Aegyptus
HISTORY
Long ago Amun created the Earth, sky, stars and lesser Gods. Then, one spring, the great Nile flodded. When the waters receeded great lumps of clay had been deposited and left by the floodwaters. Amun took these aggregations of clay and created plants, man and the beasts that would serve him. Seeing this the lesser gods admired his work, and chose to adopt the form of those creatures that pleased them the most.
Aeons passed, and man moved about the world. But the people of the Nile stayed where the gods created us, for we know the Nile was holy and she is the lifeblood of the world. So we prospered, and erected great monuments to celebrate how the gods favored us for staying true and our wisdom in listening.
Eventually there arose a great leader. He was chosen by the gods to elevate us above the misguided and teeming hoards of lesser man. To Ptah-seker-ausar the gods gave the secret of life and unlife. This Ptah the undying has lead our people for a millennium, protecting us from the other peoples and guiding us toward our destiny: the domination of the lesser and unpure races of the world.
THE SCOPE OF AEGYPTUS
Aegyptus is a vast land, second only to Mesopotamia in scope, but vastly greater in terms of wealth and population. Aegyptus begins at the mouth of the Nile, and stretches to far Nubia at the seventh cataract. To the west the border is undefined, other than by control of trade oasis where we communication with the desert peoples. To the east our power stretches past the Sinai into the Levant. Byblos and her colonies have proven to be an irritation. Nubia and Sheba are vassal states of our great nation, but there have been some problems with Axum now that the King of Axum has taken in interest in the latest ruler of Sheba, Narsi.
ISOLATION AND INTERACTION
Aegyptus is highly isolated form her neighbors; due to the disdain Aegyptians hold the rest of the world. The society is highly insular and as a result is very slow to adopt or even consider external developments. The exception to this is the caravan routs across the Sinai and the port on the Red Sea that Ptah allows to be run by Axumites. The privileged class of Aegyptus desire silk, spices and ivory. While they can obtain some ivory locally and grow their own exotic fauna, the only way to acquire Silk is through trade. AS a result Aegyptus has maintained contact with Canaan and Axum. They also maintain a presence at the major Mesopotamian courts, but mostly so that Ptah knows what is going on in the east. The other nations are a waste of time.
TECHNOLOGY
Aegyptus is a late Bronze Age society, but they have exceptional skills in terms of stone masonry and agriculture. All of the millions of Aegypt live in a densely populated strip along the Nile. This has resulted in unparalleled agriculture and irrigation techniques. The startling exceptions to this are Aegyptian knowledge of sorcery and the heavens.
THE HUMANITIES
The Humanities in Aegyptus are largely neglected. Music is a frivolity for the wealthy, and poetry is unheard of. Writing is the purview of rulers and priests. The people serve, the rulers rule and the priests augur the portents of the heavens. AS a result most writing in Aegyptus concerns religious or magical matters (of course, and Aegyptian would point out that they are one and the same. Inherent, learned, granted; they are all simply different manifestations of godly gifts).
SUBSISTENCE AND MOBILITY
Aegyptus is a fixed society, reliant on intensive agriculture supplemented by some gathering of sea-life or herding. Even their clothes are made of plant fibers rather than fleece. Their complete reliance and understanding of the Nile makes the very idea of nomad-ism absurd.
POLITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Aegyptus is a Theocratic Autocracy, ruled by the immortal Ptah-seker-ausar. He actually died over 900 years ago, but so great is his power that he mummified himself, and then simply continued to rule in spite of Death. He rules Aegyptus with an iron fist, with his priests acting as his tongue and his legions his fist. The Priest deal with the day to day understanding of the gods will and running of the Empire, while the Eternal Legions maintain order (Eternal because one one is chosen for service not even death allows escape).
