TEXT: 12
  W
  ith the release of 
  Conan the Roleplaying 
  Game we thought 
  it might be rather nice to have an 
  exclusive in Signs & Portents.  With 
  that in mind we have liberated the 
  following article which will expand the 
  game and open up some new gaming 
  possibilities for Hyborian gamers.
  Presented below are full rules for using 
  Stygian and Acheronian chariots, both 
  for use in battle and in sporting arenas.  
  Howard is rather thin on detail in this 
  respect, although it is fair to say that in 
  various parts of Hyboria chariot racing 
  as well as other sporting events will 
  take place.  Probably not in the western 
  monarchies of Aquilonia and Nemedia, 
  but one can easily picture chariot 
  racing in Zamora, Corinthia, Koth and 
  Shem.  The prospect of camel racing in 
  Turan also springs to mind, but that’s 
  for another article.
  The fi nal decision on where chariot 
  racing might take place is with each 
  individual Games Master, but it 
  opens up the prospect of a career 
  as a charioteer as well as numerous 
  storylines to fold into adventures and 
  campaigns.
  As well as chariots, we also have a 
  brand new race for Hyboria – the 
  Acheronians.  This degenerate, corrupt 
  and thoroughly unpleasant race once 
  ruled much of what is now Hyboria, 
  but that was 3,000 years ago.  Now 
  they live in anonymity, but the 
  challenge for players is still there.  Can 
  they begin to rebuild the glories of 
  Acheron? Can they follow in the tracks 
  of the terrifying Xaltotun, perhaps 
  Conan’s greatest antagonist?  It will 
  take some doing.
  Chariots
  The Stygian chariot is extremely 
  lightweight and as a result is 
  signifi cantly faster and more nimble 
  than earlier chariots such as the 
  lumbering Acheronian type.  The 
  northern nations regard chariots as 
  essentially obsolete in any case, but 
  the Stygian armies still use chariot 
  regiments to powerful effect.  
  Chariot 
  Descriptions
  All chariots require warhorses to pull 
  such a weight at speed but there is 
  a wide variation within the chariots 
  themselves.  Listed below are two 
  designs seen on battlefi elds during 
  the Hyborian Age; each is given the 
  following characteristics:
  Horses
  This is how many warhorses are 
  required to pull the chariot.  No other 
  creatures may be used in their place.  
  Passengers
  Chariots are basically simple, three-
  sided carts with space for two or more 
  passengers.  This lists how many Small 
  or Medium-sized creatures may ride 
  in a chariot.  Large creatures take the 
  space of two Medium-sized ones.  
  Creatures of Huge size or greater may 
  not ride in the chariots listed below.  A 
  chariot will always require a driver to 
  control its movement.  
  Speed
  This is the base speed of the chariot 
  when pulled by the maximum number 
  of horses.  As horses are lost through 
  combat or other means, the chariot’s 
  base speed moves to the next number 
  on this line, thus gradually slowing 
  down.  
  Hardness
  As detailed in Core Rulebook I, this is 
  the hardness of each chariot.  
  Hit Points
  Every chariot has a number of hit 
  points.  When these are reduced to 0, 
  the chariot is destroyed.  
  Turn Rate
  The lighter a chariot is, the faster its 
  driver can get it to turn at speed.  The 
  fi rst number here is the turn a chariot 
  Roleplaying in the Hyborian Age
       Ian Sturrock
  Of Chariots and Acheronians
  
