The Soulforge Live Play

Don the robes of Raistlin Majere as you are summoned to take the Test of High Sorcery in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Gamebook No. 4, The Soulforge. This is a Dragonlance Adventure written by Terry Phillips in the style of a ‘Choose your own adventure’ story with AD&D game mechanics added. There are 7 possible endings with only 1 being successful! You can find the Character Sheet and instructions here and The Soulforge YouTube playlist here:

Google Dice Roller: https://g.co/kgs/YHHjLx or use these: Roll 1d6 Roll 2d6

Raistlin’s Spellbook

The following spells are the basic ones found in Raistlin’s Spellbook, and are therefore the only ones available for him to use, unless he has been supplied with additional spells from some other source. If he has, you will be told about them in the text. The information should be interpreted as follows:

Name of spell; OFFensive, DEFensive, or MISCellaneous in character; description of spell’s effect; area or range of effect; maximum number of objects or creatures affected by the spell; material components needed to cast the spell, if any. NA means “not applicable.”

First Level Spells

Burning Hands; OFF; fanlike sheet of flames shoots forth from outstretched hands; 3 feet in front of magic-user; 3 maximum; no components.

Charm Person; OFF; charmed creature believes magic-user is a trusted friend who must be heeded and protected; 120 feet; 1 maximum; no components.

Comprehend Languages; MISC, DEF; magic-user can read or understand any written or spoken language; touch; 1 object or creature; pinch of soot and a few grains of salt.

Hold Portal; DEF; magically bars or locks door, valve, or gate; 6 feet or 80 square feet; 1 door, valve, or gate; no components.

Magic Missile; OFF; causes magic darts to shoot from magic-user’s hands; 90 feet; 2 maximum; no components, needed.

Push; OFF; causes invisible force to strike any object magic-user points at; 47 feet; 1 object or creature maximum; pinch of powdered brass.

Sleep; OFF; causes slumber to fall upon one or more creatures; 60 feet or 30 foot diameter circle; 8 maximum; pinch of fine sand, rose petals, or a live cricket.

Tenser’s Floating Disc; MISC; magic-user creates a gravityless circle three feet above ground; 20 feet or 3 feet in diameter; 2 maximum; a drop of mercury.

Second Level Spells

Audible Glamer; DEF; magic-user causes loud noise, such as a group of people, to come from any direction chosen; 90 foot hearing range; any number; small bit of wool or lump of wax.

Darkness 15′; DEF or OFF; causes total, impenetrable darkness in affected area; 30 foot diameter; 8-12 maximum; a drop of pitch or piece of coal.

ESP (Extra-Sensory Perception); DEF; magic-user detects surface thoughts of any creature in range; 15 feet; 1 creature per attempt; a piece of copper.

Invisibility; DEF; causes recipient to vanish, not to be detected by normal vision; touch; 1 maximum; eyelash encased in a bit of gum arabic.

Mirror Image; DEF; creates 4 exact images of magic-user in range; circle 12 feet in diameter; NA; no components.

Web; OFF; creates mass of strong, sticky strands of webbing; 15 feet, or 80 cubic feet in front of magic-user (comparable to an area 40′ x 2′ x l ‘); 8-12 maximum; a
bit of spiderweb.

Character Stats Card
The Soulforge

Name: Raistlin of Solace

Char. Class: Magic-user

Age: 20

Skill Points: (9 total)

Reasoning:

Agility:

Presence:

Experience Points:

Hit Points:

6+=

Spells:

First Level

Burning Hands
Charm Person
Hold Person
Push
Comprehend Languages
Magic Missile
Sleep

Second Level

Audible Glamour
Invisibility
Mirror Image
Detect invisibility
Darkness 15′
ESP
Web

Spell Components / New Spells

Download a PDF version here.

Spell Resolution Table

When you are ready to cast a spell, simply cross-index the line containing the spell you wish to cast with the column headed by the number of the video you are currently viewing. At the juncture of these two columns, you will find a number. This number is the video number you must watch to continue the story. Be sure to follow whatever instructions are contained in the entry you read. Also be sure you have the proper spell components to cast your spell if they are needed.

*If at any time you attempt to cast a spell marked with an asterisk without having the proper spell component(s), skip straight to video 193.

