Barbarians of Lemuria Free Version
Barbarians of Lemuria Free Version
Barbarians of Lemuria Free Version
Barbarians of Lemuria was designed and is © Simon Washbourne. Please make copies of this game and
send it to whomever you wish as long as you make no changes to the text or the content and provided you
leave all copyright information as it is and respect the author and artists of this free work.
Special thanks to Michael Hill for some helpful rule suggestions, especially for providing the magic rules.
Artwork
Cover & pages 4, 13, 16, 33 and Lemuria map on page 40 © Simon Washbourne.
Pages 10, 27, 31 & 33 © Marvel comics
Pages 5, 8 © Michael Hill
Playtesters
Mark George, Alyson George, Gary Collett, Leigh Wakefield, Phil Ratcliffe, Rob Watkins, Rob Irwin, Mi-
chel Hill, members of IWARPUK.
If you like this game, check out Babewatch, Tales from The Wood, Dreamscape and many other free role
playing games on my website.
Lashings of Ginger Beer RPG and It’s a dog’s life RPG are both available now for only $5 at RPGNOW.
Look out for the brand new, revised 1940 - England Invaded! Coming soon.
2
In the dim past of earth, giant reptiles ruled the Barbarians of Lemuria is a heroic role playing game
earth. From among these set firmly in the swords &
reptilian beings, the great- “Half a million years ago, on the lost continent of sorcery genre. Lemuria is
est among them arose to Lemuria in the Pacific, the first civilizations arose a pre-historic world that
become kings and necro- from the red murk of barbarism. For thousands of predates ours by millions
mancers, conducting weird years the first men had struggled heroically to over- of years. It is a land of hu-
and cruel rituals from be- come the Dragon Kings - a cruel reptilian race mid steaming jungles, vast
hind the monolithic black which had ruled the Earth during the Age of Rep- untamed wildernesses,
walls of their stone cities. tiles, but at last The Thousand Year War was done danger-filled swamplands
and the Dragon Kings were destroyed or driven and hot dry deserts. All
Despising the Dragon from the land. manner of massive man-
King's evil, the Nineteen eating beasts roam the un-
Gods of Lemuria created And so began Nemedis, the first kingdom. Over the explored regions of Le-
the first man, Phondath the centuries her children spread slowly throughout the muria and beyond, from
Firstborn, and his mate, vast, untamed jungle-lands and across the huge the islet-sized sea-serpents
Evalla. Man grew ever mountain ranges of prehistoric Lemuria and king- capable of sinking war-
stronger, building the great doms were founded...... and fought...... and fell. But galleys to the huge jungle-
city of Nemedis and mak- with enormous slowness civilization began to grow dwelling dinosaurs that
ing war on the Dragon and before long the first great Empire would unite can swallow a man whole
Kings. Thus began the these tiny warring Kingdoms into one mighty as an appetizer for bigger
Thousand Year War. power. game.
Events began to turn It was an age of warriors, when brave men and In this harsh world are
against the race of men, as beautiful women, savages and savants, wizards and sprawling cities, teeming
the Dragon Kings drove champions struggled to carve a red path that led to with merchants, trades-
them back behind the the Throne of the World. It was an age of legends men, farmers and hunters
walls of their puny cities, and heroic sagas too. And this is one of them...…” all plying their trades in
Nemedis and Althaar, Yb the squares, plazas, ba-
and Yaddar. They cried Lin Carter, Thongor and the Wizard of Lemuria zaars and
out to the gods to deliver wharfesides under the
them form their reptilian overlords. Then one night shadow of the city walls and great palaces, temples
during a ferocious storm, Father Gorm appeared to and towers that have been built to house the nobles,
Lord Thungarth above the towers of Nemedis and soldiers, priests and wizards of the lands and to safe-
bestowed upon him the Starsword, a mystic blade in guard those within from the dangers without.
which were bound up the power, of the Nineteen
Gods for all eternity. Dotted around the untamed regions are the ancient
The final battle was fought at Grimstrand Firth and ruins of temples, cities, tombs and palaces toppled
the Dragon Kings were defeated, shattered by the and cracked, choked with weeds and undergrowth,
power of the Starsword, but the life of Lord Thun- lying untouched and awaiting discovery for the vast
garth and the breaking of the Starsword was the treasures that remain within their shadowed halls
price. Some of the Dragon Kings escaped destruc- and empty corridors.
tion on the point of that sword of the gods and
lurked in darkness, awaiting the chance to summon It is a place of sagas and legends, epic and myth.
their demonic masters back to earth once more. Thongor, the heroic Valkarthian Barbarian created
many of these sagas by his deeds and adventures.
However, Lemuria is a mighty continent and there
are plenty more adventures to be had and legends to
be created!
3
fantasy settings - Heroes are all
muscle-bound barbarians from
the ‘Frozen Wastes’, females
are all voluptuous, scantily-
clad beauties and the bad guys
are typically evil Necromancers
and Druids from the ‘Dragon
Isles’ or the Old Cities of the
East.
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Role playing means differ- the minutae of detail that
ent things to different peo- “…Greatness came upon Patanga the City of the wargames often entail. So
ple - some see it as little Flame in the days after Zaar of the Magicians was there will not be rules for
more than a tactical whelmed and trodden down in ruin beneath the Un- everything. If a player
wargame, with the back- known Sea; and in the fullness of time six proud cit- wants his character to do
drop being perhaps a fan- ies came to stand under the black-and-gold banners something for which there
tasy dungeon to be looted, of Thongor the Mighty and lo! the Gods were is no rule, make a judge-
whereas others see it as pleased. But that grim and unappeasable Fate thet ment. Use the Task Reso-
more of a freeform or im- triumphs even over the gods and is not swayed by lution table if needed.
provisational storytelling the splendour and power of kings, smote the War- Very often you will not
exercise. Barbarians of Le- rior of the West with the strangest of dooms, and the want to stop the action to
muria is somewhere be- jaws of death gaped wide to engulf his unconquer- look up a rule - there is no
tween the two, tending to- able spirit…” problem with this. The
wards the latter. game is about heroic ac-
Lin Carter, Thongor at the End of Time tion, not stodgy detail. If
In Barbarians of Lemuria you want to play com-
the players will create characters (used interchangea- pletely diceless, there are some guidelines to allow
bly with Heroes throughout these rules), who like you to do this.
Thongor, will travel around Lemuria, breaking into
ancient crypts, fighting monsters, finding great Barbarians of Lemuria should be fast and heroic -
hoards of treasure (and losing it again) and generally full of action, sorcery and swordplay. To emulate
living the life of an adventurer. this a simple set of rules is needed, so that the game
does not get bogged down in unnecessary detail.
The character is the players’ alter-ego in the game.
He can be a brawny barbarian or a deft thief. She Essentially the system is based around the idea of
can be a dispossessed noble or a swashbuckling pi- careers. A Hero may have many careers throughout
rate. The players decide these things when they cre- his life - Thongor certainly did. He may have started
ate their characters. as a Barbarian from the Northlands, then he may
have done some thieving in the City States followed
The players will create characters, who for whatever by a short spell as a mercenary captain and then on
reason will team up together to make their fortunes. to command a pirate ship out of Tarakus.
Each player will decide the actions of his own char-
acter during the adventure and will roll dice to deter- BoL uses this concept and all players get to choose
mine the outcome of events, where there is some four careers for their characters, at which they have
doubt about whether the character could succeed or
not.
5
little ability (rank 0), much ability (rank 4) or some-
where in between (ranks 1 to 3). These careers are
the key to what the Hero knows and can do.
6
Each character in Barbarians of Lemuria is initially The combat abilities are as follows
defined by four attributes. These are mainly physical
things and on the whole can be used as a general Brawl
gauge of the characters physical make up. For exam-
ple, a character with a few points in strength will Hitting people with fists, feet, head as well as throt-
have a tough looking body and will tend towards the tling, holding and throwing people around. Includes
tall and muscular look. the use of improvised weapons, chairs, bottles, ta-
bles and so on. Tavern brawls are common in Le-
To determine your characters attribute levels, divide muria and Heroic characters often have some brawl-
four points between the four attributes as desired. ing ability. Having said that, a brawl in a Lemurian
You may put all four into one attribute or spread tavern will often lead to the flash of blades and this
them around as you wish. A zero in any attribute is where the next combat ability becomes useful.
represents an average rating. Attributes can go to
higher levels than 4, but these would be truly heroic Melee
individuals.
