Minotaurs of Raviq

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Language Analog:  Akkadian (Assyrian, Babylonian)
Inspiration:  Greek myth (Minotaur),  Egyptian myth,  Old Testament (Moloch)
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Tainted Counterpart: Minotaurs (Monster Manual)

Minotaurs are their own tainted counterpart.  When necessary to draw a distinction between the two, non-tainted minotaurs may also be called cattlefolk.

Temperamental Association: Materialist

Male Names:  See "Male Babylonian Names"
Female Names: See "Female Babylonian Names"

In the grasslands north of the Neshu's desert river valley, west of the Tengu's mountain nesting grounds, there are great cities and nomadic herds of cattlefolk--commonly called minotaurs.  This race resembles humanoid cattle, with subraces ranging from bull-like (cow, bison) in the south, to ram-like (sheep, goat) in the north, and even buck-like (antelope, gazelle) in the west.  They are a proud and ancient people.

NOTE:  Stag-like minotaurs resembling deer, elk, moose, caribou, etc. are not known in Monvesia.

5th Edition Cattlefolk

Minotaur has become a catchall term for "cattlle-folk" in modern gaming:  anthropomorphic races resembling bovidae (cows, sheep, goats, gazelles, buffalo, etc.) or other ungulates.  The term comes from Greek mythology, and literally means "bull of Minos;" for this reason, I reserve it for bullfolk below.  Other names are similarly drawn from mythology.  

A staple of this growing trope is that both genders have horns--which is not uncommon among the natural species they represent.  For this reason, the generic name for each subrace is based on the common noun used for a male of the various species represented:  bullfolk, ramfolk, stagfolk, and buckfolk.

To play an alternate cattlefolk subrace, disregard the features identified below as being specific to the minotaur. Instead, apply the traits of your chosen subrace.

5th Edition Birdfolk

Four varieies of "birdfolk" have been presented in secondary and tertiary sources for 5th Edition D&D:  The aarakocra was presented as a playable race in the Elemental Evil Player's Companion; the kenku in Volo's Guide to Monsters; and the aven and siren in two installments of Plane Shift (Amonkhet and Ixalan, respectively).  From three of these--aarakockra, aven, and siren--a common base race can be extrapolated; the remaining details of each race can then become the various birdfolk sub-races.

There are two methods of determining base traits:  1) Use the aarakocra traits from Elemental Evil, but disregard the features identified below as being specific to the aarakocra subrace; 2) alternately, use the aven base traits as-is.  In either case, apply the traits of the desire sub-race to the chosen base traits.  All birdfolk in the same campaign should use the same base traits. The only real differences between the two are alignment and age.

Kenku are specifically excluded from the birdfolk below.  Unlike aarakocra and aven, kenku are flightless--a feature core to the lore of the race.  Kenku should be treated as a unique race, related to other birdfolk as gnomes are [often] related to dwarves.

5th Edition Dogfolk

Plane Shift: Amonkhet treated us to another therian race in D&D:  the dogfolk.  This race specifically takes the form of the Khenra--jackal-folk prone to twin offspring.  While this particular race is unique to the world of Amonkhet, the idea of dogfolk has been common to gaming for decades.  In BD&D, we had two versions:  the Lupins (the foil to and rivals of the Rakasta) as well as the isolated Hutaakan.  Just as with catfolk in my previous post, I will explore the possibilities of dogfolk subraces.

To play an alternate dogfolk subrace, disregard the features identified below as being specific to the khenra. Instead, apply the traits of your chosen subrace.

Khenra

Khenra are unique to the world of Amonkhet, one of the many planes of Magic: the Gathering.

Ability Increase:  +1 Strength
Khenra Twins:  {see Plane Shift for full details}

5th Edition Catfolk

MONVESIA RETCON NOTE:  With the release of Mythic Odysseys of Theros, to idea of this post is made somewhat obsolete.  For one, the Leonin, divided between Tabaxi and Rakasta below, are now represented by their own race.  For the needs of Monvesia, the Leonin from Theros will be used to represent the Rakasta of Prace, while the Tabaxi from Volo's Guide will be used for the Raviqi catfolk. 

