D&D - Primeval Thule - Campaign Setting (5e)

Thule Campaign

150 RUNNING A setup is that the heroes come across information no
GAME IN THULE one else knows—say, the dying words of a mortally
wounded traveler, or a tattered treasure map in a
You can run an adventure in Thule much like an adven- dusty tomb—and realize that they now know where
ture in any other fantasy setting, except with more bar- something of great value is waiting to be found. The
barians and saber-tooth cats. However, to maximize the challenge is getting there and recovering the prize, be
experience of a savage, intense, sword-and-sorcery game it a mound of gold, a fantastic jewel, or a book holding
world, we recommend adjusting your Gamemaster style secrets of arcane power.
to take advantage of the opportunities the Primeval
Thule setting offers. This section offers guidance and The chief motivation is the heroes’ own ambition
optional rules for: and avarice. In a Thulean campaign, treasure is its own
reward, although characters may naturally have more
• Creating sword-and-sorcery adventures. interest in some types of wealth than others. While that
• Madness and madness saves. may sound a little selfish, it has the advantage of placing
• Running a low-magic campaign. the heroes in the position of being the initial actors in
• Savage arms and armor and inferior materials. the story: They choose to go after the treasure, and the
• Awarding experience for finding treasure. forces protecting it have to react to their efforts. Best of
• Unique Thulean treasures. all, it’s a perfect opportunity for the heroes’ rivals and
enemies to get involved.
CREATING PRIMEVAL
ADVENTURES Caper: Finally, the caper is similar to the treasure
race in that the heroes see an opportunity and act on it.
Many adventures in other settings place the player Instead of speed and fighting power, the challenge is to
characters in the role of acting to defend the normal solve a complex problem to seize something of value. For
order of things. Orcs attack a village; the PCs track example, the objective of the caper might be something
down the orcs and assault their stronghold so that they simple, like stealing a priceless ruby from the demon-
won’t attack villages again. Some evil threat acts, and guarded vault of a merchant. Pulling off the caper
the adventure is about how the heroes react. In the requires distracting guards in one area, bypassing traps
Primeval Thule setting, most adventures should shift in another, pulling off an impossible climb, and then
the burden of action to the player characters. Instead employing the right kind of magic to dismiss the demon
of fixing things that bad guys do, the PCs seek adven- and seize the prize.
ture proactively, choosing goals that interest them and
setting out to accomplish them. Capers of different sorts might have nothing to do
with treasure. Ambitious player characters may initi-
There are a number of ways to create proactive adven- ate intrigues to improve their station or arrange the
tures, but here are three basic models for this style of downfall of an enemy. Orchestrating a palace coup
adventure design: The Survival Adventure, the Treasure or a tricky assassination could certainly develop as a
Race, and the Caper. caper a­ dventure—especially if the notion arises from
the players’ desire to acquire something of value, be it
Survival Adventure: The heroes find themselves wealth, knowledge, or status.
someplace where they are in terrible danger. Perhaps a
shipwreck deposits them on the shore of a monster-in- RIVALS
fested island when they were traveling to somewhere
else, or perhaps they fled into a perilous valley while Just because the player characters are choosing their own
trying to evade enemies pursuing them after a previous goals doesn’t mean they aren’t up against opposition. In
adventure. The goal that interests them is obvious: Sur- sword-and-sorcery adventures, heroes frequently face
vive whatever threat is present, and escape so they can competitors or enemies who are after the same thing
continue on their way. they are. Rivals may be single villains who surround
themselves with disposable muscle, or they may actually
The challenge in creating a survival adventure is that be adventuring parties that mirror the talents and abili-
you need to place the heroes in a position where their ties of your player character group.
survival is now in question. Some players may naturally
resent learning that their character made a stupid or The appearance of a rival can add a villain to a
unlucky decision before the adventure even started, and scenario that might otherwise lack one. For example,
feel like they should have been offered the opportunity a Survival Adventure (see above) might pit the heroes
to avoid the challenge by making a better decision against the impersonal elements and dangers of the Thu-
before it starts. As a result, the Survival Adventure is lean wilderness, but if a rival group is shipwrecked or
best as a once-in-a-while adventure, not the normal fare lost at the same time, the adventure becomes a lot more
of the campaign. interesting, especially if the rivals are competing for the
same resources needed to survive or racing to be the
Treasure Race: The treasure race presents the heroes first to escape. Likewise, the Treasure Race isn’t really a
with an opportunity to claim a rich prize. The classic race unless someone else is trying to beat the heroes to
the prize.

Thule Campaign

Rivals may be recurring villains who show up every THE ANGRY DM: PACE YOURSELF!
few adventures to complicate the heroes’ lives, or they
may be one-shot adversaries limited to the adventure in Maintaining a good pace ain’t about keeping the game moving along at
which they appear. A mix of both approaches is ideal, a breakneck speed. It is about keeping things at exactly the right speed.
so that the players don’t know whether a particular rival Break your game down into “scenes” and “encounters.” Both are just
might be someone who turns up again. Either way, chunks of the game where the players are actually making choices (if
make sure the heroes have the opportunity to meet and all you’re doing is narrating, it doesn’t count). Encounters include a goal
interact with their rivals during the adventure, espe- and some opposition and obstacles. Now, break encounters down into
cially if circumstances make it difficult to defeat the slow encounters where the players have some time (but not all the time
rivals during the first encounter or two. You want the in the world) to think, and fast encounters where decisions have to be
players to know who they’re up against, instead of made immediately. So: Scenes, slow encounters, and fast encounters.
reaching the final treasure vault and finding their prize • Rule One: Never follow a scene or an encounter with one that moves
missing without a word of explanation.
at the same speed. The speed should vary up and down. Ride the
WILDERNESS wave, baby!
CHALLENGES • Rule Two: Force your players to maintain the pace of the scene. That
means, in fast encounters you push them for quick decisions. Be a
Jungles, mountains, caverns, glaciers—the wilderness jerk if you have to. This is Thule!
of Thule is a dangerous place. Any adventure in which • Rule Three: Include scenes. Scenes are needed to give the players
the heroes set out into the wilds should feature at least a break and a breather. Let the party chat at camp, explore at their
some amount of wilderness challenges and hazards leisure, or go shopping.
for them to overcome. This is a setting in which tests • Rule Four: React to the player’s energy level. If they are bored, give
of physical prowess and wilderness knowledge should them a fast action scene like a chase or a fight. If they are coming
come up in the majority of adventures. Some examples down from a fast encounter, give them a scene.
include: • Rule Five: Follow climatic encounters (of any speed) with a scene and
then a slow encounter. Players need to rest and warm up to action
• Getting Lost: The wilderness is trackless, and it’s again after a big release.
easy to become lost. Explorers may require suc- And always remember, if the players aren’t making choices, the
cessful Wisdom/Survival checks to avoid becom- thing isn’t a scene! It’s just you flapping your gums and making
ing lost. noise at your players.

• Exposure: The tundra, mountains, and glaciers of MADNESS 151
Thule can be bitterly cold, while the interior jun- AND HORROR
gles are often sweltering. Travelers stuck in such
areas face penalties such as exhaustion if they fail Thule harbors many dangers, both physical and mental.
Constitution saves. Fighting savages in the jungles and glaciers isn’t partic-
ularly horrific, but encountering the minions of a Great
• Natural Obstacles: Wild rivers, gorges, cliffs, or Old One can have a profound impact on one’s sanity.
dank swamps often impede travel. Crossing such A Thulean campaign should incorporate the rules for
obstacles without suffering a dangerous fall or being madness as follows.
swept away and battered may require successful
Strength/Athletics or Dexterity/Acrobatics checks. Madness Saves: When a character is exposed to a
creature or situation that threatens madness, he or she
• Wild Beasts: The heroes may not fear saber-tooth must make a Wisdom save (DC varies). Events that call
cats or dire wolves, but fighting hungry predators for madness saves include:
several times a day is exhausting and dangerous.
However, unnecessary encounters may be avoided • Encountering an aberration, undead, or extrater-
with successful Dexterity/Stealth or Wisdom/ rene creature for the first time (DC 10).
Animal Handling or Survival checks.
• Seeing an ally defeated by an aberration, undead, or
If a wilderness challenge is the only danger the heroes extraterrene creature (DC 10).
face at one time, the penalties for failing that chal-
lenge should linger into their next encounter. Failing a • Being charmed by an aberration, undead, or extra-
short challenge—for example, swimming across an icy terrene creature (DC 10).
river, or being forced to detour into extremely rugged
t­errain—costs a character 1 or 2 exhaustion levels. • Witnessing alien or unwholesome magic (DC 8 +
Failing a major challenge, such as surviving a night on a spell level).
glacier with no shelter or blundering through a malarial
swamp all day, costs a character 2 to 3 exhaustion levels. • Exposure to an alien environment (DC 10).
These penalties require a day (or several days) to recover • Hearing or seeing a Great Old One at a distance
from, making the rest of the adventure a little bit harder.
(DC 13).
• Exposure to a profoundly abnormal alien environ-

ment (DC 15).
• Encountering a Great Old One (DC 18).

Thule Campaign

152 Failing a Save: A character who fails a madness save Magic items can’t be sold. No one knows what an
is affected by a minor madness effect for 1d10 minutes. enchanted item might be worth, and so even wealthy
If the effect runs its course without being alleviated by NPCs are unwilling to purchase items. However, patrons
magic, he or she must make a second save. On a failure, and NPCs with arcane knowledge might recognize the
the character gains a randomly determined form of value of powerful magic. Unwanted magic items may be
extended madness, lasting 1d10 × 10 hours. very valuable in trade for favors or influence.

Broken by Madness: If an extended bout of mad- NPC spellcasters are unavailable. In general, adven-
ness runs its course, the character gains a randomly turers can’t count on finding a NPC to cast a needed
determined madness flaw. In addition, he or she suffers spell or perform a ritual. Major temples in large cities
tactical disadvantage on future saves against madness. offer the best opportunity to locate NPC spellcasters,
These effects last until cured by powerful magic. but most priestly orders jealously guard their magic and
don’t use it for the sake of others unless they see a clear
A LOW-MAGIC benefit to themselves for doing so.
SETTING
Treasure Tables. If you generate random treasure
Magic is rare in Thule. Most ordinary people never see a hoards by rolling on treasure tables, make the following
magic item, or even see a spell cast. Of course, heroes in adjustments when checking for magic items.
Thule bump into things that ordinary people never run
into, or study mystic arts that no one else dares study. • Instead of “roll once,” roll 1d2–1 times.
Magic may be rare in the world, but it is not necessarily • Instead of “roll 1d4 times,” roll 1d4–2 times.
rare in the adventuring party. • Instead of “roll 1d6 times,” roll 1d6–3 times.
• Instead of “roll 1d8 times,” roll 1d8–4 times.
The effects of magic scarcity include: This reduces the rate of magic item acquisition to half
Magic items can’t be bought. No matter how the normal rate. If you choose treasure hoards instead of
much gold the heroes accumulate, there simply isn’t a generating them randomly, include about one-quarter to
marketplace—no one has magic items for sale. The only one-half the normal allotment of magic items.
exceptions are potions of healing, which can be brewed Alternate Rewards. Even though Thule is a low-
by a handful of apothecaries and alchemists. Those are magic setting, we don’t want to eliminate the fun of
available at the normal price, provided the heroes are in gaining better items or special rewards for players.
a location where potion-crafters can be found.

Thule Campaign

Consider rewarding the PCs in different ways. For • All armor and weapons are available (except as
example: noted on page 82).

• Supernatural gifts can stand in for magic items. • Armor and weapons made from normal materials
Special charms are equal to uncommon items, have no penalties or bonuses in combat.
and holy blessings are equal to very rare items.
Superior Arms and Armor: Dwarves possess
• Items already in the PCs’ possession may become superior metallurgy and know techniques of working
better as the characters progress in their careers. iron (and even making simple steels). Atlanteans once
For example, a fighter’s nondescript battleaxe possessed this same level of skill, and in fact knew
might gain a +1 bonus after slaying a beastman how to produce a variety of excellent alloys, but in
chieftain, or gain a frost-related power when used the current day Atlantean steel is found only in arti-
to defeat a polar eidolon. facts and heirlooms.

Supernatural gifts can be earned by finding lost • Weapons, medium armor, and heavy armor made
sites, restoring sacred relics to their rightful place, or from iron or steel are considered to be a magic
conferred in rituals by grateful shamans or priests. items with a +1 bonus.
Item upgrades can be earned when you would other-
wise give out a new magic item intended to improve EXPERIENCE FOR
the character’s combat ability. You could even allow TREASURE
each player to choose item upgrades or describe new
blessings or boons that fit the story of the character The goal of most freebooters and adventurers is not
(within reason, of course). to locate the exact right mix of adversaries that will
provide good battle-experience without actually
STONE AGE AND killing the would-be hero. The goal is to accomplish
BRONZE AGE the quest or defeat the challenge at hand; fighting is
MATERIALS usually incidental to the heroes’ story motivation at
the time. For example, a group of heroes in a Survival
Weapons of iron and steel are rare in Thule, and Adventure should earn more experience for avoiding
many warriors must make do with inferior materials. fights against wild animals than for carving their way
The availability of different weapon materials depends to safety through cave bears and giant sloths.
on the technological advancement of the tribe, settle-
ment, or city in which the heroes find themselves. Most game systems acknowledge this by offering
story awards—bonus experience points for accom-
Savage Arms and Armor: Savage tribes do not plishing goals rather than just killing monsters. The
have metalworking and must use bone, wood, or more aggressive you are with story awards as a driver
stone for weapons. Most nonhuman savages (such as of character advancement, the more your player
beastmen or troglodytes) likewise use these natu- characters engage adventures like the goal-motivated
ral materials. Natural materials have the following freebooters and sellswords they are. In addition, we
limitations: strongly encourage Gamemasters to award significant
story awards for finding treasure in the Primeval
• The only types of armor available in savage soci- Thule campaign—or, to put it another way, award
eties are padded, leather, or hide armor, as well as experience points for gold.
wooden shields.
There are two reasons we suggest “XP for gold”
• Swords and similar bladed weapons other than a in a Thulean campaign. First, sword-and-sorcery
dagger are not available. Weapons made entirely adventure should be largely driven by the heroes’
of wood, such as the club or staff, function ambitions. Player characters encouraged to be a little
normally. All other weapons must be made greedy begin to see the game setting in a new way:
from inferior materials (for example, stone axes, Where can I find gold, and what’s the easiest way
wooden spears, or arrows with bone points). to get it? That’s how you encourage the players to
think like freebooters. Secondly, Thule is a low-magic
• If you attack a target wearing medium or heavy setting. Since treasure can’t be easily converted into
armor with a weapon made from inferior materi- better gear for the player characters, it doesn’t neces-
als, you take a –2 penalty on your attack roll. sarily hold the inherent value it does in worlds where
magical marketplaces are the rule. Awarding experi-
Normal Arms and Armor: Barbarian tribes and ence for finding treasure reinforces to the players that
most civilized areas have simple metalworking and their characters see a big heap of gold as something
can make weapons from copper or bronze. Serpent- very much worth their effort.
men, rakshasas, elves, and other civilized nonhumans
have this same level of skill.

153

Thule Campaign

• Incidental treasure or hoards significantly below D20 Result D20 Result
the party’s level don’t provide any bonus XP. 1–3 Amber 12–13 Jacinth
4–5 Diamond 14–17 Jade
• Normal treasure hoards (one treasure roll on a 6 Emerald 18 Ruby
table matching the party’s average level) count as 7–9 Garnet 19 Sapphire
milestones. Award bonus XP to the PCs equal to 10–11 Indigurr 20 Zwarba
the XP they would receive for defeating an easy
encounter of their level. Amber is found as lumps of easily carved fossilized
resin of brilliant translucent yellow or orange. It is
• Exceptional treasure hoards (multiple rolls on a dull in the wild, but can be polished to a high sheen.
table matching the party’s average level, or one Amber often has inclusions of trapped pebbles, grit,
roll on a table significantly above the party’s bubbles, leaves, insects, or small creatures. Barbarians
average level) count as major milestones. Award revere such fossilized creatures as animal totems, and
bonus XP equal to the XP the PCs would receive casters of magic value the more exotic inclusions as
for defeating a hard encounter of their level. spell foci or as magic item components. Amber is
usually cabochon-cut (smooth-surfaced) and finished
THULEAN TREASURES with a flat back for use as an inlay.

Thule is a land of great riches. Many areas are rich Diamond is, of course, a hard, clear stone with
in naturally occurring veins of precious metals and faint yellow or pink hues. It sparkles brilliantly when
gemstone deposits. As a result, common artisans and cut and polished. Clear stones without inclusions or
merchants go about their business bedecked in every- flaws are valued over pink stones, and pink stones
day jewelry, such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, over yellow. In Thule, diamonds are generally valued
clasps, pins, and rings of copper or silver. Many bar- below rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. Diamonds are
barians are in the habit of wearing modest jewelry of usually found in a size about as long as a woman’s
similar worth. The high-ranking priests, nobles, and fingernail, but can be three times as big, and are cut
panjandrums of the great cities are positively draped in facets to enhance their sparkle.
in precious metals and glittering gemstones. Only
the poorest beggars and savages can’t afford to adorn Emerald is a pale to deep green translucent gem-
themselves with at least some cheap copper jewelry. stone, second in value only to rubies. Emeralds are
quite scarce in Thule, and most that are found here
While jewelry and gemstones are worn by most, were brought from other lands in trade. Emeralds are
coinage is actually not all that common, especially cut either cabochon or faceted.
once a traveler strikes out into the wilderness. Gigan-
tic piles of gold coins may be a staple of treasure Garnet is the cheapest form of gemstone, coarse
hoards in many fantasy worlds, but in Thule, coinage and quite durable. It usually possesses a blood-red
is only used as a medium of exchange in the cities. color, and is found in naturally faceted crystals.
Many of the older or more monstrous ruins and sites
scattered about the primeval continent actually pre- Indigurr is a relatively common black stone. Obsid-
date the invention of currency (at least by humans), ian is almost unknown in Thule, but indigurr, which
and just don’t have heaps of coinage lying about. is a gleaming black color and as durable as a tough
living jungle vine, is a prized alternative because it
Art Objects: The most common precious objects is so easily carved and so forgiving of clumsy carv-
found in Thule are statuettes—usually small temple ers. Skilled workers can fashion small coffers, door
idols, sometimes depicting forgotten gods. These handles, buttons for clothing, and settings for more
are usually made of carved amber, indigurr, or jade. valuable gems from indigurr. Some merchants claim
They may be palm-sized personal luck charms, or that indigurr is the hardened blood of dragons, but in
as tall as the length of a large man’s forearm. (Real fact indigurr is a form of petrified wood, the fossil-
temple idols are much larger and more valuable, but ized heart of certain sorts of ancient trees. It is found
possession of such a treasure may outrage the priests rarely (but sometimes in large masses) in old dried-
who serve the god in question and can lead to serious out bogs and the depths of living swamps.
accusations.)
Jacinth is a transparent red, reddish-blue, or
Thulean Gemstones: Gems found in Thule include purple gemstone, often found in natural crystals.
many of the well-known precious stones most people It is sometimes called the “ruby of the commoner”
are familiar with, plus a few more unusual types in Thule. Jacinths can be heat-treated in fires by
found nowhere else in the world. When the player those who know how to derive deeper purple hues,
characters find gems as part of treasure hoards or or baked with particular salts to create translucent
in the possession of a NPC who no longer needs yellow gems. However, there is a risk of cracking and
them, randomly determine the type by rolling on the ruining the gems.
table below:
Jade is perhaps the most common precious stone.
154 It is a stone of a light to deep green color, sometimes

Thule Campaign

streaked with white or black opaque gemstone. It is would come up in every adventure, but most adven- 155
easily carved and can be polished to a high sheen. turing parties include four or five player characters—if
Jade is sometimes found in rocks as large as a man’s each one saw a narrative-driven development in every
head, but more often in fragments about the size of adventure, it might be too much clutter and distraction
a human hand or a finger. In ancient times, whole from the actual adventure at hand.
thrones or doors were carved of jade, but pieces so
large are very rarely found these days. Suggestions for each narrative follow below.
Atlantean Noble: The noble is an important
Ruby is the crimson “king of gemstones” and the person, and you should make sure that most NPCs
most highly valued in Thule. Rubies are usually the character meets treat him as such. Gaining access
found as small pebbles about the size of a man’s to other important people shouldn’t be a challenge for
smallest fingernail, but sometimes stones two or three the noble—if an adventuring noble presents himself
times as large turn up, and very rarely, legendary at the front door of the queen’s palace in Quodeth,
stones as large as a man’s fist. high-ranking advisors or palace officials will see him
immediately, and likely arrange a meeting with the
Sapphire is clear, rich blue gemstone, trailing only queen within a day or two if the hero insists.
emeralds and rubies in value, and cut either cabochon Because nobles are important and wealthy, they have
or faceted. It is the stone of queens, princesses, and all enemies. If your player creates an Atlantean noble,
who aspire to the beauty and grace of female royalty. you should create a rival family whose scions can serve
as villains or troublemakers during the course of the
Zwarba is another unique Thulean gem. This lus- character’s adventures.
trous gemstone takes a glossy polish and is deep pink Bearer of the Black Book: The Black Book rep-
at the surface, but deepens to a rich red at its heart. resents power, and that means many people—most of
It resists shattering and damage from extreme heat them unfriendly to the player character—are very inter-
or cold, but it is easily carved. Zwarbas are therefore ested in it. Wizards (and other arcane spellcasters) in
often made into signets used to seal documents with Thule have good reason to be distrustful of their peers,
wax, or decorative cameos depicting the faces of because all too many of their fellows are constantly
ancestors. In the wild, zwarbas are usually found in scheming to steal the secrets and treasures they work so
streambed clay or bands of old rock as round, dull, hard to gather. When a player chooses this narrative for
stones about as big as a man’s thumbnail. her character, you should create a rival arcane spell-
caster or two who want to take the Book away from
NARRATIVES her. These rivals may ally themselves with the villains of
IN PLAY the adventure the character is engaged in, offering their
help to the character’s enemies in exchange for the right
When players create characters for the Primeval to take the Black Book once she is defeated.
Thule setting, they make choices about the kind of Beastfriend: Unlike the Atlantean noble or the
campaign you will run. This is true in almost any Bearer of the Black Book, the beastfriend does not
RPG setting, but the character creation rules pre- have an obvious rival or something that somebody
sented in Chapter 2—specifically, the selection of a would want. When you create an adventure that high-
character narrative and the designation of patrons or lights the beastfriend character, design an encounter or
enemies— make this aspect of campaign-building two that rewards a beastfriend’s ability to understand
explicit rather than implicit, and hands your players animals or provide challenges a beastfriend’s animal
a great deal of control over the story that will be told companion is suited to handle. If nothing else, most
about the heroes they are creating. beastfriend characters are more effective in outdoor
adventures than dungeon crawls, so give the character
You can certainly run an entertaining game in opportunities to scout, trailblaze, and spot ambushes
Primeval Thule that treats character narratives as a before other characters would.
set of minor bonuses and benefits; they work perfectly Dhari Hunter: A hunter should have opportunities
well as background elements or themes. However, to hunt from time to time. When you want to feature
you would be missing an opportunity to invest your the Dhari hunter’s narrative, create encounters in
players in the campaign by tailoring the game to the which the character can gain surprise through excel-
choices they make during character creation. lent woodcraft, or perhaps enjoy the recognition of
potential allies (or foes) who have heard of her skill.
USING NARRATIVES The narrative description in Chapter 2 suggests that
IN ADVENTURES beastmen are the natural enemies of Dhari hunters, but
hunters from different tribes may have different tribal
As a rough rule of thumb, a character should bump enemies. Encounters featuring these hated enemies
into a development or complication driven by the should be especially intense, with quarter neither asked
choice of narrative about once every two to three nor given.
adventures (if the adventures are short), or once every
one to two character levels (if the heroes are engaged in
a single long adventure). In a perfect world, narrative

