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 dig into the annals of history at the Archaeological Dig
Archaeological Dig
The archaeological dig site is a recently opened area after a local farmer found parts of an ancient ruin after a severe flood washed away part of one of his fields. From the remains appeared a yellow type of stone, one unknown to the area, covered in strange glyphs and inscriptions.
Further inspection by a local sage revealed this to be a ruin that belongs in a country some 10,000 miles away, almost literally on the other side of the planet, and how it has come to be here is unknown. It represents an opportunity for the local wizarding and scribe communities, however, and they’ve swarmed all over the ruins trying to learn what they can.
Lay of the Land
The ruins are not that big, consisting of 4 or 5 buildings (excavation is still underway, so there could be more), of small to medium sizes, with one big building, of pyramidal shape in the center. The pyramid itself is completely sealed currently, though the locals are looking for a way in, but the other buildings have been thoroughly checked and 2 buildings, the 2 furthest apart, have been claimed by the 2 factions (scribes and wizards respectively) as their headquarters. Ongoing investigations and searches are done as best possible while trying to avoid conflict with the other faction, especially the scribes, as they have no real way to fight off the wizards.
Dangers
The scribes and the wizards are at war. Not literally, though it’s not far off (and several clashes have happened already, with the wizard faction unleashing a disproportionate amount of magic), and the scribes are looking for adventurers to help protect them. The scribes have temporarily withdrawn from the area, sneaking in under the cover of darkness to get as much as they can, before disappearing into the night again.
The wizards’ leader, a woman named Nizorl (N human female wizard 7) leads a group of 20 students (male and female, all races, wizard level 1 – 2) and they’ve more or less blasted away any scribe they’ve found, and unleashed a lot of magical power. The scribes are all experts level 1-3 and powerless against the onslaught. Even their leader, Morion DuQuesne (LN human male aristocrat 5/expert 4) doesn’t stand a chance. Both hope to gain knowledge and power from the discovery, but they’re not willing to share.
Anyone caught in the area, who is not a member of the wizard faction is seen off with a torrent of spells.
All this activity has awoken the occupant of the pyramid, a tomb to an ancient priest-king named Ra-Tmeto (treat Ra-Tmeto as a Mummy Lord if you’re playing Pathfinder Classic, a Mummy Pharaoh if you’re playing Pathfinder Second Edition or a Mummy Lord if you’re playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition) from his eternal slumber. The world he sees outside his tomb does NOT please him, as it is so far from his normal home, and he does not remember how his tomb came to be in the area. But neither does he care. These pathetic wretches outside have desecrated his tomb-village and they deserve to die.
Kim Frandsen
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- Finder’s Archive – Crypt of the Eternals - June 2, 2023
