Journey to the Burning Sands - Kaze no Shiro to the Burning Sands.pdf · advantage by breaking them: ... to the heartless sorcerers known as Khadi, ... forehead with soft cloths,

Journey to the Burning Sands

A One-Round Mid-Rank Adventure for Heroes of Rokugan (Champions of the Sapphire Throne)

by Rob Hobart A mission for the Tortoise Clan takes you to the remote and bizarre lands of the gaijin, but the things you learn there may have significance for the future of the Empire. LEGEND OF THE FIVE RINGS is a registered trademark of Alderac Entertainment Group. Scenario detail copyright 2008 by the author and Alderac Entertainment Group. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This scenario is intended for tournament use only and may not be reproduced without permission.

A four-hour time block has been allocated for playing this game. The actual playing time should be about three and a half hours. It is a good idea to ask each player to put a name tag in front of him or her. The tag should have the player's name at the bottom, and the character's name, race, and gender at the top. This makes it easier for the players to keep track of who is playing which character. The players are free to use the game rules to learn about equipment and weapons their characters are carrying. Some of the text in this scenario is written so that you may present it as written to the players, while other text is for your eyes only. Text for the players will be in bold italics. It is strongly recommended that you paraphrase the player text, instead of reading it aloud, as some of the text is general and must be adapted to the specific situation or to actions of the player characters.

GM's Information THIS SCENARIO SHOULD NOT BE RUN COLD! Please read the scenario thoroughly before attempting to run it. This adventure is a Mid-Rank adventure, and should only be played by characters of Insight Ranks 2 through 4. Characters of Rank 5 will be too powerful for the challenges presented here, and Rank 1 characters will be too weak. All bulleted information is just that, pure information. Feed it to the players through an NPC when appropriate. Sometimes, reading it straight just doesn’t sound right. Remember that family names come before personal names. Akodo Toturi is from the Akodo family and his personal name is Toturi. A note on commerce in Rokugan: Samurai are not supposed to care about worldly possessions, especially money. A samurai pays a commoner as if the money is meaningless, a concession to the commoner’s silly needs. Between samurai, the exchange of money and merchandise is an exchange of “gifts.” Glory and Honor Awards and Penalties This adventure contains suggested Glory and Honor awards (and penalties) for dealing with the challenges presented herein. However, at times the players may take extra actions which the GM judges worthy of

additional reward – or punishment. The following may be considered as guidelines: • Performing an act of selfless, sacrificial loyalty to

one’s daimyo or clan: +1 point of Honor. • Abiding by the tenets of bushido when there is no

gain in doing so and one could gain an obvious advantage by breaking them: +1 point of Honor.

• Betraying or disobeying your duty, Clan, or family: lose 1-10 points of Honor and Glory, and possibly Status, depending on the severity of the failure. Gain the same amount of Infamy.

• Crying out in pain when injured: lose one point each of Honor and Glory.

• Using sneaky, underhanded, or treacherous methods when at an Honor rank higher than zero: lose 1-5 points of Honor. If caught, also gain 1-5 points of Infamy.

• Using Low skills: lose a number of points of Honor equal to the Rank of the skill. Note that there are exceptions to this rule, and the GM can lower the penalty for members of inherently dishonorable Clans such as Scorpions.

• Performing a socially acceptable public act of extreme courage and skill: +1 point of Glory.

• Drunk, insulting, or otherwise ill-mannered in public: lose 1-5 points of Glory. For extreme abuses, also gain an equivalent amount of Infamy.

• Playing entire adventure without doing anything of note: lose 1 point of Glory.

• Made ronin: Status removed. Adjusting for Party Strength This is a Mid-Rank adventure, and thus can involve parties of widely varying capabilities. The encounters have been optimized for a party of average Rank Three. Although most of the challenges here are role-play oriented and thus not terribly dependent on party strength, a few changes can be made to adjust the adventure difficulty for low-end and high-end parties, as follows: Low End Party (most/all characters Rank Two): • Skill Roll TNs may be selectively lowered by 5, at

the GM’s judgment. All TNs to resist spell effects are reduced by 5.

• The number of beduin bandits is only two higher than the number of PCs.

• The Naar Teban “fire snakes” have 6 Wounds per Rank (instead of 8) and Carapace 2 (instead of 3).

High End Party (most/all characters Rank Four):

Journey to the Burning Sands Page 2

• Increase the number of normal beduin bandits by

two. • The GM may, at his discretion, add a third Naar

Teban “fire snake.”

Adventure Summary and Background

The Tortoise Clan has been waging a quiet political and economic struggle against the Mantis Clan for many years. Recently, the Mantis scored a major victory by breaking the Tortoise Clan’s monopoly on trade with the rich overseas gaijin known as the Thrane. In response, the Tortoise have decided to seek new markets in a very different direction – sending emissaries to the Senpet lands to horn in on the Unicorn monopoly on trade with those exotic peoples. The PCs will be recruited to accompany a Tortoise diplomat to the capital of a Senpet caliph, acting as bodyguards and escorts in this dangerous foreign land. It is a straightforward duty, albeit in an unusual location. However, once the PCs reach the Senpet lands, they will become involved in larger matters – the Doomseekers, a Senpet order devoted to bringing death to the heartless sorcerers known as Khadi, will recruit the PCs to help them overthrow a vile magician who is controlling the caliph. If they succeed, they will earn the trust and friendship of the Doomseekers – which may well prove vital to the fate of the Empire, in the long term. Important Character Restriction: Because the Tortoise are undertaking this mission in order to retaliate against the Mantis Clan, Mantis Clan PCs will not normally be allowed to participate in this adventure. There are two exceptions: Mantis PCs who are under an Obligation to the Tortoise Clan can go on this adventure, which will expunge their Obligation. Mantis PCs who have Favors and/or Allies with certain Clans may go on this adventure by expending (erasing) those Favors and/or Allies, as follows: • One Favor/Ally with the Tortoise or Tiger Clan

will allow participation in this adventure. • Two Favors or one Ally with the Imperial families

(Otomo, Seppun, Miya) will allow participation in this adventure.

• Three Favors or two Allies with the Scorpion Clan will allow participation in this adventure.

A Note on the Senpet This adventure takes place over three centuries into the future of the L5R universe, and the author has made certain assumptions regarding the history of the Senpet Empire. At this point in time, the Senpet have collapsed into several different kingdoms and caliphates, quarreling and sometimes warring with each other as their leaders attempt to press claims on the vacant throne of the Senpet Empire. Meanwhile, Thrane and Meranae merchants ruthlessly exploit the divisions between these kingdoms for their own profit. The Senpet depicted in this adventure are a broken people, living in the shadow of their former greatness, and the GM should strive to convey a sense of loss and tragedy in depicting them. Smart PCs may realize that, if they are not careful, a similar fate may await Rokugan.

Introduction: Arrival at Bugaisha

The adventure begins with the PCs waiting at the trade settlement of Bugaisha in Unicorn lands. All Clan and Imperial PCs have been sent here by their lords, who have explained that the Tortoise Clan has requested assistance for one of its diplomats, and called in favors to ensure that such assistance is provided. The PCs have been sent in response. • Ronin PCs have already been hired by the Tortoise

to escort their emissary, Kasuga Takuma, and will be in his company.

• Tortoise PCs will likewise be accompanying

Takuma. Bugaisha is constructed as a large square courtyard, about two hundred yards on a side, surrounded by crenellated walls and with a single great bronze gate. The actual fort is a relatively small two-story structure located on the far side of the courtyard. About a hundred Unicorn bushi are stationed here. Centuries ago, Bugaisha was a hardship posting for Unicorn who had dishonored themselves, but today it is the center of the Clan’s trade with the Senpet and an assignment here is considered a prize. PCs who have played the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar” have been here before.


The courtyard of Bugaisha is packed with traders from the Senpet kingdoms, and with Rokugani merchants doing business with them. White cloth pavilions cover dozens of booths, and the merchants circulate like leaves in wind, money and goods changing hands in a welter of conversation. To conventional PCs this will be a very unsettling scene, as Rokugani and gaijin alike speak and trade openly and equally. The overwhelming presence of commerce and trade will also be offensive to many PCs, unless they are themselves members of groups such as the Yasuki family or the Daidoji Trading Council. The gaijin here are all from the Senpet kingdoms, and are generally Arabic in appearance, although their skin tone varies widely, from light tan to dark brown. They wear loose-fitting clothing or robes of off-white cotton, and cover their heads with scarves or burnooses. Most of them carry short curved knives at their belts, but they have no other armament – it is their custom not to personally carry heavy weapons while at a trade market. However, many of them compensate for this by bringing armed slaves to guard their wares. The slaves are Yodotai, pale-faced gaijin similar to the Thrane but shorter and with darker hair. They are generally dressed only in a loincloth and an iron neck-collar, and armed with short stabbing swords. They do not speak Rokugani, responding only to Senpet and their own exotic tongue, and generally refuse to speak to anyone, lest they draw the wrath of their masters. The Senpet treat them like beasts, routinely kicking them and insulting them. The market is patrolled by pairs of Unicorn bushi armed with sasumata (man-catchers). They make sure that disagreements or arguments between Rokugani and Senpet do not escalate into violence. The Unicorn samurai here are accustomed to seeing this marketplace, and many of them wander through the aisles between the booths, looking over the exotic Senpet wares and picking up trinkets. The PCs can do the same, if they wish. Meeting with Kasuga Takuma After establishing the scene at Bugaisha, the PCs immediately meet with Kasuga Takuma, the Tortoise diplomat they have been assigned to help. Takuma is a slightly portly man in his thirties, balding and a bit jowly, obviously not a warrior, and dressed in a fine but understated kimono of green and dark brown. He wears no weapons, but carries a bulky traveling pack. His usual expression is one of cheerful good humor, with a pleasant smile and a twinkle in his eye. He is

accompanied by a pair of fawningly obsequious young maidservants who hold parasols to shade him from the sun, fan him when it is hot, blot sweat from his forehead with soft cloths, and otherwise cater to his needs. Takuma greets the PCs outside the gates of Bugaisha. He is charming and well-spoken. “Greetings, samurai-samas! I am Kasuga Takuma, a humble servant of the Tortoise Clan. I understand you have been sent to assist me – an honor, to be accompanied by so many noble samurai!” He explains their mission as follows: “On behalf of my daimyo Kasuga Magoro-sama, lord of the Tortoise, I have been tasked with traveling into the Burning Sands to discuss certain matters of trade and diplomacy with some of the Senpet rulers. This is a hazardous duty, obviously, and I am no warrior. Your protection will be most appreciated. Of course, this will regrettably require you to travel outside the Empire while we undertake this journey, for which I apologize.” Takuma will explain himself further in response to any PC questions or inquiries: • If the PCs ask about the nature of his planned

negotiations with the Senpet, he will smile and duck his head in a self-deprecating manner. “Sadly, I cannot reveal that, samurai-sama. Suffice to say that it concerns matters which most samurai would consider beneath them. For this role did the Son of Heaven create the Tortoise Clan.”

• If the PCs ask for details of the journey, he

explains they will be traveling to a Senpet city on the far side of the Burning Sands. “It will be a difficult journey, but with proper planning and supplies we should be able to make it safely enough.”

• Takuma will say they are visiting a Senpet city,

which he names tentatively as “Hijasu eru-Asabu,” which is home to a “lord of the Senpet” with much power and influence.

• Takuma knows a great deal about the Senpet,

which he justifies by saying, “It is the duty of the Tortoise to deal with such matters, so that the rest of the Empire may remain clean.” He offers to supply the PCs with the minimal information they will need to avoid danger while traveling to the Senpet lands. “I speak their language reasonably well, of course.”