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156 Free Blade: The free blade is perhaps the least should be careful not to give the player character too
specific of the narratives presented in Chapter 2. After many direct orders, but reminding the player about his
all, just about every adventure in the Thule setting temple’s secret interests in any particular adventure is a
offers the opportunity for a freebooter to indulge his great way to make him feel like he is part of something
wanderlust, find trouble, and get a chance to pocket a exclusive and important.
rich treasure. The best way to personalize an adventure
for a free blade is to create a lifelong nemesis, perhaps Jungle Trader: The jungle trader should have an
a former partner who betrayed the free blade, or an opportunity to, well, trade. Create opportunities for
evil priest who destroyed the character’s village long a clever player to notice opportunities of supply and
ago. Give the free blade a personal motive for revenge demand in her travels, and initiate efforts to make a
against someone or something, and adjust the occa- big score. For example, when a trader passes through
sional adventure to add tantalizing clues about the a village during an adventure, she might notice that
character’s hated foe or the opportunity to confront the exporting mammoth ivory is a valuable business there.
villain. Later in her travels, she encounters a villain whose
throne features impressive mammoth tusks; if the
Golden Sea Corsair: Unless all the players in the player remembers to take those back to the village, she
group decide to be pirates, the player who creates a earns a more valuable reward than just selling them
character with the corsair background begins her anywhere.
character’s career by leaving her pirate ways behind
her. Look for ways to remind the player that her pirate Katagian Pit Fighter: A player who chooses this
past matters even when she’s engaged in other adven- narrative is creating a gladiator, so you should make
tures. For example, if an adventure offers the chance sure the character gets opportunities to fight in an
for travel by sea to reach a distant dungeon, the corsair arena. Perhaps the party comes to a jungle village
character can provide transportation by arranging a whose aid can only be won by having one of the PCs
deal with her former crewmates. Outlaws the party defeat the tribe’s champion in single combat, or per-
meets respect her as a fellow criminal, and treat her haps the character can cow the crew of a corsair galley
as such when it may be advantageous. Likewise, the by defeating their most savage warrior. Arena battles in
authorities distrust her and may be ready to arrest her which the whole party participates aren’t bad, but the
on sight. pit fighter really wants to defeat a foe one-on-one with
a crowd watching, so provide that opportunity every
Guardian of the Nine: This narrative is easy to cater now and then.
to; all you need to do is make sure you run the occa-
sional adventure in which the minions of the Great Myrmidon: Of all the Thulean narratives, myrmi-
Old Ones (or similar extraterrene races) are the chief dons are most accustomed to receiving missions or
threat. As a hero sworn to protect the world from the orders from the NPCs they fight for. In many ways the
insidious influences of alien powers, the Guardian of myrmidon is the opposite of the freebooter, measur-
the Nine is constantly vigilant for any such intrusions ing success by loyalty and competent execution of
into the natural world. Another alternative is to present her orders instead of opportunities for personal gain.
the hero with a threat to the Nine—for example, an Identify a group or organization that is the enemy of
intolerant high priest determined to root out imagined the master she serves—for example, an enemy city, a
heresies held by the secret society and destroy its adher- barbarian tribe, or a rival noble house—and make sure
ents throughout Thule. that group shows up as adversaries or competition from
time to time. A myrmidon who regards Lomari as her
Ice Reaver: The ice reaver character is a barbarian enemies will certainly take a special interest in adven-
who wants to storm though the campaign wreaking tures where Lomari villains are working against her.
bloody havoc. In Thule, that is perfectly acceptable
behavior. Because the ice reaver is usually far from Occult Scientist: The greatest wonders of advanced
home, exploring cities or cultures that are more magic and powerful devices to be found in the world
advanced than her own, look for opportunities to today are artifacts of Atlantis. Few of these things are
remind the player that civilization is confusing and well understood today, but the occult scientist is the
that she is an intimidating figure. Guards stop her character to figure them out. To engage a PC with this
at the city gates; tavern brawlers hesitate to throw narrative, include occasional Atlantean artifacts in the
punches at her; merchants cut great deals for her treasure hoards the party discovers, especially items
to hurry her out of their shops. Because she doesn’t that require some study or experimentation before they
understand the nuances of civilization, it’s easy for her can be used at their full power. Offering the occult
to make an enemy early in her career—say, a nobleman scientist a clue or map leading to a lost Atlantean
angered when she doesn’t realize how important he is. artifact is an excellent way to provide an adventure this
character will be anxious to embark upon.
Initiate of Mysteries: Player characters who belong
to the priesthood of one of Thule’s temples are part Panjandrum: The panjandrum’s true powers and
of a structured hierarchy with superiors who can give authority come into play when she is in her home city.
them orders. Create a NPC mentor or leader who can To highlight the panjandrum narrative, make sure that
serve as your mouthpiece in the temple hierarchy. You the occasional adventure in your campaign takes place
in the panjandrum’s home city, and includes challenges

Thule Campaign

RANDOM NAMES FOR THULEAN NPCS

Most city-dwellers in Thule have surnames, as do proud and Here follow tables of names for use in naming NPCs.
wealthy families everywhere else. Among the barbaric or Pronunciations appear in parentheses after some of the more
savage peoples, few people use surnames. Instead, they are unusual names. Deliberate selections from the tables usually
more likely to name themselves after trades or deeds of note, yield the best results, but for occasions of great haste roll dice
such as “Fher the Carver” or “Fher of the Long Leap.” to derive names.

Common Atlantean Names D6 Female Names 157
D6 Male Names 1 Anathnae (ah-NATH-nay)
1 Bran 2 Chethir
2 Corvin 3 Darthae
3 Dereth 4 Janir
4 Imdath 5 Nista
5 Marus 6 Raenara (RAY-nah-rah)
6 Pharn 7 Sarae
7 Sarth 8 Tildris
8 Tordil 9 Vethra
9 Urvael (ur-VALE) 10 Yarlae
10 Zarn
Common Dhari Names D6 Female Names
D6 Male Names 1 Amarla
1 Arn 2 Belshirr
2 Dar 3 Feene (FEEN)
3 Horm 4 Liara
4 Jongor 5 Tharra
5 Sorn 6 Zurne
6 Yar
Common Kalay Names D8 Female Names
D8 Male Names 1 Barinna
1 Aphoom (ah-FOOM) 2 Dreen
2 Bhul 3 Evondra
3 Daoth (DOWTH) 4 Jaless
4 Fol 5 Lu
5 Narvin 6 Saya
6 Qoth (KOTH) 7 Xoe (SKO-eh)
7 Tarbo 8 Yendi
8 Zemar
Common Lomari Names D6 Female Names
D6 Male Names 1 Belarna
1 Bagreel 2 Eyane (EH-yann)
2 Deond (DAY-ond) 3 Janesh
3 Ghoro 4 Luwendra
4 Matambe (mah-TOM-beh) 5 Savish
5 Timbo 6 Yolande
6 Yasheem
Common Nimothan Names D6 Female Names
D6 Male Names 1 Albeth
1 Brorn 2 Ember
2 Erth 3 Hildne
3 Helvur 4 Kimber
4 Osk 5 Tingith
5 Thagnar 6 Wendrith
6 Vorstag

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158 or obstacles that can be overcome by clever use of the one stealthy character taking out a key villain or mon-
panjandrum’s authority. For example, the panjandrum ster. For example, storming a merchant’s stronghold
might be able to gain an important clue about an without raising the alarm might require one character
evil cult by ordering the bodies of sacrificial victims to get into position to take out a guard before he can
exhumed or by demanding access to the city’s tax rolls. strike a gong. You can also have the sacred slayer’s
superiors occasionally target key villains in an adven-
Like nobles, panjandrums are important people. ture the rest of the party already plans to undertake.
Most NPCs in the panjandrum’s home city hold a
healthy respect for her authority and comply with Soothsayer: Most of the mechanical benefits asso-
her requests. Of course, a low-level panjandrum is a ciated with this narrative are intended to be narrow
relatively minor officer or official, so NPCs with a lot and focused enough that the GM does not have to try
of power and influence may not be so impressed. to make specific predictions for the character. How-
ever, what if the soothsayer actually foresees a major
Quodethi Thief: A thief is a handy character to event? There is no reason you can’t give the player of
have around in any kind of dungeon exploration, but the soothsayer a big prediction that may not come true
the player playing a Quodethi thief doesn’t want to until after many adventures. Seeing the signs that a
just pick rusty old locks in monster-infested tombs— catastrophe is drawing near and discovering ways to
he wants to steal something. If the party includes a mitigate the effects will make the player feel like his
Quodethi thief, look for opportunities to present the character is truly a prophet. If the dream or vision is
players with an adventure that can be approached as a a riddle the character slowly puzzles out over time,
caper. In addition, adventures that feature rival guilds even better. Take a look at some of the quatrains of
are another good way to highlight the story of the hero Nostradamus for examples of how mysterious images
with this narrative. or phrases might disguise the truth until the character
learns enough to understand what he is seeing.
Sacred Slayer: Assassins should have the oppor-
tunity to assassinate someone every now and then. Star-Lore Adept: The attraction of the star-lore adept
Creating an adventure for the sacred slayer to sin- narrative is the opportunity to play a character who
gle-handedly kill a target is not really feasible for a risks everything in the pursuit of knowledge and power.
whole party of player characters, but you can certainly The easy way to highlight the adept’s unique approach
create challenges within an adventure best handled by

Thule Campaign

to magic is to present the occasional adventure in which disperse again—the next time the PC summons 159
extraterrene or aberrant monsters play a big part. Even raiders, a different mix of individuals responds. Hordes
better, offer the character temptations to go too far or armies that are in the field for a long time replen-
from time to time. For example, the party might find ish their numbers at 5 percent of the total force per
a tablet written in the language of the mi-go that the month, or 10 percent if the horde is in a location where
adept can tell at a glance she should not read . . . but losses can easily be made up.
what secrets might it hold? The liberal use of the Mad-
ness rules described earlier in this chapter should be the Follower Alignment: Followers generally mirror the
norm in games featuring a star-lore adept. player character’s alignment and attitude. If the PC is
noble and courageous, he attracts followers who act
Tribal Outcast: It’s said that you can never go likewise. If he is brutal and violent, he attracts brutes
home again, and for the tribal outcast, that’s true. and malefactors. Followers who are badly used may
The relationship with the tribe that he was cast out of quit; followers who leave after abusive treatment are
is the most difficult and emotional the tribal outcast replaced at the same rate as retinue members killed in
faces; naturally, a GM should bring it up from time action. In extreme cases, the entire force might aban-
to time to provide the character with the opportunity don the hero. If this happens, the character must wait
to confront it again. Adventures in which the party until he reaches the next experience level or one year
requires the aid of the tribe that turned their backs on passes before summoning followers again.
the outcast are an obvious choice—but what about an
adventure in which the outcast’s former tribe is cast as Followers in Adventures: In general, raiders and
the party’s adversaries? Or an adventure in which some hordes consist of large numbers of low-level combat-
villain or monster threatens the outcast’s estranged ants. They can’t help heroes deal with small numbers of
tribe? Is it even possible to make amends for the challenging monsters. An elite company is more useful
offense that led to the character’s exile? in a typical dungeon adventure, but it’s better for the
players to keep the number of NPC bodyguards to a
FOLLOWERS minimum. In a typical dungeon exploration, encourage
the player to find reasons to leave most of his entourage
Many of the narratives presented in Chapter 2 provide at the dungeon door. The more characters participat-
the player character with the ability to recruit or call ing in a battle, the slower the game runs. A company
upon followers. Follower actions in the world are nor- is happy to protect the heroes’ camp, watch over their
mally resolved through GM fiat. If the PC’s elite com- mounts, and make sure no villains or monsters ambush
pany can defeat or drive off the beastmen marauders the party when they return to the surface.
that attack the village the day after the PC leaves, then
it does. When the PC returns, she finds that her com- If the adventuring party is short-handed—say, three
pany stopped the attack (and likely earns the gratitude player characters or less—it’s reasonable to let the
of the villagers). The player character has no special players make up some of the shortfall by bringing a
ability to control follower actions—they simply try to heavier contingent of their respective companies along.
follow whatever orders or instructions she provides. However, followers are significantly lower in level than
the characters they serve. They may be completely
Followers are inclined to be highly loyal to the player overwhelmed by monsters that challenge heroes of the
character, but they are not fanatics, and may argue PCs’ level, although drawing attacks that otherwise
against (or ignore) orders certain to result in death. If would be directed at a player character is always useful
it’s not clear whether followers would go along with (if tough on the followers).
an extremely dangerous or unpleasant task, present
the player with an interaction encounter in which he INCOME
attempts to convince the followers to do what he says.
A Charisma/Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion Finally, some narratives offer characters a regular
check may be required if the player cannot muster a stipend or income. Raw character wealth is not a direct
convincing argument. measure of character power in Thule, as it is in other
settings. The characters can’t buy magic items (or
You should assume that followers who are not cur- commission them to be made) because magic is rare in
rently in the presence of the player character are loyal, this world.
competent, and safe. If a player leaves a dozen guards
behind to protect his character’s palace in Quodeth, Players may eventually wonder what they should
those guards (and the palace) should be there when the do with a resource they accumulate but rarely spend;
character returns. what’s the point of having “50,000 gp” written down
on the character sheet if it can’t be turned into gear
Replacing Followers: Elite followers killed in action that is useful in battle? The short answer is that
are replaced at the rate of 25 percent of the total force money—like ­followers—gives the player agency over
per month. For example, if a PC has a company with a a wider part of the world than whatever happens to be
normal total of 18 guards, losses can be replaced at the within reach of his sword. A wealthy character can buy
rate of 4 per month. Raiders are usually not replaced, influence, do favors for others, or invest in efforts he
since they gather for a specific short-term effort and deems worthwhile.

Thule Campaign

160 CAMPAIGN ARCS patrons to determine which NPC approaches which
hero—for example, a freebooter or a thief may be
Sword-and-sorcery adventures tend to be highly hired by Hiroom Jarth to do a job, while a noble or
episodic, but there are certainly grander tales to tell in a soothsayer might be contacted by Phinnaeus Thex,
the world of Thule if you are so inclined. Three sample who wishes their advice on a matter that puzzles him.
campaign arcs are presented here to provide narrative When the PCs choose one of these patrons to follow,
skeletons on which you can build more extensive cam- the other two hire rival groups to find the idol first.
paigns. Each of these campaign arcs could be presented
in as few as five or six adventures over just a few levels Phinnaeus Thex: A collector of strange antiquities,
or play, or drawn out into recurring storylines by inter- Phinnaeus Thex is a middle son of a noble house. With
spersing arc-focused adventures with other adventures no real political power but no real need for money,
unrelated to the developing story. Phinnaeus has defined himself by his obsessions with
extraterrene beings and his dark collection of relics and
THE IDOL OF DAOLOTH lore. Phinnaeus has a private museum in the cham-
bers below his estate, and sometimes recreates ancient
Many strange secrets are hidden in the scrolls of Onther rituals of the Great Old Ones there. Some whisper that
Tower, the royal library of Quodeth. When an old sage he has hired kidnappers to steal low-born orphans and
named Jyordon suddenly dies, his scribbled notes reveal beggars to fuel horrible rituals.
that he was in the process of researching a powerful
artifact called the Idol of Daoloth, purportedly capable Through a messenger, Phinnaeus invites the PCs to
of bending space and time. Long ago it was prized by his estate for a tour of his museum and a discussion of
prehuman worshipers of the vile god Tsathoggua, and the lost relic. He was a secret sponsor of the sage Jyor-
may in fact be the key to summoning Tsathoggua to don’s researches, and received regular reports from the
Earth—or a tool that could banish a being of similar sage. Phinnaeus has spent his life buying people off,
power to the far corners of the universe. and assumes he can do so with the PCs as well, offer-
ing a rich purse for their efforts. He claims to want
Jyordon’s studies suggest that the idol is buried in the Idol to keep it out of the wrong hands, but secretly
a deep chamber hidden beneath the volcanic Zinan- wants to use it to summon a Great Old One.
dar Mountains. He discovered two tantalizing clues
leading to the idol. First, Jyordon believed that the If the PCs refuse Phinnaeus Thex, he hires a band of
specific location of the idol’s vault is recorded in the mercenaries and freebooters not all that different from
forgotten palace of the mad sorcerer Ix, while the key the PC party to get the idol.
to the vault’s door is hidden in a sunken temple of
Tsathoggua in Bloodwater Swamp. Several powerful Nephys: Nephys is a necromancer who follows the
individuals in Quodeth learn of the sage’s inquiries, dark teachings of Nyarlathotep (see Villains in Chapter
and the race is on to unravel Jyordon’s mysterious clues 6). She quietly kept up on Jyordon’s studies for years,
and retrieve the Idol of Daoloth. since she is in the habit of spying on potential rivals.
Despite her familiarity with Nyarlathotep, Nephys
In this campaign arc, the interested NPCs seek has no interest in summoning or banishing Great Old
to hire the heroes to locate the chamber and recover Ones—she believes the Idol of Daoloth holds the key
the idol. The PCs drive the action by choosing which to eternal life.
patron they wish to follow and choosing whether to
hunt for the map or the key to the Vault of Daoloth. Nephys contacts the PCs through a twisted and
The other NPCs employ their own servants in a race horrible nightmare. She whispers of the secrets of the
to retrieve the map and key, or at least hinder the PCs Great Old Ones buried in ancient vaults and tombs
along the way. The PCs must eventually recover both throughout the land, and tells them of a great danger
artifacts to find the temple, recover the idol, and decide now released. Through the dream she invites them to
its ultimate fate. her home to discuss the artifact. Nephys is willing to
part with a handful of magical artifacts from her vaults
Instead of following a single thread, you are encour- in exchange for the delivery of the idol.
aged to let the players choose the course they wish
to take throughout this campaign arc. It’s up to the If the PCs turn down Nephys, she creates or sum-
heroes to make friends or enemies, decide which mons a band of powerful, free-willed undead to do her
courses of action to take, and choose what to do with bidding and bring her the idol.
the idol once they have it.
The Second Knife: Hiroom Jarth, the face of the
THE PATRONS Seven Knives, is also interested in the Idol of Daoloth
(see the Seven Knives, later in this chapter). One of his
Three potential employers (or enemies) learn of Jyor- thieves burgled Jyordon’s notes and killed the old sage
don’s dangerous research shortly after the sage’s death when he was caught in the act. Jarth had his magical
brings his studies to light. Each seeks the idol for dif- advisor, the Auspex, decipher the notes. He now sees
ferent reasons, and reaches out to the PCs to hire them the idol as a tool for extortion and blackmail; Jarth
to find the idol. Use the heroes’ choice of narratives or knows the idol contains some dark and old power,
but is willing to sell it, plant it, or buy a great favor
from cultists of the Great Old Ones rather than use it
himself.

Thule Campaign

Agents of the Seven Knives leave a parchment stuck The Library of Ix: Hidden below a crumbling tower
to a table by a dagger nearby one of the sleeping PCs. in the ruins of Hurhun, the sorcerer Ix built a library
The note instructs the PCs to meet one of Jarth’s and filled it with forbidden artifacts and ancient dark
agents, who guides the PCs into the Knifehold where lore. His obsession with the terrible texts of extrater-
they meet with Hiroom Jarth. Jarth offers the PCs rene beings drove Ix quite mad. Extremely paranoid, Ix
a large sum, a safehouse, and the favor of the Seven built devastating magical traps and animated guard-
Knives if they acquire the idol and return it to him. If ians to protect his library. Dimensional portals to the
the PCs refuse, Jarth sends a trio of dangerous assas- outer worlds drew in outsiders, who still lurk through-
sins to fetch him his prize. out the library. The twisted spirit of Ix haunts the
library and protects its contents. The map showing the
THE MAP AND THE KEY location of the Vault of Daoloth lies in the lower levels
of the library, in a room full of dusty parchments.
Each of the three potential patrons gives the PCs clues
about the two artifacts required to discover and open Temple of Tsathoggua: Half-submerged in the
the Vault of Daoloth. The heroes set off to recover festering swamps of Bloodwater lies the temple of this
either the map from the Library of Ix, or the key from forgotten Great Old One. Now the lair of a tribe of
the Temple of Tsathoggua. One of the rival groups beastmen (or serpentmen if you prefer a higher-level
reaches the location at the same time and tries to beat challenge), the temple still contains the key to the Vault
the heroes to the item they’re after. of Daoloth, along with other artifacts. The key itself
is an octagonal plate embossed with strange twisted
After recovering the first item, the heroes can set glyphs, and lies in a chamber that serves as the lair of a
their sights on the second locale they need to visit— Thulean dragon worshipped by the other inhabitants.
but they discover that the second band competing with
them has actually beaten them to the prize. To get the The Knifehold: This twisted maze of warehouses
second part of the puzzle key, the PCs must confront and sub-basements has dozens of entrances all over the
the NPC who now holds it: Phinnaeus Thex in his city of Quodeth. It serves as the Seven Knives’ hideout,
palace, Nephys in her tower, or Hiroom Jarth in the and is filled with traps and guarded by a number of
Knifehold of the Seven Knives. (For a fun twist, the Seven Knives enforcers and cutthroats. Hiroom Jarth
PCs might need to enlist the aid of the defeated rival hides any artifacts his agents collect in the treasure
to take on the villain in his or her stronghold.) vaults of this headquarters.

