TL;DR: or, The Framing of My Current Spelljammer Campaign

[Woot]

(So, doing the writeup here has inspired me to run a Spelljammer campaign. In deciding on a theme, I already thought space pirates was a cool theme, but decided ancient Egyptians was also a cool theme that I'd like to work into the game as well. Fortunately, Spelljammer comes with a widely distributed faith of Ptah built-in to the setting, so I figured I'd piggy back on that. Our story starts with the characters, a mix of groundlings and spacers, having been shanghaied in various ways and ending up in the "dangerous prisoners" section of a Neogi Deathspider. While there, they've been befriended by a halfling slave of the Neogi, who they've kept around since a) he's obviously no threat, b) there isn't much meat on him anyway, and c) he speaks Neogi, which is convenient for them, since they find having to speak Common distasteful. A new captain has come aboard the ship (after slaying the old captain) and is engaged in the most un-Neogilike behavior of bringing corpses aboard and re-animating them. This eventually leads to the rest of the Neogi crew mutinying against their new captain, and most of them are slain. During this time the players make their move and gain their freedom, as well as a strange golden artifact, covered in heirogyphic writing, that the captain had been using to raise corpses as skeletons. After arriving at the Rock of Bral and finding they're being hunted and being turned away from a temple of Ptah, they hear a rumor about a disgraced captain who, rumor has it, was once a priest of Ptah and can perhaps tell them about the artifact. If and when they seek him out, this is the story he tells:

Well, long, long ago - thousands of years - Ptah gifted his followers with an artifact, “Perku Em Herut”, To Come Forth By Daylight, which was a symbol of Ptah’s divine power as a creator and giver of life. Death and resurrection in a new form is an important part of his faith’s teachings, and this artifact could be used to perform such a rite.

Sometime later, there came to be a high priest of Ptah who was powerful in his faith, in his body, and also in arcane magic. But as he aged and his bodily health and strength began leaving him, his faith wavered. In his heart, he began to have doubts about Ptah’s plans for resurrection, and sought to control his own fate, instead of submitting to the will of Ptah. He began subtly at first, slowly hiding wealth and knowledge, quietly corrupting those most loyal to him, and many were deceived by him. He stole Perku Em Herut and, with his followers, fled far away to a hidden base. There he managed to sunder the artifact into it’s three parts - the blade, the shaft, and the headpiece - which you possess - and he corrupted the headpiece, “Khemru Ap Tala,” the “Appendage of Dawn” - which is where that purple gem comes in. That gem holds his soul, you see. Now, he didn’t invent the idea of storing his soul in an item - that idea is truly ancient - but the cunning part was embedding his soul gem in a god’s artifact. Normally, to destroy such a creature, you destroy it’s body and then destroy the soul’s repository. Unfortunately, it’s very, very hard to destroy an artifact created by a god. Sneaky fellow, he was!

Now, I said that he deceived many, but of course, Ptah wasn’t deceived. And so Ptah sent his strongest followers after the unfaithful priest and those under his sway. A great and terrible battle, lasting many days, occurred when Ptah’s faithful managed to corner the heretics. But even as they slew the unfaithful priest’s followers, they could not slay him, even thought they struck him down again and again, and their numbers dwindled. The high priestess called upon Ptah, and Ptah answered through her.

“You have defied My will and sought eternal life. For your punishment, I shall grant you eternal life,” the words came from her mouth, in a voice not her own. The unfaithful high priest was stuck by the power of Ptah, and his form was corrupted into a grotesque unliving form. Through Ptah’s power, he and his remaining minions were sealed, long with the corrupted and broken Perku Em Herut, in the evil priests base, with wards of divine might. The priests name was struck from the records, and he became known as “Ptah Gele Murat Ahmi,” or “Ptah Curses Him Seven Times Over” and he was forgotten by all but keepers of ancient stories.

(long drinking pause)

I was born here on the Rock of Bral. Never knew me father; and me mother died when I was young. After she passed, me and my older brother, Tadney, fell in with some street kids, stealing and sometimes worse just to survive. We spent years like this, until me brother Tadney and a few of the other boys cooked up a bold plan. There’s a temple of Ptah here on the Rock, and if you go inside, you see gold everywhere. And if they’ve got gold enough to decorate areas where regular folks can go, they must have even more gold in the back, right? We figure one good heist and we’ll all be rich, so rich we can give up our lives of stealing for food and sleeping under piles of trash in alleys. So we spend a few days casing the place as best we can, and in the early morning hours, we make our move. One of us distracts the guards, and while the guards are dealing with him, a few others come up behind them and knock em out, and the whole lot of us rush into the back. It’s full of rooms, and we all have no idea where we’re going. A few lads just grabbed whatever looked shiny and ran back out the front, but Tadney and I wanted more, so we went further into the back, even as a gong started sounding. We found a room full of coins, and we stuffed our pockets full. We were looking for a bag when we heard feet beating down the hallway, so we decided to run with what we’d grabbed. They was coming from the front, so we raced further in, and came across a little garden courtyard in the back of the temple, with a wall. We ran for the wall, and we could see the guards was closing in on us. “Boost me over and I’ll pull you up,” Tadney says, and so I do, and he’s up on the wall. He sees me, sees the guards, looks at me again, and he leaps down the other side of the wall, right as two of the guards tackle me down. I fight as best I could, but there’s two beefy fighting men, and I’m a skinny lad of 15, so it weren’t much of a fight. They’ve got one of their swords to me neck, and I figure, this is it. They got me dead to rights, my pockets full of Ptah’s gold, and no witnesses. I wonder if I’m going to see my mum again, and if I’ll meet me father, when this old priest comes out, and he starts asking me questions - what’s me name, where I’m from, why I was here and all of that stuff. Now, given I was scared out of me mind, and what with the sword at me throat, I answered as straightforward as you please. And then the priest tells me,

