Campaign Cartographer - Initial Impressions

Yet more mapping tools.  It came to my attention that Campaign Cartographer (CC) was on time-limited offer together with its adds-on City Cartographer, Dungeon Cartographer and a host of other extras for £22.83 from Humble Bundle.  This seemed too good an opportunity to pass on despite only just recently having purchased Dungeon Painter Studio, so I took the plunge and acquired this suite.

So here are some immediate first impressions of CC.  As with DPS, definitely not a review.

First of all, the UI of CC is much less intuitive than DPS offering if what you want is a quick dungeon layout or building interior.  This was my comparative test.  DPS I was able to immediately get to work with on a small project to create a building floorplan.  When I tried to do the same with CC I was flailing around getting nowhere; all the "obvious" elements I expected to be presented in the UI just weren't there.  I should emphasise that with both products I was trying to see what I could accomplish with minimal reference to any help instructions or googling "how to".

I did find it much easier however to start making a geographic map in CC, though still quite tricky.

I started working through CC's Quick Start guide, and things began to make more sense.

The CC bundle is about twice the price of DPS, but comes packed with a lot more features and assets than DPS.  I can see that CC is a more powerful and mature product but is built around a different design paradigm.  DPS is more like a raster graphics program like Photoshop or Corel Photopaint, or GIMP.  CC is more like a vector-graphics, CAD program.  I have more experience with the raster graphics paradigm than vector graphics which is probably why I found DPS so much easier to get started with.  I will persevere with CC and work through its tutorials.  I can see that these two different tools will have differing strengths and applications.

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Vanguard of the Chaos Horde

 The Invasion Begins

General Mastopheles Unleashes the Fires of Hell

Dungeon Painter Studio - My Experience With Using This

OK, so I decided to make the modest investment of about £11 to purchased a copy of Dungeon Painter Studio, by Pyromancers.  It utilises the Steam platform.  This meant making a Steam account for the first time.

After trying out various demos and watching youtube reviews I chose this over other available tools because it is cheap and has a fairly intuitive UI and uses layers and lets you change what you've already "painted" quite easily after the event rather than making you paint over your mistakes.  I was tempted by the pricier Campaign Cartographer bundle at £42 but decided to see how I got on with a more economical offering to begin with.

I actually hate having to invest time in discovering "quirks" of user interfaces (read poor design) of drawing packages.  Some people enjoy the pleasure of tinkering with tools as a pursuit in itself; I am not one of those people, I am more of a "get the damn job done" kind of person.  I am still smarting over having to get to grips with the annoyances of GIMP after my ancient version of Corelsuite, which I was very proficient in, refused to run on Windows 10 and the newest version was at a price point clearly aimed at art & graphic design professionals on a corporate budget (which I am not).

I've really only just started playing with this, so this is not a full review.  I will post follow ups on this on later occasions.

Initial impressions: I get on OK with the UI, it is as intuitive as I'd like it to be but it has a few minor design quirks that need smoothing out.  Like for example: you need to be in Select mode to select things; so, suppose you want to edit a set of items in succession, you click to edit an item and then it drops out of "Select" mode while editing but doesn't return into Select mode when you've finished.  You then have to click the Select mode icon again before you select something else to edit.  It's only one more click but it's an annoyance especially if the items you are editing are all on the opposite side of the screen to the Select mode button.

There are major gaps in the catalogue of assets that come pre-loaded, so pretty soon you'll be wanting to import your own .png files.  This brings me to my second gripe - it will only let you import your assets one at a time.

I trawled t'interwebs for a workaround.  Someone has written extensive instructions on how to import multiple assets into DPS, but it's basically a coding exercise which is way more complexity than I'm looking for.  I might have a go at implementing it sometime but for now it's no bulk upload.

Overall first impression: the design paradigm is good and "painting" maps is reasonably intuitive, but some rough edges and missing functionality that give the impression this is not a mature product.  I expect it to improve with time.  For now, it's adequate and worth the price tag.

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Tyrant's Downfall

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Court of Thezzakondrumas

Ardishir the Magnificent

(in actuality, Thezzakondrumas, a powerful Indra Daeva gone slightly mad

during his aeons of imprisonment in the Golden Palace)

Berinanya 

leader of the Aka Manah Daeva of the Golden Palace

Brungraivor the Death Slaad

Bysumaen the Fallen Hound Archon

 Cadriel the Fallen Angel

Arlenoth the Incubus

Ug'Thumas

Hezrou Head Chef to Ardishir's Court

Ki'Ithrig the Hag

Hignir the Fiendish Frost Giant

Maranan, Jhortrax, Rizaron and Ohmeth 

Indra Daeva Courtiers

Arnoxon and Burumath

Greater Aesma Daeva Palace Guards

Underlings

Aesma Daeva, Dretch, Soul Larva, Pyglock

   

   

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Scenes from the Golden Palace

 

The Great Gate

Minaret of the Gods

The Hidden Sepulchre of Behmanesh

The Harem Garden Colonnade

The Chaos-Tainted Sacred Tree

Azi-Dahaka, the Three Headed Dragon Spirit of Death

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Gilgamesh's Band

 Gilgamesh

Sumu-Abum

Ed-Wyna

Ur-Zababa

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Adventure Continues

 

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Arlenoth the Incubus

 

Arlenoth's Tale

Hello visitors.  No need for hasty action - I mean you no harm.  I've come to talk.  Will you hear me out?

No spellcasting please or reaching for implements of arcane power, or I'll depart instantly.  I am primed for immediate escape if you try anything or raise my suspicions.

You may call me Arlenoth.  It's the name I chose long ago for interaction with mortals, though it has been a long while since I've had occasion to use it.

Following interrogation of a captured newcomer to these parts, a daeva called Gikamath, I was sent out from the palace to look for some Rakshasa emissary called Ksurmetinga, and his party.  And correct me if I'm wrong, but you're the other lot Gikamath spoke of who'd come in looking for this Rakshasa, for unclear reasons.  Who I was also told to look out for.

