TEXT: The Sword of Izim
   Savage Worlds Heroic Tale 
  for a party of 4-6 Seasoned characters
  By Umberto Pignatelli
  Umberto Pignatelli
  
  Credits
  Italian Version Editing: Fiorenzo Delle Rupi
  English Version Editing: Andy Slack
  Playtesters: Glauco Guerrieri, Marco Beltramino, Maner Samuel, Paolo Boiero, Pierpaolo 
  Ferrari.
  Art: Matteo Spirito;  © Rick Hershey, Empty Room Studio; Tomasz Tworek, Anthony Cournoyer; 
  Tamas Baranya; Peter Temesi; Some artwork copyright Michael Hammes and Philip Reed, used 
  under license. www.roninarts.com
  For M. K.
  The Sword of Izim
  &
  Barbarians
  Barbarians
  A Sword and Sorcery Savage Worlds setting
  By Umberto Pignatelli
  This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.
  com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used 
  with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose 
  of this product. 
  ©2011 - 2015 Gramel, Beasts and Barbarians, Dread Sea Dominions and all related marks and logos are 
  trademarks of Gramel. All Rights Reserved.
  Produced under license by Studio 2 Publishing, Inc. The Studio 2 logo is a trademark of Studio 2 Publishing, Inc.  
  All rights reserved.
  
  Table of Contents
  Introduction  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   4
  Part 1: 
  The Prisoner .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   7
  Part 2 
  The Battle of Izim’s Peak .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  12
  Part 3: 
  In the Darkness .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  17
   Part 4: 
  Sword of Blood   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  33
  The End  .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .  38
  Creatures and NPCs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  40
  
  4
  Introduction
  Welcome to The Sword of Izim, a Heroic 
  Tale for the Beasts & Barbarians Savage 
  Worlds setting.
  To play this scenario you need a copy 
  of the core rules of Savage Worlds and 
  GE. This adventure is for a party of four 
  Seasoned heroes (20-25 Experience Points 
  is the optimal level), but it can easily be 
  modified, following the Golden Edition 
  instructions, for parties of different sizes 
  and experience. 
  Given the nature of the scenario, it is very 
  good for convention play or to introduce a 
  new gaming group to the setting.
  You can play it with characters of your 
  own, or download for free a party of pre-
  generated heroes from the store where 
  you found this product, or customize the 
  archetypes found in the Archetypes of the 
  Dominions and Jalizar free supplement.
  If you haven’t got gaming terrain at your 
  disposal, you will also find gaming stones 
  and several copies of Burst Templates 
  handy, to represent specific terrain features 
  in fights.
  Parts in italics are intended to be read 
  aloud or paraphrased by the Game Master 
  to the players.
  Now, if you intend to play this scenario, 
  stop here: the following sections are 
  reserved for the Game Master.
  Otherwise, if you plan to run this 
  adventure, go on, and prepare to discover 
  the secrets of the Sword of Izim!
  Character 
  Requirements
  The adventure includes a horseback chase, 
  tracking down an enemy in a labyrinth 
  
  5
  Introduction
  and avoiding some traps. So the party 
  should include heroes with decent levels 
  in Notice and Tracking, while some 
  proficency in Riding will be useful to 
  everyone.
  In addition at some points the adventurers 
  will face sorcery, so a character with 
  Knowledge (Arcana) will be useful.
  That said, as this scenario is firmly rooted 
  in Sword and Sorcery tropes, some good 
  fighters will surely be useful.
  All the above is useful, but not mandatory, 
  to run the scenario.
  Horses: Heroes start the game with 
  mounts. If they don’t own them, suppose 
  they are provided by the city council of 
  Kodra (they are standard Riding Horses, 
  see Savage Worlds, page 138).
  What Happened 
  Before
  Nobody really knows how the fabled 
  Sword came to Zandor; some say that 
  the Master Mages of Zand, an ancient 
  city now lost, forged it using forbidden 
  words of power, others say it was an age-
  old relic brought by Tricarnian exiles, 
  still another legend says it fell from the 
  sky, like a shooting star, and was found 
  by a shepherd at the bottom of a crater, 
  burning with flames and sorcery.
  Whatever its origin, the Sword was an item 
  of great sorcery: it bestowed incredible 
  strength and powers on whoever wielded 
  it, and many battles were won thanks to its 
  rune-carved blade.
  But it was moved by a dark intelligence, 
  and every time it was used a tragedy 
  occurred and someone dear to the user 
  died, a grim tribute to the evil will of the 
  weapon.
  In the end the kings of Zandor, fearful of 
  this bewitched item, built a sanctuary on 
  a tall peak in the middle of the southern 
  wastelands, and put the ensorcelled sword 
  there, guarded by a sect of watchmen, the 
  Blade Guardians, warriors whose swords 
  protected it, but who were absolutely 
  forbidden to touch the cursed weapon. 
  In 2450 AF Zandor was invaded by 
  Valk: in few years the eastern empire fell 
  and was ravaged, reduced to a handful 
  of independent city states, struggling 
  separately against the barbarians for 
  survival.
  In these troubled years the legend of the 
  Sword was gradually forgotten, but the 
  Guardians continued their watch, ignored 
  by everyone. 
  Everyone except the Valk.
  A horde of horse-riding barbarians, led by 
  Harmela, a Valkyria who had had a vision, 
  came to the base of the peak. Following 
  the orders of the blonde priestess, they 
  attacked the sanctuary to bring her the 
  Sword.
  But the Guardians were ready. Despite 
  being reduced to a mere two dozen, 
  they held the sanctuary for a full 
  month, repelling the barbarians and the 
  monstrosities summoned by the Valkyria. 
  In the end there were only two: Izim, the 
  head of the order and a veteran of the 
  Valk wars, and his young brother-in-arms, 
  Azar.
  
  6
  They were trapped in the underground 
  halls of the sanctuary. They had no food or 
  water and knew they could not withstand 
  another assault.
  When the Valk attacked again, the two 
  were forced to retreat to the hall of the 
  Sword. Right in front of the altar upon 
  which the bewitched sword was placed, 
  Izim staggered, fell, and his hand closed 
  almost unconsciously on the Sword’s hilt.
  Suddenly the power of the blade filled the 
  warrior with a supernatural strength and 
  the ensorcelled weapon was brandished 
  again for the first time in five centuries. 
  But the first blood the Sword drank was 
  that of Azar, who didn’t manage to move 
  away from the cursed weapon’s deadly 
  path.
  Howling his anger and pain, Izim, last 
  survivor of the Blade Guardians, swooped 
  upon his enemies like a fighting bird.
  The valiant warrior fell in the end, 
  shot down from a distance by arrows, 
  but not before butchering thirty Valk 
  warriors. When the Valkyria entered the 
  underground room, the smell of blood 
  and entrails was like a slaughterhouse. 
  But it was the crackling, invisible energy 
  hovering in the place that intimidated her. 
  It came directly from the Sword, still held 
  in the cold fingers of the dead Guardian.
  Despite being a demon-worshipper, 
  the woman was scared, and understood 
  that no man could brandish that blade 
  without succumbing to its dark power. On 
  the other hand, she could not abandon 
  the object there, to be taken by anyone, 
  especially after the great number of Valk 
  lives that had been spent to seize it.
  So Harmela ordered to her men to bring 
  a stallion into the hall; she sacrificed 
  it, and used the beast’s powerful blood 
  to cast a terrible spell on the Sword, so 
  that nobody could touch it without being 
  killed on the spot.
  She also made the warriors demolish the 
  upper sanctuary and seal the entrance 
  to the underground rooms, and then 
  gathered the survivors of her army and 
  moved away, looking for more verdant 
  grazelands to pillage.
  In the terrible years of the war the 
  Sanctuary of the Blade was gradually 
  forgotten, but not the name of Izim, the 
  last of the Guardians, and several legends 
  about him flourished. In the meantime the 
  sorcerous sword, craving blood, continued 
  to sleep restlessly in its prison in the heart 
  of the peak, waiting for someone to free 
  and brandish it again.
  And this might never have happened, if 
  capricious Fate hadn’t put the heroes on 
  the road to the sanctuary…
  
  7
  Part 1: 
  The Prisoner
  Lost in the Wasteland
  Gouras Ghan, called the Wolf of Zandor, 
  is one of the many bandits infesting the 
  land. With his band of cutthroats, he 
  brought damage and ruin to southern 
  Zandor, 
  stealing, 
  murdering 
  and 
  pillaging wherever he could. So it was 
  no surprise that the council of Kodra, one 
  of the city states most severely hit by the 
  bandit’s rapacity, hired you to solve the 
  problem.
  The task proved easier than you 
  imagined: you tracked down Gouras’ 
  band to their camp, in the hills north of 
  Kodra, and, by night, you sneaked into 
  their tents.
  You found Gouras asleep, due to the 
  quantity of wine he’d drunk, and it 
  was simple to grab him, tie him up, and 
  carry him away from the camp. Killing 
  him would surely have been easier, but 
  Kodra’s council was adamant: the Wolf 
  of Zandor must be taken alive, so that 
  he can be tried for his crimes and then 
  given to the city’s executioner.
  You took with you Gouras’ concubine 
  too: a poor girl called Yvanna, daughter 
  of a Kodran merchant, kidnapped some 
  weeks ago and submitted to all types of 
  brutality by the bandits and their chief. 
  You did this in a charitable spirit, but 
  also because you hope for some sort of 
  reward from her father. 
  
  Part 1:The Prisoner 
  8
  You rode all night, building up a good 
  lead over possible pursuers, and would 
  have reached Kodra before dawn, if luck 
  had not suddenly abandoned you.
  You don’t know this region of Zandor 
  very well, and at an old crooked tree on 
  the path, some hours ago, you discussed 
  the right direction to take. You chose left, 
  but probably right was the better path. 
  Now is late afternoon, and you are in a 
  large, flat wasteland, surrounded only 
  by rocks and sun-baked earth. 
  Gouras Ghan, who rides tied to the 
  saddle, wakes up from apparent sleep 
  and says sardonically:”You got lost, 
  didn’t you?”
  The prisoner is right: the heroes got really 
  lost.
  Looking around, the adventurers don’t see 
  any clear reference point, the only thing 
  breaking the monotonous flat landscape 
  is a tall, rocky hill, very steep, a real peak, 
  not far way. 
  On the top of the peak a small building is 
  visible, apparently ruined. The adventurers 
  could have heard something about this 
  place (see sidebar).
  After checking for this, ask the party for 
  a Notice roll: With a success or better 
  they have a brief glimpse of something 
  shimmering in the wasteland behind them.
  In truth, Gouras’ band has been on the 
  heroes’ tracks for several hours and the 
  bandits are now very close: the shimmer 
  the party saw is the reflection of the sun 
  on a helm.
  If no adventurer sees the shimmering, the 
  whole party suffers -2 to the first Chase 
  roll in the next scene. 
  IzIm’s Peak 
  The characters could know 
  something about the peak and the 
  ruins on the top of it, by making 
  a Knowledge (Legends and Lore) 
  roll. Characters of Zandorian 
  origin can roll on Common 
  Knowledge.
  For every success and raise they 
  get one of the following pieces 
  of info. Each entry includes the 
  previous ones, so if a hero obtains 
  a raise he also gets the success info.
  Failure. There is nothing 
  important about this place. The 
  building on the top must be a 
  shepherds’ shelter of some sort.
  Success. The hill is called Izim’s 
  Peak, and once was a fortress of 
  some sort. It dates back the Valk 
  invasion.
  Raise. Izim’s Peak takes its name 
  from the famous warrior Izim, 
  son of a local prince. During the 
  Valk wars, Izim and a few good 
  men held the fortress for more 
  than a month, resisting against a 
  whole Valk horde. But the fortress 
  itself is much older, it pre-dates 
  the conquest of Zandor by the 
  Iron Empire.
  Two Raises. Stories say Izim’s 
  Peak was more than a simple 
  fortress: it was a sanctuary of 
  some sort dedicated to an obscure 
  deity of the past. It was held 
  by an order of warriors, very 
  reclusive, the Guardians. Izim 
  was one of them, the most famous 
  and probably the last, because 
  in the end the Valk managed 
  to take the peak and kill all the 
  defenders, to the last man.
  
