DMing Chemistry

  Niq-Astart is said to have been the most talented musician who ever lived. He once performed a song so beautiful, that the Sorcerer-King of Nashat-Ippur wept tears of joy, and instead of executing him for his crime, he let him go. He is also rumored to have seduced goddesses and spirits with his music. He finally met his match when he challenged the White Lady to a musical competition for his own soul, and was consequently dragged screaming into the Underworld , to the great relief of many a husband and father. His great success is in part attributed to his magical harp, which he stole from the god Cur-Atesh . The harp is made from the darkness that dwells among the roots of mountains, and the golden hair of Hath-Ur . Gods, demons and spirits always hear its sound, and a sufficiently skilled player may manipulate these entities into performing magic for them, with the music being payment enough. The Harp is currently housed in the Grand Temple of Hath-Ur in Nashat-Ippur, displa...

 The Ivory Throne is the only thing that remains of the Lost City of Itim-Nir. It is slightly too large for any creature that builds cities, and it was carved from a single piece of ivory, though no-one knows where such a gigantic piece could have been found. It is said, that once it was decorated with murals of such blasphemous nature, that the Sorcerer-King of Urnak, who was the first to possess it after it was taken from Itim-Nir, had them sanded off and forbade anyone who saw them from ever telling a single soul about them. The Throne bears a strange and cruel enchantment. Anyone who sits on it, can sacrifice some of their blood to commune with the demon trapped inside the ivory. When asked for advice on any matters of state, the demon will suggest two mutually exclusive alternatives. One will lead to the state in question flourishing, but will cause the person implementing it to be hated by their subjects. The other one makes the ruler who implements it beloved, but will cause...

Sem is the goddess of the river Sem. Her father is Nir, and her mother is Emsa. Like most river deities she is the patron of farmers, and fishermen. Unlike most river deities she is a great warrior-goddess, and a patron of fighters. It is said that when the Ippur Empire conquered Satnak , fifty of her priestesses slaughtered a three hundred men before being overwhelmed by the tide of soldiers. But overwhelmed they were, and the goddess was stolen. She now dwells in a modest temple in Nashat-Ippur, instead of her great cathedral in her home city of Satnak. She is usually depicted as a middle-aged woman with long, curly hair, wearing bronze armor decorated with a jackal’s hide, holding a trident and a net, and carrying a bow and arrows. Her symbols include jackals, tridents, nets, and four bronze wires crossed like a hash sing (#). Her holy days are the third week of spring, when the river floods. Warriors who retire often give their armaments to the temples as sacrifice on that week...

The Chariot of Mekineios was looted from the orc warlord Mekineios. It is a small war chariot made of oak wood with gold, silver and steel decorations. It can, like all orcish chariots, only accommodate one person. This is not a problem for orcs, as they have four arms, allowing one person to both drive the chariot, and shoot a bow at the same time. The enchantment on this chariot allows the driver to telepathically communicate with the animals pulling the chariot. For orcs this is more of a gimmick, allowing the driver to shoot two bows at the same time. For non-orcs however, it allows for the normal operation of the chariot by a single person. The Chariot is buried in the crypt of Sorcerer-King Rimush, on the second level of the crypt-complex . He is a cowardly recluse, hiding behind hundreds of mummified bodyguards. His paranoia is somewhat justified, as the Chariot is sought after by both other undead kings inside the tomb, and Ea-Ir , who feels it would further his image as a ...

 The Companions of the Shell is the largest gang of criminals operating in Nashat-Ippur . Their name comes from the fact that many members used to be pearl divers, going into the river Sem to to bring up their bounty from the giant man-eating clams inhabiting the river. As one can imagine these already rough-and-tumble men and women found it easy to convert to a criminal enterprise when the empire collapsed and the market for pearls shrunk to almost nothing. They mostly deal in protection, prostitution, and illegal magical artifacts (which is most of them), as light narcotics are already legal in the city, and they are keenly aware that supplying heavy narcotics would cut into the long-term sustainability of their operations. This understanding most likely comes from the pearl diving business, as the clams need around fifty years to grow large enough to provide the most expensive types of pearl, so harming them is ill-advised as the fully grown ones are hard to replace. They also...

