Fate of the Veinstone Pyramid of the Four Pharoahs [Spoilers]

[Aotrscommander]

Context: I am in the process of fitting all the moving parts together for an Osirion mega-campaign, which comprises Entombed with the Pharaohs/Pact Stone Pyramid (3.5), Desert of Desolation (AD&D), Mummy's Mask (PF1), (parts of) Doomsday Dawn (PF2) and pretty much all of the 1E Osirion Pathfinder society scenarios that I can fit, most notably the Destiny of the Sands trilogy.

(The last one of note, because Amenopheus and the Sages will be very prominent in the campaign as the PC's patron, contacts and occasional expositors.)

(Though it's not important to the question at hand this will be run using my 3.5/PF1 hybrid system, 3.Aotrs.)

Thus posting to this subforum on the basis this question is an inter-edition/non-edition question. (If the mods think there is a better one for that, feel free to move it to the most logical place,)

The question has entails spoilers for both Entombed with the Pharoahs and Doomsday Dawn I will spoiler the first post, so anyone clicking doesn't get accidently spoiled:

Spoiler:

To access the pyramid of the Four Pharoahs which is located in Ramlock's Hallow, the PCs (or at least the adversaries) have to have the Funeral Mask of the Four Pharoahs. At the end of the module, the mask shatters, and the pyramid begins to slowly phase back into Ramlock's Hallow. (Which is, of course, the age-old trope of "dungeon collapses at the end" which is fine.

However, at the end of Doomsday Dawn, the PCs need to get into Ramlock's Workshop. However, Doomsday Dawn for some reason (possible not re-reading Entombed with the Pharoahs fully beforehand) assumes the Pyramid is NOT there, but in the material plane:

"Only one structure has traditionally stood within the Hallow: the Veinstone Pyramid. Once located at the center of the demiplane, this 556-foot-tall structure was transposed to the Valley of the Pyramids in Osirion about a decade ago by a party of adventurers who gained control of the Funeral Mask of the Four Pharaohs."

This being especially important for my campaign, since it a) will not have been ten years and b) the PCs will be the Ones What Done It.

So, the question is how to resolve this problem. A few ideas:

1) The mask does not break at the end of the Entombed with the Pharoahs, because the PCs are Mythic (or something).

While this is obviously the most straight-forward one, it also takes away something interesting and I don't think it's a terribly satisfactory answer.

2) The PCs will have to find a way to get the Veinstone Pyramid back OUT of Ramlock's Hallow, so they can get down to the workshop via a) hack through pyramid or b) reforge the Funerary Mask of the Four Pharoahs

2a) While at this point I sort of anticipate the PCs being both Mythic AND Epic, it's prefer the simple solution of "simple smash their way down" to, again, be a little unsatisfying (and a long time, since a cursory estimate from the cross-section in Entombed as being about 340 feet).

2b) Seems on the surface a nice solution - it means it adds another delay to the ticking clock (of a length I can control closer to the time), but one major issues itself, namely the one of what happens if the PCs just discarded the fragments of the mask. If they dropped them in the tomb, fine, they will be able to Planeshift to find them, but what is they tossed them in the desert...? This isn't a deal-breaker, since the puzzle of solving how to find and get the mask bag is I think, a potentially interesting one itself.

But if anyone can think of any other suggestions or comments on my proposed solutions, I'd welcome them.

As gaining information is a major part of this campaign (the Shifting Sands portion of Mummy's Mask's research is being considerably expanded), once I have the solution(s), I can then appropriate feed it to the PCs. But I want to try and get as many of those ducks in a rows as I can as part of preparing the first third (as I won't be running it all back-to-back).

(I'm going to cross-post this to the main PF1 reddit for good measure.)

[Morhek]

As someone running a Mummy's Mask campaign, I've pondered how involved the events of the Veinstone Pyramid two-parter and Doomsday Dawn are in that story, and I can offer what I'm going with to keep the timeline synched.

