Meet the Competition
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Welcome to Sothis, capital of the great desert nation of Osirion, gateway to the mysteries of the sands. Centuries ago, the legendary ancient pharaohs ruled over a nation of sorcerers and slaves with an iron fist, wielding godlike magical abilities unlike anything in the modern world. Now they are gone, and all that remains of their wonder and terror lies buried beneath the dunes, concealed in vast stone pyramids and protected by traps and curses that reflect the height of their terrifying ingenuity. But the prospect of being eaten alive by beetles in the dark corridors of some lost tomb doesn't seem to bother the myriad adventurers, guides, soldiers, mercenaries, swindlers, thieves, and noblemen that have come from all over the world to get a chance to plunder the lost treasure of the pharaohs.
Among those who have recently arrived to stake their claim on these treasures is a group of adventurers led by a Chelish noblemen named Paracount Julistar, who just happens to be one of the most famous Osiriontologists in the world. Fanatical, yet suave, Julistar is an archetype of his fellow countrymen, and has carefully assembled a private team of profiteers from across the globe to race the PCs to the Find of the Century.
Collectively, this group of specialists is known as Her Majestrix's Expeditionary, and includes Xaven, a hardcore, wisecracking tomb raider who has spent so much time outwitting the traps of the dead he's begun to lose his grip on reality, Scepter, a brooding ex-Pathfinder sharpshooter who sports a bandolier of custom-crafted magic wands and employs a specially built wand-rifle, Hrokon, a half-orc shock trooper, and Lonicera, a drop-dead gorgeous liar and master of the long con. Together, they are prepared to give the PCs as much as they can handle and more as the two groups pursue the prize that awaits them in J1: Entombed with the Pharaohs.
Jeremy Walker
Assistant Editor, GameMastery
