A report on the Pashas former companions

To Your Excellency Belgratore Gladomain Pasha of Sanctuary, Suzerain of Shulim, Boyar of Gladomantia, GRAFT Ritter, Chairman of the Company etc… [abridged]

Pursuant to your commands, I have employed our network of spies to gather intelligence on your former companions. You will note, most wise and omnipotent one, that I, at great risk, personally surveyed the affairs of several targets. Once the data was gathered, I fed it to your robot assassin #23’s logic circuits to analyze the relative power and influence of these individuals, as well as how much of a threat they pose to your Excellency and his most benevolent and wise regime. Furthermore, I have humbly submitted recommendations for action based on #23’s and my own lowly assessments.

Forever your most humble and obedient servant,

-Implacable Autocrator

Azax the Flayed, Vizier and Mage

Summary

Azax lives a solitary and secretive life in the Bloody Tower which rises from the grounds of your own Palace. He is called “The Flayed” because his body hosts to mites that causes his skin to appear transparent.  He is originally from the city of Jeb Shun and is of uncertain age. The wizard sometimes acts as your advisor and you have conferred upon him the title of Vizier with an annual stipend of five thousand gold pashas. He has a membership with the Company as a Chairman, owning one quarter of all shares. Your Excellency has granted him exclusive rights to all alchemical creation and distribution within Sanctuary and he owns a shop that sells potions and elixirs. He does not hold membership with GRAFT, and instead hoards his wealth somewhere inside the Bloody Tower.  We estimate this wealth to be well over one hundred thousand gold pieces. Azax was instrumental in the rebuilding of Sanctuary after your most glorious ascension to power. The Wizard animated the bodies of those slain in the Battle of Tamtum and used them to clear the rubble, reconstruct streets, and rebuild important structures. Since the aftermath of Jabba, he has proven to be of great benefit to the city. He discovered that the local climate would support sugarcane and built the first of the plantations enriching himself and, of course, your Excellency.

It is widely known that the Mistress Jangaiva, proprietor of the Jade House and a powerful wizard herself, has a standing offer of marriage to the Flayed Wizard. Azax has repeatedly rejected this offer.

Our spies have been unable to gain access to the interior of Bloody Tower (those that have tried have suffered terrible deaths from traps and wards). However, we can make assumptions from high probability calculations based on careful surveillance and examination of supplies being brought into the tower by the Wizards undead servants. The Wizard possesses a flying Yeti Roton ship, modified with laser rifles. He employs intelligent spell casting familiars that bear his own bloody face.  It is likely that within the tower are magical portals to other parts of Abbith. The Wizards agents oft times purchase Shulimites when they are available on the slave block and are known to make special request for specifically colored Shulimites. Once these slaves are brought into the tower, none are ever seen again.

#23 Assessment: Azax is a Wizard Evoker of 10th level. He has created several magical spells and possesses potent magic items. He commands at least a dozen thralls of minor power and is capable of summoning much more powerful allies. He most certainly knows the secrets to several Yiggian Rituals. Threat Level: Very High

Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: Azax has proven to be valuable to his Excellency and makes a potent ally. He is however a wizard and likely capable of usurping the Pasha’s exalted position. Direct assassination is unlikely to succeed. I suggest we lay a trap that involves a far flung mission taking him far away from the city. Alternately, the Mistress Jangaiva may be the key to destroying the wizard. The Thunderbots could then reduce the tower and capture the wizard’s wealth for his Excellency.

Mephisto, Guild Doctor, Llama of Magnitude

Summary

Mephisto is a human priest of Shagor of at least fifty years of age. He traveled with Azax into space, but our reports of that time indicate that he suffered a coma while there and may not recall the experience. He raised a temple to Shagor within the Company compound that is now an observatory and fashionable salon for the wealthy to receive phrenological prognostications. He was a member of the Company, but sold his shares retaining only the title Llama of Magnitude within the temple of Shagor. He receives a tithe from the temple “for research purposes” that we estimate to be around two thousand gold per annum. While still a companion of your Excellency he was initiated into the Vat Guild with the application of a synthetic rubber skin to his feet. Since that time, Mephisto has become fully encased in the rubbery armor of a Vat Guildsman.