Who sent me?  Why his nibs, of course.  Ardishir the Magnificent, as he'd have people believe, though he's nothing of the sort, a Daeva imposter, though a powerful one.  Maybe as powerful as the original himself, who knows?  That was before my coming to this prison, yanked from a perfecly happy existence torturing souls in the Abyss, to this dreary place.

I'll cut to the chase;  I've spoken with your blue skinned friend and the red-skinned man with the symbols around his head.  And those lovely girls from Hruggekohlok.  Oh don't be alarmed, I didn't hurt them.  I just pumped them for information, most of which they gave up willingly though the red man was a bit difficult.  But the blue one was like reading a book.  

I know you are looking for some magic mirror to destroy, to seal the portal to Pandemonium.  Now, I don't really give two hoots about your mirror or the portal or what happens to it. I want out of here, and I gather that that's going to be happening pretty soon anyway, one way or another.  Dome-head, the mythical Godratt himself who turned out to be hiding under one of the sepulchres all these centuries, told me the barrier is coming down and there's nothing that will prevent it.

I haven't reported any of this back to the boss yet, because I think he'll see things differently.  When he heard from Gikamath that this Rakshasa had a means to bring the barrier down, and that this had all been agreed with Kurigalzu the Marshal of the Host of Eternal Night in Pandemonium, who by the way plans to come in here and take the palace to use as his own headquarters from which to launch an invasion of this world...well let's just say the boss man wasn't best pleased.

His plan is to get hold of this Rakshasa, and off him before he can bring the barrier down so that he can carry on being the very big fish in this very tiny pond.  Not before he's taken you lot prisoner first though.  With the Rakshasa as bait to lure you in.  Or you as bait to lure the Rakshasa in, whichever comes first.

Why am I telling you people any of this, you might be wondering.  Well, let's just say my agenda differs a little from his nibs in the palace.  Once, he was able to bind me and secure my loyalty but I have grown in power over the centuries of my confinement in this place and I am no longer constrained by his magics.  He's still a dangerous one to cross so I play the dutiful vassal.  But I always intended to get out of here as soon as I could and never look back.  

But there's this small complication.  I am a being that was summoned here, like many others who dwell in the palace.  Called from our planes of existence by this wannabe Caliph who researched our names in whatever tomes of lore he found around the place, to alleviate his boredom and grow his little empire of caged spirits.  Others, meanwhile, came through the portal from the City of Eternal Night.

If I've understood correctly, then once the barrier comes down, those of us who were called here rather than traipsing willingly through the portal, will all instantly return to our home planes of existence.

That would be no problem at all, except confronted by the prospect, I find myself experiencing...unfamiliar...feelings (he says distastefully) of anxiety.  There is someone in the palace who is also a called being.  But she does not come from the Abyss.  Her name is Cadriel.  I've long thought of her as a rival, someone who I enjoyed making jest of.  I've even been cruel to her at times, especially in the early years of her confinement here.  She's taken her revenge on me long ago and we've settled our differences.  Yet now, with the prospect of separation looming, I am feeling strange about losing her.  I don't want to never see her again.  I don't really understand these sensations I am experiencing, they are most unlike me.  But there it is.  If we both return instantly to our home realms it is very unlikely our paths will ever cross.  I want to prevent that, if I can.

And if what your blue friend tells me is true - that's rhetorical, I know it is because I read his mind - you may be able to help.  There is apparently a very fetching sorceress in your midst who is adept at binding creatures from other planes.

If she can re-bind me to the material plane, so that Cadriel and I aren't forced to separate when the barrier falls, then in exchange, I'll help you find your mirror.  In truth I do not know where exactly this thing is, but I think I know how to find out where it is.

Do you think we can make a deal, mortals?  

If you agree, then work your magic upon me.  Then I'll tell you what I know.

By the way, I was told to invite you to the palace to be entertained, if I saw you.  Bait for the Rakshasa.

I wouldn't advise letting the boss man know that the barrier is destined to fall.  He will probably be furious, and his reactions may be unpredictable.

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Rakshasa's Tale

 

His title and name are Sardar Patharmes. He serves Raja Ksurmetinga, who in turn serves Maharaja Bruskamesthanghas.

He is a Zakya Rakshasa, of the warrior caste though even the warrior caste have much magic and trickery.

He and his fellow Rakshasae come from a world called Vergonia. It is peopled by an offshoot of humanity who are a little different to those Patharmes sees before him in this party, but not radically so.

The Rakshasae are infiltators. Mainly, they spy on the Vergonians and gather information. Sometimes they stir up violence between warring groups to prevent them unifying against the overlords of that world, who are called the Vodoni Empire. The Vodoni Empire are invaders and colonisers from another world. The Maharaja Bruskamesthanghas is allied to the Vodoni Empire and may be seeking a place in their senior hierarchy or may already be a part thereof - or he may have infiltrated the hierarchy without their knowledge.

Patharmes is unclear on the details and has not really been kept up to date with developments; he is kept busy running operations for Ksurmetinga day-to-day.

But he knows Bruska ordered Ksurmetinga to suspend his existing operations in order to come on this mission. He doesn't really know why it is important. Something about a Janni woman. But also to do with destabilising things in this world.

Sardar Patharmes willingly permitted himself to be entrapped in a Soul Trap gem along with his fellow Zakya Rakshasae. This was so Ksurmetinga could bring everyone he might need - there were limits on the number of creatures he could transport via Shadow Walk. He was liberated once within the Golden Palace and he was told by his lord Ksurmetinga once there that they were seeking someone called Godratt the Wise. Something about seizing control of a magical barrier surrounding the Palace. They were trying to get past many wards protecting an underground crypt underneath the Sepulchre of Ghalandar the Dervish to get to this Godratt person.

