Volume I, Issue 4 - Winter 2008

Thoughts From The Publisher

Hi, and welcome to the fourth issue of Targum Magazine, the magazine in support of Testament,
Publisher: Trojan War, Eternal Rome and all Ancient World campaign settings.
Highmoon Media Productions
www.highmoonmedia.com When I started this magazine, it was very much to be a support vehicle for the historical
Mythic Vistas settings from Green Ronin; I had no greater plans beyond that. Then something
Editors: happened: I began to get questions from fans asking if we would cover other settings more or less
in the same eras, and I began to get article queries from freelancers who wanted to write articles
Spike Y Jones for gaming in the Ancient World, but independent of the Mythic Vistas books. Who am I to
Daniel M. Perez blatantly ignore what is an obvious sign?

Developer: In our last issue we brought you a dual-statted d20/Trojan War article focusing on the Battle
Daniel M. Perez of Thermopylae. The feedback was quite encouraging, so in this issue we bring you an article on
the deities of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, written by David Schwartz (who certainly
Contributing Writers: knows his historical pantheons after various articles for Dragon magazine exploring the Aztec
and Mesopotamian Mythos).
Scott Bennie, Christopher Heard,
Spike Y Jones, David Schwartz Super freelancer Spike Y Jones scores a double this time around: first, he tackles a Biblical
mystery in his regular Ostraca feature, and then he brings the Roman Empire into the party that
Art Direction & Layout: is the Biblical/Homeric Mass Battles system, with rules for using Roman units as well as those
Daniel M. Perez who fought the forces of Empire in the far reaches of civilization.

Scott Bennie returns to conclude his Era Spotlight article on the reign of the Pharaoh
Mythic Vistas Line Manager: Akhenaten, with info on the city setting of this era, along with lots of adventure and campaign
Robert J. Schwalb ideas for setting a game in this exciting time.

Green Ronin Staff: Lastly, there is something I am very excited about. When I was at Gen Con, I met with Rob
Schwalb of Green Ronin and he said a very short and sweet sentence to me: "Go ahead and do the
Nicole Lindroos, Hal Mangold,
3.5 update." We at Targum are proud to bring you the official update rules to bring Testament
Chris Pramas, Steve Kenson, Marc into version 3.5 of the d20 System rules. The very diligent Chris Heard had been already gather-
Schmalz, Robert J. Schwalb, and ing the various scattered posts made by Scott Bennie and Spike Y Jones to the Mythic Vistas
Evan Sass forums, adding a few updates of his own as well. The results are phenomenal. You will find Part
1 in this issue, with Part 2 coming next time.
Produced under license from
As you read through, do pay attention to the ads included. These companies are publishing
Green Ronin Publishing, LLC material that is a perfect match for the theme of this magazine and our customer base, and I
www.greenronin.com know you will enjoy their products, without a doubt. In particular, pay attention to the game
Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era is © 2003 Green Ronin
Blood & Bronze; we'll be talking about it more soon.
Publishing. Eternal Rome: Roleplaying in the Age of Gods and
Emperors is © 2005 Green Ronin Publishing. Targum
Issue five's have all been turned in, so there is more Targum goodness coming up in this new
Magazine is © 2006-2008 Highmoon Media Productions.
Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes year 2008. I hope you enjoy this issue.
a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that mate- Sincerely,
rial. Terra Mythica, Highmoon Media Productions, and the
Highmoon Media Productions logo are trademarks of Daniel
M. Perez d/b/a Highmoon Media Productions. Mythic Vistas,
Green Ronin, and the Green Ronin logo are trademarks of
Green Ronin Publishing, LLC.

1
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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
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System Reference Document Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by Dave
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Uncommon Character Copyright 2003, Trident Inc., d/b/a Atlas Games.
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Targum Magazine, Issue 4 Copyright 2008, Daniel M. Perez d/b/a Highmoon Media Productions, www.highmoonmedia.com; Authors Scott Bennie, Christopher
Heard, Spike Y Jones and David Schwartz.

2
 By Spike Y Jones

Welcome to the fourth installment of Ostraca, a regular column

about lost or broken things in history and their uses in Testament
campaigns. In this issue, I deal with one recently and accidentally
broken thing, and then a bit of history that may have been inten-
tionally broken over two millennia ago so that the truth would be
forever lost.
If you have any comments or questions about anything you read
in Ostraca, feel free to write me at spikeyj@crosslink.net.

Correction
First an apology: The Timeline on page 173 of Testament has a pair
of mistakes at a critical and confusing period in the succession of
the kings of the divided monarchies of Israel and Judah. As
Testament's editor, I have to apologize for letting the mistakes slip
by me, but I'll take the opportunity here to not only correct them
(see below), but to delve into some of the oddities of that particu- The Extra King
lar moment in time.
A casual glance at the names of the kings in this period reveals the
coincidence of two kings named Ahaziah and two kings named
Timeline (Testament p. 173, corrections in italics) Joram; one of each pair for Israel and one for Judah. That's four
867 BCE Ahab becomes king of Israel. Many iniquities and kings out of seven in the period.
much bloodshed follows.
863 BCE Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah. With some of the distracting other events of the period
857 BCE A drought in Israel, which lasts for three years. Elijah removed, here are the dates that the kings ascended to their respec-
fed by ravens. tive thrones:
852 BCE The drought ends. Elijah confronts 850 priests and
priestesses of Baal and Asherah at Mount Carmel and bests them. Date Ruler of Israel Ruler of Judah
850 849 BCE Ben Hadad, king of Aram, attacks Israel in two 867 BCE Ahab
failed campaigns. 863 BCE Jehoshaphat
846 BCE Ahaziah becomes king of Israel. 864 BCE Ahazia
844 BCE Joram becomes king of Israel.
844 BCE Joram
840 BCE The Aramaeans attack Samaria, but the siege is lifted
839 BCE Joram
by the prophecy of Elisha, four lepers, and the Lord.
839 BCE Joram becomes king of Judah. 828 BCE Ahazia
828 BCE Ahaziah becomes king of Judah. 827 BCE Jehu Queen Athalia
827 BCE Jehu kills Joram of Israel, Ahaziah of Judah, and Queen 820 BCE Joash
Jezebel to become king of Israel. Athalia becomes queen of Judah. Athalia's
infant grandson Joash is smuggled away to safety.
820 BCE Joash claims the throne of Judah. Athalia is killed. What exactly happened during the reigns of the Jorams and
809 BCE Jehoahaz becomes king of Israel. the Ahaziahs is a bit unclear. By judiciously interpreting away some
793 BCE Israel is delivered from the Aramaeans after a terrible contradictions and confusions in the record, a coherent story can be
battle. Jehoash becomes king of Israel. constructed, but not an ironclad history.

1
The Traditional Story
The last point where the Biblical record is simple and clear is the
mid-9th Century BCE, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah (the
fourth-generation descendant of King Solomon, the last ruler of a
united Israel and Judah), and Ahab was king of Israel (the seventh
king of the breakaway northern kingdom, and a member of the
fourth family to claim that throne in a mere 60 years since the end
of the united kingdom). Ahab's two-decade rule was a tumultuous
one, featuring repeated religious struggles with the prophet Elijah,
and repeated military struggles with the kingdom of Aram
(Damascus) and with Assyria. In 846 BCE, Ahab died in battle
against Aram at Ramoth-Gilead and was succeeded by his son
Ahaziah.
Ahaziah reigned for two uneventful years and was followed by
his brother Joram (another son of Ahab), who ruled for almost two
decades before being assassinated by Jehu in 827 BCE, with Jehu
taking the throne of Israel.
In Judah, meanwhile, after a long, prosperous and mostly peace-
ful reign, Jehoshaphat died and was succeeded by a different Joram
(the son of Jehoshaphat and the son-in-law of Ahab through mar-
riage to Athalia, the daughter of Ahab of Israel and Jezebel of
Sidon) in 839 BCE, the fifth year of the rule of Joram of Israel on
the northern throne. Joram of Judah's queen, Athalia, had consider-
able influence on him, and "he walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
as did the house of Ahab, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife, and he did
evil in the sight of the Lord." As a result, his was an unhappy reign: he
lost control of Edom (a kingdom to the southeast of Judah that
had been held by Judah since the time of King David), faced attacks
from Arabia, dealt with the revolt of the town of Libnah within
Judah itself, all but his youngest son were taken captive by invading
Philistines (and if they were ever released the Bible doesn't mention
it), and the people of Judah suffered through a great plague that
eventually killed Joram.
Joram was succeeded in 828 BCE by his youngest son, Ahaziah
(who would be a nephew of the deceased King Ahaziah of Israel).
As a grandson of King Ahab of Israel, and a seventh-generation
descendant of King David of the United Kingdom of Israel and
Judah, the two countries were brought closer to reunification than
at any time before.
But Ahaziah "walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in
the sight of the Lord... for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab" and
he ruled for only one year before being killed during Jehu's coup in
the north. He was succeeded by his mother, Queen Athalia, a
daughter of Ahab of Israel, and therefore sister of Joram and
Ahaziah of Israel. Athalia immediately "arose and destroyed all the seed with the 40-year figure,5 but there's enough time in the Biblical
royal," killing every descendant of Jehoshaphat (and therefore of
David and Solomon) that she could find. Unfortunately for her, she ing as a general), Ahab and Ahaziah to rule over it, and then for
missed one,1 and her six-year reign ended when her grandson Joash, Joram to face a Moabite revolt.
the hidden son of Ahaziah, became the rallying point for a coup
that overthrew her and placed a descendant of David once again on
the throne.2
Or maybe not.
Coincidences, Contradictions, and
Confusion
But what about those bits of the record that have to be glossed over
in order to form the traditional story?
For instance, while the traditional story above has King
Ahaziah of Israel reigning for two years, the actual Biblical text has
him on the throne for either two years (I Kings 22:51) or seven years
(II Kings 1:17). That's not a trivial matter, because seven years after
Ahaziah of Israel ascended to that throne, Joram of Judah ascended
to that throne; if Ahaziah reigned for seven years, then both the
Jorams would have ascended to their thrones in the same year, which
would be an even bigger coincidence than just their two reigns over-
lapping.3
In the traditional story, King Joram of Judah dies in 828 BCE
and is succeeded by his youngest son, Ahaziah, who we assume was
the survivor of the Philistine abduction. But when the story of the
abduction is told in II Chronicles 21:17, the youngest son's name is
Jehoahaz, while four verses later, when a youngest son takes the
throne it's Ahaziah. Since Ahaziah was supposedly 42 years old
when he began his reign, and Joram of Judah only reigned for eight
years, there's no time in the chronology for Ahaziah to be a
"youngest son" born after the capture of all the other sons but the
"youngest son" Jehoahaz.4 Ahaziah might have been a child king,
but there's no regent mentioned and then the "forty and two years
old was Ahaziah" comment in II Chronicles 22:2 would be incorrect.
Both the Books of Kings and Chronicles agree that King
Ahaziah of Judah died during Jehu's coup in 827 BCE, but the cir-
cumstances of his death don't agree: he was either killed while flee-
ing Jehu's forces after visiting with his cousin, the king of Israel, in
Jezreel (II Kings 9:27), or was executed by Jehu after being captured
(II Chronicles 22:9).
In the Bible, King Ahab conquered Moab (the kingdom on the
other side of the Dead Sea from Judah, south of the trans-Jordanian
possessions of Israel), but Moab revolted during the reign of Joram
of Israel, a rebellion recorded in the Mesha Inscription on the
Moabite Stele, an extra-Biblical source describing King Mesha's vic-
tory: "Israel has been defeated; it has been defeated forever." But
the Moabite story is that Omri (Ahab's father) conquered Moab
and that he and his unnamed son ruled over the country for 40
years until Mesha's successful revolt. Neither version, though, fits
record for Omri to conquer Moab (possibly with his son Ahab serv-
2
 In II Kings 8:18, Joram of Judah's wife, Athalia, is called "the The Conspiratorial Story
daughter of Ahab." But in II Kings 8:26, Athalia is called "the
One way to fix the Biblical account is to fix the coincidence of the
daughter of Omri king of Israel."
two Jorams by merging them into one person. Here's a conjectural
revised history of the period.
And then the many coincidences might make someone suspi-
cious: From 839 to 828 BCE both Israel and Judah were ruled by
In 846 BCE, King Ahab of Israel died, leaving a vigorous king-
kings named Joram; Joram of Israel's reign immediately followed
dom (controlling Israel and Moab, allied with Sidon, with Judah a
that of Ahaziah of Israel, while Joram of Judah's reign came imme-
semi-independent ally; a kingdom that had (alongside Aram and 10
diately before the reign of Ahaziah of Judah; both Ahaziahs had
other allies) been able to defeat the growing power of Assyria at the
very short reigns (two years for the Israelite and one year for the
Battle of Karkar in 854 BCE) to his son Ahaziah, who reigned only
Judahite).
two years before dying childless and being succeeded by his brother
Joram. Just as his father had married Jezebel of Sidon to cement an
King Ahab of Israel died in battle against the king of Aram at
alliance with that neighbouring nation, Joram married a daughter of
Ramoth-Gilead. Interestingly, Joram of Israel (Ahab's son) was
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to strengthen the link between his
wounded in battle against the king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead a
kingdom and his vassal to the south.
generation later. And in II Kings 9, the prophet Elisha had one of
his followers anoint Jehu king over Israel, telling him to overthrow
Five years into Joram's rule over Israel, Jehoshaphat died, but
King Joram and kill all of the House of Ahab to avenge the crimes
instead of one of his sons succeeding him, his son-in-law, Joram,
of Joram's mother, Jezebel. And again interestingly, over a decade
seized the throne, immediately putting to death all six of his
earlier (I Kings 19), during the reign of Ahab, the God of Israel had
brothers-in-law, joining the strong northern kingdom of Israel with
ordered Elisha's predecessor, Elijah, to anoint Jehu king over Israel
its weaker vassal to the south in a new united kingdom of Israel.
in order to avenge the crimes of Jezebel and Ahab.

While Joram had hoped his unified kingdom would be a power-

On a less obvious level is the fact that the queens of Israel and
ful force in the region, the neighbouring kingdoms saw the coup in
Judah figure significantly in the events of 827 BCE (which isn't the
Judah as an upheaval that could be a sign of weakness. Joram faced
case for most of the rest of the history of the two nations), with
rebellions by Edom, Moab, the Philistines and Arabs, and attacks by
the rise of Queen Athalia in the south coinciding with the death of
Aram that reached into Israel's heartland, besieging the capital at
her mother, Queen Jezebel, in the north.6
Samaria.

