The Crying

Mother
By Umberto Pignatelli
 The Crying
Mother
By Umberto Pignatelli
A Sword and Sorcery Savage Worlds Heroic Tale for Beasts and Barbarians

It should have been an easy job: a rich merchant, his fatty purse, a dagger in the night and
spending the ill gained loot in one of the worst taverns of Jalizar.
But life in the City of Thieves isn’t easy.
Even a simple theft can have nightmarish consequences, if among the stolen loot there is an
ancient gift from a mother sto her beloved son.
Rooftops chases, terrible nightmares and swordfights await you in this new adventure set in
Jalizar, the most dangerous city of the Dread Sea Dominions!
 Beasts
Barbarians &
A Sword and Sorcery Savage Worlds setting

By Umberto Pignatelli

Credits
Author: Umberto Pignatelli
Editing: Andy Slack
Cover: Marta Poludnikiewicz
Interior Art: Marta Poludnikiewicz, Tamás Baranya,
Rick Hershey Empty Room Studio

Layout: Michał Smaga

Playtesters: Daniele Bonetto, Luca Coero Borga,
Maner Samuel, Paolo Boiero, Pierpaolo Ferrari

Special Thanks to: Marta Castellano (my wife) queen of all the Amazons,
Massimo Campolucci (my uncle), for being the first, real Dhaar, Simone Ronco
and Polliotti Yoshi (my friends) for fighting alone against the Valk demons

The Headless Chicken Tavern is courtesy of: Tenchi Montano

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.
peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment
Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or
suitability for purpose of this product.

©2013 Gramel Justyna Koryś, Beasts and Barbarians, Dread Star Dominions and all related marks and logos are
trademarks of Gramel Justyna Koryś. All Rights Reserved.

Produced under license by Studio 2 Publishing, Inc. The Studio 2 logo is a trademark of Studio 2 Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Printed in USA
 Introduction
Welcome to The Crying Mother, a Beasts Recommended
and Barbarians adventure set in Jalizar, Characters
City of Thieves!
This scenario requires a number of skills.
Since it is set in the City of Thieves, a hero
To play this adventure you need a copy
with some thieving abilities is highly rec-
of the core rules of Savage Worlds, Beasts
ommended, so Climbing, Lockpicking,
and Barbarians Golden Edition (GE), and
Stealth and other skills linked to illegal
a copy of Jalizar, City of Thieves ( JCT). activities will be necessary. If no hero has
such skills, the GM should either tweak
This scenario is designed for a party of the adventure slightly to make the specific
four Seasoned heroes, and it is an ideal in- thieving challenges easier or add an NPC
troduction to the City of Thieves. It can be with useful abilities to the party.
used with newly created adventurers, but
it can also be easily modified for parties of The presence of a warrior or two is also
different sizes and levels of experience by ideal, because a few of the encounters re-
following the instructions in the Golden quire some swordplay.
Edition.
In addition, a character with high Persua-
sion and good disguise skills will have the
If you don’t use gaming terrain, you will chance to shine in a specific scene of the
find it handy to have gaming stones and adventure.
several copies of Burst Templates to repre-
sent specific terrain features during fights. Although all these skills are useful, none
are absolutely necessary to play the sce-
The parts in italics are intended to be read nario.
aloud or paraphrased by the Game Master
to the players.
Background for
Now, if you want to play this scenario, stop the Game Master
here. The following sections are intended
Irvan the Young was best known as the
for the Game Master only. Thirteenth Widower, the Never Married
Husband. He was the son of Torrian, the
If you are the Game Master, keep reading Archon of the ancient city of Pella. Prince
and get ready to explore the foggy alleys of Irvan came to Jalizar with the same goal
the City of Thieves! as many other noblemen: marry princess

5
 Introduction

Emella and become King of the City of in a rich tomb, and she personally put the
Thieves. He was young, gallant, and clever, small statue of Etu in the cold hands of
and he stood a real chance to win Prin- her truest suitor.
cess Emella’s heart and become her most
favored husband (Emella had twelve hus- Centuries went by, the Emellan dynasty
bands, see JCT, pages 12-13). Sadly, the and Pella’s royal line died out, and the lo-
other suitors saw him as a great threat and cation of Prince Irvan’s tomb was forgot-
took countermeasures so that he could ten, becoming part of the Sewers during
never marry the girl. They decided to strike one of the many reconstructions of the
the very night before the royal wedding. City of Thieves.

Being a pious man, Irvan spent the night

Yet, a week ago, a burglar called Sable
in the temple of Etu in Jalizar, asking the
stumbled upon Irvan’s burial chamber
goddess for a prosperous, long marriage.
while trying to break into a nobleman’s
He felt safe because he knew that his
mansion by passing through the Sewers.
Companions, his trusted sword brothers
The thief couldn’t believe his luck and,
and defenders, were guarding the door of
abandoning his original plan, he raided
the temple.
the tomb. In particular, he took a small sil-
ver statuette from the dead Prince’s body.
But the killers sent to dispatch him were
Sable noticed that the face of the statuette
sly and devious. They drugged the Com-
seemed to be constantly weeping blood.
panions’ wine with a type of Lotus that
He thought it a little creepy but, after all,
causes sudden and deep slumber. Then,
he wasn’t a superstitious man.
they sneaked into the temple and mur-
dered the prince. He was so surprised that
he didn’t even manage to draw his sword. It was time for celebration and, by the end
His hands, smeared with blood, were still of the night, Sable was drunk as a skunk
holding a small statuette of Etu, a dear gift and had spent a small part of the jewels
from his mother. The legend says that the raided from the tomb at the Headless
blood could not be wiped away, and the Chicken, a tavern of ill repute in Thousand
statuette seemed to cry blood tears, so it Chimneys. Then, he staggered back to his
was called the Crying Mother. house, climbed into bed, and fell asleep.
It wasn’t a restful night. Sable had a ter-
When the Companions woke up, they rible dream, in which he was pursued by
discovered the murder and went berserk. ghostly swordsmen who vividly resembled
They drew their blades and rushed to the the dead knights resting by their Prince in
royal palace to take vengeance on Irvan’s the tomb he had looted.
enemies. But the guards were ready and
far more numerous. A bloody battle was When he woke up, shortly before dawn,
fought in the hall of the palace and, at the he discovered that his clothes were torn,
end, no Companion survived. just as had happened in the dream, and he
had a long gash in his shoulder! Shaken
Princess Emella was disgusted by the trea- by the strange occurrence, he decided
son and the bloodshed and she wept long he needed a drink and went back to the
and hard for the dead prince. She ordered Headless Chicken. But when he entered
Irvan and his Companions to be buried the tavern, a terrible surprise awaited him:

6
 Background for the Game Master

one of the ghostly swordsmen emerged is offered. Mathro took all the treasures
from a dark corner and attacked him! (statuette included) and, with enough
Moons in his pocket, Sable fled to the
Sable drew his blade and defended him- port, hoping to find a ship ready to take
self with the unnatural strength of panic. him very far away.
Dealing a lucky blow, he managed to
pierce the heart of the evil creature. Delighted at having stuck such a good
bargain, Mathro placed Sable’s items in
The patrons of the Headless Chicken his purse, as he always does with the most
jumped up from their chairs and stared at precious trinkets he manages to acquire.
him horrified. To his great dismay, Sable This happened five days ago and, from
understood he had made a terrible mis- then on, the pawnbroker has forgotten
take. The ghostly swordsman had never what it means to sleep well. He dreams of
existed; the man he had killed was actu- being pursued by ghosts, dead knights with
ally a Copper Helm, peacefully enjoying a ghostly blades. The dreams are becoming
tankard of ale at the end of his night shift! more realistic every night, and Mathro has
now given up sleeping entirely. He is so
The thief had no time to think clearly desperate that he has turned to Gitara the
about the causes of his hallucinations, but Cripple, a courtesan from a distant land,
he knew that he had to leave Jalizar as soon who is said to be a witch. However, the
as possible, because nothing could save woman has so far been unable to find an
him from the rage of the Copper Helms. effective solution to his problem. If this
He needed money, so he ran straight to weren’t enough, unbeknownst to Mathro,
Mathro the Prodigal, the nearest money- someone is watching his each and every
lender and pawnbroker, a man who never move, hoping to get their hands on the
asks about the provenance of the items he treasures he carries in his pouch…

7
 Part 1: Thieves in the City of Thieves

Part 1: Thieves in
the City of Thieves
courtesan. You are soaked to the bone, but
The Fat Purse of the thought of the gold in Mathro’s purse
the Moneylender keeps you warm. Suddenly you see a lan-
The beginning of this scenario assumes tern flickering nearby. The pawnbroker
that the heroes have one of the com- and his bodyguard are getting closer. It is
monest jobs in the City of Thieves: they time to act!
are robbers. The GM can alter the story
or present the scene in the way that best The square is quite small, 9” by 9” with
suits the characters’ background and moral a dried-up fountain in the middle (see
principles (see sidebar on the next page). below). A single road, 3” wide, crosses it
from east to west. Mathro and his body-
In particular, the party has decided to rob guard enter the battlefield from the east,
Mathro the Prodigal, a moneylender and and they are headed to the other portion
pawnbroker from Thousand Chimneys, of the road, which lies to the west.
who always carries all his riches in his
purse. Mathro is known to be a ruthless
man who never leaves his shop, but in the The heroes have had plenty of time to
last few nights he has been visiting the prepare the ambush, so they can position
house of Gitara the Cripple, a courtesan, themselves wherever they want, choosing
who is probably his lover. a suitable hideout. The best locations are
behind the fountain, on the top of a roof,
The heroes have discovered Mathro’s new or behind a pile or rubbish (see below). If
habit, shadowed him, and decided to strike the group clearly states that one of them
while he is walking from his shop to Gi- has been shadowing Mathro since he left
tara’s house, both in Rats’ Nest. Mathro is his house (a reasonable precaution given
always accompanied by a bodyguard, who that they plan to rob him), a hero can be-
is however inexperienced and no match gin the attack from outside the square, in
for a decent swordsman. Needles Alley, a few yards behind the vic-
tims. In this case, he is also aware of the
It is a stormy night, and the darkness presence of two extra guards.
is occasionally rent by bright flashes of
lightning. You are waiting for Mathro Mathro and his man must check for sur-
in Dead Fountain Square. The small, prise when attacked. The old man isn’t
dirty square is intersected by Needles a fighter, but he reacts with surprising
Alley, where the moneylender always violence: he draws his strange blade (see
passes on his way to visit his favorite Mathro’s stats) and flies at the heroes. See-

8
 The Fat Purse of the Moneylender

ing his master’s reaction, the bodyguard • Garbage: Let the heroes place up to two
follows suit. Mathro shouts things like: small Garbage Piles (see JCT page 141)
wherever they want.
“Show yourselves! I don’t fear you! Die
and stop tormenting me!” • Stormy Night: The scene is set in Dark
condition: due to the pouring rain, even
If the party has counted on a smooth, torches and lanterns are of little use. The
non-violent strike, they are going to be only light comes from occasional lighting
very disappointed. The pawnbroker is to- bolts in the sky. Every round, check the
tally wild and looks like a haunted man. card of the first character who is acting. If
it is red, it means that lighting illuminates
A nasty surprise awaits the party during the whole scene, eliminating the effect of
the fight. Mathro, who has grown more darkness.
worried every day, has hired additional
guards, Ningo and Shad, two thugs from • Jump from the Rooftops! A hero placed
the Thieves’ Guild. They are several steps on the rooftops can attack the targets by
behind their employer, guarding his back, literally jumping onto their heads. The
and arrive on the scene in the second victim must check for surprise, while the
round. Note that the heroes aren’t aware hero must make an Agility roll. If the
of their presence unless one of them has Agility roll is successful and the victim
been shadowing Mathro since he left his is surprised, the attacker gains the Drop
house. Place the thugs 6” behind Mathro when jumping. If the roll is successful but
and the shadowing hero, if present, 6” be- the victim isn’t surprised, he only gains
hind them. +2 to the attack roll. In both cases, he is
placed in contact with his opponent. If he
Both Mathro and his bodyguards fight to
the death. It is important not to reveal the
identity of the two additional guards till
the end of the fight, when the party has
Hey, aren’t
the chance to search their bodies. we heroes?
Beasts and Barbarians isn’t a setting
(M) Mathro the Prodigal (1). See page 47. for knights in shining armor. Never-
theless, the heroes might have reserva-
(M) Mathro’s Bodyguard (1). See page 47. tions about murdering people to rob
them. You can make the situation more
(M) Ningo and Shad (2). Use the Thieves’ acceptable by underlining the following
points:
Guild Thugs stats.
1) Thieving is a common way of mak-
ing a living in Jalizar.
Terrain and Props
2) Mathro is known to be a ruthless
• Dead Fountain: This old, crumbling man who preys on the poor and needy.
fountain has been dried up for years, and Stealing from him can be considered a
it is covered in pigeon droppings. It can form of justice.
be represented on the battlefield by a SBT,
3) The heroes plan to rob him without
it grants Medium Cover and has Tough- doing him any harm, if he collaborates.
ness 9. Unluckily, he has no intention of doing so.

