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Fighting Fantasy: new Wizard editions
The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
The Citadel of Chaos
Deathtrap Dungeon
Stormslayer
Creature of Havoc
City of Thieves
Bloodbones
oe Night of the Necromancer
Sar
ee
Ot
GO

Also available in the original Wizard editions

6. Crypt of the Sorcerer
7. House of Hell
8. Forest of Doom
9. Sorcery! 1: The Shamutanti Hills
10. Caverns of the Snow Witch
11. Sorcery! 2: Kharé — Cityport of Traps
12. Trial of Champions
13. Sorcery! 3: The Seven Serpents
14. Armies of Death
15. Sorcery! 4: The Crown of Kings
16. Return to Firetop Mountain
17. Island of the Lizard King
18. Appointment with F.E.A.R.
19. Temple of Terror
20. Legend of Zagor
21. Eye of the Dragon
22. Starship Traveller
23. Freeway Fighter
24. Talisman of Death
25. Sword of the Samurai
27. Curse of the Mummy
28. Spellbreaker
29. Howl of the Werewolf
 i.

STEVE JACKSON & IAN LIVINGSTONE

NIGHT OF THE
NECROMANCER

By Jonathan Green
Illustrated by Martin McKenna
%

u!
Wizard Books
 Published in the UK in 2010 by Wizard Books,
an imprint of Icon Books Ltd., Omnibus Business Centre
39-41 North Road, London N7 9DP
email: info@iconbooks.co.uk
www.iconbooks.co.uk/wizard

Sold in the UK, Europe, South Africa and Asia

by Faber & Faber Ltd., Bloomsbury House
74-77 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DA or their agents

Distributed in the UK, Europe, South Africa and Asia

by TBS Ltd., TBS Distribution Centre, Colchester Road,
Frating Green, Colchester CO7 7DW

Published in Australia in 2010 by Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd.,

PO Box 8500, 83 Alexander Street, Crows Nest, NSW 2065

Distributed in Canada by Penguin Books Canada,

90 Eglington Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3

ISBN: 978-1-84831-118-3

Text copyright © 2010 Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone

Illustrations copyright © 2010 Martin McKenna

Fighting Fantasy is a trademark owned by

Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, all rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means,

without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Typesetting by Hands Fotoset, Mapperley, Nottingham

Printed and bound in the UK by

Clays of Bungay
For Martin McKenna - thank you
 CONTENTS

HOW WILL YOU START YOUR ADVENTURE?

8

DEAD RECKONING
10

NIGHT OF THE NECROMANCER

15
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURER
350
RULES AND EQUIPMENT
353

ADVENTURE SHEET
360
 HOW WILL YOU START
YOUR ADVENTURE?
The book you hold in your hands is a gateway to
another world — a world of dark magic, terrifying
monsters, brooding castles, treacherous dungeons
and untold danger, where a noble few defend against
the myriad schemes of the forces of evil. Welcome to
the world of Fighting Fantasy!
You are about to embark upon a thrilling fantasy
adventure in which YOU are the hero! YOU decide
which route to take, which dangers to risk and which
creatures to fight. But be warned — it will also be YOU
who has to live or die by the consequences of your
actions.
Take heed, for success is by no means certain, and
you may well fail in your mission on your first
attempt. But have no fear, for with experience, skill
and luck, each new attempt should bring you a step
closer to your ultimate goal.

8
Prepare yourself, for when you turn the page you
will enter an exciting, perilous Fighting Fantasy
adventure where every choice is yours to make, an
adventure in which YOU ARE THE HERO!
How would you like to begin your adventure?
If you are new to Fighting Fantasy ...
You probably want to start playing straightaway.
Just turn over to the next page and start reading.
You may not get very far first time but you'll get
the hang of how Fighting Fantasy gamebooks
work.
If you have played Fighting Fantasy before ...
You'll realise that to have any chance of success,
you will need to discover your hero’s attributes.
You can create your own character by following
the instructions on pages 353-354, or, to get going
quickly, you may choose one of the existing
Fighting Fantasy adventurers described on pages
350-352. Don’t forget to enter your character’s
details on the Adventure Sheet which appears on
pages 360-361.
Game Rules
It’s a good idea to read through the rules which
appear on pages 353-359 before you start. But as
long as you have a character on your Adventure
Sheet, you can get going without reading the Rules
—just refer to them as you need to.
 DEAD RECKONING

As the sun sets — a ball of molten iron sinking into the

chill waters of the Diamond Sea — you catch sight of
Valsinore at long last. With a shout of ‘Yaah!’ you
kick your heels into your horse’s heaving flanks and
spur it on towards the distant castle. By nightfall you
will be home.
You have been away a long time, three years in fact.
Three years following the crusading banner of the
Knights of Telak. Three years spent in the accursed
land of Bathoria, domain of demons and the Lords of
Night. Three years fighting the forces of darkness.
In that time you have faced all manner of evils and
found yourself in all kinds of life-threatening situ-
ations. In fact you almost lost your life on more occa-
sions than you care to remember. But you survived
everything that the forces of darkness could throw at
you — from an ambush by a pack of werewolves to the
‘seductive enchantments of the Sepulchral Sisterhood
— thanks in part to your knightly skills and prowess
in battle, but also thanks to your sanctified, charm-
wrought sword Nightslayer.
And now, at last, your home is in sight once more.
Three years ago you set out from Valsinore Castle on
the northern coast of Ruddlestone to join in the
crusade to purge Bathoria of the malign influence of
the Cult of Death. With the defeat of the Death-Mage
Thanatos, your sworn oath fulfilled, you were free to

10
return home. As you recovered from your last battle
at a hospice of the White Lady, you sent letters by
messenger ahead of you telling of your imminent
homecoming, writing one to your sister, Oriana, who
was anxiously awaiting news of your safe return, and
another to your chamberlain, Unthank, who you had
left to look after your estates and safeguard the
people of the Sourstone peninsula while you were
away. And there is one other who you are eager to see
again after so long — your faithful hound who you left
to watch over both the castle but more particularly
Oriana.
The sky purpling like a bruise as dusk descends, you
guide your steed down off the bleak moorland road
towards Valsinore Castle, not once taking your eyes
off your ancestral home. It is clearly visible now, an
imposing silhouette of rising battlements and loom-
ing towers. You can also see the village of Sleath that
lies close to the castle, in the shadow of the fortress
and before that, to the west, the brooding expanse
of Wraith Wood. To the east the bleak, windswept
moors continue as far as the eastern cliffs of the
Sourstone promontory.
But before you reach home, the Moot Road takes
you through the desolate wilderness that the ancient
tribal people of these lands once called home.
Northern Ruddlestone still bears the marks left
by these ancient warrior clans; burial mounds dot
the landscape along with time-worm druidic stone
circles. You gallop past one such circle of standing

a:
stones — known locally as the Nine Maidens — as the
dusk continues to deepen around you, desperate to
be home now after such a long time away. But it is in
this treacherous twilight that the trap is sprung.
Three men — dark hoods pulled up over their heads to
hide their faces — burst from their hiding places
among the standing stones and come at you, armed
with swords and axes. Your steed whinnies and rears
up on its hind legs in surprise. Exhausted after your
long ride, you are thrown from the saddle and land
hard on the cold ground. Your horse panics and
gallops away as your attackers bear down on you,
weapons raised.
You scramble to your feet, Nightslayer already in
hand. Ruffians like these shouldn’t give you any real
trouble, even in your weary state. But as the men
close in on you with murder on their minds, you
notice the fourth member of their band for the first
time as he appears to coalesce from out of the gather-
ing darkness.
He is dressed from head to toe in long black robes, his
face hidden behind a grotesque skull-mask. The man
does not appear to be armed but in one hand he is
holding a glowing sphere of amethyst that seems
to swirl with gathering storm clouds. You have
encountered his kind before, during your crusade to
Bathoria. He is an acolyte of the priesthood of Death
himself.
As you keep a watch on him out of the corner of your

2
eye you prepare to meet the would-be assassins’
assault. They are no match for your knightly skills
and you have soon dealt all of them flesh wounds. In
a few moments the battle will be over. But before you
can finish the fight, the death-masked cultist casts his
spell.
A ball of crackling black light explodes from the
acolyte’s crystal, forms into a spear of energy that
flashes past the beleaguered murderers and hits you
full in the chest. You experience a moment of intense
pain like you have never known before as the spell
hurls you back onto the road again. And then the pain
is gone leaving you feeling numb and cold. Who has
done this to you and why, when you were so close to
home at last?
You waste no time in getting to your feet and bring-
ing your sword to bear once more. Your assailants
suddenly stagger away from you, expressions of
abject fear on their faces. Only the Death Acolyte
appears unperturbed. You are used to intimidating
your enemies but you have never received quite such
a reaction before.
One of the men keeps looking down at the ground
and then back up at you again, a look of utter, dis-
believing horror on his face. In fact, he looks like he’s
seen a ghost. Curious to know what it is that has the
thugs so shaken, you glance down at the ground too.
Bathed in an eerie luminescence is what appears to be
a body. Judging by the scorched ragged hole in the

13
middle of its chest you would guess that it is dead, for
how could anyone survive such a grievous injury ...?
It is only then that you realise that the body you are
staring at aghast is your own. :
Standing over your dead body, you are a glowing
ethereal copy of yourself. Your ghostly form is
dressed in the same apparel as your corpse and you
are even wielding a phantasmal duplicate of your
sword Nightslayer, although the real thing is still
lying on the ground next to your lifeless body.
The shock you feel at realising that you are dead is
nothing compared to the rage and desire for revenge
that consumes you now. There will be a reckoning
this night, when all those responsible for your
untimely death will be made to pay for the evil
they have perpetrated against you. Screaming like
a banshee, you move to engage your murderers in
battle.

Turn to 1.

14
 1
As you stalk towards the murderous thugs one of the
men gives voice to a terrified scream, his face drain-
ing of all colour, turns tail and flees. Another drops
his weapon in shock, while the third lets out a whim-
per of fear and collapses to his knees, sobbing like a
baby. Only the Death Acolyte appears to be holding
things together, his hand moving over his crystal ball,
his lips forming the words of some esoteric invoca-
tion, no doubt.

These men are responsible for your death and you

will have vengeance upon them. But which will you
confront first, the three terrified murderers (turn to
25) or the spell-casting Death Acolyte (turn to 45)?

az .
‘That is the correct answer, the Paladin’s ghost
intones. He then takes some time to demonstrate how
you can make the most of your new, paranormal abil-
ities. (Add 1 to your wILt score and 1 to your LUCK.)
Write the number 2 on your Adventure Sheet and then
roll one die, turning to the paragraph indicated on the
table below.

Die roll
1-2 Turn to 120
3-4 Turn to 230
5-6 Turn to 293

The Paladin having offered you what aid he can, bids

you farewell before melting back into the moonlight.

3]Ee
 3
Feeling encouraged that you might yet win your own
personal battle against the forces of the darkness, you
leave the shrine. Turn to 259.

Before long you are enveloped within the bounds of

Wraith Wood. The trees grow thick and dark around
you, although you can still make out the glowing orb
of the moon between the leafless branches above you
that look like the clawing talons of skeletal hands.
Black thunderheads are starting to mass on the hori-
zon, and the wind is picking up. You believe that the
wise-woman’s hovel lies at its heart, although some
say that she is actually a witch. But, all things consid-
ered, if anyone can help you, probably a practitioner
of the dark arts can.
The blaring note of a hunting horn suddenly breaks
the unnatural stillness of the wood and you hear
the pounding of hooves on the wind. Following the
sound to its source, you look up to see ethereal riders
galloping towards you out of the gathering storm
clouds, their phantom steeds pounding the air while
shimmering spectral hounds sprint ahead of them.
This wild hunt appears to be heading directly
towards you. Will you:
Stand your ground and unsheathe
your phantasmal blade? Turn to 49
Try to hide from the hunt in the
undergrowth? Turn to 169
Flee from the ethereal huntsmen? Turn to 190

CE
45

‘Curse you witch!’ you shout into the cold night air.
‘You shall not have your sacrifice!’ You are suddenly
wracked by the most agonising pain. It feels as if your
very soul is being crushed by the taloned hand of
Death itself, squeezing the life-force out of you. Roll
one die and add 2; you must lose this many STAMINA
points, along with 2 SKILL points, 1 LUCK point and 2
WILL points. If you are still alive, if you can really be
considered as being alive anymore, turn to 43. If you
do not survive the effects of the Witch’s Curse, write
the number 43 on your Adventure Sheet and turn
to 100.

5
And so you find yourself within the Inner Ward of
Castle Valsinore. To your left, against the western
wall, stands the castle cookhouse which abuts onto the
grand structure of the Lord’s Feast Hall where many
a mighty banquet was held in your father’s time.
At the far end of the impressive courtyard you can
see the gatehouse that stands before the sea-moat,
beyond which lies a bridge that leads to the black
stone Keep. You fancy you can see something fiery
flickering in the darkness there, like sparks rising
from a furnace, but before you even get as far as the
gate you can see that a wooden scaffold has been con-
structed at the centre of the courtyard.
The north-eastern quarter of the Inner Ward is taken
up by the castle chapel and the private plot of the

Ce}Ee
family graveyard used in more recent times. Beneath
the chapel lie the extensive tunnels of the castle cata-
combs, constructed during the first age of the castle,
centuries ago, by your distant ancestors. You yourself
have not explored their labyrinthine tunnels. Nurses’
tales of giant rats and worse lurking in the dark kept
you from ever going down there as a child. Castle
legend has it that there is another way into the exten-
sive tomb-tunnels via a passageway at the bottom of
the castle well, the stone-clad well-head of which
lies to your right, in the south-eastern corner of the
courtyard.
The last remaining feature worthy of note is the
ruined east wall tower. Known as the Blasted Tower,
its upper levels were destroyed long ago by a bolt of
lightning that sent the top two storeys tumbling into
the Diamond Sea far below. You just need to decide
where you want to explore first. Will it be:
The castle kitchens? Turn to 335
The feast hall? Turn to 95
The chapel? Turn to 260
The Blasted Tower? Turn to 34
The well? Turn to 232
If you would rather not delay here at all, you can
approach the last gatehouse that guards the entrance
to the sea-moat bridge (turn to 134) or, if you have the
Spirit special ability, take to the air and try approach-
ing the Keep directly (turn to 191).

Cy} ES
 6
And then you come before the main gate of Valsinore
Castle. This was the place where you and your sister
played as children and which became your responsi-
bility upon the death of your father at seventy years
old, and who had himself been widowed many
winters before. But your ancestral home appears
anything but welcoming to you now. Its high crenu-
lations loom over you while its torch-lit windows
seem to stare down with malignant intent. There is an
oppressive atmosphere hanging over the place.
You have seen neither hide nor hair of the Death
Acolyte since your encounter with him and his mur-
dering band on the moor turnpike, but you can’t
shake the feeling that the truth you are searching for
will be found within your castle home. But how do
you plan on gaining access?
Two guards, armed with halberds, are on sentry duty
before the main gate. However, you do know of
another way in. Along the eastern wall of the outer
ward of the castle is a culvert, a drain that lets filth
and waste water out under the wall and down over
the cliff edge into the sea. The prospect of crawling up
a sewer — even if you are a ghost — does not fill you
with glee, and staring up at the looming walls you
wonder what it would be like to soar over them in
your spectral form.
If you want to try to fly over the battlements, turn to
75. If you would rather try gaining entry through the

EY Ce
 is
culvert, turn to 36. Then again, if you simply want to
approach the main gate and the guards on duty there,
turn to 242.

-
Re-tracing your steps back through the castle, you
come at last to the haunted stable, and there, waiting
for you, is the phantom steed. Clambering up onto its
back, as if you were still alive and mounting a living,
breathing horse, you ride it out of the stables. Once
you are out in the open you kick your ghostly heels
into the beast’s ethereal flanks and spur the horse into
a gallop. It races towards the outer wall of the castle
and with one great bound leaps over it! It doesn’t
land on the other side either, but instead, pounding
the air with its ethereal hooves, gallops away into the
night sky. (If you have the phrase Best Friend written
on your Adventure Sheet you will no longer benefit
from the advantages this brings until you return to
Valsinore Castle.)
8-9
Rivers and forests, towns and villages, hills and
heathland, all rush past below in a high-speed blur.
In what seems like no time at all you reach your desti-
nation. The phantom steed sets foot on solid ground
again and you dismount. Your steed will go no fur-
ther. But where was it that you were travelling to?
Fetchfen, Village of the Damned? Turn to 441
Frostfinger, the Winter King’s tower? Turn to 168

8
“Unthank? He can’t be trusted,’ Oriana confesses. ‘It
was him who invited the Knights of the Black Shroud
to take up residence here. There’s no sign of them
during the day but at night they wriggle out of the
stonework again like maggots crawling from a rotten
apple. And no one other than him and the knights
have been allowed into the Keep for months.’
If you want to ask your sister something else, turn to
48. If you would prefer to bid her farewell and be on
your way, will you head down into the catacombs
(turn to 88), or vacate the chapel and search elsewhere
(turn to 445)?

You flee from Mother Toadsfoot’s cottage as fast as

you can, and don’t once look back. You are soon deep
in the night-shrouded woods again. Eerie cries echo
between the night-black trees. An owl hoots and you
hear the croaking of toads coming from a reedy pool
somewhere nearby.
 10-11

And then, at last, the forest starts to thin and you

emerge on the other side of Wraith Wood. Trees give
way to tumbled headstones and you find yourself
passing between the overgrown graves of a cemetery.
Ahead of you lies the village of Sleath, but before you
can reach it, or the castle beyond, you must first cross
the neglected graveyard. Turn to 107.

10
The door is made of some black wood ensorcelled
with silver that forms unsettling signs and symbols.
As you approach you can feel its power, like a crack-
ling magical shield. The energy field sparks violently
and you are suddenly hurled backwards by a power-
ful burst of magical energy. (Lose 2 STAMINA points
and if this has reduced your STAMINA score to zero, or
below, write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100.) The door is resisting your ethereal
essence somehow and keeping your ghostly form at
bay. You cannot even get close enough to touch it.
The door before you is a Spirit Door, a portal inten-
ded to prevent undead spirits like you from passing
through it. There is nothing you can do to conquer the
spells bound into it — at least, not yet — so you have no
choice but to search elsewhere. Add the codeword
Catacombs to your Adventure Sheet and turn to 264.

1
Now that you have a physical form of sorts again you
are able to open the Spirit Door and step through it

CJCJ
into the tunnels beyond. These are the true cata-
combs. They are a veritable maze of mouldering
passageways, forgotten burial chambers and gloomy
mausoleums, but you feel another power — unmis-
takeably a force for Good — leading you onwards
through the labyrinthine passageways.
You come at last to a vast chamber, its roof supported
by pillars of black marble. As you enter, iron basket-
braziers around the walls burst into flame, revealing
the sepulchre in all its terrible splendour. In fact, it
looks more like a throne room than a burial chamber.
In the distance you can make out tombs and stone
sarcophagi but in the middle of the chamber, in front
of you is a black marble throne. Seated upon the
throne is a beautiful woman wearing luxurious robes,
befitting a monarch, and a golden crown. Behind her
throne, half-hidden in the shadows cast by the gutter-
ing braziers, you can see a host of decomposing
figures, watching you with baleful, jaundice-yellow
eyes from out of the darkness. The woman is toying
with something in her hands. It is your own blessed
blade, Nightslayer! You are about to take a step for-
ward when common sense halts you.
‘Ah, so you’ve found us,’ the woman says, as she
examines the sword in her hands. The runes that spell
out the name Nightslayer blaze red as they catch the
light of a smouldering brazier. She suddenly looks up
and you are astonished by just how beautiful she is.
Her eyes blaze with a dark intensity as she regards
you with an unblinking stare. ‘Be welcome here, you

EE]
 12-13
belong here after all’ — a serpent smile twists her fea-
tures into those of something not altogether human —
‘with your Queen. Now come, bow before me.’
You have a feeling that bowing before her is the last
thing you should do, but judging by the zombie
host gathered behind her, ready to do whatever she
demands of them, it might be your best chance of
snatching Nightslayer from her grasp and getting
out of here with your soul intact. Will you bow before
this Queen of the Damned (turn to 112), or will you
renounce her claim of dominion over you (turn to
246)?

12
A savage baying suddenly interrupts the old man’s
musings. ‘Moon dogs!’ Yorrick gasps, a fearful look
entering his eyes as he stares up at the milky orb of
the moon high above. Judging by its position in the
sky overhead, the hour must be close to midnight.
‘Quick! We’d both best be on our way before they
find us.’ (Add the codeword Baying to your Adventure
Sheet.) Deciding that Yorrick is probably right, thank-
ing him for his help you part company with the
old gravedigger and hurry away from your open
grave. Will you enter the chapel, if you haven't tried
to already (turn to 274), or choose somewhere else
entirely (turn to 445)?

13
Although you are have the ability to seize control of
another’s body to use as your own, the idea of even

EJ EJ
14
attempting to possess another living person in order
to wear their physical form as you might a suit of
armour fills you with unease. If you want to pursue
this route to acquire a physical form again, you will
need to know where a suitable host can be found, and
that means that they have to be somewhere within
the castle already. If you know where someone is,
and they are alive, then you will also know their
name. Convert the first name of the person you want
to possess into a number using the code A=1, B=2,
C=3 ... Z=26. Add the numbers together, multiply the
total by 3 and turn to the paragraph with the same
number.
If you do not know of any suitable candidates and
simply want to try possessing one of the castle’s
guards, turn to 301. However, if you do not wish to
continue with this course of action, you will have to
try something else. If you have the phrase Rest in
Peace recorded on your Adventure Sheet and you want
to pursue this path, turn to 369. If you have the code-
word Automaton written down and you want to
pursue this path, turn to 427. If you have no further
tricks up your sleeve, turn to 152.

14
Bertild the blacksmith looks up from her hammering
and freezes. “Then what they’ve been saying is true,’
Bertild gasps and a single tear courses down her
soot-smeared cheek. ‘Here, come in, come in,’ she
says, hurrying over to the door and clearing a gap in
the salt barrier to let you across before closing the
door behind you. ‘Tell me, what happened?’ the
woman mumbles, obviously in some distress.
And so you sit down in the comforting warmth of the
forge, in the company of one of your oldest and most
trusted friends, and tell Bertild how you were cut
down within sight of home for the first time after three
years away, and everything that has befallen you since.
‘I swear by Verlang and the spirits of the forge,’ she
says, a grim expression on her face, ‘your death shall
not go unavenged.’
To hear Bertild say that fills you with hope and you
begin to believe that it truly is possible. (Regain 1
LUCK point and add 1 to your WILL score.)
‘Valsinore Castle is under a curse,’ the blacksmith
says. “These are dark times indeed. But listen to me
going on. Tell me, what is it you need to know that
you might achieve your vengeance?’
Remembering all the times you spent watching
Bertild at her forge, you decide that she might be in
possession of unique knowledge that could serve you
well in your quest. Will you ask her whether she
knows of the existence of any weapons or armour
that may aid you in your quest (turn to 51), ask her if
she has any idea as to who would have wanted you
killed (turn to 21), or will you ask her if she knows of
anyone else resident within the castle who could help
you (turn to 161)?

i]CJ
 15-17

15
Over one hundred years ago, the man who now calls
himself Chamberlain Unthank, slaughtered the entire
population of Fetchfen that his dark gods might grant
him the power over death he so desired. And now
you have visited this village of the damned and
escaped with your soul intact. But you have spent
long enough here and it is time to return to Valsinore
Castle to bring Unthank’s reign of terror to an end.
- Regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 29.

16
As you approach the Chamberlain, he snaps his fin-
gers and summons a serving boy to pour him more
wine. He appears distracted as he observes the play-
ers perform before him and keeps glancing towards a
passageway half-hidden by a grand tapestry showing
the defeat of the Sourstone Worm by your ancestor,
Agravain Wormslayer. Turn to 227.

a7
Tendrils form within the fog, reaching for you, trying
to force you to join the macabre dance of the
Phantasmagoria. You slice at them with your shim-
mering blade as you start to fight back against the
dream-monster and its hallucinatory nightmares.
PHANTASMAGORIA SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

If the nightmarish manifestation destroys you, reduc-

ing your STAMINA score to Zero, write the number 99
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you reduce

Le eal
 18

the Phantasmagoria’s STAMINA score to zero, turn

to 142.

18
Perhaps it is merely some diabolical illusion, but it
feels as though you have been climbing this staircase
for hours and you wonder whether you haven't fallen
into some hellish trap to which there is no end. And
then, after a further half an hour’s climb, you enter
another ice-rimmed chamber. The chamber is empty,
apart from a pedestal formed of black granite and
blue ice at its centre, atop which rests a multi-faceted
jewel roughly the size and shape of a human skull. As
you peer into the shimmering jewel you fancy you
can see ghostly faces looking out at you. But you're
not imagining things, they really are there, and you
can hear them now, speaking to you inside your head
— insistent voices demanding to be released from their
prison of eons. Something tells you that if the power
of the Spirit Stone is connected to those souls bound
to it and that if it is to prove of use to you, you should
not grant them their request — at least, not yet. But
what is more amazing is that you are able to touch
and even lift the artefact in your own ethereal hands.
Greedily you take hold of the jewel. (Add the Spirit
Stone to your Adventure Sheet and note down that it
has 333 faces.) There is only one way out of this cham-
ber and it is the one you entered by, so turning on
your heel, with the Spirit Stone in hand, you set off
carefully back down the endlessly winding staircase.
Turn to 304.
19

19
At the crossroads, you peer ahead into the darkness
and decide which way to proceed. The moorland
road that you have been following continues straight
ahead into the village of Sleath. A narrower, but
equally well-trodden path leads westwards towards
the cemetery that lies outside the village, while a
gravelled road bears north-east before turning north
again, leading towards the stone bridge over the
River Sorrow that must be crossed on the way to
Valsinore Castle. So which way will you go now in
your quest for revenge? Will you head:
West, towards the graveyard? Turn to 107
North, towards Sleath? Turn to 61
North-east, towards the bridge and
Valsinore Castle? Turn to 121
 20-21

20
Outside the Barbican gatehouse once more, choosing
something you haven't tried already, will you:
Attempt to pass through into the
Inner Ward of the castle? Turn to 60
Climb the staircase beyond the left
archway? Turn to 271
Climb the staircase through the right
archway? Turn to 85
Find another way into the Inner Ward? Turn to 393

zi
Bertild looks at you grimly. ‘I wouldn’t like to say for
sure,’ she says glancing anxiously into the corners of
the smithy. ‘Round here, it’s like the walls themselves
have ears, if you know what I mean.’ She leans closer
and whispers, ‘But I do believe that when you left to
go on crusade, evil was already lurking here in
Valsinore Castle. But I’ll tell you who you do need to
look out for, and that’s the Knights of the Black
Shroud who arrived here a year ago and never left!’
Now turn to 140.

E
 22

22
It is then that you hear the splashing sounds of some-
thing wading from the breakers behind you accom-
panied by a croaking cry.
‘Oh no, please,’ the old man cries, ‘not that! Anything
but that!’

You turn to see the most appalling abomination

emerge from the rising tide and stalk towards you up
the beach. It walks on two legs like a man and has the
muscular build of an ogre, but its skin is covered with
blue-grey scales. It has cruel gutting claws, its fingers
are webbed and its bulbous eyes are those of a fish. A
crest of spines protrudes from its head and runs all
the way down its back to a long, lashing fish tail. The
creature opens its mouth, revealing rows of shark’s
teeth, while the slits of gills in its neck open and close
uselessly in the air.
‘My tormentor comes to plague me again! Oh, woe.
My doom is upon me!’ the hermit cries and retreats
back into his cave, leaving you to face the monster
alone. The fish-beast fixes its eyes upon you and gives
another croaking snarl as it continues to stalk towards
you.
This is no mere creature of flesh and blood but a
demon birthed from the storm-wracked sea; the
monster’s cruel fish-talons will harm you just as
well as if you were still a creature of flesh and blood
yourself. Fortunately, your own ethereal copy of

Ed EJ
23-24
Nightslayer will also be able to injure the demon. Let
battle commence!
SEA DEMON SKILL 9 STAMINA 10
If the Sea Demon ‘kills’ you, record the number 145
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100 at once.
However, if you manage to slay the demon, turn
to 145.

23
Suddenly the words of the Witch’s bargain come
unbidden into your mind. You must slay that which is
most dear to you, next time you meet, be it man or lowly
beast, or suffer the consequences ...
The witch’s bargain hangs like a millstone about your
neck, dragging you down into the depths of despair.
But the crone was quite clear about the price you
would have to pay for her aid. Another's life-force for
yours ...
You have never been faced with such a quandary in
all your life. Will you cut Korzen down with your
ghostly sword, so that you might continue with your
quest unhindered (turn to 138), or will you leave
the dog alive and risk whatever might befall you
(turn to 4)?

24
Whether you are unwilling or unable to subject your
physical form to the Demon Gate’s demands, you still
need to source flesh and blood from somewhere. But

Ey]CJ
where are you going to find an offering of flesh for
the gate down here? You could retrace your steps
through the dungeon but that would take time, and
time is something you do not have. And then the
answer strikes you — the putrescent pool! It is full of
decomposing flesh.
Not relishing the necessity of what you are about to
do, you approach the edge of the pit. You scoop a
handful of the green-black slime from the pool and
are horrified to see it start to eat away at your gauntlet
hand. (Lose 2 STAMINA points and 1 SKILL point, for as
long as you remain in this metal body.) The surface of
the pool suddenly heaves and something truly awful
rises from its depths. Turn to 430.
25

25
Screaming like a banshee, you launch yourself at the
terrified ruffians, who try to run from before your
unearthly wrath. In desperation they fight back but
even when one of them manages to get a strike in
under your guard the assassin’s weapon simply
passes straight through your ethereal body as if it
were nothing but mist — and you do not feel a thing!
Their weapons may be useless against you but your
phantasmal sword cuts them down just as if you were
still wielding the genuine article and not a ghostly
replica of Nightslayer.
In no time at all, the three murderers lie dead at your
feet on the moorland road. Only the Death Acolyte
remains. You can hear him now quite clearly, mutter-
ing under his breath in some dark tongue. Do you
want to strike the acolyte down immediately, without
hesitation (turn to 114), or will you press him for
information as to who it was that wanted you dead
(turn to 64)?
 26-27

26
You have succeeded in taking over the guard’s body.
The man’s consciousness flees to some dark corner of
his mind as you take control. (Add the codeword Host
to your Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current sKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are clothed in the flesh of the guard you
must use the guard’s stats which are as follows:
SKILL 8, STAMINA 18.

If you are injured in battle you may eat provisions

to recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to
4 STAMINA points and the guard has enough food
about his person for 3 meals. He is armed with a non-
magical sword, which means that you are now too.
If the guard’s sTAMINA is reduced to 2 STAMINA
points of fewer he will be knocked senseless, forcing
you to vacate his body. You may then continue fight-
ing in your spirit-form using the stats that you have
written down here. Now turn to 429.

a]
‘Out of the way now, Rutterkin,’ she says as she
nearly trips over her pet pig on her way to the table
on which lies her Book of Spells. Without looking
down at the black-bound tome before her, the crone
flicks through it, seemingly at random, until she lets
the book fall open at a particular page. She then pro-
ceeds to run her fingers over the words scrawled
there in a spidery hand.

ma
28-29

‘Yes, that should just about do it,’ she says. “But it’s
going to cost yer!’
You explain to the witch that you have no means of
paying her. What little Gold you did have is with
your body still, back on the Moot Turnpike.
‘That’s not the sort of payment I had in mind,’ she
says with a cruel chuckle. If you want to continue
with this exercise, turn to 54. If you would rather quit
this place and have nothing more to do with the sinis-
ter Mother Toadsfoot, turn to 9.

28
‘Iam sure that Father Umberto could help,’ Oriana
says. ‘He is wise to the ways of the Undead and
knows many potent prayer-spells. Wait here awhile,
he will not be long.’ If you want to wait for the Priest’s
return, turn to 48. If you would prefer to bid your sis-
ter farewell and be on your way, will you head down
into the catacombs (turn to 88), or leave the chapel
and explore the Inner Ward further (turn to 445)?

29
Back within the walls of Valsinore Castle once again,
with the moon commencing its descent towards the
horizon, you decide that it is time to find out what
secrets lie within the Keep, and so make for the gate-
house and the moat bridge. (If you have the phrase
Best Friend written on your Adventure Sheet you now
regain the benefits associated with this.)
 39-31
Do you have any of the codewords Baying, Banshee or
Bard written down on your Adventure Sheet? If you
have none, turn to 117. If you have one or two, Test
your Luck; if you are Lucky, turn to 117, but if you are
Unlucky, turn to 320. If you have all three, turn to 320
straightaway.

30
The black pit of the freshly-dug hole appears like a
whirling void of oblivion, the darkness sucking you
in like a whirlpool pulls at a ship tossed in a storm.
You cry out, your startled cry of fear becoming a
drawn-out howl of horror as you are sucked down,
down, down into the blackness of the grave ... and
beyond ... Write the number 195 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100.

31
The passageway brings you to a flight of stone steps
that descend into the lower levels of the dungeons.
Considering what you have encountered so far down
here, you wonder what horrors await you deeper
beneath Valsinore. You follow the steps down into
the darkness.
The stairs double back on themselves and lead into
another stone-walled passageway. Eventually it
bends to the right, but as you turn the corner you can-
not help but notice the huge fissure in the floor and
one wall of the tunnel. As you watch, through this
vast crack a host of undulating, writhing and crawl-
ing things emerge and slither, scuttle and wriggle

CJ Ce
32

towards you. All these repulsive vermin have one

thing in common - they are all the ghosts of creeping
things. If you are in a borrowed body, no matter how
repulsive they may look they cannot harm you; you
walk right through them and continue on your way
(turn to 154). However, if you are in spirit-form then
you must battle the ectoplasmic swarm if you are
to make it through to the other side. Fight the ghost-
vermin as if they were one creature.
ECTOPLASMIC SWARM SKILL 5 STAMINA 13
If you defeat the swarm, regain up to 7 STAMINA
points and turn to 154. If it is the swarm that defeats
you, write the number 154 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100. "2

32
With a bubbling cry, that makes it sound like she is
screaming through a throat full of seawater, the
Flibbertigibbet streaks towards you through the tem-
pestuous air. “You’re not laughing at me, are you?’
the insane ghost says in challenge, while continuing
to cackle away hysterically. ‘I laughed at the gibbet
and look where it got me!’ With that the insane phan-
tom attacks.
FLIBBERTIGIBBET SKILL 8 STAMINA 8
As the Flibbertigibbet is one of the undead, just like
you, she can injure you with her cruelly sharp finger-
nails. If the insane ghost should defeat youin battle

[+]Ee
 33
(reducing your STAMINA score to zero), record the
number 19 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If
you send the Flibbergibbet on into the next world by
reducing her sTAMINA score to zero, as the ghost
evaporates with a parting cackle of laughter, you
suddenly feel revitalised. Restore up to 4 STAMINA
points and turn to 19.

33
In the blink of an eye you are gone. Hidden from
sight, you move cautiously towards the gatehouse.
But the Hellfire Golem is a magical construct and
does not see in the same way that mortal creatures do.
Turn to 240.
34
34
Entering the Blasted Tower through the open arched
entrance at its base you start to climb the spiralling
stair beyond. Higher and higher you climb until the
stairs abruptly run out as you reach what is left of its
shattered summit. The cold sea-wind buffets your
insubstantial body and whines through fissures in the
brickwork. It would seem that there is nothing for
you here.
And then another sound can be heard over the keen-
ing of the wind and the crash of breakers on the rocks
far below. Someone is calling your name and as
you watch a sphere of ethereal light forms in the air
above you. Something is manifesting at the top of the
Blasted Tower. If you want to wait and see what it is,
turn to 200. If you would rather flee before whatever
it is has time to form fully upon this plane, you run
back down the ruined tower to the comparative
safety of the courtyard below (turn to 445).
 35-36
35
Before the vampire can transfix you with its hypnotic
stare, you turn tail and run. The Nosferatu gives a
screeching animal cry and a vast flock of bats pours
from between the crypt doors behind it, squeaking
shrilly as they set off in pursuit. If you have the Spirit
special ability, turn to 15. If not, roll three dice and if
the total rolled is less than or equal to your STAMINA
score, turn to 15, as you escape from the vampire’s
vespertilian servants.
However, if the total is greater, the vampire bats catch
up with you and mob you. You soon discover that
their vampiric powers are as effective at draining life-
force from your ghostly form as they are at drinking
the blood of mortals. Roll one die, add 1 and lose this
many STAMINA points. If this has taken your STAMINA
score to zero, or below, write the number 15 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you are still ‘alive’,
you are not out of danger yet as the bat-beast has
caught up with you too (turn to 361).

36
Peering into the culvert you are hit by the appalling
stench of the sewer. But, reasoning that nothing
unpleasant is likely to stick to your incorporeal form,
you press on into the drain regardless. The blue-
white glow of your own phosphorescent body lights
the way and you soon find yourself climbing what
are effectively a set of steps as the channel rises before
you into the Outer Ward.

C]FE)
A sudden shrill squeaking drowns out the trickling
water of the castle drain and you freeze. Further up
the steeply rising tunnel you can see that something
has fallen into the sewer and drowned — it looks like a
dog. But is that really what happened, you wonder,
feeling increasingly ill at ease. For there, blocking the
tunnel ahead of you are three rat-like forms that were
previously feeding on the carcass. They are huge,
with over-large chisel-like incisors, but that’s not the
worst thing about them. The worst thing is that there
is not a scrap of flesh on them. Squeaking hungrily,
the undead rats attack. In the confines of the culvert,
fight them one at a time.
SKILL STAMINA
First SKELETAL RAT 5 4
Second SKELETAL RAT 4 4
Third SKELETAL RAT 5 5
If you manage to do away with all of the undead
vermin, turn to 414. However, if they manage to do
away with you, write the number 414 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
 37-39
37
As you approach her place at the high table you
realise that Oriana is quietly sobbing into her hand-
kerchief. She would obviously rather not be here.
Turn to 227.

38
Your unearthly interrogator is not done with you yet;
it has one more question to ask.

‘Many have claimed this Keep before,

But who now is lord of Valsinore?’

If you think you know the answer, again, turn the

name of that person into a number using the code
A=1, B=2, C=3 ... Z=26. Add the numbers together,
double the total and turn to the paragraph with
the same number. If you do not know the answer,
or if the paragraph you turn to makes no sense, turn
to 372.

39
‘Captain Cador,’ you say, your ethereal voice echoing
weirdly from the walls of his chamber, ‘I am not here
to harm you, I want only your help.’

‘You wear the face of someone I once knew,’ he says,

his eyes narrowing in suspicion, ‘but I know for a fact
that that brave knight is dead.’ How does he know
that, you wonder?

[.]
 40
‘It’s me,’ you say, desperate to convince Cador that it
really is you, last of the lords of Valsinore, but he isn’t
going to be swayed so easily.
‘How do I know you're not some hellish doppel-
ganger sent here by the forces of darkness to trick me?
_If you're really who you say you are,’ he declares, the
light of righteousness blazing in his eyes, ‘tell me,
what is the name of your own faithful hunting
hound?’
If you know the answer to Cador’s question, turn it
into a number using the code A=1, B=2, C=3 ... Z=26.
Add the numbers together and turn to this paragraph.
If you do not know the answer, or the paragraph you
turn to makes no sense, turn to 380.

40
The stairway leads you at last to a high-ceilinged
chamber filled with all manner of detritus, from bro-
ken furniture to torn tapestries and the bones of long-
dead warriors that have become fused into the icy
stalagmites that cover the stone-flagged floor of the
chamber, making you wonder who claimed domin-
ion here before the arrival of the Winter King in the
dim and distant past. But there is no question as to
what makes its home here now. Bellowing like a bull,
three-metres tall and supported on huge muscular
goat-legs, is a savage beast of a demon. The monster’s
mouth is full to bursting with discoloured, yellow
teeth and four cruelly-spiked horns protrude from its
bestial skull. Cracking the hellish whip it carries in

Ee
 41
one hand and shaking the huge demonic axe it holds
in the other, the Hellhorn Champion attacks.
HELLHORN CHAMPION sKILL10. —STAMINA 12
You will soon discover that the Hellhorn’s weapons
are as potent against undead spirits as they are
against mortal flesh. If the Hellhorn slays you, write
the number 18 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to
100. However, if you defeat the demonic champion,
you leave the ruined feast hall via yet another ascend-
ing staircase (turn to 18).

41
‘I don’t know about ghosts of your ancestors,’ Yorrick
starts, ‘but I have seen the ghost of your father here-
abouts. Up on the battlements it was, at the top of the
Blasted Tower. Wouldn’t shut up either; something
about a dire warning he needed to pass on from
beyond the grave.’ Now turn to 12.
 42
42
‘Oh thank you, stranger, thank you,’ the ghost of the
young woman says in obvious relief.
‘But tell me, what manner of creature is it that has
you in its thrall?’ you ask the restless dead of the
graveyard.
The notary looks like he is about to answer when a
tremor passes through the graves at your feet. What
was that? .
‘It comes!’ the young woman gasps, a terrified look in
her eyes.
Abruptly all of the ghosts vanish, as if they have been
sucked back into the ground. And then the tremor
comes again as the ground in which the dead of
Sleath lie rises up before you as a colossal mound of
mouldering earth, studded with splintered coffin lids
and the remains of those buried within.
This mound of grave dirt shudders once more and
takes a lumbering step towards you as arms and legs
take shape from within the crumbling conglomera-
tion that now stands before you. The looming human-
oid figure exudes a palpable aura of death as it stalks
towards you with bone-crunching steps, lumpen
arms outstretched, while ghost voices cry from some-
where within it, ‘Help us! Free us! Save us!’ You have
no choice but to draw your ghostly sword once more
and engage the Grave Golem in battle.
GRAVE GOLEM SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

EJ Ce
43
If the Grave Golem wins two consecutive Attack
Rounds, turn to 155 at once. If the Grave Golem
defeats you, write the number 61 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you manage to destroy the
grave-dirt monster, turn to 300.

Seeing your old friend again fills you with a renewed

sense of hope. And now that the two of you have been
reunited, there’s no way that Korzen is going to allow
himself to be left behind again. Your search of the
kennels having turned up nothing else, as you head
out into the courtyard of the Outer Ward again, the
wolfhound follows you, trotting along at your side.
From now on Korzen will accompany you as you
explore Valsinore. This means that whenever you are
involved in a battle with a corporeal creature (includ-
ing demons, undead that have a physical form, such
as zombies, and magical constructs, as well as other
people and animals) Korzen will harry your oppo-
nents, which has the effect of reducing their Attack
Strength by 1 point. However, he can do nothing to
help you against other incorporeal creatures such as
other ghosts; these you will have to face alone.
(Regain up to 2 LUCK points, add 1 to your WILL score
and record the phrase Best Friend on your Adventure
Sheet.) Now turn to 434.

Ce}Ee
 44-46
44
‘Why not?’ the monstrous apparition laughs. ‘You
amuse me, mortal. But remember, I'll be seeing you
again.’ The Watcher raises its scythe and then brings
it down in a reaping motion. Turn to 73.

45
As the three murderers flee in fear, you turn on the
individual who actually dealt the killing blow against
you. If you want to strike the acolyte down immedi-
ately, without showing him any mercy after what he
did to you, turn to 114. If you want to demand some
answers from him in an attempt to discover who it
was that ordered your death turn to 84.

46
You will not go willingly into the dark; you have yet
to avenge your untimely death! You feel the pull of
the Dead Winds lessen and then a sensation as of ris-
ing from the depths of some fathomless ocean over-
whelms you and you are floating upwards towards a
brightening light high above you. The light is blind-
ing, forcing you to close your eyes.
The sensation of upward motion ceases and you open
your eyes to find that you are back in the real world.
You have been given another chance and, more than
that, you have been revitalised. Restore your SKILL,
STAMINA and LUCK scores to their Initial levels and
add 1 to your wILL score. Now turn to the paragraph
with the number you wrote down before you found
yourself at the very threshold of the afterlife.

