A world building exercise

[薔薇語]

I think folks have brought up a number of interesting ideas regarding this possible location setting. Allow me to add a few thoughts:

Let's assume for a moment that there are many types of undead in the kingdom ranging from traditional zombies and skeletons, to Ghouls and Apparitions, to Vampires and Litches. The former being devoid of independent consciousness, the middle being driven by basic / animalistic desires, and the latter being fairly comparable to humans. If we don't want to make this kingdom comic-booky evil, then they have to see in themselves and this state of affairs some positive merits. So, what if the positive merit is that "A good life leads to a good Unlife"? 

Folks who come back to life as the former two categories are somehow impure and thus, in a butchered Buddhist sense, must be cleaned through #eternal labor. By doing so they honor their ancestors and provide for their progeny. In this way, the (un)dead are a sacredlized member of a family. It is the family unit, in a Confusion sense, that owns the body. It is the role of the head of the house to maintain the (un)dead and to bring prosperity to their family and honor to their name. Destroying an undead worker isn't merely an issue akin to breaking someone's TV, it is as if you have killed their father and perhaps eternally doomed that person / family. An act so heinous that forced 'incorporation' of the offender / offender's family, might be the only reasonable recourse. This could also be a great plot hook idea (PCs break this sacred law / one family is trying to expand their control by 'incorporating' another). 

This would help one build in very strong familial ties and power bases and help prevent a monopolistic Emperor Litch from just having a kingdom of pure undead. This bond making and value also explains why families don't just send out their undead members off to war for greater aquisition. They know who these folks are and share some kind of bond with them. And risking their eternal servitude and honor risks one's own post-death chances. Obviously it will happen just as fathers have sent sons into battle, but it is generally for some greater cause that could bring honor.

This society, one in which struggle, hard work, and familiar devotion are paramount might see incarnations of the second kind (Ghouls) as expressions of a life lived in greed, gluttony, lust, or any other deadly sin. This eternal hell might instill a work ethic hardly seen in any other population. Why don't they merely go on vacation forever and leave all the hard labor to their dead family? Because doing so risks your eternal soul. You may become one of the outcasted dead. Perhaps the presence of such an undead creature in a family line is equivalent to a mark of Kane on the whole family. If the wider public finds out, they risk ostracism or perhaps incorporation into the imperial line. Only there, when-in they can serve the whole of the glorious kingdom can the tar of sin be washed away eventually and their souls allowed to move on. This is why the Emperor is so important: only he can wash clean the befouled. Only he can keep the kingdom safe from the deadly sins. Thus he serves not as an all powerful figure to be feared but as an eternally nurturing healer and protector of his kingdom. 

It is, of course, the conscious sinners (Vampires and other fully sentient undead that embrace some baser urge like hungry) that occupy the greatest attention by all. Their ascension isn't just a deep smear on the family line but an eternal curse. An infection of flesh and society that must be purged with the holiest of lights. No one abides the vampire kin. So great is their blemish that the kingdom has gone to war with its neighbors under the explicit banner to eradicate this scourge thought to be ruling or being protected by the rulers of that kingdom. Destruction of such a foe is of such great honor that whole familial lines can be lifted to great heights by one member's heroic deed. 

The last group would be the litch (or litch like character). Someone not bound to some baser urge/sin and fully conscious. These souls do NOT become the eternal rulers of their family. These are the chosen of the kingdom. The only one's whose life could truly justify presence before the Eternal Emperor. These are his children. The Eternal Emperor can bear no children of his own but is blessed with abundance in his line. Should an emperor ever fall, it is from these select few that the new emperor is chosen. Perhaps it is like the system of Cardinals picking the next pope, perhaps it is whomever can seize power the fastest, perhaps it is a person chosen by the previous emperor. Indeed, while we call the Emperor Eternal, his lifespan is short (maybe only one additional lifespan). But the role is Eternal and thus the title. Having one's family member in the Eternal Court brings great honor in society and the Emperor's family is given extreme privilege. 

You could layer onto this lots of other ideas, too. What is the role of women in the society? Perhaps maternal and fetal death in pregnancy is a great shame/curse and as such women are given special protections to aid them. Slave birthing might have a stigma as it risks death from the woman and child and not all deaths are equally good. If menial labor is relatively plentiful and reliable, there might not even be much need to birth many children - indeed doing so might limit the work options for the child and thus risk his eternity. Or it could be the opposite. 

