D&D General GM's Closet for the CONAN RPG

[Water Bob]

-- LANGUAGES & LITERACY --






The Conan RPG is very liberal in the way it grants characters languages. I'm generally in agreement with the rules as it suits the game world. Conan doesn't seem to have too many troubles in communicating no matter where he goes. I do have two notes on this subject, though.


First, the GM should step in and limit or monitor the number of languages a character gets if that character does not have a lot of contact with other peoples. It's hard for me to believe that a Vanir raider speaks too many languages. It would depend on where he raids and how much time he spends away from his people. And a Cimmerian? Should he be able to read and write? The Cimmerian supplement says that Cimmerians think of the written word as a form of sorcery. They're amazed at how strange markings can make a person know so much. It must be sorcery.


In these situations, a GM should step in and limit language choices, and possibly even make the character illiterate in some or all of the languages the character does know. Gaming with these characters, the language and literacy restrictions can easily be lifted as the character adventures, spends time becoming literate, and ventures to new lands to learn new languages. Just use the rule that is already in the game. See page 15 of the Core rulebook (last paragraph of the Languages section).






My second note is that the rules may be just a tad too liberal with any type of character in speaking, reading, and writing multiple languages. There's no room at all for the (much more likely) character who reads and writes his native language plus a few others but also only speaks a few more.


I suggest this: Allow characters to automatically read & write their native language. Then, for every other language that they know, roll an INT check. It's a DC 15 for any language listed as a bonus language (the languages the character is most likely to know) and a DC 20 for any known language outside of those listed under the character's race. (And, of course, the GM can step in and adjust the DCs if he sees fit for his own campaign.)


For example, I posted a 1st level Argossean Thief earlier in the thread. He's a man named Yuri. At character creation, he had INT 15, with all the automatic and bonus languages, ended up knowing 7 languages: Argossean, Aquilonian, Kothic, Ophirian, Shemitish, Stygian, and Zingaran.


Using the rule I suggest, Argossean automatically becomes a language in which Yuri is literate. As for the other six, I have to roll. With the INT 15, I have a +2 modifier, and I roll a DC 15 or better for each of the remaining six languages. I rolled pretty well and ended up with the character being able to read & write in Aquilonian, Ophirian, Shemitish, and Stygian. It is only Kothic and Zingaran where the character speaks the tongue but cannot read or write it. For those, as we game, I will use the rule on page 15 of the 2E Core rulebook whenever the player attempts to learn to read and write in those two languages.














COMMONERS


Let's talk about Commoners for a moment, too. According to the game's rules, an Commoner classed character is illiterate, not even reading and writing his native language. The Commoner may speak several languages, but he doesn't know his letters in any of them. The rules say that it requires 2 skill points to be spent to make the character literate. If you use my rule I suggest above, then the rule for Commoners should be changed a tad so that spending the 2 skill points makes the Commoner literate in his native language and any automatic languages the character is given. Then, for any other languages the Commoner knows, use the system outlined above. Make the rolls and see where the character is literate and where he can only speak the foreign tongue.


This would work for any illiterate character, too. Sometimes, a GM will require a PC to start the game illiterate. I could see this with, say, a Kushite character, who has spent his entire life (before the game starts) knowing nothing but the jungles of the Black Kingdoms. Since he is a PC, then maybe charging him 2 skill points is a bit harsh to become literate. Give the points to him free, but make the player make the roll. When he succeeds, in the spirit of the rules on page 15, the character will then be considered literate. Once a character can read and write one language, he is more equipped to start learning to read and write the other languages his knows.










How do I indicate literacy? I just place a mark next to the language on the character sheet. A character who can speak a language will have the square next to the language penciled in dark. If the character can also read and write that language, I put a dash to either side of the language name so that it's easy for the player to scan the language list (see the character sheet at the back of the Core rulebook) and see which languages the character can speak and which he can also read and write.


The rule I've written in my GM's notebook says the following:

Literacy


Automatic for native and any other automatic languages. Roll INT check at DC 15 for literacy in any Bonus language. Roll INT DC 20 for literacy with any language known but not listed under the character's race.


