BLACK SWORD is a scenario book for use with the®STORMBRINGER game. The scenarios depict a woman

quest for revenge against Elric himself. Elric was hired btthree merchants of Bakshaan (rivals of the woman'sfather, a man named Haver Nikorn) to storm the Nikornkeep and kill her father. That battle is chronicled in theMqorcock story entitled "Stealer of Souls".

Freyda Nikorn, the dead merchant's daughter gatherstogether a group of adventurers and friends to embark oher mission of vengeance. The adventures in this book tellthe tale of Freyda's quest for vengeance against Elric anr’of Freyda's final battle with the White Wolf. Her successor failure is determined by the player

Freyda's quest takes her across the land of llmiora toobserve the breadth of the destruction which always followsin Elric's wake. Elric's adventures during this perioare chronicled in the book "The Bane of the BlackSword".

The gamemaster is provided with extensive informaticon the governments, cultures, and environments of thevarious lands which Freyda must v i s i t while followingElric's trail, including Nadsokor, Org, and Karlaak of theJade Towers. Non-player-character descriations aid thegamemaster in storytellins

The companion to this volume, called STEALER OFSOULS tells of Freyda's revenge against the conspiracy c

merchants who slew her father, and of their plots againsl

Freyda herself

Familiarity with the rules is required to use this book fully.

®STORMBRINGER

®StormbringerExscitiment

Pursuit of theWhite Wolf

ISBN 0-933635-28-1

2105

This book is authorized by Michael Moorcock.

BLACK SWORD is copyright© 1985 by Chaosium lnc.; all rights reserved.

ISBN 0-933635-28-1

BLACK SWORD is intended for use with the STORMBRINGERB roleplaying game, which is copyrighted by Chaosium lnc. To fully enjoy this book, readers need familiarity with the rules of STORMBRINGER. STORMBRINGER® is the registered trademark of Chaosium lnc. Reproduction of the materials within this book for purposes of personal or corporate profit by photographic, electronic, or other methods of duplication or retrieval is strictly prohibited. Except in this publication and all related advertising, all original artwork for BLACK SWORD remains the property of the artists; all rights reserved. All material originally submitted by Ken Rolston remains under his copyright; material added by Chaosium lnc. remains the property of Chaosium lnc. To direct comments or questions regarding this book, or for a free catalog of Chaosium games and supplements, write to Chaosium lnc., PO Box 6302-BS, Albany CA 94 706.

Printed in the United States of America.

Introduction page 4Ilmiora Map page 5Bakshaan Karlaak Caravan Route map page 5Freyda Nikorn page 6NADSOKOR page 7Nadoskor Underground map page 9Nadsokor Characters page 10Getting to Nadsokor page 13Summons page 13Interrogation page 14Detention in the Plaza page 16Narjhan's Offer page 16Adventuring in Nadsokor page 18Escape page 17THE KINGDOM OF ORG page 19Org and Environs map page 20Org Player Information page 25Org Gamemaster Notes page 26Night Ambush page 27The City of Org page 28The citadel map page 32The King's Hall map page 33Slave Rebellion page 34The Barrow page 35The Barrow map page 37Other Adventures in Org page 38THE PLAINS page 39Nomad Horsemen page 40Nomads page 41The Nomad Camp page 42The Six Contests page 43Judgement page 45THE RIVERCROSSING page 46THE BADLANDS page 47Baboon Abduction page 49Pemmnetr the Dharzi page 51The BubbleMaze page 53The Bubble Maze map page 53The Babooncity map page 55KARLAAK page 57Karlaak map page 57Elric & Zarozinia's House page 59Elric & Zarozinia's house map page 59Elric's Guards page 60Intercession of Friends page 60The Final Conflict page 63

The Black Sword is a book of adventures drawn from Michael Moorcock's tales in the book called The Bane of the Black Sword. It is also a companion volume to the Chaosium book called Stealer of Souls. The two Chaosium scenario books can be used together or separately and do not have to be played in any particular order, though it is suggested that Stealer of Souls be played first.

At the start of Moorcock's The Bane of the Black Sword, Elric takes a commision from four merchants of the city of Bakshaan to slay a rival merchant called Nikorn. At first Elric had every intention of cheating the four cowards, but then he learned that Nikorn had hired Elric's arch-enemy , the Pan-Tangian sorcerer Theleb Kaarna. Elric only killed Nikorn because Nikorn refused to back off from a fight after Elric had stormed the merchant's stronghold.