The Scepter of Sorcery is an almost a meter long bronze artifact, the top of which is shaped like a clawed hand holding a fist-sized obsidian sphere. The shaft is decorated by a long text is small letters snaking along the item. Looking into the obsidian sphere one can see the night sky, even if it’s currently the middle of the day, or if the Scepter is underground. The sky in the sphere is accurate to what one would see based on the date and location of the Scepter. The main use of this artifact is to empower sorcery. It is said that by channeling a spell through the scepter its efficacy can be boosted by about a third. This, however is only scratching the surface. By decrypting the writing on the handle one can learn several ways of increasing the potency of their spellcasting. These all relate to the positions of the stars and how by invoking the name of the right celestial objects at the right time, one can cast even the most powerful spells with very little effort. The main func...

The imperial crown of the Ippur Empire was buried with its last emperor, when the last imperial holding of Nashat-Ippur fell to the Satnak Uprising. The crown is made from gold, silver, and copper, studded with gems. It is enchanted with various protective spells: it can deflect arrows and sword-strikes, or negate spells aimed at the wearer. It is however not the magical properties of the crown, but its historical significance that give it its monumental value, for whoever retrieves it from the depths of Nashat-Ippur’s necropolis would no doubt be recognized as the rightful monarch of Nashat-Ippur, and will surely be expected to go forth to reconquer the territories once held by the Empire. It is currently held by the undead form of the third Emperor of Ippur, Asnet-Arak, who, despite existing only as a floating skull is still able to wield his almost unmatched magical powers of soul-magic, ice, and lightning. He currently resides on the seventh floor of the crypt-complex in a sa...

The following are just some of the magical artifacts that were buried in the crypt-complex of the Sorcerer-Kings of Nashat-Ippur : Sword of a Thousand Flames: A beautiful one-handed bronze straight sword decorated with rubies, garnets, and citrines. It was owned by Adab Who Stole a Thousand Flames, a nomad warlord, who conquered Nashat-Ippur, and founded its second royal dynasty almost a thousand years ago. It contains one thousand fire spells from producing harmless sparks to calling down a rain of fire from the skies over an entire city. Each spell can only be used once, and then it is gone forever. However it is possible to “recharge” the sword by storing new spells inside of it. The only requirement is that the spell must conjure some form of fire, and that the user cannot be able to cast the specific spell that is to be stored. Crown of the All-Seeing Father: This crown looks less like a piece of regal headgear and more like a steel loop with a random collection of golden and ...

Perhaps the most striking feature of the necropolis of Nashat-Ippur is the crypt-complex of the Sorcerer-Kings of old. It is rumored to contain the wealth of a hundred kingdoms that were conquered by the Sorcerer-Kings buried within. Of course it is protected by traps, both magical and mundane, the undead servants of the Sorcerer-Kings, as well as the Sorcerer-Kings themselves rising from their sarcophagi to wield their ancient magics once more. The requisite for being buried in this complex is not actually to have been a Sorcerer-King of Nashat-Ippur in life, but to be a member of the royal family and to achieve undeath on one’s own. This leads to a very strange bias in the inhabitants. Since the souls of people who did great deeds in life get spared from the suffering of the Underworld , some of the greatest kings and emperors are not present, while many talented sorcerers who are barely mentioned in the histories are. Then there are some truly great rulers as well, who made too ma...

The Spiderweb is the name locals have given the network of underground tunnels, caves, sewers, and animal dwellings under Nashat-Ippur . It started with the irrigation tunnels from the river Sem being built over, then the construction of sewer pipes from the temples and palaces made it commonplace to see people work underground. Less savory individuals soon realized that a large underground network could lead to a veritable explosion in smuggling opportunities, and so the first tunnels were dug. They were then joined by sewer maintenance tunnels, drained underwater caves, dwellings of the giant nutrias, and much more. As operations expanded, people started tunneling under the necropolis on the other bank of the river too, adding cursed crypts and wandering undead to the things hard-working smugglers, on-the-run thieves, and the occasional fugitive needs to worry about while hiding underground. The forces of law enforcement and the temples tried and failed multiple times to put an en...