For Commoners and other illiterates, this rule applies after the 2 skill points are spent to make the character literate. (But, illiterate PCs do not have to spend the two skill points.)


Follow the language learning rules on page 15 of the Core rulebook, last paragraph.

DECIPHER SCRIPT


Illiterate characters (even those who are lettered in other languages) use the Decipher Script skill understand written language that they do not know.

 

[Water Bob]

-- SUNLESS CITADEL CONVERSION --

Area 0: The Dark Ravine



Continuing the Conan-ization of the 3E D&D adventure, The Sunless Citadel, for my campaign--

Since the PCs are from the general area where the Citadel is located, I want to give them a chance to recognize the area. It may become clear to the PCs once they reach the ravine exactly where they are. At the same time, this area is supposed to be somewhat off the beaten path and somewhat forgotten. The Old Road is not used as much anymore. In fact, it's disappearing. Argosseans using it seldom run into company on the road, and if they do, it is more likely to be bandits than fellow merchants. So, I decided on a DC 17.

Knowledge (Local - Raeze) DC 17.



Unlike in the adventure, I like the idea of the Old Road spanning the ravine by means of a rope bridge. The ravine averages 30 feet wide and 30 feet deep, and the narrow canyon runs for several miles in either direction. This will, of course, be a barrier for the PCs if the Horsemen and dogs are still chasing them.

The PCs who recognize the area by know of the rope bridge and suggest that they use it then cut it to escape the followers.

But, upon reaching the part of the ravine crossed by the Old Road, the PCs will find that the rope bridge has already been cut. Its sides hang down on each side of the canyon.

Remember to limit the characters' view to the limit of their light source. If it is night, visibility this night will be very, very short. Characters cannot even see 30 feet away to the other side of the ravine. This will make things scarier for the adventurers.



Pillars.

Strange, totem-like wooden pillars are driven into the ground to each side of the Old Road bridge crossing point. These heavy wood poles are thick as trees and look to have been planted here since ancient times. The pillars lean in different directions but were most likely straight when driven into the ground.

Examining a pillar will reveal strange symbols carved into the wood. These marking seem very old--probably as old as the pillars themselves. Debris from old, rotted rope can be found. Probably, men have used the pillars as anchor points, tying rope around them in order to descend the side of the ravine to reach the bottom.

Give the PCs a DC 10 Knowledge (Arcana) check to recognize the markings as sorcerous!

If anyone tries to read the markings, it's a DC 30 Decipher Script check. And, since no one among my 1st level party will have any chance at making that check, I'm not even going to spend time creating what the markings say. I'll just use the description as mystery.



Camp Fires.

This will be difficult to almost impossible to find in the dark, but a DC 13 Search check around the rope bridge will reveal several campfires. The most recent was used about a month ago. Someone has gone to a lot of effort at each of them to hide the fact that they ever existed.



Good Rope.

Tied to the pillar nearest the rope bridge is a rope in good condition. By its weathering, the rope has probably been tied to the pillar for 2-3 weeks. The rope goes down into the darkness.

The characters can't see the bottom for the dark (night or day), but the ravine does seem a bit deeper here than the average of 30' (if that has been discovered at all). The rope will lead 50' down the side of the ravine to the foyer at Area 2. No climb check is needed because it is fairly easy to grab the rope and walk against the side of the ravine.

But, the PCs may be in a hurry with Horsemen and dogs breathing down their necks. At the edge of the ravine, to both sides of the good rope, the PCs will discover pock marks that have been carved into the side of the ravine. These look to be hand and foot holds used for climbing.

If these are used, it's a single DC 10 climb check to get to the bottom. Failure is brutal, though. It means that the character fell about 25' and takes 2d6 damage (which can kill a 1st level character--or make him useless for the fights about to come).

 

[Water Bob]

-- COINAGE in ARGOS --






Power Structures.