“Ptah has taken your life into his hands. Rejoice! Never again shall you have to sleep in an alley. Never again shall you have to go hungry. For this night, you have a choice, and either option ensures these things. You may swear an oath never to steal from Ptah again, and become his servant, or we shall kill you, cleanly, right now. Choose!”

And the funny thing was, there wasn’t any malice in the old priest’s words. No anger. Not even judgement, really. I didn’t understand that, at all, and somehow, it made me not scared. I took a deep breath and told him I’d become Ptah’s servant. And just like that, the guards put away their swords, and helped me to my feet. They took me to the altar and I swore oaths as I was directed - to never steal from Ptah, to obey Ptah’s will as directed by the senior clerics, to treat all followers of Ptah as my brothers and sisters, to be truthful in me speech and resolute in me actions, and so on. And then they fed me the biggest meal I’d ever had, and got me a bath and clean clothes, and the next morning, I began me lessons. They taught me to read and write, they taught me about history and theology, but also practical skills like public speaking and sailing. And when I was ready, they ordained me as a cleric and began teaching me how to work Ptah’s will through magic. And never did I have to sleep outside or go hungry! They were the happiest years of my life.

As for my old crew, I never saw most of them ever again. I’d imagine they figured that since I was caught, I’d give ‘em up under torture, so I think most of them left the Rock with whatever they’d made off with. Once or twice I’ve seen men on the Rock who resemble the lads I once knew, but I can’t say for sure. And so I didn’t give it too much thought. Now, years passed, and the priests of Ptah decreed that it was time for me to become a journeyman priest and travel throughout the Crystal Spheres to gain a greater appreciations for the wonders of Ptah. I’d never been off the Rock, but I was excited for the opportunity, so the next chance I got, I hired on as a helmsman and began traveling.

I traveled from sphere to sphere, signing on for a voyage here, for six months there, and preached the word of Ptah everywhere anyone was willing to listen. For several years I did this, until one day, in a far off port, I came across me brother, Tadney.

(long drink)

He’d changed, of course - gotten taller, broader, grown a beard - but I knew right as can be it was him. And I’m sure I looked even more different to his eyes, but he knew it was me. He greeted me and we embraced, and headed to a tavern to catch up. In my heart, I’d long since forgiven him for running, since, after all, my life had taken such a better turn for it, so I bore him no ill feeling. He was hesitant at first, knowing what he’d done those years ago, but I explained I was happy how things had turned out after all, and he shouldn’t feel bad. And so we got to dining and drinking, and he explained that he’d fled the Rock, as many other had, and he’d signed on with a ship sailing out. In the years that had passed, he’d become a fine sailor of the spaceways, and had come into his own crew and ship, “The Golden Fortune.” And wouldn’t you know, he could use a helmsman? I’d just finished a journey with another ship, so I was free, and so I agreed to join him for a time.

Now, he’d found some old treasure map to some old pirate base, he told me, and that some great pirate lord had laired there once. He explained he’d cut a deal with two other captains he knew, Fridolf “Lazy Eye” Rischer of “The King’s Bastard” and Viola Alleyknife of “Wenches Promise” and the three ships and their crews would go in together and share the danger and the loot. And after a few day’s provisioning in port, we left and met with the two other ships, and began traveling.

It was a long journey, almost 6 months across the Flow, and more time besides in Crystal Spheres. But at last we came to a sphere I’d never seen, where two dim red suns circled around each other in a never ending dance that brought them first close, then far apart, but never did they strike or escape each other. It was in an old asteroid belt that we found it, a huge stone pyramid that rivaled any dwarven citadel I’d ever seen. On it’s sides I could see markings like the ones might see on a temple of Ptah, but they had been profaned and perverted. I had a bad feeling, and said so to me brother, but he told me to fly the ship and not worry.

There was a bay and we docked our three ships, and the crews went aboard, with only a few hands on each vessel left behind. Signs of a terrible battle were everywhere, and more than once did we come across corpses that were more than just corpses, but rather vengeful undead. We lost a few men here and there, but proved the stronger, and eventually came across a large chamber full of antique coins and glimmering gems and jewelry.

(long drink)

Ah, damn me, but if only we’d have contented ourselves with those coins and gems! My brother conferred with the other captains, and the three of them thought there were still more treasures to be had, so we split our party. Some men would start hauling treasure from the treasure room to the ships, while the captains and others would keep searching.

