Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Finder’s Archives.
In this column, we take some of the lands from Magic: The Gathering and turn them into something you can use for your fantasy games.
The stats given in each entry assumes that you’re using Pathfinder for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. This week we explore the ancients and take a look at the Arch of Orazca.
Arch of Orazca
The Arch of Orazca is a magical opening between the worlds. It allows travel to and from the legendary Golden City, the city that some claim is at the center of all things. The arch seems to exist on multiple worlds at once – always one arch per world, though in some cases, it is in inaccessible locations or has been destroyed. Engraved on the inside of the arch is the word that activates the arch – a unique word for each world, inscribed in an ancient language known only on that world. Deciphering that is a quest on its own.
Lay of the Land
The arch is created from stone and covered in gold leaf – though most of it has eroded or been removed with time. It is incredibly ornate, and when activated, you can see a golden sun through the arch (from both sides, so there is no “correct” way to pass through the archway). The lands around it vary from world to world, but they’re always in a remote location, often the top of a mountain range, in a deep, dangerous and narrow gulley, or even buried deep in the underworld, surrounded by rivers of lava.
While the gold leaf has been removed with time, the stone seems impervious to normal damage, and even most magic washes over it, leaving it unharmed. Only truly cataclysmic events have an effect on these ancient constructions – this leads many to believe that the worlds where these archways have been destroyed, must have suffered at least one such event after the constructions.
Dangers
The Arch of Orazca leads to the Golden City, a now-abandoned metropolis. The Golden City is said to be the home of the Immortal Sun, an extremely powerful artifact that promises not only eternal life or immortality – but also unlimited power, and the promise of an empire.
As such, these arches are sought out by some very dangerous people. People who spend their lives trying to decipher the language on the archway, hoping to get into it.
This particular archway has someone living near it too, an Ettin called Hamman-Vale. Hamman-Vale is NOT your typical Ettin though, as the 2 heads rarely argue, but it is also very intelligent and dangerous. Hamman is a 10th level fighter (with an Int of 12) while Vale is a 10th level Wizard (with an Int of 20). Hamman-Vale considers himselves as the true heir apparent to Amman, the Father-God of Giants, and is looking for a way to reach immortality. When fighting Hamman takes control of their body while Vale casts spells (they are each treated as separate entities for this), and at other times they try to reach a consensus on their actions. They are also quite charming when they want to be (Charisma 16).
Kim Frandsen
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