GURPS (4th ed.)-Temple of the Lost Gods.pdf

Temple of the Lost Gods

AN e23 ADVENTURE SETTING

for GURPS ® from

STEVE JACKSON GAMES

FOR 3 TO 6 PLAYERS

Written by Chad Underkoffler

Edited by Scott Haring

Illustrated by Bob Stevlic, Dan Smith,

and Guy Burwell

Maps by Scott Reeves

Welcome to The Temple of the Lost Gods ! This

multi-purpose setting can serve as the starting point,

base of operations, scenery, or goal of a wide variety

of adventures. Follow along and watch it from its

glorious beginning, through its growth over the cen-

turies, to its eventual collapse and decay. Each peri-

od offers different adventuring opportunities; differ-

ent adversaries, and ideas how to slot the Temple into

your current campaign, whatever, wherever, or

whenever it may be.

This book uses a quick and easy abridgement

of the GURPS rules called GURPS Lite , designed

to get you – and your players – right into the

action. GURPS Lite is available free at

www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite .

About the Author

Chad Underkoffler is an editor for a telecommu-

nications standards body by day and a freelance

game writer by night. He’s been gaming since 1981,

to the confusion of his family. His column

“Campaign in a Box” appears bimonthly in Pyramid

( www.sjgames.com/pyramid/ ) along with several arti-

cles, he’s written for Atlas Games’ Unknown Armies

line, and his website can be found at www.geoci-

ties.com/chadu/ . This is his first campaign creation

for Steve Jackson Games. He lives in Alexandria,

Virginia, with his wife Beth and their two black cats.

GURPS , Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve

Jackson Games Incorporated. Pyramid , Temple of the Lost Gods , e23, and the names of all

products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trade-

Steve Jackson Games Incorporated.

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other

means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please pur-

chase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic

piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

STEVE JACKSON GAMES

e23.sjgames.com

Stock #82-0006

Version 1.0 August 23, 2004

1. T HE H ISTORY OF THE T EMPLE

OF THE L OST G ODS . . . . . . . . 3

T HE F AITH OF THE L OST G ODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

GURPS Temple of the Lost Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Kingdom of Darliku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Solar Pantheon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Phase 1: The Founding of the Temple . . . . . . . . . 4

List of Known Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

A Few Lost Gods and Their Function . . . . . . . . . 5

Special Holidays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Symbol of the Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Golden Feathers of Zedev . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Holy Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Challenges of the New Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Madat, the First Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Phase 1 Adventure Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Temple Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

T HE F OUNDING OF THE T EMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The Role of Temple Priests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

H YPOCAUST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

P HASE 2: T HE G OLDEN Y EARS OF G ROWTH . . . . . . . 11

Growth of the Faith of the Lost Gods . . . . . . . . 11

Changes in the Priests of the Solar Pantheon . . 12

Changes in the Faith and the Priesthood . . . . . . 12

Changes in the Role of Temple Priests . . . . . . . . 13

Priest-Devotees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Phase 2 Adventure Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

T HE G OLDEN A GE OF G ROWTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Priest-Wanderer Azeeg (the Small) . . . . . . . . . . 15

Temple Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

U NDERGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

P HASE 3: T HE M ADNESS P LAGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

A Sickness of Sanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Origins of the Madness Plague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Rules for the Madness Plague . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Phase 3 Adventure Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Changes in the Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Changes in the Faith and the Priesthood . . . . . . 20

Priest-Finder Danvik . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

T HE M ADNESS P LAGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Repairs & Additions in the Plague Years . . . . . . 21

The Final Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

U NDERGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

P HASE 4: T HE Y EARS OF B LOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Domestic Troubles in the Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . 22

Foreign Invasion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Changes in the Faith and the Priesthood . . . . . . 23

Changes in the Role of Temple Priests . . . . . . . . 23

Priest-Defenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Consolidation and Fortification of the Temple . . 24

Luessa, Priest-Devotee of Rybeal . . . . . . . . . . . 24

The Shield of Mists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

T HE Y EARS OF B LOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Phase 4 Adventure Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

U NDERGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Defender-Devotee Luessa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Restoration or Desolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

P HASE 5: T HE L AST P RIEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Ayzhurov, the Last Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Phase 5 Adventure Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Changes in the Faith and the Priesthood . . . . . . 28

Changes in the Days of the Last Priest . . . . . . . 28

The Husbandry Pit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

T HE L AST P RIEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The Apotheosis Tomb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

U NDERGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Temple Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

2. T HE T EMPLE C OMPLEX . . . . 32

P HASE 6: T HE W ORLD A BIDES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Important Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Who (or What) Inhabits the Temple Now? . . . . 33

Chimerae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Surface Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

T HE W ORLD A BIDES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Secret Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Temple Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Underground Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

U NDERGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

What’s the Last Priest Doing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

How Many Priests? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

The Eye of Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Where’s the Treasure? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

The Mirror of Heaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The Gods Magnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Hooking Up the Juice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

3. U SING THE T EMPLE . . . . . . . 42

B ASIC C ONCEPTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

The Lost Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Priest Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Relationship to the PCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Future Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

G ENRE AND S ETTING M ODIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Fantasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Historical, More-or-Less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Valley Invaders! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Modern Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Horror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Science Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

T HE T EMPLE R AIDERS C AMPAIGN (P HASE 6) . . . . . . 46

Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Neighbors of the Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Why Should We Care? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Gwen Jaworski, ForeCorp Team Leader . . . . . . 47

Outfitting an Expedition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Traveling Into the Misty Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Finding the Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Confrontation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Aftermath & Ramifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

A PPENDIX : A DDITIONAL R ULES 50

A DVANTAGES , D ISADVANTAGES , AND S KILLS . . . . . . 50

Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

New Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

New Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

R EALM AND T EMPLE M AGIC S YSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Basic Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Wizards vs. Priests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Wizard-Priests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Synergy of Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Learning Realm and Temple Magic . . . . . . . . . 54

Way & Word Choics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

The Way of What? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Casting Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Spontaneious Spells vs. Set Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Building Set Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Spell Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Learning Set Spells Without the Relevant Way . . 61

T ABLES OF THE L OST G ODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

A LPHABETICALLY BY N AME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

A LPHABETICALLY BY S PHERE OF I NFLUENCE . . . . . . . 65

C HRONOLOGICALLY BY H OLY D AY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

THE TEMPLE OF THE LOST GODS

1.The History of

the Temple of the

Lost Gods

Over several centuries, the Temple of the Lost

Gods served as a source of knowledge, comfort, and

meaning to the people of the kingdom of Darliku.

But, like all things, the Temple, its faith, its follow-

ers, and Darliku itself withered into the dust of histo-

ry. Follow now the rise and fall of the Temple of the

Lost Gods.

GURPS T EMPLE OF

THE L OST G ODS

This setting is intended to be used with

the GURPS Lite rules – available for free

at www.sjgames.com/gurps/lite – along

with the additional rules found in the

Appendix , pp. 50-61.

The Faith of

the Lost Gods

As revealed to Madat, the First Priest, by Zedev

the Messenger : A thousand years ago, the gods

fought a mighty war in heaven. The skies raged, the

earth shook, and the seas boiled as their fell weapons

clashed and rang. It is unknown what the war was all

about – Zedev refused to tell Madat – but the First

Priest believed it had to do with humanity. After

decades of bloody conflict, something terrible hap-

pened.

Against their wills, the warring gods were flung

away from the world, cast into Heaven at great

speed. So fast, in fact, that for centuries, their divine

powers could not even slow them down, much less

return them to the world. The gods found themselves

scattered in the darkness of the night sky. Three hun-

dred and sixty of those bright pinpricks that people

name “stars” are actually Lost Gods.

Meanwhile, back on the world, those gods and

spirits who had refused to take up arms in the War

assumed the positions and roles of the missing. The

Sun is not the first solar deity the world has known,

and the Moon himself was born of commingled

T HE K INGDOM OF

D ARLIKU

Darliku is a medium-sized nation. Half

of the land is broad, temperate plains, the

other half is rolling, forested hills. The

largest city is the capital, Fizvarlu, with a

population of around 50,000. Common

trade goods are millet, rye, oats, and

apples, as well as copper mined from the

mountains on the southern border.

