|
RPG Profiles |
|
TEHUTI'S PER ON THE WEB NOTE: Very early D&D-esque profiles, including one of the Apsiu race which is featured in Horus and in the Ameni Chronicles; they look to have been my attempt at an Egypt-based manual. Regarding the Afrit, Antelope, and Winged Antelope entries, I can't be sure if I wrote all the material myself, though it's likely. The Akhekh entry is almost surely mine, and the Apsiu one is definitely of my own creation. Sketches of each species were included with each entry but for the Apsiu one, which features a sketch of a crossed ax and sword, a dagger superimposed over their middle, and the text "An Apsiu warrior badge of honor." In addition, two separate sketches, of an Apsiu Kana (warrior) and a Moru (slave), were found, which may have been included with these profiles. A LOT of the information in the Apsiu profile has since changed; as there is so much of it, I'll include those notes in the text itself.
A discrepancy from the Akhekh profile is in reference to the feud between Sokar and Hathor; this was in fact spurred by mutual dislike between the two, after which Hathor kept making Sokar fall in and out of love with mortal women until Ra forced her to stop; I cannot recall Akhekh ever being involved in the affair. A discrepancy in the Winged Antelope profile is that I do not think Thoth uses twenty of them; he would have either two, eight, or some multiple of eight. Other discrepancies are unknown as they are not races I developed in my writing. The date is missing but I would place these as early high school (high school = 1991-95), as the printout is on the old continuous-feed computer paper that our Tandy's dot matrix printer used back then. AFRIT Activity Cycle: Dusk to dawn; in tombs, anytime Alignment: Lawful evil Dexterity: High Diet: None Frequency: Very rare Habitat: Cemeteries; dark tombs Intelligence: Low Magic: Draining powers, instill fear, teleportation, invisibility Morale: Fanatic Number Appearing: 1 Organization: Solitary Size: Medium Special Attacks: See MAGIC; shriek Special Defenses: See MAGIC and SPECIAL ATTACKS; go through solids Strength: Low Treasure: Armor, weapons, magical items The afrit (pl. afriti) is a totally evil demonic spirit, conjured up by a necromancer to do his evil deeds. After these are done there is no simple way to dispose of an afrit, so it is often let loose to roam abandoned cemeteries at night. This is where afriti can usually be found, deep within the tombs of those long forgotten. Though not encountered often and very weak--they are, after all, only spirits--they can cause a substantial amount of damage by DRAINING the energy from those living beings they encounter. This enables them to become more powerful, and the very few that drain large amounts become wraiths, more powerful versions of the afriti. They cannot come out in daylight; the sunlight causes them to die a slow, painful death. At night, however, they creep out to search for unsuspecting prey. They have the power to INSTILL FEAR in any living creature they meet, which sometimes helps them with their energy-draining by paralyzing the victim with terror. They are difficult to kill other than with sunlight but other light sources, such as a flaming torch, will often keep them at bay--for a while. However, those who venture into tombs should already have their light source lit, for afriti can become INVISIBLE at will. (When invisible, it is sometimes possible to detect their presence by the sound of breathing, a faint draft, or by watching the reactions of animals or especially sensitive people in the expedition.) Around their habitations can often be found piles of armor and weaponry, those items left by their past victims; other treasures may be nearby, but these are usually the property of the owner of the tomb itself and should be left alone, lest the one taking them stir up the wrath of his ka. Description: Afriti are humanoid in appearance, but with a totally hateful, horrid look upon their evil faces. Their lower limbs trail off into mist, leaving them looking legless. They are transparent and difficult to see unless they show themselves. Wild, wispy hair blows out from their heads; indeed, it seems as if they are always caught in a strong wind. Their shrill shriek is impossible to miss, and sometimes causes those who hear it to go mad. AKHEKH Activity Cycle: Anytime Alignment: Neutral good Dexterity: High Diet: Omnivore Frequency: Unique Habitat: Desert wastelands Intelligence: Genius Magic: Teleportation, create illusion, heal, telepathy, summon gryphons Morale: Elite Size: Large Special Attacks: See MAGIC; clawing, biting, wing buffet, stinging Special Defenses: See MAGIC and SPECIAL ATTACKS Strength: High Treasure: Gems, magical items, ores The Akhekh is very gryphonlike in appearance, with a few minor differences. First of all, he has a barbed serpent's tail instead of a lion's. Secondly, his coloring is different; instead of the tawny gold lion's pelt of other gryphons, his fur is dark umber, his wings are glossy greenish-black, and his beak is deep red with the tip ending in black. Plus, he is much smarter than average gryphons, and smaller in size. The only left of his kind, it is uncertain if he is an offshoot of the common gryphon or of another race entirely. As it is, we will never know, since he is unique. He also possesses a keen sense of humor, often tricking potential trappers into letting him escape. No one has ever had him