Just a reminder to any lurkers who might be interested in participating: this scenario is designed so that new players can still join the game in progress (and several have).
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, check out the rules for instructions on how to join.
From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms:
Lop Nur, beset by conflicts, was at that time nearly leaderless: the royal family was secluded and unable to be reached, the governance of the country being overseen by a council of ministers, who squabbled amongst themselves.
The player of Queen Konuma of Lop Nur unfortunately had to withdraw for now. Thanks for your participation!
Catalog item #72: Iron spearhead with hooked ribs, Kucha manufacture (circa 2nd century). Lantern sigil markings.
From a commentary on a lost poem by Zuo Fen:
As reflected in these verses, the local customs and laws of Kucha prohibit men from inheriting, though they are entitled to what they themselves have earned. This was a longstanding tradition in that land.
From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms:
As the time of Blossoming drew to a close, a regiment of soldiers marching under the green banner of General Zhang Hansi was escorting a caravan through Niya, contrary to the laws of that kingdom.
Each night around their campfires, the caravans huddled closer and speculated about what could possibly influence this conflict…
I’ve updated the state of the game page with the situation at the end of Cycle 2. Some (slightly revealing) graphs follow, after the cut.
Issued under the royal seal of Niya:
From this day forward any soldiers of the Western Green Banner found within the territories of Niya and Lop Nur will be apprehended and tried as bandits and unlawful mercenaries under the laws of Niya, transgressions that are punishable by execution.
An excerpt from Ban Zhao’s Histories of the Western Hinterlands:
We must write of the palace of Kucina, for surely it represents the Oasis Kingdoms in all their glory. The golden tops of its white marble spires tower above the whole city. Its walls are covered in artfully painted tiles and framed by exquisite stone lace. The garden’s surrounding the palace are always green and filled with waterworks and a thousand fragrant flowers. At night, the gardens are illuminated by colorful lanterns and swarms of fireflies. Inside the palace, the walls are adorned with crystal inlays and hung with sumptuous woven carpets. The floors are precious mosaics and the furniture is made of velvet and dark wood from the Spirit Mountains.
A Folk Tale of the Oasis Basin
There once was a viper who was set upon by an assassin. He survived, but with a deep cut that caused him to move awkwardly forevermore. The viper sought shelter in an underground nest. Vipers do not trust one another–and they are wise not to–but the vipers there were angered by one of their number being attacked. The viper was escorted to the Lord of the Underworld, who made him an offer: if he sacrificed one of his eyes, he could have a magic black opal in its place. The opal showed him what passed before the eyes of the enemy who sent an assassin after him. It was another viper, one with a nest deep within a palace. The viper with the opal eye watched to divine his enemy’s location. He finally felt sure of his enemy’s general whereabouts, and now makes his painful, awkward way up and down the Summer Road, seeking to find himself appear before the eyes of his nemesis.
Excerpt from The Blackstone Dungeon Master’s Guide (1976):
BLACKSTONE: A black opal that lets the user see through the eyes of their most dangerous enemy (as per the spell Niya’s Nemesis Gazing). Effect lasts 2d6 rounds.
As the hot summer sun dries out the desert, the caravans travel in dust and thirst. Oases along the Winter Route shrink, and guides who claim to know the locations of secret springs command a high price.
Bright spears and marching lines are sighted along the roads, passing by the farmers who work in their fields and await the harvest.
This ends Cycle 2 and begins Cycle 3…