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 or 5e for your games, but they can easily be converted over into any fantasy system. Today we sneak into the Concealed Courtyard.
Before we being this time around, there is a special announcement. This article is not just inspired by the artwork from the Magic the Gathering Card, but also by the real life Topkapi Palace. If you ever have the chance to explore it do so. (I only wish that I had that opportunity).
Concealed Courtyard
The Concealed Courtyard is, by its very nature, hidden from outsiders and prying eyes. It is, in fact, a relatively mundane place, though it is protected by powerful magic and elemental creatures, keeping any outsider away.
The Concealed Courtyard sits in a faraway Empire, under the powerful Padishah himself, and it is the home of his multiple wives and husbands. The Padishah himself looks human, but is rumored to be an efreeti in disguise — he’s certainly survived far longer than other humans, and even longer than some elves.
Lay of the Land
The Concealed Courtyard is crafted from hewn marble. All the surfaces in the Courtyard are of this precious stone, though various colors of it are used. All the floor tiles are white, the columns are black, and all the surfaces for food and the like are hewn from green marble. Chairs and tables are crafted from mahogany or rosewood, and each chamber, dedicated to one of the 177 wives and husbands of the Padishah, are decorated to that individual’s taste, some in opulent styles, filled with silk pillows, and others so bare that even an ascetic would be looking for creature comforts.
The Courtyard is confusing, even to those allowed to visit regularly, and even the Padishah himself is escorted by one of the eunuch guards when visiting. Only these guards, often referred to as the Crimson Guard, know all the nooks and crannies of the Concealed Courtyard. That said, the title of Eunuch is mostly an honorary one, as the practice of castration was abandoned over 2 centuries ago among the Padishah’s guards. Now, the positions are filled by creatures who do not have a sexual drive, such as fire elementals and constructs.
Naturally, there are those who attempt to break into the Concealed Courtyard, having heard of the unearthly delights that can be found within, but they often run into a simple problem. The courtyard itself is surrounded by a Maze that only the Padishah emperor and his bodyguard know the route through. Once an intruder is caught here, only rarely do they find their way out, and then only with the use of magic.
Dangers
Though many fear the Padishah for his Efreeti ways, that is merely a cunning rumor, one that is sustained through a clever bit of subterfuge. In reality, when the current Padishah dies, the elected son or daughter takes over (as designated by the previous Padishah, with each designating a line of 10, in case of sibling rivalry taking over and going too far) — after being permanently transformed to appear like the former Padishah. As each is given multiple treatments of this type by the court magicians, they appear timeless, ageless and immortal. Each is trained extensively in the arts of war by both the Padishah’s tutors, but also by the members of the harem. Each member of the Harem is a beautiful or handsome specimen, but the Padishahs learned long ago that they needed to be both smart and ruthless, and for the past 5 centuries, the spouses have been chosen with this in mind. This has created a ruthless environment for a child to grow up in, quickly learning that to further themselves in life, they have to climb the unspoken hierarchy of the Harem. But once someone ascends to become the Padishah, they find that they have an incredibly loyal family, and one with a great deal of power, if they choose to elect it. (Which they only rarely do, but given that all children within the Harem are trained in the arts of war, statesmanship and magic, this means that the Padishah has a ready supply of magicians, warriors and assassins at their beck and call).
See you next time. 😊
Kim Frandsen
Latest posts by Kim Frandsen (see all)
- Finder’s Archive – Crypt of the Eternals - June 2, 2023
Always makes my day when you post another land!
Added to the Blog Database.
https://jonbupp.wordpress.com/blog-database/dungeon-master/adventure-environments/settlements/