Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Amazon Factor - - Cha'alt/Godbound Campaign Commentary With Shield Maidens of Sea Rune Produced for Judge's Guild By Bryan Hinnen & Dan Hauffe




For my 
 Cha'alt/Godbound campaign everyone knows I've been looking over my own old school resources & dipping back into my notes & archives. But maybe I've been missing the one faction that's been right in front of me?! Let's talk about the nine hundred pound ten thousand strong army massing across Arizona that my PC's are gonna run into at some point. The unknown quantity in the mix of the Cha'alt rift happens to be the Amazon army that is in the  Arizona wastelands. Amazons in my games all of the way back to my uncle's notes & some of the first D&D games I've played in. I wrote about them way back in 2016 on this blog. The Amazons here are a strong & mobile force based on  Shield Maidens of Sea Rune by Judge's Guild By Bryan Hinnen & Dan Hauffe & a classic cover by Aaron Arocho.


Because we're dealing with a desert environment I would say that the Amazon army is going similar to the historic Persian Immortals;

"Xenophon (Cyropaedia 6.4.1; 7.1.2) describes the guard of Cyrus the Great as having bronze breastplates and helmets, while their horses wore bronze chamfrons and peitrels together with shoulder pieces which also protected the rider’s thighs. Herodotus, instead, describes their armament as follows: wicker shields covered in leather, short spears, quivers, swords or large daggers, slings, bow and arrow. Underneath their robes they wore scale armour coats. The spear counterbalances of the common soldiery were of silver; to differentiate commanding ranks, the officers' spear butt-spikes were golden.[2] The regiment was followed by a caravan of covered carriages, camels, and mules that transported their supplies, along with concubines and attendants to serve them; this supply train carried special food that was reserved only for their consumption.[5][6]

The headdress worn by the Immortals is believed to have been the Persian tiara. Its actual form is uncertain, but some sources describe it as a cloth or felt cap which could be pulled over the face to keep out wind and dust in the arid Persian plains.[2] Surviving Achaemenid colored glazed bricks and carved reliefs represent the Immortals as wearing elaborate robes, hoop earrings and gold jewelry, though these garments and accessories were most likely worn only for ceremonial occasions." 

Other factions within the Amazonian ranks might be far more likely to rely on a mix of ancestral African military systems to 1800 & their own unique military structures adjusted for new planar environments.


Corps of female warriors- the Amazons of Dahomey.Which are going to be the basis for NPC scouts.


This army is going to be something that we've seen hints of in many other D&D  products especially & not limited to Dave Hargrave's Arduin rpg. This is going to be a fast moving mobile scout army that's Hell bent on finding out what's happening with the Cha'alt warp. Why is it effecting the gates on my versions both  Arduin & Blackmoor as well?



The Amazons haven't taken kindly to the fact that some of their scouts have been ending up on the sacrificial alters of Cha'alt's black pyramid. This is all out war we're talking about. So they've sent an expeditionary force to scope out the situation.
Now add in the fact that the 'Master's military forces of chaos induced & frenzied humanoids are raging across the desert wastelands & looting the remains of towns!?! This is match made in Hades. Let's not also mention that fact that the Amazons have their own among the ranks of inner circle of  
The  'Order of the Lords of Mystery'. 


All of this gets right into the heart of the black pyramid which will crack open & release its own horde of twisted servants of Cha'alt dark gods. Some of the tribes aligned with law have their own blade dancer scouts watching the pyramid for any sign of this.


What they don't know about is the fact that one of the demon worms of Cha'alt not only knows about their army but is trying to get his own black wizards to affect the warp in the unholy thing's favor!? This is where the PC's come into play. Next game they might run into several of the adventure factors or factions in play.


The three big factors for ACK's the main  Adventurer, Conqeuror, King rpg rule book, Barbarian Conquerors of Kanahu, &  The Heroic Fantasy Handbook. All three of these used with Cha'alt are gonna give me both the opposition's forces & the NPC stats I need. Can the party help the Amazons in time?


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