Humbada (Monster)

% in Lair:              40%

Dungeon Enc:       gang (1d8)/ lair (1 gang)    

Wild Enc :             gang (1d8)/ village (1d10 gangs)

Alignment:            Chaotic  

Movement:           120 (40)

Armor Class:         5             

Hit Dice:               6+3**   

Attacks:                 3 (claw/ claw/ bite) or 1 (gore)

Damage:                1d6/ 1d6/ 1d4 + poison or 1d8

Save:                      F6                           

Morale:                  +2          

Treasure Type:     O (per gang)         

XP:                       980

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, he and is companion Enkidu seek out and defeat a singular creature known as Humbada, who guards the cedar forests of the mountains.  At least, this is how modern translations relate the tale.  The Humbada of the epic was in truth an ancient chieftain of this race of  monsters, who were more numerous in ancient times.  Humbada are of humanoid shape and large size, typically over 8’ tall, with the paws of a lion and a body covered in thorny scales; their feet have the claws of a vulture, and on their head are the horns of a wild bull; their tails end in a snake's head.

A Humbaba’s roar causes Fear (save vs. Death or flee for 2 turns) to all humans that hear it. Humbaba generally initiate combat with a roar followed by a charge, whereupon a successful hit will cause double damage.  Otherwise, the Humbaba attacks with its claws and the bite of its tail.  Victims struck by the tail must save vs. Poison or take an additional 1d4 damage for three consecutive rounds. 

Humbaba inhabit the remote cedar forests of the mountains and lair in thickets or caves.  They are more animal than man, going naked and making no tools nor using fire.  They are carnivorous and consider the flesh of humans a delicacy.

Ekimmu (undead)

% In Lair: 20%

Dungeon Enc: Throng (1d4), Haunt (1d8)

Wilderness Enc: Horde (1d8) / Haunt (1d8)

Alignment: Chaotic

Movement: 150' (50')

A Fly: 300' (100')

Armor Class: 7

Hit Dice: 6***

Attacks: 1 (touch or possession)

Damage: 1d8 + drain level or special

Save: F6

Morale: +3

Treasure Type: N

XP: 1,070

Ekimmu are the ghosts of those who were slain, often violently, and for one or more of a variety of reasons not permitted entrance to the underworld. They are fearsome creatures that despise their state and are often vengefully jealous toward the living.  An ekimmu looks much as it did in life and can be easily recognized by those who knew the individual.  These powerful undead are unharmed by ordinary weapons, including weapons made of silver and are immune to poison, charm, hold, and sleep spells.

The ekimmu may either attack a victim normally with its life-draining touch or attempt to possess the victim’s body.  In the case of the former, it deals 1d8 points of damage on a successful strike and  drains two levels of experience. Should a character be slain by an ekimmu in this manner, he will become one 24 hours after his death. The new ekimmu will be under the command of its killer.

Instead of making a normal attack, an ekimmu may attempt to possess its victim.  This is similar in effect to the magic jar arcane spell except that an inanimate object is not required for the ability to function.  Targets of this are allowed a saving throw vs. Death per the arcane spell.  A creature failing the save has its body possessed by the ekimmu while its spirit is imprisoned in the underworld. Under this condition, the ekimmu keeps its own Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma, attack bonus, saving throws, and mental abilities while enjoying the host body’s Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, hit points, and natural abilities.  

Rescuing a victim's spirit from the underworld may be accomplished by driving the occupying ekimmu off with a successful dispel evil (Divine 5).  The ekimmu is permitted a save vs. Death.  Success indicates the ekimmu continues to inhabit its host.  Failure will indicate that the ekimmu has been successfully expelled from the host body, but not destroyed.  A subsequent, successful casting of the dispel evil while the ekimmu is in its native form will function as per the spell description, resulting in the destruction of the spirit.

Anzu (monster)

% in Lair:              20%

Dungeon Enc:       none

Wild Enc :             Flight (1d6)/ Nest (2d6)

Alignment:            Chaotic

Movement:           ground 60 (20)/ fly 150 (50)

Armor Class:         2

Hit Dice:                4

Attacks:                 3 (bite/ talon/ talon)

Damage:               1d6/ 1d4/ 1d4

Save:                     F4

Morale:                 -1

Treasure Type:     E

XP:                       80

The Anzu is one of the Children of Tiamat; a man-sized, demonic hybrid with the body, wings, talons and tail of an eagle and a monstrous head resembling a horned lion.  They are found in wild, mountainous places where they build nests and prey on large game including people, who they do not fear. 

Anzu prefer attacking from ambush with overwhelming power.  If forced to engage a superior foe, they will attempt to flank and use hit and run tactics.  Their treasure is always found in their nest/ lair and should not be easily accessible except via flight. 