Ee]Ey
ay
47
‘Time,’ you state in as clear a voice as you can man-
age. There is an audible click, the magically-locked
door swings open and you enter the lavish tomb of
Aramanthus the White who was court wizard during
your father’s time. A likeness of the dead wizard lies
upon the lid of the black granite sarcophagus that
dominates his burial chamber, while various items of
magical paraphernalia fill the vault around it. As you
are taking in all of the crystal balls, glass alembics and
a veritable library’s worth of books and scrolls, the
ghost of Aramanthus materialises before you.
‘Ahh!’ the ghost exclaims, a broad smile breaking his
wizened features. ‘Company at last! Albeit if of the
recently deceased variety, but company nonetheless,’
the wizard goes on excitedly. “After all, homunculi
are not known for their conversational skills, no
offence intended, Fizzgig.’

At this last comment a grotesque, bulbous-bellied,

winged imp tumbles out from between a collection of
glass instruments sending a number of them crashing
to the stone-flagged floor. The creature half-falls and
half-flies from its perch, executing an unintentional
somersault in mid-air before alighting on top of the
wizard’s tomb, and then, scowling at the ghost,
embarks upon a furious bout of squeaking. The spec- -
tral wizard raises a despairing eyebrow, as much as
to say, ‘See what I mean?’

‘But I sincerely doubt you came all this way from the
 48
Other Side to discuss the various merits or otherwise
of artificially created life-forms, did you? So, why
don’t you enlighten me as to the reason for your pres-
ence here?’
Sensing that the wizard is a goodly soul who genu-
inely wants to help, you tell Aramanthus everything
that has befallen you since the daylight died, and you
with it. But fearing that the longer you linger here, the
sooner you might be discovered by those that mean
you harm, will you ask the wizard:
About the ghosts of Valsinore Castle? Turn to 390
About the evil that has taken root
within its walls? Turn to 420
How to make the most of your ghostly
abilities? Turn to 350

48
The door to the vestry suddenly opens and Father
Umberto emerges again. His head is shaved and he is
wearing a gleaming golden breastplate, while in his
hand he hefts a heavy-headed warhammer.
‘My lady!’ he shouts aghast and then, before you
can move to stop him, he makes a holy sign before
pronouncing your fate. ‘In the name of Telak the
Swordbearer, I return thee to the hellish nether
regions that spawned thee!’
There is a sudden blaze of light and you feel as if your
ethereal form is being consumed by holy fire that

CdCJ
+
burns with all the fury of a funeral pyre. Write the
number 445 on your Adventure Sheet, lose 1 LUCK
point and turn to 100.

Remaining exactly where you are, you take your

phantasmal blade in hand and wait for the riders
to reach you. The ghostly hounds, steeds and their
riders descend through the skeletal branches of the
trees and alight on the forest floor, barely disturbing
the dead leaves that smother the ground at your feet.
‘You are bold, spirit, but foolish,’ the leader of the
hunt tells you, as he reins his horse in before you. ‘Do
you not know who I am?’ He is dressed in the garb of
a nobleman and a ghostly, but nonetheless lethal-
looking crossbow hangs from his saddle.
Another legend of these parts speaks of a ghostly
hunt led by the spectre of one Baron Blood who,
when the moon shines bright, seeks out lost souls
trapped on the Earthly Plane, to carry them back to
the Realm of the Damned. You have heard supersti-
tious peasant folk speak of Baron Blood many times,
but you had never thought to meet him face to face.
“You are Baron Blood,’ you tell him, ‘Lord of the Wild
Hunt.’

‘Then you know why I am here.’

‘I do indeed, but this is one lost soul you won't be car-
rying away to the Realm of the Damned.’

EE]
 5st
‘A challenge!’ the huntsman says, delighted.
‘A challenge,’ you reply, never once taking your eyes
from the ghost.
“Very well, what’s it to be?’ Baron Blood asks. ‘Will
you face me in single combat or would you prefer to
try your luck against my hounds?’
If you choose to face the Baron in single combat, turn
to 79. If you would rather pit yourself against the
spectral hounds of his Wild Hunt, turn to 220.

50
If you successfully recovered the Spirit Stone from its
resting place you will know how many faces it has.
Add 100 to the number of faces and turn to this para-
graph. If you do not know how many faces it has, lose
1 LUCK point. There is no time to try anything else
now; there is only just time to defend yourself from
the scything blade of the Shadow King. Choose the
weapon that you want to use to battle this Death Lord
carefully and then turn to 249.

51
‘Weapons a ghost could wield,’ Bertild ponders and
then a twinkle enters her one good eye. “Legend has it
that hidden somewhere within Valsinore Castle is the
Amethyst Blade, a magical blade with sinister life-
draining powers, but from its description it could be
a weapon of Evil as much as one employed by the
forces of Good. And I don’t know if you could wield

fas
it in your present state.’ The blacksmith suddenly
looks glum again. ‘There was one thing that might
have helped but it was taken.’
‘What was it?’ you ask.
‘I fashioned the most wonderful suit of automaton
armour, a device of great artifice that would not only
protect its wearer to the utmost degree but could
actually fight for them. It took me the best part of a
year to construct. I had almost perfected it when
those dread knights of Unthank’s broke in and stole it
away from me.’
‘Do you know where it is now?’
‘I believe it was taken to the lock-up in the Barbican.
The knights guard it night and day and no one’s
allowed in or out of there now.’ Now turn to 140.
 52-53
52
As you pass by the gibbet tree, you suddenly hear a
hysterical cackle of laughter and turn to see the
woman gliding towards you over the moors, hands
outstretched. Her skin is coloured the horrible grey-
green of decomposition and half her face is missing,
as if something has eaten it away. There are tresses of
bladderwrack and kelp knotted in her wet hair and
her talon-like fingernails are thick with dark sand. As
there is no escaping the ghost of the drowned
woman, you prepare to defend yourself.
Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, you unsheathe your
sword in time (turn to 32). If you are Unlucky, you are
still pulling your weapon free of its spectral scabbard
as the ghost attacks. Turn to 32 to fight her anyway,
but you must automatically lose the first Attack
Round.

53
Stepping past the massive beast, you stand at last
before the mirrored shield. If you still have a physical
form you can take it with you. (Add the Soul Shield to
you Adventure Sheet and add 1 to your SKILL score,
even if this takes it above its Initial level.) If you are in
your ethereal form, there’s nothing you can do other
than exit the chamber again. Whether you take the
shield or not, you ultimately leave the Moon Dog’s
cell (turn to 182).

[+]FE]
54
54
Speaking in a dark tongue that you do not under-
stand, Mother Toadsfoot crafts her spell. You imme-
diately feel power flowing through your body, even
though you have no body to speak of. Restore your
SKILL and STAMINA scores to their Initial levels and
add 1 to your wILL score. Make a note of the number
of this paragraph on your Adventure Sheet and then
roll one die. On a roll of 1-3, turn to 230; on a roll of
4-6, turn to 263.
‘Now we come to the question of payment,’ the crone
says, smiling horribly, her crooked teeth looking like
a row of broken tombstones. ‘You must slay that
which is most dear to you, next time you meet, be it
man or lowly beast, or suffer the consequences.’
‘Curse you, witch!’ you gasp in appalled shock. ‘What
have you done?’
‘Another’s life-force for yours. Fair’s fair! It has to
come from somewhere. Nature will see that the debt
is paid, one way or another.’
You get the feeling that the witch has cursed you
rather than helped you. (Add the phrase Fool’s
Bargain to your Adventure Sheet and lose 2 LUCK
points.) If you want to attack the old crone in your
fury, turn to 356. If you would rather get away from
this place as quickly as you can, before any greater ill
can befall you, turn to 9.

EE]
 55-56
55
Darting from left to right, backwards and forwards to
confuse the magical construct, you gradually lure the
gatehouse’s guardian away from the archway. It is
then that you make your move. Test your Skill. If you
succeed, turn to 337. If you fail, turn to 240.

56°
A little further along the passageway you come to
another door, this time on your left. However, this
one is made from the same black wood as the Spirit
Door that first prevented you from entering the Keep
and has the same arcane symbols etched into it in
silver. Unless you still have a physical form, and
know what to do, you will not be able to pass beyond
this door. When you are ready to proceed along the
passageway, turn to 436.
SS
a
57-99

‘I believe so,’ Cador replies, ‘although it has been

some weeks since I saw her last myself. She never
leaves her apartments in the Inner Ward, or so I hear.
Spends all her time in her solar or at the castle chapel.
If your plan is to free her from her captivity there is
something I must tell you.” Turn to 269.

58
You re-appear on the Earthly Plane in the middle of
the Inner Ward, bathed in cold, silver moonlight,
looking up at the dominating shadowy presence of
the Keep. Never before has it appeared so unwelcom-
ing, so unlike home. You understand now that this is
where the source of the evil power within Valsinore
Castle lies. And if you are to vanquish it, that is where
you need to go now.
But you also heard Chamberlain Unthank mention
two other places that, from the way he was talking
about them, may well hold the key to defeating that
same power. If you want to try travelling to one of
these places, turn to 188. If you would rather not
waste the hours left between now and dawn and
want to approach the Keep, turn to 117.

59
As the last of the knights falls to the floor, a noxious
black gas rising from the pile of armour and black
cloth that is all that is left of its physical form, you
cross the chamber to another archway that leads to
another spiral staircase. However this one both

CdCJ
 60

ascends and descends through the tower. If you want

to go up it, turn to 166. If you want to go down it, turn
to 115. If you would rather return to the ground floor
and the portcullis gate, turn to 20.

60
You approach the portcullis with trepidation. If
you have the codeword Gateway written on your
Adventure Sheet, turn to 5. If not, how do you plan on
getting past the portcullis? Choosing something you
haven't tried already, will you:
Use the Poltergeist special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 291
Use the Apparition special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 5
Climb the staircase beyond the left —
archway? Turn to 271
Climb the staircase through the right
archway? Turn to 85
Find another way into the Inner Ward? Turn to 393
 61
61
Night lies over the sleeping village like a bejewelled
cape, the wind chasing black clouds across the sky,
like a wolf after a shepherd’s flock. Ahead of you lie
the stone-built buildings and thatched cottages of
Sleath. There are few lights visible in the windows
of the village although you see plenty within the
windows of Castle Valsinore. Most of the villagers,
who predominantly work on the land, have already
retired for the night.
The tolling of the temple bell rings through the cold
night air, the sound deadened by the capricious
whipping wind. And then the soughing of the wind
becomes what can only be a moaning voice. The voice
is joined by others, all wailing in torment, and they
are getting closer. You can see a phosphorescent mist
moving towards you like a sentient cloud over the
fields that lie between you and the village. This is no
natural mist. As you watch, anguished faces, their
eyes closed, surface from within it.

The troubled dreams of the villagers have manifested

as this nightmarish monster of the Spirit World. There
is nothing you can do as the unearthly fog slithers
towards you over the wind-ruffled grass. And then it
is all around you, enveloping you, smothering you,
threatening to overwhelm you with its insanity as the
nightmares of the populace of Sleath become mani-
fest reality to your own tortured mind.
Roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 17; if itis greater, turn to 105.

ae
62-64

62
You come at last to yet another chamber, high up
within Frostfinger. Two more spiral staircases lead
onwards but the archway leading to the one to the left
is blocked by a solid sheet of ice. The only way that
you are going to be able to get beyond this icy gate is
if you have the Apparition special ability. If you do,
and you want to follow the staircase to the left, turn to
18. If not, or you want to take the right-hand staircase
anyway, turn to 40.

63
‘There are plenty, let me tell you,’ Yorrick says, a look
of resignation on his face. ‘I’ve seen ghosts flying
around the battlements the last three nights in a row,
and some of the serving maids claim to have heard a
spider the size of a horse scuttling about on the roof of
their sleeping quarters. But that’s nothing compared
to what’s happening down in the catacombs. Other
spirits have told me that the Wraith Queen is holding
court down there, protected by her zombie generals.
Of course, I wouldn’t want to go down there and
check myself — know what I mean?’ Now turn to 12.

64
‘Who did this?’ you shout. Your voice does not sound
quite like your own; it has gained an echoing, ethereal
quality. ‘Who commanded that I be struck down on
the highway, when I was so close to the end of my
epic journey?’

a
 65
The skull-masked acolyte does not answer you but
continues to wave his hand over his crystal ball and
then utters the words, ‘Begone, spirit! In the name of
the Finisher, I banish you from this place to dwell in
the Realm of the Damned forevermore!’
It suddenly feels as if a powerful gale is blowing over
the moors although you can see no sign of it rippling
the grass or tugging at the robes of the Death Acolyte.
And then it feels as though you are in danger of being
carried away, sucked up by this whirling ethereal
maelstrom, and you can hear screaming ghostly
voices on the wind.
Roll two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your
WILL score, turn to 114. If the total is greater than your
WILL score, turn to 136.

65
And in the blink of an eye, you become invisible to
human sight. As you slip between the jugglers and
fire-eaters, Chamberlain Unthank suddenly gets to
his feet and, having banged on the floor with the
metal-sheathed tip of his staff and achieved silence,
he raises his goblet and announces, “To absent
friends!’ No one responds to his hail.
Unseen as you are you could approach anyone you
wanted to and eavesdrop on their conversations or
observe them to work out what is going on here.
Will you:

[-
66

Approach your sister? Turn to 37

Approach Chamberlain Unthank? Turn to 16
Approach Blondel the Bard? Turn to 130
Move among the acrobats and
mummers? Turn to 227

66
As you enter the kennels you hear the dogs chained
up within whining in fear. Wolfhounds and lean
hunting dogs cower before your ghostly presence or
start barking ferociously, but you know that none of
them can hurt you. However, their barking may well
alert others within the castle to your presence. (Add
the codeword Barking to your Adventure Sheet.)
But one of those animals present does not tremble
and whine in your presence but instead runs up to
you, barking in delight and wagging its tail. It is your
own hunting hound, Korzen, your faithful compan-
ion who you have not seen for three years, since you
left him behind to keep your sister Oriana and the
castle safe from harm.
If you have the phrase Fool’s Bargain recorded on your
Adventure Sheet, turn to 23; if not, turn to 43.
 67-68

67
The cottage door is suddenly flung open by a
scrawny old woman wearing a plain black robe and
with a shock of wild white hair streaming out from _
around her head.
‘Who’s that? Who’s there?’ she demands, peering into
the night through eyes clouded with cataracts. ‘Come
on, speak up, I knows yer there. I can smell yer!’ She
is totally blind.
The expression on her face suddenly becomes one of
startled fear and she raises her bony hands ready to
defend herself. “You’re one of them, aintcha!’ she
snaps. ‘So your master’s sent you to do away with me
at last, has he? Well, we’ll see about that!’

The old crone weaves her hands through the air in

front of her as if preparing to cast a spell. If you want
to draw your phantasmal sword ready to defend
yourself, turn to 356. If you would rather speak up
and tell the wise-woman you mean her no harm, turn
to 399.

68
As soon as the metal-eating fungal spores touch the
rusted, bloodstained ironwork of the Demon Gate
they set to work. The Demon Gate crumbles into
nothing but a rust-red powder with a fading cry of,
‘Flessshhh!’ leaving you free to continue on your
way. Cross the Ironbane off your Adventure Sheet,
regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 243.

CI
69-71
69
A bony tail suddenly comes out you out of nowhere
and whips you off your feet. (If you still have a physi-
cal body lose 2 STAMINA points.) You now have no
choice but to fight whatever it is that is coming into
being here. Turn to 110.

70
Then the voice comes again.
‘No breastplate, shield, or armoured helm,
Can ‘gainst my blade defend.
Prince and pauper, knight and maid,
All face me in the end.
No weapon forged, can strike me down,
No arrow, sword or lance.
King and servant, rich and poor,
Shall join me in my dance.
Who am I?’
If you think you know the answer to this riddle, turn
it into a number using the code A=1, B=2, C=3 ...
Z=26. Add the numbers together and turn to this
paragraph. If you do not know the answer, or if the
paragraph you turn to makes no sense, then turn
to 372.

71
Bravely you throw yourself at the Golem and land a
resounding blow against it. But to your horror your
ethereal blade does not even leave a mark on its iron
carapace. The magic powering the arcane automaton
 fe

is resistant to your own paranormal powers. The

Hellfire Golem retaliates with all its might. Unfortu-
nately the magical construct is perfectly capable of
harming you. Roll one die, divide the number by 2
and (rounding fractions up) deduct this number
many STAMINA points. If this has taken your STAMINA
score to zero, or below, write the number 278 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 1oo. If not, turn to 278.

72
The small room you enter appears to have once been
a prison cell, and you wonder why it wasn’t locked.
But then its occupant isn’t going to be going any-
where in a hurry; hanging from the wall opposite by
lengths of rusted chains is the skeleton of a man. You
quickly examine the skeleton but it shows no signs of
springing to life and certainly has nothing of value to
you. It is as you are turning to leave that you become
aware of the hollow knocking of bone on wood and
stone. And then you see them. They look like spiders,
large spiders, but rather than having soft hairy bodies
they are clad in bony armour, like crabs. Three of
these bizarre undead arachnids have squeezed
through a hole in the roof of the cell and are now
scuttling over the door, preventing you from getting
out again. If you want to leave this cell you are going
to have to fight them altogether.
SKILL STAMINA
First BONE SPIDER 3 6
Second BONE SPIDER 6 6
Third BONE SPIDER 6 5

Ey CJ
73-74
If you manage to defeat all of your adversaries you
will be able to leave the cell and continueon your
way (turn to 255). If your spirit-form should ‘die’ dur-
ing your struggle against the Bone Spiders, write the
number 255 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

73
There is a flash of blinding black light and then the
rushing roar of the wind in your ears again. You feel
as if you are being sucked violently backwards, away
from the purgatory in which you have been languish-
ing, back to the mortal realm.
Suddenly all is still and quiet once more. You look
around you in stunned disbelief. You are indeed back
in the land of the living, even though you are still in
spectral form — but at least you’re back. You have
been given another chance and, more than that, you
feel re-energised. Return your SKILL, STAMINA and
LUCK scores to their Initial levels, and add 1 to your
WILL score. Also add the codeword Judgement to your
Adventure Sheet.
Now turn to the paragraph with the number you
wrote down before being banished to the borders of
the Lands of the Dead.

74
If you are going to catch up with Chamberlain
Unthank and your sister, you are going to have to
get through his dread knight bodyguards first. Fight
them together.

Cl
 75
SKILL STAMINA
First DREAD KNIGHT 9 8
Second DREAD KNIGHT 8 8
The knights are armed with swords imbued with nec-
romantic power. If one of the knights wounds you,
roll one die; on a roll of 5-6 the cursed blade will
cause you 3 STAMINA points damage, instead of the
usual 2. If the Dread Knights put an end to you, write
the number 394 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to
too. If you manage to defeat them both, turn to 394.

Gazing up at the peg-toothed silhouette of the battle-

ments high above you, you picture yourself breaking
free of the pull of gravity and letting the rising wind
carry you over them. If you have the Spirit special
ability, turn to 94. If not, roll two dice. If the total
rolled is less than or equal to your wILL, Test your
Luck; if you are Lucky, write the number 94 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 293. If you fail either
roll, you are unable to defy gravity, even in your

[] Ee
76

wraith-like form, and so must resort to finding

another way into the castle. Will you try gaining entry
through the sewer outlet (turn to 36) or would you
rather approach the guards at the gate (turn to 242)?

76
The witch sits down on one side of the table and
invites you to take a seat opposite her. She then
begins her conjuration, her eyes rolling up into her
head as she calls her familiar spirit by name. “Come,
Pyewackit, come to mother.’
The temperature in the hovel suddenly drops, frost
forming on the inside of the windows. As you watch
aghast, something manifests in the air between you
and the witch. It has a body like that of a monkey,
only it is covered in the iridescent blue and green
plumage of a parrot, it has the backward-jointed legs
of a cockerel and the face of a demon. It hovers before
you, a cruel sneer splitting its ugly visage.
‘Pyewackit, answer me this, who is responsible for
this one’s murder?’

Her familiar spirit writhes as if in pain, mewling like

a child.
‘Why do you not answer me?’ Mother Toadsfoot
pushes.
‘Another would command me,’ Pyewackit snarls
from between gritted teeth.
‘Tell me!’ the witch shrieks. ‘Answer your mother!’

EE]CJ
The demon utters something intelligible in some
netherworld tongue, unable to resist its mistress any
longer.
‘Do not try to trick me, demon,’ the witch roars at her
familiar.

‘Ask me no more!’ the imp squeals, its unnatural form

contorted in pain, its face a picture of agony. ‘The
Lord of Shadows comes.’
Before your very eyes, the demon’s feathers darken to
the colour of blood and its skin blackens.
‘Command me no more!’ it growls in a much deeper
voice, suddenly lashing out at the witch with claws as
sharp as blades.
Giving a weak cry of pain herself, the old woman
slumps face first onto the table, blood pouring from a
savage wound in her neck. Her familiar spirit then
turns to you and snarls, ‘Now you shall die a second
death!’
Hastily unsheathing your phantasmal blade you
prepare to defend yourself against the familiar’s
demonic talons.

PYEWACKIT SKILL 7 STAMINA 6

If Mother Toadsfoot’s familiar does indeed grant you

a second death, write the number 9 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you defeat the unbound
demon, turn to 9.

ee
TIG9
Ai
Shutting the door again, you continue on your way. ~ |
You might have been able to help the wretched Iago;
leaving him to his fate was a callous act. Lose 1 LUCK
point and turn to 416.

78
The Dead Winds pull you over the bleak and rugged
terrain towards the edge of a mighty gulf that bisects
the scarred landscape. In the distance, in the shadow
of the rumbling storm clouds. you can see an arched
gate, made from monolithic blocks of obsidian. An
avenue of standing stones forms a processional path
that ultimately leads to the gate. You can feel yourself
being inexorably drawn towards it, but you cannot
shake the feeling that if you pass beyond that stone
arch then there will be no going back. You begin to
rail against your fate; you have unfinished business
in the mortal realm. You will not go willingly into the
Lands of the Dead knowing that your murderer
has yet to be brought to justice in the world above.
Roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal
to your WILL score, add the codeword Devourer to
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 46. If it is greater,
turn to 327.

79
Baron Blood jumps down from the back of his horse,
leaving his steed pawing at the ground impatiently.
‘To the death!’ he cries as he draws his own spectral
blade and the two of you join in combat.

E} Ce
 80

BARON BLOOD SKILL 10 STAMINA 10

You will soon discover that the Baron’s own ethereal
blade can harm you just as readily as your ghostly
blade cuts down your enemies. If the Lord of the Wild
Hunt kills you, write the number 290 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If it is you who wins
the duel, turn to 129.

80
Against all the odds, you have managed to break
through the holy wards Father Umberto had blessed
himself with as protection from the machinations of
undead spirits, and taken control of his body. (Add
the codeword Host to your Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for use later, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are wearing Father Umberto’s physical
form, you must use his stats which are as follows:
SKILL 10, STAMINA 19.
If you are injured in battle you may eat provisions
to recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to
4 STAMINA points. Incredibly you manage to find
food enough for 2 meals. Father Umberto looks very
different to how he did when you first encountered
him. He is now wearing a gleaming golden breast-
plate, while in his hand he hefts a heavy-headed war-
hammer. If you make a successful strike against an
opponent with the warhammer roll one die; on a roll
of 3-6 you cause 3 STAMINA points of damage, rather

C]G2]
JIREEE
Ratt] 1OE
ae

NTTT
\W,
a
 81

than the usual 2. (Make a note of this on your

Adventure Sheet.)
You also now know what Father Umberto knows,
and that includes a potent prayer-spell to banish
undead spirits. (Also add the Banish Spirit special
ability to your Adventure Sheet.)
If the warrior priest’s STAMINA score is ever reduced
to 2 STAMINA points or fewer, he will be knocked
senseless and you will be forced to leave his inert
body. Fortunately, you can keep on fighting in your
ghost-form, using the stats that you have written
down here. Now turn to 429.

81
Catching sight of you, a serving wench lets out an
ear-splitting scream, and then everybody is looking
your way. As terrified people flee before you, two
men at a corner booth leap to their feet, grim expres-
sions of pleasure on their faces. The first is dressed
completely in black, with a broad-brimmed hat on his
head, and a velvet cape around his shoulders. He is
also festooned with all manner of charms and is hold-
ing a finely-wrought, basket-hilted silvered rapier in
one black-gloved hand. His companion looks like
nothing less than a thug. The rogue’s nose has obvi-
ously been broken on more than one occasion, the
tattoo of a spider’s web covers one side of his shaven
head — although he still sports a bushy beard — and a
contraption that looks like a silver bear trap hangs
from his waist by a chain.

Ey
82

‘Do not fear, good people of Sleath,’ the black-clad

man addresses the tavern’s clientele. ‘I’ll rid you of
your plague of ghosts starting with this one, or my
name’s not Josef Van Richten, ghost hunter extra-
ordinaire!’ He advances towards you, adopting a
fencer’s stance, and shouts, ‘Streng, with me. Now
have at you, foul fiend!’ You have no choice but to
draw your own phantasmal blade to defend yourself.
SKILL STAMINA
JOSEF VAN RICHTEN 10 9
STRENG 8 8
The Ghost Hunter and his henchman attack you both
together, using silver weapons designed to harm
undead creatures, such as you. If both Van Richten
and Streng wound you in two consecutive Attack
Rounds, turn to 208. If you should die for a second
time in this battle, write the number 259 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn 100. However, if you
manage to defeat both your opponents, turn to 248.

82
You climb higher and higher. You have no idea how
much time has passed, but it must be half an hour at
least. Just when you are wondering if this staircase
will ever end, you emerge into another frozen cham-
ber to be greeted by a long, low hiss. It is bitterly cold.
Standing before you, at the heart of its lair, sur-
rounded by the frozen bones of its previous victims, is
a grotesque creature. It has a bloated green stomach,
like that of some monstrous toad, and a hideously

ES]Ey]
 83

misshapen head supported atop a blubbery neck. Its

circular, extended mouth is full of needle-sharp teeth
and surrounded by fat purple lips. But it is its
extended, sickle-like claws that give this monster its
name. There is something otherworldly about this
particular Coldclaw that gives you the impression
that you are as much in danger as any living creature
would be. In fact the chill malice being exuded by
this creature starts to affect you, even though you
are a ghost. Roll two dice and if the total is greater
than your WILL score you must reduce your Attack
Strength in the battle to come by 1. Now fight!
COLDCLAW SKILL 10 STAMINA 11

If the Coldclaw is the end of you, write the number 40

on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you win,
you cross the hellishly cold chamber and stop before
a pair of icy stone staircases that both lead further up
into the tower. Will you take the stairway to the left
(turn to 40) or the one to the right (turn to 62)?

83
‘First it was the Keep,’ Cador explains. “No one was
allowed in there, apart from him. Word was that
he was spending all his time in the castle archives,
looking for something, but I don’t know what. We
wouldn’t see him for days at a time but other than
that life at the castle continued pretty much as it
always had. But then the rumours started circulating
that he was making something in there — a machine of
some sort — but again nobody knew quite what exactly.
84
‘Then, like I said, just over a year ago, one night, in
the middle of a terrible storm, thirteen knights turned
up at the gates, seeking shelter. Unthank invited them
in and they never left. We were banished from the
Inner Ward and the knights were set to guard the
Barbican. And they’ve got something in there under
lock and key, something that Unthank doesn’t want
anybody else getting their hands on.
‘What I do know is that events have been building up
to something, something big, and whatever it is, it’s
going to happen this very night. I’m sure of it. As a
result, there is something else I must pass on.’ Turn
to 269.

84
‘Who commanded that I be struck down on the high-
way, so close to home?’ you demand, your voice
sounding not quite like your own, having gained an
echoing, ethereal quality. ‘Who was it that ordered
my murder?’
The skull-masked acolyte does not answer you but
continues to wave his hand over his crystal ball and
then utters the words, ‘Begone, spirit! In the name of
the Finisher, I banish you from this place to dwell in
the Realm of the Damned forevermore!’
It suddenly feels as if a powerful gale is blowing over
the moors although you can see no sign of it rippling
the grass or tugging at the robes of the Death Acolyte.

CJ]
 85
And then it feels as though you are in danger of being
carried away, sucked up by this whirling ethereal
maelstrom, and you can hear screaming ghostly
voices on the wind.
Roll two dice and then subtract 3 from the total. If
the total is now less than or equal to your WILL score,
turn to 114; if it is greater than your WILL score, turn
to 136.

85
Ascending the spiral staircase you enter the
Barbican’s guardroom located on the first floor. And
there are three guards waiting for you within — three
more of the dread knights you met guarding the port-
cullis. Silently, the undead warriors unsheathe their
accursed weapons and surround you, blocking off an
easy means of escape. In the confines of the guard-
room fight these Dread Knights two at a time.
SKILL STAMINA
First DREAD KNIGHT 8 8
Second DREAD KNIGHT 8 9
Third DREAD KNIGHT 9 8
If a knight wounds you, roll one die; on a roll of 5-6
the knight’s cursed blade will cause you 3 STAMINA
points of damage. If your battle with the knights ends
badly for you, write the number 20 on your Adventure
Sheet and then turn to 100. If you manage to defeat
them all, turn to 59.

Ee Eo
86-88

86
You enter what would appear to be an alchemist’s
chamber. Benches and tables are covered with all .
manner of glass alembics, crucibles, jars of powdered
compounds and flasks of curiously-coloured liquids.
There is even a stuffed crocodile suspended from the
ceiling. However, one thing draws your attention
more than any other. It is a lavish flask that appears to.
be made from black glass, either that or its contents
are black. It is sealed with a clasp-bound stopper and
etched into the glass are the words ‘Oil of Midnight’.
Nothing else interests you as much as this so if you
want to take the flask with you as you leave, record
the Oil of Midnight on your Adventure Sheet, and then
turn to 436.

87
‘Well there’s Aramanthus, former court wizard,
although you'll need to go down into the catacombs
to find him. There’s a set of steps in the chapel that
leads down into the tomb tunnels but rumour has it
you can enter them through the castle well too,
although I wouldn’t know about that myself.” Now
turn to 12.

88
And so you find yourself in the dripping castle cata-
combs. It was within these dank tunnels that Castle
Valsinore’s first founders were laid to rest when it
was their time to go into the ground. The other-
worldly glow emanating from your own ethereal
 89
presence illuminating the way onward, you come at
last to a crossroads. You can see that the passageway
in front of you, and the one to your left, both end at
solid looking doors. The tunnel to your right leads
further into the dark with no sign of stopping. Which
way do you want to go? Will you:
Continue straight on? Turn to 10
Head left? Turn to 235
Follow the passageway to your right? Turn to 109
Leave the catacombs and return to
the Inner Ward courtyard? Turn to 445

89
‘It is you!’ Captain Cador exclaims in relief, his tensed
body suddenly sagging with relief. “You came back!’
‘Yes,’ you reply, ‘to avenge my murder.’ You fill him
in on all that has happened to you since you were cut
down on the moors beside the Nine Maidens, con-
cluding by saying, ‘And I believe that I shall find the
answers I am looking for here within Valsinore.’
Cador in his turn tells you that his guards are no
longer permitted to patrol past the Outer Ward,
Chamberlain Unthank having apparently invited a
mysterious order of knights to take over those duties
roughly a year ago. ‘So,’ he finishes, ‘how can I help?
What do you want from me?’
‘Information,’ is your simple reply.
‘What do you want to know?’

PIG
g0—92
Will you ask Cador whether your sister, the Lady
Oriana, is safe (turn to 57), about the changes
Chamberlain Unthank has made in your absence
(turn to 83), or about where you might find other
allies within the castle (turn to 189)?

go
You are able to pass through solid objects, such as
walls and doors, as if they weren’t there at all. Record
the Apparition special ability on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to the paragraph with the same number as
the one you were just instructed to write down.

g1
Since you have bested his zombie executioner,
Unthank has had a change of plan. ‘After me!’ you
hear him shout as he descends from the platform,
dragging Oriana after him. ‘I’ve something else in
mind for this one,’ he tells his knights.
The zombie dead at your feet, you set off after
Chamberlain Unthank as he drags Oriana through
the archway and onto the bridge heading for the
Keep. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 394. If
you are Unlucky, turn to 74.

92
You slip past the woman and gaze up at the skeleton
hanging from the gibbet. Thanks to the attentions of
wind and rain, carrion birds and rot, the hanged
villain’s face is now nothing more than the mould-

[]El
 93
blackened face of a skull, although it has noticeably
elongated canines. A medallion bearing the image of
a wolf’s head hangs about the corpse’s neck on a
rusted iron chain, and you notice that the corpse’s
fingernails have the appearance of animalistic claws.
You find yourself wondering what crimes the villain
committed to earn a hanging in the first place.
The woman’s sudden scream of laughter catches you
completely by surprise. You spin round to see her
sweeping towards you over the moor, and stare into a
partially decomposed horror of a face. A crab crawls
through a hole in the woman’s drowning-bloated
cheek while tangles of seaweed stream out from
around her head. When she is within reach she lashes
out at you with broken fingernails caked with gritty
sand. Turn to 32 as you are forced to fight her, but
as you are surprised by the ghost, you must auto-
matically lose the first Attack Round.

95
You can feel the relentless volcano-fury of the Golem
coming off it in waves. How are you going to get past
such an awesome obstacle as this? Will you:
Attack the Hellfire Golem? Turn to 71
Try to dodge past it? Turn to 55
Use the Shade special ability (if you
have it)? Turn to 33
Use the Spirit special ability (if you
have it)? Turn to 312

Ee [4
94-95
94
And then you are rising high into the sky, soaring
over the battlements and enjoying a spectacular
bird’s-eye view of the castle below. You have never
seen Valsinore in this way before. Directly below you
lies the Outer Ward, containing stables, kennels, the
blacksmith’s forge and the guards’ barracks. Beyond
a second gatehouse lies the more densely defended
Inner Ward, containing the kitchens, feast hall, chapel
and graveyard, beneath which lie the castle’s ancient
and extensive catacombs. And then, over the sea-
moat, rising from a spur of black rock, is the castle’s
indomitable Keep. You notice that although you can
see lights flickering elsewhere in the castle, the Keep
is in total darkness — not something you would have
expected to see at all and a sight that fills you with
dread.
Now that you are airborne, do you want to continue
flying over the castle towards the Keep to investigate
further (turn to 125), or would you prefer to come
back down to earth and alight in the Outer Ward
below (turn to 414)?

95
As you enter the castle feast hall you are surprised to
be met by the sounds of carousing. A travelling troop
of tumblers, acrobats, jugglers, fire-eaters and mum-
mers are doing their best to get those present into the
spirit of celebration but it doesn’t appear to be
working.

Le] Ee
 96

The top table groans under the weight of the food

arrayed upon it. There is everything from suckling
pig, to peacock, to quails and honeyed hams, and all
manner of drink to wash everything down with. Itis a
veritable feast, but despite the great quantities of food
on display, nobody seems particularly interested in
consuming any of it.
Seated at the table is Chamberlain Unthank, who is
watching the players and tumblers with a disdainful
look on his face while beside him sits your sister, the
Lady Oriana, who is staring unhappily at a plate of
untouched sweetmeats. In a nearer corner of the hall
Blondel the Bard is coaxing a reluctant melody from
the lyre he holds in his lap.
If you want to reveal yourself, in all your ghostly
glory, to those present, turn to 348. If you would
rather remain unobserved and already have the Shade
special ability, turn to 65. If you do not have this abil-
ity, roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal
to your WILL, Test your Skill; if you are pass this test,
write the number 65 on your Adventure Sheet and turn
to 230. If you fail either roll, turn to 348.

96
The horse whinnies and brings its hooves crashing
down on the ground just in front of you, the straw of
the stall catching fire, burning with ethereal green
flame. Once again, you are fighting for the fate of
your immortal soul.

[+]
97
PHANTOM STEED SKILL 7 STAMINA 8

If the insane animal spirit destroys you, write the

number 434 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If you destroy the Phantom Steed, a quick search
reveals that there is nothing else of use to you here
and so you leave the haunted stables. (Recover up to
4 STAMINA points and turn to 434.)

97
You pass straight through the wooden planks form-
ing the door and into the noise and light of the
Cockcrow Inn. You suddenly realise that you have
entered a tavern full of people by walking right
through the door. If you are happy to let the people
see you, turn to 81. If not, and you have the Shade spe-
cial ability, turn to 299; otherwise, in that instant, you
wish that you weren’t there. Roll two dice. If the total
rolled is less than or equal to your wILL, Test your
Skill; if you are successful, write the number 299 on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 230. If you fail either
roll, turn to 81.

Bhs
 98

98
‘That villain?’ the Watcher roars, its scream of rage
echoing across the bleak wilderness with all the force
of a landslide, causing the distant crags to split asun-
der and boulders to topple from their jagged peaks.
‘He is known to us,’ the spectre goes on. ‘He has
cheated death for too long. His journey to this place
is long overdue; his life should have run its course
long ago.’
The Watcher reaches inside its cloak once again and
this time takes out another life-timer. You see the
trickle of sand falling from the top bulb to the bottom
is unmoving, as if frozen in time.
‘He has signed pacts with darker powers, in his own
blood, that he might live beyond a man’s natural span
of three score years and ten. But the time is coming
when he will have to make good on those promises
he made so long ago. Take this,’ the Watcher says,
handing you the black hourglass. |
You automatically reach out a hand and take it — and
to your amazement find that you can handle the
object. (Add the Black Hourglass to your Adventure
Sheet.)
‘You will know when the time is right to use it,’ the
Watcher tells you. ‘And remember, a fool is just a fool
but a man’s best friend can be his greatest ally.’
Now turn to 73.

Ee]Ee]
99

Sleath is quiet, but there is one place that shows little

sign of anyone going to bed just yet, and that’s the
Cockcrow Inn that stands on the northern edge of the
village square. A warm orange glow exudes from its
windows while sounds of carousing can be heard
coming from within.
On the southern edge of the square stands the
neglected shrine that was built up around the tomb
of an ancient champion of Good, sadly now long
forgotten. On the eastern side, where the dwellings
are few and far between, a gaudy tent has been
pitched on a patch of scrubby grass. The midnight-
blue canvas has been embroidered with silver sequin
stars, crescent moons and other more exotic astro-
logical sigils. A banner hung outside reads, ‘Madame
Zelda — Mistress of Mystery’.

There is one other place in particular that draws your

attention and that is the Burgomaster’s grand house
on the western side of the square. You cannot see any
lights in any of its windows but you can feel the lure

Ee]CJ
 100

of the place deep down in your bones — at least you

would if you had any! Perhaps Burgomaster Jurgen
could help you make some progress in your search
for answers.
What do you want to do now? Will you:
Visit the Cockcrow Inn? Turn to 118
Explore the shrine? Turn to 229
Investigate the tent of Madame Zelda,
Mistress of Mystery? Turn to 368
Approach the Burgomaster’s house? Turn to 437
Leave the village? Turn to 6

100
And then you are no longer upon the Earthly Plane
and the Dead Winds are carrying you over to the
Other Side of the veil that exists between the world of
the dead and the world of the living ...
Before you lies a barren expanse of grey rock and
sand. Above, the sky is as grey as the ground, and full
of dark storm clouds in turmoil. Thunder rumbles
over distant mountains that rise to jagged black peaks
that seem to claw at the storm-wracked sky.
If you have the codeword Endgame written on your
Adventure Sheet, turn to 400. If you have the codeword
Judgement on your Adventure Sheet, turn to 279. If you
have the codeword Watcher, turn to 286. If you have
the codeword Devourer, turn to 327. If you none of
these codewords recorded on your Adventure Sheet,
turn to 78.

Ep led
 101

101
The front door is in sight when suddenly three appa-
ritions manifest in front of you. The first is a woman
dressed entirely in grey, the second a nobleman wear-
ing clothes that are no longer in fashion and carrying
his head under one arm, the ghostly impression of a
finely-balanced rapier in his hand, and the third a
bodiless, floating skull.
‘What do you think you're doing here?’ the grey lady
shrieks.
‘This house is already haunted!’ the decapitated
noble informs you.
And then the building’s resident spooks are hurtling
towards you. The skull’s jaw drops open and a blood-
curdling scream rends the air around you. You have
no choice but to fight the three, furious ghosts.
SKILL STAMINA

GREY LADY 6 6
HEADLESS NOBLE 8 8
SCREAMING SKULL 7 4
Fight the ghosts all at the same time. For as long as the
Screaming Skull is still bound to the mortal realm,
you must reduce your Attack Strength by 1 point as it
keeps up its spine-chilling wail. If any of the ghosts
should kill you, write the number 259 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. As soon as you man-
age to banish two of the spirits back to the Nether-
world, regain STAMINA points up to half the STAMINA
total of the ghosts you defeated and turn to 406.

CJEy
102-104
102
‘Fool!’ the apparition roars in a voice like the banging
of coffin lids. ‘You cannot cheat death!’ And then it
flies at you, scythe raised, ready to cut you down
where you stand.
Roll dice to calculate Attack Strengths for yourself
and the Watcher as you would in a normal battle: the
Watcher's SKILL score is 12. If your Attack Strength is
higher, you block the sweeping scythe (turn to 73). If
the Watcher’s Attack Strength is higher, turn to 279.
If both Attack Strengths are the same, roll again.

103
You can only use your ability to fly if you do not have
a physical form, or you are prepared to quit it and
leave all equipment, provisions and the like behind
and cross off any relevant codewords. If you are not
in a position to do this or are not willing to do this,
turn back to 154 and try a different option. If you are,
you easily soar over the putrid pool and land on
the stone-flagged floor on the other side without
anything untoward happening. Turn to 421.

104
If you successfully recovered the Spirit Stone from its
resting place you will know how many faces it has.
Turn now to the paragraph with the same number. If
you do not know how many faces it has, lose 1 LUCK
point and turn to 132.

[4
 105-106

105
You are beset by the most horrific visions — all the
products of the fevered minds of the sleeping villag-
ers. There must be something truly evil haunting
these lands to produce such vivid and hideous night-
mares among the local populace. You thought you
had seen all the horrors the world had to offer within
that benighted realm of Bathoria, but you were
wrong; the horrors you witnessed there were as noth-
ing compared to the nightmares now conjured in
your mind by the predatory Phantasmagoria. You are
left a gibbering wreck, your undying mind driven to
the brink of insanity by what you have seen. Lose 2
WILL points, 1 SKILL point and 2 LUCK points. Now
turn to 17.

106
Having climbed the stair quite some way you enter a
frozen chamber but as you do so you notice the tem-
perature start to rise. A dull glow fills the chamber
and the ice covering the stone walls begins to melt. It
is then that you notice the creature hunched on the far
side of the chamber, blocking your way to another
staircase. It is over two metres tall, its upper body and
arms knotted with muscle, while its lower body is
that of a goat. It opens a mouth brimful of tusk-like
teeth and issues a bellowing challenge. Lowering its
horned head it charges, demon-axe in hand. Demons
are as lethal to spirits as other undead so you have no
choice but to fight the Hellhorn.

Ed EJ
107
HELLHORN SKILL 9 STAMINA 10
If the Hellhorn’s demon-axe does for you, write the
number 82 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to too. If
you defeat the chamber’s guardian, you are able to
leave by following the staircase that leads upwards
from this floor (turn to 82).