What is the war strategy like? Someone mentioned above that they might try to find way to preserve the opponent so as to not damage potential new legions. Maybe the Emperor sees conquest as his only reasonable way to increase his forces since he can not institute drafts in the same way real world nations have. And of course he needs to be seen as a strong enough figure as to maintain the order lest citizens question his right to rule. Of course the Eternal Court helps build in some popular support and give aspirational goals to the common folks who, though a life of hard work, could get into the court and maybe even become Emperor in their undeath. 

Their religion could actual revolve around the Sun and Sand. The Sun's holy might is what holds back the worst of the undead filth (vampires). The streets could shine with eternal flames meant to ward away such creatures. The hearth of a home could always be ablaze to ward off such fiends. They may even look down with repugnant scorn on human slavers. They defile the good names of their slaves and risk everyone's safety; indulging in their greed and wrath they risk their souls and denying socially beneficial labor to their slaves dishonor their family and perhaps risk other spawned horrors. In this way, they could actually be a force for some good in their neck of the woods. 

Those are, of course, just my thoughts. 

La Rose. 
 

[Doc Democracy]

You might consider flipping some undead categorisations on their heads.  Skellies are often the weakest variety of undead, moving up through vampires and liches.

 

In your world skeletons might be the greatest form of undead and vampires bestial blood drinking vermin that are actually quite easy to kill.  It is never a bad thing to sometimes stand things on their heads and pervert player expectations.

[drunkonduty]

La Rose,

some great ideas.

 

I think I will borrow the one about the undead being owned by the family unit. But expand ownership to the village unit. The village head -woman or -man being responsible for the care of the "old family" (need a better name.) Certainly individual families take the time to visit and care for their own ancestors. But the village head has the final responsibility of making sure that the village makes its quotas of workers for public projects (pyramids, dams, irrigation, etc.) as well as the village's own projects.

[assault]

2 hours ago, drunkonduty said:

I think I will borrow the one about the undead being owned by the family unit. But expand ownership to the village unit. The village head -woman or -man being responsible for the care of the "old family" (need a better name.) Certainly individual families take the time to visit and care for their own ancestors. But the village head has the final responsibility of making sure that the village makes its quotas of workers for public projects (pyramids, dams, irrigation, etc.) as well as the village's own projects.

 

I'd be thinking in terms of clans rather than present day nuclear families. That would tend to blur the line between "family unit" and "village".

 

There would still be the responsibility to the state though.

 

Going back to my earlier idea about everyone being the literal descendant of the Emperor... My idea would be that he was human before he became undead, and even if he didn't have any children himself, his family/clan would have. Over the past thousands of years his human descendants would have intermarried with every other family in Kemet multiple times. So now nearly everyone, living or unliving, would be descended from him.

There would be exceptions. Some of the oldest undead might precede such intermarriage rather than being products of it, and there would always be a small section of the population who would be more or less outsiders. These might provide a fair proportion of the army (living and dead). Others would be servants/slaves, and thus count as part of their owners' families in a certain sense.

 

There would be foreigners in Kemet for various reasons too. Merchants, sailors, diplomats... They would, of course, be expected to conform to Kemetish ways while in Kemet, or the results could be worse than death. But this is only just an extreme example of the general perils of travelling in foreign lands.

[drunkonduty]

Oh the royal family are definitely descended from the Eternal Pharaoh. I think it adds extra creep factor to Pharaoh's love for their family. As for everyone having some trace of royal blood, yes. I think that's very likely. I'm sure that most of use can find some notable ancestors if we go back far enough. Difference is in Kemet you can actually go meet them.

?

 

Good point about Pharaoh not necessarily being the oldest extant undead in Kemet. Might be, might not be. That's one of those things I can decide on as the game plays out .

 

What I have decided is that the Kemeti learned the art of necromancy from Isis. She was the first to raise the dead, her husband Osiris of course. She later passed the art on to the faithful of her temple. The myth will go something like "As Isis used her art to bring the God to fruitfulness so too the art brings fruitfulness to the Black Land."

 

Being a visitor to Kemet would definitely be dangerous. Much more so than the usual perils faced by merchant travelers. I can see a brisk, although technically illegal, trade in kidnapping foreign sailors and the like.

 

I actually think slavery wouldn't be a thing. There's no need for it when you have a much more amenable workforce of skellies. Skellies don't need feeding. Don't rebel. Don't die in droves from neglect and abuse.