The Simple Explanation Joram lost territory on the margins of his unified kingdom and
The obvious explanation of all this is that everything occurred just while he was recovering from wounds sustained in battle against the
as the traditional story would have it, but the accounts were garbled Syrians, Jehu, one of his generals, led a coup against him, killing
in the 250 years between the events occurring and them being Joram and seizing the throne of Israel. But when Jehu marched
recorded in the Book of Kings, the primary source for the history of south to take Joram's other throne, he faced unexpected resistance:
that period. The Book of Chronicles was written 150 years later one of Joram's wives, Athalia,8 had taken the throne as a regent for
still, which is one reason why the version in Kings is usually given Joram's youngest son (most likely named Jehoahaz, but possibly
precedence over that in Chronicles when the two contradict. 7 called Ahaziah). Backed by a palace guard loyal to her and her son
(and possibly including refugees from the coup in the north, and
Apparent coincidences could simply be coincidences. For even forces loyal to whichever of her cousins currently occupied the
instance, throughout the ages royal familes have recycled names, and throne of Sidon), Athalia was able to reign for six years.
while it might be unusual for sequences of names to be identical, and
even for those names to be used simultaneously in adjacent king- Solidifying the position of her infant son (and mirroring the
doms, it's not impossible for small countries with a shared language actions of Jehu in the north in the same time frame), she had all
and religion, and interconnected histories and royal families. Add the other claimants to the throne of Judah killed. Unfortunately,
the fact that strange times in Israel are likely to coincide with her son, Jehoahaz/Ahaziah, the titular king of Judah, died under
strange times in Judah and the coincidences can be accepted. mysterious circumstances only one year into her reign, and with no
other descendant of either the House of David or the House of
But there's an alternate explanation that some scholars have Omri available to take the throne, Athalia was forced to continue
suggested: What if the Biblical accounts aren't just confusing and on the throne as Judah's first ruling queen.9
contradictory, but are covering up something embarrassing?
Even more unfortunately for Athalia, when she'd killed all of
the other claimants to the throne, she'd missed one: Joash, a child
born only a year before Joram's coup, either a descendant of a cadet
line of the House of David, or a child of Joram's by another of his

3
wives (Zibiah of Beer-Sheba, a town in the south of Judah, far away
from Joram and Athalia's power base in the north). In a coup sup-
ported by the Temple priests, Athalia was killed, and Joash was
placed on the throne of Judah, either reestablishing the line of
David (if Joash wasn't Joram's son) or continuing the line of Omri
and David (if Joram was).
the same place (Ramoth-Gilead) and against the same enemy (Aram)
as Joram was wounded fighting a generation later. As it would have
contradicted the story of Ahab's punishment, the successful alliance
between Israel and Aram against Assyria (leading to their victory at
the Battle of Karkar in 854 BCE) had to be expunged from the
record.12

The Coverup The coincidence of King Joram of Israel and King Joram of
Judah both being in Jezreel and both being killed by Jehu at the
In the immediate aftermath of the reigns of Joram and Athalia it
same time being too much to swallow, Joram of Judah was replaced
was possible to just ignore that embarrassing period of Judahite
by a son of confused name and lineage, who died somewhere other
subjugation to Israelite rule and just concentrate on the proper and
than Jezreel.
legitimate line of rulers descending from Joash. And it became even
easier when the northern kingdom was finally destroyed by the
King Joash, who restored the line of David following the inter-
Assyrians only a century later.
regnum of Athalia, couldn't be the son of Athalia and Joram of
Israel (neither of them a member of David's line), so he had to be
But then, after another century, Judah was destroyed by
Athalia's grandson (the fictitious son of Joram of Judah here serv-
Babylonia, and its leading citizens were deported to Babylon. The
Judahites realized that, if they wanted to survive the Exile as a ing another purpose) by way of a wife of proper Judahite stock.13
coherent group (unlike the Israelites before them; see Ostraca: Lost
Tribes in Targum #3), they needed to record the memories of their Not only couldn't the two kingdoms be reunited under a single
elders before they died, and to recopy whatever official records king if that monarch was from the northern line, but even the
they'd managed to bring with them into exile before those records thought that Judah was subservient to Israel during the period had
to be adjusted. Judah became a full partner with Israel in the cam-
disintegrated with age and the conditions of the exile.10
paign against Moab, with the king of Israel asking the king of
But recording and recopying wouldn't be enough.
The writers of the Books of Kings had to craft a
national history; one that would give the people hope
that they'd be restored to their rightful place in the
Promised Land, once again controlling their own des-
tiny under a king of the line of David, as promised by
the god of Israel.

While there were still descendants of David alive

during and after the Exile able to restore the
throne,11 the line from David to whoever eventually
restored the throne had to be unbroken, and the igno-
ble 19-year period between the death of Jehoshaphat
and the accession of Joash, when the throne of Judah
was usurped by the king of a heretical breakaway
kingdom and then by a queen of the northern king-
dom, was now no longer ignorable.

Obviously, the first change that had to be made

to the historical record was that any gap in the line
of descent from King David had to be bridged; Joram
of Israel and Judah had to be replaced by Joram of
Israel and a Joram of Judah. But other elements of the
story also needed tweaking.

Ahab had to be punished for marrying Jezebel

and allowing her to bring her religion into Israel and
for persecuting the priests of the Lord, so his peace-
ful reign was supplemented by some of the wars of his
son Joram's time, and he was made to die in battle in

4
Judah to join him in the campaign instead of ordering him to.
Unfortunately, the coverup wasn't perfect, though if it had been, I
wouldn't have a topic for this Ostraca.14
Gaming Opportunities
The Time Of The Jorams
The events surrounding the reign of King Joram provide numerous
opportunities for intrigue and adventure. The time of Joram saw
three or four palace coups (Jehu's, Athalia's, the one carried out in
the name of Joash, and Joram's if that one actually occurred), wars
with every single nation bordering either Israel or Judah, and a
struggle for the religious lives of the nations. Judah had the only
ruling queen in its history, and whether one accepts the traditional
story or the conspiratorial one the period was the only time in
Judah's four-plus centuries of existence that someone other than a
member of the House of David sat on the throne.
Player characters can be members or supporters of the House
of Omri trying to unify the kingdoms, members or supporters of
the House of David trying to maintain or restore their rightful
place on the throne, outsiders from Phoenicia helping Jezebel spread
the religion of her homeland throughout Israel and Judah, members
of the Yahwist prophetic party (led by Elijah and Elisha) trying to
restore Israel and Judah to the proper worship of the God of Israel,
or soldiers and spies from Phoenicia, Aram, Moab, Edom, Arabia,
Philistia, Egypt, or Assyria attempting to take advantage of the
chaotic situation.
And within any of these factions there could be divisions: Were
Athalia and Jehu working together to betray her husband Joram,
and did they then have a falling out that led to Athalia's death?
The Time Of The Books
Adventures connected to the reign of King Joram seem less likely at their own claim to the throne, a claim at least as strong as
the time the Books of Kings and Chronicles were being written,
some 300 or more years after the chaotic events, but if events from and Joash were either brothers or half-brothers.
over a dozen generations in the past were still controversial enough
that they'd cause the editors of the Bible to rewrite them, then the
rewriting itself must have been potentially controversial too.
When the Jews returned from the Babylonian Exile, some of
them nurtured a hope that, along with allowing them to reestablish
their homeland and religion, their overlord, King Cyrus of Persia,
would allow them to reestablish a king on the throne of Judah - or
maybe the throne could be reestablished without the permission of
Persia. But who belonged on the throne?
The last independent king of Judah before the Babylonian
Exile was Jehoiachin, grandson of Josiah.15 At the end of his three-
month reign, the Babylonians took Jerusalem, deported thousands of
prominent Judahites, and took Jehoiachin in chains to Babylon,
where he remained a prisoner at least until 560 BCE.
In 539 BCE, when the Babylonian Exile ended, the Jews
returned to Judea under the command of Sheshbazzar, prince of
Judah - possibly a son of Jehoiachin.16 Within a few years, Judea was
under the governance of Zorobabel, a grandson of Jehoiachin.17
Assuming Sheshbazzar was dead,18 Zorobabel would have been the
logical choice to place on the throne - and Zechariah 6:9-14 might
be a prophecy regarding an attempt to do just that, later rewritten
(and somewhat garbled) when the coup failed.
But maybe there were other candidates for the restored throne
of Judea.
What if there was a descendant of Omri still to be found in
the 6th Century BCE? While the Bible says that Jehu killed every
member of the House of Omri, there's always the possibility that he
missed some cousin or other in the countryside, just as Athalia did
when she tried the same thing in Judah. And if Joram of Judah real-
ly was Joram of Israel, then there's a possibility of a survivor in
Judah, as Jehu's power didn't extend into Athalia's nation; most
obviously a descendant of Joram's son Jehoahaz (who went mysteri-
ously missing between the end of II Chronicles 21 and the beginning
of II Chronicles 22) if he wasn't a child king with Athalia as a
regent; if the child king was an even younger child that King Joram
had named after his older brother Ahaziah, the former king of
Israel.
And just as, centuries later, the priests of the God of Israel, or
officials of the court of Judah, or family members of the line of
Jehoiachin kept track of the legitimate claimants of the throne of
the line of David (not just to the time of Zorobabel, but for at
least another century after his failed plot, as the line of descent of
Zorobabel for seven generations, to maybe 400 BCE, is listed in I
Chronicles 3) the protectors of the line of Omri through Jehoahaz
could have sprung from hiding at the time of the Return, pressing
Zorobabel's if the two Jorams were indeed one and thus Jehoahaz
And even if there was no survivor of Omri's line after three
centuries, that doesn't mean that there couldn't be someone put for-
ward as a survivor as a figurehead for some religious or political
movement in post-Exilic Judea.
A descendant (real or otherwise) of Joram could have represent-
ed a unifying movement, attempting to bridge the divide between
the Samaritans (in part descendants of the Israelites that Joram had
ruled over) and that portion of the Judeans who'd remained in
Judea when the elite were taken to Babylon, competing for popular-
ity against the candidate of the returning exiles, Zorobabel.
Once again, spies from neighboring nations (obviously Persia
trying to prevent rebellion, but also other provinces trying to look
loyal in the eyes of their Persian overlords) would attempt to inter-
fere on various sides of the conflict, and there might be splits with-
5
in some nations; e.g., Samaritans who favour reunification under a
descendant of Omri versus those who just want as much confusion as Notes :
possible in Judea in order to bolster their own regional power, or
(1) Well, technically, Athalia missed two of Joram's descendants,
Jews who want to have nothing to do with a King Sheshbazzar, a
because the grandson she'd missed, Joash, was hidden from Athalia
King Zorobabel, a King Joram II (or III), but who just want to keep
by her own daughter, Jehoshabeath, wife of the priest who eventual-
their heads down and avoid another exile that could permanently
ly led the coup to place Joash on his rightful throne.
crush Judea like Israel was crushed by the Assyrians.
(2) And as a descendant of Ahab through his grandmother,
King Joash of Judah and all later kings of Judah would carry the
The Time Of The Maccabees And Beyond blood of the royal family of both Judah and one of the royal fami-
Just because the Hebrew Bible's lineage of the descendants of King lies of Israel.
David through Zorobabel ends with Anani around 400 BCE (I (3) In fact, it's more complicated than that. II Kings 1:17 says
Chronicles 3:24), doesn't mean that David's line ended at that point. that Joram of Israel succeeded his brother in the second year of
Joram of Judah's reign. But II Kings 8:16 says that Joram of Judah
During the time of the Maccabees, all the Jewish kings were followed his father to the throne in the fifth year of Joram of
descended from Mattathias, a priest in the village of Modein, Israel's reign. The traditional story sides with II Kings 8:16.
northwest of Jerusalem. They didn't claim descent from King David; (4) But someone named Jehoahaz became king of Israel, not
they claimed the kingship at first by force of arms and then Judah, in 809 BCE, when Jehu died. Could he be the same man as
through the high priesthood at the purified and rededicated the Jehoahaz of Judah (either physically the same or a name trans-
Temple in Jerusalem. And, indeed, it was only the fifth ruler in the posed from one king list to another by the Chronicler)? And anoth-
Maccabean line who actually claimed the title of king as well as er Jehoahaz was one of the last kings of Judah and the uncle of
high priest. The Maccabean line ended six generations later when King Jehoiachin and the brother of King Zedekiah, all of whom
his last descendant married King Herod the Great of Idumaea had a role to play in the messianic conspiracies that accompanied
(Edom). the completion of the writing of the Book of Kings and the return
of the Exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.
And during the rule of the Maccabees, as with any other com- (5) Assuming that the "40 years" is supposed to be an exact
parable line of kings, there were conflicts and schemes and infight- number. In Biblical Hebrew "40" sometimes means only an unspeci-
ing and alliances. If a descendant of King David with a believable fied large number. Unfortunately, I don't know if the Moabites
pedigree had come forward, the possibility of a civil war engulfing used the same convention.
the region is conceivable.19 (6) There are other points of confusion in the account that are
even less obvious.
In the New Testament, there are two genealogies provided for For instance, in II Kings 8:16 ("And in the fifth year of Joram the
Jesus of Nazareth to prove that he's a descendant of King David son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Joram the
and thus eligible to be the messiah. The less interesting one (in son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign") the words
Luke 3:23-38) runs from Adam through to King David and his son "Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah" can be read as implying
Nathan (one of the many sons of David who disappeared from the that Jehoshaphat was still alive at the time Joram of Judah began to
Biblical record when their brother Solomon became king), and then reign, which might mean co-rule for some number of years (a prac-
through a series of 39 otherwise unknown members of the line of tice common in Egypt, but not in Israel and Judah), or a scribal
David to Jesus's father Joseph. error, or that Joram began his reign by overthrowing a still-living
Jehoshaphat.
The other line of descent claimed for Jesus of Nazareth, also And in the next verse, Joram of Judah's mother isn't mentioned,
ending in Joseph? That's listed in Matthew 1:1-16. From Abraham, an omission that clashes with the stylized formulations used for
the line extends through such familiar persons as Judah, Ruth, King other regnal transitions.
David, Josiah, Jehoiachin, and Zorobabel, and then onwards past (7) Another reason why Kings is usually considered more trust-
Zorobabel in a line of names not recorded in Chronicles to Joseph. worthy by historians than Chronicles is the set of circumstances
Interestingly, after David, there are six kings before there's an odd under which the two books were written, and the purposes for
gap in the lineage: Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, which they were written.
and finally Joram. After Joram, the line skips to Uzziah, with no The composition of Kings probably began a few decades into
mention whatsoever of Ahaziah, Athalia, Jehoash, or Amaziah, the the Babylonian Exile, when the Judahites realized that they needed
four rulers in that 65-year gap. Hmmm... to record the memories of their elders before they died, and to
recopy whatever official records they'd managed to bring with them
into exile (including either records from the northern kingdom of
Israel, saved by those fleeing the earlier Assyrian deportation of
that kingdom, or Judah's records of dealings with its northern
neighbor) before they disintegrated with age and the conditions of

