[37-0031] Caravan to Ein Arris.pdf

C ARAVAN TO

An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS ® from Steve Jackson Games

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By Creede and Sharleen Lambard

Development by Steve Jackson

Art by Dan Willems ; Map by Kyle Miller

Fourth Edition Conversions by Charles Griswold

Playtesters: Norman Banduch, Rob Kirk,

Allen Varney, Mike Moe, Dan Willems, C. Mara Lee

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STEVE JACKSON GAMES

Stock #82-0020

Version 1.0 March 31, 2006

E IN A RRIS

T ABLE OF C ONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Character Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Character Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1. H IRING O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

World Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Replacement Characters . . . . . . . . . 5

The Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2. T HE O BLIGATORY

T AVERN S CENE . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Katsaya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Farvaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Intrigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3. I NTERVIEW WITH H ALMARO . . . 8

Tsorvano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4. S ANDSTORM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Halmaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Lost in the Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5. T ATSORI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Late to Tatsori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

6. A W EDDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Wedding Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Stealing the Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

7. S ECRET M ISSION . . . . . . . . . . 13

Kira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

8. T HE T AX C OLLECTORS . . . . . . 13

Generic Fighters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

The Ayun Stockade . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

9. M ORE T AX C OLLECTORS . . . . . 15

Ayuni Trade Pidgin . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

The Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

10. T HE B RIGANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

The Brigand Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Karhan, the Brigand Chief . . . . . . 17

Prisoners of the Brigands . . . . . . . 17

11. D ADDY ’ S L ITTLE G IRL . . . . . . . 18

12. H AGGLING IN A YUN . . . . . . . . . 18

Tekoff the Pawnbroker . . . . . . . . . 19

13. T HE A BBEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Improvised Adventures . . . . . . . . . 20

M AP OF L ANTARA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Riana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

14. T HE V IGIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

15. A W EDDING IN E IN A RRIS . . . 24

15. C HARACTER P OINTS . . . . . . . . . 24

17. F URTHER A DVENTURES . . . . . . 24

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C ARAVAN TO E IN A RRIS

I NTRODUCTION

The air is buzzing in the market of Khedris – the great mar-

ket that stretches from the fishmongers on the shore to

Caravan Square. Halmaro the Red – master of the powerful

Merchants’ Guild, second in power in Khedris only to the

emperor of Lantara himself – is organizing a caravan! And this

is no ordinary caravan; it will carry goods and gifts for the

wedding of Halmaro’s daughter Kira to Prince Eiru of

Mashanda.

The caravan will be huge, even by Khedran standards. It

includes 220 camels, 50 horses, 40 head of fattened cattle, and

50 oxen pulling five wagons. The wagons are quite a rarity in a

caravan; some of the wedding gifts must be huge!

The word is out that Halmaro is looking for herdsmen,

scribes, translators, cooks, guides, physicians, laborers, and

other hirelings for the caravan. Many of these will come from

the various guilds, but there will be plenty of room for free-

lancers. Of course, guards will be needed too. Caravanning is

not without its risks; bandits, highwaymen, and thieves take

their toll on the caravans, as do sandstorms, heat, and floods.

Halmaro will pay $600 to $1,000 per person for about 6-8

weeks’ work – one quarter when the caravan sets out, another

quarter when the caravan reaches Ayun on the Mashandi bor-

der, and the rest when the caravan gets to Ein Arris, the capi-

tal of Mashanda. (How much each employee is paid depends

on the job and how well they impress their foremen; there is a

possibility of a bonus for exceptional work when the caravan

reaches Ein Arris.) Halmaro treats his employees fairly, and

even encourages his hirelings to trade on their own (he’s

always looking for people who might be merchant material).

Not everyone who applies will be hired, of course, but noth-

ing ventured, nothing gained. And you’ve worked for the

Merchants’ Guild in the past when you needed a stretch of

steady pay. Right now you are looking for a chance to travel

and do something a little out of the ordinary. This might be

that chance.

(GMs: You may read the above paragraphs to the players, if

you wish, before they start to create characters. The rest of the

material in this adventure is for your eyes only unless specified

otherwise.)

Important NPCs

Character descriptions and stats for the important NPCs in

this adventure may be found on the following pages: Halmaro,

p. 9; Tsorvano, p. 8; Katsaya, p. 6; Kira, p. 13; Karhan the

Brigand Chief, p. 17; Fighters I, II, and III (generic NPC war-

riors), p. 14; Riana, p. 22; Tekoff the Pawnbroker, p. 19; and

Farvaro, p. 7

Character Creation

This adventure is designed for three to six 125-point

characters. The following skills will be useful; skills

marked with a * will be very useful. After hearing the

introduction, the players may figure this out on their own;

if not, you may want to offer some hints.

