caravan - steve jackson games otd/game support... · power in khedris only to the ... if the lost...

1. IntroductionThe air is buzzing in the market of

Khedris – the great market that stretchesfrom the fishmongers on the shore toCaravan Square. Halmaro the Red – masterof the powerful Merchants’ Guild, second inpower in Khedris only to the emperor ofLantara himself – is organizing a caravan!And this is no ordinary caravan; it will carrygoods and gifts for the wedding ofHalmaro’s daughter Kira to Prince Eiru ofMashanda.

The caravan will be huge, even byKhedran standards. It includes 220 camels,50 horses, 40 head of fattened cattle, and50 oxen pulling five wagons. The wagonsare quite a rarity in a caravan; some of thewedding gifts must be huge!

The word is out that Halmaro is lookingfor herdsmen, scribes, translators, cooks,guides, physicians, laborers, and otherhirelings for the caravan. Many of these willcome from the various guilds, but there willbe plenty of room for freelancers. Of course,guards will be needed too. Caravanning isnot without its risks; bandits, highwaymen,and thieves take their toll on the caravans, asdo sandstorms, heat, and floods.

Caravanto Ein Arris

A N e 2 3 A D V E N T U R E F O R G U R P S ® F R O M

S T E V E J A C K S O N G A M E SF O R 3 T O 6 P L A Y E R S

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By Creede and Sharleen Lambard;

Development by Steve Jackson

Playtesters: Norman Banduch,Rob Kirk, Allen Varney, Mike Moe,

Dan Willems, C. Mara LeeArt by Dan Willems; Map by Kyle Miller

STEVE JACKSON GAMES®

C A R AVA N T O E I N A R R I S 2

CHARACTER CREATIONThis adventure is designed for three to six 100-

point characters. The following skills will be useful;skills marked with a * will be very useful. After hear-ing the introduction, the players may figure this out ontheir own; if not, you may want to offer some hints.

Combat skills* Desert Survival*Horse Riding Camel Riding*Animal Handling Thief skills in generalMerchant BardDiplomacy Fast-TalkDetect LiesHorse Riding and Camel Riding default to each

other at-3.

LanguagesThe local “common tongue” is called Lantrai; it is

the official language of the empire. Other languageswhich might be useful on this trip include Nomic(related to Lantrai approximately as Swedish is relat-ed to Norwegian), Yat Ayun (the language of an islandkingdom to the south), Shandassa (the language ofMashanda – this is spoken in Ein Arris) and AyuniTrade Pidgin. A character who speaks KhedranLantrai will have a default of Nomic at (Lantrai-3) andAyuni Trade Pidgin at (Lantrai-5). Ayuni Trade Pidginis a Mental/Easy skill; the rest are Mental/Average.

Note that the Ayuru Trade Pidgin skill cannot goabove 6; no matter how smart someone is, he willnever be able to translate Shakespeare (or his Lantraicounterpart) into Trade Pidgin, or even do much morethan trade and carouse. This language could be writtenin Ayuni script, but nobody would ever bother; it isonly useful as a spoken tongue. See box, p. 16.

PatronsThe following organizations may be useful as

patrons for local characters:The Merchants Guild is a powerful force in

Khedris. Twice in the past, strikes declared by theMerchants’ Guild have caused a change of emperors,and the threat of a third nearly caused a civil war. TheGuild has offices in all Lantrai cities of any size, andconducts diplomacy with similar organizations inother countries. Treat it as a very powerful organiza-tion which can give orders but appears rarely – a 10-point advantage.

A member of the Guild has a +2 on any reactionfrom Tsorvano or Halmaro, should it be necessary tomake one.

White Sword is an association of freelance body-guards, watchmen, and mercenaries. Think of it as atemporary help agency for soldiers of fortune.Members are entitled to wear the “white sword”insignia – some flaunt it, some display it discreetly,some don’t bother. It is a reasonably powerful organi-zation that appears fairly often but cannot order itsmembers – a 15-point advantage.

A member of the White Sword has a +1 on anyreaction from Tsorvano, Halmaro, or any city guardwho knows the PC is working for Halmaro.Unemployed members of the White Sword wouldn’trate much of a reaction bonus except from other WhiteSword members!

EquipmentEach PC needs personal weapons (unless he’s a

total non-fighter) and his “personal travel belong-ings.” Armor is certainly possible. However, theweather all along the travel route is quite hot.Normally, nobody wears armor except troops in bat-tle. Plate is absolutely not worn here; even scale andchain are rare. Anyone with Merchants’ Guild experi-ence knows the desert brigands wear no armor at all– not from bravery, but for comfort.

Anyone wearing any armor heavier than heavyleather will have a -2 on all reactions from townsfolk.

TrustworthinessWhen the players make up their characters, it

would make sense if one of them is a member of eitherthe Merchants’ Guild (in which case they will be loyalto Halmaro) or White Sword (in which case he is pay-ing them to be loyal). If no one wants to belong to oneof these organizations, someone in the party shouldhave Sense of Duty, Honesty, or a good localReputation. Halmaro will be sending the party onimportant missions, and he needs someone he cantrust! These jobs would not be assigned to randomstreet scum.

And, during the adventure, there will be a numberof opportunities for the PCs to take valuable items andrun. In every case, Common Sense would warn themthat they will do better by serving Halmaro loyally.For good roleplaying, let the PCs act according to theirnature – but for the best possible adventure, most ofthe PCs should be trustworthy.


Halmaro will pay $600 to $1,000 per person forabout 6-8 weeks’ work – one quarter when the cara-van sets out, another quarter when the caravan reach-es Ayun on the Mashandi border, and the rest when thecaravan gets to Ein Arris, the capital of Mashanda.(How much each employee is paid depends on the joband how well they impress their foremen; there is apossibility of a bonus for exceptional work when thecaravan reaches Ein Arris.) Halmaro treats hisemployees fairly, and even encourages his hirelings totrade on their own (he’s always looking for peoplewho might be merchant material).

Not everyone who applies will be hired, ofcourse, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Andyou’ve worked for the Merchants’ Guild in the pastwhen you needed a stretch of steady pay. Right nowyou are looking for a chance to travel and do some-thing a little out of the ordinary. This might be thatchance.

(GMs: You may read the above paragraphs to theplayers, if you wish, before they start to create char-acters. The rest of the material in this adventure is foryour eyes only unless specified otherwise.)

Important NPCsCharacter descriptions and stats for the impor-

tant NPCs in this adventure may be found on the fol-lowing pages: Halmaro, p. 8; Tsorvano, p. 8;Katsaya, p. 6; Kira, p. 13; Karhan the Brigand Chief,p. 18; Fighters I, II, and III (generic NPC

warriors), p. 14; Riana, p. 24; Tekoff the Pawnbroker,p. 20; and Farvaro, p. 7.

2. Hiring OnIt seems that everyone in Khedris is applying for

positions in Halmaro’s caravan, but of course noteveryone will be accepted. Halmaro wants competenthelp, and rather than rely on verbal interviews(Khedrans are well known for their fast-talk ability)he has arranged a series of practical tests for potentialemployees.

The PCs have no trouble finding Halmaro’srecruiters; they are wearing red-and-white sashes, andare surrounded by hopeful applicants. The recruitersgive all the PCs the same message: everyone is tomeet at Caravan Square the next day. There will be afull day of “placement trials” before the caravan getsunderway. Those who excel at the trials will get thebest jobs. There will be plenty to eat and drink.

Any character who makes it toLantara for this adventure wouldknow the following:

Lantara is a large state occupy-ing the central portion of the conti-nent. Khedris is its capital and thelargest city on the continent, withsome 300,000 people. The mainindustries in Lantara are govern-ment, tourism, and trade. Commontrade goods are the farm productsgrown along the Kindino River andore mined in the north. Lantara isruled by an emperor; the guilds arealso very powerful (there is somedispute as to whether the Royal

Family or the Merchants’ Guild ismore powerful). Advancement inthe Merchants’ Guild is by skill andcompetence (and the ability to sur-vive guild politics, of course).

The Royal Line stretches backmany generations; few of the namesare remembered by any but histori-ans. One name still remembered isKhedren, a wise emperor who abol-ished slavery, lowered taxes, andraised the general standard of living.Khedris is named in his honor.

Lantara has a Tech Level of 3.Lantarans consider themselves a sci-entific, enlightened culture with no

superstitions – i.e., no magic. Inrural areas, folk may believe in the“evil eye,” charms, etc. There maybe magic in this world, but the char-acters will not encounter it in thisadventure.

The Lantrai religion is polytheis-tic; the gods personify activities orvirtues (commerce, law, charity,music, etc.). The gods are relativelybenign entities. Fanaticism, espe-cially religious fanaticism, is rareand generally not tolerated.

WORLD BACKGROUND

REPLACEMENT CHARACTERSIf the PC dies along the way, or is so badly

wounded that he cannot continue, the GM may allowthe player to create a new 100-point character.

If the lost PC was a spy for Katsaya, the replace-ment should also be her agent if the original spy wasnot revealed. If the first agent had been unmasked,the replacement should be loyal – since other playerswill suspect him no matter what.

The recruiters won’t know much morethan that though if a PC gets a good reactionroll from the recruiter, he gets an additional bitof information. Roll a die to see what islearned:

1 – Halmaro’s No. 1 wife will be there, too.Halmaro is a strong man, but she’s just asstrong. And she plays for keeps. Don’tcross her or you will have an enemy forlife.

2 – Halmaro believes in receiving value.The recruiters will be looking for peoplewho are willing to work and who looklike they’ll be loyal to Halmaro. Thefood and drink are free to applicants, butanybody making a pig of himself willhurt his chances of being hired.

3 – Big Red (Halmaro) is looking for a fewgood fighters and scouts. The team hehad intended to use are overdue from amission in Ajir.

4 – Almost everyone who is any goodshould be able to get a place in this car-avan. It’s so big that the transients andindigents who normally camp by theriver in Caravan Square are being dis-placed – something no one can remem-ber ever happening before!

5 – Everybody calls Halmaro “Big Red” –but not to his face. If you’re in theMerchants’ Guild you call him“Guildmaster.” Otherwise, you call him“Sir.”*

6 – Halmaro has a reputation for fairness. Ifyou do your job and keep your noseclean he’ll take care of you. If you crosshim, you won’t do it twice.*

*Members of the Merchants’ Guild willknow number 5 and 6 already. If a memberof the Guild gets either of these, roll again.

Before the PCs reach Caravan Squarethey will hear the noise; in fact, they’ll hearit halfway across the city. Caravan Square isusually a quiet park with an occasional cara-van forming up; today it’s a swarming massof people, animals, and more people.

THE TESTS1. Guards who claim hand-weapon ability will fight in

sham combat, without armor. They will be issued woodenweapons and told to go at it. The first character who strikesthree “touches” wins the contest. They are not to use their fullstrength (if a character decides to use his full strength, andhits, tell him he’s injured his opponent and lost the contest).

It isn’t necessary to create complete NPCs for opponents.Give the NPC all of the character’s weapon skills at -1. If youare using the Advanced Combat System, give the NPC thesame Move as the character. If someone does well, let himfight Max the Guard (the NPC in the solo adventure – seeGURPS Basic Set p. 224). Max isn’t really terribly formida-ble, but he’s gigantic and frightening.

Archers and crossbowmen get five shots each round at aman-sized target 100 yards distant. Hitting the target threetimes out of five is considered a successful round. In the firsttwo rounds, everyone has time to aim. Later rounds willrequire snap shots!

2. Entertainers, cooks, and most other applicants will bepaired off two by two and engage in contests of the appro-priate skill. These contests have a practical purpose (feedingand entertaining the contestants) as well as comparing theapplicants.