During the reign of Jabba, the Vat Guild bunker outside Sanctuary was repeatedly assaulted by deep ones. The Guildsmen’s ancient laser weaponry held off the assault, but through the long siege several Guildsmen were slain. After your Excellency defeated Jabba, Mephisto quickly rose through the depleted ranks of the local Vat Guild and is now the “Chief Research Officer” with the title of Doctor. Unfortunately, we know very little about Mephisto’s own agenda, but we calculate with a high probability that the local Guild acts in accordance with the known principles of the worldwide organization.  Spies have observed that Doctor Mephisto’s Guild sometimes takes in Shulimite test subjects. Additionally they are known to have several robots, as well as a giant flying manta creature for transport.

As I am sure you recall, shortly after the start of your Excellency’s reign you were burdened with hundreds of war orphans and the regrettable spawn of the deep ones and their unfortunate victims. At the request of Doctor Mephisto, many of them were turned over to the Vat Guild in a program you helped to fund. The Guildsmen turned the sea blood spawn into drem to feed your people during those lean years of famine at the start of your illustrious reign. The war orphans were placed in a program to create a cadre of loyal agents for your Excellency. We have not yet seen the fruits of this investment, although our informants tell us that some of these orphans have in fact been released back into the streets of your grand city.

#23’s Assessment: Mephisto is a 9th level Priest of Shagor and leader of the local Vat Guild. He is encased in armor that protects him from normal weapons. He has access to ancient technology and powerful laser weapons, as well as robots and efficient computers. The local Vat Guild is known to have a bio-pool and the capability to produce custom biological lifeforms. This is balanced by the fact that they are known to separate themselves from the affairs of state. Threat Level: Medium

Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: Your Excellency should demand to know what has become of his investment in the Orphanage for Special Children. If the Vat Guild failed to produce the promised agents or mislead you, then recompense should be made. I humbly suggest you request a conditioned clone as compensation.

Ibash the Lame, self proclaimed Khan of the Purple Waste

Summary

A longtime companion of your Excellency, Ibash is a warrior of Samarajan decent. His light blue skin indicates he is of the ruling Rajanya caste, but it is known that he was orphaned and raised in a Yeti monastery. After the victory over Jabba, you granted him leave to construct a fortress on the bluffs west of the city and there he dwelt with his wife and son, a bulwark against threats from the interior. As your Excellency remembers, at a feast hosted by the Company on the one year anniversary of the defeat of Jabba, the Yellow Wraith appeared in your midst. During the fray, Ibash’s wife, a Shulimite woman, was slain. After your most August Personage defeated the wraith, Ibash was stricken insane by grief and, despite your wise council, he took the body of his slain wife into the wilds of Shulim in the hopes of finding an Elf Witch to revive her. Seven years passed and all assumed he had died in the waste. Recent intelligence indicates this was not the case.

In your benevolent greatness, your Excellency opened the city to the natives of Shulim and in the past year more and more refugees have sought the shelter of your mighty arms. These Shulimite wretches brought rumors of a human warlord rampaging across Shulim. Protected by fearsome Bone-Zombie Death Commandos and riding a giant flame spitting tank this despot put native villages to the sword, forcing allegiance or delivering death. Naturally, you commanded your humble servants to investigate these rumors. As a native yellow Shulimite myself, I undertook this mission.  It was no great task to find the horde ravaging the lands. Once I located the forces, I bravely and adroitly posed as a member of the host and confirmed that this human despot was in fact Ibash, now styled the Khan of the Purple Waste.  I can attest that Ibash has clearly lost his mind; he carries the skull of his wife as a banner and seeks only its council. He raises the host and ravages the lands purportedly to crush the Elf Witches who have called their own tribes together at K’n-yan, the great gold temple that once housed Shub N.

Another interesting note for consideration, last Night of the Screaming Eels, another Samrajan Rajanya appeared at the fete of Sahibi Chand. After defeating the Sahibis’ prize Pehlwani warrior, he subsequently showed up at your Red Alcazar demanding an audience with Bashar Marmat and claiming to be son of Ibash. By our calculations, Ibash’s son (who is missing) should be about twelve years old, so it is unlikely this man’s claims are true. He does bear an uncanny resemblance to Ibash, however…

#23’s Assessment: Ibash is a 9th level Fighting Man-Captain, as well as a 4th Level Psionic. He carries a space weapon that changes shape. He commands the unquestionable loyalty of 100 intelligent Bone Man Zombies known as the Death Commandos. He is considered the Khan of twelve tribes of Shulimites, who can field nearly one thousand warriors. Ibash has an ancient Yeti Flame Tank that is used as a mobile command post and shock weapon. Threat Level: High

Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: I believe your Excellency’s forces could defeat Ibash’s horde, but it might be at the unacceptable cost of at least one Thunderbot. It is likely that they will crush themselves against the dark powers of the Elf Witches. I believe we should endeavor to make sure this does not happen. The Shulimites, if properly organized and trained, could be a powerful tool in your skilled hands, and the “Khan” has started this process. Your Excellency is the true Suzerain of Shulim, and we must find a way to bind Ibash into your service; if he can be made to bend a knee to the Pasha the world will be your oyster. If he cannot, then he should be assassinated.  

