The Storyof the

Genie Mirror
and
the

umberto pignatelli Scheherazade A

credits

Production: Gionata Dal Farra

Author: Umberto Pignatelli

Art direction and Layout: Matteo Ceresa

Art: Sara Valentino

Editing: John Marron, Simone Borri, Lorenzo Perassi

Special Thanks to: Piotr Chichy, Charles Dunwoody, Cédric Ferrand, Eugenio M. Lauro

playtesters: Andrea Bergamelli, Valentina Barrile, Gabriele Corbalba, Francesca Castelli

On the cover

Efreet and the Treasure

©2019, Scheherazade, The One Thousand and One Nights RPG, Unique System and all related

marks and logos are trademarks of SpaceOrange42.

All Rights Reserved.

copyright:
Spaceorange42
 

The Story of the

Genie and the Mirror
An introductory adventure for
Scheherazade - The One Thousand and One Nights RPG
 

The Story
Genie
of the

Mirror and the

The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Welcometo
Scheherazade!
“So he cast his sun-like image upon the mirror, and its reflection
kindled a flame in my soul.”

-The One Thousand and One Nights

This introductory scenario is specifically designed to introduce a new Storyteller

and players to the world of The One Thousand and One Nights, using only the quick
rules and the pre-generated Heroes. The adventure is divided into Parts, to be played
in sequence.
Sections of narrative text are meant to be read aloud or paraphrased by the Storyteller,
adapting them to the situation.
Certain characters and monsters have special skills synthetized in Keywords,
whose meanings can be found at the end of the adventure (or in the Scheherazade
core manual).
So, what more can we add? Have fun!

4 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

The Story So Far

This scenario is set in the city of Basra, disappeared before his death, bought with
the main port of the Caliphate, built on the it access to the gates of heavens.
shores of the Euphrates River. The truth is very different: the Coin can
Zil (Arabic: Shadow) is the main villain of summon and control a powerful Djiin, the
this story. Former surgeon and hakim of Lord of Masks, who lives entrapped in a
the Emir, Umar of Basra, a year ago he was magical mirror. Ardashir found the mirror
carrying out a plan to drug the king and during his military campaigns and thought
take control of him and of the city. Luckily, he could control it, but he failed, and now
Prince Rostam (one of the pre-generated he himself has lain entrapped for centuries
Heroes), nephew of the Emir, caught him in the very same prison as the Djiin.
red-handed, and blew the lid off his scheme. The mirror, which is very dangerous, lies in
Zil, who is also a dabbler in the magical the lost tomb that the followers of Ardashir
arts, managed to escape, and he swore built for their missing king centuries ago, in
vengeance against Basra, the Emir, and, the ruins of Vahishtaba, a city, not far from
obviously, Prince Rostam. Basra.
Recently Zil, over whom looms a death And the Coin? Well, it was lost for many
sentence, found a way to carry out his centuries, stolen by pillagers and passed
vengeance and regain his place in the city. through many hands, but recently it was
That way is the Coin of Ardashir, a powerful rediscovered, and now is being brought
artifact belonging to the the ancestral to Basra.
founder and king of the city. According Zil has discovered this fact, as he uncovered
to legend, the king, who mysteriously the location of the tomb, and only needs to
put his hands on it.

Involving the Heroes

This scenario is built around some roles They know of the legend of the Coin, and
which can be taken by the pre-gen that it is a dangerous artifact.
characters, but can easily be adapted to Samir the Young Thief is the Pickpocket,
other members of your party. hired by a mysterious hooded man to steal
Prince Rostam is the Prince, nephew of the a specific purse at the market and deliver
Emir of Basra, who destroyed the previous it in the back alley behind the butcher’s
plot of Zil. This is the only mandatory role shop. If no player chooses Samir or has a
in the adventure. suitable Hero, this role can be assigned
Another Hero (Farah from the Stone Clan to an NPC (in this case, he will bolt away
and Jamal the Mariner are the most fitting after Scene 1).
ones among the pre-gens), is the Courier, For ease of use, the characters will be
carrying the Coin, from the Sheik of the referred to in the text by their roles: the
Gold Dunes to the Receiver. The Courier Prince, the Courier, the Receiver, and the
may or may not (Storyteller’s call) know Pickpocket.
the nature of what they are carrying. The other characters can be bodyguards,
The Receiver is a wise character, like assistants, or disciples of the first three,
Abbas the Ghul Hunter or Ramath the while the Pickpocket works alone.
Fakir, who is waiting for the Coin to take
it into custody (to destroy or hide it).

Scheherazade 5
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Part 1 – Troubles at the Bazaar

“It is midday, a little after dhur, the fifth prayer, in the market of Using this
Basra. It is hot and sultry as always. Stalls of wares coming from Adventure in a
every part of the Caliphate paint a tapestry of colors and smells, Campaign
while the voices of the merchants beg you to stop, even if only for
a moment, to inspect their marvels.

The market is crowded, even more so than usual, because tomorrow

will be an important day: Princess Jamila of Musquat, a powerful
port city, is arriving to pay a formal visit to the Emir, and a lot of
people, farmers from the country, but also strangers from foreign
lands have arrived today with the hope of catching a little glimpse
of her legendary beauty.”

The Prince is at the market (with a friend or two, perhaps) This scenario isn’t focused on
patrolling and officially checking that everything is Scheherazade’s sleep, so it can easily
in order for tomorrow’s state visit. In truth, he is quite used as a prequel: the princess is
troubled, because, early this morning, he received an already sleeping, and the Heroes
anonymous message (give the Prince, the Mysterious have had the same dream, but they’ll
Letter, found on page 31). discover it only at the end of the
The Courier (maybe with some friends), is crossing the adventure. Maybe their meeting
market. They were hired by the Sheikh of the Golden wasn’t so random: a greater destiny
Dune to deliver a package to a person (describe the is at work…
Receiver) at the Fig and the Fox tea house, in the bazaar
of Basra.
The Receiver (and maybe one or two companions)
is sitting at a table outside the tea house, under a
magnificent fig tree.
When the Courier and the Receiver meet, let the
characters introduce themselves, and then continue
to read. Storyteller’s Tip:
Novice Players and
You (the Courier) take the purse to deliver it and… Merciful God! It the Thief
is empty, gone!
Playing the Thief in Part 1 of this
You checked it a moment ago, just before you bumped into that adventure requires a proactive player.
dirty beggar boy… If possible, assign the character to a
player with some experience (or with
You turn back, and spot him. He has your bag in his hand! the right attitude). If your group is
made entirely of newbies, we suggest
“Thief! Thief!” you shout. to make the Thief an NPC.

And he runs away into the market.

6 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Catch the Thief!

This scene is a classic chase sequence, While you (the Pickpocket) are running and
with the Pickpocket fleeing, while the looking back over your shoulder, you bump into
rest of the Heroes (the Courier, the someone! You both fall down, and you are ready
Receiver, and their companions) chasing to jump to your feet. Who is this well-dressed
him. From the second round, the Prince fool? You are sure you have seen him before, oh
also joins them (see below). no, he is the Prince!
In Scheherazade, it is not frequent to
have a player vs player conflict. In game “Stop the thief, stop the thief!” shout your pursuers,
terms, each round, both the Pickpocket so you run away.
and the pursuers make a CAU+POW, LvL
3 roll (a thief or acrobat Concept applies). From this moment on, the Prince (and
As this scene is part of the introduction, any with him) can join the chase.
the pursuers cannot catch the Pickpocket, Every round, from the beginning of the
yet, but whoever gains the greatest second round, an event happens.
margin of success, gets a Chase Token, Roll the Fate Die and check the table
which will be useful later. below (reroll if an event has already
happened).
Princely Obstacle. At the end of the first
round, read this aloud.