This is the skill with hand-held weapons. Swords,
The attributes are as follows knives, clubs, axes and spears are all covered under
this heading. Adventurers usually need to be able to
Strength defend themselves; Heroes always need to. The skill
is normally used to attack opponents, but can also be
This represents raw physical power, toughness, mus- used to parry blows aimed at you. When your enemy
cle and so on. It is useful for Heroes who like to is far away however, the following combat ability
bash down doors rather than use the handle or smash might be worth having.
open chests rather than pick the lock. Soldiers, Bar-
barians and Gladiators often have high a Strength. Ranged
7
Hit Points point immediately.
Hit points represent how much punishment and Krongar is feeling much better now, having recov-
wounding a Heroes body may absorb before the ered 4 of his lost hit points.
Hero keels over. It is based on a value of 10 plus the
strength attribute of the character. When a Hero is The pair press on for a day and do not encounter
struck in combat, his body suffers wounds. The ex- any more trouble. Krongar regains a further hit
tent of the wounds depend upon how powerful the point and Sharangar gets to do roll to double this.
blow was and is expressed as a number of points. The player rolls 7, which adding her Physician level
This comes off the heroes hit point total. of 1 and Mind of 1, gives her 9, which is what she
needed. Krongar is now fully fit and ready for more
If, as a result of wounds received the value falls to 0 action…..
the Hero falls unconscious.
Example
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Next the player chooses Gladiator
four Careers for his Hero. “…into this violent age of sorcery and conquest, of
A minimum of 0 may be the assassin’s dagger and the venomed chalice, Often forced into life of
placed and again the maxi- where the greed of Sark was set against the blood- professional arena fighters,
mum is rank 4. lust of the Druid, with the Throne of Lemuria for the Gladiator is skilled in
prize….came one man, a wandering adventurer one-on-one tactics, exotic
The Career choices are from the savage wilderness of the Northlands: weapons, weapon lore, ini-
from the following Thongor of Valkarth, armed with the iron thews of tiative and weapon train-
the warrior and the barbarian’s contempt of dan- ing. They are especially
Alchemist ger….” good at fighting in a style
‘to please the crowd’ and
The scientists and inven- Lin Carter, Thongor of Lemuria so they might get a combat
tors of Lemuria, these bonus on certain flashy
characters are often mistaken for wizards by those moves, if not overused and at the GM’s discretion.
who do not understand science. Skills covered are
things like making potions & perfumes, plant lore, Hunter
poisons, medicines, metallurgy, distilling urlium
(lighter-than-air-metal) for floaters (flying boats) Rugged outdoor types skilled in wilderness lore, liv-
etc. This is not a terribly common career for adven- ing rough, trapping, tracking, stealth and other simi-
turing Heroes, as it requires too much patience. lar pursuits.
These covert killers are adept at sneak attacks, kill- Often a little strange, these characters are knowl-
ing, information gathering, city lore, persuasion, poi- edgeable of esoteric matters to do with astrology, as-
sons, lockpicking and tend to have fast reflexes. tronomy and ancient lore. They also have skill in
sorcery, which is detailed in a later chapter.
Barbarian
Merchant
These characters are not from the cities of Lemuria,
but from the Red Forests, Valkarthan Northlands or These are not shopkeepers, these are wide travelled
other wildernesses of the continent. They have natu- adventurers, who seek new exotic goods to sell and
ral skills in wilderness lore, living rough, berserk as such pick up a range of useful skills like trading,
rage, riding, intimidation, natural instincts and so on. persuasion, city lore, knowledge of distant places,
guild membership.
Blacksmith
Mercenary
Often found helping Alchemists build their inven-
tions, these characters are skilled at weapon and ar- Soldiers who work for anyone who will pay for their
mour making and repair, metallurgy, weapon lore, services. They tend to have skill in living rough, rid-
and have skill in bartering and haggling the price of ing, intimidation, carousing, and even simple
weapons and armour. weapon and armour repair.
Farmer Minstrel
A farmer character lives outside the city, but often Wandering entertainers, these characters are profi-
within a days travel, so that they are able to get their cient in pleasing crowds of people and earning a few
produce to the city to feed the populace. They are coins from their singing, instruments, performing.
skilled in basic plant & animal lore, animal han- Because they travel and are great gossips, they learn
dling, cooking, trading for basic goods and such like. ancient legends, fast talk and have good city lore.
9
Noble Soldier
Often holding homes in the city and estates or villas The paid guards in a city. They will have some city
outside the city, these characters are titled and have lore, perhaps skills in intimidation and riding as well
some authority over commoner people. They are as a small degree of authority.
able to obtain credit, have high-ranking contacts and
are skilled in such things as bribery, dress sense and Thief
etiquette.
Those who live by less than honest means in the
Physician streets of the towns and cities. They will have skill
in such things as city lore, burglary, sneaking, pick-
A dispenser of potions and medicines, someone ing pockets and are likely to have guild membership
knowledgeable of plant lore, first aid and diseases.
They need to be literate. Torturer
No tavern is complete without its serving wenches. Choosing the four careers gives a player an immedi-
Their closeness with their customers gives them ate handle on his character. A high level in a career
good skills in seduction, city lore and carousing. could be indicative of a long period of time spent in
Some are even good at taking things from customers that position and a level of 0 could mean only a short
without them noticing. It is stating the obvious, but spell or even just a natural affinity for the career.
only female characters can choose this as a career.
The careers give a general knowledge
Scribe of anything to do with the career, such
as who hold high positions within the
Characters who are interested in ancient profession, where to find the Guilds
lore, ancient languages and map making. and who heads them, skills and abili-
Obviously this leads to a certain degree of ties that members of the profession
knowledge in these areas too. should have as well as helping the
Hero obtain employment in the career.
Slave
The list of skills or abilities alongside
Not exactly a career of choice, slavery each career isn’t exhaustive. There are
would often be the result of being a cap- no individual skills as such in this
tured soldier or similar. Nevertheless, it game. It is intended only to be a guide
does provide the opportunity to pick up a as to the type of things that career
few skills and techniques that other ca- should help you with. If you can con-
reers do not give and can be useful in vince the GM that your career could be
rounding out a character concept. The ca- helpful in other areas explain why or
reer gives skill in things like humility, go- how and the GM may agree and give
ing unnoticed, listening and sneaking. you a bonus.
10
Character advancement
“Sometimes it chances in the ways of war, and
whether it be but a grim jest of the Gods or a trick of As well as Hero Points, the GM will award an ad-
mocking Fate no man can say, that the cunning of vancement point or two at the end of an adventure.
one foe plays into the very hands of his enemy”. These advancement points can be used to buy in-
creases in attributes, combat abilities or careers. The
The Scarlet Edda points are spent immediately they are awarded. Ad-
vancement points can be used to take attributes,
Lin Carter, Thongor Fights the Pirates of Tarakus combat abilities and careers above 4. Alternatively a
character can take a new career, if he has been doing
Hero Points stuff in the adventure that would make this new ca-
reer appropriate.
Barbarians of Lemuria is a game of heroic sagas.
Player characters are the Heroes of these sagas. In
the books, Thongor always looked like he was down
and out but he always came back, whatever the odds.
Heroic actions are an integral part of the game. This
is where Hero Points come in.
11
To perform an action, the player simply rolls two and has already predetermined that the solid door
dice (2d6) and adds any appropriate attribute levels will be a difficulty of Hard, or -1.
together with an appropriate combat ability if in
combat, or career level if not. If there are any modi- The player rolls 6 on 2d6, adds 4 for Krongar’s
fiers (determined by the GM) these are factored in strength, making 10. He then subtracts 1 for the
and if the resulting total is 9 or greater the task was hard difficulty , meaning that the overall total is 9,
successful. which is a success. The door bursts open.