Refulgent Perfection, Abbot of the Wind, Master of the Bone Temple

Summary

The Bone Man monk known as Refulgent Perfection joined forces with your Excellency after you miraculously fell back to Abbith from an exploding spacecraft. He assisted you in your noble march back to Sanctuary and proved his skill in the battle against Jabba. Claiming that he was ordained to take the Bone Man “Sutra of the Wind” to the people of Sanctuary, he established a monastery in the ruins of the old temple of Dagon. The monastery became a haven for Shulimite refugees that your benevolent rule allowed into the city. Refulgent took the title Master of the Temple and requested that, in order to feed his clergy and the refugees, your Excellency grant the temple ownership of the lands around the monastery for the growing of boonchi (a native bean rich in nutrients). In your most gracious wisdom, you agreed to the Monk’s request, on the condition that any profit made from the boonchi crop would be transferred to your own coffers. You now net around two thousand gold yearly from this crop.

The first class of monks were the brood of your former pet, the Blarka known as Skreek, as well as the sons of Ibash and your Bashar, Marmat. The pups have since passed away, but many of their own brood still study the Way of the Wind. Ibash’s son mysteriously disappeared from the monastery after a year. Marmat’s child, who now styles himself as Shimmering Wisdom, has attained a position of power within the monastic hierarchy, second only to Abbot Skrackle, a grandson of Skreek. Today, there are twenty full fledge monks, a dozen of whom are blarka, and around fifty lay clergy and novices. The temple is still a gathering place for disposed Shulimites, who come to receive aid from the monks.

Your Excellency will be pleased to know that we have long had an agent inside the Bone Temple, none other than the son of your loyal Bashar. Through this agent, we have been able to gain intelligence on the particular teachings of the “Sutra of the Wind”, the training regime of the monks, and their capabilities. I will not bore your exalted mind with the primitive religious ramblings of the Bone Men’s sutra, suffice it to know that they recognize no gods and seek violent confrontation in order to “waken the sleeper within”. They do not seem to practice violence without principle however, mostly fighting each other or undertaking pilgrimages to seek “teachers of worth” to fight. Their training is intense, consisting of extreme physical and meditative exercise. This has kept their numbers low, as only a very few can withstand the rigor.  Their capabilities as fighters are impressive; they shun armor and seem to be able to move with preternatural quickness. These Bone Monks train with weaponry, particularly the bow, but they prefer to use their own bodies as weapons. We have reliable reports of Refulgent himself killing stout warriors with a single unarmed blow.

Recently Refulgent Perfection departed the temple for the interior of Shulim. Shimmering Wisdom reports that he purportedly left to seek out and fight a semi-mythical “Bohdi of the Wind” as the final step in his own enlightenment. Abbot Skrackle is now in charge of the daily affairs of the monastery.

#23 Assessments: Refulgent Perfection is a 9th Level Yin Monk. He can command a dozen 4th level monks and as many as twenty 1st level monks. He is extremely capable at infiltration and evasion. He is also in a position of considerable influence over the Shulimite population of Sanctuary, although it is unlikely that he will use this influence against the Pasha. Threat Level: Low

Implacable Autocrator’s Recommendation: We do not know if Refulgent will return from his religious quest in the wilds. In his absence, we should arrange the assassination of Abbot Skrackle so that our agent will assume control of the Bone Temple. Having a direct line of “spiritual” influence on the superstitious Shulimites could prove useful to his Excellency. If Refulgent returns, we must be extremely cautious of his intentions, but if it proves necessary, our agent has the ideal access to eliminate the Bone Man.

