Creating a Mwangi Faction


Serpent's Skull


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So I just finished running Souls for Smuggler's Shiv with my team, and we're right about to jump headfirst into Racing to Ruins. While a lot of the reviews of the campaign seem sort of negative, I'm actually ultra looking forward to it. There's one thing I want to change, however.

Maybe I'm wrong, but the Mwangi seem to be a little bit, well, pushed to the side here? One of the players at my table rolled himself a Taldan bard by the name of Iacobus. Iacobus has a fascination with other cultures, but sort of in a dehumanizing way. He is, to put it one way, a firm believer in that "Noble Savage" archetype, seeing it as quaint and fascinating. The player would ideally want to have native NPCs to run off of. Nkechi certainly provides such an opportunity, sure, but that's a small section of a much larger AP. I'm looking in particular for something more lasting, and while viewing the boards, I've been seeing a lot of people adding Mwangi factions to the campaign. I think I'm going to attempt to do this as well.

In particular, I'm looking to replace the Free Captains with a Mwangi group. Yet, I'm not entirely sure how! I guess I'll post my main concerns/ideas and see what others think, or hopefully what others did, if anyone else went this route.

1. I'm not sure why Mwangi would ever need trailblazers, since they sort of live in these areas and all that, really.

2. I have two thoughts for motive. One would suppose the group joins the Freeman's Brotherhood, who is looking to use the wealth of the temple to establish political control. The other one, probably less shady, would be to have a group of Mwangi looking to prove Mwangi influence in Saventh-Yi. I'm thinking they might be particularly scared that, should another group find it (including even the Pathfinders, but definitely the Sargavan government) that they'll intentionally hide the information in order to marginalize the Mwangi people.

3. So that's probably pretty simple, maybe! But now I'm struggling on sort of creating the units. I want to design them a level 9 leader like the other factions have, as well as those level 4 units. And I'm looking for an image. In both Heart of the Jungle and Sargava: the Lost Colony, I can't find very many Mwangi images at all. I honestly can say I want a headshot like the other groups have because my players are into that sort of thing. I'd love to keep the lead unit female, just because why not. It's been rather difficult to find anything worth using!

4. I thought I had more issues but this is actually it so I'll stop now.


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I have been working one up because my group has expressed extreme distaste to outright hatred of all the normal factions. As far as needing trailblazers goes more than half of what the party does is clear dangerous monsters and situations out of the way.

Here is what I have so far in the same format as the AP write-ups - I will get a full faction write up made if there is interest.

Free Peoples of the Mwangi:
Faction expedition leader: Yallathoon (fh fighter 7 / duelist 2 (tribal champion); CR8; NPC Codex, page 216) lead the native expedition. The Mwangi Free Peoples are a mixed group of Zenj tribal members, Garundi, jungle elves, jungle gnomes, and odd misfits. All they want is the city of Saventh-Yhi to remain free from exploitative outsiders. Further Yallathoon and the other leadership hopes it is possible to set up their own capital where they have control of the deep Mwangi Expanse. They plan on using its natural defenses to keep the Sargavan government, the Aspis Consortium, and other scavengers at bay.

Rival Factions: The Sargavan Government & Aspis Consortium. The Free Peoples are at complete odds with those who have come and taken land and lives. They seek to limit the hold of the exploiters of the Expanse.

Ally: In my campaign they will approach the PCs via the ranger's Zenj grand-parents who arange for them to speak to the leader of the combined Mwangi Freepeoples’ expedition, the tribal champion, Yallathoon.

The Offer: Like the other factions she will offer to outfit and organize an expedition to Saventh-Yhi - supplying food, water, supplies, porters, mounts, hunters to gather food and barbarian warriors to act as guards. They do not offer any gold or bonuses - but instead offer to support the party’s exploration and publication of the discovery and exploration of Saventh-Yhi. (The party can negotiate compensation in the form of goods up to 1000 gp worth of gear each).

Special: During the journey they provide a +4 Diplomacy bonus when dealing with native tribes. Once a base camp is established the Freepeople's knowledge of local medicine reduces the chances of disease considerably. Native knowledge of the jungle environment allows for a higher defense with natural snares and traps, their knowledge of the ways of the Mwangi Expanse allows them to keep closer tabs on all the other factions.