• If the PCs ask about why they are needed to escort him, Takuma smiles and gestures at himself. “As you can see, samurai-samas, I am no bushi. By all accounts, the Burning Sands are a dangerous place, full of bandits and bizarre creatures. And who knows what dangers or supernatural threats might lurk in a city of gaijin? It seems only prudent to arrange yojimbo and assistants for myself.”

• If the PCs ask why he did not get the Tortoise clan

to help him, he sighs heavily. “Our Clan is a small one, samurai-samas. We have few bushi and almost no shugenja. Although my task here is not without importance to the Empire, nevertheless, other duties must take priority for our limited resources. It seemed better to use our political strength to call on the strength of other Clans.”

• If the PCs ask why he is not getting help from the

Unicorn Clan, rather than summoning samurai from across the Empire, he shrugs and smiles. “I cannot say with certainty, but I suspect my lord is reluctant to entrust the success of this mission to a single Clan, even one as honorable as the Unicorn.”

Once he is finished speaking with the PCs, Takuma will bid them good day, explaining that he must make arrangements for mounts and supplies. “We shall leave in the early morning, before the Sun arises, to ensure that we can travel far before the worst of the heat. I have arranged rooms at the local inn, the House of Prosperity. I bid you good evening, samurai-samas.” He bows and departs, accompanied by his worshipful maidservants. Gaijin Goods If the PCs decide to explore the marketplace, they will find scores of Senpet merchants eager to sell to them. These gaijin speak only a crude patois of Rokugani, and they are great believers in the importance of bargaining and haggling when making a sale, all of which will probably be very unpleasant for the PCs. (A PC who fails to haggle will end up paying far more than proper value for whatever they buy, and will also earn the contempt of the Senpet for their lack of bargaining skill.) The PCs can find a wide range of exotic goods here, including jewelry (earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc), cotton cloth, beautiful woven rugs, metal lanterns, scissors, glass goblets, spices, strange fruits and vegetables, furs from exotic animals, foreign weapons, and many other oddities. PCs can find almost anything

that could conceivably be imported from the Senpet kingdoms – anything that would be appropriate for an “Arabian Nights” world. (The Senpet do not have any advanced Thranish goods such as firearms, gunpowder, paper, or spyglasses.) The GM can allow the PCs to acquire any sort of minor Senpet trinket they could reasonably afford, assuming they lower themselves to engaging in commerce. Valuable items such as weapons (scimitar, kopesh, etc) will typically be quite expensive, costing 20 or more koku. The House of Prosperity The only Inn at Bugaisha is a small two-story building tucked into one corner of the fortress. Only Rokugani are allowed to stay in it – the visiting Senpet are required to sleep in their tents outside the fortress – and it is quite busy and prosperous. The PCs will be staying at two per room, unless there is an uneven number of female PCs – in that case the numbers will be juggled to ensure that no female PC shares a room with a male (other than married couples, of course). The Inn is crowded in the evenings, as merchants and samurai drink, gossip, and make deals. Traditionalist PCs will probably find this almost as unsettling as the rest of Bugaisha, as many samurai openly conduct commerce and negotiations with commoner merchants here. Those guests who are not still making deals amuse themselves with games of go and shogi, as well as drinking, songs, and occasionally gambling (the latter mostly restricted to bored caravan guards and ronin). If the PCs are looking for gossip or news of current events, they can roll Awareness/Courtier (Gossip) at TN 20 to pick up on the latest news: • The Emperor has proclaimed a new Fortune,

Yasuragi, the Fortune of Peace, and has asked the Clans to construct a shrine to honor this new divinity. The choice of which Clan will get to be home to this shrine will doubtless be a source of great political bickering.

• The terrible drought which blighted the Empire last

year seems to be over, with abundant rain throughout the spring. Unfortunately, the dry earth has had difficulty absorbing so much rain, and as a result there has been severe flooding in many lowland areas and river valleys. The Scorpion, Crane, and Lion seem to have suffered especially badly from these floods.


• The Emperor’s eldest daughter, Yukihime, will be

marrying Daidoji Kowaru, the Daidoji family daimyo, at the end of spring. The Crane are expected to throw tremendous celebrations of this event.

• There are rumors about the Emperor issuing a

proclamation against some strange foreign drug that has begun appearing in some parts of the Empire, called variously “Crimson Flower” and “Red Tears.” The Unicorn are not very familiar with this drug, and claim it is not from the Senpet lands.

Part One: Starting the Journey

The next morning, while the horizon is just starting to turn pale with dawn, Kasuga Takuma meets the PCs outside of Bugaisha. His maidservants are gone, replaced by a single sturdy middle-aged manservant, Sota. Both men are seated atop camels, and are leading enough additional camels to carry all of the PCs. Camels are likely to be more than slightly off-putting to Rokugani samurai. In addition to their stench and strange appearance, the animals are also extremely bad-tempered, and enjoy biting their riders. Takuma will hand each of the PCs a quirt, a whip-like stick, and explains it is used to beat the camels when they misbehave or refuse to move. Riding a camel requires PCs make a roll of Willpower/Horsemanship each day at TN 20. Failure means the PC spends the day being bitten, thrown, and otherwise injured by the fractious animal, and is considered to be under a Permanent Wound for that day. • For the sake of efficiency, the GM should not

actually make the PCs roll for their camels each day. Instead, have them roll on the first two days, on the day they encounter Jafar the Bandit, on the day they meet the Naar Teban fire snakes, and on the day they reach the city of Hijaz el-Asab.

Once the PCs have had a chance to make the acquaintance of their camels, Takuma invites them to mount up and join him in heading out into the desert. “Our first day’s journey will take us to the Unicorn outpost at Shizukesa,” he says, “which will offer us a last chance to stock up on supplies before we enter the deep desert of the Burning Sands.”

• If the PCs check for supplies (or ask about them),

Takuma points out the small wooden casks of water strapped to the backs of each of the camels, and the smaller wooden canteens tied to the side of each saddle. There are also bundles of rations, containing rice, dried fish, and dried seaweed.

• Aside from food and water, other supplies include

several tents, an assortment of pots and other cooking gear, and small bags of charcoal (for cooking rice). Each camel also has a parasol for the rider to shade him/herself from the desert sun.

• Takuma himself has brought a large, carefully-

packed bundle which contains scrolls, writing supplies, several puzzle-boxes, and other such diplomatic gear.

• If any of the PCs want to bring their own mounts,

Takuma will reluctantly allow it, but will urge the PC to bring one of the camels as well, as a back-up.

Bringing Horses? PCs who possess their own mounts – especially Unicorn PCs – may be reluctant to give them up for a smelly, obnoxious camel. Kasuga Takuma will reasonably point out that he does not particularly want to ride the camels either, but has been assured by those with experience in the Burning Sands that this is the safest way to travel. “The Unicorn and Scorpion Clans both lost many horses when they traveled through the Burning Sands in centuries past, but very few camels,” he remarks. However, if any PCs insist on bringing their own mounts, he will sigh, shrug, and say no more. To the Oasis The first day’s journey is relatively easy. The land here is mainly dry grassland rather than “true” desert, but the endless plain of yellow-brown, seemingly lifeless grass, interspersed with regions of bare, dusty soil, is nevertheless quite alien and intimidating to non-Unicorn PCs. The sun beats down mercilessly, as hot as a Rokugani midsummer, and Kasuga Takuma warns the PCs against the urge to drink freely. “We will be able to refill our water-kegs and canteens at the oasis tonight, but after that, it will be a good seven or eight days before we see water again, or so the Unicorn have told me. We shall have to be most careful with our supplies.”


This first day of riding will make the PCs painfully familiar with the foibles of their camels, and the GM should look for an opportunity to insert a little comedy to lighten the tone before the more difficult challenges ahead. The Shizukesa Oasis As promised, by day’s end the PCs approach the oasis: As the Sun descends in the west, you see ahead of you a small lake, surrounded by strange trees with gigantic broad leaves. A single tent in the odd cylindrical style of the Unicorn is visible next to the lake, and as you draw nearer, a trio of Unicorn cavalrymen ride out to meet you. The Unicorn soldiers are led by Shinjo Nakato, a dour and taciturn man in his mid-twenties, the commander of the single under-strength squadron which defends this oasis during three-fourths of the year. He is clearly surprised at seeing a group of non-Unicorn at this remote outpost, but sullenly accepts Kasuga Takuma’s travel papers and gestures the PCs to make camp by the lake. The spring at the center of the oasis is a large and powerful one, welling up cold blue-green water into the middle of a small lake. Immediately around the lake, the grass is green and healthy, much to the delight of horses and camels, and a mixture of palm trees and date trees offer shade during the daylight heat. The Unicorn refer to this oasis as Shizukesa (“Serenity”) and use it as the base for their winter maneuvers every year. PCs who have played through the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar” have been here before, but compared to the bustling energy of the winter gathering, the place seems empty and forgotten now. There are a total of eleven Unicorns posted here – eight men and three women – and aside from their commander they will be delighted by the distraction of visitors. They will happily spend the evening with the PCs, sharing food and drink, and offering poetry and music to entertain – some of them are skilled with exotic musical instruments such as light drums, castanets, cymbals, and even a samisen-like stringed instrument called a “gittaru.” Smart PCs may think of asking the Unicorns for advice about travel in the burning sands. So long as they do so in a friendly manner, the Unicorn will be happy to help. • They warn that the desert is dangerous for more

reasons than mere heat. “There are gaijin bandits

out there – nasty fellows who call themselves ‘Bedu-win-u.’ They’ll jump anyone who seems weak enough to rob and kill.”

• The Unicorn can also warn that there are creatures

called “fire snakes” in the desert. “My grandfather fought one – he said it was bright gold and spat venom that melted armor and weapons like butter.”

• If the PCs mention they are supposed to be traveling to the lands of the Senpet, the Unicorn say it takes about three weeks of direct travel to cross to the Senpet territories. They will warn there are only two oases between here and the Senpet lands on the far side of the Burning Sands. “You’d best be most cautious with your water,” they say. “Good thing your little Tortoise brought camels, though – they drink much less than horses.”

• If a PC is bringing along a horse, the Unicorn will

warn that this is a bad idea. “You’ll need much extra water to keep your beast alive, and even then the strain of desert travel may kill it. It would be a great shame to lose such a fine beast.”

• The Unicorn do not know much about the Senpet

themselves beyond what they have picked up from merchant caravans traveling through the area. Needless to say, this information is badly distorted: “They all wear white robes and cloth over their heads – to protect from the sun, I suppose. Filthy people, they stink like their camels, I don’t think they ever wash. And they all keep slaves. No respect for the Celestial Order.”

Regardless of how well the PCs get along with the Unicorn garrison, they will be free to refill their water supply and make any other last-minute adjustments before heading into the deep desert. If a PC with a horse decides to leave it behind at this point, the Unicorn will gladly care for it until they return.

Part Two: Into the Desert From Shizukesa, the PCs and Kasuga Takuma head west across the Burning Sands, into the deep desert. Within two days, the scrub grass and other plantlife vanishes, and the PCs enter a territory of rolling sand dunes, a landscape of monochromatic golden hills that march endlessly beneath a blazing sun. Small lizards and scorpions occasionally scuttle across the dunes, but no other living things can be seen.