6
the exile.
It's possible that Zedekiah, the last king of Judah before the
exile, was still alive, blinded, and held prisoner by the Babylonians,
but capable of producing heirs to continue the House of David on a
future restored throne of Judah; and if not, there was also the line
of descendants from deposed King Jehoiachin (who was also held
captive in Babylon). Continuity of the line of kings from David was
of great importance to the writers of Kings.
Chronicles, on the other hand, was written over a century after
the Jews returned to Judea from Babylon and what might have been
an abortive attempt to set Zorobabel, grandson of King Jehoiachin,
on a restored through of Judah. While Chonicles' writer did record
the line of descendants of David alive to that writer's time, no one
had sat on the throne for 200 years and he had to reinterpret histo-
ry in order to ensure that the god of Israel's promises to David and
Solomon were still kept despite the empty throne. For the writer of
Chronicles, the moral and religious story of Judah was more impor-
tant that the political and military history of the countries.
As for the history of Israel, a country destroyed over three cen-
turies before and with no hope of ever being restored, the
Chronicler ignores it except when it intersects with that of Judah.
(8) In this scenario, Joram of Israel and Judah's wife Athalia is
either his aunt or his cousin, as either the daughter or grand-daugh-
ter of King Omri of Israel (following II Kings 8:26), not the daugh-
ter of Omri's son Ahab (following II Kings 8:18). No need to add
incest to Joram's sins.
(9) Raising the suspicion in our alternate history that it wasn't
just luck that allowed Athalia to set herself up as regent for her
infant son, but that she'd been working in partnership with Jehu to
divvy up the thrones of Israel and Judah between them. Another
conspiracy.
(10) It's interesting to speculate what a hypothetical northern
equivalent of the Books of Kings and Chronicles would have said
about this confusing time period. Unfortunately, if such a book ever
existed, it's long lost now, and the only source of information we
have about the affairs of Israel are the undoubtedly biased writings
of Israel's rival, Judah, plus a few confirmatory inscriptions in lands
that claimed military victories over Israel, such as Moab and Assyria.
(11) It's possible that Zedekiah, the last king of Judah before
the exile, was still alive, blinded, and held prisoner by the
Babylonians, but capable of producing heirs to continue the House
of David on a future restored throne of Judah. If not, there was
also the line of descendants from deposed King Jehoiachin (who was
also held captive in Babylon).
(12) We only know about the battle from the records of the
Assyrian king Shalmaneser III - which of course claim an Assyrian
victory, a claim belied by the fact that Assyria immediately retreat-
ed from the area following the battle, instead of annexing the terri-
tory to Assyria.
7
(13) And there's another coincidence in the later part of the
king list.
Date Ruler of Israel Ruler of Judah
820 BCE Joash
809 BCE Jehoahaz
793 BCE Jehoash
790 BCE Amaziah
The name Joash is a shortened form of Jehoash, meaning there was a
period from 793 BCE to 790 BCE during which both Israel and
Judah were ruled by kings named Jehoash. There's no hint in the
Bible that the two kings were related, but that could just mean that
the editors did a better job of cleaning up another embarrassing so-
called coincidence.
(14) As a writer and editor myself, I sometimes wonder why the
writers and editors of the Bible didn't do a better job of covering
up their activities. An answer like "They weren't very sophisticated
back then," seems a bit arrogant, and one like "There really aren't
any contradictions; you just have to interpret it the right way,"
requires the reader to bring his religious faith to the text, which
ends up begging a lot of questions.
My theory is that the reason for "mistakes" like these and oth-
ers throughout the Bible (e.g., the two distinct creation stories in
Genesis and the garbled instructions to Noah about stocking the
Ark) is a reverence for the written word that allowed the Bible's
editors to combine accounts from various source documents together
in ways that end up betraying the seams between them, or even to
change the names and other details in the accounts (e.g., turning an
episode from Sumerian mythology into the Noah story), but which
didn't allow them to simply ignore any of those revered documents,
even if doing so would allow them to craft a story that better
served their needs. A fragment of an old document could be
reframed and included in the Bible in a different context and possi-
bly with a different meaning than it might originally have had
(which is one explanation for one or the other of the somewhat
improbable census figures at Numbers 1 and 26:2).
Biblical authors frequently call the reader's attention to the
existence of these source documents (see Ostraca: Lost Books in
Targum #1), both to direct the reader to additional information
(which unfortunately no longer exists for us) and to assure the
reader that the material presented in a book like Kings or
Chronicles was a legitimate distillation of these older sources. It
may be significant, then, that while the Book of Chronicles provides
a cross-reference for the further acts of Jehoshaphat (the Book of
Jehu the son of Hanani), it provides no cross-references for Joram,
Ahaziah, or Athalia, only picking up the cross-references again with
the death of King Joash.
(15) The last king of Judah was Zedekiah, the great uncle of
Jehoiachin, who was a puppet placed on the throne by the
Babylonians, but who rebelled after nine years as king. After the
Babylonians crushed his rebellion, they captured Zedekiah, killed all
his sons in front of him, blinded him, and took him to Babylon.
Among other things, the episode demonstrates the importance of
keeping track of the lines of descent of alternate claimants to the
throne of Judah.
(16) Referred to as Shenazzar in 1 Chronicles 3:18.
(17) Zorobabel (also called Zerubbabel) was Jehoiachin's grand-
son either through Jehoiachin's son Shealtiel (according to Haggai
and Zechariah) or Shealtiel's brother Pedaiah (in Chronicles).
(18) The Book of Ezra never says what happened to
Sheshbazzar. It just stops talking about the one and starts talking
about the other. The usual assumption is that Sheshbazzar died
peacefully of old age, but maybe there was some conflict between
him and Zorobabel that was left out of the Biblical account.
(19) A good number of the Dead Sea scrolls deal with prophe-
cies concerning just such a thing occurring. The scrolls are notori-
ously hard to date, but the majority of scholars place them at least
somewhen during the Maccabean period.

8
KALEVALA MYTHOS
Finnic Gods for your d 20 Fantasy Campaign

By David Schwartz

Mastered by desire impulsive,
By a mighty inward urging,
I am ready now for singing,
Ready to begin the chanting
Of our nation's ancient folk-song
Handed down from by-gone ages.
In my mouth the words are melting,
From my lips the tones are gliding,
From my tongue they wish to hasten;
When my willing teeth are parted,
When my ready mouth is opened,
Songs of ancient wit and wisdom
Hasten from me not unwilling.
- Kalevala (John Martin Crawford, trans.)
The Kalevala is the national epic of Finland. Compiled in the mid-
19th-century by Dr. Elias L nnrot, the Kalevala weaves together
runos - folk poems of Finland, Karelia, and Ingria - to form a cohe-
sive epic which recounts the adventures of the god-heroes of pre-
Christian Finland. The Kalevala had a profound influence on the
growing Finnish nationalism of the time, but it also influenced
English writers such as Longfellow and Tolkien.
Kalevala translates as Home (of the People) of Kaleva. Kaleva was
the progenitor of the giant race, and is considered the spiritual
ancestor of heroes and shamans. Kalevala is therefore the Land of
Heroes, and is home to the tellurian gods in Finnic mythology. The boat breaks. Undeterred, Louhi transforms into a giant eagle and
geography of Kalevala reflects that of Finland, but on a grander
scale, as befits its larger-than-life inhabitants.
The central story of the epic concerns the conflict between Kalevala into the ocean. Some of the pieces wash up on the shores of Kalevala
and Pohjola over the magical Sampo, a device able to produce abun- and the magic within the shards brings fecundity to the land.
dant gold, grain, and salt. Väinämöinen, god of music and the cen- Louhi, left with only the painted cover of the Sampo, flies back to
tral character of the epic, sets out northward to court a daughter
of Pohjola. On the way, he is ambushed by a treacherous rival and
ends up adrift in the sea. Eventually he reaches Pohjola, but he is
lost and ill-equipped. In such a state he is found by Louhi, goddess
of darkness and Mistress of Pohjola. She offers to see him safely
home, if he will make her the Sampo. However, once home to
Kalevala, Väinämöinen instead tricks his friend Ilmarinen, the
divine craftsman, into making the Sampo. For his great artifice,
Ilmarinen - not Väinämöinen - gains Louhi's blessing to marry her
daughter.
Some time later, after the death of his first wife, Ilmarinen decides
to go back to Pohjola to court another daughter of Louhi. The
family of his late wife is distraught by the news of her death and
blame Ilmarinen for the tragedy. His journey is for naught.
On his return to Kalevala, Ilmarinen relates to Väinämöinen how
Pohjola has prospered thanks to the Sampo. Väinämöinen his
friend that they should steal the Sampo. Ilmarinen crafts arms and
armor for them, while Väinämöinen acquires a boat and crew. On
the way they pick up Lemminkäinen, god of adventure. When they
reach Pohjola, Väinämöinen gives Louhi an ultimatum: share the
Sampo with Kalevala or they will take it by force. Louhi refuses to
share the valuable artifact, so Väinämöinen sings the people of
Pohjola to sleep. Ilmarinen unlocks the Sampo from the Louhi's
fortress and the warriors of Kalevala take it back to their ship. On
the way home, Lemminkäinen sings a song of victory. Unfortuna-
tely, his ebullient singing scares a crane, whose screeching in turn
wakes Louhi. The warriors of Pohjola sail after the thieves. As they
approach, Väinämöinen conjures an island upon which the enemy
flies her troops over Väinämöinen's boat. She takes the Sampo in
her talons, but the hero-gods fight back. The Mistress of Pohjola
drops the Sampo, which shatters to pieces. Most of the artifact falls
Pohjola.

12
 ent in such arts) are an important part of Finnic culture.
Väinämöinen is, as well, the most approachable of the Finnic pan-
Heroic Gods theon. Whereas other gods are abstract and idealized, Väinämöinen
These three deities are the main protagonists in the Kalevala and has human desires and foibles.
can serve as role models and patrons for mortal heroes.
Though the runos describe Väinämöinen as an old man, he is still
vivacious. His bearing and dress evince his nobility. This dark-haired
Väinämöinen bard is rarely without a kantele (a kind of harp) which he has craft-
Intermediate God (Neutral Good) ed himself. Väinämöinen's music has the power to enchant trees and
Word of Vääinäämööinen musical skill reached the ears ofJoukahainen, a proud beasts, and draw the sun and the moon from the sky. The only
young man who believed himself to be the greatest bard in the world. Against beings immune to Väinämöinen's charms are the maidens he
the advice of his parents, Joukahainen travels to Kalevala to confront attempts to court - among the gods he is the only bachelor.
Vääinäämööinen. Careering along the road in his horse-drawn sledge,
Joukahainen spies Vääinäämööinen approaching from the other direction. Many runos end with Väinämöinen summarizing the moral of the
Neither rider will give way to the other - the sledges collide with a thunder- poem. While many exhort the listener to do good and avoid evil,
ing crash! Vääinäämööinen and Joukahainen argue over who had the right of others have more prosaic morals, such as, "Never compete with a
way, so the young bard proposes a contest of wisdom to resolve the issue. younger man for the heart of a woman".
Joukahainen sings the nature of various plants and animals, but
Vääinäämööinen dismisses the young bard's runos as children's and old wives'
stories. Vääinäämööinen asks Joukahainen if he can relate the story of the Portfolio: Magic, music, coasts
world's creation. Joukahainen responds in verse, singing the tale of creation Domains: Charm, Earth, Good, Knowledge, Magic
as if he himself were there and had formed the land and separated it from Favored Weapon: Dagger
the sea. At this Vääinäämööinen accuses the youth of being a liar, for Cleric Training: The clergy of Väinämöinen are keepers of ancestral
Vääinäämööinen was himself present at the creation and it was he, the first wisdom. New clerics and druids are selected for their long memories
hero, who created the land and separated it from the sea. Admitting his infe- and fair voices. Arcane casters, particularly bards, also revere
rior wisdom, Joukahainen then challenges the elder minstrel to a swordfight, Väinämöinen as the originator of their art.
but Vääinäämööinen refuses. Instead Vääinäämööinen sings; the magic of his Quests: Quests for Väinämöinen often require skill in both song
runos transmutes Joukahainen's weapons into harmless light. Vääinäämööinen's and spellcraft. Typical quests include building a kantele from exotic
singing creates a swamp, which mires the young challenger up to his chest. components, defeating a pack of prowling winter wolves, and
Joukahainen pleads for his life, offering magic and treasure if only wheedling magic secrets from an evil dragon.
Vääinäämööinen would release him. All of this the old god refuses. Then Prayers: In many ways, the runos are the prayers of Väinämöinen. A
Joukahainen offers his sister to be Vääinäämööinen's bride. Vääinäämööinen shipwright who wishes to bless a boat, for example, might recount in
accepts and releases Joukahainen, who returns home despondent. song the story of Väinämöinen building his magic boat.
Temples: No edifices are built to Väinämöinen; anywhere music is
Väinämöinen is the god of magic and music, as well as the god of sung or magic is wrought is considered sacred to the god. The coast-
the coast. Though not the most powerful deity, Väinämöinen is line, where the music god separated land from sea, is also close to
arguably the most popular. Poetry and music (and the magic inher- Väinämöinen.

13
Table 1: Kalevala Deities
Name Portfolio AL Domains Favored Weapon Divine Rank
Ahti Water, wealth,strength N Creation, Water, Strength Sickle I
Hiisi Evil, poison CE Animal, Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Trickery Spear I
Ilmarinen Crafts, fire LG Artifice, Fire, Good, Law, Strength Warhammer I
Ilmatar Wind, motherhood NG Air, Good, Healing, Protection Sling L
Lemminkäinen Youth, adventure CN Chaos, Luck, Travel, War Longsword I
Louhi Cold, darkness LE Darkness, Death, Evil, Law, Water Pick I
Tapio Forests, hunting NG Animal, Good, Plant, Travel Light Crossbow I
Tuoni Death LN Death, Destruction, Knowledge, Law, Repose Net I
Ukko Sky, thunder, creation LN Air, Law, Sun, Travel Longsword G
Väinämöinen Magic, music, coasts NG Charm, Earth, Good, Knowledge, Magic Dagger I

Rites: Clerics of Väinämöinen act as minstrels as much as ministers. to get their hands dirty.
Runos are recited at nearly every Finnic ritual, save funerals.
Väinämöinen's clerics are therefore likely to be found at most any Portfolio: Crafts, Fire
gathering. Domains: Artifice, Fire, Good, Law, Strength
Herald and Allies: Väinämöinen's herald is a 20th-level bard who Favored Weapon: Warhammer
chooses his spells from both the bard and druid spell lists. Allies are Cleric Training: The clergy of Ilmarinen are all craftsmen of one
jann, lillends and earth elementals. sort or another. Their skills and magic make them natural to
instruct and direct other craftsmen. Those wishing to purchase a
Ilmarinen permanent magical item are well advised to visit a follower of
Ilmarinen.
Intermediate God (Lawful Good) Quests: Quests for Ilmarinen often involve crafting mundane and
Through sincerity Ilmarinen outshone Vääinäämööinen's charm and through magical items. Such quests include bringing arms to village under
ingenuity overcame Louhi challenges to win the hand of the Maiden of siege, forging a golem bodyguard for an esteemed chieftain, and
Pohjola. They lived happily for many years, until her death at the hands of recovering lost pieces of the Sampo.
the villain Kullervo. Ilmarinen mourns for three months, after which he Prayers: Runos recounting the epic craftwork of Ilmarinen are recit-
decides to ease his sorrow by forging himself a new bride of gold and silver. ed in workshops and forges. These poems are used to keep time and
After many days of work, his new wife is finished. He places the golden to bless the workers and their works.
bride in his bed and lies down beside her. Despite many layers of bedding, the Temples: No temples are built to Ilmarinen: anywhere craft skills
side of his body facing the metallic woman is ice cold. Finding the golden are practiced is sacred to Ilmarinen. Hearths and forges are particu-
bride unsuitable, he decides to give her to his friend Vääinäämööinen to keep the larly close to the divine blacksmith.
old bachelor company. Wise Vääinäämööinen rejects the gift, telling Ilmarinen Rites: Ilmarinen's blessing is given to newly built forges and work-
to give her to someone who loves gold. shops. The creation of masterwork and magical items falls under
the aegis of the divine blacksmith.
Ilmarinen, who fashioned the pillar which upholds the dome of Herald and Allies: Ilmarinen's herald is a 20th-level cleric who pos-
heaven, is the god of craftsmen. Several stories in the Kalevala sesses all item creation feats. Allies are flamebrother, average and
describe Ilmarinen crafting weapons and armor, tools and jewelry noble salamanders.
for his fellow gods. Arguably his greatest creation was the Sampo, a
mysterious device able to produce salt, grain, and gold. Ilmarinen
most useful tool is fire, and he is the god of hearth and forge.
Lemminkäinen
Intermediate God (Chaotic Neutral)
Ilmarinen is described as a burly blacksmith. His handsome face and When invitations are sent for the wedding of Ilmarinen and the Maiden of
blond hair are habitually begrimed with black soot. Pohjola, Lemmink inen is purposely left out. Perhaps because when
Kalevatar, goddess of beer, first made her famous concoction,
The runos depict Ilmarinen as a taciturn hero, not one to pontifi- Lemminkääinen drank more than any other and was the first being to become
cate like Väinämöinen or bluster like Lemminkäinen. When he does drunk. When Lemminkääinen learns of this slight, he immediately makes his
talk it is usually about (or to) his current project. Ilmarinen is a way to Pohjola. Arriving too late, Lemminkääinen insists on being treated as a
pragmatic deity, but like all craftsmen he is a perfectionist. guest. Instead Louhi feeds him scraps and poisoned beer. The Master of
Followers of Ilmarinen have no patience for empty words. They are Pohjola tries to kill Lemminkääinen with magic, but the young god counters
ever willing to give practical aid to those in need and are not afraid every spell. The master then challenges Lemminkääinen to a swordfight. The

14
old man is unable to land even a single blow on his foe. Lemminkääinen
near-death experience which gave them a new appreciation for life.
decapitates the master with one mighty swing. Then he takes the master's head,
Though reckless, followers of Lemminkäinen mean well; his clerics
and impales it on a spike that was meant for Lemminkääinen's own head. At
must be Chaotic Good or Chaotic Neutral.
this grave insult, Louhi summons her army, and Lemminkääinen beats a hasty
Quests: Quests for Lemminkäinen typically involve travel. Such
retreat. quests include forging an alliance with warriors from a distant
island, defeating a hydra that obstructs a road, and stealing an arti-
Lemminkäinen (called the Islander and the Wanderer) is the god of fact from Louhi's fortress.
youth and adventure. Lemminkäinen thrills at combat; he is perhaps Prayers: The runos about Lemminkäinen are not staid appeasements,
the closest thing the Finnic pantheon has to a god of war. but rousing tales of combat and carousal. They serve to delight as
Lemminkäinen is also a lothario, often surrounded by adoring much as educate.
women... much to the chagrin of his longsuffering wife, Kyllikki. Temples: Clerics of Lemminkäinen are rarely in one place long
Lemminkäinen personifies both the potential and the carelessness enough to set up a temple to their god.
of youth. Rites: Lemminkäinen does not demand any set rituals from his wor-
shipers. Anytime the atmosphere is convivial and the company
Lemminkäinen is described as a raven-haired young man. When friendly is cause for celebration.
going to battle, he wears a shirt of bronze chain and wields a magic Herald and Allies: Lemminkäinen's herald is a 20th-level bard.
sword inherited from his father. Allies are bralani, ghaele and planetar angels.

