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Page 1: Trial of Champions V1.00.05- Text Boxeswatermark.drivethrurpg.com/pdf_previews/60701-sample.pdftranslated into over 20 languages. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain alone sold over 2

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CreditsAuthor: Jamie Wallis

Editors: Geoff Oades and Tim BirkbeckProducer: Mike Dymond

Cover Illustration: Martin McKennaInternal Illustrations: Amandine Labarre

Additional Illustrations: Janine Johnston, Martin McKenna, Tony HoughGraphic Design: Martin McKenna and Jamie Wallis

Cartography: Jamie Wallis Typography: Jamie Wallis

Project Manager: Geoff OadesFinance Planning: Nigel Dixon

Lead Playtester: Tim BirkbeckPlaytesters: Shane Garvey, Craig Freer, Michael Wilson, Karen MacDonald, Colin Goodman,

John Partridge, Mark Chamberlain, Darren Mallins

Fighting FantasyTM Consultant: David Holt

The d20 conversion of Trial of Champions is © 2004 Myriador Ltd, all rights reserved. 'Myriador' and the Myriador logo are trademarks of Myriador Ltd. 'Fighting Fantasy'and the Fighting Fantasy logo are trademarks of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone and are used with permission. Dungeons & Dragons® and Wizards of the Coast® areregistered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used with permission. 'd20 System' and the 'd20 System' logo are trademarks ofWizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 4.0. A copy of this License can be found atwww.wizards.com/d20. The d20 conversion of Trial of Champions is presented under v1.0a of the Open Game License (OGL) and as required a copy of the OGL can be

found at the rear of this publication. All game mechanics and statistics derived from Open Game Content (OGC, as defined by the OGL) and the System ReferenceDocuments are to be considered OGC. Everything in the following sections, apart from Product Identity listed below (as defined by the OGL) is also to be considered

OGC: Luck, Appendix 1 New Monsters and Appendix 2 New Magic. All place names, character names, monster names, art work, cartography, trade marks, trade dressand other elements as defined in section 1(e) of the OGL are to be considered Product Identity, this includes but is not limited to: Fighting Fantasy, Myriador, Deathtrap

Dungeon, Trial of Champions, Titan, Allansia, Chiang Mai, Fang, River Kok, Anvil, Dekion Strom, Ellion G'aarak, Rhana Quinn, Sarian Jax, Trialmaster, Baron Sukumvit,Blood island, Arena of death, Lord Carnuss Charavask, Grok Barrow, Bone Crusher Beast, Bone Spirit, Cold Claw, MindWarp Beast, Titan Trolls, Titan Hilltroll.

All original artists have asserted their moral rights as allowed under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Printed in Canada

Introduction 2Adventure Summary 2Preparation 2Quick Play 2Campaign Integration 2How to use this Book 2Using Maps & Miniatures 2

Luck 3New Ability Score 3Standard Point Buy Method 3Using Luck 3Luck Difficulty Class 3Minimum Luck Score 3Saving Throws & Luck 3Skills & Luck 3Opposed Skill Checks & Luck 4Checks Without Rolls & Luck 4Combat & Luck 4Using Luck to Hit an Opponent 4Using Luck to Increase Damage 4Using Luck to Reduce Damage Taken 4

Luck and Magic 4Luck and Turn / Rebuke Undead 4Stand alone Luck Checks 4Opposed Luck Checks 4Optional Luck Rule 4Restoring Luck 5Normal Regeneration of Ability Points 5Magical Means - Spells and Potions 5Discretionary Awards by the DM. 5Scenario Awards 5Monsters and Luck 5

Trial of Champions 5For the DM 5For the Characters 5The Dungeon 7

Appendix 1 - New Monsters 22Appendix 2 - New Magic 28Appendix 3 - Campaign Play 29Appendix 4 - Characters 37

TABLE OF CONTENTS

legal notice

Trial of ChampionsBased on the Fighting FantasyTM book by

Ian Livingstone

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IntroductionTrial of Champions was the twenty-first book of theFighting Fantasy™ series and was originally pub-lished in 1986. This revolutionary new idea, part bookpart game, gave the reader a unique experience - afantasy adventure where you are the hero.

The Fighting Fantasy™ series has 59 titles to date (63including Steve Jackson's SORCERY! Series) and hassold over 15 million copies worldwide and has beentranslated into over 20 languages. The Warlock ofFiretop Mountain alone sold over 2 million copies.Now the Fighting Fantasy™ books are being re-released allowing a new generation of players toexplore the Citadel of Chaos, confront the Warlock ofFiretop Mountain or get lost in the Forest of Doom.