Again, complete NPCs aren’t needed here. Give eachcharacter’s opponent skill equal to or one less than the char-acter’s skill, and a couple of quirks to make the encounterinteresting.

3. Animal handlers will be required to show that they cancontrol and take care of the animals. To do this, they mustmake several Animal Handling rolls with several differentanimals. Appropriate animals are camels, horses, mules,oxen, and cattle. They must also demonstrate their HorseRiding and Camel Riding skills.

If the character is trying to handle a camel, this is a spe-cial situation. The character rolls his or her Animal Handlingat -4 (camels are notoriously obstinate), or -2 if he has theCamel Riding skill. If the character misses the roll, the camelignores him. On a critical failure, the camel embarrasses thecharacter by kicking or spitting at him. The judges expectthis and will probably be amused unless it happens exces-sively.

Each character will compete at least twice and perhaps asmany as five times, depending on how much fun the playersare having. Use your own judgement here. Halmaro andKatsaya, together or separately, are seen watching some ofthe tests.

Each PC’s salary will start at $600; for each contest won,his or her salary will go up by $100, to a maximum of $400extra. If the character works in two capacities, he or she willget an extra $200.


Each character should decide what job he wantsto apply for. There are plenty of red-and-white sashedaides here, and any of them will be able to directapplicants to the appropriate areas. They will bedivided into groups; entertainers in one section (manyof these will be performing at the wedding), herdsmenin another, guards in another, and so forth. (Playersmay try out in more than one section. In fact, Halmaromight prefer it, since the fewer people he takes alongthe lower his expenses will be.)

The GM may make a whole adventure out of TheTests, or skip over them with a few die-rolls. They aredescribed in the box on p. 4.

After the trials end, the PCs will be accepted forthe caravan. They will be told their pay rates (whichdepend on their test performance) and ordered toreport for work the next morning.

They will also be invited to a party, already underway at the Usurper’s Beard tavern on the edge ofCaravan Square. It’s free to everyone who will beworking for Halmaro this run.

3. The ObligatoryTavern Scene

It’s traditional for a caravan crew to get togetherthe night before they set out, for “one for the road.”One big long party, that is. Halmaro is footing the bill!The characters may eat and drink as much as they like,speculate about the upcomingadventure, and get to know oneanother. This tavern checksweapons at the door; this is nottheir first pre-caravan party.

Use the interior game mapfor the tavern.

There will be tables, a bar, agame of darts in the corner,serving wenches, and otherentertainment. There is gam-bling in one of the back rooms.Games include the local equiva-lent of craps, roulette, andpoker. You can improvise thegames, or just have a characterhold a Contest of Skills againstthe house (which has aGambling Skill of 18).

Here are some possible tavern encounters; feelfree to include your own.

● As a PC gets up to go to the bar, a man bumpsinto him. “Hey!” he shouts. “Watch where you’regoing!” No matter how polite the answer is, the manwants to pick a fight. If the character walks away, theman will yell at him for a while and then go findsomeone else to run into.

● A drunk ambles over to the PC table, sitsdown, and immediately begins a long, ramblingmonologue about the good old days. It seems thedrunk has mistaken the PC for a friend of his namedVildo. If the character tries to get rid of the drunk, ordenies that he is Vildo, the drunk will be insulted andmake a scene.

● A good-looking member of the opposite sexwalks up to the PC and flirts for a moment. Soonafter the flirt leaves, the PC notices that his coin-pouch is missing. (You may allow a Pickpocket,Streetwise, or IQ roll for the victim to notice some-one is tugging at their pouch – -3 if the victim isLecherous.)

● The PC runs into a fop who has been every-where and done everything and thinks everyoneshould know about it. This fop will be difficult toshake.

● A serving wench leans over to set down atankard. Before either the wench or the PC can sayanything, a large, burly man grabs the character.“What was that you said?” he demands. The PC

now has five seconds to get agood reaction roll at -6, whichwill convince Burly that he didnot mean to insult his girl.

● A small, shifty-eyed manattempts to sell the PC a goldring of invisibility for $20. Henext offers a treasure map. Anda set of good luck charms. Anda bottle of love potion. He willfollow the character around thetavern for a while, offering himincredible deals on merchan-dise of highly questionablevalue, until his victim (a) buyssomething, (b) leaves the tav-ern, (c) points out someone inthe tavern who looks like hemight buy something, or (d)takes a swing at him.


The Tavern

Main Room

Barkeep’s

Room

Closet

Landing

KitchenStorage

Note that several of these encounters may leadto fights. If a PC chooses to fight, his opponent willhave a Brawling ability of (1d+10) – that is, roll 1die and add 10 to get his skill. Roll 3 dice threetimes to get the opponent’s ST, DX, and HT;assume he has no armor.

If the players don’t flee after the fight, they willeither end up unconscious or be there when the CityWatch shows up. In that case, they spend the nightin jail and are released in the morning, in time toreport to work. Assume that – by whatever means –anyone who gets badly beaten is healed back up toHT-3 the next morning.

IntrigueGMs: If you want a straightforward adventure

with no possibilities of internal betrayal, ignore thissection.

As the characters are partying, one of them isapproached privately by a short, dark, curly-hairedfellow – he looks like he could be from Catho. Thisman is an agent of Katsaya, Halmaro’s chief wife.Katsaya is a political power in her own right; hermarriage to Halmaro is one of convenience only,and she often intrigues against him.

The character approached will be the one mostlikely, in the GM’s opinion, to betray his newemployer. Thus, greedy individuals, known thieves,and the like will be approached first; those with asterling reputation, Merchants’ Guild members, andso on, will be approached last.

The agent keeps trying until he fails with every-one or until he recruits one of the PCs (if there arefive or six PCs, he may recruit two). After the party,each loyal PC gets an IQ roll (at +2, if he wasapproached himself) to realize the agent talked toseveral PCs. What each does with this knowledge ishis own concern.

The agent’s proposal is simple. The PC will geta retainer of $500 now and another $1,000 when thecaravan reaches Ein Arris. His job will be to keepan eye on Tsorvano, and report anything “interest-ing” to Katsaya. He may be called upon for othertasks; if any of these are arduous, there will be extrapay.

If a PC refuses, the agent smiles, and leaves –returning later to try again on someone else. If a PCagrees, he is given a simple recognition code, bywhich he will know others of Katsaya’s spies.

(Anyone discussing their flower garden in a certainway is a fellow agent.)

The PC gets his $500 – and that’s that, for now.A PC who raises a fuss gets a quick knife-wound inthe arm (2 hits damage, armor doesn’t protect); thespy fades into the darkness, and a different agentwill contact any remaining PCs.

It may occur to a PC to take the money and thenreport to Halmaro or Tsorvano. (Reporting to any-one but those two or another PC will earn the dou-bly treacherous PC three assassination attempts,spaced over the adventure!) If the PC offers to play“double agent,” make a reaction roll for Halmaro. A“good” or better reaction means approval. A neutralreaction means dismissal from the caravan; a worsereaction means the PC won’t leave the interviewalive. In the latter cases, the unlucky player maycreate a new character, and Katsaya’s agents will goon down the line of PCs looking for someone elseto corrupt. (GMs: If for some reason you don’t wanta reaction that severe, change Halmaro’s reaction orfudge the roll!)

If a PC becomes an agent of Katsaya, there willbe several chances for intrigue and betrayal duringthe adventure. An agent of Katsaya can confess toHalmaro at any time after tonight; reactions will beas above, but at a -1.

KATSAYA 125 POINTSEarly 40s; Flashing black eyes, dark curly hair; 5’1”,

120 lbs.

ST 10, DX 13, IQ 13, HT 12.Basic Speed 6.25, Move 6.Dodge 6, Parry 7.

Advantages: Literacy; Very Wealthy; Status (+4 on reac-tions, Catho or Lantara).

Disadvantages: Bad Temper; Bully; Jealousy;Stubbornness.

Quirks: Angry about aging and lost beauty; DislikesLantara; Loyal to Catho when it suits her interest;Resents being married to non-hereditary noble;Stingy and generous by turns, unpredictably.

Skills: Dancing-12, Fast-Draw Knife 14; Knife-14;Leadership-15; Politics-16; Savoir-Faire (Catho)-15; Savoir-Faire (Lantara)-13; Stealth-10.

Languages: Cathan-13; Lantrai-12; Shandassa-12.Total reaction roll: +0 (+4 in Catho and Lantara).Weapons: Knife (small): 1d-3 cutting, 1d-3 impaling.


4. Interview withHalmaro

When the characters show up at CaravanSquare in the morning, they will be told toreport to Halmaro himself. They follow theirguide to an area where about 15 camels arebeing readied. There they meet a tall, broad-shouldered man with long red hair and a fullred beard; his dress is casual but obviouslyexpensive. This is Guildmaster Halmaro.

“The freefolk you asked for are here,Guildmaster,” the guide says.

“Thank you,” the tall man says. “Youmay go.” He looks them over carefully, thensmiles approvingly. “Yes. Yes, I’m sureyou’ll do.”

“You are to be part of my personal ret-inue. There are a number of important thingsthat will need to be done on this journey, andI need good people I can trust to do them forme.” Halmaro turns and calls to the mansupervising the workers. “Tsorvano! Comehere, if you please.”

Halmaro turns and leaves. Tsorvanolooks the PCs over, gets their names, andpoints to the group of camels he is readying.“To start with, you will be traveling with ouradvance force. One does not drive a large car-avan into town without adequate preparation.For instance, the caravan will be spendingtwo or three days in Tatsori. You will be leav-ing early to make preparations for the caravanto pass through.” He indicates a slight-look-ing man standing off to one side. “You are toguard and assist Farvaro, here; he will takecare of negotiations and arrangements intown.”

Tsorvano then puts the players to work,helping to get the camels ready to leave.Each PC must make one Animal Handlingroll, at -4, while dealing with the camels.Anyone who fails will be the target of a face-ful of camel spit and Tsorvano’s laughter. Acritical failure means a kick or bite doing 2hits of damage. See section 3 in The Testsbox.

The normal trade route goes west fromKhedris and skirts the edge of the desert until


FARVARO 50 POINTSEarly 40s; Pasty skin, wispy brown hair, brown eyes; 5’7”,

160 lbs.

ST 10, DX 11, IQ 13, HT 10.Basic Speed 5.25; Move 5.Dodge 5, Parry 5.Wears light leather (PD 1, DR 1).

Advantage: Literacy.Disadvantages: Laziness; Bully (mental only, but that’s bad

enough); Cowardice.Quirks: Dislikes roughing it; Hums tunelessly; Ignores those

“beneath him”; Enjoys gambling, strange forfeits, andsucker bets; Thinks he’s a good navigator (he’s not).

Skills: Administration-13; Camel Riding-11; Diplomacy-14;Gambling-14; Horse Riding-11; Knife-11; Merchant-16;Sleight of Hand-12.

Languages: Ayuni Trade Pidgin-6 (default); Lantrai-13(default); Nomic-12; Shandassa-12.

Weapons: Knife (large): 1d-2 cutting, 1d-2 impaling.

Gambling with FarvaroAfter only a couple of days’ travel, the PCs will observe that

Farvaro loves to gamble. He will offer to bet on absolutely anything, argue about the odds, argue about the stakes . . . youname it.

Farvaro will repeatedly challenge the PCs to bets on anythingand everything. While riding on camelback, he’ll offer to betabout which way a lizard will run. And so on. Eventually, he getsaround to wagering on dice.

