The Tale as Told...

The City of Brass adventure is based on "The City of Brass" story, one of the many tales found in the 1,001 Nights, a collection of folklore found in Arabic speaking areas. Also referred to as The Arabian Nights, the tales are available in several modern translations. The following synopsis provides storyguides with the basic story. How much of this is shared with the players depends on the efforts their characters undertake in research and information gathering.

A few hundred years ago in Damascus, Caliph 'Abd-el-Melikat gave a feast for the great men of his empire. The assembled kings, sultans, sheiks, and scholars traded tales, and talk eventually turned to the fabled Brass Bottles of Solomon. The ancient prophet-king had used the bottles to imprison devils and wild jinn. Inspired, the Caliph ordered his Emir, Musa, to lead an expedition to find these bottles. Musa traveled to Egypt, and met the sheykh 'Abd-Es-Samad, a wise old mystic who told Musa that the bottles could be found in the City of Brass. He joined the expedition, and they traveled into the Sahara and discovered an abandoned palace made of marble. Deserted yet splendorous, the marble palace's walls and doors were inscribed with verses lamenting man's mortality and extolling God's eternal existence. The profoundly sad verses also told the palace's history. In days long past, the area was ruled by King Kush, governor of Egypt during the reign of Alexander the Great. Musa discovered King Kush's tomb, capped by an iron tablet inscribed with mystical glyphs and runes. Emir Musa removed the tablet and later presented it as a gift to his caliph. (The iron tablet of King Kush is an addition to the original story that provides a motivational hook to involve the player characters.)

Leaving the tomb and city, the group found a road leading up a high ridge, where they discovered a statue of a brass horseman that pointed them towards the City of Brass. Along the trail they also passed a pillar of basalt, which served as a prison for a powerful jinni. Entrapped by Solomon for serving an idolatrous king, the jinni wails repentance as it waits for the end of days. Crossing the next ridge, Musa's expedition discovered the City of Brass, protected by deadly traps and illusions. With 'Abd-Es-Samad's aid, Musa entered the city with minimal loses to his party.

Inside, the City of Brass was deserted, littered with the dry corpses of the former inhabitants, fallen as if calamity struck them in the midst of daily life. Alongside these gruesome souvenirs, the streets were lined with fruit-bearing trees and fountains of pure water. Riches of gold and jewels beyond comprehension lay scattered about. Musa found the city's queen's tomb, still protected by the guard's corpses, decorated with inscriptions that told how the city's food sources dwindled away, starving the citizens. The inscription also said that explorers might take whatever treasure they could carry, but forbade touching the jewels in the tomb. One greedy member of the group ignored this warning, and as soon as he began prying loose a jewel one of the corpse-guards spring to life and beheaded the thief.

Leaving the tomb, Musa's expedition returned to the caliph carrying all the wealth they could. Good fortune prevailed and Musa had found twelve brass bottles. The caliph opened each one, freeing the repentant 'afrit, each of which extolled the greatness of God, and releasing them to the wilds.

a weak group of characters, and only the strongest spell-casters could survive the city if things go wrong. However, the City of Brass is not aimed exclusively at magus characters. Opportunities for companion and grog characters exist, and these tangential stories can easily contribute to the larger goals of the whole party. UnGifted companions and grogs might prove vital in surviving social interactions, particularly when ferreting out correct information from false and in seeking potential allies.