A Free Adventure for

Ian Brocklehurst

Welcome ladies, gentlemen, swashbucklers,sorceresses and veteran dungeoneers to anotherthrilling instalment of Advanced FightingFantasy. This mini feature’s action filled

adventure takes place in that infamous land of danger,Allansia. As with all the episodes that occurred before thisstory expect this quest to contain devious booby-traps, stirringsword play and treasure beyond imagination!

Director’s Introduction

The information that follows is for the Director’s eyes only.If you’re a player planning on being a Hero who takes partin this mini-adventure then you should stop reading rightabout NOW! If you read on then you’re just going to spoil theadventure for yourself and the other players too. Perhaps youshould make your Adventure Sheet more legible so that we canall see exactly what your Hero has in terms of skills andequipment.

Have those pesky players gone? Excellent!

Raiders of the Desecrated Temple is written in a very specific,structured format which I think you should be used to bynow. However, just in case you’re not entirely familiar withthe format here follows a brief summary of how an AFFadventure is set out.

The plot is divided up into a number of Scenes, which areplayed through according to both the actions and decisionsof the players.

As each new scene is introduced its Location will be describedfirst, from the point of view of an imaginary movie-cameraviewing it as the scene opens. This description can be readout to the players in order to help them visualise the sceneryaround them or better still show them the illustration andplans that accompany this adventure. When you see textwritten in italics like this, you should read this out to theplayers.Afterwards there is a Plot Summary, which is a brief outlineof what should happen as the scene is played out. Next is theCast List which contains for Raiders of the Desecrated Temple allthe Bad Guys and Extras who will likely be portrayed by you,the Director.The Props passage provides some ideas to help spruce up therole-play experience of the gaming session, although they arenot absolute necessities.Of paramount importance to each scene is the Action! passage,which lets you as Director to present the scene and then allowyour players to act their way through it. In this mini-adventure there may be several segments in this section, but

in each one you will read what is supposed to happen toensure the adventure progresses. If something unexpectedoccurs, the Problems? section will offer advice on how to getthe plot back on track. At the end of the day it will be downto you as the Director to ensure that Raiders of the DesecratedTemple reaches a satisfying climax even if it is not exactly bythe book so to speak.Finally, there will be Turn to . . . instructions, which allowsthe action to cut and move directly to the next scene. Just asin the movies, the heroes in an AFF adventure never have togo undergo boring transitional sequences between actionscenes . . . unless you want them to!

Adventure Summary

Before delving any further, here is a brief synopsis of whatRaiders of the Desecrated Temple is all about.

This mini-adventure is a treasure hunt. The Heroes have beenhired by the Brotherhood of Telak to travel from the city ofSalamonis on a road that leads to the Moonstone Hills to arecently ransacked temple located just off the beaten track.They are to go there in order to retrieve a sacred relic knownas Telak’s Blade of Valour which was secretly hidden thereby the Brotherhood years before. Besides their weapon skills,the heroes will need their wits about them if they are tosuccessfully find the Blade of Valour. Just in case they haveany problems the players will be joined by an adventuringPriest character, Brother Durn who may aid them in theirquest.

The Heroes

If you have been playing AFF for some time, your playerswill already have their own Heroes ready to take part. Thisquest is perfect to fill in the gap after they finished anadventure that brings them into the city of Salamonis. Shouldthis mini-adventure be your Heroes introductory game thenyou should be helping the players generate their Heroesusing the standard rules from AFF 2e.

For this adventure it is best to avoid Priestly characters andplayers whose heroes are monster races should be excluded.The former because you will playing the role of Brother Durnalongside the Heroes who is an adventuring Priest whoworships Telak making Priests belonging to other deities a“conflict of ideology”. As for the latter they should be

RAIDERS OF THE DESECRATED TEMPLE

Adventure & Plans by Ian Brocklehurst - Illustration by Angela SalamalikiLayout by Graham Bottley

excluded on the grounds that such a character will havedifficulty taking part in the second Location of this adventure.This mini-adventure is best suited for a band of between threeand five heroes. Since Brother Durn will join the players, toomany players may spoil the adventure by easily defeatingencounters and too few Heroes may be up against the odds!