The Vat Guild

The Lasers & Loincloths rules are intentionally light on setting details. I wrote it in a general tone to make it easier to adapt to different worlds and as a response to the baked in setting that is found in some flavors of D&D. It is still D&D though, so some setting assumptions are unavoidable, (class archetypes, spells list, domain play and others) but I omitted specific backgrounds, skill, alignment, and equipment list. These were the first things that had to go or be modified at my table, and I expect other DM’s want to adopt or define these things themselves in their own games.

My personal game is set on the planet Abbith, a quasi-post-apocalyptic-eastern-medieval-Lovecraftian-pulp-sci-fi-fantasy. Abbith is one part my own delirium, one part Hyborian Age, two parts Geoffrey McKinney’s Carcosa and at the least one part Planet Algol. I had almost forgotten that I just sort of wholeheartedly lifted bits of Planet Algol for the history of Abbith, and in the two years we have been playing the game some of these bits have mutated into their own Abbithian flavored creatures.  One of the factions that I stole was Algol’s Vat Guild, in my game it was originally sort of a throw away mysterious organization that conveniently provided healing services and the occasional mission. It has since become more important to the story because one of our original characters joined the ranks. So, with apologies (or not) to Blair @Planet Algol here’s the skinny on Abbith’s own Vat Guild.

http://andimayer.deviantart.com/art/Priest-190533406

The Vat Guild

A small and reclusive group of Priestly Bio-Engineers, the Vat Guild has harbored what remains of the knowledge and technology of the first men through the tumultuous epochs of humanities history on Abbith. Isolated in advanced bunker labs with their faces hidden behind rubbery skin suits, to the world at large they administer medical aid to those who can afford it and freely distribute foodstuffs to those who ask. Within the sterile walls of their compounds and underneath their fleshy armor the Vat Guild follows an agenda that dates to the first fall of man.

First dictum – We shall not govern

In order to not contaminate the object of their study, The Vat Guild excludes themselves from the everyday affairs of humanity and expressly avoids intercession in government. In an effort to ensure acceptance within human societies they offer the elite and ruling classes advanced medical services. To the masses they provide a protein rich foodstuff called drem made from reclaimed biological material. The only institution the Vat Guild openly associates with is the clergy of Shagor Master of Size. The religion of Shagor originates from seeds of text scattered by the Primordial Ones as their civilization collapsed. They planted the esoteric teachings so that future cults would rise around the basics of the scientific method. Today, when followers of Shagor reach a certain level of understanding, they are recruited to become Vat Guildsmen.

Second Dictum – Humanity is exalted above all, we shall preserve and improve the species

Since the fall of the Primordial Ones and through the chaos of history, the Vat Guild’s main goal has been the location, preservation, and improvement of pure human genetic strains. Over the millennia “humanity” on Abbith has been exposed to mutagens, non-human breeding, and powerful magics that have altered the original genetics of man. A few “pure” lines of ancient ancestry are still maintained and some are still to be discovered. The Vat Guild works to identify and preserve these original human genetics. Over the ages they have manipulated these preserved strains in an attempt to produce individuals of superlative physical and mental skill, working towards a day when they can resurrect the god like humanity of the Primordial Ones.

Third Dictum – We shall recover and understand the knowledge of the ancients

Starting with a bio-pool (the proverbial “vat”) and a complex of organic data servers, the Vat Guild has carefully preserved what little remains of the technology and knowledge of the Primordial Ones. Through the millennia they have always sought to acquire additional technological artifacts and knowledge. Careful study and experimentation with this technology has led to the Vat Guild having the capability to produce their own high tech equipment and advanced medical techniques. Among their capabilities are bio vats that can grow flesh, hybrid creatures that are used as servants, and the ability to create and condition clones.

http://www.deviantart.com/art/Squid-Priest-294628251

The Vat Guild in L&L

A typical Guildsman is a level 5 cleric. They wear a fleshy green Vat Suit that encapsulates their body, It acts as medium armor +1 (+5 AC) and provides resistance to elemental damage. It is also capable of regenerating 1 HP per round.  They will carry ancient tech weapons including grenades.

A Vat Bunker is made of high grade white plasteel and its walls have 1000 HP per 10 ft section. It will be guarded by advanced sensors and at least four automated defense turrets. (AC 16, 30 HP, +6 to hit for 3d6 plasma damage.) Doors will have impossible locks. There will be 2d6+2 Guildsmen plus 1d6 attendant robots and 1d6 custom bio-forms in a bunker.