161

Thule Campaign

162 Phinnaeus Thex’s mansion: The mansion of Phin- The enemies of the Stone Skulls are the warlike
naeus Thex is split into two main sections. The upper Nimothans of Dragonhold, a lonely settlement far
three floors of the mansion contain elaborate audience from anything resembling civilization. The ruler of
halls, studies, bedrooms, kitchens, and other cham- Dragonhold is a fair-minded but fiery-tempered warlord
bers. A hidden stairwell in Thex’s private study leads to named Jedzia the Red. Jedzia’s lands are as peaceful as
a secret warren of chambers and passages in the base- any in the Thousand Teeth, mainly due to her well-
ments. Decorated in twisted and vile artwork, these trained warriors. However, the Stone Skulls are growing
chambers are protected by powerful explosive alchemy in number and recklessness, and they present an
and animated undead. ever-growing danger to Dragonhold. The savages have
numbers and dark magic on their side; it is all Jedzia
Nephys’s Tower: The Tower of Nephys is a place of and her warriors can do to hold the Stone Skulls at bay.
mystery to most of Quodeth. Loyal and bloodthirsty
guards protect the tower inside and out, while appren- THRALLS OF THE
tice necromancers do Nephys’s bidding. Nephys’s audi- STONE SKULLS
ence hall takes up the first floor of the tower, while her
private studies, libraries, and living quarters take up The Stone Skulls do not kill everyone they come
the upper floors. Rumors persist of horrible abomina- across. They delight in keeping slaves and in forcing
tions kept in the chambers hidden below the tower. their slaves to do battle for their amusement. Slaves
are kept in a closed section of caves beneath the tribe’s
THE VAULT OF DAOLOTH warrens, dragged forth only when there is work to be
done or to fight for their captors’ entertainment. The
Once the PCs have captured both the map and the PCs begin the campaign as recently captured captives
key, they can proceed to the Vault of Daoloth. It is an in the Stone Skull slave pits.
ancient temple complex of fantastic age, carved out of
volcanic rock tens of thousands of years before humans The slave pits are an underground village. The
even set foot in Thule. A massive (and heavily trapped) heroes are free to explore the caves surrounding them,
door of cold iron blocks the entrance to the vault, and but there are no obvious ways out except through the
can only be opened with the octagonal key. warrens of the Stone Skulls. Functionally, the slave pits
are like any rural village that a group of heroes might
Inside the vault are dozens of chambers, containing get their start in. There are vermin to deal with, caves
twisted statues and weird altars that finally explain the to explore, thugs and bandits to fight, and so forth.
origin of the idol. Daoloth is not a place-name or high But it is a brutal village, where the strong prey on the
priest; it refers to a horrible elder being that is impris- weak. With supplies limited, cliques and alliances have
oned within the vault, a servitor (or perhaps offspring) formed; gangs of bullies hoard whatever they can and
of Tsathoggua that was trapped in this place by ancient fight over resources. The heroes will have to prove their
serpentman sorcerers. The presence of the artifact that strength to get by and learn to forage for themselves
bears its name provides planar portals and rifts through or gradually starve to death. Periodically, the PCs are
which many strange monsters have been drawn to dragged out of the slave pits to fight in the arena. They
entertain Daoloth, and drive off any intruders. are often forced to fight and kill other slaves. Occasion-
ally, they might be forced to fight dangerous monsters.
When the PCs have recovered the Idol (possibly
defeating Daoloth in the process), they sense great and In the pits, the PCs meet a young, capable warrior
dark power held within it. Whether they choose to named Jerrin. He reveals himself to be the son of Jedzia
return it to the original hiring NPC, sell it to one of the Red. He has been a prisoner for a year, and his
the other groups, destroy it, or keep it to themselves is mother presumes he is dead. Jerrin is looking for allies
up to them; ironically, the safest course is probably to and befriends the party. Like the PCs, he hungers for
give it to Nephys, the most overtly threatening of the freedom, but he can offer something worth escaping
three interested parties. to: Dragonhold. He helps the PCs to concoct an escape
plan. If the party needs help finding their chance,
GOD OF THE an opportunity might present itself when a monster
STONE SKULLS breaks free in the arena, or perhaps Jedzia’s forces raid
the Stone Skulls while the PCs are out of the warrens,
The mist-blown lands of the Thousand Teeth are providing a distraction. It is important that Jerrin either
home to savage tribes and barbarian strongholds. This escape with the PCs or die trying.
campaign arc tells the story of two such bands. The
savages are the Stone Skulls, vicious raiders who sur- Once the PCs escape, it should be simple enough for
vive by hunting, raiding, and pillaging. The tribe lurks the PCs to find their way to Dragonhold and meet Jedzia.
in a barren wasteland, making their home in a great The warlord is grateful either for the return of her son or
warren amid rocky hills. These savages are fiercely news of his fate. Always on the lookout for good fighters,
devoted to a dark power they call Thar-Aztagh, and the Jedzia is quick to offer the PCs shelter, food, and other
tribe’s shaman holds great sway over the chief of the rewards. If the PCs are willing to serve her as private mer-
Stone Skulls. cenaries, she promises to keep them quite comfortable.

Thule Campaign

HEROES OF THE The motives of Yrd Raal now become clear: The 163
DRAGON HALL wizard wants to return the demon lord to life and
command its power. The PCs could simply leave and
Jedzia proves as good as her word. The heroes are given seek distant horizons. But when Jedzia and Yrd Raal
rooms in her hall, and she has plenty of use for their realize they are not coming back, the warlord sends
services. During this phase of the campaign arc, her best hunters and soldiers to drag them back, along
Jedzia acts as a patron to the party, and the PCs find with the weapon she believes they have. Likewise,
themselves taking on the normal sorts of adventures the Stone Skulls dog the heroes’ steps, believing they
mercenaries might take on when serving the lord of have a weapon bathed in the blood of their god. The
a small town. They deal with bandits and sea-raiders, heroes face a difficult choice: Neither side should have
protect Jedzia’s supply caravans, plunder various loca- the Sword of Stars, and they can’t destroy or hide it
tions for treasure, hunt dangerous beasts, and handle for long.
other problems in the area. Their efforts should be well
rewarded, and they should be kept quite happy. The best answer is to use the Sword to complete
the destruction of Thar-Aztagh. Unfortunately, time
Unfortunately, Jedzia’s concerns about the Stone is not on their side. Enraged by the heroes’ efforts to
Skulls drive her to an ever-sterner rule over Dragon- recover the Sword of Stars, the demon-lord’s shaman
hold. As time goes on, the fair but temperamental has stirred the Stone Skulls into a final furious assault
warlord grows into a tyrant. She demands more tribute to sweep away Dragonhold before the sword can be
from the villagers and hoards supplies for the coming brought to Jezdia. Dragonhold is on the brink of
war. She conscripts able-bodied men and women and falling, but this creates an opportunity for the heroes.
pushes her soldiers harder than ever. She incites skir- Many of the Stone Skull warriors who normally
mishes with the savages, raiding their outer holds. The would bar the way to the demon-lord’s temple are
PCs should see a change in Jedzia over time, which is gone, and a small group might just be able to slip
also reflected in the way the Dragonholders treat the inside where a large force cannot. The PCs must
PCs. Respect gives way to fear and resentment. Mean- confront the Stone Skull shaman and his elite guard,
while, Jedzia begins to send the PCs on more missions reach the temple of Thar-Aztagh, and use the Sword
against the Stone Skulls. to complete the rite needed to banish the demon-god
forever. Only then will they be free to choose their
When the PCs return from one such mission, they own path.
find that Jedzia has a new advisor: A black-robed
wizard named Yrd Raal. To counter the growing SHADOW OF THE
power of the Stone Skull shamans and the dark influ- GREAT SERPENT
ence of Thar-­Aztagh, the warlord has hired a wizard
from Thran. Set is an old god, older than any other among the
Nine Powers commonly worshiped in the cities of
THE SWORD OF THE STARS Thule. Before humans ever set foot in Thule, serpent-
men worshiped the Great Serpent in black temples
The player characters may be suspicious of a mysterious hidden in the depths of Thule’s jungles. For the most
new wizard who seems to have the ear of the Warlord part, the serpentmen have remained hidden, keeping
of Dragonhold, but Yrd Raal’s divinations soon provide their alliance with the human priests of Set secret . . .
an important new piece of information. The Thranish but now Dyar Presk, the Prophet of Night, is ready
wizard discovers the location of a sword that, according to unleash a plan centuries in the making. The goal
to legend, once pierced Thar-Aztagh. The blade is in is nothing less than the subversion of the human
a distant, crumbling ruin; Jedzia tasks the PCs with kingdoms of Thule and the elevation of Set’s faith to
retrieving it, hoping that it will serve as a powerful dominance over the entire continent.
defense against the magic of the Stone Skull shamans.
MASK OF NIGHT
The journey to the old ruin is long and fraught
with peril. The PCs are shadowed by Stone Skulls, The campaign opens when the Mithran priest
pursuing the same prize at the behest of their shaman. Brother Arom quietly hires or recruits the heroes to
When the heroes reach the ruins and deal with the investigate the death of an important vizier named
barbarians there, they discover the rusted blade still Yendar Kol, a close advisor to the monarch of the
sharp, but otherwise unremarkable. But they make a city and an ally to the servants of Mithra. Yendar
more important discovery: Reliefs and carvings show Kol was a vigorous man in his early forties and
that Thar-Aztagh—a demon lord from some hellish showed no signs of frail health before dying of a
plane—was actually banished long ago by a hero who sudden illness. Brother Arom naturally suspects poi-
wielded the Sword of Stars. The Stone Skulls worship a soning, especially since Yendar Kol was replaced by
shadow, but the Sword of Stars, stained by the demon an ambitious young panjandrum named Xarvix. As
lord’s blood, now may hold the key to summoning far as anyone can tell, Xarvix’s hands are clean—he
Thar-Aztagh fully into the world. The PCs also dis-
cover the location of Thar-Aztagh’s resting place, in the
heart of the Stone Skull warrens.

Thule Campaign

164 has been in the company of unimpeachable witnesses city for people who have seen a similar mark, they
for weeks, and his path does not seem to have ever discover a hidden temple of Set in the slum quarter.
crossed Yendar Kol’s. But Yendar Kol’s chief guard,
a Dhari swordsman named Harth, has gone missing. Infiltrating the hidden temple, the PCs discover
Brother Arom wants Harth found and questioned that Harth did not willingly betray Yendar Kol. The
to determine whether he helped Xarvix to dispose of hapless guard captain is currently a prisoner and is
the vizier he served. soon to be sacrificed. He was in fact compelled to
assist in Yendar Kol’s poisoning because the cultists
A careful investigation of Yendar Kol’s household of Set threatened to kill Qarna if he did not help
and some inquiry into Harth’s comings and goings in them. The young vizier Xarvix is in the middle of
recent months reveals something surprising: It seems the plot, and is secretly a high-ranking priest of Set’s
he had recently taken up with a beautiful young temple. He is singling out important nobles and key
merchant’s daughter named Qarna Techar. When the officials to suborn or replace in order to build up
heroes interview Qarna, she appears quite distraught Set’s influence among the city’s rulers. If the heroes
and claims to be just as mystified and concerned as move fast, they can save Harth and catch Xarvix
Brother Arom. She says that she was to meet Harth before he escapes.
just a few nights ago in a garden on the outskirts of
town for a midnight tryst, but he never showed up. FANGS OF SET

When the heroes investigate the garden, they find Although the heroes have exposed the nefarious plots
signs (such as an eyewitness or two) that suggest of a major nest of Set worshipers, their work is only
Harth was indeed at the garden, and left in the com- beginning. The corruption is far more widespread
pany of others. While there, the PCs are the target than it seems to be at first; Xarvix is not the only
of an ambush by black-clad assassins. After defeating city official involved in the plot. Shortly after their
their assailants, the heroes discover the assassins are investigation of Xarvix’s hidden cult, their contact
tattooed with the serpent emblem of Set. The PCs Brother Arom is murdered by assassins. Pursuing the
probably suspect Qarna of setting them up, but the attackers, the PCs slay a number of them—at which
young woman had nothing to do with it. Their best point panjandrums appear with a large contingent of
lead now is the black tattoo; when they search the soldiers. The assassins the heroes have just cut down

Thule Campaign

include the sons and daughters of several important CULTS AND
noble families, and the panjandrums were tipped SECRET SOCIETIES
off that the heroes were murdering highborn people.
Cultists or not, that is frowned upon. The PCs must Few organizations in Thule are truly continent-span-
either fight their way free (becoming fugitives) or ning in scope. The sinews of civilization are weak
allow themselves to be arrested (and be thrown and thin in this primeval world; most people have a
in jail). hard time finding reason to concern themselves with
events outside the walls of their own city. Even the
If the PCs are imprisoned, they have the opportu- most ambitious warlords or meddlesome spymasters
nity to mount a clever escape. If they avoid arrest at have a hard time keeping themselves informed of
first, they have an exciting adventure in getting away important happenings in other cities. As a result,
from the forces searching for them. The next step is most conspiracies and secret societies tend to be
to find out who set them up for the murders of the quite localized. Nevertheless, a few organizations
nobles, which may involve infiltrating a civic palace have succeeded in establishing their influence across
or abducting a panjandrum from her country villa. multiple city-states.
From this effort the heroes find that a high pan-
jandrum named Vard Shoum—one of the highest-­ THE BLACK CIRCLE
ranking officials in the city, only a step removed from
the throne—arranged the whole affair. In most human cities, the practice of arcane magic
is regarded as unwholesome at best. Fortunately,
In the final adventure of the middle act of this wizards (and other practitioners of the arcane arts) are
campaign arc, the heroes confront Vard Shoum. His loners who distrust others of their kind, believing that
stronghold is protected by a menagerie of trained other mages desire to steal their magical secrets and
monsters and weird magical traps. When the PCs treasures. Because no wizard trusts another, no great
face the high panjandrum, they discover that he is guilds or societies of mages arose in Thule for most of
actually a serpentman priest of Set masquerading the island-continent’s long history. Only in the last two
as human, and that he is the true head of Set’s cult centuries has such an organization come into existence:
in the campaign’s home city. Worse yet, evidence in The Black Circle of Thran. The Black Circle is the only
Vard Shoum’s stronghold clearly shows that he was society of wizards to be found in all of Thule, and it
receiving his orders from Dyar Presk, a mysterious grows in power with each passing year.
high priest who rules over the cult of Set from his
base in Ikath. The Black Circle was founded by a Thranish wizard
named Bayod Naz, who had become a powerful lord
HEIR OF NESSK of that city through decades of magical study and the
ambitious plundering of tombs, ruins, and forgotten
Having unmasked the presence of serpentmen towers throughout Thule. Unlike many other Thu-
imposters in the highest circles of power, the heroes lean wizards, Bayod Naz had made a habit of training
now turn their attention to uprooting the secret numerous apprentices. He was a hard master who
conspiracy of the serpentmen and defeating Dyar frankly viewed his apprentices as disposable, and many
Presk. The high priest of Set has spies everywhere did not survive their years in his service. Over a long
and an uncanny sense of self-preservation; when the lifetime, Bayod Naz accumulated thirty-three lesser
heroes infiltrate his temple in Ikath, Dyar Presk flees wizards sworn to serve him.
to seek sanctuary in serpentman strongholds scattered
throughout the jungles and swamps of Thule’s wild As a powerful wizard, Bayod Naz soon came to stand
interior. Tracking the elusive serpentman priest from beside the throne of the King of Thran, becoming a
lair to lair is challenging and involves the heroes in highly influential advisor. Unfortunately, the king’s son
a tense race through the wildest and most dangerous (and presumptive heir) did not want to be a puppet for a
parts of Thule. Eventually, Dyar Presk makes his vile old spellcaster, and he allied himself with the priests
stand in the ruins of Madraal Nessk, the ancient cap- of Mithra to drive out Bayod Naz and his followers.
ital of the serpentman empire. There the heroes must The purge failed, and by the end of it all, the king and
confront Set’s champion and prophet on earth, facing his son were dead, and the temple of Mithra was eaten
dark magic and ancient curses amid the mighty ruins. down to bare stone by acidic fog. Bayod Naz took power
Defeating Presk ends the threat for now . . . but who and announced that Thran would henceforward be
else among the high and mighty of Thule is secretly a ruled as a magocracy by the Masters of the Black Circle.
serpentman?
Bayod Naz lingered to an exceedingly great age, finally
dying at the age of 135, a full seventy years after taking 165
over his city. Some say that he was in fact deposed and
murdered by his own apprentices, each a mighty mage
of great years. Whatever the truth, the Black Circle sur-
vived, and a new High Master was chosen.

Thule Campaign

MASTERS OF ACTIVITIES
THE CIRCLE
The early aspirations of the Black Circle were rela-
In theory, the Black Circle is a brotherhood of equals. tively modest: Seize control of the city of Thran and
Any who attain sufficient skill in the wizardly arts make a place for themselves where no wizard would
and demonstrate their abilities before the assembled be persecuted for studying the magical arts. This goal
Circle are welcomed, and accorded the title of Master was accomplished long ago, but the first priority of
of the Black Circle. Only the High Master holds any the Black Circle is to cling to power and rule Thran
distinction of rank, and even then he holds power with an iron fist. The fates of Thran and the Black
only with the consensus of the Masters beneath Circle are now inseparable, so the Black Circle spends
him—High Masters can be replaced. As a result, a good deal of time and effort looking after their city’s
politicking and squabbles over influence between interests. Black Circle agents spy on Thran’s enemies
factions of Masters can be quite fierce at times. and foment trouble for them, act to clear the way for
Thranish trade by ruining competitors or establish-
While the important leaders of the Black Circle ing monopolies, and bring settlements and outposts
are of course wizards, the organization is actually under Thranish control. On behalf of the Masters,
far more extensive than the relatively small number Black Circle agents seek to recover and hoard magical
of powerful spellcasters who wear the black mantle. knowledge and treasures, even if they don’t always
First of all, most Masters have their own apprentices understand why the Masters want what they want.
who serve as their errand-boys and agents. Beneath
the Masters and their apprentices is an elite group of THE BLACK CIRCLE
warriors known as the Black Guard, which includes IN YOUR CAMPAIGN
skilled bodyguards and troop commanders as well as
trained spies and assassins. The Masters of the Black Circle are villains through
and through. They are tyrants who hold an entire
High Master Nefron Vir: The current High city in thrall, and they actively meddle in the affairs
Master of the Black Circle is a skilled conjuror of most cities nearby, seeking to weaken them with
named Nefron Vir. The Masters of the Circle respect internal strife and bring to power leaders they can
age and rarely elevate a young or even middle-aged easily dominate. But these acts pale in comparison
wizard to the post of High Master; Nefron Vir is over to the dark magic they routinely dabble in—nec-
80 years of age, although magical treatments give romancy, demon-summoning, extraterrene studies,
him the energy and dark hair of a far younger man. and other reckless practices that are bound to lead
Unbeknown to his minions, Nefron Vir has come to disaster. Black Circle agents (and the occasional
to believe that great changes are needed in Thran Master) show up frequently in the heroes’ adventures,
and the Circle itself; he is secretly plotting to kill seeking to steal magical treasures before the heroes
thousands of undesirables in the city and to cement can reach them and carrying out various plots to
himself as absolute tyrant over the Circle. To that end bribe, extort, or magically control important people
the High Master is employing his most trusted agents in other cities.
to gather the lore and the materials needed for his
most terrible conjuration of all. CRIMSON SLAVERS
OF MARG
Master Yiliina Syrth: One of the few female
Masters, Yiliina is an ambitious young transmuter The city of Marg is notorious as the center of slave
obsessed with the breeding and magical transforma- trafficking in Thule. Scores of slaving companies
tion of ever more repulsive monstrosities. Her tower operate from behind its cruel walls, sending their
is guarded by hybrid warriors that combine human, marauders and warships out to fall on unsuspecting
animal, and monstrous elements in unspeakable com- villages and carry off untold thousands of people into
binations. Yiliina dreams of leaving Thran behind to slavery. But of all the slave-lords and galley-captains
make herself queen of another city, and schemes con- based in Marg, none are as feared or as hated as the
stantly to bring nobles and panjandrums in distant Crimson Slavers.
cities under her control.
The Crimson Slavers are basically a sprawling mer-
Guard-Captain Tsammar: The leader of the Black chant company that specializes in only one commod-
Guard, Tsammar is a towering Nimothan sells- ity: Slaves. The captains of raiding galleys and the
word who lost his left hand in battle long ago. The chiefs of marauding bands of kidnappers serve as the
Masters replaced it with a gauntlet of magical iron, slave-takers of the company, searching out their prey
which Tsammar uses as both shield and bludgeon in wherever they find it. Commanders of Crimson Slaver
battle. Tsammar is a highly active commander and outposts and leaders of Crimson Slaver caravans
often personally undertakes missions of importance see to the distribution network that transports the
to the High Master. He does not entirely trust Nefron unfortunate abductees back to Marg, where Crimson
Vir, but he trusts the rest of the Circle even less.

166

Thule Campaign

Slaver slave-trainers break the new captives to their THE CULT OF SET
duties and Crimson Slaver auctioneers sell them to
buyers. Dozens of strongholds and outposts scat- The worship of Set, god of serpents and night,
tered throughout south and central Thule fly the red straddles the line between religion and cult in most
banner of the company, serving as bases from which parts of Thule. Set is considered a member of the
the Crimson Slavers ply their evil trade. pantheon worshiped by humans, and temples dedi-
cated to the evil god stand proudly in cities such as
Many individual ship captains or raid leaders hold Quodeth or Ikath. But at the same time, the follow-
influential positions within the organization, and in ers of Set are engaged in a vast, widespread effort to
fact possess great discretion about how to manage bring all the peoples of Thule groveling before the
their operations—the Crimson Slavers are in many altars of the Great Serpent. Like an iceberg, only a
ways a guild of captains and chiefs involved in the small part of the whole is visible . . . and the portion
slave trade, as opposed to a monolithic company. that is hidden is what one should be concerned about.
The organization is led by a group of eleven wealthy
captains and stronghold commanders known as the The Cult of Set is fantastically ancient. Set was
Crimson Council. The Council is a body of equals, originally a god of the serpentmen who ruled over
and reaches its decisions through consensus. Thule before the coming of humans. Early humans
enslaved by the serpentmen were taught to grovel
The business of the Crimson Council is the protec- before the altars of Set. Even after the power of the
tion of the slave trade and the efficient operation of serpent empires was broken in Thule, some humans
the Crimson Slavers’ trade. They have little interest continued to call Set their master.
in meddling with the affairs of other cities or secret
plots to take over the world. However, the Crimson Today, Set’s worship remains strongest in the city
Council is very sensitive to any disruption in the of Ikath. There he is seen not just as a god of night
slave trade—for example, a band of would-be heroes or strife, but as something of a civic protector who
storming an outpost or liberating valuable merchan- favors Ikath above all other cities. Temples devoted to
dise from a slaver caravan. When confronted with Set can also be found in Marg, Quodeth, Thran, and
such foes, the Council appoints one of the more war- Akal-Amo.
like leaders within the organization to deal with the
problem, hiring mercenaries or assassins as needed. 167

Thule Campaign HIGH PRIESTS OF SET
168
The leaders of Set’s cult are, naturally, high-ranking
priests of Set. They are organized in a strict hierarchy
based on the holiness of the specific titles they hold, and
there is little mobility in the ranks of the leadership. All
submit to the commands of the Prophet of Night, who
speaks with the voice of Set in the mortal world.

Navask Dhem, First Fang: The secretive assassins
known as the Fangs of Set are feared throughout Thule.
The wizened old monk Navask Dhem is the First Fang of
this brotherhood of assassins, the absolute lord and master
of scores of fanatical killers. A mere whisper from the First
Fang is sufficient to slay a high priest or great lord a thou-
sand miles distant. Navask Dhem and his novice assassins
make their lair in the Khishaaskal Monastery, a remote
retreat deep in the jungles south of the Kalayan Sea.

Keshira Kamar, High Priestess: Leader of a grow-
ing cult hidden in Lomar, Keshira Kamar is a beautiful
Lomari noble who is quietly working to establish Set’s
worship in the City of Triumphs. In the centuries since
its founding, Lomar has not been fertile ground for the
Cult of Set to grow in; the city’s martial philosophy
does not leave much room for despair or degradation
in search of divine blessings. However, Keshira is an
extremely able woman, and she has struck upon a strat-
agem that is yielding results: Stoking the ambitions and
old resentments of the city’s great families.

Dyar Presk, Prophet of Night: The highest-ranking
priest of Set in all of Thule is the Prophet of Night, an
abstemious, shaven-headed priest named Dyar Presk.
He presides over the Grand Temple of the Eternal Ser-
pent in Ikath, the holiest of all Set’s temples. From this
position, Dyar Presk subtly coordinates the efforts of
Set’s priests, assassins, warriors, and general adherents,
welding the disparate congregations and chapters of
Set cultists throughout the world into a single coherent
body with a guiding vision. While Dyar Presk appears
human enough, he is actually a serpentman of royal
lineage. In his person the human and serpentman wor-
shipers of Set are united.