About The Soulforge

The Soulforge by Terry Phillips was released by TSR Inc. September 1st, 1985. It is the 4th Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Adventure Gamebook. The reader’s decisions will determine the outcome of Raistlin’s deadly test at the Towers of High Sorcery. There are 7 possible endings with only 1 being successful!

Cover Art by Keith Parkinson. Interior Art by Mark Nelson.

To Raistlin, who is more alive than he’ll ever know…

On the Threshold of the Towers of High Sorcery

During the night, a mist-shrouded forest magically appeared before your campsite. You recognized it instantly as the mysterious Wayreth Forest, the last barrier that stands between you and your destination–the fabled Towers of High Sorcery.

But now, as you and your brother Caramon make your way along the foggy forest path, the mists ahead of you suddenly part. Facing you is a hooded, glowing spectral figure, who raises one hand, points it straight at you, and begins to advance toward you!

You realize you’ve only a few moments to cast a spell at the mysterious spectral being.

What spell will you cast?

Look above and locate the spell you wish to cast along one side of the Spell Resolution Table. Then cross-index the spell you have chosen with the number of the video you are watching. Choose the numbered video that you will find where the two columns meet to find out the results of your spell.

Whatever the outcome, only your decisions, and the luck of the dice roll, can help you pass the Test of THE SOULFORGE

An Exciting New Experience in Books!

Welcome, you who are about to endure the Test of THE SOULFORGE, to an exciting, totally new concept in role-playing gamebooks.

Based on the popular ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Game, Adventure Gamebooks require only two standard six-sided dice, an ample supply of luck-and, most of all, your skill in making decisions as you play the game. If dice are unavailable, a simple alternative, requiring only pencil and paper, may be used instead.

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Adventure Gamebooks read easily, without complicated rules to slow down the story. Once you have read through the simple rules that follow, you should seldom find it necessary to refer back to them. Your options are repeated clearly in the text at each choice point, with occasional reminders about additional options you may wish to consider to improve your chances. Your adventure reads like a book, plays like a game, and offers a thrill a minute–with YOU as the hero!

Your Character

In this book, you are Raistlin of Solace, a moody, hot-tempered, brilliant young magic-user from the village of Solace. Your world is the world of Krynn, from THE DRAGONLANCE™ CHRONICLES, peopled by all manner of strange beings and creatures.

For as long as you remember, you have been able to read and detect magic inherently, a fact noted with a great deal of attention by the citizens of Solace. Some expect great things of you; others warn that you will bring damnation upon their village.

But all that must occupy the back of your mind for now, as you set out upon your greatest challenge–to journey to the fabled Towers of High Sorcery, there to face the dreaded Test that all great mages must pass!

Playing the Game

Establishing Your Character

YOUR Raistlin of Solace will be different from someone else’s because YOU help to create him.

Carefully review the Character Stat Card above. This card is your record of Raistlin’s character makeup.

Since you will probably be playing this adventure many times, there is also a PDF form of the original bookmark Character Stat Card, so that your character stats can be easily maintained and changed when you are ready to play again. Another alternative is to reproduce the card on a 3 “x 5” card or a slip of paper.

You are now ready to complete the individual identity of Raistlin by establishing his strengths and weaknesses. Your character’s name (Raistlin) and character class (Magic-user) have already been entered for you. Before you fill out the rest of the card, it is necessary for you to understand the game’s scoring system.

Scoring

Playing the game requires you to keep track of three things–hit points, skill points, and experience points–on the Character Stats Card located above. An explanation of each of these follows.

Hit Points

As Raistlin, you have a specific life strength, represented by hit points. Once your character’s hit points are gone, he ceases to exist, and the adventure has ended, whether the text has come to an end or not.

Raistlin may lose hit points when he fails, through the roll of the dice, to subdue an enemy with a magic spell or outwit the enemy, because the opponent strikes him back. As a result, you must deduct a stated number of hit points from Raistlin’s hit point total.

A character may also lose hit points through sneak attacks or through carelessness when he has no chance to fight back. In such instances, roll the stated number of dice for damage. The result of the die roll is deducted from the character’s total hit points and recorded on the Character Stats Card.