They encountered a powerful Efreeti Mummy Lord called Behmanesh. Rather than fight him, they managed to get him onside by revealing to him that his (apparently) hated nemesis Godratt was to be found nearby, and his father - the Caliph who once ruled this palace - was no longer around to protect him. The offer of an opportunity to take his revenge persuaded the Mummy Lord to ally with Ksurmetinga.

When news came of the arrival of a band of interlopers (that's the PC party), and the interest they were taking in the Sepulchre of Ghalandar the Dervish, the Rakshasae tipped Behmanesh off and swiftly prepared a defence. The plan was to keep Behmanesh' crypt hidden away and for the mummy lord and his honour guard to emerge and attack the party in the rear. Ksurmetinga had also brought a contigent of powerful wraiths along which would be part of the ambush.

The Ambush:

Patharmes was detailed to lead the attack on the rear of the party. He lurked on an ethereal Nightmare (one of several that Ksurmetinga had summoned) and had the wraiths hide in the walls with instructions to join the attack on his signal.

Things didn't go entirely as planned. The interlopers discovered the way into the Mummy crypt a bit too early so Behmanesh ended up attacking the middle of the column rather than joining the attack on the party's rear. Patharmes decided that he needed to launch his attack right away and make the best of the situation. He had no reason to suspect that he would be too severely challenged by the rear echelon of the party, expecting them to be the usual assortment of support bods and healers. He noted an astonishingly beautiful woman with golden hair, who looked like maybe some kind of spellcaster, and probably an easy target. She did have a big Janni fellow in plate armour slightly ahead of her, maybe a bodyguard. He was a bit difficult to reach in the crowded corridor. He decided to go for the woman first, being a soft and accessible target. It would be a waste if she died, but "if she dies, she dies". He decided to offer her a chance to surrender, if she survived his initial onslaught. First he had to show that he meant business.

He activated his True Strike power. Commanding his Nightmare to drop out of its ethereal state and breathe sulphurous fumes into the corridor, he swung for the golden haired woman with his bastard sword.

He barely scratched her with that first True Strike blow, and his backswing went completely wide as she twisted away with superhuman agility. As well as being almost impossible to hit she had some kind of force field. As she danced out of his reach he saw the cut he'd inflicted on her milky thigh already healing itself. Then the wraiths surged out of the walls to attack her party from both sides.

Then things went wrong for Patharmes very quickly. The Janni mamluk rushed back to the woman's aid, and decapitated Patharmes' Nightmare mount with a single blow. As Patharmes tumbled to the floor, the woman cast a spell that breached his magical resistance with ease, and he was unable to avoid the full force of a Ball Lightning that blasted his body with electrical power that left him reeling and not far from death.

Then to his mounting consternation, he saw his Wraiths all snuffed out of existence with the casting of a single spell by someone further up the corridor.

It turned out that the rear echelon of this party wasn't squishy at all.

Patharmes realised that the next few seconds were crucial to his ongoing existence. His contingency plan had been to use his Nightmare to go Ethereal again if things went badly. He hadn't counted on it being killed quite so rapidly.

With grim irony, he realised it was he would have to surrender, if he had any hope of survival.

He was loyal to Ksurmetinga, but not to the point of fanaticism.

He offered the woman his surrender, hoping that she might be the merciful sort. Naturally, he would have to sweeten the deal with an offer of service.

"Lady, spare my life, and I will serve you for 1000 days and nights, or else you may ransom me for a high worth to my Lord Ksurmetinga."

"Drop your weapon, and swear to serve me and I will spare you. Tell me everything about any further surprises your group may have planned for us."

"Lady, though I will swear to serve you that I may live, I already swore an oath to keep the lord Ksurmetinga's secrets, and If I break that oath, you will know I am not to be trusted, and will kill me anyway."

The woman considered this for a moment.

"That is a fair point. I will accept your conditions. Now if you'll excuse me..."

Patharmes watched her shapely form recede along the corridor towards where he knew Behmanesh would by now be most likely cutting a swathe through these people and Ksurmetinga's Devourer (a huge and very nasty undead thing) would be dispensing death on their front line. Chances are this was the last he'd see of her anyway.

The Janni warrior's squire appeared with manacles. Manacles that would (Patharmes soon discovered) switch off his magical abilities while he wore them.

And that's how Patharmes came to be a prisoner of war. And he was wrong - the woman did not die, Behmanesh and the Devourer fell, and so did all of his comrades.

It sucks to be bound to the service of a non-Rakshasa in this way, but it beats dying. Patharmes is a long-lived creature and 1000 days is barely any time at all. And there could be some fringe benefits.

Outlook & Philosophy

Rakshasae are Outsiders, but are native to the material plane. This is unusual, as most Outsiders come from other planes of existence.

The Rakshasa race was, at some distant time aeons past, banished to walk the material world.

Keywords:

• Secretive
• Arrogant
• Greedy
• Sadistic
• Honourable
• Epicurean

Rakshasas believe themselves superior to any other prime material dwelling race.

They believe in leveraging all their innate abilities in the service of dominance and control of the cultures they infiltrate.

While capable combatants, if their aims can be achieved through subterfuge and trickery, then this is preferable. The ideal Rakshasa cell is never discovered by wider society.

The goal of their secretive infiltration of human civilisation is to serve their own greed and jaded appetites.

They enjoy corrupting virtuous souls and the "self-righteous". Sometimes they sell their services to devils and act as their agents on the Prime Material Plane.

Sometimes, a non-Rakshasa who they consider worthy (by their own standards) might be taken into their confidence. They respect power and those of exceptional talents.

They are lawful creatures and have a sense of honour. They keep their word - when forced to give it - and operate within hierarchies.

They are great lovers of sensual pleasures and the arts, fine food and wine. They like to collect things. They also enjoy watching the suffering of lesser, weaker creatures.

Essentially, they do all the things that a secret society of lawful evil humans bent on world domination from behind the shadows would do. They just do it better, of course. "Rakshasa Exceptionalism".