A natural roll of 12 (i.e. where both dice come up on Assuming our Hero gets through the door, rather
a ‘6’) is always a success. A natural roll of 2 is al- than finding hidden wealth he finds a great pit and,
ways a failure. having smashed through the door, he finds he is hur-
tling towards it. Attempting to leap the pit is an agil-
If a Hero spends a Hero point when he rolls a natural ity task, and Krongar has a 0 in this attribute. Luck-
12, he can turn the success into a Heroic success - ily the GM is in a good mood and decides that his
what this means in game terms is that he not only natural Barbarian instincts will come into play and
did what he wanted to do, but the Gods smiled on allows the player to add Krongars’ Barbarian rank
him too. of 2 to the dice roll. The dice come up 8 and with the
+2 gives a total of 10, meaning that Krongar is
How this actually works in game terms, depends on across the pit and heading for even greater adven-
exactly what the character was trying to do. It will ture.
usually be reserved for combat, though not always.
In combat against a powerful foe, it means that the Combat is dealt with in rounds of a few seconds or
Hero hit a vital spot and killed it outright! If fighting so in length. In that time a character can fire a bow,
several minor npc extras, then the Hero can go strike or parry with a weapon, throw an axe and so
through them all like wheat to the scythe. on. The character involved in the combat with the
highest agility attribute goes first. In the case of a
If you like to play narrative games, then the player tie, the highest combat ability for the option being
can take over the description of what happens, for used gets to go first. In the event of a tie, the one
the duration of the scene. The only thing he can’t de- with the highest and most appropriate career goes
cide is what the other player characters do. first. Combat resolution is similar to Task resolution.
Rather than adding a career to the appropriate attrib-
Action resolution table ute level though, the most appropriate combat ability
level is added.
Action difficulty Range Modifier to dice result The required roll is still 9 or more, but this
Easy Point blank +1 time in addition to any GM determined modi-
fiers (which could be due to range for thrown
Moderate Close 0 or fired weapons, or for hitting an enemy
Hard Medium -1 from behind and so on) the opponents’ de-
Formidable Long -2 fence rating also becomes a modifier to the
roll needed to hit. The GM could allow, in
Mighty Distant -3 some rare circumstances, a career to provide
Thongorean Extreme -4 an additional bonus. For example, Assassins
may be allowed an additional bonus when
Example of resolving an action striking unaware enemies, or Gladiators may be al-
lowed to make special manoeuvres which could give
Krongar the Mighty, a Northern Barbarian with a them a slight edge over an opponent and so on.
Strength attribute of 4 is attempting to break down a
door, which he is sure blocks his way to a vast hoard Weapon ranges are given in the weapon table, in the
of treasure. The GM decides that Krongar has no section on Heroic Gear. The range in the table is the
Careers that would be helpful to the task in hand base range at point blank. Each additional increment
12
is one difficulty level harder on the Action resolu-
tion table.
13
Thongor never went shopping. Neither should char- Weapon Table
acters in Barbarians of Lemuria. If a player wants
his character to have something that would be appro- Weapon Damage Notes
priate to his career, let him have it. If he wants Fist d3
something less appropriate you can still let him have
it. You can always take it away from him! Dagger d4
Sword d6+1
He is a Soldier – let him have armour and a couple
of weapons. He is a Barbarian - let him have a neck- Axe d6
lace of bear’s teeth, some javelins, a wineskin and a Club d6-1
sword. She is a Serving Wench – let her have a
knife, some fancy clothes, jewellery and make-up. Mace d6
He is a Magician - let him have some rings and amu- Spear d6
lets, a fancy robe and a skull-topped staff. He is a
Noble - let him have a palace in Patanga and a galley Flail d8 2 handed
in the port. Valkarthan sword d8 2 handed
I have not included any costs for the simple reason Great axe d8 2 handed
that characters can have what they want and what Staff d6 2 handed
would be reasonable for their career. Think of it this
way. What use is a palace in Patanga, when you are Sling d4 range 50’
lost in the Jungles of Chush armed with only a Short Bow d6 range 60’
sword in your tired fist?
Bow d6+1 range 100’
Heroes only go around with what they can reasona- Crossbow d8 range 80’
bly carry. They live for the day. You never know
Warbow d10 range 120’
what you will need on adventure and you can’t take
everything, so why bother? Use your Hero Points Fist
instead. That’s what they are for.
This is used to punch people. It represents the use of
If you want backpacks full of and adventuring gear, elbows, feet, head and so on..
a weapon for every occasion, three spare suits of ar-
mour and a pack animal to carry it all around on then Dagger
play another game. If all you want is a breech-clout
and a sturdy blade, play on! This covers all forms of short stabbing, thrusting or
slashing weapon, either with one or two edges, that
Characters start with whatever gear is appropriate to can be thrown or used in close quarters. Highly con-
their career (s) and whatever other stuff is agreed be- cealable it is a favourite of rogues and assassins.
tween the GM and player. After that, if a character
needs other items, he or she can make rolls against Sword
appropriate careers, to find, steal, improvise, make,
beg or borrow stuff. This is the catch-all description for all manner of
long-bladed, one-handed weapons used all over Le-
Difficulty modifiers would be appropriate if the muria, such as cutlasses, tulwars, scimitars, rapiers,
character is in the middle of nowhere, if the item is broadswords and longswords. A favourite weapon
scarce or expensive and so on. Merchants and amongst Heroes.
Thieves are particularly adept at getting hold of stuff
and Nobles and Merchants usually have some Axe
money or jewellery to trade.
One-handed axes, usually with iron or steel heads on
a wooden haft. Can be one or two bladed.
14
Club Warbow
The simplest of all weapons, this is a length of The mighty bow of the Blue Nomads. Requires great
wood, used in one hand to club and batter your op- strength (strength 4+) to draw the string.
ponent.
Mace
A 5 to 6 foot length of wood with a pointed tip, de- Armour type Protection Notes
signed for throwing or for using against mounted op- Gauntlets 1
ponents in particular.
Bracers 1
Flail Boots 1
A shaft of wood, mounted by a length of chain with Greaves 1
a spike-ball head. Not too common on Lemuria, but Battle Harness 1
can be found in gladiatorial arenas.
Chainmail Bikini 1
Great sword and Great axe Leather Coat 2
A large bladed version of the sword or axe, for use Mail Shirt 3
in two hands. Halberds and other two-handed weap- Plate Cuirass 4
ons will also have pretty much the same game ef-
fects. Valkarthians are well known for their use of Helm or coif 1
great swords. Full Helm 2
15
Boots
Greaves
Battle Harness
Chainmail Bikini
Mail Shirt A heavy metal helmet with nose, ear and cheek
guards. Cumbersome and restrictive. Often kept
Heroes sometimes wear these in battle. They are strictly for battle or in gladiatorial arenas.
simply metal links pieced together to form a shirt or
tunic. Offers light flexible protection. Not usually Shield
worn with other body armour.
Plate Cuirass Shields are not terribly common in Lemuria. Gladia-
tors will use them, sometimes they are issued to sol-
A breastplate and backplate of shaped metal. Quite diers. Heroes tend only to use them for going into
restrictive and can get very hot. Heroes tend to avoid battle. Usually made of wood, with perhaps a hide
these when adventuring although they might wear covering and metal boss, it straps to the forearm and
one in a battle. has a handle for manoeuverability. About 18” in di-
16
ameter for small shields and maybe 2’ or more in di-
ameter for larger ones.