Raistlin, as a young magic-user, a class not known for strength, starts out with 6 hit points, plus two random chances to improve this score. Roll one six sided die twice and add the higher number of the two scores to 6 for your total hit points. Record this number in the blank space labeled “hit points.”

Guard Raistlin’s hit points carefully, but don’t be too cautious about losing them when the goal seems worthwhile. At times throughout the adventure, you may have the opportunity to recover some of your hit points through healing or rest. However, it’s important to remember that you can never recover more hit points than you had at the start of your adventure.

Skill Points

Now you are ready to determine the skills of your characters.

Skill points allow you to increase a character’s chances of success by adding the score for a specific skill to the dice roll. In this book, you will be asked to divide 9 skill points in any way you want for Raistlin, with one exception. As a magic-user, Raistlin’s reasoning skill score must be the highest, or equal to the highest, of the three skill scores, and his presence skill score must be the lowest, or equal to the lowest. All three skills must have at least one skill point assigned. An explanation of each of your three skills–reasoning, agility, and presence follows.

Reasoning

A magic-user’s reasoning power is his most important skill. It enables him to think through all aspects of a situation quickly, frequently while under great pressure.

When you use your reasoning skill in this book, roll one die and add the result to your reasoning skill score. If the total is equal to, or larger than, the number required (given in the text), you are successful.

Agility

Raistlin’s agility skill score increases his chances of success in feats involving such things as nimbleness, dexterity, speed, dodging, and the like.

To use your agility skill, roll one die and add the result to your agility skill score. If the total is equal to, or greater than, the number given in the text, you have succeeded.

Presence

Your presence skill score increases your chances of success in keeping cool under pressure without panicking. It also helps you to convince others to act as you wish them to. Thus its use can frequently influence the decisions of others.

To use your presence skill, roll one die and add the result to your presence skill score. If the total equals or exceeds the number given in the text, you are successful.

Experience Points

As in real life, experience increases chances of success in a given situation because you have encountered a similar situation before and understand the possibilities that may occur. You, as Raistlin, begin this adventure with precisely 6 experience points. You may spend them to increase your chances on any die roll throughout the book, but once experience points are used up, they are gone and must be deducted from your total. We suggest you save as many as you can in this adventure, for at some point, you may be judged by them.

To use experience points, you must decide how many points you will spend before you roll the die, then add that score to the die roll. Whether the roll of the die is successful or not, the experience points are gone and must be deducted from your total.

Use your experience points wisely, saving them for crucial situations. At a number of places in this story, you may be rewarded with extra experience points for playing the adventure well.

Magic Use

A magic-user must memorize the spells he plans to use for any given adventure. Certain spells also require use of a spell component–perhaps a bit of bat fur, a lizard’s tail, and so forth.

At the start of this adventure, you may assume that Raistlin is prepared to use any spell in his spellbook (above) and that he has brought along the proper components for any spells listed. He must, of course, have the components in hand and ready to use. At some point in the story, he may lose his spell components. If so, he must somehow acquire the proper components for each spell he wishes to cast in order to use it. If at any time, you, as Raistlin, try to cast a spell that requires a component and you do not have it with you, you must turn to video 193.

Likewise, spells must be reviewed periodically in order to use them properly. At the adventure’s beginning, Raistlin has reviewed all his spells and thus may use any of them. But as time goes on, he may forget their proper wording and must review them again. The text will explain how to know which spells are available to Raistlin at any given time.

Playing Without Dice

Should you ever wish to play the adventure when dice are unavailable, there is a simple substitute that requires only pencil and paper. Simply write the numbers 1 through 6 on separate slips of paper and mix them up in a container. Then draw one of the slips, note the number, and place it back in the container. Mix up the numbers and draw a second time. Each draw represents one roll of a die. If only one die is called for, draw only one number.

Your character is now complete, and you are ready to begin your adventure. Watch video 1-and good luck!

“Why must we test this one so severely?” whispered a voice from the nether region.

“Who questions the gods?” Par-Salian muttered impatiently. “They demanded a sword; I found one. But beaten … tempered … made useful.“

“And if he breaks?” hissed the shadow voice.

“Then we bury the pieces!“

From the Chronicles of Astinus of Palanthus of Krynn

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