Combat skills*

Desert Survival*

is spoken in Ein Arris), and Ayuni Trade Pidgin. A charac-

ter who speaks Khedran Lantrai will have a default of

Nomic at (Lantrai-1) and Ayuni Trade Pidgin at (Lantrai-

2). Note that the Ayuni Trade Pidgin cannot go above

Broken; no matter how smart someone is, he will never be

able to translate Shakespeare (or his Lantrai counterpart)

into Trade Pidgin, or even do much more than trade

and carouse. This language could be written in Ayuni

script, but nobody would ever bother; it is only useful as a

spoken tongue. See box, p. 15.

Horse Riding

Camel Riding*

Animal Handling*

Thief skills in general

Merchant

Bard

Diplomacy

Fast-Talk

Detect Lies

Horse Riding and Camel Riding default to each other

at -3.

*Animal Handling requires specialization: Camel,

Equines, Oxen, and Cattle will all be necessary on this trip.

Patrons

The following organizations may be useful as patrons

for local characters:

The Merchants Guild is a powerful force in Khedris.

Twice in the past, strikes declared by the Merchants’ Guild

have caused a change of emperors, and the threat of a

third nearly caused a civil war. The Guild has offices in all

Lantrai cities of any size, and conducts diplomacy with

similar organizations in other countries. Treat it as a very

powerful organization that can give orders but appears

rarely – a 10-point advantage.

A member of the Guild has a +2 on any reaction from

Tsorvano or Halmaro, should it be necessary to make one.

Languages

The local “common tongue” is called Lantrai; it is the

official language of the empire. Other languages that

might be useful on this trip include Nomic (related to

Lantrai approximately as Swedish is related to

Norwegian), Yat Ayun (the language of an island kingdom

to the south), Shandassa (the language of Mashanda – this

C ARAVAN TO E IN A RRIS

Character Creation

White Sword is an association of freelance body-

guards, watchmen, and mercenaries. Think of it as a tem-

porary help agency for soldiers of fortune. Members are

entitled to wear the “white sword” insignia – some flaunt

it, some display it discreetly, some don’t bother. It is a rea-

sonably powerful organization that appears fairly often

but cannot order its members – a 15-point advantage.

A member of the White Sword has a +1 on any reaction

from Tsorvano, Halmaro, or any city guard who knows

the PC is working for Halmaro. Unemployed members of

the White Sword wouldn’t rate much of a reaction bonus

except from other White Sword members!

Anyone wearing any armor heavier than heavy leather

will have a -2 on all reactions from townsfolk.

Trustworthiness

When the players make up their characters, it would

make sense if one of them were a member of either the

Merchants’ Guild (in which case they will be loyal to

Halmaro) or White Sword (in which case he is paying

them to be loyal). If no one wants to belong to one of these

organizations, someone in the party should have Sense of

Duty, Honesty, or a good local Reputation. Halmaro will

be sending the party on important missions, and he needs

someone he can trust! These jobs would not be assigned

to random street scum.

And, during the adventure, there will be a number of

opportunities for the PCs to take valuable items and run.

In every case, Common Sense would warn them that they

would do better by serving Halmaro loyally. For good role-

playing, let the PCs act according to their nature – but for

the best possible adventure, most of the PCs should be

trustworthy.

Equipment

Each PC needs personal weapons (unless he’s a total

non-fighter) and his “personal travel belongings.” Armor

is certainly possible. However, the weather all along the

travel route is quite hot. Normally, nobody wears armor

except troops in battle. Plate is absolutely not worn here;

even scale and chain are rare. Anyone with Merchants’

Guild experience knows the desert brigands wear no

armor at all – not from bravery, but for comfort.

1. H IRING O N

It seems that everyone in Khedris is applying for positions

in Halmaro’s caravan, but of course not everyone will be

accepted. Halmaro wants competent help, and rather than rely

on verbal interviews (Khedrans are well known for their fast-

talk ability) he has arranged a series of practical tests for

potential employees.

The PCs have no trouble finding Halmaro’s recruiters; they

are wearing red-and-white sashes, and are surrounded by

hopeful applicants. The recruiters give all the PCs the same

message: everyone is to meet at Caravan Square the next day.

There will be a full day of “placement trials” before the caravan

gets underway. Those who excel at the trials will get the best

jobs. There will be plenty to eat and drink.

The recruiters won’t know much more than that though if

a PC gets a good reaction roll from the recruiter, he gets an

additional bit of information. Roll a die to see what is

learned:

World Background

Any character who makes it to Lantara for this adven-

ture would know the following:

Lantara is a large state occupying the central portion of

the continent. Khedris is its capital and the largest city on

the continent, with some 300,000 people. The main indus-

tries in Lantara are government, tourism, and trade.

Common trade goods are the farm products grown along

the Kindino River and ore mined in the north. Lantara is

ruled by an emperor; the guilds are also very powerful

(there is some dispute as to whether the Royal Family or

the Merchants’ Guild is more powerful). Advancement in

the Merchants’ Guild is by skill and competence (and the

ability to survive guild politics, of course).

The Royal Line stretches back many generations; few

of the names are remembered by any but historians. One

name still remembered is Khedren, a wise emperor who

abolished slavery, lowered taxes, and raised the general

standard of living. Khedris is named in his honor.

