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Treasury of Olympus

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Treasury of Olympus IONIA Treasury of Olympus A Supplement for ZENOBIA by Günter D'Hoogh Written by Günter D'Hoogh © 2004 Additional material and assistance from Paul Elliott. Illustrations by Paul Elliott Acknowledgements It was a pleasure working on this project, being a history teacher it’s a fantastic feeling that it’s quite well possible to merge history and roleplaying together. I hope that the reader as much enjoys playing it as I enjoyed writing this little “Campaign Guide”. I especially want to thank Paul Elliott, the creator of the wonderful ZENOBIA. He has been my mentor, my great help and especially a very good friend who encouraged me when the spirit was low. Thanks Paul for letting me take part in your great adventure, for the editting work, for the maps and drawings, and for the fine articles you wrote in this book! I really hope we’ll see each other someday face-to-face my friend! Günter D’Hoogh 2 THE CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION II THE WORLD OF IONIA III CHARACTER CREATION IV GODS OF OLYMPUS V THE THESSALIAN WITCH VI MONSTERS & WILD ANIMALS VII PHILOSOPHY VIII TREASURES IX LABYRINTHS OF IONIA 3 I INTRODUCTION Ionia is a sleepy mountainous land steeped in history, a land of ancient cities that are home to philosophers, academics, poets and playwrights. Lost and forgotten beneath Ionia are the artefacts and treasures of the Olympian gods, harkening back to the Age of Heroes when Zeus, Ares and Athena walked the earth in disguise, when heroes like Achilles fought with magical invulnerability, when witches like Medea ruled secret enchanted islands. Today there are adventurers who seek out the magical artefacts of the gods. They search for secret ways into the Underworld, hunt for clues to the location of magical swords or helmets, and dig into tombs and under cities for hidden catacombs and labyrinths. Who would not be tempted by the famous Shield of Achilles? Or the Skin of the Nemean Lion? The Bow of Paris? The teeth of the Colchian Dragon? The Girdle of Hypolyte? The list is an endless one. Fantastic treasures, imbued with awesome powers await the brave and adventurous. Of course the search is never easy. Myths and Legends give clues to the artefacts’ whereabouts, and the universities scattered about Ionia provide wonderful opportunities for research and fact-finding, but the adventurers have rivals. Every Emperor since the magician- King Tiberius has coveted these amazing artefacts. Imperial agents are at work in Ionia, stealing important scrolls and breaking into long-dead tombs. In the hands of the Emperor these divine weapons and items would turn him into a living god, a divine monster with the powers of Zeus on earth. Imperial savagery and tyranny would bring out a hell on earth for every citizen. The meaning of this “Campaign Guide” - or call it a “Sourcebook” if you want to - is giving the players and the gamemaster alike, some information on adventuring in the environment of the Classical Civilizations. In this particular case we will take a ‘closer look’ at Ionia. This geographically by mountain ranges devided land was the birthplace to a great nation; in fact one of the greatest and most civilized the world has ever known for it was indeed the cradle of human civilization. The greatness of the Empire was for a (big) part also the realisation of Ionia itself. In fact the Eternal City stole its knowledge and its gods for a great deal from Ionian scholars and religion, knowing that this - together with the Ionian language - formed the backbone of so strong a nation. 4 Ionian Timeline -1247 AUC: The Minoan culture develops on the island of Crete, and is dominated by a long line of kings all named Minos. In the eastern part of the island is Mount Ida (2456m.), the birthplace of Zeus. Islanders say that the presence of the god himself is still felt high upon the summit of the mountain. -717 AUC: Achaean Greeks destroy the Minoan Civilization, and this ushers in the Mycenaean Period (named after their capital Mycene). The walls of their strongholds are so huge that people say they were built by cyclopes. And they are right! -647 AUC: Voyage of the Argonauts, among them: Hercules and Perseus. Perseus is the Hero-King who kills the Medusa. Some say there must be valuable records of this treasure-hunting voyage. -547 AUC: Theseus kills the Minotaur in the Knossos labyrinth (Crete). Knossos is the capital of the island, with its enormous palace. The remains are still there, waited to be explored by eager adventurers. Superstituous islanders tell kin of the minotaur are still living in the remains of the labyrinth. -497 AUC: The Trojan War is fought with a score of well-known heroes on both sides: Agamemnon, Achilles, Odysseus and Menelaos fight against Aeneas, Hector, Paris and Priam. All those heroes are still sung about in songs and legends, and their arcane weapons and powers have become the goal of many modern explorers. -447 AUC: The Dorians introduce the use of the iron weapons and start the classical “Greek” Civilization. -397 AUC: Colonization of the coasts of Asia Minor: Miletus, Smyrna, Abydos, Ephesos. -147 AUC: Military hegemony of Sparta established. -23 AUC: The first Olympic Games are staged. 