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Irish designer Gareth Hanrahan has written many roleplaying game supplements, including a few for Mongoose Publishing's licensed Conan RPG. Doubtless that had nothing to do with his short free RPG Poking the Emperor, subtitled "A Game of Courtly Intrigue, Epic Adventure, Eldritch Sorcery and the Vital Importance of The Regularity of the Imperial Bowels."

The players are viziers, courtesans, doctors, and other civilized drones in the palace of an uncouth, aged, crazy, yet still dangerous barbarian Emperor. After decades on the throne, he's dying without an heir, and generals are plotting insurrection on the empire's borders. You'd better wake him and tell him the bad news -- no, YOU wake him -- no, YOU...