Getting Started

The best way to start an adventure story is in media res, whichin Latin roughly means in the middle of things. Having theplayers step straight into the story without all the boringpreliminary explanation of how they got there makes for anentertaining opening sequence. Raiders of the Desecrated Templecan begin in this way or if your players would prefer torole-play the story from the very beginning then what followsare some ideas for scenes which you can create to be playedout before the crawling text opens this mini-feature. Unlikethose in the main adventure, what follows are scenes that arenot fully described and so as the Director you’re going to haveflesh out some of the finer details along with acting the roleof the Head of the Brotherhood of Telak who hires the players.

Introductory Sequence 1 – The Hiring

To begin with open the adventure by reading the followingto the Heroes.

The Bloated Dwarf is one of Salamonis’ finest taverns. Selling thetastiest dishes in the city it is always packed to the rafters withpatrons. Having decided to enjoy yourselves for a change youarrived early one evening to get a table and splash out some of yourhard earned gold pieces on a good time.

Before the players get too comfyinterrupt their revelry by having Priestof Telak burst into the tavern andannounce that the Head of theBrotherhood is in need of a band ofadventurers to immediately hit theroad and head to a roadside templewhich lies on the route into theMoonstone Hills that has been recentlyransacked, in order to recover a holyrelic.

Obviously the players will take up theoffer and the Priest will take them tothe Patriarch of the Brotherhood ofTelak, Obadiah Reed. Reed will offer75 Gold Pieces upfront and another 75for successfully returning the Blade ofValour. The Heroes will also beaccompanied by Brother Durn whoknows the route to the Temple and willof course keep an eye on the Heroesensuring they don’t just cut and run

with the 75 Gold Pieces (of course they wouldn’t be Heroesif they did that, would they?)

Answers to any questions the Heroes may have about the godTelak and either the ransacking of the Temple or the Blade ofValour can be found in Scene 1. You can use information thereto come up with a suitable response by Reed. As a descriptionof Brother Durn can also be found there you can read up abouthis character and thus make his first meeting with the Heroesa memorable one.

On route . . .

Once the players have agreed to the terms have the Heroesset out with Brother Durn to the ransacked Temple on foot orhorse. If a player has an exotic mount, best leave that asidefor this adventure. As Brother Durn knows the location of theTemple there’s little chance the Heroes can get lost. However,to liven the proceedings up it might be fun to have somethingnasty attack the travelling adventurers. As the band of Heroesset out in the dead of night it might be appropriate for D6+2wolves to harass the players or maybe they stumble across aresting Orc war band?

Either way once the Heroes have travelled around 8km fromSalamonis then they reach the location of the ransackedTemple. The temple is almost spherical in appearance with adragon statuette topping the dome. A thick wooden door thathas been left open marks the entrance. The building is stillsmouldering from the attack it suffered. [You could alwaysshow the illustration of the temple below to the players.]

Turn to Scene 1

Scene 1 – Interior of the ransackedTemple

If your players have not role-played the IntroductorySequence then the following text can be read out to theplayers who can imagine it scrolls up across the screen to astirring piece of musical score.

In the Celestial Court sits Telak the god of courage, son of Fourgaand patron of all warriors and professional mercenaries. A deity onthe side of Good his name is known across Titan and on thecontinent of Allansia there is an extensive network of templesdedicated to him in which those who wish to make an offering tohim can do so.One such temple lay on the road out of Salamonis towards theMoonstone Hills. Recently it was raided only a solitary Brother ofTelak survived the ransacking and made it back to Salamonis to tellthe Patriarch of the Brotherhood of the heinous crime that had beencommitted.Outraged at this sacrilege the Patriarch immediately decides to allupon the aid of hired adventures to journey to the temple on a topsecret mission. For in that temple the Brotherhood had hiddenTelak’s Blade of Valour, which the forces of Darkness would verymuch like to get their claws on.One group of Heroes answered the Patriarch’s call and togetherwith Brother Durn of the Brotherhood they travelled through thenight from Salamonis to reach the ransacked temple just as the sunbegins to rise in the east.