My campaign begins with the characters in Argos, near the coast and the boarder with Shem. In my version of the Hyborian Age, Argos is a complicated place, politically. The kingdom is combination of powerful city-states banned together under one ruler. There are several power centers. Most of the interior is feudal, where the multitude of baronies and duchies are run by powerful nobles with almost total control over their holdings. The commoners who live here are poor, illiterate, hard working people, who work the mines and lumber yards, vineyards, farms, and ranches that dot the forests and pastoral hills. Many are serfs, owing fealty to their local lord.


On the coast are sixteen mighty cosmopolitan cities, each ruled as if it were its own city-state. Banded together as a kingdom, for mutual prosperity and defense, there is a king of Argos, who is currently Milo of Messantia.


Each power institution has its own guards and soldiers. The interior nobles maintain armies for the local protection of their fiefs, and squabbles among the fiefs do happen. The coastal cities maintain their own guard. And, King Milo maintains the kingdom's guardsmen, which is a smaller force, as that of kingdoms go, bolstered, when needed, by Assuri mercenaries.


Add to this political quagmire two more power centers--that of the various Merchants Guilds and the Church of Mitra--and it will become quite clear what a nightmare it is to maneuver politically with this Hyborian kingdom.










Coinage.


There is no national coinage in Argos. Coins are minted by the more powerful institutions. Many of the coastal cities mint their own coins as do some Merchant Guilds and even some of the larger Baronies and Duchies. A set of rules has been established, though, years ago, by order of the king, that orders specifications for each type of coin across the land. That way a drachma from the northern fiefs is accepted as well as a dinar from one of the coastal cities as legal tender of one silver piece throughout the kingdom (and even beyond).


My campaign is set in the Shar. This is the Shaipur region of Argos. It's the only true desert region in the kingdom, considered frontier wild lands by most, and home to the Shaipur Bay, the Shaipur Bay Outpost, the Shaipur Ravine (but not the Shaipur Monastery), the Plain of Bone and Marrow, the stone-spun city of Raeze, and the ancient Archeronian ruins of Khor Kalba. Here, many are illiterate, and many coins pour in from the interior fiefs and coastal cities as well as the city-states of Shem.


In the Shar, there are five types of coin in general use, and they are referred to using colloquial names. A dinar and a drachma are both called Hammers, for example.






COMMON. This is the lowest denomination of coin used in the region. It is a copper coin, round, and larger in diameter than a standard silver piece. There is a hole in its center, and it is quite common for Commoners to string these coins on a string around their neck (though this practice is detested by the upper classes--as if the upper classes would ever dirty their hands with copper coins to begin with) as a measure against thieves.


10 Commons equals 1 Hammer. 50 Commons equal 1 Master. 100 Commons equals 1 Noble.

HORSEMAN. This coin is made of silver and shaped like a piece of pie (see the description of the Hammer). It is literally one fourth of a standard silver piece. It is called a Horseman because of the four leafed design on the back of Hammers. The design does not actually depict a man on a horse. It is more akin to seeing a man on horseback in the clouds. The design on the back of a Hammer is mean to aid in breaking the coin into equal parts. One Horseman is the smallest coin in general use (in size). Technically, a Horseman is worth 2.5 Commons.


1 Horseman does not have an equivalency among the other coins. 4 Horsemen equal 10 Commons or 1 Hammer. 20 Horsemen equals 1 Master. 40 Horsemen equals 1 Noble.

HAMMER. This is a standard silver piece, depicting a workman with a hammer. It is the most common coin in the realm, and its picture promotes the Argossean saying of a fair day's wage for a fair day's work. It is a round coin with a filigree design on the back that is popularly thought to resemble four separate men on four horses. The coin is worked so that it is easy to bisect it simply by snapping it half with hands. The filigree design on the back aids in snapping the coin in half or into fourths. It is common to find half a Hammer (in which case, the coin can still be snapped in half again to create two Horsemen), but three Horsemen (a Hammer missing but one Horseman piece) is very rare. When Hammers are snapped, it is easiest to snap them in half, and then halve them again, if need be. The Hammer sees the most use of all the coins in all the kingdom.


Once a Hammer is snapped, it is not longer called a Hammer. It is then called a Horseman, and half a Hammer that has not been snapped is called two Horsemen, but some call this a Moon.


