TEXT: The Cliffs Queen’s Court
  
  Beasts & Barbarians Heroic Tale #1:
  The Cliffs
  Queen’s Court
  A Sword and Sorcery Savage Worlds Heroic Tale For Beginning 
  Seasoned Characters.
  By Umberto Pignatelli and Dave Blewer 
  Edits: Mike “Upior” Slabon, Piotr Koryś 
  Layout: http://winnicki.pro/
  Art: Magdalena Partyka, some artwork copyright Michael Hammes and Philip Reed 
  and Fantasy Filler Art copyright Rick Hershey, used under license. 
  www.roninarts.com All Rights Reserved.
  
  3
  Introduction
  Introduction
  T
  he heroes were crossing the Cairnlands as part 
  of a caravan, either working as hired guards, or as 
  passengers traveling from the Marquees to Valkheim. 
  This morning the caravan was ambushed by a band of 
  Cairnlander marauders, and only the heroes escaped.
  To make matters worse, during their escape, they killed f 
  the marauders’ chief ’s son! The heroes are presently fleeing 
  on horseback, with the marauder band in close pursuit. 
  The chase has lasted several hours, and their horses are 
  exhausted—if the heroes don’t find refuge soon, they are 
  almost certainly doomed… 
  Sea of Fog
  The heroes long ago left any recognizable trails, attempting 
  to lose their pursuers in the wilderness along the shore of 
  the Drowned King Sea. A thick sea fog has risen up, and 
  covers the ground up too the horses fetlocks. This gives the 
  heroes the eerie illusion of racing across a sea of fog—the 
  ground is totally hidden from sight.
  A group of marauders have pulled ahead of their 
  comrades, and emboldened, spur their mounts in an attempt 
  to catch the heroes. Run this using the Chase Rules in 
  Savage Worlds. The Range Increments are 5” and the two 
  groups are 20” apart at the start of the chase. Obstacles are 
  Sparse, and include things like rabbit burrows, and small 
  bushes concealed in the fog. Finally, the heroes’ horses are 
  Exhausted (see Fatigue in Savage Worlds) and suffer a –2 to 
  Trait rolls. The marauders horses are Fatigued and suffer a 
  –1 to Trait rolls.
  At the start of the fourth round of the chase, the
  leading hero may make a Notice roll. Success allows him
  to spot a cliff edge rapidly approaching, and he can warn
  his comrades, and pull up in times. Failure on the Notice
  roll causes the horse to spot the danger and balk, possibly
  throwing its rider. If the heroes fail a Riding roll, he is
  thrown for 2d6 damage. With their escape blocked, the
  heroes must face their pursuers. Luckily the chase may have
  split the marauders up, making them somewhat easier to
  deal with.
  (M) Cairnlander Marauders (2 per hero).
  The Cliff’s Door
  Once the leading group of marauders has been dealt with, 
  the heroes have a few moments to catch their breath before 
  deciding their next move. This allows the efforts of the 
  day to catch up with them with a vengeance. Have each 
  hero attempt to succeed on a Vigor roll or suffer a level of 
  Fatigue. 
  Through the fog the heroes can hear the drumming of 
  hooves, as an overwhelming mob of marauders race towards 
  them. Their only hope of escape is down the cliff face. 
  Heroes who peer over the edge spy a narrow, dangerous 
  rough-hewn stairway, which disappears into the fog.
  The stair descends for several hundred feet, until 
  eventually it ends at an ancient, rusty, algae covered door 
  set into the rockface. A succesful Notice roll uncovers 
  strange runes beneath the rust, and detritus. Written in the 
  old Cairn language, these runes translate as “Beware things 
  unaged! Beware the gifts not refused”. 
  Honored Guests
  The door opens into a dark, damp, kelp-covered tunnel, 
  leading deeper into the cliff. After a few minutes of 
  traveling strange ethereal harp music and indistinct talking 
  and laughing is heard ahead. As the heroes progress further 
  they become aware of a light ahead, which appears to be 
  cast by torch or brazier, but also has the quality of light, 
  refracted through water. Eventually the cavern opens up 
  3
  