LocationThe interior of the ransacked temple; check out the plan tothis location below. Access to the Lower Sanctum is throughthe pool in the centre of the building, which is in fact a secretentrance.

Plot SummaryThe Heroes and Brother Durn arrive in the ransacked templeonly to be ambushed by some raiders who have remainedhidden lying in wait for someone to come and get the Bladeof Valour. After the ambush is thwarted (unless the Heroesare useless) the players must work out the location of theresting place of the holy relic they have come to retrieve.

Cast List

Brother Durn. The Priest from the Brotherhood of Telak is amiddle-aged man of average height, but he looks quiteathletic for his age. He has an air of wisdom about him anddoesn’t seem to the sort of man who loses his temper easily.In his youth he was a soldier in the army of Salamonis and asa follower of Telak he is well trained in the use of weaponsfor self defence purposes. However, a tenant of theBrotherhood is to abstain from the shedding of blood and soDurn will avoid wounding anyone and resort to using hisstaff as a weapon if needs must be.

BROTHER DURN SKILL 9

STAMINA 12MAGIC 8Special Skills:

Staff (3)Magic-Priestly 3

Powers: Telak’s Courage, Bravery, Smite, HealSocial Scale 3

Staff, Small pouch containing 3 GP.

Auric Nimrod. The leader of the ambushing Raiders is ahard-bitten tough guy who was born to wield a sword. He isin his early 30’s with an ugly scar running down his left cheek.He is arrogant and confident at his own superior skills, whichunusually for a boasting villain he does indeed have.

AURIC NIMRODSKILL 10STAMINA 16Special Skills: Ride (2)

Sword (2)Armour (1)Bow (1)Dodge (1)Sneaking (1)Thrown (1),Brawling (1)

Social Scale 6

Sword, Throwing Daggers, Leather Jerkin

Raiders. The men under Nimrod are armed brigands whopossess little fighting skills, but rely on their overwhelmingnumbers to defeat opponents.

RAIDERSKILL 7STAMINA 9

Sword

PropsTo get the sense of being in the ransacked temple you couldlight a few candles and then put them out leaving that faintsmell of burning lingering in the air around the gaming table.Be careful not to set alight the curtains or sofa! The use ofminiatures and a reproduction of the interior plan could comein handy for those players who like to see such things laidout on the table top before them.

Action!

1. ArrivalWhether or not you role-played the Introductory Sequenceyou’ll need to describe the interior of the temple. The Heroesenter the temple on the upper floor, which has wings to theright and left that are covered by thick curtains. There is alower floor in the centre of the building in which an ornatecircular pool roughly a metre and a half in diameter can beseen with four small dragon heads surrounding it on thecardinal points with their small mouths gaping open. Besidesthe curtains the walls running round the upper floor are

decorated with embroidered arras. On the opposite side tothe entrance is an altar with three metre-tall statues on it. Oneis a dragon, the next a lion and the last a heavily armedwarrior. There are also a lot of golden candlestick holdersdotted around the interior some of which have beenoverturned.

Whoever ransacked the place has left overturned chairs, tablesas well as the candlestick holders around along with slashingmost of the decorative arras that cover the walls. Fire damageis extensive and the smell of smoke pervades the air.

The Heroes may start to search around the desecrated temple.Ask them what they’re up too. Besides Awareness some ofthem may specifically starting searching in a certain areawhich means there is a chance that they may spot the hiddenraiders. If the Heroes are successful then test on Nimrod’sSpecial Skill Hide to ensure that along with his men Nimrodremains hidden behind the curtains that cover the wingsalong one or two others who have taken up positions behindthe arras on the walls. If Nimrod fails his test then skippassage 2 and read part 3.

The Heroes are sure to question Brother Durn on varioustopics. If he gives an answer to questions concerning the Bladeof Valour then immediately launch the ambush. Here areanswers to some of the possible questions the Heroes mightask.

Who attacked the temple?‘A good question, my friend. Young Brother Xerxes who was blessedenough to survive this tragedy said the attackers were men whospoke Allansian.’

Why did they attack?‘Brother Xerxes could not answer that question when PatriarchReed asked him. He said the men simply shouted insults as theyattacked Xerxes and the other three Brothers who were present atthe time.’