At the beginning of the Phase 1 period

(p. 4), King Gwithdor rules Darliku. His

warband is composed of wealthy noble-

men, and the wizard and spymaster Madat

supports his reign. While magic exists, it is

only within the past century that it has

been made to work for the kingdom rather

than against it (in the form of evil magi-

cian-warlords). Through Madat’s wiles

and skill, King Gwithdor successfully

strengthens the boundaries of his realm

against his raid-happy neighbors. He then

passes his crown to his son, Gwindku,

who is counseled by Madat’s daughter, the

wizard Rayda.

THE TEMPLE OF THE LOST GODS

divine and human blood (that is why he wanes and

vanishes from the skies: he must rest his human half

one night each month). Alas, while the New Gods

have learned quickly and often try their best, they

cannot entirely fulfill the Lost Gods’ responsibilities

– and that is why there is unnecessary pain, sadness,

sickness, and death. If the Lost Gods could return, all

would be set right, and such things would only hap-

pen for a reason.

The return of the Lost Gods is the mission of the

Temple and the faith. According to The Testament of

the Messenger , “the prayers of the faithful are as a

path through the forest, as a beacon in the night, as a

rope thrown to a drowning man.” To this end, the

priests of the Temple direct their prayers skyward in

the Rite of Rescue, concentrating on a specific star

each night and the following day, to lead the Lost

God home. Down this path of devotion, the Lost God

may send powers and knowledge to his rescuers,

even as he speeds along it toward the world.

The orisons of the pure shine brighter in the Lost

Gods’ eyes. For that reason, each priest and partici-

pant in the Rite of Rescue must strive to embody the

Tenets of Virtue (Generosity, Hospitality, Hope, and

Aptitude) as best they can. Each night of the year –

except August 19th, the day reserved to the memory

of the Messenger, Zedev, the Lord of Speed – the

Rite of Rescue is performed, directed at a specific

Lost God. The remaining five days of the year (six in

a leap year), the High Priest decides which Lost

God’s knowledge is most needed in the world at the

moment, and directs the Rite of Rescue at that par-

ticular deity.

T HE S OLAR P ANTHEON

The most common faith of the kingdom

during Phase 1 is belief in a pantheon of

anthropomorphic gods, with the solar deity

(the Sun) as heavenly king; the other gods

(like the Moon Demigod, Earth Goddess,

Lord of the Hunt, Goddess of the Dawn,

Lady of Fire, etc.) make up his court.

This religion has an intriguing concept

of the afterlife. When living things die,

they release their moisture-souls into the

air. These souls collect into clouds and

float through the sky until the Lord of

Storms and Death determines that

“enough” have collected. Then, the god

makes it rain, and the souls fall back to

earth as water. Plants absorb the rain, peo-

ple and animals drink it, and in due course,

souls pass into the consumers’ children.

The unlucky or ill-favored dead are

doomed to collect in isolated stagnant

pools, where they generate noxious weeds,

molds, insects, amphibians, and reptiles.

Until they evaporate, they must expiate

their sins in this form.

The biggest difference between the

priesthood of the Solar Pantheon and that

of the Lost Gods is magic. Only those

lucky few who already possess the talent

before they enter the priesthood can bene-

fit from the magical knowledge of the

Solar Pantheon, whereas all who become

priests of the Lost Gods gain Magery (see

p. 50). This disparity of power is perhaps

the largest issue standing between the two

groups of clergy, if not the two faiths.

Phase 1:The

Founding of

the Temple

Before the Messenger fell from the sky, Madat

had a long career as the first wizard to the royal court

of Darliku. When his beloved wife died, the heart

seemed to go out of him – he stayed on purely out of

duty. When King Gwithdor sickened and turned over

the throne to Crown Prince Gwindku, Madat finally

retired from court to manage his provincial estate.

His daughter, Rayda, remained in the capital to sup-

port the new King Gwindku as court wizard.

