Blood Sword

Blood Sword is a tactical, party-based RPG adapted from the gamebooks by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson. You lead four heroes in a quest to stop the True Magi, who are gathering power and are fated to return when the gates of Spyte open in the year 1000. The Blood Sword, the only weapon that can stop them, lies in three pieces scattered across the lands.

The quest

Your journey runs from the frozen north of Krarth to the Warlock King's palace in a twilit world of dreams, then to a city of spires and domes beside an azure bay and onward into the land of the dead. You choose your own path, and your decisions help determine who lives and who dies. Along the way, you fight through thorny forests, haunted cathedrals and ruined crypts, and uncover secrets left by the Magi.

Tactical combat

Move your four heroes across a hex grid, combine their complementary skills and powers, and adapt your tactics to each enemy. Foes include werewolves, snow vampires, a many-headed hydra and a doppelganger wearing your own face. Some abilities carry a cost: an Enchanter's spell can backfire, while a Sage's healing uses the Sage's own life.

Build your party

Choose from four classes: the Warrior, a fighting-arts master bound by chivalry; the Trickster, who relies on their wits and may shoot foes in the back; the Sage, raised in the Monastery of Illumination on Kaxos or in the deserts of Opalar; and the Enchanter, who draws power from sorcery. As your heroes rise in rank, you can choose from more than 40 class skills. Their progress carries over when you complete an act and move on to the next part of the story.

Difficulty and death

Five difficulty settings let you adjust the challenge of the story and combat. On Tactician, you cannot retry a lost battle, and fallen heroes die permanently unless you find a way to resurrect them. Ironman also makes every decision irreversible.

The Battlepits

Beneath Kalugen's Keep lies a labyrinth of Battlepits, where adventurers seek fame and fortune. To escape, you must return to the surface with the Emblem of Victory, or die.