God in the Bowl
The God in the Bowl The God in the Bowl is a closed-room mystery, wherein a body is discovered but no murderer seems evident, save the Player Characters themselves, and they are pretty sure they did not kill Kallian Publico, the owner of Numalia’s most prestigious antique-house. If the mystery cannot be solved, the Player Characters may find themselves sent off for ten years hard labour for theft, or worse, burned at the stake for murdering a wealthy citizen. Players should begin the game utterly broke and without prospects. This is a feudal land, so the characters will probably not have heavy armour unless they are Nemedian knights or nobles. Their mounts are also lost to them if they had any. They have their clothes on their backs and a weapon, little else. The characters are hired to steal the Zamorian goblet by Aztrias Petanius, the nephew of the city’s governor. It is upon breaking into Kallian Publico’s museum that the mystery begins and the unravelling of a horror more ancient than even eldritch Stygia, slumbering far to the south.
Preparing to Play
The God in the Bowl is based directly on the original story of Robert E. Howard, allowing the Player Characters to undertake the very adventure that the mighty Cimmerian once endured. In this case, Conan does not go on the adventure detailed in Howard’s The God in the Bowl; instead, the Player Characters will do so, but that will have little effect on the legendary barbarian’s ultimate destiny to rule mighty Aquilonia. However, if a Player Character wishes to play Conan, his statistics can be found on page 92. This adventure gives Player Characters the opportunity to test their mettle against the greatest of challenges and walk the path of Hyboria’s most famous adventurer – Conan of Cimmeria. Can they survive the trials set before him? Have they the courage, the stoutness of heart, clearness of mind and strength of sinew to tread the road travelled by the mighty barbarian? The God in the Bowl will test not only their capacity for violence, stealth and greed, but for mercy, subtlety and intuition as well and those who rely solely on the strength of their sword arm to resolve problems will
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likely learn a hard (and potentially fatal) lesson within the antique temple of Kallian Publico. The God in the Bowl combines situations and encounters that will require a mix of skills to survive and overcome. Players will find that a party of adventurers from a wide variety of character classes of particular use. Though it is possible that some or all of a Games Master’s players have read Robert E. Howard’s short story, the Games Master should be able to run this scenario easily enough by changing a few details. Though it is not necessary, it is recommended that the Games Master read the story before running this adventure. This adventure is designed for four to six Player Characters of between 1st and 3rd character level. Should Games Masters have more than six players, or should the Player Characters be higher than 3rd level, then he should be prepared to increase the difficulty of the challenges presented in this adventure.
Numalia
Numalia is the second largest city of Nemedia, a Hyborian Age metropolis of gleaming spires. Numalia lies on the Road of Kings as well as a southern caravan route, a well-travelled road through Ophir, Koth and Khoraja. Population: 30,582 (79% Nemedian, 9% Aquilonian, 5% Kothian, 3% Ophirean, 2% Brythunian, 1% Corinthian, 1% Other) Size: Metropolis (136 acres of land) Average Population Density: 225 adults per acre Average Number of Structures: 69 buildings per acre (approx. 9,400 buildings total) Wealth Limit: 1,000,000 silver coins Ready Cash: 1,529,100,000 silver coins Government: Free City Income for the King of Nemedia and the Governor of Numalia: 764,550 silver coins per year Religion: Mitra Imports: Trade Goods Exports: Trade Goods, esp. grain Code of Honour: Civilised