1 Hammer equals 10 Commons and 4 Horsemen. 5 Hammers equals 1 Master. 10 Hammers equals 1 Noble.

MASTER. The Master is an uncommon coin, typically used mainly by merchants in the course of their business-to-business transactions. It is a square silver coin, thick, equivalent to 5 silver pieces.


1 Master equals 5 Hammers, or 20 Horsemen, or 50 Commons. 2 Masters equal 1 Noble.

NOBLE. The Noble is a round coin, primarily made of gold, and it is called such because most average people never see a gold coin in their entire lives. Gold pieces are the provenance of royalty and the nobility. A similar coin, called a Royal, is also used, and the two coins are inter-changeable. But, visually, the Royal is cut in an octagonal shape instead of being manufactured round like a Noble.


1 Noble equals 1 Royal, or 2 Masters, or 10 Hammers, or 40 Horsemen, or 100 Commons.

Coin Weight


The Hammer (the most used coin) weighs about a third of an ounce. It's a big coin, by today's standards (about the size of a US half dollar coin). The Hammer, Noble, and Royal are all about the same size and weight, at 50 coins to a pound. The Common also weighs 1/50th of a pound, but the coin's diameter is a bit bigger than for that of the Hammer and gold coins.


The Master is a very thick square coin. It weighs in at 10 Masters to the pound.


There are 200 Horsemen to the pound, and there are 100 Moons to the pound.






1/50 lb. = gold octagonal Royal


1/50 lb. = gold round Noble


1/10 lb. = silver square Master


1/50 lb. = silver round Hammer


1/100 lb. = silver half-pie Moon


1/200 lb. = silver pie Horseman


1/50 lb. = copper round holed Common

 

[Water Bob]

-- SUNLESS CITADEL CONVERSION --

Area 1: Ledge



The Old Road has fallen into disuse over the last 40 years, which is probably before the PCs were born, making it likely that none of the PCs have heard of the Citadel before. The the Knowledge check I suggested in Area 0. Those that make the check will know little more than the approximate location of the Ravine and Citadel--and the novelty that, hundreds of years ago, an entire keep was swallowed by the earth and remains relatively intact at the bottom of the ravine. Those that roll exceptionally high (if a natural 20 is thrown on the check) will remember something about a sorcerer or a cult that used the citadel, and that it is rumored that the reason the Shar is desert today (when the rest of Argos is so green and forested) had something to do with this cult and its foul sorcery. Any detail is quite hazy, though.

That last bit will most likely not be learned by the PCs at this time.

The Horsemen chasing the PCs know of the ravine for they have lost refugee prey to it before this night, but the men will be hesitant to follow the PCs down onto the ledge.



On The Ledge:

Even with a light source, the PCs cannot see the opposite side of the ravine. It widens from the opening above and is 250' away. They cannot see below them, either, as the next ledge is 80' below.



Desert Rats!

On the ledge, scrounging for food, are 3 desert rats. These feral things are the size of medium dogs. The rats are about 3' long and weight about 75 lbs. Now, that's a freakin' rat! They are nesting in the slope debris (thus the small animal bones). Normally, the rats will shy away from humans (though some have been known to be quite brave, especially if cornered), and there is a small chance a PC will be able to avoid conflict with these creature.

But, that is doubtful as the humans have just dropped into their nest!

Most likely, all three will swarm to attack as soon as a PC lays foot on the ledge. (And, Mitra help the PC who falls to the ledge from above, having to deal with these things after surviving the fall.)

The rats will automatically detect any intruders unless the PCs declare, before their decent, that they are moving stealthily. In this case, roll the PC's Move Silently skill opposed by a roll of d20 + 3 (roll one time for the rats and compare that number to each of the PC's throws). If a PC is quiet, he may just be able to retreat down the stairs before engaging the rats. If he lingers too long, roll the check again and give the rats another chance to detect the intruder.

If the PCs do not move silently, give the rats a Surprise round as they attack.

