Egyptian/Sandstorm Campaign! Ideas?

[TheBrassDuke]

Constructing a long term campaign set in a (mostly) Sandstorm environment highly reminiscent of Ancient Egypt, with all the D&D fun!

The setting takes place in the Desert Knemysis, the largest uncontrolled land on the continent; to the west is Karma (the Greek-style kingdom), and just north the Dominion of the Highborn (Roman Elves).

East of Knemysis has been left blank for now, mostly because I'm still working on it. Karma and Knemysis are the more prevalent areas we'll be visiting early on.

I spent some time looking around for some Sandstorm ideas but really only found one good thread on here that was closed back in 2008. I'm looking for some good ones, ranging from types of monsters, classes to use for certain archetypes, etc.

Should I use the Egyptian pantheon or make a new one? Would that be odd?

I'm having a real block right now and could use some help. Thank you in advance!

[Bullet06320]

Egyptian Adventures: Hamunaptra (Mythic Vistas) by Green Ronin is Egyption based

so is Mulhorand in the Forgotten Realms, including a mostly Egyptian style pantheon best detailed in FR10 Old Empires(2e)
but some can also be found the FRCS.

[TheBrassDuke]

I've always wanted to get my hands on them, actually!

[Bullet06320]

the best place to look is amazon and ebay for physical copies or
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/ for pdfs

[TheifofZ]

Don't be afraid to pillage movies and books for thematic and exotic places to go, npcs to see, and monsters to kill.
If you're really into the setting, I actually strongly advise sitting down and reading through some ancient egyptian lore and history. There's a LOT that goes on that's kind of nuts, honestly, and that always makes for interesting campaigns.

[TheBrassDuke]

What would make our Sorcerer's motive be going Sandshaper and Exalted Arcanist?

I'm getting a Pharaoh-type of feel, what with Sorcerers being "proto-gods", etc., and the fact pharaohs were "God Kings".

Is he aware he's destined to be the King of the Sands?

As a PC what will be the other party members' motivation for following him to (as was suggested before to me on another thread) the Monastery of the Sandshark (City of the Dead touchstone location) [dedicated to a deity who rules over Death, Destruction and Rebirth)?

Like...there's the obvious "I wish to reclaim my ancestral right to the ancient throne, blah blah blah", but it's such a pedestrian shortcut.

I've got some ideas for the campaign world now, at least, but even fluff isn't helping with the PCs. The sorcerer, especially. And originally he was half-djinni. I've had to recently cut that because there was too much that didn't make sense. He could have been a King-Maker, seeking the appropriate master to claim the throne, but then why go Sandshaper and Exalted Arcanist?

Writers' block!

[radionausea]

I'm in the middle of planning for a sandbox campaign using Kobold Press' Southland's campaign setting.

Premade adventures I have on my standby list at the minute are:
Legacy of Fire 1-6
Mummy's Mask 1-6
Cat and Mouse (Kobold Press)
11 Arabian Nights (Kobold Press, unavailable)
Mud Sorcerors Tomb
The Lost Oasis (Dragon #51)
ALQ3 - A Dozen and One adventures
ALQ6 - Cities of Bones
Broken Chains (Paizo)
Ghennet Manor Gauntlet (Paizo)
Slave Masters Mirror (Paizo)
Between the Lines (Paizo)
Risen from the Sands(Paizo)
Rebels Ransom
Wrath of the Accursed
Destiny of Sands
Beaconsfield Below
Test of Tar Kuata
Citadel of Flame
Valley of Veital Flame
Merchants Wake
Forbidden Furnace
Scions of the Sky Key
Encounters at the Drowning Stone
Deadly Delves: Quests of the Sands
Feast of Dust
Funeral Procession (Dungeon #135)
9 Flawed Sapphires
Malice of the Medusa (classic dungeon crawls #45)
The distraction (dungeon #145)
Pact of the Stone Pyramid

I'm still looking for more though!

And especially looking for monsters.
Going to be incorporating Akashic Mysteries heavily.

[Novawurmson]

Whatever you do, don't make the Grand Vizier or High Priest the bad guy. Your players will see through whatever facade you throw up like glass.

