Valley of the Pharaohs: State of De-Nile

[J. Lionheart]

Greetings all!

I'm creating this new thread to provide some background for my game at the Open House, and gauge interest. Normally I wouldn't do an entire thread, but as this will be a Valley of the Pharaohs game, unlike any other game in the Palladium system, I figured I could get away with it.

Here is the "official description" I submitted, followed by some additional background for players trying to make the decision whether or not they want to take the plunge.

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GAME INFO:

System: Valley of the Pharaohs
Game Title: "State of De-Nile"
Max players: 10
Run time: Approximately 4 hours
Description: It is a rare, overcast day in the land of the Nile. The god-statues of Nekhebet and Vatchet have been stolen from their temples by cultists of Kharnbu the Four Ways Wicked. This heinous crime leaves Ra blind on his nightly boat ride through Taut, and cripples him in his fight against Apep to bring the sun back to the kingdom of Kemet each day.

The players, selected to be champions through the visions of the high priests, must pursue the cultists and rescue the gods before they can be destroyed. If night falls before the rescue can be made, the priests fear day may never come again.

No experience playing Valley of the Pharaohs is required, though players are encouraged to print out the free copy of the system from the Cutting Room Floor and bring it along. An introduction to the system will be included at the beginning of the game, and all characters are provided.

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BACKGROUND:

In the belief structure of the world of our characters, Ra, the Sun God, travels daily around the world in his boat. During the day, we can see him, but at night, he is sailing through the underworld of Taut, a very dangerous place. To aid him on his trip, he is assisted by a crew of others - his boat captain, Horus, his allies, Thoth and Maat, and his eyes, Nekhebet and Vatchet. They battle against many creatures, the most horrible of whom is the great serpent Apep. Ra must battle Apep at the darkest hour of night, in order to rise the next day.

In the inner sanctum of the high temple of each god, a statue of the god is kept. The statue is believed not just to represent the god, but to be the god. The statue is treated with all reverence due a deity, and that which happens to the statue, happens to the god. If the statue is abducted, the god is abducted, and will no longer be able to performs its duties. The characters of this scenario are the rescue party, envisioned by the high priests, sent to recover the gods and bring their abductors to justice.

USEFUL VOCABULARY:

Ra: The Sun God, the first god, and the creator of all things. Represented as a man with a hawk's head.
Nekhebet: Ra's right eye, during his nightly trip through Taut. Patron of Upper Egypt, represented as a woman with a vulture head.
Vatchet: Ra's left eye, during his nightly trip through Taut. Patron of Lower Egypt, represented as a winged serpent.
Apep: The greatest of the serpents Ra must defeat in order to rise in the morning. Has many names, including Kharnbu the Four Ways Wicked.
Kemet: Ancient name of Egypt. Literally "The Black Land," for the fertile, dark colored soil deposited by the Nile.

OTHER:

If people have questions regarding the game, or just are interested in joining, feel free to either post here or PM me, and I'll reply as soon as I can. I've requested a game time on Saturday, starting between 10AM and Noon, but that is subject to their scheduling needs, obviously.

As time and finances allow, I'll do my best to have some minor props and tools that will help make things clear, as well as adding to the atmosphere. I'll also try to have some prizes or "party favors" for the players, to spice up the event.

See you at the table!

[J. Lionheart]

is velley of the pharoahs megaversal

No.

VotP is completely its own system, with only vague similarities to most Palladium fare (it pre-dates just about everything else).

[Spinachcat]

That sounds like an AWESOME adventure! If I am free Sat morning, I will aim for your event. I don't know when my own will be scheduled as yet.

BTW, how many hours are you planning for De-Nile?

If you looking for Egyptian minis, I have two recommendations - the game Wargods of Aegyptus has a huge line of Egyptian themed fantasy metal figures, but they ain't cheap. The other option is much cheaper - they are printable paper miniatures from RPGNow called the Egyptian Set from Arion Games.

[J. Lionheart]

The game, including a brief introduction to the VotP system, should be about 4 hours real time. If things go as anticipated (I spoke with Brandon today), we will not conflict with the costume contest, for anybody caring about that. In game terms, all the action takes place in the course of a single game day, between dawn and dusk.

I think I'm going to avoid minis at this point, but thank you for the suggestion. I never know from moment to moment what new inspiration will strike, so I may end up twisting that direction.

Another question I was asked was about age-appropriateness. All I ask is that participants be mature players. Not "mature" as in NC17, "mature" as in "won't cry when Kharnbu the Four Ways Wicked eats their soul." All ages are welcome, if they're a good gamer.

[J. Lionheart]

I'd like to play if there is room.

Maybe I missed it, but are you providing characters, or do we make our own?

You're certainly welcome to join! I will be providing characters for everybody to choose from. I encourage you to read the VotP material available on the cutting room floor, to get an idea of how things work and perhaps what class(es) you might like to play. I'll do an intro before handing out character sheets for people to choose from though, so everybody will at least have some grounds for understanding their characters and their capabilities.


Scott:

Would love to have you! I, too, am hoping not to overlap with some other things I'd really like to participate in, but I'm very much looking forward to running a game from PB's deep dark past

The name to look for on the board game is "Matthew Balent," as he's the fellow responsible for much/most of the VotP material. I don't believe they are related at all, but always worth taking a peek at.

[Tor]

Just noticed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_the_Pharaohs mentioned in the Palladium template. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... GCover.jpg looks like a neat game. It makes me wonder if this could be adapted into games like N&SS (egyptian martial arts?) or anything involving the Church of Light and Dark, like Thoth or Anubis or whatever.

I am also wondering how this game ended up going.

[Jorel]

Arise o mummy thread.

[Shawn Merrow]

Arise o mummy thread.

Does seem fitting.


For those interested you can find The Valley of the Pharaohs up on DriveThruRPG.