But what Farvaro really loves to do – even more than winmoney – is suggest embarrassing wagers and forfeits. He thinksthat he is being jovial with his underlings. A woman who’s justlost her shirt to him (literally), or a man who has to eat a sand-lizard raw, may think differently. For some reason, Farvaro rarelyloses this type of wager.

Because he cheats. Not often – just enough to give himself anedge. He automatically wins when he cheats. (The GM shouldconceal his rolls to cover this.) Each PC gets one chance to detecteach cheat. Roll a Contest of Skills between the PC’s Vision roll(at a -2 for firelight) and Farvaro’s Sleight of Hand of 12.

Farvaro will certainly have some fun with the PCs if they lethim. If anybody really annoys him, he suggests an even worseforfeit: the loser has to walk toward the moon until it goes down,and then try to find his way back to the caravan. This will resultin his getting lost (see sidebar, p. 9). If by some chance Farvaroloses, he’ll go just out of sight of the caravan and hide, returningin the small hours of the morning, in a foul mood.

If anyone offers Farvaro physical harm, he threatens themwith Tsorvano, Halmaro, and the whole Merchants’ Guild. Thecamel-drivers hate Farvaro but will not permit the PCs to attackhim.

it comes to the Parlama River, where it turns andfollows the river to Tatsori. Some time in the pastanother river dried up and left a wadi which is usedas an alternate road during the dry season.

The main caravan will take the River Road. Itis much longer, but the ox wagons would nevermake it through the desert; the caravan wouldn’t beable to carry enough water.

The advance group, on the other hand, willtake the Desert Road, though it is not without itsdangers. The party will need extra time to get theirpreparations made for the caravan’s arrival inTatsori.

There are 30 people in the advance group.Besides the PCs, there are 20 camel-drivers, sev-eral laborers, and Farvaro. The PCs are the onlyguards. Each character will ride a camel (sup-plied by Halmaro). Food, water, tents, and othersupplies are carried by the camels; they are alsosupplied by Halmaro, and the players need notconcern themselves with these details.

The party will leave Khedris sometime aroundsunset, well ahead of the main caravan.

5. SandstormThere are 30 camels in the advance party; food,

water, tents, and supplies will be divided amongthem. The camels require little water and can carryheavy loads easily; the party will average 25 miles aday.


TSORVANO 205 POINTSTsorvano is an ex-brigand who met Halmaro

years ago at sword’s point, while Halmaro was anaggressive young caravan-master. Neither one willsay who won that first encounter, but soon afterwardTsorvano became the merchant’s loyal henchman.

Tsorvano wears his broadsword for everydayuse, but if he expects trouble, he’ll sling hisgreatsword on his back.

Early 40s; Swarthy, bald, hooked nose, brilliantgreen eyes; 6’4”, 220 lbs. – 205 points.

ST 13, DX 14, IQ 13, HT 12.Basic Speed 6.50; Move 6.Dodge 6, Parry 8.No armor, no encumbrance.

Advantages: Literacy; Toughness (skin has DR of1); Wealth (Wealthy).

Disadvantages: Miserly; Sense of Duty (Halmaroand Guild); Stubborn.

Quirks: Dotes on Halmaro’s daughters; Dislikesclerics, will always wear the minimum for com-fort and propriety; Enjoys embarrassing his infe-riors; Likes open spaces; Very cold to strangers.

Skills: Broadsword-16; Desert Survival-16; Fast-Draw (Two-Handed Sword)-14, (Knife)-14;Fast-Talk-15; Knife-17; Kalba (musical instru-ment)-14; Merchant-16; Mountain Survival-15;Two-Handed Sword-17.

Languages: Lantrai-13 (default); Shandassa-13;Nomic-13; Ayuni Trade Pidgin-6 (default).

Weapons: Broadsword: 2 dice cutting, 1d+1 crush-ing; Two-Handed Sword: 2d+2 cutting, 1d+1crushing; Knife (large): 1d+2 cutting, 1 dieimpaling.

HALMARO 275 POINTSMid 40s; Fair skin, long red hair, thick red beard,

dark brown eyes; 6’2”, 190 lbs. broad-shouldered.

ST 12, DX 12, IQ 14, HT 12.Basic Speed 6; Move 6.Dodge 6, Parry 6.No armor, no encumbrance.

Reaction roll +12 (!!) (Charisma, Voice, Reputation,Status).

Advantages: Charisma (+1 on reactions); Literacy;Mathematical Ability; Voice (+2 on reactions);Reputation (+4, all the time); Status (+5 on reac-tions); Wealth (Filthy Rich).

Disadvantages: Sense of Duty to Merchants’ Guild.Quirks: Always impeccably groomed, even when on

the road; Collects paintings and sculptures;Genuinely likes people; Likes to travel;Workaholic.

Skills: Accounting-17; Administration 14; Bard-15;Broadsword-13; Camel Riding-12; Dancing-11;Diplomacy-15; Detect Lies-14; Economics-17;Fast-Talk-15; Horse Riding-12; Knife-14; Law-14; Mathematics-17; Leadership-16; Merchant-16; Politics-17; Savoir Faire (Lantara)-18; SexAppeal-14; Singing-14; Streetwise-16.

Languages: Ayuni Trade Pidgin-6 (default); Cathan-13; Lantrai-16; Nomic-13; Yat Ayun-13;Shandassa-13.

Weapon: Knife (large): 1 die cutting, 1d+2 impaling.

The PCs soon learn that their nominal leader,Farvaro, is totally unfit for command. Whenever heis asked for advice or instructions, he says “Do whatyou think best.” If pushed, he will grow irritable:“Your job is to get me to Tatsori, not to waste mytime with stupid questions.” Farvaro prefers to spendhis valuable time sleeping, drinking, humming tohimself while staring into space, and gambling. (If anyone wants to gamble with Farvaro, see thebox, p. 7).

The party travels for four days. Nothing of last-ing significance happens; the GM may roll once perday for minor events. No event will repeat itself.

1 – Cloaked riders are seen in the distance. Theyshadow the group for two hours, and are not seenagain.

2 – The mingled bones of a man and a camel arefound.

3 – Several little desert wolves circle the camp onenight. They come within 30 yards, but will flee ifpursued. Because of their size and the faintmoonlight, they will be at -3 to hit with a missileweapon. All will flee the turn after any wolf ishit. These wolves have HT 13/8 – that is, Healthof 13 but only 8 hit points. They are no danger tothe caravan, and there is no real reason to attackthem, but the PCs may want target practice.

4 – A family of skunks, scurrying across the trail,spooks the lead camels. Each PC must makea Camel Riding roll. Failure indicates the

character was thrown off into prickly cactus,taking 1 die of damage (armor protects). Acritical failure indicates the PC was sprayed– nobody will want to get near him for days,and strangers will react at -4.

5 – All PCs must make Desert Survival rolls. Theone who makes the roll by the most (if anyonedoes) spots a patch of greenery along the wadi.Investigating, he finds a spring. This is valuableinformation – that spring was not on the maps –and will be worth a $50 award from theMerchants’ Guild, or double that if he is amember.

6 – Farvaro insists on his reading of the map. Theparty is delayed by a day as a result. Make anote of the delay; it may be important later.

On the fifth day, a brownish haze will appear onthe horizon. Have each PC make a skill roll, oneither Desert Survival (default IQ-5, Naturalist-3,or any other Survival-3) or Meteorology (defaultIQ-5). If anyone has Danger Sense, they may makea roll against IQ to sense the danger. Any PC whomakes their roll will be able to tell that a sandstormis blowing in from the west and will be on them inabout an hour. If no one makes a roll to notice theapproaching storm, one of the herdsmen will point itout about 15 minutes before it hits. It will be too lateto set up camp properly.

Once the sandstorm is sighted, the group willwhirl into activity, trying to get the camels tethered


LOST IN THE DESERTPCs may become separated

from the group, and lost in thedesert, in several ways. If the causewas not a sandstorm, they can findtheir way back by a Tracking roll(+5 because they’re tracking ahuman being – themselves!). Orsomeone else from the party couldtrack the lost person.

If the sandstorm was involved,there will be no tracks. At thispoint, a roll against Navigation isrequired to find the caravan by thestars. One roll per day is allowed.Keep trying until you die, find thecaravan, or are rescued.

If the other PCs insist, Farvarowill delay the party to search for thelost person. For each day of delay,give any PC with Tracking skill (nodefault rolls) a single roll, withoutmodifier, to find the lost person.

Anyone with AbsoluteDirection may try to find the cara-van as above, at a +3 bonus, or justtake two days and walk to a littlevillage he saw on the map. Fromthere he can get to Tatsori in time tojoin the caravan as it leaves. (ln thatcase, the other players have no ideaof the lost one’s fate until he shows

up in Tatsori; send the “lost” playerout for pizza.)

A PC alone in the desert mustmake a Desert Survival roll eachday. A failed roll costs 3 fatigue and3 HT (no water!). If he survives,each day counts as 12 hours’ studyof Desert Survival.

If someone remains lost formore than four days but survives,let him be picked up by a smallgroup of riders and delivered toTatsori just before the caravanleaves.

and the tents pitched before the storm strikes. Farvarowill be no help at all; he will whine, dither, and get inthe way. Each player must make another AnimalHandling roll (at -4, again!). This time a failure meansa bite (1 die damage) and a critical failure means thecamel runs away and is lost – see #5 on the tablebelow.

Then the storm strikes. Each PC must roll againstDesert Survival skill or default – at -2 if the stormwas pointed out by a herdsman. For each PC whofails his skill roll, roll one die on the table below. Foranyone who had a critical failure, roll twice! Notethat if by chance someone is already lost in the desertwhen the storm strikes, their roll to survive is at -2automatically, because they have no tent.

1 – PC takes 1 die of damage from the blasting sand.2 – In the hurry, the PC dropped something or left a

saddlebag open at the wrong time. An item of per-sonal gear was lost – possibly a weapon, a pieceof armor, etc. The GM looks at the character sheetand makes a random determination about whatwas lost.

3 – The PC didn’t set the stake on his tent properly.His tent falls in, causing him 1d-3 damage.

4 – PC gets sand in his eyes and is blinded for 2 days.5 – PC forgot to tether his camel. He will lose his

camel and five days’ worth of water the camelwas carrying (but no personal gear). He willhave to ride with someone else for the rest of thetrip to Tatsori, and the party will be on shortwater rations (and they’ll blame him for it). ThePC’s pay will also be docked $200; the obnox-ious Farvaro will take pains to point out that thisis only a fraction of the creature’s worth.

6 – PC gets lost in the sandstorm! He will wanderlost in the sand until he finds the party or isfound. See the Lost in the Desert box (p. 9).

The sandstorm will die down around sunset. Thecharacters will find sand in their shoes. And theirtunics. And their saddlebags. And the insides of theireyelids. And everything else . . . If you want to be athoroughly irritating GM – and who doesn’t? – youcould have them finding sand in various places allthe way to Tatsori.

Note: This desert trip, capped by the sandstorm,is equivalent to 50 hours instruction in DesertSurvival. For a character without the skill, it will takea total of 500 hours to acquire it – at IQ-2 level.

6. TatsoriThe wadi eventually meets the river. The char-

acters will follow the river south for about a day,until they reach Tatsori. If four or more days werelost during the trip, read the box. Otherwise, thingsare under control. Farvaro will snap to attention, putaway his bottle, and go off to negotiate the suppliesfor the caravan; the players will have some leisuretime, except for when they’re guarding the animalsand equipment in shifts (one at a time).

Farvaro tells the PCs to lose themselves and notbother him while he takes care of business. Theyhave four days to kill, unless time was lost on thetrip. They can go shopping (they can buy anything onthe equipment list), carousing (there are two inns intown), or whatever they wish. There are also healershere who can take care of any injuries from the sand-storm.