[Milo v3]

Akashic Mysteries has stuff in it that is perfect for an egyptian game, sobek named crocodile people, solar powered mystics, horus like race, a class with powers that allow you to rule over people as a god-king who is covered in mystical jewelry or from heiroglyphs that float over your body that grant you powers, and so much of it fits with the egyptian theme. In the future second book (I think it's second) there'll even be a serpentine race and a class actually called the Pharaoh.

[TheBrassDuke]

Among all the ideas so far, what about some highlights?

I'm getting a lot of references but where are the formulas? What type of campaign in this setting would you like to play? Ideas, what would you as a PC want to see? As a DM, what would you want to put in?

[Milo v3]

Give it focus on mortal gods, make it very political but still a D&D campaign full of battles and killing, have undead in it that aren't evil but more simply filling their role, make the afterlife important but distant, creatures of the water are seen as sinister (especially snakes that pass through the water), make writing important since one of the beliefs was that anything written about you contains part of your soul (well not really a normal soul, but that's cause they had like 5 soul bits) and you lived on as long as the text did.

[TheBrassDuke]

Give it focus on mortal gods, make it very political but still a D&D campaign full of battles and killing, have undead in it that aren't evil but more simply filling their role, make the afterlife important but distant, creatures of the water are seen as sinister (especially snakes that pass through the water), make writing important since one of the beliefs was that anything written about you contains part of your soul (well not really a normal soul, but that's cause they had like 5 soul bits) and you lived on as long as the text did.

Absolutely killed it right there. :) So what, Osiris and Isis actually rule on high, and walk among their people? She actually raised her husband after being chopped into tiny bits? Etc.? I like that. Of course they may all just be unreachable to the common folk.

I love these ideas!

[Novawurmson]

Things I would expect/appreciate in an Egyptian-inspired campaign:

*Crypts/obsession with the afterlife/contrast between the worlds of the dead and the living.
*God-kings.
*Weighing of a heart against a feather. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat#The_Weighing_of_the_Heart)
*Floods as the yearly life-cycle/desert as death for the unprepared.
*Conniving bureaucrats/lesser nobility/religious leaders.
*Cats.
*Animal-headed people.
*Massive, unnecessary public works projects (or hyper-necessary, to subvert it; i.e. the pyramids are all the stands in the way of total planar collapse).
*Maybe Library+Lighthouse of Alexandria analogues.
*Civil war/invading the barbarians/being invaded by barbarians.
*Trade routes/massive mercantile forces.
*Elaborate mummification rituals.
*Themes of cosmic order and purpose.

[It Sat Rap]

In a desert scenario, water is extremely valuable because it's usually not raining there. Old Egypt couldn't exist without the Nile, and oases were crucial shelters for caravans. However, in DnD there are spellcasters who are able to create water, and their is a magic item called Decanter of Endless Water. Here are some ideas:

-I did this in one of mine campaigns before. The party was in a desert and heard that there is an artifact hidden inside an old grave. This was the grave of the king of a meanwhile extinct nation that lived in this desert. The party made their way through the dungeon and finally found the "artifact": It was the "Decanter of Endless Water". Well, not so mighty as they expected, but it makes sense that this thing is very valuable for desert people and it deserves to be called an artifact by them.

-Some monsters or bandits have occupied an oasis. The caravans can't traverse through the desert any loger, somebody has to defeat the occupants and win the oasis back!

-There is "Aquaris", the god of water. Aquaris is the only god that grants his fellowers the power to create water. However, he is a very spoiled god, and he needs to be pleased regulary. His fellowers have to build him temples, monuments, shrines, they need to pray daily, make sacrifices, etc. There are some artifacts from Aquaris in the world, and whoever has such an artifact in his possesion and prays to it regulary, earns a lot of power from Aquaris. Aquaris doesn't care about moral, justice, or politics, he only cares about his ego. Rival nations are always in a competition for the artifacts, they try to steal them from each other all the time. They also build Aquaris monuments, but also try to destroy the monuments of the other nations. Clerics of Aquaris are of high value, and all the nations try to win them for their side, maybe with gold, maybe with force.

-Like old Egypt, a nation depends completely on a river. But what if this river dries up? The river head is in a mountain inhabited by monsters, so usually nobody goes there. This sounds like a special task for some heroes! But maybe the king decides that he has to invade the bordering country. Their river seems to be fine, and it should be possible to divert in another direction.

