Spellbinder wrote:

I am wondering if there is a place in the setting similar to Conan's Stygia? I would really love to have a Egyptian-like place in the setting with ancient tombs and dark evil things to have players go explore. 

I am still reading through the gazeteer info currently.

Anywhere Ixians hang out in large numbers.  They seem to be the closest to the Stygians.
 

Scythium is the country in the Gazetteer with the capital being Fazzuum!  I think this is the largest gathering of Ixians on Hyperborea.

Scythium is indeed very similar to Stygia. You could probably give Yithorium a somewhat similar flavor as well.
(IX, which is also inhabited by Ixians, seems more like Naat from the Zothique stories by CAS.)

Thinking out loud, Stygia is a copyrighted work, so it's probably here, but named something else...

Digging through the Hardcover 2nd Ed...

IXIANS: Tall, narrow-shouldered, hook-nosed men of dusky grey skin and beady black eyes; Ixian women
are long and lean, raven-haired beauties with haunting emerald or hazel eyes. Chiefly Ixians dwell at the Rim
of the World on the sickle-shaped island of Scythium, where their malefic necromancers study abominable
sorceries; the most precocious individuals are sent to the fabled Isle of IX. Ixian society is ruled by an elite
class of priests, witches, and necromancers. With the other races they trade diamonds, spices, and lotus
leaves in exchange for wood and other resources. Ixian roots may be traced to a lost race (or perhaps
a select caste) of Egypt and Persia; specifically, Scythians are counted amongst their ancestry.
Ixians are notorious slavers, despised by most other men, particularly Amazons and Kimmerians. Ixian
absconders and outcasts typically go to great pains to hide their pedigree, fearful of persecution from non-
Ixians, and even more fearful of apprehension by their brethren.

Typical Homelands:
City-State of Khromarium (see common)
City-State of Yithorium: Oasis city in the middle of the
Zakath Desert. The city is renowned for its tower of alien stone where dwells the immortal Witch-Queen of
Yithorium, who rules her lands with an iron fist.
Fazzuum: Capital city of Scythium, renowned for its massive ziggurats. Fazzuum is ruled by a caste of
priests and necromancers who pay homage to Yig, the snake god. Fazzuum is reputed to be a dangerous place
for non-Ixians.

Zakath seems the a likely spot for an Egyptian society, but it also seems to be described as a fallen society, so the "egyptian" parts will likely be ruins. But the same with Scythium...

ZAKATH [zuh-KATH] DESERT: This windswept waste is dry and cracked, dotted with patches of
scrub. Within scattered, spring-fed oases grow the finest pomegranates in the realm (popularly used to
make wine). Rich deposits of rubies and sapphires are sprinkled throughout the Zakath Desert, buried
beneath the hard-packed sand. Renegade nomad tribes of mixed ancestry roam the desert; they are the
bane of all mining outfits, sabotaging operations and destroying equipage.
City-State of Yithorium [yih-THAW-ree-uhm]: The City-State of Yithorium (pop. 8,000) is ruled by the iron
fist of a witch-queen who is as cruel as she is beautiful and voluptuous. Fed by natural underground springs,
Yithorium was originally a lush oasis settlement in the centre of the Zakath Desert. It was a place of commerce
where men could find sanctuary from the horrors of the desert.
No one knows what hands built the original structure discovered in the centre of the oasis. The hundredfoot
tower carved of grey-black alien stone featured architecture unlike anything theretofore seen, and its
interior divisions betrayed a race undoubtedly alien. Still, the place was vacant, so men occupied and built
around it. Over time, bloodshed erupted, and the settlement underwent several shifts of authority. Then
came a ruinous earthquake, followed by the Green Death. Yithorium was a dead city.
During the Dark Age, the ruins were claimed by a doughty band of mercenaries led by the ageless beauty
now known as the Witch-Queen of Yithorium. She dwells in that immemorial tower. On occasion, when it
suits her whim, she will take a lover, but never do these puppets long survive, so tales speak.
The City-State of Yithorium nominally controls the breadth of the Zakath Desert and oversees all mining
operations. Independent prospecting is encouraged, but the Witch-Queen requires ample remuneration. The
City-State considers the desert nomads enemies to be slain or enslaved.
Xambaala [zam-BAH-luh]: This large town has a population of approximately 2,000 persons, more than
half of whom are slaves. It is governed as a satrapy, being part of the expansive and outlying territories
of the City-State of Yithorium. Xambaala once was renowned for its extensive wealth and affluence; now,
decadence and decay depict the town more accurately. Prior to the Green Death, Xambaala was a city filled
with the sage knowledge of its prodigious occupants: architects, astronomers, mathematicians, scholars,
and sorcerers. Widespread seagoing and overland trade ensured the continuous flow of wealth into the city,
resulting in impressive innovations and astonishing insights. Contrastingly, only the inner quadrants of
the town now are occupied; the insatiable desert sands never rest in their consumption of the local plains (and
thus the ancient city). Most Xambaalan buildings are drab and dust-coloured,
constructed of mud-baked brick with a plastered outer. Older structures reflect the city’s wealthy antiquities;
they are assembled of stone (oft marble) and tiling. Homes of the affluent are decorated with frescoed walls
and painted using locally sourced dyes. The crumbling outer districts of Xambaala are
reserved for the enslaved. This broad area comprises ruins: dwellings of long-dead families, governmental
buildings, monuments, academies, forums, crypts, and marketplaces. Here the slaves erect crude shacks and
excavate old buildings to occupy as squalid homes.

SCYTHIUM [SIH-thee-uhm]: This sickle-shaped isle at the Rim of the World is home to Ixians, ruled
by necromancers and priests of the snake god, Yig (Apep); some too exalt Mordezzan or Tlakk-Nakka.
Ixian slaver galleys are feared and renowned about the realm, as they always carry sorcerers who enchant
and ensorcel the unwary. With the exception of slaves and concubines, non-Ixians are forbidden to roam the
island of Scythium; they may visit Fazzuum, however. The island is semiarid and imports much of its wood
from other isles, though most structures are built of sandstone. Fields of wheat and rye thrive on the
island, which is also rich in mineral resources, such as copper, electrum, iron, and platinum. Several species of
lotus are cultivated throughout Scythium, utilized by sorcerers who create deadly powders from the pollen
and dried, ground petals of these plants.
Fazzuum [FA-zhoo-uhm]: This is the capital city of Scythium, home to some 15,000 freemen and an
estimated 2,000 slaves of various racial derivations The city is noted for its massive ziggurats dedicated
to Yig (Apep). Fazzuum trades spices, lotus leaves, platinum, and slaves. Its merchants visit cities such as
Khromarium and Port Zangerios; too, they might be the only humans to engage the ape-men of Kor and the orcs
of Orcust.
Non-Ixian visitors are welcome in Fazzuum, but the city is regarded as dangerous (particularly at night). Owing
to the frequency of disappearances, travellers are advised to arrange for safe lodgings and abstain from
impairment. Travel beyond the city limits is forbidden to foreigners.
Fazzuum is ruled by a mysterious cabal of powerful sorcerers said to be descendants of Green Death
survivors. Many received their sorcerous instruction on the fabled isle known as IX; to have survived this ordeal
is a testament to their aptitude, dedication, and power. These unseen rulers issue decrees from subterranean
depths below the ziggurats; here lurk the deadliest and most colossal snakes in all of Hyperborea.

Last edited by BlackKnight (5/17/2019 8:26 am)