Planescape: Pharaoh's Afterlife (5E, LGBTQ+ friendly)

[TheKhan]

I was also hoping to use a Fighting Style presented in The Huntsmans expanded blood hunter orders those fighting styles also appear in their fighter archetype book as well.

Specifically the Brawling Fighting style, which lets me make a Second attack as a bonus action with the unarmed strike. Both are Pay what you want.

Yeah, that should probably be doable.

[pdragon]

@Dhi
I can definitely see them having to travel together to deal with far off enemies and threats, or just accompanying various important caravans and the like. I think in his earlier life Shifra wasn't so concerned with forming particularly deep connections. He always attempted to be kind and pleasant to his fellow servants, but he probably wouldn't be too caught up over it if they didn't hit it off at first. Maybe Hent didn't know about his disability and thought he was just giving her the silent treatment on purpose just to mess with her? I could see that creating a few awkward road trips. 

[Winds Of Lust]

Winds of Lust - what distinguishes monasticism in Atenkemet from other orders of warrior-cenobites and how did that shape Bast's view of the world? I was interested in your take on their androgyny, since tieflings, like genasi, are liminal cultures that would likely have very different views of gender relative to humans or other baseline races.

Oh my god so many good question askers in this group! I love it.

(( As long as none of this conflicts with TheKhan's view of the setting ))

I picture the monks of the great temple, and most specifically those who practice the style of 'The fist of Ra', and both warriors and religious figures.  They are the servants of the gods, the mortal embodiment of their power as proof by their ability to weaponize radiant light and fire. As servants of the gods that make them servants of the Pharaoh, who is a god incarnate. While members of their order are deployed on the will of the high priests and the Pharaoh themselves to deal with problems that require a martial and/or divine touch, they also serve as important ritualistic nature, performing roles in various religious ceremonies as those who have devoted their lives as both servants and representatives of the gods martial will on the mortal plane. Those asked to walk the active warrior path are stationed in various ways, either in areas that require that extra martial muscle or as guards of the Pharaoh and their family. Those who are not called to leave the temple walls to stay and continue to perfect and pass on their art, as well as take place in the ritualistic worship of the various gods.

While the name would imply a specific allegiance to Ra, this is not necessarily true, as loyalty to the king of the gods is seen as loyalty to the pantheon. Legend has it that the one who taught the first mortals this style was not RA,  or even any of the other various gods who claim ownership of the sun from time to time, but from Sekhmet. Who was originally born as a manifestation of Ra's might and wrath at the mortal world for starting to forget him, and later was mellowed out into a guardian of Pharaoh and master of the art of war when mortals learned their lesson. She taught this style of combat as both a way to make them mightier but also a reminder to never lose their respect for any of the gods again. Hence why they are heavily tied to the great temple and the active worship.

to that end, Bast does wholeheartedly want to make the gods proud, but they want to do it on their own terms. They are young and have trouble seeing the long term glory of training future generations or perform the rituals that honor the gods.  They rather be an active agent than a passive one, perhaps making them a bit over zealous in situations where they feel they might A) act in a manner that could be seen as heroic or glorious and B) where their gods and religion are being disrespected and thus their wrath must be dealt out.

My primary thought on their androgyny is actually somewhat of a religious take. Bast is several layers separated from any unified typical culture at this point given his race and upbringing. They weren't raised as tiefling, but as an acolyte and monk, and while there were certain roles and ceremonies in the temple that were largely performed just my men or women, Many Egyptian gods have both a masculine and feminine persona/aspect, and that helped inform their own identity on the topic. Likewise, they weren't the only one, and those who tended to have non-binary, or fluid identity would be asked to serve in the rituals honoring these non-binary or fluid gods.

[TheKhan]

(( As long as none of this conflicts with TheKhan's view of the setting ))

Seems all good to me! I intentionally left Atenkemet as blank slate for everyone to fill in. As for the gods... well gods have a way of resisting the simplistic categories we mortals love so much!

FYI though, your character sheet link appears to have broken. I'm getting an "item not found" when I follow it.

[clonkertink]

Seriously, props to MdG and Dhi for the questions. I really appreciate the level of work you guys are putting in, going through all our backstories.

clonkertink, how does Kesi view dancing? Is it an art she practised, or an unfulfilled ambition?