107
The graveyard looks like it has been neglected for
some time. Headstones lie tumbled amidst briars
and thick tussocks of grass while a number of free-
standing tombs look like they have been broken
into — or perhaps the bodies interred within have
broken out.
You are halfway across the cemetery when the first
of the ghosts appears. It is that of a young woman,
her face emaciated. The ghost rises from the turfed
mound of a grave. ‘Help us, stranger,’ the young
woman pleads.
Another figure steps out of a crumbling mausoleum.
This time it is the spectre of a severe-looking old man
dressed in the clothes of a notary. ‘Yes, help us,’ he
begs, ‘for we are slaves to a foul fiend that will not let
us depart this world.’
‘Free us,’ says the ghost of a bearded woodsman who
sits up through the turf of an unmarked grave, ‘that
we might go to our eternal rest.’
What is it that has bound these ghosts to this place
and that fills them now with such dread, having
 108-109

made their afterlives a misery? Will you help them?

Can you help them? If you want to try, turn to 42. If
not, turn to 150.

108
You re-appear on the Earthly Plane in the middle of
the Inner Ward, bathed in cold, silver moonlight,
looking up at the dominating shadowy presence of
the Keep. Never before has it appeared so unwelcom-
ing, so unlike home. You understand now that this is
where the source of the evil power within Valsinore
Castle lies. And if you are to vanquish it, that is where
you need to go now. Turn to 117.

109
You wander aimlessly along the mouldering tunnels,
further and further under the foundations of
Valsinore Castle with really no idea of where you are
going. Roll one die. One a roll of 1-3, turn to 139; ona
roll of 4-6, turn to 158.
110-112

110
The last few bones slot into place and then the
Bonebeast is complete. But what is it that stands
before you now? From the bones of which monster
was it formed? Roll one die. On a roll of 1-2, turn to
153; on a roll of 3-4, turn to 183; on a roll of 5-6, turn
10.212;

111*
The passageway comes to an end a little further on, at
a black wood door riven with silver sigils and esoteric
runic patterns. It is another Spirit Door and unless
you have a physical form of some kind you will not
be able to pass beyond it. When you are ready, you
will have to retrace your steps and take the alterna-
tive route through the dungeons (turn to 154).

112
You kneel before the Queen at the foot of her throne
and look up into her midnight-black eyes. And then
her mask slips and you see her for what she really is —
no beauty of flesh and blood but a hellish, undead
wraith — but by then it is too late, you are already
under the dominion of the Wraith Queen. You will
remain here as a member of her undead court until
the end of time. Your adventure is over.

Ee]Eo]
 113-114
113
‘Prepare to learn what an eternity in torment is really
like!’ the Shadow King roars. Whatever the outcome,
this will be one battle you will remember for the rest
of your life, no matter how long - or short — that
amount of time may be!
SHADOW KING SKILL 13 STAMINA 18
If you are wielding the Amethyst Blade, you may
increase your Attack Strength by 1 point for the dura-
tion of this battle and any successful hit you make
against the Shadow King will cause him 4 STAMINA
points of damage rather than the usual 2. If you are
using your blessed blade Nightslayer, you may also
increase your Attack Strength by 1 point but each suc-
cessful hit you make will cause 3 STAMINA points
of damage. If, against all the odds, you manage to
defeat the Shadow King in single combat, turn to 450.
However, if he should be victorious, there will be no
coming back from the dead this time and your adven-
ture, like your life, will be over ...

114
Resisting the pull of the Death Acolyte’s spell you
rush at the black-robed spell-caster, shrieking in fury.
A shocked expression enters the man’s eyes and he
starts to back away from you. But he is not done with
his magic yet. Still holding the crystal ball in one hand
he begins another conjuration. Not waiting to see
what it is he is attempting to cast now you join in bat-
tle with the Death Acolyte.

ry CJ
115
\

DEATH ACOLYTE SKILL 7 STAMINA 7

If the acolyte wins an Attack Round, turn to 186 at
once. If you reduce the Death Acolyte’s STAMINA
score to 3 points of fewer, without him wounding you
once, turn to 156.

115
Descending the staircase you enter a stinking prison
cell. At your sudden arrival, its single prisoner turns
mad-staring eyes upon you and starts to laugh hys-
terically. You are shocked to see that it is Toadstone
the Fool that is imprisoned here. He was court jester
in your father’s time and he’s still wearing his same
motley costume even now, although it is stained with
filth and hangs off his skinny frame. Eventually the
insane cackling subsides. ‘Fancy seeing you here,’ he
says, and once he’s started talking it seems he just
can’t stop.
“How long you been away now? Three years is it?
Who’'d’ve thought it? They’re holding a slap-up feast
tonight but I don’t suppose you'll be going will you,
seeing as how you've got no body to go with? I guess
you heart’s not in it. Ihope there aren’t any vampires
going. They like everything served in bite-sized
pieces!’
The poor fool is obviously completely mad, but he
wasn’t always like this. You wonder what can have
happened — what he must have seen — for him to lose
his mind like this.

ce
 116

‘So what's it like being a ghost?’ he asks. ‘My mum

wanted to marry a ghost. I don’t know what pos-
sessed her! But you'll have to forgive me, I’ve not
been myself lately. When I die I want my epitaph to
be, ‘I told you I was ill’! But anyway, enough about
me, have you seen the changes they’ve made while
you've been away? I know something they don’t
know. I know about their little strongroom at the top
of this tower. Thing is it’s got this amazing lock but to
unlock it you need to reverse the combination. Hey,
here’s a good one. What’s got six legs and flies? A
witch giving her cat a ride on her broomstick!’ This
terrible joke sets him off again, giggling uncontrol-
lably to himself.
You're not going to get any sense out of this poor
wretch and so prepare to be on your way again. As
you leave the cell and its insane occupant, Toadstone
tries one last joke on you. ‘Here, I used to be a were-
wolf but I’m all right nowww!’
If you want to climb back up the spiral staircase right
to the top of the tower, turn to 166. If you would
rather return the Barbican and return to the portcullis
gate, turn to 20.

116
Staring into the phantom steed’s baleful eyes, exert-
ing your will against it, you manage to calm it down
and bring it under your control. The horse ceases its
unearthly whinnying and stands patiently within its
stall instead. It does not look like it is going anywhere

Ey Ce
117-119
and knowing where there is a horse that is a ghost
like yourself, could prove useful — you never know!
(Add the codeword Steed to your Adventure Sheet.)
Searching the stables further doesn’t uncover any-
thing else that might be of use to you so you leave to
look elsewhere. Turn to 434.

117
Do you have the codeword Oriana written down on
your Adventure Sheet? If so, turn to 376 at once. If not,
turn to 134.

118
As you approach the raucous tavern, you see that the
door is closed against the encroaching night. If you
have the Poltergeist special ability, turn to 148. If you
have the Apparition special ability, turn to 97. If you
have neither you cautiously approach the door,
recalling that the one thing everyone knows about
ghosts is that they can pass through solid objects. Roll
two dice. If the total is less than or equal to your WILL
score, make a note of the number 97 and turn to go. If
the total rolled is greater than your current WILL score
you are unable to enter the inn, turn to 259.

119
Your old friend Bertild gladly allows you to take
control of her body, so that you might gain access to
the Keep and complete your quest. (Add the code-
word Host to your Adventure Sheet.)
 120

Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and

STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are wearing Bertild’s muscular form you
must use her stats, which are as follows: SKILL 11,
STAMINA 21.
If you are injured in any way, for as long as you are
wearing Bertild’s body, you may eat provisions to
recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to 4
STAMINA points and Bertild has enough food for 3
meals. Looking around for a (suitable) weapon you
decide to take Bertild’s blacksmith’s hammer. If you
make a successful strike against an opponent while
using the hammer roll one die; on a roll of 4-6 you
cause 3 STAMINA points of damage, rather than the
usual 2. (Make a note of this on your Adventure Sheet.)
If Bertild’s sTAMINA is reduced to 2 STAMINA points or
fewer she will be knocked senseless, forcing you to
leave her body. However, you may continue fighting
but now in your spirit-form, using the stats that you
have made a note of here. Turn to 429.

Through sheer strength of will, you can, on occasions,

move objects in the real world. Record the Poltergeist
special ability on your Adventure Sheet and turn to the
paragraph with the same number as the one you were
just instructed to write down.

Bae
cn
SA
a i
, {
x
- i]
if
1
 121-122

121
As you approach the sturdy stone bridge you hear the
clip-clopping of hooves and then another spectre
materialises in front of you. It is that of an old knight
from ages past and his noble steed, faithful even unto
death and beyond. The ancient knight is unhelmeted,
a flowing white beard hanging down over his torn
tabard and battered breastplate. He has a lance
couched at his side. ‘Halt!’ he calls out in a reedy
voice, challenging you. ‘No spirit may pass!’ If you
are determined to cross the knight’s bridge, turn to
175. If you would rather submit to the knight, turn
to 391. Alternatively you could try wading across
the river and not worry about the bridge at all (turn
to 313).

122
Climbing over the motionless body of the Golem, its
metal body plinking as it cools, you set foot on
the bridge at last. The bridge spans the natural
sea-channel that lies between the headland on which
the Outer and Inner Wards of Valsinore Castle were
constructed, and the separate spur of rock on which
the imposing Keep stands. Below you the waves
crash and white water spumes where the sea is fun-
nelled into the narrow channel, forcing the surging
waves into the cliffs, sometimes even sending sprays
of water cascading over the bridge itself. You are
halfway across when something rises from the tumul-
tuous surge beneath. It is little more than a gaping
maw of shark-like teeth surmounting a sinuous

CyEs
123

serpentine body. With a primeval roar, the moat

monster attacks. (If you have fought the bridge's ser-
pentine guardian already, but it remains undefeated,
amend its stats accordingly before attempting to best
it again.)
MOAT MONSTER SKILL 9 STAMINA 11
If you win two consecutive Attack Rounds you can
escape from the sea serpent by running for the Keep
at the far end of the bridge (turn to 449). If the serpent
destroys your physical form it submerges beneath the
waves again (cross off the relevant codeword and
turn to 173). If you manage to defeat it, turn to 449.

123
And so you return to the guard barracks and find
Captain Cador keeping watch there, despite the very
late hour. Entering hisroom you attempt to take over
his body. If you have the codeword Braveheart written
on you Adventure Sheet, turn to 172. If not, roll two
dice and add two to the number rolled. If the new
total is less than or equal to your WILL score, turn to
172. If it is greater, Captain Cador resists your
attempt to seize control of his mortal body and sends
you packing with a slash of his blessed blade. Lose 2
STAMINA and if this has reduce your STAMINA score to
zero or below, write the number 13 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100; if not, turn back to 13 to try
another subject.

rie
 124-125
124
You must fight the faceless Tenebrae together.
SKILL STAMINA
First TENEBRAE y 7
Second TENEBRAE 8 a,
If you manage to defeat these creatures of darkness,
regain up to 7 STAMINA points and turn to 132.
However, if they are, quite literally, the death of you,
write the number 132 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

125
As you soar over the castle, you become aware of
dreadful keening cry. Through the wind-whipped
night straight ahead you can see a host of phantasmal
forms. Some are little more than skull-like faces trail-
ing misty tails behind them, like ethereal comets,
while others are fully-formed apparitions. You had
never realised Valsinore had so many ghosts. Then
the wraith-like creatures sense your presence and
their seagull cries intensify as they surge towards you
on the wind. Fight the Ethereals as if they were one
creature.
ETHEREALS SKILL 8 STAMINA 13
The Ethereals tear at you with their phantasmal claws
and weaken your resolve with their terrible keening
cries. If they should reduce your STAMINA score to
zero or below, write the number 414 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you reduce their
126-127

combined sTAMINA to zero it means that you have ~

repelled their attack and they break away from you to
circle the Keep, their eerie howls echoing from the
sea-lashed cliffs below. If you still want to approach
the Keep, turn to 191. If you would rather alight
within the courtyard of the Outer Ward, turn to 414.

126
Standing at the foot of the tower, gazing up at it, you
can see no sign of any windows or other entrances
higher up. The only way in is under an icicle-
encrusted archway, the frozen spikes of water mak-
ing it look like you are about to enter the gaping jaws
of some colossal Ice Demon. But step between them
you do.
Inside the tower, every surface is covered in a thick
layer of ice and a chill wind wails eerily as it is chan-
nelled down two ascending icy spiral staircases from
somewhere high above, and into the entrance hall
where you now stand. Both staircases lead upwards,
but which will take you to the treasure you seek?
Choose a staircase. Will it be the one:
To the left? Turn to 82
To the right? Turn to 106

127
A sound like thunder rumbles across the rift and you
realise that the Watcher is laughing at you. ‘A second
chance?’ the otherworldly guardian shrieks. Test your

Ee}EJ
 128-129
Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 44. If you are Unlucky,
turn to 279.

128
You hastily hurl the pouch containing the Ironbane
spores at the Iron Maiden and then stand well back.
The pouch bursts open on contact with the magical
metal construct, surrounding it in a cloud of corrosive
spores. You watch, transfixed, as the solid iron body
of the torture device is eaten away until all that is left
is a pile of rust-red powder on the floor. Not wanting
to spend another moment in this gruesome place, you
leave the torture chamber as quickly as possible. Turn
to 56.

129
With your ‘killing’ blow, you pierce the huntsman’s
ghostly heart with the tip of your ethereal blade. With
a shrill, blood-curdling scream, the Baron’s spectral
form appears to evaporate before your very eyes. But
even as his body dissolves like mist on the wind you
feel yourself become imbued with phantasmal
strength. Regain up to 5 STAMINA points and add 1 to
your WILL score.
You suddenly find yourself at the heart of a whirling
maelstrom as with whinnying cries, unearthly howls
and desperate cries, the rest of the Wild Hunt is forci-
bly returned to the Realm of the Damned once more.
(Regain 1 LucK point.) Alone again, you set off once
more for the wisewoman’s hovel. Turn to 290.

EY] C.J
130-131
130
Blondel the Bard is strumming away at his lyre with-
out much gusto, a disinterested expression on his face
as he half-sings and half-hums along. You can tell
that his heart’s not in it. You know Blondel of old; he
was minstrel to your father just as he was to you,
when you were still the guardian of Castle Valsinore.
If you want to announce your presence to him, turn to
147; if not, turn to 227.

131
‘I know you,’ Myrddin the hermit gasps. ‘You’re from
the castle. But I’ve not seen you these three years past.
And now here you are, at my door, as it were, and a
ghost to boot. What happened to you?’
Your voice echoing strangely on the sea-breeze, you
tell the hermit all that has passed since you were
struck down on the road.
‘But who would employ a servant of darkness like
a Death Acolyte to do away with you?’ Myrddin
asks, appalled. ‘Although, that said, there has been
a disturbance hereabouts for some time now. Talk
of strangers at the castle, people beset by restless
dreams, and the Black Dog has been heard to howl
again. I’ve heard it said that Burgomaster Jurgen of
Sleath has even gone so far as to call on the services
of a ghost hunter.’
Myrddin certainly seems to know a lot, especially for
a hermit who’s supposed to have cut himself off from

rd Ee
 132
the rest of society. Talk of strangers at Valsinore con-
cerns you and makes you wonder as to your sister’s
safety. You've seen evidence yourself of other haunt-
ings but the mere mention of a ghost hunter has you
intrigued.
As he’s in such a talkative mood, and apparently not
fazed by your spectral nature, you decide to press the
hermit for more information. But will you ask him
about:
Recent goings on at the castle? Turn to 314
Your sister? Turn to 344
The ghost hunter? Turn to 374

132
A sound like a thunderclap bursts across the circle of
standing stones and you know that Unthank the
Necromancer has achieved what he set out to do this
night through his dark ritual. Gasps of ‘The Shadow
King comes!’ rise from the remaining cultists, who
all fall to their knees in obeisance. All except for
Unthank.
‘Behold the Lord of Shadows!’ he declares staring up
at the moonless sky above the Nine Maidens, “The
ruler of the night! Your lord and master!’
Something is condensing out of the moonless night at
the very centre of the stone circle. As you watch,
dumfounded, a looming figure, twice as tall as a man
takes shape, clothing itself in the very fabric of the
night. It looks like a giant wearing ancient armour

EIE]
forged from the metal of the night beneath a shroud
of darkness, an ornate crowned helm on its head. But
it is its face that stops you in your tracks — for it
doesn’t have one. All that lies beneath its armoured
helm are two malevolently glowing coals that burn
red like a pair of dying stars. And then the lunar
eclipse passes and the apparition is revealed in all its
malignant glory.
Peering down at the ground, it fixes the necromancer
with its malevolent gaze. Then it reaches forth its
hand and a blade of pure darkness forms within it. It
raises the two-metre long blade above its head,
pauses for a moment, and then brings it down in a
sweeping arc — and Unthank is cut down witha single
stroke.
 133
‘Arrogant fool,’ the dread apparition snarls in a voice
like the slamming of crypt doors. (Add the codeword
Retribution to your Adventure Sheet.)
The cultists start to whimper in fear. You suddenly
feel colder than you have ever felt in your life and the
hairs on the back of your neck start to rise. But that
shouldn’t be possible ...
If you have the codeword Revenant, or Host, or
Armoured still written on your Adventure Sheet, turn to
275. If not, turn to 448.

133
Before you even reach the woman, without turning
round she suddenly addresses you. ‘I used to laugh at
the gibbet. So did, Wolfric. "E said the roadwardens
would never catch ‘im, but they did. Hanged him too,
for what ’e did, but ’e’s not laughing now is ’e?’
She suddenly bursts into hysterical, cackling laughter
and then spins round to face you. Her skin is the
disgusting grey-green colour of decomposition and
half her face is missing, as if something has eaten it.
You then see that lengths of seaweed have become
knotted in her hair.
‘But I couldn’t go on without ‘im, could I?’ the hide-
ous apparition goes on, drifting towards you over the
heather, wet sand dripping from her clothes, crabs
crawling from the fleshless spaces between her ribs,
and saltwater dribbling from between her fish-eaten

CIE
134-135
lips with every sentence she speaks. ‘Drowned
myself, so that we’d both go over into the next world
together, so that we need never be apart,’ she giggles.
‘Well I got my wish, didn’t I? We’ve never been
apart since!’ she howls turning back to look up at the
blackened skeleton swinging from the gibbet. Giving
voice to a blood-curdling hysterical scream she
suddenly launches herself at you, broken fingernails
outstretched. Turn to 32.

14
As you approach the gatehouse that guards the
entrance to the bridge spanning the castle’s sea-moat,
by the wan light of the moon you see that there are no
guards present, the portcullis is raised and the way
onward appears clear. If you want to approach the
moat-bridge on foot, turn to 276. Alternatively, if you
have the Spirit special ability and want to use that as a
way to approach the Keep and avoid having to cross
the bridge altogether, turn to 214.

135
Letting the black-bound spell book fall open in your
hands you are immediately confronted by three spells
which may be suitable given the circumstances. The
only problem is that although you can pronounce
the words written in human blood, you do not actu-
ally understand the meaning of the dark tongue of
necromancy.
And then two of the shadowy Tenebrae are gliding
towards you over the damp grass and frosted
heather, reaching for you with their claws of dark-
ness. You are going to have to make a decision a
fast. Which spell will you read?
Dae deht fos tirip seh thsin abot? Turn to 162
Senok radeh truoc cusot? Turn to 244
Li vef oeca feht nignor tsebot? Turn to 151
If you don’t want to risk invoking the powers of nec-
romancy, turn to 124.
 136-138

136
The roaring of the unearthly wind surrounds and
consumes you. The moorland road begins to fade
from before your eyes and you feel as if you are being
sucked up by a whirling maelstrom of otherworldly
energies. And then you are gone from this world.
Write the number 288 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

137
Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 205. If you are
Unlucky, turn to 69.

138
~ It only takes a moment and then the vile deed is done.
You are almost overwhelmed by guilt. Korzen waited
faithfully for three years for your return and then,
when you did, his loyalty bought him nothing but
death. (Lose 2 LUCK points and 2 WILL points.) But the
witch has had her due and, as she said would be the
case, you are saved from suffering any physical side-
effects yourself. Cursing the witch’s black soul to Hell

PE
 139
for what she has made you do, barely able to continue
with your quest now that it has cost you so much, you
leave the kennels. Turn to 434.

139
The catacombs echo to the constant drip-drip-drip of
water. You are just thinking that you must be alone
down here when a figure appears to congeal from the
shadows ahead of you. The figure is wearing a
hooded cloak. Without any warning, it suddenly
spins round, knotted talon-like hands raised ready to
strike, and you see that beneath its hood there is noth-
ing but darkness, a darkness that not even your
ghostly luminescence can penetrate — the dark obliv-
ion of the Void. You are shocked to the core (lose 1
WILL point) and then find yourself fighting for your
continued survival upon the Earthly Plane as the
mind-numbing horror that is the Nightshade attacks.
NIGHTSHADE SKILL 10 STAMINA 8

The touch of the Nightshade is deathly cold, as cold

as the grave, but worse than that, every time it makes
a successful strike against you, it drains off a portion
of what little life-force you have left. This causes you
2 STAMINA points damage as normal but also
increases the Nightshade’s sTAMINA score by 1 point!
If the Nightshade proves too powerful an opponent
and drains all of your life-force, write the number 445
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. However, if
you manage to best this undead horror, recover up to
4 STAMINA points and turn to 207.

Ee E2]
 4
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Ti
 140
140
Hearing the rattle of shifting coals coming from the
forge, Bertild breaks off abruptly and you both turn to
see what's making the noise. Unbelievably something
is climbing out of the forge fire, two small figures
formed from the coals and clinker itself, stirring the
flames into crackling life as they do so. They drop
from the fire onto the floor and stalk towards you,
spitting and hissing like popping embers.
‘We are discovered!’ Bertild exclaims. ‘Someone has
been eavesdropping on our conversation,’ she says as
she stumbles to her feet, taking up her hammer and
grabbing a red-hot poker from the fire. Bertild takes
on the first of the clinker creatures while you deal
with the second. .
CLINKER SKILL 6 STAMINA 6

If the magical creature defeats you, write the number

434 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you
destroy the spark-spitting Clinker, Bertild, having
beaten her opponent into a pile of cold ash, turns to
you and says, ‘You had best be away from here before
anything else finds you, and so I bid you farewell and
good luck!’ You cannot fault Bertild’s assessment of
the situation and so leave the smithy, as the black-
smith restores the salt barrier behind you. Add the
codeword Ironheart to your Adventure Sheet and turn
to 434.

fC
141-142
141
The room you enter is like some nightmarish art gal-
lery, containing, as it does, all sorts of grim statues
depicting monstrous creatures, hellish demons and
grim memento moris of skulls and human skeletons.
But by far the largest and most impressive is the
looming statue of a cloaked and hooded skeleton
with the wings of some black-winged carrion bird
spread wide behind it. Gripped in the statue’s claw-
like hands is an even more macabre scythe. It looks
like it has been fashioned from the spine of some
great beast while its blade glints blackly in the dim
torchlight cast by wall-mounted braziers. It appears
to be made from one huge piece of amethyst. Do
you want to lift the weapon from the statue’s
clutches (turn to 412), or would you prefer to leave
the room and proceed deeper into the dungeons (turn
to 154)?

142
You have broken the dark enchantment holding the
dream-monster together and freed the people of
Sleath from their tortured dreams. With a lingering
scream, like that of a child waking from a horrid
dream, the Phantasmagoria breaks apart and dis-
solves like mist on the wind. At the same time, you
feel your ghostly form absorb part of its unreal
essence. (Regain up to 5 STAMINA points.)
Alone again on the road, you decide where to go next
in your search for answers. If you want to enter

Le}Ee
 143-144
Sleath, turn to 99. If you want to skirt past the village
and make for Valsinore Castle instead, turn to 6.

143
Surely a will as strong as yours can bring a horse
under control. Roll two dice and subtract 1 from the
total rolled. If the new total is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 116; if it is greater, turn to 96.

144
A chill wind blows flurries of snow and ice flakes
across the surface of the lake like winter waves. The
ice gleams an eerie white in the moonlight. As the
ever-present wind blows a dusting of snow from the
surface of the lake you see something trapped in the
ice below your feet. You almost lose your footing in
shock as you see the frozen features of a terrified
warrior looking back at you, locked in the ice for all
eternity. Looking to your right you see another, and
another. It’s the same to your left. In fact, they’re
everywhere, corpses frozen within the surface of the
lake. What manner of place have you come to? (Lose
1 WILL point.)
The sound of the ice cracking echoes across the
surface of the lake and you freeze in your tracks.
There comes another loud crack and this time you
locate the source of the sound; what you see fills you
with horror. Breaking free of the ice, ancient battle-
axe still in hand, an ice-rimmed bearskin cloak about
its shoulders, is one of the frozen warriors. You can

EE]
145
see the blue veins of the corpse beneath its pallid grey
skin, the moisture in its body frozen solid. As it pulls
itself free of the ice, what looks like breath frosts on
the air before it. The warrior’s eyes are vacant and its
face expressionless, but it stumbles towards you,
bringing its weapon to bear, determined to stop you
reaching the tower. Hearing the sounds of more
corpses breaking free of their icy graves you realise
that you are in trouble now. As you engage the Ice
Ghost in battle, more of the frozen undead warriors
slowly drag themselves towards you.
ICE GHOST SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
Roll one die and add 7 to the number, giving you a
result between 8 and 13. Now deduct your current
SKILL score from that number; this is the number of
Ice Ghosts you must battle to get to the other side of
the lake, but you must fight at least one. If after fight-
ing at least one ghost you think that the challenge is
too great, you may return to the lake shore and from
there return to Castle Valsinore (lose 1 LUCK point
and turn to 29). If any of the ghosts finish you off,
write the number 126 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100. However, if you defeat all of your oppo-
nents, you make it to the island at last (turn to 126).

; 145
Leaving the beach you return to the cliff-tops and
from there set out across the moors in the direction of
Valsinore Castle. But then a crossroads comes into
view. Turn to 19.

Es]
 146-147
146
Another ten metres on and you come to another door
on your left. This one is covered in curtains of spider-
webs and looks like it hasn’t been opened in a very
long time. If you are capable of opening the door and
want to enter the room beyond, turn to 72. If not, you
continue on along the passageway (turn to 255).

147
‘Blondel, you hiss, without revealing yourself just yet.
The bard breaks off his playing and looks about him.
‘Who goes there?’ he challenges, taken completely by
surprise.
‘It is IL,’ you say as you materialise again before his
very eyes.
‘By Saint Zillah’s bones!’ he splutters. ‘Begone,
demon. Do not try to tempt me with your evil wiles,
doppelganger. Leave my soul in peace, vile fetch!’
This was not quite the welcome you were hoping for.
And then, equally unexpectedly, Blondel takes up his
lyre again and begins to play. But there’s something
unsettling about the melody he is playing now and
the words of the song sound more like the words of a
spell of exorcism!
Roll two dice and add 2 to the number rolled. If this
new total is equal to or less than your wILL score, turn
to 187. If it is greater, write the number 227 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

EA] Ce
148-149
148
Through sheer strength of will you use your super-
natural powers to turn the handle and open the latch.
The door blows open with a bang in the wind and
suddenly the eyes of all those inside turn to see who it
is entering the inn. If you are happy to let the people
see you, turn to 81. If not, and you have the Shade spe-
cial ability, turn to 299; otherwise, in that instant, you
wish that you were invisible as well as a ghost. Roll
two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL, Test your Skill; if you are successful, write
the number 299 on your Adventure Sheet and then turn
to 230. If you fail either roll, turn to 81.

149
And then you are through. (Add 1 to your WILL
score.) Stumbling over the threshold and down the
steps on the other side, you find yourself within a
chapel of rest. Standing in the centre of the sanctuary
is a marble sarcophagus bearing the carved relief
image of a noble paladin reclined in prayer, his stone
sword clasped in his hands upon its lid. Moonlight
shines through a stained glass window at the far end
of the shrine that appears to depict the same Templar
Knight of Telak, wearing the garb of that holy order,
but with his helmet under one arm.
As you watch, the moonlight within the chamber
seems to solidify and then runs together like quick-
silver, forming the ghostly impression of the knight
there in front of you. You can sense a palpable aura of
Goodness around him.
‘Who summons me from the Battle at the End of Time
against the forces of darkness?’ the Paladin demands,
his silvery eyes fixing on you.
You mumble a hasty apology, saying that you did not
mean to. The knight suddenly looks beyond you, as if
sensing something you cannot.

‘Ah, I understand,’ he says, ‘the Shadow King would

manifest within this reality at this place and time as
well. Then he must be stopped! But my powers are
limited here, I am bound to this place, but if I were
able to pass on my knowledge to another ...’
He looks at you again, a severe expression upon
his perfect, chiselled features. ‘But are you worthy?’
he says, somewhat arrogantly. ‘A challenge!’ he
declares, before you have time to answer him.

‘As I was travelling to Analand,

I came across three hunting bands.
Each band had seven knights,
Each knight had seven squires,
Each squire had seven hounds.
Hounds, squires, knights and bands,
How many were travelling to Analand?’

If you know the answer to the Paladin’s riddle, add

one to the number and turn to the paragraph that has
the same number as this total. If you do not know the

Ea EJ
150-152
answer (or if you get it wrong) there is nothing more
the Paladin will do for you and he simply dissolves
into moonlight once more; you have no choice but to
leave the shrine (turn to 259).

150
Making your embarrassed excuses you hasten on
your way through the graveyard, the mournful wail-
ing of the ghosts trapped here chasing you between
the tumbled tombstones. “You have doomed us all,’
the notary calls, ‘so cursed shall your afterlife be too!’
It suddenly feels as if a sinister shadow has fallen
across your soul. (Lose 1 LUCK point and 1 WILL
point.) Leaving the ghosts to their fate, whatever it
may be, you make your way beyond the boundary
wall of the cemetery at last and find yourself on the
road that leads into Sleath. Turn to 61.

151
A curious radiating glow floods your being and you
feel reinvigorated, in mind as well as body. Regain up
to 5 STAMINA points, 1 SKILL point and 1 LUCK point,
and add 1 to your wILL score. Now turn to 124.

152
Unable to enter the Keep and confront the dark
power that now holds dominion of Valsinore Castle,
you are robbed of your ultimate revenge. You are
doomed to haunt the stronghold that was once your
home forevermore. Your adventure is over.

Ce}ES
 153
153
The bones that make up the body of the Bonebeast are
mainly those of dragons, wyverns and the various
other worms slain by your ancestors around the time
of the Rise of Kakhabad. So prepare yourself for a
titanic struggle indeed.
DRAGONKIND BONEBEAST skILL11 STAMINA 12
If the Bonebeast wins an Attack Round, roll one die
and consult the table below to discover what damage
it inflicts upon you.

Die Roll Attack and Damage

1-3 Terrible Claws — the Bonebeast savages
you with its cruelly sharp claws. Lose 2
STAMINA points.
4-5 Tail Lash — the dragon-thing’s tail hits
you, knocking you off your feet. Lose 2
STAMINA points and reduce your Attack
Strength by 1 point for the duration of the
next Attack Round as you get up again.
6 Savage Bite — the monster catches you in
its mouth and sinks its fangs into you.
Lose 4 STAMINA points.

If you manage to defeat the Bonebeast, turn to 236.

Alternatively, after three Attack Rounds have elapsed
you can attempt to flee by running for the descending
staircase. If you want to do this you must forfeit one
Attack Round and suffer the consequences, but if
your gamble pays off, turn to 205. However, if your

rI CJ
154
battle with the Bonebeast results in your ethereal
form being destroyed, write the number 110 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

154
The passageway ends at a sturdy oak door but some-
one has been careless, and left it open. Passing
through into the chamber beyond you are hit first by
the size of the space and secondly by the absolutely
appalling smell. The room, if it can be called that, is at
least thirty metres long, its high ceiling supported by
crumbling pillars ten metres tall. Burning braziers
illuminate the vast vaulted space also allowing you to
see the pool that lies at its centre. In fact this pool
looks more like a vast sewer.
The pool crosses the chamber from one side to the
other without leaving so much as a ledge for you to
skirt round it. And it is no wonder that such a dis-
gusting stench fills the chamber. The pool is filled
with a stomach-turning soup of putrefying flesh and
worse. Amidst puddles of foaming bile you see leg
bones, skulls, ribcages and calcified hands poking
above the surface. Looking at the pool you have no
idea how deep it could be, but there is a way across it.
One of the pillars that once helped support the roof
now lies across its width, forming huge stepping
stones across the middle of the pool.
On the other side of the vile pool of putrescence
another tunnel leads away from this chamber, deeper
underground, but this exit is blocked by a spiked iron

EE]
gate cast with a grinning demonic face. You will obvi-
ously need to cross the pool to proceed any further
and find your nemesis, but by what means? Will you:
Use the Spirit special ability Gf you
have it)? Turn to 103
Cross by means of the broken pillar? Turn to 179
Step into the pool in the hope that you
can wade across it? Turn to 222
Attempt to leap across to the
other side? Turn to 261
155-156

70
The Golem sweeps you up in its huge arms and
crushes you against its chest. Human faces, scream-
ing in torment, ooze from between the broken graves
that make up the undead monster’s body and you
realise that the Grave Golem is trying to trap you
inside itself as it has those wretches buried within
Sleath’s cemetery. :
Roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL score, you resist the Golem’s power and
slip free of its clutches; return to 42 and finish your
fight with the monster. However, if the total on the
two dice is greater than your WILL score, turn to 254.

156
As the Death Acolyte starts to succumb to the force of
your wrathful vengeance a look of panic enters his
eyes. He abruptly quits his spell-casting and instead
hurls the crystal ball at your feet. The amethyst
sphere explodes with the force of the black energies
bound within it. For a moment everything goes black
and then the light of the rising moon returns and the
world appears once more around you, limned in its
monochrome radiance. But of the Death Acolyte there
is no sign.
With the murdering magic-user gone, you are still no
closer to understanding why you were killed. You
return to your body and gaze down upon the cooling
corpse. It is a strange feeling to be looking at your
own dead body. You know that you will not be able

CE]
 157
to rest now until you have solved the mystery of your
own murder and exacted your revenge against the
one who wanted you out of the way. But where will
you go first in your search for answers?
You gaze out across the wind-swept promontory
towards the distant Valsinore Castle. Ahead of you,
directly to the north, lies the village of Sleath, the cas-
tle a black shadow now against the horizon behind it.
To the north-west lies the tangled expanse of Wraith
Wood where, rumour has it, a Wisewoman dwells.
Perhaps she could help you in your search for
answers. To the north-east, the moors peter out at the
edge of the sea, where — when you were here last at
least — a hermit monk dwelt, down on the seashore.
Perhaps he might be able to help you. However, to
the east you can see the dark hill of a burial mound
and you feel a strange pull to this place that you can-
not explain, just as you do in fact to the stone circle of
the Nine Maidens where you were attacked. Will you:
Approach the burial mound? Turn to 409
Succumb to the lure of the Nine
Maidens? Turn to 257
Explore one of the other options
open to you? Turn to 217

157
Snatching a torch from a wall-bracket, you prepare to
fight this undead monstrosity. You know you have
chosen the correct weapon when you hear the thing
shriek in fear and recoil from the searing flames.

EE]
158

NECROS SKILL 10 STAMINA 12

If the Necros hits you, the acidic slime coating it will

burn you whether you have a physical body or not,
due to the fact that it is also one of the Undead,
although like no other you have ever seen. In return,
your burning brand will burn it for 2 STAMINA points
of damage with every successful strike. If you man-
age to overcome this appalling undead horror, turn to
4o1. If the Necros puts an end to your spirit-form,
write the number 243 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

158
This part of the catacombs is thick with spider webs.
However, spiders shouldn’t trouble you in your ethe-
real form and so you press on. But the further you go
the thicker they become. Where the moisture-clad
webs are at their thickest you are not entirely sur-
prised when a monstrous arachnid descends from the
ceiling above. Shock quickly turns to horror when
you see the monster’s face for the first time; where
you would have expected to see the blunt head of a
spider, with its myriad black pearl eyes and venom-
dripping fangs, there in its place is a malevolent trav-
esty of a human face. Hissing horribly, the demonic
Death Spider stalks towards you, determined to snare
your soul within its unearthly web and drag you to its
own hellish dimension.
DEATH SPIDER SKILL 12 STAMINA 9

ma
 159
If the Death Spider wins two consecutive Attack
Rounds, turn to 177. If not, keep fighting until either
you or the monster is destroyed. If it is you who
‘dies’, write the number 445 on you Adventure Sheet
and turn to 1oo. If it is the demon’s spirit that is
returned to the Realm of the Damned, turn to 207.

159
The will of the Shadow King, one of the Lords of
Death, is a powerful force indeed, a tangible force like
some crushing tentacle of evil. But you have not
fought your way through hosts of Undead, facing
untold dangers to be resurrected from the dead only
to fail now. Chamberlain Unthank may be dead, and
your need for vengeance satisfied, but now an even
greater evil threatens the future of these lands, as
great an evil, in fact, as that defeated by the massed
forces of the Crusade against Evil that cleansed
Bathoria.
‘I shall not bow before you!’ you scream in defiance
at the undead entity. “Your servant Unthank the
Necromancer failed to destroy me, even though he
tried, and so shall you fail too!’

Thunder rumbles over and around the stone circle

again and it takes a moment for you to realise that the
Shadow King is mocking you with laughter. If you
have the codeword Retribution written on your
Adventure Sheet, turn to 419. If not, turn to 375.

Eo]Ee]
 160

160
You clamber up into a filthy, draughty chamber that
reeks of the smell of the crusted droppings that cover
every perch and every alcove. You are in what used
to be the loft where the falconer kept his trained birds
of prey. But there is no sign of the falconer now, other
than for a human skeleton, picked clean of flesh and
half-buried in bird droppings. Nor is there any sign
of his birds, only you wouldn’t be surprised if they
all ended up inside the blasphemy now picking at
the lamb’s carcass trapped in its talons. In life it
must have been something the size of a Roc or a Giant
Vulture, and has characteristics of both, but it is hard
to be certain now the thing is somewhat decomposed
— its flesh hanging in tatters from its bones, its jaun-
dice-yellow eyes rolling in the orbits of its fleshless
skull. Whatever it was in life, now that it is dead its
hunger is insatiable. Giving a savage squawk the
undead bird launches itself at you on featherless
wings of torn dead skin.
CARRION BIRD SKILL 7 STAMINA 7
If the undead avian ‘kills’ you, write the number 20
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you slay
the Carrion, you find nothing for you here in the
stinking aviary and so make your way back down
through the tower to the Barbican gate (turn to 20).

Eo]EJ
161-163

161
‘Would that Aramanthus was still alive,’ Bertild says
glumly, ‘he could have helped you, I’m sure of it. I
don’t know who to trust round here, these days. The
Captain of the Guard’s a good man but distrustful of
others too. Likewise, I hear the Priest still does what
he can to halt the spread of evil, but he hardly ever
leaves his chapel now for fear of what lies beyond the
limits of that sanctuary. The Bard’s hardly ever out of ~
Chamberlain Unthank’s presence and appears to be
one of the favoured few of the court. The Porter’s a
dead loss, these days; let’s just say he has trouble with
spirits of his own. But my information’s a little out of
date; movement between the wards is restricted. And
no one’s permitted to enter the Keep anymore.’ Turn
to 140.

162
As you speak the words of the invocation, the
shadow-born Tenebrae scream in pain and dissolve
back into the darkness they were originally sum-
moned from. Regain 1 LUCK point, add 1 to your WILL
score and turn to 132.

163
As you make for the village of Sleath and your ances-
tral home, a crossroads comes into view, as does the
gibbet that stands before it at the top of a steep
escarpment on the moors. The wind is picking up
now as it blows in across the black gulf of the
Diamond Sea to the east. It bats at the mouldering

Ee]
 164
body hanging from the end of the hangman’s noose,
lank hair billowing out around its head. Standing
close by, her shawl pulled tight around her shoulders
against the wind, her ragged dress billowing in the
sea-breeze, is a red-haired woman. You can’t help but
wonder who the gibbet-body was in life. Perhaps this
woman knows. As you look at her more closely, you
see that a flickering green aura surrounds her body.
Do you want to:
Approach the woman? Turn to 133
Study the body hanging from the
gibbet? Turn to 92
Proceed along the road towards the
crossroads? Turn to 52

164
Upon entering the stables you are met by the earthy
smell of the horses tethered inside. The animals
whinny and stamp their hooves in agitation as you
pass by them. You notice that one animal is saddled
and then, as you look closer, you are amazed to see
that it is the horse you were riding back to the castle.
You had forgotten about it until now but it makes you
wonder ... If your horse has made it back here, then
what has happened to your corpse?
As you ponder the fate of your own dead body, the
stables become bathed in an eerie green light as some-
thing manifests within an empty stall opposite you.
As you watch, a phantom horse materialises there. Its
eyes are blazing witch-lights while ectoplasm drips

Ey£2]
165-166

from its foaming lips. The horse appears to be wild

and it has you completely trapped. If you want to get
out of the stables you are going to have to get past this
phantom creature first.
As the horse rears up on its hind-legs, ready to bring
its hooves crashing down on your head you hastily
decide how to react. If you want to draw your sword
to defend yourself, turn to 96. If you would rather try
to calm the horse-ghost, turn to 143.

165
At the last possible moment the bolt of black light-
ning is drawn towards the mirrored shield on your
arm, hitting it and dissipating harmlessly. Now noth-
ing stands between you and your longed-for revenge,
other than Unthank the Necromancer himself. If you
still have a Black Hourglass and want to use it now,
turn to 410. If not, turn to 428.

166
The stairs end before a heavy-looking oak door,
painted black and inlaid with ornately-tooled silver
filigree that marks out esoteric symbols within the
wood. The door has a handle but lacks a keyhole.
Instead, in the middle of the door is a set of three tum-
blers, each one bearing the digits 0 to 9 upon their
knurled surfaces. Obviously, to be able to open the
door you need to know the code to the combination
lock. But even if you do possess such knowledge, it’s
useless to you if you cannot move the tumblers.

C]Ee
 167-168

If you think you know the combination and you have

the Poltergeist special ability, turn to 411. If you have
the combination but not the ability, but you still want
to try to force the tumblers to move, roll two dice. If
the total rolled is less than or equal to your wILL, roll
three more dice; if this second total is less than or
equal to your STAMINA score, write the number 411
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 120. If you fail
either roll, you are unable to operate the combination
lock; you will either have to leave this wing of the
gatehouse (turn to 20), or use the Apparition special
ability to try to get round the problem, if you both
have that special ability and you want to use it here
(turn to 181).

167
‘But what is justice?’ the Watcher intones. “Answer
me that.’ If you reply by saying that justice means
revenge, turn to 226. If you want to say that you want
a second chance so that you might achieve justice for
yourself, turn to 127.

168
You are standing at the shore of a frozen lake, on the
distant, ice-locked arctic Diamond Islands. At the
centre of the lake’s ice sheet stands a rocky island,
and from it rises a colossal tower of blue ice and black
stone. The icicle-pointed spurs of its battlements seem
to reach all the way to the realm of the gods, it’s so
high. This is Frostfinger, the tower of the Winter

[+] fe
169

King, a place of legend, cursed by demons, but if the

information you're acting on is correct, it is also the
resting place of the mysterious Spirit Stone. Before
you can start looking for this arcane artefact you are
going to need to cross the lake to reach the island. If
you have the Spirit special ability and want to use it,
turn to 126. If not, you set out across the frozen lake
(turn to 144).

169
With the Wild Hunt bearing down on you out of the
sky you turn and flee deeper into the wood. You
throw yourself into cover beneath the growth of
bracken obscuring the root bole of an old oak, just as
the hunt’s hounds and horses alight in a clearing
between the trees. The unearthly barking of the dogs
echoes between the black trunks of ash and elder and
you hear someone command the pack to, ‘Seek them
out, wherever they might be!’
As you wait, lurking in the dense undergrowth, you
hear the padding footsteps of the hounds getting
closer accompanied by an urgent snuffling sound.
And then they find you. (Lose 1 LucK point.) Snarling
rabidly, the ethereal hunting dogs go for. you. Fight
the Phantom Hounds altogether.
SKILL STAMINA
First PHANTOM HOUND 74 5
Second PHANTOM HOUND 6 5
Third PHANTOM HOUND 6 6

EYL]
 170-171

If you die a second death at the jaws of the hounds

within 4 Attack Rounds, record the number 290 on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you are still
‘alive’ after 4 Attack Rounds, the leader of the Wild
Hunt calls off the dogs. Turn to 220.