caught for long. His sharp beak and talons allow him to cut his way out of almost any trap, and on the ones he can't he uses his wits. He lives out in the wastelands surrounding SOKAR's palace, enjoying that god's protection. In fact, the great feud that developed between Sokar and the goddess HATHOR began because of the fact that Hathor had attempted to capture him. He is virtually harmless, for he almost never resorts to attacking pursuers; he only has to use his intelligence to outwit them, often CREATING ILLUSIONS or TELEPORTING to confuse them. He collects various treasures which he guards carefully; being very well-hidden, they are almost impossible to find. There have been a few adventurers who have managed to obtain several of these items, and they have so far suffered no retribution on the part of Akhekh; however, they escaped before he found out what they were doing, a very amazing feat in itself. Description: As has already been noted, Akhekh is very much akin to a gryphon in appearance, only smaller and different in color. His lion parts are dark umber; his wings are black, reflecting green in the sunlight; his talons are dull yellow while his beak is a deep cherry red fading to jet black at the tip. His eyes are bright gold and lively, and his head feathers are white like those of a common gryphon. His tail is that of a large serpent, green in color, ending with a sharp scorpionlike barb which he rarely uses except in extreme situations. He can fly and is very fast. ANTELOPE Activity Cycle: Dawn to late evening Alignment: Neutral Dexterity: High Diet: Herbivore Frequency: Common Habitat: Grassland Intelligence: Semi- Magic: Nil Morale: Unsteady Number Appearing: 5-250 Organization: Herd Size: Small to large Special Attacks: Butting, hitting with hooves, stampede, biting Special Defenses: See SPECIAL ATTACKS Strength: Low to high Treasure: Nil Antelope are peaceful, delicate, lovely creatures, spending their time grazing on the grasslands surrounding the Nile river [sic]. They range in size from about as tall as a man's knee to larger than a man, but all are pretty much harmless, except in self-defense. The smaller gazelles are often kept as pets in private zoos and, when caught young, can be easily tamed due to their intelligence and become loving pets. The larger oryxes aren't as common in zoos; more rugged and wild, they prefer to keep as far away from human civilization as possible. In the far wilds where few men have ever ventured these animals are said to be so unused to human inhabitance that they will come right up to inspect the unexpected visitors. They are very fast on hoof, and can fight very well with their sharp hooves and horns, as well as bite, but will most often flee before they do so. Quite shy and reclusive, it is difficult to get up close to them unless they are domesticated. Description: The smaller gazelles come, at the head, about as high as a man's chest, and often lower. They are extremely delicate in appearance, with thin horns curving back over their heads. They are light tan with dark and white stripes alternating on their backs, and run in high, leaping bounds, with their snow-white tails straight up. The larger oryxes, about as tall as a man and much heavier, are dark brown with white stripes on their backs, with long twisted black horns and white muzzles. They are stockier than their tiny gazelle cousins, and much more powerful. There are several other species, not nearly as common, which are somewhat varied in appearance. ANTELOPE, WINGED Activity Cycle: Anytime Alignment: Lawful good Dexterity: High Diet: Herbivore, special Frequency: Rare Habitat: Aalu Intelligence: Very Magic: Teleportation, telepathy, create wind, summon antelope and/or winged antelope, create illusion Morale: Steady Number Appearing: 1-25 Organization: Herd, family Size: Small Special Attacks: See MAGIC; butting, hitting with hooves, biting, wing buffet Special Defenses: See MAGIC and SPECIAL ATTACKS Strength: Low Treasure: None These tiny servants of the powerful gods are devoted to the forces of lawful good, and thus will aid any being of that persuasion should they call upon them for help. They are very intelligent and often act as messengers or light chariot steeds for the gods. THOTH's chariot is one such example, being pulled by twenty of these creatures. [Per Note: See introduction.] They have their own language, consisting of a series of chirps and trills interspersed with deep purrs and clicks, but can communicate telepathically, though they rarely do. When flying, they often sing, and to witness this is a wonderful experience. They are as swift as the wind, being able to span great distances in a very short period of time, but are not very powerful physically, due to their slight stature. They are most commonly used by those deities representing the moon, and so any being who prays to a moon god/goddess should have more success contacting winged antelope. Description: These creatures are quite small, about the size of a common gazelle (see above). They are pure white and radiate a faint glow, and appear to be somewhat translucent. Their eyes are large, round, and sky-blue with pupils of silver, and their horns are silver as well, swooping backwards and up like a gazelle's. Their tiny hooves are also silver, and they prance daintily about when not flying. Their wings are silver but in motion appear transparent, like those of a hummingbird in flight. APSIU Activity