TEXT: THE TREASURE HOUSE OF JAIZIN KAA
  BY RICHARD AUGUST
  CONAN ADVENTURE
  J
  aizin Kaa claims to be the wealthiest merchant in 
  Zamora. And, if he isn’t quite the wealthiest, he can 
  reliably be called the most ferocious and protective 
  of his wealth. His Treasure House — an enormous 
  fortified mansion, heavily guarded and filled with the 
  collected loot from a lifetime of bartering and trading 
  — is among the most coveted prizes in the whole of the 
  Western kingdoms. This is partially due to the fact that 
  no one has ever managed to successfully steal from Jaizin 
  Kaa. It is said that no thief has ever managed to filch even 
  a single copper coin from the Treasure House’s vast stores.
  The mangled corpses of more than a dozen unfor-
  tunates whose heists failed offer a silent guarantee of 
  the treatment Jaizin Kaa reserves for those who abuse 
  his hospitality. Guards patrol the mansion’s walls and 
  the grounds beyond them, concealed lethality lurks 
  behind doors in the form of deadly traps, and, so it is 
  rumored, darker and deadlier things haunt the inner 
  reaches of the Treasure House.
  And yet, the riches, which await those bold enough, 
  fast enough, clever enough, to reach them, are said to 
  be beyond even a master thief’s wildest imaginings. 
  Getting in and out might not be easy, but the rewards 
  — measured in gold and fame — are enough to seal a 
  young thief’s reputation or provide the means by which 
  an older thief might retire. All they have to do is survive.
  “You swindle the king, beggar the rich, oppress the poor, and sacrifice 
  the whole future of the nation for your ruthless ambition. You 
  are no more than a fat hog with his snout in the trough. You are 
  a greater thief than I am. This Cimmerian is the most honest 
  man of the three of us, because he steals and murders openly.”
  — Murilo, “Rogues in the House”
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  2
  RUNNiNG ThE 
  ADVENTURE
  The Treasure House of Jaizin Kaa is an adventure for thieves, 
  using the material from Conan the Thief. While it may work 
  with player characters created as barbarians, warriors, 
  priests, archers, or other archetypes, it works best with a 
  party composed of burglars, bandits, and house-breakers. It 
  consists, predominantly, of a robbery approachable in any 
  way the player characters choose. There is no right way or 
  wrong way — each route is designed to have its own partic-
  ular difficulties to overcome and, whatever the players and 
  their characters opt to do, the heist is extremely dangerous. 
  However, the player characters are free to choose their own 
  path through the obstacles laid before them — the more 
  creative their solution the better.
  When Conan and Taurus of Nemedia attempt rob the 
  Tower of the Elephant, their methods are significantly dif-
  ferent from each other. Conan intends to simply stab anyone 
  and anything that gets too close to him. Taurus has come 
  prepared with poisonous tinctures and grappling hooks. 
  Both methods might have worked. The same is true here. 
  The gamemaster should let the players be as imaginative 
  as they want, countenancing the most outrageous means 
  of overcoming every impediment thrown in their way, and 
  attempting to keep the tension high, even if things diverge 
  wildly from the adventure described on these pages.
  What happens Next?
  The adventure is broken into a series of different scenes 
  with advice on linking them together into an adventure 
  which flows naturally — allowing the gamemaster to make 
  choices dependent not just on the player character’s choices 
  but also based on the cumulative effects of the encounters 
  the player characters endure, the atmosphere the game-
  master wants to create, and other aspects of play which 
  occur organically at the table.
  This adventure is designed to be as modular and flexible 
  as possible. If at any stage the player characters balk at one 
  encounter, the gamemaster should swap it out and move 
  them into another scene. There is a rough beginning point 
  and conclusion, but beyond that, the order in which things 
  happen and how they happen is up to the gamemaster and 
  the player characters.
  ChAPTER ONE: fOR 
  ThE LOVE Of GOLD
  ThE ViEW fROM ThE sTREET
  Why are the player characters interested in the Treasure 
  House of Jaizin Kaa? Obviously, because they are thieves — 
  or at least, are connected to the underworld and its various 
  larcenous denizens. This isn’t like a typical Conan set-up, 
  in which the player characters might conceivably be from 
  anywhere and on their way anywhere, doing anything, and 
  accompanied by anyone. Here, they play thieves. Thieves 
  steal. The Treasure House of Jaizin Kaa is the big target: 
  everything a thief could want in a single location.
  The player characters might not want to raid the Treasure 
  House as their first job. There are skills to master first, 
  smaller tasks to carry out, favors to curry. That’s all sen-
  sible. But, eventually, as long as they stay in this one city 
  — Zamora is the default location for Jaizin Kaa’s personal 
  iN GRiM zAMORA…
  This is an adventure for thieves, and as such, it can only 
  be set in the spiritual home of all Hyborian-era thieves: 
  Zamora. Zamora the Accursed is a city replete with 
  pickpockets, burglars, sneak thieves, and footpads…
  name a type of thief, and you’ll find them here. If your 
  player characters are new in the arts of filching, there’s 
  no better place to learn the trade. If they are hardened, 
  experienced master thieves, then chances are they have 
  friends and contacts here.
  As for why Jaizin Kaa, a canny and ruthless merchant 
  who loathes losing even the smallest coin let alone being 
  comprehensively robbed, might keep his fabled Treasure 
  House in a city thick with men and women desperate to 
  take its contents from him, there are two answers. The 
  first is that he is a Zamorian, by birth and by habit. He 
  won’t be hounded from the city of his birth by the threat 
  of degenerate ruffians. The second reason is to score 
  points off his hated rival Kallian Publico.
  That hated Numalian collector has, on at least three 
  occasions, come by items which Jaizin Kaa coveted. 
  However, Kallian Publico has also been successfully 
  burgled on a number of occasions; the impenetrability of 
  the Treasure House lends Jaizin Kaa considerable cache 
  — having his Treasure House in the middle of the most 
  notorious city of villains on the continent merely adds to 
  his reputation. The gamemaster should emphasize the 
  atmosphere of Zamora and the reputation of Jaizin Kaa; 
  emphasize his hatred of Kallian Publico and the rivalry 
  they share. This anchors both the Treasure House and 
  its owner firmly in an authentic Howardian milieu and 
  makes the player characters feel as though they are part 
  of Conan’s world, without being lost in the Cimmerian’s 
  impressive shadow.
  
  3
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  bank, but moving it somewhere else wouldn’t be a strug-
  gle — whatever city the player characters might be living 
  in, Jaizin Kaa’s Treasure House is the biggest thing going. 
  If the player characters want to consider themselves the 
  greatest thieves in the city, they need to rob Jaizin Kaa. If 
  they want to impress the oldest, most seasoned, and most 
  skillful practitioners of the purse-lightener’s craft, they need 
  to rob Jaizin Kaa. If they want to convince the local thieves’ 
  guild to trust them with a diplomatic message to a guild in 
  Aquilonia, or with the theft of the Great Opal of Zembabwei, 
  they need to prove themselves by robbing Jaizin Kaa.
  In a thief campaign, a lucrative target like the Treasure 
  House of Jaizin Kaa can be used in a multitude of ways — the 
  urban nature of thieving, in the main, means that there isn’t 
  the same randomness which might afflict other Conan games. 
  The terrain is fixed. Stealing past the Treasure House, day 
  after day, should be a barb in even the most placid of thieving 
  player characters’ souls. The player characters are also likely 
  to hear about Jaizin Kaa and his incalculable wealth on any 
  drunken evening. It’s a target for other thieves, after all. Yes, 
  hundreds have failed. But that won’t prevent them from 
  trying again. Aren’t the player characters brave enough to try?
  “ThE GUARDs ChANGE 
  AT sUNsET. EVERYONE 
  KNOWs ThAT!”
  The player characters aren’t alone in their interest in Jaizin 
  Kaa’s Treasure House. How could they be? Every thief in 
  the city dreams of emptying those unseen but obsessively 
  imagined vaults. This is an excellent way to sow the seeds 
  of the adventure long before it starts. Or, if this is the first 
  adventure of a proposed campaign, then chances are they’ve 
  heard of nothing else. Every tavern the player characters 
  enter is rife with discussion over the latest failed attempt 
  to alleviate Jaizin Kaa of his apparently burdensome wealth.
  The conversation can be as specific or as vague as desired 
  — certainly, enough to whet the player character’s inter-
  ests. The gamemaster should concentrate on the most 
  evocative of details initially, keeping in mind that at any 
  point in another planned adventure the player characters 
  may choose to detour and make a beeline for the Treasure 
  House. As noted above, if the players chose to play a thief 
  campaign, it’s because they want to be thieves. This hook is 
  more about opportunity than giving them a hard and fast 
  reason. Details such as: “I saw them moving in another chest 
  last night. You could hear the gold in it, clinking away. Reckon 
  you could buy yourself a country with that much,” or “I’ve seen 
  them… guards coming out and none going back in. I reckon 
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  4
  there’s a mutiny or something. He’s not paying them enough. 
  I’m thinking I might put together a few lads and see if we can’t 
  exploit this little internal affair,” are perfect.
  If the player characters immediately take the bait and 
  begin to ask questions of those talking about the Treasure 
  House, their interlocutors are initially reticent. However, 
  a Challenging (D2) Intimidate or Reassurance check con-
  vinces the fellow thieves to share what they know. If the 
  player characters are already members of the local thieves’ 
  guild, then the test is reduced to a Simple (D0), but any 
  Momentum generated can be spent in order to procure 
  extra information. The details that these thieves know are 
  a little scant. What the thieves tell the player characters, 
  however, is that the person they need to speak to is called 
  Bortae (see Asking Around on page 5). Beyond this, 
  what they know are rumors: Jaizin Kaa has enough riches 
  to cover the desert of Kush in diamonds. He keeps a team of 
  torturers on hand, specifically to inflict agony upon those 
  who dare to rob him. Jaizin Kaa is more demon than a man, 
  and he earned his riches through blasphemous pacts with 
  dark gods. Most of this is garbled rubbish, as an Average 
  (D1) Lore check can ascertain.
  If the player characters prefer to pursue other potential 
  jobs for a little while, always have the lure of Jaizin Kaa’s 
  wealth hovering at the edges of their milieu. Perhaps the 
  fence they visit to move illicitly secured goods says that he 
  heard that the plunder at Jaizin Kaa’s is especially tempting 
  at the moment — an ivory chest marked with strange sigils 
  was recently brought to the house. Perhaps a non-player 
  character the player characters have grown to like and trust is 
  tempted to join a robbery and is found hideously murdered: 
  “Jingis got caught…he’s hanging from the walls now. Nasty.”
  If the player characters are, quite rightly, wary of Jaizin 
  Kaa’s Treasure House, then the gamemaster might gradually 
  build a number of reasons for taking the risk. If they are 
  members of the thieves’ guild, perhaps there is pressure 
  from those higher up the ladder to avenge their numerous 
  fallen comrades and prove that nothing is beyond the 
  sticky-fingered grasp of the guild. Perhaps they run into 
  trouble with the authorities after a score, and their ill-got-
  ten goods are taken to the Treasure House for safekeeping.
  Alternatively, if the player characters wish to join a guild, 
  a successful robbery might constitute the entrance exam — 
  in a manner of speaking. Whatever happens, the Treasure 
  House of Jaizin Kaa is a fixture in the player characters’ 
  world, in the fabric of the city they inhabit, and in which 
  they ply their acquisitive trade.
  CAsiNG ThE JOiNT
  Whatever the spur to action is for the player characters, the 
  likelihood is that their first step is planning their robbery. 
  It is perfectly true that Conan’s plan to burglarize the Tower 
  of the Elephant extended only as far as hopping over the 
  wall with a sword and taking his chances. It is also true 
  that Taurus of Nemedia had been planning his heist for 
  months. If the player characters do tend towards the Conan 
  approach, then skip this section and proceed to the scene 
  which details the appropriate means of breaking in. If, as 
  is probable, the thieves decide to learn all they can of Jaizin 
  Kaa’s Treasure House, then detailed below are a series of 
  ideas for avenues they might pursue.
  The gamemaster is of course free to mix and match the 
  information which the player characters discover and the 
  location they discover it in.
  The Treasure House itself is a large, impressively forti-
  fied building. It is three or four times the size of any other 
  building nearby. The walls are constructed from large stones 
  and are well ordered; a craftsman has clearly erected them 
  with care. There are spaces between the stones where the 
  mortar has worn away somewhat and where a knife might 
  be braced to assist a nimble climber.