  What Happened Before
  9
  “Spur the Horses!” 
  While you are thinking about what to 
  do, you spot a cloud of dust at your back. 
  You try to see better and…
  By Hordan’s tits! They are Gouras’ men, 
  and they are galloping toward you! They 
  are least thirty. You hear their war cries 
  while they are getting closer and closer.
  “You cannot escape,” Gouras says, a wry 
  smile on his scarred face. “Let me go and 
  I’ll spare your lives.”
  When the bandits come near, it is clear 
  they are too many for the party to fight, 
  especially now they are in open country. 
  Their only chance is spurring the horses 
  to reach the Peak before the bloodthirsty 
  bandits catch them!
  The run for the Peak is a Chase of Standard 
  length (5 Rounds). The manouvering Trait 
  is Riding. The characters involved are the 
  heroes and a small vanguard of bandits: 
  one group of bandits per hero. Each group 
  is made up of three bandits.
  Each bandit group is considered a single 
  entity for the purposes of the Chase and 
  makes a single group roll. If it is wiped 
  out, another one quickly takes its place 
  (two rounds later).
  During this scene don’t use the standard 
  Complications rules; instead, each round 
  an event happens, as described in the 
  Peak Chase Table (see below).
  Bandits’ Tactics. The brigands try 
  to attack the heroes, or, if they are at 
  Medium or greater range, they shoot 
  the horses (Toughness 8). Remember 
  to apply the Unstable Platform modifier 
  (-2).
  Yvanna and Gouras. For simplicity 
  consider Yvanna “linked” to a hero. 
  The girl moves and acts with him (the 
  adventurer makes a single Riding roll, 
  which counts for both). Also, Gouras is 
  linked to a character, but the bandit’s chief 
  tries to slow down the party in any way he 
  can, causing -1 to Riding rolls.
  Unhorsed! A character may be unhorsed. 
  In this case, a comrade can go back to save 
  him. To do this he must give up any other 
  action in the round (apart from the Chase 
  roll) and must make a Riding (-2) roll. In 
  the case of success, he manages to swing 
  the companion up onto his saddle. From 
  this moment on, only the savior rolls on 
  the maneuvering Trait (with -2 due to 
  the extra weight) but both heroes can act 
  on the same Action Card. The savior is 
  awarded a Bennie for his heroism.
  At the end of the fifth round, go on with 
  the next scene.
  (E) Zandorian Bandit (3 per Hero). See 
  page 46.
  
  Part 1:The Prisoner 
  10
  (E) Yvanna (1). See page xxx.
  (WC) Gouras Ghan (1). See page xxx.
  Peak Chase Table
  Round 1 – Arrows Flying! While the 
  heroes were starting to move, the bandits 
  had time to aim with their bows; luckily 
  for the party, there is also a lot of dust 
  kicked up by the horses. For this round 
  only, the ranged attacks of the bandits 
  receive +2 to the roll, but, if the heroes 
  are acting on a red card they receive 
  the protection of Medium Cover (-2), 
  offsetting the bandit’s bonus.
  Round 2 – Treacherous Ground! 
  The bleak area the heroes are crossing 
  now is full of holes, stones and other 
  insidious obstacles which could be very 
  dangerous for the mounts. For this round 
  only, use Notice in place of Riding as 
  the maneuvering Trait. In addition, if 
  a character rolls a 1 on the Notice die, 
  regardless of the Wild Die, it means 
  his horse trips. For an Extra this means 
  automatic unhorsing and being eliminated 
  from the Chase, while Wild Cards can 
  make a Riding (-4) roll to avoid being 
  unhorsed (see above).
  Round 3 – Fissure! There is a large 
  crack in the ground, just in front of 
  the party. The only thing to do is 
  try to cross it, by making the horse 
  jump! Before the Chase roll, each 
  hero must make a Spirit roll. In 
  the case of failure the rider loses 
  his confidence and stops the horse, 
  which must go around the crack, 
  losing precious time; this round, 
  the character doesn’t roll on 
  the maneuvering Trait. In 
  the case of success the horse 
  jumps over the obstacle (run 
  chase as normal), while with 
  a raise or more the jump is so agile and 
  quick that the hero receives +4 to the 
  Chase roll.
  Round 4 – Mind Gouras! The bandits’ 
  chief has waited for the right moment to 
  escape, and that is now; the prisoner spurs 
  his horse wildly, trying to break free from 
  the hero leading the mount. Make an 
  opposed Riding roll between Gouras and 
  the character leading his horse. If Gouras 
  wins, he doesn’t break free, but the hero 
  holding the reins suffers -2 to Riding rolls 
  for the current and next round. If the hero 
  wins, Gouras’ attempt fails miserably, and 
  the character receives a Bennie. 
   Round 5 – As Fast as You Can! The 
  peak is very close now, the ground is 
  flat and without obstacles, so this is the 
  moment to push the horses at maximum 
  pace! In this round, for each success and 
  raise on the Chase roll the heroes (only 
  them) receive two additional Action 
  Cards instead of only one.
  Safe or Trapped?
  The horses are spent now, covered in 
  sweat and 
  
  What Happened Before
  11
  frothing, but you have arrived at the 
  peak’s base.
  You frantically look for a path for the top 
  of the hill and you find one: it is a narrow 
  and steep trail, which snakes up the scree. 
  It is wide enough for a single man on foot, 
  but there is no space for the mounts.
  You hear the shouts and curses of the 
  bandits, while arrows fly over your heads.
  Ask the characters what they want to do; 
  in their current position, their only chance 
  of safety consists of abandoning the horses 
  and defending the top of the Peak.
  A Quick Decision. If the party hesitates 
  at leaving the horses behind, tell them the 
  bandits are almost on them.
  If this isn’t enough, start counting down 
  from ten to zero, slowly.
  If you reach four or less before the 
  players decide to flee up the Peak, during 
  the Climb (see below) they’ll face two 
  additional bandits, if you reach zero they’ll 
  face four more. 
  The Climb
  Sooner or later, the heroes abandon 
  their mounts and go up the trail, but the 
  enemies on their heels don’t give up.
  The trail is even worse you supposed: 
  little more than a fissure between 
  rocks and stones. It’s treacherous and 
  dangerous, it would be very easy to 
  provoke a rockslide or to fall down and 
  get hurt.
  Gouras’ men don’t give up.
  “Stop dogs, and fight like men!” you hear 
  them shouting at your back.
  A small vanguard of bandits has 
  dismounted and is now following you 
  up the trail, while the others, at the base 
  of the peak, are bringing down a hail of 
  arrows upon your heads.
  You must get rid of the pursuers as soon 
  as possible!
  Luckily for the party, the Peak itself can 
  be used to eliminate the opposition; the 
  party only has to make some boulders roll 
  to create a rockslide and bury the enemy 
  under a pile or rocks. Obviously you must be 
  quick in such actions, so the entire process 
  is treated as a Dramatic Task, based on 
  Strength (-2), which can use co-operative 
  rolls. For each success and raise, one of the 
  bandits is smashed by a big stone.
  The heroes have five rounds at their disposal, 
  at the end of which they must fight any 
  survivors. Enemies start at 2d4” from the 
  party and the entire battlefield is considered 
  Difficult Ground due to the stones.
   (E) Zandorian Bandit (1 per Hero). See 
  page 46.
  
  12
  Part 2 
  The Battle of 
  Izim’s Peak
  On the Peak’s Top
  Breathless, you arrive on the Peak’s top, 
  while you still hear the shouts and curses 
  of the bandits at the base of the hill. 
  Around you there is a small ruined 
  building, occupying all the available 
  ground. It is a round structure, a dozen 
  paces wide, with very thick walls, tall 
  as two men. The upper floors collapsed 
  long ago and only the ground floor is 
  accessible, even though covered by a 
  thick layer of rubble. There is no roof, 
  except the sky. The only access is a narrow 
  opening in the wall, large enough for 
  two men, which makes this place easily 
  defendable.
  You regroup inside, ready to fight, but 
  the bandits hesitate in following you; 
  from this position, in fact, you could 
  easily hold against an army.
  You are safe, at least for now, and can 
  catch your breath.
  The heroes have some respite: they can 
  tend their wounds (consider the Golden 
  Hour as starting now), look around and 
  assess the situation.
  
  What Happened Before
  13
  The Peak is very steep on every side, and 
  made even more inaccessible by boulders 
  and stones; the narrow trail used by the 
  heroes is the only way to reach the top 
  easily. Climbing among the rocks is 
  possible, but dangerous and surely very 
  noisy; any assailant coming this way will 
  be easily spotted.
  Unfortunately 
  these 
  are 
  the 
  only 
  advantages of this place; there are no 
  other exits and, more importantly, there 
  are no springs or other water sources, so 
  withstanding a long siege is not viable.
  Exploring the Peak. There isn’t much to 
  investigate in this place, apart from the 
  peculiar engravings on the walls, depicting 
  armored warriors leaning on large, 
  unsheathed, swords. There are twelve of 
  them, every one very similar, spread evenly 
  around the perimeter of the building, like 
  the hours on a sundial; the entrance is at 
  six o’clock.
  The engravings are ruined, and the faces 
  unrecognizable, but with a Knowledge 
  (Legends and Lore) or Knowledge 
  (Religion) (-2) roll the characters gather 
  the following information.
  Success. This place must be a sanctuary of 
  some forgotten cult. The armor depicted in 
  the engravings is typical of the Zandorian 
  warriors of various epochs: the oldest ones 
  date to five centuries ago, while the most 
  recent ones are from immediately before 
  the Valk wars.
  Raise. While the armor in the engravings 
  is different, the sword is always the same: 
  a long, two-handed weapon, weirdly 
  shaped, which isn’t typical of this country. 
  It has a Tricarnian design, a very strange 
  thing given how far Tricarnia is from 
  Zandor. 
  One of the engravings, the one placed at 
  twelve o’clock, hides a secret passage, but 
  it is blocked and well-hidden, so it cannot 
  be found at the moment.
  Yvanna. The daughter of the merchant 
  is a strong woman; a weaker person 
  wouldn’t have endured the cutthroats’s 
  mistreatment, but she is still shocked and 
  stays away from the others, curled up and 
  with eyes filled with terror. She doesn’t 
  trust anyone and jerks if touched by a 
  man. The heroes can try to calm her down 
  and gain her trust. This doesn’t require any 
  rolls, just some good role-play. If a player 
  manages to calm her, he gains a Bennie.
  Trapped. The characters are safe, at least 
  for now, but they are also trapped. There is 
  no exit from this place. The bandits soon 
  understand this, and they encircle the 
  Peak, preparing for a siege. They are only 
  part of the band, but before dusk the rest 
  of them arrive. All together the marauders 
  are about sixty in number.
  Gouras, if allowed to talk, tries to persuade 
  the adventurers to let him go, promising 
  to spare the party’s lives (a promise he 
  obviously has no intention of keeping). 
  The party could last for a week by rationing 
  food, but water supplies are more limiting, 
  sufficient only for two days, maybe three.
  Nevertheless, at the moment there isn’t 
  much the characters can do, except keep 
  an eye on the bandits and settle in for the 
  night.
  The Dream
  Surely the party will decide to keep watch 
  overnight: a single person is enough 
  to hold the door, while the others can 
  
  Part 2The Battle of Izim’s Peak 
  14
  sleep huddled against the walls or on the 
  rubble-covered ground.
  The accomodations aren’t particularly 
  comfortable, but the characters are very 
  tired, and soon they all fall asleep, any 
  sentinels included! All the heroes must 
  roll Vigor. Characters failing the roll are 
  Shaken when they wake up (see next 
  scene). 
  This isn’t a natural sleep, but part of the 
  dark enchantment surrounding the Peak. 
  The heroes experience a collective dream 
  in which they relive the final hours of the 
  Battle of the Peak (see What Happened 
  Before), from the point of view of the last 
  surviving Blade Guardians.
  In this scene the GM must try to make 
  the transition between reality and dream 
  very subtle, so that the players won’t be 
  fully aware of being in a dream, till they 
  wake up.
  Read or rephrase the following paragraph.
  You are pacing the battlements on the 
  top of the sanctuary, in the night. The 
  heavy armor marks your bodies, because 
  for many days you haven’t been able to 
  remove it. Your ritual swords rest in 
  their sheaths, now, but they are encrusted 
  with the blood of your enemies.
  You are doomed, and you know this very 
  well: the sanctury’s walls will protect 
  you, but not for much longer.
  Izim, your leader, a tall man with a 
  tired, soot-covered face, points to the 
  bonfires littering the plain below. 
  “It is the Valk horde. They made camp at 
  the Peak’s base,” he says “They’ll wait for 
  nighttime to attack again.”
  You are few now, your brothers all dead. 
  You sneaked outside the walls to recover 
  the Valk arrows from their bodies, 
  because any shaft can be useful, but you 
  couldn’t recover their bodies for a proper 
  burial in the underground chambers. 
  You know very well that when you 
  use the stairs to the subterranean level 
  again, it will be to retreat, because the 
  Valk will have taken the upper floor. 
  “My lord,” a comrade, Azar, the youngest 
  of your brethen, says to Izim. “We can still 
  save ourselves. You know how! Wield it! 
  Use it against them! It was forged for 
  that purpose!” A strange light shimmers 
  in the eyes of the young warrior, dressed 
  in burnished armor, like yours.
   “We cannot,” Izim answers, shaking 
  his head. “Our task is protecting it, not 
  using it. It was imprisoned here for a 
  reason. Using it will unleash far more 
  death and destruction in the world than 
  the lives saved by using it.”
  The players have the chance to interact 
  with Izim and Azar during this scene, 
  trying to understand what is happening 
  and where they are; let the players ask their 
  questions and look around (the sanctuary 
  is still intact, in this moment), but, to keep 
  interest high, reveal the least you can, and, 
  more importantly, avoid saying what the 
  mysterious thing hidden in the sanctuary 
  is.
  When the players seem well immersed in 
  the situation, surprise them.
  Azar is going to answer Izim’s words, 
  but you don’t hear him. The sentinel 
  at the door suddenly shouts: “They are 
  coming!”
  You must fight.
  
