Welcome to the Sands of Al-Akasha!
Al-Akasha is a campaign that looks at the ancient history of Temen Anki (the world setting), the history of Magic, and deals with the forces that move the world. It will explore the mystery behind magic in the world, how it impacts society, and what dangers exist with a society built on it.
The campaign will try to balance social, exploration, and combat but will lean into the first two with a primary focus on exploration.
A magical force brings the group together and you will work to understand this force and likely struggle to come to terms with how it changes you. This force is the central theme of the campaign and it will impact each character - most likely significantly, and shape how the world around you interacts with you, and you with it (mechanically & thematically).
The campaign will have a desert theme and borrows from traditional and realistic aspects of desert life, this includes a focus on survival in that environment. Magic is very common in this setting, and will be a significant part of the campaign as you delve into the history of where it comes from.
This campaign is character directed and you are not just along for the ride, this means your character will need a reason to be a part of the experience.
As you are generating your character, think about why they are in Al-Akasha, what they care about, and why they would participate in the story I have outlined above.
Examples include: Archeologist, explorer, street urchin that wants more, Palidain/Cleric of the Pantheon of Al-Akasha, Sand Mage, Traveling Bard, Alchemist or budding Medjay.
How will they interact in a magical world where they will (eventually) grow to influence the world around them. And what will they do in the day to day downtime?
Theme: Every choice, a consequence and eventually all debts come due.
Campaign Lore
Dominating the southern hemisphere the “Kingdom of the Sands” was the first empire in Temen Anki, giving rise to a vast culture who worshiped the living gods that walked among them. With a history that predates recorded time untold civilizations have risen and fallen just to be buried below the sands of Al-Akasha.
Recently Al-Akasha has regained its independence after a nearly 600 year occupation by the Holy Empire of Ayanor. The monuments and culture of Ayanor still stretches across the cities of Al-Akasha and its people, a visible mix of the conflicting cultures and an unstable border to the north seas that separate the two nations. To the norh east the vast jungles of Veradanta hide secrets in the mists as the Pharaoh begins to encroach on the natural resources in the region.
Recently the mysterious Spirit Wall, a place of pilgrimage for generations has sprouted concerning rumors. Terrifying tales of creatures terrorizing villages, kidnapping villagers, and killing travelers on the roads surrounding the monolithic volcano and impassable ghostly barrier. The perpetrator of these acts, not humanoid, but demonic and aberrant creatures mentioned in ancient texts.
Faith and religion through occult magic are an everyday part of life in Al-Akasha, where once the living gods, avatars of the ancients would embrace people their temples now fall silent with infrequent visitation by the patrons.
With the turmoil surrounding the region, opportunistic guilds have stepped into the once forbidden land with a focus on unearthing the ancient magical treasures of forgotten civilizations and liberating them,
for a price. Competing with the foreign agents the Pharaoh takes their gold and in exchange funds a search across Al-Akasha for the
Seba-Ta: Star Marking or The Star Marked. Those born with a magical marking, in some mundane, but in others a reported boon that can help the Pharaoh reclaim the lost glory of Al-Akasha, though those found to have this marking seem to disappear without a trace.
This is the world into which your characters will step.
Continue Here:
Welcome to the Adventure