ACTIVITIES

The goal of Set’s cult is to make the Great Serpent the
foremost god in Thule. Set’s worship is most popular
among the wretched masses, people whose poverty and
desperation are so great that they are easily lured with
promises of better lives. Therefore, the priests of Set
work tirelessly to undermine the social order, creating
circumstances in which more and more people are
without hope and shattering what little moral compass
exists in Thulean society. As people become desperate
or debased, the tenets of Set’s worship look more and
more appealing. To spread misery and hopelessness,
Set’s priests seek to corrupt city officials, take control
of criminal guilds and organize their depredations,
curry the favor (and whet the ambitions) of the rich,
collect powerful magic, and above all ruin the temples
of rival gods.

Thule Campaign

THE CULT OF SET The Flames of Mneseos take a keen interest in any
IN YOUR CAMPAIGN appearance of Atlantean magic or technology. They
rarely act in person, but instead hire mercenaries and
Priests of Set are villains of the worst sort. They seek noth- thieves to fetch items of interest—or remove individuals
ing less than the subjugation of the entire human race to a who prove better at finding Atlantean treasures than
dark and hateful power that will keep them in misery and they are. The great goal toward which the Flames are
ignorance forever. The true challenge of the Great Serpent working is nothing less than the return of Atlantis to
is that it can be very difficult to strike openly against the surface world, a feat of magic or science that would
the followers of Set. A temple of Set in a large city has seem to be impossible. However, the Flames believe
protectors—noble families, wealthy merchants, and cor- that a mysterious, long-lost Atlantean energy source
rupt officials, to name a few—who use their power and might be able to bring about this miraculous event—
influence to severely punish anyone acting directly against quite possibly by sinking Thule to raise Atlantis.
the cult. The secret refuges and strongholds of the cult
don’t possess the same level of protection from powerful SERVANTS OF R’LYEH
people, but they are of course secret, and hard to find.
Worse yet, monsters such as serpentmen and summoned Cults dedicated to the Great Old Ones are rare in Thule.
fiends guard Set’s unholiest places. Only the most desperate, foolish, or insane worshipers
deliberately seek out the attention of such inimical
FLAMES OF MNESEOS powers. However, such people do exist, and the Great
Old Ones sometimes respond . . . in their own time, and
Atlantis is gone, but there are those who fight to keep in their own way. Cults dedicated to Nyarlathotep and
alive the memory of the great empire . . . and perhaps Hastur hold significant sway in the cities of Imystrahl
someday bring it back to life. The Flames of Mneseos and Orech, while some of the most savage and primitive
is a secret society of Atlantean nobles and scholars who barbarian tribes of the north revere Ithaqua, the Walker
work to preserve the legacy of Atlantis and continue to
fight for its values and aspirations, even though Atlantis THE ANGRY DM:
itself is no more. DEPRAVED OR MAD?

While this may sound like a benevolent enough In Thule, most people are pretty rotten. Even the so-called “heroes”
goal—noble, even—the truth of the matter is not so are callous. So how can you tell who the villains are? In a world
harmless. The Flames are dedicated Atlantean suprem- where everyone is a shade of gray, the villains need to be as black
acists who are contemptuous of the “lesser” races and as the void between the stars. Remember two words: depravity and
states that have inherited the world after Atlantis. The madness.
membership is strictly limited to humans of pure-
blooded Atlantean heritage; individuals with even one Depraved villains want what they want and they are willing to
non-Atlantean grandparent are not welcome among steal, maim, hurt, or kill to get it. They aren’t sympathetic. They don’t
the Keepers. The Flames are clever enough to employ think they are doing good. Ulfa, the God-King, did not make a deal
non-Atlantean agents and minions, some of whom with Shuznugurug because he wants to save his kingdom from a
wield considerable authority over other low-ranking greater threat. Ulfa wants power and he is willing to crush his oppo-
agents. However, these non-Atlantean lieutenants are sition with eldritch horrors to get it.
never brought within the inner circle of the organiza-
tion, or told of their true aims. Mad villains are so crazy that their actions either make no sense
or are completely without perspective. Their brains were broken,
The Flames of Mneseos were founded in Katagia possibly by trafficking in secrets no man or woman was meant to
about a hundred years after the fall of Atlantis. The know. Hedzia the Sorceress blasted her husband into salsa because
organization remains strongest in that city, and in fact he asked her if she wanted honey in her tea; obviously, her real
many Katagian nobles are secretly members of the husband would know that already. Hedzia knows that can only
group. They are also present in Marg, Orech, Quodeth, mean he was replaced by the shapeshifting monstrosities that dwell
and other places where Atlantean blood is well estab- between worlds.
lished. The group takes its name from Mneseos, who
was reputed to be the wisest king of Atlantis and a Cults and organizations can be depraved or mad as well.
powerful wizard. By long tradition, the most highborn Depraved cults seek selfish ends through terrible means, and their
member of the organization is the leader, as determined members expect to get something from their service. Mad cults are
by genealogical ties to the royal family of Atlantis. This incomprehensible and the members have either been duped, have
means that the senior member of the Ampheiros family gone mad themselves, or are depraved enough to follow along in
in Katagia is the “Elder Flame”; at this time, that indi- return for some hoped-for reward.
vidual is Raethnon Ampheiros, an arrogant but devious
man of middle years. Raethnon has no talent for magic, Ultimately, villains in Thule are irredeemable monsters. Either
but he is very well studied on Atlantean science and they have no remorse at all, or they can’t comprehend what they
technology, and owns a treasure vault full of potent have done clearly enough to feel remorse. The only option is to
Atlantean devices. destroy them.

169

Thule Campaign

on the Wind. But of all the cultists who worship Great THE KNIVES
Old Ones, none are more widespread in Thule, or more
dangerous, than the Servants of R’lyeh. For two centuries, seven leaders have led the Seven
Knives, each named after their position in the guild.
As one might guess from their name, the Servants are Usually, the identities of all but one or two of these
followers of Great Cthulhu. Many of the uninitiated leaders remains a secret. Some pose as merchants, some
masses drawn to the cult are not entirely aware of Cthul- belong to the nobility, and others arise within the
hu’s true nature and know him as “the Dreaming God,” military leadership. They work through trusted couriers
or “the One Who Waits.” They believe that his return and mediators who maintain their anonymity while still
will begin a golden age in which many old wrongs are providing the direction and influence required to keep
redressed and the true believers will be raised up to live the organization moving.
in splendor and ease. The sect known as the Broken
Gate in the slums of Quodeth is an excellent example Each leader, beginning with the First Knife, stands
of just this sort of cult; the priests of the Broken Gate above the later-numbered leaders. The flow of money
preach among the beggars, slaves, and impoverished and influence into the whole guild determines the level
laborers of the Sark, promising a day of glory. Similar of these positions. The more money and influence one
cults exist in most of the port cities of Thule, including has, the higher their station within the network. It
Katagia, Marg, and Akal-Amo. is uncommon for changes in station to occur among
the Seven Knives, but dwindling profits or internal
Those who become embroiled in Cthulhu cults gain assassinations sometimes force changes. Each of the
little from the experience at first. But as they participate Seven Knives lives as he or she sees fit. The Third Knife,
in more rituals and are initiated into deeper mysteries, thought to be a mistress of slavery and prostitution,
they begin to hear the whispers of the Great Old One in lives a lavish lifestyle, surrounded by the beautiful and
their minds. Visions of apocalyptic destruction slowly powerful. The First Knife, on the other hand, is thought
drive these unfortunate souls mad. They abandon their to live invisibly among the populace, spending most of
families and their work . . . and, in time, their human- his days as an ordinary shopkeeper or artisan. Only the
ity, as they are drawn to join with the Deep Ones, mon- Second Knife, Hiroom Jarth, makes his identity publicly
strous humanoid dwellers in the seas, who sometimes known, acting as the guild’s primary figurehead.
interbreed with human populations.
Infighting among the Seven isn’t unheard of, but the
While the various cells and chapters of Cthulhu’s guild generally prefers profits to power struggles. Each
cult share similar goals and beliefs, the land-bound of the Knives recognizes that any internal power strug-
temples are not the actual organization. The unifying gles may threaten the entire organization. When open
force of the Servants of R’lyeh is the priesthood of war has occurred among the Seven (an event that hasn’t
Deep Ones. Each human temple dedicated to Cthulhu taken place for decades), the results are widespread and
stands near the sea, or has some other means of access bloody. Few people in Quodeth remain untouched by
that allows the Deep Ones to come and go, commu- such an event.
nicating their desires to the human priests and aiding
them in growing Cthulhu’s cult. The First Knife, Abdal the Viper: The oldest living
member of the Seven Knives, Abdal the Viper is a
THE SEVEN KNIVES half-elf who can remember the days when the Knives
were nothing but a loose alliance of cutthroats and
The Seven Knives thieves’ guild is the most powerful second-story thieves. Those few outsiders who meet
criminal network in the city of Quodeth. Led by seven Abdal find a kind old man running a small shop on an
elusive leaders, the Knives engage in all forms of crimi- unremarkable street, selling tiny wood carvings. Abdal
nal activity, including piracy, burglary, extortion, drugs, works through a handful of trusted couriers and agents
poisons, protection, and assassination. While they are who meet with him and pass on his word to the rest of
naturally at their strongest in Quodeth, the reach of the the guild. He is, of course, unimaginably rich, but none
Seven Knives extends to distant cities and far ports. can say where he keeps his wealth. Instead, the First
Knife seems content to run his small shop and pull the
The origins of the Seven Knives can be found in the strings of commoner and noble alike in Quodeth.
earliest feuds and wars that transformed Quodeth into
the city it is today. Built from an alliance of smaller The Second Knife, Hiroom Jarth: While the First
guilds, the Seven Knives guild formed over two centu- Knife lives modestly, the Second Knife loves luxury and
ries ago during the reign of the Paland dynasty. During extravagance in all things. The immensely fat Hiroom
this time, dozens of small thieves’ guilds spread chaos Jarth spends his days in an underground palace,
and bloodshed across the streets of the city. It wasn’t surrounded by capable guards who are among the best
until seven leaders of smaller guilds joined together that mercenaries in Quodeth. Though soft of body, his mind
criminal activity became motivated by profits rather is as keen as any in the city of Quodeth. Hiroom Jarth
than death. Together, these seven combined guilds has held his position for decades, overseeing protection
destroyed the largest thieves’ guild of the time and rackets that have filled the vaults of the Knives with vast
seized power. fortunes. It is said for every ten coins that trade hands in
Quodeth, Hiroom takes two.
170

Thule Campaign

As the representative voice of the guild, Hiroom KNOWN DUNGEONS 171
speaks with authority over the five leaders of the Knives
below him. He appears to enjoy the complete trust of OF THULE
the First Knife. Should outsiders be granted an unlikely
audience with the Knives, it is Hiroom they will see. No one has ever made a full accounting of every crypt,
ruin, tower, or vault scattered across Thule. Many are
The Sixth Knife, Krisel Blackmoon: Known among lost to the knowledge of humankind, buried beneath the
her crew as the Pirate Queen, Krisel Blackmoon acts foundations of great cities or lying forgotten in distant
as the liaison between the Seven Knives and the pirate jungle vales. This is a small sample of the better-known
lords who feed upon the shipments heading in and out sites adventurers in Thule might someday seek out.
of Quodeth. Though very few know of her true position
as the Sixth Knife, many are aware of the many connec- Agda Jand: On the northern shores of the Kalayan
tions she seems to have within the city. Problems with Sea stands a long-abandoned temple-city known as
the local authorities seem to vanish in front of her, and Agda Jand. Thousands of years ago, this was the center
competing pirates suddenly find themselves at the wrong of a great rakshasa empire, but Agda Jand was razed by
end of a poisoned knife. the armies of the old elven kingdoms and its masters put
to the sword. The place is still haunted by summoned
ACTIVITIES fiends held in place by ancient rakshasa spells, and few
dare to venture within its walls despite the rumors of
Each of the Knives operates independently from the vast treasure hidden inside.
others, maintaining their own networks of infor-
mants, negotiators, thieves, assassins, and enforcers. Alhaingalar: Of old, Alhaingalar was a city of fell
Each member, however, pays both a percentage and and decadent sorcery where flowers were highly prized
a fixed weekly fee to the next highest member of the and grew in rich abundance on every wall and roof. Its
guild. The amount of these profits directly influences citizens used spells to curb the winds, snows, and the
their station among the Seven, and an inability to cold, and were so wealthy that none wanted for food
pay the weekly fee can quickly end their tenure in the or comforts. This proud city flourished for centuries—
organization. but fell at last, as all proud cities do, when some of its
citizens dabbled in magic that summoned maraud-
The plans and network of the Seven Knives extend ing beasts that fed on man and magic. None could
from the Peacock Throne itself down into the gutters vanquish these predators in that city of effete spell-
and rat-infested canals of the lowest quarters in Quo- dabblers, and the creatures overran the city, devouring
deth. Their operations include the bribery and extor- all who could not flee in time. The untended flowers
tion of the nobility and city officials, the piracy and soon choked and covered the city as monsters prowled
smuggling of goods, murder and assassinations at all its abandoned ways, and it became forgotten to all save
stations throughout the city, protection and vandalism, the tellers of wild tales. The slender-spired buildings of
poisons and illegal alchemy, and dealings in slave trade Alhaingalar are crumbling ruins, but still hold magic
and prostitution. While the faces behind the Seven and riches galore . . . as well as monsters that rend and
Knives leadership remain hidden, their vast network devour all visitors.
expands throughout the city.
Anibhuraal: This sunken city lies in shoal waters
USING THE KNIVES a day’s sail from the Ghan Peninsula in the Kalayan
IN YOUR CAMPAIGN Sea. Many of the spires and ziggurats break the
surface of the water. The architecture of the city is
The PCs may encounter the Knives in many different distinctly nonhuman, and some scholars who have
ways in your campaign. The Knives can act as allies, visited the place suggest that it was a settlement or
competitors, enemies, or all three. Street enforcers, outpost of an extraterrene race such as elder things or
gang members, and assassins loyal to the Seven Knives mi-go, destroyed in a war with some other alien race.
provide a horde of villains for your PCs to cut through
in the city streets of Quodeth, while the leaders of the The Blood Pit: A few hours’ journey from
Knives provide smart and well-prepared adversaries. Quodeth, in the rocky escarpments overlooking the
Thwarting the Knives in their business or getting in the Atlantean Ocean, a secret staircase built into the side
way of their plans can be a lethal mistake; aventurers of a cliff above the crashing waves leads to a small
who find themselves in a feud with the Seven Knives cavern complex frequently used by smugglers to stow
soon learn that the price of peace is not cheap in either cargo or lay low. But a darker secret lies deeper in the
gold or blood. rock. A massive stone door, usually barred from the
inside, blocks the passage to an ancient temple com-
In addition to facing the Knives as foes, heroes may plex, complete with adherents’ chambers, storerooms,
find themselves as allies or hirelings of the Seven Knives. and a massive chamber dominated by an ornate altar
The thieves often hire wandering sellswords and free- at the edge of a large pit, filled with a giant pool of
booters for a number of different potential jobs—some red ichor—the blood of countless sacrifices collected
legitimate, some questionable, and some highly illegal. by cultists in an effort to appease or raise an elder
horror.

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172 Caetirym: An abandoned town on the island of Tower of Eusliv is home to a trio of beautiful, alluring,
Ry Mar in the middle of the Kalayan Sea, Caetirym and seemingly ageless women: Piinia and her daughters
is overrun by hordes of ghouls or zombies that rise Kroya and Suya. The three are powerful enchantresses
from their crypts on moonless nights. According who greet most visitors with lavish hospitality, invei-
to tales, Caetirym was once a prosperous town of gling guests with their beauty, kindness, and subtle
Atlantean merchants and mages who fell victim to nets of enchantment. Adventurers trapped by their
some dire curse hundreds of years ago. The curse spells and manipulation are enslaved and condemned
transformed these unfortunate folk into the monsters to defend the tower or sent across Thule on dangerous
that shamble through the ruins today. errands at the trio’s pleasure. Those who fight off the
wiles of Piinia, Kroya, and Suya discover a different side
Catacombs of Anir’etak: The rubble above belies to the mistresses of Eusliv Tower: They are powerful
the greatness of what was once the temple complex succubi who react to rejection with white-hot fury.
of Anir’etak. A massive gold-topped pyramid, long
since lost to plunder and destruction, once looked The Fleeting Tower: Scouts familiar with the
out over the Atlantean Ocean, a beacon and promise perimeter of the dark jungle of Dhar Mesh know
for Atlantean immigrants—and a center of worship the legends of the Fleeting Tower. It appears as a
for the cult of Nyarlathotep. Now all that remains watchtower, on a ridge just a little bit farther into the
are piles of stone in the vague outline of the build- jungle, with a single high window. At the window
ings that once rose atop the seaward cliffs, and the is a maiden, or a young girl, or a warrior queen, or a
catacombs below, where the former residents occa- decrepit crone—always different, but always female.
sionally stir. The dead were supposedly buried with Those who try to approach the tower do not find it
their wealth, but no one who has set out to claim it when they emerge from the jungle at its location, as
has returned. Anir’etak has become a holy site of sorts if the tower vanished. But some have reported that
for Nyarlathotep’s cultists. upon reaching the tower’s location, they did see the
tower, but on a different ridge, just a little bit farther
Eusliv Tower: Three days’ march southward from into the jungle.
the western wall of the glacier Kang stands a mysterious
watchtower of ancient elven construction. Said to be Ghostkeep: Amid verdant farmlands not far from
a forgotten outpost of the lost realm of Sersidyen, the the ruins of Hurhun stands a lonely, crumbling stone

Thule Campaign

tower. The place was once home to a local lord who with corsairs or slavers from other cities. However, 173
held sway over surrounding lands by brawn and the outlaws are not the only danger in Hurhun—ter-
sword until a traveling peddler brought with him the rible monsters such as chimeras, harpies, and manti-
malady known as the Creeping Plague—so named cores lurk in some of the ruins, either drawn by the
because it reduces its victims to crawling and finally destruction or perhaps freed from some forgotten
to creeping slowly on all fours. The disease claimed menagerie.
the lives of the lord and all his household and army.
Their ghosts now drift malevolently through the The Impossible Obelisk: High on the slopes of the
tower and its dungeon levels, clad in crumbling Starcrown Mountains, where the snows never melt
armor and wielding rusting weapons; their hatred and the rocks take on a strange purple hue, a tow-
for the living goads them to slay all who intrude into ering obelisk stretches from deep below the ground
the keep. They all became ghosts, legends whisper, to impressive heights. Its exterior is disturbingly
because of a great pulsing gem the lord unearthed in smooth to touch and is carved from an unknown
his adventuring days, so strong in its life-force that it material; seams, tool marks, and even edges are hard
keeps the dead from resting and heals the living, even to define. The obelisk itself would be remarkable, but
the most sorely-wounded. Many priests, mercenaries, it also seems to exert a pernicious effect on the land
and rulers covet this Gem of Life, and have hired and nearby. The structure appears to radiate a souring
sent scores of adventurers into Ghostkeep. None have aura, rapidly spoiling organic matter if it’s already
ever returned. dead. Venturing too close to the obelisk can swiftly
foul an entire pack of provisions. In living creatures,
Gyar Gun Vodd: The ice fields of the glacier Kang this unwholesome aura triggers disturbing dreams
hide the terrible and forbidding ruins of Gyar Gunn and violent urges, causing mental distress rather than
Vodd, a city built by giants long ago. The ruins are physical harm (although the latter often becomes a
awesome in their proportions, with stair steps fully result of the former).
three feet high and doorways twenty feet tall, but
they are so badly weathered that little other evidence Most peculiar of all are the tales of great mysteries
of the creatures who lived here once—frost giants, hidden within the obelisk. Some travelers claim that
cyclopes, or perhaps even the horrible gugs—remains. they have approached the titanic structure and found
Great wells in the ruins lead down to vast vaults an archway at the base of its east-facing side. The con-
beneath Gyar Gunn Vodd. tents of the obelisk differ depending on the teller of
the story: Weapons of great might, scrolls of horrific
Helgard Tower: Stories are still told of the Nimo- portent, or even the key to immortality are said to be
than adventurer Brand Helgard, a legendary drag- hidden within.
on-slayer. Not only did Brand slay dragons, he and
the band he led captured, tamed, and rode dragons, The dungeons beneath the obelisk are home to
winging the skies over many lands. With their aid, a strange nonhuman sorcerer known as Tessali the
Helgard killed a cruel lord and seized that ruler’s Mind-Mage. Tessali’s origins are unknown, as are its
abode—a huge, stern, square tower of black stone— connections to the building of the ancient structure,
to be his own fortress. From there he and his warriors but the sorcerer has certainly inhabited the location
fared far over many lands, hunting other dragons and for longer than any record can contradict. Tessali is
seizing the hoards of those he destroyed. Legends say said to welcome some visitors and enthrall others,
he finally met a dragon that vanquished him, for sixty occasionally seeking exchanges of eldritch power and
years ago Brand Helgard vanished from the earth and knowledge. Undoubtedly malevolent, yet occasion-
has never been seen since. What is known for certain ally reasonable, Tessali is almost as mysterious as the
is that Helgard’s band of adventurers are all dead, edifice in which it dwells.
their gnawed bones littering Helgard Tower, and that
a dragon and its young now lurk in the fortress that Khoori Vaults: Located in the jungle-covered
once belonged to the dragon-slayer. foothills of the Starcrown Mountains, this great cave
system consists of a series of colossal chambers, some
Hurhun: A little more than a century ago, the hundreds of feet wide and high enough to enclose a
large human city of Hurhun was sacked and burned mighty tower. Ancient stone steps follow the course of
by the armies of Lomar after a long and bitter war. the subterranean river that carved out these vast caves
Its people were dragged off into slavery or driven eons ago, and terrible carvings on some of the more
into exile in the Lands of the Long Shadow. Much prominent walls depict strange, wormlike beings with
of the city has been thoroughly looted several times tentacles nimble enough to hold tools and weapons.
over, but stories still persist of vaults the Lomari Although no other sign of these monstrous creatures
overlooked, as well as famous jewels or noteworthy has ever been found, the Vaults of Khoor are so large
artifacts that were lost in the last days of the city. that a weird (and dangerous) subterranean ecology
Hurhun remains abandoned to this day, although has developed here, with pale, blind beasts and giant
bands of brutal outlaws lurk among the ruins. The vermin hunting each other in the dark. The deepest
bolder ones use Hurhun as a base and raid widely of the vaults holds a titanic pit with a ramp-like ledge
throughout the eastern Kalayan, or ally themselves spiraling down into unfathomable depths, but no
explorer has descended into that pit and returned to

