Post by Shalaban on Oct 8, 2008 1:51:13 GMT -5
As I mentioned earlier, each Player got a short solo game to familiarize them with The Game and to facilitate movement into Rome from wherever they had started out from. Each had a unique back-story, a piece of the Rahotep chronicle that the Players could put together if they wished, and a reason for going to Rome in the first place. Please feel free to comment.
CHASE: The Assassin- The HP has a need to ‘test’ himself. He has heard that in Egypt there are tombs with deadly traps that only a ‘professional’ could live through. It is also widely known that Egypt is the most Heka active kingdom on Aerth and therefore very rich. However, if anything could make the riches of the Triple Kingdom pale by comparison, it would be the treasure that Egypt had in ancient times. Knowing that the Egyptians inter their dead with much treasure, finding an unknown tomb would be the perfect ‘test’. Doing some checking around you find a contact who is willing to part with some scraps of information for a price. Your contact needs you to go to Rome to kill a man. The HP’s contact tells the HP that there is such a tomb that he has heard of in a place called The Gorge of Osiris which is just outside a village called Aartuat, so in good faith the HP heads off to Rome. While at Rome, you stay at the Starfire Inn.
MYA: The Full Practitioner of the Dweomercrafting School Elemental- The HP wants to make a name for her. Having recently mastered Full Practitioner status the HP wants to establish a name for her. Through arcane abilities and mingling with her own kind, it has become apparent that her world is a world at war. It is a war between GOOD and EVIL. All divination workings point to this fact in the world. Some divination workings point to Egypt as some sort of nexus. Most Diviners and Sages say that Egypt is widely known as the most Heka active kingdom on Aerth. Moreover, that any unquantifiable variables in a magickal system will most always cause the flow of Heka to follow along a natural lay line. In addition, lay lines most always flow to the largest and most active Heka use on Aerth, which is Egypt. You however did a little research. In Egypt’s ancient past, there was a man who was a Full Practitioner in both Dweomercrafting and Priestcrafting. His name was Rahotep and he was devoted to Evil and a worshiper of Set. This man rose to power and changed his name to Sethu Neterankh. At one point he even attempted to make the malign deity Set the principal god of he whole of the kingdom. In the end he was stopped by the Pharaoh’s Utchatu, some of witch was said to be kheri-hebu. Before the Utchatu could get to him he and his servants sealed themselves into a tomb in a gorge just outside of a town called Fernoc and took their own lives. It is said that he had the blessing of Set and that one day he would be able to return. One of your contacts has some information on this subject in the form of a possible map of this legendary area. However, for giving it to you he would like you to go to Rome and perform some magick for a friend of his.
GRIZ: The Full Practitioner of the Dweomercrafting School Black- The HP wants to know the deepest dark of the Dark Secrets. Having recently mastered Full Practitioner status and the basics of the Black school, the HP has heard for some time now rumors concerning the rise of EVIL on Aerth. In particular, your sources point to Egypt as a nexus of some sort. It is widely known by knowledgeable practitioners that Egypt is the foremost Heka active kingdom on Aerth. However, you have also uncovered other information. Since you were a child you have sought out knowledge on Rahotep: He who became Sethu Neterankh. Rahotep: He who became Sethu Neterankh started out some centuries ago as just Rahotep. He was a Full Practitioner in both Dweomercrafting and Priestcrafting and he was devoted to Evil and a worshiper of Set from his youth. By his early thirties Rahotep was a Chief Priest, a force in the ranks of those who served the ass-headed one of Gloomy Darkness. Through worship and devout service, he became the Grand High Priest of Set in his forties, taking the name Sethu Neterankh. Skilled and unscrupulous, he used his abilities to become a Vizer of Lower Egypt soon thereafter. His ambition was unsatisfied, and he had certain Dark Vows to fulfill, Rahotep, now Sethu Neterankh, planned to make the malign deity Set the principal god of he whole of the kingdom. Knowing Pharaoh would not promote the matter he meant to assassinate Pharaoh, and take the Triple Crown for himself. All of this was done with the blessing of Set. Unfortunately, a long and drawn out battle was waged, before planes could see tuition, Rahotep, and his followers were forced into one of their tombs of Set that lay in a deep gorge somewhere in the desert. There Rahotep and his followers took their lives in the name of Set. What Dark Secrets lies waiting in this tomb of Set is unknown. What is known is that if you could find such a tomb undisturbed you would reap the Dark Secrets for your own. To that end, one of your contacts has traded you information on Rahotep in the form of a Blemmyish Tribesman’s Account for your services in Rome.