Each day, one member of the party has a smalladventure. The GM may choose the lucky PC anyway he likes, as long as he doesn’t repeat – either rollrandomly, or pick an appropriate PC for each one.

Day 1. The character is approached on the wayto the bazaar by a young boy carrying a beggingbowl, who asks for alms and then says “Noble sirwant good deal, fine sword from Bonoro?” This is a


LATE TO TATSORIIf the sandstorm or Farvaro’s jokes made the

party more than four days late into Tatsori, they willarrive to find the main caravan already there.Tsorvano is furious. Halmaro is seen having a quiettalk with Tsorvano, after which Tsorvano is evenmore furious.

Tsorvano collars the PCs and Farvaro for anexplanation. Farvaro will immediately blame every-thing on the PCs, or on some PC who has incurred hiswrath. He will lie freely.

The PCs may now tell their side of the story. Atthis point, the GM says, “Now we’ll see howTsorvano reacts.” Roll the dice twice. If either roll isvery high or low, let the players see – but then,regardless of the roll, he grabs Farvaro by the scruffof the neck, rips the Guild stripe off his tunic, andthrows him out the door.

Then he glowers at the PCs. “Haven’t you gotanything to do?” And he leaves.

Farvaro is not seen again. The caravan managesto reprovision itself, and leaves almost on schedule

trap. A successful Streetwise or Danger Sense rollwill reveal it right away. At the shop the boy leadshim to, a Merchant, Armoury, or IQ-5 roll will revealthe swords being shown are cheap junk, not fineweapons at all. While the garrulous old “shopkeeper”is making conversation, a Taste (-2) or Poisons rollwill warn that the tea is drugged. (Fake a reaction rollfor the shopkeeper, if the PC tries to haggle. Thenhave him smile and pour more tea.) If the PC drinksthe tea without suspecting, he will wake up in analley, stripped and with an aching head. At no pointwill he have a chance to grab the boy if he tries – thekid is too fast – but the old man is slow, and could beeasily captured at any time before the poison takeseffect. Unfortunately, there’s no reward, and thewatch would confiscate the fake swords.

Day 2. Farvaro needs some help with negotia-tions and takes the character along. The precisetype of help he needs depends on what skills thatcharacter has – it might be intimidation, goodlooks, or even a bit of thievery. The GM may eitherrequire a couple of skill rolls and tell the playerwhat happened, or improvise and play out a wholeencounter!

Day 3. A thief (use one of the thieves from thepregenerated characters) tries to steal from thecamp during the character’s guard shift. Roll aContest of Skills – the thief’s Stealth vs. theguard’s Hearing. If the guard wins, he can confrontthe thief (who will probably try to flee). Otherwise,the thief sneaks up on the guard and gets a freeattempt to bash him on the head with a club. Theguard will not be able to get help in time to dealwith the thief; he must do it himself. There is aprice of $20 on this thief’s head; if the guard losesor is knocked out by surprise, the thief will take hisweapons and valuables.

Day 4. One of the locals challenges the charac-ter to a camel race. The race itself is a Contest ofSkills, Camel Riding vs. Camel Riding – assumethe speed of the camels is the same, so it’s the rid-ers’ skills that count. If you want to draw out therace, make a series of contest rolls, with the winnerbeing the one who wins the most out of nine. Thereare possibilities for intrigue here if the playersthink of it; gamblers could make some money, aVet could drug the opposing animal, pickpocketscould be working the crowd . . .

Also in Tatsori, the players will be approachedat their evening meal by a middle-aged woman

who wants to make conversation about her flowergarden. If none of the PCs are working for Katsaya,they will not recognize the signal. If one is, he willhave to make an excuse to talk to the woman pri-vately. She will give him a sealed parchment to bedelivered to Katsaya.

The message will be meaningless if read. If itis opened before delivery to Katsaya, the delivererhas earned a knife in the back unless he made asuccessful Forgery roll to repair the seal. But if it’ssimply never delivered, Katsaya will not react –she wasn’t expecting it.

On the fifth day, the caravan will come intotown. This is one of the most exciting things to hap-pen in Tatsori in years, and everyone will be thereto see it. The town will be in a festive mood, andrural folk are always interested in news from the bigcity. Make a reaction roll for each PC. On an espe-cially good reaction roll or Bard skill roll, the localswill be so impressed with the character’s stories thatthey will provide him with free drinks and meals aslong as he’s in town. They will follow him every-where, begging him for more stories. Members ofthe opposite sex will find him very attractive. Aneutral reaction or Bard roll will mean the characteris ignored in favor of more “interesting” membersof the party.

A very poor roll will be an opportunity for afight (maybe fists, but possibly weapons) with adrunk. If this happens, successful Stealth orStreetwise rolls will be needed to avoid pursuit bythe Watch. If anyone is caught, make a reactionroll. A bad reaction indicates that the watch beatsthe character into insensibility (no time for jailshere) and delivers him to the caravan with a warn-ing. A good reaction indicates a slap on the wrist,or even a thanks for chastising the nuisance.

The main caravan will stay in Tatsori for twodays. When it leaves, the PCs’ group will travelwith it. They are again under Tsorvano’s command.

7. A WeddingAfter leaving Tatsori, the caravan will follow the

east bank of the river for about three days. Halmarowill send for the PCs and tell them there is to be awedding at Aghnara in two days. Halmaro can’t bethere – the caravan is much too big to leave the mainroute – so he will send them as his representatives. Heis sending a camel with two saddlebags full of gifts.


The camel is of a prize breeding stock, worth $3,000;the bride’s father raises camels and trades withHalmaro often.

As the characters approach Aghnara they willhear drums and pipes over a hill. The music is cheer-ful and the people are well-dressed and enjoyingthemselves; this is obviously the wedding festival.The bride is the daughter of a nomad chief and thegroom is the son of a prosperous farmer. The land onwhich the festival is being held will be his share of thefarm. The bride’s family speaks Nomic; the groom’sfamily speaks a thickly accented version of Lantrai.The characters will have a chance to drink, eat, andenjoy themselves well into the night – especially thosewho speak both languages. Each character who par-ticipates must make a Carousing roll. A failure meansloss of 1 HT to the effects of strange brew – First Aidwon’t help.

The festivities will continue another day; the cere-mony is at sunset of the second day. Of course, the endof the ceremony is everybody’s cue for the revelry toescalate. Make another Carousing roll, as above.

That night, the wedding guests will present thenomad chief with various gifts. (See box for anexplanation of the wedding customs.) One well-dressed man offers a camel harness with silverinlays. The chief gets into a shout-ing match with the man; translatedloosely from Nomic, the chief israiling at the man, asking if thatwas all he could afford. The mancalls the chief a rude name andleaves with a huge smile on hisface. An elderly woman comes upnext with a basket of eggs. Thechief accepts with pleasure, kissesher on the forehead and gives hera beautiful woolen shawl. At thispoint, the characters may besomewhat confused!

When the characters show upwith Halmaro’s camel the chiefwill tell them (through an inter-preter if necessary) something like,“Old Red has been out in the suntoo long! I raise camels for a living.If he thinks I’ll let this knock-kneed flea bag near my prizemares, he’s a turtle.” The saddle-bags contain gifts for the couple: a

plowshare, a bolt of rich fabric and a Commerce coin(a gold $20 coin depicting the god of commerce) fortheir firstborn child.

The chief will look at the gifts, allow as how theyare all right if Halmaro couldn’t do any better, and askwhat the PCs brought.

Let the characters stew over this for a while; theneach may give whatever they wish. The chief reacts at+3 (he’s in a good mood), or +6 for anyone whospeaks his Nomic tongue. If the reaction roll is low,the gift will be accepted with empty smiles and set tothe side. If it’s high, the PC will be treated just like thelocals, and the return gifts will be generous.

It is possible that some of the wedding guestswon’t think the gifts are good enough and will wantto challenge the PCs, to uphold the newlyweds’honor.

These guests are drunk and ready to fight. This istraditional. This will be a fist fight (no weaponsallowed), no worse than an average bar fight. Therewill be a lot of bruises and a couple of broken teeththe next morning, but no one should be hurt serious-ly. If the characters break anything they will beexpected to pay for it.

The trip back to the main caravan takes one dayand is uneventful. Halmaro and Tsorvano will ask for


WEDDING CUSTOMSIn Khedris, couples are usually married by magistrates. Rural cus-

toms are somewhat different. “Patriarchs” (heads of families) areempowered to perform marriages. (The information below is not knownto the PCs unless they defined themselves as having a farm background,or unless they made an IQ roll at -6. Members of either the Merchants’Guild or White Sword get a +2 on this roll; so would anyone else the GMdeems well traveled. Knowing these customs could save some embar-rassment . . . )

Wedding guests will arrive two or three days before the wedding.There is dancing, eating, drinking, and general partying until the cere-mony begins, traditionally at sunset. After the ceremony, everyone con-gratulates the couple. The guests bring gifts for both the couple and thebride’s father (to compensate him for the loss of his daughter and tothank him for putting on such a lavish party). A lavish gift from some-one wealthy will be belittled (“This is the best you can do?”); this meansthe recipient liked the gift. A gift from someone poor, if it represents asubstantial portion of their assets, will be greatly appreciated. Often thegiver receives a gift of greater value in return. Someone pretending to bepoor and giving a small gift, when he could have given something bet-ter, will be extravagantly praised and given a worthless gift in return – acooking pot with a hole in it, for instance.

a report. If all went as described above, they will bothbe pleased. If by chance the PCs stole the weddinggifts rather than delivering them, see the Stealing theGifts box.

8. Secret MissionLate at night, Tsorvano summons the PCs for a

briefing. He has a mission for them, and if neces-sary can pay a bonus for successful completion. Hewill not offer a bonus unless asked, but might go ashigh as $500 apiece – none in advance – if pressed.This mission is only for the PCs.

Halmaro’s daughter Kira, the bride-to-be, issupposedly with the caravan (Tsorvano tells thecharacters) but in reality her carriage is empty. Thecharacters will be sent out to find her.

Kira was a student at an abbey school at Urlo,studying courtly arts, etiquette, and the Mashandilanguage and culture. Kira wanted to go out and dothings, and staying cooped up in school, even if itmeant she got to marry a rich prince, was torture.

One day she disappeared. The brothers and sis-ters of the abbey searched for her fruitlessly. Herbed hadn’t been slept in and there were no signs ofa struggle, so they had no idea what had happened– until a ransom note appeared on the abbey’s frontdoor one morning. HELP, the note read. I HAVEBEEN CAPTURED BY BANDITS. THEYWANT $50,000 TO RELEASE ME. LIGHT TWOFIRES ON THE HILL NEAR THE RING OFOAK TREES JUST NORTH OF THE BAN-DOTHRU RIVER. HURRY. The note was signedby Kira, and so far as anyone can tell was in Kira’sscript.

Halmaro is suspicious; the note looks genuinebut he has learned to be cautious of anything hav-ing to do with both Kira and money. When the car-avan gets near the Bandothru (which is betweenNarhanha and Marshanda), he wants the PCs toinvestigate and see if they can find the bandits. HasKira been kidnapped or did she just run away? Ifshe has been kidnapped and they can rescue herwithout paying the ransom, so much the better;otherwise they will be deputized to pay the ransomand retrieve Kira.

The characters are to travel through Satrhan Pass,and from there follow the road down to the Bandothruand the rendezvous point. They will be given $500 forexpenses, but will be expected to use it wisely andaccount for it upon returning. Their mission is to findout if the bandits really have Kira, if she’s all right,and to rescue her if they can. If necessary, they are tomake arrangements for the ransom.