170
As you proceed through the hall you are suddenly
bathed in brilliant, arctic light, and find yourself una-
ble to move. You can see nothing all around you but
for the blinding whiteness. And then out of the light a
rasping, inhuman voice speaks.

‘Each thing has tts allotted span,

But how many years ts the life of man?’

If you think you know the answer to this riddle, turn

to the paragraph with the same number. If not, or if
the paragraph you turn to makes no sense, then turn
to 372.

171
Having rid yourself of the Black Dog of Barrowmoor,
you set off again for the sea-cliffs. Before long you
are negotiating the goat track that leads from the
windswept moors to the pebbled beach and dark sea
below.
Your feet make no sound as you walk over the
pebbles, the only sounds are the wash of the tide and
the rattle of stones tumbled by the breakers. Ahead of

Ey
172
you, further along the headland, you can see a cave
mouth that stands above the band of seaweed left by
the tide, illuminated by a crackling driftwood fire.
This must be the hermit’s home. You only hope that
he can help you.
And then he’s there, standing at the entrance to his
cave, staring out into the night at the moonlit break-
ers. ‘Hello? Is there anybody there?’
He is dressed in a plain grey habit, tied at the waist
with rope, a long, straggly grey beard clinging to the
hollows of his hunger-lean face, although the top of
his head is completely bald. Then he sees you, and
his ruddy complexion pales in the moonlight. Test
your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 131. If you are
Unlucky, turn to 447.

172 :
Your mind, with all the knowledge you have gained,
inside Captain Cador’s highly-trained body will
make a ruthlessly effective combination. (Add the
codeword Host to your Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are controlling Cador’s body you must use
his stats, which are as follows: SKILL 12, STAMINA 20.

If you are injured in any way, for as long as you

are wearing Cador’s body, you may eat provisions
to recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to

EA]LE]
 173-174
4 STAMINA points and Cador has enough food for
2 meals. The captain of the guard is armed with a
blessed blade (not unlike your own Nightslayer, only
not as powerful) which is capable of harming
undead, demons and magical creatures.
If Captain Cador’s sTaMINa is reduced to 2 STAMINA
points or fewer while you are in possession of him, he
will be knocked unconscious, forcing you to release
his body from your influence. However, you may
continue fighting in your spirit-form, using the stats
that you have made a note of here. Turn to 429.

173
You already know that to proceed any further you
will need a physical body, and yet you have just lost
yours. But do you know of another means of acquir-
ing one? If you have the phrase Rest in Peace written
on your Adventure Sheet, turn to 369. If you have the
codeword Automaton written down, turn to 427. If
you have the Spook special ability and wish to choose
this path, turn to 13. If you have none of these things,
turn to 152.

174
You could not possibly use your sister to exact
your revenge! She is the last surviving member of
your family line. If she should die, then so will your
family’s bloodline and that is something you are try-
ing to prevent. As a result, the Lady Oriana is not a
175-176

suitable candidate for possession. Lose 1 LUCK point

and 1 WILL point. Turn back to 13 and try someone, or
something, else instead.

175
‘You do not get past Sir Calormayne of Ravenscar
that easily,’ the knight roars, spurring his horse for-
wards at a gallop. ‘Prepare to meet your doom!’ His
charger pounding towards you, the old knight sud-
denly doesn’t appear quite so weak and feeble after
all. You are forced to draw your sword and defend
yourself once again.
GHOSTLY KNIGHT SKILL 10 STAMINA 10

If you defeat the knight in single combat, you are able

to cross the bridge unhindered and you also feel
yourself filled with renewed energy. (Regain up to 5
STAMINA points and turn to 6.) If the knight bests
you in mortal combat, write the number 6 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

176
With a strange, almost musical cry the bard’s con-
scious flees to some distant corner of his mind as you
take control of his body. (Add the codeword Host to
you Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.

rdf
 177
While you are wearing the body of Blondel the Bard
you must use his stats which are as follows: sKILL 8,
STAMINA 15.

If you are injured in battle you may eat provisions to

recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to 4
STAMINA points. You hastily gather scraps left over
after Unthank’s bizarre midnight feast and collect
enough for 4 meals. Blondel carries a short sword ina
scabbard at his waist, which is not enchanted, and his
lyre, which is. (Make a note of this on your Adventure
Sheet.)
If Blondel’s STAMINA score is ever reduced to 2 STAM-
INA points or fewer, the Bard will be knocked out,
and you will be forced to leave his unconscious body.
You can keep on fighting in your spirit-form, how-
ever, using the stats that you have written down here.
Turn to 429.

477
The Death Spider seizes your ethereal form in its hell-
ish fangs and, making the most of your vulnerable
state, tries to drag you into the middle of its web,
which is its extra-dimensional link to the Realm of the
Damned. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky return to
158 and keep fighting until either you or the monster
is destroyed. If you are Unlucky, the Death Spider
succeeds in dragging you into the centre of its web.
Write the number 445 on you Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

Ee G2]
 178

178
As abruptly as it appeared, the light is gone, plunging
the entrance hall into darkness once more. But,
undaunted, you continue on your way until it opens
out into a vast chamber and you begin to realise how
much the Keep has been altered in the time you’ve
been away.
The interior of the vast structure is now nothing more
than a shell. The upper floors and internal walls have
been pulled down, the rubble from this mass destruc-
tion piled in great drifts of brick and stone at the sides
of the vast chamber so created. Where once the skele-
tons of those beasts slain by the lords of Valsinore
Castle were displayed in all their ossic glory, now
there is only a pile of broken bones. On the other side
of the chamber, at the north-west and north-east cor-
ners of the Keep, you can see two still-intact spiral
staircases, leading up, towards the battlements, and
down, into the dungeons, respectively.
But it would seem that there is life in these calcified
remains yet. As you enter the chamber, some of the
bones start to move, rattling across the stone floor
towards: each other, joining together as if they
remember how they once connected in life. And yet
bones from all manner of shattered skeletons are join-
ing together in this way as something monstrous
manifests within the shell of the Keep. How will you
deal with this latest threat? Will you:
Race across the chamber towards the
north-west staircase? Turn to 69

Ee G2]
179-180

Try to make it to the north-east

staircase? Turn to 137
Prepare to fight whatever it is that is
manifesting here? Turn to 110

779
Cautiously, you step out onto the broken column
spanning the putrid pool. If you are in your ethereal
form you easily make it across to the other side with-
out anything untoward occurring (turn to 421). If you
are inhabiting a physical body you must Test your
Luck. If you are Lucky you also make it safely to the
other side (turn to 421), but if you are Unlucky, one
of the broken pieces of column tips under your
weight, sending you stumbling into the foul pool
(turn to 222).

180
The welcoming ruddy glow of the working forge
draws you through the darkness towards the black-
smith’s workshop. The blacksmith has left the door
open, as always, to stop the heat inside becoming
unbearable. The heat even warms your chill phantom
form. You cautiously peer inside.
It is just as you remember it. You have fond memories
of this place. As a child you would while away hours
within the sphere of its warmth, watching Bertild the
smith working at her forge, shaping pieces of armour
on the anvil or perfecting sharp-edged weapons.

ze
 181

And Bertild’s there now, working at her forge. Bertild

is a tall, thick-set woman, with heavily-muscled arms
and shoulders and is unmistakeable thanks to the
eye-patch she wears over her left eye where a sliver of
red-hot iron once caught her in the eye. She wears a
heavy-duty leather apron and has a heavy-headed
hammer in one thick-gloved hand and the piece of
metal she is working held in a pair of tongs in the
other.
You are about to enter the smithy when you notice
that salt has been poured in a line across the thresh-
old. If you want to cross this salt barrier, turn to 231.
If you would rather call out to the blacksmith first,
turn to 14.

181
Instinctively closing your eyes, you take a confident
step forwards. Immediate and inexplicable pain
courses through your body like an electric shock and
you are thrown back from the door, unable to pass
through it. Roll one die and add 1; this is the amount
of STAMINA damage you suffer. If this has finished
you off, write the number 20 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100. If you are still alive, as it were, unless
you think you know the combination and want to try
to open the door (turn back to 166), there is nothing
you can do but leave the tower (turn to 20), or
descend the staircase to the bottom, if you haven't
already done so, by turning to 115.

C4]FE]
182

182
The passageway brings you to a flight of stone steps
that descend into the darkness below. Considering
what you have encountered so far in the dungeons,
as you follow the steps down into the gloom, you
wonder what horrors await you deeper beneath
Valsinore.
The stairs double back on themselves and then you
find yourself in another stone-walled passageway. A
sound like a rattlesnake’s tail vibrating causes you to
freeze and you peer into the murk ahead of you. A lit-
tle further on a new passageway branches off to the
left. The tunnel also continues ahead of you, but
clinging half to the wall and half to the ceiling by its
large ivory dew-claws is a hideous creature that
appears to be an amalgam of a large lizard of some
kind with a rattlesnake’s tail, its scaly skin mottled
green and brown. However its head looks horribly
like a fleshless human skull, although the nictitating
golden eyes in that skull are undoubtedly reptilian
and a forked tongue darts from its open mouth tast-
ing the stale, musty air of the dungeons. If you want
to continue along the corridor, you are going to have
to fight the Catacomb Crawler. If you are prepared to
do this, turn to 219. If not, you could try taking the
turning to the left before the creature becomes aware
of your presence (turn to 203).
 183
183
The Bonebeast has been created from the bones of
fantastical beasts such as a manticore, a chimera and a
basilisk, so you know the battle you are about to fight
is going to be legendary!
CHIMERICAL BONEBEAST skKILLg STAMINA 11
If the Bonebeast wins an Attack Round, roll one die
and consult the table below to discover what damage
it inflicts upon you.
Die Roll Attack and Damage
2 Terrible Claws — the Bonebeast savages
you with its cruelly sharp claws. Lose 2
STAMINA points.
3-4 Tail Lash — the Bonebeast’s tail hits
you, knocking you off your feet. Lose 2
STAMINA points and reduce your Attack
Strength by 1 point for the duration of the
next Attack Round as you get up again.
5-6 Savage Bite — the undead monster sinks
its fangs into you. Lose 3 STAMINA points.
If you manage to defeat the Bonebeast, turn to 236.
Alternatively, after three Attack Rounds have elapsed
you can attempt to flee by running for the descending
staircase. If you want to do this you must forfeit one
Attack Round and suffer the consequences, but if
your gamble pays off, turn to 205. However, if your
battie with the Bonebeast results in your ethereal
form being destroyed, write the number 110 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
184

184
A cold sweat breaks out on your forehead and you
find yourself gritting your teeth as you struggle to
force the very powers you seek to destroy to aid you
in their own destruction. But somehow, against all
the odds, you manage it.
As you continue to read the spell of banishment the
codex found for you, the veil between worlds is torn
asunder and the ghosts of a thousand damned souls
rush through the tear in the fabric of reality, and sur-
round the Shadow King with a whirling vortex of
spectral light. You watch in awe as the spirits tear the
Shadow King’s insubstantial form apart with their
spectral talons. The Death Lord does his best to
defend himself from their relentless assault but in the
end he is simply overwhelmed. Soon there is nothing
left of the Shadow King but a few traces of inky dark-
ness at the heart of the whirling spirit vortex and
then, with one last howl of fury and frustration, even
that is gone as the evil entity is dragged back to the
Realm of the Damned. With an explosive thunderclap
boom, as of slamming tombs, the rent in reality closes
again. Turn to 450.
 185

185
You find yourself inside an utterly appalling room. It
is a torture chamber — there can be absolutely no
doubt about that. The implements of the torturer’s
trade are everywhere - braziers, chairs covered in
iron spikes and all manner of confining irons litter the
dungeon cell or hang by chains from the ceiling. But
none are as deserving of awe as the two-metre tall
iron maiden that stands in the centre of the chamber.
It has been made to mimic the shape of the human
body, having two arms and two legs, as well as a
trunk and head. But you could never have guessed
how closely it resembles a human being until, with a
squealing of rusted iron joints, the horrific torture
implement comes to life. Stomping across the floor on
its iron-shod feet it blocks your way out of the torture
chamber. If you have some Ironbane and wish to use
it, turn to 128, otherwise you have no choice but to
fight the magically-animated Iron Maiden, which is
as capable of injuring you as you are of damaging it.
IRON MAIDEN SKILL 8 STAMINA 10

If you are fighting the magical metal construct with a

crushing weapon — such as a hammer of some kind
or your own iron fists — or a magical weapon, each
successful strike your make against it will inflict 2
STAMINA points of damage. Ordinary bladed weap-
ons (such as a battleaxe or a dagger) will only cause
1 STAMINA point of damage with each successful hit.
If you destroy the torture chamber’s guardian, you
leave its cell as quickly as possible (turn to 56). If,

Ce]E2]
186-188

during the battle, your spirit-form perishes, write the

number 56 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

186
Rather than fighting back with an ordinary weapon,
the acolyte defends himself by blasting you with
more of his dark magic. One of these bolts of black
energy hits you and you are consumed by pain. It is
as if the acolyte’s spell has burned your ethereal form
and causes you 2 STAMINA points of damage.
Continue your battle with the Death Acolyte. As soon
as you reduce the evil magic-user’s STAMINA score to
3 points of fewer, turn to 156 at once. However, if
your STAMINA score is reduced to zero, write the
number 288 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100
immediately.

187
Resisting the arcane power of the Bard’s magical lyre
you quickly make yourself invisible again and flee
from his presence. Add the codeword Bard to your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 227.

188
Both the village of Fetchfen and Frostfinger, the
Tower of the Winter King, lie many leagues from
Valsinore Castle. To travel there on foot would take
days, time which you just don’t have. But then per-
haps you know of a less conventional way to travel.
If you have Spirit special ability, turn to 218. If not,
 189-190
but you have the codeword Steed written on your
Adventure Sheet, turn to 7. If you have neither of these
things, there is no way that you would be able to
travel to either place and return again before day-
break, and you have a feeling that whatever is going
to happen will happen before Valsinore Castle sees
the dawn of another day. Lose 1 LUCK point and turn
to 117.

189
‘The cook’s busy in the kitchen’s preparing
Unthank’s midnight celebratory feast, the priest
barely ever leaves the sanctuary of the chapel, and of
course the blacksmith’s still here, plying her trade
over on the other side of the courtyard. The bard’s
about the only one who has anything to do with
Unthank. For some reason he’s still welcome at court.
‘The fool went mad long ago. Unthank has him
locked up in a cell in the Barbican. I can hear him
laughing hysterically on nights when the moon is full.
The old gravedigger’s still here too. Certainly seems
to have plenty to keep him occupied these days.
‘But if you’re planning to exact your revenge on who-
ever it might be that’s got it coming to them, there’s
something else you should know.’ Turn to 269.

190
Without looking back again, you turn tail and run.
Your ghostly feet still seem to beat the ground
beneath you as you tear away between the crowding

Cd EJ
191
black tree trunks. You can hear the pounding hooves
of the horses and the panting of the unearthly hounds
quite clearly now behind you. And then they are
upon you. A spectral boot is planted firmly in the
middle of your back and you are sent tumbling to the
ground, under the phantom steeds’ hooves.
Roll one die and add 2 to the number rolled. This is
the number of STAMINA points you lose. If you are
still ‘alive’, turn to 220. If the trampling you have just
received has granted you a painful second death,
write the number 290 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

191
As you approach the solid black blockhouse shape of
the Keep, grotesquely leering Gargoyles, that you
don’t remember being there before, tear themselves
free of their stone-carved plinths and launch them-
selves from their lookout posts at the four corners of
the Keep’s battlements. They swoop towards you on
leathery wings, reaching for you with their stony
claws. As a pack of the monsters mobs you, you do
your best to defend yourself, but you soon discover
that their stony hides are impervious to your ethereal
blade. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of your
ghostly form and their diamond-hard talons. Roll one
die and add 1; this is how many sTAMINA points dam-
age you suffer as the Gargoyles attack you in mid-air.
If you survive the attack, realising that you are not
going to be able to reach the Keep this way, you

Ee}Ee]
 192-193
quickly descend to the Inner Ward beneath and are
relieved to see the Gargoyles return to their perches
atop the keep (turn to 445). If you do not survive the
Gargoyles’ assault, write the number 445 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

192
Returning to the feast hall, you find Blondel the Bard
cowering in a corner, both Chamberlain Unthank
and the Dread Knights of the Black Shroud having
departed. Before he has time to try any tricks to
escape you, you bring the full power of your will to
bear against him. Roll two dice. If the total rolled is
less than or equal to your WILL score, turn to 176.
If it is greater, the minstrel resists your attempts to
seize control of his body, plucking the strings of his
lyre to create unsettling discords that upset your
etheric field, forcing you to flee. Turn back to 13 to try
another approach.

193
To reach the steep cliffs that border the Grimcrag
Coast you must first cross the undulating terrain of
Barrowmoor, named so after all the ancient tumuli
that dot the landscape in this far-flung corner of the
kingdom. The moon is climbing steadily into the sky
as night lays claim to the land.
A dreadful howl suddenly shatters the eerie silence of
the moors, carrying to you over the chill wind that is

ae
194
blowing in from the sea. You are reminded at once of
the story your father told you and your sister when
were both still children — the legend of the Black Dog
of Barrowmoor. The Black Dog — or Barghest as leg-
end also knows it — is a phantom dog, the howling of
which precedes a death in the family. But on this par-
ticular night it would appear to be a little late. After
all, you're already dead!
With a savage snarl, ghostly jaws slavering at the
prospect of feasting on your soul, its eyes burning
coals, the Barghest materialises out of the night in
front of you. You had thought this hellhound to be
nothing but a ghost story used to bring disobedient
children into line. And it is a ghost story, only now
you're init!
BARGHEST SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
The black dog’s phantasmal claws can harm you just
as if you and the dog were both living creatures. If the
Barghest’s savage attack should kill you, write the
number 171 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If you manage to defeat the dog, as its spirit dissipates
on the wind, you feel your own ghostly body absorb-
ing some of the Barghest’s power, and you luxuriate
in the new strength flowing through your ethereal
form. Regain up to 3 STAMINA points and turn to 171.

194
With pistoning steps the Hellfire Golem pounds
towards you, gauntlet-fists the size of anvils ready

Ce)Ee
to pound you to a pulp. The magical machine opens
its mouth in another inferno roar and you see the
white-hot fury that rages at its molten core. The only
way to get past the Golem is to defeat it in battle! (If
you have fought the Golem already but it remains
undefeated, amend its stats accordingly before fight-
ing it again.)
HELLFIRE GOLEM SKILL 9 STAMINA 12
Unless you are using a magical weapon of some kind,
if you make a successful strike against this magical
automaton roll one die; on a roll of 4-6 you will only
cause the Golem 1 STAMINA point of damage. If you
lose an Attack Round roll one die and then consult
the table below to see what damage you suffer. (You
may use Luck to reduce any damage caused in the
usual way.)

Die Roll Attack and Damage

1-3 Fists of Fury — the Golem pounds you
with its sledgehammer fists. Lose 2
STAMINA points.
4-5 Engine of Destruction — the Golem goes
berserk, fists whirling like windmills,
its blows delivering double damage.
Lose 4 STAMINA points.
6 Inferno Blast — a gout of searing hellfire,
hot enough to melt iron, blasts from its
gaping maw. You are caught by this
blast; roll one die and lose that many
STAMINA points.

EF G2]
195
If the Golem destroys your physical form, cross off
the relevant codeword and turn to 173. If you manage
to overcome the rampaging Golem, regain 1 LUCK
point, add the codeword Hellfire to your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 122.

195
Resisting the pull of the grave by force of will alone,
you turn your attention to the man working away at
the headstone. Suddenly aware of your presence he
lowers his tools and turns to face you. But rather than
react with fear he smiles at you benevolently.
‘I wondered whether you might make an appear-
ance,’ he says, a twinkle in his eye. ‘It’s alright,’ he
adds, ‘I’m used to seeing dead people.’
You know this toothless wretch of old. Yorrick is chief
ratcatcher, drain un-clogger and gravedigger.
‘I've been getting this ready for you,’ Yorrick says,
pointing at the headstone with his chisel.
He picks up a skull from the disturbed earth he has
dug to form the new grave. Holding it in one hand, he
gazes intently into the skull’s empty eye-sockets, then
takes hold of the loosened jawbone with his other
hand and wobbles it, opening and closing the skull’s
mouth as he says, ‘Gottle-a-gear! Gottle-a-gear!’
‘I know,’ you say, your eyes on the open grave,
chilled to the very core of your being — what there is
left of it.

Esl Ey
‘Terrible shame, it is. Terrible shame. So, what are
you doing here anyway?’ the gravedigger asks.
‘Revenge is it? A black and deep desire to avenge the
wrong done you and see justice served?’
Glad to have someone who understands your predic-
ament, you and Yorrick quickly fall into a conversa-
tion about the various merits of revenge over justice
and vice versa.
‘So I guess you'll be needing some help,’ he says at
last, a solemn expression on his age-lined face. ‘I can’t
offer you much, but they do say that a little knowl-
edge is worth more than gold. And although they
also say dead men tell no tales, I wouldn’t be so sure
about that, if I were you. I spend most of my time in
the company of the dead and they tell me plenty. So,
what do you want to know?’
Will you ask Yorrick about:

Ghosts within the castle who might

help you? Turn to 87
Which ghosts might seek to harm you? Turn to 63
The spirits of your ancestors? Turn to 41
a AASAAS?
re
.
 196-197

196
And so you clash swords with the Dread Knights of
the Order of the Black Shroud, a company that calls
its number from amongst the ranks of the Undead.
They will not be easy to defeat and you will have to
fight the broadsword-wielding warriors at the same
time.
SKILL STAMINA
First DREAD KNIGHT 9 9
Second DREAD KNIGHT 8 9
The undead knights’ blades smoulder with dark
energy, runes cast into them glowing like red-hot
coals. If a knight wounds you, roll one die; on a
roll of 5-6 the knight’s cursed blade will cause you
3 STAMINA points damage, rather than the usual 2.
If the Dread Knights dispatch you, sending you over
to the Other Side, write the number 20 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. However, if you
manage to defeat them, turn to 323.

197
In your spirit-form how are you ever going to give the
Demon Gate the offering of flesh it demands? The
putrid pool is full of decomposing flesh but in your
ethereal state you cannot even make use of that. You
have no choice but to retrace your path through the
dungeon to find another way of acquiring the grue-
some offering needed to open the gate. But it is as you
are preparing to cross the pool again that its surface

CE]
198

heaves and something truly awful rises from its

depths. Turn to 430.

198
Your attention is diverted from the cleaver-wielding
Cook by the arrival of two black-robed knights.
Through their visors you catch glimpses of faces
spoiled by rot. They are of the Order of the Black
Shroud, who many believe to be only a legend, for
they draw their number from the ranks of the already
dead! But they are here, now, in front of you and you
must fight them together.
SKILL STAMINA
First DREAD KNIGHT 8 9
Second DREAD KNIGHT 8 9
The undead warriors’ blades smoke with dark energy
and if one of them wounds you it will go badly for
you; roll one die and on a roll of 5-6 the cursed blade
inflicts 3 STAMINA points damage, rather than the
usual 2. If the Dread Knights dispatch you, sending
you on your way over to the Other Side, write the
number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If you manage to defeat them, you decide that you
need to get out of here as quickly as possible, before
more of the silent knights turn up, but which way will
you go; out through the cookhouse door (turn to 445),
or along the passageway that the knights entered by
(turn to 95)?

Cl ES
 199-200

199
Courageously you step up to the doors again. Pain
flares through your body a second time. Lose a fur-
ther 2 STAMINA points and if this reduces your sTaM-
INA score to Zero or below record the number 259 on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. However, if you
are still in this world, roll two dice and add 2. If the
total rolled is less than or equal to your wILL score,
turn to 149. If it is greater, try as you might you can-
not penetrate the Circle of Protection that surrounds
the sanctuary. You will simply have to turn to 259
and explore elsewhere.

200
Unable to take your eyes off the manifesting form,
you watch as the ghostly luminescence assumes the
shape of an older man, wearing the armour of a
warrior-knight. You recognise it as your late father’s
armour, but then the ghost is that of your father.
‘My child,’ the ghost booms portentously, ‘it grieves
me to see you in the same state as I, but although my
time is run, things are not too late for you. I come to
warn you. Trust not the trusted, heed not the helpful
and gird yourself against the night for the Lord of
Shadows waits at the gate and death comes in his
wake.’
Bewildered by your father’s ghostly warning, you do
not know what to make of his words as his ethereal
form begins to break up on the wind and is carried
away on the gusting wind. The last thing you hear
201

before he is gone again for good are the words: ‘Seek

the sword under hallowed ground and the shield
beyond the door.’ And then there is nothing more.
Seeing your father again spurs you on to see your
betrayers brought to justice and your own death
avenged. Add 1 to your WILL score, 1 to your LUCK
and then turn to 445.

201
You make your way up onto the battlements and are
afforded the most marvellous view of the cold, black
expanse of the Diamond Sea beyond. The walls of
Valsinore Castle seem to rise up out of the very bed-
rock of the Sourstone promontory. A drop from the
gargoyle-encrusted battlements of the Keep would
see aman plummet straight down into the sea.
‘There’s one!’ a startled voice suddenly cries out and
you turn from enjoying the moonlit view and come
face to face with the two guardsmen patrolling the
battlements, on the lookout for danger. The two men
are armed with pole-axes which they grip tightly in
shaking hands. If you have one or more of the code-
words Bell, Barking, Barracks or Blacksmith recorded on
your Adventure Sheet, turn to 223 immediately. If not,
how will you react to the two guards? Will you:
Try to talk to them? Turn to 253
Try to scare them away? Turn to 239
Engage them in combat? Turn to 223

EY EJ
 202-203

202
The skeletal worm strikes, seizing hold of your ethe-
real form between its jaws and sinking fangs half a
metre long into your incorporeal form. The fangs
cause you as much harm as they would if you had
still been a thing of flesh and blood, as the monster’s
poisonous bite taints your very soul. Lose 4 STAMINA
points and 1 WILL point. If you are still in the land of
the living, turn back to 232 and finish your battle with
the legendary worm. If the worm’s corrupting bite
has finished you off, however, write the number 88
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

203
Trying to move as quickly and yet as stealthily as pos-
sible, you lunge for the turning to the left. You may
choose whether to Test your Skill or Test your Luck
here. If you succeed or are Lucky, turn to 154. If you
fail or are Unlucky, turn to 219.

zie
204
204
You wake the Burgomaster the only way you can
think of, by moaning and wailing like a banshee. The
tubby Burgomaster snorts and blearily opens his
eyes. A split second later he is sitting bolt upright in
bed screaming in abject terror.
‘Murder!’ he screams. ‘Murder! Send for the Ghost
Hunter! Send for Van Richten, there’s another one
here now! Help! Oh, horror! Help me, someone,
please!’
Nothing you can do now will calm the distressed
Jurgen and you can hear muffled voices and the
sound of running feet coming from downstairs. As
the Burgomaster has raised the alarm, you feel that
you have little choice but to leave the house as
quickly as you can. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky,
turn to 406. If you are Unlucky, turn to 101.
 205-206

205
Descending the staircase you enter the dungeons that
lie beneath the great Keep. This is an area you had
little to do with when you were alive but now that
you're dead you have little choice but to explore the
dungeons; your nemesis awaits you somewhere
within the dark passageways and half-forgotten cells.
It is not long before you come to a plain wooden door
in the right-hand wall of the passage. The only thing
of interest about it is the sign that has been written on
a torn scrap of parchment in what appears to be red
ink — although it could well be blood — and nailed to
the door. It reads, “KEEP OUT!’ but you can’t help
noticing that the door is slightly ajar. If you want to
enter the chamber beyond, turn to 185. If you would
rather continue on your way, turn to 56.

206
As you exert your will against the old man, a curious
thing happens. You steadily find yourself probing
further and further into the porter’s mind until sud-
denly you are looking out at the world through his
eyes. You have actually managed to possess the body
of the porter. He’s still inside there with you too,
scared and confused, but his body is yours to com-
mand — at least for the time being. Add 1 to your WILL
and, having made a note of this paragraph first, turn
to 343.
Looking down at the porter’s callused hands and lice-
ridden rags you are possessed of an unbelievable

Ee]Ey
207
thirst and almost overwhelmed by the need to empty
your bladder. It is a weird sensation, controlling
another’s body. While you are still in control of the
porter’s body, you stumble over to the capstan
and, putting all of Falstaff’s strength into it, set to
turning it.
Slowly, via a series of trundling gears, the portcullis
rises through a slot and into the roof. Once you think
it is high enough you lock off the capstan so that it
can’t be lowered again. You are only just in time. You
feel your mental grip slipping and with a shudder
your spirit-form is expelled from the porter’s body.
You can’t say you're sorry to say goodbye to his body;
and to think that you thought being dead was bad!
(Add the codeword Gateway to your Adventure Sheet
and regain 1 LUCK point.)
As the porter stumbles down the stairs yelling in
nerve-shredding terror, you decide what you want to
do next. Will you continue up into the gatehouse
through the archway opposite (turn to 160), or will
you return to the ground floor gate and re-assess your
options there (turn to 20)?

207
Having wandered these tunnels of the dead for what
feels like far too long, you eventually find yourself
back where you started. So where will you go now?

Along the tunnel ahead of you? Turn to 10

Along the tunnel to the left? Turn to 235

Eo Ee
 208

Out of the catacombs and back to the

Inner Ward courtyard? Turn to 445

208
‘Quick, Streng,’ Van Richten calls to his companion,
‘deploy the spirit snare!’ His henchman responds at
once, hurling the modified trap towards you.
Your first reaction is that the trap will pass straight
through you but then it snaps shut, its silvered teeth
snagging your ethereal form. You let out a blood-
curdling scream of agony as pain like you have
known only once before — when you died — shoots
through you.
‘T have a suitable receptacle ready,’ the Ghost Hunter
says.
As you struggle to free yourself from the spirit snare,
Van Richten unstoppers a silver flask and mutters
something incomprehensible under his breath. You
suddenly feel as though the world around you is
swelling in size beyond all reason and then there is a
pop and you hear the squeak of the bung being
pushed back into the neck of the bottle.
Van Richten holds the flask up to his face and peers
at you with undisguised disgust. “That’s another
one dealt with,’ you hear him say before he stows
the flask in his strongbox. There is no way out of the
ghost trap for you and so your adventure must
end here.

EaEy
209-211
209
You make it safely to the shore and from there depart
the frozen domain of the Winter King once and for all.
Turn to 29.

210
And so you come once more to the forge. Despite the
lateness of the hour, Bertild the blacksmith is still
working away at her anvil and forge, hammering a
finely-wrought blade into shape as you enter her
sanctuary to take possession of her body. If you have
the codeword Ironheart written on your Adventure
Sheet, turn to 119. If not, roll two dice and deduct one
from the total. If the final total is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 119. If it is greater, the black-
smith’s mind resists your attempt to seize hold of her
physical form; turn back to 13 and try someone, or
something, else.

211
You creep towards the stone circle, through the
heather, under the cover of the darkness brought
about by the eclipse, but there are creatures present
that do not need light to detect the life-forces given off
by either the living or the ethereal dead. Two of the
shadowy creatures observing the ceremony leave the
circle and drift towards you, ready to take what little
life you have left. If you have the Banish Spirit special
ability and want to use it now, turn to 162. If not, turn
to 124.

[+]
 212

PA pe
The form the Bonebeast has taken on is like that of
some eons-dead reptile species. Although its fore-
bears may be long dead, the Bonebeast is nonetheless
a formidable opponent.
LIVING FOSSIL BONEBEAST skKILL10 STAMINA 10

If the Bonebeast wins an Attack Round, roll one die

and consult the table below to discover what damage
it inflicts upon you.

Die Roll Attack and Damage

1-3 Terrible Claws — the living fossil tears at
your body with its savagely sharp claws.
Lose 2 STAMINA points.
213
4-5 Tail Lash — the Bonebeast’s tail hits
you, knocking you off your feet. Lose 2
STAMINA points and reduce your Attack
Strength by 1 point for the duration of
the next Attack Round as you get up
again.
6 Savage Bite — the fossil-thing takes you in
its mouth, its huge jaws closing around
your body. Lose 6 STAMINA points.

If you manage to defeat the Bonebeast, turn to 236.

Alternatively, after three Attack Rounds have elapsed
you can attempt to flee by running for the descending
staircase. If you want to do this you must forfeit one
Attack Round and suffer the consequences, but if
your gamble pays off, turn to 205. However, if your
battle with the Bonebeast results in your ethereal
form being destroyed, write the number 110 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

213
And so you return to the Barbican and the portcullis
windlass room, wherein you find Falstaff the porter,
fast asleep and snoring loudly, his precious cider bot-
tle clenched tight to his chest. You meet little resist-
ance as you force your mind inside the body of the
porter, the drunkard’s own consciousness running
to hide in some corner of his being in a confused,
alcoholic haze. (Add the codeword Host to you
Adventure Sheet.)

ES] EJ
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are possessing the porter’s body you must
use the drunkard’s drink-dulled stats, which are as
follows: SKILL 7, STAMINA 16.
If you are injured in any way, for as long as you are
wearing Falstaff’s filthy body you may eat provisions
to recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to 4
STAMINA points. Falstaff’s cider jug contains three
tots, the equivalent of three meals. However, every
time you drink a measure of cider, for the duration of
the next battle you are involved in you must reduce
your Attack Strength by 1 point. The porter’s only
weapon is a cudgel, but it will have to do for now,
until you can find something better.
If Falstaff’s STAMINA is reduced to 2 STAMINA points
or fewer while you are in possession of his body, he
will be knocked unconscious, forcing you to relin-
quish control of him. However, you can fight on in
spirit-form, using the stats that you have made a note
of here. Turn to 429.
 214-215
214
You soar over the gatehouse, over the sea-moat and
approach the south face of the forbidding black Keep.
You hear the crack of shattering stone followed by the
beating of leathery wings. The gargoyles set to guard
the Keep from aerial assault launch themselves from
their battlement roosts and dive towards you, cruel
talons outstretched.
Unbelievably, your ethereal sword cannot penetrate
the stony hides of these enchanted monsters. How-
ever, their diamond-hard talons will ravage your
ghostly body as well as they would flesh and blood.
All you can do is try to fend off their savage attacks as
you try to land again, and negate the enchantment
that has set them on you in the first place. You must
fight the Gargoyles as if they were one creature.
GARGOYLE PACK SKILL 9
Roll one die and add 1; this is the number of Attack
Rounds you must fight against the monsters before
you are able to make it to the ground again, on the far
side of the moat-bridge. If the gargoyles ‘kill’ you
before that number of Attack Rounds have passed,
write the number 337 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100. If you survive long enough to make it to
ground again, regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 337.

215
The faint phosphorescence of your own ghostly form
illuminates the interior of the barrow. It is cold and

[]Ey
damp and you can see worms, centipedes and beetle
larvae writhing about in the rich loam of the earth-cut
passageway. The malign presence you felt outside the
barrow permeates the atmosphere like a fog of evil
intent. But despite its nature, it still draws you
onwards, deeper into the mound.
You emerge from the tunnel into the burial chamber
itself. A vile stench hangs in the stagnant air of the
chamber and seems to be coming from the thing
slumped in a stone throne on the far side of the cham-
ber. It is the grey-green rotting corpse of the ancient
king that was buried here hundreds of years ago with
all his worldly possessions.
You cannot help noticing that most of the dead king’s
possessions have rotted away over time and that
what treasures do remain are tarnished with the
patina of eons. You also can’t help noticing the piles
of mouldering bones surrounding the king’s throne.
The bones appear to be human, and some of them
appear to have been gnawed down to the marrow.
Suddenly the dead king’s eyes flick open. ‘An
intruder!’ the corpse hisses, a forked tongue darting
out from between fleshless lips. ‘Is this another villain
come to steal my crown?’
The corpse springs to its feet; it is surprisingly agile
for a mouldering corpse. The dead king fixes you
with its putrid green stare.
‘No, not a common thief,’ it hisses, ‘but a noble
knight, a knight of the living dead.’ Warily you

Eo}Ee
unsheathe your spectral sword. ‘A vengeful spectre,
one who would rid the world of its own kind,’ the
ghoulish creature goes on. ‘But you are too late, noble
knight. The Lord of Shadows comes and none shall
stand in his way. He shall reap such a harvest of souls
that soon the whole world shall know his name.’
What is the dead king talking about? Whatever it is,
his doom-laden prophecy fills you with a sense of
doubt and foreboding. (Lose 1 LUCK point and reduce
your WILL score by 1.)
‘Silence, grave-worm!’ you cry, raising your phantom
sword high above your head ‘Take your vile prophe-
cies with you into the next world.’ With that, the
ghoul king leaps at you with filth-encrusted talons
raised.
GHOUL KING SKILL 9 STAMINA 8
If the Ghoul King manages to strike you, he causes 2
STAMINA points of damage. He also drains a measure
of the very essence of your soul to grant him greater
power. For every three wounds the Ghoul King deliv-
ers you must lose 1 SKILL point as well and increase
his SKILL score by 1 point in return. If the Ghoul King
kills you outright, reducing your STAMINA score to
zero and granting you a second death, write the
number 295 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If you slay the Ghoul King, knowing that nothing you
could possibly want could be found within the dead
king’s foetid tomb, you escape from the barrow as
quickly as you can. Turn to 295.

Cd EJ
216-218

216
A host of maggots suddenly erupts from the worm-
eaten flesh of the undead Gatekeeper and tries to
burrow its way into your body. If you have the
codeword Host or Revenant written on your Adventure
Sheet, roll one die and lose that many STAMINA points
as the hungry maggots chew their way through your
flesh. Now return to 243 and see the battle through to
its end.

217
Roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 237. If it is greater than your
WILL score, turn to 257.

218
No longer bound by gravity, you launch yourself into
the chill, wind-whipped air. (If you have the phrase
Best Friend written on your Adventure Sheet you will
no longer benefit from the advantages this brings

rd} Ee
 219
until you return to Valsinore Castle.) The Sourstone
promontory rushes past below you and then you
are passing beyond the bounds of the kingdom of
Ruddlestone, towns, villages, rivers, forests, hills and
heathland all rushing past below in a blur. You will
be at your destination in no time, but where is it that
you are travelling to?

Fetchfen, Village of the Damned? Turn to 441

Frostfinger, the Winter King’s tower? Turn to 168

219
The Catacomb Crawler moves with lightning speed
and you are forced to put your hand to your weapon
before the creature can bite or claw you with its
equally vicious teeth or talons.
CATACOMB CRAWLER SKILL 9 STAMINA 7
Despite its appearance, the reptilian Catacomb
Crawler is not one of the Undead but a living thing.
This means that if you are in your spirit-form, it
cannot actually hurt you and you will be able to slay
it with ease. However, it could still destroy your
physical form, if you have one, although your ghost
will then be able to destroy it with ease. With the
Catacomb Crawler dead, one way or another, do you
now want to continue along the tunnel ahead of you
(turn to 111) or would you rather take the new turn-
ing to the left (turn to 154)?

Ey]
220-221

220
You suddenly find yourself surrounded by the
ghostly members of the Wild Hunt. You're not going
anywhere. Their noble leader points at you with his
loaded phantasmal crossbow and declares, ‘I am
Baron Blood, Lord of the Wild Hunt, and I demand
some sport!’
He takes aim and fires, the quarrel of the crossbow
zipping through the air and striking a Hewes
sundered oak a hundred metres away.
‘You see that tree?’ he cries. You nod. ‘Make it to that
tree before my hounds can catch you and you go free.
Fail to make it to that tree in time and your soul is
mine! Do you understand?’ You nod again. “Then go!’
There’s no time to think or plan; all you can do is
start running. You set off at a sprint, ghostly lungs
still gasping for breath even though you no longer
breathe. You run as if your very soul depended on
it, which it does. But how can you possibly outrun
Baron Blood’s phantom hounds?
If you want to rely on cunning and good fortune to
get the better of the hounds, turn to 270. If you would
rather rely on brute strength and your own relentless
determination, turn to 310.

221
Unbelievably, with the hellish hounds snapping at
your heels, you make it to the tree and fling your
arms around the Sundered Oak. You stare in wonder

Ee}£3]
 222

as the crossbow bolt embedded in the bark crumbles

into silver dust. With a shrill, spine-chilling scream,
the Baron’s spectral form dissolves like mist on the
wind. (Add 1 to your WILL.)
You suddenly find yourself at the centre of a whirling
maelstrom as, with whinnying cries, unearthly howls
and blood-curdling screams, the rest of the Wild
Hunt is forcibly returned to the Realm of the Damned
once more. (Regain 1 LUCK point.)
Just as the huntsman promised, having bested his
Wild Hunt, you are free to continue your search for
answers upon this Earthly Plane. Turn to 290.

You are soon up to your knees in rotting human

remains. Despite everything that you have witnessed
this night, this situation appals and repulses you, and
it unsettles you deeply. (Lose 1 WILL point.) Just when
you think things couldn’t get any worse, the surface
of the pool heaves and something truly awful rises
from amidst the stinking, decomposing remains.
Turn to 430.

[J
223-224
223
The guardsmen level their weapons at you and
charge. Seeing as how they are not armed with
enchanted or holy weapons, the guardsmen are
defenceless against you and in a moment you have
silenced them — forever! But they were good men,
only doing their job, and they did not deserve such an
ignominious end. Lose 1 LUCK point and turn to 434.

224
You are not quick enough. The squid-like beast
smashes the frozen surface of the lake to smithereens,
forcing you to retreat to the island again. With no way
of crossing the watery barrier, you are doomed to
haunt this island for evermore, or at least until the
lake surface freezes again, but by then you will be too
late to stop your nemesis’ evil plan. Your adventure is
over.
 225-227
225
As you draw closer to the man he burps loudly in
surprise and the stench of stale cider wafts over you,
making even your ethereal form recoil. But press on
you must, if you are to ever manage to open the port-
cullis. “Ere, wot are yoo doin’?’ he challenges as you
loom over him, your spectral brow knotted in concen-
tration as you pit your will against his. Roll two dice.
If the total rolled is less than or equal to your WILL
score, turn to 206; if it is greater, turn to 247.

226
‘I was cruelly murdered, cut down in my prime
before my life could run its course,’ you say.
The Watcher looks at the hourglass again. ‘It would
appear that you are right, that destiny is not done
with you yet. But who was it that desired you death?
What is the name of this villain?’
If you know the name of the villain you are seeking,
turn it into a number using the code A=1, B=2, C=3 ...
Z=26. Add the numbers together, reverse the digits
and then turn to this paragraph. If you do not know
the name of the one who had you killed, you are
forced to beg the Watcher to give you a second chance
(turn to 127).

2277,
The door to the feast hall bangs open and the enter-
tainment abruptly stops. A tall, imposing figure,
wearing the tabard and armour of a crusader knight

Ey £2)
enters the chamber, his anxious squire trotting to
keep up. Chamberlain Unthank is on his feet immedi-
ately and at his sycophantic best.
‘My lord,’ he simpers, bowing obsequiously, ‘what a
pleasant surprise. We were not expecting guests at
our lowly feast.’
‘Then whose benefit is this for?’ the crusader snaps,
indicating the table groaning with food.
‘Ah, this was to honour the return of one of our own
from the Dark Crusade,’ Unthank invents quickly.
You know this man!