  While the Treasure House is roofed, there are large, 
  open portals which give way onto stairs leading into the 
  deeper recesses of the edifice. The guards use these to 
  keep an eye on the streets below. Such portals are well 
  guarded but can be accessed by those determined enough. 
  There are a number of windows cut into the walls. Some 
  these are large enough to fit a person through, although 
  it might be something of a squeeze for any who are less 
  than svelte.
  Guards patrol the outside of the Treasure House, as well 
  as its interior. Two guards stand outside each of the doors 
  opening onto the streets. The Treasure House has three 
  large, reinforced doors built in dark, heavy oak. Battering 
  them down is virtually impossible without access to a small 
  army and a particularly effective battering ram. The locks 
  on these doors are, conceivably, pickable but they are also 
  old, ornate, and clearly keep out most thieves — a dedicated 
  lock-picker might be able to coax them into opening without 
  a key but not easily.
  The streets around the Treasure House are fairly small 
  and cramped. The location became somewhat squalid in 
  recent times, and there are openings into darkened alley-
  ways in which fairly large numbers of people might conceal 
  themselves. Having said this, however, the immediate area 
  around the Treasure House remains clear — any trader who 
  sets up a stall too close to the walls, or in such a way as it 
  might impede the view of a watching guard, is moved on 
  quickly and none too gently.
  Observing the Treasure house
  The simplest and most obvious means of picking up valuable 
  information on the Treasure House is through observation. 
  Particularly canny player characters can take careful note 
  of when guards are on duty and when they are not, or the 
  
  5
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  time at which a shift changes. Player characters can also 
  use their hard-earned expertise to analyze the height and 
  strength of the walls and scan the surrounding areas for 
  alternative means of ingress. Anyone stealthy or reckless 
  enough might also be able to examine the enormous, iron-
  forged locks on the Treasure House’s three enormous doors 
  — all of them studded with hunks of blackened metal and 
  pitted with the marks of weapons, employed by the more 
  unimaginative of previous thieves. Information which can 
  be gathered from Observing the Treasure House is below:
  ■
  ■ Watching the Guards Go By: If the player charac-
  ters wish to analyze the rotation of the Guards and 
  their relative strength at any particular time of day or 
  night, have them make a Daunting (D3) Observation 
  test. Passing this permanently raises the Difficulty 
  of any Listen tests for a guard by one step during 
  the adventure. Additionally, if the player characters 
  decide to break into the Treasure House by climbing 
  the walls, all climb tests automatically generate 1 
  point of Momentum. This effect only lasts while the 
  player characters are climbing the walls as part of 
  their initial entry.
  ■
  ■ What About Those Walls?: Any player characters 
  wishing to study the walls of the Treasure House 
  should make a Challenging (D2) Insight or Craft test. 
  Consult the Observation table (below) to determine 
  what information is gained.
  ■
  ■ Just Who Picked Those Locks?: Examining the locks 
  at close quarters requires stealth, speed, and a little 
  bit of luck. The first thing that needs to be dealt with 
  is the two guards positioned outside every entrance to 
  the Treasure House. The player characters can choose 
  to do this in the form of a full-frontal assault. In which 
  case, four other guards come to their colleagues’ aid 
  immediately, and an additional two guards will join 
  the combat as frequently as the gamemaster wishes. In 
  case the player characters think that this is a potential 
  way of proceeding with the heist as a whole, it is 
  worth noting that guards on the other side of the door 
  will close it! A particularly benevolent gamemaster 
  might occasionally allow for the player characters to 
  lure idiot guards out and running past them, but this 
  particular caper requires smarter tactics. Alternatively, 
  distracting the guards using another, subtler, method 
  should be fairly easy — whether staging a fight near 
  to the guards and drawing them away from the door, 
  or through some other means that the players dream 
  up. The gamemaster may wish to make these tactics 
  require Challenging (D2) or Daunting (D3) tests — 
  whether convincing the guards to follow them using a 
  Persuade test or an Animal Handling test to convince a 
  pack of stray dogs to attack the guards.
  The above represents what is found out through a quick 
  prowl around the Treasure House. If the player characters 
  think of other angles of entry at this stage, and the game-
  master feels that they might reasonably discover the answers 
  at this point, then improvise as desired.
  Asking Around
  As thieves, the player characters have plenty of opportu-
  nity to solicit news, advice, and information from others 
  experienced in the art of making things that belong to 
  other people their own. This can be relied upon as a matter 
  of course, if the player characters are already members of 
  the city’s thieves’ guild. If the player characters are recent 
  inductees into the ranks of the guild, they may need to 
  offer a few pints of ale to those who will talk, or perhaps 
  the odd coin, but nothing much. If the player characters 
  are experienced guild members in good standing, then the 
  information is readily available. There are also rumors that 
  a high-ranking member of the guild ponders mounting his 
  own raid on the Treasure House. If the player characters 
  inquire who the guild member is, the answer is a resound-
  ing “no one knows.”
  OBsERVATiON
  Success
  What Can be Observed?
  Effect
  1
  The walls are climbable, even without 
  rope.
  One player character may re-roll one failed Athletics test if the 
  player characters attempt to infiltrate the Treasure House by 
  scaling the walls.
  2
  The mortar used to bind these stones is 
  old and flaking. A knife could be inserted 
  between them, easily.
  All Athletics checks are carried out at one step of Difficulty 
  lower.
  3+
  There is a slight bulge which travels 
  beneath two of the four walls. Does 
  a tunnel or a sewer run beneath the 
  Treasure House?
  When interrogating non-player characters about possible ways 
  into the Treasure House, a non-player character offers the 
  possibility of using the old sewer without the player characters 
  having to roll or spend Momentum.
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  6
  The rumor is, however, extremely widespread. Even if 
  the player characters have yet to join the guild, there are 
  still hints that a powerful and important thief is considering 
  making a move on the Treasure House. The gamemaster 
  should insinuate this subtly into any conversations the 
  player characters might have with thieves’ guild members. 
  Such questions aren’t welcome, as someone else plans to 
  make a play for the stash the player characters earmarked 
  for their own. They might just have to pick up the pace.
  Alternatively, if the player characters have yet to join 
  the guild, don’t wish to join, or are otherwise unable to 
  draw on its resources, they must rely on luck and cunning 
  to get their questions answered. Even if they are members, 
  of course, the answers they get are a little guarded. The 
  player characters get the feeling they aren’t being told the 
  whole story — at least not quite.
  While there may be a guild tavern or inn, thieves also 
  congregate in other bars, brothels, and dives which might 
  prove fruitful hunting grounds for information. While 
  intimidating members of the guild in their own bar might be 
  a means of committing suicide by proxy, player characters 
  have a much better chance of cornering an experienced, 
  knowledgeable thief, or group of thieves, if they are pre-
  pared to be patient. If the player characters know who they 
  are looking for — perhaps someone they have used for 
  information before — then the gamemaster should use 
  that resource. If not, the player characters, on a successful 
  Challenging (D2) Craft, Lore, or Insight test know that the 
  woman they are looking for is called Bortae. This name 
  was mentioned several times already in connection with 
  the Treasure House in the scraps the player characters have 
  picked up earlier in the adventure. If the player characters 
  ask the thieves they meet earlier in the adventure, they, too, 
  refer them to Bortae.
  Getting to Bortae
  Bortae is one of the oldest and most successful thieves in 
  the city. Originally from Argos, but having lived most of her 
  life in Zamora, she is as good and as experienced a thief as 
  they come. She has managed to stay alive this long through 
  a combination of tactical ruthlessness, a consummate 
  ability to choose the right bodyguards, and excellence in 
  her craft. Her inability to accept instructions from those 
  in the guild who are, at least nominally, higher than her 
  prevented her becoming a member of the ruling Council. 
  Bodyguards always accompany Bortae. One always walks 
  alongside her, looking menacing. However, at least two 
  others will be hiding within eyeshot, posing as a normal 
  denizen of the city.
  The likelihood is that the player characters find Bortae 
  in a tavern. Her fractious relationship with the guild means 
  she rarely frequents their tavern, so the player characters 
  should be able to gain entry fairly easily. If visiting at night, 
  when the inn is busy, the fact that they aren’t regulars might 
  require a Challenging (D2) Persuasion test or a Daunting 
  (D3) Intimidation test — the player characters are likely to 
  be trying to intimidate experienced guild doormen, which 
  should be, at the very least, daunting! Once inside, Bortae 
  is easy to find, as she is the only seventy-year-old woman 
  performing knife tricks while swigging cheap ale. Her 
  
  7
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  bodyguards lurk nearby, but picking them out of the crowd 
  of other large, dangerous looking men with accumulations 
  of stubble on their chins and mandalas of scars on their 
  cheeks requires a Dire (D4) Observation test.
  Talking with Bortae is easy enough; getting her to reveal 
  any information considerably less so. Intimidating Bortae 
  requires an Epic (D5) test. She’s old, tough, and stubborn, 
  and long ago exceeded the life expectancy she had set for 
  herself. Persuade tests, if carried out with enough passion 
  and brio, should succeed on a Daunting (D3) test — Bortae 
  has half a mind to conclude her career as a thief with a last 
  death-or-glory attempt at one impossible job: Jaizin Kaa’s 
  Treasure House. She speaks in a thick dialect native to the 
  district, and may be hard to understand for non-natives, or 
  even those from higher social classes.
  A sufficiently convincing, sufficiently flattering appeal 
  to her finely honed survival instinct might convince her 
  to let others into her confidence. A promise of a share in 
  whatever rewards the player characters might obtain also 
  helps — should the player characters offer this inducement, 
  award them a free point of Momentum for this scene. A 
  Dire (D4) Society test might also work, reminding Bortae 
  of the much fabled “honor amongst thieves” and other 
  such nonsense. If the player characters are members of the 
  thieves’ guild, the gamemaster should reduce the Difficulty 
  of this test by one step.
  Even if the player characters are unable to persuade 
  Bortae to aid them with information, as long as they are 
  civil, she wishes them luck and suggests that they try watch-
  ing the outside of the Treasure House and do things “the 
  old-fashioned way.” Only naked threats of violence seri-
  ously irritate her, and her reaction is swift and brutal. She 
  immediately attacks with her daggers, as will her closest 
  bodyguard. These attacks are followed up by further attacks 
  from the men and women she has stationed in and around 
  the tavern. If the player characters attempt to pursue this 
  course of action, most of the tavern sides with Bortae — 
  she’s a damned good customer, after all, and well-liked in 
  the community. Killing Bortae in this manner reduces the 
  player character’s Renown by −1 immediately, irrespective 
  of the level it might have been before now.
  If the player characters manage to win over Bortae, 
  however, then she proves to be an invaluable source of 
  knowledge. Detailed below is the information which Bortae 
  has on the Treasure House of Jaizin Kaa and its assortment 
  of dangers. Of course, the player characters won’t be able to 
  assess its veracity until they are inside the Treasure House’s 
  walls. An Average (D2) Insight test is enough to establish 
  that Bortae, at least, believes everything she says to be true. 
  Exactly how it is that she came by the information is also 
  touched on below, if this will help to assuage any doubts 
  the player characters might have.
  What Bortae Knows
  Much of what Bortae knows she gleaned through sixty years 
  of experience as a cat-burglar, foot-pad, and cut-purse. She 
  has known everyone in the guild’s annals at some point 
  and she has helped plan several of the attempted raids on 
  the Treasure House.
  ■
  ■ There is, Bortae can confirm, a sewer which runs 
  directly beneath the Treasure House. It predates most 
  of the city, however, and is difficult to locate. She 
  knows that a few of the bravest and smartest thieves 
  tried that way many years ago: “They didn’t come 
  back. But they didn’t end up on the walls. Something 
  else did for them.” She doesn’t know what might be 
  down there and what it’s capable of, but it is at least 
  one way of avoiding the outer defenses of the House.
  ■
  ■ The guards are Stygian mercenaries, hired in by Jaizin 
  Kaa or one of his agents, and are thoroughly vetted. 
  Killing one and taking their place would be difficult 
  but not impossible. There are passwords that must be 
  learned, and the player characters would have to be 
  quick and lucky, but it is possible that ingress could 
  be made that way. No one has yet managed it, though 
  she doesn’t know many who have had the courage 
  to try it. Attempting such a plan requires a Daunting 
  (D3) Observation test to identify the right guard to 
  try and pick off. Dissembling convincingly enough 
  to pass muster as a new guard requires a Dire (D4) 
  Command test, followed by a Dire (D4) Society test — 
  along with some extremely good roleplaying. These 
  guards are, as Bortae reminds the player characters, 
  tough, well-paid, and highly competent. “They aren’t 
  young know-nothings with as little between their 
  legs as they have between their ears, follow?”