[igordragonian]

There were also the "forigeners" wich was treated much like orcs- they was considered barbaric, and their god was Set- got of deserts and destruction.
so.. you can make orc nations based on Knaans, babylnians and etc.

[TheBrassDuke]

Now that's the kind of stuff that'll get the pen moving!

[radionausea]

The Egyptian analogue in Southlands is facing a massive threat from the north in the form of a dragon run empire. In order to prevent themselves from being over run they've brought back their god-kings and -queens. So they have hugely powerful undead who are loyal to their country but still predominantly evil.

You could use this idea and have your PCs drawn into the internal power struggles and politicking of these powerful beings. Eventually playing them against each other as your PCs manoeuvre for power themselves.

[TheBrassDuke]

The Egyptian analogue in Southlands is facing a massive threat from the north in the form of a dragon run empire. In order to prevent themselves from being over run they've brought back their god-kings and -queens. So they have hugely powerful undead who are loyal to their country but still predominantly evil.

You could use this idea and have your PCs drawn into the internal power struggles and politicking of these powerful beings. Eventually playing them against each other as your PCs manoeuvre for power themselves.

Pulling an Isis, as it were. She was a mortal sorceress before ascending to godhood. I can see the PCs doing similar, albeit not through poison and trickery. >_>

Dragons versus the Egyptian Gods, hm? Yugi vs. Kaiba. I could go that route. ._.

[Honest Tiefling]

Personally, I'd make your own god kings. Why? Because the players might have different information on the gods. Some of it is conflicting, and well...You are talking about a very long lasting civilization with several different cosmogonies. Establishing the gods, even if they are expies, as your own makes it so the players understand that their own knowledge isn't applicable unless they learn it in game and which version of the gods are at play.

It'll also allow you to put your own spin on the gods. Maybe Set wasn't such a bad guy, he got goaded into things by his pompous brother. This will make it easier to surprise the players later down the road.

Also...Um. How do I put this? It'll allow you to edit out some...Less then savory aspects of the myths.

[sovin_ndore]

Personally, I'd make your own god kings.[...] Establishing the gods, even if they are expies, as your own makes it so the players understand that their own knowledge isn't applicable unless they learn it in game and which version of the gods are at play.
Even if you don't do this, renaming serves much the same disambiguating purposes and would allow you to tweak anything you wanted without fear of breaking from the legends your players might otherwise be familiar with.

[TheBrassDuke]

Also...Um. How do I put this? It'll allow you to edit out some...Less then savory aspects of the myths.

Oh? Do, go on.

[Honest Tiefling]

Oh? Do, go on.

Uh. I don't think this is the place to talk about it, and I am not an expert in Egyptology, but let's just say that Horus and Set didn't really get along and well...Go to the wiki if you are curious. I think that part might make players uncomfortable depending on which version is used and how it is presented.

[TheBrassDuke]

Ah. Okay, I recall that event. Yeah. Okay.

[Honest Tiefling]

Anyway! Moving on. What will the social structure of the kingdom be? If theocratic, then I suggest a lot of events centered around rituals and preparing for them. Maybe some hooks tied more closely to the priesthood if this is the case, to establish that the religion is the center of life here and that the temples are very important.

[TheBrassDuke]

It will be theocratic, yes.

[Oneris]

Read a couple of Egyptian myths (http://www.egyptianmyths.net/section-myths.htm) and crib ideas from them. Egyptian stories are also very big on direct intervention/assistance from the gods and feats of near-epic magic, so a high-magic campaign fits in extremely well.

[Honest Tiefling]

Then you should consider a godly feud that has filtered down the ranks to the point that the priests themselves fuel this rift.

Diminish the expectation of nobility, priests are the movers and shakers here. If you want healing, items, or status, you better be on some temple's good side. Throw in a temptation to back a corrupt priest who may not care if the party upholds their god's beliefs, as opposed to having to march to the temple's beat if they want to back the less corrupt side.

Personally, I'd love a god-centered campaign, but it can be so tricky to get PCs to care about the gods, let alone follow them.

[TheBrassDuke]

Then you should consider a godly feud that has filtered down the ranks to the point that the priests themselves fuel this rift.