Notes: Yallathoon mentions that Diamata Sirathini (fh Ranger 5; CR4; NPC Guide, page 27) would be an excellent scout and guide for the expedition. Upon talking with Diamata we find she will not help until they get the blessing of Nkechi the Tempest... and so I tie them back into the AP with a group of freedom fighters with less mercenary/acquisition based motivations.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I've been working on ideas as well. My thoughts have been going in the direction that introducing a native Mwangi faction might also be a good opportunity for PCs who want to be more in charge--creating their own faction, in other words.

So, in my campaign, I'm thinking of working with the Freeman's Brotherhood. Spoilers, I suppose.

Spoiler:

Once the PCs deal with the overtly violent Freeman's Brotherhood revolt early in Racing to Ruin, I'll have it be the case that Umagro and his thugs represent a particularly violent offshoot of the Mwangi liberation movement, but not its core principles. Once Umagro's band is dealt with, PCs who investigate the group would learn that with Umagro out of the way, the most influential leader in the movement is rumored to be an elderly woman who lives in the edges of Eleder's farmlands--the self-proclaimed "Baroness" Harizi. Among the colonials, she has a dark reputation as a necromancer whose turf is guarded by zombies. However, she isn't vocal in her opposition to the colonial occupation, she doesn't seem to be dangerous unless provoked, and it's her own people she turns into walking dead, so the colonial government has seen fit to simply keep a wary eye on her and otherwise leave well enough alone.

The local Zenj commoners, however, know that the colonials misunderstand Baroness Harizi. She isn't a necromancer, she's a juju oracle, and she's long served as a spiritual advisor and healer to her people. Her zombies aren't quite what they seem, either.

She sees Umagro's fate as typical for hot-heads who openly oppose the colonials, so it doesn't occur to her to try to beat the Sargavan government to the latest rediscovered city. However, if the PCs slips the thought in her ear and inform her of the Saventh-Yhi's historical significance, she quickly warms to the notion of claiming the lost city--which she views as an ancient symbol of foreign occupation--as a Mwangi free state where her people could anchor their liberation movement.

As a faction, the Freeman's Brotherhood is strapped for material resources, but they can draw upon a huge pool of manual labor, further augmented by Harizi's undead.

As a group, they would still need trailblazers -- the Mwangi jungles are deep and inhospitable no matter who you are. Well, unless "who you are" equals "king of an army of intelligent gorillas," I suppose.

Here's the faction camp stats for parts 3/4:

DEFENSE: 10; EXPLORATION: 8; SUPPLY: 12

PC BENEFIT: The leaders of the Freeman’s Brotherhood are both wise and ruthless in the practice of juju. If the Freeman’s Brotherhood camp is attacked, so long as the expedition leader Harizi survives and the camp has not been completely destroyed, it automatically removes 1d6 Destruction points 24 hours later as Harizi and her followers channel wendo spirits into the fallen to replace slain guards and workers with zombies.

LEADER: Self-proclaimed “Baroness” Harizi is known to the Sargavan government as a witch and necromancer, a frightful reputation she fosters to keep the colonials at bay. In truth, she is an insightful (if somewhat eccentric) spiritual leader who sees herself as a guardian of her Zenj peers. Her mindless zombie servants are animated by wendo spirits, not trapped souls, and she exclusively uses the corpses of defeated enemies or Mwangi volunteers.

Baroness Harizi cares little for wealth or glory, instead seeking to lay claim to Saventh-Yhi as a power base for Mwangi dissidents to push back against foreign colonizers.

Baroness Harizi is a CN 9th-level Mwangi oracle with the Juju mystery. I've statted her out in D20Pro but haven't typed out a stat block yet. I can do so if anyone's interested, though.

I also agree that if a native Mwangi faction is introduced, one of the existing factions should get wiped out on the road to Saventh-Yhi or in short order once they do arrive, just to keep the AP's assumptions working smoothly. As for which one to eliminate, I would just knock off whichever one the players care about the least.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I think Khelavraa's ideas and mine might mash-up well.