9
 Part 1: Thieves in the City of Thieves

fails the Agility roll, he misses the target, Make sure that the party understands they
landing d4” in a random direction, and are in serious trouble, not because they
cannot perform any other action in this have killed Mathro but because they have
turn. If the Agility roll is failed with a 1 on seriously offended the Thieves’ Guild. This
the Agility die, he is also Shaken. is far graver than stealing without paying
the fee set by the Guild; it is an offense
the Thieves usually punish with death. The
Grab the Loot and Run heroes’ only hope is to clean up the mess
and keep a low profile for some time.
You didn’t expect you would have to kill
the old man, but he fought like a lion to And to spend all the money, of course.
protect his purse. You pick up the pouch
from under his robes and smile when you
feel its weight. A quick look inside makes Feast Night at the
you even happier: you see money, gems,
and even a small statuette. You’ll have Headless Chicken
time to admire them later, but now your When the heroes find a safe place, they
priority is to get away from the scene and can open Mathro’s pouch and check its
find somewhere warm to take the chill content.
from your bones.
They find the following items (estimated
If the players explicitly state that they worth in parentheses):
thoroughly search Mathro’s body, let them • 300 Moons in coins
make a Notice roll. Concealed under his
belt, the old man keeps a ring with several • a bull-headed golden amulet (100
keys dangling from it (they will be of great Moons)
use when the party breaks into the pawn- • a pair of amber earrings with a firefly
broker’s house, later in the scenario). trapped in one of them (200 Moons)
• a silver bracer with gems and a griffin
Before going away, the party should also engraved on it (150 Moons)
hide the bodies of their victims, so that
their crime won’t be discovered at the very • two golden rings (150 Moons)
break of day. Dragging the corpses to the • a silver statuette representing a crying
garbage piles or into a back alley isn’t too woman (see The Statuette on page 18)
difficult. While busy with this macabre er- (100 Moons)
rand, they discover something very unset-
tling. With a Common Knowledge roll the
characters understand that all the pieces
While you are dragging away one of the of jewelry are very old (they come from
extra guards, his hood falls back and you Sable’s loot). They will sell most of them as
recognize him as Ningo, a member of the soon as the shops open, but for now they
Thieves’ Guild! And his comrade is Shad, can start spending the coins.
another well-known Guild member!
Damn! You have just killed two Guilders! So, what will the heroes do with all this
And all because the old fool didn’t want to money? Celebrate in style, of course! In
hand over his pouch! this way, they’ll also have an alibi, if any-

10
 Feast Night at the Headless Chicken

one asks questions about how they spent Gambling. Food and beverages are good,
the night. but the dice table might be even more ap-
pealing. The hero will play against four
Their favorite tavern is the Headless gamblers (skills: d10, d8, d6, and d6) and
Chicken, a run-down hole in Thousand the stakes are very high (25 Moons). The
Chimneys, so the scenario presumes character physically carrying the Crying
they’ll head in that direction. Mother receives +2 to his Gambling rolls
(“it seems you’ve got a demon sitting next
When you open the door of the Headless
to you, stranger” comments one of the
Chicken, the customary smell of smoke,
other players). No hero can win more than
drink and sweat fills your nostrils. It is
late but the place is still full of patrons 300 Moons in this game. If the absolute
eating, drinking, gambling, quarrel- winner of the game is a player character,
ing and entertaining themselves with he receives a Bennie.
wenches. Nobody seems to notice your ar-
rival, except the tavern keeper, Ander the Boasting. Most heroes love talking about
Lazy, who greets you with a wave. their past adventures. Not all the stories
must necessarily be true, but the important
The night is young and your purse is full, thing, at least in a tavern, is that they are
so what are you waiting for? entertaining. Boasting heroes must make
three Persuasion rolls, and keep track of
The adventurers have their favorite table
their successes (each raise counts as an ex-
(the tavern keeper always reserves it for
tra success). If they manage to gather at
them). There are various activities they can
least five successes, they receive a Bennie.
choose to entertain themselves with, but
each hero must select one main form of Characters with the Poet Edge receive
entertainment and roll only for the select- +2 to these rolls, and another +2 is given
ed activity. This part of the scenario also for good roleplay. If a hero scores a criti-
offers excellent opportunities for roleplay- cal failure in any of the rolls, the GM can
ing. Except for the prices explicitly quoted decide that he lets something slip about
below, the total cost of the feast is left to what he did before coming to the tavern
the GM (10-60 Moons are appropriate (i.e. robbing Mathro).
for a night of wild carousing).
Courtesans. Feasting, gambling and talk-
Drinking and Eating. Food and bever- ing are for wimps. Real men want just one
ages aren’t of the highest quality at the
thing: red lips to kiss. At the Headless
Headless Chicken, but they come in
Chicken there are several very pretty girls
plentiful supply, provided that you have
ready to take a handsome (and fat-pursed)
coins. Heroes choosing to feast on food
and drink must make three Vigor (-2) hero to the upper floors. Any hero en-
rolls (one every two hours). For each fail- gaged in this activity must make a single
ure, they gain a level of Fatigue. Heroes Vigor (-2) roll. If he fails, he suffers a level
incapacitated by this type of Fatigue fall of Fatigue. In case of success, he receives a
asleep due to indigestion or from being Bennie, while with a raise he also receives
too drunk. A character ending the night +1 to Spirit rolls during the next day.
still on his feet deserves a Bennie. Courtesans are costly: 100 Moons.

11
 Part 1: Thieves in the City of Thieves

Keen-Bladed Nightmares dressed in cloaks as tattered and dirty as an-

cient shrouds. Their faces are shriveled and
After carousing to their hearts’ content, their hands blackened by time.
the heroes sooner or later fall asleep and
they find themselves in a strange collec- They speak to you in the raucous voices of
tive dream. During the dream, ignore any long dead things: “Thieves and assassins!
Fatigue penalty they accumulated while Thieves and assassins!”
feasting (it will return, in the guise of a
terrible headache, when they wake up). As a single man, they draw long, stained
swords from under their cloaks, and you
You open your eyes. A moment ago you were can see the coat of arms they wear on their
in your beds, sleeping, but now you are in armor, representing a white griffin on a
a place you have never seen before: a vast red background.
hall with a colonnade running along its
perimeter. Surprised and disoriented, you Then, they advance toward you with
check your body and look around. You are deadly calm.
fully equipped and armed, and this makes
you feel safer, but the situation is creepy to The battlefield is the temple’s hall. It is
say the least. The hall is empty except for a quite large, 18” by 10”, and it is surrounded
open bier, on which you see a richly dressed by a colonnade (each column occupies 1”
man. He seems to be sleeping, or he might and is placed 1” from the wall). The bier
be dead – you’re not quite sure. A pedestal and stone pedestal (see below) stand in
stands next to the bier but, if there was the middle of the room. Unless the players
ever a statue on top of it, it is now missing. clearly state that they have moved away,
A strange air of unreality permeates the let them place their characters wherever
whole scene, which is abruptly interrupted they want within 3” of the bier.
by a creepy event: the closed eyes of the ly-
ing man start weeping blood, which stains Place the Companions within 1” of a col-
his gray skin. Now you are sure, he isn’t umn and position them so that they sur-
sleeping, he is most certainly dead! round the party.

Give the players some time to explore the The Companions fight to the death or un-
hall. With a Common Knowledge roll, til their entire group is dispatched. When
heroes familiar with Jalizar understand the heroes overpower all of them (or if
they have already seen this place. It is the they are killed), the dream starts to fade.
Temple of Etu, the Mother Goddess, in Read the following part:
Temples Road. Yet, the place looks slightly
different, and newer, as it might have in Suddenly the whole scene starts to fade, but
the past. A noticeable thing is that there you have time to notice that the empty pedes-
are no doors, so how did the party manage tal is now occupied by a massive figure whose
to get in? While the heroes are discussing features are too confused to be clearly seen. The
their situation, something happens. voice in your mind still repeats its obsessive
chant – “Thieves and assassins!” – until it
You are in a weird situation, but you have no becomes too feeble to hear and is no more.
time to think about what to do. Some ghastly
figures emerge from the colonnade, tall men (M) Companions (12). See page 44.

12
Keen-Bladed Nightmares

13
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

Part 2: The Crying

Mother
Hangovers and Guards the Guild members. He questions every-
You wake up in your bed with a rag- body, the heroes included. Gato is keen
ing hangover, the memory of the battle and smart, but makes no direct accusa-
with the scary warriors still fresh in your tions. Instead, he casually says that who-
mind. Luckily, it was only a dream, even ever is guilty of the crime will soon regret
though it was so realistic that you feel being alive.
pain in the places where you were hit.
As soon as Gato leaves, if no player brings
Since this is the first nightmare the heroes it up, the GM should suggest that it would
experience, their wounds aren’t real, but be wise to get rid of the loot as soon as
thing will soon get worse (see Nightmare possible by converting it into cash. With a
Wounds on page 18). Streetwise roll, the party decides that the
best thing to do is to visit someone willing
When the adventurers go downstairs for to buy their stolen goods, specifically Old
breakfast, they hear the customers and Pah the Sailor. He is an independent Jade-
the tavern keeper chatting about the news man fence from New Docks, well outside
of the day: Mathro the Prodigal, money- the sphere of influence of both the Thieves’
lender and pawnbroker, was killed during Guild and the Jan Tong.
the night together with his bodyguard.
But the worst thing is that also Ningo and The best time to pay Old Pah a visit is at
Shad, two members of the Thieves’ Guild dawn, so the heroes have some free time
hired by Mathro to provide extra protec- do what they want.
tion, were also found dead, and the Guild
is now in an uproar. Old Pah’s shop is a humble shack on the
waterfront. Supposedly, Pah is just a poor
While you are eating, a scarred man net maker and repairer, and his shop is
wearing a white cloak enters the tavern. always a real mess, full or ropes and nets
All the patrons fall silent at once. You everywhere. In truth, as you know, many
know him well: Gato is a Copper Helm interesting things lie concealed under the
officer and everybody knows he is on the smelly piles.
Thieves’ Guild’s payroll.
“Welcome to my humble shop, noble men.
Gato is here to gather information about What can poor Pah do for you?”
last night’s murders. He makes no secret
of the fact that he doesn’t care much about The fence is extremely ceremonious, but he
Mathro but is furious over the death of is also very smart. He understands that the

14
 Nightmare Alleys

heroes are in hurry to get rid of their loot of two, and deal an Action Card to each
and offers them a low price. Basically, he is group. The remaining four Companions
willing to give them only 25% of the real don’t participate in the Chase.
value of their wares, but with a Persuasion
(-2) roll the adventurers can convince him Because the city is part of the dream, the
to go up to 50%. Good roleplaying grants heroes will face several weird obstacles.
the party a bonus ranging from +1 to +4. To make the Chase really scary, instead
of using the standard Complication rules,
He buys everything, including the small each time a hero draws a black card (he is
statuette, if the party is willing to sell it. in a dream, so the situation is worse than
usual), check the table below and run the
When the heroes get rid of the loot, they corresponding mini-scene. If two char-
feel strangely better. They go back to the acters act on the same card number (for
Headless Chicken with a very fat purse example, on a seven of Spades and a seven
and can spend the night as it pleases them. of Clubs), they are involved in the same
scene. If a hero is running a mini-scene, he
cannot attack or be attacked by the Com-
Nightmare Alleys panions during that round.

Sooner or later, the heroes must go to

All the damage suffered during this Chase
sleep. When this happens, they experience
is considered Nightmare Wounds. Each
another strange collective dream.
scene, except Ace – Swarm of Flies! hap-
pens only once. Hence, ignore any other
You are in a street in Jalizar; it is a foggy
occurrence of the same card.
night – or day. You cannot say because
the fog is too thick, and you feel strange.
You don’t know where you are going and Deuce – Impossible Fall! The hero turns
this makes the situation even weirder. a corner and, as happens in dreams, the
Suddenly, you notice you aren’t alone: road suddenly ends on the verge of a bot-
some dark figures emerge from the mist tomless chasm. He must roll on Agil-
behind you. They are dressed in long, ity (-4) to avoid falling. In case of failure,
tattered cloaks and wield ancient, rusty he falls, suffering 3d6 damage, and he
swords. “Thieves and assassins! Thieves is Shaken. At the beginning of the next
and assassins!” they whisper, while they round the character finds himself lying on
move toward you! You recognize them as the ground, and can continue the Chase.
the same ghosts you fought in last night’s
dream. Three – Talking Heads! The character
comes to a crossroads and sees the severed
The heroes basically have two options heads of Mathro, his bodyguard and the
now: fleeing or fighting. two Thieves’ Guild thugs hanging from a
pole. The heads start talking to the hero,
cursing and accusing him (Intimidation
Fleeing roll with d10 skill). If they win with a
If the heroes decide to flee, this triggers raise, the character isn’t Shaken but feels
a short Chase (5 rounds), based on Agil- so overwhelmed by guilt that he suffers -1
ity. Split the Companions into four groups to Spirit rolls until he wakes up.

15
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

Four – Quicksand Fog! The character hanging out to dry. He can proceed with-
is walking up to his thighs in a sea of fog, out any problem, but the garments feel
which is quite a common situation in Jali- sticky to the touch. When outside the al-
zar. The fog is so thick that the hero cannot ley he understands why: the clothes were
see where his steps fall. Little by little, he dripping with blood! The passersby around
feels as if he is sinking into the fog! Let the him scream in horror when they see the
character make three swift Strength rolls. If trail of blood he leaves behind. For the en-
he manages to score at least three successes tire duration of the Chase, all the pursu-
(raises count as extra successes), he is able to ers receive +1 to their Chase rolls, since
pull himself out of the fog without suffering they can easily follow the trail. As a side
any damage; otherwise, before this part of effect, when the hero wakes up, his clothes
the dream ends, he suffers a level of Fatigue. are indeed stained with dried blood. He’ll
suffer -2 to Charisma until he bathes and
Five – Ghost Market. The hero finds washes his clothes.
himself in one of the many open-air mar-
kets of Jalizar, but he has never been here Nine – Endless Road! The character is
before and the area is very crowded too. It running uphill and he cannot see any side
is a very good place to hide, so the char- street to turn into. The road seems to be
acter cannot be attacked by the Compan- endless and the hero feels weaker with ev-
ions for the next Chase round. But there ery step he takes. He must make a Spirit
is a problem: the people around him don’t (-2) roll. In case of success, he understands
seem to notice the character, they ignore that the road exists only in his mind, and
his words and carelessly push him out of he manages to find a way out. If he fails, he
the way. Besides being frightening, it is also is stuck in the situation for another round.
dangerous, because the hero might end up This can lead the hero to remain in this
being trampled underfoot. He must make sort of limbo for many rounds, even until
a Vigor (-2) roll or suffer from Bumps and the end of the Chase. When he manages
Bruises; in addition, he loses an item cho- to leave, unless this happens in the very
sen by the GM (only in the dream). first round, he must make a Vigor (-2) roll
or suffer a level of Fatigue.
Six – Lost in a Dream! This road… where
am I? The character is completely lost. The Ten – Dead End of Dead Hands! Oh no,
street names and the look of the place the road comes to a dead end! The hero
are totally unfamiliar to him. In the cur- turns around and finds a group of Com-
rent Chase round and in the next, he uses panions right behind him. They can attack
Smarts instead of Agility as Chase skill. the character in melee. If the player de-
clares that his hero stands with his back to
Seven – I Cannot Breathe! While he is the wall (the most logical position in real
running, the hero feels that his throat is world), he can only be attacked by two op-
closing up! He cannot talk or breathe any- ponents, but many cold, dead hands come
more! The hero must make a Vigor roll or out from the wall and try to restrain him!
suffer a level of Fatigue. Characters with It counts as the entangle Power, cast with
the Brave Edge roll with +2. Sorcery d10. At the end of the round, a
gust of wind makes both the wall and the
Eight – The Blemish of Guilt. The hero hands disappear, and the character can
is running down an alley full of clothes continue his escape.