What happened to the other Brothers?‘I fear we are about to find out what fate befell them.’

Didn’t they defend themselves?Brother Xerxes was just a boy compared to the other brethren whowere here. They were ten years on me. Although trained to use astaff, I think the attackers knew they would not be too difficult tooverpower.’

Who is Telak?‘I remember asking that question to Patriarch Reed when I met himyears ago . . . when he was merely Brother Reed. This was hisanswer. “Telak is the bastion from which the courage of mankinddraws upon”. Soon afterwards I learnt that Telak is the god ofCourage and the patron to all warriors and professional mercenaries.He is also known by the name Oriel and in some lands is calledeither the Shieldbearer or the Swordbearer or the Warrior This

golden sword tattoo on my hand is his symbol and if we look aroundthis place we will see images of the three likenesses that Telak isknown for; a dragon, a lion and a heavily armed warrior.’

How long have you served Telak?‘I left the service of the Salamonis Army on the first day of Reapingsixteen years ago and entered the service of the Brotherhood the verysame day.’

Why is there a pool in the temple?‘I see you don’t visit temples very often. Not that I’m judging youfor that. The pool is there for pilgrims to offer a coin in return forTelak’s blessing.’

What is the Blade of Valour?‘The Blade of Valour is the Brotherhood’s most holy relic. It is saidto be a fabulous golden sword capable of slaying any being of Chaos.No one in the Brotherhood has laid eyes upon it for centuries for ithas remained hidden here as it is a weapon not meant for mankind.’

Where is the Blade of Valour?‘The Patriarch did not reveal that secret to me. He said that theBlade is the prize if one completes the Trials of Telak and nor did heexplain what the Trials were either. To be perfectly honest, myfriends I am in the dark as much as you as to the location of thissacred Blade.’

2. AmbushThe Heroes are set upon by Auric Nimrod and seven raiderswho have concealed themselves in the ransacked interiorwaiting for someone to come back to the temple.Nimrod will shout the following as he emerges sword drawnand advances to Brother Durn.‘Foolish Salamonisians, prepare to die.’

Nimrod will actively attack Brother Durn whereas the raiderswill square up to the Heroes. As Nimrod clashes with theDurn he will have the chance to mutter the following.‘My benefactor has paid me a handsome fee to ensure the Blade ofValour leaves this place in my hands and not yours. The Brotherswe found here chose death over revealing its resting place. I hopeyou will be a more cooperative Brother?’

Durn’s response to this threat.‘Threats are the bluster of a coward. You will find my staff an equalmatch to your blade.’

The raiders catch the Heroes unawares slightly and so giveeach Hero and Brother Durn a -1 penalty to their currentSKILL or relevant fighting Special Skill in the first round ofcombat.

The ambush will fizzle out. When either two raiders are killedor Nimrod is reduced to STAMINA of 8, Nimrod will cry outthe following.

‘Oh curséd spite, I had not foreseen such formidable opponents. Tothe hills, men take to the hills.’The raiders will break off their attack and flee.

3. Ambush pre-emptedShould a canny Hero suss out that there are Bad Guys waitingto spring an ambush, they will be able to turn the tables onthe raiders.

Nimrod will shout the following as the Heroes suddenly drawtheir weapons and flush out the raiders.‘A thousand curses upon you! If I cannot kill you then I will payback my benefactor that which he gave me to claim this accursedBlade of Valour. It wasn’t enough to die for!’

There will be no penalty to SKILL or relevant fighting SpecialSkills if the Heroes prevent the ambush from being sprung.When either two raiders are killed or Nimrod is reduced toSTAMINA of 8, Nimrod will cry out the following.‘Bah! You might have thwarted me for the moment, but I’ll be back.Retreat, men take to the hills.’

4. Entrance to the Lower SanctumOnce the raiders have left the temple the Heroes must focuson searching for the resting place of the Blade of Valour. Theycan continue their search (or start searching if they were toobusy chewing the cud with Brother Durn before the ambush)and someone will find the bodies of the 3 Brothers behind thecurtains on the left wing. They have been horribly torturedto death. On seeing their bodies Brother Durn will shake hishead and whisper quietly.It’s been so long since I’ve laid eyes upon such horror. Not since myarmy days when we butchered an Orc village. Who could be sodesperate for the Blade of Valour that they would go to such lengths?Eventually . . . hopefully, someone will examine the pool andthe dragon heads. If anyone drinks from the pool roll a D6and apply the following for it’s a magical pool whichinvigorates strength.