  What Happened Before
  15
  The Battle
  The collective dream ends abruptly, and 
  the heroes wake up with a start.
  Suddenly you wake up from your sleep 
  on the rubble. The sentinel, (insert the 
  name of the character on guard here), 
  shouts almost the same words as the 
  dream: “The bandits are coming!”
  You must fight.
  The sentinel of the party wakes up just 
  in time to see a group of bandits, who 
  exploited the darkness to climb up the 
  trail and are going to charge, hoping to 
  catch the heroes flat-footed.
  Like the Blade Guardians centuries ago, 
  the heroes too must fight on the Peak in a 
  desperate situation.
  The battlefield is the peak’s top, a roughly 
  round area 18” wide. In the middle of 
  it there is the sanctuary itself, a circle 
  9” wide, surrounded by a 2” thick wall. 
  Counting the sanctuary as a clock face, 
  there is a single access point, an opening 
  2” wide, placed at six o’clock.
  A trail, 1” wide leads from the southern 
  border of the battlefield to the sanctuary’s 
  entrance.
  The entire battleground, except the 
  interior of the sanctuary and the trail, is 
  Difficult ground.
  The heroes start the fight wherever they 
  want within the sanctuary. The sole 
  exception is the sentinel, who must start 
  near the entrance. Although Yvanna and 
  Gouras are present, they are unimportant 
  during this scene, so don’t place them on 
  the battleground.
  The assailants are divided into two groups. 
  The first group, the one spotted by the 
  sentinel (two thirds of the bandits plus 
  the Lieutenant), is coming up the trail. 
  Place them on the trail within 3” from the 
  southern border of the battlefield.
  Unbeknownst to the heroes a second 
  group of bandits (the remaining third), 
  left the trail and took a wide detour. Now 
  they are 3” from the wall of the sanctuary, 
  eastward of it (i.e., at 3 o’clock). Don’t 
  place them on the battlefield till the 
  party discovers them. This group will take 
  a round to reach the wall, and a second 
  round to climb over it. At the beginning 
  of the third round they will be on the top 
  of the wall (2” high) and, if nodody has 
  noticed them yet, they will be on Hold.
  The fight goes on till the bandits break 
  and retreat; this happens when at least 
  two-thirds of them are defeated or the 
  Lieutnant and half of them fall.
  But tonight’s nasty surprises are only 
  beginning.
   (E) Zandorian Bandit (2 per Hero + 2). 
  See page 45.
   (H) Bandit Lieutenant (1). Use the 
  stats of the Zandorian Bandit, adding the 
  Command and First Strike Edges. He is a 
  Henchman. See page 45.
  Terrain, Props 
  and Special Rules
  • Among the Stones: The ground 
  surrounding the sanctuary, as well as being 
  Difficult ground, grants Medium (-2) 
  cover to whoever crosses it, but also causes 
  -2 to all Stealth rolls, given the high 
  chances of disturbing stones and rabble.
  
  16
  • Cloudy Night: The moon is full 
  tonight, but clouds run fast in the sky. 
  Unless the characters have other light 
  sources, visibility on the battlefield shifts 
  continuously. At the beginning of every 
  round, consider the color of the highest 
  Action Card drawn: if red, the moon is 
  shimmering, and there is normal light; if 
  it is black, clouds temporarily cover the 
  face of the mistress of the night, and the 
  battlefield is in Darkness.
  • Defend from Above: The trail is very 
  steep for the last few steps, and this helps 
  the defenders. A character placed in the 
  entrance of the sanctuary receives +1 
  to Parry and Fighting rolls against an 
  opponent outside. The modifier is doubled 
  in the case of fighters on the top of the 
  walls’ remnants, fighting against climbers.
  A Dagger on the Neck 
  Beats Ten Swords
  You drove the bandits away! The 
  surviving marauders turn back and 
  flee, running down the trail. For now 
  you are safe, and the Peak is still yours.
  But it is just when you are about to cheer 
  that the situation changes abruptly.
  A harsh voice at your back speaks. It is 
  Gouras Ghan. “Well, you beat my men, 
  but now you’ll do what I say or this 
  tender girl will die here, tonight!”
  You turn and are surprised to see the 
  bandit chief  free. He exploited the furious 
  moments of the battle to break the ropes 
  tying him. And this isn’t the worst thing: 
  he must have found, or maybe he always 
  had on him, concealed, a dagger - and he 
  is holding it to Yvanna’s throat. 
  The girl, imprisoned in his arms, watches 
  you with eyes filled with terror.
  Gouras is on the opposite side to the 
  sanctuary’s entrance (consider him placed 
  at twelve o’clock, reading the map like a 
  clock face) and is shielding himself with 
  Yvanna, so any attempt to attack him 
  from a distance would be really dangerous 
  for the hostage.
  Role-play this standoff situation, making 
  clear to the players that a single wrong 
  move could be fatal for the girl.
  When the tension reaches a climax, and 
  the heroes are about to act, or if a deal 
  of some sort is reached, the situation 
  becomes even more complicated.
  Read or rephrase the following part, 
  modifying it if necessary.
  The bandits’ chief narrows his eyes, 
  reducing them to two slits. “You’ll 
  forgive me if I don’t trust you. Now we’ll 
  get away from here, staying very close to 
  the wall…”
  Saying this, he leans cautiously on the 
  wall behind him, touching one of the 
  engravings. You distinctly hear a click 
  and the section of wall on which Gouras 
  is leaning suddenly turns on itself, 
  taking the stupefied bandit and his 
  hostage to the other side of the wall!
  
  17
  Part 3:  
  In the Darkness
  The heroes will probably run to the wall, 
  looking for an opening mechanism for 
  the secret door, but this cannot be found; 
  in truth it was the sorcery of the Sword, 
  buried deep in the Peak, which gave 
  the necessary little “push” to the ancient 
  mechanism to work one last time, before 
  locking forever. 
  The adventurers are in an even worse 
  situation than before now: they have lost 
  the prisoner and the girl, and continue to 
  be surrounded by bandits. If the marauders 
  used some caution before, whenever they 
  realise that their chief isn’t in the party’s 
  hands anymore, they will attack giving 
  no quarter or will find a way to kill them 
  without climbing the hill, for example 
  gathering bushes at the base of the Peak, 
  setting fire to them and suffocating the 
  party to death with the smoke (if this 
  happens, see the Smoke Inalation rules of 
  the Savage Worlds core manual).
  The only chance for the heroes to save 
  their skin is finding a way to leave the Peak 
  unseen, and, possibily, retrieve Yvanna and 
  Gouras.
  The Sealed Stair. An important hint 
  for the escape route is hidden in the 
  strange collective dream the party was 
  experiencing before being abruptly woken 
  up. In it there were clear references to 
  “underground chambers” and “stairs to the 
  subterranean level”. This means that the 
  sanctuary extends into the Peak’s depths, 
  and that there must be a passage of some 
  sort, it need only be found.
  The first player reaching this conclusion 
  should be rewarded with a Bennie.
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  18
  The stair entrance is on the flooring, 
  concealed under the rubble.
  You frantically dig in the rubble on 
  the floor, bare-handed or with the few 
  improvised tools you have. If the dream 
  you had wasn’t the fruit of madness, 
  there must be a passage somewhere. And 
  in the end you find it! Under two feet of 
  debris, there is a large stone slab.
  With some effort, in game terms a 
  Strength (-2) roll, or without any roll if the 
  group has some tool which can be used as 
  a lever, the stone slab can be moved away, 
  revealing a stairway, carved into the rock, 
  going deep into the innards of the Peak…
  Exploring the Peak
  The scenario supposes the heroes goes 
  downstairs and explore the underground 
  rooms of the sanctuary, looking for Gouras 
  Ghan and his prisoner.
  It is a maze of rooms, corridors and 
  passages, which is handled using the 
  Abstract Navigation System (see GE page 
  135). 
  Each Exploration Turn (15 minutes), the 
  GM picks a card from the Action Deck, 
  called an Exploration Card, and plays the 
  corresponding miniscene detailed below. 
  Tracks. It’s important to note that the 
  stairs found by the heroes don’t lead to 
  the passage taken by Gouras and Yvanna, 
  so the characters must first find their 
  tracks and then follow them. This means 
  that whenever an Exploration Card is 
  dealt, in addition to what happens in the 
  miniscene, somewhere in the location 
  there are the tracks of the two fugitives.
  Spotting them requires a Tracking (+1) 
  or Notice (-1) roll. Once found, the party 
  hopefully will follow them: from this 
  moment on, during each Exploration 
  Turn, the characters make a cooperative 
  roll on Tracking or Notice (-2). With 
  
  What Happened Before
  19
  a success they gain one Advancement 
  Token, two with a raise.
  When the party gathers eight or more 
  Advancement Tokens it means they have 
  found Gouras and you can move to Part 
  Four (alter this number to make the 
  scenario shorter or longer).
  Light. The underground rooms of the 
  Peak are in Pitch Black condition unless 
  the characters have with them a light 
  source. Luckily, at the base of the stair 
  they find a couple of torches on sconces. 
  Each of them lasts for two hours (eight 
  Exploration Turns) and others can be 
  found in the miniscenes. Keep in mind 
  who has light sources, especially if the 
  party splits.
  Marching Order. In several scenes it is 
  important to know the marching order of 
  the characters, so it is good to decide this 
  in advance. Usually the Peak’s passages are 
  narrow and movement is possible only in 
  single file.
  Redraws. During exploration it could 
  happen that a card is redrawn. In this 
  case play one of the Redraw Scenes (see 
  below). 
  Miniscenes
  Deuce – Scolopenders 
  Among the Bones 
  You are cautiously going down a flight of 
  steps, when you suddenly stop.
  You trampled on something crumbly and 
  crunchy, like dry leaves. You look down, 
  and discover that they aren’t leaves, 
  but bones, probably human ones, mixed 
  with the rusty remnants of weapons and 
  armor.
  The entire stair is covered with them, 
  as if a terrible battle had been fought in 
  this place.
  Suddenly you hear a tapping sound 
  coming from the bottom of the stair, like 
  the drumming of a thousand fingers.
  You raise the torch and, in the flickering 
  light, you see a horrible creature coming 
  from the shadows: it looks like an 
  enormous centipede, but it has extremely 
  long claws, covered in yellow ichor, and 
  a nightmarish mouth, fitted with black 
  chelae. The monster bellows and charges 
  toward you! 
   In this place the Blade Guardians made 
  a stand in their retreat toward the room 
  where the Sword of Izim is kept (see 
  Part 4). The creature dwelling there is 
  a Giant Scolopender, an insect which 
  lives off bones and corpses, which grew 
  enormously in the the total darkness 
  of the Peak. The monster isn’t alone: its 
  offspring, smaller but equally hungry, are 
  right behind it. 
  The battleground is the flight of steps, 3” 
  wide and 12” long on the north-south axis. 
  The heroes are placed in the middle of it. 
  They are going downstairs (southward). 
  The Giant Scolopender starts in contact 
  with the southern border of the battlefield 
  and it simply rushes at the party. 
  Behind the mother, its children, the 
  Scolopenders 
  of 
  Bones, 
  are 
  wildly 
  chittering in the shadows, ready to join the 
  battle in the second round. They use their 
  Wall Walker Special Ability to engage the 
  party as fast as they can. When the Giant 
  Scolopender dies, the smaller specimens 
  flee. They’ll be back later, to strip the flesh 
  off their mother’s body. 
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  20
  Among the bones there is nothing 
  interesting, but with a Smarts roll the 
  heroes understand, from the shape of the 
  weapons, that the contenders were Valk 
  warriors and Zandorian soldiers (the 
  latter with armor similar to the ones on 
  the engravings in the sanctuary). 
  (WC) Giant Scolopender.  See page 41
  (E) Scolopender of Bones (1 per Hero). 
  See page 42
  Terrain, ProPs and sPecial 
  rules
  • On a Stairway: The heroes are fighting 
  on a flight of steps, in an awkward position. 
  When they move upstairs (northwards), 
  they are considered in Difficult Ground.
  • Scattered Bones: The battleground is 
  littered with bones and debris, making it 
  treacherous. Whenever a character rolls 
  1 on the Fighting die, regardless of the 
  Wild Die, he is knocked prone and he 
  must roll on Agility or be Shaken. As a 
  partial compensation for this, among the 
  bones there are fragments of weapons, 
  armor and other assorted rubbish. With 
  a successful Notice roll (this doesn’t count 
  as an action), the fallen character stumbles 
  on an useful prop (a pointed bone, a piece 
  of a shield or something similar) granting 
  +1 to a Trick (+2 if he scored a raise).
  Three – The Ghosts’ 
  Massacre
  You are advancing in a corridor, 
  sweeping away large festoons of webs 
  with your weapons, when you hear 
  voices and the sound of clashing weapons 
  coming from a side passage.
  If the characters decide to step into the 
  side passage to investigate, go on with the 
  scene. If they prefer going along the main 
  corridor, the scene ends there, but this 
  Exploration Turn the group cannot gain 
  Advancement Tokens because the tracks 
  lead into the side passage.
  Cautiously, you cross the dark arch, then 
  the passage turns right and reaches a 
  large hall, where you see an unexpected 
  scene.
  On the other side of the room, defending 
  the entrance of a corridor, there are three 
  men in burnished armor, pressed by a 
  dozen warriors, presenting their backs 
  to you. You recognize the assailants: they 
  are clearly Valk warriors, with curved 
  swords and a prancing gait. They are led 
  by a tall woman, with a mane of long 
  blond hair, surely a Valkyria.
  “Go on, Sha Mekri’s sons, bring me the 
  hearts of these dogs!” the woman shouts. 
  The defenders close ranks, ready to face 
  the last attack.
  The players have few moments to decide 
  what to do: it is clear that the armored 
  warriors, who are the ancient Blade 
  Guardians, have very little chance to 
  survive, unless they are helped immediately. 
  The scene has an unreal aspect: there are 
  no light sources but it is clearly visible, and 
  the clash of weapons is strangely muffled. 
  The reason is simple: these are the ghosts 
  of the ancient fighters, who came back to 
  haunt the halls where they died, due to the 
  progressive awakening of the Sword.
  The ghosts can be recognized for what they 
  are with a Perception (-4) or Knowledge 
  (Arcana) (-2) roll or by using the detect/
  conceal arcana Power.
  