17
Characters with points in son with rope and pitons
the Magician Career begin “The Wizard was old – how old Thongor did not could achieve the same re-
play with a number of venture to guess, but the stamp of centuries was in
sult (eventually). Damag-
Spell Points equal to 10 his lined face. He wore a long wide-sleeved robe of
ing spells of this type
plus their Magician career neutral grey and about his middle was a girdle of would typically cause d6
level. serpent-leather, from which a short-sword of pecu-hit points of damage to the
liar design and a pouch of scarlet photh skin hung.
target. These spells cost 4
All spells fall into one of Upon his slim artistic fingers he wore many sigilsSpell Points and have a
four classes; Cantrips and and talismanic rings. One was of iron, graven withprice too. The caster must
spells of First, Second or wedge-shaped runes. choose one of the casting
Third Magnitude. requirements from those
Another was of blood-red jade, embossed with a listed below (or create one
Magicians (who are also name of power. The rest were fashioned of stones, of your own with the GMs
called Sorcerors, Wizards metals and queer woods. With these rings, Thongor approval). Select a second
or Witches) always have suspected, the Wizard could summon and command requirement to reduce the
rune-inscribed rings, amu- spirits and elementals”. cost to 2 Power Points.
lets, talismans and trinkets
and so forth about their Thongors meeting with Sharajsha in The Wizard of Spells of the First Magni-
bodies through which they Lemuria. tude are usually either
can cast very minor and Moderate or Hard Action
simple tricks and cantrips. Resolution rolls.
These are very basic spells allowing the caster to • Special Item: An ancient tome, heavy tablet
conjure a brief pool of light, the distant sound of or delicate scroll is required but is relatively
laughter, a spark to light a fire etc. Other examples easy to come by (some bartering, a short
might include making a coin vanish, causing a rope journey or a minor expenditure)
to slither up a castle wall or distracting a guard with
an imagined sound. Such spells rarely cost more • Line of Sight: The caster must be able to
than one (1) Power Point and only require a skill roll clearly see his or her intended target
when directly affecting a sentient target.
• Casting Time: The
More powerful spells are spell will take at least 1D6
trickier though and are x 30 minutes of medita-
really the stuff of Heroic tion, chanting, dancing etc.
Magicians and Evil Sor- to correctly execute
cerors.
• Intimate Materials:
Spells of the First Magni- A personal item of the in-
tude tended target (or a tile
from the target building,
These tend to be utility for example) is required
spells, they allow the sor-
cerer to perform activities • Special Knowledge:
that anyone with the right The caster must conduct
training and equipment lengthy research before he
could manage. A spell or she has the necessary
might allow the caster to information to cast the
glide up the side of a spell
cliff – since a normal per-
18
• Obvious Technique: The caster must ges- purse of gold to obtain the necessary items
ture, chant, dance or make strange sounds (of course any magician worth his salt would
during the brief casting process have a stable of willing barbarians to track
down those special herbs
“For seven nights Mardanax, the masked magician, for him)!
• Hour Power: The
had readied himself for his revenge on Thongor.
spell may only be
The crypts and catacombs beneath the palace have • Permanent Focus:
cast at a specific
witnessed many grim and terrible scenes of torment The caster must undertake
hour of the day
and punishment, but none so awful as the black rites ritual tattooing to perma-
wherewith the Black Druid prepares himself for the nently inscribe the details
• Ritual Cleansing:
hour of his triumph. Each dawn the rushing waters of the spell on his or her
The caster must
of the Twin Rivers bear out to sea the obscenely person
bathe in clean wa-
mutilated corpses of certain slaves from whose skin
ter and essential
the telltale ownership mark has been removed—
oils and shave all • Casting Time: The
pitiful cadavers whose life-force, brutally torn from
bodily hair from spell will take at least 2D6
agonized flesh, has been offered up in sacrifice to
his or her body hours of meditation, chant-
the Triple Lord of Chaos”.
ing, dancing etc. to cor-
Example: Methyn Sarr rectly execute
Lin Carter, Thongor at the End of Time.
(Witch Queen of the Fire
Coast) unleashes a jave- • Ritual Sacrifice: An
lin-like bolt of flame at Krongar. The GM considers animal (of at least the size of a lamb) must be
this a First Magnitude spell for the Witch Queen and sacrificed prior to casting
her player chooses the casting requirements of Line
of Sight (appropriate for a bolt of fire) and Obvious • Lunar: The spell may only be cast during a
Technique (she’s always putting on a show). The specific phase of the moon
cost is 2 Power Points and the GM thinks the flame
is worth 1D6 damage for Krongar. • Personal Ordeal: The caster must fast for
2D6 days
Spells of the Second Magnitude
19
Spells of the Third Magnitude Power spent in the creation of Second and Third
Magnitude spells is recovered at the rate of 4 points
These are incredibly rare in any game. These spells per lunar month (usually the first night of the full
bring about natural disasters and terrible curses moon but the sorcerer may choose his or her phase).
spanning generations. Such spells cost 14 Power Additionally, whenever the sorcerer casts Third
Points, or 10 if a second casting requirement is se- Magnitude magic, a point of Power is permanently
lected. lost. This loss of a power point can be exchanged for
the loss of an attribute point instead – it could repre-
Spells of the Third Magnitude are always Thongo- sent aging and so reduce the Magicians Appeal by 1,
rean Action Resolution rolls. for example (down to negative numbers if neces-
sary).
Third Magnitude Casting Requirements
20
The terms ‘Priest’ and ‘Druid’ are used inter- re-
changeably by Thongor throughout his adventures
and so for game purposes they mean much the same
thing. You could take Druids to mean worshippers
of the Dark Gods and Priests to be worshippers of
the other gods like Gorm and so on if you prefer.
21
Alchemists do not cast
spells, they change things “One great room was lined with books of magical
and create things. They science. Books small and huge – some of them as
would be called scientists tall as a full-grown man. Some were bound in
and inventors today. Bar- bouphar-leather; others were between plates of
barians often mistake them worked metal or unfamiliar carved wood. They
for Wizards, not under- were written in a dozen tongues and Thongor, idly
standing (nor caring about) opening one bound in the thick fur of a green wolf,
the distinction. was repelled by the hieroglyphics painted upon the
vellum sheets in inks of scarlet, black and gold”.
Alchemists can create
‘magic’ potions, salves, Sharajsha’s chambers in The Wizard of Lemuria.
gasses, liquids and pow-
ders. They use all manner
of scientific anthanors,
flasks, alembics, pots, tubes and crucibles in their
experiments. They can put extra strength and light-
ness into weapons and armour. They can create the
lighter-than-air-material called Urlium, to build
floaters (flying boats), skybelts and lightning guns.
They often work on their projects with Blacksmiths.
22
KRONGAR THE MIGHTY MINSTREL 1 SCRIBE 1
PHYSICIAN 1 MAGICIAN 1
A powerfully built Barbarian from the Northern
Lands of Valkarth. Follows in the footsteps of his HIT POINTS 10 HERO POINTS 5
kinsman, Thongor. ARMOUR 2 (Chainmail Bikini 1, Bracers 1)
WEAPONS Knife d4, Bow d6
STRENGTH 4 AGILITY 0
MIND 0 APPEAL 0 **********
BRAWL 0 MELEE 0
RANGED 1 DEFENCE 3
23
Arld 200’ long body. The Dwark opened its cavernous
jaws. Two rows of needle-pointed fangs lined each
A very hard black wood, similar to teak. The Arld jaw and the largest teeth were longer than the North-
tree grows in lander sword that hung at Thongor’s thigh.
the cold tundras of the Northlands.
Fathla
Azul
The terrible tree-leeches of Kovia and Chush, some-
Enormous moths with gauzy colourful wings. Harm- times growing up to the size of a small cat.
less and
beautiful, they inhabit the jungle lands. Grakk
24
Mungoda fur.
Yeti-like bipedal creatures of the Northern Ice Triceratops-like beasts, domesticated as a beast of
Wastes. burden.
Slith Zemadar
Vampire flowers, found in the jungles of Chush. Its Man-eating creatures about 20' long with thick
petals exuded a narcotic vapour that stunned its prey crimson-coloured hides. They have six legs ending
(men and animals). Then its fanged blossoms would in sharp claws, barbed tails and deadly fangs.
drain its victim of blood.
Zulphar
Tiralon
A large dangerous boar that makes good eating.
The fabulous green roses of Lemuria’s jungles.
Ulth
25
Blue Nomads tongue, these are the previ-
In the ancient days of elder Hyperborea, when giant
ous rulers of Lemuria, be-
reptiles walked the Earth, great ones among them
Also called Rmoahal they fore man came. They were
rose, became kings--and necromancers! Their way
are huge giants of between lizard-like, 8 or 9' tall,
of life was wicked--cruel. They raised monolithic
7 to 9' in height and with with black scaly skins.
cities of black stone wherein they studied strange
hairless blue/black skins. They had short powerful
arts and practiced grim sorceries.
