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.

Trickster Spell List

In my last post, I introduced a Trickster base class for Pathfinder.  This class combines low-level elements of the rogue and wizard with the arcane trickster prestige class.  Though I am not the first to have created this type of hybrid, my version is particular to my current Pathfinder campaign--made for a specific player whose multi-classing placed his character behind his peers.

By crafting a new base class, it also gives me the chance to customize the class's spell list.  Like the Magus, the Trickster has a spell book that must be studied, but may only learn spells from his class list.  Spells were selected for this list base on reinforcing roguish abilities; over-the-top, flashy spells were either left our, or increased in level for this class.  As with the class itself, play-testing will likely result in modifications to this spell list. 

There has been talk among my players about creating archetypes for this class as well--but we will see what our needs are.

0-Level

Acid Splash: Orb deals 1d3 acid damage.
Dancing Lights: Creates torches or other lights.
Daze: A single humanoid creature with 4 HD or less loses its next action.
Detect Magic: Detects all spells and magic items within 60 ft.
Flare: Dazzles one creature (–1 on attack rolls).
Ghost Sound: Figment sounds.
Know Direction: You discern north.
Light: Object shines like a torch.
Mage Hand: 5-pound telekinesis.
Open/Close: Opens or closes small or light things.
Prestidigitation: Performs minor tricks.
Ray of Frost: Ray deals 1d3 cold damage.
Read Magic: Read scrolls and spellbooks.
Sift: See area as though examining it.
Spark: Ignites flammable objects.

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.