Chase in the Market Table

D EVENT
1 Big Piles of Fruit. The Pickpocket can overturn a pile, losing some time (+1 Difficulty of
this round’s roll), but the pursuers receive +2 Difficulty, and any bad Consequence in this
round cause one damage.
2 Furniture Moving. Two burly guys are moving an armoire. The Pickpocket can pass
under it easily, but the pursuers must command the two guys to get out of the way (this
round only they roll instead on COU+PAS, they can Help each other).
3 Where Did He Go? Only if the Pickpocket has more Chase tokens, the pursuers roll
instead on REA+PRE this round, because the little thief momentarily disappears among
the stalls.
4 “He is Here! He is Here!” If the Pickpocket caused a ruckus (see event 1 or 5), the angry
merchants point the way to the pursuers, who receive -1 Difficulty this round, while the
thief suffers +1.
5 Stomping the Stalls. The Pickpocket is in front of a large stall full of sweets. He can walk
directly over it, but if he does so, he makes the merchant really angry (see 4 above). With
a good Consequence, any character can grab a pastry from the stall (lets you recover one
Energy or one Life).
6 On the Roof! The Pickpocket sees a barrel near a wall, from which he can easily reach the
roof, for this round only, After three rounds, the pickpocket turns into an alley behind the
butcher’s shop. It is a dead end. He is trapped. on CAU+PRE. Any bad Consequence means
falling down onto a pile of manure or another equally disgusting thing.

Scheherazade 7
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

A Dark Figure…
After three rounds, the pickpocket turns “Finally!” the cloaked man says, opening the
into an alley behind the butcher’s shop. bundle and showing a single golden coin, which
shimmers dangerously in the shadows “The Coin
It is a dead end. He is trapped. of Ardashir is finally mine!”

The alley is dark and foul smelling. It is behind At this point the pursuers arrive. The
the butcher’s shop, and there is a pile of rubbish Prince, and any other character familiar
at the end of it, as tall as the wall behind it. with the city, immediately recognize the
man: he is Zil, the renegade doctor who
A couple of mangy dogs are fighting over a bone, tried to enslave the Emir a year ago. There
but they aren’t the only occupants of the place. A is a death sentence on his head, how dare
tall figure, shrouded in black, comes out from the he show his face in Basra?!
darkness, his face, with a pointed black beard,
the only thing visible. “My Prince!” Zil snarls “What a coincidence
meeting you here! I would stop longer, but I have
“Give it to me!” he orders, and grabs the small more important things to do, now that this (he
bundle from your hands. raises the shimmering coin in front of his face)
is mine!”
You would complain, but you are breathless after
the chase. With a fast move of his hand, he throws a
handful of powder over the scrawny dogs,
which howl in pain, mutating in two enormous
black beasts.

Then he disappears behind the pile of

rubbish.
The Ensorcelled Dogs (LvL 4, Protection 1)
attack the Heroes, to buy Zil time to escape.
The Heroes receive -1 to the Difficulty of
the Initiative roll per Chase Token they
have accumulated. The Dogs are very
dangerous, but the magical powder Zil
used only lasts three rounds, then the
beasts return to their former status.
Zones Suggestions: Piles of rubbish, dark
corners, slippery ground.

8 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

… and a Dark Plan

Once the dogs are defeated or returned was scraping some meat from a bone.
to their former status, the party will Dark Cloak promised him a purse of gold.
probably stop the Pickpocket and check Instead, not only did he not pay him, he
where Zil went. also abandoned him to the pursuers. The
Behind the pile of rubbish, there is only Pickpocket should end up in jail, but he
a wall. Probing it, the Heroes determine knows something he can use to bargain
that it hides a secret passage, but they for his freedom: he knows where the
don’t know how to open it. secret door leads, and, more importantly,
how to open it.
Time of Introductions. Now the heroes
have the chance to really talk for the A City under the City. The door leads to
first time. All of them have a reason Secret Basra, the network of sewers,
to collaborate: catching Zil, or at least, passages, and tunnels running under the
recovering the Coin, which can be very city, a refuge of thieves, outcasts, and even
dangerous in the wrong hands. worse things. The Pickpocket lived there
some time ago, and knows the hidden city
Everybody apart from the Pickpocket, well. To open that door, one of the many
that is. accesses, one must push a particular stone
The Pickpocket is really pissed off, in a particular way.
probably. He doesn’t know much about
the man who hired him a couple of hours So, it is time for the party to venture
ago, in this very alley, where they he into…

Part 2 – Secret Basra

The wall moves aside with a painful shriek, +2 the Difficulty of every test they make
revealing a dark passage, smelling of sewage. involving sight.
Secret Basra is a real maze of passages,
This is the entrance to Secret Basra. and getting lost is easy, unless you know
Looking at the floor, they can see the the layout well. Luckily, following the
tracks of a pair of boots, the same kind Zil tracks isn’t difficult, but requires some
wore, disappearing into the darkness. If time, and isn’t very safe. Roll the Fate Die
they want to find him, they must follow and check Secret Basra Event Table in the
the tracks. next page,, to see what happens.
The Heroes should find a source of light After three encounters, the party ends
before going inside, otherwise raise by up in the Magpies Nest.

Scheherazade 9
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Secret Basra Event Table

D EVENT
1 Torch on the Wall. The Heroes find an old torch in a holder. It is unlit but still serviceable.
If someone rotates the holder clockwise, a section of the wall slides away, revealing
another passage, which leads directly to the Magpies Nest.
2 Swarm of Rats. The party disturbs a Swarm of Rats (LvL 3, Life 6, Multi Attack 3, Mobility).
The rats attack for three rounds before going away. They are scared by fire. Using it drives
them away in one round.
3 Sewer Fall. The party hears the thundering sound of water and finds the way blocked by
a large fall of sewer water. To pass under it they must cling really close to the wall, making
a LvL 3, CAU+PRE roll. In case of failure, they are dragged down by the water, ending up
in the underlying channel and suffering a number of damage points equal to the margin
of failure. In case they go back, they must make a large detour and roll for two additional
events.
4 The White Biter. The Heroes find themselves in a room full of garbage brought in by
the sewer flow. The stench is tremendous. Every character (apart those who dirtied
themselves in previous encounters and are accustomed to the smell) suffer +1 to the
Difficulty of every action in the room. Hidden under the pile of garbage, near the black
water, there is an Albino Crocodile (LvL 3, Initiative 4, Attack 4, Vicious) which will attack
anybody passing near it.
5 Skeleton of the Carpet Merchant. The corridor and the tracks go along a main corridor,
but the Heroes see a side passage with someone sitting still in the darkness, a dozen or so
paces away. The figure is the skeleton of a man, Abdul the Merchant, a long time dead, he
still holds something in his right hand. It is a piece of thick cloth (the missing corner of the
Carpet of Shaktafa, see sidebar on page 13).
6 Dafad the Leper. The Heroes, unbeknownst to them, are shadowed by Dafad, a small,
hunchbacked leper, one of the servants of Shaktafa (see page 12). Dafad (in Arabic: toad),
is very puny, and won’t do anything apart from follow the party, but if spotted (LvL 3,
REA+PRE) and captured, he can reveal something about the deal between his master and
Zil, and lead the Heroes directly to the Magpies Nest (see below).

10 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

The Magpies Nest

Eventually, the Heroes reach a large,
spacious room.
Storyteller’s Tip:
You are at the doorstep of a really large Dealing with Shaktafa in
underground room, probably a sort of ancient Other Ways
warehouse. The greater part of the area is
occupied by a huge pile of… things. Furniture,
clothing, casks of food, and assorted stuff, lays
there. Name something, and there is a good
chance that you can find it here. It looks like
an enormous magpie’s nest, full of scavenged
goods. A number of corridors and passages lead
away from here. Finding the one Zil took won’t
be easy.

The name of “Magpies nest” isn’t too The text supposes that the Heroes talk with Shaktafa, then
far from reality. This place is where the fight with Abu, and fly away on the magic carpet, but only
Lepers of Basra, an assorted number of because it is the most likely scenario. But things can go in
beggars and robbers, amass the loot for very different ways.
their master, the mighty Shaktafa.
Give the Heroes some time to look Taking Shaktafa Hostage. A bold Hero can put a knife to
around (and maybe scavenge something the Begger King’s throat. In this case, they can leave Secret
from the piles), then go on reading. Basra, but it will be a lengthy walk, and if they do and let
Shaktafa live, they’ll have an enemy for life.
A couple of glowing lights appear in the darkness.
You turn and see the figure of a small, deformed Revealing to Shaktafa his True Aspect. A smart Hero can
man, covered in rags, his eyes shimmering in the reveal that the “cure” Zil gave Shaktafa is false. This requires
pale light. The person raises his arms, hissing, to mainly finding another reflecting surface to show him
protect his eyes from your torch, and you see the the truth. In this case, roll a Fate Die. In case of a bad
signs of leprosy on his body. Consequence, Shaktafa’s rage focuses on the Heroes (and
Abu swirls his chain again) for pointing out the truth. With
“Light!” he hisses. a good Consequence, the Leper King keeps his calm, thanks
the Heroes, and does everything he can to lead them to Zil.
“Light! Light!” dozens of other voices echo. And With any other result he unleashes his rage against the
you realize with terror that you are surrounded furniture and his subjects (giving the party the occasion to
by a horde of lepers. sneak away).