Mummy's Mask spoilers:

Hakotep's queen Neferuset was also a devotee of the Dark Tapestry, and was already working on the Countdown Clocks during his reign, set to the task by Nyarlathotep. But unfortunately, she proved slightly too attached to her husband - when he died, she swallowed poison to follow him into death, leaving the great work unfinished. But her own underlings and acolytes managed to survive the subsequent purges by Djederet II, and as a Cult of the Forgotten Queen preserved her research until the rise of the Four Pharaohs and the arrival of Ramlock, presenting it to him to continue and improve. That's an explanation for the Countdown Clock that lies in the Slave Trenches of Hakotep, which otherwise has no reason to be there. The events of the Four Pharaohs' reign is tied to Neferuset's plans, but ultimately she has outlived them.

Millennia later, destiny stirred the Mask into activity and, like the One Ring, it began drawing people to it because it wants to be found. The wizard Nebta-Khufre's grandmother is plagued by visions of it, passing that information to her grandson, and even nudging the Ruby Prince and local city officials to enact the Lottery of Wati's necropolis, drawing adventurers to it. Meanwhile, the Ib, the heart, has been doing the same, and already has ensnared Serethet as the Forgotten Pharaoh. Although Hakotep himself was oblivious to the Dark Tapestry's workings, Neferuset still has ambitions even in undeath of enacting them, and has been using her husband and his resources all along to do so. If Hakotep is allowed to wake and return to life, Neferuset will have the resources to complete Ramlock's work and destroy Golarion.

If you're replacing the first two books with Entombed With the Pharaohs/The Pactstone Pyramid, you could make it a point that the mask seems entirely anomalous, of a different, older style than the rest of the artefacts, and reveal that it didn't belong to the Four Pharaohs at all but to a precursor king whose work they stole or adapted, leading the adventurers to try to find their tomb. You could even throw in some of the cultists from Empty Graves who intrude in the Veinstone Pyramid to try and claim the mask first for their own plans. Perhaps putting the mask on breaks its ability to control the Veinstone Pyramid by awakening the latent spirit of the Pharaoh trapped with in? Or perhaps the magic requires the mask to travel with the pyramid, and if the pyramid fades back it triggers a security failsafe - it assumes something has gone wrong, and refuses to acknowledge further commands until someone Plane Shifts directly to Ramlock's Hollow to turn it off. And the only way to find out where the pyramid went, and what plane it has shifted to, is to continue their research.

I would also stress, you're probably going to have to do some expositional explaining. I've found even just the basic plot of Mummy's Mask needs some explanation, and that my players need help keeping track of who's who, what's happening, and why. You're now adding a lot more complexity to it.

[Aotrscommander]

There will be a lot of expositing, I have warned the players that this time they will ALL need to take notes (and there are three plots to keep track of), and as I am setting up all the stuff, I making making lists of what information they will learn.

And with Amenopehus (and eventually the Diamond Sage too) being the PC's allies, there's an easy way to get across any of the stuff they don't find themselves. And my own writing style tends to be heavily expository...!

But I'm hoping that, as tests and checks and knowledge is being interwoven into the mechanics a lot more, they'll be incentiivised to learn stuff themselves.

The Veinstone Pyramid won't be part of the Mummy's Mask, but part of one of the three major plots: the Mummy's Mask, the Prophecy of Martek and Doomsday Dawn.

Extended Plot summary
(right out of my notes.)

Spoiler:

Extended Plot summary

Over a thousand years ago, the Khelish wizard Martek sealed away the evil Efreet Kalitharius using five re-purposed Sage Jewels, recovered from the Khelish rule of Osirion.

The PCs start out in Wati, ready to form a band to explorer the tombs. However, since the incident in which the Ruby Prince was struck with a wasting disease, the sign-up for the permit has mandated a price, one which the PCs cannot pay.

They are approached by Amenopheus, the Sapphire sage, with a proposition. He will agree to pay the permit fee, if they will escort him to search for a missing collegue, Colm Safan. (Starting the the Third Riddle.)