0 AUC1: In Latium the “Eternal City” is founded. 245 AUC: The first democracy in Athens (founded by Cleisthenes). 253 AUC: Start of the Persian Wars. 263 AUC: Athens is threatened by a Persian army (led by Artaphernes) but the Athenian general Miltiades wins the battle on the plain of Marathon. 273 AUC: Xerxes mobilizes an enormous Persian army. The Spartan King Leonidas dies as a hero defending the pass of Thermopylae and the Persian fleet is crushed in the straits off the island of Salamis by the Athenian leader Themistocles. The huge burial mound of the Spartan dead (at the height of the Thermopylae Pass) is said to still house the spirit of the fierce Spartan King. 274 AUC: The Persian invasions of Europe are stopped by a coalition between Sparta (led by Pausanias) and Athens (led by Aristides), who defeat the Persian army again at Plataea (near Thebes). Afterwards there are no more Persian infiltrations into Ionia. 304 AUC: End of the Persian Wars. 310 AUC: Pericles is leader of Athens during the Golden Age. 322 AUC: Plague in Athens, some see it as a punishment of the gods. Offerings to the gods increase. 323 AUC: Start of the Peloponnesian Wars. Sparta and Corinth felt threatened by the rising power of Athens. 349 AUC: End of the Peloponnesian Wars. 1 Historically spoken the year « 0 » doesn’t exist ! 5 366 AUC: Plato founds his ”Academy”. It’s still a place favoured by all scholars, and it’s a place where some people hope to find old maps that may lead them to riches beyond belief. 369 AUC: Birth of Aristotle at Stagira (Greek colony in Thrace). 387 AUC: Aristotle goes to Athens and enters the Academy of Plato. To this day this very Academy is still renowned. 397 AUC: Birth of Alexander the Great. 410 AUC: Aristotle becomes the tutor of Alexander the Great. 430 AUC: The (mysterious?) death of Alexander the Great. His tomb is still sought after by many brave adventurers. 899 AUC: End of the second Punic War. After the annexation by The Eternal City, Ionia becomes a province of The Empire under the name of “Macedonia”. Corinth is destroyed by the Empire, the ruins of the ancient city (close to the newly established Roman Corinth) are said to be haunted. 1013 AUC: After more than 400 years Ionia is - to this very day - still a province of The Empire. 6 II THE WORLD OF IONIA In the main Ionia is a mountainous region with only some stretches of fertile soil in the valleys and the coastal regions. All those regions are divided by steep mountain slopes, the geographical relief hindering possible mutual contacts. Therefore there was never any unified Ionian state, but there is however a single Ionian culture! The works of the great writer Homer (The Iliad and The Odyssey) are the base for this general feeling of “unification”. Everyone should be living according to the same virtues: loyalty, bravery, honour, selfsacrifice, perseverance and reason. Those virtues are therefore the basis of Ionian education. The geographical inaccessibility adds greatly to the fact that Ionia is in fact a mishmash of independent city-states. In the fertile plains and valleys there are individual communities of farmers, while strongholds are built on suitable, defendable places (for instance on a rocky plateau or a steep slope). All economic activities are done in the neighbourhood of these “acropoli”. All public buildings such as temples and theatres, etc. are also situated here. This creates a centre that spreads out its influence over the neighbouring plains and the agricultural areas roundabout. Together these regions form one community: a polis. Every polis has its own government, army, jurisdiction and law. And more than once in the past these poleis have fought amongst themselves. Ionia has a sea-climate, the summers are hot, the winters are mild. Although some of the higher mountain ranges are always covered with snow and ice, even in winter it is not as cold as in some other provinces and regions of the Empire. Regions of Ionia ACARNANIA This region is bounded on the west by the Ionian Sea, on the north by the Ambracian Gulf, in the east by the river Achelaus and in the south by mountain ridges and lagoons. The most populous region is the plain of the Achelaus, which is dominated by the cities of Stratus and of Leucas, and were the only rich pasture lands are situated (for the rest it’s a poverty-stricken region).
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