Volo's Guide to Monsters presented our first taste of catfolk in 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons.  However, it only gave us one of several catfolk that have populated the game:  the Tabaxi.  While similar to other options from the game, such as rakasta, the tabaxi are optimized to a particular style of play.  Using the traits of the tabaxi as a baseline, we can explore some of the game's other catfolk--as well as those of other popular games.

To play an alternate catfolk subrace, disregard the features identified below as being specific to the tabaxi. Instead, apply the traits of your chosen subrace.

Tabaxi

Tabaxi typically resemble leopards and jaguars.  They are friendly and nimble hunters.

In Monvesia, these are the Parrsasca.  These are the female Leonin of Magic: the Gathering. 

Ability Increase:  +1 Charisma
Natural Climber:  You have a climb Speed of 20 ft.
Naturally Observant:  You have proficiency in the Perception skill.

I'm DMing Without XP, and my Players aren't B*%@#ing about It

I have received some ... dissenting opinions in response to my post "Eliminating XP."  The general theme of these responses is that XP are a good way to reward characters not only for the typical reasons, but also for ingenuity and playing in-character.  I attempted to advance the idea that these could be rewarded using game mechanics other than XP.  However, my initial post doesn't really go into this--it glosses over it with links to another post wherein Hero Points are discussed in an epilogue.  I have since made an effort to gain some experience with this type of play, and will share with your my experience and insight.

As most of you should be aware, I have been running a Pathfinder campaign since last fall. In this campaign, I have chosen to avoid experience points.  My regular players include two D&D veterans, two players with only a couple of years experience, and two brand new initiates into RPGs.  When I informed them that I would be awarding experience levels based on attendance and participation instead of combat, no one complained.  When I told them they would receive Hero Points as rewards for special actions, they didn't really know what I was talking about.

Nefret, Chapter 12: The Walled Shrine

The tribe of Maftets that Tetisurah suggested the party visit was due near Hut-Ra-Neskef (formerly Oasis) a month ago--but their visit appears to have been delayed.  The town leaders are concerned for the safety of their allies in the wilderness.  Before visiting Oasis, the maftets would stop at a walled shrine two weeks travel away--perhaps someone should go there to see if they can learn of the tribe's fate.

Important Locations

Parched Dunes

The parched dunes are a region of the great desert beyond Tem-Akh--a mix of flowing sand, badlands, craggy rock, and hills.  It is the Parched Dunes that seperate the Nefret River valley from the catfolk homeland of Tamisha.  Here, there are many natural dangers, some ruins, and even fewer settlements.

History of Nefret: Fall of the Sphinx Empire & the Coming of the Netjer

While Nyala, Jaeth, and Kiji gathered followers in Oasis, Aloysa and Crenn took that time to compile the notes they had gathered to date in hopes of forming a cohesive history of the Sphinx Empire.  Here are the facts that they were able to compile.  The "facts" below represent what the current evidence suggests to be true.  As the player delve further into the mysteries of the Aten and its past, these facts will evolve. ... Y'know, like the way real history books work ;-p

The Last Sphinx Queen

Before the rise of the elves in Nefret, the land was ruled by two, competing nations:  The Sphinx Empire in the desert and plains, and the Great Kingdom of the Naga in the swamps and mountains.  The "lesser," humanoid races were the servants of these greater beings.  Though the nations were never explicitly at war one with another, the peace between them was rough at times.  After the sphinx queen Ankharet had achieved a semblance of immortality, she took the golden naga Kozuragen as her consort.  Peace between the sphinxes and he nagas seemed almost certain--a peace that would come to be symbolized by half-breed princess Meraph.

Nefret, Chapter 11: Interlude at Oasis

You seek out the nearest village to rest, recuperate, and recharge--and also to wait for Cecil, in case he may return.  Though the aptly named Oasis is a small village, it [remarkably] has what you have been looking for.  Though short on some basic supplies, the town does have a ready supply of the exotic metal adamantite.  This offers Jaeth and Aloysa a chance to equip the party with better gear.