They are nomadic hunters arms, well-muscled tails
and are found wandering and red slitted eyes dis-
Seeing how evil were these Dragon Kings, the nine-
with their great caravans playing their cold intelli-
teen Gods created the first men, beginning with
across the Great Plains. gence. The Dragon-Kings
Phondath the Firstborn! And to him was given
They are fierce warriors worshipped the Old Gods
Evalla as his mate…
and go to battle in huge of Chaos and would in-
chariots of metal. There dulge in all manner of sac-
So men built Nemedis, the first city--and fought the
are about 1000 tribes, rifice and bloodletting to
Dragon Kings for dominance of Lemuria! Thus be-
ruled by chieftains, which appease their Gods.
gan the 1000 year war! And so at first the Dragon
are at constant war upon
Kings were successful--and men hid behind the
one another. Each tribe has The exact origins of the
walls of their cities--in Nemedis and Althaar, in Yb
its own name, which forms Dragon Kings are un-
and Yaodar! And then--one night in a mighty storm
the second name of the known. They apparently
wherein the sky rained down torrents of lightning--
tribal members. The most dwelled in the Eastern Le-
Father Gorm appeared to Lord Thungarth o'er the
famous tribes are the murian desert, where there
walls of Nemedis…
Jegga, Karzoona, Shung, are a number of their ru-
Thad and Zodak. In addi- ined cities but were be-
"Alone, you can never defeat the Dragon Kings, my
tion each tribe boasts its lieved to have been extinct
child! Behold--the Star Sword! In its steel--the
own spiritual leader and for ages. However, a
power of the Nineteen Gods have been sealed for all
doctor, called a shaman. group of them guarded the
eternity! Use it to defeat the Dragon Kings!"
Star Stone in the Scarlet
Blue Nomads as charac- Tower of Tsargol. They
And so at Grimstrand Firth, Thungarth and the Star
ters were quite strong and were
Sword shattered the Dragon Kings! Yet in that bat-
able to pull Thongor back
tle, mighty Thungarth died, the broken Star Sword in
Blue Nomads are a viable inside the Tower and re-
his hand!
choice for a player- strain him. More often
character. They get an than not, however, they
Lin Carter; The Wizard of Lemuria
automatic bonus of +2 on ended up with his sword
Strength, but any one of through their heads.
their other attributes (players choice
which) has a –1. Barbarian must be first The Dragon Kings may have possessed
choice of career and requires at least 1 enhanced strength and durability, but they
point spent in it. Blue Nomads do not were not especially skilled warriors. They
make good Magicians, Alchemists, Phy- had knowledge of the forces of magic and
sicians, Nobles, Minstrels, Serving drew power from unspecified Lords of
Wenches or Scribes and so if they want Chaos. Under unknown circumstances
to choose these careers, the points cost is they apparently possessed the ability to
doubled. They call their Priests, Sha- transform into giant form, much like a
mans. carnivorous dinosaur, although, unlike
our friend T. Rex, they retained func-
********** tional arms.
Dragon-Kings **********
26
Gunth born! And to him was given Evalla as his mate.
**********
Primitive, man-eating beastmen, living in small
scruffy settlements of rude huts in the jungle- Morulak
countries. Probably a last vestige of the neander-
thals. “The Beastmen were only a few steps above A race of blood-drinking vampires, who can live for
apehood. Squat, powerful figures with ropy bands of many centuries or possibly eternally. Start off hu-
muscle distorting chest and shoulder into ugly per- man-like, but as they grow older become more de-
sonifications of brute strength, they had long power- ranged and something less than human.
ful arms that dangled almost to the turf and small
bowed legs. The red eyes that gleamed beneath im- **********
mense boney ridges gave them a very apelike look,
which was augmented by the low, sloping brows, Nuld
ugly fanged jaws, chinless and slobbering and small,
furred, pricked ears set far back on skulls sunk al- The mysterious winged men of the unknown Zand
most necklessly in massive shoulders. The only country, north of the Mountains of Mommur.
signs of a culture any higher than brutes they so
closely resembled were the balled clubs of hard **********
wood and the wooden shafted spears tipped with Slorg
pointed stones they carried. These and a scrap of
filthy animal hide bound about their loins.”
**********
Man
27
“By The Nineteen Gods” - *Shastadion: Lord of the
an oft used oath in Le- “Thus did the Unknown One create the Nineteen Seas
muria. Gods, even Gorm the Father of the Stars and Great
Tryphondus, Aedir the Sungod and Tiandra the *Tiandra: The Goddess
*Aarzoth: The Wind Lady of Fortune, Diomala of the Harvest and Illana of Luck, Lady of Fortune
Lord; The Many Winged. the Moon-Lady, Karchonda of the Battles, Dyrm the
Stormgod, grim Avangra and Erygon and Iondol the *Tryphondus:
*Althazon: The Divine Lord of Song, Aslak the Godsmith, Pnoth Lord of (Unknown)
Messenger, Herald of the Aeons and Althazon the Divine Messenger, Ner-
Gods. gondil and Aarzoth the Windlord, Shastadion of the *Zath Lomar:
Sea, Zath-Lomar and Bright Balkyr. Into their hands (Unknown)
*Aedir: The Sun God. He put the force of nature and the rule of things...
and Lo! The worls was.” Baroumphar: Father of
*Aslak: The Godsmith all Dragons, who accord-
The Lemurian Chronicles ing to legends, swallowed
*Avangra: The Death the moon
God
Iorgazon: The Demon of Madness
*Balkyr: the Bright; All Hallowed Lord of Light
Slidith: Lord of Blood; worshipped by the Red Dru-
*Diomala: God (Goddess?) of the Harvest ids
*Dyrm: The Storm God; Lord of Lightning Thamungazoth: The Dark Lord; worshipped by the
Black Druids and the Dragon- Kings
*Erygon: (Unknown)
Yamath: The Lord of Fire; worshipped by the Yel-
“From hidden reef and fickle wind low Druids
And changeful tides, preserve us;
And from dragons of the deep, Those asterisked are the Nineteen Gods. Others are
O, Father Gorm preserve us” other deities mentioned, either the Dark Lords (like
Slidith), demons or older deities (such as Baroum-
Lemurian Seamen’s Prayer phar).
Lin Carter, Thongor fights the pirates of Tarakus Where the Domains of the various gods are men-
tioned in the books, these are noted. Priests and Dru-
ids can perform magic according to the Domain of
*Gorm: The Father of Gods. He created the Star the god they have chosen to worship. (See the earlier
Stone and gave the first Star Sword to Lord Thun- section on Priests & Druids for more information).
garth of Nemedis. He also destroyed the Castle of
the Dragon Kings when Thongor attacked them with
the second Star Sword
*Illana: The Moon Goddess; Lady of the Moon “The naked virgins on thine altars plead
As scarlet flame on pallid flesh doth feed!
*Iondol: Lord of Song Lord of the Fire, drink down young lives like wine,
Hearts, limbs and breasts - their very souls are
*Karchonda: of the Battles; God of Warriors thine!
*Pnoth: God of Wisdom, Lord of Aeons Lin Carter, The Wizard of Lemuria
28
Black Druids: Dwell in Zaar (The City of Magi- Red Druids: Magician-priests who dwell in their
cians). They try to emulate the evil ways of the temple in Tsargol and worship the God, Slidith
Dragon-Kings and worship the Dark Lord, Thamun-
gazoth Sark: The King (of a City)
Daotar: The leader of 10 Otars (1,000 men) Sarkaja: The feminine form of Sark, i.e. ‘Queen’
Daotarkon: An army commander and leader of Sarkon: The Emperor (Thongor was the first)
10,000 men
Sam-wine: Good, but expensive wine made from
Dorl: Pink Lemurian rubies, very rare and therefore sarn-berries
very valuable
Scarlet-Edda: An ancient and legendary tome of
Crown of Tsargol: The magnificant flagship of the lore. Scribes would love to get their hands on this,
Tsargol Fleet. but usually have to make do with copies of individ-
ual pages, which themselves are rare
Chandral: Lemurian jewels of golden-orange hue.
