
-Setting-
King (Tyrannos) Kreon,
tyrant of the city-state Sykion has lost his kingdom. Though a city of merchants
and haven for pirates, Sykion was the last bastion of civilization on the
island of Ophioussa. The cyclops king Gyges and his army of harpies, telchines,
giants, and satyrs have united and scourged the entire island. It is said that
during the sack of Sykion, Gyges ripped off both of the army of Kreon and ate them
raw before defeated king and his family. The city burned in a violent in such a
violet inferno that it’s ash fell upon the Sparatian mainland.
Eteokles son of Kreon, his youngest child, managed to escape
the slaughter to set sail for Sparatia. Though a short voyage, he was greeted
with terrible winds and unfriendly seas. The rage of Poseidon fell upon the ship,
crashing her upon the rocks of some unknown location. But by Athena’s mercy
Eteokles emerged as the sole survivor from his ship. Guided by the Owl-Eyed
goddess, he reached the gates of the great Sparatian city-state of Kypselos (Corinth) . Weak and wounded Eteokles was
taken in by the Temple of Aphrodite and nursed back to health by the hetairas,
the priestesses of Aphrodite. Once healed, the brought Eteokles before the
Tyrant of Kypselos, King (Tyrannos) Periander.
Periander heard Eteokles’ tale and ordered his retinue to
consult the gods. The king sent his most trusted general, Stratigos
Anaximenander to climb to the peak of Mt. Parnassus to consult the Pythia of
Omphalia. After a fortnight, Anaximenander returned bearing a message from the
oracle: “When the dread ash from afar lands upon the soil of Sparatia, it with
not sprout wheat but only blood. The rivalry of gods will descend from Mt. Olympus
and become the battles between man and brutes. If Nike is to crown a Sparatian,
let it not be the strongest or most cunning, but that which is most able to
heal the rift between brothers.”
Hearing reports of hostile ships to the south of Sparatia
and raids by centaurs in the north, King Periander has opened the Isthmian
Games to all Sparatians and bid all city-states of Sparatia to send representatives
to discuss the Pythia’s words and threats which place the entirety of Sparatian
civilization on the edge of destruction.
King Periander’s invitation has been met with an outstanding
reception. Queen (Basileia)
Andromache herself, from the northern Amazonian city of Hippodamia, has arrived
with her retinue of athletes and warriors. Representatives of Kings
(Archagetai) Pelops and Euklaidias from the city-state of Myrmidonia (Sparta) have begun their march north to attend. In the
democratic city-state of Eleusis (Athens) ,
the Akklesia has met to pick members of their delegation which will represent
the people of Eleusis at the games. It seems as though every corner of Sparatia
is sending someone, if for no other reason but to receive news from the event.
The players will all start out as humans in Kypselos or soon
to arrive in the city to attend the games and/or the meetings. Players can come
from a number of city-states, either those mentioned here or some that I or the
player will create later. Additionally, players could also hail from areas
outside of Sparatia which represent other ancient Mediterranean/ European
cultures, but you would need to explain to me why your character cares about
the problems going on in Sparatia. We can talk about this in greater detail.
-System-
As for system, I am pretty negotiable. I am more interested
on the story telling so will listen to suggestions for system. I still have a
lot of planning to do and this is a bit off, so I have time to look into new
systems. Currently I am looking into 3E D&D, but I would be willing to
shift to 5E. Either way, it would be modified with house rules. RPGs set in the
medieval period have the advantage of a good amount of variety with weapons and
armor. The ancient world doesn’t really have that variety. So instead I want to
better map out armor based on each body part. So, a warrior may have bronze grieves
on their legs and a linothorax over their chest and abdomen. So I want different
armor classes for different parts of the body. Also, I will probably divide
hitpoints over different parts of the body as well. These are just some ideas
and exactly how they will be implemented will depend on the system we use. Once
again, I am open to suggestions.
-Time-
I would have to make this a weekend game, most likely every
other weekend. I am flexible with time and this would be something we would
have to talk about as a group. Let me know if you are interested or have any
ideas or suggestions.