This is a completely alien environment to the PCs, and the GM should emphasize the strange, threatening, and highly uncomfortable nature of the desert. The daytime temperature exceeds 100 degrees (Fahrenheit), threatening the PCs with both sunburn and dehydration, while at night it plummets to near-freezing, forcing the PCs to huddle shivering beneath their blankets. Learning Senpet Kasuga Takuma speaks Senpet with some degree of fluency, and will offer to teach the language to any PC who wishes. This instruction will be carried out daily throughout the three-week journey – the PCs will need to stick with this effort for the entire trip in order to gain any benefit. At the end of the trip, the PCs can gain the following benefit: • If the PC has at least 2 unspent experience points,

s/he can spend the points to gain the “Languages: Senpet” advantage. An additional 2 experience points will allow the PC to learn to read the sinuous Senpet script as well.

• If the PC does not have the experience points to

spend (or does not wish to spend them), Takuma’s instructions will still allow the PC to learn a basic, pidgin form of spoken Senpet that will function for the duration of the adventure. Once the adventure is over, of course, this crude understanding of the language will quickly be lost.

Water and the Oases Water will, obviously, be a significant concern for the PCs. The journey will take a total of three weeks, and there are two oases along the route – but finding them will not be automatic. During the first week, all of the PCs will need to roll Willpower/Meditation (Fasting) at TN 20 to avoid any ill effects from heat and dehydration. A failed roll means the PC suffers a +5 TN penalty to all actions due to thirst and discomfort. If any PC has brought a horse along, that PC must roll Intelligence/Animal Handling at TN 25 to make sure the horse is kept properly hydrated and healthy – otherwise, the horse will die. At the end of the first week, the PCs (and Kasuga Takuma) should all roll Perception/Hunting at TN 25 to locate the first oasis. This is actually a well – essentially a stone outcropping in the middle of the desert, with an irregular hole in the center. A leather

bag on a long piece of knotted, dirty rope serves to retrieve water. The encounter with Jafar’s bandits (see below) will take place on the morning of the same day the PCs reach the first oasis, so they will be operating under any TN penalties for failed Meditation rolls, and dehydrated horses will already be dead. During the second week, the PCs will again need to roll Willpower/Meditation (Fasting) to avoid any ill effects from heat and dehydration. The TN is 20 if they found the well, 30 if they did not find the well. Again, a failed roll means the PC suffers a +5 TN penalty to all actions due to thirst and discomfort. If any PC has brought a horse along, that PC must roll Intelligence/Animal Handling at TN 25 if the well was found, 35 if the well was not found, to make sure the horse is kept properly hydrated and healthy – otherwise, again, the horse will die. At the end of the second week, the PCs (and Kasuga Takuma) should all roll Perception/Hunting at TN 20 (TN 25 if they missed the first oasis) to locate the second oasis. This second oasis is more substantial and easier to spot, comprising a cluster of palm trees surrounding a patch of yellow, straggly grass and a small water-hole, fed by a spring. The final week of the journey will become extremely dangerous if the PCs did not find either oasis and have no way of summoning water (see “Magical Water” below). The PCs will again need to roll Willpower/Meditation (Fasting) to avoid any ill effects from heat and dehydration. The TN is 20 if they found the second oasis. If they found the first oasis but not the second, the TN is 25, but the penalty for failing is still only +5 to all actions. If they did not find either oasis, and have no other source of water, they must make TN 10 to avoid dying of dehydration. They must make TN 30 to avoid a +10 TN penalty to all actions. The naar teban (fire serpents) will strike three days after the second oasis. Third week TN penalties will apply to the PCs for the encounter. If any PC has brought a horse along, and the animal is still alive, it will automatically die if they missed both oases. If they missed only one oasis, they must roll Intelligence/Animal Handling at TN 30 or the horse will die. If they did not miss either oases, the TN is 25.


Magical Water Some shugenja PCs may be able to get around the problem of water shortages by casting Summon Water. They will need to figure out a way to catch the water they summon, such as with a helmet, since it appears as a globe in mid-air. Casting Summon Water in the Burning Sands will not be easy, due to the extreme scarcity of Water spirits – indeed, all Water spells in this environment will require an extra Raise to cast, and Summon Water will require an additional Raise beyond that. Each successful casting of Summon Water will allow one PC or one horse to avoid the effects of missing one of the oases. Jafar the Bandit During their journey through the Burning Sands, the PCs will encounter a group of beduin (desert nomads) led by a vicious bandit named Jafar. Their first warning of this will be a small dark clump of people and camels in the desert ahead of them. If they immediately change course in order to avoid this encounter, they can potentially evade pursuit, if they know what they are doing. Have the PCs designate who is leading them away from the beduin. The leading PC can roll either Intelligence/Battle or Intelligence/Stealth at TN 25 to evade the bandits. However, taking this option will move the PCs off their route to the next oasis, increasing their TN to find it by 5. If the PCs do not attempt to avoid the bandits, or are unable to shake them off, they will have to confront Jafar: Ahead of you is a crowd of about a dozen dark-tanned gaijin, with black hair and beards and strong noses, seated on camels and dressed in loose flowing robes of yellow-white. Hoods shroud them against the blazing sun, and curved swords and knives hang at their belts. At the front of the group, standing next to a camel, is a tall man dressed in the same foreign garments. His dark hook-nosed face is barely visible beneath his smudged yellow hood. He holds his curved sword unsheathed, balancing the back of the blade on his shoulder, its gleaming polish a contrast to the rest of his dirty and unkempt appearance. “Welcome, travelers!” he calls in a grotesque accent. “I am Jafar, and these are my brothers. We are here to do you a service! Here in the desert, the weight of gold and other valuables can weigh you down. We will be delighted to relieve you of this excess weight,

with your cooperation!” He grins, showing strong white teeth. PCs who have played the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar” have met Jafar before, though on that occasion he did not have companions. He is both a greedy bandit and a capable warrior, but also a ruthless pragmatist whose first and primary goal is to stay alive. Kasuga Takuma is not a warrior – this is why he brought the PCs along, and he will let them take the initiative in dealing with this situation. His servant Sota will not take any action other than (if necessary) flight. The total number of normal bandits will be equal to four higher than the total number of bushi and combat shugenja in the party. The PCs have essentially four options for dealing with Jafar and his gang: • Pay them off. If the PCs offer to hand over at least

40 koku worth of valuables (coins, jewelry, weapons, etc) while maintaining a firm defense, Jafar will accept their “donations” with a sneer and lead his bandits away. “I shall look forward to our next meeting!” he calls with a laugh as they ride off in a cloud of sand and dust. The PCs all lose 3 points of Honor for submitting to a bandit’s bullying.

• Bargain with Jafar to pay a lower amount. This

will require skillful role-play and also defeating him in an Opposed Roll of Awareness/Commerce. With a success, they can persuade him to accept a modest amount of money (minimum 15 koku) in exchange for letting them pass unmolested. Each PC will lose at least 2 points of Honor for solving the problem in this manner – PCs with Honor 4.0 or better should lose more.

• Try to threaten Jafar into backing off. He is an

arrogant and self-confident man, and the presence of his gang will force him to be quite belligerent in order to maintain his face and position. Nevertheless, male PCs who can be sufficiently threatening can force him to retreat. This will require a well role-played threat, combined with providing him a way of backing off without losing too much face, and a roll of Willpower/Deceit (Intimidation) at TN 30. He will never back down to female PCs, since he and his beduin followers have an extremely chauvinistic attitude toward women.


• Fight. If the PCs take the violent option, Jafar and the bandits will fight to be best of their ability, attempting to kill all male PCs and disable/capture all females. Although Jafar and his followers are fierce and skilled, they are not suicidal fanatics – if half of the beduin are down and Jafar is at the +15 or lower Wound rank, or if Jafar is down and at least one-third of the beduin are down, they will break off and flee. Kasuga Takuma will spend the combat in Full Defense – he is, as stated, no warrior – and he and his manservant will try to flee if things go badly.

It should be noted that the beduins’ contempt for women will cause them to underestimate female PCs in combat – they will not spend Void against any female PCs, and will attempt Disarm or Knockdown actions rather than straightforward attacks. The Naar Teban (Fire Snakes) The Burning Sands are haunted by certain Naga abominations which were exiled from Naga civilization and underwent strange mutations after entering the hot, dry environment of the desert. Two of these dangerous creatures will attempt to ambush the PCs three days past the second oasis. Allow the PCs to roll Perception/Hunting at TN 20 or Perception/Investigation at TN 25 on the day of the ambush. With a success, the PCs notice some strange intermittent tracks in the sand. They appear to be the tracks of a large lizard, with four clawed toes. The tracks cannot be followed – the drifting sands have covered many of them – but they can serve as a warning to the PCs that some sort of danger may lurk here. A PC who tries to identify the tracks will normally need to roll with a very obscure Lore skill, such as Lore: Burning Sands or Lore: Naga, at TN 30, but a Unicorn or Scorpion PC can roll Intelligence/Lore: History at TN 40 to recall a few obscure stories of golden reptilian creatures, two-legged and taller than a man, which sometimes hunt the Burning Sands. The pair of Naar Teban will hide in the sand of a dune, planning to burst out and ambush the party. If the PCs have specified they are on alert, they can spot the ambush with a roll of Perception/Investigation (Notice) at TN 20 or Perception/Battle (Ambush) at TN 25. A successful roll will notice the snouts of the Naar Teban poking from the sand, allowing the PCs (if they wish) to circle around and bypass the combat.

If the PCs are not on alert, they can only notice the ambush at the last moment with a roll of Perception/Investigation (Notice) at TN 30. This will avoid the effects of surprise (as described below) but there will not be time to circle away and avoid the fight. If none of the PCs notice the ambush, they will be caught by surprise when the Naar Teban burst out of the sand. The PCs suffer a –20 penalty to their Initiative and are considered to be immobile (no Defense Mastery effects) until their first action. If the PCs do notice the ambush, when the Naar Teban burst out everyone rolls Initiative normally, and the PCs do not suffer any other penalties. The Naar Teban appear to be scaled, serpentine humanoids with the heads of snakes but human-like arms and legs, ending in clawed fingers and toes. Their scales are a golden color and their bodies are noticeably warm. They are looking for food, and their first choice will be something large, like a camel or a horse. If the PCs flee the fight, but leave behind one or more animals (or fallen comrades), the fire snakes will stay behind and devour their prize. As before, Kasuga Takuma will spend the combat in Full Defense, counting on the PCs to protect him, and fleeing with his manservant if things go sour. The Naar Teban are fierce but not suicidal – they will reserve one Akasha point for emergencies, and if they are reduced to the Down rank of Wounds, they will spend their last Akasha point to act so they can burrow into the sand, escaping the PCs.