16
 Nightmare Alleys

Jack – Past Enemy! The hero turns into a to him. It is a great opportunity for role-
road and someone steps out of the shad- playing but, if you prefer to handle the sit-
ows, blocking his path. Surprisingly, the uation in a mechanical way, consider it an
newcomer is one of the hero’s past en- opposed roll between the past love inter-
emies (someone encountered in a previ- est’s Persuasion (d10) and the character’s
ous adventure or a character from the Spirit. If the character wins, he can leave;
hero’s background), but he died a long if he loses, he must stay for another round.
time ago! The enemy will prevent the hero If a player decides that her character at-
from escaping, unless he is defeated. He tacks the past love, there is no need to roll
has Fighting d10, Taunt d10, Parry 7, the and the newcomer dies in a gruesome way.
Improved First Strike and the Improved The hero can move on, but the action costs
Counterattack Edge and deals 2d6 dam- him a Bennie.
age regardless of the weapon he is using.
The first round he uses the Defend action. If the hero is stuck, he doesn’t receive an
The hero cannot pass without defeating Action Card. Except in the round when
him, but a single hit (no damage roll is this mini-scene starts, he is considered to
necessary) is enough to make him disap- have failed the Chase roll, so he can be
pear in a puff of cold wind. While deal- freely attacked by Companions within
ing with the enemy, the hero is stuck and melee range.
doesn’t receive an Action Card. Except in
the round when this mini-scene starts, he
is considered to have failed the Chase roll, A hero leaving his past love behind must
so he can be freely attacked by Compan- make one last Spirit roll. In case of criti-
ions within melee range. cal failure, he suffers the effects of the
Thwarted Love Hindrance for the rest of
If the hero manages to win before the end the scenario.
of the Chase, he gains a Bennie. Other-
wise, if he is still locked in melee at the King – Dead Horseman! While the hero
end of the Chase, the enemy disappears is running, he suddenly hears the thumping
with a laugh and the character manages to of hoofs behind him. With a quick glimpse,
reach Dead Fountain Square (see below), he sees that a horseman is charging toward
but in the first round of combat he doesn’t him with a big sword in his hand! His face
receive an Action Card. is gray like that of a dead man, and the
coat of arms on his shield is the same as
Queen – Past Love! The hero enters a the Companions’ griffin. It is the spirit of
narrow alley and sees someone waiting for Prince Irvan, who has joined his men. The
him at its far end. The individual is one of hero must roll on his Pace as if he were
the hero’s past love interests (even better running, while the horseman rolls on the
if a dead one)! It can be someone the hero horse’s movement (Pace: 8, d8 running
met in a previous adventure, a character die). If the horseman wins, he charges and
from the hero’s background or, if no hook tries to decapitate the hero! It is a Called
is available, the GM can decide to invent Shot to the head (-4), dealt by a Wild Card
a new character in collaboration with the with Strength d8, Fighting d8, Riding d8,
player. The new character can also be a rel- armed with a sword (Str+d8) and charging.
ative or a close friend. The newcomer tries The horseman performs a single charge,
in every way to delay the hero by talking then he disappears.

17
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

Ace – Swarm of Flies! The hero

The Restless Ghosts hears a loud buzzing sound com-
As a rule of thumb, the heroes will have to fight ing from a sewer manhole nearby.
the ghosts each time they sleep. This can be fun the Suddenly, a swarm of flies rushes
first time, but it might soon become a nuisance. out and attacks him! He suffers 2d4
To keep the story running, you can handle the damage from the swarm’s attack,
situation using the Mass Battle rules. Since they
are fighting in a dream, the heroes use the highest which disappears at the end of the
Spirit among them as Battle skill. The other heroes round. This event can happen more
can aid the character with the highest Spirit using than once.
the standard battle rules. The ghosts have Battle
d10 and 10 Battle Tokens (for the Nightmare Joker – Really Scary! Draw two
Alleys scenes, reduce them by one per every two
cards and try to combine their ef-
Companions killed during the Chase), while the
heroes start with 6 Tokens. Differently from the fects.
normal battle rules, all the heroes must take part
in the battle. When the party loses the last Battle Fleeing is basically pointless, be-
Token, they wake up. cause in the end the heroes are cor-
Subsequent Battles. Night after night the ghosts nered in a foggy square and they
become stronger. Add +1 to their Battle rolls. have to fight (see below). But trying
Nightmare Wounds. As they are in a dream, the to flee is natural in nightmares; so,
wounds the heroes suffer are only partially real, reward the heroes with a Bennie.
but they become more and more serious with every
nightmare. Initially, their effects are minor and
the heroes wake up feeling tired and disoriented. Fighting
But, as the nightmares intensify, so do their conse-
quences. When a character wounded or killed by a Suddenly you recognize your
Companion wakes up, check the table below and surroundings. You are in Dead
reduce the damage taken to the level indicated. Fountain Square, the same place
where you ambushed Mathro!
Nightmare Effect There is something definitely
strange about the fountain: it seems
No effect. The victim wakes up feeling larger and taller. But you have no
1st a bit sore and confused.
time to check it more closely because
Phantom Pain. If the victim suffers at
least one Wound in the dream, he actu-
the ghastly swordsmen are closing
2nd-3rd ally feels pain in the wounded area but in on you!
has no visible cut or bruise. He suffers a
level of Fatigue.
The heroes have to fight the swords-
Old Wound. If the hero suffers at least men again. The battlefield is 9” by
one Wound in the dream, some cuts
4th-5th which had almost healed reappear on 9”, with a statue in the center (see
his body! He wakes up with a Wound. below) and a single 3” wide street,
Dreams that kill. The experience is so which is the ghost riders’ access
intense that any wound suffered in the point. Place the heroes within 6” of
nightmare is real, so the hero can die the statue, while the Companions
6th+ during the dream. Real cuts appear
on his body and all wounds suffered enter the square during the first
are real. round.

18
 Clues

If you want to handle this battle in a fast

way, check the “The Restless Ghosts” side- Don’t Give in
bar. to Sleep!
Unless the curse is lifted, the heroes are un-
(M) Companions (12). See page 44.
able to sleep safely and get any rest. Use the
Sleep deprivation rules on page 89 of the
The combat can end in two ways: the he- Savage Worlds core rules, with the follow-
roes are either “killed” (and they wake up ing modifications:
screaming) or they kill all their opponents.
In the latter case, they soon wake up pant- Stimulants. Wine spiced with Lotus and
other cheap drugs can be used as stimu-
ing and puffing. But, before abandoning
lants. They cost 5 Moons/dose.
the dream, they see something interesting.
Khav. Heroes suffering from Fatigue due
Finally, you have time to observe the to sleep deprivation can take some Khav
fountain in the middle of the square. It (10 Moons/daily dose). It allows them to
is no longer a fountain but a giant-sized ignore the effects of Fatigue (removing
any penalty) but it doesn’t actually remove
version of the small statuette you found their need to sleep. An Incapacited hero
in Mathro’s purse! The face of the woman suffers the full effects of this condition (see
is weeping copious amounts of blood and, below). In addition, Khav is a particularly
while you are waking up, you hear once addictive drug. Any character using it
more the rasping voice of the ghastly more than twice must make a Vigor (+1)
swordsmen accusing you: “Thieves and roll or develop the Habit Hindrance. The
assassins!” roll must be repeated after every use of the
drug.
But one final surprise awaits the heroes! Incapacitation Effects. Ignore the
Even if they had previously sold it, when normal incapacitation effects due to sleep
they wake up, they find the statuette of the deprivation. Instead, the character experi-
Crying Mother next to one of their beds, ences a hallucination of some type while he
its stone face smeared with old blood! is awake, mistaking some common person
for a Companion (this is exactly what
happened to Sable).
Terrain and Props
• The Statue: It is very sturdy (Toughness
14) and quite big (2” by 2” on the battle- the dreams of whoever has the statuette in
field). It grants full cover and has blurred their possession. Nightmare after night-
facial features until the end of the fight. mare, the specters become more powerful,
and in the end they can actually kill their
victims. In addition, the side effect of sleep
Clues deprivation must not be underestimated
(see the Don’t Give in to Sleep! Sidebar).
At this point in the story, the players have The curse can be lifted only by returning
clearly understood that something terrible the statuette to its rightful place, on Prince
is happening to them. They are cursed, Irvan’s body.
and the nature of their curse is simple:
the ghosts of the Companions, enraged A good portion of this adventure consists
by the theft of the Crying Mother, haunt in discovering and placing all these pieces

19
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

of information together, so the heroes will Three Successes. After Prince Irvan’s mur-
have to investigate various aspects. Besides der, his trusted bodyguards, the Compan-
the suggestions detailed below, there are ions, rushed to the Royal Palace and tried
many other ways to find helpful hints, and to avenge their lord by attacking Emella’s
the GM is free to devise methods suited other husbands. The fight ended in blood-
to his group’s skills. shed, and all the Companions were killed.
Princess Emella ordered Prince Irvan and
his bodyguards to be buried somewhere in
The Specters Jalizar.
The heroes have seen the monsters twice,
so they have a good starting point for their
investigation. The best clue is the knights’
The Statuette
coat of arms: a white griffin on a red field. The only physical lead the party has is the
The heroes can look for information in statuette, which seems to be at the core of
various ways: by digging into their own the curse. It is made of silver and repre-
memory (with a Knowledge (Ancient sents a crying woman. It is very ancient,
History) or Knowledge (Legends and but its exact age cannot be determined.
Lore) roll), by going to a library (with an As above, the heroes can gather clues in
Investigation roll), or by asking a scholar various manners: by using their religious
(with a Persuasion or Streetwise roll: add knowledge (Knowledge (Religion)), by
+2 to the roll if a generous tip, at least 50 visiting a jeweler or a priest (Persuasion
Moons, is offered). rolls, +1 if a tip of 50 Moons is offered),
or with a Common Knowledge roll if they
The investigation can be a group effort, in have some background experience with
which each hero uses his skills to find out jewelry.
something useful. Add up all the successes
(raises count as extra successes) gathered One Success. The statuette depicts the
by the characters, even when made on dif- goddess Etu, the Mother, and it is quite
ferent rolls, and check the results below. ancient. It is stained around its eyes with
The entries are inclusive of lower success- something that looks like old blood. The
es; so, if the group scores two successes, stains cannot be removed in any way.
they also gain the piece of information for
one success. Two Successes. The statuette displays
some peculiar characteristics. It was craft-
One Success. The emblem belongs to ed using the so-called lost-wax casting
Pella, a very old satellite city state of Jali- method, which was very common in the
zar, which was destroyed during the Valk city of Pella. As for its physical features,
invasion. the bejeweled navel and naked breasts are
typical of the goddess Etu, but the face
Two Successes. A tragic story is told about of the statuette was shaped to resemble
Prince Irvan from Pella. He was meant a specific person – most likely the artist’s
to be the thirteenth husband of Princess tribute to a patron or dear person. The
Emella of Jalizar, but he was murdered the identity of the model is unknown.
night before the wedding. This put an end
to the peaceful relationship between Pella Three Successes. This piece of informa-
and the City of Thieves. tion can be acquired only by visiting a li-

20
 Gitara the Cripple

brary. The facial features of the statuette Mathro’s Lover

are those of Oneria, Queen of Pella and Mathro was interested only in his trea-
mother of the unfortunate Prince Irvan. sures. So it seems strange that he paid reg-
ular visits to a woman – and even stranger
Magical investigation on the statuette. considering that it happened five times in
The detect arcana Power reveals that the a single week! With a Streetwise roll the
object is magical. It emanates a rather party discovers that the woman in ques-
strong aura, but its powers are unknown. tion, Gitara, is said to be a witch. Maybe
The statuette actually has two powers: first, Mathro wasn’t visiting her to be enter-
it marks out its owner(s) for the Compan- tained. More information about Gitara
ions to find; second, it has the ability to can be found below.
always return to its last owner, if it feels
they are the “right” persons (like the he-
roes). The statuette is very hard to destroy Gitara the Cripple
(Toughness: 12), but it can be melted. De-
stroying the statuette doesn’t lift the curse, Sooner or later, the party will visit Gi-
but it actually enrages the Companions tara, either because they believe she was
even more (they receive +1 to Fighting or Mathro’s lover or because they heard she
Battle rolls), while also leading to a poten- is a witch and hope she might help them.
tially different end of the adventure (see
below). Gitara is a dark-skinned woman in her
forties, still showing traces of great beau-
ty now marred by a rough life. She lives
Looking for a Mage. Desperate heroes
on the second floor of a slum in Cheap
might try to look for a mage or warlock
Meat Road. She was crippled a few years
who can lift their curse. If they ask around,
ago by a ruffian, who used to be her lover.
they will be advised to go and see Gitara
The man was often violent and one day
the Cripple (the same woman Mathro vis-
he broke her leg, but mysteriously disap-
ited), who is said to possess magical pow-
peared shortly afterward, lending Gitara
ers.
the fame of being a witch, as well as a
courtesan.
Original Owner
The woman opens the door with a profes-
The heroes took the statuette from Math- sional smile: “Hey honey, looking for some
ro, who, being a pawnbroker, must in turn wine and good company?”
have acquired it from someone else. If he
were alive, they could ask him about the Gitara knows that Mathro was killed but
original owner, but Mathro was killed, so wants nothing to do with it. First, she de-
the group’s investigation is much harder. nies any connection, then she says that the
The evil moneylender had no friend and, man visited her for very peculiar reasons.
besides his very recent visits to the courte- He had nightmares – terrible ones. Gi-
san Gitara, he did not care about anyone tara thought they were only caused by bad
or anything except his money. Some in- digestion and a guilty conscience, so she
formation might be gathered in his house, gave him some herbs to facilitate sleep.
but the heroes must find a way to break in The herbs worked, at least at the begin-
(see Mathro’s House below). ning, but then the nightmares came back,

