“The God in the Bowl” is one of Robert E Howard’s classic early Conan adventures – a locked room murder mystery, no less, and with a baroquely fantastical flavour that makes it perfect for Weird Tales. Or so you’d think, but the notoriously erratic Farnworth Wright rejected it, along with the equally wonderful “The Frost Giant’s Daughter”, when REH sent him the first three Conan stories.
As Howard wrote to H P Lovecraft in April 1932: “I’ve been working on a new character, providing him with a new epoch — the Hyborian Age, which men have forgotten, but which remains in classical names, and distorted myths. Wright rejected most of the series, but I did sell him one, ‘The Phoenix on the Sword’, which deals with the adventures of King Conan the Cimmerian, in the kingdom of Aquilonia.”
HPL got to see the rejected stories and wrote back: “[Donald] Wandrei and I have read these tales with keen interest and appreciation. Best wishes for their ultimate publication! […] The climax of ‘The God in the Bowl’ is splendidly vivid.”
Sadly the world at large was to be denied any sight of “The God in the Bowl” for another twenty years, when it finally appeared in the September 1952 issue of Space Science Fiction (what?!). You can read it here – and so you should, if you haven’t done so before and you want to avoid the spoilers that lie ahead.
OK, so here’s the summary. Kallian Publico has a building, a sort of museum called “the Temple”, in which he shows off his private collection of artworks and antiquities to selected guests. Lately he took in a large metal bowl or jar from the realm of Stygia, in the far south, which he agreed to hold until its intended recipient, a priest called Kalanthes, could send for it. Kallian then reflected on the treasure the jar might contain, and decided to stage a break-in at the Temple and blame the theft on intruders.
Kallian goes to the Temple after dark and breaks the seals on the jar. Around midnight his watchman, patrolling the building, tries the door and finds the main lock has been opened. The door has two locks: the main one, openable only from outside, and a deadbolt that can be unlocked from either side. The watchman enters and find Kallian dead, apparently strangled with a thick cable. He also encounters an intruder (Conan) who may be the murderer. The jar is open and empty. The watchman summons the police, who also bring in Promero, Kallian’s clerk who lives in a house next-door to the Temple.
Conan says he entered the Temple from the roof only minutes before he ran into the watchman, who he expected would continue patrolling outside. Promero says that Kallian came to see him in the early evening but left soon afterwards. Enaro, Kallian’s charioteer, arrives and says that he was told to pick up Kallian at the Temple just after midnight. Under duress, Promero admits that Kallian stayed at his house till half an hour before midnight, when he left to go and open the jar.
The police realize that, as the deadbolt was on and only Kallian and the watchman had keys, if the murderer isn’t Conan then he must still be in the building. Kallian’s keys are still on his corpse, along with all his jewelled rings, so theft wasn’t the motive – or else the murderer was interrupted. There’s no way up to the trapdoor where Conan got in without piling things underneath to climb up, so the murderer cannot have escaped that way.
A policeman says he saw the thick rope used to strangle Kallian wound high up on a pillar in a hall of statues, but when they go to look there’s nothing there. Conan sees something move in an adjacent chamber. Promero, having looked at the symbols on the lid of the jar, becomes hysterical, claiming that it is one of “the children of Set” who was sent in the jar by the priest Thoth-Amon to kill Kalanthes. One of the policemen, scoffing at this, pushes Promero into the room to look.
At this point another policeman brings in a young nobleman he found loitering outside. This is Aztrias, whom Conan reveals hired him to steal a Zamorian goblet. As Aztrias tries to deny it, Promero staggers out of the other room, screams that “the god has a cursed long neck”, and collapses. Cue general panic apart from Conan, who gets in there and slays the so-called Child of Set, which turns out to be a huge serpent with a beautiful human head.
But we want to turn this into a scenario, so it can’t all be about Conan. Instead, if you’re running a one shot, I suggest six pre-generated player-characters:
- Two PCs are thieves hired by Aztrias
- Two are watchmen hired to guard the Temple – they are the ones who discover Kallian’s body
- One is Kallian’s charioteer
- The sixth PC is the chief of the Inquisitorial Council of the city of Numalia (Demetrio in the story) who arrives with a patrol of six NPC policemen.