Thule Campaign

174 tell the tale. Some speculate that one of the Great Old and best-known of these strange ruins, a whole town
Ones slumbers below. imprisoned in ice. Many of its people can be seen in
the streets and houses, seemingly flash-frozen even
Madraal Nessk: This sprawling ruin lies in the as they attempted to flee the glacier’s supernatural
jungles of the Othnan peninsula. Madraal Nessk was malice. Narvondrast was the capital of Lendosk, a
the capital of the serpentman empire of Nessk, which prosperous town once famed for its gold fields and
was defeated thousands of years ago by the elves and gemstone markets, and many people speculate that
humans who invaded Thule in the twilight of the ser- its rich treasures still wait for the adventurers bold
pentmen. In the vaults beneath the city, the serpent- enough to tunnel through forty feet of ice to the
men carried out abominable experiments in breeding town below.
and mutation, creating horrible monsters to repel
their enemies. Some of these horrors survived the last Obsidian Ziggurat: After the fall of Nessk, a
battles, and their descendants still linger in the black serpentman high priest turned its back on Set and led
pits beneath jungle-covered ziggurats. Worse yet, its followers in search of a new patron. The apostate’s
hordes of vile troglodytes—once the servants of the search led it to an ancient and terrible temple: the
serpentmen—are known to infest the ruins. Obsidian Ziggurat, a crumbling edifice hidden in
a deep cleft of Mount Garat. A long-forgotten race
Mount Niith: A black, fortress-like maze of rock of toadlike troglodytes raised the crude temple to
and ice near the heart of the glacier Kang, Mount house an idol of Tsathoggua; the fallen priest and its
Niith is illuminated by eerie auroras in the winter serpentmen pledged themselves to the Sleeping God.
months. Sprawling ruins and ramparts made from In the centuries since, the serpentmen have degener-
gigantic stone blocks stand high on the mountain’s ated into vile, squamous savages, stealing forth every
slopes, haunted by unearthly monsters. new moon to find new offerings for their dark idol.
But now the idol stirs in its sleep, and the hour of its
Narvondrast: In northeast Thule lies the aban- awakening draws near.
doned realm of Lendosk, now frozen in the icy depths
of Kang, the Pale Death. Some of Lendosk’s towns Sarabhad: Beneath the waters of a long, narrow
and castles can still be seen within the translucent lake in the highlands east of Marg lies Sarabhad,
ice, which appears to have preserved them rather than once a lively, lawless trading town where two caravan
crushed them into rubble. Narvondrast is the largest

Thule Campaign

routes met. It was drowned one night when a nearby stolen from her temple—the gem called Dawnbringer,
cliff collapsed, freeing water to cascade down in a diamond with magical healing powers. Vashana
a rushing flood that buried or swept away horses, convinced the young chief and his men to help her.
fences, tents, stalls, and encamped travelers. In the The two set off in pursuit of the thieves, agents of
morning, when the muddy waters of a new lake lay a prince of Thran, and recovered the gem. In the
roiling where a trading town had been, the cellars of process they fell in love, and they earned the hatred
Sarabhad, the walls of the sturdiest buildings above of the prince of Thran.
them, and the foundations of buildings that had
collapsed all lay in the shallow depths. Kal Keor married Vashana, and they had a son, Kal
Menna. When the boy was only thirteen, the prince
Sarabhad had been a trading center for silk, gems, of Thran struck back. He hired foul sorcerers to afflict
and precious metals. Its foremost merchants were Vashana with a curse of undeath; Kal was forced to
fabulously wealthy; any who visited could see that destroy Vashana to save himself and his son. So great
they often produced large amounts of gold in a trice was his grief that, for the rest of his life, to speak
to buy valuable cargoes, and that they lived well, her name in Kal’s presence meant death. In his rage,
drinking prodigious amounts of wine and dressing Kal united the tribes, conquered Thran, and made
in the finest garments. Most of those luxuries are still war against all the civilized people of Thule. And he
submerged amid the swirling silt of Sarabhad . . . but had a secret crypt built to house Vashana, since the
now they are guarded by strange aquatic monsters curse meant that she rose again and again, driven to
summoned and bred by a cowled figure known only attack him.
as the Drowned Lord.
To this day, Vashana sleeps restlessly, held in check
From time to time, the Drowned Lord sends wet, only by the fading forbiddances and ancient prayers
slithering tentacled creatures up out of the depths to the clerics of Asura devised to bring peace to the
raid surrounding farms by night and slaughter anyone conqueror’s dead queen. Acolytes of the temple in
who dares to camp on the shores of the lake. Katagia are granted free passage to the Cairn of Kal
Keor each year to renew the prayers, where they are
The Silent Courts of Droum: A sprawling shown the secret way to Vashana’s tomb by the ghost
necropolis located beneath the city of Droum, the of Kal Keor. But callous adventurers have tried to
Silent Courts consist of vast ossuaries where thou- find and loot the crypt over the years, unmoved by
sands of people were entombed. The Courts are now tales of old curses and tragic loves.
overrun by great numbers of ghouls that seem to act
with more intelligence and purpose than ghouls are Yezeghar: A volcanic island in the eastern portion
supposed to display. A creature known as Zuur, the of the Kalayan Sea, Yezeghar is easily recognized
Ghoul King, is said to be responsible, but no one by the sheer sea-cliffs ringing its jungle interior and
knows who or what Zuur may really be. the plume of smoke rising from its restless volcano.
Landings here are very difficult, and there are only a
The Spire of Zahra’anok: In the barren tundra couple of tiny coves where a boat can put in. Yezeghar
beneath the long shadow of the glaciers’ inexorable is home to a bloodthirsty cult that worships a creature
advance, a jagged dagger of volcanic rock rises out known as Lorthnu’un of the Golden Chalice—a
of the hard-packed ground at the ice’s edge. This Great Old One that slumbers somewhere in the vol-
mountain-sized blade cuts into the encroaching canic depths below.
glacier, forcing the ice to flow to either side of the
narrow peak. The rocky spire is criss-crossed with JEWELRY OF THE DEAD
interconnected lava tubes, some accessible at its base,
and some from atop the icy glacier. Additional tun- Many of the dungeons of Thule are places of burial where import-
nels extend into the ice of the glacier itself, carved by ant people lie entombed. These individuals are often interred with
the insane servants of the Mistress of Kang, a polar jewelry of great value so that the gods will know their station and
eidolon whose heart has been split upon the edge deeds when they pass into the afterlife. It may not be entirely hon-
of Zahra’anok. Her minions scour the surrounding orable to steal funereal jewelry, but it can be rewarding.
lands for captives that may be sacrificed to stave off
the destruction of the Mistress’s heart. Royalty, nobility, and high priests are often adorned with
­pectorals—jointed throat and breast pendants made from polished
Tower of Viondor: The hidden stronghold of a shells, lacquered wood, or metal plates, linked with fine chains.
long-dead Atlantean wizard, the Tower of Viondor Barbarian and monster chieftains are often found wearing torcs.
stands among icy mountains in the coasts of frozen These thick neck-rings of gold or silver are usually chased in spiral
Nimoth. The tower is said to hold many Atlantean designs, or shaped to resemble snakes or dragons entwined about
relics, but it is guarded by armored automatons ani- the wearer’s neck. Bracers, sometimes with matching bands for the
mated by the magic of the tower’s long-dead builder. upper arms, are common for anyone who was a warrior in life.

Vashana’s Crypt: Under the vast sea of grass that 175
is the Jandar Plain lies the crypt of Vashana, the first
queen of Kal Keor the Terrible. Vashana was a priest-
ess of Asura from Katagia. She met Kal when she
ventured into the wilds on a quest to recover a relic

Quodeth, City of Thieves

5: Quodeth,
City of Thieves

Largest and richest of the cities of Thule, Quodeth is known by many names:
City of Merchants, City of a Hundred Bridges, City of Beggars, City of a Thousand
Sails, the Peacock City, City of Golden Morning, or simply the Gateway to Thule. All of
these names are deserved in their own way, even if some require a little poetic license and
others are given in irony. Quodeth is a place of lavish opulence and crushing poverty,
jeweled towers and sprawling slums. No other city in Thule bustles with such commerce
and industry; gold is the very life’s blood of Quodeth. But wherever gold flows freely,
so too do crime and corruption, and this truth is the origin of the most famous sobriquet

for Quodeth: The City of Thieves.

176

Quodeth, City of Thieves

Q uodeth’s great wealth begins with its for many long centuries until the elves of Imystrahl (a 177
advantageous location. The city stands on young and vigorous people in that day) laid siege to the
the shores of Sarvin Bay, where the mighty place and razed it in the year –1124 AR, more than a
River Quosa meets the sea. This alone would make thousand years before the founding of Atlantis. Ruins
Quodeth an important port on the Atlantean Ocean, of Bhnaal Pruth and the nameless city that preceded
since wide harbors are somewhat rare along Thule’s it can still be found in the sewers and foundations of
mountainous coasts. Wide and deep, the Quosa in modern Quodeth or beneath the marshy islands of the
turn flows eighty miles to the Bay of Daggers in shoreline nearby.
the eastern end of the Kalayan Sea, the great inland
sea that commands the continent’s interior. From The human part of Quodeth’s tale began a few
Quodeth, galleys can sail to Lomar, Droum, or even centuries later, when the earliest Kalay tribes landed
distant Ikath on the edge of Dhar Mesh—and ships on the shores of Sarvin Bay. A more or less permanent
from those cities can reach the open waters of the barbarian encampment slowly grew around the mouth
ocean by following the Quosa down to Quodeth. of the Quosa as more and more Kalays decided to
remain in the rich lands of southeast Thule instead of
LIFE IN QUODETH pressing on into the wild interior. By the year -240 AR,
the camp had become a permanent town with wooden
The people of Quodeth are known throughout Thule walls, and the local chieftain, a fierce warrior named
as Quodethi. They are the largest and most numerous Jal Dror, took the title of king and named his city
nation or tribe among the Kalay peoples. They are not Quodeth—literally, “Shoulders of the Quosa.”
tall, and have dark hair, dark eyes, and a deep bronze or
honey-colored complexion. They are generally regarded Over the generations, the town founded by Jal Dror
as worldly, hardworking, and given to flowery speech grew into a city, and the barbaric Kalays settled and
and exaggerated politeness, frequently using turns of became the civilized Quodethi. During the centuries
phrase such as, “Your humble servant begs . . .” or “This that Atlantis was growing strong, so was Quodeth, and
one has heard . . .” instead of “I want” or “I heard.” it became the largest realm in eastern Thule. Quodethi
When irritated, Quodethi can veil vicious barbs in the legions broke the elven realm of Sersidyen, ending the
guise of polite phrases. Among the noble class, this time of elven dominion over the human kingdoms
cloaked repartee is elevated to an art form. of Thule. Fierce campaigns were also waged against
the cyclops tribes of the Zinandar Mountains and the
As one might expect, Kalays make up the vast degenerate troglodyte-kingdom of Vhaug, driving these
majority of the city’s population. However, the city’s old peoples out of the Quosa Vale and the lands nearby.
status as a bustling market for trade from many distant
realms means that quite a large number of foreigners This era of Quodethi conquest came to an end
wind up living in Quodeth. Many Nimothans settled during an era of civil wars between rival dynasties,
in Quodeth over the last few decades as they slowly the Palands and the Sedarnels. The Palands eventually
abandoned their homeland to the encroaching ice. A emerged the victors, but only by allying themselves
small number of Dhari also live here now, the descen- with overseas patrons—the mighty empire of Atlantis.
dants of men and women brought to Quodeth as slaves For forty years or so, the Palands ruled as kings with
or mercenaries over the generations. There are even Atlantean support, but in 1449 AR, King Abhenon
a few dwarves of Kal-Zinan or elves of Imystrahl to Paland sought to throw off the yoke of Atlantis and
be found in Quodeth’s streets, carrying on with the drove Atlantean diplomats and merchants out of
business of the city—trade and commerce in all its Quodeth. A little less than a year later, Atlantean
myriad forms. soldiers returned. Quodeth fell to the legions of At-
lantis in a lightning assault, King Abhenon was forced
HISTORY to abdicate, and the Atlanteans installed an imperial
viceroy to rule from the Peacock Throne.
The history of Quodeth begins much earlier than
most of its people suspect. The first city to stand on Quodeth remained under Atlantean rule for the
this spot was a nameless jumble of leering monoliths next five centuries. With Atlantis overseeing the city’s
and blasphemous temples, home to a race of frog- defenses and foreign relations, the Quodethi nobility
like creatures—Deep Ones, perhaps, or some sort of turned their energy to commerce and trade. Quodeth
amphibian troglodytes. A terrible convulsion of the grew rich, and appointment to the office of Imperial
earth threw down this forgotten city ages ago, drown- Viceroy in Quodeth became one of the most presti-
ing most of the ruins beneath the waters of Sarvin gious postings in the Empire. But, in 1906 AR, the era
Bay. Thousands of years after the nameless city was of Atlantean rule came to an end when Atlantis was
drowned, but still thousands of years before humans destroyed. The remnant of Atlantean power survived
came to Thule, the serpentmen of Nessk raised a cita- in Quodeth for a generation or two, until Lord Yero
del here to guard the mouth of the Quosa. This sprawl- Paland (a descendant of the last Quodethi ruling
ing stronghold was named Bhnaal Pruth, and it stood house) mustered the strength to depose the Viceroy
Iundamos and name himself King of Quodeth in
1946 AR.

Quodeth, City of Thieves

178 Several more Paland kings followed King Yero, neither of their enemies could claim the prize, and
but the Paland dynasty came to a final end in 2022 each hoped that a weak monarch would be easy to
AR when the Jandar barbarians launched a massive influence.
onslaught on Quodeth. Queen Nadersha was killed
in battle at the gates of the city, and although the The year is now the 2,213th after the founding of
barbarians were finally thrown back, Nadersha left no Atlantis, and the 307th since the island-continent’s
heir. House Marsesk took the throne after ten years destruction. The current occupant of the Peacock
of rule by an ineffective council of leading nobles. Throne is Queen Deyane Verix Hazeda, a young
The Marsesks lasted for five kings and queens, but woman of only nineteen who has ruled for four years.
were deposed by the Onther family in 2087 AR. The Most of Quodeth’s educated classes understand that
Onthers proved to be corrupt and debauched, wasting she is merely a figurehead . . . but even so, rumors
vast amounts of money on ever more hedonistic enter- swirl constantly about the lords and princes who
tainments and revels. entertain designs on the throne.

The excesses of King Zafid Onther were so great THE PEACOCK
that a charismatic high priest of Mithra, the High THRONE
Curate Jhom Arn, personally led an uprising to
remove Zafid from the throne in 2130 AR. Another The traditional symbol of rulership over Quodeth
dynastic struggle threatened to break out between is the Peacock Throne. In ancient times, the city’s
powerful families such as the Marsesks, the Sedar- monarch wielded absolute power over the city, and
nels, and the Vorzins. However, the High Curate therefore the edicts and judgments rendered from the
managed to avert years of chaos and feuding with throne were beyond question. Over the centuries, the
a compromise: giving the throne to a minor noble kings and queens of Quodeth took less interest in
family, House Hazeda. The rival houses contending administering their domain and turned over the more
for the succession were mollified by the fact that tedious duties to a court full of advisors and officials.
These panjandrums typically performed their offices
“in the name of the Peacock Throne,” and were under-
stood to be acting on the monarch’s command, even
when the monarch was personally unaware of their
specific activities.

The tradition is still remembered today when Quo-
dethi refer to the government and its various minis-
tries, bureaus, and offices as the Peacock Throne—for
example, “I heard today that the Peacock Throne
is increasing taxes on wine by two silvers per cask,”
or, “The Peacock Throne is concerned by rumors of
human sacrifice and cult activity in the Sark.” The
ruling monarch rarely takes a direct hand in such
matters, but high officials with the authority of the
throne are acting in his or her place.

Queen Deyane is rarely seen by her subjects, and is
surrounded by powerful officials and influential nobles
who carefully guide her rule. The real power con-
trolling the Peacock Throne is the Royal Council, a
group of six important officials and nobles who are too
powerful to be dismissed or ignored. Collectively, the
Council controls the city’s courts, armies, officials, and
access to the Queen. The Council members include:

• Grand Vizier Ibland Posk, leader of the
government;

• High Initiate Mother Zarissa, high priestess of
the temple of Ishtar;

• Prince Dredan Taroth, wealthiest noble of Quodeth.
• Baron Urmal Urugan, noble and commander of

the army;
• Azarde Two-Blades, mercenary, freebooter, and

captain of the royal guards;
• Guildmaster Niram Terinth, Master of the Mint

and fantastically wealthy merchant.

Quodeth, City of Thieves

The members of the Council are generally not on who turn out everyday items such as goblets, plates,
good terms with each other, and engage in all sorts tableware, and jewelry. These are valuable trade
of private feuds and intrigues to extend their own goods, especially to the barbaric peoples of Thule’s
power and influence while weakening that of their interior. Many jungle traders lead caravans laden with
rivals. They commonly compete to install their own Quodethi cups and bowls and bangles into the forests
favorites in important posts, exempt their allies and of Dhar Mesh or the cold plains under Kang’s long
supporters from laws and taxes, steer royal patron- shadow in search of rich profits.
age and government purchases to their friends, and
present suitors of their choice to Queen Deyane as Finally, Quodeth’s shipyards are the largest and
potential consorts. busiest of Thule, turning out dozens of galleys and
dromonds every year. The shipyards’ hunger for
The secret that few people outside the palace under- wood means that Quodethi foresters must travel
stand is that, in some cases at least, the members of deep into the Starcrown foothills or the far slopes of
the Royal Council are themselves figureheads, servants the Zinandar Mountains in search of good timber.
of even more powerful and shadowy forces that While Quodeth’s arms and armor are unremarkable,
aspire to govern the city’s affairs. For example, Prince its warships are a different story—and its assembled
Dredan Taroth is closely allied with the Seven Knives fleets are the strongest in the northern seas.
thieves’ guild. Guildmaster Niram Terinth is secretly
a devotee of the Temple of Shadowed Serpents. Vari- LAW AND ORDER
ous factions and interests pull the strings of the other
Council members, as well. Quodeth’s soldiers patrol the city’s neighborhoods to
prevent riots, arson, and unchecked banditry in the
COMMERCE AND streets. These patrols are somewhat infrequent and
ECONOMY stick to the better neighborhoods, since the author-
ities don’t really care what goes on in the poorer
Even without control of the waterway between the quarters. When patrolling soldiers happen to encoun-
Kalayan Sea and the Atlantean Ocean, Quodeth ter serious crimes in progress, they intervene, but few
would be a rich and prosperous city. Its economy criminals indeed are stupid enough to commit their
stands on four great pillars: grain, silk, metalwork- crimes in the plain sight of the Peacock Throne.
ing, and shipbuilding. Quodeth produces more flour,
textiles, metal goods, and ships than any other city Criminals apprehended in the act are dragged
in Thule. swiftly before a magistrate and sentenced. Unfor-
tunately, everyone in Quodeth knows that justice is
Grain may not seem all that unusual, but in for sale. Guards won’t be sent out to arrest a male-
Thule, large expanses of arable land are rare. The factor or investigate a crime unless someone pays the
Quosa Vale is a gentle landscape of undulating magistrate to order the guards to act. In practice, rich
hills that serves as the breadbasket of a continent. merchants and wealthy nobles can buy the protec-
Quodeth’s grainfields stretch for miles beyond the tion of the Peacock Throne’s courts, while the rest of
city walls, and the granaries of the Canal Quarter Quodeth’s people must do without.
hold vast reserves for trade or to guard against a year
of lean harvest. Round-hulled merchant galleys carry A far more effective police system is administered
Quodeth’s grain to Marg, Droum, Imystrahl, and by the city’s gangs and guilds, who have a vested in-
even Lomar (in times of peace). terest in protecting their territory from the depreda-
tions of rival gangs. They keep a careful eye on crime
The mild, sunny clime of the nearby Zinandar within their territory, and do not hesitate to admin-
foothills is perfect for cultivating silkworms in ister swift (and usually lethal) justice on non-guild-
mulberry orchards, and Quodeth is the only Thulean members who try to prey on “their” ground. Robbery
producer of silk. Thousands of artisans make a living and murder within the guild’s territory is subject to
as silk weavers and dyers, producing robes, togas, and the guildmaster’s approval. Despite this, appealing
gowns in a bewildering variety of colors and patterns. to the local guildmaster for justice is rarely wise—
A single bolt of Quodethi silk can command 500 gold thieves don’t have any sense of responsibility toward
coins in a remote city such as Thran or Akal-Amo. the people who live in their territory. The only
This rich trade is guarded by the powerful Dyers’ complaint likely to be acted upon is robbery by some
Guild, which ruthlessly crushes competition and fixes other thieves’ guild. It’s not unusual for thieves to
prices as it likes to control its monopoly. sneak into other guilds’ territory to victimize people
their own guildmaster won’t care about, so defending
The metalwork of Quodeth can’t compare to that against these opportunists is something a guildmas-
of the armorers and weaponsmiths of nearby Kal- ter takes seriously.
Zinan, or even warlike Lomar; Quodethi bronze is
quite ordinary and deserves no special distinction. 179
But Quodeth is home to a very large number of
coppersmiths, tinsmiths, silversmiths, and goldsmiths

Quodeth, City of Thieves

180 FACTIONS AND absolutely and is content to heed their wise advice.
PERSONALITIES Behind the scenes, Deyane is quietly building a net-
work of loyal agents and sympathetic officials who can
As one might expect in a city of Quodeth’s size, dozens act for her when she passes word to them to do so.
of guilds, noble houses, and secret societies compete
for influence. In some cases, it is about pure politics, DREDAN TAROTH
and the various factions are competing for the right
to install their own adherents in positions of power Prince of House Taroth,
and authority. In other cases, the competition is about Member of the Royal Council
commerce, territory, religion, or other issues. Outright Young, energetic, and ambitious, Prince Dredan in-
factional warfare is rare in Quodeth, simply because herited his father’s seat on the Royal Council two years
the one certain way to bring the city’s disparate ago when Gnaric Taroth died under an assassin’s blade.
influence-peddlers together is to create a problem big He is a handsome man of thirty-five, with a sardonic
enough to demand joint action. manner and a biting sense of humor. House Taroth
has risen rapidly in the last generation or so to become
There are hundreds of smaller and less important the wealthiest noble house in Quodeth. The Tarothan
organizations, many of which could reasonably be merchant fleet has virtually monopolized the spice and
included in this list. Over time, some factions weaken ivory trade of the Inner Sea while forging a valuable
or split up, some individuals die or suffer personal re- alliance with the Seven Knives, who have ruthlessly cut
verses, and others step up to take their place. The only down several would-be competitors to the Taroths.
constant is change, as they say.
Prince Dredan claims to be interested only in wise
THE BARGEMASTERS stewardship of Quodeth’s commerce and speaks for the
city’s mercantile interests in council. However, Dredan
Corrupt Trade Guild has his eyes set on a higher prize: the Peacock Throne. It
The Bargemasters are one of Quodeth’s largest trade has not escaped his notice that Queen Deyane is a beau-
guilds, consisting of hundreds of barge owners and tiful young woman of marriageable age, and he is plot-
the crews they command. They control the riverfront ting to make a dynastic union inevitable. He also harbors
and the canals of central Quodeth, and no trade goods another dark secret: Dredan is a talented warlock, and in
move anywhere in the middle of the city without their fact killed his own father to speed his rise to power.
approval—which, of course, means that the Barge-
masters’s palms must be well greased by any merchant DYERS’ GUILD
seeking to ship cargo into or out of the city.
Cartel of Rich Merchants
In addition to serving as a guild of relatively The cultivation, weaving, and dying of silk might seem
law-abiding laborers, the Bargemasters are also a func- like the most ordinary of trades, but in Quodeth, a
tional thieves’ guild. They actively patrol their territory vast amount of wealth and influence is tied up in the
and chase off incursions from rival guilds, collect silk trade. The Dyer’s Guild ruthlessly crushes any
protection money from the businesses and warehouses individuals seeking to grow or produce silk without
located within their domain, and occasionally form joining the guild and honoring the guild’s exacting
mobs of hood-wearing thugs to simply smash in the quotas and exorbitant dues. Merchants trying to enter
doors of tempting targets and pillage whatever valu- the silk trade in other cities are subject to vicious
ables or goods are stored there. tactics such as price undercutting, embargos, sabotage,
and outright assassination—the Dyers of Quodeth will
DEYANE HAZEDA stop at nothing to maintain their monopoly.