The lepers (LvL 1) number thirty, but But those aren’t the only possibilities, your players could
are really only dangerous in this place. surprise you.
They aren’t automatically hostile, unless Our suggestion is: go with their ideas and improvise.
the Heroes stole something, but are
armed with an assortment of daggers
and makeshift hooked spears (Reach),
and could easily overpower the party
(remember the Group Enemies Rule).

Scheherazade 11
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

If the Heroes parley, they can be easily convinced to

bring the party to their king, the mighty Shaktafa.

The King of Tapestries

The lepers bring you through a dark corridor, leading to an even
larger room, dimly illuminated by torches and lamps. Two enormous
mounds of tapestries, as tall as the ceiling, lay on opposite sides
of the room, while in the middle, like a bird in his nest, a bloated,
fat leper sits on a rickety throne, surrounded by a court of other THE MIRROR OF LIES
lepers. The man is busy looking at his reflection in a hand mirror. Power: Low
This beautifully carved
“Oh mighty Shaktafa, Lord of Tapestries, King of Secret Basra, we hand mirror is enchanted,
found these intruders in the warehouse!” one of the lepers says, its magic being subtle and
bowing deeply to the ground. mischievous: it always
shows the opposite of
At these words, Shaktafa smiles, revealing horrendous teeth, and the truth, usually on the
asks in a croaking voice. “So, so, so who do we have here?” aspect the user is most
focused on. So, a beautiful
The Leper Lord. Shaktafa was a carpet thief, and a woman worried about
famous one, many years ago. After contracting leprosy, her age will appear as a
he came down to Secret Basra, and ruthlessly subjugated hideous crone, while an
old man will see himself
the other lepers. Now, he is the king of all the beggars in
young and strong.
Basra, and any stolen or scavenged goods pass through
his hands. He is also a great source of information. The enchantment of the
mirror is so strong that the
Characters with a thieving concept might know him.
user is prone to believe
The King of Tapestries helped Zil in getting in and out of what they see in it.
the city, granting him safe passage and a guide through
In the hands of a magician,
Secret Basra. In addition, he procured him a couple of
it is a Tool when using the
camels outside the city walls, and a guide to the ruins of Illusion Spell. Breaking
Vahishtaba. such an item causes seven
He didn’t do it for free, of course: Zil gave the leper king years of misfortune,
a magical ointment to cure his illness, and a mirror to let during which, in addition,
the beggar king see the progress of the cure on his face. every time the character
In truth, the ointment is fake (nothing can cure leprosy), looks at themself in a
but the mirror is enchanted (see sidebar), its power mirror, something bad
consisting in always showing the opposite of the truth: happens to them or their
so, an old person will appear young, a horrible one, friends.
pretty, and so on. Shaktafa is convinced that the cure is
working, and none of his lackeys dare tell him the truth,
for fear of his rage.

12 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Dealing with Shaktafa. The “Abu! Abu!” the lepers shout frantically, beating
Leper Lord is devious but smart their staves on the ground.
(even if not smart enough to
figure out that Zil cheated him) A figure pushes its way through the crowd: a
and with the sense of loyalty of a hyena. giant of a man, muscular even if the signs of rot
He admits candidly to having helped his are evident on his body. Luckily, you cannot see
“old friend Zil”, and he knows where he his face, which is covered by a veil, but the heavy
went, but he won’t give the information chain he holds in one hand makes you sure that
out for free. He doesn’t need anything the malady hasn’t reduced his strength yet.
material (but he’ll accept any gift the
Heroes wish to give him), but he is bored, Abu swirls the deadly chain and growls: “Abu
so he’ll gladly accept a Story in exchange kills!”
for what he knows.
Fight with Abu. The combat takes place
After a character tells a tale, read the in the center of the throne room. The
following. main opponent is Abu (LvL 4, Life 8,
Entangling) and the Lepers (LvL 1), which
“Bravo! Bravo!” the beggar king claps, croaking intervene only after Abu suffers the first
his appreciation. damage. In this case, twenty of them
intervene, splitting equally against the
“A fantastic tale, if ever I heard one. So, you have Heroes (again, remember the Group
earned your reward: my people escorted Zil to a Enemies rule), but Abu continues to fight
secret exit on the north walls of the city, where alone. Other twenty remain in reserve, to
a couple of camels and a guide awaited him. He protect Shaktafa (LvL 3, Life 4, Initiative
is going to the ruins of Vahishtaba, even if I 5) or to take the place of their fallen
don’t know what he hopes to find among those comrades, if necessary.
old rocks.”
Zones: clear center of the room,
The Receiver character (or anyone with surrounding area full of lepers, throne,
a sage or sorcerous concept) knows that right mound of carpets (see below), left
Vahishtaba is the place where King mound of carpets, walls of the room (with
Ardashir, the one whose face is on the torches in holders), corridors to outside.
Coin, was buried.
Having gotten the information they Special Rule: Retreat. In this fight only,
need, the Heroes are ready to go, but at the Heroes have an additional option.
this point, Shaktafa reveals his real plans Whenever they suffer damage, offer
for them. them the opportunity to reduce it by
one if they retreat, climbing over a pile of
“Not so fast, my friends, not so fast.” he croaks. carpets. They can do it up to three times,
until reaching the top of the mound (and
At these words the lepers surround you. ending with their back to the wall).

“After all, you trespassed in my kingdom, and Flying Away. When a character is on the
you found the way to my court. Abu will make top of the right mound, read the following
sure you won’t tell THIS story to anybody!” text:

Scheherazade 13
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Suddenly you feel something moving under your feet: it is a

carpet, a rather battered one and with one corner missing, which
stirs at your touch. You note it is weighed down by a heavy vase
someone has put upon it!

The carpet is the most precious one Shaktafa ever stole,

because it is magical, it can fly (see sidebar). If a Hero
knocks the vase away from it, they can jump onto it,
gather the rest of the party, and fly away (see next scene)! CARPET OF SHAKTAFA
Power: Medium
To Vahishtaba! Shaktafa stole this magical
The text below supposes the Heroes fight Abu, steal the carpet from Abdul the
Carpet of Shaktafa, and fly away from the Leper King merchant many years ago,
in a daring escape through the sewers. If things went tearing away a corner in
differently change it accordingly. his hurry. But despite how
hard he tried, the Leper
You jump onto the magic carpet, not really knowing what to King never managed to
expect. The thing shakes, like a horse held too long, and flies at bend it to his will, so he
top speed into one of the upper passages of Shaktafa throne’s room! keeps it blocked with
a heavy vase on the
“Come back! Come back!” the fat leper shouts, but you are far away. top of the mound of his
“trophies”. Abdul himself
ventured into the sewers
The carpet is absolutely wild, after being finally set free. years ago, a piece of his
The character piloting it must make a PRE+COU, LvL 3 beloved carpet in hand, to
roll to keep it under control (-1 if they hold the carpet’s find it, but he was knifed
torn corner). In case of failure, all the passengers must to death by a leper before
make a CAU+COU LvL 3 roll or suffer one damage from even getting near.
fear, scratches, and so on. The Carpet of Shaktafa
(in truth, of Abdul) is
The carpet flies wildly down a straight tunnel. Oh no, it is a large enough to carry the
dead end! whole party and can fly
very fast. It isn’t simply a
“Stop! Stop!” you shout, grabbing it. Too late. The damned carpet tool, it has a personality,
turns up, vertical, you are flying up a well! unpredictable and hot like
a racing horse, and fiercely
hates Shaktafa.
You emerge from Secret Basra like an arrow, the sunlight hitting
your eyes, while the carpet reaches the top of the minarets, dancing A character in possession
of the torn away corner
around them in the joy of freedom, while the people down in the
of the carper receives -1 to
streets stare at you in amazement. the Difficulty of every roll
involving it.
You circle three times around the city, high in the sky, and see the
ruins, far to the north.