Two of the rats are borrowing on the debris slope about 10' above the ledge, very close to where the rope hangs. The first PC to use the rope will find himself flanked by the two biggest of the three creature. If the PC was successful in Moving Silently, this will be a hair-raising moment as the PC decides to move along or climb back up to the surface. If the PC did not Move Silently, then both Desert Rats are close enough for a Surprise Attack. Do that, then run combat normally.

The third, small rat is about 15' away. It will join the fight on regular rounds (not the surprise round).

The ledge is roughly rectangular--a cut-out on the ravine wall where two sides are the ravine wall itself. Another side is the stairs leading down. And, the last side points to the far wall of the ravine. Anyone falling off that side will surely die taking 8d6 damage. It is possible that someone falls off to the stairs, and that distance is variable, depending on which step the character landed upon.

Unless he is sneaky, the first character down the rope is in for some dangerous action. The two bigger rats get Surprise attacks before Initiative is rolled. They flank the rope, so each of these rats get a +2 attack flanking bonus. In addition, the multiple opponent rule gives the one of the rats an additional +1 on the attack. So, one rat attacks, with surprise, at +2, and the other attacks at +3, also with surprise.

Use the stats for a Dire Rat to serve as these Desert Rats.

This means, on the Surprise round, desert rat 1 will attack at +6, and desert rat 2 will attack at +5.

Meat-grinder!

Filthy things.



DISEASE!

Don't worry about disease from a rat bite at this point. The incubation period is 1d3 days. Secretly make the checks for any bitten surviving PCs later (within a game day), and then apply the effects without telling the player where they came from. Just describe the enflamed and pussy bite marks, or maybe the dark line running up the character's vein, seen through the skin. Start having him throw up. Things like that.

It's a problem to overcome at a later time.



PITCH BLACK!

It is likely that the PCs do not have a light source. If not, the ledge is pitch black. A person cannot see his hand in front of his face, it is so dark. The PCs may drop a light source from the top before their decent, and if they do that (provided the light source doesn't go out), they will see some shapes scatter below. But, that's all, because it's 50' down there--they'll only see shadows and probably flickering from their torch.

The good news is, if a light source is dropped, then the Surprise attack by the two rats will not happen. In fact, the rats may scatter, running away from the light (maybe to fight them at a lower level...and maybe not).

If the PCs don't have a light source, then they'll have to scavenge one from whatever materials they have and can find. Use Survival skill or an appropriate Craft skill.

With no light, the character has a flat out 50% miss chance (roll before any attack), cannot Doge or Parry (is flatfooted), takes a -2 penalty to defense (making him AC 8, if no DEX penalty applies), automatically moves at half speed, and is -4 on Search and other skill checks where light is required.

It's a DC 5 Craft (Any Appropriate) check to create a torch from the debris (if the right items are found). Failure means the item not good and must search for something else. -2 to this check because no tools are available. Apply an additional -4 to this check if the character does not have light. Success means that a shoddy, makeshift torch has been created, but the GM should limit the duration of this light source after considering what materials it was made from. Normal torches burn for about an hour. Whatever is used to create the makeshift torch will burn for less.

The rats have the Scent ability, which basically allows them to "see" for 30'.





SEARCH!

Searching is going to require light. A DC 13 Search task reveals recent human footprints that lead from the rope to the stairs. Also, the large rat tracks are seen.

There's a fire pit near the ledge opposite the rope and ravine wall. This can be found with no light by a DC 13 Search check, but the check suffers a -4 penalty as the character motions about with hands and feet. He'll stumble across the pit if he makes the throw.

In the pit, under the ash, are 2 pitted iron spear tips and some crispy animal bones.

The characters may have to resort to wrapping some of their clothing around a weapon and using that as a makeshift torch until it burns out (which will be rather quickly).

 

[Water Bob]

 

[Water Bob]

-- THE SUNLESS CITADEL CONVERSION --

Area 2. Switchback Stairs



There are old, cracked, stone stairs that lead down from the ledge (which, at one time, was the top of the tower), farther into this chasm. Make them sound unsafe. Worry the PCs a bit.

There's a large crack that runs runs right through about three steps. You can easily step over it, but any pressure on the far side might send off a piece of the staircase.