A Pathfinder, Safan had spent years researching the location of a lost sphinx, that had been worked on and buried: the Ravenous Sphinx. He hired a team or workmen and uncovered it, and dispatched and an excited letter to Amenopheus, but neither the the Sapphire Sage nor the Pathfinders have heard anything from him. Amenopheus was about to contact the Pathfinders to arrange a party to search, but the PCs dovetail nicely and more swiftly with his plans, since he can cut out the trip to Sothis and the time for the Pathfinders to act and dispatch a team south.

However, news of this has reached the Aspis Consortium – and through them, to the even more secretive Cult of the Last Theorem. A group of ambushers are dispatched to intercept the PCs. The cover is, of course, that they are Apsis agents seeking to prevent the PCs from reaching the tomb (and thus the third riddle) – but in reality, they are there try to kidnap the Sapphire Sage. The Cult believe that through Amenopheus, they can finally recover the Last Theorum and unlock the Pharoah of Number’s final designs.

The first action of the cult is to one night sabtage the PCs river barge, to buy them sufficient time to lay the ambush to be sprung later.

This forces the party and their surviving crew and Amenopheus to trek downriver on the north bank of the Crook. And as they are forced to detour around a region of impassable rocks, a huge khamsin strikes, stirred up by the onset of the 11th and final phase of the final 56-year period before Ramlock’s countdown clockes zero. (A period of five years, 33 days.)

Digging out from the storm and hopelessly lost, the PCs stumble into the ruins of the Sunken City of Pazar. In the ruins, and the centre, they find the Star of Aga-Pelar. Amenopheus is stunned and overjoyed – this is a Sage Jewel! A remarkable find.

However, in taking the jewel, Kalitharius is released, howling with triumph. But even as he is released, the tiniest trickle of Mythic power leeches into the PCs. Not enough to manifest yet, but to lay the ground work.

Devastated, Amenopheus finds that the sage jewel is useless now, having been repurposed. All he can find within it now is a faint impression of who will later be revealed as Martek.

The party manages to reach back to the river and continue their journey to the Ravaged Sphinx. The sandstorm disrupted the Cult’s plans too, and their ambush is not as tightly planned as they would have liked.

After the battle, Amenopheus will notice that the raiders are just a bit too obvious in their display of Apsis tokens, and on closer inspection, the bodies all have the tattoo of the Pharoah of Numbers (though the significance escapes Amenopheus at the time).

The PCs continue on to the Ravaged Sphinx and retrieve the Third Riddle. On arrival back at Wati, Amenopheus pays the PCs permit fee, taking the Third Riddle to the Pathfinders for safe-keeping, and saying he will try to find our what happened in Pazar.

In the meantime, the PCs start the lottery and explore the tombs in the first part of Mummy’s Mask.

Before the auction of the treasure looted from the temple starts, Amenopheus contacts the PCs. He has located information that might lead them to the Diamond Sage and more Sage Jewels and that might uncover the mystery of what happened at Pazar.

This leads the PCs into Destiny of the Sands. However, replacing Yjalk’s band of adventurers is another group of Cultists of the Last Theorem arrives, also seeking the Sage Jewels.

The PCs are given a temporary boost of Mythic power while they deal with the last third of the adventure and determine the fate of the Jeweled Sages. But when the power disipates, not all of it leaves, and the PCs gain their first, proper Mythic tier.

The Diamond Sage is able to inform the PCs of Martek’s Prophecy, as some of the memories within were witness to the events that unfolded. Either she or Amenopheus also identify the symbol of the Last Theorem cultists.

The PCs return to Wati just in time for the auction and Empty Graves.

When the mess is settled, Amenopehus contacts the PCs upon hearing the Tomb of the Four Pharoahs has been unearthed and may shed some light on the second mysterious cult, leading into Entombed with the Pharoahs, and a race against the Expeditonary, and their secret Last Theorem cultist plant. While the Last Theorem is not itself present, the PCs find the first countdown clock (the countdown wall). However, among the Expeditionary, the secret cultist carries a copy of the Notes on the Last Theorem.