Vahishtaba awaits you.

14 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Part 3 –
The Genie of the Mirror
Storyteller’s Tip:
The scenario supposes that the party flies Getting Reinforcements
directly to Vahishtaba, if they do, they
reach the ruins just as the sun is going
down. Otherwise, if they are on foot,
they must find horses (the Prince can get
them easily at the palace), and ride wildly
to the ruins. In this case, ask the Heroes
to make a POW+COU, LvL 2 roll, failing
means losing one Life due to fatigue, and
the party reaches Vahishtaba in the dead
of the night.
Try to hint to the players (in case they
forgot) that if Zil is going to do something, The Prince, being in his own city, could ask for
it will likely happen tomorrow, when the reinforcements, like soldiers to bring with him. It is
Princess arrives. perfectly reasonable, but remember, the greater part of the
manpower is busy securing the city for the royal visit
The Tomb of Ardashir tomorrow. Ask the player for a PAS+RES, LvL 2 roll. With
a success, and per each point of margin, he gets a Soldier
Vahishtaba spreads out below you. A mass of of Basra (LvL 1), or can spend two points for a Chosen
ruined buildings, half buried towers, and broken Soldier (LvL 2), or three for a Sergeant (LvL 3), or any
columns. A place that was already old when combination of these.
the Prophet was only a spark in the mind of These characters aren’t Allies, so the Storyteller controls them.
the Almighty. Legends say that in this place,
Ardashir was born. From there he began his
conquests, ending in the foundation of Basra, and
was buried here when he died.

The ruins are quite large, but finding

tracks is quite easy: near one of the few
buildings still standing, a sort of temple,
there are a couple of camels tied to a pillar.
The building is quite long, and at the
far end, near a broken altar, there is a
large stone slab, which was recently
moved away with a pry bar which lays
abandoned, near the body of a person.
He is a leper, the guide Shaktafa lent to
Zil. He died with an expression of stupor
on the face, knifed in the back, after
moving away the slab. Having fulfilled
his usefulness, the petty magician killed
him to eliminate any witness.

Scheherazade 15
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

A set of stairs leads deep underground. “Prince! Finally, we meet again!” the dark cloaked
Following them, the party reaches a man says “I took great pain to ensure this meeting
corridor, which goes straight on. Thirty would happen here and now.”
paces ahead, there is a T intersection,
from which they see a light coming, and Let the player respond, then continue.
hear the sounds of steps approaching.
There is a niche in the wall nearby, where “Are you ready to face your true self?” a second
the party can easily hide, and see who is voice, a familiar one, speaks from behind you.
arriving. It comes from the mirror, where you now see
It’s Zil, who crosses the corridor, without the reflection of your comrade, the prince. It is
noticing the Heroes! He is concentrating identical… but also very different, with a glint of
intently on something he is holding in his fire in his eyes and an evil smirk.
hand (it’s the Coin).
The Heroes can easily follow him. If they Ask the Heroes what they want to do,
charge to attack the man (who already but before they can act, go on with the
noticed them but pretends not to have to) following.
he runs away.
You are overcome by a great vertigo, and, when it
You cautiously take the same direction your enemy ends, you aren’t in the tomb anymore. The room
took, but the corridor turns and you temporarily is similar, but Zil isn’t there.
lose sight of him. When you reach the corner
you find a large, dark room, surrounded by a There is mirror in front of you, where you can
long colonnade. In the middle of the room there see Zil and a perfect copy of the Prince standing
is a rich sarcophagus, partially opened, while on side by side, the dark cloaked man holding the
the opposite side there is passage, shrouded by a Coin in his hand.
large blue tent.
Suddenly, you understand what has happened:
Zil is nowhere to be seen. you switched places with the creature in the
mirror, and now are trapped inside it!
The cover of the sarcophagus is richly
decorated and represents a bearded man. “You are in my palace now.” the double Prince
The Receiver character recognizes him as bows, smiling mockingly, a glint of fire in his
King Ardashir, whose tomb was lost! The eyes. “I hope you’ll enjoy the stay. I did, for several
sarcophagus is empty. centuries”
Behind the tent there isn’t a passage,
but something very different. A large, “They surely will, Genie of the Mirror.” Zil says
full body-length mirror of polished “But now, we must go. We have a vengeance to
black metal, which apparently casts no enact. And a war to start.”
reflection. When all the party members
(or at least the Prince) are near it, go on The fake prince bows and says, in a mocking
with the following text. tone, “All your wishes are my orders, Master of
the Coin.”
A sardonic voice comes from the columns behind
you, from where Zil emerges. And the mirror turns black.

16 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Trapped in the Mirror

The Heroes are trapped in an enchanted palace within
the mirror. It is both the prison and the home of the
Genie of the Mirror, who shaped it as he wished.
In general, the palace has an architectural style similar to
the tomb of Ardashir, only it is much more labyrinthine,
with passages going up and down, sometimes in weird
directions. The few windows open upon an indefinite
night, occasionally broken by blue lighting. Leaving the
palace through a window means falling into eternal
darkness and dying (unless the Storyteller decides to
create another adventure for falling characters). Getting Lost
Exploring the Palace. The Heroes should explore the
palace and find an exit. To do so, they must first find the
important locations of the palace by navigating through
the maze of corridors, which is handled in an abstract
way. During each exploration round (lasting around
half an hour), one of the Heroes, the guide, makes a
REA+CAU, LvL 3 roll. A second Hero can help them, if
they want.

If the roll is successful, the party gains one Advancement

Token. A character getting lost in the palace
In addition, roll a d66 on the Enchanted Palace gains and loses Advancement Tokens
Exploration Table on page 18 and run the event or independently from the rest of the
explore the location discovered. In case of a reroll, for an party. To rejoin the party the Hero must
already known location, the party just stumbles back to actively look for them. Consider it as
it, while for an Event, nothing happens unless it is stated an exploration round, during which
it can happen multiple times. the player rolls on REA+PRE, LvL
The round after getting three Advancement Tokens, the 5. In case of success they don’t get
party finds the Aviary (see page 21). Advancement Tokens but finds their
The round after getting six Advancement Tokens, they comrades. In case of failure, simply roll
find the Mirror’s Well (see page 23). on the Exploration Table. Every attempt
reduces by one the Difficulty of the roll.
Light. The palace is dimly illuminated by pale torches, Also the party can actively look for
which burn out when taken. the missing companion, using the
same rules.
Doors. In general, the doors of the palace aren’t locked,
unless you see the [L] note in the table’s entry. In this
case, the door to this location is locked (LvL 3) but can be
opened with the keys of the Earthenware Eunuch (see
The Guardian entry, 24-26 on page 19).

Scheherazade 17
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Backtracking. It could happen that the party decide to

visit a previously visited location. They can do it freely
if they draw a map and if the Getting Lost event hasn’t
happened. Otherwise, they must make a REA+CAU, LvL
3 roll to find it. In case of failure, they end up in another
random location.