  ■
  ■ Inside the House, she only knows the merest frag-
  ments. There are traps, regular patrols, and some-
  where at the center of the Treasure House lies the 
  treasure of Jaizin Kaa himself. She has also heard, 
  herself, the howls of hunting dogs rising clear and 
  savage from the House. The corpses which are hung 
  from the side of the House every few months, are 
  usually studded with teeth marks. “Dirty, great beasts 
  I’ll be bound. You’ll want to prepare for them. And 
  prepare for those things that no one knows about. 
  That’s what you’ve got to prepare for.”
  ■
  ■ As to what Jaizin Kaa keeps in his vault, even 
  Bortae has little idea. Beyond his extraordinary 
  wealth, Jaizin Kaa is a mystery. He is a merchant, 
  he is Zamorian, and his Treasure House has never 
  been robbed. She knows nothing beyond this. She 
  can repeat rumors: dark pacts with ancient gods, 
  magic sigils on arcane items of impossible age, and 
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  8
  terrifying provenance, but nothing which might be 
  construed as a fact. And she knows it. “Whatever 
  he’s got locked up in that there House, if it ain’t fit to 
  crown the king of Aquilonia and decorate his court, 
  then every tale I’ve ever heard is wrong. You don’t 
  protect nothing that ferociously.”
  ■
  ■ One of the more powerful members of the Guild 
  plans his own raid on the Treasure House in the next 
  few days. She isn’t entirely sure who it is, but she 
  knows that he has the resources of the Guild behind 
  him. This is one reason she is relatively happy to help 
  the player characters, despite her lingering ambitions. 
  Irritating the Guild is a perennial hobby for Bortae, 
  and she is always happy to have an opportunity to do 
  it again. She hints that an envoy from the Guild was 
  sent to ask for her assistance, but she turned him 
  down. She is helping the player characters because 
  she knows they are doing this without the Guild 
  behind them: she admires that. “Thieves who can 
  think for themselves are rare these days…”
  ■
  ■ This is all Bortae can tell the player characters, 
  although the gamemaster should feel free to impro-
  vise answers to further questions, wherever she 
  feels appropriate. Once the discussion is concluded, 
  Bortae wishes the player characters the best of luck 
  and offers them drink, food, and merriment. After all, 
  she reasons, either the player characters will be dead 
  within a week, in which case she will be seen as a gen-
  erous soul, or the player characters will be the first 
  to steal from Jaizin Kaa — and she will seem to have 
  been integral to the plan. Bortae is wily and her plans 
  are highly effective. If the player characters have 
  been polite to her, she may become a useful source 
  of further information and tip-offs should a particu-
  larly lucrative job come up. She knows everyone and 
  everything; she is also unlikely to betray the players 
  to the Guild if things were to go poorly. She is a useful 
  contact in every sense of the word.
  BORTAE (TOUGhENED)
  A thief of vast experience and an inability to concede defeat, 
  Bortae is covered with the scars of her victories and her 
  failures. She is handy in a fight — and has little concept 
  of a so-called “fair” fight — and her unwillingness to com-
  promise with the city’s powerful Thieves’ Guild is the only 
  reason she is not called its Queen of Thieves.
  ATTRiBUTEs
  Awareness
  Intelligence
  Personality
  Willpower
  13
  14
  12
  13
  Agility
  Brawn
  Coordination
  12
  9
  13
  fiELDs Of EXPERTisE
  Combat
  1
  Movement
  2
  Fortitude
  1
  Senses
  1
  Knowledge
  2
  Social
  2
  sTREss AND sOAK
  ■
  ■ Stress: Vigor 9, Resolve 13
  ■
  ■ Soak: Armor 2 (Leather), Courage 5
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Shortsword (M): Reach 1, 4§, Vicious 1
  ■
  ■ Threaten (T): Range M, 2§ mental, Stun
  sPECiAL ABiLiTiEs
  ■
  ■ No Substitute for Experience: Bortae is a hard-
  ened fighter and uses every situation to her best 
  advantage. Whenever engaged in a melee, Bortae 
  automatically generates 1 point of Momentum 
  each time she attacks.
  DOOM sPENDs
  ■
  ■ If You Want Something Done…: When alongside 
  one of her Bodyguards, if the bodyguard misses an 
  attack or fails a test, the gamemaster may spend 1 
  Doom point to have Bortae attempt the same 
  attack or challenge immediately, without the need 
  to wait for her turn. This supersedes the normal 
  turn order, though Bortae cannot have two turns 
  in one round.
  PREPARATiONs fOR 
  ThE BiG DAY
  Once the player characters assemble all of the above infor-
  mation, or as much of it as they choose to pursue, the next 
  stage is preparing for the heist itself. As noted elsewhere 
  in this adventure, the player characters can eschew such 
  long-winded methods and simply hack their way to the 
  treasure. Indeed, if a gamemaster wishes to repurpose 
  this adventure for use with a non-thief group of player 
  characters, this approach should work well. However, if it 
  is being run as a thief adventure, the details and guesswork 
  they managed to assemble likely forms the basis of their 
  rough plan. Enacting such plans usually requires some 
  
  9
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  equipment, and the gamemaster should be generous in 
  letting the player characters have whatever equipment 
  they require, within reason.
  For instance, acquiring a length of good, strong rope 
  should be easy. Getting hold of a clay pot filled with the 
  poisonous extract of exotic lotus plants should be less so. 
  These preparations are left deliberately vague. A gamemaster 
  wishing to expand this adventure might insert a series of 
  subplots here, involving the pursuit of the more esoteric 
  and difficult requirements for the player characters’ plan.
  If the player characters want to get hold of some of the 
  appallingly toxic yellow tincture which Taurus of Nemedia 
  makes use of, for instance, then some sort of adventure on 
  the side is clearly called for. Precisely what this consists of 
  is, of course, entirely left to the gamemaster’s imagination 
  — as a rough heuristic, however, make sure that anything 
  which might conceivably be found in a marketplace or 
  bazaar can simply be had for free. Anything which strikes 
  the gamemaster as being unusual, esoteric, or hard to find… 
  well, let it be exactly that!
  ChAPTER TWO: 
  BREAKiNG AND 
  ENTERiNG
  All the preceding scenes have led to this moment. Whether 
  the player characters have carefully, studiously gathered 
  every ounce of information they can find about Jaizin Kaa’s 
  Treasure House, or whether they have simply shown up with 
  their swords at the ready is immaterial. All that matters now 
  is breaking into the Treasure House and getting out alive 
  again. As noted elsewhere, whatever approach the player 
  characters opt to pursue, let them try it out. A number of 
  the most likely methods of gaining entry are touched on 
  below, but if the player characters come up with something 
  outlandish, give it a go. After all, what do they have to lose 
  except their lives?
  hOW ARE WE GETTiNG 
  iN AGAiN?
  No more time for deliberating or procrastinating. It’s time 
  for the player characters to put their lunas where their 
  mouths are. Or more appropriately, it is time for them to 
  attempt to put someone else’s money in their pockets. If 
  at any point the player characters seem content to simply 
  debate possible strategies over and above implementing 
  them, the gamemaster should remind them that a second 
  group of thieves also plots to redistribute Jaizin Kaa’s wealth.
  What the player characters have is the element of surprise 
  and the information they were able to secure from Bortae. 
  The other thieves have greater resources. Waiting might 
  see the Treasure House emptied and the glory of doing so 
  passing to someone else — someone other than the player 
  characters. The gamemaster should strive to keep things 
  moving, as frantic and urgent as possible.
  The default assumption is that the player characters 
  make their attempt to break in to Jaizin Kaa’s property once 
  night has fallen. This, of course, makes sense with regards to 
  sneaking past guards and infiltrating a protected mansion. 
  However, the player characters are under no obligation to do 
  so — it is their choice. And there are possible advantages; 
  the gamemaster might wish to suppose that, given it’s 
  daylight, there will be fewer guards on duty. Nevertheless, 
  all Stealth tests are made at two steps of Difficulty higher 
  than would typically be the case.
  iN MEDiA REs…
  A particularly cinematic approach to the adventure would 
  be for the gamemaster to even begin at the moment the 
  heist begins, with the player characters on the cusp of 
  actually enacting their plan — one they have not yet 
  devised! From here, the player characters will be set 
  into motion, and can fill in their approach and their 
  preparations as “flashback” scenes to be roleplayed as 
  details become important.
  For example, as the player characters approach a partic-
  ular guard post, one of the players might spend a point of 
  Fortune and explain that the guards are asleep. At this point, 
  the gamemaster flashes back and improvises a scene where 
  the player character clandestinely slips a sleeping draught 
  into the guard’s drink after buying him a round in a nearby 
  ale-house. In another sequence, a player character might 
  produce a key for a lock, won through carefully stealing 
  the original and having it copied in dizzying haste while 
  the key-holder was visiting a favorite brothel.
  Each of these scenes can be combined and folded 
  into the ongoing narrative, and any Complications that 
  ensued can be introduced at opportune moments, such 
  as the aforementioned guard falling so loudly off their 
  stool that they alert others, or the key-holding guard 
  suddenly noticing that the keys were in the wrong order 
  on the ring.
  This sort of entry is excellent for game sessions where 
  the players (and player characters) are quick-moving and 
  not interested in extensive set-up, but is not generally 
  recommended for inexperienced gamemasters, or for 
  games where the players are not very familiar with the 
  Hyborian Age setting
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  10
  Dealing with these matters is what being a thief is all 
  about — taking challenges as they come and making the 
  best of the situation!
  Via the Walls
  The most obvious way in is to scale the walls of the Treasure 
  House. This won’t be easy, nor should it be. The initial diffi-
  culty is the constant guard patrols. If the player characters 
  managed to observe the various shift rotations of Jaizin Kaa’s 
  mercenaries, then they earn the appropriate bonuses. If the 
  player characters decided to use a rope — perhaps with a 
  grappling hook or something similar — then the throw 
  requires a Challenging (D2) Ranged Weapons or Athletics 
  test in order to cast it through one of the windows which 
  open on to the street and have it fix in place. Casting a rope 
  so that it reaches one of the open portals at the top of the 
  Treasure House requires a Daunting (D3) test.
  Additionally, getting close enough to the walls without 
  being spotted by a guard requires a Challenging (D2) Stealth 
  test. A failure draws two guards to the spot — if the player 
  characters manage to kill the guards, or otherwise render 
  them unconscious within two rounds of combat, then the 
  guards are unable to raise the alarm. If, after two rounds of 
  combat, one or both of the guards is alive, then three more 
  guards arrive, their attention roused by the distinctive 
  sounds of combat.
  The player characters then have three rounds of combat 
  to dispose of these guards before another three guards show 
  up. If they cannot dispose of these three guards within 
  three rounds of combat, then the alarm is raised completely 
  and all further stealth checks are raised by two steps of 
  Difficulty — at all times for the duration of the adventure.
  If the player characters decide to climb the walls using 
  hands and feet, this requires a Daunting (D3) Athletics test. 
  However, if a character decides to use a knife or other, similar 
  piece of equipment, then the test remains Daunting (D3), 
  but all tests automatically generate 1 point of Momentum.
  Failing an Athletics test when climbing the wall can 
  have one of two effects — the choice of which is left to the 
  gamemaster. A player character can fall from the wall, or 
  rope, in which case they take 3§ physical damage and 
  must begin the climb anew. Alternatively, the gamemaster 
  can choose to interpret the failure as a momentary slippage 
  and have a guard make a Challenging (D2) Senses test to 
  notice the player character shinning up a rope. The test is 
  Daunting (D3) if the player character is free-climbing the 
  wall or takes a Doom point.
  Remember, while it may be tempting to have the player 
  characters plunge from the walls, the adventure may be 
  best served by delaying such effects and letting the ascent 
  continue — of course, the gamemaster gets to take a Doom 
  point in return; it is less a case of the player characters “get-
  ting away with it” than them deferring their comeuppance!
  Via the sewer
  Finding the sewer’s entrance isn’t difficult. It’s pretty much 
  a case of “follow your nose” and it’s as unpleasant as that 
  sounds. The Treasure House is surrounded by the endless 
  flurries of life and activity which all conurbations abound 
  in; this includes, of course, the inevitable effluvia. The 
  city has extensive sewers but they are hardly miracles 
  of smooth-flowing engineering. Much of the air is stag-
  nant and the aroma is potent. Entering the sewer tunnels 
  requires a Challenging (D2) Resistance test, or else the 
  player characters take 1§ in Fatigue as they are assailed 
  by the dreadful stench and empty their stomachs into the 
  rancid filth swimming alongside them.