21
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

much more intense than before. Gitara Gitara’s help is not cheap. She asks for 100
understood that something horrible was Moons and is unwilling to go any lower.
tormenting Mathro, probably a curse of She is very secretive about the ritual and
some type. So, she proposed a riskier and can’t be forced to reveal any other infor-
more costly procedure to discover what mation before starting. If the party de-
was going on. The night he was killed, the cides to go through with it, she asks them
moneylender was actually coming to Gi- to leave a series of items on the floor (for
tara’s house to perform that ritual. the GM only: all the items that can reflect
an image). Then, she unlocks the door to a
Mathro is dead – that’s true – but the small room, which is completely dark, and
heroes are certainly interested in such a leads the group inside.
thing and can take his place.
The small room is engulfed in darkness.
I’ve got everything I need and, if you Heavy black curtains hang over the win-
want, you can take Mathro’s place in the dows and along the walls, and you can
ritual. We can start right away. But I’m barely distinguish the shape of a low table
warning you, it will cost you, and I am in the middle of the room, surrounded by
not only speaking of the Moons you are cushions. Something lies on the table,
going to give me. The powers we will be covered by a black piece of cloth.
contacting always ask for something in
return… and it isn’t coins. The witch limps to the table and gestures
for you to sit down. Then, she asks again:
“Are you absolutely sure you want to con-
tinue? Once we start, we cannot go back.”

If the heroes agree, she shrugs and goes

on.

Gitara removes the cloth from the object

on the table as cautiously as if she was
opening a basket full of snakes. The cloth
was hiding a crystal of irregular shape,
the size of a large book. It is made of black
stones, and its polished faces shimmer in
the darkness.

22
 Gitara the Cripple

The witch chants in a solemn voice: “In Here is a list of the most likely questions
the name of the pacts of old Keron, for the the party will ask, together with suitable
power of moon, blood and souls, I, Gitara, answers:
call you, Many Faces! In the name of
the howling spirits of eternal darkness, Q: What is happening to us?
for the power of rain, stone and fire, I, A: You are under the effects of the curse,
Gitara, call you, Sha-rak-na-tur! In the which causes restless spirits, animated by
name of the Labyrinth of Beyond, for the remorse and hatred, to haunt you.
power of words, lies and truths, I, Gitara,
Q: What is the source of the curse?
call you, Serpent Tongue!”
A: The Crying Mother, the statuette you
stole, which belonged to Prince Irvan
Gitara falls silent and goes limp, an in life and was buried with him. By
empty shell, her eyes awake but her body stealing it, you angered the spirits of the
drained of all energy. Suddenly, a small Companions, his trusted swordsmen
light flickers deep inside the crystal, cast- who died to avenge him.
ing its rays across the room. You notice
that you see yourself reflected many times Q: Is there a way to lift the curse?
over in the polished faces of the stone. A: The statuette must be brought back to
the place it was taken from.
Then, one of your reflections smiles evilly
Q: Where is this place?
and speaks: “So, here I am. What do you
A: The thief who stole it knows it.
want?”
Q: Who is the thief ?
Gitara isn’t a real witch, only a simple A: Mathro knew, but now he’s gone. Yet,
charlatan. But many years ago she visited the answer is still in this world, written
the Savannah and brought back this weird in his ledger.
stone, in which a Jabelizzar is trapped (see
Sidebar). The creature can jump from re- Q: Where is Mathro’s ledger?
flection to reflection, so Gitara keeps the A: Look in his house. But beware of the
room locked to prevent him from escap- snake’s eyes.
ing. Being a supernatural entity, the Jabe-
lizzar knows a lot of things, and can answer Q: We melted the statuette, but our
the heroes’ questions. The demon basically
dreams are worse every night. What can
we do?
knows everything about the background
A: You must find the mortal bodies of
of this scenario, including Prince Irvan’s
the Companions, the dead guardians of
story, the role played by Sable and Mathro, Prince Irvan, and burn them to ashes.
and how to lift the curse. But the Jabeliz-
zar is a mischievous creature and will re- Q: Is there a way to kill the ghastly
veal only enough information to lead the warriors in our nightmares?
heroes to Mathro’s house. In exchange for A: No, not in dreams.
an answer, each hero asking a question will
have to give the demon one year of his life Once the heroes are done with their
(see sidebar). questions, Gitara recovers some of her

23
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

strength. There’s only one thing the heroes Mathro’s House

can do now: go to Mathro’s house.
Locating Mathro’s house is simple; ev-
(M) Gitara the Cripple (1). See page 45. erybody in Thousand Chimneys knows
where it is.
Note: After the heroes leave, Gitara re-
ceives another visit. Gato, the Copper The house of the moneylender looks like
Helm officer, questions her thoroughly. nothing special from the outside, but it
He finds the party’s interest in Mathro is very well protected. It is a two-story
very suspicious and starts believing they building, sandwiched between another
are involved in Mathro’s death. two houses. The shop where the pawnbro-
ker kept his wares is on the ground floor,
while his living quarters are on the first
Jabelizzar floor. The main door of the house opens
A Jabelizzar is a demonic entity that can-
onto Good Bargain Lane and the back-
not be summoned directly into the world, door is in Cat Piss Alley. They both look
because it dwells only in reflective surfaces, quite sturdy. With your professional eye,
like mirrors, polished gems, calm pools of you also notice two small windows pro-
water, and so on. So, after being sum- tected by metal grates on the ground floor
moned, a Jabelizzar resides in such a place. and a larger one protected by tough blinds
Jabellizzars usually assume the facial
on the upper floor. Old Mathro was defi-
features of the person mirrored in them nitely obsessed with security!
and twist it. So, when a beautiful girl
looks at herself in a possessed mirror, the Breaking In
Jabellizar turns the reflection into that of
an old crone. Jabellizzars cannot inter- The following paragraph assumes that the
act with the world directly, but they can heroes try to break into Mathro’s house
speak to humans and show them almost after dark, since the streets are simply too
anything they want. They use their power crowded during the day and they would
to influence people (Persuasion d12+1), automatically be spotted.
scare them (Intimidation d12+1), or anger
them (Taunt d12+1). The magic of their
Unless they found the keys on Mathro’s
words is sometimes so strong that they can
convince girls to kill their sisters or children body (see page 10), the heroes basically
to jump into deep wells to grab imaginary have three ways to gain entrance to the
toys. house: by using the front door (leading
to the shop), or the back door (leading
Sorcerers often summon Jabelizzars as to the kitchen), or by climbing the wall
spies, because they can “jump” from one
to break the blinds and access the upper
reflective surface to another, if these are
less than 12” away from each other, so that floor directly (Mathro’s study). The two
they can enter the private quarters of the doors are both quite difficult to pry open
sorcerer’s enemies and eavesdrop. The safest (Lockpicking (-2)). The development of
way to banish a Jabelizzar is to destroy the the story requires the heroes to enter the
reflective object currently hosting it. house, so every failure on the Lockpick-
ing roll makes them waste 5 minutes, but
The Jabelizzar and other Demons can
be found in Beasts and Barbarians #3, then they can try again. To add some ex-
Green World. citement, if he wants, the Game Master

24
 Mathro’s House

can draw a card from the Action Deck for

every 5 minutes spent trying to pick the
lock. If it is a Club, someone (a passerby, a Dealing with Demons
beggar, a prostitute, a stray beast) goes past
The Jabelizzar is a treacherous creature
the house, potentially causing some trou-
that loves tempting humans, bargain-
ble. If the heroes are working on the back ing and haggling with them. Its answers
door, the chances are lower and someone should be complete enough to keep the play-
arrives only if a Club face card is dealt. ers hooked without revealing anything
more than the bare minimum. The main
With a critical failure, the pick gets stuck clue the Game Master should convey is
in the lock and the heroes can no longer that the identity of the previous owner of
try to gain access through this door. the statuette is written in Mathro’s ledger,
which must be somewhere in his house
(given that it wasn’t found on his body).
The blind can be reached with a Climb-
ing roll, then the character must make a Demonic Price. The Jabelizzar wants to be
Lockpicking roll or bash it in (Toughness: paid in years of human life, which simply
6). means that the hero asking a question will
die a little younger than he would have
(due to an accident, illness, or other cause).
Mathro’s Key Ring. It holds a big black
key (front door), a rusty bronze key (back In gaming terms, this has no real effect –
door), and a gray key (stairs). but it’s still creepy. The only exception is
a character with the Elderly Hindrance.
If he “pays” three or more years of his life,
In the House. Unless differently stated, he becomes aware that his days will soon
Mathro’s house is in the Dark light- be over and might (GM’s discretion)
ing condition and all the doors (except also permanently gain the Death Wish
those leading outside) are open and have Hindrance.
Toughness 7.

Ground Floor
The heroes search the room meticulously,
only to discover that Mathro’s ledger, if
Shop it ever existed, isn’t here. Among the as-
This large room is cluttered with the most sorted wares, for every 10 minutes of in-
assorted wares. Clothes, pottery, cheap spection and with a Notice roll the party
jewelry, tools and cutlery are the most can find something useful and/or precious
common ones, but you also notice some (GM’s decision), worth 1d6x5 Moons (a
very exotic items, such as an embalmed trinket, a dress, a tool). The bench drawer
monkey from the Cannibal Islands and a contains some coins (1d10 Moons). The
stained tapestry from Tricarnia. A large most interesting thing is discovered if the
bench stands at the far end of the room, heroes examine the embalmed monkey:
with a chair next to it, while a door pre- concealed in its mouth is a key, which is
sumably leads to the back office. The whole a copy of the gray one from the key ring.
place is in desperate need of cleaning and
dusting. Old Mathro clearly wasn’t a Connected to: Kitchen (door), Good
keen housekeeper. Bargain Lane (main door).

25
 Part 2: The Crying Mother

Kitchen a Lockpicking roll or bashed in, unless the

The smell of stale food immediately tells heroes have found the gray key (either by
you where you are: in a kitchen – and searching Mathro’s body and finding the
not a very clean one. Despite his wealth, key ring or in the mouth of the embalmed
Mathro was a stingy man, and decent monkey in the shop).
cooking wasn’t exactly a priority for
him. A fireplace with a cauldron on it, a Connected to: Kitchen (stair), Upper
table, two chairs and a cupboard are the Floor Corridor.
only objects in this room, besides a pallet,
probably where Mathro’s guard slept. A
flight of stairs goes to the upper floor. Upper F loor Corridor
A dirty corridor with two doors halfway
This room seems empty, but the heroes get
down either wall. An old tapestry and a
a nasty surprise when they see Mathro’s
lamp are the only pieces of furniture in
guard dog. It is an ugly, black creature
this section.
called Terror, which usually sleeps by the
pallet. Mathro never treated it very well
A simple corridor, with nothing special
and always gave it very little food, so the
about it. If a fight takes place in the cor-
beast is now starving. It growls for one
ridor, consider it 2” wide on the battlefield.
round then attacks the heroes, unless they
give it some food. In this case, roll on the
Reaction Table of the Savage Worlds core Connected to: Stairs (door), Bedroom
rules with +1. If the result is a Neutral (or (east door), Study (west door).
better) reaction, the beast grabs the food
and goes back to its corner to munch on it. Bedroom
A character with the Beast Master Edge
has no need to roll and always obtains a This room needs some serious cleaning.
peaceful reaction from the animal. There is The bed is unmade and the bedside table
nothing of interest in this room. and wardrobe are incredibly dusty and in
very bad shape. A massive book lies on the
(M) Terror (1). See page 48. bedside table!

Connected to: Shop (door), Cat Piss Al- The tome on the bedside table isn’t Math-
ley (back door), stairs. ro’s ledger, but a bound book with ivory
inlays containing several erotic pictures.
First Floor The book is quite precious (200 Moons)
but its pages are rather sticky… The room
doesn’t contain anything else of interest,
Stairs but there is a chamber pot under the bed
A flight of stairs, with creaking steps. The which has not been emptied, greatly con-
stairs end in front of a closed door. tributing to the bad smell of the room.