 

I actually get to kick of this campaign on Sunday. As the PCs are Akkadians and on the receiving end of Kemeti aggression I'm not sure how many of these awesome ideas I'll get to introduce. But I will keep y'all posted as to what I get to bring up and how the players react to it. My main worry now is that we have gone and made Kemet so interesting that the players may prefer to play there rather than Akkad. ?

 

Cheers.

[assault]

A final thought: maybe the skellies wear masks, so you know which one is Uncle Hotep.

 

Maybe made from painted clay, or maybe even leather (skin!).

[drunkonduty]

Love it!

[Scott Ruggels]

THis is very cool. Keep us posted?

[drunkonduty]

Hi there!

 

So life, the real one, has been a giant pain in the proverbial.

 

We have played one session of the game. It was mostly an introduce players to the game session, explaining rules, etc. A sample fight . A  situation in which players could use some skills. (Scouting out an abandoned town and now facing down an ogre and her children.)

 

But that was... 3 weeks ago? 4 weeks? And our next session keeps slipping further and further into the future.

 

<Sad face here>

 

If things change I will post updates!

[Scott Ruggels]

Looking forward to it

[drunkonduty]

I just remembered - I promised updates.

 

So a little light thread necromancy. Appropos really.

 

We've played a total of 7 sessions now. The plot is actually moving along.
I think we are about to hit a major player-led change of direction,
but more of that in the correct order of events.

 

Recap - session 1. Mostly an intro session for players new to the game.
The heroes have just escaped the downfall of their
fortress, Sunwall. The actual Sunwall (a wall that shone with light that
kept the worst undead at bay) failed at a critical moment in the battle
and the undead swarmed through. The heroes escaped the rout and we begin
the game with them meeting up down the road a ways. They are attacked by
a pack of ghouls, whom they handily destroy.

 

They reach the nearest town and find it deserted. Investigating they meet
some bandits looting the town, an ogre and her children. They are
besieging the temple of Utu in which a few citizens are holding out.

 

Session 2.
The heroes negotiate with the ogre and her half ogres.
The ogres agree to leave the temple of Utu (God of Light) to the PCs
but they have the run of the rest of the abandoned town. Just to be
sure the PC face-guy convinces the ogres that there is a shitting curse on
the temple. "Go in there and you will shit yourself to death."

 

Everyone abides by the agreement.

 

While in the temple the heroes find signs that the temple has been defiled and it's magical
anti-undead wards have been destroyed. They citizens tell them that a
survivor from the rout of Sunwall arrived here about midnight to raise the warning.
BUT the heroes realise that Sunwall had only just fallen by that hour.
The "survivor" must have left Sunwall hours before that happened.
They pretty quickly jump to the correct conclusion - the survivor is a saboteur,
possibly even a traitor.

 

From the ogre incident the game has come to be referred to as The Shitting Curse.
<sigh>

[drunkonduty]

Session 3.
The PCs reach the next town along. Here they find the place packed
with refugees from town #1.  They warn the local temple of Utu
about the saboteur. They learn that he had tried to get access to the altar,
but with all the extra priests staying here he wasn't able to get any private
time in which to sabotage this altar. They also learn his name, Ferridoon.
Asking around they discover the inn where Ferridoon is staying. They decide they
want to interrogate him but are foiled by a locked door. They sleep in the
inn stable yard, along with many other refugees.

 

That night they are attacked by a bunch of thugs in the Ferridoon's employ. To add to
the fun the Ferridoon begins summoning undead right into the fight, amidst all the
civilians. In the ensuing panic the villain escapes.

Session 4.
The heroes are tasked with getting the traitor and then scouting out the Kemeti army;
where are they, what are they doing?

 

They track Ferridoon back to town #1. There is a big throw down in which the heroes
are once again foiled by locked doors. Long story short: the villain escaped. Only barely,
but near enough is good enough.

[drunkonduty]

Session 5.
The heroes decide to rest up in the town. They soon discover that the ogres
are still in town. The face-guy manages to convince the ogres that their being back
in town and making an inn their own is okay and very much in the spirit of the
agreement made in session 2. Flim-Flamboozled the ogres retreat.

 

Later, when the ogres realise they have been made to look stupid they come back and attack.

A fight ensues. The paladin kills the boss ogre and the rest break and run.

 

Session 6.
The heroes return to Sunwall to scout out the enemy army.
The party ranger is able to overhear a conversation between the villain who
led the assault on Sunwall, Lord Iniquitous, and his minion, Lady Syn.
I describe Lord Iniquitous in such a way that the players are now calling him
Lord Rasta Byron. I consider this a win.