  The sewers are dark and lighting torches, while allowable, 
  is somewhat risky; the mounds of human and animal waste 
  generate a lot of methane and naked flames are liable to 
  explode! If the player characters don’t use a torch, then all 
  Difficulty tests are automatically raised by two steps. If a 
  torch is ignited, then one of the player characters should 
  GAMiNG hOWARDiAN ThiEVEs
  The Howard stories that inspired this adventure and 
  inform the Conan the Thief sourcebook as a whole are 
  extremely dynamic and fast-paced. While the first chapter 
  of this adventure is a slower, more deliberate approach 
  that may not seem in keeping with the Conan stories, 
  this structure has been chosen for a reason.
  By having the player characters gather the informa-
  tion before embarking on the heist, they not only have a 
  better chance of succeeding, it also means that the pace 
  of the latter half of the adventure can be dramatically 
  increased. After all, the player characters have had plenty 
  of opportunity to gather details and decide their tactics.
  For the gamemaster, is the time to up the tempo, to 
  harry them for decisions. At every stage, the gamemaster 
  should urge them toward taking a decision and sticking 
  to it. Should they stand around in a corridor within the 
  Treasure House, remind them of both how risky such 
  behavior is, and of the fact that they can hear a heavily 
  armed patrol approaching around the corner.
  This is the stage of the adventure that matches the 
  frenetic pace of Howard’s tales. Leave the players tense 
  and on edge… they’re breaking into dangerous places to 
  steal expensive items. Make them work for it!
  
  11
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  make a Daunting (D3) Survival test every now and then to 
  see whether or not they detect any build-up of methane 
  or other mephitic gases. If the player characters succeed, 
  the gamemaster should assume that upon encountering 
  a pocket of gas, the torch is quickly extinguished and can 
  be relit in a safer location. If the player character fails, then 
  anyone within Close range suffers 3§ physical damage as 
  the torch billows outwards in a wave of flame.
  Finding the obscured tunnel entrance which leads under 
  the Treasure House requires a Daunting (D3) Observation 
  test if the player characters spoke to Bortae. If they failed 
  to ask her advice and are pursuing the sewer route for 
  some other reason, then the Difficulty for the Observation 
  test is Dire (D4). If the player characters fail to locate the 
  tunnel, then they blunder around in the filth and detritus 
  for some time. The gamemaster should require that each 
  player character attempt a second Resistance test, or take 
  1§ of Despair from the horrendous pungency and general 
  awfulness of their situation.
  However, as they plunge onwards, the gamemaster 
  should allow them to attempt a second Daunting (D3) 
  Observation test. If they succeed, then they manage to 
  spot, scarcely visible beneath the accumulated filth and 
  mold, a directional sigil. If the player characters are not 
  in the Thieves’ Guild, it requires a Challenging (D2) Lore 
  or Craft test to identify and read. Otherwise, the test is 
  Simple (D0), with any Momentum from the test lowering 
  the subsequent Difficulty of the Observation test. Success 
  informs the player characters that this mark is part of the 
  widely used Thieves Cant, and marks the direction that 
  anyone seeking entry should go.
  Again, an Observation test — Daunting (D3) or Dire 
  (D4) — is required to find the entrance to the tunnel; if 
  this results in yet another failure, then the stench drives 
  the player characters back to the surface. They can try this 
  route again tomorrow or, more sensibly, they might like to 
  try something easier on the nasal passages.
  If the player characters find the tunnel, then they sud-
  denly have a much easier time of things. The tunnel is long, 
  straight, and, beyond the first twenty or so feet, mercifully 
  free of aggregated feces. However, the player characters may 
  attempt a Daunting (D3) Observation test; passing it should 
  make the player characters aware of a new, distinctive scent 
  somewhere up ahead. The tunnel is wide and airy, but there 
  is still an unusual scent: musky and slightly acrid.
  The further the player characters head into the tunnel, 
  the more potent the scent becomes, and then the sounds 
  begin. These require only an Average (D1) Observation test 
  to hear the first time they occur. They are strange, slithering 
  sounds, something like a snake’s writhing on stone and 
  something like the slap of fish on the deck of the ship that 
  lands it. Torchlight — if the player characters use them 
  — begins to pick out the papyrus yellow of bones in small 
  neat piles on the fringes of the tunnel. They are coated in 
  a strange slime, the source of the acrid smell.
  If the player characters investigate the piles of bone, it 
  is quite clear that they are not placed ritually — there is 
  no obvious order to them. They are, however, all human. 
  If a player character tries to touch the strange slime that 
  coats the bones, a Challenging (D2) Insight test triggers a 
  powerful, almost preternatural reaction. The mind and the 
  body recoil violently, knowing, on some atavistic level that 
  whatever this substance is, it is wrong on a primal level, and 
  does not belong here. Not simply in this tunnel below this 
  Treasure House, but quite possibly anywhere on this Earth.
  If the player character fails the test or touches the sub-
  stance anyway, they must immediately take 3§ physical 
  damage and 2§ mental damage. The hand they used to 
  touch the substance is rendered useless until the end of 
  the adventure. Canny player characters might contemplate 
  coating their blades with this ooze. Again, a Challenging 
  (D2) Insight test warns against this. If the player characters 
  again fail or ignore this primordial reaction, as soon as the 
  metal or wood of their weapons comes into contact with the 
  ooze, it begins to steam violently and shudder, the weapon 
  begins to squeal almost as though it were a living thing 
  before shattering into hunks of twisted, blackened matter.
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  12
  JAiziN KAA’s fAVORiTE PET
  A man of Jaizin Kaa’s wealth has to spend it on something, 
  even if it is simply more exotic and dangerous ways of 
  protecting that wealth. One of the reasons that thieves who 
  attempted to infiltrate the Treasure House via the sewer are 
  never hung from the walls is that there isn’t enough left to 
  hang. Within the tunnel beneath the Treasure House lurks 
  Jaizin Kaa’s most prized possession — a creature which is a 
  hideous amalgam of flesh and magic. Jaizin Kaa bought it 
  from a trader in slaves and exotic beasts who had, in turn, 
  bought it from a sorcerer who drew the beast out of the 
  infinite darkness that lies between worlds.
  The sorcerer hoped to secure dreadful knowledge from 
  the beast, but whatever he summoned was a mindless, 
  slavering thing which sought only to appease a monstrous 
  hunger. Jaizin Kaa keeps the beast below the Treasure House 
  precisely to prevent any would-be thieves or assassins from 
  entering via these tunnels. The bones which the player 
  characters see in neatly stacked piles all about them are 
  the remains of those who attempted entry by this route, 
  along with slaves, troublemakers, and the odd business 
  rival who Jaizin Kaa was keen to dispose of.
  Jaizin Kaa’s pet forms the bones into such piles. It con-
  sumes its prey whole and digests them before regurgitating 
  the bones in these macabre towers, coated in its noxious 
  stomach juices.
  After finding the bones, the player characters stumble on 
  to the creature shortly after. The air in the tunnel becomes 
  suddenly, quite noticeably, warmer; the acrid scent which 
  was evident before has also increased in strength and there 
  is a sound like a barnacle being ripped from a ship’s hull 
  only louder. The darkness disgorges the seething mass of 
  Jaizin Kaa’s pet.
  The creature is large, about eight feet tall and broad. It 
  is roughly anthropoid in shape, though its head is a curved, 
  tongue-like proboscis which writhes and laps at the air. It 
  does not have any limbs precisely, only vestigial stumps 
  which bulge from beneath translucent flesh, the surface 
  of which ripples with putrescent life. The creature’s skin 
  forms itself into an endless succession of mouths which 
  gnash at the air in paroxysms of desperate hunger.
  It is a loathsome, impossible creature and even a 
  moment’s glimpse is enough to warrant a Dire (D4) Discipline 
  test with 2§ mental damage inflicted for any failures. 
  Though it does not have anything which might be described 
  as eyes, the creature has clearly detected the player char-
  acters and moves implacably toward them.
  JAiziN KAA’s PET 
  (TOUGhENED)
  A terrifying mass of corruption and hunger, this creature 
  from the Outer Dark exists only to consume the flesh of 
  those men, women, and animals that fall into its path. 
  Driven solely by hunger and instinct, it is a formidable foe, 
  but a group of thieves, cunning and quick enough, should 
  be able to survive its onslaught intact… more or less.
  ATTRiBUTEs
  Awareness
  Intelligence
  Personality
  Willpower
  7
  7
  5
  13
  Agility
  Brawn
  Coordination
  9
  14
  10
  fiELDs Of EXPERTisE
  Combat
  2
  Movement
  —
  Fortitude
  2
  Senses
  1
  Knowledge
  —
  Social
  —
  sTREss AND sOAK
  ■
  ■ Stress: Vigor 16, Resolve 15
  ■
  ■ Soak: Armor 4 (Horror, Malleable Flesh), Courage 2
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Consume (M): Reach 1, 5§, Vicious 1, Stun 1
  ■
  ■ Maddening Form (T): Range M, 2§ mental
  sPECiAL ABiLiTiEs
  ■
  ■ Only Forward: The creature always attacks the 
  player character in front of it. Slipping behind 
  the creature grants any successful attacks made 
  against it +1§ damage
  DOOM sPENDs
  ■
  ■ Reformation: After Jaizin Kaa’s pet has suffered 
  its first Wound, the gamemaster may spend 1 
  Doom to immediately restore that wound. This 
  ability may be used once.
  ■
  ■ Gut Juice: The internal fluids of Jaizin Kaa’s pet 
  are highly corrosive. After the creature has been 
  killed, the gamemaster may spend 1 Doom point 
  to have the weapons of the player character that 
  killed the creature suddenly dissolve, worn away 
  instantly by the venom of the creature’s insides.
  This should be quite a difficult fight but far from impos-
  sible. If the player characters try and flee, the gamemaster 
  should have the creature pursue them until they reach 
  
  13
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  the point where the sewer ends and becomes merely a 
  filthy street.
  Then, alarmed by the sounds of the outside world, it 
  slinks back to its lair and awaits the next group of thieves 
  unwise enough to disturb it. Successfully defeating the 
  creature, however, should leave the player characters only a 
  short distance away from a point which is illuminated quite 
  brightly compared to the rest of the tunnel so far. This is 
  the bottom of what used to be an old well.
  The tunnel was built here once the water dried up, and 
  Jaizin Kaa has been using this place ever since to keep his 
  monstrous pet. Ascending the well wall shouldn’t be too 
  difficult. Casting a rope up the well requires a Challenging 
  (D2) Coordination test or free climbing requires a Daunting 
  (D3) Athletics test. Once the player characters have clam-
  bered this short way, they can proceed to the next scene.
  Via the Door
  It should be quite possible for the player characters to get in 
  by sneaking through one of the main doors to the Treasure 
  House. Obviously, this should not be easy. Distracting the 
  guards from the door is quite tricky, and then picking one of 
  the locks requires a successful Dire (D4) Thievery test, unless 
  the thief already surveyed the lock. In this case, the player 
  character can apply the appropriate bonus mentioned on 
  page 4. The central difference to attempting to break 
  into the Treasure House this way is that there are more 
  guards near to the doors than there are anywhere else. This 
  increases the Difficulty of all Stealth tests conducted in the 
  following scene by one step.
  Via Another Path
  If the player characters come up with a brilliant plan for 
  breaking into the Treasure House of Jaizin Kaa, the gam-
  emaster should let them run with it, using the rules and 
  Difficulty test increases and decreases referenced above.
  ChAPTER ThREE: 
  TREAsURE hUNTiNG
  If all has gone well, by this point the thieves have — 
  by hook or by crook — managed to gain entry to the 
  Treasure House of Jaizin Kaa, in itself is no mean feat. 
  They won’t, however, have much of a chance to congrat-
  ulate themselves. Sneaking through the corridors of the 
  Treasure House, avoiding the various patrols, and arriving 
  at the treasure vault means the player characters need 
  to utilize every scrap of cunning, dexterity, and courage 
  to reach the vault. These are the thieves of the Hyborian 
  Age, after all; they need to be able to take the odd punch 
  from an irate guard.
  ThE PATh TO ThE VAULT
  Jaizin Kaa’s Treasure House is a dangerous place. Even 
  though the player characters might have managed to avoid 
  detection — at least by human senses if they ventured 
  through the tunnels — they are still some way from the 
  vault in wherein lies a thief’s only heart… gold.