‘That is who I have come here to pay my respects to,’

the crusader announces. “We fought together at the
Siege of Sanctiphrax. I have undertaken a pilgrimage
to cleanse my soul after witnessing the horrors I did
in Bathoria. I was in the region and remembered my
old friend and thought I'd pay a visit.’
You were right! It is Marrok of the Eldermark. Yours
was a friendship forged in battle. You saved his life
when an undead wyvern attempted to carry him
from the field of battle, and he saved you from a pack
of rabid Werewargs.
‘Then I am very sorry to inform you that your journey
has been a wasted one,’ Unthanks says with false
gravitas. He then goes on to tell the crusader of how
you were struck down within sight of the castle by a
band of bloodthirsty cut-throats.

C4}CJ
 228

‘A pox on this place!’ Marrok exclaims in grief and

anger. ‘What has befallen this accursed castle? On the
way here my squire and I were also beset by a pair
of undead Golems until they were repelled by the
strength of our holy purpose.’
You are overjoyed to see your brother-in-arms again
but are also fully aware of your precarious position
here within the castle. Do you want to reveal yourself
to him and recruit him to your cause that he might
help you discover what is going on here yourself
(turn to 267), or would you prefer to keep watching
and see what befalls (turn to 298)?

228
You find Marrok where you left him, in the castle
feast hall. He has fallen asleep, his squire beside him,
in a corner of the now otherwise empty chamber.
Seizing this opportunity, you exert your will against
his in an effort to take over his body. Roll two dice
and add 2. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 444. If it is greater, Marrok
wakes and, on seeing your ghostly form hovering
before him, leaps to his feet.
‘Mighty Telak!’ he shouts. ‘That you would take on
the guise of a great and noble warrior to do your
evil shall be your undoing, I curse you to Hell for all
eternity! For Telak and for Valsinore!’ Marrok doesn’t
believe it is really you and comes at you, his blade
bared.

[+]G3
229
If you would allow yourself to be cut down by the
noble knight, write the number 13 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If not, you are going to have to
fight him, no matter how much you might loathe the
idea.
CRUSADER SKILL 11 STAMINA 11

Marrok’s sword Deathsbane, is a holy weapon and so

will harm you in your undead state. In fact, for every
successful strike that the crusader makes against you,
roll one die and on a roll of 5-6 you lose 3 STAMINA
points instead of the usual 2. If Marrok slays you,
write the number 13 on your Adventure Sheet and turn
to 100. If you cut him down first you must lose 1 LUCK
point and 1 WILL point for having to kill your battle-
brother. Then turn to 13.

229
The stone-built shrine was obviously once an impres-
sive building bearing all manner of stone-carved
ornament — everything from noble knights battling
dragons to scythe-wielding angels of death — but it is
now choked with briars and does not look like any-
one has been inside for a long time, even though one
of the rotted wooden doors is hanging half off its
hinges. Approaching the open door, you step over the
threshold.
Pain courses through your spectral body and you are
thrown violently back from the entrance. It feels as if
a lightning bolt has just passed right through you.

EE]
 230-231
(Lose 2 STAMINA points and if this reduces your
STAMINA score to zero or below record the number
259 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.)
Knowing what awaits you now if you try to enter
the shrine, do you want to try again (turn to 199), or
would you rather leave and try somewhere else (turn
to 259)?

230
You are able to make your incorporeal form invisible
to the human eye, dissolving into the shadows with
a single thought. Record the Shade special ability on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to the paragraph with
the same number as the one that you were just
instructed to write down.

231
Salt has long been held to be an effective deterrent
against witches and the Undead and, no matter how
much you might not like it, you are now one of the
Undead. As you come close to the barrier it feels as if
you have hit an invisible wall of potent energy that
burns your ethereal form. Lose 4 STAMINA points, 1
SKILL point, 1 LUCK point and 1 WILL point. If you are
still ‘alive’, turn to 14. If not, write the number 434 on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

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 232
232
Peering down into the well you can just about make
out the reflection of moonlight on the black mirror of
the water far below. It is supposedly possible to get
into the castle catacombs from the chamber that lies at
the bottom of the well. However, legend also has it
that after your ancestor Agravain fatally wounded
the Sourstone Worm, which had been terrorizing the
area for some months, it slithered into the castle well
to die, polluting the water until a priestess made it
whole again with a spell of cleansing. (If you have the
phrase Best Friend written on your Adventure Sheet for
as long as you are underground you must lose the
benefits usually gained from this.)
Cautiously you clamber into the well, your faintly
glowing form illuminating hand-holds between the
moss and fern-covered stones that line the inside of
the shaft. Eventually the well opens out into a large
natural chamber within the bedrock of the Sourstone
headland on which Valsinore stands. Making use of
clefts in the rock now you manage to make it down to
the edge of the pool from which the well’s water is
drawn and are stunned by what you see there.
The northern edge of the pool is littered with millions
of bleached white bones. There are so many, piled in
great mounds at the water’s edge, that some have
tumbled into the pool itself, creating calcified islands
formed from the skeletons of everything from men to
dogs to cattle and even horses. Beyond this bone-yard

CE]
233
a circular passageway does indeed lead away into the
darkness, under the foundations of the castle chapel.

Fizzing and spitting like Dwarfish black-powder

igniting, sparking green witch-lights rise like will-o’-
the-wisps from the still black waters and then vanish,
at speed, into the piles of bones surrounding the pool.
With a clatter of bones loud enough to wake the dead,
a massive skeletal form rises from out of the piles of
broken skeletons in front of you. It has the appear-
ance of a monstrous serpent, formed from the strange
conglomeration of bones that litter the cave, and its
head is the skull of some huge snake, or possibly even
a basilisk. Green witch-fires blazing in its eye-sockets,
the spirit of the Sourstone Worm strikes.
SKELETAL SERPENT SKILL 9 STAMINA 12
If the serpent wins an Attack Round, roll two dice and
if you roll a double, turn to 202 immediately. If the
ghost of the Sourstone Worm should ‘kill’ you, write
the number 88 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to
100. If you manage to defeat this monstrous Undead
creature, turn to 292.

233
Unstoppering the flask you hurl it at the advancing
Shadow King. The effect is instantaneous. Where the
oil splashes over the night-born body of the Undead
Lord it burns like acid, eating away at the Shadow
King’s form. The Shadow King roars in pain and fury
and you barely have time to draw your own weapon

EES
 234-235
before he is on you. When you come to fight the
Shadow King, reduce his sTaMINa score by 6 points
and his sKILL score by 2, but for now, turn to 249.

234
Making your way upstairs you come at last to the
Burgomaster’s bedchamber and, as luck would have
it, his chamber door is ajar. You slip inside and by the
phosphorescent glow given off by your own spectral
form you see the Burgomaster fast asleep in bed. You
can hear him too; he is snoring loudly. An empty
carafe of wine sits on his bedside table. So far, he has
no idea that you are there. If you want to risk waking
the Burgomaster, turn to 204. If you would rather let
sleeping dogs lie, and prefer to explore downstairs,
turn to 325.

235
The door at the end of the passageway is an ornate
affair, decorated with a complex pattern marked out
in bands of gold. On it is inscribed the following
verse:
A wizard ofgreat power and might,
Lies sleeping through eternal night.
Ifyou would with him consult,
And seek to enter this stone vault,
Ifyou wouldst the wizard see,
Answer then this riddle-me-ree.
You can waste it, make it, kill it, take it,
But like the tide, no king can break tt.

rd CJ
236

If you know the answer to the riddle, turn the word

into numbers using the code A=1, B=2, C=3 ... Z=26.
Add the numbers together and turn to this para-
graph. If you do not know the answer, or if the
paragraph you turn to makes no sense, you cannot
gain access this way. If you have the Apparition
special ability and want to use it now, turn to 284. If
not, you will have to search elsewhere within the
catacombs (turn to 264).

236
At your killing blow, the necromantic magic holding
the Bonebeast together is dispelled in a burst of nox-
ious energy, and it crumbles into a pile of skeletal
remains once more. Amidst all the bones and rubble
that fills the interior of the Keep, you find scraps of
treasure and a few other items of interest, which are
only going to be of any use to you if you still have a
physical body with which to carry them. If you do,
and you want to pause for a bit of treasure-hunting,
turn to 273. If not, which way do you want to go from
here; up the north-west spiral staircase (turn to 294),
or down the north-east stair (turn to 205)?
 237-239
237
Resisting the weird otherworldly lure of the stone
circle, you set out across the night-dark landscape,
heading north. Your feet carry you forwards just as
they did in life and you can even feel the stony sur-
face of the road beneath them. But which way are you
headed?
North, towards the village and
Valsinore Castle? Turn to 163
North-west, towards Wraith Wood? Turn to3
North-east, towards the sea-cliffs? Turn to 193

238
The bolt of black lightning hits you square in the
chest. Instantly, a howling wind, with the voice of a
million screaming souls, picks you up and carries
your spirit-form away to the netherworld. (If you
have the codeword Revenant, or Host, or Armoured
written on your Adventure Sheet cross it off now.)
Write down the number 132, and turn to 100.

239
Screaming in terror the two guards flee. ‘Attack!’ they
shout, ‘We’re under attack from the Undead!’ A
warning bell starts to toll in the guardhouse and you
know that in moments every guard in the Outer
Ward will have been alerted to your presence. (Add
the codeword Battlements to your Adventure Sheet.)

LE
240-241
You feel that the only thing you can do to avoid detec-
tion is to leave the Outer Ward and head further into
the castle. Turn to 317.

240
Just when you are thinking that you have avoided
the infernal machine, the Golem turns towards you
and, opening its furnace-mouth, vomits a great gout
of flame over you. Its hellish breath washes over
you, burning you just as badly as if you were still a
creature of flesh and blood. Roll one die, add 1, and
lose that many STAMINA points. If this flame-attack
has taken your STAMINA score to zero or below, write
the number 134 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to
too. If not, turn to 278.

241
Certain that the ritual is at its height, if you don’t act
quickly you will forfeit your sister’s life. But what can
you do to disrupt the blasphemous rite? Will you:
Try to penetrate the stone circle by
stealth? Turn to 211
Use a Jet Amulet (if you have one)? Turn to 258
Use a Black Hourglass (if you
have one)? Turn to 296
Use a Spirit Stone (if youhave one)? Turnto104
Use the Codex Mortis (if you have it)? Turn to135

Ey
 242

242
The main entrance to Valsinore Castle stands within
the imposing edifice of the Outer Gatehouse. Two
guards stand on duty here but there are other
defences besides them, including the sturdy gates
themselves, a heavy iron portcullis, murder holes, a
siege ballista and a second portcullis. Nobody gets in
or out unless the castellan wills it. But that person
should be you, and right now you are on the wrong
side of the gate.
As you move in sight of the gate you consider what
would be the best way to gain entrance. If you have
the Spectre special ability and wish to use it, turn to

EE]
243
272. If you have the Shade special ability and wish to
use it, turn to 334. If you possess neither of these abili-
ties, or do not want to use them, you will just have to
approach the gatehouse as you are (turn to 395).

243
Beyond the Demon Gate you descend another flight
of steps and enter a rock-cut tunnel that is shored
up with the rib bones of some great creature — a
Bullwhale perhaps — so that it feels as if you are walk-
ing down the gullet of some rapacious behemoth.
But eventually this ends too and you find yourself
entering a near-spherical underground cavern.
Ahead of you, across a narrow stone causeway,
stands a column of rock upon which rests a circular
gateway of black stone. Surrounding the column is a
fiery pit, the hungry flames filling the cavern with an
infernal glow. You are certain that you have reached
the deepest part of the dungeon now but there is no
sign of the villain you have been pursuing. The only
figure present is a large, rotting corpse, standing
beside the black gate, wearing ancient rusted armour
and carrying a skull-headed mace — a potent weapon
against both the living and the dead. Somehow you
know that to find your nemesis you must pass
through the gate — wherever it may take you — but to
earn that right, you are going to have to battle the
gruesome Gatekeeper first. Stepping onto the bridge
you prepare to meet your destiny.
GATEKEEPER SKILL 10 STAMINA 10

[+]EF
 244
If the Gatekeeper wounds you, roll one die. If you roll
a 6, turn to 216 immediately. If you roll any other
number, fight on. If you manage to best the Gate-
keeper, turn to 309. If the Gatekeeper vanquishes you
in battle and your spirit-form is destroyed, write the
number 309 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

244
As you shape the words, the air around you thickens
perceptibly. Surely it cannot be possible for the
eclipse to get any darker, but that is how it feels to
you now. Unknown to you, your spell has enhanced
the powers of the shadow-born horrors that are about
to attack you. (Lose 1 LUCK point.) Now turn to 124,
but before you fight the Tenebrae, increase their
STAMINA scores by 2 and their SKILL scores by 1.
245-247
245
Suddenly, unbelievably, the stone shifts. Through
willpower alone you have managed to influence an
inanimate object in the physical world despite being
a ghost yourself. Write the number 215 on your
Adventure Sheet and then turn to 120.

246
‘Very well,’ the Queen says, her sinister smile remain-
ing in place, her eyes blazing with emerald witch-
lights. ‘Then by hellfire, brimstone and pestilence, I
decree that you shall die a second death, here and
now. But which shall it be? Choose the manner of
your undoing!’ How will you answer?
‘By hellfire!’ Turn to 340
‘By brimstone!’ Turn to 262
‘By pestilence!’ Turn to 283
‘Do your worst! I do not intend to
die again!’ Turn to 305

247
You bear down on the old man, your features twist-
ing into those of some hellish apparition. ‘Listen to
me, old man, and listen well,’ you growl in a bestial
voice that surely cannot be your own. But before you
can say any more the porter gives a strangled gasp,
his eyes roll up into his head and he pole-axes onto
the floor face-first, not dead drunk this time, just
dead. What good is another dead man to you? (Lose 1
LUCK point.)

Ee]
 248-249
Unable to do anything about the portcullis now, will
you continue up into the gatehouse through the
archway opposite you (turn to 160), or will you return
to the ground floor and re-assess your options (turn
to 20)?

As the Ghost Hunter and his henchman drop dead,

the life gone from them, the screaming begins again.
But the people’s fear triggers a hideous transforma-
tion within you. Your ethereal form warps and swells
and you take on a terrifying aspect more demon than
human. This only feeds the villager’s fear still further,
and they run screaming from the building, into the
night.
But this wasn’t what you wanted! (If you don’t
already have it, write down the Spectre special ability
on your Adventure Sheet and lose 1 LUCK point.)
Managing to regain control of yourself at last, you
hurtle out of the open door and away from the village
of Sleath altogether. Turn to 6.

aAg
Are you fighting the Shadow King with a magical or
holy weapon? If so, turn to 113. If not, turn to 346.

CdEe
 250
250
‘So, is the deed done?’ Chamberlain Unthank asks the
Death Acolyte.
“The deed is done,’ the other replies darkly.

‘And there weren’t any ... complications?’

The Acolyte does not answer immediately. ‘The spirit
was willing even though the flesh was weak, but I
dealt with it.’
‘Good,’ the Chamberlain says, steepling his fingers in
front of his face. ‘Nothing can be allowed to upset my
plans. They have been years in the making, ever since
I swore my soul to the Darkness all those decades ago
back in Fetchfen, the place of my birth. Tonight our
lord shall rise and then all shall know the name of
Unthank and bow before me or else suffer my wrath.
When the eclipse comes ultimate power shall be
granted to me and then the dead of an entire kingdom
shall answer my call to war.’
‘Everything is ready, my lord?’ the cultist asks.
‘Almost everything. I still need a suitable sacrifice,
but I have someone in mind. And we shall succeed,
have no fear of that. The only thing that would make
me absolutely certain of our success would be if I had
the Spirit Stone in my hands right now. The Order of
the Black Shroud have searched long and hard but
the wards of the Winter King have thwarted them in
their efforts to locate his tower, Frostfinger. But no

[] LE
matter, the eclipse fast approaches and with it my
ultimate victory over the grave!’
You cannot quite believe what you are hearing! It was
Chamberlain Unthank, the one you set to guard your
ancestral home and ensure your sister’s safety who
was behind your murder all along. And it sounds like
your death was only the beginning of his nefarious
schemes. He must be stopped or else it won’t be only
Valsinore Castle that is under his control, and it won’t
be only your blood on his hands.
‘We are discovered!’ Unthank suddenly hisses, shoot-
ing anxious glances all about him. “We have a spy in
our midst. Someone has been eavesdropping on our
conversation. But no matter, with a word it is done.’

The Chamberlain mutters something barely audible

and wholly inhuman under his breath and an
unearthly gale rises from nowhere to wail and whirl
about the secret meeting chamber. It is at that
moment that the traitor screams over the roar of the
gale, ‘Spirit, begone!’

The howling wind rises, forming a spiralling whirl-

wind with you at its heart. The veil between worlds is
suddenly torn asunder and you are sucked through
as the Dead Winds carry you over into the next
world. Write the number 58 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100.

CyEs
 251-252
251
Captured by Baron Blood’s Wild Hunt, there is noth-
ing you can do as the huntsman pulls you up onto the
back of his horse. Howling and whooping, Blood’s
hunters gallop away into the night and beyond the
veil to the Realm of the Damned as you despair for
the fate of your soul. Record the number 290 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

252
You are halfway across when the frozen surface of the
lake fractures and a thick, rubbery tentacle smashes
through. The tentacle waves about in the wind-
whipped air, as if looking for something and then is
withdrawn again. You can see something moving
there beneath the ice — something massive. You start
to run. There is another crash as a second tentacle
smashes through the ice and then a third, sending
great fissures skittering out across the lake, plunging
back into the ice sheet, opening up great areas of
rippling water. Moving water is inimical to undead
spirits like you and if you don’t pick up the pace, the
lake monster’s actions could leave you trapped
between the island and the shore, unable to go any-
where because of the natural magical barrier formed
by the water. With your very destiny depending on it
you start to run. Roll three dice. If the total rolled is
less than or equal to your STAMINA score, turn to 209.
If the total rolled is greater than your STAMINA score,
turn to 224.

Ce
253-256

253
You try to tell the guardsmen that you mean them no
harm but actually want their help, but the two men
are practically out of their wits with fear and don’t
listen to a word you say. It’s anybody’s guess how
they’re going to react. Roll one die. If you roll 1-3,
turn to 223; if you roll 4-6, turn to 239.

254
You struggle to resist the lure of the Grave Golem but
the monster is too powerful for you, engorged as it is
with the essence of those souls already bound to it.
You become bound to the Golem — neither able to
continue with your quest, nor able to pass over into
the Lands of the Dead — doomed for all eternity. And
so your adventure ends here, in eternal torment.

255"
The passageway turns left and a little further on
another door appears out of the gloom to your right.
This too is a Spirit Door, constructed from black wood
and enchanted silver, and unless you still have a
physical body you will not be able to pass beyond it.
When you are ready to proceed along the passage-
way, turn to 31.

256
‘Revenge is a black and deep desire,’ the Watcher
intones. ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold, as cold as
the grave. Is revenge really what you wish for? And
remember, you should be careful what you wish for,
 enV
for you might just get it.’ If you want to change your
mind, turn to 102. If you want to stick with your origi-
nal answer, turn to 226.

257
Unable to resist the curious attraction of the Nine
Maidens, you approach the standing stones, feeling
the ground beneath your feet with every ethereal step
you take, although the heather passes through you as
if your body was nothing but smoke. Where to your
mortal eyes the Nine Maidens looked like nothing
more than a circle of weathered stones, flecked with
moss and lichen, you can now see tendrils of eldritch
power rising into the night’s sky like coruscating
trails of multi-coloured flames. And you can hear the
plaintive singing of women, although you can see

CE
258

You come to a halt at the centre of the stone circle,

before a horizontal altar stone, marvelling at the
writhing tendrils of ethereal energy. And then, as you
stand there, listening to the mournful voices of the
invisible women, those same tendrils of energy are
inexorably drawn towards you. At the same time you
feel yourself imbued with otherworldly strength. The
Nine Maidens have chosen a champion and worked
their magic upon you. (Add 1 point to both your
Initial SKILL and STAMINA scores and then raise those
scores to their new Initial levels. Regain 1 LUCK point
and add 1 to your WILL score.
Standing just beyond the Nine Maidens, on the crest
of the hill, are three stones joined to form a stone arch-
way. Within the portal formed by these monoliths
you can see a spiralling vortex forming. A gateway to
another world is opening in front of you. Will you:
Pass between the stones and through
this otherworldly portal? Turn to 389
Wait and see what happens? Turn to 308
Try to leave the stone circle? Turn to 288

258
Raising the skull-shaped jet amulet in your hand you
feel it pulse with malignant power. The talisman is a
potent evil charm and, rather than repelling the forces
of darkness, actually encourages them. You know
now that it was a mistake to invoke its power. Lose 1
LUCK point and 1 WILL point, record the codeword
Talisman on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 132.
 259-260

259
Back in the village square again, making sure you
don’t choose somewhere you’ve visited before, where
will you go now?
The Cockcrow Inn? Turn to 118
The overgrown shrine? Turn to 229
Madame Zelda’s tent? Turn to 368
The Burgomaster’s house? Turn to 437
Towards the castle again? Turn to 6

260
The chapel, with the priest’s meagre dwelling
attached, is a seemingly innocuous building that
stands within the bounds of a walled cemetery -
complete with hummocks of earth and undulating
turf — that has been used in recent decades for the

Ce)
261

burial of family members. Flickering candlelight fills

the leaded panes of the stained glass windows, pour-
ing out across the small plot of the graveyard and
onto the cobbles of the courtyard beyond. It would
appear that somebody is inside. Do you want to:
Enter the chapel? Turn to 274
Explore the graveyard behind it? Turn to 319
Leave this consecrated ground and
explore elsewhere? Turn to 445

261
Giving yourself a good run up, focusing your will on
the task in hand, you run towards the putrescent pool
and, as your foot touches the crumbling edge of the
pit, throw yourself forwards in an attempt to clear
its entire width. Test your Skill. If you succeed, you
incredibly manage to clear the stinking cesspit (turn
to 421). If you fail, you fall well short and land in
the middle of the stinking mess filling the pool (turn
(0.222);
 262-263

262
A horrendous stench presages the coming of the
Queen’s champion as a truly horrific abomination
lumbers from amidst the ranks of the undead to fight
you. Covered in unspeakable filth, its body decom-
posing and decrepit, and carrying with it the repul-
sive reek of the grave, the Stench Ghoul attacks.
STENCH GHOUL SKILL 8 STAMINA 9
If you have the codeword Host on your Adventure
Sheet you must reduce your Attack Strength by 2
points for the duration of this battle, so over-power-
ing is the stomach-turning smell of the creature. Also,
if you have either the codeword Host or Revenant
written down, and the ghoul hits you three times, the
body you are wearing will be paralysed and you will
have to vacate it again.
If the Stench Ghoul destroys (or paralyses) your
physical form you can fight on as a ghost but if this
spectral body is destroyed too, write the number 445
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you van-
quish the ghoul, it rapidly dissolves into a pool of
putrescent slime on the stone-flagged floor before the
Queen’s throne (turn to 321).

263
You are able to change your appearance, transform-
ing yourself into a terrifying phantasmal horror with
the power to even scare the weak-minded to death.
Record the Spectre special ability on your Adventure

LE
264-266

Sheet and turn to the paragraph with the same

number as the one that you were just instructed to
write down.

264
Back where you began, choosing somewhere that you
haven’t been already, will you follow the passageway
to your left (turn to 235), the one directly in front
of you (turn to 10), or the one to your right (turn to
109)? Alternatively, if you prefer, you could leave the
catacombs altogether (turn to 445).

265
‘Lam a ghost,’ you say again and then you feel your
hand sink through the stone door of the barrow.
Closing your eyes, you take a step forwards — and
pass right through, into the dank earth tunnel
beyond. Write the number 215 on your Adventure
Sheet and then turn to go.

266
With a shout of, ‘Die, traitor!’ you charge down the
hillside and even manage to penetrate the ring of
standing stones before Unthank has time to act. But
before you can reach him, he turns and hurls a bolt of
dark energy at you, a cruel smile on his face. You are
hurled backwards by the blast and strike one of the
standing stones. (Lose 3 STAMINA points and if this
has reduced your STAMINA score to zero or below,
write the number 132 on your Adventure Sheet and

ae
 267
turn to 100.) If you are still ‘alive’ the last thing the
necromancer says to you in a gloating tone is, ‘Now
observe my final victory!’ Turn to 132.

267
‘What in Telak’s name?’ Marrok exclaims as you
materialise out of thin air in front of him, drawing his
silver sword immediately.
‘A doppelganger!’ Unthank gasps. ‘An evil spirit has
taken the guise of our dearly departed! Oh, sir knight,
banish it now before it murders us all!’
Marrok doesn’t need any further encouragement and,
shouting the war-cry, ‘For Telak and for Valsinore!’
he charges at you, his weapon raised. If you would
allow the noble knight to cut you down, rather than
draw your own sword against him, write the number
445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If not,
you have no choice but to defend yourself.
CRUSADER SKILL 11 STAMINA 11

Marrok’s sword Deathsbane, like your own blade

Nightslayer is a holy weapon and so will harm you in
your undead state. In fact, for every successful strike
that the crusader makes against you, roll one die and
on a roll of 5-6 you lose 3 STAMINA points instead of
the usual 2. If Marrok slays you, write the number 445
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you cut
him down first you must lose 1 LUCK point and 1 WILL
point for having to kill you battle-brother. Then turn
to 348.

Ed CJ
 268-269

268
Delighted to have found your sister safe and well
you hurry over to her, calling her name. Oriana and
Father Umberto turn to face you, but you are
appalled to see a look of abject horror on your sister’s
face. “No! No, it can’t be!’ she cries.
And then you see, for the first time, what it is that is
laid out on the bier behind them - it is your own dead
body. Seeing your corpse like this, without realising
it was even here, shocks you to the core. (Add the
phrase Rest in Peace to your Adventure Sheet and
deduct 1 from your wILL score.)
And then Father Umberto is there, between you and
your sister, the holy tome he was reading from open
in his hands at a prayer for exorcism and he begins
to chant. Finally, with a flourish of his free hand
he shouts, ‘In the name of Telak, Lord of Courage, I
return thee to the hellish nether regions that spawned
thee!’
There is a sudden blaze of light and you feel as if your
ethereal form is being consumed by holy fire that
burns with all the fury of a funeral pyre. Write the
number 445 on your Adventure Sheet, lose 1 LUCK
point and turn to 100.

269
‘Something evil is afoot here, and I wish I knew what
it was. Perhaps if I were a stronger man I would have
done more to find out what it is but I think things
have gone too far for that now.

Ee
270-271
‘Anyway, the thing is, Unthank has called a feast, to
celebrate your return. Only now you're dead and yet
it’s still going ahead. We're not invited. But I’m
rambling.
‘Thing is Ihave found something out but I’m not sure
how important it is or what it applies to. It’s a combi-
nation, I think: four-two-one. That’s it. Now go, and
good luck!’
Captain Cador has provided you with some valuable
information and could prove a useful ally before this
night is done. Regain 1 LucK point and add the code-
word Braveheart to your Adventure Sheet. Now turn to
434 as you make your way out of the barracks.

270
Sprinting through the undergrowth you take a twist-
ing, tortuous route between the trees in an effort to
confuse Baron Blood’s hunting dogs. Test your Skill
and Test your Luck. If you are both Lucky and success-
ful, turn to 221; if you fail either one of these tests,
turn to 251.

27%
Climbing the twisting stone staircase, you soon find
yourself at the entrance to the chamber that contains
the winding gear used to raise or lower the portcullis.
Slumped against one wall, an earthenware bottle held
loosely in one hand, is Falstaff the castle Porter. You
remember that he always liked a drink — cider mainly
— but now he just looks like an utter wreck. A scraggly

3]G3]
 272
grey beard covers half his face, his skin is blotched
with the spider-web patterns of purple veins and he
is having trouble focusing on you. ‘Halt!’ he slurs.
“Who goes there?’
As he struggles to his feet, you consider the scene
before you again. Looking at the capstan and consid-
ering the considerable weight of the portcullis you
doubt that even with your strong will you would be
able to raise it. And yet standing right before you is a
man who, although drunk, has the physical strength
needed to operate the mechanism successfully.
If you have the Spectre special ability and want to
terrify the porter into helping you, turn to 247. If you
want to try to dominate his drink-addled will to make
him do as you command, turn to 225. If you would
prefer to cross this chamber and continue up into the
tower using the new staircase that starts at an arch-
way on the other side of the chamber, turn to 160. But
if you would rather re-trace your steps, going back
downstairs and looking elsewhere, turn to 20.

272,
As you bear down on the guardsmen your features
twist and change until you become a hideous, twisted
thing, utterly terrifying to behold. Hearing the howl-
ing moan issuing from your mouth as you emerge
from the darkness before them — a glowing spectre,
grotesque of form — the two men scream and drop
their halberds. But their nightmare does not end
there. Before your very eyes, the hair of one turns

i] CJ
 273
stark white and he runs from his post, screaming as
he flees into the night. But he’s the lucky one; his part-
ner topples backwards onto the ground, as stiff as a
board and dead as a doornail. You have scared him to
death! He was only doing his job and had never
caused you any harm. As you return to your more
normal self, you are left feeling wracked with guilt.
(Lose 1 LUCK point.)
But an overwhelming sense of guilt isn’t the only
thing you’re going to have to contend with now; the
castle gate is still closed and you're still stuck outside.
So how are you going to get yourself inside now? If
you have the Apparition special ability and want to
use it, turn to 414. If you have the Poltergeist special
ability and want to use that, turn to 303. If you have
neither of these abilities, the only option left open to
you is the sewer outlet (turn to 36).

273
_ Roll two dice, a total of three times, to see what you
manage to collect from the rubble. (If you roll a
number you have rolled before, you do not find any-
thing that turn.)

Dice roll Treasure

2 Potion of Skill — if you have the codeword
Host you can drink this to restore your
host body’s skILt score to its Initial level.
3 Shield — add 1 to your SKILL score (even if
this takes it above its Initial level).
 274
Velvet Purse — containing 6 Gold Pieces.
Potion of Strength — if you have the code-
word Host you can drink this to restore
your host body’s sTAMINA score to its
Initial level.
Firestone Ruby — worth 8 Gold Pieces.
Dry provisions — enough food for 2 Meals.
COON] Potion of Fortune — if you have the code-
word Host you can drink this to restore
your host body’s Luck score to its Initial
level.
Jet Amulet —- carved to resemble a human
skull.
10 Battleaxe — after a successful hit, on a roll
of 5-6 on one die, it will cause 3 STAMINA
points damage; however, it is not a magi-
cal weapon.
ct Onyx Necklace — worth 4 Gold Pieces.
12 Ironbane — you find a leather pouch con-
taining spores of this metal-eating fungus.

When you are done searching for treasure, will you

leave this chamber via the north-west spiral staircase
(turn to 294), or the north-east stair (turn to 205)?

274
The door to the chapel is closed, but not locked. If you
have the Poltergeist special ability or the Apparition
special ability you should be able to gain access (turn
to 316). If you have neither of these abilities, roll two
dice; if the total rolled is equal to or less than your

EE]
275-277
WILL score write the number 316 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to go. If the total is greater than your
WILL score, you are unable to gain entry to the chapel;
you will have to look elsewhere instead. Will you go
round the back of the chapel to the graveyard (turn
to 319), or leave the chapel grounds altogether (turn
to 445)?

775
You experience a sudden, weird sense of dislocation,
and looking down at your body, watch as your spirit-
form is expelled from the borrowed body you have
been using. It is such an unnerving experience you
take a sharp breath in surprise; but that shouldn’t be
possible either ... Turn to 448.

276
Do you have the codeword Hellfire on your Adventure
Sheet? If so, turn to 122; if not, turn to 394.

277
You have won a mighty victory indeed and recovered
a potent artefact. Regain up to 2 LUCK points and add
2 to your WILL score. All that needs to happen now is
for you to return to distant Valsinore Castle where
you can put the Spirit Stone to good use. If you have
the Spirit special ability and want to fly away from
here, turn to 20g. If not, you will have to cross the
frozen lake on foot (turn to 252).

Ey£2]
 278-279

278
You are going to have to fight the Golem to get past it
but as even your phantasmal blade cannot harm it, all
you can hope to do is fend off its pulverising, steam-
hammer blows. In the following battle calculate
Attack Strengths as normal, but if you win an Attack
Round you have only avoided the Golem’s attack, not
injured it.
HELLFIRE GOLEM SKILL 9
If you win three Attack Rounds, you have managed
to manoeuvre yourself so that you can duck past the
Golem, run through the archway and over the moat-
bridge (turn to 337). If the Golem destroys you before
you win three Attack Rounds, write the number 337
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

279
‘There are no second chances!’ a voice like thunder
rumbles across the lifeless wilderness ‘You cannot
conquer death!’ and you find yourself before the
Black Gate itself. As you gaze into the Void you feel
yourself being drawn inexorably towards it. It seems
inevitable now that this is it— your life and your quest
really are at an end.
And then a cacophonous wailing starts up as a mil-
lion lost souls plead for your release that they all
might be avenged by you, the Champion of the Dead.
You feel the pull of the Gate weaken and then the
rushing wind is loud in your ears again and this time

CE
it is accompanied by the howling voices of the
damned, all begging you to save them from their tor-
ment by seeing your quest through to its conclusion.
Then darkness consumes you ...
You open your eyes and look around. You are back
upon the Earthly Plane. Thanks to the supplication of
lost souls you have been granted one last chance to
put right the wrongs that have been done to you.
Raise your SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK scores to their
Initial levels once more, add 1 to your WILL score and
write the codeword Endgame on your Adventure Sheet.
Now turn to the paragraph with the number you
wrote down before you found yourself at the door to
the afterlife.
 280-281

280
Unstoppering the flask of oil you hurl it at the Necros.
Viscous black fluid splashes over the repulsively rip-
pling gelatinous body but it does nothing to slow the
monster’s advance. But oil is highly flammable.
Grabbing a burning brand from a wall-bracket you
hurl that after the oil onto the back of the Necros.
The highly combustible oil bursts into flame with a
satisfying roar and the undead horror emits a high-
pitched scream as it begins to burn. Turn to 401.

281
‘Have no fear, [mean you no harm,’ you tell Madame
Zelda, an imploring look on your ghostly features. ‘I
ask only for your aid.’
‘Isee dead people!’ the mystic gasps, as if this is a rev-
elation to her. ‘I really can see dead people! H-How
can I help?’ she asks, as if suddenly remembering that
you are there.
You quickly tell her of all that has befallen you since
sunset and she listens intently with the same shocked
expression locked on her plump face. ‘Come with
me,’ she says when you finally finish your story.
She leads you back into the part of the tent containing
the table and crystal ball. She sits down before it and
starts making exaggerated hand movements over the
crystal. You can see swirling clouds forming within
its depths.
282

‘Ah, yes,’ she says at last, ‘the path ahead is perilous.’

Her voice abruptly drops several octaves, and her
eyes roll up into her head. ‘Death stalks this land and
soon so shall the dead,’ she goes on, as if speaking
now with another’s voice. ‘Seek out the metal-worker
and the iron man. Be wary of the man who believes
only in Good but seek out the court of the Liche
Queen, for therein lies salvation.’
The clouds swirling within the crystal ball turn black
and the table starts to shake.
‘The Lord of Shadows is coming!’ the mystic snarls
and the crystal ball explodes, sending diamond
shards of glass slicing through the sides of the tent.
Incredibly both you and Madame Zelda remain
unharmed. The fortune-teller shakes her head as if
waking from a dream and then sees the wreckage of
the crystal ball on the table in front of her. ‘Oh my
stars, what just happened?’
You decide that it’s probably best not to tell her and
so, thanking her for what she’s done, you quickly
vacate the tent instead. Turn to 259.

282
Returning to the sanctuary of the chapel, you surprise
the priest who is in holy vigil before the altar. But
before Father Umberto has the chance to exorcise you
from the shrine, you bring the full power of your will
to bear against him in an attempt to take control of his
body. Roll two dice and add 2 to the number rolled. If

Pe]ES]
 283
the final total is less than or equal to your wILt score,
turn to 8o. If it is greater, the warrior-priest of Telak
resists your attempts to seize control and instead
attempts to banish you to the nether reaches of the
Lands of the Dead. Test your Luck. If you are Lucky,
you resist the pull of the Dead Winds and flee the
chapel; turn to 13 to try another approach. If you are
Unlucky, the priest manages to complete his exorcism
spell; write the number 13 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100.

283
The packed earth floor at your feet crumbles as some-
thing pushes its way up and out of the ground. It
looks like a sickly yellow, mouldering skeleton,
draped with the remnants of rotted clothes, and the
miasma of disease and decay hangs heavy about it. A
nasty buzzing fills the air around it as flies burst from
the maggot-nest of its ribcage and the Decayer
attacks.
DECAYER SKILL 7 STAMINA 5
If the Decayer wounds you and you have the code-
word Revenant on your Adventure Sheet, you lose 3
STAMINA points rather than the usual 2, as its corrupt-
ing touch speeds the process of decay along. If you
win the battle with the Decayer but you have the
codeword Host written down, the body you are wear-
ing becomes infected with a horrific, flesh-eating dis-
ease. (Lose 1 SKILL point and an additional 3 STAMINA
points.)

Cd
284-285

If your battle with the Decayer destroys your physical

form you can fight on as a ghost but if your spectral
body is destroyed too, write the number 445 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you vanquish this
undead horror, it rapidly crumbles to dust as it falls
victim to its own powers of putrefaction (turn to 321).

You approach the door in the same manner that has

got you through locked doors before, but this time it
is to no avail. Powerful spells of warding cast upon
the door are preventing you from gaining entry.
Finding yourself powerless shakes your confidence
badly. Lose 1 WILL point and turn to 264.

285
The instant you enter the pitch black chamber beyond
the Spirit Door, you feel the temperature plummet.
Frost forms on the metal of your weapon and you feel
your movements slow as the intense cold takes hold
of your physical form. But there is worse to come.
Something is rising from the frozen floor before you,

[+]Ee
unfolding gangly limbs as it gets to its feet. The
creature looks like a horribly emaciated man, every
bone visible beneath its taut, yellowed flesh, but its
jaw has become distended, its mouth open wide
enough to take a man’s head between its jaws. But
that still isn’t all this horror has to offer. A horrific,
discordant wailing sound rises from deep within it as
the monster breathes over you, its foul breath reeking
of death, and it is this discordant sound that shakes
your confidence to the very core of your being.
The necromancer who summoned this diabolical
undead creature, realising at last what a horror he
had unleashed upon the world, trapped it behind the
Spirit Door so that it couldn’t get out to wreak havoc
within the Keep. But now you are going to have to
fight the Dirge, and defeat it, if you are ever to get out
of this freezing cell again.
DIRGE SKILL 7 STAMINA 8
For the duration of this battle you must reduce your
Attack Strength by 1 point due to the intense cold.
However, this penalty does not apply to your ghost-
form, should you lose your physical form during the
course of your battle with the Dirge. Every third
Attack Round you must also lose 1 WILL point, as the
horror’s perpetual moaning saps your very will to
live. If you somehow survive your battle with the
Dirge, regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 31. If you
should ‘die’ facing this undead enemy, write the
number 31 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

CJC
 286

286
The grim gate, the entrance to the Lands of the Dead,
stands before you. Beyond the gate, on every side,
you can see the great rift in this dead landscape and
the scudding storm clouds, but through the Gate you
can see only soul-leeching darkness like you have
never known. It is not merely the absence of light,
it is the blackness of utter oblivion, the absence of
anything whatsoever. It is the darkness of the Abyss.
And then the shadows cast by the black stones slither
together and coalesce into a floating, black-shrouded
figure. Beneath its hood is a fleshless skull and in its
skeletal claws it grips a great black-bladed scythe.
‘Iam the Watcher at the Gate,’ a deep voice like the
slamming of crypt doors echoes from beneath the
hood. ‘I stand at the gate to the world beyond and cut
the threads of fate when a life is done.’
The Watcher then puts a clawed hand inside its
death-shroud cloak and pulls out an hourglass. You
can see black sand running from the top bulb into the
bottom and, judging by the amount of sand in the top
bulb, it still has some time to run.

‘But your life is not yet done,’ it says, holding the

hourglass out towards you. ‘And yet you are here
and no one comes to the Other Side before their time,’
the sepulchral voice sounds confused. “Then why are
you here?’ it asks. ‘Tell me, what is it you seek?” How
will you answer? Will you say that you seek revenge
(turn to 256), justice (turn to 167), a second chance

Es]ES)
287-288

(turn to 127), or will you attack the Watcher with your

sword (turn to 102)?

287
There is a click and the door swings open before you.
The unearthly glow given off by your own ethereal
form illuminates the chamber before you, reflecting
from the most incredible suit of armour you have
ever seen. There are no gaps anywhere, every piece —
from the helmet to the leg guards — fitting with every
other piece perfectly, effectively forming one unbro-
ken piece of armour. The craftsmanship is incredible,
the carefully worked steel ensorcelled with gold. The
helmet is particularly striking, having been worked to
give it an almost human appearance, its eye-holes set
with rubies. It’s only a shame that a suit of armour’s
no good to you in your current condition. However,
should that change, it will be worth knowing of the
armour’s hiding place. (Add the codeword Automaton
to your Adventure Sheet.)
Unable to do any more here at this time, do you want
to leave the gatehouse (turn to 20), or descend the
spiral staircase to the bottom, if you haven’t already
done so (turn to 115)?

288
The instant you pass beyond the boundary formed by
the stones again the ethereal light fades and the other-
worldly portal closes. Which way do you want to go

rdEd
 289-290
East, towards the burial mound? Turn to 409
North, towards the village and
Valsinore Castle? Turn to 163
North-west, towards Wraith Wood? = Turn to 3
North-east, towards the sea-cliffs? Turn to 193

289
To your right is a sturdy oak door, banded with iron.
It has a suitably serious-looking lock but the key has
been left in it. If you want to unlock the door and
enter the room beyond, turn to 315. If you would
rather not get distracted and continue on your way
deeper into the dungeons, turn to 416.

290
And then, between the tangle of trees, the wise-
woman’s cottage comes into view. You can see the
light of a roaring fire flickering behind the grimy win-
dows of the tumbledown hovel, but you also notice
that a dead magpie has been nailed to the door.
Some know her as Mother Toadsfoot of Wraith Wood
and call on her aid when they are in need of a mid-
wife or a cure for toothache. Others name her ‘witch’.
Under normal circumstances you wouldn’t have any
truck with witches, but these are far from normal cir-
cumstances. Still, the thought of having anything to
do with the crone, after your family has avoided hav-
ing anything to do with her for three generations, fills
you with trepidation.

EYLJ
291
If you want to approach the front door of her hovel,
turn to 67. If you would rather spy on her through a
smeary window first, turn to 336.

291
Although you try with all your might, you are not
able to raise the portcullis by even a centimetre; it is
far too heavy, and your failure leaves you feeling
defeated. (Lose 1 WILL point.) You are polls to have
to try something else. Will you:
Use the Apparition special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 5
Climb the staircase beyond the left
archway? Turn to 271
Climb the staircase through the right
archway? Turn to 85
Find another way into the Inner Ward? Turn to 393
 292-294
292
Wondering what else might be lurking down here in
the darkness, will you climb back up out of the cave
of bones to the castle’s inner courtyard above (turn to
445), or proceed along the passageway in front of you
(turn to 88)?

293
Released from the shackles of a mortal body, you are
no longer bound to the ground but are able to fly high
above it. Record the Spirit special ability on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to the paragraph with the
same number as the one that you were just instructed
to write down.