STEALING THE GIFTSIf the PCs stole the wedding gifts, their descrip-

tion of the wedding is unlikely to ring true. Roll aContest of Skills: the liar’s IQ or Fast-Talk vs.Halmaro’s Detect Lies skill of 14. This is at -3 if thecamel was stolen as well as the gifts, or a -6 if for anyreason they never went to the wedding at all! If thePCs are caught in their thievery, they will be returnedin chains to the nomad chief – slavery is illegal, sothey’re “permanently indentured servants.” Thisadventure is over; their next problem is to escape.

KIRA 70 POINTSKira, daughter of Halmaro and Katsaya, was a

cute, freckled tomboy when she was younger, andlearned to ride and fight. As she grew older, shebecame beautiful – the very picture of the devastatingfemale fighter. That’s how she thinks of herself – andshe will fight bravely if need arises. Unfortunately,she is also spoiled, arrogant, and a bit dumb.

18 years old; Red hair, brown eyes; 5’6”, 125 lbs.

ST 10, DX 13, IQ 9, HT 12.Basic Speed 6.25; Move 6.Dodge 6, Parry 6, Block 5 (if she gets a shield).No armor, no encumbrance.

Advantages: Beautiful (+2 on reaction roll by samesex, +4 by opposite); Charisma (+1 on reaction);Literacy; Status (+3 on reaction by members ofown culture).

Disadvantages: Bad temper (IQ roll to avoid losingtemper); Impulsiveness; Jealousy; Stubbornness.

Quirks: Arrogant; Conceited; “Female fighter” self-image; Likes jewelry; Selfish.

Skills: Broadsword-14; Knife-14; Horse Riding-14;Shield-15; Dancing-13; Sex Appeal-14; SavoirFaire (Lantara)-11; Singing-12.

Languages: Lantrai-10; Shandassa-8.Weapons: Broadsword: 1d+1 cutting, 1d-1 crushing;

Knife (small): 1d-3 cutting, 1d-3 impaling.

For this trip, the PCs will be using horses provid-ed by Halmaro. Anyone absolutely unable or unwill-ing to ride a horse may walk instead; horses are con-venient but don’t add anything to your daily marchdistance.

9. The Tax CollectorsThe party proceeds along the shore of Lake

Athrana into the mountains until they reachSatrhan Pass. The weather is merely warm here,instead of hot. A mile into the pass, they will bestopped by a group of men wearing heavy clothing(counts as armor with PD 1, DR 1).

They say they are tax collectors for the kingdomof Narhanha. They will ask for a tax of $2 per person,and $5 a head for each horse and mule, from anyonegoing through the pass.

Anyone making a Streetwise or Detect Lies roll(one roll per PC) will know that these are merelyclever thieves. Setting up a barricade and chargingtoll is a common scam; most travelers will pay ratherthan argue or fight.

The characters may want to fight. If any of themhas Common Sense, roll against their IQ; on a suc-cessful roll, remind them that it isn’t their money, andthey might as well pay. If they decide to fight any-way, set the situation up on the map with the “toll-booth” to the GM’s right, the thieves near the GMand the characters on the other side of the barricade.

Satrhan Pass is represented by the “outdoor”game map (p. 16). The floor of the canyon is repre-sented by the unshaded hexes; this is “normal” ter-rain. The lightly shaded hexes are at a higher eleva-tion; the ground there is more rocky and hard to walkon. In this area all Moves and weapon skills arereduced by 1. The gray hexes are higher yet and verydifficult to stand or walk on. All Moves here arereduced by 3 and all weapon skills are reduced by 2.The dark hexes are atop a sheer cliff and impossibleto reach without climbing equipment, Climbing rolls,and at least an hour of time.

The barrier is a gate with a DR of 2 and 15 hitpoints. Its closed location is shown by the dotted lineon the map; a counter can be made to show its posi-tion when opened. If the characters break through thegate, or pay and attack after it’s opened, they will beable to fight the thieves.

The thieves will fight, but not to the death.(Use two each of the Fighters I and II (see box)

for this group, with Horse Riding-18 added totheir skills.) Any thief whose HT is reduced tohalf its original value will run; after two flee orare killed, the rest will retreat. Those who fleewill retreat off the map, jump on horses and rideinto the mountains.

The PCs may follow on horseback; otherwisethe thieves will lose them completely. Roll aseries of Contests of Skills, using the thieves’Horse Riding skill of 18 (they will stay together)and the lowest of the PCs’ riding skills. Any PCwith a low skill may choose to stay out of thechase rather than slow the others down.

Keep track of how many contests each sidewins. If the thieves win three more contests thanthe characters, they have outdistanced them andare home free. If the PCs win three more contests


FIGHTER I 65 PTSST 13, DX 12, IQ 9, HT 10.

Basic Speed 5.5; Move 5.Dodge 5, Parry 8.No armor, no encumbrance.

Skills: Broadsword-16; Knife-12.Weapons: Broadsword: 2 dice cutting, 1d+1

crushing; Knife (large): 1d+2 cutting, 1 dieimpaling.

FIGHTER II 70 PTSST 13, DX 12, IQ 9, HT 11.


Skills: Broadsword-15; Knife-14.Weapons: Broadsword: 2 dice cutting, 1d+ 1

crushing; Knife (large): 1d+2 cutting, 1 dieimpaling.

FIGHTER III 70 PTSST 12, DX 12, IQ 10, HT 10.


Skills: Bow-15; Broadsword-13; Knife 13.Weapons: Broadsword: 2 dice cutting, 1d+1 crush-

ing; Knife Carge): 1d+2 cutting, 1 die impaling;Regular bow: 1 die impaling. Acc 2, SS 13, !/2

damage at 180 yds., Max 240 yds.

than the thieves, they have caught up and mayfight.

Anyone rolling a critical failure during thechase is thrown. If a PC, he takes 1d-2 damageand is out of the chase. If a thief, he’s caught, andany or all of the party may stop to fight him – butanyone who stops can’t catch the other thieves.

If the PCs catch up with the thieves, theymust fight from horseback, which will reducetheir effective weapon skills; see the rules onMounted Combat.

LootEach thief has personal weapons and 3d × 10

silver pieces.If the characters kill or drive off the thieves

and search the area, they find some horses (four,less the number of thieves that escaped) just offthe map. These are good saddle horses, worth$1,200 each. If they search the shack they findnothing in plain sight; however, a successfulVision (IQ with Alertness and Acute Vision fig-ured in) or Architecture (default IQ-5) roll finds ahidden tunnel behind the fireplace. This leads to a

cave the thieves used as a headquarters. Insidethey will find enough food for the party for tendays, $1,136 in cash, and a good broadsword.

10. More Tax CollectorsThe characters continue through the pass; the

other end is some three hours’ travel away. At theother end, the pass is blocked by an official-look-ing barricade. (Use the same map but turn it so thecharacters are entering from the opposite side.) It ismanned by four uniformed men who also claim tobe tax collectors for the Kingdom of Narhanha.Anyone making a successful Streetwise or DetectLies roll perceives they’re telling the truth.

They will remove the barricade when they col-lect their toll (again, $2 for each person, $5 foreach horse or mule). If the characters pay they willbe allowed to pass unharmed. If the players want tofight, a Common Sense roll will let you cautionthem against it; if they persist, let them fight, butthey will have to get through the barricade first.The barricade has a DR of 2 and 25 hit points.


The stockade is a squalid brickbuilding with iron-barred doors.Anyone imprisioned is firststripped of all possesions but cloth-ing. Most likely the guards dividethem up and they are never seenagain.

If a character specifies that he isdoing so, he may try to hide thingson his person before the guardsearches him. Have the player saywhat he is trying to hide and where.Then have a Contest of Skills: thePC’s Holdout skill vs. the guard’sIQ at 10. Modify the PC’s Holdoutskill for what he tried to hide, andhow cleverly. If the guard loses thecontest, the character gets to keepthe item he hid.

Each prisoner is then throwninto a cube-shaped cell, six feet on aside. The sanitary facilities consistof a hole in the floor. He will be theonly person in the room. There is a

gridded window through which sunshines, and the guards bring foodand water (both drinking and wash)twice a day, so it’s not as bad as itcould be (unless the character isover six feet tall).

If anyone wants to escape, lethim try. The grates covering thesewer-hole and window have 30 hitpoints. By constant effort (and whatelse do they have to do?) withsomething to wear down the grates(like a file, for instance) he can getthrough 1 hit point of grate eachday. When the grate has taken 30hits the character will be able to getthrough it. The window opens ontoa parade ground, so someoneescaping this way must do so atnight to avoid being seen. The holein the floor opens into a sewer lead-ing to the river.

Jumping the guard at mealtimeis probably not a good idea, since

there are always two guards. If thecharacter wants to try to take onboth guards, use one Fighter I andone Fighter II. The character has tomake it through two more Fighter IIguards, at the outer door, to get thekey and leave.

Other ideas might include chip-ping through the wall (90 hit points)or making a knife and taking aguard hostage. A Fast Talk roll at 4could bribe a guard with an offer oflater payment. Players will nodoubt have other ideas.

After the characters have beenincarcerated for about a week,Tsorvano shows up to bail themout. This will cost $200 for eachcharacter, taken out of their salaries.Tsorvano will not be happy, but hewill send them on to finish the job . . . or else.

THE AYUN STOCKADE

The tax collectors will flee if attacked by arrowfire, or if it looks as though the attackers have achance of getting through. They’re civil servants,not mercenaries. They will run to a garrison twomiles away and report that Narhanha is beinginvaded. This brings two dozen men to see whatthe problem is. (Even ifthe PCs butcher the fourtax collectors, someonewill see what happens andreport to the garrison.)

When the soldierscatch up with the PCs,make a Potential Combatreaction roll at -2. Severalof the troops have WhiteSword connections; if anyof the PCs are WhiteSword members and men-tion it, this roll is at +2instead.

The best thing that canhappen is that the PCs sur-render and are politelyescorted to jail. The worstthat can happen is a fightthat ends with the uncon-scious or dead PCs beingdragged back to town. Ifthe PCs insist on fighting,use 12 each of the FightersI and II. The players willlose this fight and will be

taken straight to the city of Ayun and thrown intothe stockade. If this happens, see the box on p. 15.

11. The BrigandsThe characters travel several days until they

get to the scene described in the ransom note: aring of oak trees at the base of a hill. Before theylight the signal fires, they may try a Tracking roll(default IQ-5 or Naturalist-5) at +5 (tracking aman). A successful roll reveals a trail leadingnorth down the hill. It looks like someone hascome to this area several times. The trail leads toa footpath, with a bridge spanning a creek. Thereare four pathways here, two on each side, meetingat the bridge.

A Strategy or Tactics roll (default IQ-6) revealsseveral hiding places that permit observation of thebridge. Anyone who notices these will be at a +2 tospot anyone hidden there later (since he knowswhere to look).

There is also a small ruin just west of thebridge. There are three steps leadingup to a largely intact front wall withno door. There is no roof. Onlysmall portions of the connectingside walls remain.

Remind the characters that theransom note told them to light twosignal fires on the top of the hill. Allof this reconnaissance brings them tonightfall; they must decide whetherto light the fires tonight or investi-gate further tonight and perhaps lightthe fires tomorrow.

Meeting the BrigandsIf they light the fires, they

soon hear a horn blowing off to thenorth. Within 15 minutes, a brig-and appears with a flag. He offersto make the exchange at sunrisethe next morning at the bridge atthe foot of the hill. Then he slipsaway. Since the brigands knowthey have company, there will be a-3 penalty on all Stealth rolls if thePCs try to spy on the brigandcamp!