 

They learn that LRB is looking for something called the Tablet of Enki
which will supposedly lead him to something called The Dooms of Ra. Also, LRB
doesn't want the Eternal Pharoah to know what he's up to. Ooooh, plot points.

They also learn that LRB considers Ferridoon to be "a complete arse." All the players love this.

 

By better knowledge of the fortress layout the heroes are able to find
the tablet of Enki before the bad guys do. They escape quietly into the night.

[drunkonduty]

Session 7.
The tablet is a highly stylised map with a bunch of hieroglyphics on it.
It is clearly only half of the tablet. It has a jagged broken edge and LRB
clearly referred to it as "the other half of the Tablet of Enki."

 

Unable to translate it themselves they head for the capital city and a sage
to help them. With a letter of introduction the chief librarian is met and
very happy to help. She provides translations, and offers to introduce the
halfling sorcerer to her single daughter. We then leave the heroes on a small
cliffhanger: The Lord High Inquisitor shows up and wants to know who are these
people who are accessing proscribed texts?

 

As of this session the players have learned a little of the Kemeti attitude to
necromancy and the dead. They also learned that Kemeti believe the Akkadians
to be Tiamat worshippers. The Kemeti consider Tiamat the equivalent of Apep,

th serpent which tries to destroy the sun. The paladin (of the sun god) is most annoyed.

 

I learned that the only player to take notes in Session 6 heard me say "The Dunes of Ra."
Hmm. Okay. Much less portentous than the Dooms of Ra. But I see how it happened.
The paladin's player heard me say "The Dudes of Ra."

The GM is most annoyed.

[ScottishFox]

On 7/26/2018 at 9:40 PM, drunkonduty said:

At this juncture I should point out that the game is pathfinder and the official rule is that it's negative energy animating the corpses.

 

The proper HERO move is to play Pathfinder with them for a bit and then convert their characters to HERO so they can experience the superior gaming system.  Fantasy HERO > Pathfinder.

 

Just out of curiosity.  Pathfinder 1.0 or are you doing the new Pathfinder 2.0 play test?

[drunkonduty]

Pathfinder 1.

 

Yeah, I've thought about converting things to Fantasy Hero. But I don't think my players would handle a system change mid-game.

 

Luckily this campaign is intended to be short lived (unlike most of the games I run which are usually no set end date/sandbox sorta things.) When it's over I'll suggest a change of system.

[Doc Democracy]

I find a change of system is often most easily accomplished when a session did not go well because the players felt a bit constrained by the rules.  You then go back to the session and say - I would like to try that adventure again with a different system (one you think would handle it better).  If you are right you have good evidence that a system change for the next campaign might be a good idea.  🙂

[drunkonduty]

Oooh. Evidence based argument; I like it.

[drunkonduty]

Loooong over due for an update here.

 

Since July we have played depressingly few sessions. One of those sessions was really a BBQ with about an hour's worth of game chat tacked on the end.

 

So the game has moved only very slightly. The following took place over 2 sessions:

 

The heroes talked their way out of trouble with the Inquisitor. It helps that three of the party can work as the Face. All three together can be a formidable bunch of bullshit artists. That being said the heroes decided they weren't staying around long enough for  the Inquisitor to appeal to higher authority; their librarian friend had given them a rough idea of where to go to find the Dooms of Ra and they went.

 

They hired a ship and sailed south. (The sea they are sailing is basically the Red Sea. It is long and narrow, the western shore is the coast of Kemet, the eastern shore is basically the Arabian peninsular.) Their plan is to sail south, past the southern border of Kemet, make landfall and head west.

 

About 3 days into their journey they are hit by a sudden squall and they see a huge water spout form before them. It comes straight for the ship, they tack but the water spout changes direction and continues to rush toward them. Just as it is about to smash over their bows the spout stops and transforms into a huge (20' tall) woman - a marid! She introduces herself as Hai al-Sabd, the sultana of the Narrow Sea. The heroes greet her with suitable platitudes and humility. Pleased by their humility the sultana asks them to perform a task for her, in return for which she offers a casket filled with pearls. All the heroes must do is rescue her lover. He is being imprisoned by her great enemy, the dragon-turtle Ahtalilla. Her lover is actually being held in a cage suspended from a tower, that itself sits atop a high crag, far above the sea. It is difficult for Hai al-Sabd to reach it, and would put hers at great risk. Not to mention there is a good chance it is a trap. After some negotiations the heroes accept. She gives them a piece of enchanted coral that will summon her if dropped in the sea.