294
Making your way up the winding stair you come at
last to a turret room that must be at the very top of the
Keep. The room is completely empty, apart from the
shimmering ball of light three metres in diameter,
hovering at its centre, and the object you can just
about make out through the glare of the swirling sur-
face of the spectral sphere. It would appear to be a
book of some kind. Will you:
Enter the sphere of light? Turn to 324
Strike the shimmering sphere with
your weapon? Turn to 405
Use the Banish Spirit special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 424
Re-trace your steps and descend the
north-east stair? Turn to 205

[+]G3
295-296

295
Leaving the sinister burial mound behind, where do
you want to start looking for clues that will help you
to solve the mystery of your own murder? Will you
head:
North, towards the village and
Valsinore Castle? Turn to 163
North-west, towards Wraith Wood? Turnto3
North-east, over the moors towards
the sea-cliffs? Turn to 193

296
Remembering what the Watcher told you about
knowing the right time to use the hourglass you hold
it up before you now and regard the motionless black
sand contained within it one last time, before dashing
it against a jagged rock on the ground in front of you.
The glass explodes into a myriad diamond shards, the
black sand briefly forming a spiralling vortex in the
air in front of you before vanishing, twinkling with
starlight. You watch with satisfaction as Unthank
clutches at his chest and then drops to the ground in
front of the altar stone, the obsidian dagger tumbling
from his hand on the cold hard ground beside him.
But you're not out of danger yet; your actions have
been observed. Two of the three knights present
break away from the circle and advance towards you,
their cursed blades bared. You must fight them at the
same time.

Fl
 297
SKILL STAMINA
First DREAD KNIGHT 9 9
Second DREAD KNIGHT 8 9
If a knight wounds you, roll one die; on a roll of 5-6
its sword will cause you 3 STAMINA points of damage,
rather than the usual 2. If the Dread Knights dispatch
you, write the number 423 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100. If you manage to defeat them, turn
to 423.

297
It does not take you long to find the gravedigger
again, still at work in the plot behind the chapel.
Wasting no time you attempt to merge your mind
with Yorrick’s and take control of his wiry form. Roll
two dice and deduct two from the total. If this new
total is less than or equal to your WILL score, turn to
357. If it is greater, despite your best efforts you are
unable to take control of Yorrick’s body; turn back to
13 and try something, or someone, else.
298-299

298
Unthank invites Marrok to take a seat at the top table
and partake of some nourishment after his long
journey, an offer he accepts willingly, although with
an air of sadness. He is still hungry, no matter how
much grief he feels at news of your death. But
Unthank then makes his excuses and leaves the hall
via a passageway half-hidden by one of the great tap-
estries that adorn the walls. If you want to follow the
chamberlain, turn to 384. If you would rather reveal
yourself to your friend now that he is alone, turn
to 329.

ee
And in a trice it’s as if you weren’t there at all, your
ghostly form dissolving into the darkness that perme-
ates the shadowy corners of the room. As you survey
the bar, your attention is drawn to two men seated
at a corner booth. The first is dressed completely
in black, with a broad-brimmed hat on his head,
and a velvet cape around his shoulders. He is also fes-
tooned with all manner of charms and is holding a
finely-wrought, basket-hilted silvered rapier in one
black-gloved hand. His companion looks like nothing
less than a thug. The rogue’s nose has obviously been
broken on more than one occasion, the tattoo of a
spider’s web covers one side of his shaven head -
although he still sports a bushy beard — and a con-
traption that looks like a silver bear-trap hangs from
his waist by a chain. Approaching their table you
listen in on their conversation.

Cd Ce
‘From what I hear, the old Burgomaster up at the
grand house seems to think this cesspit’s crawling
with lost souls,’ the tattooed man whispers out of the
corner of his mouth.
‘Then my holy work may progress a-pace,’ the
darkly-dressed gentlemen mutters, a look of grim sat-
isfaction on his face. ‘My brother shall be avenged! I
shall rid this Sleath of its ghosts once and for all, or
my name’s not Josef Van Richten.’
‘And a pretty penny it'll cost ‘em too,’ his companion
sniggers.
‘Streng,’ the other scolds, ‘that is not why we are
here.’
‘No, but it helps. Cover our costs as it were. That’s all
I’m saying.’
‘It is time I retired for the evening, to prepare for the
work that awaits me here.’ And with that the ghost
hunter rises from his seat. Followed by his bruiser of a
henchman, he makes his way upstairs; he must have
taken a room at the inn.
If you think the ghost hunter could help with the
search for your killer and want to follow him
upstairs, turn to 331. If not, there is no point in delay-
ing here any longer and so you depart the tavern
(turn to 259).

EyCJ
300-301
300
With a bellow of frustrated rage you bring your scin-
tillating ethereal blade down upon the monster and
the necromantic spell animating it is savagely broken.
The Golem’s body bursts apart, showering you with
grave dirt, human remains and rotting coffin wood.
At the same time, the souls of those bound to it fly
free. As they ascend into the night’s sky, they call
their thanks and praises to you for freeing them from
their undying nightmare.
And your good deed does not go unrewarded. As
they depart the Earthly Plane for good, the ghosts
share a portion of their power with you. Roll one die
and add 6, (giving you a total of 7-12) and regain this
many STAMINA points. You may also add 1 to your
WILL score and 1 to your LUCK.
The Ghosts of Sleath freed, you too are free to con-
tinue with your quest. Passing beyond the boundary
wall of the cemetery at last, you find yourself on the
road leading into the village. Turn to 61.

301
Making your way back through Valsinore Castle you
find a suitable subject on sentry duty on the battle-
ments. The poor wretch’s eyes widen in horror as you
come at him out of the night and he is frozen to the
spot. Making the most of the opportunity, you exert
your will against his in an effort to take over his body.
Roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 26. If it is greater, the man
 302-303
runs from you, screaming in terror; turn back to 13
and try someone, or something, else.

302
You squeeze past the dead husk of the giant spider
and eventually reach the end of the tunnel, emerging
from underground again through a hole in the stone-
clad shaft wall of the castle well (turn to 5).

303
Although you are able to will latches to uncatch and
handles to turn, weighing several tonnes as they do,
the gates are far too heavy for you to move merely
by sheer strength of will. (Lose 1 wILL point.) So that
leaves you with only two options; to use the
Apparition special ability if you have it (turn to 414) or
the culvert (turn to 36).

Ee] []
 304
304
You descend the staircase for what feels like hours
but at last you emerge onto one of the lower levels of
the tower — but it is not a place you have visited
before. How can this be? There is obviously some
dark magic at work here. You are standing at one end
of a vast audience chamber. At the other end of the
hall stands a large throne carved from a single mas-
sive block of black ice. Seated upon it is a colossal
armoured warrior, his plate armour gleaming with a
blue-metal sheen beneath the layers of ice covering
his body.
As you enter the echoing vault, the giant stands, hef-
ting his ice-bladed battle-axe in his armoured hands
as he does so. “Only a fool would attempt to steal the
Spirit Stone from the Winter King. Now you shall pay
for your crime with your soul!’ the corpse king roars.
You know that you have no choice but to fight the
armoured giant if you are to retain the Spirit Stone,
but you are going to have to get past his minions first.
‘Arise, my warriors!’ the Winter King bellows in a
voice loud as colliding icebergs.
The spirits of those who died here remain trapped
inside their frozen bodies and, at the Winter King’s
bidding, those same spirits re-animate the ice-locked
corpses of ancient warriors present within the audi-
ence chamber. Roll one die; this is the number of Ice
Ghosts that you must fight before you can get to the
Winter King. If you have the Spirit special ability you

[+] EE
 305-306
may reduce this number by 2. Each Ice Ghost that you
have to fight has the following attributes.
ICE GHOST SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
Once you have dealt with his undead minions, you
must then confront the demon-possessed Winter
King himself.
WINTER KING SKILL 11 STAMINA 14
If you defeat the Winter King in mortal combat, turn
to 277. If he should slay you, however, your soul will
- become his for all eternity, and you will become one
of his Ice Ghosts, locked in service to him, waiting
until the glaciers cover the world again and Hell itself
freezes over.

35
‘So be it!’ the Queen of Liches declares. ‘Prepare to
meet your doom!’ Roll one die. On a roll of 1-2, turn
to 340. On a roll of 3-4, turn to 262. On a roll of 5-6,
turn to 283.

306
Making your way back through the castle you come
to the cookhouse once again. Ingelnook the corpulent
cook, quakes in fear before your unstoppable
advance until the only method of defence he has left
is to resist your efforts to possess him with the
strength of his own mind. Roll two dice. If the total
rolled is less than or equal to your WILL score, turn to
318. If it is greater, Ingelnook resists your attempts to

Cd Ee
 307-308
seize control of his bloated body to the end and you
are forced to leave the kitchens in defeat. Turn back to
13 to try another approach.

597
With a roar of rage you reveal yourself and fly at the
death cultist. Chamberlain Unthank steps back into
the shadows to observe the battle from a safe dis-
tance. Robbed of his magic powers now that he is
without his crystal ball, the Death Acolyte pulls a
blade of black metal from within the folds of his robes
and prepares to finish you for good.
DEATH ACOLYTE SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
Your ethereal form is vulnerable to the Acolyte’s
cursed blade and a successful hit from it will cause 2
STAMINA points damage. If the Death Acolyte man-
ages to finish what he started on the Moot Road and
kills you, write the number 445 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you kill the Acolyte within
5 Attack Rounds, turn to 370. If the battle lasts more 5
Attack Rounds, turn to 370 anyway.

308
As you watch, the swirling silvery light between the
stones ripples like liquid moonlight. Something is
coming through from the other side. The thing stalks
through the portal in a crouch, almost walking on all
fours as it knuckles towards you. It looks like a cross
between a wolf and an ape. Its flat snout wrinkles in a
snarl revealing knife-sharp teeth. The creature’s fur

EJ C-
309
sparkles silver and it has the same ethereal quality as
you. This thing — this Visitation — is a creature of the
Spirit World. Sensing that you are a thing of the other
world too, it gives a bark and bounds towards you. It
has come to claim you and drag you back with it to
the Lands of the Dead by whatever means necessary.
Phantom sword in hand, you prepare to defend your-
self. After all, you have unfinished business in this
world and are not ready to leave yet.
VISITATION — SKILL 8 STAMINA 8

Being a thing of the spirit world, like you, the

Visitation’s cruel claws will harm you, just as your
phantasmal sword will harm it in return. If the
Visitation wins two consecutive Attack Rounds, turn
to 328 at once. If the Visitation reduces your STAMINA
score to zero, write the number 288 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you slay the Visitation with
your phantasmal sword, turn to 359.

309
And so you step up to the forbidding gateway.
Within the circle of black stone is a whirling vortex of
starlight and some sixth sense tells you that your des-
tiny lies beyond it. pei otic) ee in both
hands, you step through it ..
You emerge on a windswept hillside overlooking a
circle of nine standing stones. But that is not all you
can see before you. At the end of the headland jutting
out into the cold, dark Diamond Sea ahead of you,

E] CJ
stands Valsinore Castle. The magical gateway has
transported you to virtually the very spot where the
drama of this night’s unfolding adventure began. Not
far away lies the moorland road where you were
struck down by the murdering band and the cruel-
hearted Death Acolyte. And here you are again, as
Chamberlain Unthank prepares to bring his evil
plans to fruition. But what are they exactly?
Looking out across the wind-blasted heather you can
see the traitorous necromancer standing before the
altar stone of the Nine Maidens. He is clad in black
and holding an obsidian dagger in both hands over
the body of the sacrificial victim that has been bound
to the stone with glowing chains of magical power —
your sister, the Lady Oriana!
Standing within the ring of standing stones, forming
a second circle around the altar, are the members of
Unthank’s death cult. There are five black-clad aco-
lytes, three Dread Knights of the Order of the Black
Shroud, and four faceless shadow-born creatures,
trailing smoky tendrils, with claws formed of impen-
etrable darkness. With the necromancer that makes
thirteen — a full coven.
Everything about the scene before you gives the
impression that the ritual being enacted here is
approaching its climax. It is then that the moonlight
itself fails and fades. Looking up at the cloudless
heavens you see a dark shadow fall across the face of
the moon, as a lunar eclipse plunges the world into

[]Ey
310-311

total darkness. You can’t shake the feeling that this |

darkness could well last longer than the duration of
the eclipse if something isn’t done to stop Unthank
and his death cult. Do you want to rush to attack the
necromancer and save your sister from certain death
(turn to 266), or will you fight every instinct that tells
you to do otherwise and take your time to consider
your actions more carefully (turn to 241)?

310
You race towards the Sundered Oak, determined to
reach the tree before the snarling dogs catch up with
you. Roll three dice. If the total rolled is equal to or
less than your STAMINA score, roll two dice and this
time, if the total is equal to or less than your WILL
score, turn to 221.

However, if the first dice roll is greater than your

STAMINA score or the second dice roll is greater than
your WILL score, the dogs run you down before you
are even halfway to the lightning-struck tree (turn
to 251).

311
You are unable to influence the stone at all. (Lose 1
WILL point.) If you want to try to go back to looking
for another way into the barrow, turn to 431. If you
have already tried another method, or if you would
rather quit this place, turn to 295.

PE
 312-313
312
Taking to the air, you easily evade the raging Golem.
But now that you have broken the bonds that keep
you earthbound, will you fly towards the battlements
of the Keep (turn to 214) or land again on the other
side of the moat at the end of the bridge (turn to 337)?

Bs5
Stepping off the track that leads over the bridge on
the way to Valsinore Castle, you scramble down the
bank to the river’s edge. Far to your right the stream
tumbles over the edge of the Sourstone headland and
into the sea far below as a dramatic waterfall but you
are a strong swimmer, and the river isn’t particularly
wide here so you see no reason why you shouldn’t be
able to cross safely. You’re sure that the knight’s
ghost is bound to the bridge, so what's the worst that
can happen? Besides, you're a ghost; you'll only need
to wring out your shroud once you get to the other
side. And so you step into the fast-flowing stream.
If feels like you have been struck by lightning as
crippling pain sears through your body and you are
hurled back from the river to land on the bank, your
ghostly form contorted in pain. Running water is
anathema to the ranks of the Undead and, no matter
how much you might hate the fact, you are now one
of the Undead. Roll one die, add 2 and deduct the
total from your sTAMINA score. If this has taken it to
zero or below, write the number 6 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 1oo. If not, the pain begins to pass

EyEo
314
and you are able to pick yourself up again, but you
are still on the wrong side of the river and so are
forced to approach the bridge.
‘Halt!’ the knight challenges you again. ‘I have sworn
to guard this crossing and Valsinore Castle from evil
spirits and you will not pass!’ To proceed any further
you are either going to have to engage the knight in
battle (turn to 175), or submit to him (turn to 391).

314
‘There’s been a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing of late.
No one from the village is allowed past the main gate
anymore, although Bertild the Blacksmith does come
out from time to time to collect supplies, but from
what she’s let slip it sounds like there are sinister
goings on indeed. It was nearly a year ago now that
the knights first appeared.’
‘What knights?’ you ask.
‘I don’t know, but the only heraldry they bore was a
plain black field — no decoration whatsoever. They
arrived after dark one stormy night. They’re rarely
seen outside the castle, but when they are, it’s always
during the hours of darkness.’
What is Chamberlain Unthank up to, admitting this
strange order of knights into your ancestral home?
Has he had to bolster the castle’s defences in light of
the rising numbers of restless dead in the area? Or is
there another reason?

EA]Ed
‘Do you know if anyone has seen any Death Acolytes
about the place?’
‘No, not to my knowledge,’ the hermit confesses, and
his knowledge certainly appears to be suitably in
depth. ‘But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any there.
What I do know is that there’s a grand feast being
held at the castle tonight, to celebrate the return of ...’
the old man trails off. ‘Oh,’ he says, ‘to celebrate your
return, I suppose.’
Everything Myrddin has told you makes you more
desperate than ever before to discover what’s going
on. It is time you were on your way again.
If you have the phrase Something Fishy written on
your Adventure Sheet, turn to 145. If not, turn to 22.
315-316
3t5
As soon as you open the door, the man chained to the
wall on the other side of the musty cell cries out, ‘No!
No more, please! Not again! Why can’t you just leave
me alone?’
It takes you a moment - thanks to the murky shadows
and the filthy state of the prisoner — but you recognise
the man. It is Iago the Gaoler, not a particularly pleas-
ant character but no villain by any means. Do you
want to enter the cell and see what you can do to help
the Gaoler (turn to 332), or would you rather leave
him to his fate and get on with resolving yours (turn
f097)<

316
As you cross the threshold and enter the chapel, your
ethereal form is burned by the holy wards protecting
this place from the undead. (Lose 4 STAMINA points
and if this has taken your STAMINA score to zero or
lower, write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100.)
Ahead of you, at the other end of the sanctuary
beneath a cast-iron candelabrum festooned with the
wax of a hundred melted candles, two figures stand
before a trestle bier bearing ... you can’t quite see
what. One of the figures is Father Umberto,
Valsinore’s confessor. He is decked out in the robes of
a priest of Telak. The other is a young woman wear-
ing a flowing woollen dress ... It is your sister, the
Lady Oriana! If you want to reveal yourself now to

rd CJ
 317-318

the priest and your sister, turn to 268. If you would

prefer to hide yourself away in a shadowy corner and
observe what they are doing for a moment first, turn
to 353.

317
Do you have any of the codewords Bell, Barking,
Barracks, Battlements or Blacksmith recorded on your
Adventure Sheet? If so, make a careful note of how
many and turn to 347. If you none of those words
written down, turn to 366.

aai5
You have succeeded in taking over the cook’s physi-
cal form, while his consciousness flees to some dark
corner of his being. (Add the codeword Host to you
Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are clothed in the ample flesh of the cook
you must use Ingelnook’s stats which are as follows:
SKILL 9, STAMINA 22.
If you are injured in battle you may eat provisions to
recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to 4
STAMINA points and as you are in the castle kitchens
you are able to collect provisions equal to 6 Meals.
You arm yourself with a hefty cleaver, which should
make an effective weapon against mortal foes at least.
If Ingelnook’s STAMINA score is ever reduced to 2
STAMINA points or fewer, the cook will be knocked

EE]
319-320

out, and you will be forced to leave his body. You

may then keep on fighting but now in your spirit-
form again, using the stats that you have written
down here. Turn to 429.

319
You hear the sound of hammer against chisel and
round the corner of the chapel to see a man hunched
in front of a new, clean headstone that has been set up
before the open pit of a freshly-dug grave. The light
cast from his lantern resting on the damp grass beside
him is allowing the gravedigger to keep working into
the night. Absorbed in his work, peering myopically
at the letters he is engraving into the headstone, the
gravedigger has not been alerted to your presence
yet. Do you want to:
Approach the gravedigger? Turn to 397
Linger a while within the graveyard,
out of sight of the man? Turn to 349
Return to the door of the chapel and
enter the holy building (if you
haven't tried to already)? Turn to 274
Leave the graveyard, and the chapel,
and look elsewhere? Turn to 445

320
Before you can reach the bridge that crosses the moat
that leads to the Keep you are surprised by the sound
of savage barking and an armoured figure steps from

C+]CJ
 321
the shadows. The knight is barely able to restrain the
huge, silver-haired dog straining at the chain in his
hand. Without saying a word the knight lets go of
the chain and the muscular Moon Dog leaps at you.
Existing half in the Ethereal Realm and half on the
Earthly Plane, the Moon Dog is just as imposing a
threat to a ghost like you as it would be to any mortal
soul. |
MOON DOG SKILL 8 STAMINA 8

If you have the phrase Best Friend written on your

Adventure Sheet you do not need to fight the Moon
Dog yourself but can instead move on to deal with
its handler. If you do fight the Moon Dog yourself,
after three Attack Rounds the knight will join the
battle too.
DREAD KNIGHT SKILL 9 STAMINA 9
If either the savage Moon Dog or the Dread Knight
‘kill’ you, write the number 117 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 1oo. If you should overcome both
the dog and its handler, you are free to go on your
way again (turn to 117).

321
‘Enough of this!’ the Queen shouts in anger, fixing
you with her baleful black gaze. ‘Now bow before
me! I demand it!’ Roll two dice. If the total rolled is
equal to or less than your WILL score, turn to 358; if it
is greater, turn to 112.
 322
322
Making your way through the foetid hollows of the
drowned village you come at last to the village’s
overgrown graveyard. You creep between weed-
choked tombstones and crumbling tombs but age and
decay have all but obliterated the names they once
bore. At the centre of the cemetery stands a large
stone-built crypt that appears to be largely intact.
Unconsciously your wandering footsteps have
brought you to this building but you stop when you
find yourself standing before its broken stone doors.
Red coals blaze in the darkness of the crypt and you
flinch as you realise that something is in there.
You have barely put your hand to your sword when
something monstrous pulls itself out of the crypt. At
first glance it resembles a gigantic bat but at a second
glance you can see something unsettlingly humanoid
about its make-up. The creature turns its wolf-like
head in your direction and opens its jaws to reveal
hugely elongated canines. The monster standing
before you now is a refugee from the purges perpe-
trated by the crusaders of Telak. It fled to this place to
hide after the cleansing of Bathoria. It was once a
mighty vampire lord, but forced to live off the car-
casses of wild animals and its own bat-kin in this
village where everyone is already dead, it has degen-
erated into the feral thing you see before you now.
And yet despite its bestial state it is still a deadly
opponent. Do you want to stand your ground and
face the bat-beast (turn to 342) or would you rather
flee (turn to 35)?

Ef
323-325
373
With the dread knights disposed of, you approach the
heavy portcullis that separates the Outer Ward of the
castle from the Inner. Either side of the portcullis —
which is down — an arched entrance leads to a spiral
staircase that in turn leads up into the Barbican itself.
If you think you have the means to get past the port-
cullis you could do so now. If not, you will have to
enter the Barbican to find a way to get through.
Alternatively you may simply be curious to discover
what secrets the gatehouse might hold. Will you:
Use the Poltergeist special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 291
Use the Apparition special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 5
Climb the staircase beyond the left :
archway? Turn to 271
Climb the staircase through the right
archway? Turn to 85
Find another way into the Inner Ward? Turn to 393

324
Do you still have one of the following codewords
written on your Adventure Sheet: Revenant, Host or
Armoured? If so, turn to 381. If not, turn to 364.

325
You creep through an empty solar, dining chamber
and servants’ quarters until you come to the kitchen.
Lying beside the dying embers of the fire is a large

EA]EY
 326-327
wolfhound, while a cat is curled up in a rocking chair
by the door. But as soon as you enter the chamber,
both the cat and the dog snap awake. The cat hisses
and spits at you, arching its back in fear, its fur stand-
ing on end, while the dog starts barking furiously,
jaws slavering.
And now you can hear the sounds of the household
waking up. This is not what you had in mind at all
and decide the best thing you can do is to leave the
house as quickly as possible. Lose 1 LucK point and
turn to 101.

326
You thought your will was strong, but that of the
Shadow King is of an even greater magnitude alto-
gether. You cannot possibly resist an intelligence
as incalculably old and as evil as this one. Your
mind shatters and you can do nothing to resist as
the dark lord forces you to kneel before him and
swear fealty to him forevermore. When the Shadow
King’s undead army marches on the kingdom of
Ruddlestone you shall lead it in your new role as
Death’s Champion. And when Ruddlestone has been —
taken the rest of the Old World shall fall before you
and your vile master ... Your adventure is over.

327
No matter how much you fight their pull, the Dead
Winds draw you onwards, ever closer to the black
gate. And then you see something else dragging itself

E3 [J
towards you along the avenue of stones. It appears to
be incorporeal like you, with a squat, ethereal, toad-
like body — although this particular toad would be the
size of a horse! — broad front limbs and a gaping,
shark-like maw. Everywhere it goes it leaves a slimy
trail of ectoplasm behind it. From the top of its
head myriad eye-stalks sway like the fronds of a sea-
anemone while other tendrils emerge from the side
of its body.
As you are drawn towards this hideous apparition by
the relentless wind you are even more horrified to see
that the waving fronds of its eye-stalks are not eye-
stalks at all; each one ends in a small, snapping
mouth. The creature raises a slime-dripping foot and
you see that that too ends in a toothed maw. The
phantasmal creature is almost nothing but mouths.
And then, with a croaking cry, the Sin Eater is upon
you, ready to devour your soul. Restore your sTAM-
INA score to half its Initial level, plus as many more
STAMINA points as is equal to your current WILL score,
and prepare to fight.
SIN EATER SKILL 8 STAMINA 8

If the Sin Eater wins an Attack Round, roll one die. If

you roll a 6, as well as taking the usual damage you
must also reduce your SKILL by 1 point. If you defeat
this ghost eater, add the codeword Watcher to you
Adventure Sheet and turn to 46. If the ectoplasmic
horror wins the fight, it hurls your savaged soul even
closer to the Gate (turn to 286).

re
 328-329
328
The otherworldly creature grabs you with strong
arms and drags you towards the magical portal.
You must fight the next Attack Round with your
Attack Strength reduced by 2 points. If you win that
Attack Round, you break free of its grasp and can
continue the battle (return to 308 and finish the fight).
However, if you lose that Attack Round the Visitation
bounds back through the gateway taking you with it.
Write the number 288 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

329
‘Mighty Telak!’ he exclaims as you appear out of thin
air in front of him, and then, in the very next moment,
his own blessed blade Deathsbane is in his hand and
he is ready to do battle. ‘Have at you, foul fiend!’ he
shouts. ‘That you would take on the guise of a great
and noble warrior to do your evil shall be your undo-
ing. I curse you to Hell for all eternity!’
With a shout of, ‘For Telak and for Valsinore!’ he
charges towards you, weapon raised. If you would
allow yourself to be cut down by the noble knight,
write the number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100. If not, you are going to have to fight, no
matter how much you might loathe the very idea.
CRUSADER SKILL 11 STAMINA 11

Marrok’s sword Deathsbane, like your own blade

Nightslayer is a holy weapon and so will harm you in

i]FE]
33°
your undead state. If fact, for every successful strike
that the crusader makes against you, roll one die and
on a roll of 5-6 you lose 3 STAMINA points instead of
the usual 2. If Marrok slays you, write the number 445
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you cut
him down first you must lose 1 LUCK point and 1 WILL
point for having to kill your battle-brother. Then turn
to 348.

330
Gaining entry to the guardhouse, you make your way
silently through the building in search of anyone you
think might be able to help you or at least tell you
what it is that has spread its foul influence over
Valsinore Castle. And then at last you come to the
Captain of the Guard’s quarters. The door to his spar-
tanly decorated room is ajar and through it you see
Captain Cador sitting at the room’s only table. He is
a courageous warrior and a doughty commander.
Cador was in charge here when you left to fight in
foreign lands three years ago. Since that time the hair
on his head has become thinner and his beard a little
more streaked with grey.
He suddenly looks directly at you, some sixth sense
alerting him to your presence. He jumps to his feet,
sending his chair flying. ‘By Siegfried’s bones!’ he
cries, pulling his sword from the scabbard lying on
the table. ‘Stay back!’ he shouts, pointing the tip of his
blade directly at you. The lantern-light spilling from
his chamber picks out the silvered sigils ensorcelled
into the blade. It’s your move; will you:

L}Ee
 331
Attack Captain Cador? Turn to 380
Attempt to engage him in
conversation rather than battle? Turn to 39
Try to intimidate the captain by
scaring him? Turn to 402
Flee the barracks and search
elsewhere? Turn to 360

331
Still in your shadow form, you follow the ghost
hunter and his accomplice to one of the inn’s guest
bedrooms. While Streng makes himself uncomforta-
ble on a chair outside, watching the corridor for any
signs of danger, you easily slip past him and follow
Van Richten into the room. Having closed the door
behind you both, the Ghost Hunter goes over to a
table by an open window where he unrolls a velvet
cloth containing the tools of his ghost-hunting trade.
There is a crucifix, a flintlock pistol and silver bullets,
a flask of holy water, a holy talisman, and so on and
so forth. You get the feeling that you won’t get a
better chance to talk to him than this and so, with
a single thought, you re-materialise in the room
directly in front of him.
Before you can say anything, the ghost hunter leaps
up knocking over his chair with a cry of, “Gods pre-
serve me!’ He grabs the container of holy water from
the table and throws it at you. Where it touches your
wraith-like form it burns like acid. Roll one die and
lose that many sTAMINA points. (If this has finished

Eo)Ey
332
you off, write the number 259 on your Adventure Sheet
and turn to 100.)
You try to explain why you are there and that you
need his help but Van Richten won't listen. ‘Have at
you, hellish spectre!’ he declares grabbing his silvered
blade from the table. ‘In the name of Libra I shall
exorcise you from this place and banish you to the
outer darkness to join your evil masters there.” And
then you are fighting for your un-life once again.
JOSEF VAN RICHTEN SKILL 10 STAMINA 9
If the ghost hunter slays you for a second time by
doing away with your undead form, write the
number 259 on your Adventure Sheet and turn 100.
If you make it to six Attack Rounds without being
killed again, turn to 365 at once. If you manage to kill
the ghost hunter in less than six Attack Rounds, turn
to 383.

3 332
‘Who did this to you?’ you demand of the blinking
Gaoler. And then he realises that you are not his tor-
mentors and a smile brightens his face.
‘Are you here to save me?’ he asks, completely ignor-
ing your question. You decide to help him, hoping
that he will return the favour. As you do what you
can to free him from his shackles, Iago’s tongue runs
away with him.
He tells you that Chamberlain Unthank was the one

-}FE
who had him imprisoned within the dungeons and
then set his undead servants to torment him. Iago also
tells you that Unthank has been hiding certain arte-
facts of power, which he has recovered from all cor-
ners of the kingdom, within the dungeons behind
spirit-warded doors. He thinks that behind one of
these doors there is an artefact he once heard the
chamberlain refer to as the Soul Shield.
And then Iago is free, but at that very moment a
dreadful moaning fills the squalid cell. ‘Oh no! Not
now! There’re coming back!’ he screams in panic and
in a blaze of black light two hideous apparitions
materialise within the cell. They look like decompos-
ing corpses bound in rotting bandages, great chains
dangling from their wrists and ankles. And then the
Gaoler’s tormentors attack and you are forced to fight
for your continued survival once again. (If you have
the Banish Spirit special ability then you will be able to
use this against your first opponent and will only
actually have to fight the second.)
SKILL STAMINA
First TORMENT 8 7
Second TORMENT 7 7
If Iago’s tormentors finish you off, write the number
416 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you
finish them, you may add up to 7 STAMINA points to
your own ghost-form’s STAMINA.
Free of his tormentors and his incarceration, Iago
heaps thanks upon you, asking, foolishly perhaps, if

Ee]Ey
 333-334
there is anything he can do in return. And there might.
be one thing, if you no longer have a physical form. If
this is the case and you have the Spook special ability
(and want to use it), turn to 345. If not, you and the
freed Gaoler go your separate ways as he attempts to
escape the Keep altogether while you penetrate
deeper into its dungeon levels (turn to 416).

333
Taking the Spirit Stone in hand you hear the souls
trapped within calling to you again and you know
that it is time to grant them their freedom. Raising the
crystal cage above your head you hurl it onto the
stony path before you. There is an explosion of actinic
light and you suddenly find yourself at the centre of a
whirling soul-storm. As your eyes recover after the
blinding blast, you witness the fury unleashed by
your desperate actions. The spirit-forms of those
bound to the Spirit Stone are unleashed in an
almighty maelstrom of ethereal fury and assault the
gathered members of Unthank’s death-worshipping
cult. While the shadow-born Tenebrae, the Death
Acolytes and the Dread Knights are preoccupied with
battling the vengeful ghosts, will you make the most
of the opportunity and go after the Necromancer
himself (turn to 367), or would you rather see if you
can free your sister first (turn to 426)?

334
At a thought you melt into the darkness and approach
the gate. As you pass between the two sentries,

Ey]
 335
unseen, one of them shoots an anxious glance at his
companion, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
‘Did you feel that?’ he asks, a panicked look in his
eyes.
‘Feel what?’ the other says, sleepily.
‘I don’t know,’ replies the first. ‘A feeling like some-
one just walked over your grave.’
‘No,’ yawns the second. ‘You're imagining things.’
You have got as far as the main gate but you still need
to get into the castle. If you have the Apparition special
ability and wish to use it, turn to 414. If you have the
Poltergeist special ability and want to try that instead,
turn to 363. If you have neither of these abilities, the
only option left open to you is the drainage culvert
(turn to 36).

335
The door to the kitchens is open and you can feel the
cauldron heat of the ovens radiating from inside ‘as
smoke rises from the large chimney in the cookhouse
roof. The Cook and his staff are obviously busily
engaged in preparing an almighty banquet.
Ingelnook was Cook here in your father’s time, as
well as when you left to go crusading. But what possi-
ble reason could there be for preparing such an
incredible feast at this time?
Ingelnook, an obese, blubbery man, wasn’t a particu-
larly pleasant person, but there was no denying that

C) Ee
 336
he was very good at his job. You didn’t get on with
him in life, and you're sure that your death won't
have made your relationship any easier. If you want
to enter the kitchens in full view of everyone there,
turn to 355. If you have the Shade special ability and
would like to enter the kitchens unseen, turn to 385. If
you would rather not enter the cookhouse after all,
turn to 445.

336
You creep up to a tiny window, your ghostly footfalls
making no sound on the fallen autumn leaves that
strew the ground outside the hovel. Cautiously you
peer inside the cottage. The scene you see there is
exactly how you might have imagined it. A cauldron
bubbles over a fire in the hearth, while sprigs of herbs
hang drying from the rafters. On a table you see a sin-
gle, black-bound book bearing a curious triangular
rune, while lying on a rag-rug in front of the fire is a
chubby piglet.
A sudden flicker of darting movement draws your
attention back to the fireplace and then something
crashes against the inside of the window, clawing and
scratching at the glass in frantic agitation. You jump
back in surprise as the window flies open. Out jump a
gang of four demonic-looking imps. They are covered
in bright red fur, have lashing tails, clawed hands
and stubby horns. These witch’s familiars do not
hesitate and attack immediately. You must fight them
altogether.

LC} CJ
 337
SKILL STAMINA
First GRIMALKIN 6 3
Second GRIMALKIN 5 3
Third GRIMALKIN 5 4
Fourth GRIMALKIN 6 4
You will soon discover that these demonic creatures,
as well as being able to sense your presence can also
cause you harm. Fortunately, your otherworldly
blade can injure them in return. If you should die a
second death under the Grimalkins’ ferocious assault,
write the number 9 on your Adventure Sheet and turn
to 100. If you manage to fight off the imps, turn to 67.

337
And so you make it across the moat to the imposing
entrance of Valsinore Castle’s Keep that you once
called home and yet which now feels utterly alien and
unwelcoming. There is not a single light visible in
any window of the solid square stronghold. But the
doors leading into the Keep are not as you remember
them. The metre-thick oak doors have been replaced
with some sinister black wood inlaid with silver that
forms unsettling runes and esoteric symbols. As
you approach you feel your progress being limited
by a potent magical field. The energy shield sparks
violently and you are suddenly hurled backwards by
a powerful burst of magical energy. The door is resist-
ing your ethereal essence somehow and keeping your
ghostly form at bay. You cannot even get close
enough to touch it.
338
This barrier before you is a Spirit Door, a portal
intended to prevent undead spirits, like you, from
passing through it. There is nothing you can do to
counteract the spells bound into it. The only things
capable of passing through a Spirit Door are things
with a physical form. But now you are a ghost, how
can you possibly acquire a physical form again?
If you have the Spook special ability and you want to
pursue this path, turn to 13. If you have the phrase
Rest in Peace written down on your Adventure Sheet
and you want to pursue this path, turn to 369. If you
have the codeword Automaton recorded on your
Adventure Sheet and you want to pursue this path, turn
to 427. If you have none of these things, turn to 152.

338
It is as if you cannot help yourself! ‘As you are now,
so once were we,’ you growl menacingly, your leer-
ing features becoming more distorted and grotesque
with every word you speak. ‘As I am now, so you
shall be!’
The woman gives a whimpering cry and then col-
lapses on the floor in front of you. Her glazed eyes
continue to stare vacantly into space, her features
locked in a grimace of unadulterated horror. She
doesn’t move again.
Madame Zelda is dead. You have scared her to death!
She was a harmless old soul really and did not
deserve such a fate. (Lose 2 LUCK points and record

I}CJ
 239
the Spectre special ability on your Adventure Sheet.)
There is nothing for you here now so you have
no choice but to leave the dead woman’s tent. Turn
to 259.

209
Returning to Toadstone’s cell once more, you find the
Fool still curled up in a dank corner, telling himself
appalling jokes, the same haunted look in his wide,
bloodshot eyes. Toadstone’s mind was broken by
what he witnessed within the Keep long ago and you
meet not resistance as you take over his body. (Add
the codeword Host to your Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL
and STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure
Sheet. While you have possession of the Fool’s body
you must use Toadstone’s feeble stats, which are as
follows: SKILL 6, STAMINA 14.

If you are injured in any way, as long as you are still

wearing Toadstone’s feeble form, you may eat provi-
sions to recover STAMINA points. One meal restores
up to 4 STAMINA points, but Toadstone doesn’t have
any food with him. He does have a weapon, however,
a sharp, stiletto dagger. You wonder why he never
thought to use it to help him escape from his prison
cell. But then his mind has been gone a long time.
If Toadstone’s STAMINA is reduced to 2 STAMINA
points or fewer while you are possessing him he will
be knocked unconscious, forcing you to relinquish
Wy,
 340
your control of his body. However, you can still fight
on in spirit-form, using the stats that you have made a
note of here. Now turn to 429.

340
A whirlwind of necromantic power fills the chamber
and it is only then that you notice the summoning
circle on the floor of the tomb in front of you. With a
fiery roar and a burst of blazing light, an ethereal
figure materialises in the chamber. It has the appear-
ance of a burning human skeleton, its blackened
bones clothed in a body of scintillating flame. Giving
voice to a wild howl of pain, the Bone-Fire flies
towards you, bony hands outstretched, intent on
making its fate your own.
BONE-FIRE SKILL 7 STAMINA 6
If the Bone-Fire wounds you and you have the code-
word Armoured written on your Adventure Sheet, your
body catches fire; for every Attack Round after this you
will automatically lose 1 STAMINA point until the end
of the battle when you will be able to bat the fires out.
If the Bone-Fire destroys your physical form you
can fight on in your spectral form but if this too is
destroyed, write the number 445 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you vanquish the Bone-Fire,
its fires are snuffed out and its blackened bones fall
to the floor as ash. Your spirit-form recovers up to 3
STAMINA points as it absorbs some of the fiery ghost’s
ethereal essence. Now turn to 321.
341-342
oe
Pressing your incorporeal body against the stone you
strain to move it, even just a smidgeon. Roll two dice.
If the total rolled is less than or equal to your WILL,
roll three more dice; if this second total is less than or
equal to your STAMINA score, turn to 245. If you fail
either roll, turn to 311.

342
As you prepare to join in unholy battle with the
monstrous vampire you lock eyes with the bat-beast
and start to feel like you are drowning in the blood-
red pools of its eyes. Roll two dice and add 2 to the
number rolled. If the total is less than or equal to your
WILL score, turn to 361. If it is greater, turn to 382.
 343-344
343
Sinister as it may sound, thanks to your incredible
strength of will you are able to dominate the mind of
another and possess them, using their body as if it
were your own for a limited time. Record the Spook
special ability on your Adventure Sheet and turn to the
paragraph with the same number as the one that you
were just instructed to write down.

344
‘The Lady Oriana, you mean?’ Myrddin says when
you mention your sister. ‘Yes, she’s still there,
although I hear she’s made herself a virtual prisoner.
Hasn’t left the castle in over a year.’
‘Then how do you know she’s still safe and well?’ you
challenge the old man.
‘Because I’ve seen her. Every day she gazes out of her
apartment window, back along the road across the
moors, a crucifix clutched in her hand, as if she is des-
perately awaiting the return of someone ...’ he breaks
off. ‘Oh, that would be you, wouldn't it?’
Everything Myrddin has told you about your sister
makes you more desperate than ever to find out
what's going on. It is time you were on your way
again.
If you have the phrase Something Fishy written on
your Adventure Sheet, turn to 145. If not, turn to 22.

CJ Ce
 345
ee
You force your consciousness inside the Gaoler’s
° ° : J

body, the power of your own mind too much for his
own shattered sanity. (Add the codeword Host to you
_ Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are wearing Iago’s body you must use his
stats which are as follows: SKILL 8, STAMINA 18.

If you are injured in battle you may eat provisions, or

consume potions if you have any, to recover STAMINA
points. One meal restores up to 4 STAMINA points but,
unsurprisingly, there is no food in Iago’s cell. He has
no weapon either, but you pull one of the lengths of
chain from the wall, which should make an effective
weapon. If Iago’s STAMINA is reduced to 2 STAMINA
points or fewer he will be knocked senseless, forcing
you to vacate his body again. You may then continue
fighting in your spirit-form using the stats that you
have written down here.
You may well find that there are other places within
Valsinore’s dungeons that are still off limit to spirits.
If you come to a paragraph marked with an asterisk
(*), and as long as you still have your physical form,
you may investigate what lies behind the door by
adding 30 to the paragraph number and turning to
this new reference. Now turn to 416 as you continue
on your way through the castle’s dungeons.

Ee]Ee
 346

346
Although you put up a valiant defence, your weapon
simply passes through the Shadow King’s body as
though it were nothing more than smoke. You cannot
last for long against such an opponent and in the end
he delivers you a series of dolorous blows. Lose 8
STAMINA points and 1 WILL point.
If you are still alive and you have something else you
could use to fight the Lord of Death, such as a Spirit
Stone (turn to 50) or the Codex Mortis (turn to 435),
you had best use it now. If not, it is only a matter of
time before you fall to the Great Undead’s fell blade
of night. There will be no coming back from the dead
this time and your adventure, like your life, will be
OVICTEE=.

[|
347-348
347
An unnerving hissing sound, coming from behind
you, stops you in your tracks. You turn to see a hide-
ous apparition rising from the very ground behind
you. It looks like a human brain trailing tentacles, not
unlike those of a jellyfish. It is this creature that is
making the horrible hissing noise as it floats towards
you, writhing tentacles reaching for you. And it is not
alone.
You have perhaps been rash in how you have con-
ducted yourself since entering the castle, perhaps not,
but whatever the case, the Spirit Hunters are on to
you now. Take the number you wrote down regard-
ing the “B’ codewords before turning to this para-
graph and add one. This is the number of Spirit
Hunters you must fight. Each one has the following
stats:

SPIRIT HUNTER SKILL 6 STAMINA 6

You must fight theses phantasms two at a time as

they try to ensnare you with their stinging tendrils. If
the Spirit Hunters finish you off, write the number
366 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 1oo. If you
defeat your spectral stalkers, turn to 366.

348
The feast-hall is consumed by chaos as everyone sees
you for what you really are. Not a single person pre-
sent is not now looking in your direction. Tumblers

Ee Eo
 349
flee before you — a pyramid of acrobats collapsing as
those forming it all try to flee in different directions —
jugglers drop their batons and fire-eaters burn their
throats as they forget what they are doing for one
agonising moment.
Then from out of the uproar emerge two threatening
figures. Clad in suits of armour, decades old, and sin-
ister black cloaks they are Dread Knights of the Order
of the Black Shroud and formidable opponents.
SKILL STAMINA
First DREAD KNIGHT 9 8
Second DREAD KNIGHT 8 8

The knights are armed with swords imbued with life-

stealing energy. If a knight injures you, roll one die;
on a roll of 5-6 the knight’s cursed blade will cause
you 3 STAMINA points damage, instead of the usual 2.
If the Dread Knights put an end to you, write the
number 445 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If you manage to defeat them both, turn to 370.

pao
As you look around you at the tombstones, you real-
ise that you are gazing upon all that is left of your
ancestors. This is your family’s legacy. Only your
sister now remains, and if she dies then your family
line dies with her. Suddenly the desire for revenge
burns bright and fierce within you again (add 1 to
your WILL score).