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Godratt's Saga

 

Godratt is the son of the Caliph Ardishir Al'Aamash by an Illumian concubine.  The Illumians, he explains, are a race of transhumans who learn to speak a language that carries intrinsic arcane power from an early age.  They are "Illuminated" as signified by the circle of magical symbols in that language that circle their heads.  (DC 35 Bardic Knowledge or DC 55 Knowledge (History) for anyone from the Flanaess to have even heard of them as an obscure legend; Legend Lore could reveal more, though, given a 1d10 day casting with Godratt to hand - though he could do this himself, or indeed a Vision spell for much quicker results).

Godratt was a young man of 125 (25 human equivalent) when he accompanied his hated uncle Behmanesh and his older brother Dahish on the expedition to retrieve the Mirror of Chinvat.  Ardishir had recieved intelligence regarding the existence of one of these mirrors that had never been activated and so had escaped detection by the Wind Dukes of Aaqua who had destroyed the others of its kind in the closing struggles of the Chaos War (which had occurred 25,000 years before Godratt's time).  The mirror had fallen into the hands of the Spell Weavers, an ancient and mysterious race that were known for their penchant for collecting magical devices.  The mirror was held in a demiplanar retreat that was virtually impregnable; no means of conventional planar travel could grant entry to the place for those not of the spell weaver race.  "By a cunning ruse, however, we managed to make a deal with the Nerra, a race of beings who dwell within the Plane of Mirrors, and thereby we gained entry to the Spell Weaver vault through the Mirror of Chinvat itself...from there, though, things became more difficult.  We could not simply plane shift away, nor, for complex arcane reasons could the Mirror of Chinvat be brought through another mirror itself.  Instead it was necessary for me to precipitate a planar breach, a severe one that would permit us to slip through.  This however took time, and two castings of the breaching ritual to achieve.  After the first casting, traits from the breaching plane began to leak through in the vicinity, which unfortunately alerted the spell weavers to our presence.  My companions had to fight off their attacks and defend our position long enough for me to create the breach.  Matters were made more difficult by the fact that the breaching plane was the Negative Material Plane - unfortunately I had no control over the destination and my Uncle Behmanesh only had one spell of Death Ward, which he was forced to use on me, while he and the others suffered dwindling vitality as they battled the Spell Weavers.  

"We escaped, but my Uncle fell during the retreat, though I managed to drag him through the breach as I made my final escape.  I thought he was dead, but it turned out he was actually only unconscious.  He did not survive the brief moments on the Negative Energy Plane it took me to find the scroll of Plane Shift he carried and utilise it to return home.  Due to the transit through the negative energy plane that finally ended him, he could not be restored to life, unless it were in a state powered by negative energy, thus he was mummified.  His honour guard were put to death and mummified to join him in his unliving afterlife."

"It was my understanding that my uncle never forgave me for his death and I had to make myself scarce during those moments when he roamed abroad and unliving in the palace.  This was not often, for you see at this time my father Ardishir was still hiding in plain sight, masquerading as a Janni Caliph, of the line of Delir the Brave and often entertained pilgrims to the shrines of the former Caliphs whose line he had in fact usurped.  Behmnanesh' unholy sepulchre was hidden beneath that of Ghalandar the Dervish; as you have by now surmised, no doubt, having passed through it to reach this place."

"It was for this reason, that I decided to build my secret sanctum down here quite close to my Uncle's crypt.  I knew that it would be the last place anyone would expect to find it."

Godratt then recounts some of the known history of how the titan King of Sumeria, Ubara-Tutu, was gradually corrupted by the Carnelion Idol that was a gift to him from his father but was actually possessed by Godratt's half-brother Dahish; while the Daeva lords known as the Seven Jenni went forth and possessed Ubara-Tutu's giantish nobility and advisors and slowly eliminated those who counseled against the advice the king recieved from his talking idol.  This is largely in line with the account of ancient history the Hubul vizier Rashid Al-Suleiman has already given.

Forty years after the expedition to retrieve the Mirror of Chinvat, his father's schemes came to fruition and the assault on the City of Brass took place; which ended in a disastrous rout, as told in the histories.

Soon after which, the retribution of the Great Flood of Sumeria occurred.  By now Godratt was 165 years old. 

[Jibran will at this point inform Godratt that the Great Flood of Sumeria occurred over 4000 years ago (it will eventually be determined that the precise figure is 4135 years).  Godratt will be a little shocked by this news.]

Ardishir's subterfuge held firm though and his true Efreeti identity went undiscovered.  And two and a half centuries later, Godratt's father was scheming once again to conquer Kish and the Jannee lands, having secured a promise of renewed aid from the master of darkness whose realm lay beyond the Mirror of Chinvat.

"By this time, my various misgivings regarding my father's schemes had grown, and I had come to feel a sense that the ascendant human nation of Kish, that had made great advances in the two and a half centuries since their founding by Ziusudra the Ark-Builder, deserved better than conquest by my father, who I now recognised had become corrupted by the chaotic energies that seeped through the Mirror from Pandemonium.  By this time I was over four centuries old (age 415, to be exact), and I had grown in wisdom.  I had come to regret my part in its retrieval, which I now realised had been the source of much harm to the cause of civilisation.  For so many years I had laboured to win my father's approval, but he never chose to recognise me as his heir even after my brother Dahish perished in the seige of the City of Brass alongside Ubara-Tutu.  As my father amassed Daeva armies through the Mirror and his agents the Seven Jenni worked to undermine Kish from within, I made the painful decision to send word to a virtuous tribe of Janni of the Southern Desert, the Hubul, who were an ofshoot of the line of Delir the Brave who founded Za-Hadrash and who had fought on Sulymon's side to defend the City of Brass from Ubara-Tutu.  I revealed all, and agreed to lower the barriers surrounding Za-Hadrash to their forces if they laid seige to the place."