Important Locations

Parched Dunes

The parched dunes are a region of the great desert beyond Tem-Akh--a mix of flowing sand, badlands, craggy rock, and hills.  Here, there are many natural dangers, some ruins, and even fewer settlements.

Nefret, Chapter 10: The Tomb of Chisisek

Upon Nephethus's suggestion, you have left Tem-Akh--and made your way into the Parched Dunes in order to search for the Tomb of Chisisek.  You find yourself in the region of the desert marked by major landmarks referenced in the mural at the Vault of Hidden Wisdom,  As minor landmarks from an automatic writing by Ribiah appear on the horizon, you realize that you are on track.  There is still a lot of sands and rocky crags and badlands between you and your goal.

Important Locations

Parched Dunes

The parched dunes are a region of the great desert beyond Tem-Akh--a mix of flowing sand, badlands, craggy rock, and hills.  Here, there are many natural dangers.

Nefret, Chapter 9: Libraries of Tem-Akh

An emissary has arrived from Aloysa's tribe in Tamisha with letters of reference in order to grant the party access to the Great Chamber of Knowledge in the city's esteemed library.  Letters in hand, the party ventures forth into the library, to uncover whatever secrets they can about the Sphinx Empire, the Thrice-Divided Soul, or even the Hungry Cloud.

Important Locations

City of Tem-Akh

Tem-Akh was once the capital of the Three Kingdoms--until Atenhotep I declared a holy land for his new religion and moved the capital there. The city is divided into four districts, which were successive expansions to the city's limits.

• The Old City is a walled sanctum in the center of Tem-Akh, where the old Pharaonic palace, the Great Library, and the Temple of Ra are located.  It is a priestly quarter.
• The New City grew between the Old City and the river.  It is a noble quarter.
• Wadjet's Walk grew around a canal that had been cut around the Old and New Cities in hopes of increasing commerce and trade in the capital.  It is a merchant quarter.
• The Outer City is the result of inevitable urban sprawl.  It is primarily a slum.

Military Power in Nefret

In the downtime after recovery of the Mask of the Sphinx God, Ibankhkhnum (and his pet jackal Pawet) joined the party.  Among the various benefits to having a former captain of Pharaoh's Guard in the party is the intelligence he can provide about the factions working in the government.  During an early conversation with him while traveling to Tem-Akh, Iban clarified the structure of military power in Nefret.

There are two military organizations in the Nefretic Empire:  the Pharaonic Guard and the Order of the Medjay.  To the common citizen, the Guard and the Order are the same organization, as they can be seen serving similar roles--and often working together.  The primary difference between these two organizations is that the Pharaonic Guard serves the Pharaoh directly, while the Order of the Medjay serves the office of the Pharaoh.

Pharaonic Guard

The Three Kingdoms, which form the central and most influential empire of the known world, are protected by an armed forced known as the Pharaonic Guard (or Pharaoh's Guard). This group is a national defense and peacekeeping force which is directly commanded by the Pharaoh of the Three Kingdoms.  A Chief Deputy is appointed by the Pharaoh to lead the guardsmen in each of the Kingdoms.

Nefret, Chapter 8: Secrets of Peraten

Nebta-Khufre, necromancer and accessory to murder, has been captured; the Mask of the Sphinx God he'd recovered from Wati and used to raise an army of undead against you has been confiscated.  Now you stand poised in the Servitor's Court on the lower level of the Sepulcher of the Servant, before a stairwell descending even deeper into the Valley of the Princes.  Ibankhkhnum and Meret-Hetef await your return on the upper level of the Sepulcher.

Desert City by Concept-Art-House on deviantart

Nefret, Chapter 7: Sepulcher of the Servant

Ibankhkhnum has gone missing. The last time you saw him was at Kiji's trial.  After your meeting with Natari, you had hoped to check in on the Wati murder investigation--but Iban could not be found.  Asking around among the other guards, you encounter only vacant stares are closed lips.  Of the two other guards participating in the investigation, one was as unhelpful as his peers--though he let his terror be more obvious.  The other, however, is unable to speak as his tongue was removed (an act reserved for convicted heretics and unwelcome witnesses of state secrets).

