Welcome Recruits

One by one the candidates approach the old man and he considers them, nodding to some, and rejecting others. “Too scrawny.” Too old.” “Too strange.”

One skinny girl has to shoot three arrows into a tree to prove herself, which she does with aplomb and some respect paid afterward.

Those he gives the nod to are collected by the gigantic Shemite warrior, Jubal, and given their gold and their instructions.

“The caravan of my master Ibrahim al Saif is camped over there, in the field across the river," says Jubal." I will take you there shortly. You will work as guards and general help when we are camped and on our journey.

“Can you ride a horse or a camel? If you can, you will be loaned an animal to ride alongside the wagons as we are moving.

“If you cannot, you will learn. When we camp at night, you will have chores – setting up tents, collecting firewood, cleaning up, digging latrines. At night you will be assigned to a watch. The senior guard on duty will assign you your duties and tell me if any of you are slacking.

“It is midday now. We will leave at dawn the day after tomorrow. You will have duties both days until late in the afternoon, but you may spend the hours between mid-afternoon and dusk at the marketplace – now that you have gold in your pockets." He grins at this, an evil, wolf-like grin.

Jubal led the recruits across the river to the sprawling campsite of al Sai's caravan. A dozen or so dangerous-looking men and women with swords and spears eyed them up and one pale-eyed giant with long dark hair called out in harsh tones.

“Is this the best the master can find, Captain? They look like worms!”

The others laughed along with him and Jubal grinned in amusement.

“Worms they may be, Chard, and now they are your worms. You will take them on and teach them how to be a decent guard.”

The other veterans laughed the louder at the sudden change in Chard's face.

“Damn you, Jubal! I am no nursemaid for children still wet in diapers. Pick another.”

But Jubal clearly thought it was a funny way of paying back the big fighter's disrespect.

“This is Chard,” he turned around to address the recruits. “He will show you where you sleep and what your duties are. Each day he will work with you to teach you how to fight as a group, so we don't end up slicing off each other's toes.”

He laughed again at the joke and turned back to join al Saif at the marketplace.

Chard muttered and grumbled, spit on the ground, and chivied them all into a rough line in front of him.

“What can you do?” he demanded of each in turn, inspecting their weapons and having them go through a few movements with each. He shook his head in despair at them.

“My advice is, don't get in a fight. A real fighter would kill you in a few seconds. You will do the chores, dig the latrines, pitch the tents, and each morning and night I will try to show you how to stay alive long enough for one of us to arrive and avenge your death.”

He showed them where the guards had pitched a series of tents alongside the corral where three dozen horses and as many camels milled about behind lean-to fences.

“These animals are the muscle that makes the caravan work. They must be looked after. Guarded from wild animals as much as thieves, fed and watered, inspected and healed when they have injuries. Do any of you know anything about animals?"

He looked them over, waiting for a response.

As the recruits review and demonstrate their skills, a bluff comradeship begins among the youngsters and the older, more seasoned guards.

“Try holding your sword up with the tip right level with your eyes,” says one.

“Watch his feet,” says another. “No one can attack you without moving his feet.”

“Hold the string with your thumb, like this, for a cleaner release. You try it.”

An hour passes with instructions and tests. Chard is a hard master, but he is fair and does not harm anyone, though he does spill everyone on the ground at least once. Bit by bit, however, the newcomers are drawn into the company.

OOC: You will practice with Chard and the other guards twice a day, at dawn and at dusk. Each time you practice (including this time) roll 1d20 and add your Attack Bonus with the weapon you are practicing with. If you score 15 or higher, you gain 20 EXP – please keep track of your own. Chard will make you practice with any weapon you carry, not restricting you to just your primary weapon. “You will run out of arrows sooner or later and then you'll need that knife!” In practice, rotate your rolls through each weapon in turn. I trust you to make your own rolls and keep your own tally. Just let me know when you have racked up 100 EXP and I'll put it on my spreadsheet.

After weapons practice and camp chores – pretty light this afternoon, just wood gathering and water fetching – you are given the evening off to go and visit the bustling market across the river. You can have fun or go shopping – or both. Just write up what you do, and if you are looking for anything in particular to purchase. I will post the standard Goods and Services list as a PDF to the group site. All of these items will be available at the market (no magic stuff!) and the price given will be the suggested value. If you decide to buy, you will be expected to haggle or pay more.

You only have the 10 GP to make purchases. The rest of your starting wealth was spent on the weapons and armor you specified at character creation.

OOC: Feel free to look for any other goods you might like for the journey, or fun you might like to have before you leave. Post in character, please. Just as I have offered small amounts of XP for in-character weapons training, I will offer small amounts of XP for in-character role-playing. That's what the game is about, right? I'm not asking for an essay, just a few lines:

"Chard ogled the pretty girl with the dark hair and the flashing eyes. She swayed in the tent opening, curling her finger at him to draw him inside. But he knew from experience that there was more likely a pair of thugs with cudgels in the darkness than a soft bed and a lusty romp. But she might be willing.

"There's a gold for you as well," he pitched his voice for her to hear as he tossed her a silver Sheel, "if you come to my camp at midnight -- across the river. Ask for Chard when the guard challenges you."

He strolled on, not certain she would come, but eager to greet her if she did. The music and the smells of the market swelled about him and he felt alive and powerful, the way a man should before he heads out to risk death on the open road.

That post would be worth 50 XP

Tone

This is the world of Conan the Cimmerian – who rose from a tribal lad to bloody king – and Emperor.

The age is a fantasy version of the late Bronze Age. Steel swords have disrupted centuries of civilization. One man, or woman, determined, can change the world.

Conan is a legend in this world. Fifty years in the past, but his son, and now his grandson, have ruled the Aquilonian Empire with iron fists since he vanished all those years ago.

Magic is real, but very rare and always terrifying. Old crones are burned for witchcraft on a regular basis.

This is a simple world with many unknown parts. Commerce is very basic. Most people live within a mile of where they were born and get by by grubbing in the dirt with sharpened sticks.

Also, everyone will have grown up with some sort of religious observance going on around them and should select a god – and let me know if they believe in their god! It will matter.

Weapons & Armor

Keep it simple. These are the items you will have ready access to:

Knives, axes, spears, self-bows, slings, leather armor (boiled or studded), hide armor

These items will cost two to three times their price in the Player's Guide:

Swords, chain mail

I will allow the weapons and armor specified in character creation – they are found or inherited items for each character, but buying new ones will be hard. In general, any item developed or discovered after the Roman era is unknown here, including katanas, rapiers, halberds, plate armor, etc.