Diminish the expectation of nobility, priests are the movers and shakers here. If you want healing, items, or status, you better be on some temple's good side. Throw in a temptation to back a corrupt priest who may not care if the party upholds their god's beliefs, as opposed to having to march to the temple's beat if they want to back the less corrupt side.

Personally, I'd love a god-centered campaign, but it can be so tricky to get PCs to care about the gods, let alone follow them.

I have an idea in mind for the Priesthood, (allowing female priestesses) with two High Priests serving directly beneath the Pharaoh on behalf of the Gods. They are brother and sister, and although I hadn't planned to corrupt the priesthood, really, I imagined a few cults out there in the works.

My players tend to value their characters' religion, and that makes me happy. We've had long term Priests of Vol and the Silver Flame before. Worked well.

I myself enjoy the Divine being present. Of course it slightly diminishes the Pharaoh's role as God-King.

[Honest Tiefling]

I myself enjoy the Divine being present. Of course it slightly diminishes the Pharaoh's role as God-King.

Well, he could be important. If Set has to get up every dusk to literally fight a snake monster so that the sun might rise again, I don't think he wants to be bothered with some nonsense of raiders when he is quite busy, thank you. You can give the gods plenty of divine tasks (even if you don't want the sun boat thing) so that the Pharaoh keeps things running for the mortals.

Also, gives you fuel for an epic level campaign of what happens when Apep finally eats the sun...

[TheBrassDuke]

Well, he could be important. If Set has to get up every dusk to literally fight a snake monster so that the sun might rise again, I don't think he wants to be bothered with some nonsense of raiders when he is quite busy, thank you. You can give the gods plenty of divine tasks (even if you don't want the sun boat thing) so that the Pharaoh keeps things running for the mortals.

Also, gives you fuel for an epic level campaign of what happens when Apep finally eats the sun...

Now there's an idea. I was actually considering the Tarrasque making an appearance as a sort of offspring to the great devourer.

Edit: I was thinking of Ammit.

[Oneris]

I have an idea in mind for the Priesthood, (allowing female priestesses) with two High Priests serving directly beneath the Pharaoh on behalf of the Gods. They are brother and sister, and although I hadn't planned to corrupt the priesthood, really, I imagined a few cults out there in the works.

It seems that most temples had a fairly equal standing among male and female priests, though a greater number of women held high position in the priesthoods of Hathor, Isis, and Nieth. Many noble women probably also had a title within the temple at some point, whether earned or inherited. Probably like most cultures of the ancient times, the younger suiblings of the Pharoah were expected to take on high-ranking religious roles.

[TheBrassDuke]

I'll have to do more research about that. I was under the impression some noblewomen were allowed, but I don't remember having a loftier number in the priesthood.

Study time!

Got to add Djinn. I know it's more Arabian, but imagine a Pharaoh with a Djinni (not necessarily a Noble Djinni)...

Maybe an underwater city beneath a lake out in the far desert...elves or nymphs. That's more a flavor idea, no real relation to this, just a thought to log in.

Do you have any ideas for that sorcerer I mentioned a few posts back? I'm actually still stumbling on that one. And you are very resourceful so far!

[TheBrassDuke]

What would make our Sorcerer's motive be going Sandshaper and Exalted Arcanist?

I'm getting a Pharaoh-type of feel, what with Sorcerers being "proto-gods", etc., and the fact pharaohs were "God Kings".

Is he aware he's destined to be the King of the Sands?

As a PC what will be the other party members' motivation for following him to (as was suggested before to me on another thread) the Monastery of the Sandshark (City of the Dead touchstone location) [dedicated to a deity who rules over Death, Destruction and Rebirth)?

Like...there's the obvious "I wish to reclaim my ancestral right to the ancient throne, blah blah blah", but it's such a pedestrian shortcut.

I've got some ideas for the campaign world now, at least, but even fluff isn't helping with the PCs. The sorcerer, especially. And originally he was half-djinni. I've had to recently cut that because there was too much that didn't make sense. He could have been a King-Maker, seeking the appropriate master to claim the throne, but then why go Sandshaper and Exalted Arcanist?

Writers' block!

For easy reference, if you don't wish to scroll.

Each PC will be receiving their own destinies based on the classes/PrC that they take, which will bring them all the way to the end. We're building a campaign that is heavily RP-based, focusing less on combat than anything else (although I throw quite a bit at them during my run).

