UUnleashednleashed Credits Contents

Authors: Themes of Lankhmar 2 Simon Beal and Aaron Dembski-Bowden Nehwon Characters 7 Editor: Lankhmar: City of Thieves 24 Richard Ford The Land of Lankhmar 61 Cover: Drazenka Kimpel The East 76 Layout & Graphic Design: The Northlands & Beyond 90 Will Chapman Guilds and Cults 112 Interior Illustrations: Sample fileCreatures of Nehwon 124 Alistair Borthwick, Marco Caradona, Alex Drummond, Loren Fetterman, Nathan Of Sheel & Ning 133 Furman, Alejandro Gutierrez, Richard Longmore, Robbie Ruffs, Per Sjogren, Magic 139 Chronicles of Lankhmar 155 Borders and Box Art: Scott Clark Swords Against Blood 175 Proofreader: Appendix – NPC Statistics 186 Charlotte Law Index 198

Copyright Information Lankhmar Unleashed ©2009 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. All signifi cant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing. Produced under license from The Estate of . This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the , please go to www.mongoosepublishing.com. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom. This product is a work of fi ction. Any similarity to actual people, organisations, places or events is purely coincidental. RuneQuest is a trademark (TM) of Issaries, Inc. Produced under license from Issaries. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Themes of Lankhmar 2 T being anadventurer intheworld ofNehwon. You trade the never boundby suchresponsibility of andthatisattheheart altering questtocomplete.Fafhrd andtheGrey Mouser were The charactersof or make someeasymoney.see somethingnew and alwayskeepinganeye outforthenextgreat to opportunity world –answering tonone,relying friends oninstinctsandtrue life andmakingthemostoutofaman’s spanofyears inthe glory. Put bluntly, adventuring isacareer dedicatedtoenjoying lofty ambitionsthatinvolve of vast riches,fameandnoshortage and makingenoughmoneytoeat,thoughtheygenerallyhave rarely have anoverall anotherday lifegoalbeyond surviving within them,theycanadd‘part-hero’ tothatlist.Adventurers and part-mercenary. For thosewithabandofmoralfi normal societyandgettingby part-scoundrel aspart-vagabond, purest formislivingby thewitandblade,optingoutof of roleplaying games,understand ittoday. Adventuring inits coinedthenotionofadventuring inthewaywe,truly asplayers Fritz Leiberwasamongasmallnumber offantasywritersthat lifetimes –ofadventuring. would outlastathousandsquestsandlifetime–orhundred fragments ofagreater hero and that eachhadfoundacomrade who already dimlyaware thattheywere twolong-sundered, matching through themurky foglitindirectly by distanttorches, theywere the sun-drenched thetwaineyed spaces.As eachotherchallengingly was thesuggestionofcitiesandsouth,dark streets andalso faceanddeceptively daintyrapier;swart butsomewhere abouthim from hischildlikestature, grey garb, mouse-skinhoodshadowing flat Mouser’s antecedentswere more andhardly cryptic tobededuced even oftheEightnorth Cities andthe Trollstep Mountains. The huge longsword: hewasclearly abarbarianfrom theCold Waste, height andlimber-lookingranginess, hishammered and ornaments Mouser. Fafhrd’s originswere easytoperceive inhisnearseven-foot dubious heroes andwhimsicalscoundrels, Fafhrd andtheGrey of Sheelba oftheEyeless Face, there metforthefi In Lankhmarononemurky night,ifwe books canbelieve therunic Equipment although notrequired, the Rulebook tomakefulluseofthematerialpresented here and city ofLankhmar. Games Masters willneedthe sword worldofNehwon, andsorcery homeoftheinfamous a neededtostart i bo cnan al h bcgon information background the all contains book his mightalsoprove useful. Themes of Lankhmar The Lord oftheRings

– Induction, Swords AgainstDeviltry RuneQuest Companion RuneQuest campaignintheclassic hadaspecifi rst timethosetwo RuneQuest