"During the seige, however, my father somehow succeeded in calling forth a more terrible creature than I had expected; Azi-Dahaka, the three-headed dragon spirit of death itself.  Following in its wake came a surging army of Daevakind from the depths of Pandemonium.  I feared I must swiftly halt this tide and no longer could I rely on the Janni and Human forces to stop it.  I had by now learned that in the years since Ubara-Tutu's downfall, Sulymon had abdicated his rule of the City of Brass and had departed to unknown lands, leaving the city in the hands of the Efreet Sultan Ashur Ban and the Djinn Sultana Cirrishade who ruled jointly, and so I knew he could not be called upon for aid.

[Jibran interjects at this point that Ashur Ban and Cirrishade were deposed in a coup by the present ruler of the City of Brass, a mighty and most evil Efreet who calls himself simply The Great Sultan.  He has ruled for nigh-on 2000 years.  The Hubul were ejected from their ancestral lands in the Plane of Molten Skies for siding with Ashur Ban & Cirrishade, and have walked the Prime Material realms ever since.]

"And so I made the decision to reverse the wards around the palace trapping within all those not native to this plane, just as before it had held them without.  I made fast my wards about my sanctum after helping my human apprentice Sangasu escape with some of the palace slaves.  I told him of my intention to find a means to destroy the Mirror of Chinvat.  I urged him to find others, beyond the palace perhaps, who might do the same."

"I set about my research, but was hindered by my inability to emerge from my sanctum and seek outside sources without risking the integrity of the barrier.  Above, Azi-Dahaka and the trapped daeva hordes raged, attacking my father's servants and each other in their frustration.  I do not know what became of my father, he was holed up in his palace which was warded against scrying.  Before long, I realised that I must needs seek new sources of knowledge elsewhere to destroy the Mirror - though first, I would need to find where my father had hidden it - the portal it creates is obvious, and the mirror is the focus that creates the portal to Pandemonium, but it does not share a location with the portal after its creation.  I am certain it is within the palace grounds somewhere but my father kept many secrets from me.

"I placed my body in suspended animation in my Stasis Cabinet - well, my guardian golem was instructed to lift my unconscious form into it - as I astrally projected forth seeking a place my mother had spoken of when she was alive, the Illumian Library of the Sublime.

"To my joy, I was eventually able to locate this fabled repository of knowledge and spend time among the people of my mother's line.  They welcomed me kindly and respectfully but looked upon me with a sense of pity that they made little attempt to hide; though aged and learned I knew I was regarded as a mongrel, an aberration due to my half-efreeti heritage.  I would not be permitted to take an Illumian wife and sire offspring, should I have felt inclined to do so.  Fortunately, I was already long beyond such things, even were they possible in my astral form.  There were some among them who even stated openly that they felt my mother had erred when she chose to bestow upon me the Ritual of Word Made Flesh that confirmed me as an Illumnian.  I did not mind this, for even though they saw me as impure they showed me more familial kindness than my father or his relations had ever done.  They were free to express their views regarding my mothers actions, disapproving or otherwise, since nothing about those views altered the fact of actions my mother had already taken.  It was all very academic really, as far as I was concerned.

"In the Library of the Sublime I learned of a new kind of magic with which I had been unfamilar until then - the magic of True Names.  It was very different from the Sha'ir genie magic I had been schooled in, and more in tune with Illumian philosophy.

"I began to realise that this would provide the missing magical component I required to destroy the Mirror of Chinvat.  I resolved to research the truename of the Mirror itself and use this in a ritual of destruction.  Before long, I realised I would have to study this kind of magic for a lengthy span.  And so, I did.  On the Astral Plane, it is difficult to gauge the passage of time, and I knew not quite how long I spent there.

"Eventually, I succeeded in developing a ritual which I was sure could destroy the Mirror of Chinvat if correctly performed.  I then had to find a means to carry it out.  My first thought was to find my apprentice Sangasu and secure his aid.  I scried upon him from my Astral locale but to no avail.  I managed to scry a Janni who had been my contact among the Hubul who informed me that 90 years had passed since the Siege of Za-Hadrash.  He indulged me by seeking out Sangasu's family, who I then scried upon and spoke with.

"Sangasu had married a noble lady of Kish and after the prismatic wall had been erected by the Janni around Za-Hadrash, he had abandoned his magical studies and moved into politics.  He had eventually passed on.  His son had not learned the ways of magic, but his grandson by his second son, also named Sangasu, had shown interest in his grandfather's magical works and had undertaken to school himself.  He had taken possession of the firebrass plates I had made with the key to the barrier.  He showed much promise and was eager to help, and so I schooled him via his dreams in the ways of magics, both of the Sha'ir and the Truenamer.  He was not yet ready to hazard Za-Hadrash, but with sufficient preparation and practise I believed he might be able to enter the Palace and find my cabinet, release me from my stasis and together we might conduct the ritual to destroy the mirror.

"I spent a number of years visiting Sangasu the Younger in his dreams training him.  Before he was ready, however, a most unfortunate occurence took place.

[3790 years ago].

"The Illumian Head Librarian activated a Refuge token I had given him years before, by which he might recall me to the Library should he be in need of aid.  And indeed he was, for the Libary was under attack by the Githyanki.  This was no mere raiding party, but a full military assault.  I have no idea why the Githyanki queen, Vlaakith CXXXI [131st], chose to attack the Library; perhaps she determined that some secret knowledge lay therein, or perhaps it was pure spite.  That is something I shall have to determine at a later date. 

"I can only hope that the Illumians managed to repell the attack; for my astral form was slain defending the Library.  My soul transferred back to my material body which was resting in its Stasis cabinet...which is the last thing I recall before being woken by this blue-skinned gentleman lifting me out of the cabinet.