  What Happened Before
  21
  The most likely actions of the characters 
  are the following:
  Do Nothing. In this case the Valk ghosts 
  slaughter the Blade Guardians, exactly 
  as happened years ago. The ghosts, dying 
  again, howl terribly. Characters in the 
  room must roll Spirit, with a failure of 
  failure they lose a Bennie. At this point 
  the Valk ghosts also disappear, leaving the 
  room empty. 
  Attack the Ghosts. The characters can 
  attack the ghosts of the Valk warriors. The 
  opponents can be reached in one round 
  and they have Parry 3 (because they are 
  attacked from behind and are unaware of 
  the heroes’ presence). Whenever a ghost 
  is hit, the entire apparition (Valk and 
  Guardian warriors) disappears, but the 
  room is swept by an unnatural cold wind, 
  a real poltergeist, which rains stones and 
  debris on the heroes. Characters must roll 
  on Agility (-2) or suffer 2d6 damage. The 
  hailstorm lasts for three rounds but can be 
  stopped using the banish Power (consider 
  the ghosts as having Spirit d8).
  Soothe the Ghosts. The characters can 
  try to calm the specters, persuading 
  them to abandon their futile fight. This 
  can be done simply by stepping in and 
  speaking: the ghosts are supernatural 
  beings and can understand any language. 
  The situation is a Social Conflict, based 
  on Persuasion or Spirit (whichever is 
  higher). The possible results are described 
  below. 
  Four – Trap! 
  You are in a hall, long and narrow, 
  with massive stone columns on the long 
  sides. On the opposite side there is a 
  massive gate, which seems to have been 
  broken through by brute force. From the 
  columns hang half a dozen unlit torches. 
  This room hides one of the defenses studied 
  to slow down any invaders of the Peak. A 
  Ghosts’ Social Conflict Table
  Successes Effect
  0 
  Ghosts Get Angry. As Do 
  Nothing above, but the Spirit roll 
  is made at (-4).
  1-2 
  Ghosts Disappear with Disdain. 
  The ghosts attack with the 
  poltergeist 
  (see 
  Attack 
  the 
  Ghosts above), for 1d4 rounds.
  3-4 
  Ghosts Disappear. The ghosts, 
  surprised, disappear, but their 
  presence continues to haunt the 
  area. They are only temporarly 
  soothed, but don’t hurt the 
  adventurers in any way.
   5 
  Ghosts are Pacified. The ghosts 
  finally understand the futility of 
  their endless fight, and, free at last, 
  find eternal rest. The hero who 
  spoke with them obtains a Bennie. 
  In addition, by freeing the specters, 
  the power of the ensorcelled blade 
  weakens: in Part 4, reduce the 
  Sword’s Spirit by one die step.
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  22
  few paces beyond the entrance, concealed 
  in the flooring, there is a trapdoor, two 
  yards by two yards. It is very hard to spot, a 
  Notice (-4) roll is required, but the Thief or 
  Treasure Hunter Edges apply.
  The trap cannot be jammed or disabled, 
  only avoided (this is easy, once it is 
  spotted). Whoever passes over it (in 
  marching order) must roll a d6, +2 if 
  he has the Brawny Edge or the Obese 
  Hindrance, -2 if he is Small. If the roll 
  is 3 or more, the trapdoor opens, and 
  the victim falls to the lower level. The 
  trapdoor at this point closes, jams and 
  can be opened only with a Repair (-4) roll 
  or by demolishing it (Toughness 12, you 
  need a maul or something similar).
  In the meantime, the poor hero is falling: 
  the pit is 20 feet deep, but the adventurer 
  lands on a soft spot, suffering only 2d6 
  damage. On the ground, in fact, there were 
  several pointed sticks, but over time they 
  have rotted, creating a sort of soft cushion.
  The character is now in a small room (in 
  darkness unless the hero had a torch). 
  Soon he discovers he is not the first 
  victim of the trap; near him there are the 
  remnants of the body of a Valk warrior, 
  reduced to old bones and rags. His sword 
  and dagger are rusty, but in his bag there 
  is some flint and steel (which can grant a 
  flicker of light) and a horsehair rope, fitted 
  with a solid-looking grappling hook. 
   The small room has a single exit, protected 
  by a metal grate. Originally this place 
  would have been a prison impossible to 
  escape, but the bronze bars of the grate are 
  severely damaged and can be broken with 
  a simple Strength (+1) roll.
  Alone! The unfortunate character is 
  separated from the party: unless his 
  companions break through the trapdoor 
  and throw him a rope, he is on his own. 
  This means he is considered a separate party 
  for Abstract Navigation purposes, and he 
  is dealt Exploration Cards independently 
  from the others. Obviously he and the other 
  party members can try to join up again; this 
  means that at the end of the Exploration 
  Turn both the group and the solitary hero 
  must make a Smarts (-2) roll: if, in total, 
  they score at least two successes and/or 
  raises, they re-join. When this happens the 
  solitary hero is awarded a Bennie for the 
  relief of seeing his friends again. 
  Five – The Rat-Infested 
  Storage Room 
  You are crossing a large hall, flanked 
  by deep, dark arches. Probably it is an 
  abandoned warehouse, now empty, and 
  your steps resound with strange echoes. 
  You hear the sound of dripping water, 
  somewhere not far away.
  Ask the heroes to make a Notice roll, based 
  on hearing. Characters with the Danger 
  Sense Edge roll with +2. In the case of 
  failure, the adventurers are Surprised in 
  the coming scene, with a success they feel 
  uncomfortably watched (so they avoid 
  surprise), while with a raise they also see 
  something else: dozens of small, red eyes, 
  watching them hungrily from the dark 
  arches (in this case the party begins the 
  scene on Hold).
  After few moments they hear the sound 
  of dozens, then hundreds, of small paws: 
  it is a horde of hungry rats, ready to attack 
  the party. The heroes can stand and fight 
  or flee. In the second case the scene is 
  a Chase, based on Agility, of Standard 
  duration (5 rounds).
  The warehouse, 6” wide and 14” long, has 
  two doors, positioned on the two opposite 
  
  What Happened Before
  23
  short sides. On the long sides there are three 
  niches per side (for a total of six), 2” by 2” 
  wide, and separated by 2”. The heroes begin 
  the fight in the middle of the warehouse, 
  while the rats begin in a random niche (roll 
  a d6, but not more than two Rat Swarms 
  can be in the same niche). The warehouse 
  is empty, with no props of any sort.
  In the room there is nothing of interest, 
  but, if the party defeats the rats, they 
  hear more clearly the sound of dripping 
  water, not far away. If the group decides 
  to follow the sound, the next Exploration 
  round, with a Smarts roll which can be 
  cooperative, instead of drawing a card to 
  decide the scene, they automatically find 
  the Spring (see corresponding miniscene).
  (E) Swarm of Rats (1 per 2 Heroes). 
  See page 44.
  Six – The Smithy
  You recognize this place as a smithy even 
  before stepping inside, given the smell of 
  soot coming from it. In the center of the 
  room stands a massive bronze anvil, 
  and, scattered around, lie old smithing 
  implements, long abandoned. Opposite 
  is the forge, large enough to cook a whole 
  cow inside. The chimney is partially 
  collapsed, filling the base of the forge 
  itself with debris.
  The smithy was razed by the Valk a long 
  time ago; the raiders took whatever they 
  could carry away. Only the anvil was left, 
  due to its weight. The only interesting thing 
  in the room is the forge. It is tall enough 
  for a man to walk inside, and looking up 
  through the flue you can see, far away, the 
  sunlight. The flue is sufficiently large to 
  allow a character to squeeze through it, 
  but it is also a death trap; the walls are 
  very brittle and damaged (a Perception or 
  Climbing (+2) roll reveals this clearly).
  If a hero wants, he can try to escape from 
  the Peak through this chimney, making 
  Climbing rolls, but he is doomed to fail; 
  while the adventurer climbs up, the GM 
  must describe the conditions of the flue as 
  worsening foot by foot.
  On the first round of climbing, the 
  GM rolls a d4; with a 1 on the die the 
  flue wall crumbles under the incautious 
  adventurer’s hand and he falls down, 
  suffering 1d6 damage. The second round 
  the wall collapses with 2 or less and the 
  climber suffers 2d6 damage, and so on. 
  At the fourth round the flue breaks 
  automatically and the the victim suffers 
  4d6 damage. After the collapse, the flue 
  cannot be used anymore.
  In the room there is another interesting 
  thing; if he heroes search the debris at 
  the base of the flue (before an eventual 
  collapse) they find a big iron smith’s 
  hammer, perfectly preserved. The man 
  using it would have been a real giant (use 
  the maul stats, see Savage Worlds core 
  rules).
  Seven – The Spring 
  Even before hearing the water sounds, 
  you smell the fresh, sweet scent of 
  running water, which reminds you 
  how dry your throats are. Guided by 
  the gurgling, you locate the spring; it is 
  a small rivulet dripping from a stone 
  mouth carved in the wall, which fills a 
  small, moss-covered basin at its foot.
  The spring’s water is fresh and good, 
  a real blessing for the heroes after the 
  recent days of privation and rationing. 
  If the characters drink at their ease, they 
  immediately feel better and recover a 
  Fatigue level. If they are wounded and 
  wash their cuts and bruises with this 
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  24
  water, they can make another Healing roll, 
  as if still in the Golden Hour.
  Eight – The Closed Grate
  The corridor where you are now is 
  abruptly blocked by a solid-looking iron 
  grate. From the other side of the corridor 
  you see the wheel of a winch placed in a 
  wall, which was probably used to raise 
  and lower the grate. Unfortunately the 
  wheel is beyond your reach. If you want 
  to go on in this direction you must find a 
  way to pass this obstacle, otherwise you 
  must go back.
  There are a various ways to pass the grate.
  The first is destroying the bars of the 
  grate; each of them has Toughness 10 and 
  the characters must break at least three of 
  them to create a passage large enough to 
  let a man pass. Each attempt requires 10 
  minutes of time and proper tools (like the 
  maul found in the Smithy).
  Another way consists of hooking the 
  winch’s wheel with something, for example 
  a rope, and rotating it. This is a long and 
  difficult task, requiring three Throwing 
  (-2) or Agility (-4) rolls, because every 
  time the rope must hook the wheel, and 
  make it rotate by a third. Every attempt 
  requires one minute. Optionally the 
  winch can be easily activated using the 
  telekinesis or legerdemain Powers.
  Finally the third method, the easiest one, 
  consists of locating the second winch, 
  concealed near this part of the grate, 
  which allows raising the grate: one of the 
  large stone blocks of the wall is false, it is 
  a simple stone tile which can be removed, 
  revealing a small winch encased in the 
  wall. Spotting the winch requires a Notice 
  (-4) roll, applying any modifiers for the 
  Thief and Treasure Hunter Edges.
  If the heroes don’t manage to pass the 
  grate, they lose an Advancement Token 
  and cannot gain other ones during this 
  Exploration Round.
  Nine – The Hall of 
  Vampires
  This large, dark passage, is flanked by a 
  double line of stone statues, one rank per 
  side, as if offering a symbolic honor guard 
  to the people crossing the corridor. The 
  statues aren’t new; they represent the same 
  armor-clad, sword-wielding warriors 
  you saw in the sanctuary, only better 
  preserved. The roof here is very high, so 
  that you cannot see the end of it, deep in 
  the darkness. While you go on, cautiously, 
  you feel the cold and implacable stares of 
  the stone guardians on you.
  This room hides a danger, but it isn’t 
  what the heroes suppose. The statues are 
  disturbing, but totally harmless. The real 
  danger is hidden high, in the darkness 
  of the roof, where a colony of Vampires, 
  giant-sized bloodsucking bats, dwells. 
  They are very territorial, aggressive beasts, 
  and are going to ambush the party. 
  If the heroes are watching the floor (you can 
  take this for granted if they are following 
  the tracks of Gouras and Yvanna), they 
  find strange droppings – bat guano, in large 
  quantities, which can be recognized with 
  a Survival or Tracking (-2) roll. If at least 
  one adventurer is successful on the roll, the 
  party is alerted and doesn’t have to roll for 
  Surprise (see below).
   The battleground is a narrow and long 
  room 3” by 12”, on the east-west axis. At 
  roof level (6” high) there is a large cornice, 
  2” wide, running all around the room. In 
  the center of the northern side, the cornice 
  widens in the wall, creating a niche 4” by 3”.
  