This book is a conversion of Trial of Champions intoa d20 role-playing game scenario. The original bookwas a solo experience; this scenario has been writtento allow players to challenge the Dungeon on theirown or as part of a group of adventurers. The inclu-sion of the new Luck rules give the single player agood chance of success without making groups ofplayers too powerful.

The Fighting Fantasy™ books could be picked upand played with a minimum of preparation, this sce-nario has been written to reflect this including pre-generated characters, full colour maps and other playaids to get you started quickly. For more informationabout Roleplay games, Fighting Fantasy™ and Trial ofChampions visit the Myriador website:www.myriador.com

Adventure SummaryAt last - A return to the Deathtrap Dungeon! Thewarped and twisted mind of Baron Sukumvit hascompletely redesigned Fang's deadly labyrinth. Newtraps, terrors, mazes and monsters await you at everyturn. The Prize for surviving the Trial of Championshas been raised to 50,000 gold pieces to reflect the newand increased difficulties of the Dungeon. Can yousurvive? The odds are strongly against you.

PreparationIn addition to the books required (as stated on thecover of this product), which are referred to as theDMG, PHB and MM, a set of polyhedral dice (d4, d6,d8, d10, d12 and d20) are also needed to play. Pull outCharacter sheets of the four pre-generated characterscan be found in Appendix 4 - Characters.

Full colour maps (Battle Maps), full two-page char-acter sheets of the pre-generated characters, monsterand character token sheets and all of the adventure'snew illustrations can be downloaded free fromwww.myriador.com

Quick PlayOne of the great attractions of the Fighting Fantasy™series of books is that it is very easy to pick up a bookand start playing, everything you need is provided inthe books, you just need to grab a pencil to get straightinto the action. We have tried to write this scenario in

the same way, providing you with everything we canso that you can get on and play the game without hav-ing to spend ages preparing. Simply hand out the pre-generated characters, get your dice ready and startplaying.

Detailed dungeon floor plan maps, pre-generatedcharacter sheets with rules summaries and characterand monster tokens are available free to owners of thisbook and can be downloaded fromwww.myriador.com

Notes are included in the back of this book to helpyou integrate this scenario into an ongoing campaign,or visit our website: www.myriador.com where moreinformation can be found about Titan, the FightingFantasy™ world.

Campaign IntegrationAlthough this scenario is designed to be played as astand-alone adventure using one of the pre-generated9th level characters provided or a mini-party of newlycreated 7th level characters; there is no reason why itcouldn't be used as a part of an on-going campaign.Guidelines and advice are included in the appendicesto help you integrate this scenario into an on-goingcampaign and suggestions are included about adjust-ing difficulty levels (see Appendix 3 - Campaign Play).

How to use this BookThe first pages of this scenario contain backgroundinformation for the DM. Later pages contain the rulesfor the new (optional) Luck ability, these rules shouldbe studied by the DM and the players. Towards therear of the book you will find summaries of new mon-sters, spells and magic items as well as advice aboutintegrating this adventure into your campaigns.

The bulk of the book contains the scenario informa-tion divided by location. Each location entry in thescenario is shown on the main map provided, a fullcolour 1" = 5 feet map of each location can be obtainedfree from: www.myriador.com. A description of eachlocation is provided for the DM detailing its contentsand any monsters present. The shaded text boxes con-tain information that the DM can either read out orparaphrase to the players. Other information shouldbe kept secret from the players until they discover it.Descriptions of how each monster is likely to react areincluded in the room descriptions. The DM controlsall the creatures within the adventure, except the play-er characters, and is free to change their behaviour ashe / she sees fit.

The DM is advised to read through the scenario atleast once before you play.

Using Maps & MiniaturesUsing maps and miniature figures adds a whole newdimension to playing this game, they help the DM to'set the scene' and players to see where characters aremonsters, what the dungeon looks like and makecombat more exciting and realistic.

Full colour maps, pre-generated character sheets andcharacter and monster tokens are all available free toowners of this book from: www.myriador.com (make

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sure you have your copy of this book available whendownloading these free extras).

Luck Luck was a major factor in the Fighting Fantasy™series of books. The d20 system includes a range ofSkills that are used where Luck was in the originalbooks. However, we wanted to keep the overall tone &feel of the Fighting Fantasy™ books so we haveincluded Luck as a new Ability score.