AYUNI TRADE PIDGINFor many years traders have passed through

Ayun, going to and from Ein Arris and Khedris.This constant contact has spawned a pidgin usedall along the trade route by traders of different lin-guistic backgrounds. Ayuni Trade Pidgin has thesentence structure of Yat Ayun, the vocabulary ofLantrai, and the numbers, curses, and insults ofboth.

Anyone knowing either Lantrai or Yat Ayunmay treat Trade Pidgin as a Mental/Easy skill, witha default of IQ-5, except that it is impossible togain a skill of greater than 6 in Trade Pidgin.

THE BRIDGEIf you’re using the Advanced

Combat System, you’ll need this map.The location of hiding places is markedon the map.

Spying on the Brigand CampThe brigand camp (see box) is #/4 of a mile north-

east of the bridge. If the characters want to look for iton their own, have them specify where they aresearching. A successful Tracking roll at -5 (huntingmen, but at night) will reveal a man-made trail lead-ing northeast from the stream. If the character speci-fies that he is using his Stealth skill to avoid beingseen, and is successful, he will be able approach thebrigand camp. Otherwise, he is seen by a sentry. If hecan defeat the sentry (Fighter I) within 30 seconds,and make a successful Stealth roll to flee, he can get

away. Otherwise he is caught, his valuables aretaken, and he is held until after the exchange ismade.

Once the brigand camp is located, the PCswill not have to keep to the trail their scoutfound. They may try to sneak around where thepickets and sentries won’t see them. Stealthrolls, at +3, will be required to do this withoutbeing spotted and captured.

If they have a good plan, let them try tocarry it out; if not, have them make a Strategyor Tactics roll, and give them a plan if they aresuccessful. A possible plan: Build two brushpiles on the hill; leave lit candles in the middleof each to serve as fuses; go to the other side ofthe brigand camp, ready to move in when thefires blaze up and draw the brigands’ attention.This would draw at least five brigands, includ-ing the leader, out of camp. For more about thebrigand camp, see the box.

The ExchangeIf the characters meet the brigands on the

bridge at dawn, the brigand chief will haveKira with him. She is all right, but bruised andfurious. A Vision or Danger Sense roll willreveal several brigands (eight, actually) hidingnearby. At this point the characters have threeoptions:

● They can attack the brigands. Anyonewith Common Sense, Strategy, or Tacticsshould make a roll; if successful, hint to themthat they are in enemy territory and are proba-bly outnumbered. If they fight anyway, play itout. There will be one Fighter I with a sword ineach hiding place, and two Fighter IIIs withbow and arrow ready in the ruin. If the charac-ters win they get Kira and anything the brigands

have on them; if they lose they will die.If the PCs flee, the brigands pursue; handle this

chase as for the phony tax collectors (above). Thebrigands all have Horse Riding skills of 16 to 21(1d+15) and will fight to the death if they catch thePCs.

● They can try to fool the brigands with a fakeransom payment. If they do this they had better havegood counterfeit, because the brigand chief will countthe money to make sure there’s $50,000 there. TheGM rolls for this; the exact roll depends on what thecharacters tried and how clever it was. If they detect


THE BRIGAND CAMPUse this information if the PCs want to reconnoiter the

camp. They may even attack, if they are foolhardy. If theycome up with some clever tactic to improve their odds, letthem try it, requiring whatever skill rolls seem appropriate.

There are 42 brigands in the band, but when the PCsarrive, 10 of them are out on picket duty and 13 are asleep.This leaves Karhan (the leader) and 18 other brigands in thecamp. Of these, six are Fighter I, six are Fighter II, and therest are Fighter III. All have the appropriate weapons fortheir skills. Choose them randomly unless otherwise speci-fied.

Kira’s tent is in the center of camp, facing the campfire.Two brigands (one each I and III) are guarding Kira’s tent,one in front and one behind. Two others are walking aroundthe perimeter.

The other 15 brigands will be gathered around thecampfire, cooking a meal and singing. Karhan, the chief,will be among them. There are eight tents in a ring sur-rounding the campfire and Kira’s tent. The PCs will hearsnoring in one tent just behind Kira’s; there are two meninside. (If the PCs check or stumble into a tent, or theguards are alerted, there are two men in each of the tentsnear Kira’s.)

All the brigands are light sleepers. If anything happensto awaken them, wait 10 seconds and then start rollingagainst IQ for each brigand. A successful roll means that,four seconds later, that brigand will come out of the tent,weapon in hand, looking for trouble.

The brigand’s horses are tethered north of the camp;two men are on guard there, near a small campfire. Both areFighter III, armed with swords and bows; they are theremostly to defend against wolves. If they shout for help, theywill be heard at the main camp, but it’s 200 yards away.

There are about 50 horses here; they are fast, sure-foot-ed mountain ponies worth $1,500 each.

fraud, they will attack; see above. If the brigands takethe fake money, they release Kira.

● They can agree to deliver the ransom. The chieftells them to meet him at the bridge in one week.When they return to Halmaro, he sends Tsorvano anda dozen assorted guards with them; Tsorvano will

have the $50,000 in a locked chest in his sad-dlebag. The PCs should not even think of try-ing to steal the ransom money – Tsorvano ismuch too careful. On the return trip, theymeet the real tax collectors (going bothways) but not the fakes; the trips will be oth-erwise uneventful.

The brigand leader will meet them at thebridge, as promised. Once he is satisfied thepayment is correct he will cut the bandsaround Kira’s wrists, toss her sword andknife down beside her, and leave. NeitherKarhan nor Tsorvano will start a fight; thesides are too evenly matched. If one of thePCs does something to alarm Karhan, he willduck below the railing of the bridge. This isa signal to the brigands to attack – see #1,above. (GMs: If you don’t want to set up amass battle, let Karhan laugh off the threat. Ifyou do want a big fight, you should probablyuse the Basic Combat System to make it goquickly.)

If Tsorvano’s force wins, they ride backwith Kira; they won’t be pursued. If theylose, the brigands are likely to slaughterthem and vanish with the money, effectivelyending the adventure!

12. Daddy’s Little GirlIf the party hasn’t totally botched the mission,

they will be riding back with Kira. During the trip,Kira exhibits all of her character flaws. She is glad tobe out of the brigand’s camp, but the word “grateful”


KARHAN,THE BRIGAND CHIEF 100 POINTS

Karhan and Kira met at a festival a year ago, and were smit-ten with each other for all the wrong reasons. Kira ran away tojoin Karhan of her own free will. Together, they cooked up theplan to extort $50,000 from her father. But after a couple ofweeks with Kira, the brigand decided he’d rather have $50,000than $50,000 and Kira. She tried to scratch his eyes out; he hadher imprisoned for real. He will now happily exchange her for theransom, if given the chance.

Late 20s; Golden skin, black hair in ponytail, black eyes;5’11”, 160 lbs.

ST 13, DX 13, IQ 12, HT 11.Basic Speed 6; Move 6.Dodge 6, Parry 7.No armor, no encumbrance.

Advantages: Handsome (+2 reaction for same sex, +4 for oppo-site sex); Voice (+2 to all reactions).

Disadvantages: Laziness; Lecherousness (must roll to avoidmaking a pass at women); Overconfidence.

Quirks: Conceited and susceptible to flattery; Loves music;Arrogant; Likes to gamble; Easily bored.

Skills: Broadsword-16; Fast-Talk-13; Gambling-14; HorseRiding-14; Knife-14; Leadership-14.

Weapons: Broadsword: 2 dice cutting, 1d+1 crushing; Knife(large): 1d+2 cutting, 1 die impaling.

PRISONERS OF THE BRIGANDSIf one or more PCs are impris-

oned by the brigands, they will betied up, together, in one of the eighttents circling the fire. A singleguard is posted in front of the tent.Their weapons will be taken (andwill not be found unless the camp istotally sacked) but they will be Ieftwith any armor less valuable thanchainmail. Other personal belong-ings are tossed in the tent withthem.

If they wait for rescue, it will beweeks coming; Halmaro will even-tually send a large force for a ran-som, but it will be awhile! Sothey’d better try to free themselves.Possibilities include:

A successful Escape roll (oneattempt per character per day) towriggle out of bonds. If someonesucceeds and frees the others, allmust make Stealth rolls to creepaway. These rolls are at +3 if theguard in front of the tent is elimi-

nated. A failure means discoveryand a fight.

A successful Fast-Talk roll onthe guard, and another one onKarhan, to get them released.“Somebody’s got to bring you theransom!”

Gambling with Karhan, fortheir liberty, property, etc. Ofcourse, if they lose they are inworse trouble than they werebefore. His Gambling skill is 14.He doesn’t cheat.

does not describe her attitude. Her saddle is uncom-fortable, she hates the weather, she’s glad to get awayfrom Karhan because he turned out to be so boring,she’s been wearing this same dress “forever,” sheneeds a maid to do her hair, and on and on.

Once Kira gets back to the caravan there will bea big, happy family reunion. If Kira was rescued,rather than ransomed, Halmaro splits $5,000 amongthe PCs! Kira herself will be very happy for a day ortwo and then get bored with the whole routine.

The fourth day after her rescue, she approachesthe male PC with the highest reaction bonus, andentreats him to run away with her. If he refuses, shetries to convince him. Roll a Contest of Skills: herSex Appeal of 14 vs. his IQ.

At this point, the possibilities are:● The PC runs away with her – either

because he wanted to or because her SexAppeal overmatched his IQ. Give the PC achance to reconsider the next day (no IQroll required – let the player choose freely). If hereally wants to run away with Kira, they are bothout of the adventure unless you, the GM, want towrite them back in. If he brings her back by force,he takes 1 die of damage in the process. Proceed asin the third option below, except that Halmarooffers no reward.

● The PC will refuse Kira, but keep quietabout it. She will be in a truly terrible mood thenext day. The day after that, she runs off with oneof the animal handlers; all attempts to find her willbe fruitless.

● The PC refuses Kira (or lies to her) andimmediately reports the whole affair to Halmaro.This is loyal, prudent behavior, and should beworth a character point unless the PC is supposedto be foolish. Halmaro thanks the PC and presentshim with a jeweled dagger of fine quality, worth$900. The next morning Kira is nowhere to beseen; Halmaro has bundled her back to school inthe company of six tough female camel-jockeys.Katsaya doesn’t know . . .

13. Haggling in AyunBefore long the caravan reaches Ayun. Here the

players get the second quarter of their promised pay.If the PCs acquitted themselves well in rescuing

or ransoming Kira, Tsorvano congratulates themgrudgingly, pays the promised bonus, and sends

them into Ayun on the following errand. If they didnot do well with Kira, Tsorvano harangues themthoroughly, pays little or no bonus, and gives themthis job anyway . . .“And don’t make fools of your-self this time – it makes me look bad.” If asked whythey are picking up jewels when the bride is gone,Tsorvano will explain, “Shut up and follow orders.”

Yoka, a jeweler in Ayun, was commissioned tomake a tiara and some other jewelry for the wedding.Tsorvano gives the characters $8,000, the agreed-upon price. The PCs are to pick up the jewelry andreturn to the caravan by sunset.

Tsorvano emphasizes the urgency and importanceof the errand.

As the PCs enter Ayun, they are readily rec-ognized as visitors (their clothes are sodull). A half-dozen street vendors rush upto them, trying to sell them anything from

hot squab on a stick (very tasty, actually) tostreet maps to lucky charms. These people are not

in the habit of giving out free information – theyreact at -3 to any request for information, and areconfusing and unintelligible on bad reactions.