In fact, the stairs are fairly safe, but that shouldn't stop you from playing up the tension. Have a small piece fall off.

The real danger to the PCs on these stairs is all the crumbled debris. It's slippery--easy to slide. The steps are about 5' wide, and they're cut long, so that one can step down, take a small step, then step down again. Or a person can talk long, loping steps to cross each one with each step.

The danger happens if a person runs down the steps (Moves at double speed or faster), or if the character engages in melee on the steps. See below. A person can make it down the steps with no light if he moves very slow and hugs the side of the tower, constantly touching it with his hands. Otherwise, having no light may call for a Balance check as detailed below.



Running Down The Steps or Melee on the Steps

DC 13 Balance check, which must be made at each switchback level (total of 3 checks to make it down all of the steps).

In melee, if a character takes 5 HP or more from a single blow, this triggers a DC 10 Balance check.

A failed check means the character falls off the side of the steps. Don't forget Blindness penalties if there is no light.

Falling from switchback level 1 means 6d6 damage. Falling from switchback level 2 means 4d6 damage. Falling from switchback level 3 means 2d6 damage.



Seeing Courtyard (Area 3)

If the PCs have a light source, then they can see the courtyard from stair switchback level 2 or 3.

 

[Water Bob]

-- SUNLESS CITADEL CONVERSION --

Area 3. Crumbling Courtyard



It's as if the earth opened and swallowed a keep. There is a Citadel that is extremely ruined that has seemed to fall into a sink hole, retained much of its original design. But, the PC's light will reveal enough destruction, fallen walls, and sideways towers that it is obvious that the place didn't resist the fall whole.

How could this have happened? Describe it with wonder. Maybe it sunk slowly? It's a real miracle. Was...um....sssa..sa...sorcery involved??

Outside the small "courtyard" (used to be a roof level--remains of battlements can be made out) is easy to get to, but the cavern is filled with large and smaller boulders. Traveling across this area is precarious at best. Even the rats, who nest here, move at 25% speed across this debris field.

If a PC leaves the courtyard and attempts to move across the debris field, then he moves a 10' per round, and each round he must make a DC 15 Balance check or fall in between the larger pieces of rock and masonry pieces.

This may be hard for the PCs to visualize. Describe an empty cardboard box, which represents the cavern. Then fill it with Styrofoam peanuts (packing stuff)--except imagine the peanuts to be of different sizes instead of all uniform in size, and you get the idea. When you can slip down between some of the peanuts, you can imagine how hard it would be to get across this stuff. You're not going anywhere quickly.

PCs take no damage from a fall, but they do have to make a DC 15 Climb check (attempt takes a round) in order to get back into a position atop the debris to keep on moving. For a character that can't climb (Armor check penalty but possibly Blindness penalty), this could take some while. And, there is a 10% chance, ever time a PC falls, that a desert rat will be attracted to the sound from the nest. If a rat is indicated, it will arrive 3 rounds later, possibly gaining surprise on the character.




Pit Trap!

At one time, there was a wooden door in the "floor" of the battlement that led to the floor below via a wooden ladder. Of course, that door and ladder have been gone for a long, long time. Someone, though, has taken the time to clean out the debris from the hole so that it now forms a hole that is about 7' square and 10' wide. Then, someone has thrown light piece of wood and sticks and other long pieces of debris over the top of the hole, disguising it. Anybody who walks across it will fall into the pit. The only way not to fall into the pit is to go around it and slip in behind it.

But, why go there anyway?

Because rising on the far side of the "courtyard" is a tower that raises up into the darkness--at least 40' high, maybe more. Scaling the outside of the tower can be done but will get the climber no where. The only entrance from this place into the Citadel interior is through the door. So, any character in the courtyard will walk right over the pit unless it is detected first.

You are walking to the door, but you hear a crack, like a twig snapping. In an instant, you're falling! The floor has given way beneath you.

This trap will mostly likely only catch the first person to cross to the door, unless two or more PCs are walking close together (and they could be, holding each other, if there is no light).