Like his brother, Ea-Ir , the royal princess Set-Nur is a valid heir to the throne of Nashat-Ippur , and all her territories. She is the magically gifted of the two, and her magic lends itself more to crating and controlling lightning, thunder and rainstorms. She is studious, serious, and is almost entirely without a sense of humor. She usually looks quite disheveled, with huge black circles under her eyes from studying spell-tomes until the small hours of dawn. When she need to however, she can cut quite a striking and royal figure. Her power base comes mostly from the temples, which appreciate her dedication and interpret her natural talent as an indication that the gods would prefer her on the throne. She knows that in spite of her good standing with the temples, it is not certain if they would take up arms against her brother, so she is planning on poisoning him as soon as their father passes away. For this purpose she is poring over alchemical treatises and tomes on herbalism. S...

 Ea-Ir is handsome young man, quick to laugh and quick to anger. He wears colorful robes and a well-oiled beard to appear more impressive. As the son of the Sorcerer-King he has inherited command over light and heat. He mostly uses this to have a slight halo of light around his head, or to have the air around him ripple and twist, as if his body was extremely hot. This show of his powers gains him friends as quickly as enemies. Most of the older men in power love him, as he is very good at pretending he is like what they imagine their younger selves to be. The priesthood however tends to look down of such displays of magical power, claiming it’s using the gift of the gods for mere parlor tricks. The prince knows that his inheritance is not secure as long as his sister is alive, but can’t act directly against her while their father lives. His plan is to get supporters within the nobility and the military who can support him, and hopes to get enough sorcerers on his side to intim...

 The remaining seats of the Council of the Wise are: - Naram-Sin Turul, head of the Turul House, which can trace its lineage back to three of the five mythical founders of Nashat-Ippur. They also operate most of the breweries and bronze forges in the city. Naram-Sin’s boisterous and jovial demeanor (not to mention his sizable belly) hides a highly calculating mind, and he isn’t squeamish about arranging a hit or two if somebody threatens his business interests. Since booze and weapons will always be in demand, he has the most stable income, and consequently he has the least incentive to hire outside help. He supports the prince , since he spends a lot of times both in the inns, and with the military, making him more of a known quantity than his sister, who can mostly be found in the ancient libraries and temples. - High Commander Engur is a rather small and nervous man, a compromise candidate for the position, living his life in constant fear of assassination. His fears are most...

  The Sorcerer-King Ea-Nur rules Nashat-Ippur from the Tower of Bronze in the city center. He is an old man, nearly blind, hard of hearing, and foul of temper but still possessing enough magic to reduce a man to ash with a wave of his finger. It is said one of his ancestors was Hath-Ur, the Brilliant Sun himself, and another was the terrible storm dragon Al-Tenem. His magic is therefore of scorching heat, dazzling light, and unstoppable storm. In his old age he rarely leaves the Bronze Tower, sometimes only on the Day of the Sun (summer solstice) when he is leading a parade through town on top of a giant golden sedan throne. He leaves most of the day-to-day ruling to his son, Ea-Ir , and his daughter, Set-Nur . Of the two the son is more popular with the nobles and the military, but the daughter is the more powerful sorcerer, and she has the backing of some of the temples. The two are constantly maneuvering for power, and when their father dies, they will inevitably clash in ...

  The city of Nashat-Ippur was once a seat of great empire, now after plagues , a volcanic eruption , famine, and rebellion it is a shadow of its former self. The great firestorm burned the docks on the great river Sem, the quaint wooden houses, and the great bazaars. Now in their place stands a ramshackle collection of cheap tents, shacks, and huts inhabited by the ever-growing number of the desolate, hungry and sick. The palaces, temples, and gardens of the old imperial elite still stand in the middle, separated by a great mudbrick wall some ten meters high, from the problems of the lower class. Therein the old aristocracy still pretends at imperial grandeur, though the sources of wealth have dried up, and the great edifices of old have begun to crumble under the pressure of greed, nepotism, and plain old incompetence. As the nobles’ estates crumble, their eyes are ever vigilant for new sources of wealth. Indeed many have their gaze turned onto the sprawling necropolis on the o...