In his obsession with security, Mathro had Connected to: Upper Floor Corridor
a door placed at the top of the stairs to (door).
protect the upper floor of his house. The
door is locked and can be picked only with

26
 Mathro’s House

Study (they can cooperate with him rolling on

A room with dark wood paneling on the Notice).
walls. It is full of bookshelves and benches
and the massive writing desk standing in When they start moving the dial, the he-
the center is crammed with assorted pa- roes have five rounds to complete the se-
pers, inkwells, and other writing imple- quence. If at the end of the sequence they
ments. There is a large window but the got all the animals right (i.e. they have
blinds are shut, making the place even gathered five successes), the safe opens.
darker.
Otherwise, the cobra’s head releases a
cloud of nasty poison, the Brown Lotus of
On the desk there are only spare sheets of
Agony (poison Power, very fast, cast with
paper and nothing valuable or important.
Lotusmastery d8, covering a LBT). There
With some time to spare (at least half an
is enough poison in the cobra’s head to re-
hour) and by making a Smarts roll, the he-
roes can examine the bookshelves and find lease three clouds. The trap can be found
a few precious volumes (mostly genealo- with a Notice (-4) roll. The roll is with-
gies of Jalizar and natural history treatises: out penalty if a hero explicitly says she
total value 200 Moons). But the most im- is inspecting the dial. The device can be
portant item can be discovered only with jammed with a Repair (-2) roll or the tiny
a Notice roll, which can be cooperative: tube through which the poison is delivered
a panel in the wall conceals a metal safe. can be blocked in some way, for example
Finding the safe is vital for the adventure, using the wax of a candle or some soap.
so, if no hero succeeds in the roll, the party
will spot the removable panel only after
In the safe, the heroes find a large pile of
half an hour of searching.
documents: title deeds for various houses
and businesses in the city, letters grant-
Safes aren’t common in the Dominions.
ing ownership of the cargo transported
This one in particular is a true jewel of
by ships sailing to and from Jalizar, and so
engineering coming from Kyros. It is very
sturdy (Toughness 14) and equipped with on. These papers cannot be immediately
an unusual opening mechanism: an em- turned into hard cash, but creative heroes
blazoned dial on a face displaying nine of can devise smart ways of using them (see
the ten beasts of the Kyrosian horoscope Mathro’s Ledger sidebar below). At the
(lion, gazelle, elephant, tiger, gnu, hippo, very bottom of the pile there is a small
rhino, Tsa-Gara, alligator). The dial itself booklet: Mathro’s ledger, which the old
represents a cobra snake, the tenth ani- pawnbroker used to keep track of all his
mal, and can be moved. The safe can be dealings!
opened by rotating the dial in the correct
sequence, corresponding to the following
But the heroes won’t have much time to
five animals: gazelle, hippo, alligator, lion,
read it, because they are about to be the
and rhino. It is handled as a Dramatic
Task, based on Lockpicking (-2). Only targets of a surprise attack (see next scene).
one hero can work on the handle, but up
to two more can help him by putting their Connected to: Upper Floor Corridor
ears to the mechanisms to listen for clicks (door).

27
 Part 3: The Longest Hour of the Night

Part 3: The Longest

Hour of the Night
Guards! time to act. They are outnumbered and,
Unbeknownst to the party, Mathro’s shop even if they manage to overwhelm their
is being watched. Gato might be a corrupt enemies, being publicly responsible for
guard, but he knows his job well and has killing Copper Helms would mean they
figured out that the thieves who murdered are doomed, at least in the City of Thieves.
the pawnbroker most probably also found Yet, there is another way out. If they are
the keys to his house, known to be full of daring enough, they can open the blinds
valuable items. So he has stationed a guard of the study and escape using the Way
in the house opposite Mathro’s shop and Above, i.e. the roofs of Jalizar’s palaces.
has paid a beggar to keep an eye to the
back door in Cat Piss Alley. When the (WC) Gato, Copper Helm Officer (1).
heroes break in, the beggar stays put while See page 46.
the guard runs to the Thieves’ Tower, the
nearest Copper Helms post, to warn Gato (M) Copper Helms (12). See page 44.
that someone has slipped into the money-
lender’s house. Hand Action Cards to the players!

This gives the heroes enough time to ex- The situation can be played by referring to
plore the house but, immediately after the Road Above rules on page 142 of JCT.
finding the ledger, they realize something This scene includes five Steps, described
is seriously wrong. below, each describing a particular mo-
ment of the daring escape. In addition, at
You finally have the ledger in your hands, when the beginning of each step, the party must
you hear a muffled sound coming from the make a group Stealth (-1) roll. If any of
street. You look out through a gap in the blinds them fails, the guards below spot them,
and you understand you are in big trouble. The and this triggers the “Slingers!” event de-
road below is full of Copper Helms, who are scribed below. The roofs are at Medium
silently surrounding the house. You recognize height from the ground (4d6+4 damage
their leader as Gato, the officer who questioned from falling) and the Cliffhanger rules
you about Mathro’s murder. from page 144 of JCT are strongly sug-
gested. Gato is present but does not inter-
If the heroes check the back alley, they vene directly; he simply shouts orders and
see that there are guards there too. In to- spurs his men.
tal there are six guards plus Gato at the
front and another six Copper Helms by Step 1 – Reaching the Roof. The heroes
the back door. The heroes have very little must leave through the window, and reach

28
 Guards!

the roof of the house. It requires a Climb- and must be dispatched before the party
ing (+2) roll. In case of failure, the charac- can go on. The edge is so narrow that the
ters are stuck for another round clinging guard must be fought by a single character.
to the window. Moreover, if a 1 in scored on an Agility
based roll, the character falls to the street,
Step 2 – Walking on the Steep Roof/ as described above.
Water Tank. Walking on the slanted roof
can be done with an Agility roll. In case of Step 5 – Among the Chimneys. The party
failure, some tiles yield under the heroes’ reaches a section of the roofs which is full
weight and fall to the ground, automati- of smoking chimneys. On one hand, this
cally triggering the “Slingers!” event be- makes it harder for the Slingers to target
low. On the top of this roof there is a big them (granting Heavy Cover), but each
wooden tank made to collect rainwater. character must make a Vigor roll to avoid
With a Strength (-2) roll, which counts as coughing uncontrollably. In addition, if
an action and can be cooperative, a hero one of the adventurers has the Bad Luck
can push it down so that it falls right onto Hindrance, embers fall onto his cloak,
the Copper Helms’ heads! In case of suc- with the customary chances of setting it
cess, every guard in a Medium Burst Tem- on fire.
plate must make an Agility roll to avoid
it; in case of failure, the guards hit by the Slingers! Four Copper Helms are Sling-
tank are removed from the scene. ers (see Copper Helms description) and,
when they spot the heroes, they try to take
Step 3 – Jumping over a Gap/Tightrope them down. To check if a hero is in range,
Walking. The hero comes to the edge of a consider his Action Card: if it is red, then
roof and must jump over a street to reach he is in range. Use the Attack Range table
the other side. It isn’t a very big jump, but of Chases in the Savage Worlds core rule-
the void below looks extremely scary. A book to determine the exact distance.
character must make a Spirit roll or be
stuck for one round, shaking with fear. Al- When a hero manages to complete the
ternatively, there is a rope stretching be- fifth step, he has escaped the guards’ at-
tween two buildings, from which the flags tacks and is safe.
of the last Solstice Feast hang. Walking on
the rope allows the hero to reach step 5
directly, but it requires two Agility rolls. In
case of failure, the hero staggers and can- GM Tips:
not go on, while with a critical failure he Mathro’s Ledger
loses balance and falls. This small booklet is worth more than its
weight in gold, because it records every
Step 4 – Slippery Edge. The party is pro- single item the moneylender acquired from
ceeding on the edge of a roof made slip- thieves and other shady individuals, as
pery by pigeon droppings. Each hero must well as the debts of many people beyond
make an Agility (+2) roll. In case of fail- suspicion and other embarrassing secrets.
ure, he automatically slips but manages to After the adventure, with a Streetwise
roll, the party can sell it for up to 500
hold on to the edge, as per the Cliffhanger
Moons or even use it to blackmail someone,
rule. In addition, if the guards are alert- which can potentially lead to a new inter-
ed, one of them climbs up onto the roof esting story…

29
 Part 3: The Longest Hour of the Night

Sable being held in the Falchion Tower. No

trial in front of the Magistrate for him…
Once in a safe place, the heroes finally he’ll be beheaded tomorrow morning. The
have time to read Mathro’s ledger. The Helms have no mercy when you kill one
small booklet contains several dirty secrets of them. Poor sod.”
that the heroes might find very useful (see
sidebar). But the most important piece The heroes weren’t in the tavern at the
of information they are looking for is the time, but they remember hearing about
name of the person who gave the pawn- the killing a few days ago. If they question
broker the statuette: Sable. Sable’s drinking buddies, they discover
very little: the only thing Sable said about
Sable is rather well-known in Thousand his money was that he had had the biggest
Chimneys. He is a not-so-good burglar stroke of luck in his life.
and very fond of the bottle. He is a regular
customer at the Headless Chicken Tavern, So, if the heroes want to know where Sa-
the same place where the heroes usually ble got the statuette, they must find a way
hang out, but he hasn’t been seen there in to speak to him or to break him out of the
over a week. By questioning Ander, the Falchion Tower, in the Imperial Quarter,
tavern keeper, or any other regular patron, where he is being held.
the characters learn the following story:

“Old Sable made the last mistake of his The Falchion Tower
troubled life. About a week ago, he came The Falchion Tower, also called the Tower
to the Headless Chicken with a full purse, of Beheadings, is a sturdy building hosting
paid all his debts, gulped down the larg- a full platoon of Copper Helms. No crimi-
est tankard of alcohol in the tavern, and nals are kept there, except those sentenced
went back to home on trembling legs. I to death. At the moment, there is only one
have never seen him so drunk, and I prisoner, Sable. He is being held in a small
imagined I wouldn’t see him again for a turret, the Dead Man’s Turret, built next to
couple of days at least.” the main tower and facing the city.

Ander continues the story: A complete map of the Tower is not nec-
essary, as the areas relevant to the scenario
“So I was very surprised when he came are described below. There are two ways
back early the next morning. He seemed into the Falchion Tower, either through
wild eyed, and he was mad or probably the Guards’ Gate (the main access) or
high on Khav. Suddenly, he turned to through the Repentance Door (secondary
Laarto, a Copper Helm sipping wine access).
quietly in a corner, and stabbed him to
death. He had no apparent reason and
killed the man in front of many wit- Guards’ Gate
nesses, while screaming something about The main entrance to the Tower, this gate
ghosts hunting him! Believe me, he was is always guarded by two Copper Helms
completely delirious. Then, he tried to run in full armor. These two guys are quite ar-
to the port, but the Helms caught him rogant and usually mistreat any low-class
before he could board a ship. Now he is looking people (+2 to Notice rolls to see

30
 Sable

through this type of disguise), but they Courtyard

show great respect for any person who A rather large courtyard, always full of
looks like they have authority and power guards who are busy training, speaking to
(-2 to Notice rolls to see through this type each other, or running some errand.
of disguise). If attacked, they’ll receive aid
from the Courtyard in 1d6 rounds. (M) Copper Helms (2d4+2 during ni-
ghttime, 3d4+4 during daytime). See
page 44.
(M) Copper Helms (2). Wearing heavy
armor (+3). See page 44. Connections: Guards’ Gate (gate), Repen-
tance Door (dirty, dark corridor), stairs to
Connections: Courtyard (gate) the Dead Man’s Turret (stairs).

Repentance Door Stairs to the Dead Man’s

This small door is concealed by the city Turret
walls and can be spotted only with a No-
To reach the Jailer’s Room, the first room
tice roll. It is a secondary entrance and,
in the Dead Man’s Turret, the heroes must
being next to the latrines, it is constantly find their way up winding flights of stairs
plagued by bad smell. It is guarded by No- with many side rooms and passages. Un-
Nose Amos, a Copper Helm who lost his less they know exactly where they are go-
nose while on duty and is now assigned ing (the guard by the Repentance Door
to this boring task. No-Nose Amos is a might have told them), they must make
fairly decent fellow, with a soft spot for three Smarts rolls. Any time they fail, it
downtrodden people, such as poor wid- means they take the wrong direction and
ows or beggar boys (-2 to Notice rolls to enter a room or stumble upon an encoun-
see through this type of disguise), but he ter, as detailed below. After three success-
absolutely despises priests (+2 to Notice ful rolls (or three encounters), they man-
rolls to see through this type of disguise). age to reach the Jailer’s Room. Redraw
If offered a couple of Moons, he’ll tell the already drawn cards.
heroes the best way to reach the Dead
Man’s Turret (see Stairs below). He stands Diamonds – Playing Dice. In a small room
in an isolated position and, if attacked, his the heroes see some servant boys and two
comrades from the Courtyard are warned Copper Helms busy playing dice. One of
only if a Club card is dealt to him during the boys is Al (see Spades below), who
works in the kitchen. Since playing dice
combat.
is against the rules, they immediately try
to hide what they are doing, but with poor
(M) No-Nose Amos (1). Use the Copper results. Then, they get angry and force the
Helm stats, adding the Ugly Hindrance. heroes to join their game (so that, having
See page 44. broken the rules too, the heroes won’t be
able to report them). The two guards have
Connections: Courtyard (gate). Gambling d4, while Al, the kitchen boy,
has d8. The guards don’t let the heroes
go until they have lost at least 10 Moons

31
 Part 3: The Longest Hour of the Night

each. If the party tries to go away before Hearts – The Lusty Sergeant. The heroes
that or if they win, the guards become bump into Sergeant Eric, a blonde athletic
suspicious (and examine the adventurers man with a penchant for pretty girls. Ser-
to see if they are in disguise). Young Al geant Eric loves being bossy and mistreat-
doesn’t fight and, at the first sign of trou- ing civilians. He is also more than ready
ble, he runs off. to alert the guards in the Courtyard (who
will arrive in 1d6 rounds) but, if the party
(M) Gambling Guards (2). Use the Cop- includes a beautiful female, he will let the
per Helm stats. heroes go on provided that she is nice to
him…
Clubs – Locked Door. The heroes find a
locked door, reinforced with bronze plates. (M) Sergeant Eric (1). Use the Copper
Whatever lies behind such heavy protec- Helm stats, adding the Attractive Edge,
tion must be precious, so Greedy heroes the Quirk (lecherous) Hindrance and
(or Curious ones) might decide to waste raising Fighting to d8.
some time trying to pry the door open.
Doing so requires a Lockpicking (-1) roll Connections: Jailer’s Room (door), Court-
and, once inside, the party finds a small yard (door).
storage room, containing a box full of ar-
rows, a bow, a helm, a full medium bronze
armor and most importantly, a Copper Jailer’s Room
Helm officer uniform. The uniform is
more than enough to allow a character to In this room on the lowest floor of the
disguise himself as an officer of the Cop- Dead Man’s Turret, the heroes find the
per Helms. The door is located in a busy jailer and executioner of the Falchion
corridor. So, any round the heroes spend Tower, a bear-like man called Druman.
there, draw a card from the Action Deck. He usually sits here, looking idle and mel-
If a face card is drawn, it means a group ancholic, but now he is happily polishing
of Copper Helms notices the adventurers. his huge axe to be ready for the beheading
taking place tomorrow. Druman isn’t very
(M) Copper Helms (3). See page 44. smart, but he is suspicious, so he receives
+2 to any roll to see through disguises; but
he is also quite hungry, because the cook
Spades – Bread and Butter. The party en-
(see “Bread and Butter” above) hasn’t de-
ters a small kitchen. The cook, a short-
livered his food yet. If the characters arrive
sighted, sweaty man by the improbable
name of Cozy, is very upset because his with a bowl of stew, he wolfs it down and
helper, Young Al (see Diamonds above), lets them access Sable’s cell without any
has disappeared again, but he is needed resistance. Since the Jailer’s Room is quite
to deliver food to Druman the Jailer, who isolated and far from the busier corridors,
easily loses his patience if not fed. If the fighting Druman will alert the guards in
heroes are convincing enough, Cozy will the Courtyard only if the combat lasts
give them a bowl of stew for the jailer (see more than four rounds.
Jailer’s Room). If threatened, Cozy doesn’t
fight, but calls for help (the guards arrive (M) Druman the Executioner (1). See
from the Courtyard in 1d6 rounds). page 45.