ERIC: The Engineer- The HP is obsessed with the design and construction of tombs. Having recently completed your masters in Engineering and wishing to make profit in your field you have decided to become an independent. Here of late you have become fascinated with the design and construction of tombs. In particular, your interest is in ancient tombs. How they are tied to their religion, how they are disguised, how they are fortified, how they are trapped, etc. To find an undisturbed tomb from the ancient times would be a find indeed. You put out the word that you were seeking such a thing and eventually one of your contacts came through for you. You contact was willing to part with some information if you would do a favor for him. He tells you that the word is that there is something going on in the great metropolis and capital city of The Middle Kingdom, seat of many of he temples of the deities, and palace of Pharaoh, Thebes Egypt and the surrounding area. In addition, it involves rumors of a yet undiscovered ancient tomb. This rumor seems to have some merit as it has recently been verified that a proclamation by Pharaoh Tuthmosis IX announced that anyone caught desecrating an ancient tomb is subject to summary execution on the spot with no trial! It is further recommended that if you go there you should go in the guise of noble and wealthy folk bent on seeing the wonders of the land. It is well known by you that Egypt is the most Heka active kingdom on Aerth and therefore rich. Therefore, for this information you have agreed to go to Rome for your contact and oversee the construction of a castle for his friend.
LYNDSI: The Sage- The HP is interested in acquiring ancient papyrus scrolls from Egypt. Having recently graduated from collage, earning the title of Sage, you have set about setting up some sort of a base of operations. A place to keep your scrolls, your knowledge as it were. However, as a European sage you feel that you are lacking somewhat in the area concerning the Ancient Period in general and Egypt specifically. Your contacts have told you that something concerning an ancient tome has been going around the city of Thebes. Knowing that Egypt is the most Heka active kingdom on Aerth, and finding an unopened tomb would be an incredible treasure trove of knowledge, you have looked into matters more deeply. You found that there was a man by the name of Sethu Neterankh who was a Grand High Priest of Set in his forties. Skilled and unscrupulous, he used his abilities to become a Vizer of Lower Egypt soon thereafter. At some point, this man was driven out of the city of Thebes for treason and into the desert. There four trids were spent in a magickal struggle, the forces of Pharaoh pressing in, the malign servant of Set resisting. Then Sethu Neterankh somehow created a tomb and sealed himself and his followers into it. Then they took their own lives. All concerned knew that the act was one of defiance. The hand of Set was there to protect the tomb from violation. The burial place that Sethu Neterankh selected was in a necropolis, so that place was abandoned as a site for new internment, and immediately a special temple of Osiris, the greatest opponent of Set, was erected at the mouth of the gorge in which the tomb lay. The temple’s priests would guard the area, using their Heka to keep the vile Sethu Neterankh bound in his prison, and thus there would be no opportunity for him to come forth again. It seems that Time was on the side of Evil though. Memory is short, it has always been thus. This is why you do what you do, the collection of knowledge. Over the years, the urgency faded. Blemmyish Tribesmen, grave robbers from the desert, slipped into the place now called the Gorge of Osiris, and even the Temple of Osiris fell into Evil hands. In fact, you were recently told an account of a Blemmyish Tribesman who had recently found a great tomb in a gorge. While your contact does not have the written account of the Blemmyish Tribesman, he does have a map drawn by the same person. He tells you he would be willing to part with it if you could go to Rome for him and help his friend with some European History. You agree and he gives you the map and you are on your way to Rome.
BRIAN: The Mercenary- The HP is looking for money. Having worked your way to 1st Swordsmen Centurion of Rome’s 7th Legion and served on the front in the war with Dalmatia, and with that war now ended, you are in need of new employment. For two weeks now, you have known that the war was going to end in victory. Unfortunately, for you it was going to end by negotiation. Moreover, that means no plundering for you or your men. So you have been thinking of what to do next. On your way back to Rome, you had heard some rumors concerning ancient tombs in Egypt. It is common knowledge that Egypt is the most Heka active kingdom on Aerth. It is also known that Egypt has many tombs and that her people are known for interring their dead with much treasure. To find an unopened ancient tomb in Egypt would be a find indeed. When you got back to Rome, you did some checking around but could not find much more to the story. What you did find out though was that the rumor involved an unopened tomb somewhere to the West of Thebes in the Harh-Ahu-Ra Hills. This is good news as you have had direct experience with this area in Egypt. When you took schooling in the arcane practice of the utilization of Heka, you did so in Thebes, Egypt. While you were doing this, in your spare time you took to going into the Western desert and exploring the area. It is there that you became familiar with the Harh-Ahu-Ra Hills and the Harkh-Attura Range, there that you met the Bedouin, Berber, and the Blemmyish tribesmen and the nomad raiders the Tuareg Warriors. It was there you first heard of the hidden track to the Dakhla-Amun oasis. While you do not know where this track is, you know that the Tuareg Warriors have used this rout and that it is a back door out of Egypt that leads all the way across the desert to the lands around the Mare Phonecium. This would make an excellent privet exit from Egypt and put you in a place where you could quickly sale any treasure you would have. Moreover, you know that the Tuareg Warriors would for a price direct you to the hidden track as well as provide warriors for protection against any of the other tribes. You know that you could arrange this. Needing more information on this ‘rumor’ you got a hold of some special contacts to see if they could help. One of them told you of a friend who is building a castle nearby, who has an Engineer on the way from Albiona. It is said he has an interest in ancient Egyptian tombs and has heard of this same rumor and may be interested in going to Egypt to explore the area. Therefore, you await his arrival.