 

On the marid's advice they take the ship's long boat to the island. The hope is that it is small enough to escape notice, especially in the storm. The plan almost succeeds. A patrol of Sahuagin does notice the boat and comes to investigate. They catch the heroes upon a narrow pebbly beach just as they are looking for the best way to ascend the crag. In the ensuing fight the halfling sorcerer comes within a whisker of dying but is rescued by a heroic, last moment run by the cleric, who dodges past 3 or 4 enemies to reach the halfling and lay some healing magic on them. The fight was much bloodier than I anticipated but the heroes burn some healing and continue on.

 

About half way up the crag they find a deep pool. The path past it lies between the pool and a long drop. Carefully, watching the pool for monsters, they begin to edge around the pool. To no-one's surprise a few large drakes leap up out of the water, their wings beating as they take to the air. In the battle I knock the ranger of the cliff, but that's okay as he has awesome reflexes and is able to catch himself before plummeting to his doom.  After this the only tempting target was the halfling sorcerer, who was also standing on the cliff's edge.  A drake charges him and... misses. The drakes are then dispatched quite quickly and the heroes carry on up the steep crag.

 

Finally at the top of the crag they approach the tower. The imprisoned lover sits in a small cage that hangs from the parapets at the top of the tower. One of the heroes (the paladin I think?) calls out to the prisoner "Don't worry, we'll rescue you." Several other characters sigh deeply.

 

The tower door swings open at their approach and a warm, welcoming light streams out into the cold, wet night. The heroes peak through the door and see a room that is decorated like an undersea grotto; all shells, frescoes of frolicking dolphins, etc. Amidst the room stand three beautiful women who welcome the heroes into their home. Not even the paladin is falling for this one but they enter anyway. The women claim they are goddesses and that their prisoner has committed the crime of spying upon them while they were bathing.

 

At this point my wife, who knows me too well, says "They're hags under an illusion aren't they."

Me: "Er...no?"

 

But the heroes are still the good guys and don't go all sword-swingy without provocation. While the heroes converse with the "goddesses" they are being subjected to their Evil Eye power. This has the effect of staggering the target. (Think of it as  SPD drain.) The heroes must make PER rolls (actually sense motive rolls) to notice the hags' subtle attacks. It takes a round but one of them (the cleric I think) does notice and accuses the "goddesses" of cursing them. Weapons are drawn and the fight is on. It's a bit drawn out, the SPD drain slows things down and the hags are able to retreat up the stairs to a higher level of the tower. Two characters (dwarven twins, both warriors) go down under the hags' Evil Eye, cursed and dying. But in the end the hags are not able to match the heroes in a stand up fight. Luckily the heroes had shown some forethought and had purchased potions to remove curses and both twins were saved.

 

They then rescue the marid's lover, a man called Sherbad. He looks like a young Omar Sharif. As quickly as they can they get back to their boat and sail away, to rendezvous with their ship. Back aboard the Wave Cutter they set  all their sail and head away from Dragon Turtle island as fast as they can. The heroes have of course been talking to Sherbad and how his lover sent them to rescue them. Up until now Sherbad had been playing with a very good poker face and hiding his true feelings. But now, many miles from his prison, he admits that he isn't all that keen to see Hai al-Sabd again. He had in fact been running away from her when he'd been captured by the hags. He begs and pleads with the heroes not to call the marid.

 

There followed a pretty long debate about what to do. Som epeople pointed out that Sherbad was clearly a douche. (He is. No doubt about it, I played him that way.) In the end they decided to get to where they needed to be, and be onshore when they summoned Hai al-Sabd. From the safety of the dunes, about 50m back from the waterline, Sherbad explained that he was no longer keen adn that they should see other people. It was, he explained, him, not her. That's about when Sherbad legged it inland. Don't worry, he'll be back.

 

The heroes then go on to argue that Hai al-Sabd now owed them a casket of pearls. They Point out that she had asked them to rescue Sherbad, which they had done. Angry, hurt, and crying the marid throws the casket of pearls upon the sands and leaves.

 

The heroes have reached the land of Axum and are now planning their journey westward to find the mountain known as The Pillar of the Sky and the Valley of Dead Fire that lies inn its shadow.

 

[drunkonduty]

Session 9.

 

TL;DR: the heroes get framed into doing a dangerous job. They bump into their enemies at a sumptuous ball.