  What Happened Before
  25
  The beasts’ den is right there, in the niche, 
  and the pups are there too, hungry and 
  waiting for food, while the adults are 
  placed on the cornice as the GM sees fit.
  The cornice is in Pitch Darkness, so unless 
  the party has a way to light up the roof, 
  don’t place the minis of the monsters on 
  the battlefield initially, wait until they 
  come out of the darkness and remove 
  them when they go back into it.
  The bats wait until the heroes are in the middle 
  of the corridor before plummeting on them.
  If nobody found the guano, the party 
  must also roll for Surprise. During the 
  first round the beasts attack normally, 
  while from the second round on, they try 
  to grab a prey and drag him off to the nest, 
  especially Shaken targets, leaving the pups 
  the task of dispatching them.
  When they have captured two preys, the 
  Vampires don’t attack anymore and are 
  content to stay on the cornice, well protected, 
  and defend the nest from any assailants.
  Lucky Helm. After dispatching the 
  Vampires, by searching the nest it is 
  possible to find, among the bones of 
  the unfortunate victims, a horned helm, 
  slightly dented. It is a standard open helm 
  (+2, 50% chance of protecting against a 
  blow to the head). It didn’t work very well 
  for the previous user, but the first person 
  putting it on will find it very comfortable. 
  In game terms, the owner can use it up to 
  three times to make a Soak roll, as if he 
  had spent a Bennie. After the third use, 
  the helm is damaged beyond repair. 
  (E) Cavern Vampire Pup (1 per Hero). 
  See page 41.
  (E) Cavern Vampire (1 per Hero). See 
  page 40.
  Terrain, ProPs and sPecial 
  rules
  • “I am Coming to Save You!”: One or 
  more heroes could be captured and taken 
  to the bats’ nest, then their comrades must 
  go and save them. This can be done by 
  climbing the wall. Two Climbing rolls are 
  needed to reach the cornice. Using the 
  statues as handholds, the rolls are made 
  with +2. With a rope and a grappling 
  hook it is possible to reach the cornice in a 
  single round: a Throwing roll is necessary 
  to set the hook, followed by a Climbing 
  roll, applying multi-action penalties. 
  Being attacked while climbing causes -2 
  to Parry and to Fighting rolls. 
  • The Cornice: This is smeared with 
  bat guano and littered with bones and 
  other disgusting things, which make it 
  very slippery. Any character rolling 1 on 
  the Fighting die, regardless of the result 
  of the Wild Die, slips down! An Extra 
  automatically falls, while a Wild Card 
  clings to the border of the cornice. He can 
  regain solid ground with a Strength (-4) 
  roll, which can be cooperative.
  • The Statues: Each statue is ten feet 
  high, and posed on a plinth two feet and 
  half tall. They can be represented on the 
  battlefield as 1” by 1” obstacles. There are 
  twelve statues in total, six on each side of 
  the corridor, equally spaced.
  Ten – The Mold-Invaded 
  Library
  You are in a large hall, probably a 
  library of some sort, filled and crammed 
  with books and scrolls. Unfortunately 
  all these precious relics are severely 
  damaged by the passage of time: a thick 
  layer of mold and mushrooms grows on 
  the shelves and the sturdy lectern placed 
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  26
  in the middle of the room. An eerie light 
  illuminates the room, and you need 
  some moments to understand that the 
  source is the mushrooms, which shimmer 
  in the darkness. In particular, on the 
  lectern, you see some very weird ones; 
  they look like monstrous eyes growing 
  on greenish peduncles, staring at you 
  with malevolence. A strong, penetrating 
  smell lingers in the room.
  The Order of the Guardians of the Blade 
  was dedicated, apart from protecting the 
  bewitched Blade, to the preservation of 
  knowledge. Some of the books kept here 
  came from far-away countries and on some 
  of them there are traces of mushroom 
  spores from the countries where the books 
  were written. With moisture deriving 
  from the abandonment, mold bloomed, 
  infesting the entire room.
  With a Lotusmastery roll the strange-
  eyed mushrooms on the lectern can be 
  recognized. They are a very rare and 
  precious plant, the Ebony Lotus of the 
  Dragon (see sidebar).
  With a raise, another type of Lotus is 
  recognized, much more dangerous for the 
  heroes: the strange white mold on many of 
  the books is an infestation of the dangerous 
  White Lotus of Graves, typical of the 
  Cairnlands. These plants are very sensitive 
  to noise, and in presence of of loud sounds 
  they release clouds of toxic spores. In game 
  terms, moving in the room requires Stealth 
  (+1) rolls. In the case of failure by someone, 
  the molds emit a cloud of spores and all the 
  heroes in the room must roll Vigor (-2) or 
  suffer a level of Fatigue due to coughing 
  and chest pains provoked by the substances 
  contained in them. Protecting the mouth 
  and nose (for example with a piece of cloth) 
  grants +2 to the roll. This Fatigue can be 
  recovered with a Healing (-2) roll, otherwise 
  it lasts till the beginning of Part 4.
  Crossing the room requires a single 
  Stealth roll. Going to the lectern, picking 
  up the Ebony Lotus of the Dragon and 
  going back requires two rolls. On the 
  lectern there are enough mushrooms for 
  three doses of Ebony Lotus.
  Jack – The Brotherhood’s 
  Tomb
  While you are going along an empty 
  corridor, you notice something out-of-
  Hero’s Journal: ebony lotus 
  of tHe Dragon
  This peculiar Lotus owes its name to an 
  old legend, according to which when the 
  famous Kyrosian hero Syros, founder 
  of Syranthia, killed the last dragon 
  of Keron, the blood of the monster, 
  dripping on the ground, blossomed into 
  these strange mushrooms, in which lives 
  the terrible breath of the beast.
  The Ebony Lotus can be used in two 
  ways: by rolling on Lotusmastery, with 
  a dose of mushrooms you can create a 
  burst potion (trapping: an explosion 
  with green flames and smoke), even if 
  you don’t know the Power.
  Otherwise, if you know the Power, 
  each dose of mushrooms can be worked 
  into two doses of a special Refined 
  Lotus, which, apart from the standard 
  use (see GE page 93) grants +2 to 
  damage rolls of any Power with flame 
  or explosion-based trappings.
  The Ebony Lotus of the Dragon can be 
  sold for 300 Moons per batch. 
  
  What Happened Before
  27
  place on a wall: an iron ring, consumed 
  by rust.
  If the heroes go straight on, they can skip 
  this encounter. Instead, if they decide 
  to examine the ring, they discover that 
  it is the handle of a stone door, cleverly 
  concealed in the wall. Pulling the ring, a 
  large stone slab opens with a shrieking 
  sound, revealing what follows.
  You see, in front of you, a room of 
  unpolished stone, totally devoid of any 
  decoration, apart from a massive stone 
  block, the size of a large table, in the 
  center of the room. On the opposite side 
  of the hall you see another stone door, 
  very similar to the one you have just 
  opened.
  This room, in truth, is a tomb. The walls 
  are covered with thick panels of stones, 
  fixed on the wall with iron rings. If a 
  hero looks at them, with a Smarts roll he 
  understands their use: they are burial cells, 
  each hosting the body of one of the last 
  Blade Guardians, dressed in his armor 
  and armed with his ceremonial blade. The 
  stone block has a memorial function: it 
  is very simple and undecorated, but on 
  it there are carved dozens and dozens of 
  names, to remember the dead brothers. 
  In the room lingers a peculiar energy – 
  characters with the Danger Sense Edge 
  can roll on Notice (-2) to feel that there 
  is something definitely dangerous in this 
  place: the souls of the dead, made restless 
  by the progressive awakening of the 
  Sword.
  Unless the party leaves immediately, 
  something terrible happens 1d6 rounds 
  after the first adventurer entered the room 
  (the roll is made secretly by the GM).
  Suddenly you hear a loud crash behind 
  you: the stone door from which you came 
  in bangs closed! Immediately afterwards, 
  you hear a low, repeated sound: thuds, 
  coming from behind the stone panels, as 
  if someone, long entrapped, is trying to 
  break out of them!
  The Blade Guardians, awakened by the 
  heroes’ presence, are emerging from their 
  tombs, to attack the party.
  The battleground is the whole room, a 
  square 12” by 12”, with two doors, 1” wide, 
  placed in the middle of the east and west 
  sides. The Altar of Names (see below) is 1” 
  by 2” and must be placed in the center of 
  the room.
  The characters begin the fight in locations 
  chosen by the GM (based on the actions 
  of the characters in the moments 
  immediately before the fight starts).
  At the beginning of each round, before 
  dealing Action Cards, roll a d4-2: this is 
  the number of Guardians that manage 
  to exit from a tomb, up to the maximum 
  number written below. The Guardians 
  start the fight in contact with the wall. To 
  determine their position roll first a d4 (1 
  indicates the north wall, 2 the east wall, 
  and so on, going clockwise), then measure 
  1d12” from the top to the bottom of the 
  wall (or from left to right) and place the 
  monster in this position. A Guardian can 
  act the same round he emerges from the 
  tomb.
  In no event will the undead follow the 
  party outside the room.
   (E) Ancient Guardians of the Blade (2 
  per Hero). See page 43.
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  28
  Terrain, ProPs and sPecial 
  rules
  • Altar of Names: This prop has a special 
  meaning for the undead, because their 
  names are carved on it. A character standing 
  on it receives +1 to Parry and Toughness 
  against the attacks of the Guardians. A 
  character with an Arcane Background 
  other than Lotusmastery, with a Spirit roll, 
  feels the energy flowing in the block.
  • The Doors: Both doors are blocked 
  by an invisible force, which expires only 
  when all the Guardians are defeated or 
  returned to their tombs (see below). The 
  adventurers can try to pry them open, using 
  the Dramatic Tasks rules. They must roll 
  on Strength (-4), any characters outside 
  the room roll with +2. The dispel Power, 
  opposed by an arcane skill of d8, allows 
  opening the room without any problem.
  • “Protect Till Death”: The Blade 
  Guardians, despite being dead, are still 
  bound by the promises they made in life, in 
  particular by the vow of their order, which 
  is expressed in their motto “Protake Mek 
  Tanat” (“Protect Till Death”). If the heroes 
  know this (see The Corridor of Tapestries 
  below) and say it aloud, they make a 
  Persuasion roll, opposed by a group Spirit 
  roll of the Guardians. For each success and 
  raise, one Guardian retires and goes back 
  to sleeping in his burial cell. The roll can be 
  made multiple times, but the first time the 
  heroes miss the Persuasion roll the words’ 
  power breaks and doesn’t work anymore 
  Queen – The Sword’s 
  Seductions
  You are sneaking in darkness, weapons 
  in hand and eyes open, ready for 
  anything…
  Pick a random hero. The Sword (see Part 
  4), now perfectly awake from its long sleep, 
  chooses him as its new bearer, and tries to 
  seduce and win the adventurer to its side.
  The chosen character, and only he, starts 
  hearing a strange voice, soft and persuasive, 
  speaking in his mind and making him 
  daydream. The phrases said by the Sword 
  are listed below, but the GM is invited to 
  custom-tailor them to the background of 
  the hero to whom they are said: the demon 
  dwelling in the Sword, in fact, probes the 
  mind of the adventurer and knows exactly 
  what to say to tempt him. 
  In the course of the mental conversation 
  with the Sword, the hero must make three 
  Spirit rolls, opposed by the Sword’s Spirit 
  (normally d10 with a Wild Die), using 
  the Social Conflict rules. An attitude of 
  particular interest for the Sword’s proposals 
  or docility from the adventurer applies a 
  penalty ranging from -1 to -4, while role 
  playing the opposite attitude, aggressiveness 
  and refusal, applies a bonus from +1 to +4.
  Sword’s Seductions
  1. 
  (The hero sees in his mind an 
  extremely 
  beautiful 
  woman/
  man, 
  the 
  face 
  cloaked 
  in 
  shadows.) “Come to take me... I 
  am waiting for you!” 
  2. 
  (The hero sees himself, covered in 
  blood. He wields a two-handed 
  sword, engraved with runes, 
  while he walks among piles of 
  dead enemies.) “Together, nobody 
  can stop us, your enemies will be 
  mown down like ripe wheat!”
  3. 
  (The hero has a clear vision of 
  the back of one of his oblivious 
  companions). “Kill him! Kill 
  everyone and come to take me!”
  