Enchanted Palace Exploration Table

D66 EVENT OR LOCATION
11-13 Place – Warehouse [L]. This small room, with no windows, is a sort of storage
place and broom closet. There are a number of large vases (filled with oil or other
strange substances), brooms, buckets and so on. Why is such a mundane place in
an enchanted palace? Well, many of the items in this room are animated (LvL 3)
and can talk: two large vases (the fattest one is the self-appointed chief of the room,
grumpy and suspicious, the tall one is silent), the bucket (very talkative) and a broom
(fanatical about cleaning). They are very suspicious, in particular the fat vase, and
ready to attack any thief (they are very scared of being stolen), unless the Heroes
talk them down. In a corner there is also a very tall ladder (inanimated object, is so
burdensome it counts as Heavy) which could be useful in the Mirror’s Well later.
14-16 Event – Getting Lost [Repeatable]. The corridors of the palace are enchanted with
a subtle magic, and they seem to purposely shift to make intruders get lost. The
guide, in place of the normal roll, must make a REA+PRE LvL 4 roll or get lost. If
this happens, they lose an Advancement Token, and cannot gain any others in
this round. In addition, in case of a bad Consequence, one randomly selected Hero
gets separated and lost (see sidebar on page 17). Using some expedient to track the
exploration (like marking the wall or drawing a map, reduces the Difficulty of this
roll by -1).
21-23 Place – The Harem of the Blue Odalisques [L]. The Heroes hear faint
music coming from behind the door. If they look through the keyhole or
open it, they find a harem with four beautiful girls, two singing and
playing ouds (a sort of lute) sitting on cushions, while the other two dance
ecstatically to the rhythm of the music. The four girls have an exotic pale-blue
complexion. They look very similar to one another, in fact, they could be sisters,
apart from their hair color. Their names are Shimalia (North Wind) the snow haired
one, Sharqia (East Wind) with a fiery mane, hazel-haired Algharbia (West Wind),
and Janubia (South Wind), whose hair is as black as a raven’s wing. The girls in truth
are the spirits of the four desert winds, which the Genie trapped many centuries ago.
They cannot leave this room, being robbed of their souls, which are hidden
somewhere else in the palace, guarded by a “fierce lion”. The souls of the wind spirits
are the four gems kept in the Tower of the Genie (see entry 64-66 on page 20). If the
Heroes give the gems back to them, the girls transform into a gust of wind and go
away, waiting for the Mirror’s Well to open to escape through it. They also grant the
party a favor: the Heroes can call on them once (see sidebar on page 21) to get their
help. Note that the four sisters, besides being spirits, are young beautiful girls, very
fond of music and poetry. If a Hero is skilled in these areas, they'll beg them for a
piece of poetry or a song (count as Telling a Story), which could be a good starting
point for the Hero to gain a new Unique Gift (see sidebar on page 21).

18 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

24-26 Event – The Guardian [Repeatable]. The party hears a sound of thundering feet, and
after a few moments, the Earthenware Eunuch (see New Creatures and Monsters
Chapter) appears and attacks the party. The eunuch continues to reappear, each time
stronger, until the party finds and destroys his bracer (see the Throne Room entry 51-53).
31-33 Place – Ensorcelled Fountain. The party finds a room where a stone fountain
designed to resemble a snake’s head stands, gurgling water. The water is fresh, sweet,
and of a deep blue. It is also magical: any mortal drinking or merely touching it
immediately falls asleep for a Fate Die hours. At the bottom of the fountain there is a
crystal key, which opens the coffer in the Genie’s Tower. The party should find some
smart way to get it without touching the water. If all the party falls asleep, they
wake up after the maximum number of hours rolled in a random location.
34-36 Event – The Sad Door [Special]. The Heroes find a corridor blocked by a
massive door made of polished stone and precious metal. The door is closed,
and shaped to resemble a large face, with a sad expression. The door is
magical, and intelligent. It won’t open unless the Heroes tell it a story, and a
funny one at that, so that it will become happy. If they tell a sad story instead, the door
starts weeping, soon flooding the corridor with water (the party must retreat). The
door can be bashed (LvL 4, Protection 3), but any round it is attacked, it cries for help
(roll the Fate Die, with a bad consequence the Earthenware Eunuch comes in). If the
door is opened, the party immediately reaches the Aviary (if they have 3 Tokens or
less) or the Mirror’s Well (if they have 4-5 Tokens). If they don’t manage to open the
door, they lose one Token, and must go back and find another route.
41-43 Place – Garden of Talking Flowers. The Heroes stumble into a great hanging garden,
built inside the palace, which receives light from a transparent dome. The garden
is filled with plants and flowers of unknown species. Some of them are magical and
quite talkative, revealing something about another location or event in the palace.
Roll the Fate Die secretly: if even, the flowers speak the truth, if odd they only lie.
Picking a flower kills it, and no other flower will talk after that.
44-46 Event – The Treacherous Voice. A randomly selected Hero (and only that Hero)
hears a very persuasive voice and must make a PAS+REA LvL3 roll or be forced to
slip away from the party and make their way, after an exploration round, to the
Baths. Consider them as being lost (see sidebar on page 17). The voice they heard is,
of course, that of Thueban (see Baths entry 61-63 on page 20).
51-53 Place – Throne Room. In this place, the Genie of the Mirror shows all his power,
which basically consists in being the king of his own prison. A dais with a stone
throne stands at the far end of the room, with a large brazier at the foot of it. The
throne, leaning against the wall, is particularly beautiful, the back engraved to
resemble a rampaging lion. Behind the throne there is a secret passage, a narrow
stairwell leading to the Tower of the Genie (see entry 64-66 on page 20). Finding
it requires no roll, only an careful examination of the throne. The brazier is full
of embers burning with crackling red flames. Despite the intensity of the fire, the
embers aren’t consumed. This strange artifact is the thing keeping the Earthenware
Eunuch alive (see the creature’s description). Note that, since this place is the
start and end of its patrol route, if the party stays here too long, the Eunuch will
eventually come here (at the Storyteller's discretion).

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The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

54-56 Event – The Corridor of Shadows. The Heroes are in a long corridor, the walls of
polished stone. Characters passing through this place, cast indistinct reflections on
the walls, which, when they are in the middle of the corridor, animate and attack
them! They are LvL 3 enemies (Defense 4 versus non-magical weapons, they ignore
non-magical armor). Being basically illusions, the Revelation spell destroys them.
61-63 Place – Baths. The double doors of this location are heavily decorated and lead to a
traditional Arabic bath, an hammam. The whole area is filled with a subtle fog, and
it is quite hot. It is composed of several smaller rooms where the traditional cleaning
and massages are done, and a large central room. In one of the baths there is a
powerful soothing ointment (cures 3 Life). The central room contains a large pool of
cold water, where Theuban, the unwilling guardian of the baths, is imprisoned (see
New Creatures and Monsters). An enormous water snake, large enough to swallow
a man whole, Thueban is very beautiful, with marble skin, blue eyes, and a soothing
voice. A thin, but very strong rope binds his mouth, and anchors him to a metal ring
at the pool’s border, limiting the creature’s movements to the pool. Thueban asks the
Heroes to free him, promising them a precious treasure in exchange. If the Heroes
do it, Thueban rewards them with the very rope binding him: it is a magical rope
(see sidebar on page 22). But once free, roll the Fate Die: on any result apart from a
positive Consequence, Thueban, very hungry, attacks the party! If the Heroes free
him and escape, every time they roll an already visited location or event, with an
even number on the die, they meet Thueban. Note that Thueban is very vain, and
the Heroes can play on this (especially if they have the Mirror of Lies) to divert him
from eating them…
64-66 Event/Location – Genie’s Tower. On the top of a tall minaret-like tower there is a
room where the Genie keeps his treasures. If this entry is randomly selected, it is
an Event: the Heroes see from a window of the palace a tall tower, a pale blue light
coming out of the windows, while occasional blue lightning dances around the
tower. This location can only be accessed through the secret passage in the throne
room. A number of large cushions are spread around the chamber, while in the
middle of it there is a transparent crystal coffer filled with gems and gold. The coffer
is locked, but can be opened with the crystal key found in the Ensorcelled Fountain.
If the Heroes have no key, they can pick the lock (REA+PRE, LvL 4). Otherwise, they
can simply smash or remove it. If they do this, the lightning outside the tower gets
angry, attacking a random Hero each round (roll the Fate Die: the result is the LvL of
the attack). The jewels in the coffer are worth 15 Treasure Points. In addition, there
are four large sapphires, each with a swirling wind trapped inside it. They are the
souls of the Blue Odalisques (see the Harem entry 21-23 above) and quite precious
on their own (2 Treasure Points each). Note that all the treasure, apart from the
sapphires, turns to dust when the Heroes return to the mortal world.