In defeating the Four Pharoahs of Ascention, the PCs gain their second mythic tier.

The ends Part One.

Part Two begins as the Diamond Sage believes that some information on the Last Theorem and the Four Pharoahs may be hidden in the depths of the Sanctum, and asks the PCs to see if they can retrive it (leading into Beacon Below).

The PCs head into Tephu do some major research; Meanwhile, the sages research the Notes via their new sources and attempt to investigate if they can use the beacon to help locate the other sage jewels re-purposed into Star Gems.

In Tephu, the PCs determine that the clues to both the Sky Pharoah and the more recent Kalitharius problem – too recent for the sage’s repositories – lie in the Parched Dunes, formerly Raurin. But before they can set out, the Sapphire Sage again contacts them about the discovery of the Pact-Stone Pyramid of the Four Pharoahs and sends them in to retreive the Last Theorem itself (undercover of looking for the seeds the Pathfinders want). (And gain their third mythic tier from the Pact Stone itself.)

The PCs can then set out across the long crawl of the Parched Dunes, retriveing more of Martek’s repurposed sage jewels and tracking down the Tomb of Chisisek and the Sightless Sphinx across Shifting Sands and Secrets of the Sphinx. During this process, they receive another mythic tier from the Tomb of Amun-Re. On the way, the PCs are harried by attacks from both the Last Theorem Cultists and the Night Heralds, all trying to steal the Last Theorem from them.

The Secrets of the Sphinx ends Part Two.

Part Three begins with the PCs delaying their trip to the
the Slave Trenches of Hakotep, as the issue of Kalitharius is pressing, and instead the PCs must travel to the Glazen Sheets, find the last Star and awaken Martek. However, this is the Age of Lost Omens, and prophecy… Doesn’t work like they used to. Martek’s plan does not quite work like he intended, as Kalitharius also gained Mythic Power from the osmosis of the sage jewels, and gives Martek a sound thrashing and with his last breath, Martek destroys the remaining gems to give the PCs another mythic tier to stop the efreeti once and for all. But this is not without cost, as time has slipped by in both the Tomb of Amun-Re and the timeless places in Martek’s tomb and the countdown clock moves closer…

The PCs now can deal with the Sky Pharoah. In the slave trenches, they can examine the Amber Centograph in more detail and begin to piece to together the ominous end of the countdown clock’s ticking.

With the Sky Pharoah’s defeat, the immediate threats are both dealt with, but the looming terror of Ramlock’s convergeance remains.

Over the next few months, The Jewelled Sages discover the location of Ramlock’s tower all the way north in the River Kingdoms (The Mirrored Moon) and the PCs must go to stop the Cult of the Last Theroem from stealing the knowledge left behind by Ramlock – but they are too late; the Cultist have already looted the ruins and laid a trap!
Combining their powers of Earth, Fire, Wind, Water and a sacrifical heart, the Cultists summon and unleash a deadly Mu Spore.

The PCs must now journery to the ruins of Tumen to confront the Cultists for that last time and retreive the knowledge stolen.

This leads to the discovery of the White Axiom, now buried in Sarkoris (The Heroes of Undarin). The PCs must find the White Axiom, guarding the Jewelled Sages as they uncover its location.

As the Sages are desperately working on the way to use the Last Theroem and the White Axiom, the shadow of the convergeance is awakens Ululat in Sothis and only the PCs can stop it.

Finally, the PCs can use the White Axiom and travel to Ramlock’s Hallow on the eve of the convergance. To get to Ramlock’s workshop, however, they will first have to remove the Pyramid of the Four Pharoahs of Ascention.

Then they can decend and stop Ramlock from ending the world.