Part Three: Arrival in the Lands of the Senpet

At the end of three weeks, the PCs will emerge from the deep desert and enter the lands of the Senpet. They pass through several small, dirty villages, clusters of mud-brick huts built around springs and oases, with herds of goats and small fields of grain. The Senpet people regard these foreign travelers with fear, hiding from them and making covert religious signs in their direction. After a couple of days, the PCs approach their destination, the Senpet city of Hijaz el-Asab: Ahead of you, a strange and unsettling vision rises out of the desert. A giant stone pyramid climbs into the sky, and as you slowly draw nearer, you realize it is a


vast thing, hundreds of feet tall. How many human hands would have been needed to construct such an abomination? The artifact’s age is uncertain, but as you draw slowly closer, you can see flaws and irregularities in its vast sloping sides. Clearly it has suffered much from the ravages of time. Below the great pyramid, a broad, shallow brown river snakes through the desert, trees and croplands clustering along its banks. A city shelters at the riverside, in the shadow of the giant pyramid. Even from the distance of miles, the city is a strange and alien place. The buildings appear to all be square or rectangular, with flat roofs and smooth surfaces of pale yellow-tan color. The streets teem with dark-skinned gaijin, all dressed in fluttering white and brown garments. At the middle of the city, near the river, is what appears to be a palace, built all of white, with high towers topped by onion-shaped domes – not unlike some of the Unicorn castles you have seen, in fact, but on a vastly grander scale. The city of Hijaz el-Asab is an alien place, and the GM should emphasize how disturbing Senpet civilization is to Rokugani sensibilities. A general guide to describing the city and its inhabitants follows: City and Architecture The buildings of Hijaz el-Asab are constructed mostly from mud-brick, reinforced with a handful of wooden beams. The exteriors are white-washed, although this has typically faded to an ugly yellow-tan color. The roads and streets are hard-packed dirt, and within the city, shallow channels of dirty water and sewage run along both sides of the streets – supplemented by garbage and waste-water tossed from upper-floor windows. This alone should be a ghastly experience for samurai, who are accustomed to such filth being quietly whisked away by eta. The outer walls of the city are thirty feet high and fifteen feet wide, made of stone over a core of rubble and earth. Senpet soldiers walk patrols on the parapet. There are several gates through the walls, and these are kept open during the hours of daylight. Unlike a Rokugani city, there is no effort to review travel papers or otherwise control access to the city, although the guards do occasionally bully a merchant for bribes. The caliph’s palace, where the PCs are headed, is located near the river, in the center of a district of noble mansions. All of these structures are effectively palaces, with elaborate onion-domed towers and sprawling gardens. The general visual model here

should be “Arabian Nights.” The caliph’s palace is naturally the largest and most impressive of these structures, standing six stories high and boasting a huge garden, a menagerie, and over a dozen high towers. The contrast between these gorgeous, fairy-tale palaces and the dingy squalor of the rest of the city is striking. The People The inhabitants of Hijaz el-Asab are essentially “pseudo-Arab” in their appearance and dress. They have tan-brown skin, dark hair and eyes, and are typically the same height or slightly taller than Rokugani. The men shave their cheeks but often grow moustaches or goatee beards. Normal commoner men dress in loose-fitting garments of white, tan, or brown, and wear head-scarves or burnooses to protect them from the sun. Commoner woman in public wear heavy robes and veils which conceal their bodies and faces. Soldiers wear chain-mail on their bodies, conical helmets of metal with leather cheek-guards, and protect their fore-arms and shins with leather bracers. They carry wooden shields and are armed with scimitars, bows, and spears. Merchant caravans pass through the city frequently. These are usually composed of camels, with vast bundles of goods tied onto their protesting backs, driven by cursing merchants with whips. The PCs may also see a few foreign merchants, Thrane or Merenae dressed in pseudo-European garments of wool and leather, with silk ruffles at necks and wrists, and carrying short-swords and pistols. The prestigious men and women of the city – the nobles, priests, and wealthy merchants – typically are only seen on slave-borne palanquins with silk hangings to conceal them from the stares of the grubby masses. Such palanquins are escorted by soldiers, and typically preceded by a crier who shouts for people to make way. (A typical shout would be: “Way! Way for Hafez ibn-Samaar, lord of the southern estates, whose feet you are unworthy to kiss! Way! Way!”) The city also contains numerous slaves. Most of these belong to merchants, or are used by the government on construction and other public works, but wealthier citizens also use them as personal servants and concubines. Slaves seen in public are typically men of Yodotai descent – that is, light tan or olive-skinned Caucasians with dark/black hair and eyes. They usually dress in loincloths and sandals, and wear metal collars


around their necks to denote their status. Frequently, they are chained by the wrists or ankles as well. General Atmosphere The GM is encouraged to call upon all the classic images of “Arabian Nights” fiction, such as the legends of Aladdin and Sinbad, in portraying Hijaz el-Asab and its inhabitants. Exotic animals, the odors of strange spices and alien cuisine, unfamiliar wailing music, the babble of a foreign tongue…. All of these are tools for the GM to present this city to the players. To the Caliph’s Palace Once the PCs arrive in Hijaz el-Asab, Kasuga Takuma will lead them toward the caliph’s palace, occasionally asking directions (in Senpet) from soldiers. At the gates of the palace, a pair of soldiers cross their spears before the party and demand to know their business. Takuma introduces himself as “a humble ambassador from the great Empire of Rokugan, come to discuss matters of trade and prosperity with the honorable Jamal ibn-Samar, caliph of Hijaz el-Asab.” The guards discuss this briefly with each other, then summon other guards and servants to escort the PCs into the palace. The interior of the caliph’s palace is a place of polished marble floors, narrow pillars supporting vaulted ceilings, diaphanous silk hangings, and silent slaves. The PCs are led down long echoing hallways by a simpering servant, passing archways that give onto huge interior chambers and gorgeous, sprawling gardens full of bright flowers and exotic animals. The PCs are subjected to sidelong glances and whispers from passing courtiers and servants. Nothing of true significance will happen, however, unless one of the PCs owns, and is wearing, the Doomseeker Amulet from the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar.” In this case, the PCs can roll Perception/Investigation (Notice) at TN 25 to catch a strangely intent glance from a bearded, middle-aged Senpet courtier, dressed in silken robes and jeweled turban, as he walks past in the other direction. The PCs are taken up a sweeping marble staircase, then down a long corridor of polished stone, the walls covered in carved frescoes and hung with silk. Light pours in through narrow windows. The PCs pass several people who appear to be non-Senpet: pale-faced Thrane and Meranae, slim dark-skinned folk from the Ivory Kingdoms. Finally, they are escorted into a set of private chambers, where the servant informs them, in Senpet, that they are “guests of the most splendid caliph.” If they need anything, they need only pull on

the silken rope outside of their room, which will summon a slave. Staying in the Caliph’s Palace The PCs and Kasuga Takuma are placed in a luxurious suite of rooms, complete with strange cushion-like objects called “beds” (quite different from Rokugani futons) and a bathing chamber with a built-in fountain in the center of a large tiled pool. A silk rope hanging by the main door of the suite will summon several quiet, attentive slaves, both male and female, to answer any need. Meals are served four times a day, and snacks and drink are available at any time. The PCs will likely find eating and drinking to be a trial: most meals contain a variety of red meat, as well as strange flavors and spices. (On the other hand, basmati rice is a staple of the diet, which will help somewhat.) Food is generally eaten with the fingers, so unless the PCs brought their own chopsticks (or make some), they will be forced to do so as well. After the first day, Sota the manservant will improvise a new set of chopsticks from local wood. For drinking, tea is not available, but the Senpet do serve a style of thick, sweet coffee (similar to our own “Turkish coffee”) as well as sweet fruit juices and various types of alcoholic beverages, including wines made from grapes or fermented dates. If the PCs explore the palace, they can roam as they wish for the most part. A few areas are restricted and heavily guarded – these include the quarters of high officials like the caliph and his brother, as well as the dungeons and the caliph’s harem (which occupies an entire wing of the palace). The corridor where the PCs are staying is the designated “foreign quarter” of the palace, and the other occupants include a number of diplomats and merchants from the Thrane, the Merenae, various lesser kingdoms from their pesudo-European civilization, the Ivory Kingdoms, and the other successor states of the fractured Senpet Empire. There are even a couple of diplomats from the equally fractured Yodotai civilization. The PCs can speak with these strange people if they wish, although language may be a barrier – all of them do speak Senpet, though. If the PCs try to pump these foreigners for information, they can roll Awareness/Courtier (Gossip) at TN 20. (TN 30 if the PC speaks only the minimal pidgin form


of the Senpet language.) Depending on what the PCs ask, they can pick up the following information: • The PCs can learn the names of the caliph (Jamal),

his vizier (Al-Azaf), and his brother (Kemal). • The caliph depends heavily on the advice of his

vizier, Al-Azar, who assumed this position last year. Those who wish success in court had best win Al-Azar’s support.

• The city is not prosperous, and many chafe at the

caliph’s rule. There are rumors that some have subtly approached the caliph’s brother Kemal about a coup, but he has firmly rejected such overtures.

• The Thrane and Meranae have by far the strongest

trade interests here, and are said to be quite influential throughout the Senpet lands. The ambassadors from other kingdoms regard the representatives of these two nations with a mixture of envy, admiration, and (in many cases) bitter anger.

• Rokugani trade interests here are quite limited, and

deal mostly with the Unicorn. Few here know much about the Empire of Rokugan, and the PCs may encounter some very strange (and highly offensive) myths and falsehoods about their own realm and people.

Audience With the Caliph Two days after Takuma and the PCs arrive in Hijaz el-Asab, a servant brings word that the caliph will be holding an audience that day. They are escorted downstairs and into a huge interior hallway with a high, vaulted roof. Narrow pillars rise on either side, supporting the ceiling, and gauzy silk hangings are suspended between these pillars, stirring lightly in the breeze created by slaves waving palm-frond fans. Senpet nobility in elaborate robes and jeweled headdresses stand about the chamber, attended by simpering servants and attentive slaves. At the head of the chamber is an elevated semi-circular platform topped by a low chair of carved and dark-stained wood. Gloriously colored feathers from some exotic bird rise in a semicircle behind the chair, and a pair of slave-girls kneel to either side, fanning the occupant and offering him snacks and drinks from golden trays.

The Caliph, Jamal ibn-Samar, is a short, plump man with golden-tan skin. His hair and goatee beard are oiled and precisely styled, and bright jeweled rings decorate his swollen fingers. His habitual expression is a mixture of boredom and uncertainty. Standing to the caliph’s right, slightly behind him, is a tall, lean older man with a heavily-lined face, dressed in a tight-fitting robe and with a tightly-wound black turban on his head. He wears an abundance of jewelry, including rings, necklaces, and earrings, and at his belt is a knife in a delicately carved ivory sheath. His teeth are long and very white, and he shows them often in broad smiles. This is the vizier and sorcerer, Al-Azar. PCs who have played the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar” and met Al-Azar can roll Raw Intelligence at TN 15 to recognize him here. To the caliph’s left is a tall young man in silk pantaloons and a gem-encrusted vest, with a splendid curved scimitar at his waist. This is Kemal ibn-Samar, the caliph’s brother. PCs who roll Perception/Investigation at TN 20 notice the underlying bone structure which shows he is related to the caliph, probably a brother or close cousin. A long line of petitioners snakes its way through the hallway, each in turn prostrating himself to the caliph and presenting a request. This sort of ritual will not seem terribly different from courts in Rokugan, but the PCs will notice a significant change: the courtiers waiting to present their petitions openly talk and gossip with each other (albeit at moderate volume), rather than keeping a respectful silence as they would in the Empire. Kasuga Takuma will take advantage of this to ask a few questions about the caliph and the political situation in the city. He will encourage the PCs to do the same. Here again, any PC who speaks Senpet can attempt to pick up gossip here by rolling Awareness/Courtier (Gossip) at TN 20. (TN 30 if the PC speaks only the minimal pidgin form of the language.) General gossip here can pick up the same information as they could find in the foreign quarters: • The PCs can learn the names of the caliph (Jamal),

his vizier (Al-Azar), and his brother (Kemal). • The caliph depends heavily on the advice of his

vizier, Al-Azar, who assumed this position last year. Those who wish success in court had best win Al-Azar’s support.


• The city is not prosperous, and many chafe at the caliph’s rule. There are rumors that some have subtly approached the caliph’s brother Kemal about a coup, but he has firmly rejected such overtures.

