[Adventure Seeds] as-Sharak

[Dalin]

For a change of pace, I'm adding two new entries to the collection of seeds that Matt Riggsby released in March.

When SJG first started publishing adventure seeds during the Monsters 2 Kickstarter, I thought they were being posted in alphabetical order (Bronze Spider, Crushroom, Demon from Between the Stars . . .). I figured as-Sharak was open, so I dove in and wrote these. Then, Matt's awesome seeds appeared and I noticed that my "Wages of Sin" was broadly similar to his "Fire With Fire." I decided to hold off from writing any other seeds until I saw the complete set. I just rediscovered these two in my Bag of Seeds and figured that they're worth sharing, despite covering some of the same territory.

As with the acid spiders and the bears, I invite forumites to follow up with additional seeds, variations on these, or other related monsters and ideas. Don't hesitate to create new threads for other monsters, too.

as-Sharak (Monsters, p. 16)

• Elemental Evil. Rumors from the borderlands tell of a surprising number of encounters with as-Sharak in the wilderness. They seem to have abandoned their secret troves and are converging on a remote location. The truth is that a powerful demonologist has learned the secrets of the as-Sharak curse and is summoning them to form a mighty army. The PCs may need to stop her before the as-Sharak finish gathering. Or, perhaps the army has already gathered, and the PCs must sow discord in the ranks by playing the five elemental factions (fire, spirit, water, earth, and wind) against each other. Finally, a less heroically inclined group may prefer to leave the elemental army to others, appreciating the fact that numerous troves of magical lore, lacking their most fearsome guardians, are ripe for the picking.

• Wages of Sin. A wealthy patron contacts the PCs and asks them to investigate a string of murders. The victims are all well-known criminals. An Akasha as-Sharak wizard is at the heart of it, but this as-Sharak has developed a conscience of sorts. It is indeed murdering people, but it carefully selects victims that it deems beyond redemption: murderers, sexual predators, and the like. It is only a few murders away from breaking its curse and will attempt to persuade the PCs to help. For an added twist, put the PCs’ patron on the as-Sharak’s list of depraved targets.

[evileeyore]

Noice... I really like both of these.

[johndallman]

Indexed, along with your previous seeds.

[Dalin]

The as-Sharak believe that their curse can be broken if they slay enough
"arrogant mortals." This is probably baloney propagated by the Devil to further torment them. But what if it's true? What happens when the as-Sharak curse is finally lifted?

Do you hear a heavenly chime as their soul finally goes to a better place? Or, do they physically remain in the mortal realm? Are their minds still shattered? Does their body become normal again, or do they retain the cat-like form? Millennia as an as-Sharak might provide all sorts of secret magical knowledge that other sorcerors lack.

This could be an interesting backstory for a powerful villain (or patron) in a game world.

[tbone]

Here's what I wonder about as-Sharak:

What's up with that "physique of great cats"? Are they essentially demons in cat-folk form? If so, were they originally cat-folk, suffering an odd Hellish punishment meted out only to cat-folk sorcerers? Or were they originally of any race, morphed into cat-folk form as part of their punishment? Can they walk among mortals freely, appearing as cat-folk? Are specific demons/gods from cat-folk lore involved in any of this? Will there be as-Sharak-plagued towns where cat-folk PCs are greeted with fear and suspicion?

For any GM, the answer to all of those could be "No. They look like big walking cats, but are clearly different from cat-folk. There's no special connection." Nothing wrong with that.

Then again, some interesting link to cat-folk could be fun. (As it is, the race is a big blank sheet, with none of the bits of culture and background the other races take from traditional fantasy and gaming tropes. Cat-folk are a major race in DFRPG; I welcome anything that gives them a little bit of color.)

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by tbone

As it is, the race is a big blank sheet...

Not quite a pure tabula rasa, as they wield shamshirs...

So to me this has always lent them a middle-eastern air, so I've slotted them in as a rakshasa analog in my world.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Not quite a pure tabula rasa, as they wield shamshirs...

The al-Sharak, sure. The name and weaponry certainly give them a Middle-Eastern-ish feel to me, too. (On Banestorm's Yrth, they'd work nicely as monsters in the Islamic lands, or tower-dwelling sorcerers in the Djinn Lands.)

But my comment refers to regular PC cat-folk. Unlike the other DFRPG races, they don't have recognizable roots in specific mythologies, Tolkien, etc. So who are these two-legged tabbies? Do they have some ancestral home, a history, a language (even if now forgotten), etc.?

These are questions that do not have to be answered to enjoy DFRPG and cat-folk characters! I just note that a GM who likes filling in backgrounds could draw some connection between as-Sharak and cat-folk, to add a little interest to both.

[evileeyore]

Originally Posted by tbone

But my comment refers to regular PC cat-folk. Unlike the other DFRPG races, they don't have recognizable roots in specific mythologies, Tolkien, etc. So who are these two-legged tabbies? Do they have some ancestral home, a history, a language (even if now forgotten), etc.?

Definitely.

There are the Khajiit in Elder Scrolls, the Vah Shir of EverQuest, and legions of cat-like types in anime (and probably several I don't know of), but we don't really have a pervasive Cat Folk culture in generic fantasy.

I just note that a GM who likes filling in backgrounds could draw some connection between as-Sharak and cat-folk, to add a little interest to both.

Sure.

I personally tend to make them vaguely middle-eastern, but that's just my view (I think the Vah Shir were vaguely middle eastern and the Khajiit are Romani analogs).

[b-dog]

I like to use real world religions so my idea may not be useful but here it is. I had the as-Sharak be the result of an earlier pagan god of magic before Alah became the dominant god of Arabia. The story is that there was a god of sorcery with the head of a lion and clawed hands that ancient wizards revered and bestowed magic. After Islam became strong that god of magic was long forgotten until some texts were uncovered about his religion. Many wizards began to worship this god and later they bound their souls to gain more magical power. Instead of more power the wizards found out their souls were bound to hell with Ibliss. They were transformed into the as-Sharak to resemble the magic god and released into the world as long as they killed and offered souls on a regular basis. They are trying to find out what happened, did their god of magic deceive them and offer their souls to Ibliss or did the god join Ibliss in Hell? Or was the magic god really just a false god impersonating the magic god in order to bring more souls to Hell.

[Dalin]

Originally Posted by b-dog

I like to use real world religions so my idea may not be useful but here it is.

I appreciate how you have built them into your own unique campaign cosmology. Those sorts of background details can bring a setting to life.

They were transformed into the as-Sharak to resemble the magic god and released into the world as long as they killed and offered souls on a regular basis. They are trying to find out what happened, did their god of magic deceive them and offer their souls to Ibliss or did the god join Ibliss in Hell? Or was the magic god really just a false god impersonating the magic god in order to bring more souls to Hell.

The idea of one or more as-Sharak who are searching for answers to their curse could be an interesting seed in many campaigns. The curse may drive them to harvest souls, but that may be a sideline to their larger quest. Perhaps they are out for revenge against the evil god that cursed them (potentially the Devil) or for a way to undo the curse for all as-Sharak. This could create opportunities for PCs to potentially ally themselves with as-Sharak to accomplish a greater good. Of course, this leads right back to the question of what happens to them when the curse is lifted. Perhaps they tell the PCs that their souls will finally be at peace and their physical forms will disintegrate, but the true story is more devious: they want to escape from the Devil's control to become independent agents of evil.