Kesi feels like dance is her foremost purpose. Music, dancing, and swordplay are all things she was taught at the Pharaoh's court, and she was taught these things that her skill might please the Pharaoh. Obviously, there is still much for her to learn in this regard, but she views perfection of these arts as her foremost duty. There's probably some element of Aristotle in her thinking:

The happy life is thought to be one of excellence; now an excellent life requires exertion, and does not consist in amusement. If Eudaimonia, or happiness, is activity in accordance with excellence, it is reasonable that it should be in accordance with the highest excellence; and this will be that of the best thing in us.

-Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics

Not that she's read Aristotle, but somewhere along the line this kind of thinking entered her mind. To her, happiness is achieved by perfecting herself for the sake of her Pharaoh, and Dance is one of the primary areas in which she must seek perfection. It is her assigned purpose.

There is a small, nagging doubt that perhaps there may be more to her life, but she tends to assume this is a sign of her imperfection, and hence the true source of any lingering dissatisfaction.

[TheKhan]

Not that she's read Aristotle, but somewhere along the line this kind of thinking entered her mind.

Now, that said, if you played your cards right, meeting Aristotle could be on the table...

Anyhow, I just had a thought and everyone can take it or leave it as they wish. A big part of the Kemetic afterlife is the Ba's journey back to the khat, the physical corpse. Since you are journeying into the afterlife, you won't leave a physical corpse on the material plane, so your tombs will use ushabti statues as proxies. It is possible that you are leaving a mummified piece of your body behind to increase the sympathetic resonance between ushabti and your soul (and so part of your khat is on the material plane). Think about if your character would want to go that route. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything big, and I'm assuming none of you are going to be pulling a Wesir and be missing reproductive organs. I'd say regeneration could also be possible, as would be harvesting and embalming part of your body that you can survive without, such as a kidney or appendix. Anyhow, not necessary, just something to think about.

Also, the discussions everyone has been getting into are very promising and enjoyable to read. I'm taking that as a good sign for this game. Keep it up!

[clonkertink]

Ooh, it's hard to think of any part of Kesi's body that she could give up. Her whole dancer schtick would probably take a hit if she left a fingertip or toe behind.

That said, a lock of hair or a vial of blood seems like something reasonable she could give up. Something that can regrow, and wouldn't throw off her balance.

[TheKhan]

Ooh, it's hard to think of any part of Kesi's body that she could give up. Her whole dancer schtick would probably take a hit if she left a fingertip or toe behind.

That said, a lock of hair or a vial of blood seems like something reasonable she could give up. Something that can regrow, and wouldn't throw off her balance.

Yeah, maiming does not have to be necessary. Something like alchemically preserved blood would probably fit right in with the Ancient Egyptian theme.

[Winds Of Lust]

Seems all good to me! I intentionally left Atenkemet as blank slate for everyone to fill in. As for the gods... well gods have a way of resisting the simplistic categories we mortals love so much!

FYI though, your character sheet link appears to have broken. I'm getting an "item not found" when I follow it.

Coolio. I am also quite open if you or anyone else has comment or suggestions on the character or the nature of the fist of ra

Hmmmm that's odd, well I put up a new link that seems to be working for me, so hopefully, this one sticks? please let me know if you encounter any other problems

[Isengrad]

Now, that said, if you played your cards right, meeting Aristotle could be on the table...

Anyhow, I just had a thought and everyone can take it or leave it as they wish. A big part of the Kemetic afterlife is the Ba's journey back to the khat, the physical corpse. Since you are journeying into the afterlife, you won't leave a physical corpse on the material plane, so your tombs will use ushabti statues as proxies. It is possible that you are leaving a mummified piece of your body behind to increase the sympathetic resonance between ushabti and your soul (and so part of your khat is on the material plane). Think about if your character would want to go that route. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything big, and I'm assuming none of you are going to be pulling a Wesir and be missing reproductive organs. I'd say regeneration could also be possible, as would be harvesting and embalming part of your body that you can survive without, such as a kidney or appendix. Anyhow, not necessary, just something to think about.

Also, the discussions everyone has been getting into are very promising and enjoyable to read. I'm taking that as a good sign for this game. Keep it up!

Remember there are 5 parts to the Soul in Egyptian Magic and philosophy. While we would be united with our bodies and would not be our BA within the Duat, we could actually be leaving behind our Shuet, our shadow bound with magics. Using the Shuet would keep the sympathetic magics very strong.

[TheKhan]

Remember there are 5 parts to the Soul in Egyptian Magic and philosophy. While we would be united with our bodies and would not be our BA within the Duat, we could actually be leaving behind our Shuet, our shadow bound with magics. Using the Shuet would keep the sympathetic magics very strong.