If the PCs watch the various courtiers presenting their petitions and requests, they can roll Perception/Investigation at TN 25 to pick up on the following patterns: • Each time someone presents a petition, the caliph

instinctively turns to Al-Azar, who whispers advice in his ear. Most of the petitioners are visibly disappointed when the caliph finally gives his answer.

• The caliph’s brother, Kemal, occasionally speaks

as well, but the caliph does not seem to pay much attention to his words. Kemal presents a stoic face to the court, but a PC who watches him specifically and rolls Awareness/Investigation at TN 20 can sense that he is hostile to Al-Azar.

Eventually, after several hours, the PCs reach the head of the line. Kasuga Takuma bows low and presents several documents, along with a lengthy and flourishing speech in fluent Senpet, which lasts several minutes. Boiled down, the essence of the speech is that the Tortoise Clan seeks to expand trade and commerce with the “glorious Senpet people” by signing a new trade agreement. Once Takuma has finished his speech, the caliph hesitates for a moment, then leans toward the vizier and listens to his whispers for a few moments before replying. “I believe we already have a trade agreement with your land, Kasuga. With the folk who call themselves… Uni-corn? It is so difficult to keep track of these foreign people,” he adds petulantly, looking beseechingly at Al-Azar. Takuma smoothly explains that he has no desire to impinge on the Senpet people’s prosperous trade with the Unicorn Clan. “I speak for a small but prosperous Clan which directly serves our glorious Emperor, the Son of Heaven, Toturi XII. By making a second treaty with us, your people will benefit even more than you do already from your commerce with the Emerald Empire. I am sure this would be most beneficial to your subjects, and it would greatly honor us if you would peruse this document.” He lays a scroll at the feet of the caliph’s throne. “Further, we would be honored to offer you this gift as a token of our respect for you and your people.” He places a small but

beautiful netsuke (gift box) on the step as well, then prostrates himself again. The caliph gestures for a servant to open the box, which proves to be filled with golden jewelry, gleaming pearls, and other glittering baubles. He confers some more with Al-Azar, then clears his throat. “These are certainly very fine gifts, and we are pleased by this tribute from the Caliph of the Rokugans. My vizier inquires as to whether you might also be able to gift us with a certain precious stone found in your lands… something called Ob-sid-yon?” Takuma looks briefly non-plussed, then bows again. “I shall certainly endeavor to see if that can be arranged,” he says neutrally. The caliph gestures dismissal and Takuma retreats with more bows and self-deprecating gestures. With his initial message delivered, Takuma is ready to head back to his quarters. The PCs are free to stay in the audience hall and continue to collect information or watch the dynamics between the caliph and his advisors.

Part Four: Dealing With the Doomseekers

Soon after Takuma finishes his petitioning, a slave will silently approach the PCs. He will not do this within the audience hall, instead waiting until they are in a back hallway or other anonymous location. He prostrates himself and offers a piece of rolled-up parchment to the PCs. (It should be noted that this is true parchment – cured goat-hide – not the rice-paper parchment of Rokugan. Hence touching it will count as touching dead flesh, although the PCs may not realize this unless they pay close attention.) The scroll contains a note from the Doomseeker Ferez (Handout #1). As soon as a PC accepts the note, the slave bows again and hurries away, refusing to answer any questions. He is in fact incapable of doing so – as with many slaves here, his tongue has been removed. “Honored visitors from afar, I greet you in the name of the Beneficent Gods! Although it is unthinkable to interrupt or trouble your visit to our humble land, nevertheless, I beg your indulgence to meet with me briefly this evening, in the second hour after the rising of the Moon, in the outer garden of our lord’s menagerie. The matter concerns the health and prosperity of our land, and I am told that your warriors of Rokugan are men and woman for whom a noble cause is always worthy of courage and energy.


Please, I beg you to permit me a few brief moments of your precious time. Ferez ibn-Zaif, humble servant of the light.” If the PCs show this note to Kasuga Takuma, he will be intrigued. “There seem to be many factions in this strange place,” he remarks. “I would certainly suggest you look into this matter, samurai-samas, although it is not my place to give you orders in such regard.” Meeting in the Menagerie The Menagerie of the Caliph’s palace is a sprawling complex of huge, arched-roof cages, placed between pleasant fountains, tall palm trees, and beds of exotic flowers. Some cages contain fierce animals, tigers and lions, while others hold beautiful birds with astonishing plumage. One exceptionally large cage contains a huge creature with hairless gray skin, giant flaps of ears, a pair of white horns sticking from the corners of its mouth, and a long tentacle-like appendage on its snout – an elephant from the Ivory Kingdoms far to the south. Visitors to the palace are free to wander through these splendid gardens at any hour of the day or night, but by the time the PCs come to visit, late at night, the place is empty. The strange sounds and smells of the exotic animals provide an eerie backdrop as the PCs wait for their mysterious visitor. The visitor, Ferez, is a thin bearded man in early middle age, dressed in silken robes, white pantaloons, and a tightly-wound jeweled turban. A simple knife is tucked under his wide silk belt. PCs who wore the Doomseeker amulet may have noticed him earlier. He bows to the PCs and thanks them for meeting him in a low, serious voice. He speaks Rokugani fluently, albeit with a thick exotic accent. “I greet you, foreign warriors, in the name of all that is good. My name is Ferez ibn-Zaif, and I am a servant of Prince Kemal, brother to our Caliph, may the sun shine upon him. I seek your help, brave foreigners, to deal with a terrible evil which threatens our Caliph.” Ferez is one of the Doomseekers. If any PC acquired the Doomseeker Amulet in the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar,” he will nod to them and say, “Some of you have already shown yourselves to be potential allies in the struggle against evil.” Ferez wants the PCs to help him deal with the threat of Al-Azar. “This man is what we know as a khadi – a foul sorcerer, who has removed the heart from his own body so that his life can never be taken. He has enthralled our beloved Caliph, made him into his slave, so that his own power grows ever stronger.

Soon all in our land will be his slaves. Prince Kemal knows the truth of this, for he has long been a friend to our order, but he cannot act directly. He has sworn loyalty to his brother the caliph, and his brother has forbidden him to take any action against this monster Al-Azar. Further, he is watched at all times by the vizier’s agents, so it is most difficult for him even to speak with those of our order. You, however, have only just arrived in our poor city, and Al-Azar has not yet marked you as enemies.” It is up to the PCs to decide whether to help Ferez. If they ask additional questions, he will answer as best he can – as a Doomseeker, he is intensely honorable, and will tell them the truth to the best of his ability. • If the PCs ask for more information on Al-Azar,

Ferez scowls. “The khadi are a secret order of sorcerers – you might call them maho-tsukai, although their magic does not use blood. Long ago they learned the art of removing their hearts, so that their bodies do not die. There are tales in our order that some of your own people learned this art as well, particularly one you called Bloodspeaker.” PCs who hear this story can roll Intelligence/Lore: History at TN 20 or Lore: Bloodspeakers (or similar) at TN 15 to recognize this as a reference to Iuchiban.

• If the PCs ask for more information on Ferez’

organization, he nods and pulls out a small golden amulet from beneath his clothes. “We are called the Doomseekers. Our order has endured in secret for hundreds of years, sworn to bring death to the deathless. Often we have suffered bitter defeats, but we endure, and those of honor, such as Prince Kemal, know of our worth.” He will let the PCs look at the amulet if they wish. It is a small thin disc of gold, carved around the edges with the delicate, sinuous writing of the Senpet. At the center is a tiny, stylized bas-relief which can be identified, with a Raw Perception roll at TN 20, as a human heart. If the PC can actually read Senpet, or ask for a translation, they can learn the writing appears to be a prayer to the Senpet gods, calling down curses on “those who walk without souls.” PCs who acquired a Doomseeker amulet in “Charge of the Baraunghar” will recognize this as a very similar item.

• PCs who played the adventure “Charge of the

Baraunghar” may recall being attacked by the Doomseekers at the secret meeting with Al-Azar. If they mention this, Ferez nods and bows deeply. “We knew that sorcerer was trying to share his


forbidden knowledge with someone from your land. We could not slay Al-Azar, but we could at least try to stop him from creating another of his kind. It is a regrettable accident that you were present when our warriors struck. We had no wish to slay innocents.”

If the PCs agree to help Ferez, he will explain what he wants. The Doomseekers have been searching for years for Al-Azar’s hidden heart, and they now believe he is actually keeping it in his quarters here in the caliph’s palace. Unfortunately, the Doomseekers have only one agent within the palace – Ferez himself. Prince Kemal, of course, cannot act against Al-Azar without breaking his oaths of loyalty to the caliph, and since Ferez is in the palace as a guest of the prince, for him to act directly would endanger the Doomseekers’ only ally. “If we could bring some of our own into the palace, of course, we would not hesitate to strike at Al-Azar’s chambers. But it is impossible to get any of our people inside this place now that the caliph is enthralled by this accursed Al-Azar, may the jackals eat his bones. I alone am able to remain, in the guise of an advisor to Prince Kemal.” The PCs, as presumably ignorant outsiders, are not considered a threat by Al-Azar and can therefore move more-or-less freely within the palace. Ferez wants them to enter Al-Azar’s chambers, locate the hidden heart, and destroy it. “I will be joining Prince Kemal and the rest of the caliph’s courtiers in his gardens tomorrow night, for dinner and music. Of course the cursed Al-Azar will be present as well, in his role as vizier. With all of the notables of our city in one place, this will allow you the chance to act without notice.” • If the PCs ask for a description of the hidden heart,

Ferez shrugs. “It is a human heart, of normal form. But it is alive, despite being removed from the body. It is written that such hearts may even appear to beat.” He has never seen one in person himself.

• Ferez can tell the PCs where the vizier’s quarters

are: in the bottom two floors of one of the palace’s outer towers. “The doors will doubtless be locked and barred, but he does not keep other guards. At least not mortal ones. There may be dangerous forces within his chambers, for he is a master of dark magics.”

• If the PCs mention Kasuga Takuma or their

mission here in Hijaz el-Asab, Ferez will nod with sympathy. “Of course, we know you are here for

worldly reasons that have nothing to do with us or our order. We seek your help only because we have no other choice. I would suggest you not speak of this matter with your superior, this man Kasuga Takuma. He is here to deal only in worldly matters, and might find this task to not be in his best interests.” He will not openly suggest that Takuma is untrustworthy.

If the PCs ultimately agree to help the Doomseekers, Ferez will pull out another small golden pendant and give it to them. Like his own, it is a small thin disc of gold, carved around the edges with the delicate, sinuous writing of the Senpet. At the center is a tiny, stylized bas-relief which can be identified, with a Raw Perception roll at TN 20, as a human heart. The pendant does not seem to have any special properties, and there are no kami in it for shugenja to speak with. If the PC can actually read Senpet, or ask for a translation, they can learn the writing appears to be a prayer to the Senpet gods, calling down curses on “those who walk without souls.” • PCs who acquired a Doomseeker amulet in

“Charge of the Baraunghar” will recognize this as a very similar item.