Locally people are pretty much free to run their lives as they will. Most cities are essentially independent as long as they make their yearly tithe in terms of goods and manpower to the priesthoods and the Pharoh. Some cities are ruled directly by priests (Karnaaak and Hamunaptra for example) while a council of freemen rules Luxor. At the end though each man woman or child is own body and soul by Ptah and the Gods - and failure to recognize this truth results in damnation worse than death.
KINSHIP
To the common man and merchant Kinship is extremely important. The patrilinial family determines who will inherit, and daughters are married off to friendly families to raise status and to create alliances. The best hope for commoners is to become a member of the imperial bureaucracy to render service to Ptah. This is not true of the Priesthoods and the Legions.
A person who joins a priesthood must swear loyalty to only their priesthood, formally and ritually forswearing all other allegiances before their chosen deity. To fail to do this results in a live embalming and gradual devouring by the Scarab. As a result the priests are first loyal to their god, then to Ptah. Between the two there is little room for anything else.
Those who join the legions die in the legions. And if they are exceptionally loyal they are allowed to rest once they die.
ECONOMIC EXCHANGE SYSTEM
Aegyptus relies on barter and coinage for all market exchanges. Ptah demands a tithe to enter one of his cities based on the amount of goods acquired or sold. All persons must render 1/5th of their possessions or wealth to the Imperial assessor at the new year. Cities also have a requirement in terms of either material goods or services.
The priesthoods require payment in terms of goods or service when a petitioner calls on their aid.
ECONOMY TYPE
Aegyptus is essentially a command economy, with individuals paying for goods or services as necessary. The national industries are run essentially by either the priesthoods or the Legions. Most people do not have sufficient wealth to pay taxes, so they end up dovting part of their lives in service to priests, the pharaoh or both. Many freedmen pay their dues in terms of children that are pledged to Imperial service or the priesthoods.
RESOURCES
Aegyptus is resource abundant in terms of manpower, agriculture and mineral wealth. Aegyptus only real external need is for certain luxury goods.
EXPLORATION
Aegyptus has zero interest in the outside world other than its immediate neighbors. an Aegyptian with wanderlust is an odd bird indeed.
TRADE
Aegyptus trades for what they lack, which is only luxury items. To a Canaanite an Aegyptian route pays far less in term of population then say a deliver to the Heleens, or Erturia even.
MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE
Aegyptian military has three major components: the Undead Legions controlled directly by Ptah and his Necromantic disciples, the Living legions which in many ways are the massed fodder troops (Except for certain elite units such as the Chariot Battle mages of Luxor) and the Legions of the Priests. It is said the Temple Guard of Sekhmet are the finest troops in the entire world. This boast is backed up by the fact that they have never lost a battle.
RELIGION
Ruled by the Immortal Pharaoh Ptah-seker-ausar. Ptah is a bearded man wearing a skullcap, with his hands in front and holding the Was (animal-headed) scepter, an Ankh, and a Djed (sign of stability). More importantly, he is what is known as a Death Lord: the controller of unlife. He has taken Necromancy and elevated it to an unparalleled form. He commands utterly legions of his troops both in life and in death. He has learned the secrets of creating the fell mummy legions from his temples in Giza and the sacred city of Hamunaptra.
In most lands, the people can escape service to their King with death. Not in Aegyptus.
Amun
Amun's name means "The Hidden One." Amun is the creation-deity of all Gods. His sacred animals are the goose and the ram.
His famous temple, Karnak, is the largest religious structure ever built by man. Amun is described as "an invisible creative power which was the source of all life in heaven, and on the earth, and in the great deep, and in the Underworld, and which made itself manifest under the form of Re." Additionally, Amun appears is the protector of any pious devotee in need. Amun is self-created - his will spring from the orderless chaos. By his will we have form. Amun and Re exist in duality, different aspects of the same God.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Symbol: none
Domains: Law, Knowledge, Forge
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Anubis
Anubis is the son of Nephthys. Anubis is depicted as a jackal, or as a jackal-headed man; in primitive times he was probably simply the jackal god. Anubis is worshiped as the inventor of embalming, who had embalmed the dead Osiris, thus helping preserve him in order to live again. His task is to glorify and preserve all the dead. Anubis is also responsible for conducting the souls of the dead to their judgement, and who monitoring the Scales of Truth to protect the dead from the second death in the underworld.