D6 Roll Effect1 +1 STAMINA point2-3 +2 STAMINA points4-5 +3 STAMINA points6 +D6 STAMINA points

A close inspection of the dragon heads will result in theobservation that the gaping mouths can be closed. If all 4mouths are closed read out the following to the players.

With a sudden and violent SPLOSH the pool empties into theground as a gaping hole appears where the water of the pool satmoments before. At the same time can be heard the sound of a boltbeing drawn and a heavy door swinging open somewhere in thebowls of the temple emanating from out of that hole that has appeared.

The Heroes will undoubtedly conclude (correctly) that theBlade of Valour must lie below. A shrewd Hero may think ofdropping a lit torch into the dark hole. If they do so then readout the following.The torch fizzles out on the sodden earth that covers the ground,but it clear that the drop from the temple into the hole is no morethan three meters.

Problems?Don’t let the raiders slay Brother Durn as he useful for thenext Scene. For that matter don’t let the Heroes kill him either(which would be a very, very unheroic thing to do.) If theHeroes want to chase after the raiders have Brother Durn saythe following.‘Let them go, my friends. Our purpose here is to locate the Blade ofValour. I’m sure our paths will cross with those villains again.’

If none of the heroes check out the pool then I guess BrotherDurn will have to discover the secret entrance to the LowerSanctum.

Turn to. . .The Heroes will have to decide how they are going to descendinto the hole. Will they use a rope or will they just dropthemselves down? If they don’t think of using a rope it mightbe a good idea for Brother Durn to suggest the following.‘Perhaps this hole is the only way in and out? We might needsomething to pull ourselves out with?’

Once the players have decided upon their course of action inregards to descending into the hole, move onto Scene 2 - TheLower Sanctum.

Scene 2 - The Lower Sanctum

LocationSince you’re the Director you can now refer to the second planprovided with this adventure in order to show the playerswhere they are. You can read out the following.Standing on the sodden earth that several minutes ago was thetemple’s pool you find yourselves in a small circular chamber withthree thick-set wooden doors firmly shut on three of the four cardinalpoints. To the south the door there has swung open, which accountsfor the noise you heard emanating from down here.

The Heroes will now enter the open room (the other doorswill not open by any means) and discover that in order toretrieve the Blade of Valour they will have undergo the Trialsof Telak, which are three tests of skill in each of the roomsbehind the locked doors. Each of the Lower Sanctum’s fourrooms and the chamber that faces the doors will be describedin the appropriate Action! segment. Hopefully the Heroeshave lit some torches otherwise they may face problems

seeing in the darkness that shrouds the Lower Sanctum. Whatabout a magic spell to illuminate proceedings, I hear you ask?Read on to discover the tricky predicament spell casters willhave during the Trials of Telak. It’s also so dark down herethat the Special Skill Dark Seeing won’t be of any use.

Plot SummaryThe Heroes undergo the Trials of Telak one by one andsucceed in locating the Blade of Valour (or die trying).

Cast ListIn the Lower Sanctum there is but one encounter for theHeroes and it’s a nasty one. The final Trial of Telak will seethe Heroes square up against a Marble Lion that is animatedby magical means.

Due to the fact the Marble Lion’s hide is cut from an incrediblyhard material; it is very difficult to inflict damage against it.After rolling on the Damage Table, you must deduct 2 pointsfrom the damage score rolled. To add further misery uponthe Heroes, Critical Hits simply do normal damage! Luckily,the Marble Lion has an Achilles Heel (quite literally) toexploit.

On the rear right leg’s heel of the Marble Lion an observantHero (using a Special Skill perhaps) can spot a metallic plugwhich keeps the magical ichors that keeps the creatureanimated from draining away. A Test of Luck is required tohit it. Once the plug has been dislodged by a lucky blow thenthe brown ichors will start to drain out onto the ground. TheMarble Lion will lose 4 STAMINA points each Attack Roundfrom then on, until it returns to a static state. If a Hero wishesto touch the ichors they will be horribly burned and lose D6STAMINA points. The ichors could be contained only in amarble container or a magical flask (as Director you candecide what is acceptable should any player decide they wantto keep some ichors).