Ferez will tell the PCs this amulet has been blessed by the Doomseeker order, and can offer them some brief, meager protection against the power of the khadi. A shugenja will not be able to sense any magical effect on the amulet, however – Senpet magic works in a very different manner than Rokugani invocations of the spirits, and the two are not compatible. Once one of the PCs accepts the amulet, Ferez tells them to bring the heart to him as soon as they leave Al-Azar’s quarters. “To destroy one of these accursed hearts is no simple matter, for they are bound with many enchantments and wards. I have studied the rituals needed to destroy it.” If the PCs point out that this will mean bringing the heart to the garden dinner where Al-Azar is present, Ferez nods. “Indeed, that is a risk, but a small one. Al-Azar must maintain his appearance as our caliph’s vizier, and cannot easily leave his side. And if his final doom comes to him in that place, where all can see… so much the better.” Advice from Takuma The PCs may decide to disregard Ferez’ advice and speak with Kasuga Takuma about the Doomseeker’s request. He will not be pleased with the PCs getting drawn into “gaijin politics” and will urge them to stay out of the matter. If the PCs express any intention of


going on to perform the mission anyway, he will sigh and urge them to be discreet. “If anything happens to you, if you are discovered, it could not only utterly ruin my mission here, but possibly lead to war. I have no authority to command you in this matter, but I urge you to avoid entanglements with the local politics. These gaijin barbarians cannot be trusted in such matters.” If Takuma feels the PCs are seriously likely to compromise his mission here, he will actually consider trying to get a subtle warning to Al-Azar that the PCs have been roped into a conspiracy against him. See “Part Five: The Vizier’s Chambers” for details of what this will mean if and when the PCs go ahead with the mission. Takuma is a skilled deceiver and will not give the PCs clues to his intention of warning Al-Azar. Any PC who tries to see his true intentions must defeat his Awareness/Deceit (Lying) with their Perception/Investigation (Interrogation). Note that Takuma gets a benefit from Benten’s Blessing on social rolls. Investigating the Vizier Some PCs may wish to try to find out more about the vizier Al-Azar on their own, or perhaps even follow him around the palace. PCs who speak Senpet (not pidgin, real Senpet) can learn more about Al-Azar by rolling Awareness/Courtier (Gossip) at TN 25. This unearths the following rumors and tales: • Al-Azar is rumored to be a sorcerer, although there

is no concrete proof of such a thing. Those who speak out against him openly have a tendency to soon depart the court, or to die of illness or accident. Indeed, the previous vizier died of the “bloody flux” (some sort of illness which frequently strikes Hijaz El-Asab’s lower classes, but seldom affects the nobility).

• Al-Azar is usually accompanied outside the court

by his faithful slave-bodyguard, a man of Yodotai blood. Rumor claims there have been several attempts to suborn or bribe the slave, all of them unsuccessful.

• There are a few stories claiming the vizier has

shown an unnatural knowledge of events far away, or of secret meetings between the caliph’s enemies.

None of these stories has concrete evidence to back it up, however.

If the PCs actively follow Al-Azar away from court, they will note he is indeed always accompanied by a silent Yodotai slave, dressed only in a loincloth, with an iron collar around his neck. PCs who played the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar” may have seen this slave before. He never speaks – his tongue has been removed. If a PC actually speaks directly with Al-Azar away from the court, he is a very friendly man, with a broad toothy grin that Rokugani will find unsettling. He never stops smiling, even if the PCs say something he finds offensive, and he is quite impossible to threaten – as a khadi, he is immortal, and fears nothing. • If any PCs speak to him about his previous

contacts with the Empire, especially his meeting with Miya Hanzu in the adventure “Charge of the Baraunghar,” he will shrug it off. “Surely there is no harm in the scholars of two mighty kingdoms sharing their knowledge?” He will not discuss what “knowledge” was shared.

• If a PC mentions the Doomseekers (or specifically

Ferez), he will smile even more broadly. “Doomseekers? Some superstitious faction, no doubt. Do not some of your own people suffer from such delusions from time to time? Groups called ‘Bloodspeakers’ or ‘Gozoku’? I would warn you against putting too much trust in such regrettable individuals.” Speaking to Al-Azar on this topic will have the same effect as his receiving a warning from Kasuga Takuma – see Part Five, below, for details.

Part Five: The Vizier’s Chambers

If the PCs agree to seek Al-Azar’s heart, their best chance will be on the following evening, when the caliph hosts a dinner and celebration in the palace gardens. Some of the more prominent foreigners in the palace will be invited to this event, including Kasuga Takuma, but undistinguished visitors like the PCs will not receive personal invitations (PCs who wish to attend can do so as Takuma’s attendants). This will leave them free to try to slip in to Al-Azar’s chambers. The vizier inhabits the bottom two floors of one of the palace’s outer towers. A staircase circles around the outer edge of the tower to a single door that faces out


toward the river, offering a splendid view of the pyramid on the far side. This is normally an open and quite visible location, albeit seldom visited by anyone but the vizier himself. After nightfall, however, it is dark and remote, the only light coming from the reflections of the moon and stars in the great river. The caliph’s party is held in the palace’s main gardens, elsewhere in the vast complex. The PCs will be able to see a glow of lights from behind the intervening walls, and can hear distant laughter and the twang and thrum of exotic music. The entrance to the vizier’s chambers, at the head of the half-circle of stairs, is a heavy iron-bound wooden door, more like a small castle gate to Rokugani eyes, with a large brass handle and keyhole. It opens inward (no hinges on the PCs’ side). The lock can be picked with a roll of Agility/Locksmith at TN 25. Alternatively, the PCs can try to bash the door open. • Simply hitting the door with a shoulder-slam or a

kick will require a roll of Strength/Athletics at TN 30 (up to three PCs can combine their efforts).

• A dai tsuchi or tetsubo can be used to bash down

the door by rolling Strength/(Weapon Skill) at TN 30.

• Either of these options will make considerable

noise, which may concern the PCs – if they do this without taking precautions (such as using spells like Quiescence of Air to suppress the noise), they will be overheard, and Al-Azar will quickly send his slave to investigate.

• Magic can also potentially be used to break

through the door, in a variety of ways. The GM must adjudicate such efforts, but in general, a creative approach to the use of magic should succeed.

If the PCs look for an indirect route into the vizier’s chambers, a Perception/Investigation roll at TN 10 will notice a pair of narrow windows about fifteen feet above them, in the second level of the tower. A PC can climb up the tower’s outer surface to these windows by rolling Agility/Athletics (Climbing) at TN 35 – failure means a fall for 2k2 damage. Climbing gear such as steel claws will allow at least one Free Raise on the roll, possibly more if the PCs use high-quality gear or clever ideas (such as a strong PC boosting up a light one). Spells such as Hands of Clay will also allow a PC to reach the windows. Alternatively, they can throw up a grapple hook with a roll of

Agility/Athletics at TN 25, or shoot an arrow with a rope through a window with a Reflexes/Kyujutsu roll at TN 30. • Due to the narrowness of the windows, normal or

Small PCs in Heavy Armor, or Large PCs with any kind of armor, will not be able to squeeze through.

The First Floor The first floor of Al-Azar’s quarters is a single large circular chamber, the walls and floor covered in gorgeous woven rugs and embroidered tapestries. The bright colors and complex patterns will be quite strange and confusing to Rokugani eyes. Several tables are covered in various scrolls, gaijin books, and sheets of paper and parchment, along with tall thin candles, small copper oil lamps, quill pens, pottery bottles of dark ink, and other writing and reading supplies, all likewise quite strange to the PCs. There are several shelves along the walls containing assortments of scrolls and gaijin-style bound books. There is also a variety of other furnishings, including folding wooden chairs, small round tables, a pair of copper braziers (with small amounts of charcoal smoldering in one of them), and a large hookah of brass and glass. Hidden behind a silk curtain is a plain straw sleeping pallet and a chamber-pot – this is where the slave stays when not needed by his master. Against one wall is a beautifully carved wooden staircase that circles up to the second floor. The ground floor is essentially Al-Azar’s “public” room, where he meets with occasional visitors, and thus contains nothing truly damning – although the PCs may still find it an unsettling place. The scrolls and books here are written in a wide variety of languages, and include not only Senpet works on history, alchemy, myth, poetry, and religion, but also Thrane and Meranae scientific and mathematical works, Ivory Kingdoms art and legend, and even a few Rokugani works on history and philosophy. Anyone who can read at least two of the languages here can review the scrolls and books and, after about a half-hour, roll Intelligence/Calligraphy at TN 25 to recognize there is nothing here about sorcery or forbidden magic… although a broad-minded scholar would probably find this collection quite inspiring. However, if the PCs specifically search for scrolls or papers in Rokugani, they can roll Perception/Investigation (Notice) at TN 25 to discover a folded piece of rice paper tucked inside a Rokugani scroll-book (a treatise on lotus flowers). This letter is Handout #2.


The Second Floor The upper floor of Al-Azar’s quarters is divided into two chambers. The staircase and both of the exterior windows give access to a bedchamber, which occupies the front half of the floor. The bedchamber is dominated by a large silk-covered bed of elaborate design. A wooden chamber-pot sits next to it. There are also two carved wooden closets housing a variety of expensive garments. Like the room downstairs, this place is abundantly decorated with woven rugs, tapestries, silk hangings, and other elaborate decorations. The scent of jasmine hangs in the air, delivered from a copper bowl containing several sticks of incense. The room also contains several candles and oil lamps, but when the PCs arrive, only a single oil lamp is lit, giving the room a muted yellow light. A heavy wooden door controls access to the inner chamber, Al-Azar’s laboratory. There is a small round wooden table, about one foot wide and waist-high, next to the door, and sitting atop that table is a piece of polished black wood carved in the form of a life-size human skull. There is nothing of inherent interest in this chamber except for the skull. Any shugenja who casts Sense here will discover powerful spirits locked into the skull, but will be unable to communicate with them via Commune or any other magic – the PCs are dealing here with alien Senpet sorcery, which does not conform to the rules of the Rokugani magical system. The Djinni Appears If the PCs try to break or remove the skull, or if they open the door which leads to the laboratory, a bizarre event ensues: Suddenly a thick, unnatural blue-black smoke begins to boil out of the eyes of the black skull. The smoke swirls up, writhing like a living thing, and fills the room, blinding you. Almost as quickly as it appeared, the smoke pulls away, as though it is being sucked inward. Within seconds it coalesces into the form of a slim, beautiful Senpet woman, dressed in diaphanous silken garments and wearing a jeweled veil which covers the lower half of her face without concealing her unnaturally perfect features. She holds a thick, broad-bladed curved sword in her right hand, like a scimitar but far thicker and heavier. If a PC tries to react to this event with magic or physical efforts (such as trying to blow away the smoke), their actions have no effect.

This being is Sufiya, a djinii, enslaved by Al-Azar. She speaks all human languages with unnatural perfection and clarity, and is quite courteous and polite to the PCs. Her speaking voice is clear and beautiful, more beautiful than any mortal voice can be. She will explain that her master cannot allow anyone to trouble the serenity of his quarters, and requests the PCs to leave. If they refuse, she bows and apologizes for their pain before attacking. The heavy sword in her hand moves as lightly as a feather, and cuts through steel and bone as easily as paper. Sufiya is a challenging enemy, and PCs who are casual, sloppy, or unlucky in fighting her, or who lack overall combat power, can easily lose their lives. As a being of magical power, she is highly resistant to both spells and mundane attacks, and jade has no effect on her at all. Her sword, meanwhile, cuts through armor and other Carapace effects without hesitation. If she is disarmed, the sword instantly vanishes and she takes a Simple Action to form a new one in her hand. It is possible, however, to defeat Sufiya without combat. If a PC speaks with her about her duties to her master, she explains that she cannot allow anyone into his laboratory (the word does not translate directly into Rokugani – in that language she renders it as “library of wisdom”) unless they defeat her. A clever PC may realize that “defeat” has many meanings, and could potentially include besting her at a game like Go or Shogi, winning a contest of riddles, or even winning a gambling game like Fortunes and Winds. If a PC challenges her in this way, she will accept, and will use her power as a djinni to summon up any playing pieces or other materials needed. A few specific guidelines to such challenges: • If a PC challenges Sufiya to an Iaijutsu duel, she

will accept. She can perform an Iaijutsu duel despite her lack of a Void Ring – she simply uses one of her other Traits. She is considered to have an Iaijutsu Skill Rank of 4.