Silver Crusade

Khelavraa wrote:


Here is what I have so far in the same format as the AP write-ups - I will get a full faction write up made if there is interest.

** spoiler omitted **...

Like.

I think this feels a gap that a lot of folks were aching for, and it could likely make it easier for PCs to continue along the AP as written when they would otherwise want to stay in Sargava to help the native populace. That's probably the greatest possible derail threat right there for good-aligned characters, and this folks give them a way to fight for the native folk by going after the lost city.

(I'd be tempted to add some distant Nantambu connections as well, but I'm kind of crushing on that city so it's not entirely objective)


John Mangrum wrote:
I think Khelavraa's ideas and mine might mash-up well.

I agree! :)

I really like John's take and was planning on something of the same sort of schism in the Freemen that gives way to a larger movement to repel the oppressive colonials.

The camp stats look solid to me. Thanks!


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Here we go; I statted up the expedition leader and typical guard for my option:

Spoiler:

BARONESS HARIZI
CR 8 (XP 4,800)

Female Mwangi oracle 9
CN Medium humanoid (human)
INIT +0; SENSES Perception +2
AURA faint chaotic

DEFENSE
AC
16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor)
HP 63 (9d8+18)
FORT +5, REF +4, WILL +9
RESIST FEINT DC 25; RESIST DIPLOMACY DC 29 (hostile), DC 24 (unfriendly), DC 19 (indifferent), DC 14 (friendly), DC 4 (helpful); RESIST INTIMIDATE DC 21

OFFENSE
SPEED
30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
MELEE +1 heavy mace +6/+1 (1d8)
SPACE 5 ft.; REACH 5 ft.
ORACLE SPELLS KNOWN (CL 9th; concentration +13; ranged touch +6)
4th (5/day)—charm monster (DC 18), cure critical wounds, divination, dominate person (DC 18)
3rd (7/day)—animate dead, bestow curse (DC 17), create food and water, cure serious wounds, fear (DC 17)
2nd (7/day)—cure moderate wounds, hideous laughter (DC 16), inflict moderate wounds, lesser animate dead, levitate, minor image (DC 16), silence (DC 16), spiritual weapon
1st (7/day)—bane (DC 15), charm person (DC 15), cure light wounds, detect charm, detect undead, protection from evil, speak with animals
0 (at will)—detect magic, detect poison, ghost sound (DC 14), light, mage hand, mending, purify food and drink, read magic, resistance, stabilize
MYSTERY Juju

TACTICS
BEFORE COMBAT
Baroness Harizi uses animate dead to maintain a full stable of human zombies, replacing destroyed zombies within a few days as resources become available. These zombies are stationed within earshot of wherever she is staying, or accompany her when she travels.
DURING COMBAT Harizi relies on her spells and zombie allies in combat, falling back to her mace only if given no other option.
MORALE Harizi flees if reduced to 15 hit points, sacrificing zombies to cover her retreat.

STATISTICS
STR
8, DEX 10, CON 13, INT 12, WIS 14, CHA 19
BASE ATK +6; CMB +5; CMD 15
FEATS Brew Potion, Craft Wondrous Item, Oracular Intuition (UM), Persuasive, Prophetic Visionary (UM), Toughness
SKILLS Bluff +11, Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (nature) +12, Knowledge (religion) +12, Sense Motive +15, Spellcraft +14, Survival +13
LANGUAGES Abyssal, Common, Polyglot
SQ oracle’s curse (haunted), revelations (craft juju fetish, false death, spirit vessels)
COMBAT GEAR potion of barkskin +2, potions of cure moderate wounds (2), potion of hide from animals; OTHER GEAR +2 lamellar horn armor, +1 heavy mace, cloak of resistance +1, antiplague (4), antitoxin (4), defoliant (4), healer’s kit, kaava musk (2), parasol, scent cloak (4), spell component pouch, wooden holy symbol, valuable material spell components worth 800 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES
CRAFT JUJU FETISH (Ex)
All juju fetishes Baroness Harizi creates are treated as being CL +2.

FALSE DEATH (Ex) Any creature under the effect of Harizi’s charm monster, charm person, or dominate person spells appears dead to any examiners. Although affected creatures do not detect as undead, they look pale and death-like while under the effects of her magic. Additionally, an affected creature ordered to lie still gains a +20 circumstance bonus on Disguise skill checks to look like a corpse.

PROPHETIC VISIONARY: Once per day, Baroness Harizi can enter a deep trance to receive a vision of the future. The trance lasts for 10 minutes, during which time she can take no other actions. If she is interrupted, she must begin again. When she comes out of the trance, she knows whether a particular action in the immediate future will bring good or bad results, as an augury spell with a 70% chance of success.

SPIRIT VESSELS (Su) Baroness Harizi can channel wendo spirits into lifeless bodies, reanimating them to aid her. Necromancy spells that create undead lose the evil descriptor when she casts them. Mindless undead created by her magic are of neutral alignment, while thinking undead she creates are chaotic neutral. When using animate dead spells, she can control a total of 54 HD worth of undead creatures. In addition, any zombies or juju zombies she creates using lesser animate dead or animate dead possess maximum hit points.

The Freeman insurgent is, logically enough perhaps, just a slightly boosted version of the guys the PCs face in Racing to Ruin:

FREEMAN INSURGENT
CR 3 (XP 800)

Mwangi human fighter 4
N Medium humanoid (human)
INIT +2; SENSES Perception +1

DEFENSE
AC
18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +2 shield)
HP 34 (4d10+8)
FORT +6, REF +3, WILL +2; +1 vs. fear
DEFENSIVE ABILITIES bravery +1
RESIST FEINT DC 15; RESIST DIPLOMACY DC 25 (hostile), DC 20 (unfriendly), DC 15 (indifferent), DC 10 (friendly), DC 0 (helpful); RESIST INTIMIDATE DC 16

OFFENSE
SPEED
30 ft.
MELEE mwk club +9 (1d6+5) or
unarmed strike +7 (1d3+3)
RANGED mwk composite longbow +7 (1d6+3/×3)
SPACE 5 ft.; REACH 5 ft.

STATISTICS
STR
17, DEX 14, CON 14, INT 8, WIS 12, CHA 10
BASE ATK +4; CMB +7 (+9 grapple); CMD 19, flat 17 (21/19 vs. grapple)
FEATS Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike, Step Up, Throw Anything, Weapon Focus (club), Weapon Specialization (club)
SKILLS Climb +7, Intimidate +6, Profession (porter) +7, Survival +7
LANGUAGES Common, Polyglot
SQ armor training 1
COMBAT GEAR alchemist’s fire (5); OTHER GEAR masterwork hide armor, masterwork heavy wooden shield, masterwork club, masterwork composite longbow (Str +3) with 20 arrows, antitoxin (2)

Grand Lodge

This is really good stuff, and if you guys don't mind I may have to borrow some of it for my own campaign as we have a Mwangi PC who is quite keen to have a Mwangi expedition go after the city.

I can't make my mind up as to whether I use them to replace the Free Captains or the Red Mantis or if i should add them as an additional faction (which admittedly will mean more work for me but could be quite satisfying in the long run).


I went another route; I use the Mwangi as settlers. When the tribes begin hearing about a new city they come see what is happening. As the PC's pacify or conquer areas, I am allowing the city to "grow." It will start slow with just a couple people at a time coming.

Also, Mzali is sending a hostile faction to try and take the city as well. It will be a mix of Undead and Human.


Feel free to use any of my ideas, that's why I shared. :)

Long story - but my group has not let anything about what they have found out. They have all the surviving NPC castaways with them and all of them are very loyal (Gelik didn't make it through the final showdown with the Cannibals). They approached the faction I made up themselves...

I have introduced the other factions to some extent, but so far no one's loyalty to the other survivors has even come close to breaking.

In mine there isn't going to be a race... more of a shadowing by shadowy forces. However, I am including all the original factions plus a couple of additions.

Shadowy Shadows:
I too am including a hostile Mzali force once the work of the discovery gets out. However, much earlier in the story the Order of the Coil will play a big part in this. See This thread for some of the uses. However, I am changing things up since my last post there.

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