Loup Garou
Loup Garou Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What You Need
You only need this book, a single six-sided die, a pencil to write with, and your imagination! (A companion component called the Disc — a numbered 1–6 spinner — may be used in place of the die.)
Your Character
You are playing Eoras, the mage apprentice, who has just become a werewolf, or loup garou, at the beginning of the story.
Your goal is very simple: survive.
You'll have to escape from Salandar, the hunter. To accomplish this, you will run through the forest where adventure awaits! Always keep your eyes open, for some paths are hidden!
Take your character sheet from the back of this booklet. We invite you to remove it from the booklet or download a copy from the publisher's website under the game's entry. Give Eoras a title or nickname, whatever you prefer. For example, "Eoras, Arcane Master" or "Eoras, Darkstalker."
Eoras begins the adventure in human form with the following starting values: Hit Points 10, Magic Points 10, Strength 4, Defense 1, Gold Pieces 20, and 1 Skill Point to spend.
Gold, Items, and Equipment
On your way, you will have opportunities to collect Gold Pieces (GP) and items, provided that you can carry them of course. For example, it is impossible to carry a cow or an anvil. You will need to spot some hidden items on your own and will not be prompted by game text to take them. You begin the story with a ten-slot bag. Each time you take an item, make note of it in your Inventory on your character sheet.
Some items must be equipped (a pair of gloves, a coat, a weapon, etc.). Make a note of them on your character sheet in the appropriate place in the Equipment section (equipped items do not take up an inventory slot, but you may only equip one item of each type). The Equipment section of the character sheet has slots for Helm, Amulet, Armor, Shield, Gloves, Weapon, Ring, and Boots.
The character sheet also has sections for Notes, Animal Companion (Name and Bonus), and Gold Pieces (GP).
Attributes
You have two attributes: Strength and Defense. Remember to write the starting values on your character sheet. Strength is used in melee combats with weapons; Defense is your capacity to defend yourself in combat. When you turn into your werewolf form, you will gain +5 Strength and +5 Defense. These bonuses will be lost when you change back into your human form.
Experience and Leveling Up
In the Experience Points section of your character sheet, you will find many squares. Each of these squares represents one Experience Point, or XP for short.
These XP are gained when you win a battle or solve a riddle.
As soon as you've filled every square in a section, you have gone up a level and gain 1 Hit Point and 1 Magic Point.
Skill Points and Professions
Each time you go up a level, as well as at the beginning of the game, you gain 1 Skill Point. These points allow you to unlock the skills found on the back of your character sheet (the Skill Tree). During your adventure, they will allow you to specialize in a profession of your choice. To choose a profession, use a Skill Point to fill in the first (lowest) box. You may begin a new profession any time, but specializing will lead to more powerful skills. Your destiny is in your hands!
You begin your adventure with 1 Skill Point. Choose your first profession wisely!
Each box in the Skill Tree costs 1 Skill Point. You may choose any box as long as it is accessible from a skill you already possess.
There are four base professions, each reachable from the start:
Apprentice
- Spell: Shock — Spend 1 Magic Point to fire an electric arc that does 6 Damage + a Disc Spin.
- Ice Armor — +1 permanent Defense.
- Spell: Fireball — Spend 2 Magic Points to throw a fireball that does 12 Damage + a Disc Spin.
Healer
- Grace — Gain 2 Magic Points for each successful combat, quest, and riddle.
- Blessing — When you get a 6 with the Disc, immediately gain 1 Hit Point.
- Paladin — When you reach a new level, immediately regain 3 Hit Points.
Soldier
- Young Recruit — +1 permanent Strength.
- Human Shield — +1 permanent Defense.
- Unleashed Blade — +1 permanent Strength.
Survivor
- Animal Husbandry — You do not need to pay or spin the Disc to acquire a companion; it comes directly to you (you may only have one companion).
- Street Thief — Open locked chests.
- Lucky — If you get a 1 on a Disc Spin, spin it again.
From these base professions, once you have filled all three of a profession's boxes, you unlock access to an advanced profession:
Sorcerer (from Apprentice)
- Despair — During combat, you may lose 1 Magic Point instead of 1 Hit Point, and vice versa.
- Spectral Shield — +1 permanent Defense.
- Spell: Necromancy — Spend 3 Magic Points to summon an undead minion. It immediately takes your place for one or multiple rounds (it spins the Disc). It has 6 Hit Points, 8 Strength, and 6 Defense. If it takes more damage than it has Hit Points, it disappears and you must apply the remainder of the damage.
Mage (from Apprentice and Healer)
- Spell: Alchemy — At any time, spend 4 Magic Points to gain 10 Gold Pieces.
- Spell: Ice Storm — Spend 2 Magic Points to hurl an ice storm that does 14 Damage + a Disc Spin.