Though he means well, Lemminkäinen's inflated ego and irrepress-

ible vices continually get him into trouble. Followers of
Lemminkäinen, like their patron, suffer from wanderlust. They are
always on the look out for new experiences and new heroics to per-
form.
Portfolio: Youth, adventure
Domains: Chaos, Luck, Travel, War
Favored Weapon: Longsword
Cleric Training: Most clerics of Lemminkäinen are self-taught.
They are drawn to the Wanderer as a means to facilitate their long-
ing for adventure. Some become devoted to Lemminkäinen after a
Oral Tradition
Pagan Finland had no written language; knowl-
edge was transmitted orally. The runos - poems in
trochaic tetrameter - were an important
mnemonic device. As the DM of a Kalevala
campaign, you may choose to give all classes the
illiteracy class feature (as the barbarian class). In
exchange, all spellcasting classes gain Perform
(sing) as a class skill. Knowledge skills represent a
character's comprehension of specialized runos,
while the Perform (sing) skill indicates a
repertoire of everyday runos, as well one's skill at
performing the runos for others.
Pictographs were also used to aid memory.
Shamans decorated ceremonial drums with
intricate depictions of the Finnic cosmology. For
wizards, this drum replaces the typical spellbook.
Scrolls are obviously unknown, although pic-
tographs carved on pieces of stone, bone, or
antler might serve the same purpose.
Dark Gods
These three deities act as antagonists and foils to the heroes of the
Kalevala. They and their minions will likely come at cross-purpose
with the player characters.
Hiisi
Intermediate God (Chaotic Evil)
One runo tells how Hiisi caused Vääinäämööinen, while chopping wood, to slip
and cut his knee. Vääinäämööinen's magic is unable to staunch the bleeding. He
seeks out a healer and is directed to an old wise man. In order to mend the
cut, the healer needs to recite the runos on the origin of iron - the source of
the wound. However, the old man has forgotten the poem, so learned
Vääinäämööinen sings it to him. The poem within a poem begins with Ukko
sending iron to earth. The iron flees from its brother fire. Iron hides in the
swamp, where Ilmarinen, god of crafts, discovers it. The iron pleads with
Ilmarinen not to put it in the fire of his forge. The divine blacksmith tells
the iron that its brother fire will not harm it, that when it is taken from the
forge iron will have become a useful tool. The iron then swears to Ilmarinen
that it will fell trees, split mountains, and slay beasts, but it will never harm
a person. Lacking the proper ingredient to turn the iron into steel, Ilmarinen
sends a bee to gather honey for him. Unbeknownst to the craft god, a wasp
spies on him for Hiisi. The wasp gathers poison from snakes, spiders, and
insects and returns to the smithy. Ilmarinen mistakes Hiisi's agent for the bee
and tempers the iron with poison instead of honey. Infused with Hiisi's
venom, the iron breaks its oath, and cuts Ilmarinen, as it has cut men ever
since. With this wisdom the old man is able to heal Vääinäämööinen's wound.
Hiisi, also known as Lempo, is the god of evil. The gods created the
world according to the designs of Ukko. However, at every turn
Hiisi sought to disrupt the perfection of the Creator's plan. Ukko
eventually imprisoned the rogue god, but it was too late: evil had
entered the world. Even now agents of Hiisi continue there master's
work. Among his favorite creations are the poisonous creatures

15
which plague men (in the Kalevala, poisoned drink is described as
infested with miniscule serpents).
Even when Hiisi was free, he traveled the world under the mask of
illusion and transmutation. No one, perhaps not even mighty Ukko,
know his true form.
Followers of Hiisi are rare, except among the devil's own creations.
Those who worship the god of evil do so as a means to gain power
unrestrained by the bounds of society and nature.
trast to the bright lands of Kalevala. The Mistress of Pohjola is
Louhi, goddess of cold and darkness and patron of strong-will
women. Though home to monsters and equally dangerous environs,
tales of hidden treasures draw adventurers to Pohjola. Just as allur-
ing (and dangerous) are the Maidens of Pohjola.
The runos describe Louhi as an old crone. Though she appears frail,
her magical puissance and formidable demeanor make Louhi feared
far and wide. Her beautiful daughters have inherited Louhi's intel-
lect and stubbornness. Her sons are all strong warriors.

Portfolio: Evil, poison Louhi demands the best for her children and the best from her
Domains: Animal, Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Trickery children. The same principle applies to her followers. Louhi has no
Favored Weapon: Spear time for incompetence or trepidation. Like her daughters' suitors,
Cleric Training: Most clerics of Hiisi are self-taught, though a few followers of Louhi are expected to prove themselves worthy of the
are introduced to diablerie by crafty shaman. Study of the unnatu- bounty of Pohjola, but those who do are amply rewarded.
ral is key to understanding Hiisi. As well, the use of poisons is asso-
ciated with the dark god. Portfolio: Cold, darkness
Quests: Followers of Hiisi work in secret to spread his evil. Typical Domains: Darkness, Death, Evil, Law, Water
quests include sowing discord at a meeting of clans, creating a new Favored Weapon: Pick
kind of monster, and defeating a mighty hero through fair means or Cleric Training: Clerics of Louhi are predominantly women. They
foul. are often shunned for the reverence of deadly forces. Many of these
Prayers: The runos most often invoke Hiisi's name to reprobate evil- wise women live as hermits, selling spells and potions for provisions
doers. His followers recount his misdeeds to bless their own. or sinister favors.
Temples: Hiisi is worshipped in secret. Unholy rituals held in areas Quests: Louhi assigns quests in order to prove the petitioner's wor-
sacred to other gods are particularly pleasing to Hiisi. thiness. Such quests include collecting an herb found only in the
Rites: There are no regular rituals to celebrate the god of evil. deep wilderness, taming a nightmare, and stealing a bauble from
Instead his followers propitiate Hiisi at the onset of an evil, such as Tuonela.
the creation of an intelligent item, the birth of a foul creature, or Prayers: Vengeance is a common theme in the runos about Louhi.
in preparations for an assassination. Those who seek retribution may invoke the Mistress of Pohjola
Herald and Allies: Hiisi's herald is 20th-level rogue. Allies are against their enemies.
howlers, bebilith demons and cauchemar nightmares. Temples: No temples are built to Louhi. Any time or place that is
cold and dark is sacred to the Mistress of Pohjola.
Louhi Rites: The followers of Louhi celebrate the onset of winter, the
time of her ascendancy. They may officiate in other rituals as need-
Intermediate Goddess (Lawful Evil) ed, but there are few rites specifically under her aegis.
In revenge for the theft of the Sampo, Louhi summons Loviatar, mother of Herald and Allies: Louhi's herald is a 20th-level sorcerer. Allies
disease, and sends a plague to Kalevala. Vääinäämööinen uses his magic and include shadow mastiffs, erinyes devils, and ice devils.
healing skills to cure his people. Then Louhi conjures a dire bear to ravage her
foes. Vääinäämööinen slays the bear and, as is tradition, a great feast is held in
its honor. At the celebration, Vääinäämööinen sings; when the Sun and the Moon
Tuoni
come down to listen, Louhi capture them. There is great distress as the land Intermediate God (Lawful Neutral)
falls into darkness. Ilmarinen forges a new sun and moon, but they fail to
When Vääinäämööinen was searching for the magic words to finish his boat, he
illuminate. Vääinäämööinen divines that Louhi has imprisoned the Sun and
decided to seek the incantation in Tuonela, the underworld. After an ardu-
Moon beneath her stone fortress. Vääinäämööinen travels to Pohjola and defeats
ous journey, he arrives at the deadly river that separates Tuonela from the
her warriors and guardian serpents. However, when he tries to unlock the
world of the living. Vääinäämööinen calls out to a daughter of Tuoni, who is
Sun and the Moon, his magic fails him. He returns to Kalevala and asks
sitting on an island in the river, and requests she bring him a boat in order to
Ilmarinen to forge him tools with which to unlock the dungeon. Louhi takes
cross. The goddess tells him that she will bring the boat only after he states
the form of the eagle and spies on Ilmarinen. his business in the underworld. Vääinäämööinen tells her that Tuoni has brought
The Mistress of Pohjola sees the divine craftsman making shackles,
him. She calls him a liar, for if this were so, Tuoni would be with him.
and fearing reprisal, releases her celestial prisoners. The people rejoice as
Vääinäämööinen then claims that he was killed by iron. She states that if that
light returns to the world. were so, he would be bloody. Vääinäämööinen claims to have been killed by water.
She points out that he isn't wet. Vääinäämööinen claims he was killed by fire.
Bordering Kalevala to the north is Pohjola (literally the She states he is not burned. Finally, Vääinäämööinen admits that he is lying and
Northland). The chill, gloomy realm of Pohjola stands in stark con- tells her the reason he has come. She calls him foolish to seek the lands of the

16
dead while still alive. Vääinäämööinen tells her that heroes fear no danger.

Tuoni is the god of death. He is also known as Mana or Kalma

('grave'). Tuoni is the least human-like of the Finnic deities. He
does not meddle in mortal affairs, except to take the fallen to his
subterranean domain. Tuonela is a twisted reflection of the world
above where souls continue to exist much as they did in life.
Nature Gods
The ancient Finns believed there was a spirit for every object and
occupation. A shaman could spend a lifetime learning their names.
The following deities represent only the major gods of the Finnic
pantheon to whom spirits and mortals alike hold reverence.

There is no description of Tuoni in the Kalevala; he must be horri-

ble to behold, judging by the noticeable deformities of his sons and Ahti
daughters. Notable among his children is Loviatar, goddess of dis- Intermediate God (Neutral)
ease. It is well known that that which falls into the domain of Ahti, god of rivers
and seas, is rarely seen again; taken by the miserly god to his castle Ahtola.
Tuoni is respected more than worshipped. Most of his followers Yet one tale speaks of his merciful side. A young shepherd is whittling by a
serve as mourners and mediums. They are taught that death is a river when he drops his knife into the water. Moved by the boy's tears, Ahti
part of life and that the soul is immortal. A rare few revere the swims to the bottom of the river and brings up a golden knife. The honest
children of Tuoni; these evil clerics call upon the powers of death boy admits that the blade isn't his. Ahti swims down again and retrieves a sil-
and disease to further their own goals. ver knife. Again the boy refuses it. Finally, Ahti retrieves the boy's own knife,
and gives the boy the other two knives as reward for his honesty.
Portfolio: Death
Domains: Death, Destruction, Knowledge, Law, Repose Ahti is the god of rivers, lakes, and seas. For the Finnic people,
Favored Weapon: Net these waterways are a source of food and salt and the medium for
Cleric Training: Laments are traditionally sung by women, and they trade and piracy; Ahti is thus the god of abundance. Yet he is por-
make up the bulk of Tuoni's clergy. As well as mourning rituals, trayed as a miser: his treasure hoard contains the jetsam of every
clerics of Tuoni act as conduits between the living and the dead. shipwreck and flood, including the greater part of the ruined
Evil clerics study the nature of death and disease. Sampo. Ahti is also the god of strength, and his strong minions
Quests: Typical quest include recovering the bones of a war chief sometimes assist heroes with difficult tasks. He dwells in Ahtola
for proper burial, convincing an unruly spirit to rest in its grave, with his wife Vellamo, patron of merfolk and other aquatic races.
preventing a thief from escaping Tuonela.
Prayers: Laments are the prayers of Tuoni.
The runos recounting the origins of disease
are used to heal such afflictions. The
poems describing Tuonela serve as a warn-
ing to the foolhardy and the wicked.
Temples: Graveyards are sacred to Tuoni.
Burial grounds are built outside the village,
often on an island. A small hut is placed
over the grave. Windows in the hut allow
the spirit of the dead to see the actions of
the living.
Rites: The deceased are mourned three
times: Once when buried, again after six
weeks (when the spirit leaves for Tuonela)
and again a year later (when the spirit joins
the revered kin). Laments are sung at these
rituals, but runos are not recited.
Herald and Allies: Tuoni's herald is a
nightwalker. Allies are achaierai, chain dev-
ils, and fiendish purple worms.