20 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

The Aviary
The Four Winds
You enter a large hall, full of bird cages of
silver and gold, where are kept a number of
The Four Winds, when they recover their souls, turn into birds, the most marvelous you have ever seen:
their original form and fly away in a, well..., a gust of wind. multicolored parrots, dark winged ravens, and
A character can call them once, invoking their names: peacocks of all types and shapes, with tails
Shimalia, Sharquia, Algharbia and Janubia (all together). more beautiful and colorful than the wedding
If they do, the wind spirits come, and aid the Heroes, dress of the Caliph’s daughter. One in particular
usually pushing or pulling someone, creating a whirlwind, catches your eye: a big peacock, its tail even
or something similar. In game terms, consider them a LvL longer and more imposing than the others, with
7 creature. After the Four Winds are invoked, they won’t a small crown of gold on its head. The beast,
respond anymore. seeing you, frantically beats against the bars of
If the Heroes don’t invoke the wind during the scenario, its cage as if wanting to be freed.
they can try to use this connection to transform it into the
following Unique Gift. The cages are all locked, but can be
opened with the keys of the Earthenware
Eunuch or by picking the lock (LvL 3,
WINDS FRIEND [1X1] SPECIAL REA+PRE). The creatures in the cages
Effect: The winds are special aren’t real birds, but some of the creatures
friends of the Hero and wind the Genie has captured over the centuries.
is everywhere. Once per In particular, the crown-wearing bird
session, they can whisper looks somehow familiar: the crown worn
a piece of information they is very similar to that of King Ardashir
have heard somewhere, which the Heroes may have seen in the
give the Hero a warning, ancient ruler’s tomb. If the Heroes open
snuff out a candle, or even
the cages, the birds fly out, but not far
save the Hero from a fall.
away: after a lifetime in a cage, they don’t
The winds act on their own,
but a Hero can also invoke know what to do. The only exception is
their help: every time they the bird with the crown. If it is freed from
do, roll a Fate Die, on a bad its cage, a marvelous thing happens.
Consequence, the Winds
help, but then go away and With a puff of smoke, the peacock disappears,
don’t return anymore. and a crowned man dressed in a long gown
Finding it: The character must lure appears in place of him.
the Wind Spirits with a
poem about their beauty You recognize him, he is King Ardashir, the one
(the player must compose a you saw on the sarcophagus, the original owner
piece) or with music (with of the Coin!
a suitable roll, for example
PAS+REA LvL 5), or in any The ancient King blinks and asks: “Who are
other suitable way (treat the you?”
Wind Spirits like four young
and beautiful girls).

Scheherazade 21
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Ardashir didn’t die, instead, he was

Magical Rope tricked by the Lord of the Mask, the Genie
of the Mirror, ending up trapped in the
same prison that the King had prepared
MAGICAL ROPE for the djinn. The Lord of the Mask, who
Power: Low is a sort of collector, and absolute ruler of
This ordinary-looking rope has the power his prison, tormented his former master
to raise up, and tie a knot at the command for a while, but got bored with him fairly
of the user. It can be used to climb walls quickly, so he put him in a cage like he
very easily, and can also be used to attack had done with all his other victims and
with REA+PRE, but only to Hinder. In both former masters. Yes, all these birds were
cases, reduce by two the difficulty of the masters of the Genie of the Mirror, but
Action. Magical ropes are quite sturdy they have been in bird shape for so long
(they can suffer two Damage), but if cut, that they don’t remember who they were
they lose all their powers. anymore.

Escape from the Mirror. Ardashir knows

a way to leave the mirror because he
eavesdropped on the Genie: the Mirror’s
Well, a passage through which mortals,
and only mortals, can leave the enchanted
palace. He doesn’t know its exact location,
but he can help the party find it.

Playing Ardashir. The great, ancient King

of Basra is a grumpy old man in his sixties.
He doesn’t know exactly how much time
has passed during his imprisonment, and
is really astonished to discover that more
than five centuries have passed since
his disappearance! But this doesn’t stop
his resolution. He is LvL 3 character, and
given his knowledge of the palace, his
presence lowers by -1 the Difficulty of the
exploration roll.

“We must leave this place and get our hands on

the coin! Only with that we can force the Genie
back to this prison!”

From this point on, continue the

exploration of the palace. When the party
gets six Advancement Tokens, they reach
the Mirror’s Well.

22 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

The Mirror’s Well

The Trophies. The text below supposes If the Heroes let him touch the sword (or
that King Ardashir is with the party. If he take it themselves), the other weapons
isn’t, change it accordingly. come to life and attack (as above)
If the Heroes don’t touch anything (and
You enter a long corridor flanked by some deep prevent Ardashir from doing the same),
alcoves. They are full of ancient weapons and the weapons animate, but only when the
armors, some still serviceable, others old and party is already at the end of the corridor
battered. (a character accidentally hits a piece of
armor, causing it to fall, thus waking up
“The room of trophies.” King Ardashir says “The the weapons), so that the characters can
Mirror’s Well must be behind that door!” he reach the door without any need to fight
adds, pointing a bony finger toward the opposite (unless they want to, of course).
side of the corridor.
Living Weapons! Centuries of sitting in
“Come on, let’s go!” the enchanted palace has made them
living and bloodthirsty: if disturbed, they
We won’t lie to you: the weapons in the suddenly fly into the air and attack any
room are going to animate and attack the intruder in the room! They are considered
Heroes. But when this happens depends as a unique enemy, LvL 2+, Multi Attack
on their actions. (Equal to the number of the players) and
If the Heroes touch something, let them Life 20. Not all the weapons wake up
take a weapon (a normal one) or a piece together, but every round one or two
of armor (Protection 1) of their choice, come to life: to represent this, increase
and then the other weapons attack their LvL by +1 after each round, to a
immediately! maximum of 5.
If the party doesn’t touch anything,
Ardashir himself, while in the middle of The players have no chance to fight
the corridor says: against this horde, they must escape to
the door and bar it behind them, but if
“Look there! That’s my sword! I need it to fight they touched something, they must fight
that damned Genie!” at least one round.

A Bad Surprise!
You bar the door behind you. You hear the “May Ahriman swallow that Genie!” King
weapons hacking and bashing savagely at the Ardashir curses. “It is on the ceiling!”
wood: the door won’t last long.
You raise your head and see that on the top of the
You look around. You are in a circular room, with conical ceiling there is a sort of tunnel, ending
no other exit apart from a large window looking with a pale, transparent, almost immaterial mirror,
out into the night, surrounded by a red damask through which you can see the light of the sun.
curtain.
“How can we get to it?” Ardashir asks,
And the well? Where is it? dumbfounded.

Scheherazade 23
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Good question. The ceiling is at least five

yards tall (at the base of the well), plus Storyteller’s Tip:
another three to reach the mirror. Building up tension
There are basically four ways to reach it (but
clever players may come up with others):
The first is using the ladder the party may
have found in the warehouse.
The second is using the magical rope
binding Thueban.
The third is invoking the help of the Wind
Spirits, which can lift the party up (and slip
away through the mirror too).
The fourth one, if the Heroes are really
desperate, is cutting to pieces the curtains During the well scene, the players should feel the urgency
from the window, tying them into a of their actions, given that the animated weapons are
makeshift rope, using something (like a cutting down the door. To make this more present, start
weapon or similar) as an improvised hook, the scene by putting five tokens (or gaming stones) on the
and throwing it through the mirror, hoping table, and then ask each player, in order, what they are
it catches on something LvL 3, POW+PRE, going to do, not letting them hesitate too much.
then climbing up (LvL 3, POW+CAU), on a When all the players have acted (or hesitated too much),
bad consequence, the rope breaks)! Each of remove a token.
these actions requires a round. When all the tokens are removed, the weapons swarm in…
Note that in the meantime, the animated
weapons are chopping at the door, so the
party has only five rounds before they
swarm in.

A King is always a King. In one way or

another, the party should reach the top of
the well, with King Ardashir. But when
the old man touches the mirror’s surface, Relic: The Sword of Ardashir
he discovers that he is not able to cross it!
THE SWORD OF ARDASHIR
“I have passed too much time in this place, and I Power: Medium
have become a part of it. You must go alone, my
friends. Bring the Genie back here! Remember, find This ancient blade has engraved on the
hilt and the blade the one hundred and
the Coin!” he says. Then, he lets himself fall down.
one names of Ahura Mazda, the light god
of Zoroastrianism, and this makes it Lethal
If the party (or Ardashir himself) got the (+1 damage caused) against supernatural
king’s sword, he hands it to the nearest creatures, in particular djinn. In addition,
character before they cross the mirror, saying: legends say that a General wielding the
Sword of Ardashir cannot lose a battle,
“Take my blade. It will help you!” but these legends are very old and
unconfirmed.
And then the party passes through the
mirror.