  What Happened Before
  29
  Sword’s Seductions Table
  Successes 
  Effect
  0 
  “Kill Them All!” The hero is totally 
  enthralled by the Sword’s whispers. 
  The adventurer is under the control 
  of the ensorcelled blade, as if 
  dominated by the puppet Power. The 
  domination lasts for 1d4+2 rounds 
  (the GM rolls secretly), during 
  which the character attacks his 
  friends! The first strike, depending 
  on the circumstances, could get the 
  Drop on the victim.
  1-2 
  “I Am Coming!” The adventurer is 
  partially controlled by the Sword, 
  but, rather than attacking his friends, 
  he decides to run toward the place 
  where the cursed blade lies! The hero 
  runs recklessly into the darkness, and 
  his comrades must roll on Spirit (-2) 
  to avoid being surprised. In the case 
  of success, they can try to stop the 
  maddened hero in some manner, 
  otherwise the fugitive gets away: 
  draw an Exploration Card and play 
  the miniscene only with the fugitive. 
  His companions arrive on the scene 
  after 2d4 rounds (assuming he is still 
  alive!). At the end of the new scene 
  the Sword’s mental control of the 
  hero breaks, but the adventurer feels 
  very tired (suffers a level of Fatigue);; 
  this lasts till the beginning of Part 4.
  3-4 
  “Get Out Of My Mind!” The hero 
  manages to resist the enchantments 
  of the Sword, and after a while the 
  visions end.
  5 
  “I Am Stronger Than You!” The hero’s 
  will is stronger than the cursed 
  blade’s! Not only does the hero 
  resist its enthrallments, but answers 
  with disdain and determination. 
  Never, in many centuries, has the 
  Sword met a similar iron will: the 
  adventurer gains a Bennie, and the 
  Sword, shaken by doubt, has its 
  Spirit die reduced by one step till 
  the end of the scenario.
  King – Hulian’s Altar
  The only entrance to this room is a 
  peculiar door of wrought iron, narrow 
  and tall. Spying through the metal bars 
  of the door, you see, in the flickering light 
  of the torches, a small room whose walls 
  are covered with banners.
  On the opposite side of the room stands 
  an anvil-shaped altar. The whole room 
  was ravaged and desecrated in every 
  possible manner: the altar was damaged 
  with a maul of some sort and covered in 
  filth, the banners were torn and someone 
  wrote obscene symbols and words, 
  probably in blood, on the walls.
  This room, as any hero coming from the 
  lands of the Iron Empire knows, was 
  a small temple of Hulian, as they were 
  built before the cult was merged into the 
  Divine Couple. It is quite a discovery, 
  because Hulian worship, in this form, was 
  outlawed centuries ago. 
  In truth this isn’t so strange: Hulian has 
  always been a demon-fighting deity, and 
  the supernatural evil nature of the Sword 
  is clear. The Blade Guardians worshipped 
  the Smith God, and this temple brought 
  peace to the souls and the minds of the 
  countless warriors who spent a good part 
  of their lives in the Peak.
  The temple was desecrated by the savage 
  Valk, who missed something important: 
  immediately behind the altar, fixed in the 
  wall, there are two metal torch supports. 
  In their fury the barbarians destroyed 
  everything, but they didn’t discover that 
  the two supports can be rotated. Spotting 
  this detail requires a Notice roll (-4 if the 
  players declare they are searching all the 
  room, without penalty if they focus on the 
  back wall of the temple), the Thief and 
  Treasure Hunter Edges apply.
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  30
  On rotating the supports in opposite 
  directions (the left one clockwise, the 
  right one counterclockwise), a faint click 
  is heard and a section of the wall slips 
  silently aside, revealing a small room. 
  Inside, in vases, coffers and strongboxes, 
  is kept the material wealth of the order, 
  largely in jewels and gems. The party can 
  take however much they want, there is 
  enough wealth for everybody in this place! 
  The only limiting factor is weight, they are 
  almost all cumbersome objects, in game 
  terms 100 Moons worth of jewelry weighs 
  one pound.
  Ace – Corridor 
  of Tapestries 
  You are in a long, wide corridor. A 
  strong smell of mold assaults your 
  nostrils, and you quickly find its origin: 
  on the walls hang two large tapestries, 
  one on each side, big enough to cover the 
  entire space. The one on the north wall is 
  totally covered in mold, and you cannot 
  recognize anything on it, while the 
  other one, on the south wall, is dusty, but 
  well preserved. The corridor ends in an 
  opening which goes on into the darkness.
  The tapestry on the south wall summarizes 
  the story of the Order of the Blade 
  Guardians in a series of pictures.
  Starting from the right, you 
  see a star falling from the 
  sky, followed by a shepherd 
  who finds, among the 
  stone fragments, a great 
  rune-engraved sword. The 
  next scene shows a war 
  leader, probably a king, 
  brandishing 
  the 
  blade 
  high, at the head of an 
  army, ready to battle. A 
  figure, maybe a brother 
  or a close friend, is visible 
  near the king. In the 
  scene immediately after, 
  the battle is ended and 
  the king’s brother lies on 
  the ground, with the big 
  sword planted in his chest. 
  The king kneels near him, 
  weeping. 
  In the next scene the Peak 
  appears for the first time, 
  and there are hundreds of 
  men building the sanctuary 
  on the top. The story goes 
  on with the king entering 
  
  What Happened Before
  31
  in the sanctuary and placing the sword 
  on an altar. The tapestry ends with a last 
  scene: the sword’s altar is protected by 
  a group of men in burnished armor, the 
  same the party saw in their dream: they 
  are the Blade Guardians, sworn to its 
  defense and protection. They are armed 
  with swords similar in design to the blade 
  they are protecting and one of them holds 
  a banner, on which is written a motto 
  in ancient Zandorian: “Protake Mek 
  Tanak” meaning “Protect till Death”. A 
  Knowledge (History) roll is necessary to 
  translate it, but heroes of Zandorian origin 
  can read it with a Common Knowledge 
  roll. This phrase could save the party’s life 
  in The Brotherhood’s Tomb scene (see 
  above).
  The tapestry hides a secret door, but 
  to find it the cloth must be lifted and a 
  Notice (-2) roll must be made. The secret 
  passage leads near the Hall of the Blade 
  (see next part). In game terms, if the 
  heroes go through it, they immediately 
  gain two Advancement Tokens.
  Joker – The Clue
  When the Exploration Card drawn is 
  a Joker, draw another one immediately 
  and play the relevant scene. During it, at 
  a point chosen from the GM, a random 
  character makes a Notice (+2) roll. In the 
  case of success read what follows:
  You casually spot a shimmering object 
  in a small crack of the flooring. You pick 
  it up: it is one of Yvanna’s earrings! 
  The girl must have lost it while being 
  dragged away by her captor, or maybe 
  she let it fall deliberately, to leave a track 
  for you. Whatever the cause, they cannot 
  be far away from you.
  If the heroes haven’t found Gouras’ tracks 
  yet, they automatically find them. If the 
  party was already on the tracks, the next 
  two Tracking rolls are made at +2. The 
  hero who made the lucky find is rewarded 
  with a Bennie.
  Redraws
  In this section are some scenes to be 
  played if the heroes draw an Exploration 
  Card already used. Simply play the first 
  scene at the first redraw, the second scene 
  at the second, and so on.
  FirsT redraw– GoinG 
  around in circles
  This corridor looks familiar: you have 
  the impression of having already passed 
  through it, maybe in the opposide 
  direction. Hordan’s tits, this place is a 
  damned maze!
  The heroes returned on their steps without 
  noticing it. In the next two Exploration 
  Rounds, in addition to the required rolls, 
  they must make a Smarts (-2) roll, which 
  can be cooperative. If they fail, they cannot 
  gain Advancement Tokens, because they 
  are going around in circles. The roll can 
  be avoided if the players find an ingenious 
  way to overcome the problem (for 
  example, put marks on the walls, leave a 
  trail of breadcrumbs and so on).
  second redraw – “evil eyes 
  in The darkness”
  Pick a hero, and ask his player (only him) to 
  make a Notice roll. Regardless of the success 
  or failure of the roll, read the following:
  You are with the others, in darkness, 
  when you feel a thrill on the back of your 
  neck. Something or someone is watching 
  you.
  
  Part 3: In the Darkness 
  32
  Ask the player what are the reactions of his 
  character in response to this information. 
  At this point ask him for a Spirit roll, 
  with a modifier ranging from -4 to +4, 
  according to how he role-played those 
  reactions: a character clearly frightened or 
  intimidated receives a penalty, while one 
  attentive to the danger, but who stays cool, 
  obtains a bonus. If the roll is successful, 
  the character is rewarded with a Bennie.
  No enemy is found in the area, unless 
  the GM decides to insert a scene of his 
  creation.
  Third redraw – noThinG 
  sTranGe
  From the third redraw on, the characters 
  don’t find anything strange.
  
  33
   Part 4: 
  Sword of Blood
  Honor Among Thieves
  Finally you spot the flickering light of a 
  torch, not far away, and you step into a 
  large hall.
  Somehow, you understand you are in the 
  heart of the Peak, the most important 
  room of this strange sanctuary.
  In the past, this place was probably the 
  scene of a ferocious battle. Skeletons 
  lying in death embraces stare at you 
  with empty sockets. Maybe in this very 
  place the last, heroic defenders of the 
  temple made their last stand against the 
  Valk invaders.
  Sitting with his back against the 
  remnants of a crumbled altar, lies the 
  body of an ancient warrior, holding in 
  skeletal fingers a big sword, with a red 
  gem encased in the hilt, shimmering like 
  freshly spilled blood.
  
   Part 4:Sword of Blood 
  34
  You recognize him because he wears the 
  same armor you saw in your dream: he is 
  Izim, the last Guardian.
  If the heroes saw the Sword painted in the 
  Corridor of Tapestries, or fell victim to the 
  Seductions of the Sword, they recognize 
  the blade as the same weapon. The cursed 
  blade seems almost alive.
  On the altar, immediately behind the 
  body of Izim, there is a bunch of old 
  bones and skins, probably the remnants 
  of a horse, butchered by the Valk in some 
  dark rite.
  In the room, which has no other exit 
  apart from the one you came from, 
  are Gouras Ghan and Yvanna. They 
  look battered and tired, but the Wolf of 
  Zandor is quick as a panther in reacting, 
  and in no time he has the dagger’s point 
  at the girl’s neck.
  “Stand back!” he orders.
  The situation is similar to the one which 
  happened in the sanctuary some hours 
  ago – Gouras has a hostage, and the party 
  cannot entervene without endangering 
  her. But, unlike before, this time there are 
  no doors or secret passages through which 
  the fugitive can escape.
  Run the standoff as a pure role-playing 
  moment. If a character is intrigued by 
  the horse’s remnants on the altar, with 
  a Knowledge (Arcana) roll, the hero 
  understands they were used as part of 
  some ritual magic. Using the detect 
  arcana Power grants extra information: 
  the altar, the body of Izim and the sword 
  he wields are under a powerful evil spell. 
  With a raise it is also revealed that the 
  magic will strike whoever touches the 
  blade or Izim’s body.
  Let the tension grow, then go on.
  You hear heavy footsteps behind you.
  The gods aren’t on your side tonight: a 
  large group of bandits is at the room’s 
  entrance. 
  Probably 
  the 
  cutthroats 
  discovered you left the sanctuary 
  unguarded, got inside and tracked you 
  down through the Peak.
  They wield bows, and are aiming at you.
  “It’s about time, dogs!” Gouras swears, 
  relieved to see his men.
  But if the gods aren’t on your side, they 
  aren’t smiling on the bandit chief, either.
  A man, enormously fat and with oiled 
  hair, steps out from the newcomers’ 
  group. You recognize him: he is called 
  Talik and is, or at least was, the Wolf of 
  Zandor’s right arm.
   “Gouras, your days in command have 
  ended!” the fat man shouts, waving the 
  scimitar. 
  “Now the Brothers obey me!” he 
  continues, spitting saliva. “Hand over 
  the girl and tell us where you hid our 
  loot, and maybe we’ll let you live! 
  At these words, the other bandits, who 
  seem to have found another leader, shout 
  their approval.
  And you are right in the middle of all 
  this.
  The Blade’s Slave
  You see a number of emotions passing 
  over Gouras’ face: surprise, disbelief 
  and, finally, hate.
  