Cycle: Dawn to night Alignment: Neutral evil Dexterity: Average Diet: Omnivore Frequency: Uncommon Habitat: Woods/jungle, scrubland Intelligence: Low to average Magic: Rudimentary skills Morale: Unreliable to fanatic Number Appearing: 5-150 Organization: Small community/village, tribe Size: Medium Special Attacks: Armed combat, wing buffet, tail lash, biting Special Defenses: See SPECIAL ATTACKS Strength: Average to high Treasure: Any [Per Note: The Apsiu are NOT "neutral evil," but would more likely be "neutral"; their frequency is common; they do not live in the woods/jungle or scrubland, but along the river and in the oases, just like humans; and their intelligence is average to high.] The Apsiu are a primitive race originally created by SET, and so are very similar in appearance to that god. Among the Apsiu peoples there are two classes: the winged, physically superior warriors, and the wingless, slavelike drones. [Per Note: I apparently had not yet come up with the terms "Kana" and "Moru" to refer to the warriors and slaves ("drones"); I also didn't know at the time that the words "drone" and "slave" were not synonymous. So, substitute "slave" for every time "drone" is used.] Of course the warriors are the class in higher standing, and each wears a different kind of clothing to determine his rank. [Per Note: The lappet system of rank identification was apparently not thought up yet; in this profile only the coloration of clothing is mentioned, and while the lappets are alluded to ("a sort of skullcap with flaps hanging down the sides in front of the ears"), their importance is not mentioned.] The drones are just that; among the Apsiu there is held a unique belief that an Apsiu baby born without wings is relegated immediately to the drone class to become a slave. This belief dictates that those without wings are inferior and so are of no immediate use other than for hard labor. Other than the absence of wings the drones are the same as the warriors, except perhaps smaller in stature and weaker due to their upbringing. It has been suggested that they are in fact two different species but this has been proven not to be the case, as sometimes a male and female winged Apsiu pair will bring forth one that is wingless. The warrior Apsiu speak the language of men as well as their own, one less developed. The drones, meanwhile, communicate with very primitive grunts and are about as intelligent as draft animals, and treated as such. [Per Note: The Moru language is a bit more sophisticated than mere grunts, and Moru are much more intelligent than draft animals--their lack of intelligence is based entirely upon how they are raised and taught--they are merely ignorant.] The women of Apsiu society are little more than child-rearers, but their standing may be raised by giving birth to a winged Apsiu. Those which bear wingless Apsiu children are shunned and often live on the outskirts of Apsiu society, having to fend for themselves. Often they sell their children into slavery for money, or abandon them completely. [Per Note: The women do not possess higher standing than the slaves, even if they bear Kana pups, and they are certainly not heard shrieking in their houses (keep reading); they do not live on the fringes of Apsiu society or sell their pups, as they are regarded as property as well.] The Apsiu know no powerful magic, holding instead to basic healing and divination techniques based mostly on superstition. Warrior Apsiu rank depends also upon the wings. Those Apsiu able to fly the furthest and/or longest are promoted to higher ranks; wing size also sometimes has some relevance, but if the wings do not function, then the afflicted Apsiu is of no higher importance than a drone. [Per Note: Social standing is not based on who can fly furthest or longest, or on wing size; the ability to fly, period, determines if one is Kana or Moru; after that, Kana do not usually fly unless they have to, and most other rank is based on fighting skills and political influence (although exceptional flight skills can prove useful in gaining respect).] Crippled winged Apsiu are rare but do exist, the majority living and working among the drones. Meanwhile, warrior Apsiu wear different colors depending on their rank; the colors are, in order from lowest to highest importance, brown, tan, gray, green, blue, red, and black. [Per Note: The color system described (which in the profile is not applied to lappets yet) is out of order; now all colors, representing different jobs/roles in society, possess the same standing, but for the military colors black, blue, red, and purple, which are from lowest to highest in that order.] Badges and other marks of honor are also worn, as well as staffs carried and coats of arms displayed upon the breast. [Per Note: The Apsiu possess no coats of arms that I'm aware of, only symbols of their respective houses and maybe tribes.] The Apsiu live in small crude villages consisting of round thatched huts covered with mud and a hole in the roof to let out smoke. Those in highest standing have slightly better abodes, often built of mud brick painted with crude markings of authority. The drone Apsiu, meanwhile, sleep in rough straw in small roofed enclosures built just for them; those living within walls, to protect them from the wind and rain, are considered lucky. [Per Note: The village system and houses of the Apsiu are most often medium-sized tribes living in mudbrick houses surrounded by a