Important Locations

Peraten

The city is composed of three districts, one for each of the dominant races of the Three Kingdoms:

• Elf (Northern) District is located between the Great Temple of the Sun and the Palace of the Pharaoh.  I\t is here that the most powerful nobles of the city live; it is also includes the central market, which attracts the largest percentage of visitors to the city.  Some catfolk and cattlefolk also makes their homes here.
• Dogfolk (Western) District is located south of the Great Temple of the Sun, and includes the Lesser [or Funerary] Temple of the Sun.  Funerary processions for the royal family begin at this temple, then pass through each other district before continuing on to the royal tombs.  Some grippli, humans, and lizardfolk also make their home here.
• Tengu (Eastern or Upper) District is located east of the Great Temple of the Sun, and rests on a hill above the Peraten.  Some dwarves, nagaji, and vanaras also make their homes here.

Nefret, Chapter 6a: Garden of the Vizier's Daughter

Having returned to Peraten, despite Oshep's seemingly best efforts in Wati, you have decided to infiltrate the nobleman's estate.  The plan is as follows:  Cecil will disguise himself as a servant and sneak around the house looking for information about the Embalmers' Guild.  Posing as merchants (though not a far stretch), Pleebit, Nyala, and Jaeth (their bodyguard) will meet with [ie., distract] Oshep and Natari in Natari's garden.  While Aloysa waits at the back of the estate in the servants quarters in case of trouble, Kiji will do the same outside the front gate ... while preaching anti-heresy in the streets to gather a crowd if necessary for escape.

Rethinking Hybrid Classes - The Trickster

Back in October, I posted about the multi-classing rules in Pathfinder. I did this because I favored the hybridizing prestige classes (Arcane Trickster, Eldritch Knight, Mystic Theurge) instead of the hybrid base classes from the Advanced Class Guide--and I wanted characters who followed the prestige class path to be on-par with single-class characters.  However, this "fix" has only served to make the rules more bulky--and there is too much for players--particularity new players--to remember.

On second thought, the Magus isn't a bad class.  In fact, it is better at being an Eldritch Knight than a Fighter / Wizard / Eldritch Knight.  Are there base classes that do this for the Arcane Trickster and Mystic Theurge?  Not in the Advanced Class Guide--so my distaste for the hybrid classes in that book remains.  My distaste for the concept of hybrid classes is in question, though.

In fact, hybrid classes have been a part of Dungeons & Dragons for several edition:

• Bard = Enchanter / Rogue [originally a Fighter-Thief-Druid "prestige class"]
• Paladin = Fighter / Cleric
• Ranger = Fighter / Druid [originally also Wizard]

And Pathfinder has given us a few new ones already:

• Alchemist = Transmuter / Rogue
• Inquisitor = Cleric / Rogue
• Magus = Fighter / Wizard

Nefret, Chapter 6: Pyramid of Arithmetic Bliss

A new name for this chapter because of the direction the players went with it.  The Garden of the Vizier's Daughter shall not be forgotten, however.

You have reported to Iban concerning Ekram's exile, and he applauds your decision as being the best course of action.  While it is true that the Order of the Medjay is above the law, it is best not to have one willing to kill the Pharaoh's own free in the Pharaoh's city.  As a reward for your service, Iban has offered you a handy haversack filled with treasures--contraband that Ekram had abandoned when he was forced to leave Peraten.

Iban also has more information about the Wati murders:  Namely, that Ekram wasn't working alone.  During their interrogations, every member of Velriana's team (including Uzoma, our portly vanara hireling) had mentioned encountering a necromancer at some point during the day in question.  As these accounts did not generally agree, the necromancer was initially assumed to be a lie meant to divert attention from Velriana's motivations.  However, casual discussions with Ekram's associates revealed that the enforcer had recently begun working closely with the Embalmer's Guild--so Iban is now willing to accept the existence of a necromancer.  With the recent disappearance of specially trained embalmers, hunting down Ekram's necromancer ally has been difficult--particularly if the Medjay are, in fact, working with the guild.