But if a PC buys something first, they do theirbest to help (except the map seller, of course). “Yoka?Oh yeah Yoka, he-fella talk all time, not say nothing.You-fella go down this street maybe by me four,maybe five street, see sweet shop, turn left. Look biggreen jewel sign, you find Yoka.”

After running around for a while (and getting lostor misdirected several times) they finally find Yoka;he is short, bald, fat and wears loud, bloused clothes(like Arab robes made in Hawaii). His shop displaysdozens of trinkets, which even the most ignorant PCcan tell are mere gaudy glass.

Yoka will be all smiles but very unhelpful untilthe PCs mention Tsorvano. “So-vann-no send you?Why you-fella not say so? Why you leave ugly camel-driver behind?”

Yoka talks a mile a minute – “You-fella guy verylucky, have Ugly for friend, you know? Ugly goodwith sword. Chop-chop! One day by me six, maybeseven trip to Ayun, Ugly come in with six-fella headfrom bandit. Ugly say bandit try to take him away themoney from boss-fella Bigred. Ha! Yoka know better.Yoka know bandit want take him booze! Ugly onlygot one big problem, you know. Big saying in Ayun:‘Good with sword, bad with girls.’ Is big-fella prob-lem for Ugly, you know? He-fella guy go to find girl,look at girl, sing to girl, scare girl away! Hey, you-


fella want to see Yoka make like Ugly? Yoka grab catand pull him tail, sound like Ugly play kalba same-same!” And so forth, with Yoka railing on in a semi-intelligible pidgin, laughing at his own humor, tellingcontradictory stories about his past with Tsorvano, andregaling the party.

Eventually the characters will get a word in edge-wise and ask about the jewelry. Yoka unlocks a door,scuttles into the back of his shop, and returns with atiara, a necklace, a pair of earrings, and two bracelets.He will allow the characters to look over the mer-chandise (anyone making a Jeweler or Merchant rollwill know this is good jewelry).

Yoka will say, “Have extra expense! Price rubiesgo up, silver go up. Must have $9,000 all same.” Hewill say that he absolutely cannot let it go for less!This may present a problem if the PCs aren’t carryingenough extra cash! Yoka will helpfully suggest a shopa couple of streets away where they can sell weapons,armor, etc. If the PCs go along with this outrageoussuggestion, let them go visit Tekoff (see box).

If a character thinks to ask the GM, and a DetectLies roll succeeds, he will know Yoka is lying. Butjust knowing this isn’t good enough.

To haggle Yoka back down, the PCs must pick anegotiator. The negotiator must roll a quick Contest of

Skills (Merchant) with Yoka. Yoka’s skill is 18. ThePC’s negotiator is at a +1 because Yoka feels a bitguilty about cheating Tsorvano, and another +1 ifsomeone detected Yoka’s lie.

If the PC wins, Yoka concedes that Tsorvano is afriend of his and for his friend he will lose money, notto worry about his six starving children. If the PCloses, Yoka’s final demand is $8,000 plus $100 forevery point by which the PC lost the haggling contest.The players will just have to find the cash!

The PCs may threaten Yoka. If so, he will be abu-sive and ask what kind of friends Tsorvano is choos-ing these days; if he feels really threatened he will callfor the watch. He will eventually give them the jewel-ry for $8,000, but he will never speak to them again ifhe can avoid it. This probably won’t concern the PCstoo much. If the PCs actually attack Yoka, they’re inserious trouble. At the very least, they will wind up injail (see sidebar, p. 15). Tsorvano will not bail themout. The GM should prevent the PCs from harmingYoka (let him flee very nimbly) unless he is willing todispense with the rest of the adventure and let the PCsbecome hunted outlaws.

The characters may shop in Ayun; it is a largecity and has just about anything they would need.If they plan to stay any length of time, one of thefirst things they should buy is one of the local cos-tumes. Anyone wearing solid or subdued colors isimmediately branded a tourist.

When the PCs return to Tsorvano, there arethree possibilities:

● They paid $8,000 for the jewelry. Tsorvanoacknowledges that they performed this simpletask without botching it, and dismisses them.

● They paid more than $8,000. Tsorvanolaughs and calls them fools. Make a reaction roll.On a “very good” or better roll, he reimbursesthem. On a good reaction he reimburses them forhalf the difference. On a neutral or worse reactionhe reimburses nothing.

● They failed to get the jewelry. Tsorvanogives them a tongue-lashing; the next day, herides back and picks it up himself.

14. The AbbeyThree days later the caravan is about a day’s

journey south of the town of Desh Ava. Tsorvanocalls for a stop at Desh Ava; he has an errand toperform at the abbey, and he wants the characters


TEKOFF THE PAWNBROKER

Tekoff is a tall, skinny old man in a screamingred-and-purple robe, set off by a wide green hatwhich he wears indoors. He speaks good Lantrai, buttalks . . . very . . . slowly. This is the man that Yokasuggests if the players decide to sell equipment topay his extra charges.

Tekoff has ST 9, DX 10, IQ 11, HT 9. He has amerchant skill of 15. He is prone to make snap deci-sions about people. When each person first talks tohim, make Tekoff’s reaction roll. That will rule hisoffer – except that his best offer will never be betterthan 90% market value for weapons, or @/3 marketvalue for armor and other goods. Tekoff will “hag-gle” interminably, in his slow voice – but he willnever offer a substantially better deal than his firstprice.

Should someone want to buy weapons or armor,Tekoff will sell at the prices suggested by his firstreaction roll. His selection is limited to “ordinary”items, though the GM may throw in a couple of odd-ball things if he wishes.


During the time that the PCs arewith the main caravan, the GM mayimprovise almost any sort ofencounter he wishes. The caravanwas huge when it left Khedris, andit’s grown along the way.Wellwishers, hangers-on, camp fol-lowers, and smaller caravans glad to“convoy” with Hatmaro – all havejoined.

Each day the caravan heavesitself up and travels north and west,stringing out over miles of road.Horses, mules, oxen, and evenstranger beasts pull carts, wagons,and sledges – neighing, mooing,braying, and honking, one followinganother.

Each night when the caravanmakes camp, 20 acres of wildernessturn into a carnival. Cooks, bards,dancers, pickpockets, jugglers, ped-dlers of all kinds of merchandise,singers, and gamblers all ply theirtrades. If the PCs want to borrow,buy, steal, or look at something, it’soffered in camp at night. Of course,the GM should never simply tell thecharacters, “Sure, by an amazingcoincidence there’s a tavern tentright in front of you.” Lead thempast the minstrel (whose assistantwill be aggressively passing the hat),the snake-oil salesman who won’ttake no for an answer, and the manoffering them a view of the eighthwonder of the world, newly arrivedfrom mysterious Darabi, for one thinsilver penny if they step right thisway.

The GM should remember that ifthe PCs create disorder, he can’t justsay “look out for the guards.” ThePCs are the guards – that’s why mostor all of them were hired byHatmaro. Of course, there are otherguards . . . but the PCs are more like-ly to be called to break up a brawlthan they are to start one. If they for-

get this, they’ll earn a stiff reprimandfrom Tsorvano.

Below are two encounters thatthe GM can use any time the actiongets a bit slow . . . or whenever a playsession threatens to end a bit earlyand he needs something to keep theplayers busy for another hour.

Lion Loose! One of the caravanhangers-on is a showman with asmall menagerie. One bright morn-ing, for no reason anybody can tell,his lion knocks him down and boltsout the open cage door. The show-man is unconscious; the PCs arecalled to deal with the matter. Theyfollow the sounds of screams to findthe lion holed up in a ring of sudden-ly deserted wagons.

Anyone with Animal Handlingcan try to calm the creature. The rollwill be at -5 (creature is unfamiliarwith handler). The lion bolted atfeeding time; approaching the beastwith fresh meat would be worth a +2to the roll. A failed roll means thelion attacks the PC. A successful rollgets the lion safely back to its cage;the showman will be very grateful($100 cash reward and friendship).Good roleplaying here would beworth a character point, too.

But in all probability the lion willhave to be killed. It has ST 26, DX13, IQ 4, HT 15/20, Speed 10,Dodge 6. Its hide has PD 1, DR 1; itattacks by biting and clawing for 2d-2 cutting damage.

However the PCs deal with theTerrible Lion Menace, they will bethe evening’s heroes.

Missing Jewels. A clever thiefbreaks into Katsaya’s wagon andsteals a necklace. She is furious. If aPC is Katsaya’s agent, he willreceive instructions to listen forrumors about it; Tsorvano will giveall the PCs similar instructions. A$500 reward is offered (Katsaya isfeeling stingy).

If the PCs don’t actively pursuethis, nothing will happen. Any PCwho investigates will get a roll(Streetwise or Criminology) to pickup a useful rumor. Allow one roll perday for three days; three failuresmean permanent failure.

However, a successful roll willturn up an interesting name – amember of the caravan’s “instantunderworld.” A successfulStreetwise roll (by any PC, not nec-essarily the one who got the name)will set up a meeting. (The PCs maytry for three days, once per day. If allrolls fail, the man has grown fright-ened and left.)

If the meeting takes place, it willbe between a single PC and the thiefPeccissimavo. Make the thiefs reac-tion roll. Peccissimavo will react at+2 if the whole $500 reward isoffered up front, but at -1 if the PCholds back even a farthing of it. Thenecklace is easily worth $5,000 evento a fence. The only reason the thiefwill even consider giving it back isto avoid the unexpected level ofheat!

Details are up to the GM – butessentially a good reaction rollmeans the thief turns over the jewelswith no trouble, while a neutral reac-tion means “no deal” and a bad reac-tion means an attack (use the DaiBlackthorn character sheet for thethief). If the PC initiates an attackand wins, he can get the jewels, butwill be jumped by three of the thief’sfriends, two nights later (use one ofeach Fighter NPC).

Return of the necklace will earnthe petty reward, and a +1 on anyreaction from Halmaro, Tsorvano, orKatsaya for the rest of the adventure.If the return was peaceful, the PC(s)involved in the deal will have madesome good contacts, giving them a+2 on Streetwise while with the car-avan.

IMPROVISED ADVENTURES


to come along. The caravan will go on to Desh Avaand spend two days there, lodging their camels andtransferring their goods to horses and mules.

The abbey is a cluster of gleaming white build-ings on a hillside to the west of Desh Ava. It is ashrine to the goddess of the homeless andorphaned. Anyone who has nowhere else to go isbrought here; this is where mothers who can’t carefor their children bring them, for instance.Everyone there is expected to work to earn theirkeep, including visitors. The sisters don’t askTsorvano to do any physical work; he is just askedto play his kalba (a musical instrument resemblinga seven-stringed balalaika) in the evenings.

The characters can use any talents they have toentertain. For instance, one character might use hisAcrobatic skill to tumble for some orphans. ALiterate character who has Calligraphy might beasked to help write some prayer scrolls or to helpteach children to write.

Those who can’t entertain will have to work.Applicable skills might be Animal Handling (help-ing in the stables), Herb Lore or Healing (helping toprepare herbs for healers), or Sewing (to help mendand make clothes). Anyone using these skills shouldroll against their skill level. If they fail, they botchedthe job; they will be thanked for helping and askedto do something different, like wash dishes or sweepstables. A successful roll means the character did agood job and is asked to continue for a little while.

In terms of the overall adventure, it makes nodifference what any of the characters do here. Butthey can have fun trying to avoid the stables. TheGM can roleplay other abbey visitors, who teasethose who have to do menial labor.

As the characters are showing off their skills,one of the sisters makes the rounds, asking for vol-unteers for the dinner dishes. The characters shouldhave a chance to get out of this by contests of theirFast-Talk vs. the sister’s IQ of 10. (If anyone wantsto volunteer to do the dishes, the sister is grateful.)One of the PCs will end up doing the dishes. Therehe meets a girl with green eyes, red hair, and anengaging personality.