This scenario is aimed at small parties of players(mini-groups). The inclusion of Luck gives them anedge that makes up for their lack of numbers. Playersshould be encouraged to use Luck as often as possible- it may make the difference between success and fail-ure!

To reflect this, it is easier for characters to recoverLuck than it is for other Ability scores, methods ofrestoring Luck are given under the heading: RestoringLuck.

New Ability ScoreLuck is determined in the same way as other Abilityscores. There are several options available (see DMGChapter 2, Ability Scores Generation). The maximumpossible starting Luck score is 18 regardless of race.

A character's starting Luck score can only beincreased by magical means or by spending attributepoints gained as the character becomes more experi-enced.

Luck will be treated as an Ability score in everyrespect i.e. lost Ability scores are regained at the rateof one per day (see DMG Chapter 3, Running theGame, Ability Score Loss).

Standard Point Buy MethodBecause there are now 7 Ability scores instead of thenormal 6, the amount of starting points is increased to30 rather than 25 (See DMG Chapter 2, Ability ScoresGeneration, Standard Point Buy).

Using LuckA character may use Luck to change or influenceevents, reducing the damage taken from an enemy'sattack for instance, or increasing their chance of pick-ing a lock. Luck can be used to modify a character'sSkill checks, saving throws, attack rolls, and melee /ranged damage dealt. You can also use your Luck toreduce the damage you take from an enemy's attack.

Luck checks must be resolved BEFORE the actionthat they are affecting is undertaken (exception:reducing damage taken in melee / ranged). The resultof the Luck check is applied as a modifier to theaction. You may only check Luck once per actionundertaken and the result only affects that action.

A character's Luck score is temporarily reduced by 1every time Luck is checked.

Luck cannot be used to give a character feats or spe-cial Abilities that she would not normally have. i.e. afighter cannot use Luck to allow her to turn / rebukeUndead.

Luck Difficulty ClassLuck is checked against a Difficulty Class (DC). (SeePHB Chapter 4, Skills, Using Skills, Difficulty Class)The base DC for Luck is 10.

Ability Luck check = d20 + Ability Modifier (Luck)against DC10

A total roll of 10 will give you a +1 bonus. For every2 points over 10 that you roll you gain +1 to the out-come that Luck was used to affect (i.e. 10 = +1; 12 = +2;18 = +5 etc…).

If the Character fails her Luck check by up to 5, thereis no penalty. However, if the character fails by 6 ormore, she will suffer a -2 penalty to the outcome thatLuck was used to affect.

Example: Ellion G'aarak decides to test her Luck tohelp her fight 2 Orcs by giving a modifier to hit them.She rolls a d20 and adds her Luck ability modifier get-ting a total of 13, success! Ellion now adds +2 to hernext attack roll against the Orcs and her Luck is tem-porarily reduced by 1.

Later in the same fight Ellion decides to test her Luckto add to her attack roll again, this time she rolls a totalof 4. Ellion has failed to make the required DC10 by 6.Ellion now suffers a -2 penalty to her attack roll andher Luck is temporarily reduced by 1. If she had rolleda total of 7, she would still have failed in her Luckcheck but not suffered a penalty. However, her Luckwould still have been temporarily reduced by 1.

Minimum Luck ScoreWhen a character's Luck score reaches 0 they can nolonger choose to test their Luck. Luck cannot be low-ered further than 0, and cannot be used again until itis raised to at least 1.

Saving Throws & LuckLuck can be used to modify the result of a savingthrow using the same method as described above(under the heading: Luck Difficulty Class). The char-acter makes a Luck check and than applies the resultas a modifier to their saving throw.

Skills & LuckLuck can be used to modify the result of Skill checks

using the same method as described above (under theheading: Luck Difficulty Class). The character makes aLuck check and then applies the result as a modifier totheir Skill check.

e.g. Rhana Quinn has fallen off a rickety bridge intoa fast flowing river. The DM determines that a skill(Swim) check (DC15) is required for Rhana to safelyswim to the nearby riverbank. Rhana is not a goodswimmer having no Skill bonus, which is reduced by-6 because of her equipment (-3 check penalty formedium load, doubled to -6 for the Swim skill). Thismeans that the best she can hope to do is 20 - 6 = 14meaning she can't succeed! She decides to use herLuck to help her reach the riverbank safely. Rhanarolls a d20 getting 15 and adds her Luck ability modi-fier (+2 from an Ability score of 14) for a total of 17.She has succeeded by 7 so she may add +4 to her Swimcheck. She now makes her Swim skill check d20 + 0

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(Swim skill) -6 (equipment carried) +4 (Luck). She rollsa 17 giving her a final result of 15. Rhana just managesto scramble to the riverbank. Rhana reduces her Lucktemporarily by 1.

