Ask me about Egyptian Adventures: Hamunaptra

[Shadow145]

Necropolis

First of all, apologies for mentioning a competing product, but I have some questions.

I've just started running Necropolis from Necromancer Games (a 3.0 Egyption Setting mega-adventure for those who don't know). One thing that product has failed at his helping me get that egyption "feel" across to the players. Right now they just feel they are "in another adventure". Maybe that's my fault. I'm running a "strangers in a strange land" kind of setting with traditional D&D characters in Khemti as opposed to an all-out Egyption campaign. Ideally I envision the players doing a little more egyptian campaigning after going through Necropolis, if their characters survive.

How compatable is this product with Necropolis?
Are there tips on getting that feeling across to players?
How easy is it to simply pull and use material from it? Pre-stated NPC and local equipment compatible with D&D are ideal. Or is the book more designed as a campaign setting then a supplement. Something to replace the standard stuff.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Another question - which Egyptian pantheon did you use? One of the infuriating thigns for mythologists is the fact that the pantheon (sometimes just their internal power realtions and sometimes even the list of gods and goddesses) changed from perdiod to period and place to place within ancient Egypt, with different pantheons co-existing at the same time in different cities. So I was curious how you handled that, since I presume there'll be one pantheon in the book.

Correct, a single pantheon. We went with the version of the pantheon that is, IME, the one most familiar to the largest number people. That is, this is before Ra goes senile (so he's still in charge), but after Osiris has been sliced and diced, reformed (mostly) and become god of the Underworld. All of which, of course, is intertwined with mythic aspects unique to Hamunaptra.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I got a question on equipment. Does it use bronze age stuff of ancient Egypt style or the normal D&D stuff as in the PH. If the former does it include inclusion lists from the PH, and if the latter do you account for the heat associated with the land and give common usage tips (for example for armor). More interested in if its bronze age tech, as I would like a good list of bronze age stuff. Already planning on buying this product, though it might take awhile (as this month spent more than I should have).

While I didn't work on the equipment section, I believe the book discusses what equipment is appropriate in the setting, which is indeed a Bronze Age setting. I do know that we took the hazards of armor into account, and that we included a number of feats and optional rules based around the fact that characters in Hamunaptra are simply not going to have as high an AC (at least from standard sources) as characters in other settings.

 

[Desdichado]

Well, this not being historical Egypt, I don't know that either is entirely applicable. We've got nothing really based on Atlantis, or similar concepts, and the pyramids and other ancient structures are considered to be artifacts of either the current age, or the ancestors thereof, as opposed to some mysterious ancient society that existed long before the current inhabitants.

Yeah, I figured as much. Hey, I only ask because I'm reading Graham Hancock's The Message of the Sphinx right now as we speak. Pretty interesting ideas, I think.

Is this very Egypt only centered, or do you get into some analog of some kind of the power struggles Egypt traditionally had with, say the Hittites, or the Assyrians, or something like that?

 

[derelictjay]

Sweet. Thanks for the reply. Never did like the concept of an Egyptian themed setting with warriors in full plate wielding bastard swords (ala FR's Mulhorand). That goes with any ancient history themed setting (Greek, Roman, etc.). Yeah, you can take the feel and port it into another era, but the style (clothing, art etc.) leave behind.

 

[d20Dwarf]

What is it?

And when are we doing dinner?

 

[Mouseferatu]

How compatable is this product with Necropolis?
Are there tips on getting that feeling across to players?
How easy is it to simply pull and use material from it? Pre-stated NPC and local equipment compatible with D&D are ideal. Or is the book more designed as a campaign setting then a supplement. Something to replace the standard stuff.

Well, I will admit to being only moderately familiar with Necropolis. I own it, but I've never had the chance to sit down and read it. However, I don't imagine it would be too difficult to work it into Hamunaptra. Again, while there are a number of changes, this is still D&D at its core, so anything compatible with one should, with only a moderate amount of work, be compatible with the other.

As far as feel, the entire book is written with the Egyptian asthetic in mind, so I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to get that across after reviewing the material.

Pulling stuff from it piecemeal is a little trickier, since it was written to be a single unified setting. That said, I think it can be done. The classes/feats/etc. are easily portable, if you're willing to make just a couple of flavor tweaks. You could also pull specific locations, but those might make a bit less sense without the context of Khemti.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Is this very Egypt only centered, or do you get into some analog of some kind of the power struggles Egypt traditionally had with, say the Hittites, or the Assyrians, or something like that?

All the major struggles in Hamunaptra are internal to the setting--conflict between the three kingdoms, or with the Red Land barbarians, or with rival religious sects. As I said earlier, though, the setting certainly implies other cultures in the world around it, so it would be simplicity itself to do a story involving conflict with an outside threat.

 

[Mouseferatu]

What is it?

And when are we doing dinner?

What is Hamunaptra? An Egyptian-themed D&D setting from Green Ronin, in the spirit of Al-Qadim or Nyambe. Comes in a boxed set. Or did you mean something more specific?

As to the second question, shoot me an e-mail when you're settled in to your temporary abode, and we'll hash something out.

 

[Django]

Give it to me! I want it now!

So when will this reach the stores? Are we talking days or weeks?