32
 Sable

Connections: Stairs (door), Sable’s Cell stairs leading to the Dead Man’s Turret.
(locked door – the key is on Druman’s Once inside, he must speak to Druman
belt). the Mighty and gain access to Sable’s cell.
At this point, he must find a way to let
him escape: he can break the grates of the
Sable’s Cell cell’s window and help Sable out or dis-
This small, filthy cell holds Sable, the thief, patch the jailer, disguise the prisoner, and
who is lying on the pallet and shivering try to get back out through the doors.
wildly, his mind haunted by nightmares.
With a Healing roll, it becomes clear that
Sable has reached the last stages of alcohol
The Daring Way
poisoning and is able to speak and act in The daring way requires one or more he-
a coherent way only if filled with booze. roes skilled in climbing and not afraid of
Even if the party gives him something to heights. There are basically two ways to
drink there and then, Sable won’t reveal reach the Dead Man’s Turret from the
any of his secrets until he is out of pris- outside. The first is along the battlements
on. Sable is considered walking wounded of the city walls (Stealth roll). This allows
(see Savage Worlds core rules, page 78). the adventurers to climb the steep wall of
The cell has a window protected by metal the Falchion Tower (three Climbing rolls)
grates (Toughness 7, four grates) but large as far as the window to Sable’s cell.
enough for a man to slip through and a
locked door (Lockpicking roll to open it). The other way instead requires a long
rope, a grappling hook and a pulley. First,
Connections: Jailer’s Room (locked door – the party must silently reach the roof of
the key is on the Jailer’s belt). a house in front of the Falchion Tower
(Stealth roll required). At this point, use
the Tightrope Walking rules you find in
Freeing Sable JCT on page 99. The rope is 12” long on
There are several ways to free Sable and the gaming table and reaching the win-
clever players can certainly devise original dow is like moving upward using the pul-
ones, but the scenario describes three pos- ley rules.
sible methods: cunning, daring, and brute
force. Once they have reached the window of
the cell, the heroes must break the grate
(each of its four bars has Toughness 7 and
The Cunning Way can be broken with a Strength (-2) roll).
The cunning way is suited to heroes who
are smooth talkers and/or good at dis- At this point, they can free Sable and go
guises. An individual sentenced to death back using one of the two ways described
can only be visited by his relatives or by above. If the heroes have climbed to the
a priest, but Sable has no known relatives cell, they must climb back down, rolling
and so far he has had no visits. Wearing with a +1 bonus because they know the
a suitable disguise, a hero can try to ac- path, but the person carrying Sable (he
cess the Tower through one of the doors cannot climb) suffers -2 to the rolls. If the
(Guards’ Gate or Repentance Door), enter heroes have used the tightrope walking
the courtyard, and be directed to the right solution and they have one or more pul-

33
 Part 3: The Longest Hour of the Night

leys, they can simply secure themselves to Falchion Tower Reinforcements Table
the pulley and slide down.
Card Reinforcements
Risks of the Daring Way. The main Value
danger of the daring way is falling to 2-6 None
the ground below, but this happens only Copper Helm (1 per 2
if a critical failure is scored on a Climb- 7-8
heroes).
ing roll or as per the Tightrope Walking 9-10 Copper Helm (1 per hero).
rules. In both cases, apply the Cliffhanger
J-Q Copper Helm Officer.
rules. The other big risk is being spotted.
Copper Helm Officer and
Whenever a member of the party fails a K-A
Copper Helm (1 per hero)
roll, draw a card from the Action Deck
and, if it is a face card, put it aside. In gam- Veteran! Draw another
card: if reinforcements are
ing terms, it means they have made some Joker
arriving, one of them is a
noise, let some debris fall, etc. Whenever Henchman/Right Hand.
they gather four or more face cards, they
are discovered. A group of guards from the Heroes surviving the fight will probably
Courtyard is alerted and will arrive in 1d6 be hunted down by all the Copper Helms
rounds. of the City of Thieves (unless they are dis-
guised or have used some similar precau-
tion). They permanently gain the Wanted
The Brute Force Way (Major) Hindrance.
Last but not least, the heroes can try the (M) Copper Helms (35). See page 44.
brute force approach, which basically
means entering the Falchion Tower in (WC) Copper Helm Officers (3). See
force and fighting their way to Sable’s cell. page 46.
It is certainly doable, as long as the heroes
are strong, determined, and very quick. If
they choose to enter through the Repen- Sable’s Tale
tance Door, the heroes might also manage Once Sable is free, the heroes must find a
to reach the Stairs without being noticed, safe place and then question the burglar.
but they must fight all the way to Sable’s Sable is now completely deranged. He
cell and back. constantly sees specters around him and
this, combined with the lack of alcohol in
his system, makes his speech slurred and
Once their attack is discovered, the gen-
at times completely inconsistent.
eral alarm is triggered. Each round, draw a
card from the Action Deck and check the
“The statuette, you say? I found it in a
table below, which lists the reinforcements
forgotten tomb in the Imperial Quarter…
joining the battle. Reinforcements keep I mean under the Imperial Quarter, un-
joining the fight until all the guards of the der the Marakosian Palace. But I swear,
Tower are engaged. it happened by chance. I was looking for
a way into the palace through the Sewers
and there it was.”

34
 Sable

At this point, Sable starts trembling and Success

asks for a drink before going on. “When you enter the Sewers, you’ll find a
dead end and a waterfall of filthy water.
“In the garden of the Marakosian palace Don’t be fooled: the waterfall conceals a door
there is a manhole to the Sewers. I was and to open it you need to pull a large iron
going to use it to get to the kitchens, fool- ring. If I were you, I’d bring something to
ing the guards at the door, but I never cover your noses with, like a piece of scented
did. I went into the Sewers… but then I cloth, because the smell is unbearable.”
got confused and I took the wrong direc-
tion. I found myself in a very old tunnel. Raise
I wanted to find a way back but then I “At a certain point you’ll get to an area
saw the door to a forgotten tomb. I picked where a large channel flows, and the only
the lock… It was full of jewels and gold, way to cross it seems to be by walking on a
on ancient bodies! I took what I could, thin arch bridge. By Ranikos’ balls, there
but there is plenty of stuff! There was no way I could have walked on it sober,
the statuette too, and I took it. But now never mind drunk as I was! Luckily, there
please, give me another sip, I beg you!” is another path out of that area: a catwalk
running around the perimeter of the room.
If the heroes give him some more alcohol, A little slower, but a whole lot safer!”
Sable quaffs it with satisfaction and gives
them more details. Two Raises
“When you find a flight of stairs, you
“Not much else to say. I went back fol- are very close to the tomb. But watch
lowing the marks I had put on the walls, the steps! Some of them look weird and
reached the manhole and went to cel- might be booby trapped, so you’re better
ebrate at the Headless Chicken. I thought off jumping over them. The fifth and the
luck had finally smiled upon me… but ninth for sure and then… (Sable scratches
look how it turned out! That very night his head)… If I had another helping, I
I started having horrible dreams… dead might remember a little better…”
men trying to kill me! The morning after
I went back to the Chicken to have a pint If the party hands him a bottle of spirit, he
and I found one of those monsters wait- drains it and then goes on.
ing for me there! I stabbed him, but then
he turned into a Copper Helm, a dead “The twelfth and the seventeenth! Yeah,
one, and so I had to run…” may the gods cut my manhood off if it
isn’t the twelfth and the seventeenth!”
If the party lets him speak, Sable com-
plains in the sad tone of a drunkard for the The heroes have extracted from Sable
rest of the night, with occasional pauses all the useful information he knows and
to ask for more booze. If the heroes ask can now let him go wherever he wishes.
precise questions about how to get to the The drunkard is in no shape to be of any
tomb and what dangers they might find, practical help so, if the characters want
they must make a Persuasion or Intimida- to reach the tomb, they must do it alone.
tion roll (depending on roleplaying). For The sooner the better: if they rest now and
each success and raise, Sable gives them eventually fall asleep, they will be visited
one of the following hints: by the specters of the Companions again.

35
 Part 4: In the Sewers

Part 4: In the Sewers

The Marakosian Palace During the night the garden isn’t guarded,
The Marakosian family runs a small but as the sentinels of the house concentrate
rich Merchant House and has a stately on protecting the palace. This is the rea-
palace in the Imperial Quarter. As they son why two young lovers – Ranika, Lord
are from Ekul, the architecture of their Marakos’ daughter, and Alexei, the gallant
palace has something exotic about it. Af- stable-master – usually meet here. Un-
ter watching it for a couple of hours, the luckily for the heroes, the bench they have
chosen for their nightly meetings is right
heroes learn that its private garden is pro-
next to the Sewers entrance!
tected by a simple wall, which can be eas-
ily climbed with a Climbing roll or a rope
The party must find a way to get rid of the
and a grappling hook.
couple without raising the alarm.

The written scenario presumes that the If need arises, for Ranika and Alexei use
heroes will try to access the garden as soon the Damsel and a Commoner stats from
as it gets dark. Beasts and Barbarians Golden Edition.

“ You climb the wall and silently sneak Silencing the couple or making noise to
into the garden. To your great surprise, persuade them to move are both good op-
it is a small paradise full of plants not tions. The lovers are quite jumpy because
originally from this region of the world. they know that if discovered they will be
The sweet scent of orange, lemon, and ol- in great trouble. If left undisturbed, Ra-
ive trees completely covers the rotten smell nika and Alexei will keep busy till the
coming from the roads of Jalizar.” first light of day, then they will sneak back
to their beds (one of the house guards is
bribed and lets them pass). However, this
Finding the manhole Sable spoke of is ex-
means that the heroes will waste a lot of
tremely easy. It is right in the middle of
time.
the garden, next to a bench, but reaching
it will be harder than expected… Once the lovers are sent away or silenced,
the party can open the Sewers manhole
You found the bench and the manhole and descend into the bowels of the City
Sable told you about, but there is a prob- of Thieves.
lem. There are people – a young couple re-
clining on the bench. From the low moans Alerting the Guards. If the heroes make
and groans you hear, there is nothing too much noise, draw a card from the Ac-
mysterious about what they are doing. tion Deck. If a face card is dealt, it means

36
 Under the Palace

that the guards of the palace are alerted. A To avoid getting lost, Sable marked the
single guard will arrive in 1d4+1 rounds, walls with Thieves’ Signs, so the party can
then, if he calls for help, a reinforcement simply follow his marks. They are quite
patrol will come to the garden after two easy to find, so no Notice roll is necessary,
rounds. In this case, the party should run and they are also rather straightforward,
away and wait for a few days before trying so no knowledge of the Thieves’ language
to break in again, but this will mean hav- is required.
ing to deal with their nightmares!
The written scenario assumes that the par-
(M) Marakosian House Guards (5). See ty follows the path and faces the encoun-
page 47. ters described below. If they wander off,
the Game Master can devise some nastier
encounters using the guidelines provided
Under the Palace in the Sewers of Jalizar Chapter of Jalizar,
City of Thieves. Irvan’s Tomb and its sur-
The Sewers are damp and dark, and the roundings are in the Emellan Sewers.
floor is covered by a foot of filthy water.
You look around cautiously before taking Thieves’ Signs: Sable used Thieves’ Signs
the path Sable indicated. You hope his to interesting things as well as the path.
mind wasn’t too messed up when he gave Finding the path is simple (no roll need-
you his directions. ed) but understanding the meaning of the

37
 Part 4: In the Sewers

other Signs requires knowledge of the se- Bridge of Death

cret language. The door leads to a passage so low that
you are forced to bow your heads. You go
on and soon the passage opens onto a large
Waterfall of Filth sewer channel, which lies a dozen yards
The black water you are standing in flows below you. The only way to cross it is a
stronger with each step you take, and you narrow arch bridge of stone. It is only a
soon find yourselves knee deep in filth. few feet wide and seems quite slippery.
You also start hearing the noise of fall-
ing water and, after a few moments, the Crossing the Channel
channel comes to a dead end. Some yards
above your heads you see a waterfall of Crossing the channel via the bridge is the
filth rushing down through a grate. most straightforward, but also the most
Several rotten things, which luckily you dangerous way. It is handled using the
cannot clearly distinguish, partially block rules for the Road Above ( JCT, page 142)
the grate, slowing down the flow. and consists of three Steps:

