Warhammer Quest: Archeologist

By Ryan Barnes

"Forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure and 'X' never, ever, marks the spot." -Indiana Jones

Author's Note: References, images, quotes and other similarities to the character of Indiana Jones are the property of Lucasfilm Inc. and in no way are added for personal profit. Everything has been added for humorous purposes only. With that out of the way…

Good versus evil…that's all fine and dandy. We all know that only two things matter in life: Fortune and Glory. It isn't easy being a good guy nowadays, and it is often a thankless job. So why not cash in on all of the artifacts and relics of the world and make yourself a fortune while saving the world?

The Archeologist is an intellectual person who eventually became bored with all of the books and lectures at the university. Although smart enough to teach just about any subject dealing with history, mythology, anthropology, physics, and, of course, archeology, he never stuck with one thing long enough to obtain an official degree in any of his specialties. In essence, he is a jack-of-all-trades and master of…well, a few.

Having become fed up with school, he recalled some of the legends of the heroes of the realm and began to study them in various libraries. But more importantly, he read about more and more legendary artifacts that were worth more than a kings ransom in gold. So, after a couple of weeks of training with an old friend of his that went the way of the pit fighter, he set out to find what he really wanted: Fortune and Glory.

New Game Concepts:

Prestige: The Archeologist has a new attribute that determines how famous he is. This only affects the role-playing aspects of the game. The more artifacts that he sells to the museums of the realm and the more favors that he does for the universities, the more his name will spread. Several settlement events either alter the archeologist's prestige or use it in determining how much money he can get for his services.

Example: On the Archeologist's "Uneventful Day" table, one of the results is that he is offered to teach a lecture at the University. The University pays him 4 times his current number of prestige points. This reflects the fact that the more famous a person is, the more he can demand for his services.

-Real Life Parallel- Who would receive more to lecture about computers: Bill Gates or Lenny Patulmo? I think that we can safely say Bill would receive a little bigger amount for his services (not that he needs it, though). By the way, Lenny was my 8^th grade computer teacher about six years ago, and a complete moron, I might add.

Starting Equipment:

Leather Jacket: The Archeologist's trusty leather jacket provides him with one armour point. Treat it as a normal piece of armour for the purposes of runes and such.

Lucky Hat: The Archeologist's lucky fedora provides him with a re-roll usable once per adventure. This is in addition to any luck points he may have.

Lantern: Being a curious fellow, the Archeologist may be inclined to wander off from the party at some point in his search for treasure. If there is no Barbarian in the party, the Archeologist is usually the leader, but does not have to be if someone else wishes to be.

12 Foot Bull Whip: Not only a weapon, but a useful piece of equipment as well. The Archeologist is well versed in its many uses and it has almost become an extension of his arm. The whip does (Damage Dice) + 1 at a range of 2-3 squares and may not be used for death blows. The whip may not be used against models in base-to-base contact. Also, the whip may be useful for getting out of jams. If the Archeologist ever falls into a pit, roll a die. On a "1," he is stuck and must get out by normal means. On a 2-6, there is a convenient, overhang or torch-holder in view to wrap the working end of his trusty whip around and climb out (must spend one turn to do so). The same goes for multi-level rooms. On a roll of 2-6, there is something to wrap the whip upon to spend his turn climbing up. Also, in the event of the floor missing (i.e.: Pit of Despair) he is able to swing across on a roll of 2-6. The length of the gap in the floor must be four squares or less.

Machete: For cutting paths as well as chopping up bad guys. Treat as a normal hand weapon.

Abilities:

Treasure Hoards: In the event of a treasure hoard, the Archeologist may re-roll a single die.

Treasure Cards: When treasure cards are dealt out, the Archeologist gets the first pick of the bunch.

Penalties:

Armour: The Archeologist may not wear any armour besides his jacket.

Bow Weapons: The Archeologist finds bow weapons very unwieldy and would much rather use gunpowder weapons.

Other Stuff:

Uneventful Weeks: If on the way back to a settlement, if the roll comes up "Uneventful Week," roll a die. On the roll of a 6, out of the corner of his eye, the Archeologist notices a spooky cave, tomb, or clearing that seems oddly out of place. Being quite the curious fellow, he wanders off from the party and investigates. Roll a die:

1: Snakes!!!

"Why did it have to be snakes?"

-Indiana Jones 

Upon investigation, the mysterious place houses none other than several hundred poisonous snakes. Being man enough to know when you are outnumbered (as well as being deathly afraid of snakes), you do what anyone else would do: Turn around and run really fast. Unfortunately, on the way out, a snake manages to sink his big fangs into you. The journey will take you another D3 weeks because the poison makes you weary. Also, you must spend you first D3 days in the hospital.