[Honest Tiefling]

I forget when exactly it was, but a very early document from Anicent Egypt was I think something of an alliance between two kingdoms. It involved marriage between the Pharaoh and the royalty of the other place. The reason why I mention it is that it very clearly stated that BOTH sets of gods approved of this alliance.

So if you want Djinn, perhaps there's another set of gods all the way over there? They could have been overran by something nasty, so the Djinn fled to this place. Or they could be unaffiliated raiders, and the players are expected to play nice with the far less civilized members of an expedition from this other culture to team up to wipe out these raiders.

Else they could be chaos incarnate, and roam the desert. Poor Set, not only does he have to fight Apep daily, but now he has living flame running around his deserts.

[TheBrassDuke]

"Y'know, I could have dealt with snakes. But this is too much. What on earth is that column of fire doing over there? It looks drunk. Aaaaaaand there goes the palace. I'm so fired."

[Oneris]

I'll have to do more research about that. I was under the impression some noblewomen were allowed, but I don't remember having a loftier number in the priesthood.

The role of women in the temple apparently waxes and wanes over the many dynasties, but it seems that 19th century archaeologists operating under sexist beliefs of the time often downplayed female roles as mere 'temple prostitutes' and 'musicians' and little more.
Here's a (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/women1.htm) few (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/women2.htm) links (http://www.per-ankh.co.uk/featured_articles/women_in_religion_in_ancient_egypt.asp) that I like.

[TheBrassDuke]

Thank you!

[Novawurmson]

If you like genies and Egypt, make sure to check out Osirion (http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Osirion) in the Pathfinder-official game world Golarion. Here's an example of how Egyptian-themed it is (http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lfxy?The-Gods-and-Goddesses-of-Ancient-Osirion).

[ThinkMinty]

Good low-level sandstorm spell to take (especially on a Sorcerer) is this spell Sunstroke. 2d6 nonlethal damage, there's a Fort Save, which when failed causes fatigue, or exhaustion if fatigue's already there. Excellent little debuff in the couple games I've got to play it in.

On that note, make sure to include and have fun with the desert's wilting effect on...all the living things. Hydration's an added chore and and an added weapon, really sells some crunch along with that desert fluff.

[Vogie]

You could also get the PCs into a War between the gods or God-Kings. A good idea for this is, ironically, the Bible. The 'plagues' the hebrew god sent on the egyptians corresponded to appropriate gods in the pantheon. God of the River - River is blood, God of Light - Darkness, God of the harvest - Locusts, God of Medicine & Cleanliness - Boils, et cetera.


If you want to go less divine, you can also draw from the Mongols (Genghis Khan!) and Middle Asia themes, emphasizing things like nomads, raiders, and the like. You can draw from the Marco Polo Netflix series for research, or look into the Khans of Tarkir set from Magic the Gathering - the WBG (Abzan) and WBR (Mardu) clans would work in a desert expanse. From the original Avatar: The last Airbender, there are sandbenders and an ancient library buried in the desert.

[igordragonian]

I think you also should add in the "true name" shtick.
That was the way Isis overthrown Ra.

[Swami Monsoon]

If it's a high level campaign and you really enjoyed Expedition to the Barrier Peaks back in the day... there's always Stargate :smallcool:

[Novawurmson]

If it's a high level campaign and you really enjoyed Expedition to the Barrier Peaks back in the day... there's always Stargate :smallcool:

I'm seriously considering doing this, only with a demiplane built by ancient God-Kings as a "Field of Reeds."

[ThinkMinty]

From the original Avatar: The last Airbender, there are sandbenders and an ancient library buried in the desert.

In the sequel series, The Legend of Korra, the library pops up again. One of Aang's granddaughters makes Wan Shi Tong look like a dumbass due to her superior knowledge of engineering.


You could also get the PCs into a War between the gods or God-Kings. A good idea for this is, ironically, the Bible. The 'plagues' the hebrew god sent on the egyptians corresponded to appropriate gods in the pantheon. God of the River - River is blood, God of Light - Darkness, God of the harvest - Locusts, God of Medicine & Cleanliness - Boils, et cetera.

Why does this sound like playing Dark Sun? I like Dark Sun (having never played it, it just looks like very fun desertpunk D&D from an outside glance), that sounds like Dark Sun.

