Ravaged Earth Mystery of the Anasazi, Podreczniki RPG, Ravaged Earth
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Mystery of the anasazi
a raVaGeD taLe By eriC aVeDissian
Dr. Miles Macray gazed dreamily at the book on his desk and turned a page stiffly. Photographic reproductions of an-
cient petroglyphs, captured almost half a century before on the living rock walls of some godforsaken mesa in the southwest
all appeared the same. Macray knew all about the ancestors of the southwestern tribes from his youth spent exploring the
cliff dwellings in New Mexico and Arizona. He thought the native inhabitants deserved what they received from the white
settlers – lifelong confinement in reservations. Made them easier to study, he reckoned.
As he sat lost in his memories from a past excursion, the door to his office opened. Macray looked up from his book
and saw two muscular men standing before him. The men had dark skin, straight shoulder-length hair and wore gold jew-
elry of an almost primitive design. Their flat noses and pierced ears led him to conclude they weren’t from the university’s
alumni committee.
“Dr. Macray?” asked the man on the left in thickly acccented English.
“Yes,” Macray replied. “How can I help you?”
The pair walked to Macray’s desk. The archeologist could see both men wore the same style of white suit.
“We have come a long way to see you, Dr. Macray,” said the man on the right.
“Have you?” Macray intoned.
“From Mexico,” the other man said. “Just outside Mexico City.”
Macray leaned back in his chair, saying “So, what business brings you to this country?”
“Our employer heard you were the foremost expert on ancient southwestern Indian cultures,” the man on the right said.
“Our employer wants to hire you for an expedition into New Mexico.”
A smile creased Macray’s lips. “Does he?”
“Yes.” Apparently, it was the turn of the man on the left again. “He said you would be perfect for the job. He said you
know all about the Anasazi.”
“The Cliff Dwellers? Yes, I’ve been to their sites. I even have a few pottery shards if you’d care to see them...?”
“We are not interested in broken pots, Dr. Macray,” the man on the the right snapped. “We’re looking for the secret of
Pueblo Bonito. Our employer wants to discover what happened to the Anasazi. He wants to know why they all mysteriously
vanished 500 years ago. He has a theory.”
“Does he?” Macray said, skeptically.
“It involves dark magic,” the other man said, and produced a photographfrom his breast pocket of an elderly Navajo.
“This is a shaman who owns a relic from Pueblo Bonito.”
“What sort of relic?” Macray asked.
“A prayer stick used in Anasazi rituals,” said the man on the left. “We will help you get the relic. You must use it to
help us get into the Great Kiva under Pueblo Bonito. That’s our destination. We will pay you five thousand dollars if you
can do it.”
“What about the old man?” Macray asked. “How will you get him to part with his precious relic?”
“He is old; things can happen to old people, and then they are no longer an issue,” the other man said with a slight
smile. “Do you have a problem with this?“
“No,” drawled Macray. “No, I don’t have a problem with that at all.”
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The Ravaged Earth Society
While exploring Chaco Canyon in 1910, Weth-
erill and his assistant were ambushed and Wetherill
was shot to death. Accounts claim a Navajo whose
horse was stolen shot Wetherill; other stories point to
Wetherill’s own assistant who was moved by tales of
an Anasazi treasure and wanted his boss out of the
picture.
According to these legends, the Anasazi stashed
away a fortune in gold, turquoise-encrusted masks
and exquisite potery and weaponry at Pueblo Bon-
ito.
BaCKGroUnD
The Anasazi were a Native American people whose
civilization thrived from 850 A.D. to 1250 in the
southern Colorado Plateau, northeastern Arizona,
southeastern Utah and northwestern New Mexico.
Anasazi is a Navajo word for “ancient enemies,”
and this has caused consternation with the neighbor-
ing Puebloan tribes who are their descendants. The
term “Ancient Ones” or “Old Ones” is less ofensive
and is acceptable to use.
The Anasazi constructed mud brick houses,
lodges and kivas, or sacred underground rooms,
sometimes under overhanging clifs. Not all Anasazi
setlements were built in these inaccessible clif faces;
the largest villages were in Chaco Canyon in north-
ern New Mexico.
Excavations of Anasazi ruins began in the 1880s
when rancher Richard Wetherill learned from a Ute
chief of the existence of sacred Indian dwellings up
in the clifs. Wetherill, intrigued with tales of the
“Old Ones,” persuaded the chief to show him these
big houses.
Wetherill and his brothers explored the ruins
over the next few years, uncovering potery and bas-
kets and other artifacts. Wetherill called these ancient
peoples the “Clif Dwellers” and gained notoriety for
his exploration of the sites.
In 1893, as Wetherill excavated a deep pit, he dis-
covered skeletons among the potery and artifacts.
Several of the skeletons had cracked skulls and lint
arrows in their backbones, leading the rancher to
surmise a possible execution or sacriice.
He also noted strange pictoglyphs on the walls
depicting a grisly batle scene. Wetherill recorded
his observations in his journal, including interviews
he conducted with local tribes about these so-called
“Clif Dwellers.”