The stats for these six are given under Pre-gen player characters below. The thieves and the charioteer are 6th rank; the watchmen and the inquisitor are 5th rank; and the NPC police are 1st rank. If you need to fit in more player-characters they can be police of 5th rank, but in that case there are no NPC police.
Timeline
This is the order of events if they proceed exactly as in the REH story – though naturally the player-characters’ actions will change details, especially after midnight.
Early Evening (approximately 6:00-8:00 PM)
- Watchmen (PCs): Begin their shift at the museum entrance
- Promero (chief clerk): Goes home (next door to the museum) after cataloguing work in the main hall
- Aztrias Petanius (nobleman): Secretly meets with the thieves, whom he is sending to steal a Zamorian goblet from the museum.
- Kallian Publico (museum owner): Locks up the museum, travels partway home, then decides to steal the contents of the bowl so returns to Promero’s house, telling his charioteer to fetch him at midnight.
- Charioteer (PC): Delivers Kallian to Promero's house, then at leisure till midnight
- Thieves (PCs): Casing the museum from afar, planning the break-in
- The Child of Set (in the bowl): Dormant within the sealed Stygian artifact in the storage room
Mid-Evening (8:00-10:00 PM)
- Watchmen (PCs): Patrolling the perimeter
- Promero: Entertains Kallian at his home next to the museum
- Kallian: Talks to Promero, revealing his plan to plunder the contents of the bowl and swearing Promero to secrecy
- Aztrias: Returns home to prepare for retrieving his purchase later
- Thieves (PCs): Wait in shadows nearby, watching for the right moment to enter
Late Evening (10:00 PM-Midnight)
- Watchmen (PCs): Conduct periodic patrols
- Inquisitor (PC): Decides to spend the evening accompanying a police patrol
- Kallian: Returns to the museum intending to break open the bowl and steal its contents; his plan is to blame it on thieves; he breaks the seals on the bowl, releases the Child of Set, and is killed by it around 11:30 PM
- The Child of Set: Released from the bowl by Kallian, whom it kills
- Thieves (PCs): Enter the museum through a trapdoor from the roof around 11:45 PM
- Aztrias: Approaches the museum near midnight to collect his spoils from the thieves
After Midnight
- Watchmen (PCs): Discover the body; sound the alarm bell
- Thieves (PCs): Spotted by the watchmen after sounding the alarm bell
- Inquisitor (PC): Arrives with six guardsmen having heard the bell
- Aztrias: Lurks outside, sees the commotion, and decides to wait
- The Child of Set: Moving unseen through the museum's shadowy halls
- Promero: Summoned back to the museum to identify items and assist investigation
- Charioteer (PC): Returns to the museum to pick up Kallian as instructed.
Witness statements
For each character, I've included their initial statements, any revisions to their stories, and what they actually know or observed.
1. Changing Stories:
- Promero gives three different versions, each revealing more truth as pressure is applied
- Aztrias will change his story if his reputation is threatened
- Several NPCs maintain "official" positions while harbouring private doubts
2. Motivations for Lying:
- Promero fears implication in Kallian’s attempted fraud
- Aztrias protects his reputation and avoids scandal
3. Truth Extraction Methods:
- Promero requires intimidation
- Aztrias is nearly impossible to get the full truth from, and his status makes harsh interrogation impossible
Promero (Chief Clerk)
Initial Account
- Claims he left the Temple at normal time (this is true)
- Says Kallian was in his office working on accounts
- Insists nothing unusual happened during the day
- Suggests Kallian had no enemies
- States that nothing seems to be missing from the Temple
Second Account (under duress)
- Admits he saw Kallian after the Temple was locked for the day
- Reveals Kallian was planning to sell something valuable “off the books”
- Still omits knowledge of Kallian's plans to steal from the jar
Final Account (After Posthumo's "third degree")
- Confesses to knowing about Kallian’s plan to open the jar:
“It arrived in a caravan from the south, at dawn. The men of the caravan knew nothing of it, except that it had been placed with them by the men of a caravan from Stygia, and was meant for Kalanthes of Hanumar, priest of Ibis. The master of the caravan had been paid by these other men to deliver it directly to Kalanthes, but he's a rascal by nature, and wished to proceed directly to Aquilonia, on the road to which Hanumar does not lie. So he asked if he might leave it in the Temple until Kalanthes could send for it.