17
Ahti is described as a powerful man with a beard of kelp. The god
and goddess of the sea dress in robes made of reeds and rushes.
All who make a living on or from the water pay reverence to Ahti.
The sea god demands respect, but grants wealth in return. Ahti
does not ask for sacrifices from his followers; what he wants, he sim-
ply takes, and mortals are wise not to question.
Portfolio: Water, wealth, strength
Domains: Creation, Water, Strength
Favored Weapon: Sickle
Cleric Training: Most clerics and druids of Ahti are drawn from
communities that rely on waterways for their livelihoods. They serve
their community by blessing fishermen and sailors, indeed often act-
ing in such capacity themselves. Less altruistic clerics might be
drawn to Ahti to gain health and wealth for their own sake.
Quests: Typical quests for Ahti include discovering why a nixie's
river has dried up, sailing to an uncharted island, and protecting a
seaside village from an evil dragon.
Prayers: Just like the heroes of the Kalevala, sailors sing runos to
Ahti asking him to guide their boat safely and fishermen praise him
in hopes of a good catch. He is also called upon when physical
strength is needed.
Temples: Anywhere water flows is considered sacred to Ahti, and
whatever should fall into water is his tithe.
Rites: Clerics of Ahti bless new boats, as well as structures such as
piers and weirs. They often lead celebrations after a particularly
good haul of fish.
Herald and Allies: Ahti's herald is a storm giant cleric. Allies are
tritons, water elementals, and elder tojanidas.
Ilmatar
Lesser Goddess (Neutral Good)
The Kalevala begins, naturally enough, with the creation of the world. The
primordial world is starkly divided between air (the realm of Ukko) and sea
(the realm of Ahti). Ilmatar, the daughter of Ukko, spends her days flitting
about the aerial realms. She grows weary of the monotony and flies down to
the sea. A sudden storm whelms her; the sea spray impregnates the maiden.
Now heavy with child, Ilmatar is unable to fly and floats along at the whim
of the tide. Ilmatar prays to her father Ukko to save her. Just at that moment
a bird appears (the kind varies with the teller). It is looking for a place to
build a nest, but as land has not been created yet, the bird finds no suitable
perch. Ilmatar raises her knee, and the bird builds its nest upon it. The bird
lays its egg and sits on its nest to keep it warm. The warmth begins to dis-
comfort Ilmatar, who shifts her knee, sending the egg falling to the ocean. The
shattered egg transmogrifies: the upper shell becomes the sky; the lower shell
becomes the land. The white of the egg becomes the moon and the yolk
becomes the sun.
Ilmatar (Daughter of Air) is the eldest of the Luonnotar, the
Daughters of Creation (i.e. Ukko). She is the goddess of wind,
though she shares this function with the spirits of specific winds
(such as Puhuri, the cold north wind). Ilmatar is the mother of the
18
hero Väinämöinen; as the first mother, she is accounted the goddess
of childbirth.
The Kalevala describes Ilmatar as a flying woman, but gives scarce
details. At one point Väinämöinen is unable to recognize his moth-
er, suggesting that Ilmatar's appearance is as inconstant as the wind
itself.
Followers of Ilmatar emulate her maternal qualities, providing assis-
tance and advice to any in need. Though they preach goodness and
propriety, her followers are cautioned not to be overbearing; just as
the heroes of the Kalevala, people sometimes need to learn from
their own mistakes.
Portfolio: Wind, motherhood
Domains: Air, Good, Healing, Protection
Favored Weapon: Sling
Cleric Training: Clerics and druids of Ilmatar often learn their
skills from an elder shaman. From these teachers they learn the tra-
ditions of healing, herbalism, and midwifery.
Quests: Quest for Ilmatar involving helping people in trouble. Her
followers can be found rescuing a runaway maiden, bringing medical
aid to a plague-ridden village, and recovering a fallen star from the
belly of a giant fish.
Prayers: Ilmatar's role in the Kalevala is small but pivotal. Runos
about her are often used in conjurations, particularly creation and
healing.
Temples: Ilmatar does not have temples; what is sacred to the god-
dess is ephemeral, like wind and childhood.
Rites: Childbirth is important to Ilmatar, and her clerics often serve
as midwives.
Herald and Allies: Ilmatar's herald is a half-celestial 16th-level cler-
ic. Allies include bralani, djinn, and Huge air elementals.
Tapio
Intermediate God (Neutral Good)
The primeval forest of Kalevala is known as Tapiola, the Home (of the
People) of Tapio. Even the gods must honor their host in the house of forest
god. Before he could marry the daughter of Louhi, the old crone assigned
Lemmink inen three tasks. The first was to hunt Hiisi's elk: a dire elk made
from wood and vines. Lemminkääinen furiously chases after Hiisi's elk, but
the beast breaks the hunter's traps. Lemminkääinen tracks the elk again, but as
he nears it, his skis snap. The young god despairs, but he gives chase for a
third time. This time Lemminkääinen sings runos in praise of Tapio and
Mielikki, their son and daughters. He makes offerings to the Mistress of the
Forest. His obeisance pleases the forest gods who herd Hiisi's elk into
Lemmink inen's traps. Lemminkääinen returns to Pohjola triumphant.
The ancient Finns revered the forest. It provided them with fruits
and nuts, game animals, and fodder for their herds. It gave them
wood for houses and hearths, ships and sledges. One does not par-
take the bounty of the forest, however, without paying homage to
its rulers: Tapio, god of the forest, and his wife Mielikki. Tapio has
innumerable daughters, each a minor goddess of a specific type of Help me drive them from the Northland;
tree. He has but one son, Nyrikki, god of hunters and trailblazers. Those that stand in front of battle,
Those that fill the ranks behind me,
The runos describe Tapio as tall, thin man with a dark beard. His Those around me, those above me,
coats are made of bark and moss and his crown is of branches. The Those beneath me, help me banish,
appearance of Mielikki depends on her mood. If the hunt is good, With their knives, and swords, and crossbows,
the runos praise her as well-dressed dame; if the hunt is unsuccess- With their spears of keenest temper,
ful, she may be vilified as a disheveled crone. With their tongues of evil magic;
Help me drive these Northland wizards
To those who respect his domain, Tapio is a gracious host, providing To the deepest depths of ocean,
food and shelter. However, those who ignore the will of Tapio face There to wrestle with Vellamo."
the brunt of nature. Tapio teaches respect for nature and for one's
fellow man. Like their patron, followers of the forest god are hos- The upper realm of Finnic cosmology is called Päivölä, Home of the
pitable to friends and strangers alike. Sun. It is ruled over by Ukko, god of thunder, and inhabited by the
Sun, the Moon, and the constellations (such as Otava, the Great
Portfolio: Forests, hunting Bear). Ukko is the architect of creation; the other gods lend their
Domains: Animal, Good, Plant, Travel power to enacting Ukko's perfect plan. The one exception is Hiisi,
Favored Weapon: Light Crossbow god of evil, whom Ukko imprisoned for his mischief. Ukko rarely
Cleric Training: Clerics and druids of Tapio are students of the appears in person in the Kalevala; however, there is barely a runo in
natural world, well versed in the runos concerning the various plants which he isn't mentioned. Just as mortals give prayers and cast spells
and animals. They seek a balance between protecting the wilds and in the names of the gods, in turn the gods do so in reverence to
using its resources for the common good. Ukko.
Quests: Typical quests for Tapio include hunting an owlbear, halt-
ing an unnatural forest fire, safely bringing an artifact to the heart On occasion, Ukko appears as a bearded old man wearing fine vest-
of Tapiola. ments of purple and silver and carrying a sword of lightning. More
Prayers: Like the heroes of the Kalevala, hunters, herders, and trav- often he is addressed as the intangible sky or through his compan-
elers recite runos in praise of the Tapio and his family as they pass ions the Sun and the Moon.
through his domain.
Temples: No structures are built for Tapio. All forests are consid- The Kalevala depicts Ukko as an omnibenevolent deity: in the feud
ered the home of Tapio and Mielikki, and proper respect must be between Kalevala and Pohjola, gods on both sides call upon (and
paid to the host and hostess. receive) the blessings of the sky god. Ukko grants his blessing on all
Rites: Specific rituals are performed before and after a hunt to pro- who respect the natural order he has created. Those who upset this
pitiate Tapio. An elaborate ritual follows the capture of a bear (a order with wicked acts face the wrath of the thunder god.
sacred totem of the ancient Finns), wherein the bear is welcomed as
an honored guest. Tapio is also celebrated when trees are planted or Portfolio: Sky, thunder, creation
felled. Domains: Air, Law, Sun, Travel
Herald and Allies: Tapio's herald is a 20th-level ranger. Allies are Favored Weapon: Longsword
celestial dryads, leonals, and planetar angels. Cleric Training: The will of Ukko is manifest in the heavens; the
study of the stars and the weather are thus important skills for
Ukko clerics and druids of the sky god.
Quests: Quests for Ukko include helping a village prepare for win-
Greater God (Lawful Neutral) ter, resurrecting a hero who fell in a distant land, and defeating a
Spake the stout-heart, Lemminkääinen: demon that has escaped the underworld.
..."Ukko, thou O God above me, Prayers: Invocations of Ukko are common in the runos. Though
Thou the father of creation, called on for many reason, his primary roles are the control of
Thou that speakest through the thunder, weather and the creation of life.
Thou whose weapon is the lightning, Temples: The omnipresent sky god has no need for temples.
Thou whose voice is borne by ether, Worship of Ukko takes place wherever the dome of heaven is visible.
Grant me now thy mighty fire-sword, Rites: Clerics of Ukko preside over rituals that bring the communi-
Give me here thy burning arrows, ty together, such as weddings, harvests, and funerals. In many cases,
Lightning arrows for my quiver, they co-officiate with or fill-in for clerics of more specialized
Thus protect me from all danger, deities.
Guard me from the wiles of witches, Herald and Allies: Ukko's herald has the abilities of a Huge marut
Guide my feet from every evil, inevitable. Allies are air elementals and elder arrowhawks.
Help me conquer the enchanters,
19
 machinery, such as broken gears, bent springs, or dented casings.
Activation: Merely having the fragment in one's possession grants
The Sampo the luck bonus. To use the overgrowth ability, the character must
Though the Sampo is long gone, its remnants act as minor artifacts. hold the fragment and activate it as a standard action. Burying the
fragment activates the enrichment ability.
Effects: A fragment of the Sampo acts as a luckstone granting its
Fragment of the Sampo possessor a +1 luck bonus on saving throws, ability checks, and skill
Lore: The Kalevala does not give a clear description of the Sampo checks. In addition, the bearer can create overgrowth five times per
nor how it worked. It is thought to have been some sort of automa- day. This acts as the overgrowth version of the plant growth spell
ta that produces abundant quantities of gold, grain, and salt. except that it affects any area of solid ground. If no vegetation is
Though the Sampo was destroyed in the battle between Kalevala present, this effect instead produces rapidly growing ore or salt
and Pohjola, pieces of the device retain a portion of the original's crystals which hinder movement.
magic. A fragment of the Sampo can also increase the productivity of
While, most of the fragments were claimed by Ahti, god of the an area of land or coast. A buried fragment produces an effect simi-
sea, a number washed up on the shores of Kalevala. Väinämöinen lar to the enrichment version of plant growth except it increases the
collected some of these shards, but others were not recovered. One fecundity of plants, animals, and even minerals. Endeavors such as
of these lost pieces might be found in a bird's nest, a peasant's farming, hunting, fishing, and mining in the area are one-third
pocket, or a miser's hoard. more productive. This effect ends if the fragment is unearthed.
Description: Fragments of the Sampo have no uniform appearance. Aura/Caster Level: Strong evocation and transmutation; CL 15th.
They can be made of metal, wood, or bone. Most looks like pieces of Weight: 2 lbs.

20
Using the Kalevala
in Your Game
The Kalevala has inspired poets, authors, artists, and even game
designers. It tells the mythic history of the Finns and their world,
but it reads not like a sermon, but rather like an adventure story.
The heroes are not unlike your typical PC: They gather their
friends and go out in search adventure. They face evil wizards,
treacherous rogues, and horrible monsters. Often they succeed and
earn wealth and fame; sometimes they fail and have to be resurrect-
ed by their allies.

When running a Kalevala-inspired adventure or campaign keep in

mind the following themes:
* Danger and glory are a hero's destiny - A true hero cannot resist
the call to action. Even if he tries to avoid it, adventure finds him...
often to the dismay of his wife and family.
* There's a fine line between hero and villain - Save Hiisi and his
foul spawn, the antagonists of the Kalevala are not monolithic in
their evil. There are times when the people of Kalevala and Pohjola
are quite cordial. The conflict between them results from each side
doing what is best for themselves and their lands, but it is the
spitefulness of Louhi that makes her a villain. Even Kullervo, who
slew the wife of Ilmarinen, had the potential for heroism; it was the
malice directed at him that made him choose villainy.
* It is dangerous to meddle with the natural order - Heroes and
villains both resort to subverting the natural order in order to
obtain what they what, such as when Louhi steals the Sun and the
Moon, or Väinämöinen travels to the underworld while still alive.
Such actions are rarely successful, and never without consequence.
Still, the possibility of quick gain is a tempting lure.
* Life revolves around ritual - The ancient Finns have a ritual for
every occasion, necessary to secure the cooperation of the relevant
spirits. Like Lemminkäinen hunting Hiisi's elk, if the player charac-
ters do not perform the proper propitiations, they will find their
efforts hampered at every turn.
* Compare and contrast differing cultures - The rivalry between
Kalevala and Pohjola is in many ways a metaphor for the early
Finns' relationship with the foreign cultures that surrounded them:
The Lapps to the north and the Nordic kingdoms to the east (Rus)
and west (Sweden). Foreigners used as allies or enemies can highlight
the unique elements of the PCs' own culture.

21
Testament Era Spotlight:

Egypt: The time

of Akhenaten
This is the second part of this look at Egypt in the time of
Akhenaten. The first part appeared in Targum #2 and described
the history and major personalities of the Amarna period.
By Scott Bennie
have held up to 50,000 people. For the city to have grown from
(apparently) nothing to such a thriving metropolis was a credit to
the efficiency (and probably the ruthlessness) of the bureaucracy.

The city proper could be divided into the following areas:

The City of the Aten Š Northern Quarter - A ramshackle area devoted to marketplaces
and housing for the merchant classes. At the far northern end of
The capital of the empire that Akhenaten built was called Akhet-
the city was the Northern Palace, the palace most often used by the
Aten. Located on a strip on the east bank of the Nile, five miles in
royal family. A mile and a half east of the Northern Quarter were
length, this city was situated approximately 250 miles north of
the North Tombs, six tombs carved out for high officials. A small
Thebes. According to one story, Akhenaten chose the city because
watch tower overlooked the tombs, and three large platforms housed
of the way that the sun (his father) illuminated the area one sun-
mud-brick altars where priests could place sacrifices to honor the
rise. The product of divine epiphany, "Akhet-Aten" means "Horizon
dead.
of the Aten".
Š Central City - In contrast to the chaotic sprawl that character-
ized other areas of the city, the hub of Akhet-Aten was orderly and
The city was situated in a depression bounded on the north and
well maintained. The centerpiece was the great Aten temple, with
south sides by steep cliffs, which lay on both sides of the Nile.
its large open courtyards, solar altars, and offering tables (and an
These cliff-faces provided a natural wall for the city. Four steles
were pounded into the cliffs as boundary stones, formally marking
the territory, while an additional 11 stele were erected to explain the
four stones.

"Now as for the areas within these 4 landmarks, from the eastern mountain
to the western mountain, it (is) Akhetaten itself. It belongs to my father Re-
Horakhti-who-rejoices-in-lightland. In-his-name-Shu-who-is-Aten, who gives
life forever; whether mountains or deserts or meadows or new lands or high-
lands or fresh lands or fields or water or settlements or shorelands or peo-
ple or cattle or trees or all, anything, that the Aten, my father has made. I
have made it for Aten, my father, forever and ever."1

The boundary steles were large and impressive, reaching a height of

over 25 feet. The west bank was dedicated to farmland and
makeshift villages, while the east bank was given to the city proper.
The city of Akhet-Aten contained temples, government buildings,
and palaces, along with grain silos, bakeries and thousands of mud-
brick homes. There were numerous gardens, necropoli, and even zoos.
At its peak (in the 12th year of Akhenaten's reign), the city may