Sample file and c, world- c, Arms & & Arms Core bre kinds ofstoriestoldandtheadventures thatcharactershave. a and theatmosphere ofSword willaffectallcharactersin &Sorcery were borninthewritingsofauthorslikeFritz Leiber. The themes signifi cloth asmanyfantasyprotagonists. The Sword &Sorcery genre has players willcreate intheirown games,are notcutfrom thesame Lankhmar’s Sword &Sorcery (often fi swordsman andathief, bothhave donesobecause theyseekthe turns intoawanderingsell-sword oratownsman becomes a attainable inamore mundane existence. When abarbarian if therewards tobehadwere notthatmuch greater thanthose would belittlepointinriskingone’s life inalifeofadventure thieves androbbers ofthebodiesmentheyslay. There adventures. This iswhatdrives somanyofthemtobecome out forthemselves andseekingpersonalgainthrough their Beyond Sword survival, &Sorcery charactersare alsolooking world withmanydangersandunknowable mysteries. ina heroism inthenameofsavingworldbutsimple survival the unpredictable pathoftheadventurer. Their goalsare rarely ways oflifeintheirrespective societies.Instead, theyhave chosen lowborn barbarians,have turnedtheirbacksonthetraditional The charactersinacampaign,whetherblue-bloodednoblesor their own actionsandabilities. reach thenexttown. They are ontheirown, livingordyingby No supernaturalhealingawaitstheadventurers iftheycanjust magician willappeartosave thecharactersatlastminute. incredible magictoaidtheirheroic followers. No white-robed skills. No almightydeitiesexistintheheavens, ready todispense Nehwon, charactersrely ontheirminds,courageand is astrong themeintheSword &Sorcery genre. In theworldof the oneswishingtoonedaybecomelegendsare. Self-suffi Characters in By WitandtheBlade making theblackandwhiteofgoodevilatouchunclear. walking thispathstainsasoulwithshadesofgrey, attimes off your own back,playingby your own In rules. Nehwon, exchanging theseelementsoflifeforthechancetomakealiving responsibility oftheworking worldandobeyingitslaws, Lankhmar cant differences totheFantasy over-genre –differences which nancial) rewards ofadventure aswell asthethrills. characters,bothinliterature andthepersonalitiesthat campaign, aswell ashave anotableinfl Lankhmar are self-suffi cient above all–atleast, uence onthe ciency Themes of Lankhmar 3 cient. ght might ght when Fafhrd when Fafhrd characters will tales, the supernatural is Lankhmar Swords ee but heroes in the genre – heroes – heroes in the genre ee but heroes Lean Times Lean Times in Lankhmar, characters have grown up in a world of grown characters have – will usually kill their enemies given the chance. enemies given – will usually kill their Lankhmar cally in a city as decadent as Lankhmar, could these men these men could as Lankhmar, decadent in a city as cally Lankhmar nds religion, he follows a particular priest purely because he is a particular priest purely he follows nds religion, The Malignancy of the Supernatural and most unambiguous evil The greatest and genre & Sorcery the Sword face is that of the supernatural. In portrayed in Leiber’s excellently decadence, mystery fi and immorality – killing in a fair crime against a man’s be a crime against the law but it is not a making are against another man, you draw blade you If honour. trying. to end his life or lose yours ready are it clear that you and the Mouser Fafhrd Leiber himself, used by coin a phrase To to be a rogue have you where in a decadent world rogues are corruption, decadence is made of Lankhmar’s to survive. Much and murderers The thugs, thieves and the evil done in its streets. effi organised into guilds to make their trades more are and thieves are and the Mouser, Fafhrd the protagonists, Even the storykillers. In fi that the faithful old man patted a blind and amazed impressed of tiny acts Even child on the head when no one was looking. evidenced in the story and in Nehwon, rare kindness like this are mind so stuck in Fafhrd’s virtueby of the fact that this gesture city of Lankhmar setting, especially the great The entire clearly. . of dark absolutely bleeds with an atmosphere itself, & Sword between This also enters into the confrontations Why should a and their villain counterparts. heroes Sorcery man feel guilt at ridding the world of someone (or something) evil is that he should not. Slaying The simple answer truly evil? if it comes as the even heroism, is at the very of adventure core of tryingresult to survive. and unwholesome presence. dangerous almost always a sinister, is the primaryMagic tool of dark-hearted and malicious souls, and to gain power lengths in order going to great with sorcerers Living By Your Own Code By Your Own Living kill their the heroes is that & Sorcery of Sword A central theme antagonists Some so. guilt at doing feel no great enemies and much for the protagonists too might prove might escape, others characters to fl the and force in code of own to a character’s down of this attitude comes Much rather than any ingrained bloodlust but conduct and honour certainly their place in the setting have murders rage-driven death or lose one’s a loved A character may avenge as well. exceptions emotion – but these are of strong in bouts control of the matter is that codes of conduct The fact to the tradition. of good, evil and to perceptions down and honour come their enemies, human or by When confronted cold necessity. think nothing of killing Mouser and the Grey otherwise, Fafhrd these foes. specifi they are. heroes Yet heroes. be considered and women

ee Sample file Sample air for ushes of Lankhmar ght foul monsters and ghters who feel fl ghters who are heroes with rather loose ethics heroes are characters live off their wits and characters live characters are reluctant adventurers adventurers reluctant are characters