Detect the trap? DC 21 Search. Must have light. Success means that the PC noticed how "clean" it was around the area (from dragging debris to lay on top). Someone did a great job doctoring this to look like the rest of the courtyard (which is why it's a DC 21). Further investigation will catch partial footprints going around the trap (showing how to get to the door without stepping on the pit).

In the adventure, the trap resets itself. But, as I've described it here, that doesn't happen. "Resetting" the trap is done manually, by a person doctoring the site.

Anyone who falls into the trap gets one saving throw: Reflex DC 16. Success means that the person instinctively jumped to the side of pit (or backwards) just as that person was starting to fall. If this happens, the trap top layer may not fall through completely. But, the gig is up. Parts of the topping will fall, and it will be obvious that the "floor" is a false covering for the pit.

Falling into the pit means 1d6 damage.

At the bottom of the pit are 2 desiccated bodies. They've been there so long that they don't even stink anymore. On top of these is a third body. This is one of a young boy, about 15 years of age. He probably died yesterday.

Inspecting him will reveal him to be a Jaren. These are local people--a gypsy like race who have both Argossean and Shemite blood. The Shar (this region of Argos) has been conquered by Shem in the past, and being so close to the border, has a large Shemite population to this day. The Jaren are the result of the mixing of races, the Hyborian Agrossean and the Sons of Shem. One racial feature of the Jaren is that they have high foreheads. See the picture below of the warlord Khalar Zym and his Witch daughter Marique. They are Jaren.

If the boy had anything of value on him, it's gone now (probably taken by whomever reset this pit trap yesterday). Two things of value can be gained, though. First, if the PCs have had a hard time keeping their makeshift torches lit, then they now have better materials for making torches. The boy's clothes can be tightly wound around a length of debris.

The second item isn't much, but it can be very useful if the party has no way of making fire. On a rope belt (the boy was probably a peasant--the Jaren are typically very poor people), the boy has a horse-hair belt pouch. The pouch is empty except for a piece of flint and a piece of steel. Whomever reset the trap probably thought little of leaving it, and it was obviously of no value to him. There's plenty of tinder around to get a fire started, and the boy has a long, brained pony tail that can be used (but probably the dryer, brittle hair from the desiccated corpses will work better).





Attack of the Rat!

In the adventure, the rat is in the bottom of the pit. But, that doesn't fit with the way I've described the pit. So, what happens is that a desert rat is attracted the noise made with the pit and all the rumbling around. It'll move in to investigate, but, remember, there are plenty of ways for the party to shoo the rat away. They don't have to fight everything they come across. Reward good play and good thinking by giving the party XP for defeating the rat even if they just shooed it away. Either way, they avoided or conquered the obstacle.

 

[Water Bob]

-- Stripped Bark --


I love little touches like this in a game. This is just a little thing but worth mentioning. If the PCs come across a campsite, one thing that you can do in describing it is have them discover an old log that has its bark stripped away. Woodsmen will do this on fallen trees to clean away the bugs and vegetation that infest the bark. Then, the woodman will leave to go hunting, coming back to the camp in several hours. If he's lucky, the sun and heat will have dried out the trunk of the tree a bit. And, the woodman can use the cleaned area as a table--to clean fish or game, to eat on, to put his cup on because he doesn't want it on the ground where things can crawl in his drink.

Maybe, in a game, the players will be introduced to this by camping with a Cimmerian or a borderer classed character.

 

[Water Bob]

-- SUNLESS CITADEL CONVERSION --

Area 4. Tower Shell



The wooden door, upon closer inspection, has been patched! It obviously leads to the interior of the tower, but the door won't budge. It sways just a bit when pressed hard, but does not give unless a DC 18 STR check is made. Up to two people can press on the door, and if that happens, use give the stronger of the two the check but first allow the other to attempt to give that check a +2 bonus using the Aid Another rule.

Only one check can be made except if a stronger character hasn't yet tried (the players will mostly likely use their strongest character the first time, so there probably will not be a second check).

If the door cannot be pushed in, then the PCs can attempt to beat it down. The door is AC 5, Hardness 5. with 10 HP.

Once they break in, the PCs will be assaulted with a horrendous smell--the smell of decaying bodies. The smell of death.