  4
  The Cliffs Queen’s Court
  into a spectacularly beautiful grotto. Read, or paraphrase 
  the following: 
  Before you is a cavern rivaling any palace. The 
  stone floor is polished, and exquisite coral columns 
  appear to support the roof. Well made tapestries 
  cover the walls, and are obviously made by many 
  different hands and styles. They do however all 
  depict aquatic scenes. Burning braziers masked 
  by light –distorting seaweed drapes, warms the 
  chamber.
  You have interrupted a feast. Seated upon cush-
  ions around a large stone table are dark skinned, 
  beautiful, strangely ephemeral women dressed in 
  revealing silks. Human maidens, dressed in green 
  serve them, many are Cairnlanders, but others 
  from other further flung lands are also present. 
  Other dark skinned women are dancing to music 
  played on a coral harp by a tall woman who’s 
  beauty dwarves all others in the room. 
  When the heroes make their presence known, the 
  playing, and the dancing comes to a sudden, chaotic halt 
  as everyone stares at the heroes, startled. Quickly, the harp 
  player visibly collects her wits and greets them, introducing 
  herself as Seablossom, Queen of the Kingdom Under The 
  Cliff, asks them their names, and invites them to eat and 
  drink. She does everything possible to make them feel 
  welcome and too soothe their worries.
  If the heroes raise worries about the Cairnlander 
  Marauders, Seablossom assures them the high tide will 
  cover the tunnel entrance they used until dawn, she is 
  evasive on all other questions claiming there will be plenty 
  of time to talk once the heroes are rested and refreshed.
  The Feast
  Cushions are brought for the heroes, and space is made at 
  the stone table. The serving maids place coral plates heaped 
  with strange and exotic seafood delicacies, alongside cups 
  of amber wine with a slightly salty taste. 
  Each male hero is seated between two of the dark skinned 
  beauties, and the male hero with the highest Charisma is 
  placed near the head of the table next to Seablossom herself. 
  Female heroes find themselves placed at the far end of the 
  table and all but ignored. If the heroes reject the offered 
  seating, and insist on sitting all together, Seablossom and 
  her court will be offended by the refusal, and treat them 
  with icy indifference for the rest of the feast.
  During the course of the feast the male heroes enjoy 
  the attentions of the courtesans seated either side of him. 
  They hand feed him choice treats from their plates, and 
  frequently touch the heroes, their caresses straying very 
  close to intimate areas. As the feast continues they start to 
  openly flirt with the hero, competing with one another for 
  his attention. Whether the hero responds to this attention 
  or not has no mechanical effect upon the rest of the scenario. 
  However, a less than polite rebuttal of the attention earns 
  them a cold stare, and they are ignored for the rest of the 
  festivities.
  The food may be strange, and exotic to the heroes, but it 
  proves to be not only delicious, but also must be enchanted. 
  Each hero may remove either a Wound or a level of Fatigue. 
  During the meal, have the heroes make a Notice roll. The 
  hero who succeeds with the highest score becomes aware of 
  a Cairnlander serving maid trying to discreetly attract their 
  attention. Seeing her success she approaches the hero using 
  the excuse of refilling his wine glass, or empty plate to lean 
  in close and whisper: 
  “You are in danger! Don’t drink or eat anything 
  more!”
  Unfortunately, before she can be questioned further, she 
  is shooed away by one of Seablossom’s courtesans. The hero 
  can try and alert his companions, but should do so stealthily. 
  Those alerted may also want to question the serving girl , 
  but this will prove to be almost impossible unless one of 
  them claims to need to answer a call of nature. Seablossom 
  looks disgusted at the thought of such a base act, but orders 
  one of the serving girls to show the hero to a nearby alcove. 
  Fortunately, it is the same girl who approached the hero. 
  If the heroes are discovered in their plotting—or just flat 
  out accuse Seablossom of trying to poison them—the 
  Cliff Queen at the very least starts the next part of the 
  celebration, the Dance. 
  Once she is away from Seablossom, and her courtesans, 
  the serving maid is able to talk, albeit hurriedly. They 
  only have a few minutes before their absence will become 
  suspicious. The girl reveals her name is Winna — read or 
  paraphrase the following depending on the questions the 
  hero asks:
  “You are all in terrible danger! The queen and 
  the others are not what they appear to be. They 
  are witches who feed upon the flesh of men to 
  preserve their youth and beauty. If you stay here 
  you will all be dead before dawn and your women 
  will be enslaved, just as I was. The only way out 
  is another exit above the tide line, but it is barred 
  by a locked gate which is opened by a key which 
  hangs around the queen’s neck. If you can get 
  that, there is a chance of escaping to freedom!”
  Only the hero being personally attended by Seablossom 
  has a chance to steal the carved coral key, hanging on a 
  seaweed cord around her neck. To do so they are going to 
  have to allow her to play her seductive games with them, 
  