“Kallian agreed, and told him he himself would send a runner to inform Kalanthes. But after the men had gone, and I spoke of the runner, Kallian forbade me to send him. He sat brooding over what the men had left – a sort of sarcophagus, such as is found in ancient Stygian tombs, but this one was round, like a covered metal bowl or jar. Its composition was something like copper, but much harder, and it was carved with hieroglyphics, like those found on the more ancient menhirs in southern Stygia. The lid was made fast to the body by carven copper-like bands.
“The men of the caravan did not know what it contained. They only said that the men who gave it to them told them that it was a priceless relic, found among the tombs far beneath the pyramids and sent to Kalanthes ‘because of the love the sender bore the priest of Ibis’. Kallian Publico believed that it contained the diadem of the giant-kings, of the people who dwelt in that dark land before the ancestors of the Stygians came there. He showed me a design carved on the lid, which he swore was the shape of the diadem which legend tells us the monster-kings wore.”
Aztrias Petanius (nobleman)
Initial Account
- Denies any involvement with Kallian
- Claims he was passing by when he saw commotion
- Offers to help authorities as a civic duty
- If questioned about the thieves he suggests they must have killed Kallian as he assumes there’s no chance of getting the goblet now and doesn’t want them alive to testify against him
If threatened with exposure
- Admits to agreeing to buy the Zamorian goblet
- Claims he didn't know it was being sold illegally
- Offers bribes to keep his name out of the investigation
Truth (nearly impossible to extract)
- Hired the thieves to steal the Zamorian goblet for him
- Planned to frame the thieves for any complications
- Was waiting outside to collect the goblet when the police arrived
- Has extensive gambling debts
Clues
Some highlights that could make for interesting gameplay moments are:
- Environmental Changes: Temperature drops (noticed only by sensitive characters) and strange echoes could create atmosphere while also serving as hints at the presence of something uncanny.
- Forensic Details: The unusual bruising pattern and (on closer inspection) the grooved impressions on Kallian's body show that he was strangled with a very thick cable.
- Scholarly Connections: The Stygian hieroglyphs can be read by Promero (see below).
- Trail of Evidence: The disturbances – a torn drape, an overturned vase – create a physical trail that show that Kallian was attacked in the chamber where the bowl is and staggered to the hallway where he died.
Physical Evidence and Clues
The body
The corpse is lying in a wide corridor, lighted by huge candles in niches along the walls. These walls are hung with black velvet tapestries, and between the tapestries hang shields and crossed weapons of fantastic make. Here and there stand figures of curious gods—images carved of stone or rare wood, or cast of bronze, iron or silver—mirrored in the gleaming black mahogany floor.
Kallian’s face is blackened, his eyes almost starting from his head, and his tongue lolls from his gaping mouth. His throat has been crushed to a pulp of purplish flesh. The head sags awry on splintered vertebrae. It appears he was strangled with a cable thicker than a man's arm, and with enough force to break his spine. On his thick fingers gems glitter – whoever killed him did not want his rings, nor his keys. The keys for the deadbolt (openable from either side of the main door) and the master lock (openable only from the outside) are on him, along with keys to other doors from the Temple and his home.
Near the body, an archway leads through into a chamber. Beside it a bust has been knocked off its stand. The polished floor is scratched and the hangings in the archway are pulled awry as if a clutching hand had grasped them for support. Characters may deduce that Kallian Publico was attacked in that room, broke away from his assailant, and ran out into the corridor where the murderer must have followed and finished him.
The storage room
The room where it seems Kallian met his murderer is more dimly lit than the corridor. Doors on each side give into other chambers, and the walls are lined with fantastic images, gods of strange lands and far peoples.
In the centre of the room is the jar, a container of black stone nearly four feet in height and bulging to three feet in diameter at its broadest. The heavy carven lid lies on the floor, and beside it a hammer and a chisel.
“The copper bands that sealed the lid were cut with this chisel, and clumsily. There are marks where mis-strokes of the hammer dented the metal. We may assume that Kallian opened the bowl. Someone was hiding nearby—possibly in the hangings in the doorway. When Kallian had the bowl open, the murderer sprang on him—or he might have killed Kallian and opened the bowl himself.”
The bowl
It is sort of amphora-shaped sarcophagus, such as is found in ancient Stygian tombs. Its composition is something like copper, but much harder, and it is carved with hieroglyphs, like those found on the ancient menhirs in southern Stygia. The lid has been removed and it is empty.
Promero says: “It is a grisly thing. Too ancient to be holy. Whoever saw metal like it in a sane world? It seems less destructible than Aquilonian steel, yet see how it is corroded and eaten away in spots. Look at the bits of black mold clinging in the grooves of the hieroglyphs; they smell as earth smells from far below the surface. And look—here on the lid. I warned Kallian, but he would not believe me. It is a scaled serpent coiled with its tail in its mouth. It is the sign of Set, the Old Serpent, the god of the Stygians. This bowl is too old for a human world—it is a relic of the time when Set walked the earth in the form of a man. The race which sprang from his loins laid the bones of their kings away in such cases as these, perhaps.”
On the bottom of the bowl, if the characters think to look, a symbol is carved – not an ancient hieroglyph, but the recently incised mark of Thoth-Amon, the Stygian sorcerer, which Promero recognizes. He can also tell them that Thoth-Amon is known to be a worshipper of Set, and thus deadly foe of Kalanthes, the priest of Ibis.
The hall of statues
This chamber is close to the storage room on the other side of the main corridor. It is a tall room with a balustraded gallery, supported by marble pillars, running around the upper storey (like all the ground floor rooms, this is double-height). Steps at the end of the hall lead up to the gallery, where busts are displayed in niches along the walls.
“I've found the cable the murderer used,” one of the guardsmen announced. “A black cable, thicker than a man's arm, and curiously splotched.”
“Then where is it, fool?” exclaimed the Inquisitor.
“In the chamber adjoining this one. It’s wrapped about a pillar, where no doubt the murderer thought it would be safe from detection. I couldn't reach it.”
He led the way into a room filled with marble statuary, and pointed to a tall column, one of several which served a purpose more of ornament to set off the statues, than of utility. And then he halted and stared.
“It's gone!”
“It never was there!” snorted the Prefect.
“By Mitra, it was!” swore the guardsman. “Coiled about the pillar just above those carven leaves. It's so shadowy up there near the ceiling I couldn't tell much about it—but it was there.”
The hall of screens
This hall leads off the hall of statues, connecting both at ground level and off the upper tiers of the two rooms. Displayed here are ornate screens, both furnishings and iconostases. The centrepiece is a tall gilded screen in an ivory frame with a subtly worked tremblage effect to create matte panels in the shape of stylized palm fronds contrasting with the polished gold surface of the rest of the screen.
Careful examination reveals that several of the screens between the hall of statues and the large centrepiece screen have been jostled out of position, leaving scrapes on the polished floor. This seems to have happened quite recently.
The hall of vases
This is where the Zamorian diamond goblet is hidden that the thieves were sent to steal. It is in a concealed compartment in the floor under a copper idol of a Shemitish god. Retrieving it would take 2-3 minutes, so if the thieves can contrive to be alone in here for that long they could still complete their mission.
The hall of arms
On the upper floor, this houses a collection of shields, weapons and armour of antiquity. Most are ceremonial and would not last long in a fight. There are two extremely primeval-looking falchions labelled as used by warrior-priests of Ibis that count as magical shortswords (well, it was good enough for Beowulf) if the characters notice them and think to use them against the Child of Set.
Sending for backup
The Inquisitor could send for more policemen, but no patrols are within hearing of the alarm bell so he or she would need to send one or more of his/her own men to fetch them. The Inquisitor can summon dozens of 1st rank NPC police if necessary, but they will take thirty minutes to arrive – or twenty minutes if the charioteer drives one of the patrol back to fetch them.
Running the adventure
If the whole thing isn’t to be over in an hour, you need to play up first the investigative phase and then the search through the museum for the killer. The characters know that whoever or whatever killed Killian is still locked in there with them, so there’s opportunity for a tensely managed hunt as they have to use their limited manpower while deciding who to trust.
Of course, they could just go outside, lock the place up, and wait for reinforcements, but in that case the Child of Set will have found a way out (breaking a window if necessary) and be long gone by the time they venture back inside.
The Child of Set
The Child of Set prefers to attack from ambush, using its stealth abilities to position itself above victims before dropping down to attack. It typically targets isolated individuals first, using its constriction to silence them quickly before others can respond.
If confronted by multiple opponents, it will attempt to use its hypnotic gaze on the most dangerous-looking foe before retreating into shadows to separate the group. It shows cunning intelligence in its tactics, extinguishing light sources when possible and creating confusion.
ATTACK 26 Tail lash (d10, 6) and constriction and gaze (see below)
DEFENSE 17 Armour Factor 4 (and see below)
MAGICAL DEFENSE 18
EVASION 8
STEALTH 27
PERCEPTION 17
Health Points 45 Movement 12m (ground), 9m (climbing)
Rank Equivalent: 8th
Vision
- Panoptical: Perfect vision in bright light, gloom or complete darkness.
- Heat Sensitivity: Can detect living creatures by their body heat within 10m even through thin barriers
- Mystical Awareness: Can sense magical auras and enchanted items within 5m
Special Abilities
Constriction: If the Child of Set hits with its primary attack, it automatically constricts its victim on subsequent rounds, inflicting 1d6+4 damage each round (no armour) without requiring an attack roll. If the victim can roll Reflexes or less on d20 when first hit, they keep their sword arm free and can fight back. It can constrict one victim at a time while continuing to lash with its tail at other opponents. The trapped victim must make a successful Strength check (Difficulty 14, +1/round trapped) to break free.
Silent Hunter: The Child of Set gains automatic surprise if a character failed to spot it before it attacks.
Wall Climber: Can scale any surface, including smooth stone and ceilings, without requiring a climbing check.
Unnatural Dread: The Child of Set gets a 2d10 fright attack on characters when first encountering them, which if successful causes the characters to be frozen in terror (unable to act) for 1-3 rounds.
Divine Resilience: The Child of Set takes only half damage from non-magical weapons. Magical weapons or those blessed by Ibis deal normal damage.
Beguiling Gaze: As an additional action, it can attempt to hypnotize one target within 5m using its supernal beauty. Roll 4d6 for the strength of hypnosis, deduct the target’s rank, and the Child of Set must roll that or less on d20. A hypnotised target is unable to attack the Child of Set for 1d4 rounds, though they can still defend.
Vulnerabilities
- Very bright light (such as powerful magical illumination) reduces its Stealth score by 5
- Ancient Stygian prayers to Ibis (rival of Set) can temporarily drive it off if properly recited
'The face had a cold classic beauty. Neither weakness nor mercy nor cruelty nor kindness, nor any other human emotion was in those features. They might have been the marble mask of a god, carved by a master hand, except for the unmistakable life in them—life cold and strange. The face was inhumanly beautiful. The full lips opened and spoke a single word in a rich vibrant tone that was like the golden chimes that ring in the jungle-lost temples of Khitai.'
Pre-gen player-characters
First Thief (6th rank assassin)
Strength 8 Reflexes 13 Intelligence 13 Psychic Talent 15 Looks 11
ATTACK 17 Shortsword (d8+1,3) and six throwing spikes (d2+1,2)
DEFENSE 11 Armour Factor 1
MAGICAL DEFENSE 9
EVASION 7
STEALTH 23
PERCEPTION 13
Health Points 14
You’ve worked for Lord Aztrias before. He’s no worse than most nobles – arrogant, preening, capricious, but he pays well for the items you steal for him. You have never worked with tonight’s partner before, but Aztrias thinks that the copper idol of Bel that sits over the compartment holding the Zamorian diamond goblet may be difficult for you to move on your own. (You are able to read and write.)
Second Thief (6th rank assassin)
Strength 13 Reflexes 13 Intelligence 13 Psychic Talent 8 Looks 17
ATTACK 19 Shortsword (d8+1,3) and sling (d6,3)
DEFENSE 11 Armour Factor 1
MAGICAL DEFENSE 7
EVASION 7
STEALTH 23
PERCEPTION 13
Health Points 12
You only recently arrived in Numalia and you don’t know your employer, Lord Aztrias, very well. Come to that, you never met your colleague on tonight’s exploit until today, though they seem quite thick with Aztrias. Your job is to get a Zamorian diamond goblet, concealed in a niche under a copper idol of Bel, the Shemitish god of thieves. Well, that’s appropriate enough. (You are able to read and write.)
First Watchman (5th rank “knight”)
Strength 14 Reflexes 6 Intelligence 9 Psychic Talent 15 Looks 14
ATTACK 18 Shortsword (d8,3) and crossbow (d10,4)
DEFENSE 10 Armour Factor 2
MAGICAL DEFENSE 8
EVASION 4
STEALTH 14
PERCEPTION 8
Health Points 17
Lotrs of people hate Kallian Publico, and he can be a right bastard. You’ve seen that with your own eyes. He’ll ruin a man’s business, turn his family into the street, have a careless slave whipped, and then sit down to a lavish banquet. On the other hand, he must have a soft spot for you as he’s always treated you more than fairly. And where would you get a better job than patrolling the outside of his “Temple of curiosities” from dusk till dawn? No one’s going to steal from there, anyway -- even if they could get in there are police patrols every hour or so. (You are illiterate.)
Second Watchman (5th rank “knight”)
Strength 9 Reflexes 14 Intelligence 15 Psychic Talent 12 Looks 7
ATTACK 17 Shortsword (d8,3) and crossbow (d10,4)
DEFENSE 12 Armour Factor 2
MAGICAL DEFENSE 7
EVASION 6
STEALTH 14
PERCEPTION 8
Health Points 16
You haven’t had this job long. Guarding a building full of useless art and relics, what a drag. Oh well, you’ve had worse. A pity your colleague hasn’t got more interesting conversation. A lifer for sure, unlike you – you’ll just earn a bit in this job and move on. You didn’t even think it was going to be eventful till you tried the main door tonight and found the main lock open. So you used your key to the deadbolt and went inside to investigate. Maybe tonight will be less boring than most. (You can read and write.)
Charioteer (6th rank barbarian)
Strength 16 Reflexes 14 Intelligence 10 Psychic Talent 9 Looks 9
ATTACK 21 Mace (d6+1,5)
DEFENSE 13 Armour Factor 0
MAGICAL DEFENSE 8
EVASION 7
STEALTH 14
PERCEPTION 8
Health Points 20
Kallian Publico is your master. Many’s the time you’ve wished him dead, the fat pig – but as a slave you’re lucky to have the prestigious post of a charioteer. If anything happens to Kallian you might be sold to the mines. Even if you’re just placed in another household, you’d need to work your way up from scratch. Unless… if you could impress a high official or noble, it’s possible you could find a plum role in their retinue of servants. Probably a better bet than running away – the Nemedian authorities treat runaways to a brutal death. (You cannot read or write.)
Inquisitor (5th rank mystic)
Strength 11 Reflexes 9 Intelligence 17 Psychic Talent 10 Looks 10
ATTACK 15 Sword (d8,4)
DEFENSE 9 Armour Factor 4 (+1 ringmail)
MAGICAL ATTACK 19
MAGICAL DEFENSE 9
EVASION 4
STEALTH 12 (adjusted for ringmail)
PERCEPTION 9
Health Points 11
You didn’t get to be Chief of the Inquisitorial Council of Numalia, and consequently wield unlimited authority over the city police force, by jumping to conclusions. Every story looks different from another angle, so you like to take your time and sift the clues. Similarly you do not reveal your psychic powers unless absolutely necessary. Let people believe that devils whisper secrets to you, or that you have some piercing insight into others’ souls. Your intelligence is a power in its on right, so that you only use your psychic gifts as a last resort. (You are literate, of course, and so can read all the labels on exhibits in the Temple.)
6 NPC guardsmen (1st rank "knights")
DEFENSE 7 Armour Factor 2
MAGICAL DEFENSE 3
EVASION 4
STEALTH 13
PERCEPTION 5
Health Points 11 Each has: lantern, manacles, dagger (d4,3);
one guardsman also has a bow (d6,4)