Her name is Riana. She is about 19 years old.She has lived in the abbey all her life. She has noidea who her parents were; all she knows about theoutside world is what the sisters tell her. Of coursethese sisters describe the world outside as riddledwith sin, with wicked men who will do their best to

corrupt her, evil pleasures and material goodsabounding. And of course all these lurid descriptionssimply make the outside world more alluring toRiana. She has romantic dreams of travel and adven-ture, and even, perhaps, owning more than a fewsimple dresses. She wants to get out of the abbey. Infact, she pleads with the PC to take her away.

Before long Tsorvano enters the kitchen, and shewill run to him, calling, “Uncle Tsorvy!” Tsorvanohas been here many times with the caravans andknows many of the children. He brings them presentsand plays the kalba for them. A successful Empathyroll would allow someone to notice that, thoughTsorvano likes all the children, Riana is clearly hisfavorite.

Riana looks a lot like Kira. Give each PC an IQroll to notice this. Anyone who succeeds should getan IQ-2 roll to realize there is a marked familyresemblance between Riana and Halmaro. Anyonewho succeeds in this should get an IQ-4 roll to noticethat there is also a faint, but distinct, resemblancebetween Riana and Tsorvano – she has his eyes.

The next morning, as they are getting ready toleave, they notice that Tsorvano is saddling up anextra horse. Riana emerges from the abbey, dressed

Chapel

Classroom

Chapel

Priest’s

Quarters

Storage

Closet

Landing


for travel and carrying a bundle (this contains every-thing she owns). As they ride, Tsorvano tells thecharacters everything in the “Riana’s Story” box,plus the following information:

Halmaro made a contract with the MashandiRoyal Family to supply a bride. Katsaya took this tomean her daughter Kira; she doesn’t know aboutRiana, and Halmaro’s other wives bore only sons.While Halmaro can honor the contract with either ofhis daughters, he would prefer that the prince marry

Riana. This will provide a good mar-riage for the daughter he cherishesthe most, as well as a more valuablelink with Mashanda; he fearsKatsaya’s interference and her diplo-matic abilities. And he’d rather notmake a permanent enemy of thePrince of Mashanda . . .

When Katsaya finds out aboutRiana she will be livid, and will doeverything she can do to stop herfrom marrying the prince. Tsorvanowarns that Katsaya has planted spiesin the caravan; he wants the charac-ters to be on the lookout for suchspies. The characters are to guardRiana with their lives – which willbe forfeit anyway if they should fail.If they are successful, however, asubstantial bonus will be paid.

The GM can have some funplaying Riana at this point. She hassuddenly fallen into a fairy tale! HerUncle Tsorvy is really her uncle;her father is wealthy and powerful;and she’s going to marry a prince –if the evil stepmother doesn’t gether first! She is alternately ecstaticand terrified – but she remainspleasant, in sharp contrast to herspoiled half-sister.

A PC in Katsaya’s pay can earna quick $500 in gold by reportingthis whole episode to Katsaya. If hedoes so, he must make an IQ roll toavoid being noticed by the otherPCs as he visits her part of theencampment. Whether the other PCssuspect the truth, or report him toTsorvano, is up to them.

A spy who does not report to Katsaya will earnher wrath – because she will find out anyway, with-in a day.

15. The VigilThe caravan stops in a small valley two days’

journey from Ein Arris. Tsorvano meets with thePCs and about 30 other guards to explain the situ-ation. Katsaya found out about Riana – one way or

RIANA 100 POINTS19 years old; Red hair, green eyes; 5’6”, 120 lbs.

ST 10, DX 13, IQ 13, HT 12.Basic Speed 6.25; Move 6.Dodge 6, Parry 0.No armor, no encumbrance.

Advantages: Beautiful (+2 to same sex on reaction, +4 to opposite);Voice (+2 on reaction to anyone hearing her voice); Literacy.

Disadvantages: Sense of Duty.Quirks: Gregarious; Inquisitive; Likes small animals; Naive; Romantic

dreamer.Skills: Bard-12; Fast-Talk-13; First Aid-14; Flute-11; Poetry-12; Savoir-

Faire-15; Singing-16.Languages: Lantrai-13; Shandassa-13.Total reactions vary (see Advantages).No weapons, Basic Damage: Thrust 1d-2, Swing 1 die.

RIANA’S STORYRiana is Halmaro’s daughter. She is also Tsorvano’s niece.

Tsorvano’s sister Lura was Halmaro’s third wife. His first wife, Katsaya,couldn’t stand her because Lura was prettier. When Lura became preg-nant, Katsaya’s jealousy grew to hatred; Katsaya had not yet had anychildren. (A year later she would bear Kira.) She ordered Lura out of thehousehold. Halmaro and Tsorvano took Lura to the abbey, but it was thedead of winter and the trip was too strenuous. Riana was a strong,healthy girl, but her mother died just moments after Riana was born.

Halmaro appears at the abbey infrequently; when he goesthrough Desh Ava on business he generally manages to stop in.Tsorvano visits the abbey at every opportunity, bringing gifts andchecking up on his niece. He also brings money from Halmaro, whopays for Riana’s upkeep (he does this clandestinely, so Katsayawon’t find out).

Riana loves Tsorvano; she knows she’s special to him, andaccepts him as “Uncle Tsorvy,” without the slightest idea he really isher uncle. She knows Halmaro by sight, and realizes he is a power-ful man, but has no special feeling toward him.


another – and exploded in anger. Taking her per-sonal retinue of some 40 guards and servants, sheleft the caravan, saying she was going back home.Halmaro didn’t believe her.

As part of the wedding ritual, Riana is to spenda night in vigil. Tsorvano has made arrangementsto have Riana perform her vigil at a small churchon the hill above the valley. He is almost certainthat Katsaya will try something before the wed-ding, and he wants plenty of able-bodied guardsaround Riana. Tsorvano, Riana, the PCs, and theguards will go up to the church.

Tsorvano divides the guards into shifts; heassigns the PCs to the third shift (roughly threehours, starting at midnight). They will be able tosleep or relax for a few hours so long as they are attheir posts at midnight.

Any PC in Katsaya’s pay received instructionsthat morning: “The church will be attacked at about1 a.m. The attackers will wear black armbands;here’s one you can wear when the time comes.Riana’s death will mean a $1,000bonus; Tsorvano is worth anextra $1,000. If Riana lives, youwon’t.”

Have the characters taketheir posts at midnight. Use theinterior map; the rooms arelabeled as shown in the box. ThePCs are stationed inside thechurch. Tsorvano is in the priest’s quarters talkingwith the priest. Riana is in a small room at the headof the stairs. The other guards are ranged around thebuilding.

After the PCs have been on guard for an hour,have each of them make a Hearing roll: IQ, withAlertness and Acute Hearing bonuses added in.Anyone making this roll will hear the guards outsidechallenging someone. A successful Danger Senseroll will warn that something is wrong. There is aknock at the door. “Hey, open up in there!” someoneshouts. “We need to talk to Tsorvano!”

If the characters open the door, three attackers(one of each Fighter NPC) will rush in. They weardark clothing with black armbands. More are visi-ble outside – then someone outside kicks the doorshut. The PCs will have to deal with the three thatgot in.

If the PCs don’t open the door, they hear acurse – then the sounds of battle. The guards out-side are being attacked by a superior force.

Either way, the battle outside will eventuallydie down (after the battle inside is over, if foes gotin). The door begins to vibrate to heavy blows.Clearly, the attackers have killed or driven off theguard force outside.

It takes several axe-strokes to smash the door.Each attack is at -2 to hit, but the attacker outside,still swinging the woodsman’s axe, does notexpect the attack and gets no active defense! If heis hit, he falls back, and others finish destroyingthe door with swords; their defenses are normal.

Then the door falls, and the attackers swarmin. There are more than the surviving defenders –if four PCs plus Tsorvano are left standing, thensix attackers appear. Select randomly from theNPC fighters, or make up equivalent 50- to 80-point fighters. The last one through is the door-chopper (if he lives), who has abandoned his axe

for a broadsword.The attackers’ mission is to

kill Riana. They will fight to thedeath; if they kill Riana, they tryto escape. There is only oneopen door: the front door.(There is another door leadingfrom the priest’s cloister. It isbarred from the inside; an

attacker outside is guarding it to make sure thatRiana doesn’t get out the back way.) The otherwindows are solidly closed and barred – ignorethem.

If the attackers make it up the stairs, there isone more surprise waiting for them. The firstattacker through the door will stop and lookaround, only to be knifed in the back by Riana,who is hiding behind the door with a dagger. Shehits automatically; the foe gets no defense roll. Herdamage is 1d-2 impaling. If the attacker survives,he will fight Riana; her default Knife skill is 9.

If one of the PCs is in Katsaya’s pay, he mustmake a decision now: try to kill Riana, and hope tosurvive the consequences – or try to find an excuseto spare her? Either course is very dangerous. Agood solution should be worth one or even twocharacter points, if the character survives.

When the fight is over, if Riana is still alive,the survivors are praised for their dedication; each

gets the medical treatment TL3 offers. There willbe no more attacks, and the caravan reaches EinArris; Tsorvano is in a good mood, and Halmaro isvery thoughtful. His domestic problems are get-ting out of hand, and are beginning to affectnational politics. Fortunately, Katsaya oversteppedherself when she ordered the attack on the church;that’s far worse than simple assassination. Byusing that against her, he can keep her in line. Fora while.

If Riana is dead, the characters had better flee.Anyone in Katsaya’s pay will at least have some-where to go. Anyone else had better vanish beforeHalmaro or Tsorvano catches him – they would bepowerful enemies. Riana’s death ends the adven-ture, unless the GM wants to write some newepisodes.

16. A Wedding in Ein ArrisIf Riana is still alive, Halmaro pays the PCs

their salary plus $1,000 bonus each. He thanksthem for a job well done, takes Riana, Tsorvano,and a dozen of the other guards with him, andleaves.

The adventure is over, but if the PCs stay intown for two days, they may attend the wedding– it’s a public spectacle. Halmaro is on the daiswith Riana and her bridegroom, and the king andqueen of Mashanda. Katsaya is conspicuous byher absence, and is represented by an emptychair.

And after the wedding, there will be celebra-tions for days. The PCs will have a chance to spendall the money they’ve made, if not more.

17. Character PointsEach PC gets one character point for completing

the adventure and one point for delivering Riana toEin Arris. Anyone who did a good job of roleplay-ing and staying in character earns one further point.

Any booty or trade goods they’ve collected aretheirs to keep as well.

The loyal characters have acquired a powerfulenemy (Katsaya) who appears very seldom. Shedoes not give any character points – enemiesacquired during the course of an adventure don’tcount for points.

Loyal characters do, however, have the oppor-tunity to buy a powerful patron (Halmaro). He alsoappears very seldom, and costs 5 points.

Note that these two possibilities are reversed ifa PC was an agent for Katsaya and survived – butonly for that PC.

18. Further AdventuresNow the characters are in Ein Arris with a com-

pleted mission behind them. Where can they gofrom here? Almost anywhere! They could return toKhedris, of course. But someone could offer them achance to guard a caravan to Assa on a route wheresix caravans have disappeared in the last two years.Or one of Katsaya’s hirelings might try to poisonone of them. Or Riana’s new husband might want tosend them on a diplomatic mission to Azatl, one ofthe Sea States on the eastern coast. Or a shifty-eyedman might offer them a large sum of money to holdsome documents safe for him. Or perhaps all of theabove. Or . . .


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