Figurehead Queen of Quodeth GOLDEN HALL
A young woman of only nineteen, Queen Deyane is OF MITHRA
well regarded by her subjects, who think she is beau-
tiful, honest, and innocent. Most people understand Priests of Mithra
that the Grand Vizier and the Royal Council are the The Golden Hall is Quodeth’s grand temple to Mithra,
real powers behind the Peacock Throne. The Council god of the sun and sky. It is one of the largest temples
keeps Queen Deyane far from the everyday business of of all Thule’s cities, a sprawling cathedral that is home
running Quodeth or engaging in diplomacy, bringing to scores of Mithran priests and hundreds of temple
her out for ceremonial purposes when the monarch is guards dressed in blue and gold. The priests of Mithra
expected to appear. are widely thought to spend too much time looking
out for their own property and influence, but many
Deyane was content to put herself in the hands of Quodethi agree with the Mithrans that it is well past
her advisors when she first ascended the throne, but she time to curb the city’s worst excesses and uphold stan-
is in fact much cleverer than they realize. Rather than dards of basic decency in society.
insisting on assuming her responsibilities directly, she
allows the Royal Council to believe she trusts them

Quodeth, City of Thieves

High Curate Oruk-Maneth is the high priest of MUGGERS’ GUILD
Mithra in Quodeth. He is a sly, conniving old schemer
who doesn’t hesitate to use the temple’s influence in a Violent Thieves’ Guild
hundred different ways, working tirelessly to appoint Most of the thieves’ guilds in Quodeth focus on
viziers and panjandrums loyal to Mithra, challenge burglary, extortion, smuggling, and other crimes
the worst vices of the city’s low quarters, and generally of property designed to take the money from mer-
drag Quodeth toward a more pious, just, and conserva- chants, nobles, and storeowners. The Muggers’ Guild
tive set of values. Oruk-Maneth is especially annoyed is not that sophisticated; they are a large gang of
that he does not sit on the Royal Council, and he violent street toughs who simply rob passersby in the
makes a show of sorrowfully lamenting the fact that streets. Gangs of muggers sometimes gather to assault
Queen Deyane is denied the benefit of his wisdom. high-ranking nobles or wealthy merchants protected
by bodyguards, but usually they operate in twos or
IBLAND POSK threes, brazenly attacking in broad daylight on busy
streets and fleeing the scene with their ill-gotten
Grand Vizier, True Ruler of Quodeth plunder.
A lean, sour-tempered man of seventy-three years, Ibland
Posk has effectively ruled Quodeth for almost twen- In a city where thievery is looked on as just one
ty-five years as the Grand Vizier. He assumes a kindly, more trade, muggers are regarded as villainous scum.
grandfather-like persona when interacting with Queen Unfortunately, they are villainous scum who enjoy
D­ eyane—a façade that quickly vanishes when he is no strength in numbers, and openly defy the authorities
longer in the young queen’s presence and is free to deal at every turn. Worse yet, the high-ranking members
with his subordinates as he likes. Posk is sharp-tongued, of the Muggers’ Guild are often devotees of Herum,
argumentative, impatient, and demanding, dressing the brutal ape-god, and seek his blessing by adminis-
down lesser officials several times a day as he carefully tering vicious beatings in the course of their work.
juggles dozens of competing interests in the city’s affairs.
PRIESTS OF THE
The civic officials are terrified of him, and the city’s BROKEN GATE
nobles resent his stubbornness and high-handedness
in dealing with their interests. Half a dozen powerful Cultists of Cthulhu
individuals are currently plotting his downfall and At any given time, several small cults are flourishing
replacement, but for the moment, Ibland Posk survives in Quodeth, dedicated to various unsavory gods or
as Grand Vizier. demons. The Priests of the Broken Gate are the latest
such group. They teach that a great god of justice and
KING OF BEGGARS redemption—the “One Who Waits”—is coming to
sweep away the old order and bring new hope to all
Guildmaster, Street Boss, Rumormonger who suffer. But first, the god’s human followers must
There is no such thing as a Beggar’s Guild, or so the break down the gate that keeps this great day from
city’s officials say. They are, of course, mistaken. Hun- coming.
dreds upon hundreds of beggars are organized into
a wretched, disorderly mob under the leadership of a Most Quodethi assume that the talk of “gates” is
guildmaster known only as the King of the Beggars. some kind of metaphor about the followers of this
In the slums and warrens of the Sark and the poorer belief overcoming their own limitations and mis-
quarters of the Canal Quarter the beggars ply their deeds. After all, the Broken Gate brothers urge their
ancient trade—and, naturally, take advantage of every followers to abandon their families, undermine the
opportunity to pick pockets and cut purses, too. oppression of the existing social order, and sur-
render themselves to the worship of the One Who
The Beggar’s Guild is therefore a thieves’ guild of Waits. Those who participate in the rituals seem to
sorts, and the other gangs of Quodeth are happy to open themselves up to the dreams and whispers of
leave the slums to them. Unlike gangs such as the Red the cult’s patron: Great Cthulhu. Madness slowly
Furies or the Seven Knives, the Beggars’ Guild offers consumes those who listen too long to the teachings
little protection to those in their territory. The King of of the Broken Gate, and the gate of which the dark
Beggars can field a mob of hundreds against another priests speak is nothing less than the titanic seal that
thieves’ guild, but beggars are poor footsoldiers and keeps Cthulhu imprisoned and dormant.
only fight when they have overwhelming numbers on
their side. Instead, they prefer to fight with rumor and RED FURIES
innuendo. Beggars serve as the best spy network in
the city, since they have eyes and ears on every street The Red Furies are unique among Quodeth’s thieves
corner, and report everything they see or hear to the for one simple reason: They are all female. No men are
King of Beggars by the end of the day. permitted to join the guild, and on the rare occasions
when males have tried to infiltrate the guild through
disguises or have tried to exert authority over the 181

Quodeth, City of Thieves

182 guild, the Red Furies have punished the offenders . . . Orech, and Akal-Amo, dealing in luxuries such as
s­everely. Suffice it to say that no man in recent memory gemstones, delicacies, medicinal herbs, fine wines
has tried to break the Red Furies to his will. and brandies, and other cargoes of small size and
high value. The Sedarnels have always regarded
Other than this unusual requirement for member- Tiamat as their protector and patron, and in
ship, the Red Furies are a typical Quodethi thieves’ return their far-voyaging ships seem to avoid many
guild—secretive, violent, and fiercely protective of storms or perils that destroy their rivals time and
their territory. They are second only to the Seven time again.
Knives in strength and reach, and have spies in many
ports around the Inner Sea. In Quodeth, they control The head of the house is Princess Jania Seldarnel.
the Temple Quarter, and they have a strong presence She is married to a prince-consort by the name of
in Old Quodeth and the Bazaar Quarter as well. Luth, who is ten years her junior. Jania is a soft-spo-
There is a good deal of bad blood between the Red ken woman of forty-five who delights in gossip,
Furies and the Seven Knives, and the current Queen intrigues, and petty displays of status and wealth.
Fury—a brilliant assassin named Evondra—is qui- She and the other Sedarnels pay little attention to
etly looking for allies to take down the Seven Knives family interests, leaving them in the hands of their
once and for all. retainers and agents. Most of Jania’s relations are
busily engaged in throwing away vast fortunes—the
THE SEDARNELS debauchery of the Sedarnels is infamous in Quodeth
and the cities nearby.
Decadent Noble House
The Sedarnels are one of the oldest noble houses in Strange to tell, Princess Jania is now desperately
the city, tracing their history to the centuries before searching for some lost family heirloom said to have
the Atlantean conquest, when they vied with House been seized by the emperors of Atlantis long ago. She
Paland and other rivals for the Peacock Throne. is sponsoring expeditions to all the corners of the
They maintain a small fleet of merchant galleys that globe to find the “Diamond of Thought,” although
specialize in long voyages to distant and mysterious why the Sedarnels have only now started looking for
lands. Sedarnel ships call in places such as Katagia, something lost a thousand years ago, only Princess
Jania could say.

Quodeth, City of Thieves

THE SEVEN KNIVES THE VORZINS

Powerful Thieves’ Guild Proud Atlantean Noble House
While each of Quodeth’s thieves’ guilds is powerful Over the long centuries during which Atlantis
in its own territory or sphere of influence, the Seven governed Quodeth, a large community of Atlantean
Knives are the first among equals. They control most nobles and merchants naturally grew within the city.
of Quodeth’s commercial districts, raking in vast Even after Quodeth’s Kalay nobles reclaimed the
amounts of gold from their relentless campaigns of Peacock Throne, many people of Atlantean descent
extortion and organized crime. Worse yet, they are remained among the city’s richest and most powerful
the preeminent assassins of Quodeth, and regard nobles. House Vorzin is an excellent example of an
all other killings for pay as a direct attack on their expatriate Atlantean house. Arrogant and elitist in
prerogatives. The only check on their power is the the manner of a family clinging to high lineage and
possibility that several guilds might ally against them dreams of past glories, the Vorzins are at the forefront
if the Seven Knives become too aggressive. of Quodethi society. They represent the “old money”
of Quodeth, and control vast estates of grainfields
The Seven Knives are so named because their lead- and vineyards in the countryside.
ership consists of a council of seven master thieves
and assassins—the Knives. The identity of each Knife The head of House Vorzin is Duke Baerad
is a closely guarded secret, but they include some Vorzin, a bluff, vigorous man of sixty who served
very surprising individuals, such as a high-ranking as a general and makes a show of embracing the
priestess of Ishtar, a prominent nobleman, and a city martial virtues. He fights constantly to see to it that
magistrate. The Second Knife is the only member of younger Vorzins and Vorzin cousins are appointed to
the group to show his face to the rank-and-file, and important posts, married into suitable families, and
serves as the spokesman for the group. This is the awarded the richest offices and titles. Duke Baerad
immensely fat Hiroom Jarth, whose agile mind and has no interest in claiming the Peacock Throne,
personal elusiveness are in no way impeded by his seeing it as an empty honor, but he is very serious
great girth. Hiroom is known to retain the services of about making sure that House Vorzin controls all
a mysterious sorceress known as the Auspex. important affairs in the city. If Vorzin has a weak-
ness, it is the family’s centuries-old rivalry with the
The Seven Knives are described in more detail in Sedarnels and the Marsesks, who likewise seek to
Chapter Six. bring the most important positions in the city under
their control. Duels between young members of
TEMPLE OF these families are not uncommon.
SHADOWED
SERPENTS ZEMAR PHAW

Priests of Set Dread Wizard
Compared to the sprawling Golden Hall of Mithra, Quodeth is home to more wizards than any city other
the Temple of Shadowed Serpents is a small, poor than Thran or perhaps Imystrahl, but that means
temple indeed. Set has never been a popular deity in there are perhaps half a dozen spellcasters known
Quodeth, and the priests of Set therefore keep some- to reside in the city. Of this handful of rare and
thing of a low profile. Instead of competing directly mysterious figures, none are so powerful, famous, or
with the priests of Mithra or Ishtar for influence in widely feared as Zemar Phaw, Prince of Conjurors.
city affairs, the Setists of Quodeth follow a more His home is the dark edifice known as the Palace of
secretive path. They quietly recruit influential nobles a Thousand Doors, and he seems perfectly content to
and merchants with honeyed words and promises of occupy himself with his studies and summoning so
multiplying their wealth and power, while making a long as he is not disturbed—Zemar Phaw does not
show of publicly tending the needs of the poor and tolerate interruptions or thieves.
downtrodden.
As far as anyone can tell, Zemar Phaw has lived in
A number of Quodeth’s wealthier individuals—­ Quodeth for at least two hundred years. It is com-
including no less a personage than Niram Terinth, a monly assumed that he is a human whose sorcery has
member of the Royal Council and master of the city’s prolonged his life greatly. In fact, Zemar Phaw died
mint—are secretly devotees of Set. Through them, decades ago and exists now as a lich. Due to his re-
High Priest Yezin Rhond masterminds conspiracies, clusive habits, none in Quodeth know the truth. On
murders, and all sorts of sinister schemes designed the rare occasions when the authorities seek his advice
to erode the power of Quodeth’s other temples and and Zemar Phaw chooses to answer, he employs con-
civic institutions. Only when all is in darkness will jurations or sendings to carry his words.
Quodeth turn to Set, and Yezin Rhond works to
hasten that day.

183

Quodeth, City of Thieves

EXPLORING nose. The Seven Knives “captain” of the bazaar is
QUODETH Eyarndo, a stoop-shouldered man who appears to be
lazy and slow, but is actually a vicious thug.
When a traveler first arrives in Quodeth, the first thing
that greets his or her eyes is the city wall. A 40-foot THE KNIFEHOLD
wall surrounds the landward sides of the city, stud-
ded with low square towers. There are only a handful The headquarters of the Seven Knives is a sprawling
of gates in the city wall, each fitted with massive stronghold known as the Knifehold. Most of the com-
bronze doors and wooden portcullises. Detachments plex is underground, with extensive halls, dormitories,
of Quodethi soldiers stand guard at each gate all day armories, storerooms, and treasuries built from the cel-
and night. Anyone wishing to enter or leave the city lars and foundations of the buildings above. There are
at night must be able to convince the captain of the scores of secret entrances and exits, each extremely well
gate that his or her business is worthwhile (a bribe hidden, trapped, or guarded. Most Quodethi know
often helps prove the point). more or less where the Knifehold lies, but finding a
way in is a different matter. Any kind of open assault
Most buildings in Quodeth are made of stone or would require hundreds of soldiers, and would almost
brick (old and crumbling in the poorer neighborhoods, certainly miss large portions of the complex.
of course). Glass windows are quite rare and usually
found only in palaces; common buildings use light Hiroom Jarth, the Second Knife, often holds court
lattices or thin oiled parchment instead of glass. Doors in a lavishly furnished den or throne-room festooned
and windows are usually protected by heavy bars or with stolen luxuries. His sorceress, the mysterious
shutters—crime is a problem in Quodeth, after all. mage known as the Auspex, is never far from his side.
At least three or four of the other Knives maintain
BAZAAR QUARTER public lives as leading citizens of the city and keep
their affiliation with the guild secret.
The bustling, commercial heart of Quodeth, the
Bazaar Quarter is home to hundreds of merchant XHONDOR JAO’S
houses, trading companies, emporiums, and work- CURIOSITIES
shops. It lies on the northern side of the city, just across
the Quosa from the similarly busy Canal Quarter. Nobody in Quodeth routinely deals in magical items.
The Bazaar Quarter is under the control of the Seven However, if there is one merchant in Quodeth who
Knives, who generally keep the streets safe for busi- is likely to trade in such things, it would be Xhon-
ness, but the Red Furies have a toehold in the southern dor Jao. A Lomari of sixty years’ age, Xhondor buys
parts of the quarter. There is no love lost between the and sells anything with an occult significance, such
two guilds, and midnight duels on the rooftops are not as mysterious books or scrolls, charms and amulets
unusual. (most powerless, of course), potions and elixirs (many
likewise powerless), and reagents or spell components
GATE OF MAMMOTHS (most fake). Despite the fact that Xhondor’s shop is
full of things that aren’t really magical, he is not a
The largest and busiest of Quodeth’s city gates is the fraud; he simply accepts the claims of authenticity or
awesome Gate of Mammoths, a towering portal built magical powers made by the people he buys from, and
between the 50-foot tall statues of glowering woolly relays these claims without judgment to customers
mammoths facing out at the world beyond the walls. examining his wares. Despite the unreliable nature of
The road leading north from the Gate of Mammoths these claims, it is widely believed that the shop is pro-
follows the west bank of the Quosa for a hundred miles tected from thieves by potent curses and supernatural
or so, eventually falling into disuse as it nears the ruins guardians.
of the city of Hurhun on the shores of the Kalayan Sea.
CANAL QUARTER
GRAND BAZAAR
Most districts of Quodeth are accessible by canal, but
Eight square blocks of winding alleyways crowded the canals of the Canal Quarter are the most extensive
with shops and stalls, open market squares, of the city. As a result, many of the city’s warehouses
­counting-­houses, artists’ workshops, wine shops, street are located in this district. It is also home to a large
vendors selling grilled meat and sweet confections, number of businesses or artisans who need to bring
hookah and opium dens, grocers, tailors, jewelers, large amounts of raw materials—or fuel—to their
and almost any other trade or diversion that one workshops. Many of Quodeth’s metalworkers, potters,
could imagine make up the central part of the Bazaar and woodworkers live and work here.
­Quarter. The Grand Bazaar is nominally under the
control of the Seven Knives, but the place is so large The Canal Quarter is more or less under the control
and so crowded that a number of independent pick- of the Bargemasters, but the Seven Knives also operate
pockets and cutpurses can operate under the guild’s freely in this district.

185

Quodeth, City of Thieves

186 HOUSE OF ROR BAAK fair dealing are the personal honorableness and rep-
utations of the individual merchants, although deals
The most notorious house of ill repute in the city, the recorded in writing are rarely broken.
House of Ror Baak stands in the southern portion of
the Canal Quarter, right on the border with the Sark. The Quosa Bourse also serves as the de facto head-
Sailors from the Stonequays, caravan drivers from the quarters for the Bargemasters. The High Protector of
Bazaar Quarter, and rogues and scoundrels from Old the Guild of Pilots and Masters (and current master
Quodeth and the Sark all find their way here, spend- of the guild’s ruling council) is a corrupt, thuggish
ing their hard-earned coin on the favors of Ror Baak’s man named Brune Hayet. Master Brune owns and
harlots. While the owners of Ror Baak’s prefer to operates more than thirty barges, and has scores of
remain anonymous, the madam who runs the place legbreakers and enforcers at his command.
is well known. Lady Gretha is a dark-haired beauty,
but she is also a hard-headed businesswoman, and she THE SLAVE MARKET
is not available for customers. In fact, Lady Gretha is
known to be quite handy with a knife and usually has Quodeth’s slave market is located on the banks
several enforcers close by in case customers get out of the Quosa, not far from the Queen’s Gate. The
of hand. market is not very large, at least not compared to the
slave auctions in Marg or Ikath, but scores of hapless
THE QUOSA BOURSE men and women are bought and sold here every day.
More than a few are luckless souls who were ab-
This large, open trading-hall serves as the main ducted from the streets of the city’s more dangerous
exchange and meeting-place for Quodeth’s merchants quarters just a few hours before, drugged or beaten
and shippers. Here merchants can buy or sell shares until they can hardly stand upright, let alone fight
in cargoes and interests in various commodities, seek against their unfortunate fate. The Slave Market is
or offer loans, or record the purchase or sale of future supervised by a panjandrum known as the Master of
interests in goods that are not yet available. It should the Block; the position is currently held by a heart-
be noted that there are no laws or rules governing the less woman named Tareena Dyal, who has been
activity of the Quosa Bourse. The only guarantees of bought herself by the Seven Knives.

Quodeth, City of Thieves

TEMPLE OF SHADOWED near the Bazaar Quarter. Here a bewildering variety 187
SERPENTS of secondhand goods are offered for sale—jewelry,
tableware, weapons, books and scrolls, and even a
Built on the foundations of an ancient temple from handful of exotic pets in their cages. The proprietor is
the serpentman city of Bhnaal Pruth, the Temple of a chubby, middle-aged man of Dhari descent by the
Shadowed Serpents is one of the oldest buildings in all name of Slen Dwerth, and he claims to be a simple
of Quodeth. It stands in the middle of the quarter, a pawn broker. Every thief in Quodeth knows that Slen
dark and mysterious pile of stone crowded close by the Dwerth is in truth the very prince of fences, eagerly
buildings of more recent years, almost as if the city has buying up the stolen goods of half the city. Slen is in
tried to cover up the ancient shrine over the centuries. good favor with both the Seven Knives and the Red
This is Quodeth’s temple of Set, and many strange Furies, which is a noteworthy feat in and of itself.
and sinister rites are enacted in its hidden sanctuaries.
A good number of Quodeth’s more ambitious and GOLDEN HALL
greedy individuals—for example, influential nobles, OF MITHRA
merchants, and thieves—regard Set as their special
patron, and would not stand for any effort to remove While much of Old Quodeth is run-down, one of the
the Temple of Shadowed Serpents from its place. most splendid temples in the city stands in the northwest
portion of the district. The Golden Hall of Mithra is just
The high priest is a man named Yezin Rhond. He is across the Little Quosa from the Temple Quarter and
reputed to be a powerful spellcaster. the Palace Quarter. High walls and well-guarded gates
isolate the compound from the blighted streets nearby.
VICEROY’S BRIDGE Important priests of Mithra rarely set foot in the streets
of Old Quodeth, instead traveling in golden barges that
Perhaps the single greatest architectural marvel in moor by the temple’s boat landing on the river. The High
Quodeth, the Viceroy’s Bridge is a stone span almost a Curate of the temple is a priest named Oruk-Maneth,
quarter-mile in length across the main channel of the and at his command, alms are freely given to all who
Quosa. It links the Canal Quarter (and the whole of come in need at noon each Mithra’s Day.
the east bank) to Old Quodeth and the western half
of the city. The center of the bridge consists of two HALL OF THE
wooden drawbridges 50 feet in length, providing a FORGOTTEN ONE
100-foot wide passage for vessels that cannot step their
masts in order to pass beneath the bridge. A dark and sinister structure made from heavy basalt
blocks, the Hall of the Forgotten One serves as the
The river is deep and strong here, and the Atlantean headquarters of the Muggers’ Guild, and very few
engineers who built the bridge first had to build two people other than muggers venture inside. The guild
huge submerged caissons to support the span. The bridge leader is a huge, vicious brute of a man who goes by
was originally named after the Atlantean viceroy that the name of Sloth—presumably after the fierce and gi-
commissioned the project hundreds of years ago, but has gantic Thulean ground sloth, not the deadly sin. What
come to be known simply as Viceroy’s Bridge today. few people other than muggers know is that the Hall
of the Forgotten One is actually Quodeth’s temple
OLD QUODETH to Herum. The deeper levels hold sinister shrines and
crude altars to the ape-god, and a wicked priest named
Geographically, Old Quodeth is the heart of the city. A Gongh Hur—perhaps the last priest of Herum in the
long time ago, all of Quodeth was encompassed on the city—leads the muggers in their crude and brutal rites.
large island between the Little Quosa and the Middle
Quosa. Over the centuries, the city grew to the other THE MISSING DAIS
islands and the river banks, and leaving the original city
site as just one district in a much larger Quodeth. Much of This peculiar public house is one of the more popular
Old Quodeth is dark, crowded, and dilapidated; the noble establishments in Old Quodeth. It is renowned as a place
houses and wealthy merchants long ago moved to more where odd wagers, foolish boasts, and tests of strength or
fashionable parts of the city. Only the poor remained. agility take place every night. For example, patrons might
armwrestle, balance on a small stool while quaffing jacks
Old Quodeth is no longer a thriving commercial of ale, or throw knives to knock apples off a participant’s
district, but it is home to many small, eclectic shops head. The place is named for its most unusual feature, a
and artisans’ workshops. The Red Furies hold much large section of patched floor where a raised stage once
of the western part of the district, but the dominant stood. How or why the stage was removed, no one will
criminal faction is the Muggers’ Guild; Old Quodeth say; the speculation is that all who witnessed the wager
may be the single most dangerous part of the city to that led to the stage’s demise were sworn to secrecy.
pass through after dark.
The proprietors are named Dedrik and Hedrik,
DWERTH EMPORIUM and they claim to be brothers. However, while Dedrik

The Dwerth Emporium is a crowded, ramshackle
old building on the north side of Old Quodeth,

Quodeth, City of Thieves

188 seems human enough, Hedrik is barely half the size means that a hefty bribe must be put in the hands of the
of a dwarf, and doesn’t seem to belong to any race or panjandrums who administer the Tower and safeguard
kindred known in Thule. its collection. More than once bold bands of thieves
have slipped into Onther Tower to pilfer some old map
PALACE OF A or mysterious scroll to further their own larcenous ends,
THOUSAND DOORS so the place is well guarded, day and night.

