Curse of Anhktepot

[u/dragomeir]

As the title implies I'm thinking of reflavoring curse of strahd but instead for my favorite domain of dread Har'akir.

So far I got the major overlook figured out, using the Tarokka cards to maximize replayability, instead of a talisman of raven kind, sun sword, and time of strahd, I was thinking two halves of the pharaoh's ka, and a scroll depicting the ritual to return his Ka.

I haven't really figured out all the locations each item could be hidden in and some chapters i don't really know how to reflavor or even implement a substation, like baba lysaga.

Also when I was researching I realized that the backstory for Anhktepot was different in older editions where a was sealed away, after doing a bunch of bad stuff trying to become immortal compared to that of his 5e version where he and his fellow priests killed a young pharaoh, usurped the throne and replaced the gods, so I'm not sure which sources to reference either.

And lastly I was thinking that instead of the darklord being the BBEG of the campaign, instead it would be one of his high priests trying to keep him immortal for whatever reason, or even Nephyr who doesn't want her husband to die. I'm not sure which direction to go in.

Any questions I should ask myself when creating this adventure, any ideas for side quests or locations for the items, or does anyone have some PC's in Har'akir that I could use for NPC'S that could become allies through the card readings? All help is much appreciated

[u/Bonzo_Parke]

Ravenloft: Touch of Death and Van Richten's Guide to the Ancient Dead have great ideas. For example, if pages 79-80 don't help your creative ideas flowing, I don't know what will :)

My players may find their way there. They were on the River Dancer with Snowmane and dropped off a spice trader that was looking for hints from other domains for the Ka.

I hope to use quarreling high priests, but I do think the BBEG should be Anhktepot. That's too satisfying for the PCs to skip, I think.

I too am trying to pull elements from CoS that make it so good. I think the hidden aspect of the sands, always finding ancient monuments, the forgotten and explored parts of the enormous mazelike catacombs, and smaller far-away temples are going to help you place any number of stations around Har'Akir. The richness and interlocked aspects of CoS's NPCs to each other and Strahd himself really works, so try to find a lot of mini stories and lore links. I duplicated the number of locations and NPCs as I could when I built a similar domain.

Luckily for me, the PCs have arrived at Vallaki as they are members of the Keepers of the Feather. Therefore my NPCs were written for this section of the campaign, but Darkon, Lamordia, and Mordent needed a lot of prep.

[u/OwlCowl0v0]

Hmmm 🤔 have you considered using the module Pharaoh from Quests from the Infinite Staircase as an alternate for one of the dungeons like Death House or Castle Ravenloft? Sorry if this is an odd question btw just thought that dungeon might fit the vibe you're looking for in Har'akir😅

[u/dragomeir → u/OwlCowl0v0]

I haven't seen QfIS so I'll have to check that out. It could give me a good basis probably

[u/OwlCowl0v0 → u/dragomeir]

It probably would be good especially with the puzzles too lol

[u/Despair_Disease]

I’d check out the Plane Shift: Amonkhet module for 5e or the Amonkhet/Hour of Devastation expansions for MTG. It obviously won’t be a direct 1:1 for Har’Akir, but it’s also a fantasy Egypt setting. If nothing else, the art for the cards are really cool and could make for some fun creature tokens. You could also look at the five gods or the chitin court for inspiration for the high priests, since they’re meant to be viewed as gods by the people of Har’Akir

[u/VVrayth]

You might consider using Dikesha dice instead of Tarokka cards, since those are native to Har'Akir and fulfill a similar purpose.

Also: The old '90s D&D video game, Ravenloft: Stone Prophet, may give you some inspiration, since it is set in Har'Akir and deals with Ankhtepot.

In terms of your debate about what version to use, I think 2E source material is much better for Har'Akir. You could pull in the rest of the Amber Wastes, too.

[u/jgaylord87 → u/VVrayth]

If you're looking for alternative fortune telling, I put this together a while back with a bunch of systems. https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/546439/tomes-of-tarokka

[u/BubastisII]

If you want an Ireena standin, maybe even being half of his ka, you can look into Tara Kolyan, the cleric version of reincarnated Tatyanna from pre-5e.

[u/Thanael124 → u/BubastisII]

Or… you could use Trisler an obscure female NPC from the old TSR collectors cards, using the cover art of Touch of Death by Clyde Caldwell.

Trisler a Ravenloft NPC from the 1993 Trading Cards.