Cy
35°.
‘Here lies Agravain, Wormslayer,’ one inscription
reads, ‘vanquisher of the Sourstone Worm. Lived his
allotted span, died aged three score years and ten.’
‘Rest in peace, Lydonee,’ reads another. ‘Three sons
she bore, and daughters three. Now she sleeps
eternally.’
The next headstone bears the name of one Father
Ewlin, ‘Who fought for justice, truth and right, and
many a devil put to flight.’
Lost in thought, you have unwittingly drifted closer
and closer towards the open grave and the gravedig-
ger working away at the headstone with his chisel.
Test your Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 379. If you are
Unlucky, turn to 397.

a8
‘It is a wise warrior who fights using knowledge as
much as the sword’s sharp edge,’ Aramanthus says,
and then goes on to school you in the art of using
your ethereal powers more effectively. Add 2 to your
WILL score, regain 1 LUCK point and write the number
440 on your Adventure Sheet. Now roll one die and
turn to the paragraph indicated below.

Die roll
i: . Turn to 90
2 Turn to 120
3 Turn to 230
4 Turn to 263

[+]G3]
 351-352
a Turn to 293
6 Turn to 343

351
Arming yourself, you prepare to face this most
appalling monstrosity.
NECROS SKILL 10 STAMINA 12

If the Necros hits you, the acidic slime coating it will

burn you whether you have a physical body or not,
due to the fact that it is also one of the Undead,
although like no other you have ever seen. However,
if you strike the Necros, its jelly-like body will absorb
much of the damage and partially heal itself when
your weapon is withdrawn. As a result, you must
deduct 1 point from the damage you deal it. If you
manage to overcome this undead horror, turn to 401.
If the Necros ends up destroying your spirit-form,
write the number 243 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100.

352
‘Please forgive Sir Calormayne for being a wits-
addled old fool,’ the knight says, sagging in his seat in
the saddle. ‘I have watched this bridge for so many
centuries that I can no longer tell friend from foe.’
He suddenly looks small and pathetic. ‘I am so very,
very tired,’ he says wearily, the exhaustion apparent
in his hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. ‘I have been
guarding this crossing point and Valsinore these last
three hundred years.’

Es]
353 :
‘Well now I am here to relieve you of that duty,’ you
say, ‘for it is my sworn mission to cleanse this place of
evil once and for all.’
The knight peers at you through rheumy eyes and he
smiles weakly. ‘Thank you,’ he says, and promptly
vanishes. But for a moment the knight’s voice lingers.
on the wind: ‘Take this my gift to you.’ You suddenly
feel yourself filled with new energy. Add 1 to your
WILL score. Roll one die and add 2; regain up to this
number of STAMINA points, and 1 LUCK point. Now
turn to 6.

353
Father Umberto finishes intoning prayers over what
you can now see is a body laid out on the bier and
then, having given Oriana his final blessing, departs
the sanctuary, leaving her alone with the corpse ...
your own dead body!
Seeing your own corpse like this, without realising it
was even here, shocks you to the core. (Add the
phrase Rest in Peace to your Adventure Sheet and
deduct 1 from your WILL score.)
You cannot help yourself as you give a cry of shock.
Oriana spins round, a look of abject horror on her
face. ‘No! No, it can’t be!’ she cries, and immediately
reaches for the silver crucifix that hangs about her
neck. ‘Get back! Get back!’ she screams.
If you want to leave your sister in peace you can
either leave the way you came, through the chapel
 354-355
door (turn to 445), or down a flight of stone steps to
the right of the sanctuary that leads to the castle cata-
combs (turn to 88). Alternatively you could speak to
her and try to calm her down (turn to 377).

354
In the blink of an eye you are gone ... Invisible as a
shadow you creep past the gate’s guardians towards
the portcullis-barred entrance to the Inner Ward.
Only, it would appear that the knights can see you,
somehow, as they move to engage you, their heavy
two-handed swords raised, ready to strike. The truth
of the matter is that even in your Shade form, you are
still visible to those with the Second Sight and other
undead and these Dread Knights are already dead
like you! You have no choice but to fight them. Turn
to 196.

355
The hubbub of frantic activity consuming the kitch-
ens is soon replaced by the screams of panicking
servants and serving wenches, the harassed-looking
men and women fleeing from your ghostly presence.
‘Guards!’ Ingelnook the cook screams. ‘Guards, come
quickly! We have an intruder in the kitchens! We are
assailed by a terrible apparition! Save us!” Moments
later, the sound of hobnailed boots pounding the pas-
sageway that leads from the kitchen to the feast hall
can be heard.
Will you flee the kitchens immediately in the face of

CJ]2]
356
Ingelnook’s protest (turn to 445), or will you stand
your ground and face whoever is coming for you now
(turn to 198)?

356
The crone mutters something in a dark tongue you do
not understand, but it fills you with a sense of
impending doom. (Lose 1 WILL point.) And then the
spell is cast. A pack of small, be-fanged, be-horned
and be-clawed apparitions suddenly pop into exist-
ence in front of you as the witch opens a door to the
Spirit World, releasing these Phantasmal Fiends onto
the Earthly Plane. The Fiends streak through the air
towards you, screaming with elemental fury. Fight
them as if they were all one creature.
PHANTASMAL FIENDS SKILL7 STAMINA 12
If the Fiends reduce your STAMINA score to zero,
write the number 9 on you Adventure Sheet and turn
to 100. If you reduce your attackers’ combined sTam-
INA score to zero, it means that you have managed
to banish them from this world and return them to
the Realm of the Damned. (Regain up to 6 STAMINA
points.)
Mother Toadsfoot gives you a venomous look, even
though you’re sure she can’t really see you, and
hisses, ‘Now return to your master and tell him I'll
not be done away with so easily, or face my wrath
again.’ If you want to attack the witch directly, turn to
386. If you would rather leave while you are still on

Pye
 507,
this plane and capable of continuing your search for
answers elsewhere, turn to 9.

357
And then you are inside the man’s mind, and
Yorrick’s body is yours to control. (Add the code-
word Host to your Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current skILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
While you are wearing the body of Yorrick the
gravedigger you must use his stats which are as
follows: SKILL 9, STAMINA 17.

If you are injured in battle you may eat provisions to

recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to 4
STAMINA points. In Yorrick’s backpack, which lies
propped up against a headstone nearby, you find
food enough for 3 meals. The only thing to hand that
is even close to being a weapon is the gravedigger’s
spade which you take with you, just in case. If you
make a successful strike against an opponent using
the spade roll one die; on a roll of 1-2 it will cause
only 1 point of STAMINA damage, rather than the
usual 2. (Make a note of this on your Adventure Sheet.)
If Yorrick’s STAMINA score is ever reduced to 2 STAM-
INA points or fewer, the gravedigger will be knocked
out and you will be forced to leave his senseless body.
Fortunately, you can keep fighting in your guise as a
ghost, using the stats that you have written down
here. Turn to 429.

Ee]C2]
 358
358
‘It looks like I am going to have to deal with you
myself!’ the Queen of Liches screeches — and then the
spell is broken. She is suddenly exposed as the
undead nightmare she really is. She is no flesh and
blood beauty but a hellish apparition. A few grey
threads of hair cling to a fleshless head in the
advanced stages of decomposition. Her fine robes
are really rotting grave-clothes, her crown a crown of
finger-bones, her own slender fingers cruel talons,
and her eyes nothing but pits of darkness. With a
banshee scream, the Wraith Queen flies at you.
WRAITH QUEEN SKILL 9 STAMINA 10
If you lose an Attack Round consult the table below to
see what form the Wraith Queen’s attack takes. (You
may use Luck to reduce any damage caused in the
usual way.)

Die Roll Attack and Damage

3 Clawing Talons — the Wraith Queen
claws you with her broken fingernails.
Lose 2 STAMINA points.
4-5 Banshee Scream — the wraith blasts
you with a deafening, blood-curdling
scream. You lose only 1 STAMINA point
but must reduce your Attack Strength
by 2 points for the duration of the next
Attack Round.
6 Hell Sprites — the undead queen sum-
mons hellish imps to fight for her. For

ry GI
359
the rest of your battle with the Wraith
Queen you must also fend off these
fiends. They have the following stats:
HELLSPRITES sKILL6 STAMINA6

This option can happen only once; if

you roll a 6 a second time, roll again.

If you manage to defeat this hellish harridan, turn to

373. If she should destroy both your physical form
and your ethereal form, write the number 445 on you
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

359
As the ghost beast dies, its body dissolving like mist
before your eyes, you feel yourself absorbing some of
the power of the Visitation’s essence. Regain up to 4
STAMINA points. There is no reason to remain here
any longer, so freed of its curious influence, you leave
the stone circle. Turn to 288.
 360-362
360
Not wanting to get into a fight with the loyal Cador,
you flee the barracks, but the Captain of the Guard
now knows that your ghost is abroad within
Valsinore Castle. Add the codeword Barracks to your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 434.

361
At the last minute you manage to drag your ethereal
sword free of its ghostly scabbard and lash out at the
monstrous bat-beast. The feral vampire screeches in
pain and fury and then, possessed of an unthinking
bestial rage, it attacks!
NOSFERATU SKILL 11 STAMINA 14
If you manage to defeat the new vampire lord of
Fetchfen, add 1 to your WILL score, and turn to 15.
However, if the bat-beast wins the battle, write the
number 15 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

362
With a sound like the rustling of parchment, the husk
moves. Animated by the strength of your own per- -
sistent life-force, the giant spider skin goes back to
behaving just as it would have in life. It quickly
unfolds eight, claw-tipped limbs and then, baring its
still-sharp mandibles it scuttles towards you on the
hunt for blood. But seeing as how you don’t have
any blood to offer it, your phantasmal life-force will
suffice.

er)
363-364
SPIDER-HUSK SKILL 7 STAMINA 6

If the husk wins an Attack Round, roll one die. On a

roll of 5 or 6 it bites you with its undead fangs and
sucks the residual life-force right out of you (lose 1
SKILL point as well as 2 STAMINA points and increase
the Spider-Husk’s sTAMINA score by 2 as it absorbs
your strength). If you die a second death fighting the
undead husk, write the number 5 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you survive your battle with
the soul-sucking spider, turn to 302.

363
Focusing the full force of your will at the gate, you try
to force them open with your mind. You are able to
rattle the bolts and jangle some chains but to no avail.
The gates weigh several tonnes and are far too heavy
for you to move. But the eerie rattling of bolts and
shaking of ironmongery has alerted the guards to
your presence, even if they can’t see you. Turn to 395.

364
You find your ethereal essence easily breaches the
rippling sphere of light and you see the black-bound
book floating at its heart quite clearly now. You hear a
susurration of whispering voices, but you can’t quite
make out what they are saying, and then a strange
sensation comes over you. You feel your ghostly
body becoming less and less cohesive, dissolving like
mist which then becomes part of the luminosity of the
sphere, until you share the fate of those spirits that

PdES
 365-366

have already been set to protect the necromancer’s

book of evil spells. And that shall be your fate now
forevermore, until Doomsday itself. Your adventure
is Over.

365
The door suddenly bursts open and the ghost
hunter’s henchman enters the room. You must now
fight the two men together. Streng’s stats are as
follows.
STRENG SKILL 8 STAMINA 8

The weapons they bear are enchanted so as to be able

to harm undead creatures, such as you. If both Van
Richten and Streng wound you on two consecutive
Attack Rounds, turn to 208. If your ghost-form should
be slain by the ghost hunter or his henchman, write
the number 259 down on your Adventure Sheet and
turn 100. However, if you manage to defeat both your
opponents, turn to 383.

366
If you are going to gain access to the Inner Ward of
Valsinore Castle, you are going to have to go past the
Barbican. As you approach the tower two dark fig-
ures melt from out of the moon-cast shadows and
materialise before its imposing gates, blocking your
way. They wear long black cloaks over plate mail
armour of archaic, and slightly sinister, design and
are an intimidating presence.
367-368
However, having grown up in the castle and having
explored practically every one of its hidey-holes and
secret passageways, you also know of a tunnel that
passes under the wall and into the Inner Ward
beyond. Unfortunately it starts in a guard privy
under the battlements in the east wall. If you want to
approach the gatehouse and its sinister guardians
directly, turn to 443. If you would rather make use of
the secret tunnel, turn to 393. Alternatively, if you
have the Spirit special ability and would prefer to fly
over the gatehouse and into the Inner Ward beyond,
turn to 5.

367
Dodging first a Dread Knight and then a startled
Death Acolyte as you run through the maelstrom of
whirling ethereal entities, suddenly there you are,
face to face with Unthank the Necromancer at last.
The desire to be avenged on your betrayer burns
volcano-hot within you, but the villain is ready for
you, a spell of banishing already on his lips. With a
roar of, “Begone!” he hurls his arms out towards you
and casts his spell. A bolt of searing necromantic
energy streaks towards you; there is no way it can
possibly miss. If you are carrying the Soul Shield,
turn to 165. If you are not protected by this ancient
artefact, turn to 238.

368
Slipping between canvas folds you enter the tent. The
first partitioned space you enter contains a circular
table draped with a blue velvet cloth, a crystal ball

CyES
 369
resting in its carved ebony cradle. Passing beyond
this area into the back of the tent, you enter its
owner's living quarters, or rather, at the moment, her
bedroom. Tucked up in bed under a pile of knitted
blankets, wearing several layers of coloured veils and
shawls, is a middle-aged woman whose make-up is
about as subtle as the rest of her get-up.
She suddenly sits up, eyes wide in shock, and
clutches at a silver crescent moon charm hanging
from her neck. ‘Oh my born days,’ she gasps, ‘a ghost!
An actual, real live spirit!’
What is that charm she is holding in her hands? And
what sort of a mystic is this Madame Zelda anyway?
She has a crystal ball of her own; could she be in
league with the Death Acolyte who killed you? If you
want to deal with Madame Zelda in a friendly man-
ner, turn to 281. If you want to try intimidating her,
turn to 398. If you would rather have nothing more to
do with her and simply want to leave her tent, turn
to 259.

369
Leaving the Keep again, you make your way back
into the Inner Ward and return to the chapel where
your mortal body still lies in state. Staring down at
your dead face you focus your will like never before,
as you attempt to re-enter your own corpse and re-
animate it again. Roll two dice and add 2. If the total
is less than or equal to your WILL score, turn to 388. If
it is greater, turn to 408.

Eo]EJ
378
370 |
And then Chamberlain Unthank is suddenly there
before you, an expression of anger and hatred on his
face. ‘Why won't you just stay dead? I didn’t want to
have to get my hands dirty, but now it looks like I’m
just going to have to deal with you myself,’ he snarls.
There can be no doubt in your mind now as who your
betrayer is. The blackguard that had you murdered
when you were within sight of home, after three
years long years away, was Unthank himself — the
very man to whom you entrusted the guardianship of
your ancestral lands and your sister’s well-being.
Never can there have been a more ruthless, vile and
wholly despicable individual!
You are shocked into inaction by this realisation and
in that instant Unthank casts his spell, folding reality
around you while muttering something barely audi-
ble and wholly inhuman. An unearthly gale howls
through the feast hall, springing up from nowhere,
and it is at that moment that the traitor bellows,
‘Spirit, begone!’

The screaming voice of the unnatural wind rises and

spins faster and faster, creating a whirling vortex of
air around you. One moment you are facing your
nemesis at last, the next the veil between worlds is
torn asunder and you are dragged screaming into the
next world. Write the number 108 on your Adventure
Sheet and then turn to 100.

Le}Ee
 371-373
371
You feel like a sweat is breaking out on your brow,
from all your exertions, but how can it be? Try as you
might, you are unable to pass through the stone door
and into the barrow. (Lose 1 WILL point and 1 LUCK .
point). If you want to try to push the stone clear of the
barrow entrance, turn to 341. If you would rather quit
this place, turn to 295.

372
The voice then makes its final utterance.

‘You shall not leave Castle Valsinore,

But must remain here forevermore.’

With that the light becomes even more intense and

you feel its fiery touch upon your soul. You cannot
help but cry out in pain. And then the light is gone,
and so are you. All that is left is the impression of a
screaming face, seemingly melted into the stone-
flagged floor, joining the other screaming faces
already there, trapped within the stone. Your soul is
now bound to the stones of Valsinore Castle for all
eternity. Your adventure is over.

373
At your killing blow, the Wraith Queen howls in frus-
tration as her own ethereal body dissolves into
smoke. At the same time a furious wind blows up
from nowhere and carries the smoke away until all
that is left of this Queen of the Damned is her scream

ETE
374
and then that too is nothing more than a fading echo.
(Recover up to 5 STAMINA points.) The Wraith Queen
is truly dead at last and the blessed blade Nightslayer —
is yours again — or is it? If you still have a physical
form, turn to 392; if not and you are a ghost again,
turn to 413.

3/4
‘Tell me more about this ghost hunter,’ you say,
intrigued.
‘His name’s Van ... Van-something ... Van Richten,
yes, that’s it. Van Richten. Apparently he’s from a
family of templars who have all sworn an oath to rid
the world of evil, wherever it may be found. Josef Van
Richten, that’s his name. He’s got a brother who’s
obsessed with vampires after one turned his bride-to-
be the night before their wedding.’
You know this to be true; you heard the name Van
Richten mentioned more than once during the cru-
sade against the forces of evil in Bathoria. A man like
this Josef Van Richten, with all his expertise, could be
a valuable ally and may be able to help you where
others cannot.
‘Where would I find him?’ you ask.
‘At the Cockcrow in Sleath. He’s taken a room there.
Apparently there’s been all sorts of disturbances in
and around the village of late — talk of haunted
houses, things hiding out in the graveyard and

Ey J
 375
people suffering the worst nightmares they’ve ever
experienced in all their born days —- that’s why
Burgomaster Jurgen sent for Van Richten in the first
place.’
Everything Myrddin has told you has left you
intrigued and eager to continue with your quest. You
decide it is time you were on your way again.
If you have the phrase Something Fishy written on
your Adventure Sheet, turn to 145. If not, turn to 22.

7)
“You may not fear death,’ the Shadow King booms,
‘but during an eternity in servitude you shall learn to
fear me!’ With his mighty sword of darkness in his
fell grip, the Shadow King strides towards you, ready
to engage you in the most titanic struggle of your life.
But how can you fight one of the Great Undead and
win? Will you:
Use Oil of Midnight against it (if
you have such a thing)? Turn to 233
Use a Spirit Stone (if youhave one)? Turn to50
Use the Codex Mortis (if you have it)? Turn to 435
If you would rather simply face the Shadow King in
hand-to-hand combat, pitting cold steel against cold
night, choose the weapon you want to use carefully
and turn to 249.
 376
376
As you are approaching the gatehouse that leads to
the moat-bridge, you come across a scene that would
make the blood in your veins run cold, if you still had
any. A scaffold has been erected in the middle of the
cobbled bailey and a grim execution party is now
progressing towards it. At the head of the line is your
sister, the Lady Oriana, her hands bound before
her, flanked by two of Unthank’s Dread Knights.
Following her is the black-robed chamberlain him-
self. Already awaiting them on the scaffold, standing
next to a blood-stained headsman’s block, is a hulk-
ing undead monster. It is the size of an ogre but its
flesh is grey and rotting. In its hands is a huge axe.
There can be no mistaking what is about to happen
here.
You race towards the scaffold as your sister is led to
the block and forced onto her knees by her attendant
knights. The voice of Chamberlain Unthank carries to
you on the cold night air in time for you to hear him
pronounce Oriana’s fate: “You have been found guilty
of treason against the master of this house and the
penalty for treason is death. Now die, traitor!’
Unthank having announced his judgement, the zom-
bie raises its axe high above its head, ready to bring it
down on your sister’s neck. You cannot allow this
execution to go ahead, but if you’re going to stop it,
it is obvious which of the villains you need to deal
with first. Raging in fury, you manage to leap onto
the scaffold, avoiding the Dread Knights, and come

EE]
377
face-to-face with the hulking executioner. Moaning
the zombie lumbers towards you, its slack mouth
agape. Drawing your phantasmal sword you engage
it in battle.
ZOMBIE EXECUTIONER SKILL7 STAMINA 10
Ironically, the executioner’s axe being wielded by the
huge zombie is bound with enchantments to ward
against the undead and so can wound you. If you slay
your sister’s would-be executioner, turn to 91. If the
zombie kills you with its cursed axe, write the
number 394 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

S77.
“It’s me,’ you tell Oriana. ‘It’s alright, it’s me. You're
safe. I mean you no harm. How could I? You’re my
sister.’
It takes no little persuasion but gradually you are able
to calm your sister down. But as the shock of seeing
you again passes so the tears come. Crying your
name she tries to hold you in her arms, but her des-
perately clutching hands simply pass. straight
through your ethereal essence as if you were nothing
more than mist. Her tears spent, she pulls herself
together enough to ask, ‘What are you doing here?
How can this be?’
You patiently explain to her how you have risen from
the dead to seek justice for yourself, while also
sharing with her all that you have learnt of what is
going on in Valsinore Castle.

EyEd
 378
“Your body was brought back to the castle after dark,’
she explains, the tears threatening to come again.
‘Father Umberto demanded that you be laid here,
that he might bless your body that you might remain
undisturbed in the ground and not suffer the Curse of
the Undead that haunts this place now. In fact Father
Umberto was very keen to make sure he got you into
the ground this very night. He fears that a great evil
has taken root here and that the doom of Valsinore
Castle will come this night. He has gone to prepare
for the final battle right now.’
You tell Oriana that you too have seen signs that
whatever is going to happen will happen before a
new day dawns. (Add the codeword Oriana to your
os
Adventure Sheet.) f

‘Then you cannot delay here,’ she says, urgently.

‘What part can I play? What can I do to help?’
What Oriana has that you need is inside information.
Your body lies on the bier, still clothed but, you
notice, the blessed blade Nightslayer does not lie with
it. Will you ask your sister whether she knows where
your sword has been taken (turn to 396), about
Chamberlain Unthank (turn to 8), or whether there is
anyone else who can help you (turn to 28)?

378
Assuming your most terrifying aspect, you swoop
towards the knights, cackling insanely. Neither of
them says anything or seems intimidated in any way.

] ES
379-380
They simply raise their heavy broadswords in their
gauntleted hands, ready to join with you in battle.
Turn to 196.

322
It feels as if you are being drawn to this one spot in
particular, but realising this in time, you manage to
break free of its morbid influence. Now will you:
Approach the gravedigger? Turn to 397
Return to the door of the chapel and
enter the holy building (if you
haven't tried to already)? Turn to 274
Leave the graveyard, and the chapel,
and look elsewhere? Turn to 445

380
‘Die, grave-spawn!’ the guard captain shouts and
lunges at you. Cador’s sword is inscribed with holy
wards and so is just as effective against your ghostly
form as it is against corporeal opponents.
CAPTAIN OF THEGUARD SKILL12 STAMINA10

If Captain Cador and his blessed blade should do for

you, write the number 434 on you Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100. If you defeat the Captain of the Guard it is
with no small measure of regret that you leave the
guardhouse, knowing that you are responsible for
the death of a good man. Lose 1 LUCK point and turn
to 434.
Cl G3]
 381-382
381
There is a burst of dazzling light, a sound like a hun-
dred screaming souls, and you are thrown backwards
to land in a smouldering heap on the far side of the
chamber. (Lose 4 STAMINA points.) What do you want
to do now? Trying something you haven’t already
attempted, will you:
Strike the sphere with your weapon? Turn to 405
Use the Banish Spirit special ability
(if you have it)? / Turn to 424
Re-trace your steps and descend the
north-east stair? Turn to 205

Unable to tear your gaze away, you are trapped by

the vampire’s transfixing stare, until you no longer
wish to see it dead and your own quest means noth-
ing to you. Your will is broken, your mind no longer
your own, your fate no longer yours to determine.
You are now a soul in thrall to the new Lord of
Fetchfen, the monstrous Nosferatu of Bathoria. Your
adventure is over.
383-385
383
Hearing shouts from outside the room you realise
that the noise of your battle with the ghost hunter has
alerted the attention of others elsewhere in the inn.
This whole exercise has been a disaster from start to
finish and you don’t want things getting any worse.
You decide that the best course of action you can fol-
low now is to look elsewhere for aid. Fleeing from the
room and the inn you return to the village square.
Turn to 259.

384
Your suspicions aroused, you go after Unthank. From
the hidden passageway behind the arras, the cham-
berlain unwittingly leads you to a secluded chamber
at the bottom of the north-west tower. When you see
who is waiting for him there, you almost give your-
self away you are so shocked. It is your own cold-
hearted killer, the skull-masked Death Acolyte.
Chamberlain Unthank could be in danger! Will you
attack the Death Acolyte immediately (turn to 307) or
will you wait and see what unfolds, just to be sure
(turn to 250)?

385
As you enter you are met by the roar of Ingelnook the
cook furiously berating the servants scurrying about
him, in the shadow of his blubbery, cleaver-wielding
mass. His face is flushed red from shouting and his
multiple chins ripple as he takes his wrath out on the
unfortunate page boy whose only mistake was to be
in the wrong place at the wrong time. But Ingelnook
 386-387
knows how things used to be before you left to fight
in the Crusade against Evil and he is one of those who
has been permitted to remain within the Inner Ward
of the castle and so may know more about what's
going on at Valsinore than others in the castle’s Outer
Ward. If you want to reveal yourself to the Cook, turn
to 355. If you feel that to do so would draw unwanted
attention to your presence within the Inner Ward,
there is nothing for it now other than to quit the kitch-
ens (turn to 445).

386
‘I warned you!’ the crone spits, and then she begins
to chant. An ethereal wind rises seemingly from
nowhere and starts tugging at your spectral body,
making you feel as if you are about to be pulled apart
as if you were nothing more than mist. ‘Now leave
me in peace!’ the witch snarls. Roll two dice and add
3. If the total is equal to or less than your WILL score,
turn to g. If it is greater than your WILL score, write
the number g on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.

387
‘Stay back,’ the old man shouts, ‘or I shall smite you
again with my magic!’
The look in the man’s eyes suddenly dramatically
changes from one of determined resolve to one of
slack-jawed horror. It is then that you hear the splash-
ing sounds of something wading from the breakers
behind you accompanied by a croaking cry.

CIE
‘Oh no, please,’ the old man cries, ‘not that! Anything
but that!’
You turn to see the most appalling abomination
emerge from the rising tide and stalk towards you up
the beach. It walks on two legs like a man and has the
muscular build of an ogre, but its skin is covered with
blue-grey scales. It has cruel gutting claws, its fingers
are webbed and its bulbous eyes are those of a fish. A
crest of spines protrudes from its head and runs all
the way down its back to a long, lashing fish tail. The
creature opens its mouth, revealing a maw full of
shark’s teeth, while the slits of gills in its neck open
and close uselessly in the air.
‘My tormentor comes to plague me again! Oh, woe.
My doom is upon me!’ the hermit cries and retreats
back into his cave, leaving you to face the monster
alone. The fish-beast fixes its eyes upon you and gives
another croaking snarl as it continues to stalk towards
you.
This is no mere creature of flesh and blood but a
demon birthed from the storm-wracked sea, so the
monster’s cruel fish-talons will harm you just as
well as if you were still a creature of flesh and blood
yourself. Fortunately, your own ethereal copy of
Nightslayer will also be able to injure the demon. Let
battle commence!
SEA DEMON SKILL 9 STAMINA 10
If the Sea Demon ‘kills’ you, record the number 145
on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100 at once.

E3]Ey
 388
However, if you manage to slay the demon, as its
fishy carcass falls back into the sea and is washed
away, the hermit suddenly runs out of his cave and
down the beach towards you. Add the phrase Some-
thing Fishy to your Adventure Sheet and turn to 131.

388
Closing your eyes, you descend upon your corpse.
When you open them again you are staring up at the
vaulted ceiling of the chapel through your own dead
eyes. Rigor-locked joints crack into action again and
you sit up. (Regain 1 LUCK point and add 1 to your
WILL score.) You slowly get to your feet and stumble
from the chapel, your steps unsteady at first, as if you
are having to learn to walk again.
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score on your Adventure Sheet for later use.
Your corpse’s stats are your existing SKILL score but it
has a STAMINA score equal to your Initial STAMINA
score, minus 2. (Add the codeword Revenant to your
Adventure Sheet.) You still may not eat provisions to
recover STAMINA points if you are injured, but if your
corpse-form should be ‘killed’ you may rise from it
again in your spirit-form and continue fighting with
the stats that you made a note of here.
But your blessed blade Nightslayer no longer lies
with your body and so you are forced to look else-
where for a suitable weapon to serve you in battle.
You find a sword within an abandoned guard-post
which will suffice for the time being.
389
Now that you have a physical body with which you
can breach the Spirit Door, you can try to enter the
Keep again (turn to 276). Alternatively, if you have
the codeword Catacombs on your Adventure Sheet,
there might be somewhere else you wish to visit first
(turn to 11).

389
Boldly you step forwards into the shimmering light
that fills the space between the stones. You suddenly
feel numb to the bone like you have never known —
at least you would if you still had any bones. And
then you know that, somehow, you are no longer on
the Earthly Plane. Record the number 288 on your
Adventure Sheet and then turn to 100.

Le]Ea
 390-391
390.
‘The dead of this place have been bound to its cham-
bers, its turrets, its very stones by a greater power and
cannot leave,’ Aramanthus explains. ‘Many are in
perpetual torment. They can only be freed if the
Necromancer who has bound them here is van-
quished and his power broken.’
“Who is this Necromancer?’ you ask, certain that the
answer to that question will be the same as the one
you have been seeking since you were cut down on
the Moot Road. Turn to 440.

391
Remaining precisely where you are, you call out to
the ghostly knight, ‘I submit!’
The knight looks somewhat taken aback. ‘You what?’
he splutters in bewilderment. ‘You submit?’
‘Tsubmit, brave sir knight.’

‘No one has ever submitted before,” he mumbles to

himself. ‘Then what are you doing here?’ the knight
asks. “Why do you seek to cross this bridge?’
And so you relate your sorry tale to the ancient
warrior, hoping that your rhetoric and noble motiva-
tions might persuade him to relent and let you pass.
Test your Skill and if you are successful, turn to 352.
However, if you are unsuccessful, turn to 175.

C]CJ
39+

392
With Nightslayer in your hands once more you feel
now that nothing can stop you from completing your
quest. It is a potent weapon indeed; it is good against
demons as well as magical creatures, and against any
undead creature — whether corporeal or incorporeal —
it will cause 3 STAMINA points of damage on a suc-
cessful strike. (Make sure that you record Nightslayer
on your Adventure Sheet, add 1 to your WILL score and
regain 2 LUCK points.)
The other undead present within the sepulchre hiss
and back away from you in fear, some going so far as
to clamber back into their tombs to escape your
wrath. This place will need purging, in time, but for
now you have more pressing matters to attend to.
And so, for the time being at least, you leave the
Court of the Wraith Queen and the Catacombs. Turn
to 276.
 393
393
Glad that you don’t actually have to breathe any
more and inhale the stench you clamber into the stone
shaft of the garderobe and manoeuvre yourself into
the cobweb-draped perpendicular shaft halfway
down that leads you into the dusty passageway
beyond.
The tunnel takes you down into the foundations of
the wall, all manner of spiders, centipedes and other
creepy crawlies being chased into dark corners by
your ghostly glow. And then you come to an abrupt
halt. The passageway is almost entirely blocked by
the dried out husk of what must have once been a
very large spider indeed. With a leg span of two
metres it must have been a monster, and you're only
glad you never had to face it in life.
Roll two dice and if the total is less than or equal
to your current STAMINA score, turn to 362. If it is
greater, turn to 302.
 =
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memes
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 394-395
394
As you approach the shadowed archway of the gate-
house at the nearside of the moat-bridge, you see two
red-glowing coals in the darkness ahead of you. With
a furnace roar, and a great clanking of metal, some-
thing truly monstrous rises to its full height before
you, blocking your way to the bridge. Made of inter-
locking plates of iron, like some goliath living suit of
armour, at the joints you can see the intensity of the
inferno raging within that gives it its unnatural life.
The face of this engine of destruction has been fash-
ioned to look like that of some hellish horned skull.
Its huge jaw drops open and a searing blast of flame
pours forth, the cobbles of the courtyard glowing red
under this intense heat-blast. If you have any of the
codewords Revenant, Host or Armoured written on
your Adventure Sheet, turn to 194. If not, turn to 93.

395
Suddenly finding themselves in the presence of an
undead spirit, the guards howl in terror and, falling
over themselves, spring into action. ‘Raise the alarm!’
one of them cries, helping his companion pull back
the heavy bolts holding the gate shut and heave the
gate open. As soon as there is a gap wide enough for
him to squeeze through, he legs it into the Outer
Ward of the castle, as if the very hounds of hell were
after him. The other tugs furiously at a chain-pull
beside his sentry post and somewhere away within
the castle a bell begins to toll. (Add the codeword Bell
to your Adventure Sheet.) However, as well as raising

[]E3
396-397
the alarm, in their haste to pass on their dire warning
the guards have also left the gate open, allowing you
to slip inside. Regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 414.

396
‘Do you know what happened to the sword
Nightslayer?’ you ask. ‘I had it with me when I was so
cruelly struck down on the road to Sleath.’
‘Tsaw the knights return with your body — carrying it
on a makeshift stretcher — while I watched from my
apartments in the east wall. Four carried the stretcher
and another followed behind, carrying something
cruciform in shape, wrapped in an oilskin. I believe
that this was your blessed blade.’
‘So where is it now?’ you press her.
‘The knight took it into the catacombs below. It lies
somewhere down there even now.’
If you want to probe Oriana for more information,
turn to 48. If you would prefer to bid her farewell and
be on your way, will you head down into the cata-
combs (turn to 88), or leave the chapel and explore the
Inner Ward further (turn to 445)?

S97,
Your eyes fall on the name the gravedigger is carving
into the headstone and to your horror see that it is
your own. Suddenly you feel the lure of the grave like

EY Ey]
 398
never before. Roll two dice. If the total rolled is equal
to or less than your WILL score, turn to 195; if it is
greater, turn to 30.

398
‘Fear me, old woman!’ you say as you bear down on
her, your rage and frustration and desire for venge-
ance suddenly bubbling over. You can feel it contort-
ing your features into a horrific, grimly-exaggerated
visage.
Madame Zelda tumbles out of bed and backs away
from you in panicked fear. “You cannot escape me
that easily, witch!’ you snarl in a voice that is no
longer quite your own, and you reach for her with
one twisted, claw-like hand.

Your ghostly fingers brush the silver moon charm at

her neck. You let out a cry of agony and quickly with-
draw your hand. As you touched the talisman it felt
like you had plucked an iron horseshoe straight from
the farrier’s forge. Lose 3 STAMINA points and 1 SKILL
point. If this injury has reduced your STAMINA score
to zero or below, write the number 259 on your
Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
Once bitten, twice shy they say, but do you want to
persist in your intimidation of Madame Zelda (turn to
338), or would you rather flee her tent now. If so roll
two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL score, turn to 259; if it is greater, turn to
338.
LJ C4
399
399
‘Mistress,’ you say, ‘wait! I have not come here to
harm you; I come only seeking your aid.’
The crone freezes, her hands still. “You want my
help?’ She sniffs the air sharply three times. “You
mean he didn’t send you?’
‘Nobody sent me. I have come of my own accord,’
you tell her.
‘But you're a ghost, I can smell it!’ the witch goes on.
‘And what do you mean, you want my help?’
You hurriedly relate the events of the evening so far
to Mother Toadsfoot, hoping against hope that she
might be able to help you in some way. When you
have finished your story she looks at you, a grimace
on her face, even though you're certain she can’t actu-
ally see you. “You’d best come inside,’ she says and
you follow her over the threshold into the cottage.
‘There’s certainly something afoot,’ she says when
you are both standing before the fire. Being blind
doesn’t appear to hinder her and certainly not within
her own home. “There have been signs and portents,
see? Bad dreams, they’re always a good sign, and
people have been having a lot of them lately, a right
plague of nightmares. There’s been a disturbance
within the Spirit World too. Something’s coming;
something bad.’
You press the old woman as to how she thinks she -
can help you.
 400-401
‘Well,’ she says, scratching at a hairy wart on her
hooked chin, ‘I might have a charm in my book for
bolstering your own powers on the Earthly Plane, but
it’ll cost you mind.’ You wonder what the old woman
means. It is obvious that you do not have the means _
to pay her for her services. ‘Or I could conjure my
familiar spirit to find out who’s responsible for your
present ... condition.’ Which will it be? Do you want
Mother Toadsfoot to try to strengthen your own spec-
tral powers (turn to 27), summon her familiar spirit to
provide you with answers (turn to 76), or would you
rather leave her hovel and not have any more to do
with her, as she is obviously a witch of some power
(turn to 9)?
400
And so you stand before the Gate once more, but this
time, no choir of lost souls cries for you to be returned
to the land of the living. Instead you hear only the
screams of the dead and the damned, wailing in
terror, for your failure has doomed them and you
for all eternity as the Shadow King rises again. Your
adventure is over.
401
In its final death-throes, the Necros’ body spasms and
it rises to its full height before crashing down across
the stone-flagged floor on the far side of the pool, its
body falling against the spiked gate with the leering
demon’s face. A feral voice that you realise is coming
from the gate itself gurgles one word in gleeful satis-
faction: ‘Flesssshhh!’

Eo]E3]
402-403
Its spikes draped with gore, the gates grinds open.
Not wanting to spend another moment in this grue-
some chamber, you hurry through it. Turn to 243.

402
‘You don’t scare me,’ Captain Cador rails, quaking in
his boots as you transform into an undead horror.
(Add the Spectre special ability to your Adventure
Sheet if you do not already have it.) With an embold-
ening shout, Cador runs at you, trying to impale you
with his sword. Turn to 380 to fight the Captain of the
Guard but reduce his skiLL score by 1 point before
you do.

403
In your physical form you may not use any of the
ghostly powers you might have acquired during the
course of your adventure so far. However, you are
able to pick up and use physical objects. And of
course, if your physical form is destroyed you can
still proceed with your quest in your spirit-form,
at which point you will be able to use your ghostly
abilities again but will no longer be able to carry any-
thing, unless otherwise instructed (and must immedi-
ately cross off anything you are carrying from your
Adventure Sheet).
You may well find that there are other areas within
the Keep that are off limit to spirits. If you come to a
paragraph marked with an asterisk (*), and as long
as you still have your physical form, you may

LE}CJ
 404
investigate what is behind the door by adding 30 to
the paragraph number and turning to this new refer-
ence. But for now, turn to 170.

404
It is as you are making your way towards the road out
of the village again, when you are at the heart of foe-
tid marsh, that a semi-skeletal creature rises from the
muck and slime, bogweed clinging to yellow ribs and
ropes of purple-grey entrails sloshing with swamp-
water visible through a great rent in its stomach. As
the undead horror stalks towards you, dragging its
decomposing body through the swamp, more of the
long-dead populace of Fetchfen emerge from where
they have been lurking beneath the bog. If you are
ever to leave this village of the damned you are going
to have to fight the Mire-Men of Fetchfen first. Fight
the slow-moving Undead one at a time.
SKILL STAMINA
First MIRE-MAN a 7,
Second MIRE-MAN 7 6
Third MIRE-MAN 6 7
If you have the Spirit special ability, once you defeat
the first of your attackers you can flee the village and
return to Castle Valsinore (turn to 29). If you do not,
but you defeat all of the Mire-Men anyway, you
are able to escape Fetchfen at last (turn to 29). But if
the undead inhabitants of the village should win,
write the number 15 on your Adventure Sheet and turn
to 100.

[e} 3]
405-407

405
If you are wielding a magical weapon of some kind,
turn to 424. If not, turn to 381.

406
Emerging from the Burgomaster’s house again,
through the front door, you feel relieved to be away
from the place. In fact, you were lucky to escape with
your soul intact and not be bound to the house for
eternity. (Regain 1 LUCK point.) Now turn to 259.

407
Although it is you who decides to take up the lyre
and play, it is definitely Blondel the Bard’s dextrous
fingers that conjure a magical melody from its

Ee Ce]
 408

enchanted strings. The effect is almost instantaneous.

As the lilting notes sing from the strings of the lyre
the monster ceases its growling and a curious leth-
argy comes over it. It pads across the chamber
towards you, then stops, swaying gently. It lies down,
puts its head on its paws and closes its eyes, and
within a few moments it is snoring loudly.
Now’s your chance. While the dog’s asleep you could
try to creep past it and take the shield. If you want to
do this, Test your Skill; if you succeed, turn to 53, but if
you fail, you disturb the dog which wakes in an
instant (turn to 432). If you would rather let sleeping
dogs lie, you leave the chamber, shutting the Spirit
Door behind you (turn to 182).

408
Unable to take control of the body you had chosen,
you begin to wonder whether you will ever be aven-
ged against your enemy. (Lose 1 LUCK point and
reduce your WILL by 1.) But perhaps you know of
another way of acquiring a physical form.
Choosing something you haven’t attempted yet, if
you have the Spook special ability and want to use it
now, turn to 13. If you have the phrase Rest in Peace
recorded on your Adventure Sheet and you want to
pursue this path, turn to 369. If you have the code-
word Automaton written down and want to pursue
this path, turn to 427. If you have no further tricks up
your sleeve, turn to 152.

[+]ES
409-410
: 409
The barrow has stood on this promontory since
ancient times, since long before there was even a
kingdom of Ruddlestone. Its ancientness reverberates
deep within your soul and, at the same time, you
sense that something festers within. Turf covers the
man-made mound which is sealed by a large, flat
stone. Despite walking the entire circumference of the
barrow you cannot see another way inside. Will you:
Leave the barrow? Turn to 295
Try to move the stone to so that you
might enter the barrow? Turn to 341
Persist with trying to find another
Way in? Turn to 431

410
Recalling the words of the Watcher, that you would
know when the time was right to use the hourglass,
you hold it up before you now and regard the
motionless black sand contained within one last time,
before dashing it against a jagged rock. The glass
explodes into myriad diamonds shards, the black
sand briefly forming a spiralling vortex in the air in
front of you before vanishing, twinkling with star-
light. Unthank clutches at his chest, a look of unadul-
terated horror entering his eyes. And then a terrible
transformation occurs. As you watch, his flesh pulls
taut, his skin wrinkling like a rotten piece of fruit. But
the transformation doesn’t stop there. His eyes melt
like wax in their sockets, his black hair turns white

Ee]CJ
 411
and winds out of his head at a furious rate from his
retracting scalp as the weight of years catches up with
him at last and he is made to pay for all those life-
times he stole from others — including you! And then
the evil-hearted Necromancer topples face-first onto
the cold hard ground at your feet, dead at last. Turn
to 423.

411
Through sheer strength of will you set the numbered
tumblers to the correct combination. Subtract the
combination from the number of this paragraph and
then turn to this new paragraph. If the paragraph
makes no sense, you have either made a mistake or
you do not know the correct combination and are
unable to open the door. You will either have to leave
the gatehouse (turn to 20), descend the staircase to the
bottom, if you haven’t already done so (turn to 115),
or if you want to and are able to use the Apparition
special ability here, turn to 181.

Ey CJ
 412
412
As you approach the statue to claim the grim blade,
the Spirit Door slams shut behind you with a
resounding boom. As the echo fades away a new
sound reaches your ears, that of bony feet and hands
scratching at the stone-flagged floor of the chamber.
Spotting movement out of the corner of your eye,
you snap your head round and see a tiny imp-like
creature, wearing a coarse sackcloth robe and wield-
ing a tiny scythe in its sharp-clawed hands emerge
from behind the statue. It is only the first of many. If
you are going to claim the Amethyst Blade as your
own, or even just escape from this chamber in one
piece, you are going to have to fight the invidious
Deathlings.
SKILL STAMINA
First DEATHLING 6 S
Second DEATHLING 6 2
Third DEATHLING 5 3
Fourth DEATHLING 6 4
Fifth DEATHLING 6 3
Sixth DEATHLING 7 2
Fight the Deathlings three at a time. You will soon
discover that whether you are in your ethereal form
or a borrowed body, the imps’ scythes are just as effec-
tive against incorporeal creatures as they are against
flesh, bone or metal. If the Deathlings really are the
death of you, write the number 154 on your Adventure
Sheet and turn to 100. If you manage to defeat them
all, however, you are able to take the Amethyst Blade

cI
413-414
without further hindrance and quickly leave the
room before anything else unpleasant can crawl out
of the stonework and attack. Turn to 154.

