Conan d20 2e - Betrayer of Asgard.pdf

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Betrayer of Asgard
Contents
Contents
Credits
Introduction
Crossing of the dead
The Hall of Heroes
Tale of Shadows
1
2
3
8
29
52
Hand of the
Necromancer
Betrayer of
Asgard
New Sorcery Spells
index
license
82
122
131
134
156
Betrayer of Asgard
is © 2008 Conan Properties International LLC. CONAN®, CONAN THE BARBARIAN® and related
logos, characters, names and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Conan Properties International LLC unless
otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorised User.
Cities of Hyboria
is released under ver-
sion 1.0 of the Open Game License. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content of this work by any means without the
written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. See page 156 for the text of this license. With the exception of
the character creation rules detailing the mechanics of assigning dice roll results to abilities and the advance-
ment of character levels, all game mechanics and statistics (including the game mechanics of all feats,
skills, classes, creatures spells and the combat chapter) are declared open content. First printing
2008. Printed in the USA.
1
Credits
Credits
Author
Gareth Hanrahan
Editor
Charlotte Law
Layout
Will Chapman
Cover Art
Giles Meakin
Interior Artist
Furman
Playtesters
Chris Crofts, Neil Kelly, Robert Feeney, Rachael Worboys, Eric Worboys
Special Thanks
Edel Ryder
Creator of Conan and Hyboria
Robert E. Howard
2
Introduction
Introduction
Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans
drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities and the years of the
rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed-of,
when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like
blue mantles beneath the stars. Turn your eyes from the
white towers and green hills of Aquilonia, from the warm
coasts of Zingara and the waving grain-fields of Nemedia,
from spider-haunted Zingara and the hot lands of the
south. Look north, O prince, beyond even the chilled
grey wilderness of Cimmeria, where dark-eyed barbarians
brood in the shadow of ancient stones. Look north and
see the sun set flame to the ice-capped peaks and snowy
tundra of Nordheim. There, in that cold cold land, dwell
the flame-haired Vanir and the golden-haired Aesir, rival
tribes of warriors and berserkers.
The Vanir and the Aesir have been locked in hatred for
uncounted generations, both unwilling to yield even when
their hot blood spills on the frozen earth.
Know, O prince, that east of Nordheim, beyond the fabled
Skull Gate lays the realm of Hyperborea, beyond the north
wind. This desolate kingdom is plagued by sorcerers and
witchmen and it is of them that I speak. Among this vile
race, there arose one sorcerer prouder and stronger than the
rest. His name, O prince, was Logri the Binder and his evil
waxed so great that even his fellow witchmen grew to hate
and fear him. The sorcerer delved into forbidden magics
and trafficked with demons from the stars. He learned
to raise the dead and command spirits and in a book of
lore sealed with nine stone seals and locked in a tomb of
Acheron, he learned the rite to bind the wills of others.
With this magic, he could trap the souls of lesser sorcerers
and common men alike, making them slaves to his mind.
Worse, he could work his spells through them.
Know, O prince, that the other witchmen rose up against
Logri the Binder and defeated him with the Orb of Souls.
He could not be slain, so the witchmen commanded their
servants to carry Logri up into the mountains of Aesir-Land
and bury him beneath the glacier known as the River of
Death Ice. Only those who made Logri’s tomb knew where
the sorcerer lay and they were ordered to kill themselves
once the deed was done. A single man of Hyperborea, a
dark-haired slave of Cimmerian blood survived this ordeal
and rather than return to the slave-pits he walked
west and his sons were kings among the folk of Asgard. He
wrote the secret of the place where they buried Logri onto
a horn and it became an heirloom of his house.
Know, O prince that the spirit of Logri lingers on even
after death. With the right magic, he can open his buried
tomb and resurrect his body but he knows not where his
body lies, nor has he the strength to open the tomb should
his unquiet ghost find it. What Logri yet possesses, though,
is his evil will. Should he find a man or woman among the
Aesir who listens to his lies, should he once again possess a
spell-bound servant, then Logri might rise again and bring
ruin upon first Aesir-Land and then perhaps the world.
Know, O prince, that such a servant of Logri would be the
Betrayer of Asgard!