Me brother and me, along with the two other captains and a few of their officers, finally came to a sealed stone door. I was the only one who could read the writing, but the pictures seemed to make the message plain enough: DO NOT OPEN. I could feel something awful behind the door, and spoke up, but my brother told me we were opening it and that was that. And so, I shut my mouth and followed.

The room had a dozen sarcophagi or more along the walls, each looking to be made of gold, studded with large gems, and all were sealed with a sign of Ptah. In the center of the room was a golden sarcophagus, larger than the rest, with tables of exotic wood all around. On the tables were gems of extraordinary size, and weapons, armor, and other items that seemed to radiate magic. The center sarcophagus had “Ptah Gele Murat Ahmi” burnt into the metal, with golden seals sealing it. I cried out to my brother to stop, that we must stop, but he merely gestured and had two of the officers with us restrain me. With a dagger, her pried off the golden seals and opened the sarcophagus.

Inside was a badly decayed mummy, and on it’s chest were a blade, a staff, and a golden symbol with a gem in it. “Lighten up, brother, Ptah wants you to have a new holy symbol!” he jested, as he tossed it to me. I felt my stomach turn as it had, years ago, when Ptah’s guards had caught me, and I looked on the thing in horror. Fridolf was swinging his new blade around, and Viola her new staff, and the other officers were laughing as they began helping themselves to the tables.

I remember it felt like the room was spinning around me, and I was almost chanting, “We need to put this back, we need to flee, we need to put this back, we need to flee,” and the room seemed to be getting smaller and louder, and then suddenly, everything became clear and quiet, except for the sound of a throat being crushed. Old Seven Cursed was sitting upright, holding my brother’s corpse by the throat, and he said in the tongue of Ptah, “Free!”

And he tossed by brother’s body aside like a rag doll, and undead creatures burst from the dozen sarcophagi, and we all fled for our lives. Elsewhere other corpses had come to life and our spread-out crew was being butchered by the wrathful dead. And, just as my brother had once abandoned me, so did I abandon his corpse.

Most of the men didn’t make it back to the ships; and the crews left behind had their hands full keeping the ships safe from undead boarders. I made it back to The Golden Fortune, and seeing as I was the senior most officer still alive, told the crew to set sail. At first they didn’t want to, since so many crew members were unaccounted for, but as the two other ships began lifting off, and more undead began swarming it, they changed their tune and we lifted off as well. We looked back in horror as a few more men made it to the now empty bay, and we could see them cursing us as they were overcome by the tide of undead. I tended to the wounded as best as I could, after having discovered I could no longer cast spells.

It was a long and bitter journey home. The two other ships went in their own directions once we left the shell, and I have no idea what happened to them. When we returned to port, we somberly divided what treasure we had collected - a not inconsiderable sum, and particularly so in light of how few of us were left to share it - and I sought out a temple of Ptah.

I was cursed by Ptah for breaking my oaths, and would be unable to cast spells, or receive magical healing, or know joy, or die, and many other things. Even though it was against my will, and even though it was corrupted by the Seven Cursed, it was still Ptah’s, and by taking the Appendage of Dawn, I had stolen from Ptah and violated the first oath I’d sworn to him. I’ve tried getting rid of it: once I threw it into the sun; another time I left it in a busy city in a faraway sphere. But always, bad things happen to whomever it came to, and it always ended up finding it’s way back to me, which it’s done, once again.
Old Seven Cursed hunts it, and sends his minions after it, and after anyone whose hands it’s passed through, and I believe he always has a rough sense of where it is and who has - and has had - it. After all, it carries his soul! I’d imagine he also hunts the other two pieces of Perku Em Herut, but I’m not sure about that.

As for why they call me “Bad Luck” Beckett, I think it’s not so much the curse itself, exactly, it’s because twice I’ve headed out with a crewed ship and only made it back myself. The first time, a ship full of undead overtook us, looking for what you’ve got there, and managed to slay everyone but me. The second time was a bit less straightforward: the crew I’d hired wasn’t full of loyal men, but rather had made a plot among them from the start to steal my ship! So once we were a few weeks out of port, they mutinied and marooned me on a little asteroid. As fate would have it, a passing lizard man ship found me when they stopped by the rock to provision, and they agreed to take me along to the next port. Once there, I tried to track down my old ship, and eventually, the diviner I hired found what was left of it. After abandoning me, my crew went pirate, but ended up being preyed upon by by a band of larger, tougher pirates. I hired someone to recover my ship, and had it fixed up. I’ve taken it out a few times, but it’s difficult work without a crew.

So, now you know me story, and the story behind what you’ve got. I can’t seem to stop crossing paths with that thing, and you’re going to start being hunted, if indeed you already aren’t, probably whether you hang on to it or not. And so I’m prepared to offer ye a deal. I’ll take you on as a crew, and we’ll try to find out what we need to do to destroy that thing and stop Seven Cursed so we can all be free. Take time to think on it, if you need. I’m not going anywhere. If’n I’m not here drinking, you’ll find me aboard my ship down at the docks. She’s “The Deceitful Treasure.” Fitting, no?