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Temple of the Lost Gods
AN e23 ADVENTURE SETTING
for GURPS
®
from
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
FOR 3 TO 6 PLAYERS
TM
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-
marks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. Some art copyright ©
2004 www.clipart.com. All rights reserved.
Temple of the Lost Gods
is copyright © 2004 by
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
2
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
3
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
4
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
5
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