Sources of Inspiration, Information

I decided sometime in mid-2018 that I'd like my next D&D campaign to be run in ancient Mesopotamia.  I quickly discovered that there wasn't a lot out there in terms of ready-made game material to leverage from.  If you're setting out like I did, maybe I can help you get started with what got me started.

The first meaningful game content I encountered was the blog Eridu, named for the ancient Sumerian city where civilization legendarily began.  The author was using the blog to work out and report on the development of a home-brewed Mesopotamian AD&D campaign, much as I'm doing here, but it went silent after only a dozen or so posts in 2010.  Based on comments left there in 2015, it appears s(he) never got to try it out in front of actual players.  But the content that was posted and remains is quirky, inspirational and helped me get started with my own research and development.  For instance, this blog post here sent me on a deep dive into learning more about the ancient Mesopotamian economy and this one here oozes with the sort of atmosphere and wonder I always hope to achieve.

I then discovered a series of blog posts at Elf Maids and Octopi detailing that author's own similar exploration (start here).  But again, after several posts (including a series of wonderful "image dumps" I still use for reference) things went quiet.

There are useful Wikipedia entries on monsters and demons and a pdf you can find online for a more detailed overview (Encyclopedia of Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia).  The lone, useful published RPG supplement I found was a  D20 source-book and adventure available from Necromancer Games you can read about here.  It's a bit of a mish-mash, more adventure than source book, and its intentionally fantastic and only loosely historical, but one could easily run an entertaining, Conan-esque game from just this without looking much further.

At about this point in my search I decided to turn to published reference material and read about a dozen or so non-fiction books meant for either under-grads or laymen like me.  These listed below are what I found to be the most helpful:

The Atlas of Ancient Near East: This one was worth it for the maps alone.  Of all the books listed here, this is the one I keep with my game books during actual play because the maps are so beautiful and useful.  The book is broken into parts and chapters by time frame, beginning literally with tectonic plates and forest zones, moving through prehistory from hunter gatherers through the beginning of farming and city-building all the way up to the period of Roman rule and the rise of Islam.  This book was very helpful when it came time to place my own campaign in the Iron Age during the Neo-Assyrian empire.

A History of the Ancient Near East: When I was still only scouring the web for sources of information, Marc Van de Mieroop's name was ubiquitous and this book was specifically mentioned a bunch of times.  It's as dense and fantastic an overview of the Ancient Near East (ANE) a layman would need for use in developing an RPG setting, covering in a little over 400 pages from about 3,000 - 323 BC, or from the rise of recognizable civilization in Sumer through the Persian empire.  It focuses more on culture and its development and spread and less on rulers and battles, which I liked.  This book is probably a luxury, though, from a DM's perspective.  You could get by with just the Atlas above and typical sword and sorcery or more historical inspiration below to run a fun and engaging campaign in the ANE.

Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization: This is a good one for anybody curious about the ancient origins of  Iraq and was a quick read despite its 328 pages.  I guess if I were to only recommend one book off the list to a non-DM looking to know more about what Babylonia actually was, this would be it.  It'e engaging and well-written and a great starting point or one-stop-only to satisfy casual interest.  The author's introduction acknowledges directly the region's current troubles and begins the story with the hanging of Saddam Hussein, and through that lens looks back with genuine appreciation on the culture that arose between the two rivers.  I don't refer much back to it at this point, but wold gladly hand it off or recommend it. 

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia:  Along with Van de Mieroop above, I constantly stumbled upon Jean Bottero's name in reference to his work and this book specifically.  Appearing originally as articles in L'Histoire by Bottero and others, what sets this book apart is it's focus on, you guessed it, everyday life.  From sex and love to cuisine and beer-making to law, customs, mores and magic this is a treasure trove for the DM seeking the sorts of little details that provide depth and verisimilitude to an exotic setting.  As the content were originally articles, its easy to pick up and put down in short bursts and incredibly enjoyable to read.

Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia: Like the Atlas first mentioned above, this book actually has some use in play as a reference.  This is because it isn't structured by epoch or time period or as articles meant to entertain as much as inform, but rather more like an encyclopedia with short, concise entries by topic. Do you need a quick description of a typical house?  Burial ceremony?  A  list of holy days?  It's here.  It covers a wide range from construction, textiles, musical instruments to the typical war, religion and commerce you'd expect.  There are helpful plot synopses for major Mesopotamian literary works (including various stories about Gilgamesh) and a gazetteer of ancient cities.  It serves as a more practical companion piece to Bottero's more literary Everyday Life..." above.  Together, they each give you the "little picture": the little details and flavor you can sprinkle through your setting to make it seem deeper and more engaging.

