This post contains spoilers, if your a pc in Rise of the Runelords, please don't read it.
Alright, one of my new pcs, is going to be coming into my main group just before or after they finish thistletop. He has this very interesting idea i'd like to detail and work out, rather than leave vague.
He wants to be a barbarian tribesmen from the far north. His tribe lived during the same time as Ancient Thassilon. My questions are these.
10000 years ago when the country was at its peak, how big was the actual empire ( where were its borders ), and could there have been a tribe of viking type barbarians who lived far north on Avastian, to avoid being enslaved. I imagine it would be the ancestral Ulfen but i'm unsure of exactly who lived in that area back then.
His hunting group was out tracking some prey, when they began to be stalked, and then killed by a Ice Linnorm. It tore his hunting group in half driving him and his fellows deeper into the frozen wastes until finally they were cornered in a valley. Making a last stand they prepared for their deaths. The battle was hard and viscous but the dragon was laid low by a final and lucky blow from the pc in question.
The rest of his party was dead and as he knelt over their bodies to mourn their loss he heard something behind him... Just as he turns, battleaxe in hand, the Dragons last action was to unleash its breath on him. Freezing him in place, the surprise of it plane upon his face. The dragon died roaring its protest, but ultimately the pc won. So he was found several years before the game starts, and has lived in the 'modern' world of Golarion for about 30 years now.
I know the ice breath goes away eventually.. but you know.. this is awesome, lol. My RotRL game is going to include mythic levels though so perhaps this dragon was mythic and that's why its ice ooze breath never went away? Seems like a cool idea anyway.
My other question is what would he know about ancient thassilon? I told him, he lived in fear of the Seven pointed star, its army of giants and slaves. There is no fighting them, all you can do is simply not live near their influence, or in places they don't want to live.
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Neat Idea. However, as a GM, I would nix that idea, because would i want the PCs, to uncover clues to what is going on, and to me it seems that having someone from that time period would spoil some of the mysteries.
I am not sure how much info there is out about ancient Thassilon, but I would suggest checking out Lost Kingdoms. I think there might be some information about ancient Thassilon in that book. I hope this helps.
If you are going to do this then my advice is have him know little or nothing of Thassilon. Uncovering the secrets of who and what is behind all of this mess is part of the fun. Giving him greater knowledge might undercut that experience, and give him an undeserved leg up over the other players. Also... he is a tribal person from the middle of nowhere, relying on their obscurity to protect them from enslavement. How much do you think that tribes in the deep amazon know about the United States? How much would your average Incan have known about Spain? I would say that what you told him would be more than enough. Perhaps he saw some of their monuments from afar, but beyond that, I would tell him nothing. Or, perhaps even give him some really bad info! That could be fun. Their giants can only be killed with a silver weapon. Reading their runes will steal your soul. You can tell one of their servants by tossing them into a lake. If they live, (can swim) they are a servant of Thassilon! Oooo... what other cruel superstitions could you saddle him with?
Good points both of you. However the more I look at this idea the more I like it. He has further detailed that he was found by a dwarven Pathfinder, who then proceeded to raise him as a cleric of a dwarven deity. BTW he was frozen when he was 17 years old. So as a young adult, give or take 10,000 years, he was saved and raised into this new world in the care of dwarfs.
Digital Mystic your right about him knowing next to nothing about the empire. I was thinking that all he knows about it are stories his ancestors passed down by the fire side. The actual knowledge he would be able to share would be as follows.
Q: So how big was the Thassalonian Empire
A: How should I know, I never went near it. All i knew was we never went further south than ______ ( some geographical marker ). Everyone knows that if you go past that, you are to close.
Q: What was thassalon like?
A: They had a big army, lots of slaves, and were not interested in being friends to my people. We were forced far to the north simply to escape their way of life. I wasn't born during those times. I lived in the frozen wastes my entire life. What i was told about them is that their culture eliminated the possibility for a man to live honorably. You were a slave one way or another, never truly free. Even if you found a honorable lord to serve, hardly any of the others were and it was just like shoveling #$%@ against the tide. But again, I never live there.
Q: TELL ME ANCIENT SECRETS!
A: The only ancients truths i know are these..
To battle and victory!
The borders of Thassilon and the regions controlled by the various Runelords are depicted in the Inner Sea World Guide.
You might have him recognize odd bits or traditions of the Shoanti (no, I'm not smart enough to give examples.) If I recall correctly, the Shoanti are descended from the warrior or military caste of Thassilon. Something they may not even realize.
lol, the player might not even be playing now, funny how life works. Anyway, I appreciate the feedback!