Tomb Robber

*"The dead weren’t going to be using that jewellery anyway."*

## Basic

(Core) Tomb Robbers differ from Grave Robbers in that they are interested in the valuables to be found in burial sites rather than the bodies themselves. Although very few graves in the Old World include valuable goods these days, there are many ancient burial sites that contain priceless treasures. Tomb Robbers are experts in locating such sites and plundering their riches. Secret tombs are usually in dangerous and inaccessible areas. Those within the Empire’s borders are revered and protected by local inhabitants, so accessing these sites can be just as dangerous. Clever traps and deceptions protect the richest tombs and skilled Tomb Robbers must learn to disarm or bypass them. Few survive long enough to raid more than one tomb.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Common Knowledge (the Empire) or Secret Signs (Thief ), Concealment or Outdoor Survival, Evaluate, Perception, Pick Lock or Silent Move, Read/Write, Scale Sheer Surface, Search, Speak Language (Classical, Khazalid or Eltharin)

**Talents:** Luck or Sixth Sense, Trapfinder or Tunnel Rat

**Trappings:** Light Armour (Leather Jack), Crowbar, Lantern, Lamp Oil, 10 Yards of Rope, 2 Sacks

### **Career Entries**

Dilettante, Runebearer, Shieldbreaker, Thief

### **Career Exits**

Ex-Convict, Fence, Rat Catcher, Shieldbreaker, Thief, Vampire Hunter

## Greed & Glory

The universal motivation of the tomb robber is most often greed, but even greed comes in many forms.

Wealth: The greed driving most tomb robbers is the simple lust for gold, and anyone wealthy enough to have a crypt erected in his name is also wealthy enough to rob—or so goes the logic. Many earlier civilisations entombed their kings and potentates amidst vast material wealth. Jewellery, precious metal craftwork, and the priceless relics of a forgotten age can be converted into to a fortune with the right buyers.

Power: Another common motivation for tomb robbers is the greed for power. Many great heroes and villains have been raised from obscurity by the discovery of powerful magical artefacts secreted away in the deepest vaults of the Old World. Typically these tomb robbers concern themselves with the penetration of the ancient Dwarven households. Everyone who has ever set foot in an Imperial Alehouse has heard tales of the ancient Dwarven heroes and their potent Rune weapons.

Knowledge: The least common, but most insidious motivation for the tomb robber is the quest for forbidden knowledge. Whether it is for personal gain or at the behest of a secret client, much of the knowledge contained in the arcane scrolls and tomes hidden beneath the ground would best remain undiscovered. Forbidden Chaos lore and the lost secrets of Necromancy are examples of the hidden knowledge awaiting the intrepid tomb robber.

## The Ghost of Grenzstadt

The Fortress Town of Grenzstadt is not a large town by any measure, but its strategic location at the base of Blackfire Pass has transformed it into a bustling marketplace and gateway to the Empire. The town’s cosmopolitan mix of foreign merchants, trade caravans, and pilgrims also provides cover to one of the Empire’s largest black markets for plundered Dwarfen treasures.

While it’s true that tomb robbers are despised throughout the Old World, the Dwarfs hold a special enmity for those who would despoil their sacred vaults. As such, Karaz-a-Karak has deployed a detachment of Dwarfen Lawbringers to Grenzstad, in an effort to curb this disturbing trend.

The results of this deployment have been somewhat mixed. The Dwarfs have recovered many ancestral treasures, yet one tomb robber continues to evade them – the Ghost of Grenzstadt. Whether the Ghost of Grenzstadt is a lone individual or a team of despoilers is unknown. The only reliable information the Dwarfs have gleaned about the Ghost is that he or she is an experienced tomb robber specialising in the acquisition of Dwarfen artefacts from ancient ruins scattered throughout the pass.