Alignment: Neutral Good
Symbol: a Jackal
Domains: Knowledge, Dead, Truth
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Apis
He is primarily a deity of fertility. He is represented as a bull crowned with the solar disk and uraeus-serpent. A sacred Apis bull is kept in Memphis, and there is a great mass burial of Apis bulls, the Serapeum (named for his composite relative Serapis), located there.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Symbol: a bull crowned with the Uraeus-serpent
Domains: Animal, Plant, Strength
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Aten
The sun disk itself. In the reign of Amunhotep IV during Dynasty 18, Aten was depicted as a disk with rays, each ray terminating in a human hand and bestowing symbols of "life" upon those below.
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: the sun disk
Domains: Sun, Protection, Fire
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Bastet
A cat-goddess, protectress of cats and those who cared for cats. As a result, an important deity in the home (since cats were prized pets) and also important in the iconography (since papyri usually show the serpents which attack the sun being killed by cats). She is also a patroness of luxury and pleasures.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Symbol: a cat
Domains: Home, Protection, Luck
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Edjo
A serpent goddess of the Delta, a symbol and protectoress of Lower Egypt, the counterpart of Nekhbet in Upper Egypt, worn as part of the king's crown.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: a serpent
Domains: Animal, Protection, Water
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Four Sons of Horus
The four sons of Horus were the protectors of the parts of the body of Osiris, and from this, became the protectors of the body of the deceased. They are: Imsety, Hapi, Duamutef, and Qebhsenuef.
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: Four men
Domains: Knowledge, Dead, Protection
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Geb
The god of the earth; son of Shu and Tefnut; brother and husband of Nut; and father of Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. His sacred animal and symbol is the goose. He is generally represented as a man with green or black skin - the color of living things, and the color of the fertile Nile mud, respectively. Geb hods imprisoned the souls of the wicked, that they might not ascend to heaven.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Symbol: The Goose
Domains: Earth, Protection, Justice
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Hapi
One of the Four Sons of Horus, Hapi is represented as a mummified man with the head of a baboon. He is the protector of the lungs of the deceased. Hapi is also the personification of the River Nile, depicted as a corpulent man (fat signifying abundance) with a crown of lilies (Upper Nile) or papyrus plants (Lower Nile).
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Symbol: A mummified man with the head of a baboon
Domains: Plant, Knowledge, Earth
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Het-Hert
A very old goddess of Egypt, worshiped as a cow-deity from earliest times. She is a sky goddess, and the consort of Horus. She is usually shown with a solar disk flanked by cow horns on her head. She is also the patron of love, dance, alcohol, and foreign lands.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Symbol: Cow
Domains: Beauty, Luck, Air
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Horus
One of the most important deities of Egypt. As the Child, Horus is the son of Osiris and Isis, who, upon reaching adulthood, avenges his father's death, by defeating and castrating his evil uncle Set. He then became the divine prototype of the Pharaoh. Horus is the god of knowledge and learning.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Symbol: a man
Domains: Knowledge, Justice, Truth, Law
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Isis
Perhaps the most important goddess (or god, for that matter) of all Aegyptus. Her most important functions are those of motherhood, marital devotion, healing the sick, and the working of magical spells and charms. She is the most powerful magician in the universe, owing to the fact that she learned the Secret Name of Ra from the god himself. She is the sister and wife of Osiris, sister of Set, and twin sister of Nephthys. She was the mother of Horus the Child, and was the protective goddess of Horus's son Imsety, protector of the liver of the deceased. Most importantly, Isis is the Goddess of Light and Truth.
