Antecedentes

Several of the chests and casks are attached to the ground, and the bottommost gem or coin in each is rigged with a trap as well. This is because most grave-robbers are so greedy, they cannot leave even a single bit of treasure behind. To determine their effects, roll on Table 5–4: Random Traps on page 45.

Development

The hidden door to Room 6–4: False Burial Chamber has a relief of Karitamen on the interior. The collar around his neck is done in sunken relief, which is unusual—normally it would

Chapter XI: Tomb Level Six

be in bas-relief, protruding instead of carved out. The collar’s centrepiece is his signature death scarab. If the door is pushed back flush against the treasure room wall and one of the onyx scarabs from Karitamen’s war banner is placed into the outlined scarab of the collar and turned clockwise, the door slides open, revealing a second portal behind it. Through this portal lies a long staircase that leads down to Room 7–1: The Burial

Chamber.

Treasure

Everything in this room is a treasure. The exact amount is up to you and the nature of your campaign. The wealth in this room is enough to make the PCs rich beyond belief, perhaps as wealthy as some of the wealthiest people in the Empire. In most WFRP campaigns, the sheer volume of treasure in this room is staggering. Characters who try to make off with this wealth will gain more enemies than they can count, and any attempt to move it out of the Border Princes is a campaign in and of itself. Of course, this is WFRP after all, and it is within keeping for this treasure to be cursed. Those Characters who make off with more than 500 gc each should gain a curse of your choosing, dying a horrid and ignoble death.

r

6–4: f

b

c

This room is easily one of the most deadly in the entire tomb. Designed to swiftly and completely wipe out intruders, it is chock full of traps and guardians. Before running this room, be sure to look over the room details very closely.

Beyond the door is a single large room, maybe 20 feet on a side, with a ceiling that stretches 14 feet overhead and painted to look like a night sky. The floor here is an elaborate mosaic of an enormous scarab with small obsidian scarabs set at intervals throughout the pattern. The walls are painted with pictographs depicting scenes of violence and war.

The centre of the chamber is dominated by a sarcophagus, the surface of which is wrought to resemble an attractive male in finery fit for a king. Standing around the sarcophagus are four Skeleton Soldiers mounted on low pedestals and carved to look like they wear the armour of ancient Khemri. Gripped in their clawed hands are curved blades. Finally, a handsome suit of golden armour stands arrayed in the northwestern corner, and an impressive golden sword and matching shield stand in the southwestern corner.

Examination of the walls shows Karitamen triumphing over his foes on the battlefield, his twin blades dripping with blood as he strides across their shattered bodies. Characters may attempt

Academic Knowledge (Astrology) Tests to realise the ceiling’s depiction of the night sky does not match that of the Empire. Those who succeed by two degrees of success realise that it doesn’t match any known sky.

Since this room is so deadly, allow the Player Characters to attempt a Hard (–20%) Intelligence Test or a Challenging

(–10%) Academic Knowledge (History) Test to realise something is terribly wrong before they enter. Those who

pass the Intelligence Test only know that it is too easy—the room is not sufficiently guarded for someone of Karitamen’s rank. However, those that made the Academic Knowledge (History) Test recognise that the dead are usually buried in their finery, not with it hanging nearby—if Karitamen was such a powerful warrior, why wouldn’t he be wearing his armour and holding his sword? In addition, for each degree of success, or each Character passing the test, reveal one of the following insights.

• The floor is too representational. Scarabs appear as accents along the corridors’ floor mosaics, but the overall patterns there are abstract. This is an actual scarab, which is almost sacrilegious.

• The walls show military victories, which aren’t appropriate subject matter for a burial chamber— Karitamen is expected to set such earthly matters aside before he can begin his journey. It’s also surprisingly bloodthirsty to show such an image here—the military victories shown along the corridors are more stylised and don’t show actual violence.

• The ceiling shows a night sky without any clear constellations. It should show Karitamen’s birth constellation, just like the ceiling in the ritual shaft. Not seeing any familiar stars or patterns is an ill omen. • The room does not have any other openings. Which

means it lacks the shaft into the underworld. How would Karitamen’s soul be expected to begin its journey if it couldn’t get out of the room?

If the Characters enter the room, they trigger the trap once anyone moves more than 4 yards (2 squares) into the chamber. Once the traps are set in motion, they continue in the order described. Given the rapid time table, searching for and neutralising the following traps is impossible.