  The Treasure House itself is luxuriously appointed with 
  tapestries adorning the walls and ornately patterned rugs 
  across the floors. The place is ostentatiously wealthy; Jaizin 
  Kaa has sufficient money to make even his private bank a 
  testament to his success as a merchant. If the player char-
  acters ask, there are a few jeweled trinkets in the hands of 
  statues and used as the eyes of holy icons to earn anyone 
  pocketing them a few Gold back in the markets (see page 
  302–303 of the Conan corebook for advice on awarding gold).
  Rather than exhaustively detail the events encountered 
  during their passage through the Treasure House, the 
  gamemaster is encouraged to roll on the Treasure House 
  Encounter table at least once, more often as Complications 
  ensue, incorporating the resultant event into the player 
  characters’ movement toward their final goal. To ensure a 
  sufficiently tense atmosphere, the gamemaster is encour-
  aged to roll between three and five times during the course 
  of the adventure, and if the player characters are especially 
  clumsy, loud, or brash… more rolls are warranted.
  The gamemaster should use discretion at this point. The 
  player characters may have had to fight their way past Jaizin 
  Kaa’s pet and, potentially, through dozens of guards. If an 
  encounter is liable to kill off a number of player characters, 
  then scale it back slightly, removing as many opponents as 
  necessary to make things challenging but not too deadly. 
  The same rule should be applied to the Difficulty of any 
  tests. The end of the adventure is near, and the tension 
  and engagement should be high, rather than frustration 
  at impassable obstacles and challenges.
  ThE VAULT DOOR
  The door to the Treasure Vault is a vast, steel construction. 
  It likely cost very nearly as much as the rest of the Treasure 
  House itself, and in terms of resilience and strength, is 
  perhaps unequalled in the Hyborian Age. There is nothing 
  else like it, even in the mountain fastnesses of sorcerers, the 
  citadels of kings, and the lost halls of Valusia. The Treasure 
  Vault is protected in a fashion beyond compare. Breaking 
  through the door is virtually impossible. It would require 
  sorcery of the most powerful variety and, unless this is a 
  group of thieves with a tame sorcerer and a direct line to 
  the Outer Dark, this is unlikely to be an option. Opening 
  the door is an extremely difficult task and require at least 
  three thieves in order to make the attempt. The hinges, also, 
  are inside, and removing the door from its surrounding 
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  14
  TREAsURE hOUsE ENCOUNTER
  Roll
  Event
  1–2
  Trap! The player characters set off a deadly trap that Jaizin Kaa had carefully installed within the fabric 
  of his Treasure House. In this case, a blade erupts from the ceiling on an enormous pendulum, swinging 
  towards the player characters with terrifying speed. Dodging the blade requires a Daunting (D3) Athletics 
  test which the player characters must succeed or suffer 5§ physical damage. If they successfully avoid 
  this trap, they may disable it on a successful Daunting (D3) Thievery test.
  3–4
  Large Patrol! Six guards emerge from the nearest doorway. They are clearly alert and well armed. Hiding 
  from the guards requires a Daunting (D3) Stealth test. Any failures immediately draw the guards. Fighting 
  the guards is difficult and should use the same rules with regards to summoning reinforcements as detailed 
  above (see page 10).
  5–6
  Watch Dogs! Three watch dogs with one handler stroll down the corridor (use the statistics for dogs found 
  on page 326 of the Conan corebook). Distracting them requires a good idea and an appropriate Daunting (D3) 
  test. Hiding requires a Dire (D4) test, as the dog’s sensitive noses make concealment no guarantee of evasion.
  7–8
  Watch Out! The rich Shemitish rugs which decorate Jaizin Kaa’s floors are suitably luxurious; however, they 
  do have a tendency to slip away from underfoot. The gamemaster should pick the player character with 
  the lowest Agility score (obviously, it is the clumsiest thief who slips) and have him roll to pass a Dire (D4) 
  Athletics test in order to prevent himself from collapsing. If he fails, two guards approach, attracted by the 
  noise. Again, the same rules for attracting reinforcements apply.
  9–10
  Shiny! Something catches the player characters’ eyes, a small statuette apparently made entirely from 
  gold and bronze. It must be worth a great deal. If anyone attempts to take it from its place on a nearby 
  pedestal, he should immediately make a Dire (D4) Thievery test to recognize that the statuette is attached 
  by a silken thread to an alarm located some distance away. Triggering the alarm draws the attention of four 
  guards. The same rules for reinforcements apply.
  11–12
  Patrol! Four guards emerge from the nearest doorway. They are clearly not as focused as they might be 
  — tiredness creeps in, perhaps — but they are still well armed and likely to provide formidable opposition, 
  especially if they have time to summon additional assistance. Use the same rules for these reinforcements 
  as before.
  13–14
  Nothing There. A cunningly disguised tripwire stretches across the corridor, painted exactly the color 
  of the floor, and lit well enough that it casts no obvious shadow. Spotting it requires a Daunting (D3) 
  Observation test. Any failing the test are tripped and crash to the floor. Allow each to make a Daunting (D3) 
  Athletics test to see if they can prevent themselves from hitting the floor and taking 2§ damage from the 
  fall. If anyone does fall to the floor, two guards are attracted by the noise. Use the same rules for reinforce-
  ments as before.
  15–16
  Tracked! A guard with a watch dog turns the corner ahead. The dog’s hackles immediately rise; it has the 
  player characters’ scents! Avoiding the dog requires either an Epic (D5) Stealth test to hide, or a Dire (D4) 
  Animal Handling test to convince the beast to turn on its owner. The player characters can also attempt to 
  put the animal and its owner down; if so, they have two rounds of combat to do so before the dog’s barking 
  draws six extra guards.
  17–18
  On the Precipice! One of the stones in the floor suddenly gives way, threatening to plunge the player char-
  acters into the dark tunnels beneath the house. Avoiding falling requires a Daunting (D3) Athletics test. If a 
  player character only achieves two successes, then he is suspended over the edge, clutching by his finger-
  nails. Climbing out, once in this position, requires a Challenging (D2) Brawn test. If the player characters fall, 
  he finds himself in the tunnels beneath the Treasure House. If they entered this way, then the threat has 
  been eliminated already, however the fall causes 2§ of damage. If they haven’t, however, then Jaizin Kaa’s 
  pet is only too happy to see him! (See page 12 for more information on this loathsome creature).
  19–20
  Nowhere to be Found. The player characters are able to sneak through this part of the Treasure House 
  with astonishing ease. The more paranoid amongst them might say it’s too quiet… in which case, the 
  gamemaster should probably roll again on the table and prove them player characters right! Perhaps the 
  encounter is stealthier than described.
  
  15
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  frame is not an option, as it is embedded deeply into the 
  surrounding marble walls.
  The first stage of picking the locks requires each of 
  the three thieves to make a Daunting (D3) Thievery test 
  to attempt to pick the three major locks located at vari-
  ous points on the door. Each thief must pass at the same 
  time for this to work. The lock is carefully calibrated and 
  needs the three locks to turn at the same time. If two player 
  characters pass and one fails, the process is not completed 
  and the thieves must attempt it again. However, there are 
  a finite number of times this can be tried before the lock 
  simply ceases to work. After two attempts the lock seizes 
  and can no longer be picked. The player characters simply 
  have to escape and try again another time. Jaizin Kaa will 
  discover that the lock was tampered with and will re-set 
  it, and redouble his guards. This allows another attempt, 
  but the effort to get there will be all-the-more challenging.
  If, however, the player characters manage this feat, then 
  the next stage is for one final Dire (D4) Thievery test to 
  unpick the central lock. Once this is done, the player char-
  acters can drag the enormous door open with a Daunting 
  (D3) Brawn test.
  As the door opens, there is a powdering of dust, the 
  susurration of insect carapaces dislodged and falling to 
  the ground, the flailing threads of severed spider webbing, 
  and… what else?
  iN ThE BELLY Of ThE BEAsT
  The Treasure Vault is not stuffed with gold and gems. It is 
  an enormous room, however, stuffed with endless reams 
  of paper. Sheaves of paper cover the floor, the tables, and 
  every available surface. The paper is of different color and 
  styles; some is primitive papyrus, already flaking. Some is 
  the paper used by the finest scribes on the continent. All of 
  it is covered in writing, in all the different languages of the 
  world. Some contain images — maps, drawings of exotic 
  creatures, and, sometimes, men and women in the midst 
  of the most extravagant of activities. The only thing which 
  looks remotely like it might belong in a typical treasure vault 
  is an enormous chest — four or five feet tall and made of 
  white wood reinforced with iron rivets.
  If the player characters examine the vast number of 
  parchments which adorn the room, they need to pass a 
  Challenging (D2) Lore test to have any chance of reading and 
  understanding it; this test is to see if the player characters 
  pick up a parchment with writing they recognize.
  The texts are all accounts of the comings and goings 
  of men and women with a particular focus on the sexual 
  predilections and vices in which these same men and 
  women indulge. Accounts of local luminaries and their 
  tastes for nubile servants, details of a noble woman (the 
  wife of a prince of the city) and her dalliances whenever 
  her husband is away, the tale of a priest who steals from the 
  poor who come to worship at his temple — these tales, and 
  thousands more like them, are collected here. The images 
  seem to be drawings of other, similar events. What the player 
  characters stumbled upon is Jaizin Kaa’s real treasure: the 
  knowledge he uses to blackmail the powerful.
  Jaizin Kaa is a broker of knowledge; his wealth is in those 
  he can blackmail and extort, both to keep himself wealthy 
  and alive. The mercenaries he employs and the measures 
  he is prepared to go to in order to preserve his knowledge 
  have made him, in essence, untouchable. What the player 
  characters can hope to gain from the situation is up to them; 
  if they grab handfuls of parchment, the likelihood is they 
  will find little which can benefit them.
  However, a more careful scrutiny of the shelves, and a 
  Daunting (D3) Society test, reveals two parchments which 
  concern people in positions of some authority in the city 
  they inhabit. How the player characters choose to use this 
  information is entirely up to them — whether they exploit 
  it for financial gain, political sway, or as a “get out of jail 
  free card” is their choice — however, possessing this infor-
  mation is, in itself, dangerous. There is a reason Jaizin Kaa 
  has had to construct a deadly, trap-filled Treasure House 
  to keep it all secure. He promises his blackmail subjects 
  protection from exposure, and he must back it up with 
  adequate reputation for security.
  At this point, the player characters should make a Dire 
  (D4) Observation test. If any of the player characters pass, 
  then they hear the sounds of extremely soft footsteps 
  approaching the vault, the faint murmur of breath, and 
  the readying of weapons. If they all fail the Observation 
  test, then what happens next should come as a complete 
  surprise — if this is the case, the gamemaster is allowed to 
  have his foes attack ahead of the player characters without 
  having to expend any Doom points. This effect, however, 
  lasts only for the first turn of combat. After this, the gam-
  emaster must spend Doom as normal.
  ThE DOUBLE CROss
  Someone enters the room. Who this is depends upon the 
  player characters’ decisions earlier in the adventure. If 
  they visited Bortae, then it is she and her bodyguards who 
  enter the Treasure Vault — weapons drawn. If they did not 
  visit her in search of advice, then the small party of thieves 
  whom the player characters encountered plotting their own 
  raid upon the Treasure House are the ones who swagger 
  in, faces plastered with self-satisfied smirks. The following 
  details presume that Bortae is the leader of the late arrivals, 
  though this can be easily altered where required.
  Whomever enters, the result is, in essentials, the same. 
  There is a sudden wash of incomprehension across their 
  faces as they are confronted, not by piles of gold and precious 
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  16
  stones, but by sheaves of parchment, all inscribed with 
  cramped handwriting in a thousand different languages. 
  Bortae attempts to hide her disappointment, feigning that 
  she had long known of the true contents of the vault. She 
  hadn’t, of course, and is as shocked by this development 
  as anyone else in the room. She quickly and decorously 
  thanks the player characters for their help in breaking in 
  and explains that she has sent a number of groups into the 
  Treasure House before — she is impressed that this group 
  managed to get so far.
  Now, however, she plans to open the chest herself, claim-
  ing whatever is inside it and leaving. She adds that, unfor-
  tunately, she must leave the player characters here: trapped 
  in the vault. She nods solemnly at this point, acknowledg-
  ing her regret at having to do so, and, again, saluting the 
  group’s skill. However, if Jaizin Kaa doesn’t have someone 
  to pin the blame on, he may come after her: this is her 
  retirement fund and she has no intention of having her 
  retirement interrupted by an assassin’s knife. If the player 
  characters did not visit Bortae, then the motive is simply 
  greed, though the reason for trapping the player characters 
  remains the same.