rmly embedded in notions of realism. In In in notions of realism. rmly embedded Lankhmar Lankhmar’s characters will be a lust for life that drives them into them for life that drives characters will be a lust ned by the chains of responsibility again. They are They are again. of responsibility the chains ned by ts. They are the nobles who turn to the street life to fl life to street the nobles who turn to the are They ts. Fafhrd is a barbarian with a great love of both violence and love is a barbarian with a great Fafhrd a he considers ravaging to the point where women, even a fl he shows defenceless ghoul woman at one point and in the classic, truest sense. adventurers Both of these men are characters, the very of Lankhmarese They are archetypes with heart, humour and their adventures trailblazing through determination. The characters of their heroism yet of other fantasy settings, the standards by truly perhaps but never doubted. is undoubted. Questioned, with heroes, & Sorcery Central to all Sword characters absolutely part equation, is that their morals of the fi and ambitions are designed characters are the the grim setting in which they live, humanity – they make the decisions, with an element of stark people would if they good, bad but mostly right, that most of with the reality in that same world and had to live lived consequence. every action’s thievery and criminals in that is the envy of many cutthroats is a skilled duellist and Mouser The Grey Guild. Thieves’ the of women who a love with a long tally of slain foes, dirksman accurately described as girls and he never in a few cases more are Magic. Black the use of hate-driven once killing a man by regrets do Mouser and the Grey for all of their faults, Fafhrd And yet They fi noble things. things. Good, great as a world as dark their paths. In oppose evil when it crosses that happens all too often. Nehwon, Heroism in Shades of Grey This is not to say such characters are without heroism. Quite the Quite without heroism. characters are This is not to say such hunts bring them face to and treasure opposite – their wanderings slaying these beings face with sinister and malicious entities, and rarely are of good. Characters does serve nebulous ‘cause’ the others because of a pure-beating altruistic to save out heroes, the shades of grey. heart, through peeks out but heroism Few Sword & Sorcery Sword Few They are steel against the blades of others. pride at testing their every done and enjoy penny of a heist well who relish the thieves the profi their social position. Among almost all the boundaries of from Lankhmar new as their grumbling lands and new experiences, even bellies demand that they take the veryand empty coin-purses next job to them. offered labouring under a destiny which was forced upon them. upon them. was forced under a destiny which labouring the world and never who wish to see escaped slaves They are be confi as much of the world to see the desire who burn with wanderers fi They are they die. before as possible skills, working from job to job under the direction of various of various job to job under the direction from skills, working of rumoured hither and thither in search travelling employers, bent that are and killing malicious people and creatures treasure and more in a world like Nehwon, on causing them harm. Only Themes of Lankhmar 4

Sample file Themes of Lankhmar 5 Lankhmar ridiculous nd and avours avours elds, dance in taverns elds, dance in taverns by journeymen and master robbers in order to steal by by to steal in order master robbers journeymen and by

ee with his favourite mask. This mix of adventure against against This mix of adventure mask. ee with his favourite world if they chose to do so. ict untold harm on the various means. This is a perfect example of how nonsensical This is a perfect of how example means. various and the in both the genre take a sinister tone elements can City itself. Imperishable on more Death by targeted directly are Mouser and the Fafhrd they survive the skin of their teeth and than one occasion, yet by of deaths for the eventual entity responsible foil the supernatural fact, their triumph is a remarkable every In being in the world. as in his realm cursing Death they leave one, for at one point they fl black humour. the verythe supernatural is at of the genre’s core humour pervading the work the gallows’ Another example of most The heroes’ and Ningauble. Sheelba of is the presence with a penchant for telling two wizards important are patrons and spending know only half of what the characters need to another like catty old much of their time bickering with one Mouser and the Grey occasions, both Fafhrd several women. On for some hard-to-fi quests to endure forced are workings. sorcerous warlocks’ components for their respective alien two unknowable are these events beneath all of And yet with enough power black robes, in entities, completely covered to infl and the foolish are and again, aspects of the ridiculous Time This black or mystery. threat an air of sinister twisted to create and fl work humour characterises Leiber’s humour and danger – the blending of campaigns accordingly gets it storytellingcan be a powerful Master the Games tool if exactly right. masterminds, all gathered together in a guild which is more more which is a guild in together gathered all masterminds, from Walking or militaries. than most businesses organised being thieves a legion of reveals House Thieves’ in to room room trained Decadence beneath Elegance City especially appear grand and and Lankhmar Nehwon glorious on the surface but it takes very to reveal little digging and merchants Nobles the corruption the grandeur. underneath occasionally insane) with self-indulgence while fat (and grow servantspeasants and indentured toil in fi as organised are the thieves a world where in kitchens. In or work as the army and slavery forms a large portion of the workforce, the decadence and immorality of many people is only barely concealed, if it is hidden at all. The characters of the stories oppose this with their very presence. and injustice While they accept the world as it is, they recognise shed guilty tears at the theft of would Few accordingly. react freeing fewer would regret jewels. Even a rich merchant-wife’s if they had the inclination or the slave an abused or wronged that slavery level if they knew on an instinctive even opportunity, was an acceptable punishment for certain heinous crimes. The notion of decadence beneath elegance can take a more form as well. blunt and obvious