  13
  can make, in degrees, when moving 
  at normal speed.  The second number 
  lists how much it can turn when 
  making a double move.  No chariot 
  can turn at running speed.  
  Cost
  This is the base price a chariot costs to 
  purchase; any chariot may be upgraded 
  however (see below).  
  Weight
  This is the base 
  weight of a 
  chariot, without 
  passengers, cargo 
  and horses.  
  Cargo
  All chariots 
  may carry 
  cargo instead 
  of, or in 
  addition 
  to, any 
  passengers.  
  This 
  amount is 
  listed in 
  this section.  
  It is assumed that the passengers and 
  their gear weigh no more than 200 
  pounds each – any excess above this 
  amount will reduce the amount of 
  other cargo that can be carried.  
  Overrun
  This is the base damage caused by the 
  chariot when performing an overrun 
  attack.  
  Stygian War 
  Chariot
  Horses 2
  Passengers 2
  Speed 60 ft.  /50 ft.  
  Hardness 5
  Hit Points 10
  Turn Rate 90o/45o
  Cost 1,800 sp
  Weight 250 lb.  
  Cargo 150 lb.  
  Overrun 2d8
  This is the standard war chariot 
  of Stygia, little changed since the 
  ancestors of today’s Stygian warrior 
  caste modifi ed the design from the 
  Acheronians thousands of years ago.  
  Acheronian War 
  Chariot
  Horses 4
  Passengers 4
  Speed 40 ft./40 ft./30 ft./20 ft.
  Hardness 5
  Hit Points 20
  Turn Rate 45o/-
  Cost 3,200 sp*
  Weight 500 lb.
  Cargo 300 lb.
  Overrun 4d6
  Acheronian war chariots are rarely 
  available to buy, since the remaining 
  Acheronians no longer build them.  
  Their game statistics are provided for 
  comparison to the Stygian chariot 
  and to represent any more old-
  fashioned chariots, such as might be 
  found in ancient tombs or ridden 
  by mysteriously resurrected Old 
  Acheronians and giant-kings.  
  Movement
  Chariots move in initiative order in the 
  same way as any mounted combatant.  
  There are, however, some important 
  differences.  A chariot may turn once 
  at any point in its move, up to the 
  amount listed as its turn rate.  A light 
  chariot may make this turn while 
  making a normal or double 
  move, heavy chariots 
  may only make it 
  safely when carrying 
  out a normal move 
  and neither 
  can safely 
  turn while 
  running.  
  In addition, chariots 
  may ‘drift’ up to ten 
  feet left or right for 
  every full thirty feet 
  they move forwards.  
  This is performed as a free action 
  and in no way impedes any other 
  movement the chariot may perform.  
  A chariot driver may choose to whip 
  his horses harder as a full round action.  
  If he succeeds at a Handle Animal 
  check at DC 10, he may increase his 
  base speed by ten feet for that round 
  only.
    
  Tight Turns
  The driver may also attempt to get his 
  chariot to make a much tighter turn 
  than is entirely safe.  A driver may 
  choose to make two turns in a round 
  instead of just one, though these must 
  be made at the beginning and end 
  of the move – they may not be made 
  halfway through as a normal turn may.  
  This is a full round action and requires 
  the driver to make a Handle Animal 
  check at DC 12 if he is moving at base 
  speed and DC 15 at double speed.  A 
  
  14
  single turn may be made at running 
  speed, again with a successful Handle 
  Animal check, this time at DC 25.  
  If these checks are failed, the chariot 
  will automatically overturn at the start 
  of the next turn, as covered below in 
  Collisions and Overturning.  
  Combat
  All passengers on board a chariot may 
  make their normal attacks as if they 
  were mounted (see Core Rulebook 
  I, Chapter 8).  The chariot driver, 
  however, must always dedicate at least 
  one hand to controlling the horses 
  and so may only wield single-handed 
  weaponry.  Any passenger may make 
  an attack at any point in their move, 
  such is the speed of the chariot.  This 
  in no way affects the number of actions 
  they may perform each round.  
  All chariots, no matter what their 
  size, are assumed to take up a space 
  fi ve feet wide and ten feet long, with 
  the horses directly ahead.  Either 
  passengers, horses or the chariot itself 
  may be targeted by an attack if within 
  reach or range, though passengers will 
  receive the benefi t of cover for attacks 
  to the front or sides of their chariot, 
  as detailed in The Player’s Handbook.  
  This is from a low wooden barrier 
  running round the sides and front of 
  the chariot.  
  Passengers receive no benefi t for attacks 
  originating from the rear of their 
  chariot.  
  If any horse is slain whilst pulling a 
  chariot, it must be cut free within one 
  round, as described under Collisions 
  and Overturning, or the chariot will 
  automatically overturn.  
  Sideswipes
  Although the main use of the chariot is 
  to provide nobles with a platform for 
  archery and a means of getting around 
  the battlefi eld, they can also be used to 
  directly injure enemies by driving the 
  chariot sideways into an enemy chariot.
  Any chariot driver moving his vehicle 
  alongside another chariot may choose 
  to sideswipe it as a full round action.  
  The drivers of both chariots must make 
  an opposing Handle Animal check.  
  The winner will deal damage to the 
  loser’s chariot, as listed below:
  Chariot Sideswipe
  Damage   Critical   Type
  2d6 
   20/x2 
  Bludgeoning
  Against Warriors on 
  Foot
  The passengers of a chariot may attack 
  any warrior on foot as if they were 
  mounted.  Those on foot may fi ght 
  back as if the warriors in the chariot 
  were mounted.  However, the driver 
  of a chariot may overrun his enemies, 
  driving his horses and chariot right 
  over them.  
  Overrun attacks are detailed in The 
  Player’s Handbook.  If successful, such 
  an attack will cause an additional 
  amount of damage to the target equal 
  to the Overrun score of the chariot, as 
  covered above.  
  Collisions and 
  Overturning
  One of the most impressive sights on 
  the battlefi eld or racetrack is that of a 
  chariot moving at full speed then, for 
  whatever reason, overturning.  Wood, 
  passengers and horses all tumble and 
  break apart as a cloud of dust and 
  blood veils the entire mess.  Few ever 
  survive such accidents and it is often 
  only the skill of the charioteer that can 
  avoid such disaster.  
  Handle Animal checks are used by 
  the charioteer to control his chariot 
  whenever he attempts an extreme 
  action or when a collision looms up 
  ahead.  The DCs of such checks are 
  listed below;
  Action DC
  Cutting free a dead horse before 
  chariot overturns:  
  10
  Swapping drivers whilst chariot is in 
  motion:  
   
