A Conan The Roleplaying Game adventure set along the western edge of the Black Kingdoms. Characters should be 4th to 5th level, with an average of 4 to 6 players. Any characters can be played and the Games Master can easily modify the adventure to accommodate mercenaries or warriors from any southern tribe. This is an alternative adventure involving the temple of Jullah, and a longer version can be found in Conan: Tales of the Black Kingdoms.
OVERVIEW: ANGER OF A DARK GOD
The Black Kingdoms of the south have been the birthplace to dark mysteries and ancient legends for untold ages. Shadowed jungles and untamed savannas dominate most of the southern lands. Tribes of dark skinned warriors have long held sway over the Black Kingdoms and have risen very little out of the primordial jungles. Recently the city of Zabhela, the largest of Kush’s coastal cities, has seen a civil war tear the countryside apart. King Mugambi has ruled Zabhela for over 20 years and does not plan to end his rule any time soon. King Mugambi has sent word to distant lands, calling for mercenaries or adventures to heed his call to battle, promising payment in gold, silver and jade. The adventure should begin when the characters answer the call for glory and treasure. The characters, no matter what their background, should take passage aboard a Shemite merchant ship out the port of Asgalun. The Adissa is a medium sized merchant ship that carries a crew of 35 and can carry up to 20 passengers. Her captain, Turlrith Omar (6th level pirate/2nd level soldier), has agreed to take the characters on board and give them passage to the city of Zabhela as long as they agree to help with the day-to-day duties of ship life and help repel any pirates they might meet along the way. Several days into the journey, the Adissa should just be past the border of Stygia when it falls afoul of a summer storm. The massive storm tosses the Adissa like a piece of flotsam on the open sea. For two days, the ship’s crew tries to keep the Adissa afloat and off the dangerous reefs of the Kushite coast, but their efforts are in vain. A 30-foot swell rises out of the deep and slams the ship against the jagged reefs of the coast.
The ship’s crew is tossed into the sea like driftwood, clinging to whatever will float in the mad, churning ocean. The adventure begins when the characters find themselves being revived by a group of dark skinned natives. These particular tribesmen are known as the ‘Jahari’. The Jahari welcome the survivors into their camp with open arms. Immediately it becomes apparent that the Jahari are on the decline and look to be slowly starving. It is also apparent that there are few males above the age of 15. When questioned, the Jahari tell the characters that reason they are starving is that ‘jungle demons’ prevent them from hunting in the ‘cursed valley’. The Jahari are referring to an ancient valley that is home to the ‘Children of Jullah’. When the Jahari refer to Jullah, they are using the southern word for ‘Gullah’ the Gorilla-God, who is son of Jhebbal Sag. The Children of Jullah are actually the remnants of an ancient tribe of Kushites that worshipped Gullah and now have degenerated to man-ape status. The Jahari also explain how the other, nearby, tribesmen have begun to raid the Jahari because of their weakness.
Children of Jullah
The Children of Jullah
The characters should offer to help the Jahari and free them from the terror of Jullah’s children. The adventurers should then travel to the forbidden valley where they find the remains of an ancient civilisation and its degenerate inhabitants. There they will battle the children of Jullah and put an end to their reign of terror. If the Games Master decides that the adventure is not challenging enough for the characters, then he should start the adventure at the time the group leaves the port of Asgalun and ‘throw in’ a pirate encounter.
Survivors of the Storm As the adventure begins, the characters find themselves washed up on the shores of some uknown stretch of the Black Coast. As the characters begin to drag their waterlogged bodies off the beach, several figures emerge from the direction of the jungle and begin to approach the group. If the group does not attack the approaching figures, they will be greeted by several Jahari villagers. A successful Diplomacy check (DC 15) will calm the villagers and show them that the characters are friendly.
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