Conan & The Betrayer of Asgard
is an adventure arc for
characters of 5
th
to 6
th
level and they will be 8
th
to 9
th
level
by the end of it. The plot revolves around the resurrection
of the sorcerer Logri and the attempts to stop this from
coming to pass. This adventure arc has several unusual
features, designed to make it a memorable
Conan
epic for
your players.
The Betrayer
Firstly, the identity of The Betrayer is fluid. There are three
Non-Player Characters who each play an important role
in the adventure and one of these three is the Betrayer
of Asgard. Clues point to all three but it is up to the
Gamemaster to choose which of the three is the real
Betrayer. You can either pick the true villain before the
game begins or wait until later in the campaign to decide
who the Betrayer is.
You can even let the players decide by their actions – if they
come to suspect Olaf, then Olaf is the betrayer.
The major clue given to the players
during this adventure is that the
Betrayer has a mystic brand on
one hand and all three candidates
have a hidden hand of some sort.
3
Introduction
The three potential betrayers are:
*
Olaf,
a wandering adventurer and thief. One of Olaf ’s
schemes is the initial hook that draws the adventurers
into this tale. Olaf ’s left arm was cut off in a fight with
Vanir raiders and if he was the Betrayer, then his brand
was on his missing hand. His weakness is his lust for
gold – if he is the Betrayer, then Logri promised him a
fortune if he resurrects the necromancer.
*
Cnulf Coalhair
is a king of the Aesir and the descendant
of the only Hyperborean slave to survive the journey
to entomb Logri the Binder. He is named for his dark
hair, quite unlike his golden-haired subjects. He wears
sable gloves to hide his mark, if he is the Betrayer. His
weakness is his Hyperborean heritage – if he is the
Betrayer, then the line of his fathers carried the ghost of
Logri the Binder with them down through the years.
Irda
is a beautiful priestess of the Aesir, blessed with
the gift of foresight. It is said that she is favoured by
Atali Ymirsdottir and that her crystal-blue eyes see
both this world and the next. Irda has a manservant
and bodyguard named Fist, a giant from the western
mountain – if she is the Betrayer, then Fist is the
marked servant of Logri the Binder and she was led
astray by the seductive whispers of the sorcerer.
*
In several sections of
Betrayer of Asgard,
there will be
optional side encounters or events that correspond to a
particular Betrayer. For example, a section entitled
Irda
the Betrayer
must be run if Irda is the Hand of Logri.
Some of these sections can be run whether or not that
non-player character is the Betrayer, to throw suspicion
on innocent characters.
to track every minute of their character’s lifetime or want
to roleplay out parts of the journey or dislike scenes that
open
in media res.
Assure the players that these high-action
openings and sudden shifts are a part of the plot of these
adventures and that they still have ultimate control over
their destinies.
Also, each adventure includes a list of possible
foreshadowings (see the
Conan 2
nd
edition rulebook,
page
76), which the players can take. Not everything on these
lists is guaranteed to happen during the adventure but the
foreshadowings give the players an idea of what to expect
and give the Games Master an impression of the aspects of
the game the players are interested in. It also keeps a strong
flow of Fate Points, letting the players take risks that might
other be untenable.
Straight To The Action
Many of the episodes in
Betrayer of Asgard
jump straight to
the action. The opening adventure, for example, starts with
the adventurers already fleeing from the pursuing Vanir
and then flashes back several days to before they stole the
horn from the Vanir hall. Travel and other stretches of
time will be skipped over in the adventures, so there is
little ‘active downtime’.
The players should be informed of this philosophy
before the game begins. Some players are
especially cautious and want to plan
every move their character
makes and maximise their
advantage before any
conflict. Others like
A Wild, Wild World
Betrayer of Asgard
also takes a more breakneck pace than
other
Conan
adventures. At every turn, the adventurers
will be beset by perils both natural and supernatural,
from the teeth of the Nordheim snows to giants and
wolves to the undead minions of Logri the Binder. A great
deal of combat has been packed into these adventures,
so the rules for regaining Hit Points have been relaxed
somewhat. Characters will automatically be healed back
up to full Hit Points in between adventures and often
there will be gaps in the action where the characters are
also healed back to full.
4

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