They are often very large Sharajshas'Grimoire: Another legendary tome of
lore and ‘Future Visions’
Floater: Airboats made of Urlium. The first was
built by Oolim Thon, a wizard alchemist from Sithurl: A gem that Iothodus found could sore and
Thurdis and later Thongor had a whole squadron release the power of lightning. With it he created
built. The boats are about 20’ long, from pointed Lightning Guns, which replaced the War Bows on
prow to pointed stern. They are driven by powerful Thongor’s fleet of Air Boats and also developed the
spring-powered rotors. One set at the rear, propels Skybelts, enabling huge flying-leaps
the boats forward and a second set just beneath the
prow, pushes the boat backward. Other rotors in the Skybelt: A device invented by Iothondus to give a
center of the deck and beneath the keel force the single man weightlessness using Urlium. It could be
floater either up or down as desired. The engines are switched off using a sithurl button and on and was
set in action by four levers, located in the craft’s used to make great leaps
small cabin, which are labelled with the directions
that they govern. The higher the levers are pushed, Star-Lore: Astronomy, Astrology and Navigation
the stronger the rotors drive the craft. The crafts are
able to reach speeds of around 50 mph Star-Stone: The Star-Stone came from the heavens
(presumably a meteorite) and from the metal the leg-
Jazite: A precious metal, prized for its changing endary Star-Sword was forged. Thongor retrieved
opal hues the fragment of the Star-Stone that was kept in the
Scarlet Tower of Tsargol for Sharajsha, who forged
Kojan: A term for a minor noble – probably the it into another Star Sword
equivalent of a Knight
Star-Sword: Legendary blade made from the Star-
Nebium: The strongest and one of the rarest metals. Stone. The original was used by Thungarth, but was
It is dead-black, silk-smooth and very dense. The se- shattered in defeating the Dragon-Kings. Sharajsha
cret of its manufacture has been lost in Thongor’s created another Sword then empowered the Sword
day, but Alchemists continue to search with the holy lightnings from atop Mount Sharimba.
Thongor used the Sword to slaughter the remaining
Nemedis: Thongor’s floater, in which he escaped Dragon Kings, and the use of the Sword may have
from the Tsargol arena with Kora and Karm Karvus allowed Father Gorm to access the Earthly plane and
destroy the Castle of the Dragon King
Otar: Commander of 100 men
29
Thousand-Year War: War between the first men of
Nemedis and the Dragon-Kings
30
Adamancus: Magician of Belsathla: Grey magician
“ It was an Age of Magic, when the might of Wiz-
Zaar, Lord of its Council of Nianga
ards strove against the tides of darkness that hovered
and Guardian of the
over the lands of men like threatening wings. And
Northern Marches Blay: A fat pirate, crew
the world shall not again see such wizardry as
member of the Scimitar
reigned of old when proud Lemuria was young, and
Ald Turmis: A soldier Charn Thovis: Noble and
ere the Mother of Empires spread her banners over
and good friend of good friend of Thongor,
Aegyptus, young Atlan and the rose-red cities of the
Thongor who rescued him who rescued Thongor’s
Maya-Kings….”
from the son from Dalendus Vool
dungeons of Thurdis. Ald
Lin Carter, The Wizard of Lemuria
Thurmis was a native of Dalendus Vool: An obese
the Dragon City of albino, the Baron of Tal-
Thurdis and fellow thief and lan, a minor noble of Patanga and servant to Mar-
mercenary of Thongor. Weeks donax
before the evil priest Kaman
Thuu hired Thongor, Ald had Drugunda Thai: Sark of Tsargol, until slam by
been hired to sneak into the wiz- Thongor
ard Athmar Phong's mansion
and steal the Mirror of Zaffar Durgan: One of the pirate crew of the Scimitar
only to get captured by the De-
mon of Zangabal and tossed into Eodrym: Archpriest of Father Gorm, Hierarch of
the dungeons. Forgotten and left for dead, Kaman the Temple of Nineteen Gods
Thuu hired Thongor to do the job, but he also wound
up in the dungeons. Thongor escaped and Ald went Hajash Tor: (Exiled) Daotarkon of Thurdis
with him, the barbarian later saving his life by kill-
ing Athmar Phong. Eight months later Ald repaid the Gothar: One-handed pirate of the Scimitar, slain by
favour by springing Thongor from the dungeons of Charn Thovis, after he beat Tharn
Thurdis after being arrested for murder of a captain
in the army. Himog Thoon: A prist of Yamath, underling of
Vaspas Ptol
Arzang Pome: (Exiled) Sark of Shembis
Inneld: Daughter of Lord Mael and handmaiden to
Athmar Phong: A corpulent wizard capable of Sumia
teleportation (or assuming gaseous form, it’s hard to
say), reading thoughts, summoning and commanding Iothondus: Alchemist-wizard who invented the
the Demon of Zangabal, and slowly transforming Lightning Gun
people to stone for his amusement. He attracted the
ire and the jealousy of the priest Kaman Thuu due to Jeled Malkh: Otar and minor noble of Thurdis who
is possession of the Mirror of Zaffar. Thongor man- caused a drunken brawl with Thongor and ended up
aged to break the mirror with a magic amulet and the dead for his trouble
enraged demon within the mirror escaped to have its
revenge on Athmar Phong, crushing him into noth- Jorn Jovas: A young Otar of Tsargol, who was first
ingness aboard the Crown of Tsargol after it returned to port
with its crew dead or mad as a result of evil magic.
Barim Redbeard: Pirate Captain of the ship the
Scimitar and friend of Thongor Jomdath Jegga: (Exiled) Blue Nomad, Chief of the
Jegga Tribe
Baron Selverus: A Noble of Thongor's Patangan
Council Kaman Thuu: A priest of the Seven Gods of Zan-
gabal and rival of the evil wizard Athmar Phong. He
Barond Thon: The original Daotar of Thurdis hired both Ald Thurmis and Thongor to steal the
31
Mirror of Zaffar from Phong for reasons unknown. Norgovan Thul: Lord High Admiral of Tsargol,
However, judging from his general level of creepi- found driven mad as a result of vile sorcery, on his
ness and the fact that the mirror contained the es- ship along with the crew when it returned to port.
