King Tut's 100th Anniversary

jaazaniah1

This November marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery and opening of Tutankamun's tomb in 1922. Maybe CO could celebrate the event with an Egyptian-themed key pack. I've always thought that an Egyptian sickle sword would be a nice costume addition.

bulgarex

It would be a nice occasion to introduce a new Egyptian-themed villain from the IP, e.g. Anubis, the Curse, and/or the Living Sphinx. They have full background, power write-ups, and artwork in Champions Villains Vol. 3.

And yes, the khopesh may be an antiquated weapon compared to later swords, but it does look very cool.

jaazaniah1

Hmm, a new Egyptian-themed, IP-derived Alert villain and a khopesh key pack would be so win-win.

bulgarex

The Mystic World, primary source book for the supernatural side of the CU, includes an NPC who'd make a fine mission-giver or contact for an Egyptian-themed adventure.

Dr. Ibrahim Khalseran: When the Nazis unearthed this Egyptian priest-magician’s tomb, they awoke the mummified priest, who expressed his dislike of graverobbers quite forcefully. He eventually created the identity of Dr. Khalseran and found work in the Egyptian National Museum. Khalseran doesn’t look for trouble, but he protects the museum — and the legacy from his era — with a terrifying array of curses. Mystics who need to learn about ancient Egypt’s magic, including the mysterious Dr. Ka of Vibora Bay, can find no better teacher than Dr. Khalseran.

jaazaniah1

Hmm, the dev likes cats. Are there any cat-based, Egyptian themed villains in the CU? There are certainly cat-headed Egyptian deities.

bulgarex

Sort of. "The Living Sphinx is a horrifying creature, as much beast as man. His chest and lower body is vaguely catlike, complete with short black fur, clawed feet, and a long tail. Unlike his mythical namesake, however, the Living Sphinx stands upright... and, at 6’6” tall, towers over most people. His neck, shoulders, and arms are humanoid, though he has long, thick, wickedly sharp claws in place of fingernails. Its head and face are generally human, but twisted into bestial anger, with fiery golden eyes and thick reddish-brown hair that falls like a mane around his shoulders and back. His voice is deep, disturbing, and obviously non-human." (Champions Villains Volume Three p. 188.) I'm afraid I couldn't find an online illustration of him.

A little more background: "The Living Sphinx is a unique mystical creature who lives primarily in the extradimensional world of Ma’at, the part of Faerie that’s home to the ancient Egyptian pantheon. A terrifying monster, the Living Sphinx periodically visits Earth to spread fear, chaos, and destruction, which he loves. He’s terrorized Egypt periodically over centuries, but he reappears much more frequently now — Earth’s become a buffet of delicacies since 1938."

"The Living Sphinx’s sole overriding desire is the kill. The death of any living being in his presence, whether he’s the killer or not, provides him with spiritual sustenance and intense physical sensations of pleasure — he psychically “tastes” the target’s soul as it passes from this plane. However, the sensations are much stronger if the deceased is the bearer of strong mystical powers, so the Living Sphinx makes a particular point of pursuing and killing magical beings and masters of the Arts Arcane."

The Living Sphinx has significant superhuman strength, speed, agility, and toughness. His senses are very acute, and he can shape-shift into any humanoid form, even disguise himself as specific people. Although violent and vicious, the Sphinx is very stealthy and cunning, and can be quite subtle and even charming when it suits him.

bulgarex

Just to highlight further potential, while the Living Sphinx generally acts alone, he has in the past worked with the supervillain called Anubis, a powerful magic-wielder who's the primary servant on Earth of the god Set. The Sphinx considers Anubis a divine messenger and willingly follows his orders.

jaazaniah1

The Living Sphinx's behavior about the kill sounds very cat-like. So, cat-like, Egyptian-themed new alert villain and Khopesh sword key pack. Again, wins all around.

bulgarex

For anyone curious, here's a brief overview of Egypt in the grand scheme of things.

bulgarex

I believe I can upload an image of the Living Sphinx, from CV3:

jaazaniah1

Hmm, there's nothing that really leaps out at me from the image that screams either Sphinx or Egypt. Maybe dress it up a little more with some pieces from the Egyptian and Dr. Ka sets to make it more region and period specific?

bulgarex

I guess "catlike body with human head" was supposed to cover the sphinx part. I do think the fur on his body could be more obvious to distinguish it from his head. (A tail would also be helpful.) The arm bands and collar are vaguely suggestive of the era and region, but making the collar look more like Egyptian tomb paintings, and adding a skirt such as men wore then, would make the connection clearer.



You can contrast that with the mummy-like super-assassin called The Curse:



And with the villain Anubis it's very obvious:

jaazaniah1

Curse is cool.

They could have a contest for players to design a new look for the Living Sphinx. Player contest with prizes, new alert villain, new costume piece with lockbox. It's all come together now. And still 2 weeks in which to implement it. Plenty of time!