2: Deserted 

Investigation of the site turns up nothing but the bodies of two other fortune hunters that recently discovered the hard way how effective a spiked pit trap can be. Nimbly avoiding several other traps on the premises, you find that they risked their lives for nothing, for there is nothing of value anywhere to be found. However, on the way out, you find D3 mules that belonged to the men tied to a nearby tree.

3: Strongbox

Upon investigation, the site seems to be empty with the exception of a strangely shaped box. Carefully chopping the box open with your machete or pistol, you discover a treasure item chosen randomly from the deck (or rolled…GM's discretion)

4: Treasure Horde

Deep within the complex is an ancient burial chamber. After almost choking to death from the dust, you come upon what might be a treasure horde!!! Famous people were always buried with all of their money. You find a coffin with someone's name on it, and you kind of recognize the name. Roll for a normal treasure hoard. If it turns out to be nothing, the guy buried here must not have been as famous as you thought.

5: Dragon's Lair!

After walking in a cave for what seems like an eternity, you stumble into an enormous chamber that could only be the lair of a dragon. After looking around a bit, you are able to grab D3 items of treasure before you hear the ominous footsteps of a dragon coming from another passageway. Not wishing to be an early lunch, you are able to get away before he discovers you.

6: Ancient Temple

Carved into the side of a nearby cliff is what looks to be an ancient temple. You casually stroll inside to discover that the temple has been deserted for some time. While walking around, admiring the beauty of the structure, you accidentally bump into an alter to hear a loud click. You turn around to hear across the room that an huge painting is moving to reveal a passageway. You curiously wander down the secret hall to discover a beautiful room. Mounted on the wall is a very valuable item of treasure. Pick one random Dungeon Room treasure card.

Uneventful Days at Settlements:

There is never a slow moment in the Archeologist's life. If a day's settlement roll comes up uneventful, roll a die (1D6). 

1. You happen across an old rival of yours. Roll a die.

        1-2: He gives you a pretty good beating and takes 2D6 x 50 gold pieces off of your hands to help lighten your load.

        3-4: After a few hard stares, and an exchange of words, you each part unscathed.

        5: The two of you make up and you buy him dinner. It costs 1D6 x 5 gold for the meal.

        6: The two of you make up and he buys you dinner. Don't pay living expenses for the day.

2. You buy a treasure map off of a peddler on the street for 1D6 x 10 gold that leads to treasure just outside of the city. After following the map around until evening, you realize that it is worthless and go back to the city for some rest.
   
3. A small school in town offers to pay you to lecture several classes for the day. They pay you 4 times your prestige points in gold and you gain 1 Prestige Point in the process.
   
4. You happen across an old friend of yours. Roll a die.

        1.  Old Lover. She puts you up for the night and pays your living expenses.

        2.  Old Classmate. He offers to take you in for the rest of your stay and cover your expenses.

        3.  Old Apprentice. He offers to take you in for the rest of your stay and cover your expenses. He also pays you back that D6 x 20 gold he owed you for helping him get started on his own.

        4.  Dwarf Miner. You hired him on for a large excavation a while back and paid him quite well. He wants to pay you back for the favor by sneaking you in to the Dwarf Quarter.

        5.  Elf Scout. A few months back you hired him to show you around the outskirts of the giant forests of the Wood Elves. While looking around, you found an ancient heirloom of his family and presented it to him as a gift. To pay you back for your generosity, he offers to take you to the Elf Quarter.

        6.  Young Nobleman. He remembers you from a lecture series that you gave at the University of Altdorf. He recalls your kindness and sincerity and how you were always there at office hours. He kindly offers to sneak you in to Luigi and Salvadore's for a day of shopping.

5. The museum in town has trouble identifying some old artifacts. The pay you 5 times your prestige points to help them with their dilemma. This also earns you 1 Prestige Point.
   
6. A wealthy nobleman in town hires you to take a two hour ride outside of town in order to search for the tomb of his wealthy ancestors. Inside the tomb is several pieces of treasure, but there is one thing in particular that he is looking for. He pays you 6 times your current number of Prestige Points to do the job and offers that you may keep anything else that you may find. The job is a cakewalk and you find 1D3 +1 treasure cards, the most expensive of which is the item that the man was looking for. You may keep the additional items for your own purposes. He also puts in a good word for you all over town, increasing your Prestige Points by 1.

Special Settlement Locations:

The archeologist may visit the Alehouse (nothing like a good beer after work), the pit fighter's school (always room for improvement), the temple (nice to look at if nothing else), and all of the normal shops. He may not visit the Wizard's Guild (they're all crazy in there), or the Gambling House (no way will he loose all of his fortune to chance). He may also visit two special locations exclusive to him.