sence of a Prince of Hell, his motives can’t have
been entirely honourable. He presented Thongor Numadak Quelm: Druid of Yamath
with the Shield of Cathloda, a protective mystical
charm, which he ultimately (and contrary to Thuu's Onguth: Hunter of the Beastman tribe that captured
wishes) used to destroy the mirror. Sumia & Karm Karvus
Karm Karvus: Karm Karvus was a prince of Tsar- Oolim Thon: Alchemist-wizard who first isolated
gol and would have been rightful Sark of that city if Urlium and built the floater
not for the evil Drugunda Thal and his chief druid
Yelim Pelorvis. A captain of the royal guard, he was Phal Thurid: Sark of Thurdis
thrown into the dungeons after Thongor escaped
capture and threatened Drugunda, but the real reason Prince Dru: Noble of Thongor's council. He is fop-
was the evil Sark of Thargol had long hated Karm pish but an excellent swordsman
Karvus's family and seized the opportunity to be rid
of his young rival. Fighting side-by-side with Prince Kazan: A Lord of Cadorna
Thongor in the arena, the two of them rescued the
girl Kora and escaped in the floater, Nemedis. From Pytumathon: Magician of Zaar, one of the Nine
then on he assisted Thongor and Sharajsha in defeat-
ing the Dragon Kings, often piloting the Nemedis. Red Kashtar: The Pirate King of Tarakus
Sarkaja Sumia seemed attracted to him even though
he was sort of bat-like and ghoulish looking. Roegir: A blue Nomad Pirate. One of Berim Red-
beard’s crew of the Scimitar
Kashtar: Pirate-King of the pirates of Tarakus
Sarganeth of the Nuld: A Magician of Zaar, one of
Kogur: King of the Beastmen that captured Sumia the Nine
& Karm Karvus. He was stronger and bigger than
the rest of his tribe Sharajsha (The Great): Mighty wizard of Lemuria,
friend of Thongor. The wizard Sharajsha recruited
Kora : A peasant girl used by the people of Tsargol the barbarian Thongor to steal the remnants of the
as bait to lure out the dreaded rare Zemadar in the Star Stone, from which he might form another Star
arena of death. It was the duty of condemned men to Sword to oppose the Dragon Kings. Thongor suc-
fight in the arena and attempt to save the sacrificial cessfully completed this mission, recruiting Karm
victim if they could. After escaping from the arena Karvus and Sumia to his side in the course of his ad-
in the Nemedis, the heroes kindly dropped Kora off ventures. Sharajsha of Zaar was a powerful Le-
at her village murian sorcerer capable of firing bolts of mystic en-
ergy, creating shrouds of impenetrable darkness,
Lord Mael: Noble of Thongor's Sarkdom council casting realistic illusions, levitating objects, and
scrying the future in his mystic mirror. He also used
Lulera: Daughter of Lord Mael a harmless looking power to knock out a Tyranno-
saurus Rex (Dwark) However, like a lot of Magi-
Maldruth the Scarlet: Magician of Zaar, one of the ciand, Sharajsha suffered from being rendered effec-
Nine tively powerless when his hands were bound, unable
to cast his spells. He had a hideout in the foothills of
Mardonax: The Magician who killed Thongor in the Mountains of Mommur near Chush. Thongor's
Thongor at the End of Time. One of the Nine guide and mentor, it was he who repaired the flying
ship, and bathed the Star Stone in the Eternal Fire to
Mugchuk: Hunter of the Beastmen that captured recreate the Starsword
Karm Karvus & Sumia when they were lost in the
jungle Shangoth Jegga: Son of Jomdath, of the Jegga Blue
Nomads. Friend of Thongor
Narjan Zash Dromor: A zombie-like inhabitant of
Omm Sumia: Rescued by Thongor from the Yellow Dru-
32
ids of Patanga, she adventured with Valkarth, in the icy Northlands. Af-
him and became his lover and later ter many adventures, including ob-
his queen. Sarkaja Sumia of Patanga taining the Star-Stone so that be-
inherited her father's kingdom upon came Sarkon of the Three Cities
his death at the hands of the Arch-
druid Vaspas Ptol, but was unable to Thom Pervis: Daotar of the Air
rally her people against the evil Yel- Guard
low Druids. Vaspas Ptol attempted
to force Sumia to marry him three Thungarth: Hero of old who
seperate times in order to consoli- wielded the first Star-Sword to de-
date his rule even to the point of feat the Dragon-Kings
physically coercing her, but Sumia
remained steadfast. She met Tole Phomor: Otar of Thurdis, re-
Thongor and Sharajsha in her own placed Karm Karvus when he was
dungeons where they were prisoners imprisoned with Thongor
awaiting sacrifice. Escaping with
them in the Nemedis and nothing Vaspas Ptol: Arch-Druid of Ya-
left for her in Patanga, Sumia de- math, went into exile when
cides to accompany them to fight Thongor married Sumia and was
the Dragon Kings made Sark of the Three cities.
Tengri: Shaman of the Jegga Clan Xothun: The Morgulak ruler of the Lost City of
Omm. He was centuries old and resembled a giant
Thalaba the Destroyer: Insane Torturer and Magi- bloated leech-spider-thing. His flesh was spongy,
cian of Zaar and one of its Council of Nine pallid and dewed with perspiration, hanging from his
vile body in repulsive rolls and bladders of un-
Thangmar: A huge, blonde, blue-eyed pirate of healthy fatty tissue. His arms and legs were flippers
Barim Redbeard’s crew, who rescued Tharn and of dangling blubber. Xothun was a powerful Alche-
Charn Thovis from drowning mist and had some wondrous items and machines
that surrounded him in his lair
Tharn: Son of Thongor and Sumia
Yelim Pelorvis: Arch-Druid of Tsargol, the Red
Thongor: Barbarian warrior, thief and pirate from Druids
33
Althaar: Centre of the Nemedis: The First City,
“…Greatness came upon Patanga City of the Flame
Jegga Tribal lands Ancient Empire of Men,
in the days after Zaar of the Magicians was whelmed
home of Lord Thungarth.
and trodden down in ruin beneath the Unknown Sea;
Black Mountain: A tall It is now in ruins
and in the fullness of time six proud cities came to
mountain to the east of
stand under the black-and-golden banners of
Vodashpa Neol-Shendis: Inner sea
Thongor the Mighty, and lo! The gods were pleased.
sheltered by the Mountains
But the grim and unappeasable Fate that triumphs
Cadorna: City on the of Mommur
even over the gods and is not swayed by the splen-
west coast, in Kovia, home
dor and power of kings, smote the Warrior of the
of Prince Kazan Nianga: Land of the Grey
West with the strangest of dooms, and the jaws of
Wizards. Now barren and
Death gaped wide to engulf his unconquerable
Chush: Dense humid jun- desolate there are rem-
spirit….”
gle and home to fearsome nants of ancient cities hid-
beasts and savages den in the wastes.
Lin Carter, Thongor at the End of Time
Amongst these ruins are
Dalakh: City known for treasures and artifacts
its Assassins who use from ages past that
crooked dirks Alchemists might be
able to figure out and
Dragon Isles: Last use.
bastion of the Dragon-
Kings. Islands in the Omm: The Lost City.
inner sea of Neol- Lost a thousand years
Shendis, with scattered ago, now inhabited by
ruins of ancient and zombie-like people
alien black stone sapped of their will
by Xothun, a cruel
Durundabar: City blood-drinking
known for it’s leaf- morgulak
bladed fighting knives
Saan: A river that
Great Plains: Vast runs through Patanga
prairie, home to the
Blue Nomads Map of a part of Lemuria by Lin Carter Sardath Keep: For-
tress of Lord Mael, to the north of Patanga.
Grimstrand Firth: The place where Lord Thun-
garth defeated the Dragon-Kings, but died in the Shembis: Originally home to Arzang Pome who
process and shattered the first Star-Sword was exiled by Thongor
Kathool: City, north of Patanga and just south of the Takonda Charn: The Unknown Sea
Mountains of Mommur
Tarakus: Pirate city built into the cliffs at the mouth
Kodanga: A wild land in the Red Forest kingdoms of The Gulf.
between Tsargol and Tarakus. The inhabitants are
rugged, blonde and red-headed barbarians. Thurdis: Home of Phal Thurid. The city in which
Kovia: A land to the west of Chush Thongor is imprisoned for the killing in a tavern of
Jeled Malkh
Mountains of Mommur: Massive mountain range
in which the tallest is Sharimba, where Sharajsha Tsargol: The remaining fragment of the Star Stone
empowered the Star-Sword. The range separates the was placed in the Scarlet Tower of Tsargol, where it
southlands from the Barbarians of the Ice Wastes was guarded by the Slorgs and owned by the Red
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Druids
35
(Thongor*) the Gladiator heavy requiring a Thongorean roll (-4) to lift. There
*insert one of the character’s names here is little in the room itself, just some bedding straw in
the corner and some
Prisoners! “ We stand against the onslaught scratches on the wall (a pre-
With Bow and spear and shield! vious prisoner marking
The characters are all to- Till war’s red wave shall put us down down the days). The walls
gether in a large dungeon - Never shall we yield!” are solid stone blocks and
like cell. It is dark, dank Marching Song of the Patangan Archers are immoveable.
and smelly. They are the “Out there beyond the setting Sun,
only ones in this room. The Are kingdoms waiting to be won! However this part of the ad-
whole of one wall is taken And crowns, and women, gold and wine, venture goes, the characters
by a heavy bronze grill, Courage! And hold the battleline!” must eventually end up in
green with verdigris. the Arena so as a GM your
Through this grill a small War song of the Valkarthan Swordsmen job is to see that this does
amount of light filters from happen. If the Heroes do
a torch set on a wall across not get out of their cell then
the room on the other side of the grill. Next to it is a a little later they will see and hear some guards come
solid wooden door. There is a table and a couple of through the wooden door opposite their cell and take
chairs in the other room and bronze grills are set in the prisoners from one of the other cells away
two of the other walls, seemingly also barring the through the door. From beyond the door, whilst it is
way to cells full of men. open, comes a roar of excitement from what sounds
like a vast crowd. Later on, the door will again open
The characters may make their introductions at this and the prisoners from the other cell will be led
point and it would also be an opportune moment for away. Finally the guards will come again for the He-
the players to decide exactly what their characters roes. There are six guards with leather jerkins, hel-
are doing in here. mets, shields and spears in the room and another six
outside, two of whom have crossbows ready. The
Some good examples would be Heroes are unarmed and so an attempted escape at
this point would seem futile.
