful golden blade?

[Nathan P. Mahney]

OK, here's my entry!

HARDCORE NATHAN P. MAHNEY!!!!

Best result: Made it to Book 13 and destroyed the plague virus, but then got shot full of arrows by Vazhag.
*Must* *Take* *Grand* *Huntmastery*

RULES:

* No stacking of bonuses!
* One potion per battle!
* Twelve Special Item limit enforced from beginning!
* Dual-wielding (yes, even Sommerswerd and Helshezag)!
* Healing Discipline only heals battle wounds!
* Safekeeping of all equipment is allowed from Book 5 onwards.
* I always restart from the beginning, of course, and I play through whatever my stats. I like to use crap characters to go exploring.
* Laumspur potions can only be consumed outside of combat, and only one per section.

SPECIAL ALTAN RULES

* I Mindblast Altan, of course, and I've decided that the Silver Helmet is magical enough to help me out. No Shield, of course. I use Alether if I need it - it's like that drug in Metal Gear Solid that steadies your hands.

SPECIAL KIMAH-KILLING TECHNIQUE

* I now get myself captured by the Tahou Guard, and take Kimah on with the Psychic Ring. Highly effective technique!

[longhairyuppiescum]

Zipp, that would be exactly my POV, too. But since this thread is assumed 'hardcore'. We should take on Nathan's way.. (Unless there would be an JRD statement about this.)

[Zipp]

Wait a minute. What's not hardcore about throwing a dagger, rushing in quickly, and connecting with a sword at the same time the knife hits?

[Sol]

Let's face it - there's Hardcore and then there's HARDCORE. I, for example, do discipline stacking.

I suppose it would be interesting to see someone reach for the SUPER-HARDCORE game with:

* No stacking, no dual-weapons
* No backpack items in Safekeeping
* Only 1 potion before combat
* Laumspur ONLY after combat, and only in a section where an enemy's CS is listed
* Maps count as Special Items - you are never allowed to discard it during the adventure
* Berries of Alether only last until the end of Book 6
* you can never leave the Sommerswerd in Safe Keeping (LW never leaves his best weapon)
* you can never leave the Dagger of Vashna in Safekeeping (someone might steal it and release Vashna)
* Limit: 12 Special Items from Book 1 on
* no rerolls
* Always start over upon death
* no stat rerolls ever when generating a new character
* No Mindblast usable on Altan - or Shield or Silver Helm or Alether (real athletes don't do drugs)
* Healing can only be used on combat wounds (not random damage, exhaustion, mindforce damage, drowning, etc etc).
* Must always act heroic (ie can't fight Halvorc, must defend the innocent).
* Must adhere to all Lone Wolf Newsletter Rules Clarifications
* Must use "Fair" ten sided Die not potentially "cheatable" Random Number Table (this has a Sweet Spot where your pencil will always score high if it hits a certain area).

Would Super-Hardcore have more restrictions - or is it TOO soft? ;D