Isis was responsible for protecting Horus from Set during his infancy; for helping Osiris to return to life; and for assisting her husband to rule in the land of the Dead.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: a woman
Domains: Protection, Magic, Knowledge, Sun
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Khnum
Appearing as a ram-headed human, he is another creator-god, represented as fashioning human beings on his pottery wheel. His consort was variously Heqet, Neith, or Sati.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Symbol: A ram-headed human
Domains: Forge, Knowledge, Good
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Khons
Khons is the god of the moon. The best-known story about him tells of him playing the ancient game senet ("passage") against Thoth, and wagering a portion of his light. Thoth won, and because of losing some of his light, Khons cannot show his whole glory for the entire month, but must wax and wane. The main temple in the enclosure at Karnak is dedicated to him.
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: the Crescent moon
Domains: Night, Air, Truth
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Maat
Considered the wife of Thoth and the daughter of Re, Maat's name implies "truth" and "justice" and even "cosmic order". Maat is represented as a tall woman with an ostrich feather (the glyph for her name) in her hair. She is present at the judgement of the dead; her feather is balanced against the heart of the deceased to determine whether he had led a pure and honest life.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: Tall woman with an ostrich feather
Domains: Truth, Justice, Law
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Mentu
Primarily a war god.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: a man with a sword
Domains: War, Luck, Protection
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Menu-ka-mut-f "Min, Bull of his Mother".
Min is the god of virility; lettuces were offered as sacrifice to him and then eaten in hopes of procuring manhood; and he is also worshiped as the husband of the goddess Qetesh, goddess of love and femininity.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: An erect Phallus
Domains: Luck, Strength, Healing
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Neith
A very ancient goddess of women warriors worshiped in the Delta; revered as a goddess of wisdom. Mother of the crocodile god Sobek.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: a woman warrior
Domains: Knowledge, Beauty, War
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Nekhbet
Upper Egyptian patron goddess, represented as a vulture in iconography, and often part of the crown of the pharaoh, along with her Lower Egyptian counterpart Edjo.
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: Vulture
Domains: Protection, Sun, Strength
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Nebt-het
"Lady of the House", the youngest child of Geb and Nut. The sister and wife of Set, and sister of Isis and Osiris; also the mother (variantly by Set or by Osiris) of Anubis. She is, along with her sister, considered the special protectress of the dead. She is given the title "Friend of the Dead" and is seen as a personification of darkness (in a non-evil sense) as Isis is a goddess of light.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: none
Domains: Night, Protection, Dead
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Nuit
The goddess of the sky, daughter of Shu and Tefnut, sister and wife of Geb, mother of Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys.
Nut is generally depicted as a woman with blue skin, and her body covered with stars, standing on all fours, leaning over her husband, representing the sky arched over the earth.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: A woman with blue skin, and her body covered with stars, standing on all fours.
Domains: Law, Oracle, Truth
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Osiris
The god of the dead, and the god of the resurrection into eternal life; ruler, protector, and judge of the deceased. Osiris was the first child of Nut and Geb, thus the brother of Set, Nephthys, and Isis, who was also his wife. By Isis he fathered Horus, Nephthys assumed the form of Isis, seduced him thus, and from their union was born Anubis.
Osiris ruled the world of men in the beginning, after Ra had abandoned the world to rule the skies, but his brother Set murdered him. Through the magic of Isis, he was made to live again. Being the first person to die, he subsequently became lord of the dead. His death was avenged by his son Horus, who defeated Set and cast him out into the desert to the West of Egypt.
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Symbol: The Ankh
Domains: Dead, Justice, Water, Healing
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Qetesh
Goddess of love and femininity.
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Symbol: A beautiful woman
Domains: Beauty, Luck, Home
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Re
Re is the god of the sun; the name means "creative power", and as a proper name "Creator". Re is represented either as a hawk-headed man or as a hawk. In order to travel through the waters of Heaven and the Underworld, Re was depicted as traveling in a boat.
In Dynasty 5, the first king, Userkaf, was also Re's high priest, and he added the term Sa-Re "Son of Re" to the titles of the pharaohs.