1. One could have been involved in a drunken brawl
with some city guards in a If the Heroes escaped by lifting the grille or some
tavern. other method then they will be able to get into the
2. One of them could be an escaped slave, if he has guardroom. The wooden door leading out is solidly
the appropriate career. locked and is again a Thongorean task (-4) to batter
3. One could be a thief caught stealing in the market down. Noise will bring the attention of the guards in
place. the corridor beyond. A thief could attempt to pick
4. Perhaps one broke into the Druids Temple think- the lock, which is a Hard task (-1) but Very Hard (-
ing to rob it and was found by the temple guards. 2) if trying to do it noiselessly.
5. One has perhaps been accused (rightly or
wrongly) of being a spy. If the door is opened characters will see that it leads
6. Maybe one character has not paid some debts - a to a long corridor, leading left and right, lined with
good one for a noble well armed guards and lit by torches set in wall
character. mountings. There are many sounds to greet their
ears - shouts and applause from a packed crowd of
The players may choose from the above or think of people, savage roars and growls from angry beasts
their own reasons for being here. They do not have and cries of pain from their victims. What is quite
to tell the truth but simple Heroic types usually do in clear though, is that escape at this point would seem
this sort of situation. to be impossible and so the characters may be better
to bide their time until an opportunity arises, (which
Let the players explore around and even test their it will).
strength on the bronze grill to try to lift it. It is ver
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Alternatively, characters can find their way out
along a few passages and up some steps, only to find
they are at the gate to the arena itself! In this case,
they will see a young girl tethered to a post, with a
savage jungle-beast just being let out of a gate at the
opposite side of the arena. Heroes would, in these
circumstances, leap into action to save the girl. THE ARENA GUARDS
37
(Thongor*) and the Island of Doom or otherwise escape (maybe using any appropriate
careers) the galley will nevertheless lose a large con-
The Tavern of Arsag Jorn tingent of men and be sufficiently damaged to re-
quire repair as soon as possible.
The adventure starts with a brawl in the Tavern of
Arsag Jorn, in the Pirate City of Tarakus. It is a port-
side tavern and Arsag is The Island of Doom
‘Below the Gulf of Patanga, aye, where it mingles
well used to his patrons
with the immeasurable waters of Yashengzeb Chun Depending on the encoun-
smashing the place and
the Southern Sea, there stands a great promontary of ter with the Larth, the He-
each other to pieces. It is
rock whereon is builded Tarakus the Pirate City, a roes will either put to
an unspoken rule in his
lawless and bloody realm that knoweth no rule save shore in a longboat or be
tavern that anyone who is
the lust of gold. Therefrom, in the long years ahead, washed up on the beach,
killed or knocked uncon-
a peril shall rise up to enshadow the Cities of the clinging to some piece of
scious gets looted to pay
West, so beware O Thongor….take warning and be- flotsam from the destroyed
for the damage.
ware.’ Wave Forager. There may
How the characters get
into the brawl is largely up be a few pirates still with
The Great Book of Sharajsha the Wizard them. The island is full of
to the GM. It will involve
Ballik Jorum in some way, strange noises from within
Lin Carter, Thongor fights the Pirates of Tarakus the dense jungle that
however. He is second
mate on the pirate ship comes right up to the edge
Wave Forager, whose captain is Korim Karthon. of the narrow strip of beach.
The Heroes could for example come to the aid of The only way through the dense foliage is to hack a
Ballik, who is being beset by pirates of another ship. path. It is slow going and very hot work. Anyone in
Or, Ballik and a couple of his men might taunt them armour will be slowed and may require strength rolls
into a fight as a means of testing their mettle. (An (start at ‘Easy’ on the Task Resolution table and
alternative, if one of the Heroes has a career in Pi- move it up one rung each hour) to keep going. Oth-
rate, is have that character replace Ballik Jorum). erwise they fall down exhausted.
Either which way Korim is looking for a few useful The characters will hack through the jungle for
men to help them in their venture, which is a sea hours. There are growls and screams, roars and
voyage to The Isle of Doom, where they understand screeches from all around. Every now and again
was an old temple full of enough riches to make bushes will move up ahead or from behind. Charac-
them all kings! ters with appropriate careers may make rolls to de-
termine that the group is being followed.
The Wave Forager
At a small clearing a couple of the remaining pirates
The ship is a reasonably good one and of about aver- will get caught up in a trap set across their path. This
age size for a pirate galley. It would probably have is a weighted net that falls down upon them. If there
to run from a fully-armed War Galley but could take are no pirates left then it may fall on one or two of
on most merchant vessels or smaller fighting ships. the Heroes (appropriate careers and action rolls can
be used to avoid).
The first two days are pretty uneventful but on the
third evening a large shape is Then the Cannibals attack. There are two cannibals
sighted heading straight for the galley. The Heroes per Hero, plus one for each pirate left. They are
can have a go at fighting it off (the pirates will help, armed with blowpipes with mildly toxic darts and
but despite all their efforts, it is only the Heroes and clubs or spears. This is a chance to kill off any re-
maybe Korim Karthon who may have any actual ef- maining pirates. Then it is down to the Heroes to
fect upon the beast). fight off the cannibals – which they should be able
to.
It is a dreaded Larth, a huge sea-serpent. It is likely
to destroy the galley, killing or drowning most of the
pirates on board. However, if the Heroes drive it off,
38
The Ruined Temple
There is a dark overgrown altar in the centre of the Strength 0 Agility 1 Mind 0 Appeal –1
temple. Beneath the altar (moved as a ‘Mighty’ task Brawl 1 Melee 1 Missile 1 Defence 1
using strength) is a set of dark ancient steps leading Pirate 1
down. At the foot of the stairs is a trap (a loose step), Armour 0 (None)
which releases a block from the ceiling above. Weapons Cutlass d6+1, Knife d4
Hit Points 5
The trap can be spotted by a Mind roll (plus any ap-
propriate career, say Thief) as a Thongorean Task (it THE CANNIBALS
is well hidden and it is also dark down here). The
block will be avoided by an agility roll (plus career, Strength 1 Agility 0 Mind –1 Appeal 0
say Barbarian for natural danger sense). Brawl 0 Melee 0 Missile 1 Defence 1
Hunter 1
Once the block is avoided, the corridor ahead Armour 0 (none)
stretches into the darkness. It seems to continue to Weapons Spear d6 + 2 Blowpipe 1 point (+ poi-
slope downwards. It is dark and there is a stronger son)
sense of brooding evil in the depths. There is an Hit Points 6
echo coming from the deeps. The Heroes will need a
light source. LARTH
The passage continues deeper and deeper under- Strength 50 Agility 0 Mind 0 Appeal n/a
ground. It eventually ends in a large cavernous un- Defence 0
der-temple. There are huge cyclopean pillars of dark Fangs 0 2d10 damage Tail 0 d10 dam-
stone supporting the ceiling. There is a slithering age
sound in the darkness at the outer reaches of the Armour 6 (hide 6)
light source. It is coming closer. Coming towards Attack with 1 attack +0 (agility)
them, the Heroes will see a Xuth! It is only about Attack with 2 attacks -1 per attack
40’ long, but nonetheless should be a horrendous job
for the Heroes to kill. Hit Points 60
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40