23

Art Feats for
Ancient Egypt
Craft Family Art
Prerequisites: Craft (painting) +8.
Benefit: This feat allows an artist with a Craft (painting) skill to
create a work of art that depicts a loved one: a wife/husband, a
beloved daughter or son, or parent. If a loving family member
looks upon this art for ten minutes and makes a Concentration
check (DC 15), they receive the effects of a bless spell until the
next sunrise.
The relations between the person who is concentrating and
the family member depicted must be affectionate and caring. In
fact, if any family member who is hated by the depicted person
attempts to receive the blessing, it automatically fails and they
must make a Will save (DC 15) or receive a minor curse.
The magic of the art is broken if the painting is marred or
otherwise damaged. The painting must be in a fixed spot, usually
in the home of the family member depicted.
It requires 40 days and 70 gp worth of materials to con-
struct a piece of family art.
Craft Divine Art
Prerequisites: Craft (painting) +15, Craft Family Art.
Benefit: This feat allows an artist with a Craft (painting) skill to
create a work of art for a temple or consecrated monument. It
must depict a divine symbol or deity. If a worshipper looks upon
this art for 10 minutes and makes a Concentration check (DC 18),
they receive the effects of a bless spell until the next sunrise. If
they've also sacrificed goods worth 200 gp or higher, the blessing
is doubled (+2 instead of +1).
If anyone whose Piety is lower than 10 attempts to receive
the blessing, it automatically fails and they must make a Will
save (DC 15) or receive a minor curse.
It requires 40 days and 130 gp worth of materials to con-
struct a holy piece of art.
Craft Tomb Art
Prerequisite: Craft (painting) +15, Craft Divine Art.
Benefit: This feat allows an artist with a Craft (painting) skill to
create a work of art that depicts a holy scene for a tomb where,
then, a priest can store a curse. If after the tomb is sealed, any-
one looks upon this scene, they must make a Will save (vs. the
caster's spell level) or fall prey to the specified curse. If the seal
is reopened by a priest performing the proper ritual (typically to
allow burial of another person in the tomb complex), the curse
will fall dormant until the tomb is resealed.
It requires 60 days and 570 gp worth of materials to con-
struct a piece of tomb art.
24
open courtyard for butchering). Beyond the temple was the person-
al palace of Akhenaten, a "small temple to the Aten" that could
have been the pharaoh's personal shrine, and offices for the bureau-
cracy, as well as the Royal Records office, and offices for the police
and the military. The central hub was built first (probably between
Year 6-9); starting with the palace and the temple sanctuary.
Š Southern City - South of the city center were a hub of homes
and small palaces for major court officials, and lesser dwellings for
scribes and other bureaucrats. This was the main settlement of
Akhet-Aten. Unlike the carefully planned layout for the city cen-
ter, the southern area was a poorly-planned mess of crowded houses
and badly designed streets, more like a wasp's nest than a properly
governed Egyptian city. South of the city, carved into the cliff of
the southern plateau, were nineteen tombs; most were never finished
or occupied.
Š Royal Wadi/Tomb of Akhenaten - To the east of the main city
was a large village, the home of laborers and common folks. Unlike
the other areas of Akhet-aten, this village was walled and probably
heavily guarded to keep the workers from wandering into tombs and
palaces at night.
East of the village is a dry river bed where Akhenaten constructed
his tomb. It was similar in design to the more famous tomb of
Tutankhamen: a long shaft bored into the earth with three sections.
The first section was a wing containing lesser tombs with six unfin-
ished chambers. The second section was the tomb of Akhenaten's
wife/daughter Mekitaten. There were three burial chambers here,
the first with wall paintings which depicted foreign princes bowing
in homage, the second which depicted the loss of a child, and the
third dedicated to the sarcophagus of Mekitaten herself.
The third section was Akhenaten's burial chamber. His body was
not found here, so many presume it was moved by Ay to the Valley
of the Kings. Unfortunately, tomb robbers in ancient times
despoiled many of the artifacts, and the soft rock of the wadi floor
did not have the same staying power as the Valley of the Kings, so
many of the friezes and paintings of Akhenaten's tombs have been
lost to time.
Art in the Age of
Akhenaten
The revolution of the Amarna period wasn't just religious or politi-
cal, it also extended into the arts. For reasons that we can only guess
at, Akhenaten insisted that art in his kingdom take on two differ-
ent dimensions.
First, the style of portraits changed radically. Instead of the perfect
curves and archetypal beauty of traditional Egyptian art, figures of
the Amarna period suddenly threw aside the perfection of tradi-
tional proportion and became at once more natural and more
abstract. Pictures of Akhenaten portray a distended, misshapen
king, leading many to suspect he was deformed.
Second, in stark contrast to the startling abstract style was the con-
text of much of the new art. It was, for the first time in recorded Amarna Campaign Synopsis
history, intimate, domestic, and real. There were pictures of family Here's a campaign outline that might be used as a rough guide to
scenes, gatherings, a mother cradling her babe, and grieving when it running an adventure in the Amarna period. Obviously, this outline
died. will not survive contact with actual player characters, who always
take things in unexpected directions ("To Apothosis with these mes-
The names of most artists is unknown (allowing a PC to become the sages, let's become bandits!"), but it gives the basis for how a cam-
Picasso of his or her day). One name does survive: that of the chief paign might be constructed. Use the early levels of the campaign to
sculptor, Bek, who states on one stele that he was instructed in the establish the situation, and then, as the conflict widens between the
new style by Akhenaten himself. religious factions, things get epic. Don't be afraid to go beyond his-
tory, particularly with supernatural elements. Don't be afraid to
The new style would not, to the dismay of Egyptologists, survive change the names of towns, cities, gods, and even nations if it helps
the Amarna era. One can hardly imagine Ramesses II envisioning to ease players into the campaign.
himself as anything other than the proud, inviolate figure por- Š Levels 1-33: Getting Familiar with the World - A group of
trayed on so many monuments, (even if he had to have gotten old young Egyptians (our heroes) are dispatched to travel through the
and decrepit by the end of his reign). Sinai to deliver a message to Tutu in the Amarru stronghold of
Qadesh. In the Sinai, they're waylaid by Habiru raiders (or early
Amalekites). Arriving at Qadesh, they discover the city under siege
by Labaya of Shechem, who claims that Tutu is unfairly siding with
Adventure In the Age Jerusalem in a local dispute and "is only trying to make him see rea-
son." The PCs have to find a way to get through the siege and

of Akhenaten deliver the message.

Š Level 4-66: Ramping Up Adventure! - Following this, Tutu (or
The age of Akhenaten had many opportunities for adventure; this some other Egyptian official, provided they don't go rogue) asks to
was an age of change, war in Nubia, sexual politics, rebellion on the deliver a message to the King of the Mitanni. When they reach the
borders, plague, and curses. A mighty and splendid king arose, borders of Mitanni lands, they discover that the Hittites have
reached the zenith of his power, held great wanton festivals and col- defeated the Mitanni, that their king is dead, and the Hittites are
lapsed within a few short years, bringing the kingdom into a malaise installing a puppet on the throne. The Hittites attempt to take the
that lasted for decades. PCs prisoner; fighting their way through, they're forced to take
shelter in a monster's lair (designed by the GM), either by killing or
Adventuring opportunities for player classes include: befriending the creature. Returning back to Canaan, they discover
Š Bard - Though not a perfect fit for the ancient Egyptian cul- the local kings are debating whether to change alliances to the
ture, musicians were valued in Egypt and a character belonging to Hittites. In Canaan, the PCs are sent on a dangerous mission to spy
this class could probably easily find work (especially during the heb on King Labaya and discover his plans.
sed and the commemoration festivals of Akhet-aten.) Š Level 7-99: Politics and Choices - The heroes return to Egypt,
Š Cleric classes - Clerics throughout Egypt are going to be arriving in Heliopolis, which is in chaos after the pharaoh has decid-
involved in the dispute between Atenism and Amunism. They may ed to reorder the realm. Many complain about Nefertiti. There's an
not take sides, particularly if their faith isn't the one under attack. attempt by the priests of Re-Herakty to recruit the heroes into
Otherwise, clerics of each faction will be scheming to destroy each their cause. Perhaps most disturbingly of all, many of the Habiru
other. that the heroes fought against are being made guards in Egyptian
Š Mage classes - Given the ties between magic and religion, mage cities, forcing press gangs to travel to the pharaoh's new city. The
classes in Egypt are probably acting in a similar role as clerics. Mage heroes come to Akhet-aten to receive an audience with the pharaoh.
classes dealing with signs and portents will foresee a series of esca- During the audience, something terrible happens. (Perhaps an assas-
lating disasters and will probably try to stop them. sination attempt, perhaps someone placed a curse on one of the
Š Fighter classes - There is plenty of work for soldiers in the heroes, which was triggered by proximity to the pharaoh).
Amarna: war in Nubia, quelling bandits in Amarru, bodyguards Š Levels 10+: All Heck Breaks Loose - Disaster begins to over-
needed for unpopular officials, and mercenaries for hire by assorted take Egypt, and the PCs are now either in the royal circle, agents of
factions. Life and death is decided by one's skill with a sword and Akhenaten's enemies, or exiles. Is the royal family cursed? Are
one's ability to find the right patron. demons planning the downfall of Egypt, and if so, how are the
Š Rogue class - Egypt is the richest nation on Earth. The tombs manipulating the situation? What's Labaya doing; is he using the
of the pharaoh and his family are the motherload, but usually the Hittites in a scheme to unite Amarru under his banner? And what
temple bureaucrats can beat a mere thief to the door. But what of about that lost God of the Habiru slaves of the upper Nile, who's
those wealthy temples and palaces and noblemen's houses? Especially already preparing for the liberation of His people?
with the building boom in Akhet-aten, there are a lot of places for
a good thief to hide.

25
 Hebiru Bandit (typical)
NPC Templates Bandit, male human War2: CR 1; Size M (5 ft., 6 in. tall); HD
2d8+2; hp 16; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 10; Attack +5 melee, or +2
Use these templates to generate quick NPCs for your players to
ranged; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -1; AL CN; Str 14, Dex 10, Con 12,
interact with. In the case of Tutu, those same stats could be used
Int 12, Wis 9, Cha 11.
for any high-ranking official.
Languages Spoken: Canaanite, Akkadian.
Skills and feats: Craft (mud brick) +3, Hide +2, Knowledge (local)
Nubian Guard/Mercenary (typical)
+3, Knowledge (religion) +3, Listen +1, Profession (Herding) +3,
Saermund, male human War3: CR 2; Size M (5 ft., 3 in. tall); HD
Ride +2, Spot +1; Alertness, Power Attack.
3d8; hp 23; Init +3 (+3 Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 13 (+3 Dex); Attack +4
melee, or +6 ranged; SV Fort +3, Ref +4, Will -2; AL N; Str 13, Dex
Tutu
13, Con 10, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 12.
Treasurer and chief administrator of Egypt's holdings in Asia,
Languages Spoken: Nubian, Egyptian.
Overseer of Craftsmen
Skills and feats: Craft (mud brick) +2, Climb +4, Hide +3,
Egyptian male War10/Ari3: CR 11; Size M (5 ft., 3 in. tall); HD
Intimidate +6, Knowledge (tactics) +3, Move Silently +3, Dodge,
10d8+20 + 3d8+6; hp 88; Init +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative);
Toughness, Weapon Finesse.
Spd 30 ft.; AC 14 (+4 Dex); Attack +16/+11/+6 melee, or
+16/+11/+6 ranged; SV Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +7; AL LN; Str 18,
Hebiru Bandit leader
Dex 18, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 19.
Bandit, male human War4: CR 3; Size M (5 ft., 5 in. tall); HD
Languages Spoken: Egyptian, Canaanite, Akkadian, Hittite.
4d8+8; hp 33; Init +5 (+1 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.;
Skills and feats: Climb +17, Craft (Painting) +5, Craft (Pottery) +4,
AC 11 (+1 Dex); Attack +6 melee, or +5 ranged; SV Fort +6, Ref
Intimidate +15, Knowledge (Arcana) +7, Knowledge (History) +9,
+2, Will +1; AL CN; Str 15, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 15, Wis 11, Cha 13.
Knowledge (religion) +8, Listen +5, Perform (Oratory) +10, Ride
Languages Spoken: Canannite, Akkadian, Egyptian.
+10, Spot +1; Cleave, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes,
Skills and feats: Craft (mud brick) +5, Diplomacy +3, Handle Animal
Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Toughness.
+8, Hide +4, Listen +1, Move Silently +3, Profession (Herdsman)
+3, Ride +5, Spot +0; Endurance, Improved Initiative, Power Attack.

Notes
(1) Breasted, James H. (1906). Ancient Records of Egypt.

26
 Legions vs. Hordes:
Using the Biblical/Homeric
Battlefield Resolution System
with Eternal Rome
By Spike Y Jones
For those with either Green Ronin's Testament: Roleplaying in the Greek Hoplite
Biblical Era or Trojan War: Roleplaying in the Age of Homeric Adventure, Green: Fight Cautiously, Set Spears
the Biblical/Homeric Battlefield Resolution System can be used to Trained: Fight Cautiously, Human Shield, Set Spears, Wary
run large-scale battles between Roman legions and barbarian hordes Veteran: Fight Cautiously, Hardy, Human Shield, Interlocking
or legions backing rival imperial candidates, and yet integrating the Shields, Set Spears, Wary
actions of individual player characters. Legendary: Coordinated Defense, Fight Cautiously, Hardy, Human
Shield, Interlocking Shields, Set Spears, Unshakable, Wary

Common Battlefield Feat Legionary Infantry

Combinations Green: Hurl Missiles, Well-Armed
The following battlefield feat combinations describe a variety of Trained: Hurl Missiles, Interlocking Shields*, Set Spears, Well-
typical Roman-era units: Roman, Rome's allies, and its enemies. Armed
These are written assuming (for the most part) that the version of Veteran: Hurl Missiles, Interlocking Shields, Pronged Attack, Set
the Battlefield Resolution System found in Trojan War is used, Spears, Well-Armed, Unshakable
although some Biblical feats do find their way in here (for instance, Legendary: Emboldening Speech, Heroic Might, Hurl Missiles,
the Mounted feat is used consistently below, as only the Celtic char- Interlocking Shields, Pronged Attack, Set Spears, Unshakable, Well-
ioteers are eligible for the Trojan War version Chariots). Armed
*The Interlocking Shields maneuver is normally available only to
Veteran and Legendary Forces.
Celtic/Germanic Warriors
Green: Charge, Ferocious Attack
Trained: Charge, Enflamed, Ferocious Attack, Independent Legionary Cavalry
Veteran: Blinding Speed, Charge, Disquieting Yell, Enflamed, Green: Charge, Mounted
Ferocious Attack, Independent Trained: Charge, Envelop, Mounted, Withdraw
Legendary: Blinding Speed, Charge, Disquieting Yell, Enflamed, Veteran: Blinding Speed, Charge, Envelop, Loose Formation,
Ferocious Attack, Independent, Loose Formation, Target Captain Mounted, Withdraw
Legendary: Blinding Speed, Charge, Envelop, Loose Formation,
Mounted, Pronged Attack, Wary, Withdraw
Celtic Charioteers
Green: Hurl Missiles, Mounted
Trained: Charge, Hurl Missiles, Mounted, Well-Armed Cataphract
Veteran: Battlefield Dominance, Charge, Hurl Missiles, Independent, Green: Charge, Mounted
Mounted, Well-Armed Trained: Charge, Hardy, Mounted, Unshakable
Legendary: Battlefield Dominance, Blinding Speed, Charge, Divide Veteran: Charge, Coordinated Defense, Hardy, Heroic Might,
and Conquer, Hurl Missiles, Independent, Mounted, Well-Armed Mounted, Unshakable
Legendary: Battle Hardened, Charge, Coordinated Defense, Deft
Attack, Hardy, Heroic Might, Mounted, Unshakable
Steppe Horsemen
Green: Hurl Missiles, Mounted
Trained: Hurl Missiles, Independent, Loose Formation, Mounted Auxiliary Infantry
Veteran: Charge, Hurl Missiles, Independent, Loose Formation, Green: Hurl Missiles, Well-Armed
Mounted, Wary (or Parthian Shot) Trained: Enflamed, Hurl Missiles, Set Spears, Well-Armed
Legendary: Blinding Speed, Charge, Envelop, Hurl Missiles, Veteran: Enflamed, Heroic Might, Hurl Missiles, Pronged Attack,
Independent, Loose Formation, Mounted, Wary (or Parthian Shot) Set Spears, Well-Armed

28
Legendary: Emboldening Speech, Enflamed, Heroic Might, Hurl Or one Roman legion could specialize in the siege warfare tactic of
Missiles, Pronged Attack, Set Spears, Unshakable, Well-Armed moving centuries of troops in the testudo ("tortoise") formation,
soldiers holding shields in front of them, to the left or right,
Auxiliary Cavalry behind them, and above their heads, protecting the century from
Green: Charge, Mounted missile attack from any direction but reducing its offensive capabili-
Trained: Charge, Envelop, Human Shield, Mounted ties, since the legionaries could no longer throw their pila, and those
Veteran: Blinding Speed, Charge, Envelop, Human Shield, Loose holding shields on their right sides or behind them couldn't effec-
Formation, Mounted tively fight in melee combat while remaining in formation. Such a
Legendary: Blinding Speed, Charge, Envelop, Human Shield, Loose legion could swap Hurl Missiles for the Fight Cautiously battlefield
Formation, Mounted, Pronged Attack, Wary feat if it was Trained (the Interlocking Shields feat is a prerequisite
for adoption of the testudo formation), or Pronged Attack if it was
Auxiliary Archers/Slingers Veteran or Legendary (preserving the ability to throw pila once it
Green: Hurl Missiles, Well-Armed reached its destination). This legion would place a premium of
Trained: Hurl Missiles, Indirect Fire, Wary, Well-Armed maneuverability -- getting wherever it needed to get on the battle-
Veteran: Blinding Speed, Hurl Missiles, Indirect Fire, Loose field in order to perform its duty, and might use this capability to
Formation, Wary, Well-Armed get special assets (combat mages, healers, siege engineers, etc.) to
Legendary: Blinding Speed, Deft Attack, Fleet of Foot, where they're most needed.
Hurl Missiles, Indirect Fire, Loose Formation,
Wary, Well-Armed Another way to differentiate similar units is
to start out with identical battlefield
Auxiliary Peltasts feats, but change their choice of
Green: Hurl Missiles, Wary weapons or other fine details. The
Trained: Fight Cautiously, Fleet of differences in capabilities and tac-
Foot, Hurl Missiles, Wary tics that result could in turn
Veteran: Blinding Speed, Fight require feats changes.
Cautiously, Fleet of Foot, Hurl
Missiles, Loose Formation, Wary Take as an example this compari-
Legendary: Blinding Speed, Fight son of an average Late Empire
Cautiously, Fleet of Foot, Human Roman legion and the Herculiani
Shield, Hurl Missiles, Loose and Joviani Legions, each com-
Formation, Target Captain, Wary manded by a Charisma 16 legate.

