The Island of the Dea d Sand

By Francesco Nepitello, Michele Garbug gio and Umberto Pignatelli

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 AN EMPIRE WITHOUT END

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FREE COPY

The Island of the Dead Sand

by Francesco Nepitello, Michele Garbuggio and Umberto Pignatelli

ARTWORKS
Cover Artist: Giorgio Donato
Other illustrations: Fabio Porfidia, Giorgio Donato
Layout: Simone Peruzzi, Matteo Ceresa

LEX ARCANA® is a game by

Leo Colovini, Dario De Toffoli, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello

Corebook Design and Development, second edition: Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello,
with advice of Leo Colovini
Additional design and supervision: Michele Garbuggio
Historical consulting: Francesca Garello
Creative Direction: Andrea Angiolino
Project Manager: Valerio Ferzi

Special thanks to: Giovanni Caron, Gregory Alegi, Livia Alegi, Nicola DeGobbis, Marco Munari,
Matteo Pedroni, Sergio d’Innocenzo, Paolo Fedeli , Alessandro “THE EMPEROR” Marmorini

ENGLISH EDITION
Supervision: Valerio Ferzi
Traslation: Luisa Marzullo
Editor: Paul Baldowski
Mistype hunters: Valerio Ferzi, Bernd Mayer, Ty Larson, and Michele Garbuggio
Distribuited by: Ares Games

© 2019 Quality Games S.r.l. - Italy

LEX ARCANA® is a trademark by Quality Games S.r.l. in U.S.A. and other Countries

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Lex Arcana © 1994 Lex Arcana © 1994 Leo Colovini, Dario De Toffoli, Marco Maggi e Francesco Nepitello

QUALITY
G MES
The Island of the Dead Sand
 THE ISLAND OF THE DEAD SAND

INTRODUCTION
This brief Lex Arcana scenario was played for the first time during
the 2° Role Play Gathering, held in Florence in January 2019. l
The profile of the main antagonist have been updated to the se- NAUKLEROS
cond edition of the game and were added a few second edition
specific illustrations. Cargo vessel Naukleros
Crew: seventyseven
If you wish to play as a Custos and do not wish to play as the De- Cargo: two thousand pieces of Briton wool, 70 tons of tin
miurge, then you should stop reading here. and iron ingots, twelve oxen, ten Briton slaves
Route: Nova Carthago, Iberia
Have fun!

AT THE EDGES OF THE

EMPIRE NOBODY CAN
HEAR YOU SCREAM

eturning from a dangerous mission in Britannia, the Cus-

R todes are embarked as passengers on the Naukleros, a Greek
ship headed to Carthago Nova, in Iberia, captain by some Deme-
trius. Departed from Londinium, the Naukleros travels smoothly
for twenty days along the Iberian coasts, but one night, right before
passing the Pillars of Hercules, it is caught in a most violent storm.
crater caused by the fall of a “sky stone”, a meteorite, probably
At the mercy of the sea, the Custodes must help the crew in avoid- what killed all the vegetation. The crater is too deep to be ade-
ing the worst. As everything seems lost, through the lightning and quately explored without proper equipment.
turbulent heavens they spot the profile of a nearby island. At the
same time, the slaves revolt below deck, thirsting for vengeance Following the tracks of the slaves (or by finding a path), the
and intending to take over the vessel. group reaches a small abandoned village on the coast opposite
their shipwreck. The tracks of the slaves end here. If the Custodes
With the help of the captain, the Custodes manage to leave the explore the area wondering where all the locals have gone, they
ship on an escape boat. They survive the storm and at dawn they risk being ambushed by the ten slaves of Eógan.
collapse on its beaches. Once they have recovered, the Custodes
try to take stock of their situation; they are on a rocky island, The Briton does not intend to kill them; he needs them and cap-
off of the northern coast of Mauretania. Demetrius warns them tain Demetrius to leave the island and reach the Iberian coasts, as
against Eógan, the leader of the rebellious slaves, a massive Briton the slaves have found a small ship almost ready to sail in a nearby
warrior of the Votadini tribe, expecting only problems from a shed. They only need to drag it to the sea, but for this to happen
former legionary like him. they need to wait for the next tide, at night. The slaves are not
sailors, so need Demetrius. They also promise the Custodes and
The island is roughly three kilometers long and two wide. Ex- the captain safety, once they are in Iberia.
ploring the beach, the Custodes find one of the boats used by
the escaped slaves (the only other survivors) and a series of tracks The Custodes, too, must leave the island and a truce and collab-
heading into the island. Following them, the group realizes the oration with the mutinees seems to be the only solution. There
island devoid of any life. The soil, once fertile, is covered in fine also seems to be no food on the island, something the rebellious
sand that suffocated anything underneath. If they proceed to the slaves confirm. Two of them in particular, Drust and Fáel, speak
center of the isle ignoring the tracks, the Custodes find a deep of cannibalism at the expense of the Custodes.