That's possible, although since the Sheut is part of the soul itself and you are not actually dead yet, just symbolically/culturally, it should still be a part of you. Although if you can build a whole character around that hook, go for it.

[Dhi]

I like the idea of Hent Ta Mehu leaving behind her shadow. I was trying to think of something else she could leave behind to serve as totemic warden of Et Ozet. An eye, maybe? But a shadow, with lingering traces of its host, is even better. It could open the door to interesting Shadowfell adventures too, if we need to obtain new shadows, or rescue our old shadows, or become entangled with shadow powers somehow.

Hent Ta Mehu is going to have an interest in those kind of alien landscapes. Beastlands or Arborea seem like the obvious choice for a hunter, but I think what would really excite her are complete unknowns like Mechanus, Pandemonium, Gehenna, the Deep Ethereal.

pdragon, what do you think about basing some rudimentary sign language around hieroglyphics? If we're literate in a pictogram language, maybe certain hand postures already mean something to us.

[Isengrad]

I only really based the idea off of Rick Ridorans work,  It was Full of Pharaohs and Gods hiding their Sheut.. Since while it is part of the soul it exists a part from it, it kinda functions as the backup copy of a soul. Though a lock of Hair or blood should work as well.

[TheKhan]

I only really based the idea off of Rick Ridorans work,  It was Full of Pharaohs and Gods hiding their Sheut.. Since while it is part of the soul it exists a part from it, it kinda functions as the backup copy of a soul. Though a lock of Hair or blood should work as well.

Ah, that would make sense. I haven't gotten that far in his books yet. You could make it work if you wanted but from my readings of Ancient Egyptian cosmology, the sheut is part of the soul that ends up in the afterlife.

[TheKhan]

I like the idea of Hent Ta Mehu leaving behind her shadow. I was trying to think of something else she could leave behind to serve as totemic warden of Et Ozet. An eye, maybe? But a shadow, with lingering traces of its host, is even better. It could open the door to interesting Shadowfell adventures too, if we need to obtain new shadows, or rescue our old shadows, or become entangled with shadow powers somehow.

Good points! My cosmology incorporates Shadowfell/the Plane of Shadow together from across all versions of D&D, but that includes Pathfinder too, so trips to the Plane of Shadow could lead you to deal with the Raven Queen... or it could mean Kytons everywhere...

[Velatha]

Wow...  This was a long hard week, but now my weekend finally begins so I can begin work on my character in earnest!  Will be editing this over the next little while as my computer is very prone to suddenly blue screen and I really don't want to suddenly lose hours worth of work again...  Wow...  or again.  This is getting old fast.

Name: Nyar Lithe Hotep
Race: Tabaxi
Class: Warlock (Celestial)
Alignment: Chaotic Good

History: Legends of what was, stories of what is, and prophesies of what will be... what do these things have in common?  The most interesting moments in history revolve around magic.  It is said that arithmetic is the one great truth of the universe, but what if magic was a second absolute?  This way of thinking plagued a young woman living in the wastes of the desert.  She was determined to learn to harness the mysterious power to further study into the very nature of the mystical arts.

Learning from books, and praying to the gods never imparted her with any newfound wisdom.  The magic of music never sprang forth from her, and despite her desperate pilgrimages to where magical leylines cross and locations of ancient battles, she never erupted in spontaneous awakening.  Through her work however she began to find scattered pieces of a puzzle.  Over years she catalogued her findings and looked upon a secret from a forgotten time.

It would be dangerous, would almost certainly end in her death, but in possession of a clue to began a new journey to meet The Sphinx.  How poetic that one who could not achieve her goal through traditional knowledge should only find solace with a creature cursed with silence.  A lost temple full of trapped rooms and illusions with only riddles to serve as a guide to safety ended in her goal, and a deal.  Tasked with a challenge to prove her ideas to the great beast, she made her way to Atenkemet to begin her research.

Quickly proving her worth to the Pharaoh, she began to serve the realm as a court magician, medicine woman, and eventually advisor to the great Akenisis.  The journey into the afterlife seemed to be the perfect way to come just one step closer to learning more of the fundamental question "What is magic?"

Personality: Bubbly and personable Nyar bounds from place to place as she chases the wind, believing the weather to be a form of elemental magic to sustain the balance of the natural world.  Armed with countless other wild declarations of what she believes constitutes as magic, her eyes never land in the same place twice, and seldom linger for longer than a moment.  With so much to learn, she grows very impatient when forced into situations she finds too mundane.