The Museum: (7+)

The museum is always looking for rare and valuable artifacts to put on display as well as sell to collectors. They are willing to pay top dollar for things that they know will draw large admissions or carry a big price tag to collectors. The Archeologist knows how to deal with museum personal, who are usually happy to see them. The Archeologist may sell items of treasure, no matter what they are worth, to the museum. You never know what they are looking for. When you wish to sell something to the museum, roll a die.

1. Fake! The item is worthless and the give you nothing for it. The wonder how a man of your intellect and know-how could make such a mistake. Lower your Prestige Points by One.
2. Whoopity Doo: They offer you face value for the item.
3. Kinda Neat: They offer you normal price and you gain 1 Prestige Point.
4. Wowzers! They offer you normal price plus 50%, as they were looking for this one. You also gain a Prestige Point in the process.
5. Holy Cow!!! They offer you normal price plus 50%. As this was much needed for their collection, they give you great gratitude and your name spreads like wildfire. Gain 2 Prestige Points.
6. Oh My God!!! The piece you give them is the last one in a collection that they were desperate to complete. They gratefully offer you twice what the item is worth. In addition, they make sure that they tell everyone who found the piece and you even get your name on the Museum's program. Gain 2 Prestige Points.

Do not write down the gold until you have sold everything that you wish to sell. When you have a grand total of how much they owe you, you may opt to take a trade for your items. The museum has great influence over just about everything. Because of this, you may wish to ask for hard to find items in trade instead of gold. Hard to find items include ones found at places where the Archeologist may not have access to. This includes the Elf Quarter, Luigi and Salvadore's, the Dwarf Quarter, etc.… You may only use the credit from treasure that you have given them and may not give them money to have them buy you items. Add two to the stock number of such items that are desired to be purchased (Favors may be Limited). This may only be used to purchase items, and not services such as a Wizard's Consultation or Wild Hunt.

Example 1: You bring in a hefty load of items to the museum. You end up with 3000 gold pieces. You may now opt to either take the 3000 in cash, or have the museum use its sphere of influence to get you something that's hard to find. You decide that you really want a repeater pistol from Luigi and Salvadore's. The museum sees what it can do and sends a courier over to see what they have in stock and to barter with the store owner. The stock number for a repeater pistol is xx, but you add two to that and the GM rolls to see if they have any in.

Example 2: You have heard of the great thing that Dwarves can do with Axes these days. After selling some stuff, you end up with 400 gold that you may keep or use as trade. You decide to ask the curator if he can see how much a rune would cost to put on your trusty hatchet. He sends a courier out. The GM now must roll to see how much the rune would cost. If he rolls anything over 400 gold, the Archeologist must either opt for something else or pocket the money.

You may visit the Museum any number of times during your stay at the settlement, for you may happen across treasure due to and Uneventful Day.

The University: (8+)

Universities are often learning centers for the surrounding area. The Archeologist always feels at home surrounded by books and classrooms. He may visit the University once during his stay at a settlement. Roll 2 dice.

2. Student Loan Officer. You casually stroll around the corner to run into your student loan officer from the bank of Altdorf. You still haven't gotten around to paying back the bank for you many years of tuition and he immediately recognizes you. Very irate, he demands that you pay 2D6 x 100 gold to cover the first part of many payments. You pay him and promise to pay back the loan, in full, as soon as you get the money. Hopefully, you never see him again.
3. Klutz! Strolling through the library, you knock over a statue of the founder of the school. The University officials demand that you hand over 2D6 x 50 gold to cover its replacement.
4. Overdue Book. The last time you came through here, you checked out a book and forgot to bring it back. It has been several months since you were last here. Sheepishly, you look through your backpack to find the book in question and return it, along with 1D6 x 50 gold in overdue fees.
5. "Hey! Aren't You…" A student recognizes you while walking around and asks for your autograph. Before you know it, word is out that you are on campus and you spend the entire day signing books and answering questions about your adventures. Do not roll for a settlement event.
6. Lecture. The university pays you to teach a lecture about archeology. The give you 1D6 x your Prestige Points in gold.
7. Charity Ball. Flirting with a young teacher leads to an invitation to a charity ball that evening. During the evening, you make a brilliant speech and gain 1 Prestige Point.
8. Treasure Map. While flipping through a book in the library, a map of the city falls out of the pages. Right outside of the city, there is a big "X" on the map. You take the map and a shovel to the spot and dig all day until you find a chest containing one random piece of treasure. Maybe "X" does occasionally mark the spot…
9. Seminar. The university pays you to speak at an all day seminar for 2D6 x your Prestige Points. Your insights are brilliant and the whole crowd leaves much more enlightened than when they arrived. Gain 2 Prestige Points.
10. Coincidence??? Pick a specific treasure card. Because you are so interested in that particular item, you pick up a book that deals specifically with it. The book is almost brand new and upon skimming, you are lucky to find that the item was last seen in the area of the next dungeon that you had planned on adventuring. In the next dungeon, the first group of monsters will have this treasure card. It is given to the Archeologist.
11. Honorarium. After meeting with the president of the university, he is so impressed with your stories and knowledge that he decides to erect a statue in your honor. The statue is huge and has your name in big, bold letters and your story on a plaque for everyone to see. Gain 5 Prestige Points.
12. The Legend of… Pick a specific Objective Room Treasure card. Because of your great interest in this particular item, you began to read up on it. It just so happens that it was seen recently near the next dungeon that you were planning on visiting. In the next dungeon, the first Objective Room Treasure card will be that item and it is dealt to the Archeologist.