  10
  Hitting Medium-sized creature or
  object:   
   
  15
  Hitting Large-sized creature or 
  object:  
   
  20
  Hitting an immovable object such as a 
  stone building:  
   
  30
  There is a +5 bonus to this check if 
  the chariot is moving at base speed or 
  slower and a –5 penalty if it is moving 
  at running speed.  
  If the Handle Animal check is 
  successful, the chariot neatly avoids the 
  obstacle or swerves at the last moment.  
  Games Masters are encouraged to use 
  the above examples as a base should 
  their players ever attempt an action 
  not listed here.  If the driver passes his 
  check, he succeeds in the action he 
  was attempting or manages to avoid 
  tragedy, as appropriate.  If he fails the 
  check by 5 points or less, the chariot 
  must move in a completely straight 
  line for the next round.  No turns 
  or drifts may be attempted.  If the 
  chariot cannot move straight ahead 
  for whatever reason (an immovable 
  object being directly in front of it 
  for example), then the chariot will 
  automatically overturn.  If he fails by 
  more than 5 points, the chariot will 
  overturn.
  Overturning
  If a chariot overturns, the chariot itself, 
  along with all passengers and horses, 
  take an amount of damage equal to 
  the Overrun score of the chariot.  
  Passengers may make a Refl ex check at 
  DC 20 to halve this damage.  
  An overturned chariot, if it survives 
  intact, takes 1d6 minutes to put right 
  and re-hitch any living horses.  As 
  battles frequently last several hours, 
  with brief rests between engagements, 
  this is quite commonly done on the 
  battlefi eld.  The combined Strength 
  required is equal to the original hit 
  points of the chariot.  
  
  15
  Chariot Upgrades
  All chariots may be upgraded with 
  fi ttings and devices designed to 
  increase their lethality in some way for 
  battle.  The weight of these upgrades 
  is deducted from the cargo capacity 
  of the chariot in question.  Many 
  charioteers and warriors spend a 
  great deal of time personalising their 
  chariots, wanting a distinctive-looking 
  vehicle so as to ensure they are highly 
  visible on the battlefi eld.  
  Archery Rack
  Many chariots have the cheap addition 
  of a simple wooden spear rack 
  mounted inside, allowing crews ready 
  access to enough ranged weapons to 
  last an entire battle.  
  An archery rack holds up to two bows 
  of any kind, and comes with three 
  oversize quivers each holding up to 40 
  arrows.  10 lb.  20 sp.  
  Metal Banding
  Large iron bands hammered around 
  the frame at the 
  sides of the chariot, 
  greatly increasing 
  its resilience to 
  damage.  Whereas 
  a normal chariot 
  may be susceptible 
  to strikes from 
  axes and heavier 
  weapons, it will 
  take a determined 
  and accurate hit 
  to damage one 
  reinforced with 
  metal banding.  
  Metal Banding 
  adds a bonus of 
  +1 to a chariot’s 
  hardness score.  
  120 lb.  200 sp.  
  New Feat
  Chariot Combat 
  (General)
  You are skilled in chariot combat, 
  maximising the benefi ts from the 
  limited cover afforded you by its walls.  
  Prerequisite: Handle Animal skill, Base 
  Attack Bonus +1.  
  Benefi t: When you are in a chariot, you 
  gain double the usual cover bonus from 
  its low walls.  
  Special: If you have the Chariot 
  Combat feat, you may select any feats 
  for which the Mounted Combat feat is a 
  prerequisite just as though you also had 
  Mounted Combat.  These feats may 
  then be used when you are in a chariot, 
  just as though you were mounted. 
  However, you may not use them when 
  mounted unless you also have Mounted 
  Combat.  
  New Race:
  Acheronian
  Though the ancient empire of Acheron 
  was overrun and destroyed by the 
  Hyborian barbarians three millennia 
  ago, many of Acheronians survived the 
  onslaught and were assimilated into 
  the then-new Hyborian kingdoms, 
  particularly in Nemedia and 
  Aquilonia.  Here their descendants 
  survive in scattered hill villages, 
  barely noticed by the descendants of 
  the barbarian destroyers of Acheron, 
  preserving dark rituals and strange 
  customs that have otherwise been 
  forgotten.  In these tiny hamlets the 
  Acheronians bide their time, fi rmly 
  believing that their empire of evil 
  will one day return, overthrowing the 
  petty kingdoms of the Hyborians to 
  usher in a new reign of sorcery. 
  Acheronians are tall, white-skinned 
  and dark-haired.  The men tend to 
  wear full beards and are cadaverously 
  thin, while the women are lithe yet 
  voluptuous.  Some scholars believe 
  the Acheronians to be closely related 
  to the race of giant-kings that are said 
  to have been the founders of Stygia, 
  long before those now known as 
  Stygians conquered that land. 
  Culture: The culture of Acheron is 
  now so lost in the mists of time that 
  many Hyborians doubt that it is 
  anything other than a myth.  Similar 
  to Stygians in many ways, the 
  Acheronians were greater sorcerers, 
  practising foul necromancy, 
  thaumaturgy of the most evil kind, 
  and grisly magic taught to them 
  by devils.  They built towers rather 
  than pyramids and used gold coin as 
  currency.  The degenerate modern 
  Acheronian is no more than a 
  shadow of those ancient sorcerers.
  Names: Xaltotun, Baal, Chiron, 
  Tothmekri, Thugra Khotan and 
  Akivasha are the only Acheronian 
  names we know of for certain.  
  Contemporary Acheronians might 
  give their children Nemedian or 
  Aquilonian names as a form of cover, 
  or, as with the examples we have of 
  ancient Acheronian names, their 
  names might be similar to those 
  of Stygia or derived from names 
  of Phoenician gods and demons.  
  Suggestions: (male) Aleyin, El, 
  Hadad, Hammon, Hay-Tau, Keret, 
  Mot, Ruti, Sutekh, Tsaphon; (female) 
  Anat, Asherat, Baalat, Sapas. 
  But while in both Aquilonia and 
  Nemedia men talked of the madness 
  of the king, in Nemedia men talked 
  much of Xaltotun, the masked one.  
  Yet few saw him in the streets of 
  Belverus.  Men said he spent too much 
  time in the hills, in curious conclaves with 
  surviving remnants of an old race: dark, 
  silent folk who claimed descent from an 
  ancient kingdom.  Men whispered of drums 
  beating far up in the dreaming hills, of 
  fires glowing in the darkness, and strange 
  chantings borne on the winds, chantings 
  and rituals forgotten centuries ago 
  except as meaningless formulas mumbled 
  beside mountain hearths in villages whose 
  inhabitants differed strangely from the 
  people of the valleys.
  Robert E. Howard, The Hour of the Dragon
  