"When I saw the undead creature looming nearby and it commanded me not to make any hostile moves on pain of death, and I saw that my wards had been broken by force, I felt sure that I was not among allies.  I still had a small handful of spells and my fists.  Creatures I recognised as Rakshasae were approaching with bindings to hold me fast and I realised that if I did not act swiftly, I would be deprived of the use of either. I had a permanent Repulsion upon me that would ward undead - a precaution taken against my old uncle Behmanesh - so I decided to cast Calm Emotions which would prevent the living beings from making any hostile moves.  I would take my chances with the undead.

"Unfortunately, this undead creature clearly possessed an unusually high degree of spell resistance, which could overcome my Repulsion aura.  While my Calm Emotions did indeed subdue the blue-skinned one, the undead lashed out and with one blow, slew me and trapped my soul within its form.  I do not think that may have been its original intent, but it seemed somewhat panicked when I began casting of spells.  It was probably unaware that my entire array of offensive magic had already been exhausted fighting the Githyanki at the Library of the Sublime.

"The undead monster was probing my memories while I was entrapped, seeking information about the Barrier and the Mirror.  I am not sure it found what it was looking for before you burst in and destroyed the creature, though I have unfortunately lost some of my power in the process of my resurrection.

"Fortunately, I do still have prepared in my mind, the ritual that may destroy the Mirror of Chinvat.  However the ritual does also require the input of a magical spell of the ninth order to power it, and also if I am to have a chance of success, the assistance of another being with the talent for Truespeech - which would have been Sangasu the Younger in my original plan, but he must be long dead by now.  I do not have any spells of the ninth order remaining, nor will my recovery of them be swift.  However long my body may have been in stasis, as far as my mind is concerned less than one hour ago I was battling Githyanki hordes at the Library of the Sublime."

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - Sunaeco's Tale

 

"I am happy to see you all here and be among friendly faces.  So many people here on my account!  The situation must be quite serious.  Where on Oerth are we?  I have no notion of where this is or how I came to be here.

"I remember receiving a Sending from Mishari Al-Khalifa.  It did not come via my Musical Box of Sending that is linked to her own, which I thought was odd, but I was quite sure it was from her.  ["Perhaps a False Sending" says Godratt.  "Such a thing is known to exist."] 

"She wanted to arrange a secret tryst with me in the isolated sea cave on the eastern side of the main isle of Luthian's Tears.  The place with the sea-nymph statues carved by the sea-elf ancients [NB Sunaeco's theory, which might not be true].  We exchanged further Sendings, she did not want her grandfather the Vizier to know about this, he did not trust me and he had planted spies among my following to dig up some dirt on me, as you humans say, so I should tell no-one.  She had fallen in love with me and wanted to meet with me away from her chaperones so that she could express that love more intimately.

"She was waiting there as we had arranged, and beckoned me deep inside the cave.  We embraced, and I kissed her for the first time.  I could barely contain myself, though she wanted to take things a little more slowly than I.  After a while, though, she suddenly went strangely limp in my arms, as if dead.  I was horrified, of course.

"Then...I fell into a dream-like state, very suddenly.  It was as if I were within a ruby coloured chamber with many sides at odd angles.  Almost like being within a huge gemstone.  At the same time I felt very woozy and unable to think or act coherently.  I hallucinated, I think...I saw explicit visions of anything that came into my mind.  I thought about Mishari a good deal, and that helped me to pass the time pleasantly.  Though I have no idea how long actually passed.

[This sounds consistent with some people's experience of their consciousness being stuck inside a Magic Jar gem, though people react differently]

"The next thing I recall is waking up here.  I was standing before the thing that looks like a marble sarcophagus that had this man in [indicates Godratt] though it hadn't been opened at that point.  I had my weapons ready and a golem was attacking me.  I was taken aback at first, I had no idea where I was or why this golem was trying to smash my skull in, but obviously I fought back.  Then some other creatures piled into the fight...a big, horrible looking undead creature and two weird things with blades for arms.  I didn't know why these creatures were allied with me, but between us we managed to smash the golem up though I sustained injuries.

"The undead creature stepped back, and then I felt as if another sentience had taken it over.  It pointed at the circle of arcane runes inlaid in the floor and commanded me to dig them up with my adamantine spear. [Godatt: "That was a permanent Magic Circle against Evil; your possession by Magic Jar was inadvertently ended when your possessor stepped over its threshold"].  The undead thing sounded annoyed and impatient.  I didn't like its tone so I refused.

"Then it said 'let me show you something to help concentrate your mind a little'.  Three armoured creatures with tiger-like heads came in dragging Wavesea and Foam and my children with them, all trussed up.  They begged me for help.  One of the creatures with blade arms loomed over them threatening to cut their throats if I didn't cooperate.

"So, I dug the circle up with my spear.  What else could I do?  Once it was done, I felt an influence come over me and I knew I was Dominated.  I remained conscious of my surroundings but had no control over my actions.

"Am orc...sorry I mean Sharakim, I think...one of the nicer orcs Cerys brought back with her from another world, like the ones who are keepers at the Monster Zoo...well he came in and he seemed to be under a compulsion of some kind too.  'Tringus' I think his name was.  Together we examined the marble box for traps, particularly magical ones. I could tell he possessed the skills for such work.  We worked together, but didn't find anything.  But we were fooled.  When we opened the box, there was an explosion.

["That would be my Greater Sign of Sealing" says Godratt.  "A most effective ward, and not easily detected."]

"Tringus and one of the blade-armed creatures were killed outright.  I managed to duck and roll and avoid the blast.  By a miracle, Foam and Wavesea and the kids survived.  They must have been shielded by the body of the big blade-armed thing which took the blast.

[Though the actual reason, of course, is that they were never more than illusions]

"Well another blade creature was brought in to replace the dead one.  Then I was ordered to drag the old man out of the box and hold him fast while he was manacled. I pulled him out but he twisted his head to free his mouth from my hand and spoke some magic words.  I immediately felt very calm and uninclined towards violence.  But the undead creature lashed out at him and killed him with a single blow.

"After that not much seemed to happen for a while.  I could see the old man's features had appeared on the figure trapped in the undead monster's ribcage, which was very creepy.