Near the center of Old Quodeth stands the crumbling Most of the books, scrolls, and maps assembled here
façade of an ancient noble palace. Abandoned by its are perfectly harmless, but there are rumors that tomes
wealthy family centuries ago, it is now the home of of dark sorcery are securely locked away within the
the dread wizard Zemar Phaw. Few dare to intrude Tower’s deepest vaults. Access to these hidden collec-
on Zemar Phaw, and the locals avert their eyes as they tions can only be approved by the Master of the Tower,
hurry past the place. It is said that the Palace of a Thou- the panjandrum Tormal Vorzin. A vain and quarrel-
sand Doors is so named because countless magical gates some old man, Master Tormal is too wealthy to be easily
and doorways leading to distant worlds or alternate bribed.
dimensions stand within its shadowed hallways, but
Zemar Phaw is not very forthcoming about what secrets PALACE OF GOLDEN
might or might not be found in his home. Visitors are MINOTAURS
usually turned away by a huge servant or chamberlain
called Losk, whose whispering voice, doughy flesh, and Ancestral home of House Taroth, the Palace of Golden
dead eyes suggest that he is not entirely human himself. Minotaurs is named for the gilded statues that stand
on either side of its mighty entrance. The golden
PALACE QUARTER minotaur is the symbol of the Taroth family, and the
motif of bulls and bull-headed monsters is repeated
Situated on the heights of the west bank of the Quosa, throughout the palace’s architecture. The Minotaur
the Palace Quarter floats like a golden mirage above Palace is home to Prince Dredan Taroth, member of
the crowded streets and labyrinthine canals of the the Royal Council and a leading figure among the
lower city. Not all of Quodeth’s palaces are located in Quodethi aristocracy. The palace’s defenses are said to
this quarter, but many of them are, including the royal include sorcery that can animate the golden minotaurs
palace and the palaces of several important noble fami- and bring them to life as loyal, fearless, and nigh-inde-
lies. The most important and impressive civic buildings structible defenders of House Taroth.
are located here as well, including the major courts and
administrative centers of Quodeth. Here, at least, the THE SAPPHIRE PALACE
city’s omnipresent thieves keep a low profile—none of
Quodeth’s guilds claim to control the Palace Quarter, The royal palace of Quodeth is known as the Sapphire
although most of them occasionally work here. Palace or the Blue Palace. It is not made from sapphire,
of course, but it does possess a casing of remarkable
COURT OF QUEEN sea-blue larimar stone blocks. Originally built by the
NADERSHA viceroys of Atlantis during their centuries of power, the
Sapphire Palace has been home to Quodeth’s mon-
Known throughout the city as “the Queen’s Court” or archs for more than two hundred years.
“Hall of the Magistrates,” the Court of Queen Nader-
sha is named for the last of the Paland monarchs, the While the Sapphire Palace is a sprawling and luxu-
heroic Queen Nadersha. A magnificent fountain stands rious complex, not much governing takes place here.
before the court building, featuring a 20-foot-tall statue The monarchs of House Hazeda are insulated from the
of the long-dead queen with her sword upraised. As everyday business of ruling. Various revels, dances, and
one might guess, this building houses the magistrates’ formal occasions are scheduled throughout the year,
courts, as well as many of Quodeth’s records and deeds. and naturally all of the high officials and important
The building’s basement levels include dungeons for nobles attend, but the Grand Vizier and the Royal
holding prisoners, as well as barracks and armories for Council oversee the real functioning of the govern-
the guards entrusted with the task of protecting the ment. Queen Deyane is quietly working to change
Courts and enforcing the magistrates’ rulings. that, but she must be careful—more than one Quode-
thi monarch has become a prisoner in this very palace.
ONTHER TOWER
THE SARK
The kings and queens of House Onther are not remem-
bered well in Quodeth, but they did one thing right: The worst neighborhood in Quodeth is the sprawling
They established the Onther Tower, a library where slum known as the Sark. The origin of the name is not
learned men and women can share their wisdom. Access clear; some people say that it is derived from the nearby
is free for individuals who are accredited through the Sarvin Bay, some say it is named after a local chieftain
good graces of the Peacock Throne; in practice, this from the days of the city’s founding, and still others
claim the Sark gained its name because one would be

Quodeth, City of Thieves

wise to wear a mail shirt—or “sark,” in the old turn of STONEQUAY
phrase—when one ventures into its streets. The district is
desperately poor, and so wretched that none of the city’s Quodeth’s harbor district is known as Stonequay. It is a
thieves’ guilds bother to claim it as their own territory. busy commercial quarter, with teeming wharves, crowded
warehouses, busy workshops, and huge shipyards where
THE BEGGAR PALACE the sinews of Quodeth’s mercantile power are shaped
from wood, line, and canvas. The Middle Quosa physi-
The headquarters of the Beggars’ Guild is a sprawling, cally divides Stonequay in two, but scores of small sculls
ruined amphitheater that hosted great gladiatorial and barges stand ready to ferry travelers or cargo from one
games and performances of music and drama in better side to the other at all hours of the day or night.
days, when the Sark was not such a dismal slum. That
day passed centuries ago, and the great amphitheater Stonequay is disputed territory in the struggles of
long ago fell into disuse. With no better place to call Quodeth’s thieves’ guilds. The Bargemasters hold
their own, beggars and vagabonds took to sheltering in much of eastern Stonequay, although the Beggars’
its spacious arcades. Over the years, the denizens of the Guild virtually overruns the area. The western island
ruin built ramshackle walls and crude lean-to shelters, is contested between the Seven Knives and the Red
turning the open amphitheater into a warren-like maze Furies. Rare is the morning when some murdered thief
of tiny cubicles and blind alleyways, all leading to a or thug isn’t fished out of the river.
dismal throne room where the King of Beggars holds
court. The current king is a freakishly tall, twisted, and CSANDO SHIPYARDS
spider-like man named Narbo, who dreams of expand-
ing his domain into the neighboring districts. Sprawling for hundreds of yards on the Great Quosa wa-
terfront, the Csando Shipyards are the largest and finest
HALL OF THE BROKEN GATE in Quodeth. At any given time, four to six large galleys
are under construction. It takes about four months
In the last few months, a mysterious order of priests to build a merchant galley, although the shipwrights
converted an old warehouse on the riverfront into a can hurry the process in an emergency, at the cost of
meeting-hall of sorts known as the Hall of the Broken improper curing and preparation that drastically reduces
Gate. The priests of the Broken Gate wander the streets the ship’s usable life. Hundreds of woodw­ orkers, smiths,
by day, searching for the desperate or impressionable and sailmakers, and ropemakers work in the Csando yards.
cajoling them to come to the Hall for food, shelter, and
a message of hope. After dark, strange rituals devoted to The supervisor of the yard is the noted shipwright
the One Who Waits (Cthulhu) begin. Submerged tun- Podrenius, a genius of Atlantean descent who exper-
nels lead from the cellars of the Broken Gate out to the iments with unusual designs not seen since Atlantis
waters of the Great Quosa, and sometimes terrible things sank beneath the waves. Mysteriously enough, some
swim in from the sea to commune with the cultists. unknown party has sabotaged his last three prototypes.

HOUSE OF THE FALDINE KRINTH
FALLEN STAR
Mistress of House Krinth, Faldine is an ambitious
If there is a more sordid establishment in Quodeth, it young woman of thirty-three who took over the family
would be hard to name it. The Fallen Star is a sprawling, business from her hapless father two years ago. House
ramshackle fighting-pit where bloody arena fights are Krinth was badly weakened by decades of extortion
staged almost every night. Raucous taprooms, brothels, from the Seven Knives, but Faldine set out to reverse
and a bustling black market are located in various parts years of the merchant house’s misfortunes. Under her di-
of the rambling stone structure. The place was built atop rection, House Krinth sold off several marginal interests
the crater left by a good-sized meteorite that struck a to concentrate on oil and wine, becoming Quodeth’s
decrepit block of buildings fifteen years ago, knocking largest importer of olives and olive oil. Behind the front
down half the block with the force of the impact. The of this profitable trade, Faldine Krinth secretly directs
meteorite still lies in the middle of the fighting-pit and a network of informants, spies, and diviners, making it
remains warm to the touch even to this day. her business to know everything she can about anything
that catches her interest. Her ultimate goal is to expose
The master of the Fallen Star is a strapping Nimothan and destroy Quodeth’s thieves’ guilds one by one—or
barbarian named Setesh Uttikal, a former freebooter and better yet, help them destroy each other.
mercenary who adventured all over Thule in his youth.
His two wives—a Dhari woman named Eamel from a FALLEN GATE TAVERN
tribe Setesh befriended in his travels, and Valebel, an elf
that he saved from Crimson Slavers—help him to run the Located in the more prosperous part of Stonequay, the
place. A dozen heavy-handed enforcers and legbreakers Fallen Gate is one of the more interesting taverns to be
make sure the revels don’t get out of hand each night. found in the city. Here foreigners, freebooters, seafarers,
and travelers of all description seem to collect, armed with
the latest news and rumors from all points of the com- 189
pass. While merchants and captains from Thulean ports

Quodeth, City of Thieves

such as Katagia, Orech, or Akal-Amo are regular visitors TEMPLE QUARTER
to the Fallen Gate, on any given night one might find a
seafarer from some far quarter of the world—one of the As one might expect, the Temple Quarter is so named
ports of the eastern continent or the western continent— because several of Quodeth’s more notable temples
drinking by the fire and telling tales of strange travels. are located in this part of the city. In addition to its
temples, the quarter is also home to a good deal of
Quodeth’s thieves generally leave visitors to the commerce and industry, mostly in luxury goods and
Fallen Gate alone. The tavern is neutral ground, where fine art. Here the metalworkers are goldsmiths and
tales and rumors are considered more valuable than a jewelers, not coppersmiths or blacksmiths. The Red
few coins in a seaman’s purse. Even the bitterest rivals Furies are the dominant thieves’ guild in this part of
agree to leave each other in peace here—usually. the city, and they jealously defend their rich territory
against the Seven Knives, the Muggers’ Guild, and
THE TOWER OF the Dyers’ Guild, which is seeking to expand into the
BLACK FLAME southern part of the Temple Quarter.

This mysterious structure has stood near the border of HIGH TEMPLE
Stonequay and Old Quodeth for centuries, seemingly OF ISHTAR
occupied by a succession of sages, sorcerers, mages,
diviners, and magicians. The current occupant is a re- The largest and wealthiest temple in Quodeth, the
clusive and widely disliked fellow named Kelauklyth, High Temple of Ishtar is a splendid alabaster dome
who is said to be a master of serpent-related spells. By graced by slender minarets. Ishtar has always been
night, an eerie aura of dark flame (sometimes a faint regarded as the special protector and patroness of
blue or green in color) dances and crackles around the Quodeth, and her temple is therefore at the forefront
tower’s uppermost floor. of every civic celebration or important decision. The
Daughters of Ishtar may not command as many temple
The Tower of Black Flame is described in more warriors as the priests of Mithra or Tarhun, but the
detail in the adventure later in this chapter. inner circles are known to wield powerful magic, and
few in Quodeth dare to challenge them. The leader of
190 the temple is High Initiate Mother Zarissa, who also is
a member of Quodeth’s royal council. She is a white-
haired woman of sixty years, a legendary beauty in her
youth and still graceful today.

MARSESK PALACE

This grand old villa is surrounded by gardens and high
walls. The Marsesks are one of the three great noble
houses of Quodeth, with wide estates outside the city
and a vast fortune. They have a reputation for arro-
gance and haughtiness, and are quick to take offense
(or even draw blade) in the face of any slight, however
minor. While they can be stubborn and prickly, the
Marsesks are also quite proud of their honor, and never
go back on their word or break a vow. The current head
of the house is Prince Tromin Marsesk, a dignified
old gentleman of seventy-seven with five middle-aged
children and a dozen grandchildren. Several of the
younger Marsesks are already noted duelists and
rakehells.

TOWER OF THE MOON

Centuries ago, this place was a temple dedicated to
Selene, the goddess of the moon. Over the years,
the power and influence of the faith waned, and the
worshipers of Selene eventually were absorbed by the
growing faith of Ishtar. The temple was abandoned—
but now it serves a different purpose. The thieves’ guild
known as the Red Furies uses the abandoned temple
as their headquarters. Unlike the Seven Knives, whose
headquarters is a virtual stronghold, the Red Furies

Quodeth, City of Thieves

rely on secrecy to safeguard their base. The overgrown ETHWEL
gardens surrounding the old temple are protected by THREEFINGERS
guardian gargoyles (summoned long ago by the moon
priestesses, but now loyal to the thieves) and deadly A swaggering giant of a Nimothan, Ethwel Threefin-
pitfalls, but few of the thieves are actually present at gers seems more like some sort of barbarian chieftain
any given time. or sea-reaver than a merchant. Appearances can be
deceiving—while Ethwel was in fact a noted freebooter
ZIGGURAT OF HEROES and sellsword in his younger days (and in fact lost two
fingers in a tavern brawl), he is now an industrious and
Quodeth’s temple of Tarhun is the Ziggurat of Heroes, successful merchant prince. Ethwel’s principal trade
located on a hilltop at the western end of the district. lies in the icy northern waters of the Boreal Sea; he
The ziggurat itself is relatively small as far as pyramids deals in walrus ivory, seal fur, whale oil, and gemstones
go, but it is surrounded by open plazas and wide halls found in the polar regions. Ethwel frequently travels
where the priests of Tarhun celebrate their martial to visit the tribes with whom he trades, and is quite
ceremonies and observances. Tarhun’s worship is popu- knowledgeable about the northern regions of Thule.
lar with the lower classes of the city and Quodeth’s
soldiers, but the priesthood is not very influential at THE SILK EXCHANGE
court or among the nobility—a situation that the Lord
High Priest Harath Mordru finds somewhat gall- Tir-Paland is the center of Quodeth’s silk trade. The
ing. A vigorous man of fifty-three, Harath frequently district is home to the workshops of weavers, dyers,
preaches against the dissolute and sinful ways of tailors, and merchants dealing with silk. The Silk Ex-
Quodeth’s rulers. change is a large, bustling hall where the precious ma-
terial is bought and sold raw, woven, dyed, or finished.
TIR-PALAND Merchants from all corners of Thule come here to buy
their precious cargoes, and Quodeth’s silk producers
Long ago, this entire quarter was the private property come here to vend their wares.
of House Paland. During the rule of the Atlantean
viceroys, much of House Paland’s land was brought The Exchange is nominally under the control of a
under the city’s control, plotted out, and sold off high-ranking panjandrum who holds the title of Min-
piecemeal over the years, leaving only the name of the ister of Silk and Measures, but in practice the leaders
new district to commemorate Quodeth’s old royal line. of the Dyers’ Guild run the Exchange. Five members
Tir-Paland is a busy, prosperous district with a mix of are elected each year to serve as the guild council and
commercial and industrial interests, plus a handful of direct the guild’s activities, but the real power lies in
noble houses and temples in its better parts. the hands of the immensely rich silk trader Notho
Reesh. A merchant of common birth, Notho has
Tir-Paland is tightly policed by the Dyers’ Guild, a held his position on the council of the Dyers’ Guild
mercantile powerhouse that collects heavy dues from for more than twenty years, and secretly controls the
its members but fights fiercely against the encroach- guild’s enforcement and protection activities.
ments of Quodeth’s thieves.
SPIRE OF DAWN
ASTROLOGERS’ GUILD
Standing prominently on the headland at the west
Nothing like a wizard’s guild exists in Quodeth; there end of Quodeth’s harbor, the Spire of Dawn is the
simply aren’t all that many arcane spellcasters in the city’s temple of Asura. It faces the open waters of
city. However, the Astrologers’ Guild comes close. The Sarvin Bay and is the first building in the city to
guildhall consists of a squat tower on a hilltop crowned catch the rays of the rising sun in the morning.
by a large dome, which contains an observatory with Merchants and sailors setting out on new voyages
instruments for measuring the movements of the stars. often come to the Spire of Dawn to make a sacri-
The guild is dedicated to preserving the high arts of fice to Asura, praying for good fortune in their new
astronomy and divination, and in many ways is an ­venture—a practice that arouses the jealousy of
academy of sorts in which young men and women are Tiamat’s priests, although few of those are present in
taught the complex observations and calculations of Quodeth. The High Diadem of Asura’s temple is a
the astrologer’s trade. The guild records include the scholarly woman named Liana Vorzin. A member of
only complete set of scrolls written by the great astrol- the powerful Vorzin family, she has commissioned a
oger Tasheena of Hurhun, a prophetess who lived sev- special project to build a great mosaic map of the do-
eral centuries ago. Tasheena’s predictions have proved minions of Atlantis in the Spire’s central hall, and is
uncannily accurate over the years, and it is whispered seeking ancient scrolls and codices with information
that several of her more dangerous prophecies are shut about the farthest outposts of the island empire.
away in the guild’s library.

191

Quodeth, City of Thieves

THE TOWER OF BLACK FLAME
An Adventure for Character Levels 1–2

In the heart of Quodeth, the Tower of Black Flame owns to whoever can bring him an antidote—but the
rises into the sky, a dark six-story edifice of stone that snake got away, and no one knows what sort of ser-
stands alone. The abode of a dark sorcerer who is pent it was. The sorcerer in the Tower of Black Flame
never seen to emerge, the Tower has seemingly always is said to know all about snakes, and to use snakes in
stood here, home to sorcerer after sorcerer. There’s a his magic, but he doesn’t answer the door. Whoever
large door at street level in the bottom of the tower, is bold enough to force their way into the tower and
but no other doors or balconies or lower windows are bring back an antidote that saves Dethen will become
visible in its black stone sides, and most of the time, a wealthy landlord of Quodeth overnight!
the Tower is a place of brooding silence. But some-
times, late at night, eerie witch-lights dance around TOWER FEATURES
the Tower’s uppermost floor, and strange flashes
flare behind the large windows that ring the top of The Tower of Black Flame consists of six floors and
the Tower. five stairways. Each floor above the first is a single
large room about 30 feet by 40 feet; the stairs are
No one knows much about the current resident, 3-foot wide halls that stand north and south of the
although his name is rumored to be Kelauble or main room in the floor, separated from the room
Kelauklyth or perhaps Glaarkyth. Some swear the below and the room above by doors. The walls are
sorcerer experiments on children, beggars, and made of superior masonry, but have no coat of
visitors to Quodeth snatched by night by the strange ­plaster—the blocks are visible.
monsters who serve him; others say he breeds serpents
and cares nothing for humans, save as food for his Illumination: Unless stated otherwise, rooms are
slithering pets. Whatever the truth, all tales agree lit by small oil lamps, providing dim light. The stairs
the sorcerer is powerful, dangerous, and fabulously are not lit (so Kelauklyth normally carries a candle or
wealthy—and all of his riches are inside the tower. small oil lamp when he goes from floor to floor).

BEGINNING THE Doors: The doors between the stairs and the rooms
ADVENTURE are large, single stone doors balanced on hidden pins.
Each door has a metal lock plate and a pull handle
The PCs may be drawn to investigate the Tower of near the middle of its right-hand edge. Each door
Black Flame by any of the following adventure hooks. is locked, but the lock is relatively simple—it only
requires a successful Dexterity check (DC 15) to pick
Sudden Silence: Rumors are being muttered the lock. A door can also be forced open with the use
around Quodeth that the flashes of spells being cast of a pry bar (or similar tool) and a successful DC 20
haven’t been seen coming from the top of the tower Strength check.
for many days now. Is the sorcerer ill? Dead? Gone
away? Transformed by magic, or injured in a fall and THE TOWER
lying helpless? Thieves of the Seven Knives guild have ENTRANCE
been seen lurking near the tower, watching it. They
must be contemplating grabbing the sorcerer’s magic, An old, massive, sturdy pair of stable doors stands shut
gold, and secrets before anyone else does . . . in the base of the Tower, facing out to the cobbled alleys.
Each door is made of wood reinforced with bronze,
The Merchant’s Daughter: A spice merchant and stands six feet wide and ten feet tall. The doors are
named Ahreb Gluor is greatly agitated and offering a painted black, with bronze edge-frames covering the
rich reward for the safe return of his beautiful daugh- hinges. A large keyhole can be seen in the frame where
ter Naraye—her own weight in silver coins! She has the doors meet.
simply vanished, and many men—including, some
say, thugs who are members of the Seven Knives— The doors are locked, and the locking mechanism
have now scoured the city. They insist that she’s either within them is heavy. Anyone with access to some-
gone from Quodeth, or in the one place they haven’t thing slender and made of hard metal can easily pick
yet looked: Inside the Tower of Black Flame, presum- the lock (Dexterity check DC 5), but can’t avoid
ably in the clutches of the sinister sorcerer. Gluor is making enough noise to warn anyone in the room
offering a lot of coins for Naraye’s safe return . . . inside the doors. The doors could also be forced open
with a successful Strength check (DC 20).
The Moneylender’s Cure: Rich old Verglar
Dethen, a miserly moneylender who owns scores of The Tower doors lock automatically whenever
properties in Quodeth, has been bitten by a poison- closed, but a handle on the inside opens them readily.
ous snake, and lies delirious, sinking toward death.
192 His frantic family offers any five buildings Dethen

Quodeth, City of Thieves

GROUND FLOOR Trapdoor: This heavy stone slab has a single iron
pull-ring set in the center and is counterweighted, so
The room beyond the alley doors is about 40 feet square, it opens easily. It reveals a staircase leading down to
with a 15-foot ceiling. This chamber was obviously once the Tower cellars, as well as the horrendous stench of
a stable for mules; it still smells faintly of their dung, and old sewage.
has rusty, crumbling tether-rings set into the walls on the
left and right. The room is dark, illuminated only by the The Minotaur Statue (200 XP): If any PC touches
light through the open doors. A closed stone door with or attacks the statue, or moves past the flying skulls
a metal pull-ring handle stands at the west end of the and closer to the rear door than the skulls, the
room’s back wall, and there is a trapdoor in the floor near “statue” will animate. It’s actually the animated skel-
the middle of the back wall. eton of a minotaur, made to resemble a statue with
mock armor, putty, and paint.
Along all four walls are heaped large, dusty barrels
and crates that look as if they’ve been sitting undisturbed • 1 damaged minotaur skeleton (33 hp, CR 1)
for some time; there are dozens of them, and they’ve Each time the PCs hit the skeleton, pieces of its
been stacked rather untidily in groups that form walls disguise fall off; allow the character nearest the skel-
about five feet high, a little way out from the stone walls eton to attempt a Wisdom/Perception check (DC 10)
behind them. to realize that the statue is a disguised skeleton.
Once activated, the skeleton attacks any PC that
Standing in the center of the room is a ten-foot-tall moves until that PC falls motionless or departs the
metal statue of an armored minotaur with a trident in its room. (The PCs can avoid being attacked by “playing
hand. Its free hand is open and raised in a “stop” gesture dead.”)
as it faces you. Around its neck on a fine chain hangs a Hidden Company (300 XP): When the PCs enter
wooden sign that reads: “Go back or perish.” the room, three Seven Knives thugs are hiding in
this room behind the crates and barrels on the east
Beyond the statue, six human skulls with glowing eye- side of the room. They have been here for a couple of
sockets hover in the air about five feet off the ground and hours, trying to get past the locked door. They heard
ten feet or so in front of the far wall. They gaze intently the PCs’ attempts to open the outer doors, and hid
at you. behind the crates and barrels.
• 3 Seven Knives thugs (see Chapter 6)
The old stables now serve as storage space for the The thugs do not attack unless the PCs discover
Tower’s occupant. Kelauklyth is well aware that their hiding place—so if the PCs don’t happen to
anyone infiltrating the Tower must first pass through look behind the barrels and crates, the thugs won’t
this room, so he has arranged some surprises to deter reveal themselves. Instead, they lie low in the hope
intruders. While his own abilities are somewhat lim- that the PCs find a way to open the door to the
ited, the Tower itself possesses magical defenses that north. The thugs then plan to stealthily follow the
are keyed to respond to the commands of the Tower’s PCs, allowing the PCs to take the damage from traps
owner, and the sorcerer has been experimenting with and guardians for them. All Seven Knives know that
these for months now. if they freeze, the guardian “statue” will ignore them.
The Seven Knives have been camping in this room
The Skulls: The six human skulls are a pro- in shifts, so half a day (or night) after the first PC
grammed illusion. They appear to keep looking entry into the tower, another shift of three Seven
intently at the PCs, and move to continue their Knives thugs will show up. If they discover any of
unbroken scrutiny as any PC moves. They’re con- their fellows dead or missing, two leave the tower to
stantly in motion, drifting gently about in midair. summon reinforcements (another three Seven Knives
Although they move independently and energetically thugs), while one hides in the alleyway outside to see
around this room—even peering over the shoul- who exits the Tower and where they go. When they
ders of PCs!—they are intangible, can’t speak or do get the chance, the six thieves fall on the heroes and
any harm, and are nothing more than a scare tactic seek revenge for their fallen comrades.
against intruders.