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 THE ISLAND OF THE DEAD SAND

Such affirmations cause great tension, but it is dispelled as one Then, the Custodes must decide what to do. The slaves want to
of the slaves returns to the village claiming they have found a set sail immediately and leave the isle behind, but traveling at
passage in the rocks leading to a small temple, dedicated to an night is dangerous. If the creature returns, the Custodes may use
unknown deity. Inside the cavity is a large amount of strange am- the winches, tar and other tools available in the small port. After
phoras apparently made of flesh. Eógan categorically forbids his all, the monster is tiny, right…?
own to venture clear the strange ‘containers’, without knowing
that somebody already did. If the Custodes examine the vessels, Once on board, the Custodes may finally leave this accursed
they notice that two seem to be open and empty. place. The only one mourning poor Fáel is his friend Drust. The
same Drust who, alongside Fáel, had examined the ‘amphoras’ a
If the Custodes investigate the deserted village they find, in the few hours before and now has the seed of evil ready to bloom in
house of the herbalist, a diary from a few years before mentioning his body. Will the Custodes see the light of the next dawn?
a “stone fell the heavens”, the “great death” and the “seeds of evil”.
The entries suddenly stop.

Eventually, at night the tide rises. Custodes and slaves, back to

back, must push the small vessel into the water, but right as they
do Fáel falls to the ground, his body twisting and spasming. From
his body suddenly bursts a horrible monster, similar to a small
blind dragon, that flees into the shadows, hissing and leaving the
lifeless slave behind.

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l
INTERNECIVUS RAPTUS
They come out of the walls, Magister! They come out of the cursed walls!

Last words of Lucius Guilelmus Tiberis, Briton Explorer for the Cohors Arcana

This creature looks vaguely human; it is bipedal, has two arms and two legs, but its skull is extremely long and it has a long and
powerful tail. When it stands fully erect, it is taller than seven feet, but takes a hunched position when moving. It is fast, moving
on both two or four legs, and seems capable of easily running and climbing along vertical surfaces or even ceilings.

It is gifted with superhuman strength, sharp claws and deadly fangs that allow it to bash doors and bite through the sturdiest ar-
mor, its long, segmented tail ending in a sharp spike similar to the stinger of a scorpion. Its nightmarish arsenal, however, includes
a retractable tongue, a teethed secondary appendage capable of striking with tremendous force through armor, flesh and bones.

Its body, black or bronze in color, is almost entirely covered in a resistant shell, making this creature similar to a horrid animated
statue. It is almost impervious to weapons, but even if somebody managed to strike through its thick armor, its blood is an ex-
tremely potent poison, capable blinding, burning and corroding anything it comes into contact with.

This creature is a ferocious predator, apparently only concerned with surviving and propagating its abominable species. Recorded
encounters so far identify it as a solitary hunter, although disconcerting legends speak of packs capable of wiping out entire col-
onies.

Death, however, may be the least dire destiny that may befall those who meet these monsters. It is said that the creature tries to
capture its preys alive, to lay eggs into them and further its monstrous kin. It is imperative to eliminate any living survivor found
around an area infested by such creatures.

Internecivus Raptus
Degree of Danger: 3
Size: 3
Average Value: DV6 (young) or DV8 (adult)
1 die: Damage
2 dice: Damage (while while it is grabbing the victim is grabbing the victim), Sensibilitas
3 dice: De Bello, De Corpore, Hit Points
Hit Points: 18 (young) or 24 (adult)
Protections: Chitinous Shell (Protection equal to DV)

w Special Abilities: Acid Blood (1DV), Grab, Stealthy, Unnatural Speed

Acid Blood
If a melee attack wounds the creature, the attacker must roll Coordinatio with an SD equal to the damage they have dealt. If they are
holding a shield, they add its Parry value directly to the Coordinatio roll (for example, a Custos holding a shield with Parry +2 rolls
Coordinatio to avoid damage and adds +2 to the result). On a failure, the character is flooded with acid blood and immediately suffers
damage equal to the value of the special attack (1DV). The same amount of damage is inflicted to the character at the beginning of
each of the 3 following tempus. Any armor the character wears absorbs damage as usual, but it also damages itself and loses efficiency:
for each damage it absorbs, it loses 1 point of its Protection value. When it becomes 0, the armor is destroyed.

According to the situation, the Demiurge is free to determine the consequences of the creature’s corrosive blood. For example, if the
monster was encountered in a ship, it may corrode the deck and pierce the hull, potentially leading to a leak.

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“Then Romolus shall receive the sceptre of his race, and found the walls of Mars,
and call the people Romans. I have given no limits or duration to their possession:
I’ve given them empire without end.”

Virgil, Aeneid