Re was father of Shu and Tefnut, grandfather of Nut and Geb, great-grandfather of Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys, and great-great-grandfather to Horus. Re is a different aspect of Amun, as Amun is Re.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Symbol: The sun in its ship
Domains: Chaos, Fire, Travel
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Sekhmet
A lioness goddess, created by Re from the fire of his eyes as a creature of vengeance to punish mortals for their sins. Sekhmet is the Goddess of Vengful war and Hate.
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Symbol: a human-lioness
Domains: War, Justice, Evil
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Selket
A scorpion-goddess, shown as a beautiful woman with a scorpion poised on her head; her creature struck death to the wicked, but she is also petitioned to save the lives of innocent people stung by scorpions; she is also viewed as a helper of women in childbirth. She is depicted as binding up demons that would otherwise threaten Re, and she sent seven of her scorpions to protect Isis from Set.
She protected Qebehsenuef, the son of Horus who guarded the intestines of the deceased.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: Woman with a scorpion on her head.
Domains: Healing, Protection, Good
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Set
Set is the evil enemy of Horus. Set was the brother of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys, and husband of the latter; according to some he is also father of Anubis. Set is best known for murdering his brother and attempting to kill his nephew Horus. As a result he is the God of jealousy, ambition, lies, and deceit.
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Symbol: a man with a wolf head.
Domains: Evil, Destruction, Chaos, Death
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Shu
The god of the atmosphere and of dry winds, son of Ra, brother and husband of Tefnut, father of Geb and Nut. Represented in hieroglyphs by an ostrich feather (similar to Maat's), which he is usually shown wearing on his head. He is generally shown standing on the recumbent Geb, holding aloft his daughter Nut, separating the two. The name "Shu" is probably related to the root shu meaning "dry, empty." Shu also seems to be a personification of the sun's light. Shu and Tefnut were also said to be but two halves of one soul, perhaps the earliest recorded example of "soulmates."
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: an ostrich feather
Domains: Air, Sun, Strength
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Sobek
The crocodile god, Sobek was worshipped to appease him and his animals. According to some evidence, Sobek was considered a fourfold deity who represented the four elemental gods (Re of fire, Shu of air, Geb of earth, and Osiris of water). In the Book of the Dead, Sobek assists in the birth of Horus; he fetches Isis and Nephthys to protect the deceased; and he aids in the destruction of Set.
Alignment: Neutral
Symbol: A man with a crocodile head
Domains: Destruction, Animal, Dead
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Tefnut
The goddess of moisture and clouds, daughter of Re, sister and wife of Shu, mother of Geb and Nut. Depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, which is her sacred animal.
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: A woman with the head of a lioness
Domains: Air, Plant, Animal
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
Thoth
The god of wisdom, Thoth was said to be self-created at the beginning of time, along with his consort Ma'at. Thoth is depicted as a man with the head of an ibis, and carried a pen and scrolls upon which he recorded all things. He is shown as attendant in almost all major scenes involving the gods, but especially at the judgement of the deceased. He served as the messenger of the gods.
Thoth served as the vizier of Osiris. He, like Khons, is a god of the moon, and is also the god of time, magic, and writing. He is considered the inventor of the hieroglyphs, which the Egyptians called medju-netjer, "words of the gods".
Alignment: Lawful Good
Symbol: A man with the head of an ibis
Domains: Knowledge, Magic, Justice
Common Prayers:
Observances or Festivals:
MAGIC
There are three types of magic in Aegyptus, the magic given to Priests by the gods, the magic of Necromancy given by those loyal to Ptah, and the magic of Summoning. Summonig spirits and demons is an ancient art inherited from their Nubian cousins to the north. Summoning has largly fallen out of favor during the millennium of Ptah, but it still has some pratctionerswho wish to preserve the 'Old ways' against the time of Ptah's failing.
VARIANT AND PRESTIGE CLASSES
Necromancer, Summoner, Shadow Magic, Truname Magic