"Then suddenly there seemed to be a lot of fuss.  The cat-headed creatures were conferring with the undead thing.  I saw a Nightmare appear in the chamber and someone loaded a sack onto its back and secured it.  Then it trotted away I know not where.  I was still Dominated this whole time but also feared for my family.  I got the gist that "we" were being attacked by enemies and a defence was being prepared.  I saw the Sharakim woman, Vamzirra being given orders.  I think I heard the word "Neogi" which I think were some horrible creatures we saw at the Hubul Amir's summit where I first met Mishari.  I think she was being told our attackers were puppets of the Neogi coming to enslave us.  She looked terrified at the prospect.  I was given an Invisibility spell (I have a ring that does that but I guess they didn't know) and maneouvered into an ambush position.  But when they tried to force me to attack my friend Thorbjorn, a great anger welled inside of me and I threw off their mind-shackles.  I could see the blade-arm creature threatening my family had been killed by Thorbjorn's spell so I turned and attacked the undead thing.  The rest, I think you know."

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Adventure Unfolds

Pictorial account of the adventure covering the location and rescue of Sunaeco and the party's meeting with Godratt the Wise.

Godratt's soul, trapped in a Devourer under the command of the Rakshasa Ksurmetinga, was released upon the monster's destruction and this permitted a powerful, contigent Resurrection spell to restore him immediately to life.  At this point, Sunaeco, Godratt, a Sharakim arcanist duped into serving the rakshasa called Vamzirra Firethorne, and a captured Zakya Rakshasa Patharmes, were all able to give their accounts of what had led them to this place and moment.

Gilgamesh and the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash - The Vizier's Tale

Ubara-Tutu the Last Titan King of Sumeria, 

and Ardishir the Magnificent

An account by Rashad Al-Sulimon (Vizier to Utha Alzmed the Amir of the Hubul)

Imagine a time thirty centuries before the founding of Uruk, when Sulymon the Prophet was for a span of years Steward of the City of Brass after the downfall of the wicked Efreeti tyrant Iblis, he who had been damned and cast down to the underworld for his rebellion against the gods. The Hubul Janni ancients still held their ancestral lands in the Plane of Molten Skies; meanwhile, the titan Ubara-Tutu reigned over the prime material lands of Sumeria in which the Kingdoms of Uruk, Ur and Kish now lie, demanding fealty, tribute and worship from all who dwelled there. The humanity of this world was for the most part lacking in civilization in those days, but Ubara was also served by a race of intelligent giants who acted as his nobility and enforcers of his rule. Mankind was a virtual slave race to these powerful beings, though not always sorely treated.

Ubara’s reign had already lasted several centuries, at the time of which we speak. The titan King possessed a certain Carnelian Idol of great beauty that was a gift from the genie Caliph Ardishir Al’Aamash the Magnificent. Ardishir posed as a wise Janni ancient but was secretly a disguised Efreet hiding out on the material plane in defiance of Sulymon’s edict forbidding the four great elemental houses of geniekind from doing so.

It is said that this Carnelian Idol possessed oracular powers and would utter words of advice and answers to its possessor’s questions, and even grant wishes. But in truth it was possessed by a wicked efreeti in spirit form, a scion of Ardishir by one of his many concubines, who in turn swore fealty to Iblis the first Sultan of the City of Brass.

The whispering Carnelian Idol gradually corrupted Ubara over time and his reign changed from one of mere over-indulgent exploitation of inferior beings, into an ever crueler and more oppressive regime. Meanwhile, Ardishir had come into possession of a certain artifact created during the great war of Law and Chaos that occurred many thousands of years before even the distant age of which we speak, and ended with the defeat of the Queen of Chaos by the Wind Dukes of Aaqua at the Battle of Pesh. It was called by Jannikind the Mirror of Chinvat, though mankind named it the Mirror of Kur.

This mirror was one of many of its kind made by the Queen of Chaos to facilitate her conquest of the material plane. Through it, Ardishir was able to contact one of the Queen’s old allies in the Chaos War, a primordial being of darkness and evil called by the Janni, Angra Mainyu, though referred to by the humans of Sumeria as Hanbi. This foul being knew that if the mirror were used to cause sufficient death and destruction in the material world, it would facilitate his escape from his underworld prison in the depths of Pandemonium, and so he willingly supplied the aid of many evil Daevas who passed through a gateway created by the mirror into the material world to serve Ardishir’s purposes. Some of these creatures were physical in form, but others were possessing spirits who further corrupted the giantish nobility of Sumeria. The most infamous of these spirit beings were the Seven Jenni, who were eventually bested by King Gilgamesh of Uruk many years later, with otherworldly aid.

The Carnelian Idol had by now started putting into Ubara’s head the notion that he deserved far better than this dusty prime material realm of mud and animals and barely civilized humans, and that nothing less than the Mudawwarah Al Jin, the gleaming City of the Genies, was a fit habitation for a great ruler such as he, and that under him it would be returned to its former glory as it was before Iblis was cast down.

Through Hubul spies in the realm of Sumeria, Sulymon learned of the growing threat, and with the dispensation of Anumon, the god of geniekind, he visited Sumeria with his entourage and requested a personal audience with Ubara. He warned the titan King that he was aware of his plans and counseled him against the words of “false idols”.

Heedless, Ubara turned to the Carnelian Idol for counsel. The idol scornfully declared that Sulymon was nothing but a has-been and his words should hold no fear. It promised that should he go to war against Sulymon and lay siege to the City of Brass, then 10,000 Janni warriors who remained loyal to the old Sultan, Iblis, would join him in battle to take revenge on Sulymon the False Prophet.

