Entombed with the Pharaohs
Summary of the game
Now that the ruined pyramid tombs of the ancient emperor-gods of Osirion are finally open to exploration, the race is on to plumb their depths and rescue their priceless treasures. Entombed with the Pharaohs is a desert adventure written by Michael Kortes that pits players against rival adventurers bent on getting to the treasure first as well as the vicious monsters and lethal traps set to stop them from their plunder. (AdventureLookup)
Map of Osirion (Screenshot by author)
Plans of sites in Sothis and the tomb of the four pharaohs (Screenshots by author)
Robbery at the Exhibitory (Sothis museum), featuring the villain, who shows a typical medieval fantasy aesthetic, and the giant phantom Scorpion (left) and Pharaoh Akana Mummy (right) (Screenshots by author)
Egyptomania narratives or motifs
Entombed with the Pharaohs is an adventure RPG for four level 6 characters in the Pathfinder game system (derived from D&D). In this adventure, the players find themselves in the city of Sothis in the lands of Osirion, which is a sort of transcript of ancient Egypt at the time of the pyramids. The players' mission is to participate in an auction and contact the Pathfinder agents, an association of adventurers, cartographers, and treasure hunters, who will assign them a new mission.
In the course of the adventure, players will have to explore the city of Sothis, collect magical items and relics, and discover that their main mission is to find the tomb of the so-called "four pharaohs". These four ancient rulers of Osirion unified the region millennia ago by confronting barbarian invaders. Mutual distrust between them, however, caused them to perform a series of incantations that united their destinies, even in the afterlife. This act forced them to retire and mummify themselves in a burial complex with a great pyramid and countless treasures. This complex has remained hidden and inaccessible ever since.
The players, heroes of the Pathfinder universe (one of the D&D campaign settings), will have to figure out how to find the tomb, explore it, and manage to reveal its secrets.
While both Pathfinder in general and the heroes in- this game have an aesthetic typical of medieval fantasy games, the city of Sothis has a clear Egyptian inspiration taken from medieval Egyptian cities. Places such as the auction house or the reliquary remind us of the clichés of adventure films linked to the discovery of mummies. Yet, the setting of these places is no longer 19th century but rather from the 13th-14th century of our history.
Once the characters obtain the funerary mask of the four pharaohs, they continue their adventure until they discover the location of the funerary pyramid (which must be invoked through a ritual to bring about its reappearance). From this point on, the Egyptian elements are no longer just relics and ruins, but instead they dominate the game. In the tomb, described in detail in the module, you will find traps and creatures, such as the mummies of the four pharaohs. The player must fight these mummies to advance, discover the buried secrets, and obtaining the stored riches.
In addition to the descriptions of Sothis, the desert, and the pyramid, we find many artefacts, such as papyri with hieroglyphs and magical statuettes, as well as creatures from Egyptian myths, such as griffins, sphinxes, and giant scorpions, not to mention the mummies of the pharaohs and their guards.
In the course of the adventure, players will have to explore the city of Sothis, collect magical items and relics, and discover that their main mission is to find the tomb of the so-called "four pharaohs". These four ancient rulers of Osirion unified the region millennia ago by confronting barbarian invaders. Mutual distrust between them, however, caused them to perform a series of incantations that united their destinies, even in the afterlife. This act forced them to retire and mummify themselves in a burial complex with a great pyramid and countless treasures. This complex has remained hidden and inaccessible ever since.
The players, heroes of the Pathfinder universe (one of the D&D campaign settings), will have to figure out how to find the tomb, explore it, and manage to reveal its secrets.
While both Pathfinder in general and the heroes in- this game have an aesthetic typical of medieval fantasy games, the city of Sothis has a clear Egyptian inspiration taken from medieval Egyptian cities. Places such as the auction house or the reliquary remind us of the clichés of adventure films linked to the discovery of mummies. Yet, the setting of these places is no longer 19th century but rather from the 13th-14th century of our history.
Once the characters obtain the funerary mask of the four pharaohs, they continue their adventure until they discover the location of the funerary pyramid (which must be invoked through a ritual to bring about its reappearance). From this point on, the Egyptian elements are no longer just relics and ruins, but instead they dominate the game. In the tomb, described in detail in the module, you will find traps and creatures, such as the mummies of the four pharaohs. The player must fight these mummies to advance, discover the buried secrets, and obtaining the stored riches.
In addition to the descriptions of Sothis, the desert, and the pyramid, we find many artefacts, such as papyri with hieroglyphs and magical statuettes, as well as creatures from Egyptian myths, such as griffins, sphinxes, and giant scorpions, not to mention the mummies of the pharaohs and their guards.
Author: Víctor Sánchez Domínguez
Other information
Fernández Pichel, A.I. and Sánchez Domínguez, V. 2023. Egypt and Role-Playing Games. Does the World of Darkness Universe Use Ancient Egyptian Sources?, in A.I. Fernández Pichel (ed.) How Pharaohs Became Media Stars: Ancient Egypt and Popular Culture: 207. Oxford: Archaeopress.
Open access
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