Ancient Egypt Everyman Skills

[Worldmaker]

So... what sort of everyman skills would a character from Egypt of 2100 BCE have?

[schir1964]

Originally posted by Worldmaker
So... what sort of everyman skills would a character from Egypt of 2100 BCE have?
Couple of things to think about.

1) The Everyman Skills are supposed to represent what the "average" person would know by default.

2) During the time of Egyptian Pharoahs, as with most of history in different parts of the world, there were diffent classes of people. You status in the current social structure can have a drastic effect on what the "average" person would know within his class or status. Therefore, what the average Egyptian might know vs what a Slave or Servent might know by default would be different.

- Christopher Mullins

[BasilDrag]

Originally posted by Worldmaker
So... what sort of everyman skills would a character from Egypt of 2100 BCE have?

Using FrED p31 as a guide, I'd suggest:
Acting
Concealment
Conversation
Deduction
Native Language (4 points worth, no literacy)
Paramedics (Healing)
Persuasion
One PS at 11-
Stealth
TF: ?camels? (Or something else: I'm not sure what's best here)
AK: Home country or region 8-

I wouldn't give 'em Shadowing, as it's inherently difficult in that setting, so there's little chance the average person will pick up "just a smattering" of it. Ditto for Climbing.

--
"Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow." -- Oscar Wilde

[Jhamin]

Few other things to keep in mind:

-In 2100BC egypt is already ancient, and the Great Pyramids are already over 600 years old.

- 2100BC puts you a bit after the beginning of the 1st Intermediate period. A disaster (possibly a crop failure) has unraveled the mighty God-Kings government. There is a Pharoah (Inyoteph II according to my refrence), but he only rules the capital city and some surrounding regions. Governers each maintian their own districts and sometimes war with eachother. The class system has broken down, Tombs are raided by large organized teams in broad daylight. General lawlessness is rampant. Starvation is common. This state of affairs will go on for about another 150 years.

- Ancient Egyptians did not live in the Desert. They lived in the Nile River valley. They had fields and orchards and hunted in the marshes. The desert was a scary place where foerigners lived.

- They walked everywhere. Nobody rode. Egypt had horses, but these were used in the military more than for general transport. The camels belonged to traders. If If you were rich you took a raft up or down the river. As everyone lived near the nile that was all you needed.

[BasilDrag]

Originally posted by Jhamin
Few other things to keep in mind:
{snip}
- Ancient Egyptians did not live in the Desert. They lived in the Nile River valley. They had fields and orchards and hunted in the marshes. The desert was a scary place where foerigners lived.
True, but it's a very level place, with few trees (date palms as I understand it not being prevelent until later), and not conducive to "sneaking after" someone.


- They walked everywhere. Nobody rode. Egypt had horses, but these were used in the military more than for general transport. The camels belonged to traders. If If you were rich you took a raft up or down the river. As everyone lived near the nile that was all you needed.
OK, scratch the EveryEgyptian TF.
;)

--
"The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward." -- John Maynard Keynes

[Worldmaker]

The Egyptian in question is a part of the royal family, if that helps. He's been brought to the 21st Century by way of a disastrous time travel experiment on the part of the worldwide criminal conspiracy known as Tarot.

[Jhamin]

Originally posted by Worldmaker
The Egyptian in question is a part of the royal family, if that helps. He's been brought to the 21st Century by way of a disastrous time travel experiment on the part of the worldwide criminal conspiracy known as Tarot.

In that case you probably want to give him Acting, Concealment, Conversation, Deduction, Native Language (4 points (it is sketchy if he would be literate, he is noble but many suspect that literacy was a priest/scribe only thing), Persuasion and Stealth. These are pretty much all he needs.
Alot of his more useful skills dealing with command would probably be bought normally.

How do you plan on getting him over the culture shock?

[Worldmaker]

By giving the player involved plenty of roleplaying opportunities. :D

[Talon]

Don't forget Distinctive Feature: Walk. :)

[Koshka]

Originally posted by BasilDrag
OK, scratch the EveryEgyptian TF.
;)


You could probably change it to TF: small boats. I don't know for certain just how common boating skill was, but it never seemed like tomb robbers had much trouble getting themselves across the Nile.

[Boll Weevil]

Originally posted by Geoff Speare
Don't forget Distinctive Feature: Walk. :)

Oh-Way-Oh!!

Thanks, Geoff. 10 experience points to the first person to guess what crappy song is stuck in my noggin.

[Fuzzy Gnome]

Hey, I happen to like that song.

[MisterVimes]

Originally posted by BasilDrag
TF: ?camels? (Or something else: I'm not sure what's best here)

Depends on the caste. The nobility/Clergy/Warrior Cast would have Chariots.

The peasants/slaves would probably have zilch.

[EvilGM]

Originally posted by Boll Weevil
Oh-Way-Oh!!

Thanks, Geoff. 10 experience points to the first person to guess what crappy song is stuck in my noggin.

I don't need to Walk Like An Egyptian to actually get the points, do I? :)

[BasilDrag]

Originally posted by Koshka

quote:
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Originally posted by BasilDrag
OK, scratch the EveryEgyptian TF.


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You could probably change it to TF: small boats. I don't know for certain just how common boating skill was, but it never seemed like tomb robbers had much trouble getting themselves across the Nile.
You could probably change it to TF: small boats. I don't know for certain just how common boating skill was, but it never seemed like tomb robbers had much trouble getting themselves across the Nile.

True. OK, restore the TF, just make it TF: Small boats.

;)

--
Is reading in the bathroom considered Multi-Tasking?

[MisterVimes]

Originally posted by Worldmaker
The Egyptian in question is a part of the royal family, if that helps. He's been brought to the 21st Century by way of a disastrous time travel experiment on the part of the worldwide criminal conspiracy known as Tarot.

If he's a royal then give him Chariots for the TF. If he's working for Tarot, he could be the Charioteer (Tarot Major Arcana)

7 - The Charioteer is a virile man who has harnessed a black sphinx and a white sphinx for his team. Walls stand behind him but the charioteer follows a road that leads straight toward the viewer. He is the conscious mind, in motion toward a goal.
The sphinxes he guides represent our capricious curiosity and the unanswered questions of life, large and small. The two beasts would naturally pull in different directions but the charioteer has harnessed internal opposition with intellectual willpower. Consciousness used to flinch away from queries that logic and pragmatism could not resolve. Now, it uses paradox to fuel inspiration and move to new ground.

[Worldmaker]

Actually, they already have a charioteer. And the time-lost egyptian was rescued from the villains during a Global Guardian raid on the research base (hidden under the Saint Louis Arch).

[MisterVimes]

Originally posted by Worldmaker
Actually, they already have a charioteer. And the time-lost egyptian was rescued from the villains during a Global Guardian raid on the research base (hidden under the Saint Louis Arch).

in that case... Nevermind:D