A bunker will provide drem if the local population request it. A bunker may also sell medical services. Sometimes Guildsmen will offer to trade services for particularly interesting specimens or if the subject consents to experimentation. Vat Guildsmen sometimes employ adventurers and mercenaries to recover known artifacts or assist with particular experiments.

Vat Guild Services Table

Service	Cost	Availability (roll 1d6)
Cure Disease	3000 gp	1-5
Neutralize Poison	4000 gp	1-4
Cure Blindness / Deafness	2000 gp	1-5
Restore Limb	5000 gp	1-5
Create Custom Lifeforms	5000 - 50000 gp	1-4
Create Clone	10000 gp	1-3
Condition Clone	10000 gp per level	1-2
Vat Tonic (healing potion)	200 gp	1-5

The Holidays of Sanctuary

Sanctuary is a bubbling stew pot of culture and traditions, a rich mélange of exiled cults, ancient religions and beliefs brought from the mainland. Recently this heady mixture has been abundantly spiced with the esoteric rituals and observances of the native Shulimites. On any given day, some group in the city is celebrating something. From Yebish mummification rituals, to decadent Adian sacrifices, to debased Green Men ritually tattooing their young, the daily life of the city is one of imported tradition and ceremony.

Now home to its third generation of inhabitants and a significant population of native born Sanctuarians, a distinct culture is emerging in the city separate from the immigrant cultures that birthed it. The touchstone of native Sanctuary culture are shared holidays that transcend the native beliefs of its immigrant population. Some of the traditions are the result of the environment; others were ordained by past rulers and have persisted.

Major Holidays of Sanctuary in correspondence with the Adian Calendar

Day of Mask  

Encha 46

The major landmark of Sanctuary is an enormous ziggurat. Its origins are unknown, accounts from Imperial  Adian explores make note of it as “An abandoned temple similar in visage to those found in Adia, at the base of which liveth a tribe of hostile purple men.”  Early pirates who used the harbor, and founded the present day city quickly learned that once a year a spacecraft visited the temple during which all of those near the grounds where struck into a “frenzy of fornication and bloodlust”. Shortly after news of the extra-terrestrial visitor reached the mainland, clergy of Erroneous godf of error came from the city of Jeb Shun and inhabited the temple grounds, consecrating the ziggurat as the Temple of Error. They discovered that the space within the temple was extra dimensional in nature, and contained among other things a labyrinthine library of ancient science and pornography. The Priest of Erroneous began presiding over the annual arrival of the spacecraft, and the tradition of the Day of Mask was born.

Every year on the forty sixth day of Encha the spacecraft arrives, briefly docks with the top of the Ziggurat and then departs. On the day of the arrival a festival is held, participants don mask and flock to the gardens around the ziggurat. Anyone that is not inside a building during the spacecraft's docking procedure is subjected a wave of psychic force that puts them into a frenzy of either sexual excitement or violence. (Hard / DC 20 Spell/WIS save, 50/50 chance of either affliction) For the duration of the spacecrafts presence (approximately one hour)the city becomes a madhouse of killing and sex. Rather than shelter from the frenzy, the people of Sanctuary embrace the opportunity to misbehave and wear ornate mask to absolve themselves of responsibility.

Night of the Screaming Eels

Around the second spell of Evoc

In the second spell of Evoc, the eels of the Tamtum river begin their breeding season by shifting their bodies into a semi-corporal state and flying through the air. As they fly they emit a high pitched wail believed to be a form of multi-frequency echolocation that allows them to find a mate that simultaneously exists in multiple dimensions.

As they eels can pass through walls, anyone near the river (including the entire city of Sanctuary) is exposed to the screaming creatures. The eels fill the night sky constantly shifting between corporeal and incorporeal form. For around ten hours, anyone in the vicinity must make an impossible / DC 25 Breath Weapon/DEX save every hour or be struck by a screaming eel. When struck there is a 2 in 6 chance the eel will be corporeal and deliver 1 point of damage to unarmored targets before dying. If the eel is incorporeal, it passes through a person. This is considered extremely lucky, and in fact has a 1% chance of granting a wish.

The people of Sanctuary make a holiday of this. Shops close early, and specially made leather yurts are erected in the squares to shelter those who cannot afford to be struck by an eel. The well to do will don ornate eel themed costumes and brazenly tempt the creatures to pass through them in the hopes of being granted a wish. The extremely well off will prepare for the event by buying live eels before the spawning night in order to increase their chances of being struck. The morning after the night of the screaming eels, it is traditional to prepare the creatures that have died by frying them with butter, garlic, and lemon. They are then freely shared amongst the populace.

