Name: Pharaoh Nemotep the Great
Description (leader): Nemotep has a very Mediterranean complexion, with well-tanned skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. He’s very fit, and has amassed an impressive collection of scars over the years. He takes pride in his scars, and in the collection of ornamental, fake beards that serve as one of his badges of office. Though it’s in fashion at the moment, he avoids blackening his teeth because he doesn’t like how the rinses used to do it taste. A warrior and scholar as much as a king, Nemotep is rarely seen without his bronze armor, or a scroll, whether of fiction or of a report from somewhere in his kingdom. He is very active in rule, in peace and in war, and ambitious to boot. That said, he has a long way to go if he wants to see his ambitions become reality.
Genetic Traits: Tan to dark skin, black hair, tall, lithe builds, excellent endurance, sickle cell anemia, sparse to no facial hair, good teeth.
Starting Boon: Popular
Magical Focuses: Necromancy (primary), Healing (secondary)
Nation Name: The Kingdom of Hakaram
Nation Fluff: Nemotep the Great, along with most Hakaramites, grew up hearing tales of the glories of his ancestors. How they could not be felled in battle, how they were the strongest warriors in all the land. How they created a great utopia, enforced by their invincible, immortal warriors, so great that the ancient Pharaohs ascended to become gods! However, all Hakaram has now is a single, relatively fertile island, a lot of tombs full of cursed treasures they dare not mess with, and a lot of neighboring islands who aren’t exactly fond of how the Hakaramites supplement their lack of mineral resources and livestock with enthusiastic raiding by ship. Pharaoh Nemotep dreams of a day where he can recreate the utopia of his ancestors. The strong become nigh-unstoppable, regenerating warriors. The honored fallen are transformed into almighty servants of the people and state, as immortal as they are invincible. And the weak, well, somebody’s got to do the menial labor, and according to the old texts mummified servitors are so much more efficient than living slaves.
All he needs are, well, a lot of things. The Island of Hakaram has a fair bit of vegetation and produces a lot of food, but they’re always short on wood, iron, and meat. So much so that even he, the great Pharaoh, must go without iron weapons to let the front-line warriors have the best chance of success. He desperately needs more resources; conquering the other islands in the Kantamun Archepelago would help, but it would take a lot of islands to truly supply the war machine he plans to one day have.
Gaining a foothold on the mainland is also a critical step, once they have enough of a navy and army to attempt it, and this might be the hardest part yet. Pharaoh Nemotep has never actually been to the mainland except on raids, including one particularly memorable one where they stole an entire copper roof from a church, which was melted down to make the bronze for his armor among other things (somebody on the mainland is probably still pretty unhappy about that one). Still, he’s confident that at least one of the mainland powers will see the benefits inherent in allying themselves with the future rulers of the world.
But perhaps the most important step is rediscovering the old magics. Nemotep can’t make an army of regenerating super-soldiers backed up by even more super undead soldiers and legions of mummy servants if he doesn’t have the sorcery. Right now, he has some weaksauce healing spells he barely knows how to cast, and a skeleton rat familiar he’s taken to calling Anklebiter. Anklebiter was a happy accident, though he at least means something from the old family scrolls works right. It’s a start at least.
On the plus side, Nemotep’s enthusiastic endorsement of raiding, strong military leadership, enthusiastic promotion of literacy, and effective management of the kingdom’s finances means that he’s rather popular among all walks of life. That he promises eternal life and more time off (possibly for their descendants) doesn’t hurt his chances. He’s also got a very defensible island that can grow enough food to sustain a much larger population than it has, and some native spices that could be excellent cash crops if he knew who to sell them to.
The Kingdom of Hakaram will rule the world someday. Of this, Nemotep is certain. But, in the meantime, it’d be nice to be able to kit all his soldiers and workers with iron. Or maybe even this “stel” he’s heard rumors of, assuming it really exists. That stuff sounds neat.
Oh shoot, am I too late? I saw something about an IC thread. Dang, I am too late, aren't I. I was looking forward to this thing.
Author
Topic: From the Ashes of the Old Empire [OOC] (6/6) (Read 4358 times)