  What Happened Before
  35
  “Talik, you son of a swine! You want the 
  girl? Come and get her!”
  With a sudden movement, the bandit 
  throws the girl in front of him, and 
  lowers his hand to grab the big sword 
  from the lifeless hands of Izim.
  “Stop him!” Talik shouts.
  And arrows start flying.
  We are at the final battle of the scenario, 
  where a lot of things are going to happen! 
  Before placing the minis on the battlefield 
  and handing out Action Cards, ask the 
  players what they are going to do, making 
  clear that arrows are flying in the room 
  and they are in the middle of it all.
  If the heroes duck for cover, they simply 
  suffer the effects of Suppression Fire (see 
  Savage Worlds core rules). If they decide 
  on something different, like trying to 
  stop Gouras before he grabs the sword or 
  protecting Yvanna, they receive a ranged 
  attack at short range from a Bandit 
  (Shooting d6, 2d6 damages).
  They have no time to do what they 
  specified, but they should be rewarded 
  with a Bennie for the intention.
  Go on reading.
  Gouras, heedless of the arrows, grabs the 
  sword, holding it with two hands. But 
  he hasn’t time to raise it over his head 
  before a wail comes from the bones on 
  the altar, and a green flame strikes the 
  Wolf of Zandor!
  Gouras Ghan collapses to the ground, 
  shouting: “My eyes! I am blind! I am 
  blind!”
  The big blade, abandoned, falls on the 
  ground, ending up a few inches from 
  Yvanna’s hand.
  The girl, without even thinking, closes 
  her hand on the hilt.
  At this point inhuman laughter is heard 
  - from Yvanna’s throat.
  Everybody stops, shocked. 
  The girl stands up. She isn’t the 
  defenseless, young damsel you saved 
  from the bandits’ claws. A perverse grin 
  animates her face, and her eyes are two 
  black wells of madness.
  “Finally, after so much sleep, blood to 
  quench my thirst!” she proclaims, in a 
  baritone voice which cannot be hers. 
  The great sword in her hands howls 
  its joy, satisfied, the red gem on the hilt 
  shimmering with unholy light, while 
  Yvanna, or whatever has taken her 
  place, pounces on you!
  The battlefield is a rough, irregular square, 
  15” by 15”. There is a single entrance, an 
  arch 3” wide on the east wall. In the center 
  of the room is the broken altar, while 
  scattered around the room are large areas 
  of debris (see below).
  Yvanna, the Slave of the Sword, begins 
  the fight standing near the altar. Gouras 
  Ghan, prone and Shaken, lies on the 
  ground within 2” of her.
  The Bandits, with Talik in front of the 
  others, must be deployed in the entrance’s 
  arch or within 2” of it.
  The heroes begin the fight in the area 
  between Yvanna and the Bandits, if 
  possible at least 2” from both groups.
  
   Part 4:Sword of Blood 
  36
  The fight about to happen is a savage 
  melee: Talik and half of the bandits attack 
  the heroes, the others go against the girl.
  “Blood to Quench My Thirst!” The Slave 
  of the Sword attacks in a totally random 
  way. If the Action Card on which she is 
  acting is black, she attacks the nearest 
  bandit, otherwise she engages the nearest 
  hero. A chosen target is pursued until he 
  is killed or he flees at more than 6” away 
  from the Slave. When that happens, the 
  next Action Card of the Slave decides the 
  new target.
  The bandits, if possible, first try to disarm 
  Yvanna (see Savage Worlds core rules), 
  but when the Sword falls to the ground, 
  it uses its Dark Lure power to obtain a 
  new slave.
  The only way to defeat the ensorccelled 
  sword is destroying the gem socketed in 
  the hilt (see sidebar). When this happens, 
  go to The End.
  (E) Zandorian Bandits (2 per Hero). 
  See page 45.
  (E) Gouras Ghan (1). In this 
  battle Gouras is a simple Extra. In 
  addition, from this moment on he 
  permanently receives the Ugly and 
  Blind Hindrances. See page 42.
  (WC) Talik the Bulky (1). See page 
  44.
  (WC) Slave of the Blade (1). See 
  page 42.
  Terrain, Props and 
  Special Rules
  • Desecrated Altar: The altar upon 
  which the Sword was kept was the 
  object of a powerful ritual of Valk sorcery. 
  Harmela the Valkyria sacrificed a stallion 
  upon it and used the life force of the beast 
  to create the magical trap which blinded 
  and scarred Gouras Ghan. Even after 
  the spell triggered, the altar remains rich 
  of energy. A character with the Sorcery 
  Arcane Background who is within 6” 
  of the altar can freely use the 10 Power 
  Points still present in the altar. When he 
  does so, his damaging Powers also receive 
  +2 to damage rolls. But the sorcery on the 
  altar is very evil: magical Backlash occurs 
  on 1-2 on the Sorcery die, instead of the 
  normal 1. The altar is 2” wide and 3” long 
  on the battlefield and grants Medium 
  Cover (-2). 
  • Debris: The battlegoround is littered 
  with debris, rubble, parts of skeletons 
  and so on. Every debris zone is Difficult 
  Ground, grants Light Cover (-1) and is 
  rich in stones (Str+d4, Range: 3/6/12) 
  and other Small Improvised Weapons. 
  To represent them on the battlefield you 
  can use Burst Templates: place up to three 
  Small, two Medium and one Large, each 
  at least 2” away from the others.
  
  What Happened Before
  37
  tHe sworD of IzIm
  This ancient artifact is a great two-
  handed sword, apparently of Tricarnian 
  workmanship, forged from an unknown 
  metal. The blade is covered in runes, 
  carved in a strange language, probably 
  Valk symbols, but the meaning is 
  unknown to any living sage or sorcerer.
  Socketed in the sword’s hilt there is a 
  big, hemispherical gem, deep red, big as 
  a baby’s heart. The Sword hosts a Major 
  Demon (see B&B #3 – Green World), 
  whose only goal is killing and feeding on 
  the souls of its victims.
  Despite being very powerful, the 
  demon of the Sword must use a human 
  wielder to kill. For this reason the blade 
  developed the capacity to contact and 
  seduce mortals’ minds.
  The Sword was asleep for a long time, 
  the energy animating it reduced to a few 
  drops, but the violent acts on the Peak’s 
  top at the beginning of the scenario woke 
  it up.
  The Sword receives an Action Card like 
  any other character, and, if it is wielded 
  by a Slave (see below) the two are 
  considered a single entity.
  The Sword has Smarts d8, Spirit d10 
  and is a Wild Card. In addition it 
  has the following powers and special 
  abilities.
  Dark Lure. If the Sword is without 
  an owner, and a violent event happens 
  nearby (for example a quarrel or a 
  fight), it can make an opposed Spirit roll 
  against a victim of its choice within 12”. 
  If the Sword wins the roll the victim 
  uses her next action to move and pick up 
  the blade, becoming, to all intents and 
  purposes, a Slave of the Sword.
  Slave of the Sword. Wielding the 
  blade is enough to become enslaved by 
  its dark will. The stats of the Slave of the 
  Sword are on page 42. The ensorcelled 
  weapon also grants sorcerous Strength 
  and Agility (the only element which can 
  vary is Toughness, depending on the 
  armor of the actual slave). If the slave 
  is a Wild Card, at the beginning of the 
  Sword’s turn he can spend a Bennie to 
  try another opposed Spirit roll, this time 
  at -4. If he wins, he is free of the Sword’s 
  influence, but only for the current round.
  Weakness (Gem). The Sword is made 
  of an alien metal, incredibly strong 
  (Toughness 15) but it has a weak point: 
  the gem encased in the hilt. A Called 
  Shot (-4) is necessary to hit the stone, 
  but it only has Toughness 9. Using a 
  blunt weapon (for example a mace) deals 
  +2 damage. If the gem is destroyed, the 
  demon of the sword is forced to escape, 
  leaving the Dominions forever..
   
  
  38
  The End
  The following text supposes the heroes 
  destroyed the Sword, saved Yvanna, and 
  that Gouras Ghan survived, even though 
  blinded and scarred. If these conditions 
  aren’t true, change it accordingly.
  When the gem of the ensorcelled 
  sword breaks, the world itself seems to 
  disappear: a huge explosion makes you 
  fly around the room, like puppets.
  A black wind, inside which you see 
  hundreds, thousands of faces distorted by 
  pain, comes out from the blade and flies 
  whirling, toward the roof, in a chorus of 
  howls.
  You close your eyes and ears tightly shut, 
  and, curled in on yourselves, simply wait 
  for it to pass.
  When you dare open your eyelids again, 
  you are covered from head to foot in 
  white, chalky dust, coming from the 
  walls. You look like ghosts. Scattered 
  among the stones and debris you see the 
  broken bodies of the bandits. None of 
  them survived, but you won’t lose any 
  sleep over that. You find Yvanna on the 
  ground, her eyes closed, too. You bend 
  over her and hear her heart beating. You 
  gently take the girl in your arms, and she 
  wakes up, coughing from the dust. 
  Somewhere, someone is complaining 
  “My eyes… I can’t see…”
  It is Gouras Ghan. It seems the Wolf of 
  Zandor survived after a fashion, but 
  the bandit’s face is reduced to a burnt 
  pulp and his eyes are devoid of any 
  light. Well, he doesn’t need them to face 
  the executioner’s axe waiting for him in 
  Kodra.
  Suddenly you understand it is strange 
  you see all this. Your torches got lost in 
  the explosion, you should be in darkness. 
  
  What Happened Before
  39
  But the detonation created a large fissure 
  in one of the Peak’s walls, through which 
  some light passes.
  Cautiously you crawl out of the Peak 
  using this providential exit.
  Outside it is dawn, and you enjoy the 
  caress of the sun on your face.
  Rewards and Further 
  Development
  Once outside the Peak the heroes can find 
  horses and provisions at the bandits’ camp, 
  which is now abandoned: the explosion 
  and the howling of the freed souls was 
  heard from miles away and this frightened 
  the surviving bandits, who quickly fled.
  After reaching Kodra, the characters will 
  be rewarded with the bounty for Gouras 
  Ghan (3000 Moons, half that if the Wolf 
  of Zandor is delivered dead) and Yvanna’s 
  father adds other 2000 for the joy of 
  hugging his daughter again. In particular, 
  the hero who saved the girl from the 
  dark powers of the Sword receives an 
  additional Bennie at the beginning of the 
  next scenario.
  There is also another option: Gouras 
  Ghan, blind, defaced and doomed to the 
  gallows, could reveal to the heroes where 
  he hid the loot of his former band, in 
  exchange for his freedom, of course.
  Surely the ill-gotten gains are hidden in 
  some dangerous place, and recovering it 
  won’t be easy, but this can be the subject 
  of another adventure…
  
  Creatures  and NPCs
  40
  Creatures  
  and NPCs
  Ancient Guardian of 
  the Blade
  This dessicated shell, dressed in ancient 
  armor and a tattered cloak, hosts the 
  restless soul of a Blade Guardian. Faithful 
  to his task in death as he was in life, he 
  fights without emitting a single sound, 
  making him even creepier.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d4, Spirit 
  d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d4
  Pace: 5; Parry: 6/5; Toughness: 9(2)
  Gear: Ritual bronze sword (Str+d8), 
  burnished medium armor of the Order 
  (+2), rotten wooden shield (+1 Parry, +1 
  Toughness vs. ranged attacks).
  Special Abilities
  • Fear: The simple sight of an undead 
  requires a Fear check.
  • Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to rolls to 
  recover from being Shaken, doesn’t suffer 
  additional damage from called shots. He 
  doesn’t suffer Wound modifiers and is 
  immune to poison and illness.
  Cavern Vampire
  This giant bat probably belongs to the 
  same animal group as the Pale Shadows 
  (see Beasts of the Dominions). Gifted by 
  nature with sharp claws and teeth, it is a 
  cunning predator. Usually it lives off small 
  mammals and insects, which it devours 
  still alive, but it isn’t shy of bigger prey. The 
  Cavern Vampire is slightly smaller than a 
  man, but has a noticeable wingspan.
  