  16
  Religion: Like the Stygians, the 
  Acheronians of old were worshipers of 
  Set, the Old Serpent.  They believed, 
  not without some justifi cation, in 
  bodily resurrection, and communed 
  with the creatures of the Outer Dark, 
  often taking such devils as familiars.
  • +2 Charisma, -2 Strength.  
  Acheronians have very 
  forceful personalities, but are 
  far less powerful of body.
  • -1 racial penalty to all 
  Diplomacy and Gather 
  Information checks that target 
  non-Acheronians.  Though 
  Acheronians are powerfully 
  charismatic, there is a sinister 
  and rather antisocial edge to 
  their personalities that makes 
  other races very wary of them. 
  • +2 racial bonus to all Craft 
  (alchemy), Craft (herbalism) 
  and Knowledge (arcana) 
  checks.  Acheronians still 
  remember the old ways, the 
  ways that once allowed their 
  ancestors to rule much of 
  the known world by sheer 
  magical might. 
  • -2 racial penalty to all 
  saving throws against 
  Corruption.  
  Acheronians are 
  probably the most 
  corrupt human race 
  still in existence, 
  if they can even 
  be said to be truly 
  human.  It would 
  not even occur to a 
  typical Acheronian 
  to resist being 
  corrupted, or even 
  that it was possible 
  to become more 
  corrupt!
  • +1 racial bonus 
  to all magic attack 
  rolls when using 
  curses.  Acheronians 
  are experts in the 
  path of wizardry 
  in general, but are 
  particularly effective 
  and vindictive 
  when blasting 
  their enemies with 
  curses.
  Background Skills: 
  Craft (alchemy), 
  Craft (herbalism), 
  Knowledge 
  (arcana).
  Favoured Class: 
  Scholar.
  Prohibited Classes: 
  Barbarian, Noble, 
  Nomad, Pirate.
  Automatic 
  Languages: 
  Acheronian, plus the language of 
  whichever Hyborian kingdom they live 
  in. 
  Bonus Languages: Demonic, Old 
  Stygian, Nemedian, Aquilonian, 
  Brythunian, Ophirean, Corinthian, 
  Hyperborean.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Conan RPGs/Other Sword & Sorcery/Signs & Portents/Of Chariots and Acheronians.pdf