• Sufiya should be considered as having a Skill Rank

of 2 in any other skill used in a challenge, such as Games: Go, Wrestling, or Sadane.

• Sufiya will accept only one challenge from each

PC. If a PC attempts to issue a second challenge, she politely informs him/her, “You have already had your chance, I am sorry.”

If Sufiya is defeated – either in straightforward combat or with some other method – she seems to somehow “step back” from the plane of reality where the PCs


stand, bows to them, and then vanishes. The black skull shatters into a cloud of small particles that scatter across the floor. • If Al-Azar got warning of trouble, either from

Kasuga Takuma or from talkative PCs, Sufiya will have gotten more aggressive instructions. She will proclaim “you shall pay the price for daring to trouble my master” and immediately attacks, without any other preamble or conversation. In this situation the PCs will not be able to defeat her with a non-combat challenge.

The Laboratory Once the PCs have dealt with Sufiya, one way or the other, they are free to go through the door into Al-Azar’s laboratory. A strange sight awaits them: The other half of this floor is occupied by a room which you find difficult to comprehend. You can identify shelves of wood, and many of the shelves are packed with a mixture of scrolls and the strange rectangular paper-bindings that gaijin use in place of proper scrolls. Other shelves display small containers, boxes and pottery jars and strange-shaped vessels of clear crystal. A table on one side of the room is covered with similar objects, and you can see that the crystal containers house all manner of things, from colored liquids and powders to small animals and large insects, some clearly dead but others just as clearly alive. In the center of the floor, the polished smooth stone has been marred by a circular pattern in colored powder and charcoal, with strange symbols written around its edges. On the far side of the chamber is a trio of the metal braziers which the Senpet seem to use for heat and cooking – smoke coils up from glowing coals in one of them, while the other two are cold. Light comes from ten tall, thin candles placed in a bizarre multi-armed metal holder, like some strange golden octopus, and the air is full of heavy, alien odors. Although this scene will be utterly strange to the PCs, the players should realize they are in a sorcerer’s laboratory. The GM should feel free to expand and embellish the details of this place as much as desired, for the purpose of unsettling and creeping out the PCs. Possible things to find could include: • The powders and liquids stored in the various

containers could include a wide variety of drugs and hallucinogens, including opium, hashish, and the mysterious “Crimson Flower” Thrane drug, as

well as simpler things like spices, perfumes, sticks of colored wax or incense, etc.

• Some of the living creatures kept in glass bottles

include beetles, tarantulas, mice, centipedes, frogs and snakes (some of them poisonous), bats, and birds.

• Some of the closed objects (small boxes and

caskets, pottery jars, etc) contain preserved human bones, both whole and powdered, as well as desiccated or embalmed pieces of human flesh.

• One large glass bottle contains a human eye, to all

appearances alive, suspended in a clear fluid. It floats around to look at anyone who enters the chamber. If a PC shatters the glass or dumps out its contents, the fluid proves to be a shockingly foul-smelling alchemical solution, and the exposed eye almost instantly decomposes into gray slime.

• Some pottery bottles and metal containers are

stoppered with wax seals, imprinted with mysterious sigils. These contain various types of djinn and other dangerous spirits – opening one of them leads to chaos, as the freed spirit wreaks havoc on the laboratory before fleeing with echoing laughter. This will alert Al-Azar to intruders in his quarters.

• On one shelf is a clear crystal globe mounted on a

golden stand. A mist or fog seems to swirl inside the ball. The players may recognize this as a crystal ball, although their characters will likely have no idea what it is. The gaijin magic required to use it is beyond their understanding, but curious PCs will notice that the surface of the ball is always cold to the touch, and the clouds inside seem to become agitated whenever someone touches the ball or stares into it.

Any shugenja can tell that magical power has been used in this room many times – the spirits are intensely agitated. However, if someone Communes with the spirits here, they find it difficult to learn anything. Senpet magic bypasses the spirits to control the elements directly, an experience which leaves the kami confused and upset, unable to explain clearly what happened. Furthermore, Al-Azar has warded his chambers against magical scrying, so the spirits will find it extremely difficult to speak clearly to the PCs about anything – they will generally be reduced to complaining about constantly being “used” and “controlled,” and being unable to act as they wish.


• If a shugenja specifically asks the spirits to locate a heart, they will be unable to answer – since Al-Azar keeps his heart inside a warded box, the spirits are not aware of its presence.

In order to find Al-Azar’s heart, the PCs will have to search this chamber carefully. A roll of Perception/Investigation at TN 25 will locate a locked iron box hidden behind several other items on one of the shelves. The box is covered in a mixture of strange mystical symbols and the sinuous Senpet script – the latter can be translated, by a PC who reads Senpet, as calling down curses on anyone who disturbs the box. • Since the box is hidden, it can also be located with

the spell By the Light of Lady Moon. Inside the Box The box has a key-hole in the front, and can be opened with a roll of Agility/Locksmith at TN 25. Alternatively, it can be broken open with a physical blow – Agility/(Weapon Skill) at TN 20 – or wrenched open by sheer strength (Raw Strength at TN 25). The PCs can also potentially break it open by dropping/hurling it from a height. • Magic cannot be used to open the box, or even to

look inside of it – it has been warded against such effects.

The Curse: If the PCs open the box (with any method), a thick cloud of foul-smelling smoke rushes out, momentarily blinding and choking them. The PCs briefly feel a chilling and unnatural sensation of cold, clammy hands sliding over their skin, probing at their eyes and mouths. The smoke disperses within moments, leaving the PCs with a lingering sense of uncleanness. All PCs within an arm’s reach of the box when it is opened must roll Raw Void at TN 20 to resist the unnatural magical effects of Al-Azar’s curse. • If the PCs have the blessed Doomseeker amulet

from Ferez, the PC who is carrying the amulet gets +1k1 on this roll, and the other PCs get +1k0 on the roll.

• PCs who have the Magic Resistance advantage

receive a number of Free Raises on the roll equal to their Ranks in the Advantage.

PCs who fail the Void roll will be afflicted with Al-Azar’s Curse (cert). The curse takes effect immediately.

The Heart: Inside the box is a lining of silk, and nestled within the silk is a reddish-gray human heart. Although seemingly dead (and cold to the touch, if a PC dishonors himself by touching dead flesh), the heart still beats with a slow, steady measure, and refuses to putrefy. Al-Azar’s heart is not Tainted – the magic which he uses, while certainly vile, does not call upon the power of Jigoku. The heart is imbued with a great variety of powerful sorcerous protections, and normally cannot be physically destroyed without the secret rituals known to the order of Doomseekers. An extremely powerful shugenja – Insight Rank 6 or higher – could potentially overwhelm the protections and destroy the heart, as Isawa Sezaru did during the time of the Four Winds, but such capabilities are beyond the ken of PCs. Normally, a physical attack, even one carried out with a spell or a jade or crystal weapon, will do no perceptible damage to the heart. However, there is one exception: an obsidian weapon will damage the heart, cutting permanent wounds into its unnaturally-preserved flesh. Repeatedly cutting the heart with an obsidian weapon will destroy it. The Slave Arrives The box has been enchanted to warn Al-Azar if anyone meddles with it. He will immediately dispatch his loyal slave to investigate. He will also send his slave to investigate if the PCs made a lot of noise getting into the tower. The slave will arrive after about five minutes, so the GM should keep track of what the PCs do after they do something to attract him (smashing the door or finding the box). If they leave within a very short time, especially if they avoid making noise at the door and then leave immediately after they find the box, they will most likely avoid the slave altogether. If they dither for a short time, they will probably encounter the slave outside the vizier’s quarters. If they linger (if they spend time searching both floors after smashing open the doors, or if they find the box and spend considerable time trying to open it or trying to destroy the heart inside), he will arrive while they are still inside. The slave is directly controlled by Al-Azar, who is able to see and hear through his senses and control his actions like a puppet, as well as casting spells through his body. (See the slave’s description in Appendix #1 for details of his full capabilities when Al-Azar is controlling him.) The khadi will endeavor to use these


abilities to destroy the PCs. The slave has no personality or self-will of his own – his identity has been completely subsumed by Al-Azar – and he will show no reaction to pain or injury, continuing to fight and channel his master’s sorcerous powers until he is literally cut to pieces. The slave’s unnatural behavior is quite chilling, and once the PCs realize what is happening, they should be subjected to a Fear 3 (TN 15) check. • If a PC is wearing the Doomseeker amulet from

Ferez, that amulet will absorb and negate one of Al-Azar’s spells directed at that PC. The amulet flashes with a bright light and then melts, leaving a glob of blackened, crusted stone in place of the former beautiful gold.

Assuming the PCs manage to destroy the slave, they will be able to leave Al-Azar’s quarters without any further interruption – the vizier has ordered the castle guards to stay away from his chambers, and they are fearful enough of his power to obey even if sounds of battle emerge.

Conclusion: Fate of Al-Azar’s Heart

If the PCs do succeed in locating Al-Azar’s heart, and remove it from his quarters, they will have to decide what to do with it. Most likely, the PCs will deliver the heart to Ferez the Doomseeker at the caliph’s garden party. Ferez’s eyes light up and he immediately speaks a long incantation over the heart in an unknown tongue. When the incantation is finished, he pulls out a small knife and plunges it into the heart. If any of the PCs are watching Al-Azar at his place by the caliph’s side, they see the sorcerer begin looking around with an alarmed expression. Then he suddenly clutches his chest and staggers toward Ferez, screeching and pointing one long, bony finger. The crowd turns to follow the pointing gesture and witnesses Ferez holding up the stabbed heart. Al-Azar’s eyes roll up in his head and he topples forward, dead before he strikes the ground. The caliph will stare in confusion at this bizarre incident, but his brother Kemal will step forward and take control of the situation. “As I long warned you, my brother, this man was not to be trusted. We should all be grateful that his vile ways have been exposed.” He nods respectfully to Ferez and the PCs.

Other Options If the PCs have an obsidian weapon, they may be able to destroy the heart themselves. If this happens, Al-Azar will still die, although depending on where and when the PCs act, the caliph’s court may remain ignorant of what truly happened. Ferez and Kemal will still know the truth, of course, and Ferez will covertly meet with the PCs and thank them for their efforts. The PCs may also decide, for whatever reason, to deliver the heart to Ferez somewhere other than the garden party. In this case he will perform the ritual immediately, skipping the chance for public exposure in order to be certain of killing the sorcerer. Unwise PCs may decide to confront Al-Azar themselves, perhaps in hope of getting the “credit” for killing him, or even hoping to bribe or control him in some way. None of this will succeed unless the PCs have an obsidian weapon, in which case brandishing it can force the sorcerer to back down. These sort of unusual situations will have to be adjudicated by the GM on a case-by-case basis. In general, Al-Azar will not tolerate anyone else controlling his heart, and will try to find some way of destroying these interlopers without endangering himself. His sorcerous power is immense – when acting directly, rather than through his slave, he can gruesomely destroy one PC per round with his magic, but he will only do this in private where others cannot witness his true nature. The Gratitude of the Doomseekers If the PCs successfully retrieved the heart and Al-Azar was destroyed, Ferez will meet with the PCs again several days later, this time joining them for a stroll along the banks of the river. He thanks them for their key assistance in helping his order bring down one of the hated khadi. “Sadly, this Al-Azar is not the only abomination to cheat death by removing his heart. The temptation of immortality always leads some down the path of evil, and our order must stand against them.” Ferez will gift each of the PCs with a non-enchanted Doomseeker amulet (in the unlikely event that the blessed amulet survived the adventure, however, he will take it back). If the PCs suggest that a khadi may be inside the Empire, or ask for the Doomseekers’ help and wisdom, Ferez will offer to teach them the ritual required to destroy a khadi’s heart. The PCs will have to spend 1 XP in order to memorize this ritual, however.