Aspirations:
Major - Nyar will continue to learn, hoping to unravel the mysteries of magic
Minor - 1. Experiment with sex magic
2. Befriend a faerie


Tomb: Nyar's Tomb rises from the ground as a dark spire.  Multiple tiers rise up higher into the sky filled with all sorts of curiosities, each room with it's own theme and library.  Books filled with hasty scribbles range from topics of schools of magic, the occult, sex, weather, art, music, and more fill bookshelves.  Traps are notably absent, however a increasingly difficult puzzles related to the room bar entry to the next floor until a lesson is learned.

Sexuality: Lesbian

[Dhi]

From Hent Ta Mehu's strengths I think she could adopt the role of cooking for a party.

I wrote a description of her, for first impression's sake:

Appearance:
Softly walks on a lonesome desert dune a black cat in the shape of a woman, green eyes to the moon in a nocturnal prowl uniting all the unseen beasts under a low, bass heartbeat. Such a vain animal, boasting her solitary prosperity like gaudy cactus flower in roving, untamed mane and braids and chiney bumps auburn umbra, flowing down shoulders restless in estrus with the burden of a low-slung pack. That vanity is a bedeviling, and her words are teasing, pleasing, never releasing once the claw has found purchase. Flirtatious urtication, polished buttery smooth by sandstorm grit, comes unbidden from black-painted lips. She smiles, starlight sparkle in olive hazel eyes, but a black cat is temperamental and goes unfettered.

[Isengrad]

   Amennekht, Royal guard
   Neutral good Fighter(brute), Royal Guard to Akhenisis

History: That night would be something that he remembers for the rest of his life and the next. The screams, the blood, the roars of defiance cut short. He still wakes up in the middle of the night, proud heart beating in his chest ready to strike back. It's always the same, hes left staring at nothing, bathed in the moonlight of Amonkhet and staring at the peaceful scene that laid before him. He would recoil, question why he alone was spared that night, question if he could have done something to save them and turn back over to fall back into a troubled sleep. indistinct images of the beast, the creature from some other realm of existence...or perhaps from deep in the Duat that laid waste to his pride but let him live.

Following that night he was found days later coming into the city, and for some reason the Pharaoh took pity on him, or perhaps she saw something more in him than what his young frame promised. He was given a home, and given a purpose to the one that took him in. He was trained, he was given an opportunity to thank her by guarding her from those that would harm her. He filled out, he became proud and strong..though the weight of his survival still weighed on his heart. He offers apologies tot he dead every morning when he wakes, Ras blessing heating his fur knowing that those that passed that night may only get a fleeting glimpse of this.

When the Pharaoh died he was more than willing, more than appreciative to be told he would accompany her on her trip through the Duat..that he would serve as her protector. Who knows, maybe this trip through the underworld would lighten the burden placed on his heart.

Personality: Proud and protective, he is every bit the lion he resembles. Protective of those in his charge and viscous in his assaults. He is head strong and unbending in his resolve. Those that look in his eyes can see a shadow of his past still apparent there, but showing through that is the spark of a good soul, and that is all he tries to be. A good guard, a Good friend, and a Good man.

Appearance: This Man is a towering mass of coiled muscle and steel given the form of a Lion. Wisps of smoke tend to rise form his armor from time to time, the chainmail adorned with reliefs of  Lions and an Image of Sekhmet on the back. What fur is exposed is a sun bleached tan. His Helm is molded after his own visage and functions more as a mask then such, it letting his mane flow free but casting the top of his face in a bronze visage, the shadow of his past becoming a red glow that smolders within his eyes. He is the strength of the Pharaoh, and feels a good first impression does wonders for would be attackers.

Aspirations:

• Short term:To find a way to remove the sense of guilt he feels everyday, knowing that should he pass without doing so, the weight on his heart would doom it to be devoured by Ammit when it was weighed against Ma'at
• Short term: Find the truth of what happened that night, so many of his memories are clouded, this could be a good or bad thing at the Gm's discretion..and may or may not effect the First aspiration.
• Long term: Ultimately I want to see him become a healthy individual, even if that means working through an uncomfortable truth. To come into his own power, and with a New pride he can call his own, either by blood or bond.

Tomb: His tomb is placed on the edge of the grasslands, The archway and door carved with scenes of the surrounding wildlife. As you descend the stairs the torches are set into the wall, the fire burning bright. Each hollow has a figurine to Sekhmet. His tomb has a Heavy Sarcophagi set against a wall, a relief of the massive lion man carved into the lid. At it's base are Lions claws, weapons and armor reflecting his life as a guard. The ceiling in the cave looks natural but the walls are adored with an account of his life, including the shadow that followed him throughout most of it. Beside his sarcophagi rest two braziers, here a perfumed oil burns slowly, smell of Rose, sandalwood, and bergamot.