  5
  The Dance
  hoping an opportunity will present itself to take the key 
  undetected.
  Once the hero initiates the attempt, he must make 
  alternating Persuasion and Stealth rolls, opposed by the 
  queens Notice. Each success grants the hero a token—two 
  with a raise. He only has five rounds to gather five or more 
  tokens, which signifies the key has been stolen unnoticed. 
  If he fails to gather enough tokens in the allotted time, 
  Seablossom halts proceedings to initiate the Dance. If 
  he rolls a critical failure , the queen realizes what he is 
  attempting to do and attacks him.
  The Dance
  At some point—either decided by the heroes actions, or 
  the Game Masters whim—Seablossom stops what she is 
  doing and loudly calls for everyone’s attention. Read or 
  paraphrase the following:
  .“The night is young, and our company is youthful 
  and vigorous! It is time for us to dance! Play!
  .At Seablossom’s words the coral harp she was playing 
  earlier starts to produce beautiful and rhythmic music, even 
  though no one is playing it. Seablossom, and many of the 
  courtesans start to sway, adding to the music with finger 
  cymbals. Other courtesans leap to their feet with gleeful 
  shouts. Some descend upon the heroes—even the women—
  and attempt to pull them to their feet, and into the dance.
  Ask the players if they are going to join in, those who 
  refuse discover they are being are compelled magically to 
  dance. They must succeed at a Spirit roll with a -2 penalty 
  if they ate the feast’s food, and a further -2 penalty if they 
  drank the wine. Failure means they are forced to dance.
  Initially the dance may seem amusing, but it soon 
  becomes frenzied and exhausting. Every fifteen minutes 
  each dancing hero must succeed at a Vigor roll—the 
  penalties from eating and drinking are halved—or suffer a 
  level of Fatigue. Only if they succeed with a raise are they 
  able to cease dancing. Anyone who dies from exhaustion 
  rapidly ages and decays.
  The heroes who stop dancing are attacked by Seablossom 
  and two of the courtesans, with razor sharp claws. If the 
  harp is destroyed, the compulsion to dance ends—it has an 
  Toughness of 7. Dancing heroes can still use Intimidation 
  and Trick attacks, though they suffer a -4 penalty due to not 
  being in control of their bodies.
  (M) (WC)Seablossom
  (M) Seablossom’s Courtesan (2 per hero +1)
  Escape through
  the Palace
  Once Seablossom and her evil coven are dealt with, and 
  they have recovered the coral key, Winna can lead them out 
  of the palace through the other exit. 
  They must hurry, because a few moments after 
  Seablossom’s death the palace starts to crumble!
  “Come on!” Winna shouts “We must leave this 
  place before it is too late!” 
  Handle this situation as a chase. The heroes start at 
  Medium distance and each Range Increment equates to 5” 
  on the tabletop. Consider Winna to be “attached” to the 
  character she spoke before.
  Every 10” advanced from the heroes in the chase 
  (2 Range Increments), they cross a particular location. 
  Consider every location to be 10” long for chase purposes.
  Dark Corridor: Dark Light Conditions, which inflict a 
  -2 on all rolls.
  