Late Empire
Differentiating Infantry Legion
Quality: Veteran
The Forces Hit Points: 24,000 realistic/480 heroic/24
While the above feat combinations depict typical
mythic (4,800 x5 Veteran quality)
units of each type described, similar units (e.g., two Armor Class: 18 (+4 scale mail, +4 tower shield)
infantry legions) can be differentiated from each other in a number Initiative Modifier:
+3 (Captain +3 Charisma modifier)
of ways. Base Attack Bonus: +5
Base Damage: 1d6 (short sword), 1d6 (pilum, 30 ft. range increment)
The first is by modifying a feat combination but leaving all other Damage Multiplier: x4 (Veteran quality)
details the same. Sometimes the results of this change is merely cos- Morale Modifier:
+6 (+3 Veteran quality, captain with +3 Charisma
metic (a unit will fight pretty much the same, although the
modifier)
description of their actions may differ). In other cases, a change in Battlefield Feats:
6 (Hurl Missiles, Interlocking Shields, Pronged
battlefield feats reflects a profound difference in combat tactics.
Attack, Set Spears, Well-Armed, Unshakable)

For instance, a Force of Celtic warriors could include in its makeup

Legion Herculiani or Legion
a number of druids, thereby giving the Force the ability to have
curative spells cast in the midst of battle. In that case, Combat
Joviani
Quality: Veteran
Healing can be substituted for Independent at the Trained,
Hit Points: 24,000 realistic/480 heroic/24 mythic (4,800 x5 Veteran
Veteran, and Legendary levels. Tactically, the units will be similar:
quality)
the druid-equipped Force now requires a captain to lead it, but it
Armor Class: 18 (+4 scale mail, +4 tower shield)
has a strong ability to keep that captain alive, so should behave
Initiative Modifier: +3 (Captain +3 Charisma modifier)
much the same on the battlefield.

29
Base Attack Bonus: +6 (+7 with weighted pilum) Indirect Fire (Maneuver)
Base Damage: 1d6+1 (short sword), 1d6+1 (weighted pilum, 20 ft. Your Force can launch missiles at the enemy from safe positions.
range increment) Prerequisites: Ranged weapons, Trained.
Damage Multiplier: x4 (Veteran quality) Benefit: The Force is able to make a ranged attack from any place
Morale Modifier: +6 (+3 Veteran quality, captain with +3 Charisma on the battlefield to any other place on the battlefield within the
modifier) maximum range of the weapons, including from or to a reserve posi-
Battlefield Feats: 6 (Heroic Might, Hurl Missiles, Interlocking tion. The attack suffers a -4 penalty if any friendly Forces are
Shields, Pronged Attack, Set Spears, Well-Armed) under the path of the missiles, as the Force takes care to arc missiles
far clear of allied Forces.
These legions were the same in every way, except the Legions of Normal: A Force can only attack an adjacent enemy Force.
Hercules and Jove choose to wield lead-weighted pila instead of reg-
ular missile weapons. This gave their thrown spears slightly better Parthian Shot (Maneuver)
penetrating power, but slightly reduced their range; an even trade. Your Force is able to fire missiles at the enemy host even while
retreating.
Those differences forced these two legions to adopt different tac- Prerequisites: Veteran, must be Parthian.
tics from the average legion, approaching enemy forces more closely Benefit: If the Force withdraws from battle and succeeds on its
before throwing their pila. That, in turn, changed the priorities Morale check, the Parthian horsemen can turn around in their sad-
they gave to battlefield feat selection: Heroic Might became more dles and make a ranged weapon attack at the enemy Force at a -4
useful since the Strength bonus on hurled weapons counterbalanced penalty. If the enemy Force pursues the retreating Force, the
some of the increased range penalties suffered. But because the Parthians can make a ranged attack each round at the same -4
Legions Herculiani and Joviani had to get almost within spitting penalty.
distance of their enemies before they could launch a softening-up
volley of pila, they were in a more dangerous position, and thus had Withdraw (Maneuver)
a harder time maintaining morale -- they don't gain the Unshakable Your Force is able to perform a fighting withdrawal from battle,
feat of other infantry legions until Legendary quality. keeping the enemy engaged until the very last moment.
Prerequisite: Trained.
Benefit: If the Force withdraws from battle, it makes a Morale
New Battlefield Feats check before the enemy has a chance to make attacks of opportuni-
The following new battlefield feats are used by some of the Roman- ty. If the check is successful, the withdrawal doesn't provoke any
era Forces described above, but can also be introduced to a attacks of opportunity. If the check is failed, adjacent enemy Forces
Testament or Trojan War campaign. The Parthians, and their famed can make attacks of opportunity as normal, but the withdrawing
backwards shot, didn't appear in history until the mid-2nd century Force's subsequent Morale check suffers a -2 penalty.
BC, making it unhistorical for Trojan War and most Testament eras,
although steppe dwellers in the region of modern Iran could have
developed the Parthian shot before the formation of the Parthian
state.

30
Pledge your loyalty
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 TESTAMENT
OFFICIAL d20 3.5 UPDATE - pART 1
- Introduction -
This document is designed to update Testament: Roleplaying in the Biblical Era to the 3.5 version of the d20 core rules.
This document was compiled primarily by Chris Heard (webmaster@codicil.info) and incorporates suggestions
based on official errata, updates and expansions issued by Testament author Scott Bennie and Testament editor Spike
Y Jones on the Green Ronin Mythic Vistas discussion forum.

The rules presented here are not only address 3.5 upgrades, but also other issues of interest to Testament players.

The material presented below is considered official update and errata.

Part two of this rules update will be presented in the next issue of Targum Magazine.

34
 - Section 1: Characters –
Languages
Substitute the following language family groupings for those specified in Testament, p. 13 (some of the family associations described there
are inaccurate).
Testament allows characters to converse with characters speaking a different language within the same language family by making an
Intelligence check (DC 13). However, languages marked in Table 1-1 as Canaanite cluster languages are so closely related that they are
basically just regional dialects, making cross-conversation between, say,
speakers of Moabite and speakers of Hebrew no more difficult than
cross-conversation between speakers of British and American. No Table 1-1: Revised Language Family Groupings
Intelligence check should be required for conversation between Anatolian Iranian Semitic Isolates
speakers of Canaanite cluster languages. Hurrian1 Old Median1 Akkadian1 Antediluvian1
Urartian1 Old Persian1 Ammonite2,4 Egyptian3
Correct the entry for Edomite to read: An ancient language of the area Aramaic2 Elamite1
south of the Dead Sea. Edomite2,4 Greek2
Hebrew2,4 Hittite1
Add Ammonite (Semitic [Canaanite]): An ancient language of the area Moabite2,4 Kushite3
east of the Jordan River during the first half of the first millennium Old Arabic2 Latin2
BCE. Phoenician2 Libyan2
South Arabian2 Sumerian1
Ugaritic1

Literacy Skill
1
Cuneiform 2Alphabetic 3Hieroglyphic 4Canaanite cluster

Treat the literacy skill like Craft, Knowledge, Perform, and Profession,
in that a character taking the Literacy skill must choose a specific writing scheme (just as Testament prescribes). Rename Phoenician writing
“alphabetic,” so that the three schemes available are cuneiform, hieroglyphic, and alphabetic. Table 1–1 includes notes assigning each
language to its appropriate language group.
(Old Median is just a guess, because no written examples survive, and Antediluvian is a completely hypothetical language.)

Table 1-2: Random Starting Ages Starting Ages

Starting Age Player character starting ages in Testament follow the starting ages given in
Class Modifier the Player’s Handbook, with the following additions for classes unique to
Spy +1d4 Testament:
Psalmist +1d6
Among the ancient Israelites, a man was considered eligible for military
Magus of the starry host, qedeshot, +2d6
service only after reaching twenty years of age, and Levites could serve in the
khery-heb, or Levite priest
sanctuary only between the ages of thirty and fifty. GMs who want starting
Israelite characters to be eligible for military service should use 19 instead of
15 for the base starting age. GMs who want to ensure that starting Levite
Table 1-3: Antediluvian Aging Effects
priests are eligible for tabernacle or temple service should use 29 + 1d3 as
Age Category Years the starting age for Levite priests. (Of course, it might be advantageous to
Middle age 175
Old 263 the storyline for Levite characters to begin a campaign too young for temple
Venerable 365 service, as this could free them from some constraints on adventuring.)
Maximum age +6d%
For most Testament eras, the standard d20 aging effects tables will serve, but
Table 1-3 should be used for the Antediluvian era.

35
 - Section 2: Character Classes -
The d20 v3.5 rules introduced a number of changes to the core classes; most of these changes have little effect on the Testament classes,
though a few such are significant. They key changes that affect Testament games are adjustments in spell levels and the redefinition or
elimination of certain skills.
The most significant skill changes for Testament include:
• A number of Testament classes have Perform as a class skill. In d20 v3, Perform was a single skill encompassing a variety of
performance types. In v3.5, the specialization must be named, just as with Craft and Profession skills. Thus Perform became a
number of different skills. Classes with Perform as a requirement or class skill now need more specific definition.
• Intuit Direction and Wilderness Lore, both prominent aspects of some Testament classes, were folded together into Survival.
• Alchemy became Craft (alchemy).
• The Scry skill was eliminated.

Israelite classes
Levite Priest
Class skills: Allow Levite priests to take any type of Perform skill as a class skill. The most important forms would be oratory, string
instruments, wind instruments, and sing, plus a new category not listed in the d20 v3.5 core rules, Perform (ritual).
Difficult spells: Version 3.5 added, deleted, renamed, and changed a number of spells. The Levite priest difficult spell list should be revised
to read as follows for v3.5 play.
• 0-level: cure minor wounds, inflict light wounds1, light, purify food and drink, virtue.
• 1st level: bless water, cause fear, cure light wounds, curse water, endure elements, inflict light wounds1, magic weapon, obscuring mist, summon
monster I.
• 2nd level: aid, cure moderate wounds, darkness, death knell, find traps, inflict moderate wounds1, lesser restoration, resist energy3, silence,
sound burst, summon monster II, undetectable alignment.
•
3rd level: continual flame, cure serious wounds, daylight, deeper darkness, helping hand, inflict serious wounds1, light in the shadows*, meld into
stone, protection from energy3, searing light, stone shape, summon monster III, water into wine*, wind wall.
• 4th level: air walk, cure critical wounds, dimensional anchor, greater magic weapon, inflict critical wounds1, light before thee, darkness behind*,
remove affliction*, restoration, summon monster IV, wall of light*, witchbreaker*.
• 5th level: disrupting weapon2, flame strike, mass cure light wounds3, mass inflict light wounds3, righteous might, scrying, summon monster V,
wall of stone.
• 6th level: animate object, anti-life shell, blade barrier, create undead, harm, heal, lightning contingency*, mass inflict moderate wounds2, mass
cure moderate wounds2, summon monster VI, undeath to death2.
• 7th level: destruction, greater restoration, mass cure serious wounds2, mass inflict serious wounds2, summon monster VII.
• 8th level: antimagic field, cloak of chaos, dimensional lock2, earthquake, fire storm, mass cure critical wounds2, mass inflict critical wounds2,
summon monster VIII.
• 9th level: energy drain, gate, implosion, mass heal4, miracle, rejuvenation*, soul bind, storm of vengeance, summon monster IX.
Should be difficult in 3e play as well. 2New spell in v3.5. 3Renamed spell in v3.5 4Changed level in v3.5 *Unique to Testament
1

The following spells on the Levite priest difficult spell list in Testament are no longer cleric spells at all: random action (now called lesser
confusion), animal messenger, speak with animals.

36
Psalmist
Skill points: In d20 v3.5, bards get (6 + Int modifier) × 4 skill points at 1st level and 6 + Int modifier skill points at each additional level.
Since psalmists are the Israelite counterparts of bards, and a Testament campaign might feature psalmists alongside of bards from other
cultures, psalmists should be given the same number of skill points.
Class skills: All Perform skills should be class skills for psalmists, but special abilities or spells that depend on Perform checks should be
checked on Perform (sing).
Spells: The psalmist v3.5 spell list should read as follows:
• 0-level: create water, cure minor wounds, detect magic, flare, guidance, mending, purify food and drink, ray of frost, resistance, virtue.
• 1st level: alarm, bane, battlefield oratory*, bless, calm emotion4, cause fear, command, cure light wounds, divine favor, doom, entropic shield,
magic weapon, mage armor, message, remove fear, sanctuary, shield of faith, sleep, walking song*.
• 2nd level: aid, blur, bear’s endurance2, bull’s strength, calm emotions, cure moderate wounds, delay poison, eagle’s splendor1, hideous
laughter4, misdirection, owl’s wisdom1, resist energy2, rowing song*, rage4, shield other, song of contemplation*, sound burst, whispering wind.
• 3rd level: bestow curse, call lightning, confusion, contagion, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, displacement, exhilarating performance*, fear,
good hope2, greater magic weapon, keen edge, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law/sin, magic vestment, prayer, remove curse, remove
disease, slow, tale of heroes*.
• 4th level: break enchantment, cure critical wounds, death ward, discern lies, dismissal, greater magic weapon, flame strike, injunction*, locate
creature, neutralize poison, quench, shout, song of perseverance*, spell immunity, wall of fire, wall of song*.
• 5th level: atonement, compel song*, dispel evil, dream, greater command, greater dispel magic2, insect plague, inspire true love*, mass cure light
wounds2, nightmare, righteous might, song of penitence*, spell resistance, understand all speech*.
• 6th level: antimagic field, banishment, bestow major curse*, control weather, find the path, hero's feast, heal, holy word, irresistible dance4,
mass bear’s endurance1, mass bull’s strength1, mass cure moderate wounds4, mass eagle’s splendor1, mass owl’s wisdom1, power word: blind,
repulsion, sequester, song of shame*, song of the wind*, spell turning, telepathic bond.
New spell in v3.5. 2Renamed spell in v3.5 3Changed level in v3.5 4Added to class in v3.5 *Unique to Testament
1

Champion of Israel
Prerequisites: Any Perform skill should satisfy the champion of Israel’s Perform prerequisite.
Class skills: Replace Wilderness Lore with Survival.

Judge
Special abilities: Version 3.5 paladins can smite evil multiple times per day at higher levels. Similarly, a v3.5 judge can smite evil once per day
at 2nd level, twice per day at 5th level, and three times per day at 10th level.

Prophet
Class skills: Replace Intuit Direction and Wilderness Lore with Survival.
Special abilities: At 10th level, the v3.5 prophet receives damage reduction 5/evil, instead of damage reduction.

37
Egyptian Classes
Khery-Heb
Class skills: All Perform skills should be class skills for khery-heb, but special abilities or spells that depend on Perform checks should be
checked on Perform (oratory). Delete Scry from the khery-heb’s class skills.
Special abilities: A shabti’s levels and hit points should be set by its creator’s khery-heb levels and hit points at the time of creation, not at
the time of activation.

Ren-Hekau
Prerequisites: Delete the Scry prerequisite, as Scry does not exist as a skill in v3.5. The spellcasting prerequisite should be changed to “the
ability to cast an arcane or divine Divination (Scrying) spells.” (This does set the bar a bit higher for clerics seeking to become Ren-Hekau.
GMs who feel this requirement is too steep could replace it with “the ability to cast 3rd-level Divination spells”).
Class skills: Alchemy has been renamed Craft (alchemy). Delete Scry.

Babylonian Classes
Magus of the Starry Host
Class skills: Alchemy has been renamed Craft (alchemy). Delete Scry. Replace Wilderness Lore with Survival.
Special abilities: Compound wondrous incense should require a check on Craft (alchemy).
The DC for the first two spells a magus of the starry host gains of a new spell level is 25 + the spell level. The DC for any further spells of
that new spell level, and for 1st-level spells beyond those he got as a 1st-level magus, is 30 + the spell level. The DC for all lore pilgrimages
is 30, not 35.
Since the Scry skill no longer exists, the magus’s scrying star benefit should be revised to read, “If the magus’s star is clearly visible in the
sky, he may cast Divination (Scrying) spells at +1 caster level, and receives a +2 bonus to his Intelligence checks used to detect scrying.”