If Rhana had failed her Luck check, for instancerolling a 3 on her d20 (+2 Ability modifier) = 5, herSwim check would then have been d20 +0 (Swim skill)-6 (equipment carried) +0 (Luck check result) givingher a maximum possible result of only 14. She wouldstart to drown. Of course she could use Luck again inthe next round to help her survive.

Opposed Skill Checks & LuckLuck can be used to modify the result of opposed

Skill checks using the same method as describedabove (under the heading: Luck Difficulty Class). Thecharacter makes a Luck check and than applies theresult as a modifier to their opposed Skill check,which is then compared to their opponents check asnormal.

Checks Without Rolls & LuckYou cannot 'take 10' or 'take 20' when testing yourLuck.

Combat & LuckLuck can be used in combat in three ways. To increaseyour chance of hitting an opponent, to increase thedamage you deal to an opponent, or to reduce thedamage taken from an opponent's blow.

Using Luck to Hit an Opponent A character may make a Luck check (as describedunder the heading: Luck Difficulty Class) the result ofwhich is then added or subtracted to her next attackroll to hit an opponent.

Using Luck to Increase Damage When a character has successfully hit an opponent, hemay make a Luck check (as described under the head-ing: Luck Difficulty Class) and add or subtract theresult to the damage dealt by his attack. The Luckcheck must be made before damage is rolled. Luckdamage is never multiplied by a critical success.

Using Luck to Reduce Damage TakenWhen a character has been hit by an opponent'sattack, she may make a Luck check (as describedunder the heading: Luck Difficulty Class) and applythe result to reduce or increase the damage she suffersfrom the attack. Damage reduced by a Luck check cannever be reduced to less than 0. She can decide tomake the Luck check before or after damage has beenrolled.

Luck and MagicLuck cannot be used to increase or decrease the effec-tiveness of a spell or magical effect.

Luck can be used to increase the chance of hittingwith a Magical attack, such as a ray, by modifying theto-hit roll or it could be used to modify the result of aSpellcraft check to help identify a spell being cast.Similarly it could be used to increase the chance of

making a successful saving throw to counter a spellseffect.

Luck and Turn / Rebuke UndeadLuck can be used to increase the chance of turning /rebuking Undead but cannot increase the effective-ness i.e. Luck may be applied to the Turning CheckResult, but cannot be used to increase the maximumhit dice affected, or the number of HD affected.

e.g. Ellion G'aarak is a 4th level Cleric. Entering aroom Ellion encounters 4 Zombies, she decides toattempt to turn them and to use Luck in her attempt.Ellion makes a Luck check, the result of which isadded to her Turning check result which may makeher more likely to succeed. However, Luck cannot beused to change the maximum effectiveness of herturning attempt, she can still only possibly affectUndead with 8HD or less. Neither does Luck affectthe number of such Undead she can affect.

Stand alone Luck ChecksThere will be situations within the adventure whenLuck can be used to determine the outcome.Depending on the situation the DM may appoint ahigher or lower Luck DC. The DM must never useLuck to replace a saving throw or skill check thatalready exists. In the example below an unsuccessfulLuck check would then require a (Reflex) save toavoid falling in the water.

An example of a stand-alone Luck check: If the char-acters are walking over a rickety old wooden bridge,does a rotten plank break under the weight of one ofthe players? The DM decides that the characters willhave to be particularly Lucky to avoid all the rottenplanks and gives this situation a Luck DC of 15. Aswith all Luck checks, once a stand-alone Luck checkhas been made (whether successful or not) the charac-ter must temporarily reduce his Luck score by 1.

Opposed Luck ChecksTwo characters are sitting at the table playing cards.Who will win? The simple solution to this is for thecharacters to make an opposed Luck check. Both char-acters roll a D20 and add their Luck modifier. Thecharacter with the highest Luck result wins. Eachcharacter that made the opposed Luck check musttemporarily reduce his Luck score by 1.