You could set up the BBEGirl as a Walker of the Wastes (p89 in Sandstorm), with their actual build left up to you. I say BBEGirl specifically because you never see lady liches for some reason (okay, I found one (http://magiccards.info/ala/en/210.html), in a WotC product to boot), and it's fun to be different. Her plan, in the past tense, was to wander into a huge valley region of some kind and turn it into a desert to avoid getting super-soaked into oblivion, and then she goes around oppressing people to make sure they don't challenge her to impromptu wet t-shirt contests. Her present day machinations are maintaining her salty, ironfisted grip on the region, as well as some other evil stuff that's up to you as the DM.

She'd be like some kind of desertpunk Voldemort mixed with the Wicked Witch of the West, but with sand instead of snakes, and desert zombies instead of flying monkeys, wolves, and flying bicycles. She wouldn't have plucky British orphans (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0253.html) and/or tornado-displaced Kansan moeblobs (kidding, kidding, Dorothy Gale is a sharp, plucky little lady with magic murder shoes and an...interesting friendship with Princess Ozma, and now I'm digressing too much) trying to diarrhea in her applesauce; instead, she'd have plucky desertpunk murderhobos adventurers trying to diarrhea in her applesauce. At least a couple of the PCs would have personal motivations for dealing with her, and one or more would have philosophical disagreements, most likely of the Chaotic Good variety.

With this route, you've got at least 5 intense quests to go out and destroy each of her canopic jar phylacteries, plus the intermediary quests to acquire information about the various locations of those accursed jars, or for the grinding necessary to be able to, and an intense boss fight at the end of it.

Also, if you're leaning heavily on Sandstorm, make sure the players either read it, or suggest the desert-variants of what they're trying to do so that they don't walk twenty feet into the desert and keel over dead from a heat stroke. Desert spells are really cool (Pillar of Salt!), and there's probably something nifty for martial classes too.

[TheBrassDuke]

...I say BBEGirl specifically because you never see lady liches for some reason...

Are you forgetting about Erandis Vol? :3

However! I do actually like this quite a bit. I honestly did imagine a gross, dried out Wicked Witch sitting in her palace bitching about the clouds looming over the mountains.

"Damn kids and their need for liquid intake..."

But seriously.

I can see at least two of our PCs (one of which is LG) who would be morally opposed to uprooting her simply because she needs the Waste to live. Of course her evil actions would quickly change this view.

Also, I think in MM3 there is a monster called Temest, which is some giant elemental storm that wrecks everything in its path.

[Tvtyrant]

Decanters of endless water create very little water vis a vis actual agriculture. I calculated it out once, and it turned out the society would need dozens of them even for a small population.

[AMX]

If it's a high level campaign and you really enjoyed Expedition to the Barrier Peaks back in the day... there's always Stargate :smallcool:

Or Serious Sam, of course. :smallcool:

[Coidzor]

They could have to guide the sun on its journey through the underworld so that a new day/etra can start and avert the ends of the world, an idea stolen from the first sequel of this YA Egyptian wizard book series that starts with The Red Pyramid.

They might have to journey through the afterlife to find out what goes down to settle a religious scism because the priests don't know and some Loki-esque spirit mucked with the divine texts/pronouncement.

Securing the resources and manpower to build the first pyramid or first great pyramid before the god-king dies so that his essence can travel on properly and his power can fully travel to his divine heir. Or be stolen by one of the party or all of it turning treacherous and wrenching enough dicvine power that they can grow it and have a war to replace the old pantheon or establish a pantheon when they had been monotheistic or whatever.

[Ben Powers]

Are you forgetting about Erandis Vol? :3
and Vlaakith...

[TheBrassDuke]

Never thought of her.

[ThinkMinty]

Never thought of her.

I honestly don't know who Erandis Vol is.

[Coidzor]

I honestly don't know who Erandis Vol is.

She's the boss of the Blood of Vol and the Emerald Claw in Eberron as well as the last extant scion of the house of the mark of death, the lost dragon mark.

One of several tapped potential BBEGs for any game set in Eberron.

[TheBrassDuke]

I honestly don't know who Erandis Vol is.

"As blood is life, and its power flows through me, the power is mine."