MARBLE LIONSKILL 12STAMINA 262 Attacks; Very Large Bite

PropsIf you’re playing at night and the Heroes are torch-less thenswitch off the lights to emulate the darkness they are in. Againthe use of miniatures could come in handy, but they’re notnecessary. An image of one of the lion statues that graceTrafalgar Square in London might come in handy.

Action!As you will see there is a separate Action! passage for each ofthe rooms that the Heroes will come across as they undergothe Trials of Telak. The Heroes will encounter each room innumerical sequence and so long as they survive the Trial theywill proceed to the next room.

1. The Initial Chamber (Room 1)There is nothing to this chamber, which you described to theplayers after they lowered (or dropped) themselves into itfrom above except for the following feature that only you asthe Director know; unlike the four rooms that lead from thischamber any form of magic can be used here. Each of therooms has been enchanted in such way that no form of magiccan be cast or conjured. The Heroes will have to work this outfor themselves. Even Brother Durn has no idea about theenchantments thathave been put in placein the rooms. If theHeroes get a bit shirtywith him on the issue,he will answer.‘Such is the Will of Telakthat he expects oursuccess to be from ourwits and courage alone.Magic is the resort of thelazy [No offence, myfriend(s)] –added if anymagicians present.

2. The Trials Revealed(Room 2)This room is of averagesize, but containsuseful information ifthe players payattention to the smalldetails.

On the wall facing the Heroes is a fresco depicting variousaspects to do with Telak as well as the following informationcontained on a gold plaque that the Heroes can read if theyapproach the wall. The plaque is roughly A3 paper size.

Initiate of Telak, thou seekest the Blade of Valour but hast thou thecourage to triumph in the Trials of Telak?The opening Trial: The Breath of TelakIn plain sight can be found the key to quench the breath of TelakThe second Trial: The Name of TelakOnly by choosing His name will you proceedThe final Trial: The Strength of TelakEven the most powerful opponent has a weakness in their armour

On completing each Trial you will be rewarded. Your initial rewardlies behind this plaque.

Any Hero can easily prise the plaque out of the wall slightlyand it will swing open to the left on some hinges. It will reveala small gold statuette (Oscar-size) of a heavily armed warriorsitting on a tiny dais. The moment the statuette is picked upthen there will be a repeat of the sound the Heroes heardearlier of a bolt being drawn and a heavy door squeakingopen – the door to room 2 has opened.

If any Hero wants to ask Brother Durn for any adviceconcerning the Trials – he will answer thus:‘Well, my friend I think there’s wisdom in those lines under thedescription of each Trial. However, until we see what each Trialentails I cannot imagine what that wisdom could mean.’

3. The Breath of Telak (Room 3)On entering this room the Heroes will see that the room tapersinto a narrow passage that ends with a rather frightening headof a dragon carved from stone into the wall itself. The headmust be a few meters in diameter and its notable features aretwo sunken eye sockets and the wide-open maw. Onceanyone steps into the room’s passage facing the dragon’s headthen a 5 second blast of flame will explode from the dragon’smouth which is treated like an Large Fire (AFF2e p53) forgaming purposes. The jet of fire cannot be avoided as thenarrow passage ensures the deadly fire-blast is channelled atall those who approach the dragon’s head.

The secret to completing this Trial is to either shoot or throwsomething into the eye sockets either with a Special Skill in

weapons such as Bow or the Hero must Test for Luck twice toaccurately throw something into each eye socket. Once eacheye socket has been hit then the dragon’s mouth will rumbleshut and reveal a small golden dragon statuette in scale withthe heavily armoured warrior resting on a pedestal at the footof the dragon’s head.

The moment the dragon statuette is picked up then the Heroeswill hear the sound of a bolt being drawn and a heavy doorsqueaking open – the door to room 3 has opened.