  6
  The Cliffs Queen’s Court
  Slippery Stairs: Anyone attempting to climb these 
  stairs must succeed on an Agility roll or have their Pace 
  halved (round down). Rolling 1 on the Trait dice, regardless 
  of the Wild Die, slips and falls, suffering 2d6 damage They 
  do advance 3” however.
  Treasure Room: Piles of gold, jewels and gems lie in 
  this room—loot from earlier victims. A hero may forgo his 
  movement and gather 300 Moons in gold and treasure (15 
  lbs). However doing so can encumber him. Greedy heroes 
  may have to succeed at a Spirit roll before being able to 
  move on. 
  Chamber of Specters: The souls of past victims have 
  collected in this room and shriek their hat at any who pass 
  through. Each hero must make a Guts (-1) roll every round 
  they are in the chamber.
  The Gate: A massive rusting bronze gate bars the heroes 
  final exit. It has three separate locks, all which are opened 
  by the same key. Luckily the mechanisms are smooth 
  and if the hero succeeds at an Agility roll, it is possible to 
  disengage two locks in the same round, otherwise only one 
  is unlocked. 
  An Unhappy
  End
  Opening the gate washes the heroes in the sunlight of 
  dawn. 
  You escape barely in time, while, behind you, the 
  entrance to Seablossom’s reign collapses among 
  the debris.
  They have emerged in the ruins of a watchtower further 
  down the coast. As the sunlight strikes Winna she starts 
  to rapidly age, until she becomes an aged crone. Before 
  she succumbs to old age she whispers her last words to the 
  heroes:
  “I was forced into service over a century ago, and 
  I knew what fate awaited me should I escape. Do 
  not grieve for me. I die, but I die free!”
  The heroes have ended a threat which plagued this 
  region for centuries: Seablossom, the Cliff Queen! The 
  marauders they were fleeing from earlier are nowhere to be 
  seen. They may have emerged from the fallen palace with 
  gold and treasure. 
  Today is a good day to be alive!
  Creatures
  and NPC
  Cairnlander Marauder
  These fearsome warriors of the Cairnlands have the features 
  of a skull painted upon their faces with white wode. Small 
  bones from their ancestors hang from their armor. The 
  Cairnlanders believe they can draw upon them for strength 
  and skill. 
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, 
  Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Riding d6, 
  Shooting d6.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (1)
  Gear: hand weapons (Str+d6), bow (Damage: 2d6, Range: 
  12/24/48), leather armor (+1).
  Hindrances: Greedy.
  Edges: -
  Special abilities:
  • War Leader: One in every eight marauder has Fighting
  d8, Riding d8, and the Command Edge.
  Seablossom
  This stunningly beautiful creature was once a witch who was 
  forced into marriage by an ancient king of the Cairnlands. 
  Ruthlessly evil, she murdered him, and usurped his throne. 
  Gradually she became the depraved demon she is today, and 
  find the touch of sunlight to be painful. She lives within her 
  palace in the cliffs enticing men into her clutches so she 
  may feed on their flesh. 
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d8, 
  Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d8, 
  Persuasion d10, Sorcery d10, Stealth d6.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 6
  
  7
  Creaturesand NPC
  Special Abilities:
  •
  Attractive, Seablosson is a stunning beauty and has
  Charisma +6; 
  •
  Claws: Str+d4.
  •
  Demon: Demons are immune to poison and disease
  and gain a +2 bonus to recover from being Shaken.
  •
  Weakness (Harp): Destroying Seablossom’s harp
  removes her sorcery skills – she cannot cast any spell. 
  •
  Sorcery: Seablossom is a powerful witch. She has
  20 Power Points and knows the following Powers:
  deflection (fast reflexes),fear (frightening illusions), stun
  (glowing eyes), and smite (pain touch). 
  Seablossom’s Courtesan
  These creatures were once the hand maidens of the 
  Cairnland Witchqueen Seablossom. Over the years they 
  have become corrupted into the foul creatures they are 
  today.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d8, 
  Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Persuasion d8, 
  Throwing d6, Stealth d6.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
  Gear: Chackram bracelets x2 (Damage: Str+d4, Range: 
  4/8/16, -1 to Fighting rolls, AP 2 A raise on the Throwing 
  roll negates the target’s cover).
  Special Abilities:
  •
  Attractive, Courtesans have Charisma: +2; 
  •
  Claws: Str+d6.
  •
  Demon: Demons are immune to poison and disease
  and gain a +2 bonus to recover from being Shaken.
  
  Coming   his spring!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/Beasts & Barbarians/Savage Worlds - Beasts & Barbarians - Heroic Tale #1 - The Cliffs Queen's Court.pdf