Optional Luck RuleIf a character rolls a natural 1 on the Luck roll the DMmay rule that that character has been so unlucky thathe automatically fails whatever he was attempting touse Luck with: if he was using Luck to modify hisattack roll then the attack automatically misses; if hewas using Luck to modify his chance to Pick a lock theattempt automatically fails; if he was using Luck tomodify his Melee damage roll, he scores no damage atall; if he was using Luck to modify his opponent'sMelee damage roll, his opponent does Full damageetc.

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Restoring LuckLuck can be restored in a number of ways. Luck can-

not be increased past its starting value except by mag-ical means (see Appendix 2 - New Magic, New Spells).Any excess Luck points that would take a character'sLuck score above the original value are lost.

Normal Regeneration of Ability Points(see DMG Chapter 3, Ability Score Loss)

Magical Means - Spells and Potions Any spell that restores Ability points can be used torestore Luck points. Examples include: LesserRestoration, Restoration and Fortune (see Appendix 2- New Magic, New Spells)

Any potion that restores Ability points can be usedto restore Luck points.

Discretionary Awards by the DM.DMs can choose to award Luck points to charactersfor particular acts of daring or heroism. It should beremembered that Luck is an extremely powerfulAbility that can allow characters to succeed at tasksthat they normally wouldn't be able to achieve. Careshould be taken when awarding Luck points, don'tgive the characters too much or you could make anyscenario too easy, but don't be too stingy with yourLuck awards or the characters will probably fail.

Scenario AwardsAt various points in this adventure Luck points areawarded to characters. These Luck awards can beincreased / decreased at the DM's discretion. Luckawards are to the party as a whole, it is up to the DMto determine how they are divided amongst the char-acters. E.g. if a party of 3 characters are awarded 2Luck points the DM can either give 1 point each to 2 ofthe players or 2 points to one of them. At the DM's dis-cretion - award the points to the characters whoplayed the most significant role in gaining them.

Monsters and LuckLuck is a player character specific Ability score.Monsters and NPCs do not gain the Luck ability score.

Trial of ChampionsFor the DM

This adventure has two possible beginnings: You maywish to play through this adventure either with orwithout the campaign story on Blood Island, as perthe Fighting Fantasy™ book (please refer to Appendix3 - Campaign Play, Blood Island)

Fang, the most prosperous and densely populatedCity in the Province of Chiang-Mai is home to BaronSukumvit's Deathtrap Dungeon; a huge labyrinth oftricks, traps and deadly monsters. Thousands of peo-ple from all across Allansia flock to the Cityport at theend of April to secure a room in one of its many tav-erns or inns. The reason is to witness the contendersentering the infamous Dungeon on the morning ofMay 1st.

Last year, Chadda Darkmane emerged alive from theDungeon exit and became the first person in history tohave survived the Trial of Champions and claimBaron Sukumvit Charavask's 25,000gp prize. At theend of that day the Baron ordered the Dungeon to beclosed, which it has remained so… until now.

Today the city is alive with rumours and anticipa-tion. Baron Sukumvit has announced that theDungeon has undergone a major redesigning. Heboasts that this newly improved Deathtrap Dungeonwill be impossible to complete. To prove his state-ment, the Baron has increased the prize money to50,000gp.

This years Trial of Champions has attracted some ofAllansia's most illustrious contenders: A ChaosChampion who wears spiked, Full Plate Mail Armour,an Eastern Warlord in Samurai Battle Dress, an ElvenPrince and a Dwarven Noble. But illustrious con-tenders aren't all that have been attracted by theevent's huge prize. Lord Carnuss, the evil brother ofBaron Sukumvit, is being secretly represented by aslave dressed only in a loincloth and wielding asword. Lord Carnuss has spent the last week on BloodIsland filtering out the weak and unworthy in theArena of Death. His plan, should his slave survive, isto claim the prize for himself.

For the CharactersDMs Note: If you are playing the Campaign story,Blood Island, please read out the 'For the Characters'section in Appendix 3 - Campaign Play, Blood Island.If not, continue below.

Read this aloud to the players:Situated on the continent of Allansia is the City ofFang, the capital city of the province of Chiang-Mai.The city is home to Baron Sukumvit Charavask,ruler of Chiang-Mai and creator of the DeathtrapDungeon that has seen the deaths of hundreds ofwould-be heroes all trying to survive the deadlytraps, monsters and mazes in an attempt to claimthe prize of 25,000gp.

Last year, Chadda Darkmane became the first per-son to emerge alive from the Dungeon's exit. Since

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