Throughout your adventuring across Quahnarren you will become involved in many situations that may cause you to engage in battle against hostile human enemies, aggressive creatures or fiendish spirits. To resolve these conflicts you must battle your opponent by rolling dice and recording the outcome in the provided Battle Boxes.
The Tales of Quahnarren gamebook series features a new and unique gameplay mechanic, known as the Momentum Sequence, to register the changing fortunes of each combatant involved in the struggle.
The following example details my encounter against the fearsome Makkhra. Although it may initially appear to be somewhat complicated, the process is actually a simple system of recording repeated actions, and making decisions, that will be quickly understood. Let the battle begin!
I enter the opponent’s name and given values above the momentum bar, and then add my own personal values below.
I roll 2d6 (two dice) for both combatants. The dice symbols show that the Makkhra rolls 7 on 2d6, and I roll 8. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 19 (his EXPERTISE + 7) is higher than my total of 17 (my EXPERTISE + 8), so he is the quickest to attempt an attack. If both totals were equal, the Strike Speed rolls would be repeated.
I roll 2d6 for the Makkhra and compare this total against my ARMOUR value. The roll of 9 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2. I now enter a / in the first available box within the momentum bar to record the Makkhra’s successful strike.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 6, and I roll 8. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 18 is higher than my total of 17, so he again attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 8 is equal to my ARMOUR, so I successfully block his attack and suffer no HEALTH damage. I alter the / in the first box of the momentum bar to a X to record this momentum shift in my favour.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 4, and I roll 9. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 16 is lower than my total of 18, so I attack first this time!
My roll of 10 is higher than the Makkhra’s ARMOUR, so I inflict 2 HEALTH damage, and record a second X in the momentum bar. I’ll have an opportunity to use my Heavy Attack if I achieve a Strike Set (three consecutive strikes or blocks) in the next round.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 9, and I unfortunately roll only 5. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 21 is higher than my total of 17, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 11 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2. I miss out on a Strike Set and now enter a / in the momentum bar to record this shift in my opponent’s favour.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 7, and I roll snake eyes! The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 19 is higher than my total of 11, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 10 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2. I enter a second / in the momentum bar and am now facing the possibility of a damaging Heavy Attack.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 5, and I roll 6. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 17 is higher than my total of 15, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 9 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2, and I enter a third / in the momentum bar. The Makkhra will now launch a Heavy Attack.
I roll 2d6 against my PERCEPTION for a result of 8 – I’ve been powerfully struck by the Makkhra’s Heavy Attack. I add together his EXPERTISE, ARMOUR and PERCEPTION (a total of 28), and then deduct my ARMOUR value: I suffer 20 HEALTH damage! I draw a long vertical line through the last / to indicate the end of his Heavy Attack and record another / in the momentum bar. This fight is not looking good for me.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 5, and I roll 7. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 17 is higher than my total of 16, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 4 is lower than my ARMOUR, so I successfully block his attack and suffer no HEALTH damage. I alter the last / in the momentum bar to a X to record this momentum shift.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 6, and I roll 11. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 18 is lower than my total of 20, so I have the opportunity to attack.
My roll of 6 is lower than the Makkhra’s ARMOUR, so he successfully blocks my attack and suffers no HEALTH damage. I add a / in the momentum bar and rue my misfortune.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 10, and I roll 6. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 22 is higher than my total of 15, so he now he attacks.
The Makkhra’s roll of 10 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2. I enter a second consecutive / in the momentum bar and am now facing the possibility of another Heavy Attack.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 3, and I roll 9. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 15 is lower than my total of 18, so I now attempt to strike him.
My roll of 9 is thankfully higher than the Makkhra’s ARMOUR, so I inflict 2 HEALTH damage, and alter the last / to a X to record this much-needed momentum shift in my favour.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 7, and I roll 11. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 19 is lower than my total of 20, so I now attempt to strike him.
My roll of 9 is higher than the Makkhra’s ARMOUR, so I inflict 2 more HEALTH damage, and add a second consecutive X to the momentum bar. I need to achieve a Strike Set in the next round so that I have the opportunity to inflict some serious damage.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 6, and I roll 10. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 18 is lower than my total of 19, so I now attempt to strike him and gain a Heavy Attack.
Yes! The momentum really is with me! My roll of 10 is higher than the Makkhra’s ARMOUR, so I inflict 2 HEALTH damage, and add a third X to the momentum bar. I’ve achieved a Strike Set and now have an important decision to make. I can roll for a normal Heavy Attack (3d6 against the Makkhra’s PERCEPTION) or save it and try to increase my Heavy Attack’s potency by adding an extra dice to my roll if I can strike him again.
I decide that I have to take full advantage of this opportunity to inflict maximum damage, so will save this Strike Set and hope to gain at least one more dice. I mark a circle in the Heavy Attack charge counter above the momentum bar to record this charging attack.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 9, and I roll 5. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 21 is higher than my total of 14, so he attacks first. I must block his attack or I’ll lose my charging Heavy Attack.
The Makkhra’s roll of 8 is equal to my ARMOUR, so I successfully block his attack and suffer no HEALTH damage. What a relief!
I immediately launch my saved Heavy Attack by rolling 4 dice (the standard 3, plus 1 bonus dice, as indicated in the charge counter). My total of 16 is higher than the Makkhra’s PERCEPTION so this amount of HEALTH damage is inflicted. I draw a long vertical line through the last X in the momentum bar, and do the same in the charge counter to indicate the end of my Heavy Attack.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again – both of us rolling a 7. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 19 is higher than my total of 16, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 7 is lower than my ARMOUR, so I successfully block his attack and suffer no HEALTH damage. I add a X to the momentum bar.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 9, and I roll 7. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 21 is higher than my total of 16, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 10 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2, and I enter a / in the momentum bar.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 6, and I roll 7. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 18 is higher than my total of 16, so he now has the opportunity to attack.
The Makkhra’s roll of 9 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2. I enter a second consecutive / in the momentum bar and am now facing the possibility of a second Heavy Attack.
We now determine our Strike Speeds again. The Makkhra rolls 7, and I roll 5. The Makkhra’s Strike Speed total of 19 is higher than my total of 14, so he attacks first.
The Makkhra’s roll of 12 is higher than my ARMOUR, so my HEALTH is reduced by 2, and I enter a third consecutive / in the momentum bar. The Makkhra has gained his second Strike Set so will now launch a Heavy Attack.
I roll 2d6 against my PERCEPTION for a result of 9 – once again I’ve been powerfully struck by the Makkhra’s Heavy Attack. His inflicted HEALTH damage of 20 means that I’ve not survived this difficult battle.
I certainly put up a decent fight against what is a very powerful opponent, but unfortunately my adventure is over – for now. I might need to equip myself with a RARE item to have a better chance of success next time!
Tales of Quahnarren 