Liganim (singular: Ligan) are humanoid practitioners of Dark Arts and apprentices of the Nadziranim. Liganim are extremely ambitious but also incredibly insecure by nature, and treachery is a common trait.
Appearance[]
- An illustration of a Ligan is available in Magnamund Menagerie, page 18.
Liganim are tall, slow humanoids. They have pallid faces with pig-like snouts. They are often hunchbacks, walking with a limping gait. They adorn themselves with robes and masks in the styles and colours of their masters.[1]
Powers and abilities[]
Liganim possess powerful psychic skills and prefer to attack from distance. They are trained in Right-Handed Magic and can perform basic Nadziranim magic, with the most-talented Liganim able to shape-change. They carry yellow glass globes containing a volatile mixture of phosphorus and oil, which burst into devastating flame when exposed to air. Some Liganim carry a Ziranakag, a powerful magical rod constructed under Nadziranim supervision, which radiates a green light and can transform into a mace with blazing fire.[1]
Personality[]
Liganim are ruthless, treacherous and ambitious by nature, but are also incredibly insecure and envious of the Nadziranim. They are known for switching loyalty at a moment's notice.[1]
In the gamebooks[]
Liganim are infrequent encounters in the gamebooks within the Darklands, as Lone Wolf rarely infiltrates the Darklands proper, where the Liganim typically reside.
The Dungeons of Torgar[]
Although not named as a Ligan(im), when Lone Wolf enters Torgar with the Freelands forces, they are attacked by a magical figure wielding an explosive crystal of phosphorus and oil.[2] With a high roll, Lone Wolf may shatter the crystal ball with a Bow and Arrow, but if not, it explodes on the Freelands forces, burning them, before they are attacked by Drakkarim.
The Masters of Darkness[]
In The Masters of Darkness, Lone Wolf adopts the guise of a Ligan that once served Darklord Ghanesh while infiltrating Helgedad. This puts him into potential conflict with the Liganim that serve Ghanesh's hated rivals, Xog and Taktaal.[3]
If Lone Wolf uses the Sommerswerd in any combat encounters in this book, he will draw the attention of all evil creatures within Helgedad, resulting in death.[4]
Tunnel encounter[]
Upon entering Helgedad, if Lone Wolf follows the Liganim crowd into a tunnel,[5] a group of Liganim under Darklord Taktaal will plan on murdering him as revenge for the death of one of their own. This ambush can be dodged if Lone Wolf has Huntmastery and is ranked Archmaster.[6] Otherwise, Lone Wolf is forced to fight. If Lone Wolf has Pathsmanship and is Tutelary or higher, he anticipates the ambush and attacks first:
- Minions of Taktaal
Combat Skill 24, Endurance 28
↪The Masters of Darkness: §83
Lone Wolf can ignore any Endurance points lost in the first two rounds of combat.
Without this advanced discipline, the ambush is successful (lose 3 Endurance points), and the fight proceeds as normal:
- Minions of Taktaal
Combat Skill 28, Endurance 28
↪The Masters of Darkness: §67
In this case, if the fight lasts longer than four rounds, one attacker will tear away Lone Wolf's Golden Amulet, and cause him to die due to a lack of protection against the elements in Helgedad.[7] The text suggests that this can be survived if the player has Nexus and is Archmaster,[8] but this section is unreachable: Reaching this section requires Lone Wolf to be ranked Archmaster, i.e. missing one Magnakai Discipline, but missing both Huntmastery and Pathsmanship, which is impossible.[9]
After this, Lone Wolf will continue down the tunnel, and a fork in the tunnel will appear, one leading up and one leading down.[10] If Lone Wolf heads downwards,[11] a Ligan will appear, dressed in the same robes as Lone Wolf's disguise. However, as Liganim know their kind well, attempting to walk past,[12] or failing to hide,[13] triggers a fight.
- Ligan
Combat Skill 25, Endurance 26
↪The Masters of Darkness: §348/§160
This Ligan attacks with his psychic power, so unless Lone Wolf possesses Psi-screen, he loses 1 Endurance point per round.
Street encounter[]
Upon entering Helgedad, if Lone Wolf instead enters the street, he will stumble into a section of Helgedad controlled by the Liganim minions of Taktaal.[14] If Lone Wolf has Divination and is ranked Archmaster, he can avoid this encounter.[15] Otherwise, Lone Wolf may try to evade the combat,[16] although he risks[17] being shot by a Zejar-dulaga,[18] which results in death[19] unless Lone Wolf possesses Curing and is Mentora or higher.[20]
If confronted in battle:
- Minions of Taktaal
Combat Skill 31, Endurance 43
↪The Masters of Darkness: §104
The Captives of Kaag[]
Although the Darklords have been destroyed, Kaag is still littered with servants of darkness, including Liganim. In The Captives of Kaag, Lone Wolf returns here to rescue Banedon.
One Ligan can be fought within a crypt,[21] if Lone Wolf does not possess both Telegnosis and Grand Pathsmanship.[22] A Ligan with a Ziranakag will throw a shiny black stone, causing 4 Endurance points of damage if dodged,[23] or 15 if Lone Wolf attempts to deflect it with a weapon.[24] The Ligan is then fought:
- Ligan (with Ziranakag)
Combat Skill 44, Endurance 32
↪The Captives of Kaag: §72
The Curse of Naar[]
In the Plain of Despair, Lone Wolf sees the spirits of various Liganim and other dark servants and champions being tormented by Tzor.[25][26]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dever, Joe [2017]. Magnamund Menagerie. Cubicle 7, pp. 18–19.
- ↑ The Dungeons of Torgar: §273
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §293
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §208
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §80
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §33
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §331
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §121 > §220
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §220. See Project Aon footnotes for §220.
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §280
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §116
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §160
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §348
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §197
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §124
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §242
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §242
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §120
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §38
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §13
- ↑ The Captives of Kaag: §228
- ↑ The Captives of Kaag: §155
- ↑ The Captives of Kaag: §117
- ↑ The Captives of Kaag: §322
- ↑ The Curse of Naar: §207
- ↑ The Curse of Naar: §79