The door opens to a circular room with a stone floor. Two other wooden doors exit the room. The room is about 30-40' in diameter. Except what I describe here, the room has nothing in it--just debris, gravel, fallen masonry, and dust. Looking up, one can see that the floor above fell through long ago. That floor looked to be wooden, and there is no staircase going up, so it was probably reached by a wooden ladder that is long gone. Without the above floor, the "ceiling" is 30' above the characters' heads.

There is old, dried blood on the stone--lots of it, with bloody footbrings and swaths that show the bodies being dragged to their current position. Which is off to the left, in a pile, slumped up against the wall.

There are three men clumped together. Shemites. Black curly hair, dark skin, and hooked noses. They're bloated--they've been here about a month. They've been stripped of anything valuable. Someone even took their armor and boots. And, pieces of them are missing--they've been gnawed on by some large animal (the feral desert rats probably got to them before the door was closed). One of them has been dragged away from the stack (a rat, jerking on the body).

One conical helm is found, tossed in among them. The help is useless as it has been rented by some mighty blow. If inspected closely, A DC 15 Heal check will reveal battle wounds from edged/piercing weapons.

DC 10 Knowledge Geography check to know the conical helms are common among the mercenaries across the border in Shem.



There is a fourth body literally stapled to the wall. A long war spear juts out from his chest. He is pinned with his feet 2' off the ground. This one wears a scale hauberk (that is ruined from the piercing), but nothing below the waste. He's completely naked with his male unmentionables hanging (not circumcised). And, there is a pile beneath him where he relieved himself mostly likely when he was pinned. Dried evidence trails on both legs.

(Yeah, I know, that's a bit sick, but this is CONAN! It's a universe that can be very dark. I just read a Conan book where a man bathed in a tub of blood from young children who were tied at the feet, upside down, with their throats cut to drain into the man's bath. Conan The Liberator, by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter. I try not to over do it, but I do have scenes like this in my game to serve the universe and remind the players that this isn't just another "D&D" world. It's dark swords & sorcery. Very adult and definitely not for everybody.)

This man has a shaved head but sports a thick, curly black beard.

DC 10 Knowledge Geography check to recognize the armor as that used by Shemite mercenaries.





Where the man is pinned is a cracked, square inset in the wall of dark marble and granite. Should anyone remove the spear and lower the dead man to the ground, they will see the outline of a tree with many branches carved into the marble behind some lettering.

Anybody that speaks Shemite will recognize the lettering as that of one of the Shemite dialects and get a DC 20 Decipher Script throw to read the lettering. It says one word: Ashardalon.

Anybody that is literate in Shemite can easily read the word.

Anybody that has read the word (or someone that the word is spoken to) gets a Knowledge Religion DC 20 (or Knowledge Arcana/Knowledge Local Raeze DC 30) to remember something very vague about the name. They've heard it before. Was it that Ashardalon was a prophet priest in worship to the god Votantha--a patron deity of the western Shemite city-state of Sark. Or, was it that Ashardalon was an Acheronian god in service to Votantha? Or, maybe it was that Ashardalon was a Acheronian Priest/Prophet of Votantha.

Whatever the case, it's from the time before time--before the Bori tribes took this land from the ancient Acheronians.

Inspecting the war spear takes a DC 10 Knowledge Geography roll. Success means that the design of the spear tip is recognized as that used in Shem. This war spear is still in fairly good shape. There's a crack in the wall where the spear was shoved to pin the man. The only guess as to why the spear wasn't taken with every other valuable from the bodies is that, whomever did this, wanted to make a point--to send a message.

But, what kind of a message is it? Is the Ashardalon name being blasphemed?

 

[Water Bob]

-- SUNLESS CITADEL CONVERSION --

Area 5. Secret Pocket



I can see no story reason for this secret room, and the skeletons that spring to life if PC discover the secret door do not make sense in the context of the Hyborian Age. I'm not against having skeletons come to life--I just don't see a reason for this room or encounter from a Conan perspective.

As far as this conversion goes, Area 5 does not exist.

There's nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.