First Step. Moving along the slippery,

The smell in this place is truly unbearable, narrow path (Agility roll)
especially by the waterfall. If the heroes
followed Sable’s advice (see above) and Second Step. Keeping one’s balance at
have some scented cloths to cover their the highest point of the arch bridge and
noses with, they can stand the smell with- finding the courage to go on (Spirit roll).
out suffering too much. Otherwise, they
have to roll on Vigor and, in case of failure, Third Step. Avoiding a loose stone on the
they retch and suffer a level of Fatigue till bridge (Notice roll).
the next scene (Irvan’s Tomb). Characters
with the Alley Survivor Edge roll with +2. As per the Road Above rules, heroes fall
only if they score a critical failure. The fall
There seems to be no way forward but an is considered Low (2d+2) and into water
old rusty door is actually concealed behind (see Savage Worlds core rules). However,
the waterfall of filth. If the heroes spoke to the hero must also roll on Swimming to
Sable, they know about it; otherwise, they avoid dangerous junk in the filthy water
must explicitly walk through the waterfall or suffer from Bumps and Bruises, and he
and carefully explore the area with a No- must be helped by someone with a rope to
tice (-2) roll. In case of failure, they find leave the water.
the door but must spend additional time
under the filthy water, which forces them
to make an additional Vigor roll to avoid Sable’s Way
retching (in this case, the scented cloth If the heroes obtained this information
does not help). from Sable, or if they examine the wall
near the stone bridge by making a Com-
Thieves’ Signs: On the wall there is a Sign mon Knowledge roll (characters with an
meaning “Secret Passage”. If they can read architect or mason background roll with
it, the heroes receive +4 to the Notice roll +2), they understand that there is another
to spot the secret door. way. A catwalk runs along the perimeter

38
 Under the Palace

of the room, crossing the channel and heavy metal door stands ajar, revealing
leading to the other side. There are several yet another corridor.
iron rings on the wall and some niches
too, so using this way is somewhat slow- This hall is the nest of a very dangerous
er, but much safer: a single Agility roll is beast: a Malkath, a two-headed giant
enough to get to the other side. Yet, one of snake, which sleeps among the garbage.
the niches contains an old corpse which Whenever the party starts moving toward
collapses onto the first hero entering the the metal door, the Malkath stirs and at-
niche. The unlucky character must make a tacks them.
Fear check to avoid screaming (see below
for effects). The skeleton, most probably Thieves’ Signs: On the wall near the en-
the victim of a Jalizaran Assassin, might trance to this hall there is a sign indicating
have been stripped of all its belongings or, “Danger” and another meaning “Guard
at GM’s discretion, might bear something Dogs”. Sable avoided the Malkath by be-
such as a seal or earring that can lead to ing quick, as well as lucky. When he first
its identification and to a potential new came here, the beast was away hunting
adventure. and, when he came back with the loot, he
managed to run past it.
Be Quiet!
This room contains another danger: a Two-Headed Terror
large colony of bats sleeping on the ceil-
ing. If the heroes make some noise (i.e. The party has to fight the terrible beast! This
they scream or let something fall into the hall is 12” by 6” along the north-south axis.
water), the bats wake up and attack! Any The door the heroes used to access the hall
character Shaken or Wounded while in an is in the middle of the southern wall, while
awkward position (on the bridge or on the the corridor with the metal door opens half-
catwalk) must make an immediate Agility way down the eastern wall. Both openings
roll to avoid falling. are 1” wide. The water comes to the heroes’
hips and it counts as Difficult Ground. It
(M) Swarm of Sewer Bats (1). See page is possible to either walk or swim in it. The
48 water also hides a submerged passage (2” by
2”) halfway down the eastern wall. The beast
uses it to move to other channels to hunt.
The Sewer Dweller The Malkath is cunning and silently swims
On the other side of the channel, the underwater to surprise the party. Yet, if the
party finds a larger passage. On its mossy heroes reach the corridor or turn back, it
wall they see one of Sable’s Thieves’ Signs, cannot leave the water to follow them (but
which indicates they are on the right path. it can strike as far as the length of its necks).

You walk through a curtain of smelly If the heroes dispatch the beast and want
moss and take another passage which to search the garbage, ignore the garbage
soon opens onto a vast, partially flooded searching rules. Instead with a Notice roll
hall. Water constantly drips from the ceil- and five minutes of disgusting work, they
ing and you can see a big pile of garbage find a useful item: a thief ’s mace. It is a well-
at the far end of the hall. To the right, a balanced iron prying bar, which can be used

39
 Part 4: In the Sewers

as a mace (Str+d6+1, AP 1) and gives +2 to forty pounds steps onto one of them, a
any attempt to force doors or similar things. massive cylinder of stone rolls down at
tremendous speed. Any hero on the stairs
(WC) Malkath (1). See page 46 when the trap is triggered must make an
Agility (-2) roll or suffer 3d6 damage.
Terrain and Props The trap can be avoided by examining
• Dangerous Ground: The heroes cannot each step, with a Notice roll of variable
see the ground they are walking on, be- difficulty (-1,-1,+2,-4). If they received
cause the water is deep and dirty. When- the information from Sable, the heroes
ever a hero is dealt a Club card and moves know which steps are booby trapped, but
at least 1” in any direction, he finds a hole the thief got the last number wrong, so
in the floor! He must make an immedi- trusting him completely isn’t wise (see
ate Swimming roll to avoid going down above).
and drinking bad water (counts as being
Shaken). Place a gaming stone in the 1” x There is a way to disable the booby trapped
1” area where the hole is. Moving over it steps. By the torch brackets at the bottom
requires a Swimming roll. The room con- of the stairs, there is a sort of lever that
tains five such dangerous holes. can be moved down, blocking the whole
mechanism. Finding it requires a player to
• Malkath’s Nest: The 3” by 6” area at the explicitly say she is examining the torch
northern end of the room is a mass of gar- hook.
bage collected by the Malkath to be used
as a nest. It is solid ground and the Gar- Thieves’ Signs: Sable placed a mark
bage rules apply. meaning “Trap” near the archway leading
to the stairs. The thief spotted and avoided
all the steps, so the trap is still active.
Booby Trapped Stairs
Once the Sewer Dweller has been dis-
patched or fooled, the party can explore The Rest of the
the corridor.
Dead Ones
The corridor is surprisingly dry and looks When you reach the top of the stairs,
like it hasn’t been used for centuries, ex- you understand your journey through
cept for some fresh footprints on the dust. the Sewers is finally at its end. You see a
At its end, you find small room. An open- sturdy looking portal just in front of you,
ing leads to a steep flight of stairs going with a gryphon engraved on it.
up and on its archway you see ancient
engravings. Besides a few brackets for This is the entrance to Irvan’s tomb. Sable
torches along the walls, there is nothing picked the lock of the heavy gate to enter
else in the room. and then left it ajar. The party will prob-
ably inspect it carefully, but there is noth-
The booby trapped stairs are the last ob- ing special about the gate.
stacle to Irvan’s tomb. Some of the twenty
steps, i.e. the 5th, 9th, 12th and 18th, are pres- Past the gate you find yourselves in a
sure plates and, if someone heavier than large burial chamber, very similar to the

40
 The Rest of the Dead Ones

temple you saw in your first dream. The “I must thank you for leading me to this
air is thick and smelly, and clusters of treasure,” he adds. “Unluckily for you, I
fungi dot the walls and ceiling. You see believe you are Mathro’s killers. Even if
a massive stone sarcophagus in the center you aren’t, well… the Guild will be sat-
of the room and its badly broken lid ly- isfied with your heads, and I can retire
ing nearby. It contains the dead body of a with the treasures I have found in this
man of exquisite features, surely a prince. place!” At once, he unsheathes his blade
It is still intact, as if the prince was only and his men follow suit.
sleeping, and you can almost imagine
him standing up and walking away. Its A savage battle between the heroes and
jewels have been removed but his pale the Guild cutthroats is about to begin!
hands are as if holding an object, the
damned statuette! The mummified bod- The battleground is the whole burial
ies of several warriors stand still in the chamber, 18” by 12” along the north-south
niches along the walls. You count a dozen axis, with a single entrance, a 2” wide
of them. Their black hands rest on the door, halfway down the southern wall.
hilts of their swords and the gryphon is The twelve niches containing the corpses
still visible of their worm-eaten tabards. of the Companions are 1” by 1” wide and
You recognize them as the Companions, are evenly divided along the eastern and
the creatures that have been haunting western walls. In the middle of the cham-
your dreams, and you can almost feel the ber there is Prince Irvan’s sarcophagus, 2”
malevolence of their stares upon you. by 2”. On the northern wall of the room
there are three 1” by 1” coffers, full of gold
Several coffers of jewels lie open and half and jewels.
plundered at the far end of the room. You
cannot see exactly what they contain but Place the heroes within 6” of the sarcoph-
are sure that Sable left quite a few valu- agus, while Gato and his men are within
able items behind. 6” of the entrance. Gato is a cautious man,
so he stands well behind his men. The cut-
The right thing to do now is to replace throats are skilled fighters and try to use
the statuette of the Crying Mother in the their sheer number to their advantage.
hands of the Prince and leave.
Run a single round of combat, before
Sadly, things are going to get ugly. Have something unexpected happens.
the players declare what they intend to do
before going on. While you are fighting for your life, you
notice that the bodies of the Companions
While examining the chamber, you hear seem to tremble. Then, translucent shad-
a voice behind you. It is Gato, the corrupt ows emerge from the dead bodies. These
Copper Helm officer you have met before. are the same spectral warriors that at-
He has come with some friends, danger- tacked you in your dreams. They wield
ous looking fellows that you recognize as black weapons and, without making a
Thieves’ Guild cutthroats. sound, they join the fight!

“I was sure following you would be a Every character in the room must make
good idea,” Gato says. a Fear check (-1). As the heroes are ac-

41
 Part 4: In the Sewers

quainted with these creatures, they roll and grants Medium Cover. The coffers at
with +1. The spirits of the dead Compan- the far end of the room are quite sturdy
ions attack everybody, heroes and villains (Toughness 8) and grant Light Cover.
alike, with a single exception: if the heroes In addition, they are full of jewels which
leave the statuette on Irvan’s body, throw can be used in various ways (for example,
it into the sarcophagus (a Throwing roll), throwing them) to distract opponents (it
or perform any other action that clearly counts as a trick with +2). This works with
reveals their intention of returning it, the living beings but not with the specters.
specters concentrate only on the thieves,
giving the heroes the chance to escape and • Die, Thief, Die! The character holding
close the door behind them. the Crying Mother will be the main tar-
get of the Companions’ fury. They receive
The hero returning the statuette sees the
+1 to Fighting and damage rolls against
dead Prince’s hands move to suddenly
him. But the specters are also worried the
grab the object, before returning to their
statuette might be broken, so any Trick
position. The character is awarded a Ben-
threatening its integrity (for example, pre-
nie.
tending to smash it) receives +2.
Joining Forces. If the heroes don’t return
the statuette (for instance, because they • Keep that damned door closed! The he-
have melted it), they have no other choice roes might manage to escape and decide to
but to destroy the Companions. In this leave Gato and his men locked inside the
case, Gato, who is an opportunist, asks for chamber. This situation can be handled in
a truce and orders his men to join forces the following way. Give the party three
with the heroes and fight the monsters. Barred Tokens. In each round, the thieves
From this moment on, Gato and his men make an opposed Strength roll against
are Allies of the party and controlled by the heroes. For each success and raise,
them. the thieves steal a Barred Token from the
heroes. Similarly, the heroes steal Barred
When the heroes return the Crying Tokens from the thieves, if the latter have
Mother to Prince Irvan or destroy all the any. If the heroes are left with no tokens,
specters, go to the End. the door they have barred opens. The rolls
to open or to keep the door closed can be
(M) Companion Apparitions (12). See cooperative. Desperation lends the thieves
page 44 strength, so they roll with +2.

(WC) Gato (1). See page 46

(M) Thieves’ Guild Cutthroats (1 per Irvan’s Treasure

hero +2). See page 48. One of them is a Each coffer in Irvan’s Tomb still contains
Right Hand. jewelry and assorted coins worth 2d6x100
Moons. Sable picked up the most precious
things, so the loot mainly includes silver
Terrain and Props jewellery with semiprecious stones. Hence,
• Sarcophagus and Coffers: The sarcoph- it is rather heavy, weighing 10 lbs for
every 300 Moons of value.
agus is made of stone, it has Toughness 12

42
 The Rest of the Dead Ones

The End statuette is smiling. Etu has bestowed her

blessing upon them, granting each hero
one free use of the Harder to Kill Edge.
As said above, two different endings are Don’t reveal this piece of information to
possible for this adventure. the players, but just give them a nice sur-
prise the next time they need it!
Finale 1: Returning the Crying
Mother to Prince Irvan Finale 2: Destroying the
specters and saving Gato
The text below presumes the heroes gave
the statuette back to Prince Irvan and fled The text below presumes that the heroes
the room, trapping Gato and his men in- destroy all the Companion Apparitions
side. If things went differently, adjust the and save Gato.
passage below accordingly.
Finally, all the specters are dead. Gato’s
After you close the door behind you, you hear men have fought with you, but now they
the thieves screaming for a while, then savage turn to their chief waiting for orders. You
thumps on the door… then silence. Your curios- know that your former allies might turn
ity is too strong and you decide to peek inside. on you without any remorse.

The bodies of the thieves lie on the floor like But the Copper Helm shrugs and his men
broken dolls, an expression of utter terror lower their weapons. “Well, you saved
twisting their faces. The Companions are my skin after all, and I cannot kill you
standing still in their former place, and now. I’ll tell the Guild Mathro was killed
their swords look clean of any blood. The by foreign bandits, who have now left
faint smell of the moss has grown stronger Jalizar. We are even, so get the hell out of
and you wonder if it might be some sort here before I change my mind.”
of hallucinogenic Lotus that has caused
both you and the thieves to have a hor- Before leaving, the heroes can take half of
rible nightmare… But if it is so, why are the treasure. If they want more, Gato and
the thieves dead and how can the Prince’s his thugs will consider the deal broken
hands be clutching the statuette again? and start fighting again.