4. The Name of Telak (Room 4)In this room the Heroes will find in the middle of the room amedium sized wooden table covered in tiny clay figurinesand against the rear wall is a huge block of stone which hascut into the middle of it two circular sized openings. On closerinspection of these hand–sized openings the Heroes will seethat one opening is closed by a small portcullis, whereas theother is open. If anyone sticks their hand into the open onenothing happens. If they poke something into the openingnothing untoward will happen. What they need to do is placeinside the hole one of the figurines from the table.

When the Heroes look at the figurines of the table you can tellthem that the figurines are all the same height – half the sizeof the statuettes they have already collected – and depict whatappears to be the same man carrying something. Everyfigurine displays a different object. As the Director you candecide how many figurines there are and describe what isbeing carried by the man in each one. Anything can be saidto be carried from a baby dragon to a double-headed axe.However, it is of the upmost importance that you nevermention any type of sword and you do mention a shield.

If a Hero places a figurine into the circular opening that isn’tcarrying a shield then they are immediately struck by anelectrical discharge that causes 1D6+2 STAMINA damage. Ifthey place the Shieldbearer figurine (another name for Telak)into the opening then the closed one’s portcullis will slideopen. From inside that opening a Hero will be able to pull outa bronze statuette of a lion and at the same time the Heroeswill hear (expectantly?) the sound of the fourth door opening.

5. The Strength of Telak (Room 5)On entering this large room the Heroes will find a sizeablepedestal in the centre of the room on top of which is a marblelion (showing the players an image of a Trafalgar Square lionwould be useful here). At the front of the pedestal there arethree spaces shaped like the statuettes the Heroes havecollected so far.

The Heroes will place the statuettes into their respectiveplaces, but they will find in whatever order they try that thelion one will not fit its slot. It’s slightly too large. Each time astatuette is placed into its designated space then a smallportcullis drops down after a few seconds trapping thestatuette in place. Once the heavily armed warrior and the

dragon statuette have been put in their place then the MarbleLion will animate and attack the Heroes (who were no doubtexpecting this to happen, right?)

Up to three Heroes can battle with the Marble Lion at oncewhether in this room or any other in the Lower Sanctum asthe Marble Lion will give chase if the Heroes try to run away.The Marble Lion has two attacks. This means it can fight twoopponents simultaneously and injure them separatelywhereas any successful dice rolls against a third Hero doresult in damage being inflicted; this merely represents thatHero’s blows being blocked.

Hopefully the Heroes will succeed in the final Trial of Telakand when the Marble Lon is defeated it will crack apart andfall to pieces. A quick search of the remains will unearthanother lion statuette which not only is made from gold butis also a perfect fit for the space on the pedestal. On pushingin the lion and after the mini-portcullis drops the Heroes willhear a loud click emanating from the pedestal itself. If theyexamine the top of the pedestal they will see that it is in facta lid and with a successful Test of Stamina or Strength SpecialSkill will see the lid pushed aside. Read the following.

With a resounding crash that echoes around the room the stone lidslips to the ground and shatters into three pieces. Gazing inside thepedestal you see a magnificently crafted sword that seems to radiatean air of sanctity. It is the Blade of Valour. You have successfullycompleted the Trials of Telak.

THE END

Problems?It’s possible your set of Hero’s are not a particularly brightbunch and so as the Director you may have to discretely haveBrother Durn guide the Heroes to success. Anyone with TrapKnowledge won’t have any success at using it during theseTrials as the “traps” involved are of a magical origin. You canalways tell the player(s) with that skill the following if theyare successful in rolling against the Lethal Rating of 5 for eachTrial.You sense a magical origin here that is beyond your ken. Or wordsto that effect

Turn to . . .That should be the conclusion to this mini-feature unless youwanted an extra scene after the credits have played out inwhich we see the Heroes return to Salamonis with the Bladeof Valour and collect their 75 Gold Pieces? Of course there isan unanswered question lingering in the minds of the players(and the audience), who hired Auric Nimrod and his Raidersto ransack the temple and find the Blade of Valour? Theanswer to this lies in the main feature which you can produceyourself. Go on, you know you want to after all your Heroesmay have completed the Trials of Telak, but the adventure isnever over!