saga Sample file Sample Swords Swords magic is something foul is something magic Lankhmar, Lankhmar, The Knight and Knave of Swords. The Knight and Knave characters will touch on this aspect of nally, nally, stories highlight this genre foundation perfectly: foundation stories highlight this genre and fi Lankhmar Swords Swords uence over others. In In others. over uence Gallows’ Humour & most Sword through sense of humour permeates A dark is a brotherhood Guild Thieves’ the Lankhmar City, In Sorcery. of muggers, burglars, criminal bunglers and underworld The Touch of the Unfamiliar another element of encapsulate Mouser and the Grey Fafhrd outsiders are characters in that they & Sorcery classic Sword This need land. coming to terms with living in an unfamiliar the uncivilised barbarian living by not always be represented is often a satisfying amongst the civilised folk, though that and deal of potential for roleplaying with a great trope genre and a gutter-thief from is a street- The Mouser storytelling. for the Toga another city that comes to the City of the Black The a man of his talents. opportunities it provides Many details many people who are in similar situations, with escaped details many people who are them. and thieving nobles chief among slaves infl Another mark of Sword & Sorcery antagonists is that they antagonists is that they & Sorcery Sword of Another mark often the characters lack. Most that powers possess frequently the rituals, which are to dark and access Magic this will be Black and can come in ten thousand forms without tropes classic genre takes, it is something form the power Whatever being repetitive. with unfamiliar with and struggle to overcome are the heroes The titles abilities. realistic mortal and more mere their own of the Monsters and other supernatural enemies are likewise deeply supernatural enemies are and other Monsters often They are shades of grey. immersed in the darkest than mindless, brutish little more and violent beings, seeking They to do so. the destruction it is in their nature of life because the foul cultists and an uncomplicated evil. Dark beings of are for their actions distinct reasons will have demons they summon of innocents distinctly evil, with the deaths but they remain to them. being of little concern and evil that the characters encounter and usually must oppose and usually the characters encounter and evil that is sorcery Rarely something they ingenuity. their own through risking supernatural at least not without themselves, command corruption. unfamiliarity by deviating from their expected social stations deviating from unfamiliarity by or leaving their homelands in the name of seeking adventure. The farmer who desperately wishes to see the world and turns his back on his rural a character as the home is just as valid trying are players to capture wandering barbarian, at least where this aspect of the genre. Swords and Deviltry, Swords Against Death, Swords in the Mist, in the Mist, Swords Death, Against Swords and Deviltry, Swords and Swords of Lankhmar, The Swords Wizardry, Against Swords Magic Ice It is a basic truth in Nehwon that the bearer of blades opposes of blades the bearer that is a basic truth in Nehwon It a blacker-souled the wielder of spells and the latter is usually being than the former. Themes of Lankhmar 6 and fortunes. looking tomaketheirnames group ofroguish heroes always openforthenext The gatesoftheImperishable Cityare own tracksacross thelandofNehwon. only fi Now itistimeforyour characterstonot of Lankhmar. in theauthor’s noteprefacing destiny anddeath’ Eyeless Face. of theSeven Eyes andSheelba ofthe course, theirenigmaticpatrons Ningauble wanderlust, theirpowerful curiosityand,of to do,urgedever onward by theirown fi to driven are sides. They centre ofthechaos,caughtbetween both then theyare almostassuredly atthe trouble (oritssolution) particular the Mouser are notthecauseofa experiences. Ifnew Fafhrd and in search ofwealth, love and sentient ratsandwanderNehwon save Lankhmarfrom aninvasion of bizarre inhumanmarket traders, Thieves’ Guild, save theworldfrom thestrength gods,crush ofthe new the Mouser Death himself, thwart elevate Over thecourseoftheirlives, Fafhrd and and weave theirown legends. scoundrel tendenciesinorder toprosper – therightmixture ofheroic traitsand need theirown shadesofgrey tosurvive will live. The charactersyou create will This istheworldinwhichyour characters Welcome toLankhmar… the players’ enjoyment isallthatmatters. ways ofplaying insisting onanything.It simplypresents of and thischapternever takestheliberty There isnorightwaytoplay, ofcourse ethics thatare onthelightershadeofgrey. foundation ofthegenre isforheroes with spiteful assassinsandvilearistocrats,the for Games Masters agamefullof torun genre’s characters. While itcanbefun inthe decadent isdisplayed perfectly world asitisandactively becoming The difference between acceptingthe ll theseshoes buttoleave their ‘One more roll ofthedicewith thematically. as Leiberhimselfputit things nd new In theend, The Swords

Sample file