Skills:

    2.   Stone Master. This skill works the same as the Dwarf's skill.

3. Quick Kick. The Archeologist gains an additional attack per round with a swift kick made with his steel toed boots. Roll to hit as normal. The attack does Strength + (Damage Dice) damage.
4. Ambidextrous. The Archeologist may now fire a gun or throw his axe and use his whip at the same time. He must not be pinned in order to use this skill. Alternatively, he may reload and fire a weapon in the same round. If a weapon takes more than one turn to reload, each turn spent reloading counts as two.
5. Script Immunity. Once per adventure, any blow that would otherwise kill the Archeologist does not kill him. Instead place him in the next room that the party wanders into.

        "Hey, I though you were dead."

        "Stunt Double. Can you believe it?"

6. Lightning Reflexes. Gives the Archeologist a dodge that works the same ways as the Elf's.
7. Whip Master. The Archeologist has now mastered using his whip as a weapon. He gains the following abilities:

        -The whip does (Damage Dice) + Strength

        -The Archeologist may now attempt to disarm opponents. Roll to hit as normal. The attack does no damage, but roll a die and add your strength. The monster rolls a die and adds his strength. Tie goes to the warrior. If the Archeologist wins, he has disarmed his opponent and must now fight bare handed, doing only his damage dice in damage.

        -The Archeologist may also try to trip opponents. Roll to hit as normal. Roll a die and add your strength. The monster rolls a die and adds his strength. Tie goes to the monster. The attack does no damage, but the monster falls prone. This skill may not be used against large monsters.

8. Marksman. Gives the Archeologist +1 to hit with firearms.
9. Deadly Precision. The Archeologist has gained a knack for being very precise with his whip. He gains +1 to hit. Also, on a roll of a natural 6, he ignores his opponent's armour.
10. Disbelief. Has the following effects:

        Novice: +1 Fear/Terror Rolls

        Champion: +2 Fear Rolls, +1 Terror Rolls

        Hero: +2 Fear/Terror Rolls

        Lord: +3 Fear Rolls, +2 Terror Rolls

11. Haymaker. Once per combat, at the cost of two attacks, the Archeologist may pull this dramatic move. He may roll to hit any monster in range of his whip. If the hit is successful, the Archeologist has wrapped his whip around the monster's neck and he may now drag the monster to him and use the monster's momentum against him. The monster is now placed in base to base contact with the Archeologist. Roll for damage as normal (Strength + Damage Dice), except for every square that the monster moved to get to the warrior, add 1D6 to the damage. After the attack is resolved, you may take any attacks that you may have left. This skill may be used along with the Ambidextrous skill. It may not be used against large monsters.
12. Crack Shot. Whenever you are using some sort of firearm, on a natural roll of "6" to hit, add an extra1D6 to the damage roll.

 

Battle Level	Gold	Title	Mv	WS	BS	Str	Dam.	T	Wnds	In	At	WP	Lk	Skills	Pin
1	0	Bookworm	4	3	5+	3	1	3(4)	1D6+7	4	1	3	0	1	5+
2	2000	Tomb Robber	4	3	4+	3	1	3(4)	2D6+7	4	1	4	1	2	5+
3	4000	Tomb Robber	4	4	4+	3	1	3(4)	3D6+7	4	2	4	1	3	5+
4	8000	Tomb Robber	4	4	4+	4	1	3(4)	3D6+7	5	2	4	1	3	4+
5	12,000	Treasure Hunter	4	4	4+	4	2	4(5)	4D6+7	5	2	5	1	4	4+
6	18,000	Treasure Hunter	4	5	3+	4	2	4(5)	5D6+7	5	3	5	2	5	4+
7	24,000	Treasure Hunter	4	5	3+	4	2	4(5)	5D6+7	6	3	5	2	6	3+
8	32,000	Treasure Hunter	4	5	3+	4	2	4(5)	6D6+7	6	3	6	3	6	3+
9	45,000	Indy	4	6	2+	4	3	4(5)	6D6+7	7	4	6	3	7	3+
10	50,000	Indy	4	6	2+	4	3	4(5)	7D6+7	7	4	7	4	8	3+