 

The heroes are in the land of Axum, wondering if they could maybe find a guide to help them reach their destination. They are in fact sitting in a tavern discussing their next move when the place fills with cops. The heroes are accused of the crime of "Disturbing the Elemental Balance to the Detriment of the Common Weal." To whit: the marid is now off the coast of Axum and in a terrible mood. Fierce storms are lashing the coast and are interrupting trade. The ruling council of magi who run Axum need someone to blame; they have picked the heroes.  In all fairness, technically, the heroes are guilty.

 

There follows a scene in which I, in the character of the leading officer, explain repeatedly to the players that "under arrest" means you do not get to keep your weapons, armour, spell components, etc.

 

Anyhoo... the heroes languish in some not-so-dismal cells for about 3 days when they are approached by a man named Salana. He offers to spring them from jail and give them the freedom of the city in return for a favour involving great danger. The heroes are naturally suspicious and one asks if Salana had had them imprisoned just so he could blackmail them now. Salana assures them that he had nothing to do with their arrest; that was his ex-wife's doing. Someone asks if he is helping them just to annoy his ex. Salana says no, that's just icing on the cake. Negotiations follow and Salana offers them a small fortune in magical potions in additional payment. The heroes agree to the terms.

 

Behind the scenes: Salana needs the heroes to gain him access to the Tower of Art, a place that acts as a repository for magical power. He needs to access the Tower on a night of a mystical conjunction. A night when certain magics are at their most potent. A night when all the magi in the city are obliged to stay the hell away from the Tower. The heroes are to get in and place a magical key into the Tower's control panel. Once the key is in place Salana can magically enter the Tower and finalise his ritual. He wants to use the stored magic power to turn himself into a lich. Not that he's telling the heroes precisely what he has planned. Just to get him in and then take his "sleeping" body back to his home after the ritual.

 

The heroes are quickly released and have the run of the town. They also get to stay in Salana's palace.

 

The night after they are released the heroes hear about a big hubbub down by the city gates. A couple go to look and they see a score of skeletons marching up the street. They are escorting a large, ornate carriage. The carriage is painted with frescoes of Osiris and Isis in the Underworld. An odd feature they note is that the carriage is lacking any windows. Riding alongside the carriage is their old friend, the traitor Ferridoon. Another score of skeletons march behind the carriage and at the very back of the parade stalks a hulking gnoll woman. The Kemeti are in town.

 

On the night of the conjunction the all the magi in the city are expected to be at a grand ball. This is ostensibly a celebration, but really just so everyone can keep an eye on everyone else. Salana invites the heroes to attend. It'll be fun, he says. The ball is also close to the Tower. 

 

The heroes are enjoying the ball when a new party makes a grand entrance. At the head is a small, plump, yet ever so impressive woman, Salana's ex-wife Nyala. Behind walk three individuals. Immediately obvious to the heroes is the tall, scarecrow like figure of their old friend Ferridoon. Beside him shuffles a figure who is completely hidden by voluminous robes and a deep cowl. Lastly, but most jarringly, they see Lady Jasmine Sunblessed. Lady Jasmine is their old commander and was last seen dying upon the blade of Lord Iniquitous way back in the opening scene of the adventure. Nyala walks straight up to Salana and asks to meet the Akkadians he spent so much of his political good will to free. She introduces herself and her own guests.

 

There followed a hilarious scene in which the heroes freak out.

 

The paladin's player cannot lie. She just can't. Nor can her paladin. So to avoid giving away... everything the paladin spends the entire scene stuffing pastries in her mouth. If there is ever any chance of sound escaping her mouth she shoves in more pastries. But she does peak under the cowl of the mystery guest and realises that he/she is a mummy. The mummy introduces themself as Ak-Hortep and asks why a child of Bast consorts with filthy Apep worshippers. Paladin can do nothing but offer them a pastry.

 

The sorcerer, the party's most charismatic member, immediately hits on Lady Jasmine. She returns the flirtation and gives the little fellow a smile that shows her extended canines off to their best advantage. The cleric's player had been out of the room having a nap. They came back in at the sound of hysterical (nervous maybe?) laughter, get caught up, and are "WTF?" At about this point someone thinks to ask if the bad guys might recognise them. The cleric realises that Ferridoon is giving them "where have I seen these people before"  face.

 

Not wanting to drag things on too long Salana made excuses and in ones and twos the heroes quietly slipped out of the ball to begin their mission.

 

That ended the session. Next one will be a good ol' fashioned dungeon crawl.