Sexuality: For the most part Amen is just a sexual being, he prefers a feminine form, but what actually rests between your legs matter little to him. He tends to be a top, even forceful at times.

[pdragon]

pdragon, what do you think about basing some rudimentary sign language around hieroglyphics? If we're literate in a pictogram language, maybe certain hand postures already mean something to us.

Hmm, it's an interesting idea, though I'm not sure how well it would fit. I'm not sure if the setting would have had any preexisting sign langauge of any kind, plus it's not like he's deaf, he just can't talk. So it's not like people can't communicate TO him, he just can't communicate back as fluently, which given his position as a servant I doubt many people would have cared that much about. 90% of the time people are talking to him it's to instruct him to do something, which doesn't require much more than a nod of confirmation in response. So long as he can understand what others are saying to him and can respond with basic gestures and expressions, I don't think most people in the setting would bother learning a whole extra skillset just to accommodate a single mute. I imagine whenever he has to communicate something more complex he just writes it down, or cleverly uses his flute to cast illusions that communicate what he's thinking, even as bluntly as just using it to write what he's saying in the air.

[Dhi]

Ohh, the flute can write. That makes sense.

Velatha, if magic is the most fundamental science, what does Nyar Lithe Hotep make of those who claim their magic is granted by gods, or from nature? Are the gods charlatans?

MdG, Tey is almost certainly a playmate for Hent Ta Mehu's friendly competition. What will it take to pull her from her work and get her to engage?

Isengrad, what was Amennekht like before the night that set him on this grim purpose?

[Velatha]

Not a fundamental science at all!  Fundamental truth.  Mathmatics work because no matter which of the multiple ways you take to solve an equation, the answer is always the same.

The definition of magic is as follows: The power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.  If this is so, and this occurs the answer must be magic no matter how you got there.  But why did it happen?  How does the same force yield itself in so many ways?  Are we controlling it or does it work itself through us?  So many questions and so little time!  Come on we're wasting time let's go!


Question for TheKhan.  I may be stretching things a bit but would leaving behind her Ren be acceptable.  That and her library staying behind give a literal and symbolic meaning of leaving behind her memory.  The other pieces of her soul would keep her personality and a note for herself the new name.  A cute new twist of a name found scribbled in a long lost time.

[Isengrad]

Isengrad, what was Amennekht like before the night that set him on this grim purpose?

He was learning to hunt, the Pride roamed the plains that bordered Amonkhet, in a way serving as the first line a defense from any hostile forces from other planes. The Dynamic would mimic lions in real life. Meaning what he lost that night was mostly family. I imagine he was just approaching adult hood, Playful but learning to take a more active role in the defense of the pride and the lands behind it.

I tried my best to leave that night vague, with the haunted one background (I think that came from curse of strahd) It actually opens it up to explore elements of PTSD and Survivors guilt with him, especially as that pertains to the Egyptian afterlife, where The weight of guilt can make your heart heavier then the feather of truth.

I also tried to tie in the cultural significance of Lions to the Egyptian culture, them being viewed as protectors..since they lived at the edges of the desert they became known as the guardians where the sun rose and set. So, yeah.. that.

[Dhi]

Hent Ta Mehu could take him on a hunt. I'm sure in the 15-20 years since then he's killed for food, but the ritual of it might be missing from his life.

[clonkertink]

Not a fundamental science at all!  Fundamental truth.  Mathmatics work because no matter which of the multiple ways you take to solve an equation, the answer is always the same.

As someone who tends to play wizards as very advanced mathematicians... I like you.

[clonkertink]

Alright, I think I need to get in on the question game here. I might do them in batches, but hopefully I can get to everyone's characters.

Velatha: How would Nyar react to a "Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem" in magic? In other words, how would she feel if she saw concrete proof that certain questions in magic are fundamentally undecidable or unknowable? (Seriously, I have a soft spot in my heart for mathematically-inspired magic users).

Dhi: Where does Hent Ta Mehu draw the line between duty and love for the Pharaoh? Was there an element of informal friendship to their relationship, or did Hent Ta Mehu do her best to keep things "professional" despite her feelings?

MdG: Does Tey hold any worry that her service to the Pharaoh and her desire for personal fame might conflict? If one of the Greater Powers offered her the opportunity to create even grander architectural marvels, how would she react?

I'll try and post a few more questions later.