Plaak are small, jelly-like creatures used as living assassins by Nadziranim and Liganim.
Appearance[]
- An illustration of a Plaak is available in The Masters of Darkness, §23, or in Magnamund Menagerie, page 20.
Plaak resemble grey, jelly-like discs, and can stick to any hard surface. They have fangs that ooze yellow venom, and their sole method of attack is to bite and kill, with the venom capable of killing a normal person within seconds, although Kai Masters who have mastered Curing can neutralise the venom, as can a vial of Antitoxin. Plaak can remain still for long periods of time, but spring into action rapidly and unpredictably. Their bodies allow them to bounce off surfaces freely, making them difficult to defend against. A Plaak's effectiveness is greatly reduced outside of the Darklands.[1]
In the gamebooks[]
The Masters of Darkness[]
A Plaak can be encountered in The Masters of Darkness during the voyage to Helgedad aboard a Lajakeka. Lone Wolf must remain in his room when his door is knocked,[2][3] upon which an enemy, thinking Lone Wolf is the Ligan whom he is disguised as, will place a Plaak inside to assassinate him, while Lone Wolf is asleep.[4] Lone Wolf will hear his door close, and spring into action.
A Plaak will drop from the ceiling — if Lone Wolf possesses Animal Control and is Mentora or above, he gets one chance to avoid this, guaranteed if he possesses Huntmastery and Pathmanship.[5] If not, or if he fails, Lone Wolf will then attempt to wrench the Plaak away quickly before it sinks its fangs into him, with completion of the Lore-circles of Light and Solaris improving the chances significantly. If successful, he will fight the Plaak. However, if not, the Plaak will poison Lone Wolf,[6] and Lone Wolf must possess Curing at Mentora or above to neutralise the poison,[7] or die.[4]
- Plaak
Combat Skill 30, Endurance 10
Immune to: Mindblast, Psi-surge
↪The Masters of Darkness: §23/§205/§136
If the Plaak was dodged using Animal Control or Lone Wolf used Curing to neutralise the venom, the Plaak attacks before Lone Wolf is ready, so unless Lone Wolf possesses Huntmastery, the first round of combat must be fought unarmed.
This Plaak encounter is relatively-unusual, because it has a high Combat Skill but low Endurance score.
The Captives of Kaag[]
A group of three Plaak can be encountered in The Captives of Kaag deep in the fortress of Kaag. In the central hall of Kaag,[8] if Lone Wolf takes a right turn,[9] three Plaak will be fought.
- Plaak
Combat Skill 39, Endurance 20
Immune to: Mindblast, Psi-surge, Kai-surge
↪The Captives of Kaag: §126
This fight may be evaded after three rounds of combat.
Possible future plans[]
- This section is speculative, and may not reflect final content.
In a Facebook post by Holmgard Press, talking about the final draft of Light of the Kai, the illustration of the Plaak in The Masters of Darkness appears when zoomed-in, suggesting a Plaak may return in this book.[10]
References[]
- ↑ Dever, Joe [2017]. Magnamund Menagerie. Cubicle 7, p. 20.
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §260
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §144
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Masters of Darkness: §73
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §273
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §233
- ↑ The Masters of Darkness: §136
- ↑ The Captives of Kaag: §200
- ↑ The Captives of Kaag: §126
- ↑ Holmgard Press (2024-06-18). This week we reached a major milestone in Light of the Kai and completed the final draft of the first act.