An adventure for Conan the Roleplaying Game for characters between 2nd and 5th level.
Overview
Hyperborean Witchmen are in a Hyborian city. Corpses are vanishing. Dead men are stealing from their old homes. Who is behind it? This adventure is set in Numalia. Numalia, on the Road of Kings, is the second largest city of Nemedia, a Hyborian Age metropolis, boasting a population of 45,379 residents among its gleaming spires. Numalia also lies on the southern caravan route, a well-travelled road through Ophir, Koth and Khoraja. The police here are identified by their scarlet tunics. They carry short swords, ideal for stabbing, and bills. Lord Ostorio Bragorus is the Governor of Numalia. One of the roads of Numalia is called the Palian Way. The wealthy of Numalia live in villas and usually travel by chariot. A Hyperborean Witchman is utilising the city graveyard to create a small army of permanent risen dead to serve him as he excavates beneath the city for the tomb of an Acheronian king. However, if these risen dead taste salt, they regain their memories and realise their state. One of these risen dead has managed just this and has returned home to his wife, trying to gain her help, carrying a magical amulet stolen from the Witchmen. He wants revenge. When the woman runs off, he shuffles after her, trying to get her to listen. She encounters the Player Characters and hopefully the characters take the time to listen to the dead man and hear his story. Immediately following that encounter, regardless of the outcome, Hyperborean Witchmen, who have been trailing the walking dead man, come onto the scene, ready for violence. They will try to regain the necklace and capture someone of noble blood for a sacrifice. If the characters are not fast, the Hyperboreans may awaken and command an insanely powerful mummy from Acheron.
Requirements A Games Master will need a copy of Conan the Roleplaying Game, Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos and a few players to make the most use of this adventure. Players only need access to Conan the Roleplaying Game, a Games Master and some fellow players.
Chapter 1: A Plea From the Dead
Plunderers
Plunderers of the Dead The Player Characters are in Numalia in Nemedia. It is night, and they characters are walking through foggy streets. A scream resounds through the general nightly din of the city’s noises and the characters hear running footsteps. A woman runs around the corner and into the group of Player Characters, begging for help, mad with hysteria. Her husband, she claims, has returned from the grave to consume her soul. The characters can now hear a shuffling noise in the darkly shadowed alley. Around the corner shuffles a horrible sight, a risen dead man (see Conan the Roleplaying Game for statistics on the risen dead). He is moaning the words, ‘Listen to me…’ in a slow, haunting cadence, over and over, his voice hoarse as if it had not been used for quite some time. He carries a blue amulet on a silver chain. If attacked, the risen dead will defend himself, but will not try to kill anyone. He will continue his oral cadence as he tries to ward off attacks. He is dressed in dirty white rags and trousers and carries no weapon. Depending on the time of year, he may be surrounded by swarms of tiny insects, attracted by the sickly sweet smell of his decomposition. If the Player Characters stop and listen to the man, he will slowly tell them his horrible tale. He will tell them, ‘My name is Lichas. This beautiful woman is my wife, Sandrine. I am dead. I belong dead. Yet I am not wholly dead now. I have tasted salt from the Zamorian woodcrafter’s larder and I remember. It is bad to remember. I was made to serve the Death Cult of Juhani. They have many dead. Juhani brings them forth from the earth’s eternal grasp to toil for him in his temple. Our living tasks are done, but the doors to Hell are closed to us. I cannot return until Juhani is dead. I have taken his amulet. Please help me. Please help us. If he is not stopped now, he will arise as a Witch King and the Legions of the Dead will arise and conquer our nation.’ He will give the amulet to the characters and say, slowly, in his eerie cadence, ‘Take this to Karena, caretaker of Lord Balasi’s library.’ After his plea, his voice finally fails him, the vocal cords breaking, and he can speak no more.
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