Veyshan Month
Welcome to Veyshan Month
Things are changing in Alexandria's political climate. Merchants already overtaxed in efforts to reestablish contacts and routes, and in competition with new, stronger dwarven companies, now find themselves facing a threat from the land of genies: Veyshan.
It started with one man, as such things do. A stranger in silks and turbans and astride a sleek black charger, he came bearing items the like which the lands had not seen in centuries. And after him, another.
The exotic merchants from the sands trickle inwards with ever-rarer treasures. Tales of uncovered cities, exposed ruins.
And adventures.
So far as anyone can tell, a new series of ruins have been discovered.
Alexandrian Merchants and the Explorer's Guild recognize an opportunity when they see one. Even now, contracts are being issued, and caravans planned.So What's All This, Then?
About Veyshan Month
Above many others, Veyshan is a land of mystery and exoticism. It is a land if intrigue, of the dangerous and damned blood of genies, of pride and the struggle from the underground for the abolition of slavery.
Welcome to Veyshan Month! Veyshan Month will run for roughly 4 weeks, from April 17th to May 15th. During this time, we'll be putting Veyshan in the spotlight. PrPs run with Veyshan as a setting will receive an additional bonus for our PrP Runners as well as Participants. Each PrP Runner may run a maximum of twice per week.
How to Use This Page
Below are many of the ideas shared last week by our community. You're welcome to edit this page and add additional ones, or make requests for things you'd like to see. If you'd like to use one of the below, be sure to "claim" it with a (Claimed by: MyNameHere) at the end of its description. Don't forget the ()'s! PrPs are not required to use the ideas listed. This is meant to be a resource and perhaps even a request sounding-board.
As always, inappropriate content will be removed without warning. PrPs must otherwise conform to Standard or Dramatic PrP rules and guidelines. If you've never run a PrP before, check out our Introduction to Plotrunning. If you'd like some quick information about Veyshan, head over this way.
PrP Ideas
Family Feud
Amazingly enough, there are those in Veyshan who are of the view that an assassin is not the best way to handle family problems. Of course, there are many who believe that their lives would be considerably improved if certain family members were suddenly and efficiently removed. In certain circles outsiders are preferred for assassinations and kidnappings, as well as protection from the same.
Confusing say, Money like Sand
A merchant, noble, etc. invested in some goods from Veyshan. Delivery of these goods was promised X time ago but has been continually delayed. The merchant is now running out of patience faster than the Veyshanti is running out of excuses. The task is to go to Veyshan to secure the goods (or else?). Possible complications include that a group of crooks who are trying to scam any number of merchants. For extra hijinks, the local authorities already have an investigation underway that is ready to be blundered into.
Warren of Worms
Legend has it that a group once bled giant desert worms for the remarkable properties of the wormblood. The composition of this group is nearly as varied as the stories, ranging from religious fanatics to fanatical warriors to a secret society funded by the rulers of empires long past. It is said that the first worm pens began as a simple construction, but as they began to be buried by the sand these people built on top of the original construction to prevent it from being swallowed by the desert. This continued over the centuries, creating an ever more complex structure. Some claim that it came to resemble an inverted pyramid while others predict it is a spiral, in honor of the worms they held captive.
The simplest tales relate that these men and women drank the blood of these worms for its drug-like properties. The two most common effects attributed to it are a prowess in battle granted by added strength and the fearlessness gained from becoming insensate to pain, or oracular powers by way of being granted visions of the future. The more effusive (or possibly accurate) storytellers speak of intrigues, complex processes of preparation that may or may not have involved magic and prayer, and end results that could deliver unto the imbiber nearly any imaginable result up to and including immortality. Some even claim that it was through this very process that the djinn were created.
Naturally no such story would be complete without the promise of the worms still being alive and well, albeit trapped, within this Warren of Worms. Indeed, anyone who should find it is all but promised to also find the secret of wormblood and their fortune as the purveyor of a drug of unmatched potency. Or, if the most incredible tales are true, they might gain the power to establish and rule the next Empire of a Thousand Years.
Tomb of the Earthshaper
Veyshan was not always a desert land dominated by searing heat and raging winds. At one time, all four elements held dominion in this land, and burried beneath the sand are vestiges of these ancient holdings. One such Vestige is the tomb of the earthshaper, the final resting place of a once proud earth elemental. In times before human memory, the elements turned against one another, and the first to fall was the mighty earth- conquered by the relentless erosion of water, fire and wind. The Earthshaper stood in defiance against this fate and the tomb marks his final resting place, or so the tablets recovered from its altar room claim. Legends also claim that the vast sands of the dune sea are what remains of his physical body.
The tomb itself is a vast underground pyramid- even before its tip was buried by the sands, the bulk of it lay beneath the ground. The pyramid is host to ancient mechanical wonders, wrought from eternal stone, as well as living beings of rock and earth that still guard their patron's resting site to this day. Some say that at the core of this largely unexplored structure the living eart of the earthshaper still beats and shakes the land around it as it does so, while others claim the tomb itself is his heart, wrought by his ancient followers into an immortal bastion of stone.
The tip of this giant structure was recently unearthed by an expedition team, however all attempts to penetrate further than the uppermost level to date have met with grizzly ends, from ancient deadly traps or indomitable stone guardians.
The Sandy One
Legend tells that a great spirit will come amidst a tide of foreigners, a broad-hipped spirit of fertility that will arrive in a boat born of the trees and bring about a new green age to the desert. Some djinn believe that they have identified the avatar of this spirit, and hire adventurers in Alexandria to bring her to Veyshan.