large mudbrick wall, about as sophisticated as the Kemeti (human) settlements, and most Moru live in "stables" attached to or inside the homes of their masters.] The Apsiu temperament is quite belligerent and unruly; fights occur often, with warriors testing each others' [sic] strength or social standing. They take unkindly to strangers and often treat them as prisoners, tying them up and jeering and taunting them. [Per Note: Strangers are not usually tied up and jeered at; they are either treated equally (if allies), treated equally but with suspicion (if an unknown tribe), or taken prisoner and possibly tortured or executed (if enemies).] Even the female Apsiu are often heard shrieking and complaining from within their homes, where they are almost always made to stay. Apsiu children are a rare sight, since they are usually kept indoors as well; distrust runs rampant among the Apsiu, and they don't like their children, whom they regard as possessions, to be running loose with those of others. [Per Note: The Apsiu do not distrust their pups playing with others' pups, the only "rule" being that only Kana pups are allowed out of the house freely--and pups are not regarded as mere possessions, unless they're Moru.] Only the drones are mild-mannered and docile, and this is due to their stupidity. The question has been asked why they never revolt against their masters, and the answer is, simply, they don't understand the meaning of revolt, and so they continue living in ignorance of freedom. There are, however, a few exceptions to this. One was the rebellion of Antakh, a winged Apsiu who was unable to fly; he was taken from the Apsiu and civilized by men, and returned to his village to free the drone Apsiu. After a long while he was able to teach them the basic meaning of freedom and slavery, and the drones, being the majority of Apsiu in the village, easily overthrew and escaped their masters. Antakh still leads this band of liberated Apsiu drones, but they live peacefully far away from civilization, the drones, still being quite untaught, tilling the land and occasionally hunting for their survival. [Per Note: The "Free Apsiu" alluded to in Horus and the Ameni Chronicles.] Another, and rather unusual exception, to this rule is when a female wingless Apsiu and a male wingless Apsiu bring forth a winged baby; in this case they are instantly relegated to a higher standing, slightly lower than that of the lowest flying Apsiu. [Per Note: Although their particular masters may treat them better, the standing of slaves is usually not raised after they bear Kana pups.] Though such births are extremely rare, they do occasionally occur, and these Apsiu become a sort of glorified servant--not slave, as they do have their freedom--to the master race. [Per Note: Completely untrue.] Description: The Apsiu are about the same size as an average-sized man, only usually an inch or two shorter, and somewhat stockier in build. [Per Note: Apsiu size is either equal to or usually taller than humans, not shorter.] They have quite a powerful musculature, even among the weaker drones. They have heads akin to a cross between a donkey and a boar, with curved muzzles and long ears with squared-off tips, and their red eyes are set high up and on opposite sides of the head. They are brownish in color, with pawlike hands and feet which are still capable of functioning like those of a human, though with more difficulty for precision. Their tails are long and forked at the end. The drones have no wings, or at the most small deformed stumps where the wings should be. The warriors possess wings, which are large, dark in color, and batlike in appearance. They can fly, except for those few which are relegated to the rank of drone for their disability. The larger males often sport tusks protruding from their lower lip; all males, whether warrior or drone, wear a sort of skullcap with flaps hanging down the sides in front of the ears. [Per Note: Apsiu eyes vary in color like those of humans, and are not usually red; additionally, their fur color varies as well, brown being only one of the more common colors. Their hands are NOT pawlike, but are humanlike, with claws--Apsiu feet are three toed, with heavy claws; and they are as dexterous with their hands as are humans. Their tails are not forked, but are long and ending with a tuft similar to those of donkeys or lions. Winged but flightless Apsiu are not as rare as the profile makes it seem; and wing color may vary as well according to the pigmentation of their owner. Almost all males, regardless of size, bear tusks.] The female Apsiu are smaller with less-developed wings not often used for flying; with women Apsiu flight isn't as important as with males, for they are simply workers in the house, much like drones. [Per Note: Females are not "workers in the house," but most often simply childbearers, child rearers, and sexual objects. Their wings can be just as well formed as those of males.] All males of warrior age wear crude armor of different colors according to their rank; females wear rough dresslike shifts, and drones are clothed in simple rags. [Per Note: Kana wear basic armor and kilts, Moru wear kilts and sandals, and females wear plain dresses--no one dresses in "rags"--and all males, of any age, as well as many females, wear the lappets.] Necklaces, especially ones with claws, teeth, or stones, are common, even among drones--one of the very few luxuries they are allowed. |