In time, Wetherill became a minor celebrity and
donated many of his inds to Eastern universities. But
a mishandling of the artifacts by university and ac-
cusations Wetherill was merely a pothunter dimmed
his reputation, until he discovered mummiied re-
mains in a few ruins. He spoke Navajo and Ute and
traded with these tribes during expeditions.
Archeologists believe the Anasazi simply let
their setlements and either became or joined other
tribes, such as the Zuni, Hopi and Pueblo.
But some unsavory rumors persist claiming the
Anasazi were atacked by another tribe and either
starved to death or were all killed. Some legends
say the Aztecs traveled to the region and swayed
the Anasazi holy men to practice the religion of the
Aztecs. According to these tales, in time, the Anasazi
grew corrupt and practiced cannibalism, black magic
and unlocked a gateway to the spirit world.
In the world of the
Ravaged Earth Society
, the lat-
ter stories actually happened.
The Anasazi at Pueblo Bonito, led by a corrupt
shaman named Dark Whisperer, practiced repug-
nant blood sacriices and cannibalism. He believed
the way to defeat the Aztec invaders was to use their
own magic against them. Dark Whisperer forged
three prayer sticks that he used in a grand kiva at
Pueblo Bonito to open a portal to the spirit world.
There he communicated with the dark spirits and
grew more and more corrupt.
Instead of growing in strength, Dark Whisperer
became insane with power. He forced his followers
to eat their weaker kin, then made them practice self-
mutilation to appease the dark spirits.
When the elders learned of these ghastly deeds,
they sent warriors to kill Dark Whisperer. But the vile
shaman sensed the plot against him and rather than
his followers betraying him, he hypnotized them,
opened the portal to the spirit world, and cracked the
skulls of his followers. Their spirits lowed from their
bodies and were sucked into the spirit world, never
to be seen again.
When the warriors arrived in the kiva, they saw
Dark Whisperer performing his unholy ritual. One
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Mystery of the Anasazi
of the warriors snatched a prayer stick from the al-
tar, closing the gateway to the spirit world, while an-
other warriors struck Dark Whisperer. Anasazi holy
men cursed Dark Whisperer and the village, which
was abandoned by what few families remained.
Dark Whisperer lay dying with the hundreds of fol-
lowers he killed in the Great Kiva. With his last re-
maining breath, Dark Whisperer utered a powerful
incantation that transformed his body into that of an
undead. His soul still retains some control of his des-
iccated body, and he awaits the day when some curi-
ous explorer inds the Great Kiva.
Dr. Miles Macray, an archeologist from a big
Eastern university, wants to uncover why the Ana-
sazi vanished. Macray also has ulterior motives for
his expedition: he’s being paid a great sum of money
by Order of the Winged Serpent, an occult organiza-
tion from Mexico led by Seven Jaguar, a mystic who
wants to bring back the bloodthirsty Aztec religion!
Seven Jaguar has a theory there were arcane methods
involved and that the Anasazi used dark magic. He
also believes the early Aztecs made contact with the
Anasazi and let their inluence on that culture.
Local tribes dispute this claim, except one man, a
Navajo shaman named Talks to the Gods.
Macray knows from an interview Talks to the
Gods gave with a tabloid that the shaman possesses
a rare arcane item, a prayer stick used by Dark Whis-
perer. The insidious archaeologist anonymously
threatened the shaman, telling him that he doesn’t
part with the artifact, terrible things will befall him
and his family.
Talks With The Gods is too proud to part with the
prayer stick, which his grandfather found at Pueblo
Bonito. Currently, Talks With The Gods is employed
by a variety show playing in Las Vegas, where he dis-
plays authentic Native American shamanistic rituals.
He’s trained his body to walk on hot coals, handle
venomous snakes and other fantastic feats.
Macray, feeling pressure from the Order of the
Winged Serpent, has decided to travel to Las Vegas
with a few Aztec cultists and make the Navajo sha-
man see reason. He plans on killing Talks With The
Gods and stealing the prayer stick, which he’ll use to
unlock the secrets of Pueblo Bonito.
Using this adventure
Mystery of the Anasazi
is a good introductory adven-
ture for Novice characters. It introduces characters to
the game world and can be played in a single evening.
The heroes will get a chance to travel to the American
Southwest and discover what happened to the ancient
Anasazi while preventing a corrupt archeologist from
securing a powerful relic and treasure.
new hindrances & edges
Some characters in this adventure have a seting spe-
ciic Hindrance or Edge and these are detailed below.
GESTURES & INCANTATIONS (MINOR OR MAJOR HINDRANCE)
Your hero is required to perform intricate gestures and
vocalize complex incantations to activate his powers.
Being unable to perform either of these tasks will pre-
vent him from using his powers. The minor version of
this Hindrance afects a single power (player’s choice),
while the major version afects all powers.
RITUALS (MAJOR HINDRANCE)
Heroes with this Hindrance are required to perform
elaborate rituals (such as burning incense or scribing
magical circles on the loor) in order to activate their
powers. All of their powers are afected by this Hin-
drance. If prevented from speaking or moving freely,
your hero is unable to enact his ritual and therefore
cannot use any of his powers. Furthermore, during a
round in which your hero activates a power, he may
perform no other actions (including movement)!