In the Chaosium book Stealer of Souls, Nikorn's daughter, a serious young woman of nineteen, vows vengeance against her father's killers. Freyda gathers a group of friends and adventurers (the player-characters) , and sets out to exact her vengeance. In Stealer of Souls, Freyda and her companions come to terms with the four merchants who contracted with Elric to slay Nikorn, and who are now plotting to steal Nikorn's money from Freyda as well. In this book, Freyda goes in search of Elric himself to avenge her father's death.

After storming the keep of Nikorn Elric left Bakshaan and headed to Nadsokor, the City of Beggars. The second tale in Moorcock's The Bane of the Black Sword, “Kings in Darkness,” opens with Elric and Moonglum fleeing an army of beggars from Nadsokor . Neither the circumstances of Elric's arrival in Nadsokor nor the reasons for his flight are suggested in this story. Elric and Moonglum continue through the kingdom of Org in the forest of Troos, where they rescue Zarozinia, Elric's love and wife-to-be, from the savage half-men of the forest. Thereafter a too-clever plan designed to trick the Orgens into accepting Elric and his companions as gods fails to fool the king of the decayed and malignant court of Org, and Elric and his companions are imprisoned. In his escape from captivity, Elric indirectly lets loose a long-dead monarch, precipitating the destruction of the Great Hall of Org in fulfillment of an ancient prophesy.

In the next story, “The Flamebringers,” Elric forswears the use of Stormbringer for the love of his gentle wife, Zarozinia, and settles in the town of Karlaak. Inevitably he is forced to take up Stormbringer again in defense of Karlaak from a barbarian horde led by Terrarn Gashtek, the Flame bringer.

In Black Sword, the player-characters follow just behind Elric as he makes the trek from Nadsokor to Karlaak. They witness the destruction which always appears behind Elric, and they finally catch up with the White Wolf in Karlaak, soon after he has renounced Stormbringer. Freyda and the player-characters then must confront Elric to exact vengeance for the death of Nikorn.

If. the player-characters have been through Stealer of Souls, start the adventure from the bandit camp with the short trek from there to Nadsokor. If Black Sword is being played first, start the adventure in Bakshaan and assume that nothing untoward happens until the playercharacters reach the shores of the Varkaalk river and begin the Nadsokor section of this book.

Campaign Overview

Nikorn's daughter, Freyda, was sent away to stay with Nikorn's brother, Remen, when Nikorn heard that Elric had agreed to help the merchants of Bakshaan in their scheme to eliminate Nikorn as a competitor. Nikorn tried to set Freyda's mind at ease with assurances that the powerful sorcerer Theleb Kaarna, the loyal and fierce barbarian guards, and the mighty stronghold would be more than equal to the task of protecting her father from any mortal. Freyda saw no doubt in her father's hearty reassurances, so she agreed to a short visit to her uncle's estate until the threat had been erased.

Freyda receives the news and circumstances of her father's death impassively; her relatives stand helplessly as she swears vengeance on the men responsible for her father's death. She gathers around her a group of loyal, and/or well-paid companions and embarks on her mission of revenge. She exacts vengeance on each of the four merchants who had conspired against her father (see Stealer of Souls

for details), then seeks Elric, hearing that he has headed east.

Freyda and her companions follow Elric to the City of Beggars, Nadsokor, from there she tracks him along the Varkaalk River into the forest of Troos. Through the unnatural and mysterious forest she follows the rumor of Elric's passage to the fall of the citadel of Org; she arrives at the city to discover the turmoil of a civilization in collapse, with famine and pestilence ravaging the hapless peasants and a struggle raging among the wealthy and powerful to grasp the reins of power.

After escaping from this landscape of doom, Freyda picks up Elric's trail again as it leads toward Karlaak. She follows the albino through wild forests that abruptly change into broad grasslands. There she confronts the bold nomad horsemen of the plains. In the badlands on the eastern edge of the plains, Freyda is abducted by intelligent beasts and brought before an impossibly ancient survivor of the Dharzi Bright Empire. Though she never manages to comprehend the motives of the aged sorcerer, Freyda manages to escape and resume her journey.

Finally Freyda reaches Karlaak, where she seeks Elric, only to find him temporarily absent. She finds Moonglum and Zarozinia, who try to dissuade her from her bloody reprisal, explaining that Elric has sworn to abandon Stormbringer and his ways of violence, but Freyda will not be moved from her sworn purpose. She waits for Elric to return, and she confronts him at last as her oath binds her

to. The rest is history or legend, depending on who tells the tale.

This adventure emphasizes character development and roleplaying, but includes plenty of action in struggles with both mundane and mysterious antagonists.