Village of the Tomb Robbers

Many people take up tomb robbing outside the guild system. Poorer people, for example, cannot usually afford the annual fee before they begin prospecting. Others simply do not wish to pay 20% of their finds to the sultan. This supports a black market, which intertwines with the legitimate trade to ship artifacts out of the country, often by sale to wealthy pilgrims.

The finest tomb thieves come from a village called Gourneh, which is at Luxor. Its residents have been looting tombs since ancient times, when they were building them by day and emptying them at night. Older Gournehs train their grandchildren in excavation, tunneling, bargaining and disarming traps. They are not often skilled at combat, but can usually hire mercenaries to face guardians. When these mercenaries die, as they often do, it's considered a sign of skill to recover their corpses, and steal back the money already paid.

The families of Gourneh often infiltrate legitimate expeditions to tombs, seeking hire as laborers. A Gourneh summons his family if the tomb's excavation is complete and it is likely to be left unattended. The Gournehs consider themselves good Muslims, and so they do not kill tomb guards, but they may distract them from their duty, or drug their food. Gourneh families are extremely loyal to each other, and to their community as a whole, and could make interesting allies for a group of magi wealthy enough to keep their minds off theft.

Since every place has a treasure, every Egyptian knows there's gold to be had near treasure hunters.

Conman

A rich man seeks out the covenant for aid. A poor man of his acquaintance came to him with a handful of small gold amulets. The poor man told the rich one that he had uncovered a treasure, but needed money to purchase supplies and hire laborers to excavate it. The rich man gave the poor one a great deal of money, in exchange for half the treasure. The poor man has since disappeared.

The rich man is too embarrassed to go to the authorities, and asks the player characters to return his stolen money. The rich man has social status, and might make a useful ally, pawn, or front man, if aided.

An enemy of the player characters has forged an ancient document which says a treasure is hidden under the covenant. Gangs of people try to sneak into the covenant to dig in the cellars. Neighbors begin tunneling under the buildings. Mobs form and try to storm the gates. Random people strike the walls of the covenant with picks as they walk past, in the hopes of striking a hollow in which gold lies. This particular trick has been used many times, and is famous in the country's ruling class, so its difficult to work out who is responsible for it. Perhaps the player characters can seek out the forger?

Government Agent

When digging for treasure, a government agent must be present. These clerks are not themselves always adventurers. In this story seed, a clerk who is unpopular with a nobleman is assigned to the characters when they visit a tomb known to be dangerous. Can they keep the terrified, unskilled man safe while they navigate the horrors of the tomb?

Monastery or Mosque

The characters have found an ancient scroll, which describes the location of a temple which they have not seen listed anywhere else. This increases the odds that it has not been disturbed. Like many temples, however, this one has been built over by either a monastery or a mosque. If the player characters approach the modern keepers of the site, either

• they are welcomed, because the supernatural beings of the temple are still occasionally troublesome, and the modern inhabitants would like them destroyed.
• they are banned from the site, and the player characters must find ways to sneak into the area, tunnel from neighboring buildings, or discredit the current keeper of the site, so that a more malleable one replaces him.

Naqeeb Al-Matalibeen (The Chairman of the Matalibeen)

The chairman of the Seekers Guild is elected by its members, subject to the approval of the emir. The player characters, if famous adventurers, are useful allies for any candidate for the role. Although elections are generally civil, sometimes the candidates attempt to thin the field with assassination. The members of the guild have access to strange poisons, ancient magic items, and can use their training in trap disarmament to construct devices that deal death. A player character who becomes chairman has access to all of the resources of the guild, provided he can keep the emir ignorant of his activities. A player character covenant that secretly rules the Guild of Adventurers is a potential saga seed.

Roman Notes

It is believed by many Egyptians that the Romans hid treasures before their armies withdrew from Egypt. They expected to return, retake the country, and recover their treasures, so they took detailed notes about the locations of their caches. They also carried away many Coptic, Greek and Chaldean books concerning the location of treasures. The Romans stored these books in the safest place they could imagine: the cathedral of Constantinople.

In 1204, this building was sacked by crusaders. Most of the Arabs who know this believe the notes were stolen by the Franks. They are sure that, eventually, the people who now possess the books will try to use them. Common people might aid the new owners, in the hope of keeping some of the treasure. Officials want to steal the books, for the good of the realm, and to save the thief from dangers he cannot comprehend.

Characters using magic to make gold might be imagined the keepers of the stolen Roman books. This attracts great support from the peasant and merchant class, but offends noblemen.

The Treasure of Qarun

Qarun was a wealthy man from Moses's time. He was so rich that he built a treasure house, which was so magnificent that he required a train of powerful slaves just to carry its keys. God, finding the pride of the man repulsive, pushed the treasure house deep into the sands. It has never been rediscovered.

This treasure is often spoken of by seekers. It is, from their perspective, perfect. It was buried, but not on the instructions of its owner. Its defenses are likely weak compared to those protecting dead kings. The location of the keys is recorded somewhere in the library. Player characters with some clue as to the location of this treasure find many young seekers eager to help, and many cynical older seekers who chased the treasure while young. God repeated the trick with the treasure house of the pharaoh of Moses. It, similarly, has never been found, even though its precise location is known. This may indicate the presence of a Divine regio.