[W E Ray]

#2 sounds the most fun to me. Also, an inspired way to do that could be found in the truly greatest Egyptian-Flavor adventure of all time (apologies to Tracy Hickman for putting I3,4,5 2nd place), and that's Dark Tower by Judges Guild circa 1980. If you add Dark Tower then your campaign really will be comprehensive for Egypt-Flavor.

Regarding the broken Mask, and I agree it must still sunder in Gameplay, by that time in the campaign there will be many powerful groups of bad guys going through their machinations off-screen. The Night Heralds certainly could have collected and reforged the mask, for example.

[Aotrscommander]

W E Ray wrote:

#2 sounds the most fun to me. Also, an inspired way to do that could be found in the truly greatest Egyptian-Flavor adventure of all time (apologies to Tracy Hickman for putting I3,4,5 2nd place), and that's Dark Tower by Judges Guild circa 1980. If you add Dark Tower then your campaign really will be comprehensive for Egypt-Flavor.

Regarding the broken Mask, and I agree it must still sunder in Gameplay, by that time in the campaign there will be many powerful groups of bad guys going through their machinations off-screen. The Night Heralds certainly could have collected and reforged the mask, for example.

Not a module I am familar with. Pharoah caught my attention in the early 90s, when shortly after I starting roleplaying (HeroQuest, then Rolemaster, then Warhammer Fantasy then AD&d distantly behind), he borrowed a load of quest books from a mate at work for me to read. Of them, the two which stuck out was Pharoah and (ironically) Inferno.

(I followed that path of that supposedly beign re-written and expanded for some years before it seemed to peter-out.)

Much, much much later, I picked up a second hand copy of Pharoah of my own. Which is as well, because the Desert of Desolution compilation was clearly in the end period of TSR's "don't give a crap" phase, it's awful (and the quality of PDF is even worse...) I have had to find some bits of the original latter modules to translate, the production values. I'd say I doubt anyone ever playtested that version, but from what I understand of TSR's leadership at the time, I'd be more surprised if it HAD been.)

Anyhoo, doing Pharoah has always sort of been on my bucket list, and after lockdown where one of my mates (several years younger than me) died, I decided I better pull my finger out and actually do it, having already largely collated the material with which to so do.

Dark Tower, while it would probably fit into the same Shifting Sands exploration stage as most of DoD will, has the major problem that, basically, I don't have any spending money, like at all, not even the £12-13 for the 3.5 version at Paizo. (UK government: "Oh sorry, you're self-employed? Ahahahahaha, either be earning so much money you can't get any assistance, Get A Real Job, Loser or sod off.") I will file it away as something to maybe look at down the line, if (HAH!) things improve, however.

That said, this mega-camapign is probably already bulging with 2-2 1/2 AP's worth of quest, so it's not like I'm short of material, fortunately.

[Set]

W E Ray wrote:

#2 sounds the most fun to me. Also, an inspired way to do that could be found in the truly greatest Egyptian-Flavor adventure of all time (apologies to Tracy Hickman for putting I3,4,5 2nd place), and that's Dark Tower by Judges Guild circa 1980. If you add Dark Tower then your campaign really will be comprehensive for Egypt-Flavor.

Regarding the broken Mask, and I agree it must still sunder in Gameplay, by that time in the campaign there will be many powerful groups of bad guys going through their machinations off-screen. The Night Heralds certainly could have collected and reforged the mask, for example.

Just had to salute your taste. Dark Tower was awesome, back in the day! Sort of felt more like an adventure written for a Conan-like setting, than for Greyhawk / D&D, but that worked for me!

[W E Ray]

Dark Tower has the climactic encounters at the end while the 'dungeon' is breaking down and shifting in-and-out of existence -- making the fleeing after the end of the final fight hard, since the Tower is falling apart around you. But the idea of it shifting back-and-forth out of existence, perhaps as though it's going back-and-forth to another Plane or Reality, makes it fit with the OP's need. Not to mention The Chosen of Set and the High Priest of Set being the two BBEGs at the end.