Madat spent his retirement roaming the rolling

hillsides of his property and conducting long-delayed

magical research. With wry humor and a keen eye

sharpened by court intrigues, he easily deflected or

avoided the petty political machinations of his coun-

try neighbors. With only a single servant, he lived a

quiet, introspective life for a handful of years, until

he found religion – or, more precisely, religion found

him.

One winter, the appearance of a new comet in the

night skies was the talk of the village. A delegation of

his neighbors came to Madat, to ask him to use his

THE TEMPLE OF THE LOST GODS

L IST OF K NOWN L OST

G ODS

Much is unknown about the Lost Gods;

many of their names and powers have

slipped beneath the sands of time. In Phase 1,

the Temple knows the names, spheres of

influence, and position in the night sky for

only 220 of the 360 Lost Gods. The names

and locations – but not spheres – are known

for some, the spheres and locations – but not

names – are known for others, and there are

a number of deities who are only identified

by their positions in the heavens.

In cases where information is lacking on

the divinity being prayed to that day, the Rite

of Rescue is still performed. The Lost God is

addressed as best as the priests can, along the

formula of “Oh, mysterious Karposk, hear

us!” or “Unknown Lady of the Oaks, hear

us!” or “Oh mysterious and unknown divini-

ty, hear us!” However, some of the Temple

priests on these days do not offer devotions;

instead, they take the role of “Seeker,” open-

ing their minds to the Lost God of that loca-

tion, trying to understand who and what the

deity is. After the Rite, they individually

report to the High Priest their impressions

and experiences during this meditation.

When four Seekers agree on the particulars

of the Lost God – name and function – the

newly-discovered information is entered into

the Codex of Names as truth, and the four

priests gain the rank of “Priest-Finder” (see

p. 10).

A Few Lost Gods and Their

Functions

Here is a sample list of the names of some

of the Lost Gods, their sphere of influence

(that is, the knowledge and power they can

share with their faithful), and the month and

day of each year dedicated to them. For more

complete lists of the Lost Gods – sorted

alphabetically by name and by sphere, and

chronologically by date – please see the

Appendix , pp. 62-72.

Lost God Function Day of Worship

Mikarvox Needles January 17

Seeltharee Healing February 2

Theendaro Dogs March 9

Rybeal Swords April 17

Ardoon Cooking May 3

Rausperd Preservation June 1

Ay tamz Freedom July 15

Nivokad Magic August 6

Gulidu The Sea September 28

Kaim Change October 31

Pibaz Fire November 13

Koari Time December 20

S PECIAL H OLIDAYS

There are two days of special interest to fol-

lowers of the Lost Gods: Godsfall (August 19),

a somber day of meditation commemorating

the night when the Messenger crashed into the

world, and Madat’s Birthday (February 13), a

raucous celebration, usually involving copious

amounts of food and drink and a number of

very silly games (this is also the holy day of the

thus-far nameless Lost God of Festivity).

arts to determine what sort of omen this fiery-tailed

star was for the coming sowing season. With a laugh,

Madat agreed to look into it. What he found shocked

him to the marrow.

The object wasn’t a comet. Whatever it was,

though, it was fast , powerful, and coming straight

toward the world. Even his mastery of the Way of

Knowledge (see p. 58), honed in decades of espi-

onage and divination for the King, availed him noth-

ing. He turned to more mundane research, sending

for books, sages, and prophecies. He even consulted

with the priests of the Solar Pantheon, despite his dis-

taste for them. None of them had answers. He could

only watch and wait as the burning thing drew clos-

er, growing ever larger in the sky. It would strike the

world that summer.

A week after Midsummer night, the peaceful

countryside was awakened by a crack of thunder that

rattled chimneys and knocked down trees. The burn-

ing star screamed down, down, down, and smashed

into a hillside. A flash of light illuminated the dark-

ness; the earth quaked. Curiosity battled with fear in

Madat’s soul, but it was in the end no contest: he

sought out the crater, and the answer to the mystery

that had plagued him for months. That answer was

stranger than he could have dreamt.

THE TEMPLE OF THE LOST GODS

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: