|
So, reading through the Osirion entry in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, I got hit with a funny thought.
Ojan and Jasilia, the heirs to the Khemet Dynasty, are fond of traipsing all around the Osirion desert in search of Adventure and Mystery. Their father, fearful for their safety, sends his Risen Guard to bring the young heirs back to the palace.
Here's a set of serial adventures following the deeds and mis-adventures of these two youngsters, chased by the bumbling Risen Guard whom they continually outwit and manage to get killed, only to have them raised and sent back out again to find them.
It's like the Golarion version of Duck Tales, Alvin and the Chipmunks, or any other Saturday Morning Cartoon.
Anyone else see it? :-)
|
That sounds...Awesome! I loved DuckTales as a kind, and stories about children adventuring always seem to have a quality in fantasy missed by more adult stories. I actually wouldn't mind maybe a series of short stories featuring them...not sure where those'd go though...maybe if they were made into PDFs and sold for a couple dollars each or something.
|
It would be a great mid-level adventure hook for a group in that area to find the twins, one already unconscious, the other in a hopeless situation and in need of rescue. Their Risen Guard may have died protecting them, or simply not have arrived yet, or, most terribly, been replaced or coerced somehow (great magic of some sort, one would imagine, as they are otherwise quite loyal!). [Perhaps the site in which they've been encircled has powerful necromantic warding magics, and the Risen Guard who followed them there succumbed to a curse that caused them to rise again as Mummies and join the unholy sites defenders!]
Depending on the nature of the encounter (and how much trouble they're in), the twins might not be able to publically acknowledge the party's help (perhaps there is a secret too large to be public, such as the betrayal of elements of the Risen Guard, or the location where the twins were cornered being a site of great power or forbidden lore that must remain secret for the good of Osirion). But the twins would still owe the party a favor, and when the party can get ahold of them, they can grease some wheels and do some favors.
|
So, I'd like some more information on the Risen Guard. Are they guards who have actually been resurected (and taken a level penalty), or mummies or some other undead?
It sounds to me like this is a hook just waiting to be used. Would be a LOT of fun too.
Also seems to me there would likely be more to it than they just happen to enjoy adventuring. Perhaps there is a curse upon them or their father or the land that they seek to remove. Or perhaps if they fulfill a prophecy they will be crowned the new Pharaohs, and the father, only a Prince now, does not want to loose his power.
The reason I figure there is more to it than just a desire to stretch their legs, is their adventures have got to cause a great deal of difficulty for the state. A lot of money is wasted tracking them down, people die. Unless they are an evil lot they would be concerned about the death and destruction their little romps would cause.
Yeppers something else, much deeper is going on. Sounds like an Adventure Path is needed to find out what it is!
I'm in, but only if I can have a coyote as villain.
I'd have thought more like artificer. With lots of weird contraptions intended to get at the kids but that will ultimately backfire ;-)
There’s some cool takes on Ojan and Jasilia (the Dune Runners) here!
I was excited to see this thread as at one time Osirion’s wayward twin heirs had a cameo in J4 “The Pact Stone Pyramid”. The PCs had an opportunity to interact with them – though the PCs may not necessarily have known it right away. However, space restrictions inevitably demanded that it be removed to make room for some of the more directly focussed plot encounters. (That was my early cut, not the editor dieties.)
Krome: I think you are quite right. While wanderlust is a big part of Ojan and Jasilia’s unauthorized extracurricular activities, I too believe there is a hidden pattern behind it. Hopefully somebody will further pick that thread up one day. There’s an awful lot at stake in Osirion right now and I am certain these two will have their role in how it unfolds.
So, I'd like some more information on the Risen Guard. Are they guards who have actually been resurected (and taken a level penalty), or mummies or some other undead?
I'd say your first guess is closest. The Risen Guard are a unit of elite human warrior-types, all of which have been brought back by the Forthbringer, Prince Khemet or at least by his money. The Ruby Prince is a powerful cleric and thaumaturgist.
Of course, then again, the Risen Guard might also be bumbling babysitters as per Skyler and kessukoofah’s take! (I always cheered for that coyote - stupid bird.) Or perhaps the Risen Guard will be future victims of powerful necromantic magics ala Set’s riff, which I thought leads to some very interesting possibilities. . .
|
|
Mmmmm this leads to a VERY interesting scenario that just SCREAMS PCs!
The twins are in their usual trouble. Everyone is upset that they have actually left Osirion! They have journeyed to the Mana Dead zone between Nex and Geb! The resurected guard actually cannot follow them there due to the nature of their resurections and the power and vaugeries of that zone. The PCs are recruited to save the twins.
It is a great way to introduce some of the background nature of the quests the twins are involved in and a great way to bring the PCs into the Court intrigue.