Finally, the conversation finished, Ferez bows and touches his forehead with one hand in a gesture of gratitude and blessing. “You will always have friends among the Doomseekers, noble foreigners.” All of the PCs gain the advantage Allies: Doomseekers. Returning to the Empire Eventually, Kasuga Takuma will complete his negotiations and be ready to return to Rokugan. If the PCs did not deal with Al-Azar, Takuma’s negotiations will be largely successful, and he will depart after two weeks in a cheerful mood. He will not say much to the PCs about what he has negotiated – most of the later discussions were private, and he keeps their outcome close to his chest. If (as is more likely) the PCs did retrieve and destroy the heart, Takuma’s negotiations are less successful, as Kemal urges his brother to focus on helping his people rather than making trade agreements with foreigners. Takuma leaves after three weeks, in a gloomy and irritable mood. Either way, Takuma and the PCs must return across the desert to Rokugan. The die rolls to locate the oasis and resist the effects of dehydration are the same as before, but the PCs now gain a Free Raise on each roll, reflecting both their greater familiarity with the terrain, and their greater understanding of what supplies are needed. Mercifully, the return trip is not harassed by Naar Teban or beduin bandits, and after three weeks (assuming they made their rolls) the PCs reach the Empire safely.

Rewards for Completing the Adventure

At the end of the scenario, any PCs with Shadowlands Taint must make a Simple Earth roll with a TN of 5 + (5 x Taint Rank). If the roll is failed, the PC acquires one additional point of Taint. Experience Points Playing through the adventure: 1 XP Good role-playing: +1 XP PCs survive the desert crossing: +1 XP PCs defeat Sufiya the djinn: +1 XP PCs ensure the destruction of the Heart: +1 XP Total Possible Experience: 5 XP

Other Awards/Penalties If the PCs successfully retrieved Al-Azar’s heart for the Doomseekers, each of them receives a Doomseeker amulet and the advantage Allies: Doomseekers. In addition, PCs who asked for help and choose to spend 1 XP may learn the Doomseeker ritual to destroy a khadi’s heart. PCs who failed to resist Al-Azar’s magical protections on the box containing his heart have gained his Curse (certed effect).


Appendix: NPCs and Creatures Kasuga Takuma, Tortoise Clan Emissary

FIRE 2 AIR 3 Intelligence 4

Awareness 4

EARTH 3 WATER 2 Willpower 4 Perception 4

VOID 4 TN to be Hit: 18 School/Rank: Tortoise Courtier 3 Rank One: May roll an extra die with all Low Skills, and is never considered unskilled with Low Skills. Rank Two: Any time anyone makes an Opposed Courtier or Investigation roll against him, he can roll

extra dice equal to School Rank. If the opponent fails, he does not know he failed. Rank Three: Any Opposed Social Roll which would cause him to lose Honor costs the opponent an equal

amount of Honor. He may use his School Rank in place of his Honor when making Tests of Honor. Honor/Glory/Status: 1.3/2.0/3.5 Skills: Calligraphy 3, Commerce 4, Courtier 5, Deceit (Lying) 5, Defense 3, Etiquette (Sincerity) 5, Horsemanship (Camels) 3, Investigation 2, Medicine 1, Meditation 3, Stealth (Shadowing) 1, Underworld 3. Mastery Abilities: Free Raise with Courtier, Deceit, and Etiquette. May add Defense Skill Ranks to TN to be Hit unless unaware/immobile. Advantages/Disadvantages: Benten’s Blessing, Languages (Senpet, literate), Servants, Social Position (ambassador)/Lechery (rank 1) Equipment: Wakizashi, tanto, sturdy box with lock (contains gifts for the caliph), courtly dress, traveling kimono, sandals, traveling pack, steed (camel), 30 koku. Naar Teban, Fire Snakes

FIRE 4 AIR 3

Reflexes 4

EARTH 3 WATER 3 Strength 4

AKASHA 3 [Akasha Points function in the same manner as Void Points.] TN to be Hit: 25 Attacks: 8k4 Damage: 7k3 (scimitar) Carapace Armor: 3 Wounds: 8 Wounds per Rank (Wound Ranks as per human) Special Ability, Consuming Flame: May spend an Akasha point (as a Use Special Abilities action) to breath out a toxic “consuming flame” which is a 15’ cone. Those in the area of effect must roll Raw Reflexes at TN 25 or be burned for 4k4 Wounds. Jafar the Beduin

FIRE 3 AIR 3 Agility 4

Reflexes 4

EARTH 4 WATER 3


Strength 4

VOID 2 TN to be Hit: 27 School/Rank: Beduin Warrior (Insight Rank 3) Technique: The Beduin are adept at striking with the lethal swiftness of a desert viper, so that their foes

will fall before the fight has even begun. They keep all rolled dice on Initiative. In addition, they add their Air ring to their TN to be Hit.

Honor/Status/Glory: 0.3/na/na Skills: Animal Handling (Camels) 3, Athletics 3, Commerce 3, Deceit (Intimidation) 3, Defense 4, Horsemanship (Camel) 4, Hunting (Survival) 4, Jiujutsu 3, Kenjutsu (Scimitar) 4, Knives 3, Stealth 2, Storytelling 4, Underworld 1. Mastery Abilities: Add Defense skill rank to TN to be Hit. Rolls an extra die for unarmed combat damage. May use Full Attack and Full Defense while mounted. Advantages/Disadvantages: Strength of the Earth (rank 1)/Bad Reputation (beduin bandit), Cruel, Social Disadvantage (gaijin). Equipment: Beduin clothing, scimitar (3k2), dagger (1k1), waterskin, camel, purse with 1 koku in Rokugani money and 2 koku in Senpet money. Beduin Bandits (interchangeable)


Reflexes 3

EARTH 2 WATER 2 Strength 3

VOID 2 TN to be Hit: 19 School/Rank: Beduin Warrior (Insight Rank 1) Technique: The Beduin are adept at striking with the lethal swiftness of a desert viper, so that their foes

will fall before the fight has even begun. They keep all rolled dice on Initiative. In addition, they add their Air ring to their TN to be Hit.

Honor/Status/Glory: 0.3/na/na Skills: Animal Handling (Camels) 2, Athletics 3, Commerce 2, Deceit (Intimidation) 1, Defense 3, Horsemanship (Camel) 3, Hunting (Survival) 2, Jiujutsu 1, Kenjutsu (Scimitar) 2, Knives 2, Stealth 1, Storytelling 2, Underworld 1. Mastery Abilities: Add Defense skill rank to TN to be Hit. May use Full Attack and Full Defense while mounted. Advantages/Disadvantages: Bad Reputation (beduin bandit), Social Disadvantage (gaijin). Equipment: Beduin clothing, scimitar (3k2), dagger (1k1), waterskin, camel, purse with 1 koku in Senpet money. Sufiya the Djinni

FIRE 5 AIR 5

EARTH 4 WATER 4

[Sufiya is considered to be Insight Rank 3 for the purposes of Initiative and other Insight-based effects.]

TN to be Hit: 30 Attacks: 9k5 (and ignores armor) Damage: 7k2 (and ignores carapace and other damage reducing effects) Carapace Armor: 2


Wounds: 40: +5; 80: Dead. Special Abilities: Djinn Sword (ignores armor, carapace, and all magical damage reduction effects), Djinn Qualities (takes half damage from all physical attacks except crystal and obsidian weapons), Magic Resistance (Rank Three, +15 to TN of all spells cast against her), Mental Immunities (immune to all mind-affecting/mind-controlling magic, skills, and techniques, including spells and Intimidation attempts). Al-Azar’s Slave This poor fellow is not so much a person as a physical vessel for Al-Azar to project his awareness and magical power to other places. Al-Azar can see, hear, and otherwise sense through this man’s body at any time, as well as physically controlling it in any way (such as forcing it to attack), as a Simple Action requiring casual concentration. He can also cast destructive spells and curses through the slave’s body – these appear to take the form of smoke, insects, or other unnatural visual effects emerging from the slave’s mouth, nose, or eyes. Al-Azar can force the slave to physically attack on the same round that he casts a spell through the slave’s body. Due to the poor slave’s nature, he really cannot feel pain in any conventional sense of the term. Thus, all of his Wound Ranks are considered to have the +0 TN penalty except for the Down and Out Ranks, which are considered to be +5 and +10 Ranks, respectively. The slave’s huge number of Void points is not an intrinsic ability of his own – it represents Al-Azar’s magical prowess, channeled through his body.


Reflexes 4

EARTH 3 WATER 3

VOID 9 TN to be Hit: 23 School/Rank: None (Al-Azar’s power gives the slave a functional Insight Rank of 6 for determining Initiative and

other Insight-based effects) Honor/Glory: n/a Skills: Athletics 3, Craft (Cooking) 3, Craft (Laundry/Manservant) 4, Defense 3, Hunting 2, Investigation 2, Jiujutsu 2, Knives 3, Staves 3, Stealth 2, Underworld 2. Spells: Curse of the Biting Horror (insects swarm out to cover the target in bites, inflicting 4k2 damage on the first round and 1k1 for two rounds after that), Curse of the Black Agony (black smoke writhes across the body, inflicting 3k3 in agonizing boils and swellings), Curse of the Jackal (target must roll Raw Willpower at TN 30 or have Awareness, Willpower, and Intelligence reduced to 1 for an hour, unable to spend Void Points or use Skills except for Hunting, Stealth, and Athletics). Advantages/Disadvantages: Social Disadvantage (gaijin slave). Equipment: Loincloth, iron collar, knife (1k1).


Player Handout #1: A Secret Note “Honored visitors from afar, I greet you in the name of the Beneficent Gods! Although it is unthinkable to interrupt or trouble your visit to our humble land, nevertheless, I beg your indulgence to meet with me briefly this evening, in the second hour after the rising of the Moon, in the outer garden of our lord’s menagerie. The matter concerns the health and prosperity of our land, and I am told that your warriors of Rokugan are men and woman for whom a noble cause is always worthy of courage and energy. Please, I beg you to permit me a few brief moments of your precious time. Ferez ibn-Zaif, humble servant of the light.”


Player Handout #2: Letter in Al-Azar’s Room Noble lord, My master agrees to your terms, and trusts you find the item accompanying this letter to be suitable to your needs and meeting the wishes you expressed in our earlier correspondence. Should this be the case, I shall arrange to meet with you at the location previously discussed during the Khan’s winter maneuvers. Owing to the many dangers which the desert may present to innocent travelers, it may be necessary for me to arrange escorts, but you may assure yourself they will not pose any threat to your august person. In our land, obedience is a highly prized virtue. Expecting your favorable reply, I remain, Miya Hanzu


Documents

Journey to the Burning Sands - Kaze no Shiro to the Burning Sands.pdf · advantage by breaking them: ... to the heartless sorcerers known as Khadi, ... forehead with soft cloths,