Investigating the Order of the Medjay is dangerous, and Iban is afraid that his questioning into the murders has made him a target.  However, if a necromancer was involved, then the immunity of the Medjay would not protect him.  The nobleman Oshep (the one who granted Velriana access to Wati) had previously hired a team from the Embalmer's Guild to investigate a shrine in the dead city.  The leader of this team was an alchemist named Nephethus (!).  Since Nephethus "does not have any known associates in Peraten" according to Iban, he would like someone to investigate Oshep.

Simplifying Pathfinder: More than One Attack

While running my Nefret campaign and continuing to develop/convert my Monvesia campaign, I find the sleeker ruleset of 5th Edition very attractive.  Is it possible to create the same feeling for Pathfinder?  Possibly.

One major rules redundancy in Pathfinder (which is inherited from 3rd edition), is making more than one attack during combat.  Three rules systems operate simultaneously:  two-weapon fighting, natural attacks (including secondary natural attacks), and multiple attacks.  These rules are scattered throughout the combat chapter, each confusing the next.

While these rules can be understood, they present a lot of exceptions and alternate circumstances.  The fewer circumstances you have to think about during the game--the less intrusive that the rules are--the more fun the game will be.  Therefore, I propose merging the concept of off-hand attack with the secondary natural attack.  These basics of this are:

• As a full round action, a character may make as many primary and secondary attacks as one's level, feats, and race/species may allow.
• A secondary attack must be made with a light weapon (unarmed strikes and natural attacks count as light weapons)
• A secondary attack is made at -5 to the attack roll; and only one-half of a character's strength modifier (if any, rounded down) applies to damage.

Nefret, Chapter 5: Into the Valley of the Princes

It has been ten days since Aloysa left for Tamisha, and now she returns to Peraten with a spotted tiger at her heals.  Unfortunately, she returns with little additional information regarding the thrice-divided soul--merely that it is a reference to an ancient empire that ruled long before the dynasties of Nefret. The elders of Aloysa's clan do not believe this empire, said to be ruled by sphinxes, to be historical fact--merely folklore relating to the Mythic Dynasty.

Upon her return, Aloysa and Kiji are approached by Ibankhkhnum, a captain of Pharaoh's guard.  He explains that he has been assigned to investigate the murder of the Wati guards (which the party had reported).  After interrogating Velriana and Uzoma, he investigated both the Wati gate and the Sanctum of the Erudite Soul.  From this, Iban has a lead as to the whereabouts of the suspected murderer.  Unfortunately, he cannot trust his own men to investigate--for the perpetrator may be a member of the Order of Medjay, a special branch of the royal guard.  As you had expressed interest earlier in assisting the investigation, Iban was hoping that he could call on the party now.

Your particular skills, he believes, will be an asset--for he is relatively certain that the murderers are hiding out in the Valley of the Princes, beyond the Pyramid of Sekh-pa-Mefer III.  Unearthed at the same time as the pyramid, the tombs in this valley remain untouched--only a few just outside the valley, in the shadow of the pyramid, have been looted.  In addition to not being able to trust his men with the identity of the murderer, he also cannot trust them not to damage history in their investigation.  An unbiased team including both an archaeologist and an inquisitor is ideal.

Sphinxes [Etc.] of Nefret

In Nefret, the role that would traditionally be served by dragons in other fantasy settings is instead served by Sphinxes.  Because of this, one partocular aspect of the 3.x rules needs to be modified:  Creature types.  With so few dragons and dragon-kin in the world, it does not make sense for "Dragon" to be a unique creature type.  On the other hand, the prominence of sphinxes and sphinx-kin  may benefit from the creation of a "Sphinx" creature type.

Another aspect related to this that was already changed in play was the replacement of the Draconic language with the Sphinx language where it applies to arcane magic.  Furthermore, sorcerers do not have the option of a draconic bloodline (neither a sphinx bloodline, for that matter).