FOCUSED MIND (POWER EDGE)
Requirements
: Novice, Arcane Background, Smarts
d8+, Spirit d8+
Your hero is able to stay focused and alert even un-
der the most stressful of situations. Whenever he
makes an Arcane Skill or Smarts roll to avoid having
his powers disrupted, he may apply a +2 bonus.
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The Ravaged Earth Society
Yazzie said the man who threatened his grandfa-
ther promised he’d kill the old man to get the prayer
stick. Talks With The Gods irst started receiving the
threatening leters shortly ater he gave an interview
to a local newspaper about shamanism and some of
the ritualistic items he possessed, the prayer stick be-
ing among them.
Yazzie says his family isn’t rich, but they can af-
ford to pay a $1,000 reward to any hero who exposes
the identity of those who threatened his grandfather.
When you’re done explaining this to the heroes,
Yazzie says the following:
“My grandfather is a very headstrong man. He
is so proud of his people and of his ancestors.
If the prayer stick were to fall into the wrong
hands, who knows what magic it could unleash?
Entrance into Pueblo Bonito isn’t something to
be taken lightly. It is said in old stories that there
is a giant kiva or sacred chamber underground
Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, the center of the
Anasazi civilization. Within that kiva lies the secret
of what happened to the Anasazi. Many archeologists
say the Anasazi simply moved away from their dwell-
ings and joined other tribes due to a drought that
wiped out their food supply. My grandfather thinks
the Aztecs corrupted their society and dark magic de-
generated the people. Legends of an evil shaman who
practiced cannibalism among his people ofend most
Navajo, but my grandfather believed them.”
sCene 1
the night the Lights
Went out in Vegas
The adventure begins in January 1936 in New York
City. John Yazzie, a 21-year old Navajo from Arizona
who is atending college in New York City, contacts
the heroes. The characters meet with Yazzie in Man-
hatan at a nice restaurant or club.
THE NARRATOR SPEAKS
The year is 1936, but this world is diferent from
our own. Strange, dark forces manifest across
the globe, darkening the hearts of some men and
spawning vile creatures and corrupt magic.
It is a time for heroes: bold adventurers, stal-
wart magicians, super humans and daring explorers.
From the solitude of their New York City headquar-
ters, the adventurers plan their strategy against a
world of villains. Suddenly, the phone rings. On the
other end of the line is a scared young man asking for
your help. You arrange a meeting and things are set
into motion…
a Grandson’s Plea
Yazzie, a clean-shaven man in a suit and tie, has a
friendly and outgoing demeanor. He tells the heroes
that he’s concerned his grandfather, a Navajo sha-
man named Talks With The Gods, might be in mortal
danger.
Yazzie said he received distressing phone calls
from his grandfather. The old man claimed someone
sent him threatening notes promising to kill him if
he didn’t part with a prayer stick, an ancient artifact
that’s been in the Yazzie family for generations. The
Anasazi priests used the prayer stick in ceremonies
over 800 years ago. Talks to the Gods acquired the
prayer stick from his grandfather, who found it at
Anasazi ruins in New Mexico. According to Yazzie,
legend says the prayer stick has magical properties
and can unlock the way into Pueblo Bonito, an an-
cient Anasazi ruin.
Yazzie tells the heroes his grandfather performs
traditional shamanism as part of a variety show in
Las Vegas, showing tourists how the Native Ameri-
can shaman chanted, concocted herbal remedies and
used a variety of ceremonial masks and dances.
The young Navajo tells the heroes his grandfa-
ther is performing at The Meadows Casino.
sin City
How players arrive in Las Vegas is up to them. The
city does have railroad and air service, though the
train station and airstrips are small and not accus-
tomed to handing a lot of passengers.
Those taking the train ind the Union Paciic Sta-
tion to be dismal, but train service from Denver is
reliable.
4
Mystery of the Anasazi
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Las Vegas is a hot and dry frontier town in the harsh
southern Nevada desert. Ranchers and gamblers,
prostitutes and mobsters and people looking to make
a fast buck all lock to this lawless outpost. The recent
infusion of mob money into civic life created many
new structures, most of them hotels and casinos, but
the mob, realizing it had beter play the benevolent
benefactors, also constructed schools and a hospital.
Many of the tourists in Las Vegas are there to see
the construction of Boulder Dam or awaiting a quick-
ie divorce ater only living in Nevada for six weeks.
Fremont Street ofers gambling dens, hotels and
casinos, most of them run by the Chicago mob. The
primary casinos in Las Vegas are The Apache Casino,
The Meadows Casino, Nevada Hotel, The Red Rooster,
El Rancho Hotel and Casino, and the Pair O’Dice Nite
Club. Lesser gambling parlors include The Black Cat,
the Northern Club and the Red Windmill Roadhouse.
Al Capone’s mob money is pumped into the
town, and the Chicago criminal boss owns half the
town council, police force and city judges. Capone’s
goons are holed up at a few of the casinos “minding
the store.”
If the heroes want to gamble while they’re in
town, remember all Gambling rolls here are made at
a -2, thanks to a litle help from Capone’s boys rig-
5
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