24 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Part 4 – An Impostor to Unmask!

You feel the weird sensation of falling upward, convincing them of their identity (after
before landing on the flat top of a deserted palace, all, the Prince is already in the city, at the
in Vahishtaba, over an ancient engraving of the docks, now).
same dimension of the well’s mouth. How weird.
You are flying through the skies over Basra,
It is early morning, and the sun has already zigzagging through the minarets to reach the
risen. The delegation of Musquat and princess docks before it is too late. The princess’s ship
Jamila will arrive at dhur, (midday), when their has already docked, and she is going to meet
ship is awaited at the docks. the Emir, your uncle, on an elevated platform,
surrounded by festive citizens throwing petals
The Heroes must hurry, Zil and the Genie of flowers.
are already in Basra, ready to bring about
their nefarious plan, whatever it may be. Standing near Umar is his favorite nephew, you!
If the party came here on the flying (point to the Prince’s player)
carpet, it is still where they left it, and
they can fly back to the city. But when “We are Losing Height!” The spirit of
they fly away, tell them this. the story supposes that the party, on
the flying carpet, flies directly over the
The carpet jumps into the sky with the eagerness platform, stopping Princess Jamila before
of a young bird, but the broken corner tangles she meets the false prince. But in this
with a rock. The wondrous item leaves several precise moment, the flying carpet, which
threads back, and starts raveling a bit. Let’s hope was damaged, starts losing height. The
it isn’t a problem… character guiding it must make a LvL 3,
REA+PAS roll to keep it flying (-1 Difficulty
If they came on horseback, they find if they have the carpet’s corner). In case
their mounts, but they must ride savagely. of success, the carpet continues to fly for
Ask the Heroes to make a POW+COU, the remainder of the scene, otherwise, it
LvL 2 roll, failing means losing one Life plummets down on the thatched roof of
due to fatigue, and they arrive at Basra a stable, and the Heroes fall onto a pile
exhausted. of manure. They are unharmed, but so
The text below supposes that the party stinky that they suffer +1 Difficulty to
arrives flying. If they don’t, they have any social activity until the end of the
to pass through the guards at the gates, scenario.

Save the Princess and the Kingdom!

In one manner or another, the party “Guards! Who is that impostor? Arrest him!” the
should manage to reach the platform false Prince says, while Umar the Emir looks at
where the princess, the Emir, and the you astonished.
false Prince are standing. The text below
supposes the Prince (the real one) is “Who is that man?” Princess Jamila asks,
present. widening her beautiful eyes behind her veil.

Scheherazade 25
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Meantime, the crowd, shouts out exclamations of nearby tower. Then he climbs up, until he
surprise. reaches the top, where he’ll try to throw
the princess down onto the crowd (killing
Three guards (LvL 2) are going to obey her as his master wanted) and then
the false Prince unless the real one fighting back any pursuers.
convinces them of his identity, with a LvL Part of the party should stop Zil and get
2, PAS+COU roll. the Coin, while the others must actively
If the Heroes defeat the guards, or contain the Genie.
persuade them to stand back, the Both Zil and the Genie’s stats are in the
false prince unsheathes his sword and New Creatures and Monsters chapter.
attacks the party (in particular, the If you want to add more chaos, throw
Prince, if present). Consider him a LvL 4 into the scene a number of frightened
enemy for now. He fights with reckless citizens (LvL 1) and confused Guards (LvL
abandon, smiling (Defense 3), sure of his 2).
invulnerability.
But the first time the false prince is hit, Zones: raised platform (where the emir
things change. and the dignitaries are), several zones of
crowds (Difficult Zone: a LvL 2 PRE+CAU
“Aaargh!” screams the false prince, wiping at the roll is necessary to pass through it), back
blood. “How dare you, puny mortal? How dare alley (through which Zil tries to reach
you touch me?” Secret Basra to escape), lower floors of the
tower (Narrow Zone: only two characters
With a thundering explosion, the false prince can be there), top of the tower (special
turns into an enormous djinn, with four arms Zone: on a bad consequence in combat,
and the lower part of its body made of smoke. or if thrown down from it, a character
With a swirl, he grabs Princess Jamila and flies suffers a LvL 6 attack).
over the crowd!
On the Carpet! Remember that if a Hero
“No! This wasn’t the plan! Come back!” a voice is still on the magic carpet, they can fly
shouts from the crowd. over all the area, ignoring difficult zones
and scouting around. They can also try to
Shrouded in a dark cloak, you see Zil. catch falling characters (LvL 3, PRE+CAU)!

What About Zil? The evil mastermind The Coin. Once the group has the Coin,
was hidden in the crowd, with the Coin they can try to send the Lord of the
in hand, watching all the action. When Masks back to his prison. It is done with
the Genie is wounded and assumes his a LvL 4 REA+PAS roll, with -1 Difficulty if
true form, he understands that his plan the Hero wielding it also has the Sword of
has failed. He wanted to have the Genie, Ardashir. If successful read the following.
disguised as the Prince, kill the princess
and start a war between Basra and The Genie, with a terrible laugh, turns into a puff
Musquat. of greenish smoke.

At this point, Zil tries to escape, while the “You won, mortal! I go back to my prison. But I
Genie, with the princess held in a couple won’t go alone!”
of arms, hovers over the crowd to reach a

26 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

The smoke flies to Zil and surrounds him. It is so But when the smoke flies into the sky, directly
thick you cannot see through it. to the ruins where the mirror lays, the traitorous
surgeon isn’t there anymore
The cries of the man are painful: “No! No! Leave
me!” You are pretty sure he is imprisoned in the
mirror now, with his former slave as master.

Part 5 – The End

“Beloved nephew!” Umar hugs the Prince fondly On this topic the Heroes had a strange
“Luckily you and our guest are safe! I didn’t think dream some time ago that…
even for a moment he was you… you were him…
well, for the glory of the Almighty, you know
what I mean!”

With Zil captured, the evil Genie thrown

back into his prison, and princess Jamila
(hopefully) free, Basra is safe, at least for
today.
Princess Jamila, who is probably very
beautiful behind the rich veil she wears,
looks sweetly at her savior (if a Hero
took this role), and Emir Umar invites all
his nephew’s new friends to the palace
to enjoy the royal hospitality (consider
the party as having +1 to their Resources
score while they stay in Basra).
The Heroes now have the magical Coin
and the mirror to dispose of: the best
thing to do is to hide them where they
cannot be found again (or embark on
some dangerous quest to discover how
to destroy them without releasing the
Genie inside).
In addition, many other questions are
still unanswered: how did Zil find the
secret of the Coin? And who informed
him that the artifact was going to arrive
in the town? Whoever this figure is,
he has any interest in causing trouble
in the Caliphate. Maybe all of this was
connected with the mysterious sleep of
Scheherazade?

Scheherazade 27
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

New Creatures
and Monsters
EARTHENWARE EUNUCH LVL 3 +

Initiative: LvL-2; Life: LvL+2

Keywords:
Description: This large (9 foot tall) animated statue made of earthenware, represents a big
fat eunuch guardian, dressed in a loincloth and armed with a big scimitar of
black metal (Vicious). A keyring containing all the keys of the palace hangs from
a leather belt. The Earthenware Eunuch isn’t very smart, is mute, and attacks
any intruder on sight. Given the nature of his body, attacks with blunt weapons
(like maces, clubs, and staves) are made at Difficulty -1. When the Earthenware
Eunuch’s Life drops to zero, he shatters into a pile of reddish earthenware, which
disappear in few minutes, leaving only his scimitar, loincloth, belt, and keyring.
The Earthenware Eunuch is a powerful magical guardian, which, if destroyed,
reappears in a few moments in the Throne Room, where he is briefly fired again,
and restarts patrolling (so the next time the Earthenware Eunuch entry is rolled,
the creature is encountered again). When this happens, the monster is stronger,
having gained +1 LvL (but attacks at LvL-1 if without his scimitar). His preferred
targets are those holding his sword or keyring.
Lore: There is a large arcane symbol painted on the chest of the Eunuch representing
fire, which suggests the creature is somehow linked to that element (as any
character with an arcane Concept will understand). The only way to stop the
creature for good is overturning or extinguishing the brazier in the Throne
Room. When this is done, the Eunuch crumbles immediately to dust, forever.