Blobfish Festival

Around the first spell of Illu

Blobfish are enormous sea creatures that normally keep to the ocean depths. Around the beginning of the month of Illu, the Bay of Teeth is filled with the giant fish who mate near the surface. The flesh of the Blobfish is succulent and flakey; its scales makes scintillating clothing and armor, and its sacs are full of flammable oil that has myriad uses.  In the ancient days native Shulimites would harvest the beast from reed canoes using heirloom beam lances. Today, the wealthy of Sanctuary sponsor specially prepared Blobfish Barges to slay and harvest the creatures. The teams that crew the ships prepare all year for a great costumed parade through the streets that culminates with the launching of the barge and the hunting of the Blobfish. Competition is fierce, and violence between teams is expected, although it is traditional for the bloodshed to only occur at sea.

Taking the Blobfish is no simple matter as they can be over one hundred feet long and have a nasty temperament. The swollen white underbelly of the Blobfish is covered in a writhing mass of poisonous tentacles that must be hacked off before the rest of the animal can be harvested. This is typically done at sea, and the barges employ increasingly sophisticated designs for capturing and cleaning the fish as well as fending off the attacks of other festival crews.

The Crew that returns with the largest Blobfish is entitled to a number of slaves equal to the weight of the creatures’ liver (or the equivalent in gold) and the barge sponsor is crowned as the Reigning Blob-Duke. Merchants and mongers gather at the docks and an auction is held for the fish, with the tongues of the creatures being exempt from sale and given to the general populace for a great feast.

The Opening of the Arena

Varies

On the south bank of the Tamtum river, just across from the city sits a silent silver tower. Adjacent to the tower is a domed fortress, impregnable and abandoned for most of the year.  Plunderers and the curious are kept at bay by automated laser turrets and other sophisticated defensive counter measures. Once a year at a seemingly random time the dome opens with great fanfare, revealing an arena. Undead thralls with electronic announcement systems integrated into their bodies spill into the streets of sanctuary, announcing the opening of the Arena of Hexemetrious. All are welcome to fight, pledging to the lich Hexemtrious three fights or death. The rewards in both gold and glory are great, and for the five to ten days that the arena is open the city shuts down, as all attend the bloodletting. It has been observed that those who fall in the arena often return, telling tales of spacecraft, and computer code.  

Tribute Day

1st of Divi

On Tribute day, taxes are paid to the Pasha. In the weeks leading up to the day, armies of militant accountants’ descend on Sanctuary from the free city of Shekmul, hired by the Pasha in order to assist the peoples of the city in calculating the tribute. Everyone must pay 1/10th of earnings from trade, pirating, looting, and theft. (Wages are exempt) A militant accountant will deliver the tax bill one spell (10 days) before Tribute day, and on tribute day the taxes are taken to the Red Alcazar where they are collected under the watchful eye of the Thunderbots. Those that cannot pay can make a supplication to a council of the Brown Widows, who may decide to forgive the debt or name an alternate form of payment (indentured servitude at a sugar plantation is common).

The day after the tribute is collected; the Pasha distributes alms to those who have requested it. Throughout the year request are reviewed by the Brown Widows, and beneficiaries’ lineup early in the morning to receive their handout. The area around the Red Alcazar becomes a carnival with merchants and peddlers offering food, drink, and entertainment to those receiving alms.

Radbugmas

23rd of Abju

In honor of Radbug Gladomain, the hero of the Battle of Sanctuary and the brother of the Pasha, a great tournament is held every year on the anniversary of his death in the battle.  The Pasha offers large purses for the winners of joust, melee, and archery competitions. Feast are held every night, and the privileged are invited to the yurts of the Pasha himself. The grand prize of the joust is a suit of ancient power armor fashioned after the suit famously worn by Radbug himself.

Santicore

Conju 45

Scholars generally agree that the celebration of Santicore predates the Adian empire, and some evidence suggest that it may have even been observed by humanity in the days before the reign of the Iron Maiden. The specific practices vary between cultures, but all include ritual wrestling and a special meal of some kind.

In Sanctuary, the meal is made up of pacha, which is mummified orux fetus. A mixture of pacha and a dollop of a black pudding is required to perform the ritual to open the gates to Ijuxxa where the Santicore itself resides and bestows gifts to those who seek it.