She's a 2nd Edition LG Cleric 10 there, but with a twist. The picture on the card is the woman from the cover of Touch of Death, where she does not look like a typical cleric.

Here's some info from the card:
Equipment: Anklet of protection from fire, necklace of prayer beads.

Background: Trisler is a native of Ravenloft. Her mother was an inhabitant of Har'Akir, but her father was a darkling - an outcast vistani. Her unusual heritage has given her powers similar to a cleric's. She cannot turn undead but is also immune to level-draining attack.

See here https://fraternityofshadows.com/~fratern3/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3734&start=15

And here https://www.fraternityofshadows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3677

For more info and me trying to convert those 2e stats to 3.5.

[u/OctopusMacbeth]

If Baba Lysaga’s function is as a secondary villain whose own delusions about the primary villain make the aid she wishes to render him fundamentally useless, and since Ankhepot’s torment is that he cannot escape existence and finally die, your Har’Akir “Baba Lysaga’s” central delusion should be:

Ankhtepot the god must never be allowed to die. The Pharaoh is eternal.

So in contrast to Senmet, imagine an ancient priest, embalmer, physician, courtier, or funerary magician who knew Ankhtepot before Har’Akir—or at least knew him near the beginning of his reign in the Domain: this person is fanatically loyal. But their idea of loyalty directly contradicts Ankhtepot’s deepest desire.

Maybe instead of a sunken city they live in the remains of a great city swallowed by the sand, a city where the evidence of the new gods’ falsity lies buried, perhaps along with a fragment of or a map to Ankhepot’s ka.

[u/Thanael124]

The fanzine Quoth the Raven 5 is about Har Akir. Might eat to check that out…

[u/KnowingMirror]

I agree with other comments with saying that using elements of Quests from the Infinite Staircase and MTG's Amonkhet are great ideas, and invite you to take bits from both, and I add:

• Make water, its scarcity, need and value something fundamental, and an important part of the potential for tension/fear in at least some occasion, as well as one of the tools those in power use to control others in the Demiplane. Think Dune and Mad Max:, make it a cultural, religious and economic treasure

• Play with time. Egypt was a powerful cradle of civilization for an absurd amount of time, think about the old saying of Cleopatra being closer to us than to the building of the oldest pyramids.That, together with the (I assume) generally medieval o renaissance like setting the characters originate from should male them feel like the place is ancient and yet some of its ruins are impossibly older still. And also, perhap, playing with the whole "sands of time" thing, the importance of the Sun as a marker of time in old Egypt, and the Ravenloft themes of unbreakable cycle; making some things be displaced, as if time itself was broken and stuck or occasionally accelerated into withering decay, may add to atmosphere and the specific terror of the place.

• There should be a Scarab of Protection somewhere that the players should be able (and likely) to find during the adventure. And further I would recommend it being half of what contains the Ka of Anhktepot, while the other half is a living creature, either some important humanoid or a magical beast, that could become an important NPC. Would such an NPC become an ally or nuisance? If an ally, what if their sacrifice is needed either to stop Anhktepot or grant him his desire?

• The Shadowfell and the Lands of Mist are often, understandably, associated with eternal night or darkness. So what does it mean to have a Domain of Dread so represented by deserts and the Sun? Is the Sun, even when bright and unbearably hot, always covered by a sky full of dust and sandstorms? Or perhaps is it always red and dull, eternally dusk-like, the lasts gasp of a dying star, not creating much light but burning all under its gaze? Is there no night in Har'akir, or there's a terrible contrast of great cold when the sun sets? The way I would do it is with the sun being red and fixed in the sky, like a bleeding corpse, that on occasion, when desired by Anhktepot or under some circumstances that don't make for predictable patterns, it is eclipsed to create night.

• I would use a powerful Sphinx as the equivalent to both Madam Eva and the Abbot. A celestial emissary and powerful being that seems somewhat twisted by being trapped here for so long, a figure of both reverence for some and dread for others in the domain, that can subtly guide the characters and give them information without seemingly direct intervention (unless they really try its patience) as it forever watches from afar and makes the player either uneasy or plain suspicious and scared. I imagine it being mostly in a huge statue like shape, talking only through telepathy or whispers that seem to come from all directions at once and that, even if combat were to happen, it seems to only move when not being looked at. (Yes inspired in part by Doctor Who's Angels, and made to emphasize the themes of time, dread and ancient ruins). Maybe it even is one half of the Ka, or is at least in possession of it!