4133
After all that you have gone through to win back your
sword, without the physical means to wield it, it is
useless to you. Feeling thoroughly dejected, no longer
sure if you can even see this quest through to the end,
you leave the Catacombs. Lose 2 WILL points, 1 LUCK
point, and turn to 276.

414
You are inside the castle at last, within the courtyard
of the large Outer Ward to be precise. Overhead, the
moon hangs like a silvery orb amidst the backdrop of
a myriad stars, limning the buildings in its mono-
chrome light.
You take a moment to reacquaint yourself with your
castle home, having been away for so long. It appears
to be as you remember it but you can sense a sinister
atmosphere hanging over it like a funerary shroud.
Flitting through the air above the castle is a multitude
of incandescent ethereal forms, spiralling and moan-
ing on the chill wind coming in off the Diamond Sea.
In the south-eastern corner of the courtyard is the
familiar thatch-roofed structure of the smithy where
you would quite happily while away hours at a time
in your youth, watching the blacksmith at work, forg-
ing weapons, repairing armour and shoeing horses.

Ee}Ee
Opposite the smithy against the western wall of
the Outer Ward are the castle stables and a little
further along, abutting the northern wall that divides
the Outer Ward from the Inner is the sturdy stone
blockhouse that is the Guard Barracks. Guarding
the entrance to the Inner Ward, the Barbican is an
imposing three-storey tower, more like a small keep
than merely a gatehouse. Next to the Barbican, steps
lead up to the battlements while below them, against
the east wall, are the kennels, where the lords of
Valsinore have kept their hunting hounds ever since
your ancestors had the fortress constructed centuries
ago.
You still have no real idea about who ordered that
you be killed or where the Death Acolyte fled to, but
you have an overwhelming feeling that inside the
castle is where you will find the answers you so
desperately seek. So, where would you like to visit
first?
The smithy? Turn to 180
The stables? Turn to 164
The guard barracks? Turn to 330
The battlements? Turn to 201
The kennels? Turn to 66

If you would rather not delay here, you can leave the
Outer Ward and make for the Inner Ward, approach-
ing the Barbican that separates these two parts of the
castle (turn to 317).

E3][4
415
415
Standing directly before you is the imposing figure of
a Dread Knight, but this is no mere battle-brother.
Clad in ornate armour of archaic design, carrying a
totally black shield and a spike-headed mace, this is
the Chapter Master of the Order of the Black Shroud,
an awesome opponent indeed.
DREAD CHAPTER MASTER sSkKILL12 STAMINA 12

This will be a battle to truly test your mettle, for the

dark templar carries the Mace of Mabuz, a weapon as
capable of battering your soul as it is your body, or
even wrought armour. If your struggle against the
Lord of the Dread Knights should prove too testing
and the Chapter Master bests you in single combat,
write the number 132 on your Adventure Sheet and
turn to 100. However, if it is you who is victorious,
regain 1 LUCK point and turn to 132.
 416-418

416*
The passageway turns right as it wends its way
through the bedrock of the Devil’s Spur into which
the foundations of the great keep were sunk when
the first Lord of Valsinore had the castle constructed,
and soon you come upon another door to your left.
This too is made from black wood banded with pure
silver, forming esoteric sigils all across its surface, for
this too is a Spirit Door. When you are ready to move
on, turn to 53.
457
‘In the name of Hamaskis, begone!’ the hermit sud-
denly shouts and, waving his hands frantically before
his face, sends a bolt of searing golden light blasting
into your incorporeal body. The prayer-spell burns
like fire. Roll one die and lose that many sTAMINA
points and lose 1 WILL point too. If your STAMINA
score has dropped to zero (or below), write the
number 145 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If you are still ‘alive’, will you now leave the hermit
in peace, and with your ghostly form intact (turn to
145), or will you persist in your questioning of the
querulous old man (turn to 387)?

418
As you turn towards the front door again, it slams
shut in your face! If you have the Apparition special
ability, turn to 406. If not, but you still want to try to
leave the house, roll two dice and if the total is less
than or equal to your WILL score, make a note of the
number of this paragraph on your Adventure Sheet

[-]Ea
419-420
and turn to go. If the total rolled is greater than your
WILL score, or you decide to stay and explore the
house of your own free will, will you start with the
ground floor (turn to 325) or the first floor (turn to
234)?

419
‘My servant failed me before,’ the Shadow King
agrees, his words reverberating from the ancient
stones of the henge, ‘but he shall not fail me again.’
With that the necromancer’s corpse twitches and
lurches to its feet. In the short time that Unthank has
been dead, his body has begun to decompose at a rate
beyond all reason. Rotting hands outstretched before
it, ready to throttle the life from you, Unthank the
Undead lurches towards you, moaning balefully.
UNTHANK UNDEAD SKILL 9 STAMINA 8
If the undead necromancer scores two consecutive
hits against you, the shambling corpse grasps you by
the neck and throttles you for an additional die of
damage. If you win, turn to 375. However, should
Unthank’s corpse succeed in slaying you again, there
will be no coming back a second time and your
adventure, like your life, will be over ...

420
‘I have tried scrying to find its source but I cannot see
beyond the walls of the Keep. That place is closed to
me now. What i do know is that this evil is deeply

LIE
 421-422
rooted within the castle and it will take a great deal to
free Valsinore from its grip.’ Now turn to 440.

421
And so you stand before the barbed iron gate, cast
with a leering demon’s face. It is too heavy for you to
lift and is even resistant to ethereal methods of entry.
There is only one thing that will cause the gate to
open as it tells you with relish, in a gurgling growl of
gruesome delight: ‘Flesssshhh!’
If you have some Ironbane and want to try that on the
gate, turn to 68. If you have the codeword Revenant or
Host recorded on your Adventure Sheet and you are
willing to make an offering of your own flesh to the
Demon Gate, turn to 438. If you have the codeword
Armoured written on your Adventure Sheet or you have
one of the other two but do not want to offer up your-
self to the blood-thirsty portal, turn to 24. If you have
none of these codewords currently written down,
turn to 197.

422
The stink of death hangs over Fetchfen — the sick
smell of decay — and the windmill is no different. It
looks like it hasn’t been used for years, the mill
machinery corroded into uselessness. You find noth-
ing of interest inside. There are only the few tools of
the miller’s trade and mouldering sacks of mildewed
grain.

Ce) Ea
423
But it is as you are preparing to leave the derelict
windmill again that one of the sacks tips over, spilling
its contents across the floor, and something that is
most definitely not grain tumbles onto the rough
wooden planks. It is a human skull. ‘Not going so
soon, are you?’ the skull asks, looking up at you from
the dark pits of its empty eye-sockets. “Not when we
haven’t had a chance to get to know each other yet.’
Before you can reach the half-broken-down door
again, more bones rattle onto the floor from the bag,
the bones flying into the air and coming together to
roughly resemble the skeleton of a human being. If
you are going to escape the windmill you are going to
have to battle this old bag-o’-bones.
BAG-O’-BONES SKILL 7 STAMINA 8 -
If the skeleton-ghost wins the fight, write the number
404 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you
win this battle of the undead, regain up to 4 STAMINA
points and then choose where you want to go next. To
visit Fetchfen’s cemetery, turn to 322. If you would
rather just leave this village of the dead, turn to 404.

423
Unthank the Necromancer is dead! You have been
avenged. (Regain 1 LUCK point and add 2 to your WILL
score.) But the night is not over yet — not by a long
way. Something is condensing out of the moonless
night at the very centre of the stone circle. As you
watch, dumfounded, a looming figure, twice as tall as

Ee]Es
 424
a man, takes shape, clothing itself in the very fabric of
the night. It looks like a giant wearing ancient armour
forged from the metal of the night beneath a shroud
of darkness, an ornate crowned helm on its head. But
it is its face that stops you in your tracks — for it
doesn’t have one. All that lies beneath its armoured
helm are two malevolently glowing coals that burn
red like a pair of dying stars. And then the lunar
eclipse passes and the apparition is revealed in all its
malignant glory.
‘The Shadow King!’ the cultists gasp and fall to their
knees, whimpering in fear. So this is what Unthank
and his death-cult were trying to summon. Seeing the
reaction of the death-cult, you suddenly feel colder
than you have ever felt in your life and the hairs on
the back of your neck start to rise. But that shouldn’t
be possible ...
If you have the codeword Revenant, or Host, or
Armoured still written on your Adventure Sheet, turn to
275. If not, turn to 448.

424
The Spirit Sphere disappears in an explosion of
actinic light accompanied by the howling of spirit
voices, as a tremendous rushing wind fills the turret
room. The book that was previously suspended at the
heart of the sphere drops to the floor with a bang.
It is an evil-looking thing, bound in what you hope is
only black leather and bearing the image of a leering
425-427
human skull on its front, along with its name: Codex
Mortis. If you want to take this book of dark magic
with you, add it to your Adventure Sheet. Whether you
do or not, there is nothing left to do other than to
leave the chamber again. Turn to 205.

425
In your spirit-form once again, you may use all the
special abilities that you will have undoubtedly
acquired during the course of your adventure so far.
However, you will not be able to carry any physical
items with you, except in very exceptional circum-
stances (which will be described in the text). This
includes weapons, magic or otherwise, armour and
any other items you might have picked up alone the
way. Now turn to 170.

426
Using the whirling maelstrom of vengeful spirits to
cover your approach, you enter the ring of standing
stones and hasten to your sister’s side. When you
are only a few metres from the altar stone, one of
Unthank’s death-cult steps into your path. Test your
Luck. If you are Lucky, turn to 442. If you are
Unlucky, turn to 415.

427
You make your way back through Valsinore Castle
and enter the Barbican gatehouse again, coming at
last to the room with the code-locked door and the
magnificent suit of automaton armour. As you gaze

[+] [3
 428-429
into the ruby eyes, you imagine entering the suit and
focusing your will to bring it to life. Roll two dice. If
the total rolled is less than or equal to your WILL
score, turn to 439. If it is greater, turn to 408.

428
The longed-for moment has come at last, the moment
when you can be revenged against the blackguard
who had you killed and who would now bring about
the end of your family line by sacrificing your sister
to his dark gods. There is nothing more to be said, the
time for action is at hand.
NECROMANCER SKILL 11 STAMINA 10

Unthank defends himself with the sacrificial obsidian

dagger which he was about to use to spill the blood
of the Lady Oriana, which is as potent against the
undead as it is against the living. If you lose your
battle with the evil necromancer, write the number
132 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. However,
if it should be you who is victorious, turn to 423.

429
Now that you have a physical body again, in which
you can pass beyond the magically-warded portal of
the Spirit Door, you can try to enter the Keep again
(turn to 276). Alternatively, if you have the codeword
Catacombs written on your Adventure Sheet, there
might be somewhere else you wish to visit first (turn
to 11).

[e} 3]
 cd
aN
a
SS

pIONTPNy\Y",4y/!
P
 430-431
430
You are frozen into inaction as something truly
grotesque rises from the filth of the pool. In form
it is nothing more than a gigantic worm-like shape
but formed entirely from a gelatinous necrotic jelly
which, you soon realise, is the rendered remains of
the corpses that have been festering in the pit.
Suspended inside the rippling, jelly-like body are the
bones of the creatures that ended up here, which give
it a vague internal skeletal structure. Where you
imagine its head is supposed to be is a jawless human
skull. Moving with peristaltic convulsions, its body
rippling like some gigantic slug, the Necros oozes
towards you, leaving a trail of acidic slime in its wake.
You are going to have to face this new undead horror
in battle, but how will you choose to defend yourself?
If you have the Oil of Midnight with you and want to
use that, turn to 280. If you do not have this particular
item then you have no choice but to draw your
weapon (turn to 351), or you could try to fight it using
one of the burning brands that light the chamber
(turn to 157).

431
As you are busy searching for another way into the
barrow a thought strikes you. You are no longer a cor-
poreal being of flesh and blood; that part of you now
lies dead on the road behind you. You have to stop
thinking of yourself in those terms. You are a ghost
now, and when have walls or doors ever been a prob-
lem for ghosts?

C
432-433

Nervously you approach the stone door and place a

spectral hand upon the cold stone. ‘Iam a ghost’, you
repeat, over and over to yourself. ‘Iam a ghost. lama
ghost.’
Roll two dice. If the total rolled is less than or equal to
your WILL, turn to 265. If it is greater, turn to 371.

432
Weapon in hand you prepare to take on the mon-
strous hound. Existing half in the Ethereal Realm and
half on the Earthly Plane, the Moon Dog is as effective
at harming your spirit-form as it is a physical body.
MUTANT MOON DOG SKILL 9 STAMINA 10
If the dog finishes you off, write the number 182 on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100. If you slay the
monster, however, turn to 53.

433
Taking the Spirit Stone in hand you hear the souls
trapped within calling to you again and you know
that it is time to grant them their freedom. Raising the
crystal cage above your head you hurl it onto the
stony path before you. There is an explosion of actinic
light and you suddenly find yourself at the centre of a
whirling soul-storm. As your eyes recover after the
blinding blast, you witness the fury unleashed by
your desperate actions. The spirit-forms of those
bound to the Spirit Stone are unleashed in an
almighty maelstrom of ethereal fury, surrounding the

L}G2
 434455
Shadow King with a whirling vortex of spectral light.
You watch in awe as the spirits tear the Shadow
King’s insubstantial form apart with their spectral
talons. The Death Lord does what he can to defend
himself from their relentless assault but in the end he
is simply overwhelmed. Soon there is nothing left of
the Shadow King but a few traces of inky darkness at
the heart of the whirling spirit vortex and then, with
one last howl of fury and frustration, even that is
gone. Turn to 450.

44
Choosing somewhere you haven’t been before, where
would you like to go now, within the Outer Ward of
the castle?
The smithy? Turn to 180
The stables? Turn to 164
The guard barracks? Turn to 330
The battlements? Turn to 201
The kennels? Turn to 66

If you would rather not delay here, you can leave the
Outer Ward and make for the Inner Ward, approach-
ing the Barbican that separates these two parts of the
castle (turn to 317).

435
Willing Unthank’s own book of necromantic magic
to provide you with what you need to defeat the
Shadow King you let it fall open in your hands where
it will and begin to read. But you are playing with fire

AREA
436-437
by invoking the very powers that you seek to van-
quish. Lose 2 wILL points. Now roll two dice and if
the total rolled is less than or equal to your WILL
score, turn to 184, but if it is greater, turn to 326.

436
Not much further on you come to a T-junction.
Do you want to go left (turn to 289), or right (turn
to 146)?

437
As you approach the Burgomaster’s house, the imp-
faced doorknocker seems to smile at you in sinister
fashion. Then the great oak door swings open before
you of its own accord and you enter the tile-floored
hallway of the grandest residence in Sleath. The
house was in darkness, but as you enter, candles
mounted in candelabra on the stairs and in a chande-
lier above you spark into life and burn with a lambent
green flame.
Before you, broad wooden stairs ascend to the first
floor, while underneath them a shadowy archway
leads into the rooms on the ground floor of the prop-
erty. Do you want to:
Explore the ground floor of the house? Turn to 325
Ascend to the first floor and take a
look around there? Turn to 234
Leave this apparently already
haunted house? Turn to 418

L] Es
 438-439
438
It takes all your courage, but nonetheless you
approach the gate and press a hand against one of the
barbed spikes. You close your eyes and wait for the
inevitable. But the sensation is not actually as bad as
you were expecting. (Lose 2 STAMINA points and if
this has finished you off, write the number 243 on
your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.) With a grating
of blood-scabbed hinges, the Demon Gate opens,
gurgling happily to itself. Not wanting to spend
another moment here, you hurry through. Turn to 243.

439
Your ethereal body dissolving like mist, you ooze into
the slit in the helmet that serves as a mouth, filling the
armour with your essence and taking possession of it.
Gazing out at the world through the crystal lenses of
the armour’s eyes, you test out your new iron body. It
is more awkward and less agile than your own body
was, but it is also significantly stronger. (Regain 1
LUCK point and add 1 to your WILL score.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL and
STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure Sheet.
Your armoured body’s SKILL score is equal to your
Initial SKILL score, minus 1. However, the automaton
armour has an Initial STAMINA score of 24! (Add the
codeword Armoured to your Adventure Sheet.) You
still may not eat provisions to recover STAMINA points
if you are injured, but if your armoured body should
be destroyed you may rise from it in your spirit-form

C]FE)
440
and continue fighting with the stats that you made a
note of here.
Although you are not armed, your new armoured
fists are as.effective as sledgehammers, enabling you
to bludgeon your enemies into submission instead.
Also, your new metal body is so tough that you may
automatically reduce the damage you may suffer at
the hands of your enemies by 1 point. (Regain 1 LUCK
point.)
Now that you have a physical body with which you
can breach the Spirit Door, you can try to enter the
Keep again (turn to 276). Alternatively, if you have
the codeword Catacombs on your Adventure Sheet,
there might be somewhere else you wish to visit first
(turn to 11).

440
A banshee wail cuts through the stillness of the tomb.
‘Your presence here has been discovered!’ the wiz-
ard’s ghost exclaims, his features knotted in conster-
nation. “You must go, but take Fizzgig with you. He
will be of more use than perhaps it first appears.
Besides,’ Aramanthus adds with what would appear
to be a ghostly tear in the corner of his eye, ‘I’m not
much company for him anymore.’
Not questioning the wizard’s decision for a second
you leave the vault, the bat-winged homunculus
flapping after you, burbling to itself. (Add the code-
word Banshee and Fizzgig the Homunculus to your

Cd EJ
 441
Adventure Sheet.) Fizzgig is actually a Spell Sprite, a
creature imbued with great thaumaturgical potential.
This manifests itself in the form of four spells, which
are listed below along with their effects.
Banish Spirit — this spell will send one undead spirit
back to the netherworld.
Luck Spell — this spell will raise your spirit-form’s
LUCK score to its Initial level.
Skill Spell — this spell will raise your spirit-form’s
SKILL score to its Initial level.
Strength Spell — this spell will raise your spirit-form’s
STAMINA score to its Initial level.
However, you may only call on Fizzgig’s help three
times; after that the creature’s reservoir of magical
energy will have been drained and the sprite will dis-
appear in a puff of logic. Now turn to 264.

441
A weather-worn signpost beside the dirt track you
find yourself on reads ‘Fetchfen’. You have heard of
this place before. It lies on the borders of Bathoria but
it is known as a village of the damned, a place of the
dead. No one has lived here for over a hundred years,
and yet you heard Chamberlain Unthank claim to
have been born here. The village appears to have
been flooded long ago and now the rotting timbers
of half-collapsed buildings rise from the stagnant
pools of the fen looking like the skeletal ribs of some

Eo]E3
442
undead creature. Only two places stand clear of the
foetid marsh, a broken-sailed windmill and an over-
grown cemetery. The standing water of the fen pools
will prove no obstacle to your explorations, so where
will you go to first?
The windmill? Turn to 422
The cemetery? Turn to 322

442
The one trying to prevent you from reaching your
sister is a Death Acolyte. Armed with a dagger coated
with Spectrebane, he throws himself at you.
DEATH ACOLYTE SKILL 6 STAMINA 6
Your ethereal form is vulnerable to the Acolyte’s
Spectrebane-coated blade, as is your physical body. If
the Death Acolyte manages to finish you off, write the
number 132 on your Adventure Sheet and turn to 100.
If itis you who kills the Acolyte, turn to 132.
 443-444
443
As you approach the gatehouse and its guardians,
your ghostly blue-white glow giving your location
away, you hear the clatter of swords being unsheathed
as the silent warriors prepare to repel your advance.
Will you:
Prepare to meet the knights in battle? Turn to 196
Use the Spectre special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 378
Use the Shade special ability
(if you have it)? Turn to 354
Give up on this approach and look
for the secret tunnel instead? Turn to 393

444
Your mind, inside Marrok the Crusader’s body will
make a ruthlessly effective combination. (Add the
codeword Host to you Adventure Sheet.)
Make a note of your spirit-form’s current SKILL
and STAMINA score, for later use, on your Adventure
Sheet. While you are controlling Marrok’s body you
must use his stats, which are as follows: SKILL 11,
STAMINA 22.
If you are injured in any way, for as long as you are
wearing the crusader’s body, you may eat provisions
to recover STAMINA points. One meal restores up to 4
STAMINA points and Marrok has enough food in his
backpack for 6 meals. He is armed with Deathsbane,
a blessed blade not unlike your own Nightslayer,

EL]
445-446
which is capable of harming undead, demons and
magical creatures.
If Marrok’s sTAMINA is reduced to 2 STAMINA points
or fewer while you are possessing him, he will be
knocked unconscious, forcing you to release his body
from your influence. However, you may continue
fighting in your spirit-form, using the stats that you
have made a note of here. Turn to 429.

445
Back in the courtyard of the Inner Ward, remem-
bering to choose somewhere that you haven't been
already, where would you like to explore next?
The kitchens? Turn to 335
The feast hall? Turn to 95
The chapel? Turn to 260
The Blasted Tower? Turn to 34
The well? Turn to 232
If you would rather not delay here at all, you can
approach the last gatehouse that guards the entrance
to the sea-moat bridge (turn to 134) or, if you have the
Spirit special ability, take to the air and try approach-
ing the Keep directly (turn to 191).

446
Beyond the Spirit Door you find yourself at one end
of a long, narrow room. It is lit by torches mounted in
sconces. The flickering light is being reflected from
the mirrored surface of a magnificent shield that is

[]Es
 447
hanging on the wall at the far end of the chamber. But
upon entering the room, you disturb the shield’s
guardian. Giving voice to a guttural growl, the great
silver-haired beast that has been set to guard this
chamber raises its head. Then a second snarling voice
joins the first and a second head turns to look at you.
If you want to steal the mirrored shield from this
chamber you are going to have to get past the Mutant
Moon Dog first. Will you:
Attack the creature? Turn to 432
Play it something ona lyre (if you
have one)? Turn to 407
Slam the door again quickly before
the dog can reach you? Turn to 182

447
‘I warn you, spirit, stay back,’ the old man says. ‘I
have a little Art of my own. Do not provoke me as I
shall have no qualms about using it against you.
Now, begone!’
The hermit does not seem particularly concerned by
the fact that he is being visited by a ghost so perhaps
he really does have some magical means of defending
himself. He certainly doesn’t appear to be carrying a
weapon of any kind.
Do you want to continue to approach the curmudg-
eonly hermit (turn to 417), or will you leave the
old man in peace and return to the cliff-top (turn to
145)?
[-]
 448-449
448
You look down at your body but you can no longer
see the world through your misty form. Before your
very eyes your ethereal form is becoming opaque as it
solidifies and your ghost-self becomes a thing of
blood, flesh and bone once more. Suddenly it all
becomes clear in your mind; Unthank was living on
borrowed time, your life-time in fact, and now that
he is dead that life-force has been restored to you.
You are alive again and a ghost no more! Restore your
SKILL, STAMINA and LUCK scores to their Initial levels.
The monstrous night-born spectre peers down at you
and a voice like thunder rolls across the wind-swept
hillside. ‘Bow before me, worm!’ Its burning ember
eyes bore into you like smouldering branding irons.
Roll two dice, adding 3 to the total if you have the
codeword Talisman written on your Adventure Sheet.
If the final total is less than or equal to your WILL
score, turn to 159, but if it is greater, turn to 326.

449
And so you stand before the spirit-warded entrance
of the Keep once more, only this time the black wood
double doors open at your touch and you enter the
grand, pillared hall beyond. Now that you have
gained access to the Keep at last, do you want to quit
your recently-acquired physical form (turn to 425) or
would you prefer to continue on your way just as you
are (turn to 403)?

PJES
450

450
You rush over to the altar stone and it is with an
overwhelming sense of relief that you see that
Oriana remains unharmed. But as you hold your
sister close, you cannot shake the feeling that some-
one is watching you. You turn to see a spectral figure
watching you, a look of unalloyed hatred in its eyes.
You recognise the figure at once — it is Unthank the
Necromancer.
With a howl of frustrated fury, the undead spirit of
the necromancer flies at you. But, as they say, the
night is always darkest just before the dawn. Even as

LIE
Unthank’s ghost goes for you, the first probing fin-
gers of morning appear over the wine-dark ocean to
the east as a new day dawns. With a soul-shredding
scream, Unthank’s undead spirit dissolves into
vapour as the first rays of sunlight strike his ethereal
form, sending him on his way at last to the Other Side
and the Lands of the Dead where he shall be pun-
ished for all eternity. The night of the necromancer is
over and it is the beginning of a new day, a day of
endless possibilities ...

THE END
 CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURER

Here at your disposal are three adventurers to choose

from. Over the page are the rules for Fighting Fantasy
to help you on your way. However, if you wish to
begin your adventure immediately, study the char-
acters carefully, log your chosen attributes on the
Adventure Sheet and you can begin!

Anvus Ravalan
Known to some as Nightsbane, to others as the
Remorseless Hunter, Anvus earned himself a fearful
reputation during the Bathorian Crusade as a warrior
who was relentless in his pursuit of the forces of dark-
ness. The first into the fray, always the last to leave
the battlefield, he put many a vile Darkspawn to the
sword and led the final charge at the Battle of Fang
Rock.
Luck has had its part to play in Anvus’s successes, as
has his great strength. Serious and prone to dark
moods some say that he is not that different from his
enemies in his nature — but never within earshot of
the humourless warrior! But it may be true, in part, as
Anvus has made the study of the agents of evil his
life’s work that he might understand his enemies bet-
ter, learn of their weaknesses and thereby put an end
to them all the more ruthlessly.

53°
Su Pe , eee
iar Se
Deepik ican,a antncrcad
BerettodNightslayer
a) anaes.
Evrain Peredur
Having trained with the Knights of Telak, Evrain
served for some years within the Demonkeep Outpost
on Ruddlestone’s border with Brice, before taking up
the mantle of Lord of Valsinore, following the death
of his father under suspicious circumstances. Early in
his career he distinguished himself when he single-
handedly thwarted the plans of the Sorcerer Belgaroth,
who sought to conquer the kingdom of Ruddlestone
with an army of beastmen and Chaos Knights that he
was raising in the southern Banarask Hills.
During the Bathorian Crusade he added to his list of
noteworthy achievements by earning himself the title
Zombie Killer. A skilled swordsman and a skilled
horseman too, it would seem that Evrain is blessed by
the gods themselves, such is his ability in escaping
from seemingly impossible predicaments at the very
last minute by the skin of his teeth.
Skill
Stamina 17
Luck {1
Will 6

208
Isolde Laodegan
Isolde Laodegan, the Shield Maiden of Libra, swore
her life to the service of Good following the death of
her mother. She has trained at abbeys, monasteries
and temples all across the Old World becoming
equally proficient with the sword, bow, spear and
mace. Through physical exercise and spiritual medi-
tation she has honed her body to perfection so that
she is just as adept an athlete as she is a deadly
swordswoman.
However, a curse seems to hang over her family line,
both her parents dying before their time and in recent
years Isolde has begun to feel that some ill fate awaits
her, dogging her every step, waiting until it can bring
her down too and have its final, villainous victory.

Skill 2
19
Luck
Will
Equipment ightslayer

352
 RULES AND EQUIPMENT

A HERO COMES HOME

You are about to embark on a Fighting Fantasy
adventure unlike any other, but before you do so
you need to establish your own strengths and
weaknesses. You use dice to determine your initial
scores. On pages 360-361 there is an Adventure Sheet,
which you should use to record the details of your
adventure. On it you will find boxes for recording
the scores of your attributes. Record your scores on
the Adventure Sheet in pencil or make photocopies
of the sheet for use in future adventures. You
can also download fresh Adventure Sheets from
www.fightingfantasy.com.

Skill, Stamina, Luck and Will

Roll one die. Add 6 to the number rolled and enter the
total in the SKILL box on the Adventure Sheet.

Roll two dice. Add 12 to the number rolled and enter

the total in the STAMINA box.

Roll one die. Add 6 to the number and enter the total
in the LUCK box.

Don’t roll any dice for WILL: you always start your
adventure with 6 wILL points.
For reasons that will be explained below, all your
scores will change during the adventure to come. You
must keep an accurate record of these scores, so write

353
small or keep an eraser handy, and never rub out
your Initial scores. Although you may be awarded
additional SKILL, STAMINA and Luck points, their
totals may never exceed their Initial scores, except on
those occasions when the text specifically tells you so.
Your SKILL reflects your expertise in combat, your
dexterity and agility. Your STAMINA score reflects
how healthy and physically fit you are. Your LUCK
score indicates how lucky you are.
Your WILL is a measure of your determination and
strength of purpose. Your WILL score differs from
your other attributes because it is not restricted by an
Initial score. Your WILL may increase or decrease in
certain situations, which will be explained in the rele-
vant paragraphs.

Battles

During your adventure you will often encounter hos-

tile creatures which will attack you, and you yourself
may choose to attack an enemy. In some such situa-
tions you may be given special options allowing you
to deal with the encounter in an unusual manner, but
in most cases you will have to resolve battles as
described below.
Enter your opponent’s SKILL and STAMINA scores in
the first vacant Encounter Box on your Adventure
Sheet. You should also make a note of any special abil-
ities or instructions, which are unique to that particu-
lar opponent. Then follow this sequence:

354
1. Roll both dice for your opponent. Add its sKILL
score to the total rolled to find its Attack Strength.
2. Roll both dice for yourself, then add your current
SKILL score to find your Attack Strength.
3. If your Attack Strength is higher than your oppo-
nent’s, you have wounded it: proceed to step 4. If
your opponent’s Attack Strength is higher than
yours, it has wounded you: proceed to step 5. If
both Attack Strength totals are the same, you have
avoided or parried each other’s blows: start a new
Attack Round from step 1 above.
4. You have wounded your opponent, so subtract 2
points from its STAMINA score. You may use LUCK
here to do additional damage (see below).
5. Your opponent has wounded you, so subtract 2
points from your STAMINA score. You may use
LUCK to reduce the loss of STAMINA (see below).
6. Begin the next Attack Round, starting again at
step 1. This sequence continues until the STAMINA
score of either you or your opponent reaches zero,
which means death. If your opponent dies, you
are free to continue with your adventure. However,
if your STAMINA score is reduced to zero, your
adventure may not actually be over and you
should follow the instructions given at the rele-
vant paragraph.

Fighting More Than One Opponent

In some situations you may find yourself facing more
than one opponent in combat. Sometimes you will
treat them as a single adversary; sometimes you will

Bee)
be able to fight each in turn; and at other times you
will have to fight them all at the same time! If they are
treated as a single opponent, the combat is resolved
normally. If you have to fight your opponents one ata
time, as soon as you defeat an enemy, the next steps
forward to fight you! When you find yourself under
attack from more than one opponent at the same time,
each adversary will make a separate attack on you in
the course of each Attack Round, but you can choose
which one to fight. Attack your chosen target as in a
normal battle. Against any additional opponents you
throw for your Attack Strength in the normal way,
but if it is greater than your opponent’s, in this
instance you will not inflict any damage. If your
Attack Strength is lower than your adversary’s, you
will be wounded in the normal way. Of course, you
will have to settle the outcome against each addi-
tional adversary separately.

Luck
At various times during your adventure, either in
battles or when you come across other situations in
which you could be either Lucky or Unlucky, you
may use LUCK to make the outcome more favourable
to you. But beware! Using LUCK is a risky business and,
if you are Unlucky, the results could be disastrous.
The procedure for Testing your Luck works as follows:
roll two dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less
than your current LUCK score, you have been Lucky
and the outcome will go in your favour. If the number

356
rolled is higher than your current LUCK score, you
have been Unlucky and will be penalised.
Each time you Test your Luck, you must subtract 1
point from your current LUCK score, so the more you
rely on your LUCK, the more risky this procedure will
become.

Using Luck in Battles

‘In certain paragraphs you will be told to Test your
Luck, and you will then find out the consequences of
being Lucky or Unlucky. However, in battles, you
always have the option of using your LUCK, to inflict
more serious damage on an opponent that you have
wounded, or to minimise the effects of a wound you
have received.
If you have just wounded an opponent, you may Test
your Luck as described above. If you are Lucky you
have inflicted a severe wound; deduct an extra 2
points from your opponent’s STAMINA score. If you
are Unlucky, however, your blow only scratches your
opponent; and you deduct 1 point Jess from your
opponent's STAMINA.
Whenever you yourself are wounded in combat, you
may Test your Luck to try to minimise the wound.
If you are Lucky, your opponent’s blow only grazes
you; deduct 1 point from the damage you sustain.
If you are Unlucky, your wound is a serious one and
you must deduct 1 extra STAMINA point than you
would normally.
Remember: you must subtract 1 point from your
LUCK score each time you Test your Luck.

I27
 More About Your Attributes

Skill
Your SKILL score may change occasionally during the
course of your adventure, but it may not exceed its
Initial value unless you are Ret instructed to
the contrary.
At various times you will be told to Test your Skill. The
procedure for Testing your Skill works as follows: roll
two dice. If the number rolled is equal to or less than
your current SKILL score, you have succeeded in your
_ test and the result will go in your favour. If the
number rolled is higher than your current SKILL score,
you will have failed the test and will have to suffer
the consequences. However, unlike Testing your Luck,
do not subtract 1 point from your SKILL each time you
Test your Skill.

Stamina
Your STAMINA score will change a great deal through-
out your adventure. It will drop if you are wounded
in combat, if you fall foul of traps, and after you per-
form any particularly arduous task. In other Fighting
Fantasy gamebooks, if your STAMINA score ever falls
to zero, you have been killed and should stop reading
the book immediately. However, as you will soon
discover, death is not necessarily the end where nec-
romancy is concerned. Rather than having to start all
over again with a new character, in this book you
should follow the instructions given in the text. But if
your luck should run out entirely and your adventure
does indeed come to an end, if you wish to attempt

358
your quest again, you will then have to choose a new
character and start all over again.
During the course of your adventure you will find
that you can restore lost STAMINA but not in the usual
way, by eating meals or Provisions. But to find out
more, you will just have to commence your quest.

Will
As you will soon discover, your WILL score will be
very important in the adventure that lies ahead of
you. You start the game with 6 wiLt points. Precisely
how WILL works will be revealed during your adven-
ture: you will be instructed about this in the relevant
paragraphs. However, you should note that your
WILL score may never drop below 1.

Equipment
You begin your journey with some simple equip-
ment. You are dressed in leather armour and carry a
backpack. You are also the bearer of Nightslayer, a
blessed blade worthy of an evil-hunting warrior such
as yourself. Powerful enchantments wrought into the
weapon mean that it can harm the Undead, Demons,
Elementals and other magical creatures.

Alternative Dice
If you do not have a pair of dice handy, dice rolls are
printed throughout the book at the bottom of the
pages. Flicking rapidly through the book and stop-
ping ona page will give you a random dice roll. If you
need to roll only one die, read only the first printed
die; if two, total the two dice symbols.

a9
CODEWORDS WILL
Initial Will= 6

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HOST STATS

Skill =

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ITEMS OF
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CARRIED
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 ADVENTURE
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Initial Stamina eS
= Initial Luck = Fg
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WILL
Initial Will = 6

HOST STATS

Skill =

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ITEMS OF
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 EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM
HOUSE OF HELL
Blood-curdling terror.
Nightmarish rituals.
Can you survive a night in the House of Hell?

Stranded miles from anywhere on a dark and stormy

night, your only hope of refuge is the strange, ram-
shackle mansion you can see in the distance. You
climb out of your car; its battery is flat and there is no
way you can get it started tonight. You can’t afford to
miss tomorrow’s appointment. It is fifteen miles since
you last passed a house and your only hope now is
that you can telephone a garage from the foreboding
dwelling up ahead.
You slam the door , turn up your collar and set off
for the house. A flash of lightning lights it up clearly
for you but, in your preoccupation with the rain, the
warning from above is wasted on you. The house is
old — even older than you thought — and in a shocking
state of repair. The light in the window is flickering.
Most likely an oil lamp — certainly not electric. And you
don’t notice a fact that might have turned you back
anyway: there is no telephone line going to the house.
As you climb the steps to the front door, little do you
realise what fate has in store for you.
Tonight is going to be a night to remember ...
Turn to 1.

af
 1
You climb the creaking steps up to the front door and
pause to catch your breath. Even though you ran all
the way up the drive from the car, you are soaked
through; your feet are particularly wet. Judging by
the number of puddles you stepped into in the dark,
the drive needs a small fortune spending on repairs.
But under the porch, you are out of the storm, and
you brush the rain from your clothes before turning
towards the door.
The rain is still pelting down, but an eerie silence
hangs in the air. No lights are on downstairs. You
step back off the porch to check the upstairs window
which attracted your attention earlier. Nothing. No
lights. The whole place seems to be deserted. But then
you remember the time — five minutes to midnight.
Everyone in the house has probably gone to bed. An
owl hoots in the distance and a shiver runs down
your spine. The situation is a little scary. Here you
are, in the middle of nowhere, at some strange, run-
down old house about to wake up whoever lives
inside, at midnight. They certainly won’t be too
pleased. But you have no choice if you are going to
make your appointment tomorrow — you must reach
a telephone to call for help. You step up to the front
door.
From the left-hand side of the house, a dull glow
catches your attention. A light has been turned on!
You breathe a sigh of relief; at least someone is awake.
You consider your options: there is an elaborate

oT4.
knocker in the middle of the door and a bell-pull
hanging down to the right. Will you rap the door with
the knocker, (turn to 12), pull the cord (turn to 8), or
creep round the house to investigate the light (turn
to 9)?
2
You sit down in a solid, carved chair and look
around. The reception hall is certainly not what you
would have expected from the outside. It is elegantly
decorated with rich tapestries and fine oak panels. A
number of portraits line the walls. A sturdy sixteenth-
century table is set against one wall.
Although the house seems comfortable, luxurious almost,
there is something hanging in the atmosphere that sets
your nerves on edge. Something doesn’t seem quite right.
What will you do next ifyou are to have any hope of
surviving the night in the House of Hell?

The younger man turns to the older one and angrily

says, “The Master’s teachings are not for the faint-
hearted. You know of his power and his promises to
us all. Perhaps you are no longer strong enough to
stay with us.” The older man turns away, towards the
window. He is hiding the look on his face, which is
one of nervousness and fear. He realizes that he has
said the wrong thing. ‘No,’ he stammers, ‘I'll be all
right. Just a momentary weakness. Come, let us get
on with the preparations.’ Together the two men

378
leave the kitchen, blowing out the candles on the
way. You wonder what they were talking about. Now
you must choose your next move. Will you try the
kitchen door to see whether you can sneak inside
(turn to 10) or go back round to the front and knock
on the door (turn to 12)?

The door opens wide and the older man peers out at
you before inviting you in. The two men listen as you
tell them of your accident. ‘Well, that is a stroke of bad
luck,’ says the older man, ‘but I dare say Franklins
will be able to help. Go and fetch him, Brother
William.’ At the mention of his name, the younger
man glares at his companion, but nevertheless leaves
the kitchen. You ask your host what sort of place this
is and whether he and Brother William are members
of a religious group. ‘Something like that,’ he replies.
‘In fact you have arrived at an awkward time. For
tonight ...’ he hesitates nervously, ‘tonight is ...’ His
sentence is interrupted by the arrival of Brother
William and a tall man dressed in a black suit with
long tails. You explain your arrival to Franklins. ‘We
do not welcome visitors here,’ says Franklins sol-
emnly, ‘but I will introduce you to the master of the
house who will decide whether we can help. Follow
me.’ He leads you out through the kitchen along a
hallway to a reception hall and points to a seat. “Wait
here while I tell the Earl,’ he orders, then he disap-
pears through a doorway. Turn to 2.

279
 5
You walk up to a large window which looks as
though it may not be quite closed. But there are heavy
bars across it. Even if you were able to open the win-
dow, you would never manage to squeeze through
the bars. The house is certainly well protected from
intruders! Do you want to continue round the house
to see where the light is coming from (turn to 11) or
return to the front door and either pull the rope (turn
to 8) or use the knocker (turn to 12)?

6
‘What's this?’ you hear the older man ask. ‘Someone
knocking at the door at this time of night? Could it be
one of the brethren? I thought everyone was here.’
Then the two men start whispering to each other in
voices too low for you to hear. You wait patiently out-
side in the rain until eventually, the door opens and a
voice asks, “Who is it?’ Will you tell them about your
predicament and ask to use the phone (turn to 4) or
will you claim to be one of the brethren that you
heard them talking about (turn to 7)?

‘
The door opens wide and you are invited in. ‘We
thought everyone was here already,’ says the older
man. ‘That's cutting it a bit fine. The others are ...’ He
pauses when he sees your face and the two men look
at each other. ‘Er, ahem ... what delayed you?’ You
are feeling a little uneasy about the situation and
mumble some excuse about your car breaking down.
‘Your car,’ says the man slowly. ‘What a shame -— I
hope it’s not too bad.’ From their reactions, you get
the distinct impression that you have said the wrong
thing. Then it dawns on you that there are no other
cars around the house although, according to these
two, everyone has arrived. You try desperately to
think of what to say next and you do not notice that
the younger man has crept round behind you. You
feel a heavy blow on the back of your head, which
knocks you unconscious.
Things have taken a turn for the worse adventurer,
you are now in the hands of the mysterious brethren.
Will you escape or is something much worse in store
for you? Can you survive a night of terror in
the House of Hell?

8
You grasp the rope and pull. From the depths of the
house you hear a tinkling noise and the light coming
from the side window goes out. Turn to 12.

9
You walk from the porch round the side of the house.
A light is indeed on, and it’s shining through a win-
dow at the back of the building. Do you wish to go
round to see if you can see anything at this window
(turn to 11) or will you walk up to one of the other
windows along the side wall to see whether you can
enter the house without anyone knowing (turn to 5)?
381
 10
The door is firmly locked. You will not enter the
house this way. If you wish, you can knock at the
door to try to attract the attention of the two men who
were talking. If you decide to do this, you must Test
your Luck. If you are Lucky, they will hear you and
come to investigate (turn to 7). If you are Unlucky,
they are out of earshot and you will not get through
this way. If you decide against knocking at the door,
or if you have been Unlucky, you will have to go back
to the front door and either knock (turn to 12) or pull
the bell-pull (turn to 8).

11
The lit window is next to a back door which leads into
a kitchen. Voices are coming from the kitchen, but
you cannot see anyone. Whoever is in there must be
standing by the back wall, out of sight. You strain to
hear what is being said. There appear to be two
people in the kitchen, and they are talking excitedly.
‘... Master is getting ready. I’m starting to get excited.
I’ve never been to one before. Do you really think we
may be visited?’ Another man’s voice, rather more
controlled, replies: “You know, I’m having doubts
about this whole affair. She is so young and she came
here in all innocence. I just don’t know.’ The two men
walk around the kitchen and you can see them more
clearly. They are both dressed in white gowns. One is
a good deal younger than the other. Do you wish to
knock on the door to see whether they will let you in

382
(turn to 6), or will you wait and listen for a little
longer (turn to 3)?

sts
A few moments later, the door-handle turns slowly
and the door opens. Standing in the doorway is a tall
man dressed in a dark suit with tails. His long face is
solemn. ‘Yes?’ he asks, indignantly. You smile nerv-
ously and explain your situation. Your car has broken
down, you need to reach a telephone and you are
soaked to the skin. The man’s face remains expres-
sionless. ‘Come in,’ he orders. “The Master is expect-
ing you. Follow me.’ He leads you into a reception
hall and tells you to sit down while he informs his
master of your arrival. Turn to 2.

383
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 ~The Bbok you holdsin youri hands)is a gateway to.a world
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eae betheSS eercesct youractions.

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