  What Happened Before
  41
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), 
  Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d8.
  Pace: 4; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
  Special Abilities
  • Bite or Claws: Str+d4.
  • Fly: Cavern Vampires fly with Pace 6 
  and Climb 1.
  • Lifting: A Cavern Vampire can lift a prey 
  of Size -1 or less by winning an opposed 
  Strength roll. If the roll is successful, the 
  beast flies away with the prey, with two 
  levels of Encumbrance. Two or three 
  Vampires can cooperate to lift the same 
  prey: for each additional Vampire, add +1 
  to the liftable Size of the victim, up to 
  Size +1, and the beasts make cooperative 
  rolls to lift. Shaken victims suffer -2 to the 
  opposed roll.
  • Night Sight: Cavern Vampires, being 
  bats, ignore any penalty for darkness.
  Cavern Vampire Pup
  An immature specimen of Cavern 
  Vampire. Not to be underestimated.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), 
  Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8.
  Pace: 3; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
  Special Abilities
  • Bite or Claws: Str+d4.
  • Night Sight: Cavern Vampires, being 
  bats, ignore any penalty for darkness.
  • Ravenous: This beast is growing up and 
  is frenzied with hunger. In the presence of 
  blood (if there are characters wounded or 
  Shaken by a wounding effect within 6”) 
  it receives +1 to all Fighting and damage 
  rolls.
  • Size -1: The Cavern Vampire Pup has 
  the same size as a dog.
   Giant 
  Scolopender
  This creature is similar to an enormous 
  centipede, but with longer limbs. The 
  ones near the head have mutated into 
  horrible pincers, used by the beast to 
  kill its prey, after stunning them with 
  its poisonous bite. This specimen is the 
  biggest and oldest of the brood, and grew 
  uncontrollably, devouring its brothers and 
  sisters first, and then its own offspring. It 
  is milky white, because it has never seen 
  the sun, except the pincers, which are 
  pitch black.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4 (A), 
  Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6.
  Pace: 9; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9 (1)
  Special Abilities
  • Armor +1: Thick, chitinous carapace.
  • Bite: Str+d4. The bite of this creature 
  delivers a nasty poison. A character 
  Shaken by a wounding effect or wounded 
  by this creature must roll on Vigor (+2) or 
  suffer a level of Fatigue. Multiple doses of 
  poison can lead to Exhaustion and even 
  to death.
  • Horrible: This creature is so hideous 
  that a Fear check is necessary the first 
  time it is seen.
  • Size +2: This creature is as tall as a big 
  dog and ten feet long.
  • Wall Walker: The Giant Scolopender 
  has a number of limbs and can use them 
  to climb over any surface, even the most 
  difficult. It need not roll on Climbing, and 
  can even run on walls at its normal pace.
  • 
  Weakness 
  (Light): 
  The 
  Giant 
  Scolopender is born and grown up in 
  darkness, so it isn’t at ease with light. Any 
  Trick or Power based on light receives +2 
  to opposed rolls, if used against it.
  
  Creatures and NPCs 
  42
   Gouras Ghan, the 
  Wolf of Zandor
  Gouras Ghan is the son of a Zandorian 
  harlot and a Valk warrior. His scarred face 
  and grim stare reveal the predator in him. 
  Gouras is a ruthless man, a wolf among 
  wolves; from this comes his nickname, 
  which he earned for the wickedness of 
  his actions. He took control of a band of 
  cutthroats with strength and maintained 
  it with cunning, hiding the loot of his 
  pillaging in a secret place, so that his men 
  would not knife him in the back. Gouras 
  is vengeful, but he isn’t a fool: he knows 
  very well when he can fight and when he 
  must escape.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit 
  d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d8, 
  Notice d6, Riding d8, Shooting d8, 
  Stealth d8, Throwing d6.
  Edges: Block, Command, Dodge, Quick.
  Hindrances: Greedy, Vengeful (Minor), 
  Wanted.
  Charisma: +0; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; 
  Toughness: 7 (1)
  Gear: Fur and hide light armor (+1).
  Special Abilities
  • Concealed Blade: Gouras wears armor 
  of furs and hides, fitted with several secret 
  pouches. In one of these the bandit has 
  concealed a blade, equivalent to a dagger 
  (Str+d4). Finding it requires an opposed 
  roll between Gouras’ Stealth (+2) and the 
  searcher’s Notice.
  Scolopender of Bones
  This giant insect looks like a centipede, 
  but has longer limbs and a couple of 
  long, sharp mandibles on its mouth. It 
  is carnivorous and very aggressive. This 
  specimen is part of the pack of the Giant 
  Scolopender, and is one of the few which 
  weren’t devoured by the mother.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), 
  Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6.
  Pace: 9; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
  Special Abilities
  • Bite: Str+d4. The bite of this creature 
  delivers a nasty poison. A character 
  Shaken by a wounding effect or wounded 
  by this creature must roll on Vigor (+2) or 
  suffer a level of Fatigue. Multiple doses of 
  poison can lead to Exhaustion and even 
  to death.
  • Size -1: The Scolopender of Bones is tall 
  as a small dog but a little more than three 
  feet long.
  • Wall Walker: The Scolopender of Bones 
  has a number of limbs and can use them 
  to climb over any surface, even the most 
  difficult. It need not roll on Climbing, and 
  can even run on walls at its normal pace.
  • Weakness (Light): The Scolopender of 
  Bones is born and grows up in darkness, 
  so it isn’t at ease with light. Any Trick 
  or Power based on light receives +2 to 
  opposed rolls, if used against it.
   Slave of the 
  Sword
  This man or woman is only a puppet under 
  the orders of the Sword of Izim.
  Note: The Traits of the Slave are those of 
  the Sword’s demon, while the Toughness 
  depends on the armor worn by whoever 
  is wielding the blade at the moment. The 
  stats below refer to Yvanna, when she is 
  possessed by the sword (the girl wears 
  only some tattered pieces of cloth).
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit 
  d10, Strength d10, Vigor d10
  
  What Happened Before
  43
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d10, 
  Notice d8, Persuasion d8.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 7
  Gear: Sword of Izim (Str+d10, 2 hands, 
  see below).
  Special Abilities
  • Dark Powers: The Blade Demon has 
  inhuman powers. It has 25 Power Points 
  and uses Spirit as its arcane skill. It can 
  use the following Powers: armor (invisible 
  protection), bolt (invisible force), deflection 
  (flawless parry), fear (hellish laughter – 
  centered on the Slave, who is immune to 
  the effects).
  • Demon and Slave: The Slave of the 
  Sword and the demon controlling him are 
  two different entities, this means they can 
  perform two independent actions each 
  round without any multi-action modifier. 
  Usually the Slave attacks in melee while 
  the Demon uses a Dark Power or tries a 
  Test of Will.
  • Master of the Blade: Over centuries, the 
  sword was used by dozens of warriors, and 
  killed many more, leeching their souls and 
  skills. The Slave of the Sword can use the 
  Improved Frenzy and Combat Reflexes 
  Edges. 
  • Weakness (Gem): The Sword is made 
  of an alien metal, incredibly strong 
  (Toughness 15) but it has a weak point: 
  the gem encased in the hilt. A Called 
  Shot (-4) is necessary to hit the stone, 
  but it only has Toughness 9. Using a 
  blunt weapon (for example a mace) deals 
  +2 damage. If the gem is destroyed, the 
  demon of the sword is forced to escape, 
  leaving the Dominions.
  Swarm of Rats
  Swarms are treated just like a creature. 
  Swarms cover an area equal to a Large 
  Burst Template and attack everyone 
  within it every round. When a swarm is 
  wounded, its size decreases to a Medium 
  Burst Template (see the Split Special 
  Ability for smaller size swarms). Another 
  hit reduces it to a Small Burst Template 
  and a third one disperses it.
  
  Creatures and NPCs 
  44
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d8 (A), 
  Spirit d12, Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Notice d6.
  Pace: 8; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6
  Special Abilities
  • Bites: A Swarm of Rats inflicts 
  hundreds of tiny scratches every round 
  to its victims, hitting automatically and 
  causing 2d4 damage to everyone in the 
  template. Damage is applied to the least 
  armored location (victims in completely 
  sealed suits are immune).
  • Split: This swarm is clever enough to 
  split into two smaller flocks (Small Burst 
  Templates) should their foes split up. The 
  Toughness of these smaller swarms is 
  lowered by -2 (to 4 each) and their Agility 
  is lowered by a die step. 
  • Swarm: Parry +2; because the swarm is 
  composed of dozens of creatures, cutting 
  and piercing weapons do only half damage. 
  Area-effect weapons work normally. 
  
  What Happened Before
  45
  Talik the Bulky
  This big, fat man, with a long braid of 
  greasy hair, has lived in Gouras Ghan’s 
  shadow for a long time, acting as his right 
  hand. Cunning and clever, in truth he 
  always hated the Wolf of Zandor and he 
  has been waiting for months for the right 
  occasion to seize command of the band 
  from his former chief.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit 
  d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
  Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, 
  Notice d6, Riding d6, Shooting d6, 
  Stealth d6, Throwing d8
  Edges: Command, Dodge, Extraction, 
  Loincloth Hero.
  Hindrances: Greedy, Obese, Wanted.
  Charisma: +0; Pace: 5; Parry: 6; 
  Toughness: 7
  Gear: Curved bronze sword (Str+d8), 
  bronze throwing dagger (Str+d4, Range: 
  3/6/12, +1 to Throwing rolls, -1 to 
  Fighting rolls).
  Yvanna
  Till a few weeks ago, sweet Yvanna had 
  no idea of the harshness and dangers of 
  the world; pampered and tended by the 
  servants of her rich father’s house she 
  never suffered hunger, cold or the cruelty 
  of men. Once she was kidnapped by 
  Gouras’ band, she endured the worst a 
  man can do to a woman. Somehow she 
  survived, but something in her broke, and 
  she will never again be the light-hearted, 
  happy girl of the past.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit 
  d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d4, Notice d6, Persuasion 
  d8, Riding d4, Stealth d4.
  Edges: Attractive.
  Hindrances: Damsel in Distress.
  Charisma: +2 Pace: 6; Parry: 4; 
  Toughness: 5
  Gear: Pieces of tattered clothing (barely 
  enough for modesty’s sake).
  Zandorian Bandit
  Pillager, thief, assassin, rapist: all these 
  definitions are perfect for this wary 
  follower of Gouras Ghan.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit 
  d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d4, 
  Notice d4, Riding d6, Shooting d6, 
  Stealth d4, Throwing d4, 
  Edges: -.
  Hindrances: Greedy, Wanted.
  Charisma: +0; Pace: 6; Parry: 6/5; 
  Toughness: 5
  Gear: Curved bronze sword (Str+d6), 
  bronze dagger (Str+d4, Range: 3/6/12), 
  bow (Damages: 2d6, Range: 12/24/48), 
  small shield (+1 Parry), dirty and tattered 
  clothes, horse.
  Special Abilities
  • Wolf  Pack: While the bandits 
  outnumber their enemies (at least two to 
  one), they feel strong and bold (+1 to Spirit 
  roll), but when they are outnumbered they 
  reveal their true nature as fear-filled dogs 
  (-1 to Spirit rolls).
  
  Creatures and NPCs 
  46
  somewHere In tHe zanDorIan wastelanDs, tHere Is a lonesome 
  Peak, lIke a gIant sentInel watcHIng over a DyIng emPIre. 
  storIes say tHat In tHe Past tHIs Place was HelD by an orDer 
  of warrIors, guarDIng sometHIng botH very Powerful anD 
  very Dangerous.
  toDay IzIm’s Peak, as It Is calleD, Has been DeserteD for 
  centurIes, anD on Its toP tHere are only wInDswePt ruIns.
  but wHo can tell wHat secrets are HIDDen tHere?
  wIlD rIDes, rutHless banDIts, comely gIrls anD mucH more 
  awaIt you among tHe Pages of tHe sworD of IzIm!
  wHat are you waItIng for? grab your sworD, gIrD your loIns 
  anD JumP Into aDventure!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/Beasts & Barbarians/Savage Worlds - Beasts & Barbarians - Sword of Izim.pdf