Exposition

            The sun beams down oppressively on the midday desert as you hike through. The only evidence of life is the odd plant that’s managed to sprout through the fine desert sand and your parties shadows cast pack upon the dunes.

            Food is scarce, water is scarcer and the sun is so bright you can hardly see 10 feet in front of you.

            You and your party members gasp for breath, each foot fall requires more effort than the last. You find yourselves wondering about the validity of your choice to wear your armor on this particular trek. You re-evaluate ever single piece of gear in your pack and ponder its utility vs it’s weight.

            You miss the pack animals you once travelled with, but you find yourselves glad that you don’t have another mouth to care for. Supplies are all ready running low and you expect at least another two full days in the desert heat.

            The sun continues to rise and you take shade for lunch at the base of a bluff, resting for the hours the sun is highest in the sky.

            After you break camp, spirits and water are low and you being to begrudge the wizard for only preparing a single casting of create water. 7.5 litres seemed like enough, but after the first day in the heat, it will not be going forward. You make a mental note to ensure that they prepare a second casting at the very least until your out of the desert.

            In the waning heat of the later afternoon you stop for a rest. The bard breaks out their tambourine in an attempt to keep up party morale. The wizard looks through their book contemplating further preparations, before giving up and moving to study the map.

            The ranger, actually you don’t know what the ranger is doing. Ranging you’d suppose.

With a sigh you drink deep the last of your flask and the sound of crunching sand stirs you to action. You jump to your feat, sword in hand. The ranger crests a dune at full speed, bow in one hand, arrow in the other and a look of fear stricken across their face.

            You can’t make out anything behind them, but you stand ready. Eyes shifting, sword and shield ready. The wizard fumbles to his feet, staff in hand and the bard’s expression grows firm and their rhythm on the tambourine becomes a steady, marching beat. You feel the magical courage filling your body and you take a few deep breaths to try and drink it deeper.

            The ranger closing in the gap makes eye contact and realizes that there is something wrong. Something you don’t understand yet, so with a nod to herself she dives at your feet rolls onto her back and looses an arrow into the sun.

            A moment of silence follows the ringing twang of the bow.

            The wind picks up again and all you hear is the sound of shifting grains of sand. Then, out of the sun forms a black dot and it grows bigger with frightening speed until two taloned feet skim just past your head as they miss with their opening volley and land in the sand behind you. Between you and your casters. You turn and the ranger kips up to their feet, a fresh arrow knocked.

            Stand there is what could be a human, with the legs and tail of a lion, massive eagle-like wings and two radiating scimitars in hand. One pointed towards you and the ranger, the other too close to the wizard’s throat.

            Silence falls again. And after a moment of prolonged eye contact with the creature, the tambourine starts up again. You feel that courage well inside of you and you dig your heals into the sand.

            Roll for initiative.

Introduction

James: Den

Freeman: Piercer of Darkness

Source: Bestiary 3, p.166

Reading List:

            An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling - National Library of Medicine

            Before the Pyramids, The Origins of Egyptian Civilization – Emily Teeter

Pathfinder Lore

Appearance

·         Hawk-winged

·         Lion legs and tail

·         Humanoid midsection & face

Ecology

·         Live in ancient ruins and cities

·         Typically arid climates: desert, mountains

·         Groups = prides

·         Matriarchy

·         Isolationist

·         Eldars & deities respected equally

·         Not hostile to respectful outsiders

Culture

·         Believe themselves to be guardians

·         Practice special technique of dual scimis

·         So central to their culture that swords are usually heirlooms

·         As a child can usually trace lineage back generations

Ink

·         When of age get magical runic tattoos from elders

·         Let maftets enchant their weapon

·         Designs are tell of mothers ancestors, adventures and admirable traits

·         Ink is considered sacred

·         Never given to non-maftets

Sidebar – Shared Duties

·         Have mutual respect for girtablilus

·         Both respect and honour locales and history

·         Sometimes guard ruins together

·         Maftets in the air, girtys on the ground

1e

AoN

·         Accomplished hunters

·         2.13 m / 7’ tall

·         122 kg / 270 lbs

·         ~ Shaq (2.16m / 147kg)

·         Colours range from golden to rust

·         Some have spots/white fur

·         Colouration can, but not always, dictate prominence

Mythology and Folklore

Mafdet AKA Mefdet, Maftet

·         Goddess from ancient Egypt

·         Sometimes feline or mongoose

·         Either head or body

·         Mostly cheetah/serval

·         Protected against bites of snakes and scorpions

·         Prominent in the First Dynasty

First Dynasty

·         First series of kings to rule unified Egypt

·         Starts after unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (AKA The Two Lands)

·         First king called Narmer but could also be Menes and/or Hor-Aha

·         Power center at Thinis

·         Actual dates are of debate currently

·         Believed to fall in the early Bronze Age ~ 34th/30th century BCE

·         Hor-Aha, second King of the First Dynasty dated between 3218 & 3035 with 95% confidence – National Library of Medicine

·         Appears on the stone vessel fragments from the tomb of Den, believed to be the 6th Pharaoh of the Dynasty

·         Son of Djet and Merneith, who was believed to be the first female pharaoh/ queen regent ~2950 BC – Emily Teeter

·         At this point: diety of legal justice/capital punishment

·         Associated with protection of king’s chambers and other sacred sites

·         Protected against venomous animals

·         In some texts mentioned as protecting Ra from snakes, creator of all life

·         Would protect Ra during daily voyage (sun across the sky)

·         Hunt by night earning her the name: “Piercer of Darkness”, this ensure the coming of dawn

·         Depictions in royal tombs imply she was a companion to Anubis

·         Anubis = messenger/attendant

·         Mafdet = hunter/executioner

·         Pictured on as an animal running up the side of an executioner’s staff of office

New Kingdom

·         16th – 11th century BCE, 18th – 20th Dynasties

·         Suspected to be most prosperous time for ancient Egypt

·         19th-20th known as Ramessisde period

·         Capitals being Thebes and Memphis mostly

·         Judge in Duat [do-aht]

·         AKA underworld

·         Not equivalent to Hell, as Egyptian belief that instead of damnation souls were punished by not having access to an intelligent afterlife

·         Enemies of the pharaoh were decapitated with Mafdets claw

PopCulture

Thundercats – Maftet

·         Lynx God of third earth

·         Weathy and powerful

·         Lives in a treasure changer below Mumm-Ra’s Black Pyramid

·         Voiced by Bob McFadden

Comparison

·        

Mechanics

Maftet Guardian

ET! Test Kitchen

Cam Nickname: Raptor Dive

Note: Fly rules for flying up and diagonal vs. down all affect speed.

·         Started at a good distance, waltzed up and tried to speak in peace.

·         Theo managed to land a Crit right out of the gate….however…

·         Salva was pretty much insta-gibbed by 3 Crits over 2 turns.

·         This caused some confusion, but we figured it out.

·         Damage from Paired Strike is combined, so despite the double Crit it is still only one instance of damage. So she went down to Dying 2.

Cam

·         Paired slice and a 40' move speed is nothing to be trifled with

·         Tactically, there is zero reason why you shouldn't dive for the back line with raptor dive and just geek the casters right away.

·         Striking once and playing keep away from most PC's will be devastating.

·         If the party has a lot of the same damage type, they will suffer from runic resistance