  If the player characters attempt to attack Bortae now, she 
  gestures to one of her bodyguards who quickly intercepts 
  the attack. The number of bodyguards Bortae has with her 
  is equal to the number of player characters plus two. Any 
  attempt to kill Bortae is blocked by a bodyguard — up to 
  and including an arrow, although the gamemaster needs 
  to spend a Doom point to enable this. Bortae gestures to 
  the player characters that she intends to open the chest and 
  announces that they are welcome to live a little longer and 
  at least see what is inside or, if they prefer, they can fight 
  her bodyguard and die now.
  If the player characters choose to fight, Bortae dispatches 
  her men to engage them while she heads toward the chest. 
  One of the bodyguards remains with her at all times in order 
  to protect her; should the player characters break through 
  the other bodyguards, Bortae uses uses her wits or decep-
  tion to distract them and give her time to open the chest.
  At a dramatically appropriate moment — perhaps just as 
  Bortae is about to open the chest — eight of the guardsmen 
  file into the room and surround the two groups of thieves. 
  Their leader shouts at everyone to drop their weapons. If 
  things have already descended into a brawl, then chances 
  are this order will be ignored. If so, the guards ready them-
  selves for battle. If the player characters waited patiently 
  for Bortae to open the chest, she does so now…
  ThE UNTEThERED BEAsT
  The chest is not, as Bortae and perhaps the player characters 
  suspected, a repository for gold or jewels. It was Jaizin Kaa’s 
  failsafe. If ever it had been necessary for the information 
  piled up in this vault to be destroyed, quickly and perma-
  nently, Jaizin Kaa had procured a means to do so. The chest 
  contains a djinn — a spirit of flame and anger — which 
  immediately attacks the nearest player character. At this 
  point, things descend into an anarchic mass of violence. The 
  guards attack, Bortae screeches in frustration, and, with 
  her bodyguard, attempts to hack her way clear.
  The player characters are stuck in the middle and must 
  extricate themselves, one way or another.
  DJiNN (TOUGhENED)
  In the deserts of Shem and Koth, there are places where the 
  fire leaps from the ground despite there being no kindling, 
  no means of igniting flame whatsoever. Some of the desert 
  peoples have ventured too near to these impossible flames 
  in the past, seeking to find what causes them to explode 
  forth with such desperate energy. Many have died trying 
  to answer to such a sinister mystery. And yet they do not 
  die. For this flame is not the fire of man, but is the fire of 
  the gods; it produces no smoke, no scent. It simply leaps 
  from the earth, an expectoration of heat and light and 
  energy. And those it touches, it consumes, or seems to. It 
  wreathes them in bright flame, scouring flesh and leaving 
  behind a husk — a stumbling, shambling mass of charcoal 
  which soon collapses into nothing. And yet something 
  remains — a pertinacious essence which cannot be so easily 
  eradicated. Whether it is the soul of the person burnt alive 
  by the dancing flames, or the spirit of the fire itself none 
  know — but the remaining specter is strange, powerful, 
  and deadly.
  It stalks the desert, appearing as a tall person wreathed 
  in a dark cloak. Only the closest examination will reveal 
  that the dark cloak cannot be removed from the person; 
  it is not a garment, it is the smoke which forms their very 
  being and, when touched, it slips between even the tightest 
  of grips — leaving behind only an ashy residue on grasping 
  fingers. This strange and terrible being is a djinn, a living 
  spirit of flame.
  The djinn is always seeking a means of quenching its 
  thirst, of filling its stomach and becoming warm. Whatever 
  the touch of the flame might bring, in terms of power (and 
  the djinn has many) it takes much more. The djinn must 
  continue to walk, endlessly, across the empty spaces of 
  the deserts they inhabit. Whatever magic colluded in the 
  creation of such creatures, it seems to prevent them from 
  leaving any place where there the sand stretches, infinitely 
  onward. It can manipulate the sand however, using it as a 
  means of concealing themselves and shielding their ethe-
  real forms from the touch of steel. The djinn is impossibly 
  fast, vanishing and reappearing at will, and it can summon 
  fire from the sand which ravages flesh and melts weaponry. 
  This strange entity is feared by all those who have cause to 
  
  17
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  wander the vast deserts of the continent, for it transforms 
  every foot of sand into a trap, waiting to be triggered.
  How Jaizin Kaa’s unnamed sorcerer ally managed to 
  successfully bind and trap this djinn is not apparent, and if 
  confronted, the old man will volunteer no answers.
  ATTRiBUTEs
  Awareness
  Intelligence
  Personality
  Willpower
  10
  10
  9
  12
  Agility
  Brawn
  Coordination
  12
  13
  12
  fiELDs Of EXPERTisE
  Combat
  2
  Movement
  —
  Fortitude
  2
  Senses
  1
  Knowledge
  1
  Social
  —
  sTREss AND sOAK
  ■
  ■ Stress: Vigor 13 Resolve 12
  ■
  ■ Soak: Armor 4 (Cloak of Sand), Courage 2
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Mighty Fists (M): Reach 1, 5§, 2H, Stun, 
  Knockdown
  ■
  ■ Incinerate (R): Range C, 8§, Burning 2
  ■
  ■ Roar of the Desert Wind (T): Range M, 5§ 
  mental, Vicious 1, Stun
  sPECiAL ABiLiTiEs
  ■
  ■ Familiar
  ■
  ■ Form of Sand: The djinn can clothe itself in sand 
  and use this body to interact with the world. The 
  body still looks like a sand sculpture and must be 
  covered in robes before it is convincing in any way.
  ■
  ■ Incorporeal 2: The djinn is made of sand and spite.
  ■
  ■ Sorcerer: All djinn possess the Immortality talent 
  and the Astral Wanderings spell. Even though their 
  bodies are long since atomised they still wander 
  the world. Most djinn can use other spells, includ-
  ing Dismember, Summon a Horror, and Venom on 
  the Wind.
  ■
  ■ Undead 5: Summoning a djinn is a mighty feat 
  of Sorcery, requiring the spells Summon a Horror, 
  Raise the Dead, and Favor of the Gods. Raise the 
  Dead must be cast together with Favor of the Gods, 
  as Summon a Horror brings forth the Flame That 
  Waits Beyond. The sorcerer must succeed in an 
  Epic (D5) Sorcery test, with success reanimating 
  the transforming sorcerer into an immortal djinn. 
  Player characters attempting this automatically 
  become non-player characters.
  DOOM sPENDs
  ■
  ■ Summon Fires from the Sand: By spending 2 
  Doom, the djinn can use its Incinerate attack.
  ■
  ■ As Wind Across the Sand: The djinn can 
  spend 1 Doom to gain the Flight special ability and 
  instantly move to Extreme range.
  CURsEs
  ■
  ■ Bound to the Sands: The djinn is unable to leave 
  its home within the sands. Should it wish to travel, 
  it must possess a body of sand equal in size to a 
  person and then have this sand sealed within a 
  large urn. Once this is accomplished the djinn is 
  afforded the ability to travel for the distance of 1 
  mile from the source of the sand. Unscrupulous 
  sorcerers have been known to scatter these sands 
  as the djinn sleeps leaving it bound to a tiny por-
  tion of the sand it would have used to form a body. 
  These small, easily-carried portions of sand can be 
  placed within jewellery, lamps, or weapons where 
  the threat of destruction keeps the djinn tethered 
  to the whim of its master.
  ■
  ■ Water is Pain: Should the djinn or the sand it 
  inhabits come into contact with water, the djinn 
  automatically suffers 1§ of damage for each cup 
  of water. The djinn gets no armor Soak against this 
  damage.
  If the player characters simply decide to run, this is 
  perfectly acceptable. They are thieves, after all, and dis-
  cretion when it comes to choosing fights is one of a thief’s 
  greatest potential attributes. However, while they may flee 
  from the djinn and the guards, it is likely that Bortae and 
  at least one of her bodyguards manages to sneak away, as 
  well. If the player characters head out of the Treasure Vault 
  and attempt to shut the door behind them — requiring a 
  Daunting (D3) Brawn test to do so — then the gamemaster 
  should have Bortae and one of her bodyguards squeeze 
  through at the last second.
  Recognizing the invidious situation she has plunged 
  herself into by saving her own skin, Bortae attempts to 
  bargain with the player characters. She won’t beg, and at 
  no point does she seem despairing. If things descend, a 
  second time, into violence, she fights as energetically and 
  determinedly as any of the player characters.
  However, she also realizes when the odds are heavily 
  against her and she isn’t suicidal. She offers the player char-
  acters three things: firstly, she offers them Gold, of which she 
  has a reasonable supply. Her next offer is of assistance and 
  loyalty in any future shared endeavors — an Average (D1) 
  Insight test suggests she means this but whether because 
  it is true or she is a pathological liar is beyond guessing. 
  Thirdly, she offers the player characters a safe way out. If 
  
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  18
  they accept this deal, then Bortae is as good as her word; 
  she will indeed lead them quickly and quietly out of the 
  Treasure House — the gamemaster may wish to introduce 
  a little extra drama to this escape by rolling on the Treasure 
  House Encounter table on page 14.
  What happens once the player characters and Bortae have 
  escaped is up to the gamemaster; does she pay the player 
  characters as she promised, or does she betray them once 
  again? Bortae could well become a recurring non-player 
  character: never trustworthy, but worth tolerating for the 
  information and the connections she is prepared to share. 
  It’s a risk, but it might just be worth it.
  If the player characters take the more immediate path of 
  attacking Bortae — whether outside of the Treasure Vault, 
  or inside it if they have decided to fight it out — then she 
  and her bodyguard(s) fight to the death. Bortae tries to use 
  any event as a sufficient distraction to escape.
  If she manages this, then she may still become a future 
  character of note. Such an incarnation is far more likely to 
  seek vengeance on the player characters, however perverse 
  the reasoning behind this hatred of them might seem. 
  Once this is settled, the player characters can make good 
  their escape. The presence of the djinn ensures that any 
  escape takes place through corridors suddenly ablaze with 
  flame. However, this is smokeless flame and so, while the 
  player characters may still suffer burns (see page 121 of the 
  Conan corebook for details on damage from fire), there is 
  no commensurate loss of sight or death from inhalation.
  ThE fiNAL ENCOUNTER
  As they flee through the Treasure House’s corridors, the 
  gamemaster may wish to consider throwing in a few traps 
  to keep the player characters alert and conscious of the fact 
  that, while they might be running towards safety, they aren’t 
  there yet. As they near the point of exit — whether out of 
  a window, back into the tunnels, or straight through the 
  front door — have the player characters encounter a small, 
  wiry old man. He is approximately seventy years old, wears 
  a kaftan-like dressing gown, and has shoulder-length white 
  hair. He rubs his hands together a great deal, as though 
  constantly cultivating warmth, and he has a conciliatory, 
  though unnerving, smile. This is Jaizin Kaa.
  As they near him, he nods pleasantly to himself 
  and smiles.
  He is completely unconcerned by the loss of his “treasure” 
  and by the player characters’ presence; indeed, he seems 
  more delighted by the thought of Kallian Publico’s irritation 
  than anything else. If the player characters threaten him or 
  demand to know where his gold is, he smiles and laughs:
  And, with that, he ambles off. If the player characters 
  do choose to kill Jaizin Kaa, they can do so easily. He is 
  an old man and will only require one successful blow to 
  kill. However, he is as good as his word and assassins will 
  hound the murderers to the ends of the Earth. If the player 
  characters leave him be, however, he is equally true to his 
  promise. No one will pursue them — at least, no one sent 
  by Jaizin Kaa. He may even offer them work in the future, 
  though such work is of the most disreputable and dangerous 
  kind. Then again, what thief would want anything less?
  Once this has been concluded, the player characters 
  can emerge into the fresh air of the outside world, having 
  accomplished the impossible: robbing the Treasure House 
  of Jaizin Kaa.
  “Thieves,” he says “And good ones. I remember thieves 
  like you. Clever, resourceful thieves. Don’t get many of you 
  nowadays. Did you see the djinn? Is the paper burning? 
  Shame… Still, at least that bastard Kallian Publico didn’t 
  get his hands on my treasure, eh?”
  “Oh no. Don’t kill me. Very unwise. I have a dozen assassins 
  that will hunt down the person that murders me and kill 
  them in most unpleasant ways. I tell you what… you leave 
  me alone, I’m an old man after all, and I won’t have you 
  killed. How’s that? It’s a shame to have lost all that infor-
  mation, but none of it was really important. Everything of 
  worth is kept elsewhere. Don’t go looking for that, though; 
  then we wouldn’t be able to meet on such friendly terms. 