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 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

LORD OF THE MASKS

LVL 6
(AKA THE GENIE OF THE MIRROR)
Life: LvL+2
Keywords: Fly, Immunity (to non-magical attacks – only in his natural form), Multi Attack 2
Description: The Lord of the Masks is a particular djinn, linked to a specific item, a magical
mirror made in a forgotten era. The mirror represents very well the nature of
this creature: an imitator and shapeshifter, his greatest power consists of taking
the shape of whoever is refelected in the surface of his prison, swapping places.
The genie’s true aspect is that of a horned giant with four arms, partially made
of smoke, but he doesn’t like showing himself in this form, and he does so only
when he loses control or he is wounded in his shapeshifted form.
Lore: The genie is also a collector at heart: he loves to keep precious things (and beings)
in prison with him, cultivating the illusion of being the king of his palace (when
in truth, he is only the first prisoner). To do so, he usually lures victims in with
the illusion of being their slave, and only at the end does he drag them into his
world.
Centuries ago, King Ardashir made a talisman, a special Coin to counteract his
powers, and it is the only way to truly dominate him, at least for a while.

THUEBAN THE SNAKE LVL 4

Life: 8; Initiative: 3
Keywords: Paralysis
Description: An enormous snake, Thueban (Arabic: snake) is intelligent and very beautiful,
with marble-white scales and deep blue eyes. His voice is soothing and very
persuasive, almost magical. A character hearing it in a moment of quiet (so
not during a combat or similar), must make a LvL 3, PAS+REA to ignore his
suggestions.
In combat, Thueban can spend three Effect points on an attack to swallow a
man-sized or smaller opponent!
The victim cannot move, and automatically loses one Life every round, passing
out at zero. Their friends can pull them out with a POW+COU, LvL 5 roll, kill
Thueban, or force him to spit out the victim (see below). After swallowing
someone, the snake loses interest in fighting, and tries to go away, to digest his
food, a process which takes a full scene (Storyteller’s decision, at least four hours
of time during which Thueban is sleepy).
Lore: This ancient creature is a savant snake, whose race dwelt in the dark jungles of
far-away India. Smart and cunning, he was captured by the Genie of the Mirror
many centuries ago and forced to serve him. As all the members of his race,
he cannot openly lie, but is always very literal in what he says and what he
promises. Thueban has a single weak point, the end of his tail, which, for the
last few inches, is black and very sensitive. Hitting it (the player must spend
two Effect points Hindering it), causes an intense pain to the creature (double
the Hindering value), and makes Thueban spit out any victim he has swallowed.
This information is available to any character with a snake charmer, fakir, or
similar concept (basically, anybody knowing serpents).

Scheherazade 29
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

ZIL THE SURGEON LVL 3

Initiative: 4; Stealth: 4
Keywords:
Description: Zil was once a good and skilled healer, a wise hakim, and trusted counselor
of Umar, the Emir of Basra. But pride and a certain overconfidence in his
intelligence led him to betray his ruler. Since the day when the Prince discovered
his attempt to poison the Emir, Zil has lived in hiding, so now he is quite skilled
in that art. He is armed with a wicked dagger (Vicious) which he keeps under his
robes, and recently acquired, in a mysterious way, a couple of minor artifacts,
the Powder of Mutation (used when first met), and the Mirror of Lies (which
he used with Shaktafa). He still has a trick up his sleeve, a pinch of Powder of
Blinding, a dangerous poison which, if thrown into a Zone, counts as an attack
at LvL 4 which causes double Hindering (each point of Effect spent to Hinder
causes +2 Difficulty)..
Lore: Zil is very savvy in the ways of healing, poisons, and ancient lore, this last being
an area of knowledge which he has recently deepened. But who is his master?

30 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Appendix A - the Mysterious Letter

M y Lord, this day, at noon, something very dangerous

to the fate of the City will happen in the Bazaar.
Please, be ready.
Forgive me, but I cannot say more, my life is already in
danger. May the Almighty protect us.

A Friend

Scheherazade 31
The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Appendix B - Keywords
In this table are described the Keywords used in the scenario. Gear Keywords are
linked to items, and apply both to player characters and non-player characters, while
Opponents Keywords are only used by enemies.
Note that this is only a small selection of the keywords available in the full game.

[6]: If you roll at least a 6, a special effect applies. If you have more than one Keyword
triggering on 6, you must decide how to assign each 6. For opponents, this applies
when the Hero rolls a 1 on the Fate Die.

Gear Keywords Table

KEYWORD EFFECT
Entangling This weapon deals +1 Hinder if it successfully hits the victim.

Example. A whip is an entangling weapon

Heavy You can carry up to a number of Heavy Items equal to your POW
Attribute. At the Storyteller’s discretion, this can raise the Difficulty of or
make it actually impossible to carry out certain physical tasks.
Example. A suit of metal armor is Heavy. It causes +1 to the Difficulty of physical tasks except combat, and
renders it impossible to swim.

Lethal The weapon deals +1 damage against a particular enemy or under a

particular condition.
Example. A thrice blessed sword deals +1 damage against undead.
Protection 1 6: reduce by one the damage suffered.
Example. A suit of leather armor reduces by 1 the damage suffered, if the user rolls at least one 6.
Protection 3 Reduce by one the damage suffered, plus another damage with a 6.
Example. A suit of heavy janissary armor reduces by one any physical damage suffered, plus an additional 1
if you scored a 6.
Reach This weapon grants -1 Difficulty when used against Group Enemies and
when in Open Zones (ask the GM). The effects stack and apply both in attack
and defense.
Example. A polearm reduces by -1 the Difficulty of a combat, both in attack and defense, when used in an
outnumbered situation, and grants another -1 if the user has enough space to maneuver it.
Vicious 6: the opponent suffers 1 damage at the beginning of their turn due to
bleeding or other similar effect until their wounds are tended (LvL 2).
Only if the enemy is vulnerable to that effect.
Example. A razor-sharp axe can cause bleeding wounds (1 damage per turn) if the user scores a 6.

32 Scheherazade
 The Story of the Genie and the Mirror

Opponents Keywords Table

KEYWORD EFFECT
Fly The creature can fly, ignoring any obstacle to its movement.

Immunity (specific) The creature cannot be damaged (but can, at the Storyteller’s discretion,
be Hindered) by a specific type of attack.
Mobility The creature is very fast. It can move one extra Zone per turn as a free
action.
Multi Attack X The creature can make X attacks per round, against different (or even the
same) target. Unless differently specified, the attack is always the same,
but certain creatures can use different attacks forms with each multi
attack.
Paralysis Each Effect spent by this creature when attacking, instead of causing
damage, Paralyzes the victim. A paralyzed hero suffers +1 to the Difficulty
of their physical tests (like Hinder), but the penalty disappears only when
a particular condition triggers.

Scheherazade 33
 Welcome
to Scheherazade - the One Thousand and
One Nights Roleplaying Game!

Tomorrow is a very important day for the city of

Basra. Princess Jamila of Musquat, daughter and heir
of a nearby kingdom, is going to visit the town. Her
imminent arrival has caused much turmoil in the pacific
kingdom, and a number of merchants, travelers, and
simple curious people have gathered, eager to catch a
glimpse of her legendary beauty.
But something evil is afoot: a dark plan to bring chaos
and destruction to the streets of Basra and shatter
forever the peace of the Caliphate.
Heroic princes, a beautiful princess, daring chases, and
incredible battles await you in this free adventure!
You only need the Scheherazade Quick Rules and Scheherazade Pre-generated
Heroes (all available for free)!
So, what are you waiting for? Jump on your flying carpet, and prepare to enter…
…The Story of the Genie and the Mirror!