Barrels and Crates: These are filled with basic pro-
visions such as flour, salted pork and beef, weak ale,
cheese, jugs of wine, and lamp oil. They were bought
several years ago by the Tower’s previous occupant,
and have all gone bad, except the oil. There are two
oil casks holding 20 flasks’ worth each, and a third
cask which is mostly empty and appears recently
used. If the PCs inspect the barrels on the east side
of the room, they discover they are not alone—see
Hidden Company, below.

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THE CELLARS FIRST FLIGHT
OF STAIRS
The trapdoor in the Ground Floor leads to a set of
stairs descending 20 feet to the Tower cellars. Con- When the Serpent Door is opened, the PCs see:
trary to the rumors in Quodeth about treasure, the
storage chambers beneath the Tower are flooded with Just beyond the door, a narrow stairway leads steep-
sewage. Pipes from the higher floors carry waste from ly up to the right, climbing up into darkness. There
the privies down to this level, where a main then is no light in the stairway, and the air smells of mold
carries it out to the city’s sewer. The Tower’s sewage and damp.
main rusted through years ago, with the expected
result. Fortunately the Tower’s covered well is in This 3-foot-wide stair climbs 20 feet to the level
a different part of the cellar, and was not affected. landing in front of the Second Floor Door (see below).
Hand-pumps on higher floors draw water from the When the foremost PC reaches the seventh step, the
well via copper water pipes. footprint of a bare adult human left foot suddenly
appears on the step, glowing with an eerie greenish-yel-
THE SERPENT DOOR low radiance.

The door leading from the Ground Floor to the stairs Strange Signs: The moment any PC moves beyond
climbing up to the next level is a formidable barrier. that seventh step, a voice whispers from the empty air
It has stymied the Seven Knives thugs for days now. farther on up the stair: “Come closer.” A few moments
later, it repeats, “Closer.”
This 5-foot wide stone door has a ring-shaped metal
pull-handle set into a metal plate at the midpoint of its This is another “scare off intruders” illusion devised
left-hand edge. The metal plate is pierced by a keyhole, by a previous master of the Tower. It is harmless and
and appears to be the door’s locking mechanism. does nothing else. The glowing footprint fades away a
few minutes after it first appears, and won’t reappear
The door is locked, although the lock is not very for at least 24 hours, when triggered again.
good. It only requires a successful Dexterity check
(DC 15) check to open it, but the lock isn’t the SECOND FLOOR
obstacle.
This square stone room is the same size and height
Snake Trap (250 XP): Affixed to the back of the as the room below. It seems to be divided between
door is an airhole-perforated box, home to five small, storage of personal effects, magical reagents, and a
venomous snakes. Each is in a compartment that pantry.
opens through the door’s lock plate in a small, hidden
hatch-cover. A character examining the door for traps To your left are rows of cabinets and wooden shelves.
discovers the hidden hatch-covers in the lock plate The cabinets are filled with a wide variety of small clay
with a successful Wisdom/Perception check (DC 15). jars. The shelves are crowded with fat glass jars filled
The trap can be disabled by blocking or sealing with all sorts of things. Among the cabinets stands one
the hatch-covers, which requires a Dexterity check whose entire top is a copper sink. A handpump, iden-
(DC 10). tical to the one you saw in the room below is fastened
to the back of the sink so its spout pours into the sink.
Whenever someone tries to pick the lock, a wrong To your right sit sacks of flour, a “tower” of six stacked
motion (any check that fails by 4 or more) triggers wheels of cheese, and an A-frame of wooden poles
a spring mechanism that pushes a snake from its com- from which hang nets of onions and garlic, strings of
partment through its hidden hatch-cover, dropping it sausages, and a net holding an open box containing
in the lap of anyone working on the lock. The snake round loaves of bread.
is naturally aggravated by this treatment and attacks
(with surprise, the first time this happens). If the PCs Across the room are two ornate stone doors, side
break open or force the door, the box with the snakes by side. These doors are carved with two different but
in it drops to the floor when the door is opened, and similar scenes of dragons flying amid clouds, apparently
all five snakes get out at once. engaged in aerial combat with each other.

• 1 or 5 poisonous snakes Out from behind the stacked cheeses comes a black
cat. It stares at you, and meows plaintively.

The black cat is a perfectly ordinary housecat that
Kelauklyth brought to the Tower to keep down mice
and rats. (It’s not the “pet” referred to elsewhere in this
adventure.) It is friendly to the PCs if they’re gentle
with it, but will hiss, bite, and scratch if they don’t
treat it nicely.

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Quodeth, City of Thieves

Mysterious Warning: If any person other THIRD FLOOR
than Kelauklyth touches any of the cabinets or
the jars of reagents stored in them, an unfriendly This square stone room seems to be divided between
voice speaks out of thin air: “What is the secret a living area and a sleeping area. A closed stone door
that will keep you alive?” This is another glamer stands on the opposite side of the room. A large wicker
designed to deter intruders; nothing else happens, basket with a lid stands just to the right of the door. There
and it doesn’t matter if the PCs answer the voice is a curtained-off alcove in the room’s northeast corner,
or ignore it. with a cabinet sink and handpump nearby.

Jars: The clay jars in the cabinets contain A table and pair of chairs stand in the middle of the
ointments and potions (medicines, not magical) room. On the table is an unlit oil-lantern that looks full of
for the Kelauklyth’s personal use. The glass jars oil, flint and steel, a tankard, a fine wineglass, a plate, a
contain strange and unpleasant materials such as bowl, two small eating knives, a pair of forks, and a ladle.
pickled human eyeballs, pickled squid tentacles, Everything’s clean, and you can’t see any food.
chicken bones, the claws and paws of many small
birds and animals, a large number of small cloth In the middle of the south wall, curtains hanging from
bags that contain teeth and fangs from many crea- the ceiling enclose a large triangular bed that has posts at
tures (one sort per bag), mummified bats, dried its three corners, supporting a heavy cloth canopy above
severed human fingers, charcoal, iron nails, and it. The posts are made of gilded wood. They are carved to
powdered human bone. show multiple snakes coiling up each one. The wooden
serpents are posed with their wide-jawed heads raised to
One large clay jar rattles with a hollow sound spit or bite.
when examined: It contains a key that opens all
the doors in the Tower (this is where Kelauklyth
hides a spare).

Spear Trap (200 XP): The carved dragon door
on the left is locked, but leads to the second flight
of stairs. The door on the right conceals a spear
trap. A character examining the door detects
the trap with a successful Wisdom/Perception
check (DC 20). Otherwise, the trap is triggered
when someone attempts to open the door on the
right or poke, push, or prod at its surface. The
trap mechanism holds seven spears, each shooting
out from a different hidden port in the door; one
spear fires each time the trap is triggered. The
spear attacks with a +7 bonus and inflicts 2d6 +
3 damage if it hits. Behind the trapped door is a
shallow closet containing nothing but the mecha-
nism of the trap.

SECOND FLIGHT
OF STAIRS

The left-hand door in the paired doors on the Second
Floor is locked, and must be picked or forced open.
It leads to another stairway identical to the previous
flight of stairs.

Ghostly Figure: This stairway is not trapped, but it
is home to another of the Tower’s frightening illusions.
Whenever the door to the Third Floor is touched, a
ghostly, wraith-like human figure bursts through the
stone. Have the players roll initiative, and take what-
ever actions they like; the ghostly figure ignores any
attacks they make. At the end of the round, the appa-
rition charges down the stairs, passing through PCs in
its way, and then fades harmlessly away. It is a simple
illusion, not an undead creature or a magical attack.

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Quodeth, City of Thieves

The curtained-off corner in the northwest corner is a can change course in midair, rushing about until their
privy with a bench-seat toilet, flushed by a handpump gaping, poisoned fangs strike something solid.
jutting from the wall above it. The bed has a straw
mattress covered with a sheet, a thin blanket, and a Treasure (100 XP): Kelauklyth keeps a modest
mound of five plump pillows. amount of booty in a small wooden chest beneath the
bed. The chest contains 110 gp, 400 sp, a small silk
Under the pillow is a foot-long, thin stick of wood pouch with three agates worth 10 gp each, and a potion
carved to look like a scaled serpent with an arrow-s­haped of healing.
head. Although it looks like a wand, it isn’t—yet. It’s just
a carved stick that Kelauklyth hopes to turn into a wand THIRD FLIGHT
some day. He sleeps with it under his pillows, in the OF STAIRS
belief it will become “one” with his thoughts or dreams.
The door in the south wall of the Fourth Floor cham-
Snakes in a Basket (300 XP): The wicker basket ber leads to the now-familiar stairway passage. Yet
beside the far door contains several live and quite another disturbing sight awaits the party here, but this
dangerous snakes. If the basket isn’t disturbed or its lid one is real, not illusory.
lifted, they remain coiled up and quiet, but if aroused,
they spring up out of the basket to attack. A noose of black tarred rope hangs down from the ceiling
above the seventh step. It seems to dangle through a
• 3 giant poisonous snakes small aperture in the ceiling, not much larger than the
In addition to their normal abilities and attacks, diameter of the rope.
these snakes have a fly speed equal to their normal
movement rate—a curious magical effect of the Tower. If this still-sturdy rope is left undisturbed, nothing
The snakes fly at the PCs like seeing-eye arrows that happens. If the noose is touched or attacked, a deep
warning bell tolls from some unseen bell higher in the
196 tower. This alerts Kelauklyth to the approach of very
persistent and dangerous intruders.

At the head of the stairs, there is a small landing in front
of a closed stone door similar to others you have seen in
the Tower. This one seems to have a spreadeagled human
skeleton fused into its surface, protruding halfway out of
the stone. There’s something dark inside its bony ribcage,
something that hisses at you and starts to move!

The skeleton has been magically fused onto this door.
The door is locked. However, picking the lock or
forcing the door is difficult, since the skeleton’s ribcage
holds a coiled mass of small snakes.

Creatures (250 XP): The snakes begin to stir and
grow angry when anyone other than Kelauklyth ap-
proaches. They can easily wriggle out of the rib cage to
attack characters who attract their attention.

• 5 poisonous snakes

FOURTH FLOOR

The Tower’s fourth floor isn’t a single open room like the
lower levels. It’s divided into three parallel hallways run-
ning between a transverse corridor just inside the door
you’re looking through, and what looks to be a matching
open area on the far side of the level. There’s a closed
stone door in the wall opposite your door.

The central hallway has plain walls, but the two hall-
ways on either side of it have walls covered with shelves
and wooden pigeonholes for holding scrolls. All of them
look empty, except for three rolled-up parchments half-
way along the rack to your far right.

Quodeth, City of Thieves

Kelauklyth intends to make this level into his An eerie blue-green radiance kindles around a skull that
library, filling the shelves and grid racks with books suddenly appears out of thin air near the head of the
and scrolls, and painting the plain walls of the central stairs. Then the skull flies down the stairs toward you!
hallway with scenes of his triumphs. Allow the players
to have a half a minute at most of talk or debate and The skull is a programmed illusion. It reacts like a
answer any explanatory questions about what they see. living creature as it swoops down, ducking and dodg-
Then read: ing attacks, then darts right at the face of a random
PC. The skull seems to pass right through the target
Suddenly some small, scaly creature scurries into the character and then dissipates, leaving the target with
far end of the hallway to your left—something that rears an icy, crawling sensation and blinking at a bright
up in size with astonishing speed. It’s a dragon, its jaws blue-green flash in his or her eyes—unnerving, but
opening as it glares at you and rushes forward without harmless.
a sound!
Another skull, identical in looks and behavior,
The PCs see this same sight at the end of all three far appears for each step ascended after the third, until six
archways, as three lizards grow before their eyes into skulls have appeared. All strike at random PCs.
dragons that silently charge them!
Skull Trap (100 XP): The first five skulls are harm-
Creatures (350 XP): The three “dragons” are less illusions, but the sixth and last one is a magically
actually ordinary, harmless lizards, each about the animated skull of bronze that strikes like a mace. The
size of an iguana. They look like dragons because skull attacks with a +6 bonus, and deals 1d8 damage
programmed illusions (a magical property of this level when it hits. The PCs are surprised if they have decided
of the Tower) are triggered by the lizards’ release and to ignore the skull illusions. The animated skull attacks
create the images of dragons wherever the lizards go. once per round after its first strike. The magic animat-
Have the players roll initiative when the “dragons” ing the skull can be disrupted by targeting or striking
appear; the lizards act last in the round. the skull with any spell or magical effect. It can also be
defeated by five successful weapon attacks (the skull is
The illusory dragons ignore any attack or injury, AC 15 due to its small size and agility).
but if a lizard is killed, the dragon image tied to it
fades away. Since the lizards are hard to see behind At the head of the stairs is a landing, and a door
the dragon illusions, there is only a 1 in 6 chance that leading into the Fifth Floor:
any attack against a “dragon” happens to target the
lizard within the illusion. The lizards are trained to The stair ends at a closed stone door that seems to have
run up to first person they see and wait for a treat, so a stylized bronze skeleton design sculpted on the surface
the dragon images appear to charge up and then wait of the door. The image’s skull is missing, leaving an empty
expectantly. socket about the size and shape of the animated skull you
just encountered.
The lizards are normally kept in small cages in the
northwest corner of the room, out of sight of characters The rest of the bronze skeleton is harmless. The door is
at the entrance to the room. They were released from locked, like the others in the Tower.
their cages by the room’s true guardian—a dangerous
skeleton—when the monster heard the door from the FIFTH FLOOR
lower stairway open. The skeleton moves to follow one
of the “dragons” as it charges the PCs by the door, and This floor is dominated by a dome 20 feet across in the
plunges through the illusory dragon to engage the PCs center of its ceiling. Around the lip or lower edge of this
on the round after the dragon’s “charge.” dome runs a ring of archways formed by a circle of twelve
slender stone pillars. Standing tall and sinister at the
• 3 lizards center of this ring is a high-backed throne carved of some
• 1 damaged minotaur skeleton (33 hp, CR 1) dark, green-black stone. Its arched top resembles a star-
ing serpent head, and its side and arms are adorned with
Treasure (100 XP): Two of the rolled-up scrolls are snarling open-mouthed fanged serpents. It emanates a
blank, but the third holds a scroll of chromatic orb. faint acrid smell and has a waxy, unhealthy look.

FOURTH FLIGHT Beyond the throne and the ring of pillars, directly
OF STAIRS across the room from your door, is the usual closed stone
door leading to the next level.
This stairway resembles the stairways of the lower
levels—and, like them, it is protected by the Tower’s This is where Kelauklyth likes to sit and think or read
magical defenses. Once the leading PC reaches the tomes of magic. He isn’t here at the moment, and can
third step, a frightening apparition appears: be found on the Sixth Floor.

197

Quodeth, City of Thieves

Treasure (100 XP): A secret compartment in the
back of the throne contains six onyx gemstones (50 gp
each) and a potion of growth. The PCs must succeed on
an Intelligence/Investigation check (DC 15) to find the
hidden compartment.

FIFTH FLIGHT
OF STAIRS

The final flight of stairs is identical to the stairways of
the preceding levels. There is one final trap for the PCs
to overcome—an alarm system.

Chiming Steps: The third, fifth, eighth, eleventh,
and thirteenth steps don’t look any different from the
safe steps, but each one sinks an inch or so under the
weight of someone stepping on it. This strikes a large
chime hidden under the step, making a loud, rolling
note. The chimes under each step vary in tone, so the
five notes are each different. A character searching for
traps on the steps can find the chime-striking steps
with a successful Intelligence/ Investigation check
(DC 15); the DC drops to 10 to find all remaining
chime-striking steps after the PCs experience the first
one. Disabling the steps is not very hard, requiring
only a Dexterity check (DC 10), but it is of course
simpler to just step over the trapped steps.

The chimes are harmless, but they are loud, and they
alert Kelauklyth in the room above that someone is
approaching.

SIXTH FLOOR

198 Poisoned Throne: Small clear dabs of contact The top floor of the Tower is a square room about 50 feet
poison are smeared on the undersides of the arms of across. Large windows smudged with the soot of fiery
the throne. If any PC sits on the throne or searches it spells or experiments stand in each wall, each covered
without wearing a glove, there is a 50% chance that he by heavy wooden shutters. A wooden ladder fixed to the
or she accidentally touches the contact poison. west wall leads up to a trapdoor in the ceiling—the roof,
or so you would guess. The trapdoor is secured from
• Carrion crawler venom below by a heavy bolt.
Creature (200 XP): Lurking behind the throne,
hiding behind its bulk until the PCs get close, is Ke- Worktables and shelves are arranged around the
lauklyth’s pet, a foul little creature called the Kelau- perimeter of the room, cluttered with various notes and
ble. The creature skulks around the tower, hiding in diagrams on old parchment and a collection of strange
various spots. If it notices intruders, it attempts to hide powders, flasks, wands, amulets, and other devices of
until someone approaches the throne, then spring out arcane significance. A rather scorched pedestal lectern
and attack. It also attacks if the party continues on stands near the center of the chamber. Three skeletal
to the door leading to the next flight of stairs without warriors stand motionless in the middle of each wall.
investigating the throne. The Kelauble fights to the
death, but isn’t interested in suicide; it moves from PC If the PCs pulled the rope on the third flight of
to PC, trying to wound or disable and move on to an- stairs or stepped on a chiming step in the fifth flight,
other target. It goes after obvious spellcasters first, then K­ elauklyth is ready for them. Read the following text.
what it deems to be the weakest PCs, leaving the stron-
gest foes until last. “Hit and run” is its fighting style. Across the room from you is a dark, writhing wall of
• The Kelauble (see Chapter Six) serpents as high as a tall man’s chest. From behind this
barrier, a tall, thin, tuft-bearded man in green robes glares
coldly at you. He seems to be perhaps thirty years of
age, and his scalp is clean-shaven. “Who are you?” he
demands, as the serpents hiss and snap in front of him.
“Why have you invaded my home?”

Quodeth, City of Thieves

This chamber is where Kelauklyth comes to work If all three skeletons are destroyed and Kelauklyth
spells, obsessively trying to perfect new magics is at half hit points or less, he attempts to retreat.
by modifying written spells created by others (the He either dashes for the door leading down to the
flashes of these spells are often seen by citizens fifth stairway or heads for the ladder to the rooftop,
of Quodeth, as they flare behind the many large depending on which direction looks like his best bet.
windows of this room). Warned by the sound of the If escape is clearly impossible, he’s not too proud to
chimes from the stairs outside his door, the serpent- surrender and try to bargain for his life. He tries to
mancer is prepared to make a stand and defend his convince the PCs that there is a treasure hidden on
home. The wall of serpents is a harmless illusion, the rooftop, hoping he can distract the party long
although Kelaukyth hopes that it will deter his ene- enough to grab the scroll there and leap to safety.
mies from charging him all at once. If that fails, he promises to lead the PCs to a rich
treasure hidden somewhere in Quodeth, and seek to
Adventure Objective: If the PCs are here to escape when the opportunity presents itself.
search for Naraye Gluor, the spice merchant’s daugh-
ter is here, tied up in a chair. Kelauklyth abducted Dealing with Kelauklyth: If the PCs choose to
her with the idea of ransoming her back to her parlay with the sorcerer, Kelauklyth is coldly furious
father, and is holding her to raise the price. If the that the PCs have invaded his tower. He is arrogant
PCs are here to find an antivenin for Verglar Dethen, and ruthless, and he will promise anything but abide
the room’s contents include a healer’s kit with a large by his word only when it benefits him. He hungers
selection of specific antivenins. Kelauklyth might be to gather ever more magic, and although he doesn’t
persuaded to sell the antivenin for a princely sum, want worldly power, he also doesn’t want to be told
but if the PCs try to pay him with treasure they’ve what to do by anyone. If the party shows any signs of
taken from other levels of his tower, the serpent- weakness or indecision, Kelauklyth blasts them—he
mancer flies into a rage. hopes to catch them off guard and finish them with a
barrage of spells.
Room Features: The windows are about 2 feet
wide and 6 feet tall, and are made with glass panes Treasure (300 XP): In addition to any quest
in a light wooden frame—if the shutters weren’t objective that may be present and the gear Kelauk-
secured, it would be easy for someone to leap out (or lyth wears, wooden cases on the worktables contain
be pushed out) and fall 100 feet to the cobblestones additional treasure: a small pouch containing six
of the alley outside. Opening the shutters takes an carnelians worth 50 gp each, a brooch of shielding,
action. and three beads of force.

The trapdoor in the ceiling opens onto the steeply CONCLUSION
pitched roof of the tower. Up there, Kelauklyth
keeps a scroll of feather fall hidden in the mouth of With Kelauklyth and his foul little pet dead or
a gargoyle (a simple rain spout, not a monster). If captured, the Tower of the Black Flames belongs to
Kelauklyth gets a chance to flee by this route, he will the PCs—or does it? If the party did not discover the
take it. Seven Knives thugs hiding in the Ground Floor, the
thieves may attempt to overwhelm the heroes with
Creatures (550 XP): Kelauklyth remains behind a sudden attack after they finish with the sorcerer,
his wall of serpents as long as possible, raking the or ambush them on a lower floor. If the PCs leave
party with magical attacks. (See the description in behind any valuable treasure on the lower floors, the
Chapter Six for details of his powers and preferred Seven Knives who follow them naturally help them-
tactics.) He naturally favors serpent-themed spells, selves, and may in fact choose to leave with the loot.
and several of his powers have minor serpent-themed
variations (such as magic missiles that look like tiny The Tower itself is a valuable prize; the PCs may
golden snakes). want to claim it as their own lair in Quodeth. Its
magical properties and defenses are not easily puzzled
The skeletons are quite weak, and intended to serve out, however—it will take characters with arcane
as a distraction; they move to defend their master talents months to figure out how the Tower’s magic
when combat is joined. can be used to create illusions and animate objects or
undead guardians, during which time the PCs may
• Kelauklyth (see Chapter 6) discover new secrets of the Tower of Black Flames.
• 3 decrepit skeletons (hp 6, CR 1/8)

199