Meanwhile, before his return to the Plane of Molten Skies, Sulymon quietly paid a further visit to a yet virtuous giant who remained uncorrupted by spirits from the Mirror of Chinvat. His name was Ziusudra and he was noted for his gentle treatment of his human vassals. Sulymon warned him that he should in secret begin the building of a fleet of vessels into which he should shepherd his flock along with many beasts of the earth when the time came to escape “the coming deluge that will sweep away the wickedness of Sumeria”. And with this cryptic remark, he departed.

But the idol was true to its word, and a great Janni host began to assemble, marching in columns from the oases of the southern desert. An army of Daevas also issued forth from the depths of Za-Hadrash, the hidden mountain fortress of the Caliph Ardishir.

Gathering a handful of fellow titans seeking glory, Ubara and his Janni and Daeva allies transported themselves to the Plane of Molten Skies and then mustered on the plains outside the City of Brass, with Ubara leading the Daevas and the Spirit of the Carnelian Idol, physically manifested at last as Dahish Al’Aamash the half-fiendish son of Ardishir, leading the Janni. But Sulymon was well prepared, and went out to meet them with a mighty host of Dao and Marids at his back, together with many Janni of the Hubul tribe. (It is said that he left his Djinn forces behind to guard the city against any attempted takeover by the Efreet, who might be sympathetic to the invader’s cause).

Ubara’s army fought hard, but was no match for the strength of the Dao, Marid and loyalist Janni forces and by the end of the day his great plans lay in ruins. He was slain by Sulymon and his titan brethren taken captive.

Sulymon was not done with the threat from Sumeria yet, however. He knew that the place was still a nest of corruption and evil with many daevas still on the loose and he knew the hand of Iblis was behind all this, pulling the strings from the underworld. So he had determined that he would cleanse Sumeria utterly and make an example of it. 

Ubara’s Janni had brought with them to the Plane of Molten Skies many Daevakind and the Law of Cosmic Balance permitted such a planar incursion to be answered in kind. Sulymon led his victorious forces to the prime material plane and the Dao reduced the buildings of Ubara’s empire to rubble; then the Marids called up the ocean waters, and drowned all in a great deluge that lasted many days. All was destroyed save Ziusudra’s fleet which had launched in readiness carrying many untainted humans to safety.

Eventually, Ziusudra’s arks reached dry land again as the waters receded.

Ziusudra decided that henceforth the humans of Sumeria should govern themselves, though he would act as their mentor and protector. He called upon the gods to choose the best leader among the survivors of the deluge to be their new King. The goddess Ishtar answered this call, and chose a devout man named Jushur. With Ziusudra’s aid, and the help of the Hubul Janni, he founded the city of Kish and built its walls. Kish was the first civilization of Sumeria to arise after the great flood, to be followed and eclipsed later on by that of Uruk.

The Law of Cosmic Balance had not permitted Sulymon’s Dao and Marid forces to remain overlong on the material plane to redress the Daeva’s planar incursion, and the task of bringing Caliph Ardishir to justice remained unfinished.

Ardishir lay low for some time before making trouble for the world of men again. But eventually, a combined force of Hubul Janni, Sumerian Giants and the ascendant Men of Kish found and assaulted the hidden Palace of Za-Hadrash.

Behind the magical wards that protected his palace, Ardishir had gathered another monstrous army of Daevas through the Mirror of Chinvat, and he now unleashed them upon his attackers. The battle was hard-fought, but unexpectedly, reinforcements from Za-Hadrash to the Caliph’s front lines dried up. Fearing that they would be bottled into the Palace if they retreated, the remaining Daeva forces on the mountainside scattered, to eventually be picked off later as they turned to banditry and mischief making.

Emerging blinking into sunlight from the mountain depths came a handful of bewildered human slaves who had escaped the palace. They said they had been freed by the Caliph’s half-human bastard son, Godratt, who later came to be known as “The Wise”. They were led by Godratt’s apprentice Sangasu. It was Godratt who had originally devised the magical wards around the palace that prevented beings from other worlds, such as the Janni or Sulymon’s forces, from entering or penetrating the palace with their magics.

Godratt had long held misgivings about his father’s enterprise, and after seeing his father call forth a Daeva more monstrous than any he had yet seen to send against his besieging foes, he decided to take drastic action and reverse the nature of the wards so that beings from other planes would be trapped within the palace.

Sangasu explained that his master had sealed himself in his sanctum and placed himself in a state of deep meditation that would suspend his life processes but maintain his concentration on the wards surrounding the palace indefinitely. Beings not native to Sumeria could still pass through the wards and enter the palace, but would not be able to leave while the barrier was in place. Conversely, any native of Sumeria would be able to leave – which is how he and his fellow escapees had left – but would not be able to enter.

Godratt had requested that any who would wish to relieve him of his burden must first locate and destroy the Mirror of Chinvat, thus ending the threat of Daeva incursion. All he could say of its whereabouts is that his father Ardishir kept it in a secure hiding place, unknown to him, though he was certain it was somewhere within the palace or its dungeons.

The Hubul mounted a number of volunteer expeditions to try to carry out Godratt’s wishes, but the Golden Palace of Za-Hadrash was boiling with hostile Daeva life that still came through the Chinvat gate of its own accord. The Janni watched helplessly through the translucent magical membrane as groups of their comrades met their end again and again in the jaws of monsters or overwhelmed by swarms of Aesma daevas. Though there were yet more Janni inspired by Godratt’s brave self-sacrifice to risk their lives for his cause, the Amir of the Hubul sadly declared that the Palace was henceforth off-limits, unwilling to see any more of his heroes march to their deaths.

As to the wicked Caliph Ardishir of Za-Hadrash, his ultimate fate was unknown. All that can be said is that he has thus far not troubled the world since, though he might yet remain a prisoner within his Golden Palace.

Godratt’s magical barrier was supplemented with additional magical wards set in place by the Amir’s Vizier to prevent ingress, and a watch set about the place. Godratt’s soul would be prayed for, until heroes came from another prime material world that would, according to a prophecy that was made at the time, be able to destroy the Mirror and relieve Godratt of his endless burden.