Not revealing all the mysteries concern- Gato can become a useful NPC in the
ing the real nature of the ghosts will make hands of the Game Master. After all, he
the adventure even more memorable. It knows what the heroes have done and can
will also make the heroes more careful force them to work for the Thieves’ Guild
when handling the treasures (see sidebar), or the Copper Helms. But he has also de-
though there is no real danger unless they cided not to turn them in to the Guild, so
pick up the statuette again or try to defile he can become a great Connection.
the corpses.
What about Gato’s men? They know the
The heroes have survived and the best re- whole story too and, sooner or later, one of
ward is a long, restful sleep. This time, they them might get very drunk in a tavern and
dream of the Crying Mother again but the spill the beans…

43
 Part 4: In the Sewers

Creatures Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit

d10, Strength d8, Vigor d6

and NPCs Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8.

Pace: 5; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Gear: Tattered cloak, spectral long sword
(Str+d8, AP 2), tabard with embroidered
Companion griffin.
This is the restless spirit of one of the Special Abilities
Companions, the trusted swords sworn to • Anchored: A Companion Apparition
protect Prince Irvan of Pella. They died to cannot leave Irvan’s Tomb.
avenge their master, and now are returned • Semi-ethereal: +2 to recovering from
from the dead to haunt those who have being Shaken; immune to poison, diseases
stolen his dearest treasure, the statuette and called shots, it receives only half dam-
of the Crying Mother. The Companions age from non-magical attacks.
are tall, heavily armored warriors from a • Weakness (mortal shell): A Companion
distant past, with long, tattered cloaks and Apparition is only an emanation of his
shriveled bodies. physical body, an embalmed corpse placed
in one of the niches of Irvan’s Tomb.
Destroying the corpse (Toughness 6, re-
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit
ceives double damage from fire) causes the
d10, Strength d10, Vigor Special
Companion Apparition to disappear and
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8. be killed forever.
Pace: 5; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6(2)-12(2)
Gear: Tattered cloak, medium bronze
armor (+2), bronze long sword (Str+d8), Copper Helm
bronze dagger (Str+d4), tabard with em- A typical member of the city guard, with a
broidered griffin. “live and let live” attitude.
Special Abilities
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit
• Nightmare Specter: A Companion is
d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
a specter that can normally appear only
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d4,
in the dreams of its victims. It visits the
Notice d4, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6,
victim each time he falls asleep, growing
Throwing d6.
stronger with every visit. It starts with
Charisma: 0; Pace: 5; Parry: 6; Tough-
Vigor d4 and this attribute goes up by one
ness: 7(2)
die step after each nightmare (up to d12).
Edges: none.
• Real in Dreams: The wounds caused by a Hindrances: none.
Companion are only Nightmare Wounds Gear: Bronze tipped mace (Str+d6, AP
(see page 18). 1 vs. rigid armor), medium bronze armor
(+2), bronze helm (+2, head only), small
shield (+1 Parry).
Companion Apparition Special Abilities
A Companion Apparition is a real, semi- • Uncertain Loyalty: The Copper Helms
solid specter, created when the Crying are notoriously corrupt. When a group of
Mother is in close proximity to the physi- them is encountered, the Game Master
cal body of a Companion. must draw a card from the Action Deck.

44
 Copper Helm Officer

Unless it is a Heart, the guards are on page 138 of JCT). This also means they
someone else’s payroll (roll on the Dwell- have the Connections Edge with their
ers of Jalizar Table, Allegiance column on employers. The Game Master is free to ig-
page 138 of JCT). This also means they nore this if it does not suit the plot.
have the Connections Edge with their
employers. The Game Master is free to ig-
nore this if it does not suit the plot. Druman the
• Slinger: One in every four Copper Executioner
Helms is a slinger, with Shooting d8. They
are equipped with a war sling (Str+d6, This bear-like man is called Druman. He
Range: 6/12/24), light leather armor (+1), came down from the Northlands many
and a bronze tipped mace (Str+d6, AP 1 years ago and traveled for a while before
vs. rigid armor). being recruited by the Copper Helms
as Executioner. He loves his job and be-
lieves very few men can deal a single, fatal
Copper Helm Officer blow as well as he does. Sadly for him, he
One of the appointed officers of the City doesn’t have many victims to practice on.
Watch. Some of them have reached this
rank through hard work and devotion to Druman is a Henchman.
justice, but many have bought their posi-
tion or have come this far thanks to some Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit
important sponsor. This individual is as- d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8
signed to the Falchion Tower.
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, No-
tice d4.
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Tough-
d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
ness: 7
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, No-
tice d6, Persuasion d6, Riding d6, Shoot- Edges: Brawny, Sweep.
ing d6, Stealth d6, Streetwise d6, Throw- Gear: Iron great axe (Str+d10, 2 hands, -1
ing d6. Parry, AP 1), loincloth, black executioner’s
Charisma: 0; Pace: 5; Parry: 7; Tough- hood, keys to the prison cells.
ness: 7(2)
Edges: Command, Hold the line!.
Hindrances: none.
Gitara the Cripple
Gear: Bronze long sword (Str+d8), me- This dark-skinned courtesan is now past
dium bronze armor (+2), bronze crested her prime and can count on far fewer pa-
helm (+3, only head), small shield (+1 trons than before. Born in the Ivory Sa-
Parry), dagger (Str+d4). vannah, she left twenty years ago to work
Special Abilities for a northern noble as a dancer, eventually
• Uncertain Loyalty: The Copper Helms ending up in Jalizar. She isn’t a real witch
are notoriously corrupt. When a group of and her powers rely on cunning, practical
them is encountered, the Game Master psychology and, when she cannot find any
must draw a card from the Action Deck. other solution, on the use of the Jabelizzar.
Unless it is a Heart, the guards are on
someone else’s payroll (roll on the Dwell- Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit
ers of Jalizar Table, Allegiance column on d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6

45
 Part 4: In the Sewers

Skills: Fighting d4, Healing d6, Knowl-

edge (Arcana) d6, Notice d6, Persuasion Malkath
d8.
Charisma: +2; Pace: 4; Parry: 4; Tough- The Malkath is a giant snake living in the
ness: 5 Sewers. Covered in whitish scales, this
Edges: Attractive. aquatic animal has two heads on long
Hindrances: Lame. necks. Its blood is as corrosive as acid, so
Gear: Bronze Knife (Str+d4), fancy dress- killing it is even more dangerous. Luck-
es. ily, these beasts are almost extinct, because
the Cleaners destroy their rubbery eggs
whenever they find them.
Gato
Gato is a short man with a wart on his Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A),
left cheek and a cold stare. He is a Copper Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d8
Helm Officer working in Rats’ Nest, the Skills: Fighting d8, Swimming d10,
area of Jalizar controlled by the Thieves’ Stealth d8
Guild, and it’s no big secret Gato is on the Pace: 2; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9
Guild’s payroll. He is a competent investi- Special Abilities
gator with a “don’t mess with me” attitude. • Acid Blood: The blood of a Malkath is
like terrible acid and those trying to kill it
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit must avoid being splashed. When a Mal-
d6, Strength d6, Vigor d8 kath is Shaken by a wounding effect, any
Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, character within 1” must make an Agil-
Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Shooting d6, ity roll; in case of failure he suffers 1d6
Stealth d8, Streetwise d8, Throwing d8. damage due to the acid. If the Malkath
Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Tough- is wounded, the Agility roll is made with
ness: 7(1) a penalty equal to the number of non-
Edges: Alertness, Command, Connec- soaked wounds the creature has suffered
tions (Thieves’ Guild), Investigator, Level (i.e. two wounds = Agility roll -2). In case
Headed. of failure, the damage suffered is 2d6.
Hindrances: Cautious, Loyal, Ugly (wart). • Aquatic: Pace 7 in water.
Gear: Iron short sword (Str+d6), dagger • Bite: Str+d6.
(Str+d4, Range: 3/6/12), leather armor • Size +3: A fully grown Malkath can be
(+1), white Copper Helm uniform (+1 to longer than ten yards.
Intimidation rolls). • Two Headed: The Malkath has two
Special Abilities independent heads, placed on very long
• Chimney Sweeper: The Copper Helms necks (Reach 5). It can make two attacks
of Rats’ Nest, the corrupt ones at least, are per round without any penalty.
commonly known as Chimney Sweepers. • Weakness (Neck Bone): The Malkath
Gato fits the definition perfectly. He gains has a weak spot, the T-shaped bone where
+1 to Streetwise, Notice and Stealth rolls the two necks meet. This soft spot can be
while in Rats’ Nest. hit with a Called Shot (-2) and any suc-
cessful hit causes +4 damage and auto-
matically Shakes the beast. As a drawback,
a wound in this location causes its acid
blood to spray all around. The Acid Blood

46
 Mathro

Special Ability allows it to hit all targets Mathro’s Bodyguard

in a Large Burst template centered on the
creature itself. The weakness can be spot- A broad-shouldered, slow-witted thug.
ted with a Survival or Healing (-2) roll. He is impressive looking and good enough
to keep standard opponents at bay, but no
match for a good fighter.
Mathro
This old man is one of the worst mon- Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit
eylenders and pawnbrokers of Thousand d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Chimneys. Only those who are truly Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, No-
desperate turn to him. Unluckily, there tice d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4.
are many desperate people in the City Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Tough-
of Thieves and that’s why his business is ness: 7
thriving. In the last few days, he has been Edges: Brawny.
unable to sleep due to the nightmares Hindrances: Loyal.
caused by the Crying Mother. This is why Gear: Bronze tipped spiked club
he has deep, black circles around his eyes (Str+d4+1), dagger (Str+d4).
and is always very jumpy. Special Abilities
• Boaster: Thugs are strong when they
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit outnumber their opponents. In this case
d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4 they receive +1 to Spirit rolls. But, when
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, No- they are outnumbered, they act like cow-
tice d6, Persuasion d10, Streetwise d10. ards, suffering -2 to Spirit rolls.
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Tough-
ness: 4
Edges: Contacts (lowlife, Thieves’ Guild), Marakosian
Rich. House Guard
Hindrances: Elderly, Greedy.
Gear: Brown cloak, bag of coins and jew- A soldier working for the Marakosian
els, silver-coated short sword (Str+d6, see Merchant House. All these men are Eku-
below). lians and absolutely loyal to their master.
Special Abilities
• Madness: Mathro is on the verge of Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit
madness. When attacked, he believes his d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
opponents to be the dark specters that Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Riding d6,
haunt his dreams. So, he fights back sav- Shooting d6, Throwing d6.
agely (always performing Wild Attacks) Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Tough-
and never surrenders. ness: 6(1)
• Silver Coated Sword: In the last few Edges: Block, Combat Reflexes.
days, Mathro has met the specters in the Hindrances: Loyal.
real world, so he prepared to fight them. Gear: Bronze long sword (Str+d8), light
Someone told him silver can hurt them, leather armor (+1), pointed bronze helm
so he asked a smith to forge a silver coat- (+2, head only), Ekul caftan and burnoose.
ed blade for him. It is a costly thing (300 Special Abilities
Moons) but has no real power against the • Marakosian House: Being from Ekul,
Companions. the Marakosians are renowned for their

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 Part 4: In the Sewers

fencing skills. When unencumbered and ered by 2 (to 7 each) and their Agility is
with the off-hand empty, they gain the lowered by a die step.
Counterattack Edge. • Swarm: Parry +2; since the swarm in-
cludes dozens of creatures, cutting and
piercing weapons only deal half damage.
Swarm of Sewer Bats Area-effect weapons work normally.
Sewer bats are vicious underground crea- • Weakness (Fear of Fire): Sewer Bats are
tures. Originally from the Cairnlands, terrified of fire. If attacked with flames,
they came to Jalizar centuries ago. They they must make an immediate Spirit roll.
are whitish, furry and hideous to look In case of failure, some of the beasts flee
upon. The size of a cat, they have long, (as if the swarm had suffered a non-soak-
sharp claws along the edges of their wings, able wound). Continue to roll every time
which they use to gash their prey. they are attacked with fire until the whole
swarm is dispersed or a raise is scored.
Beggars and other people living in the
Sewers say that they are very tasty, but
no heroes in their right mind would even Terror
consider trying their meat. A big, black dog of unknown breed. Very
hungry.
Swarms are treated as one creature. They
cover an area equal to a Medium Burst Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A),
Template and attack everyone within it Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
every round. When a Swarm is wounded, Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d8.
its size decreases to a Small Burst Tem- Charisma: 0; Pace: 7; Parry: 6; Tough-
plate (see the Split Special Ability for ness: 5
smaller Swarms). A further hit disperses Special abilities:
it. • Bite: Str+d4.
• Fleet Footed: Terror rolls a d8 when
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (A), running instead of a d6.
Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d12 • Go For the Throat: Terror instinctively
Skills: Notice d6. goes for an opponent’s soft spot. With a
Pace: 8; Parry: 4; Toughness: 8 raise on its attack roll, it hits the target’s
Special Abilities most weakly armored location.
• Bites: These beasts gash and bite savage- • Size -1: Terror is relatively small.
ly, hitting automatically and causing 2d6
damage to everyone in the template. The
damage is applied to the least armored lo- Thieves’ Guild
cation (victims in completely sealed suits Cutthroat
are immune).
• Flight: A Swarm of Sewer Bats flies at a When the Guild needs someone skilled
Pace of 8 and has a Climb rate of -3. with the knife, it picks one of these men.
• Split: This Swarm is clever enough to Bandits and criminals, they are excel-
split into two smaller swarms (Small Burst lent swordsmen too. They are also used as
Templates) should its foes split up. The guards by Guild elders or hired as merce-
Toughness of the smaller swarms is low- naries.

48
 Thieves’ Guild Cutthroat

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit

d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d4, No-
tice d6, Stealth d6, Streetwise d6.
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Tough-
ness: 6 (1)
Edges: Counterattack, Cloak Hero.
Hindrances: Loyal.
Gear: Cloak (+1 Parry as per the Cloak
Hero Edge), bronze short sword (Str+d6),
daggers x2 (Str+d4, Range: 3/6/12), leath-
er armor (+1).
Special Abilities
• Alley Fighter: Thieves’ Guild Thugs are
particularly good at fighting in the dark,
narrow alleys of Jalizar and at spotting
their opponents’ weaknesses. Whenever
an opponent scores 1 on the Fighting Die
while attacking a Thug, the latter is al-
lowed an immediate free Trick.

49