Lantara has a Tech Level of 3. Lantarans consider

themselves a scientific, enlightened culture with no super-

stitions – i.e., no magic. In rural areas, folk may believe in

the “evil eye,” charms, etc. There may be magic in this

world, but the characters will not encounter it in this

adventure.

The Lantrai religion is polytheistic; the gods personi-

fy activities or virtues (commerce, law, charity, music,

etc.). The gods are relatively benign entities. Fanaticism,

especially religious fanaticism, is rare and generally not

tolerated.

C ARAVAN TO E IN A RRIS

Replacement

Characters

If the PC dies along the way, or is so badly wound-

ed that he cannot continue, the GM may allow the

player to create a new 100-point character.

If the lost PC was a spy for Katsaya, the replace-

ment should also be her agent if the original spy was

not revealed. If the first agent had been unmasked, the

replacement should be loyal – since other players will

suspect him no matter what.

4 –Almost everyone who is any good should be able to get

a place in this caravan. It’s so big that the transients and

indigents who normally camp by the river in Caravan Square

are being displaced – something no one can remember ever

happening before!

5 –Everybody calls Halmaro “Big Red” – but not to his face.

If you’re in the Merchants’ Guild you call him “Guildmaster.”

Otherwise, you call him “Sir.”*

6 –Halmaro has a reputation for fairness. If you do your job

and keep your nose clean he’ll take care of you. If you cross

him, you won’t do it twice.*

*Members of the Merchants’ Guild will know number 5 and

6 already. If a member of the Guild gets either of these, roll

again.

Before the PCs reach Caravan Square they will hear the

noise; in fact, they’ll hear it halfway across the city. Caravan

Square is usually a quiet park with an occasional caravan

forming up; today it’s a swarming mass of people, animals, and

more people.

Each character should decide what job he wants to apply

for. There are plenty of red-and-white sashed aides here, and

any of them will be able to direct applicants to the appropri-

ate areas. They will be divided into groups; entertainers in

one section (many of these will be performing at the wed-

ding), herdsmen in another, guards in another, and so forth.

(Players may try out in more than one section. In fact,

1 –Halmaro’s No. 1 wife will be there, too. Halmaro is a

strong man, but she’s just as strong. And she plays for keeps.

Don’t cross her or you will have an enemy for life.

2 –Halmaro believes in receiving value. The recruiters will

be looking for people who are willing to work and who look

like they’ll be loyal to Halmaro. The food and drink are free to

applicants, but anybody making a pig of himself will hurt his

chances of being hired.

3 –Big Red (Halmaro) is looking for a few good fighters

and scouts. The team he had intended to use is overdue from

a mission in Ajir.

The Tests

1. Guards who claim hand-weapon ability will fight in

sham combat, without armor. They will be issued wooden

weapons and told to go at it. The first character who

strikes three “touches” wins the contest. They are not to

use their full strength (if a character decides to use his full

strength, and hits, tell him he’s injured his opponent and

lost the contest).

It isn’t necessary to create complete NPCs for oppo-

nents. Give the NPC all of the character’s weapon skills at

–1, or use one of the NPC fighters on p. 14.

Archers and crossbowmen get five shots each round at

a man-sized target 100 yards distant. Hitting the target

three times out of five is considered a successful round. In

the first two rounds, everyone has time to aim. Later

rounds will not allow aiming!

2. Entertainers, cooks, and most other applicants will

be paired off two by two and engage in contests of the

appropriate skill. These contests have a practical purpose

(feeding and entertaining the contestants) as well as com-

paring the applicants.

Again, complete NPCs aren’t needed here. Give each

character’s opponent skill equal to or one less than the

character’s skill, and a couple of quirks to make the

encounter interesting.

3. Animal handlers will be required to show that they

can control and take care of the animals. To do this, they

must make several Animal Handling rolls with several dif-

ferent animals. Appropriate animals are camels, horses,

mules, oxen, and cattle. Remember that Animal Handling

is a skill with specializations, and if you try to use your

skill on the wrong kind of animal, you’ll suffer a penalty –

anywhere from -2 to -6, depending on how different the

animals are.

If the character is trying to handle a camel and doesn’t

have that skill specialty, the character rolls his Animal

Handling at -4 (camels are notoriously obstinate). If

the character misses the roll, the camel ignores him. On a

critical failure, the camel embarrasses the character by

kicking or spitting at him. The judges expect this and will

probably be amused unless it happens excessively. They

must also demonstrate their Horse Riding and Camel

Riding skills.

Each character will compete at least twice and perhaps

as many as five times, depending on how much fun the

players are having. Use your own judgment here. Halmaro

and Katsaya, together or separately, are seen watching

some of the tests.

Each PC’s salary will start at $600; for each contest

won, his salary will go up by $100, to a maximum of $400

extra. If the character works in two capacities, he will get

an extra $200.

C ARAVAN TO E IN A RRIS

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