- Spell: Illusion — Spend 3 Magic Points to summon a knight. It immediately takes your place for one or multiple rounds (it spins the Disc). It has 6 Hit Points, 8 Strength, and 6 Defense. If it takes more damage than it has Hit Points, it disappears and you must take the remainder of the damage.
Lycanthrope (from Healer and Soldier)
- Sharp Claws — +1 permanent Strength.
- Spell: Full Moon — Spend 1 Hit Point to transform into a werewolf whenever you want.
- Spell: Poisoned Bite — Spend 4 Magic Points to inflict 11 Damage + a Disc Spin; the enemy is paralyzed by your poison and only inflicts half of its damage during its next turn.
Barbarian (from Soldier)
- Blessed Warrior — After each combat round, gain 1 Hit Point.
- You Shall Not Pass — +1 permanent Defense.
- Fury Warrior — At the beginning of each combat, your scream causes your opponent to immediately lose 2 Hit Points.
Combat
In the full game, combat panels will teach you how to fight the first time you encounter an enemy. To do that, you will need a single six-sided die (or the Disc), a writing utensil, and this booklet.
During combat, you always go first! The first thing to do each round is decide whether you will use your weapon or magic.
Once you've made your choice, look at your enemy's attributes. Each enemy panel lists its Hit Points, Strength, Loot, and XP Earned. To defeat it, you will need to inflict at least as many points of damage as it has Hit Points during combat.
Each combat you will use a d6. Roll when using your weapon and add the result to your Strength; when using a spell, add the result to your spell's damage.
Here is a worked example given in the book: fighting a Two-Mouthed Frog (Strength 2, Hit Points 9, Loot 5 GP, XP Earned 3) with a melee weapon. With a Strength of 7 and a die roll of 2, you inflict 9 points of damage — the monster is defeated without you taking damage, and you earn its loot and experience points (XP). If you had obtained a 1 on the die roll instead, the frog would still be alive and it would get to counterattack. With its Strength of 2 it inflicts 2 points of damage (enemies do not roll the dice); however, you get to subtract your Defense value from the damage received. For example, if you have 1 Defense you would only lose one Hit Point.
Then, it is your turn again. If during the preceding round you inflicted 8 points of damage, you only need to do 1 more damage to kill it this turn. You could use your weapon again, like in the previous round, or use a spell.
Once the beast is slain, you earn its loot and experience.
If you win the combat, you gain the listed Gold Pieces and XP. If you run out of Hit Points, you are dead! You must restart your adventure from the beginning.
Magic
When you use a spell, you do not take your Strength into account (Strength is only used with weapons). You only apply your spell's characteristics (for example, the spell grants 10 points of damage). You add your die roll value to this number. Note that spells are more powerful, but you must spend Magic Points to use them. You begin the game with 10 Magic Points, and you may earn more during your adventure.
The Disc
The Disc is a stone wheel component numbered 1 through 6 with a spinning pointer at its center. It can be used in place of a six-sided die whenever the story or a skill calls for a "Disc Spin" — spin the pointer and read the number it lands on exactly as you would read a die roll.
Werewolf Transformation
The full moon brings on your transformation. Taking deep breaths, your lungs feel as if they are about to explode. A wave of intense heat rushes through your body while an unbearable pain pounds in your head. You are certain that these are your last moments... but then the pain vanishes and you take back control of your body. Filled with adrenaline, you discover your new appearance and heightened senses! There's no doubt about it, you are a werewolf!
While in werewolf form, you gain the +5 Strength and +5 Defense bonus described above. These bonuses are lost when you change back into human form.
You will need to transform to defeat some enemies. At the end of combat, you will decide whether you wish to return to your human form or stay a werewolf, in which case, watch where you decide to wander!
Threats: The Black Brotherhood
The Black Brotherhood, a group of werewolf hunters, is lurking in town. If they find an animal, they will not hesitate to kill it! You can recognize them by their insignia: a half-moon.
Character Sheet Reference
Your character sheet tracks:
- Name — Eoras, plus your chosen title or nickname.
- Attributes — Strength and Defense (Human Form), with a note of the +5/+5 Werewolf Form bonus.
- Equipment — Helm, Amulet, Armor, Shield, Gloves, Weapon, Ring, and Boots.
- Inventory — your ten-slot bag of carried items.
- Notes — a free space for tracking clues, leads, and reminders.
- Animal Companion — Name and Bonus.
- Gold Pieces (GP).
- Experience Points (XP) — grouped into Level 1 through Level 10, each level's squares filled by winning battles and solving riddles.
- Level — tracked 1 through 10.
- Hit Points — tracked 1 through 20.
- Magic Points — tracked 1 through 20.
- Skill Tree — the profession boxes described above, unlocked with Skill Points.
The Story Begins
You now know everything you need to start the game. If you're ready, begin your adventure — and don't forget to write down any combat or riddle panel numbers you may wish to review later.