Canaanite Classes
Qedeshot
(Please note that the word quedeshot is in the plural; the singular form should be quedesha. Nevertheless we use quedeshot throughout to
maintain consistency with the core book.)
Class skills: All Perform skills should be class skills for the qedeshot, but special abilities or spells that depend on Perform checks should be
checked on Perform (dance).
Special abilities: Perform checks required by a qedeshot’s dance and passion abilities should be checked on Perform (dance).
Spells: The qedeshot v3.5 spell list should read as follows:
• 0-level: create water, cure minor wounds, detect magic, flare, guidance, mending, purify food and drink, ray of frost, resistance, virtue.
• 1st level: alarm, augury, bear’s endurance2, bless, bull’s strength3, cat’s grace3, cause fear, charm person, command, cure light wounds,
eagle’s splendor1, fox’s cunning1, expeditious retreat, hold person4, identify4, mage armor, message, obscuring mist, owl’s wisdom1, passion
play*, pass without trace, protection from chaos/evil/good/law, sanctuary, sleep, touch of fatigue1, unseen servant.
• 2nd level: animal messenger, animal trance, blindness/deafness, blur, comprehend languages4, cure moderate wounds, delay poison, dispel
magic4, emotion, enthrall, hideous laughter4, increase fertility*, misdirection, scare, silence, speak with animals, suggestion, token of romance*,
water into wine*.

38
 • 3rd level: bestow curse, blink, charm monster, coming of age*, confusion, contagion, cramps*, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, dominate
animal, fear, haste, lesser geas, magic circle against chaos/evil/good/law, plant growth, remove curse, remove disease, scrying, slow, speak with
plants.
• 4th level: anti-plant shell, bestow affliction*, break enchantment, control plants, cure critical wounds, curtain of charm*, detect scrying,
divination, divine power4, greatness of tribe*, hold monster, modify memory, neutralize poison, remove affliction*, untiring*, zone of silence4.
• 5th level: commune, control water, death ward, false vision, fertile womb*, greater dispel magic2, hallow, inspire true love*, mass bear’s
endurance1, mass bull’s strength1, mass cat’s grace1, mass cure light wounds2, mass eagle’s splendor1, mass fox’s cunning1, mass owl’s
wisdom1, mind fog, nightmare, shatter true love*, symbol of pain4, symbol of sleep4, wall of thorns.
• 6th level: bestow major curse*, dance of nakedness*, eyebite, geas/quest, hasten birth*, irresistible dance4, kiss of death*, mass cure moderate
wounds1, mass hold person1, mass suggestion, repulsion, symbol of persuasion4, touch of the goddess*, treacherous phantasm*.
New spell in v3.5. 2Renamed spell in v3.5 3Changed level in v3.5 4Added to class in v3.5 *Unique to Testament
1

General Classes
Spy
Class skills: Substitute Intuit Direction and Wilderness Lore for Survival. Substitute Sleight of Hand for Pick Pocket. Delete Read Lips.
Spellcasting: An Israelite spy’s spells should be treated as divine for Piety purposes.
Special abilities: The five standard concealment levels in 3e (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 9/10, total) have been reduced to two (partial concealment and
total concealment) in v3.5. The spy’s concealment in plain sight ability should therefore read: “At 6th level, the spy gains concealment (20%
chance to miss). At 12th level, the spy gains a +10% bonus to the miss chance, and another +10% at 18th level.”

General Prestige Classes

Desert Hermit
Prerequisites: Substitute Wilderness Lore (7 ranks) for Survival (7 ranks). Substitute Skill Focus (Wilderness Lore) for Skill Focus
(Survival).
Class skills: Substitute Intuit Direction and Wilderness Lore for Survival.

Idol-Maker
Prerequisites: Delete Scry. The spellcasting requirement should be changed to “the ability to cast a divine Divination (Scyring) spell.” (This
does set the bar a bit higher for clerics seeking to become idol-makers. GMs who feel this requirement is too steep could replace it with
“the ability to cast 3rd-level Divination spells”).
Class skills: Replace Alchemy with Craft (alchemy). Delete Scry.

Master Charioteer
Prerequisites: Since Ride does not specify a particular mount in v3.5, the master charioteer’s Skill Focus (Ride) prerequisite does not need to
specify chariot as the mount type.
Class skills: Since Ride does not specify a particular mount in v3.5, the master charioteer’s Ride skill does not need to specify chariot as the
mount type.
Special abilities: The five standard cover levels in 3e (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 9/10, total) have been reduced to one in v3.5 (cover, granting a +4 AC
bonus), with a GM s option to double the bonus for near-total cover. The master charioteer s improved cover ability should therefore read:

39
“The side protected by the shieldbearer receives a supplementary +4 AC bonus, and the opposite side receives a supplementary +2 AC
bonus, in addition to the standard +4 bonus provided by the chariot cover.”

Royal Astrologer
Prerequisites: Delete Scry. The spellcasting requirement should be changed to “the ability to cast a divine Divination (Scyring) spell.” (This
does set the bar a bit higher for clerics seeking to become royal astrologers. GMs who feel this requirement is too steep could replace it
with “the ability to cast 3rd-level Divination spells”). Substitute Spell Focus (Divination) for Skill Focus (Scry).
Class skills: Substitute Alchemy for Craft (Alchemy). Delete Scry.

- Section 3: Feats -
General Feats
Astronomer (General)
Prerequisites: Substitute Intuit Direction (1 rank) for Survival (1 rank).
Benefit: Change the first sentence to read, “You receive a +1 competence bonus on Knowledge (astrology) checks and Survival checks used
to avoid getting lost.”

Mountain Born (General)

Benefit: Change the first sentence to read, “You receive a +1 bonus on Climb and Survival checks.”

Mythic Feats
Divine Compass (Mythic)
Prerequisite: Survival (5 ranks)
Benefit: Using Intuit Direction to find true north is now automatic with 5 ranks of Survival. Therefore, change the Divine Compass benefit
to read: “You can automatically determine where nearby sources of divine energy lie in relation to yourself, and can find your way to
hidden holy places or navigate divine obstacles with a successful Survival check.”

- Section 4: Piety -
No modifications to the Piety system are necessary for v3.5 compatibility.

- Section 5: The Biblical Battlefield -

No modifications to the Biblical Battlefield system are necessary for v3.5 compatibility.

40
 - Section 6: Economics, Community
Management, & Equipment -
Equipment
Chariots
The five standard cover levels in 3e (1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 9/10, total) have been reduced to one in v3.5 (cover, granting a +4 AC bonus), with a GM’s
option to double the bonus for near-total cover. Therefore, a chariot simply provides cover (+4 AC bonus) to its occupants, with a
shieldbearer providing a +2 bonus that stacks on top of the cover bonus.

Starting Goods and Equipment

This optional system for determining starting goods and equipment varies from the starting gold system in the Player’s Handbook to
provide something more appropriate for the campaign culture.
Every character in Testament starts out with two things unless the GM rules that the campaign backstory dictates otherwise:
• a house (average).
• a commoner’s outfit appropriate to the character’s gender.

Generally, a character does not sell his house to go wandering, so try to restrain characters from using this as a source of immediate cash.
Beyond that, one’s starting goods are determined by three factors: cultural setting (city-dwellers will have a different set of starting goods
than rural ones), class, and feats. Nationality also introduces some slight variations.
Note: “Trade goods” is a term that refers to goods that can be treated as cash. Use them to buy anything on the Testament equipment list
(see pages 70-74).

Cultural Goods
Agrarian setting: 1 acre of arable land. Babylonian, Canaanite, and Israelite characters also begin with livestock worth 50 gp. Egyptian
characters begin with one mekhtet (25 gp).
Urban setting: Artisan’s tools. Babylonian and Canaanite characters also begin with a teraph (80 gp). Egyptian characters begin with a
mekhtet (25 gp). Israelite characters in a post-exodus setting begin with a mezuzah; substitute 30 gp of trade goods in a pre-exodus setting.
Note that Levite priests do not receive any of these cultural goods. Their needs are to be met by their community.

Class Goods
Note that there are some cultural variations among the Babylonian, Canaanite, Egyptian, and Israelite expressions of each class.
• Bard: Weapons and armor (50 gp), instrument, trade goods (50 gp).
• Fighter: Weapons and armor (100 gp), trade goods (30 gp).
• Cleric: Weapons and armor (50 gp), holy symbol, noble’s outfit, trade goods (30 gp). Canaanite and Egyptian clerics begin with a
teraph (80 gp). Babylonian clerics begin with wondrous incense (50 gp).
• Khery-heb: Weapons and armor (25 gp), noble’s clothing, teraph (80 gp maximum), papyrus (30 sheets), trade goods (30 gp).
• Levite priest: Weapons and armor (50 gp), donkey, charitable gifts (treat as trade goods, 30 gp).
• Magus of the starry host: Weapons and armor (25 gp), noble’s outfit, wondrous incense (50 gp), trade goods (50 gp).

41
 • Qedeshot: weapons and armor (50 gp), qedeshot’s outfit, trade goods (30 gp). Babylonian qedeshot also begin with wondrous
incense (50 gp).
• Paladin: Weapons and armor (100 gp), trade goods (30 gp).
• Psalmist: Instrument, trade goods (30 gp).
• Ranger: Weapons and armor (70 gp), desert travel garb, donkey, trade goods (30 gp).
• Rogue: Weapons and armor (50 gp), thieves’ tools, trade goods (30 gp).
• Sorcerer: Weapons and armor (50 gp), trade goods (50 gp). Babylonian and Canaanite sorcerers begin with only 25 gp worth of
weapons and armor, and gain wondrous incense worth 50 gp.
• Spy: Weapons and armor (50 gp), desert travel garb, disguise kit, donkey, trade goods (30 gp).

Feat Goods
Note that there are some cultural variations among the Babylonian, Canaanite, Egyptian, and Israelite benefits from each feat. If a
characters possesses the following feats at 1st level, as a GM option, they receive the following bonus wealth:
• Astronomer: Astrology equipment (Babylonians and Egyptians only).
• Farmer: Additional 3 acres of fertile land.
• Fertility Dancer: 50 gp of wondrous incense (in addition to any gained as class goods), additional 50 gp worth of trade goods (30 gp
for Canaanite fertility dancers) (Babylonians and Canaanites only).
• Herdsman: Additional 100 gp worth of livestock (150 gp for Canaanite and Egyptian herdsmen).
• Mountain Born: Knowledge of a mountain cave hideaway.
• Royal Diplomat: Noble’s outfit, donkey. Egyptian nobles also receive an average house.
• Scribe: Noble’s outfit. Canaanite and Israelite scribes also receive 30 sheets of papyrus; Egyptian scribes receive 50 sheets of
papyrus. Babylonian scribes receive 50 gp worth of clay tablets.
• Sea Trader: Additional 100 gp of trade goods (Canaanites only).
• Slave-Holder: 2 permanent laborer slaves (Israelites only).
• Tamkarum: Noble’s outfit, 100 gp of trade goods (Babylonians only).

- Section 7: Spells -
Many spells changed levels in the d20 v3.5 revision. Some parallel changes, along with a few additions and deletions, are appropriate to a v3.5
Testament campaign.

Spell Levels
See Section 2: Character Classes for changes to the psalmist and qedeshot spell lists (the spy spell list does not need to be changed). Aside
from those changes, the Testament spell lists can be used without alteration in v3.5 play.

42
Cleric Domains
Desert Domain
The domain spell endurance has been renamed bear’s endurance. The effects of the domain spell endure elements have changed, but remain
appropriate to the desert domain.

Fertility Domain
The domain spell endurance has been renamed bear’s endurance.

Thunder Domain
The domain spell resist elements has been renamed resist energy.

Forbidden Spells
None of the new spells introduced in d20 v3.5 allow planar travel, so none of them need to be added to the forbidden spells list.

Specific Spell Alterations and Notes

• Allure: Delete allure, which is now redundant with the new v3.5 spell eagle’s splendor.
• Lightning Contingency: Protection from elements, referenced in this spell, is now called protection from energy.
• Manipulate True Name: The v3.5 version of this spell allows the caster to cast the following spells on the target: command,
suggestion, crushing despair or good hope.
• Stars Beneath Your Feet: Tracking a trail of star-burnt pockmarks requires the Track feat and a check on Survival (which replaces
Wilderness Lore in v3.5).
• Wall of Song: Because Perform specializations work like Craft, Knowledge, and Profession specializations in v3.5, creatures should
be allowed to pass through a wall of song by singing in harmony with it (Perform (sing) check vs. DC 10 + the psalmist’s Perform
(sing) rank).

Missing Spells
The following spells are referenced but not described in Testament. These are appropriate for use in 3e play as well as v3.5 play.

Able Profession
Evocation
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: One hour
Range: Touch
Area: Creature touched
Duration: One year
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No
This spell grants a +1 bonus on the target’s Profession skill (if he has more than one, he must choose which one receives the bonus) checks
for one year. The spell can be cast multiple times, to a maximum bonus of +3 on each Profession skill of the target.
Material Component: Sacrificial goods or animals worth 50 gp.

43
Know Sin Level
Divination
Level: Clr 2, Pal 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area: One creature
Duration: 1 round
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: No
This spell allows the caster to gauge someone’s Piety total (or alignment) by casting this spell and concentrating on that person for one
full round.
Spells that hide alignment hide Piety totals; spells that produce a false alignment reverse the sign of the subject’s Piety modifier.

Magic Circle against Sin

Abjuration
Level: Clr 3, Pal 3, Psa 3, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Area: 10-ft.-radius emanation from touched creature
Duration: 10 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: No; see text
This spell functions like magic circle against evil, except that it grants protection against evil outsiders and any creature with negative Piety,
and it can imprison possessor demons and tempter devils.
(The magic circle against sin spell appears on the psalmist spell list, but is not described in Testament.)

Voice of God
Evocation [Good, Sonic]
Religion: Israelite
Level: Clr 9
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Area: Nongood creatures in a 60-ft. radius spread centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None or Will negates; see text of holy word
Spell Resistance: Yes
Except as noted above, the voice of God spell functions as a holy word spell. However, on a kill result, the target is instead transformed into
a pillar of salt (a miracle can undo this transformation). In addition, any exposure to a voice of God spell will make a profound impact even
on good people who hear it. Anyone within 120 ft. when it is spoken must make a Will save 24 hours later or seek out a priest of the Lord
God of Israel and receive a quest from them (and an atonement when they’ve completed the quest).

Water to Blood
Transmutation
Religion: Israelite
Level: Clr 1
44
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: Touch
Target: Flask of water touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)
This spell transforms a flask (1 pint) of water into blood, undrinkable, foul-smelling, and unable to nourish plant life.
Material Component: A pinch of red clay or red algae, dropped into the water to be transformed.
(Water into blood is briefly described in Testament, p. 113, in the description of Aaron’s rod.)

- Section 8: Magic Items -

Magic Weapon and Armor Special Abilities
All varieties of magic weapon and armor special abilities described in Testament, pp. 106–108, can be used in v3.5 play without modification.

Wondrous Incense
All varieties of wondrous incense described in Testament, pp. 109, can be used in v3.5 play without modification.

Mekhtets
Dance Fantastic
This charm adds +2 to the wearer’s next Perform (dance) check. In effect, this is what the mekhtet does as written, but Perform is more
specifically defined in v3.5.

Find Oasis
This charm adds +2 to Survival checks to find water.

Impossible Laughter
This charm adds +2 to Perform (comedy) checks, or Perform (act) checks when the acting is designed to elicit laughter. In effect, this is
what the mekhtet does as written, but Perform is more specifically defined in v3.5

Lost in the Wilderness

This charm adds +2 to Survival checks used to avoid getting lost in the desert. Note that in v3.5, intuiting true north is automatic with 5
ranks of Survival.

Staffs
Both staffs described in Testament, p. 111, can be used in v3.5 play without modification.

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New Wondrous Items
Chariot of the Phoenix
The chariot’s protection from arrows should be 10/magic.

Minor Artifacts
Breastplate of the Lord
This artifact confers a +6 bonus on Perform (ritual) checks.

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