  I have enjoyed meeting you. It’s been a long time since I 
  met good thieves — indeed, if you ever feel like robbing a 
  certain museum in Numalia, do let me know. I may see my 
  way to financing you.”
  ThE ChAOTiC fRAY
  Orchestrating this muddle of conflicting motives and forces 
  might at first seem daunting, but it needn’t be. There is 
  no need to keep track of every little combat carried out 
  between guards and Bortae’s bodyguard. The gamemaster 
  should focus attention on the player characters and simply 
  make references to the chaos going on around them. To 
  simplify things further, the gamemaster should have the 
  player characters’ main problem be the djinn.
  Jaizin Kaa’s guards and Bortae’s men avoid the djinn, 
  but if it manages to set the room alight, then getting 
  away from the raging fire it starts may prove difficult. 
  Once the djinn is dealt with, the gamemaster should 
  engineer a climactic showdown with Bortae, two of her 
  men, and two guards. Perhaps detail the slaughter going 
  on elsewhere in the room, but make this your main scene.
  
  19
  ThE TREAsURE hOUsE Of JAiziN KAA
  EPiLOGUE
  There are a number of possible directions a gamemaster 
  might take subsequent adventures after this. Do the player 
  characters engage in a battle of wits with Bortae — if she 
  survived — across the city, enlisting the help of the Thieves’ 
  Guild or other forces in order to triumph? Does Jaizin Kaa’s 
  threat about what should happen if they go hunting for 
  his other Treasure Houses fail to dissuade them from the 
  promise of an actual payday? Do the player characters 
  decide that things are too hot for them in this city now and 
  head out, to find a new place to ply their criminal trade? 
  And what about the parchments they snatched from the 
  Treasure Vault — how are they to be used, how much are 
  they worth, and how much danger will using them bring 
  down on the player characters’ heads? Who knows?
  The final rewards the player characters achieve for suc-
  cessfully completing and surviving this adventure are left 
  to the gamemaster, though being betrayed by Bortae and 
  managing to survive is certainly enough to earn consider-
  able respect in the Thieves’ Guild, where she is regarded 
  with awe and distaste in equal measure.
  Having successfully broken into Jaizin Kaa’s Treasure 
  House and survived is also worthy of note — though the 
  lack of anything significant to show for it casts a little doubt 
  on their story. Not enough for active disbelief, perhaps, 
  but just enough to tarnish the achievement slightly. The 
  player characters won’t become members of the Thieves’ 
  Council… just yet.
  EXPERiENCE
  Successful completion of the adventure — including the 
  discovery of the true contents of Jaizin Kaa’s vault — should 
  be worth roughly 200 experience points for each player 
  character, adjusted by the gamemaster based on roleplaying, 
  problem-solving, and other factors.
  There are many items that can be looted aside from that 
  described in the vault, and the gamemaster may choose 
  to award each thief anywhere between 2 and 10§ apiece 
  in Gold’s worth of items, if they are aggressively looting 
  everything not nailed down.
  If word spreads of the player characters’ successful 
  break-in to Jaizin Kaa’s Treasure House, the gamemaster 
  should award each of them 3 points of Renown, even if the 
  lack of a pile of loot lessens the fame. This is a major accom-
  plishment, and thieves across the whole of the dreaming 
  west will hear of this exploit.
  Additionally, if the player characters remain in Zamora 
  for their Upkeep phase, they will find all costs reduced by 1 
  Gold and any relevant tests reduced by one step of Difficulty, 
  as they are frequently bought drinks, meals, and offered 
  other favors in return for the tale of their epic score.
  Choosing to use the information in the vault, should the 
  player characters get hold of it, will likely bring them more 
  trouble than it is worth, though the gamemaster should 
  determine what secrets they are able to exploit, how much 
  the information is worth, and how far the concerned subjects 
  will go to keep their secrets just that… secret.
  His keen eyes, even in the dim starlight, showed him a strongly built man in the silvered armor and 
  crested helmet of the Zamorian royal guard. A shield and a spear lay near him, and it took but an 
  instant’s examination to show that he had been strangled. The barbarian glanced about uneasily. 
  He knew that this man must be the guard he had heard pass his hiding-place by the wall.
  — “The Tower of the Elephant”
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  B
  orn in a brothel and turned out when he had reached an age where he was able 
  to fend for himself, Hazir joined the street gangs of Zamora the Accursed, where 
  every day was a test of wits and resourcefulness to survive. Trained in sleight-of-
  hand and pick-pocketing, Hazir manages to scrape by — if barely — and has joined a 
  group of thieves for one big score.
  Like most Zamorians, Hazir is dark of hair and eyes, sleight of build. He has a 
  wide smile and a fringe beard, and wears nondescript clothing to blend in with 
  any crowd.
  HAZIR, ZAMORIAN CUTPURSE
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  12
  2
  Melee
  11
  1
  Stealth
  13
  3
  AWARENEss
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  10
  —
  Observation
  14
  4
  Survival
  12
  2
  Thievery
  13
  3
  BRAWN
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  10
  2
  Resistance
  10
  2
  COORDiNATiON
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  11
  1
  Ranged Weapons
  13
  3
  Sailing
  10
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  7
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  7
  —
  Craft
  7
  —
  Healing
  7
  —
  Linguistics
  7
  —
  Lore
  7
  —
  Warfare
  7
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  9
  —
  Command
  9
  —
  Counsel
  9
  —
  Persuade
  10
  1
  Society
  9
  —
  WiLLPOWER
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  9
  1
  Sorcery
  8
  —
  Other Belongings
  Toolkit (3 resources); good luck charm; climbing kit (3 
  resources).
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Zamora
  ■
  ■ Caste: Outcast
  ■
  ■ Nature: Sneaky
  ■
  ■ Education: Largely Absent
  ■
  ■ Story: Food and Rough Liquor
  ■
  ■ Trait: Fond Regrets
  ■
  ■ War Story:  Survived a Massacre
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Zamorian, Kothic
  Soak
  Armor
  1 (Padded Jerkin; Torso/Arms)
  Courage
  —
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Shortsword (M): Reach 1, 4§, 1H, Parrying
  ■
  ■ Throwing Daggers (×3) (R): Range C, 5§, 1H, 
  Volley
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 3§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ Sharp Senses: Hazir may re-roll 1d20 on 
  Observation tests, but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Thief: Hazir may use Thievery in place of Society 
  when dealing with criminals. When he generates 
  at least 1 success on a Persuade or Lore test with 
  criminals, he may immediately roll +1d20 and add 
  the result to the test.
  ■
  ■ Agile: Hazir may re-roll 1d20 on Acrobatics tests, 
  but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Living Shadow: When attempting to remain unseen 
  or unnoticed, Hazir gains 1 bonus Momentum.
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  —
  Ranged
  +2§
  Presence
  +1§
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  N
  atara had her life planned by her parents: apprenticeship in the family trade in 
  Shadizar, working for her lecherous uncle, and an arranged marriage with the 
  scion of business partners. Her opinion on this was inconsequential. What her 
  parents didn’t expect was that Natara had a mind of her own. She stole her own dowry 
  and made her way to Zamora. Since then, she’s become a charming scoundrel, a grifter, 
  and a swindler, using her charm and quick wits to part the unwary from their gold. She’s 
  thrown her lot in with this crew to make one big heist that will set her up for years.
  Natara is dark-haired and brown-eyed, with a thick mane of hair. She wears fine cloth-
  ing, best to convince others that she’s a person of means and has no need of their money.
  NATARA, ZAMORIAN ROGUE
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  11
  3
  Melee
  9
  1
  Stealth
  9
  1
  AWARENEss
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  9
  1
  Observation
  10
  2
  Survival
  8
  —
  Thievery
  8
  —
  BRAWN
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  9
  1
  Resistance
  8
  —
  COORDiNATiON
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  11
  2
  Ranged Weapons
  10
  1
  Sailing
  9
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  9
  —
  Craft
  9
  —
  Healing
  9
  —
  Linguistics
  9
  —
  Lore
  10
  1
  Warfare
  9
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  11
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  12
  1
  Command
  12
  1
  Counsel
  12
  1
  Persuade
  15
  4
  Society
  14
  3
  WiLLPOWER
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  11
  1
  Sorcery
  10
  —
  Other Belongings
  Courtly clothing; ornate symbol of her family line; 
  quiver of crossbow bolts (3 loads).
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Zamora
  ■
  ■ Caste: Merchant
  ■
  ■ Nature: Inspirational
  ■
  ■ Education: Elder Mentor
  ■
  ■ Story: The Lash of Taxation
  ■
  ■ Trait: Witness to Brutality
  ■
  ■ War Story:  Gained the Favor of a Local 
  Noble
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Zamorian, Brythunian
  Soak
  Armor
  1 (Heavy Clothing; All Locations)
  Courage
  1
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Dagger (M): Reach 1, 3§, 1H, Hidden 1, Parrying, 
  Thrown, Unforgiving 1
  ■
  ■ Crossbow (R): Range M, 3§, Unb, Unforgiving 1, 
  Volley
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 5§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ Agile: Natara may re-roll 1d20 on Acrobatics tests, 
  but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Force of Presence: +1§ to Natara’s mental attack 
  damage bonus.
  ■
  ■ Courageous: Natara may re-roll 1d20 on Discipline 
  tests, but must accept the new result. She has 
  Courage Soak 1.
  ■
  ■ Naturally Charming: A successful Persuade test 
  gains 1 bonus Momentum.
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  —
  Ranged
  —
  Presence
  +3§
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  L
  ife in a border village in northern Koth was comfortable, if dull. There was little to 
  do but farm and drink with whatever the king’s tax-men left. And drink Lothar did 
  in quantity. One day, when Lothar was deep in his cups, the tax-man said the wrong 
  thing, and after that, Lothar was an exile and an outlaw, forced to survive by banditry. He 
  made his way along the northern mountains, preying on merchant caravans, until he 
  reached Zamora, where his strength and size are assets. He has thrown in with a local 
  band of thieves seeking some muscle for a big score.
  Lothar is a strapping son of the countryside, broad of shoulder and arm, with light 
  brown hair and dark green eyes. His garb is rough-spun linen and leather, well-worn and 
  stained from the prior owners.
  LOTHAR, KOTHIAN BRUTE
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  12
  2
  Melee
  14
  4
  Stealth
  11
  1
  AWARENEss
  7
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  7
  —
  Observation
  8
  1
  Survival
  8
  1
  Thievery
  8
  1
  BRAWN
  12
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  14
  2
  Resistance
  14
  2
  COORDiNATiON
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  14
  4
  Ranged Weapons
  11
  1
  Sailing
  10
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  7
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  7
  —
  Craft
  8
  1
  Healing
  7
  —
  Linguistics
  7
  —
  Lore
  7
  —
  Warfare
  7
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  10
  2
  Command
  8
  —
  Counsel
  8
  —
  Persuade
  8
  —
  Society
  8
  —
  WiLLPOWER
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  11
  2
  Sorcery
  9
  —
  Other Belongings
  Ragged clothing; half-eaten apple.
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Koth
  ■
  ■ Caste: Outcast
  ■
  ■ Nature: Wrathful
  ■
  ■ Education: Traditional
  ■
  ■ Story: Hunted by the Law
  ■
  ■ Trait: Hunted!
  ■
  ■ War Story:  Survived a Duel
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Kothian, Zamorian
  Soak
  Armor
  2 (Brigandine; all locations)
  Courage
  1
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Dagger (M): Reach 1, 6§, 1H, Hidden 1, Parrying, 
  Thrown, Unforgiving 1
  ■
  ■ Staff (M): Reach 2 or 3, 7§, 2H, Knockdown
  ■
  ■ Broadsword (M): Reach 2, 8§, Unb, Parrying
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 2§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ No Mercy: Lothar may re-roll 1§ for Melee attacks, 
  but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Deflection: Lothar can reduce the number of points 
  added to Doom by 1 when making a Defend Reaction 
  using the Parry skill (minimum 0). This stacks with 
  the Parrying quality.
  ■
  ■ Riposte: Immediately after successfully making a 
  Defend Reaction using the Parry skill, Lothar may 
  add 1 to Doom to make a Melee attack against his 
  attacker. Momentum from the Parry Action may be 
  used in this attack.
  ■
  ■ Courageous: Lothar may re-roll 1d20 on Discipline 
  tests, but must accept the new result. He has 
  Courage Soak 1.
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  +3§
  Ranged
  —
  Presence
  —
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  B
  orn in Turan, Zehra had little choice in life, conscripted as a child into King Yildiz’ 
  great army, hell-bent on expanding Turan’s borders across the steppes into Zamora, 
  and eventually the dreaming west. A horse archer, her company was ambushed 
  by Gunderland mercenaries while camped. Zehra escaped and made her way to Zamora, 
  her fate finally her own. She has joined with a crew of thieves seeking to make names for 
  themselves with a daring raid. Perhaps this will be the gate to a better life.
  Zehra has dark skin and deep brown eyes, black hair worn coiled and braided. Her 
  cavalry garments are well-cared for and show the distinctive patterning of her homeland.
  ZEHRA, TURANIAN BOWMAN
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  13
  3
  Melee
  12
  2
  Stealth
  12
  2
  AWARENEss
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  10
  —
  Observation
  11
  1
  Survival
  12
  2
  Thievery
  10
  —
  BRAWN
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  9
  —
  Resistance
  10
  —
  COORDiNATiON
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  13
  3
  Ranged Weapons
  14
  4
  Sailing
  10
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  8
  —
  Craft
  9
  1
  Healing
  9
  1
  Linguistics
  8
  —
  Lore
  9
  1
  Warfare
  8
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  10
  2
  Command
  8
  —
  Counsel
  8
  —
  Persuade
  8
  —
  Society
  8
  —
  WiLLPOWER
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  9
  1
  Sorcery
  8
  —
  Other Belongings
  Quiver of arrows (3 reloads); helmet (Armor 3; Head); 
  scroll displaying family heraldry; silken kerchief.
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Turan
  ■
  ■ Caste: Warrior
  ■
  ■ Nature: Stoic
  ■
  ■ Education: Traditional
  ■
  ■ Story: Glorious Battle
  ■
  ■ Trait: Hunted!
  ■
  ■ War Story:  Survived a Massacre
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Turanian, Zamorian
  Soak
  Armor
  2 (Brigandine; Torso/Arms/Legs)
  Courage
  1
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Tulwar (M): Reach 2, Unb, 5§, Cavalry, Parrying
  ■
  ■ Throwing Knives (×3) (R): Range C, 5§, 1H, 
  Hidden 1, Volley
  ■
  ■ Shemite Bow (R): Range L, 5§, H, Piercing 1 
  Volley
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 2§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ Accurate: Zehra may re-roll 3§ for Ranged 
  Weapon attacks, but must accept the new results.
  ■
  ■ Courageous: Zehra may re-roll 1d20 on Discipline 
  tests, but must accept the new result. She has 
  Courage Soak 1.
  ■
  ■ Marksman: If Zehra spends a Minor Action before a 
  Ranged attack, she gains 1 bonus Momentum.
  ■
  ■ Shoot for the Horizon: When using Ranged 
  Weapons at other than the weapon’s optimal range, 
  Zehra reduces the penalty by one step (minimum 0).
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  +1§
  Ranged
  +2§
  Presence
  —
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  C
  aptured as a child by Hyperborean slavers, Haakon endured a brutal life of servitude 
  and punishment, forced to labor in their quarries. One day his master noticed the 
  breadth of his shoulders and the fire that had not faded from his bright blue eyes, 
  and Haakon was taken to the fighting pits, learning the arts of combat and death, pitted 
  against other slaves and professional fighters. Whether quarry or pit — a cage was a 
  cage — and Haakon escaped, strangling his master and making his way south, the ways 
  of the city to his liking. Newly arrived in Zamora, he has thrown his lot in with a group 
  of thieves, which is enough for now.
  Haakon is a son of Asgard, tall and pale-skinned, with bright blue eyes and a blonde 
  beard. His clothes and armor are newly purchased and fine, and he is quite proud of them.
  HAAKON, ÆSIR OUTLANDER
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  12
  3
  Melee
  12
  3
  Stealth
  9
  —
  AWARENEss
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  8
  —
  Observation
  8
  —
  Survival
  12
  4
  Thievery
  8
  —
  BRAWN
  12
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  14
  2
  Resistance
  14
  2
  COORDiNATiON
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  11
  3
  Ranged Weapons
  9
  1
  Sailing
  8
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  7
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  7
  —
  Craft
  7
  —
  Healing
  10
  3
  Linguistics
  7
  —
  Lore
  8
  1
  Warfare
  7
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  9
  1
  Command
  8
  —
  Counsel
  8
  —
  Persuade
  8
  —
  Society
  8
  —
  WiLLPOWER
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  11
  1
  Sorcery
  10
  —
  Other Belongings
  Helmet (Armor 3; Head); fur cloak.
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Asgard
  ■
  ■ Caste:  Escaped Slave
  ■
  ■ Nature: Stoic
  ■
  ■ Education: Educated on the 
  Battlefield
  ■
  ■ Story: One of the multitudes
  ■
  ■ Trait: Marked by the Pit
  ■
  ■ War Story: Dispossessed
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Nordheimer, Zamorian
  Soak
  Armor
  3 (Mail; Torso/Arms)
  Courage
  1
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Broadsword (M): Reach 2, 8§, Unb, Parrying
  ■
  ■ Dagger (×2) (M): Reach 1, 1H, 6§, Hidden 1, 
  Parrying, Thrown, Unforgiving 1
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 2§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ No Mercy: Haakon may re-roll up to 3§ for Melee 
  attacks, but must accept the new results.
  ■
  ■ Courageous: Haakon may re-roll 1d20 on Discipline 
  tests, but must accept the new result. He has 
  Courage Soak 1.
  ■
  ■ Blood on Steel: When rolling for Melee damage 
  Haakon may spend 1 Momentum to add the Vicious 1 
  quality to the weapon, or increase its Vicious quality 
  by +1.
  ■
  ■ Deft Blade: When Haakon makes a Melee attack, 
  any Momentum or Doom used to add bonus d20s to 
  the Melee test each add +2d20 (instead of 1d20), up 
  to a total of +3d20.
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  +3§
  Ranged
  —
  Presence
  —
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  B
  orn to a noble estate in Nemedia, Veleda was trained in etiquette and courtesy, 
  towards a political marriage. Her twin brother Atallus was the heir. Her joy was 
  swordplay, though, taught by a friendly guard-captain. When plague killed her 
  family, Veleda tried to keep her estate by posing as her dead brother Atalus. The ruse 
  was successful, but she was betrayed, and rivals seized her family’s “heirless” estate. 
  Veleda fled and continued the ruse, earning a place among other landless knights and 
  mercenaries in the Nemedian Adventurers. “Atallus” has returned to Zamora, hoping to 
  earn enough to take back was stolen from her.
  Slender and handsome, with a mop of short curly hair and green eyes, “Atallus” wears 
  well-made garments and war-gear befitting status as an Adventurer.
  ATALLUS, NEMEDIAN ADVENTURER
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  11
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  13
  2
  Melee
  14
  3
  Stealth
  13
  2
  AWARENEss
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  9
  —
  Observation
  12
  3
  Survival
  9
  —
  Thievery
  10
  1
  BRAWN
  9
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  14
  5
  Resistance
  9
  —
  COORDiNATiON
  11
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  14
  3
  Ranged Weapons
  13
  2
  Sailing
  11
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  7
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  7
  —
  Craft
  7
  —
  Healing
  7
  —
  Linguistics
  7
  —
  Lore
  9
  2
  Warfare
  7
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  11
  3
  Command
  9
  1
  Counsel
  9
  —
  Persuade
  9
  —
  Society
  9
  —
  WiLLPOWER
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  9
  1
  Sorcery
  8
  —
  Other Belongings
  Courtly clothing (Atallus and Veleda); father’s signet 
  ring; sling stones (3 loads).
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Nemedia
  ■
  ■ Caste:  Petty Noble
  ■
  ■ Nature: Curious
  ■
  ■ Education: Elder Mentor
  ■
  ■ Story: Blood Feud
  ■
  ■ Trait: Feud
  ■
  ■ War Story:  Defeated a Savage Beast
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Nemedian, Zamorian
  Soak
  Armor
  3 (Mail; Torso/Arms)
  Courage
  1
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Broadsword (M): Reach 2, 6§, Unb, Parrying
  ■
  ■ Polearm (M): Reach 3, 5§, 2H, Knockdown, 
  Vicious 1
  ■
  ■ Sling (R): Range M, 4§, 1H, Stun, Volley
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 2§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ Strong Back 1: Veleda gets 1 bonus Momentum on a 
  successful Athletics test.
  ■
  ■ Sharp Senses: Veleda may re-roll 1d20 on 
  Observation tests, but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Courageous: Veleda may re-roll 1d20 on Discipline 
  tests, but must accept the new result. She has 
  Courage Soak 1.
  ■
  ■ Accurate: Veleda may re-roll 1§ for a Ranged 
  Weapon attack, but must accept the new result.
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  +1§
  Ranged
  +1§
  Presence
  —
  
  sTREss
  Vigor
  Resolve
  X
  anthes began life as gutter-urchin, sleeping in alleys, abandoned by the world. 
  Every day was a desperate gamble — could he steal enough to survive, and would 
  he wake the next morning? One day, as a parade of the Spider God’s disciples dis-
  tracted the market vendors, Xanthes tryed to steal a pomegranate. He was caught, and a 
  market guard made to hack off his hand for thievery. A Spider priest intervened, taking 
  Xanthes to serve in the temple. He eventually became an acolyte. He learned the Spider 
  God’s ways, and is now a fervent believer. He has come to Zamora to spread the word of 
  his god, and to show the Bel-worshippers a thing or two about thieving.
  Pot-bellied but possessing a surprising quickness, Xanthes is shave-pated and short, 
  clad in a fur-trimmed robe of black and grey. Upon the back of his head is tattooed an 
  eight-lobed arrangement reminiscent of a spider’s eyes.
  XANTHES, ZAMORIAN PRIEST OF THE SPIDER GOD
  PRE-GENERATED ChARACTER
  AGiLiTY
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Acrobatics
  12
  2
  Melee
  10
  —
  Stealth
  12
  2
  AWARENEss
  11
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Insight
  12
  1
  Observation
  12
  1
  Survival
  11
  —
  Thievery
  14
  3
  BRAWN
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Athletics
  10
  2
  Resistance
  8
  —
  COORDiNATiON
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Parry
  8
  —
  Ranged Weapons
  8
  —
  Sailing
  8
  —
  iNTELLiGENCE
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Alchemy
  9
  1
  Craft
  9
  1
  Healing
  8
  —
  Linguistics
  8
  —
  Lore
  10
  2
  Warfare
  7
  —
  PERsONALiTY
  8
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Animal Handling
  8
  —
  Command
  8
  —
  Counsel
  10
  2
  Persuade
  9
  1
  Society
  9
  1
  WiLLPOWER
  10
  Skill
  TN
  Focus
  Discipline
  14
  4
  Sorcery
  12
  2
  Other Belongings
  Spider God amulet; scroll of Spider God gospel; prayer 
  mat & incense; pet spider (non-poisonous).
  Fortune Points
  Background
  ■
  ■ Homeland: Zamora
  ■
  ■ Caste: Outcast
  ■
  ■ Nature: Sneaky
  ■
  ■ Education: On Your Own Terms
  ■
  ■ Story: The Charity of Priests
  ■
  ■ Trait: Thief!
  ■
  ■ War Story:  Survived Sorcery
  ■
  ■ Languages:  Zamorian, Corinthian
  Soak
  Armor
  1 (Heavy Clothes; All Locations)
  Courage
  1
  hARMs
  Wounds
  Trauma
  ATTACKs
  ■
  ■ Dagger (M): Reach 1, 3§, 1H, Hidden 1, Parrying, 
  Thrown, Unforgiving 1
  ■
  ■ Throwing Knives (×2) (R): Range C, 5§, 1H, 
  Hidden 1, Volley
  ■
  ■ Steely Glare (T): Range C, 2§ mental, Stun
  Talents
  ■
  ■ Quiet Wisdom: Xanthes may re-roll 1d20 on Counsel 
  tests, but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Agile: Xanthes may re-roll 1d20 on Acrobatics tests, 
  but must accept the new result.
  ■
  ■ Living Shadow: When attempting to remain unseen, 
  Xanthes gains 1 bonus Momentum.
  ■
  ■ Courageous: Xanthes may re-roll 1d20 on Discipline 
  tests, but must accept the new result. He has 
  Courage Soak 1
  Bonus
  Damage (Incl)
  Melee
  —
  Ranged
  +2§
  Presence
  —
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Deduped  Shit/Conan (2d20)/Conan 2d20 - The Treasure House of Jaizin Kaa 20171011 v3.pdf