Rounding things out for me was a mixed bag of information and inspiration.  There's not a ton of good historical or fantasy fiction that I'd recommend for the time period (if you have some, please share!) but Gore Vidal's Creation, set during the Persian empire, passes through Babylon a few times on a whirlwind tour of the ancient world just a few centuries after the current time period for my campaign.  For more general sword and sorcery inspiration you can't go wrong with Conan, and I liked the more recent Dark Horse comic adaptations for the good art, compressed stories and temporally linear flow when I just needed a quick shot of bloody, thunderous, sandal-clad inspiration. You can also find a bunch of books more specifically focused than those listed above, even books about single cities, but I found mixed results... they were often too hyper-focused and scholarly for what I needed (there's only so much I need to know about Ubaid-period pottery techniques) and generally lacked the flair of Bottero or much use as a practical reference when playing or prepping a game.

City of Eridu

The “Eldest City” was once a great seaside port but now languishes far inland as the Mesopotamian river delta lands have overtaken the sea.  Eridu clings to, and is largely defined by, the past.  Its canals and quays are dry and dusty, mute testament to the long-gone irrigation and commerce of the city.  Few things stir here save the secretive orders of priests and magi who maintain its voluminous libraries and archives.

  

The city is ruled by the self-styled High Magister of The Apsu, the powerful wonderbringer Atmutu.   Despite his puissance, Atmutu’s ambitions do not appear to extend much further than the crumbling walls of his city.  Enigmatic and inward looking, the High Magister holds court only with learned visitors and the rare adventurers and agents he sometimes employs to his inscrutable ends. 

Eridu’s walls are in poor repair, but it’s main gate adorned with two giant statues of twin lamassu.  Legend maintains these guardian statues will animate at the will of Atmutu to defend the city.  Though a small city to begin with, Eridu’s diminished population barely fills half of its narrow precincts.  The surrounding land is sparsely settled, being poor for farming or trade now so many miles from river or sea.  A handful of semi-nomadic Chaldean tribes tend sheep on the grassy plain while fewer still artisans, scribes and other skilled folk inhabit the city.  Visitors rarely come to visit the Eldest City save those seeking its legendary libraries, maintained by the small but dedicated cult of Enki and an assortment of learned sages, magi and scribes.

Atmutu’s residence is the crumbling ziggurat dedicated to Enki that sits atop and guards the entrance to the Great Subterranean Sea of the Apsu.  It is whispered that gateways to the Underworld and other worlds besides can be found in the depths beneath Eridu, but few who seek them out have ever returned. 

City Stats for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Settlement Population: 800 families (large town)

Ruler: Atmutu (13th level Wonderbringer)

Market: Class IV

Imports: wood (common & rare), metals (common & precious), oil (lamp)

Exports: salt, tablets (rare)

Religions of Notes: Enki

Adventure Hooks:  the party seeks clues to an ancient treasure, a magic user desires to research or learn a new spell, the party seeks a gateway to the Underworld/ Heavens/ other world, The High Magister or one of his agents have summoned the party to perform a task...

City of Nippur

“The City of the Lord Wind” presides amidst a land of fertile fields and reedy marshes.  The ancient canal of Shatt-en-Nil bisects the city, dividing it into its two principal wards.  Nippur has no imperial past despite being an important religious center. It is a modestly-sized city whose most impressive buildings are not palaces or even ziggurats, but sprawling temple complexes to Marduk (formerly Enlil), Anu, Ninhursag and Ishtar as well as smaller temples and shrines to most known and many forgotten gods.   The city projects an air of contentment and contemplative shabbiness.  

Nippur is one of the seven principal cities of ancient Sumer that legendarily predate the Great Flood.  Local tradition holds that the Ekur temple complex was in antediluvian times the actual residence of the gods.  Its design is believed to have inspired the more widely recognized ziggurats of other cities. The current lugal of Nippur is the Chaldean Zu-Alani, an uncle and close ally of King Marduk-Baladan of Babylon.  He is a shrewd yet unambitious leader in both government and war. A respected veteran of many battles against the Assyrians, Zu-Alani is quite content to live out his days managing and keeping safe his city, particularly from a resurgent Assyria.  Zu-Alani maintains a modest palace well-fortified by loyal troops and rules with a light hand.

Travellers moving between Babylon and the coast or Elam may stop over in Nippur.  Pilgrims come often to visit Ekur or the many shrines located throughout the city.   Recent constructions and renovations to temples and public buildings begun by Sargon II of Assyria have been recommenced under the current Babylonian rule.  A small cult of Enlil, the former patron deity of the city, tolerated  under the Assyrians has gone underground since the re-imposition of Marduk and Babylonian rule.   

City Stats for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Settlement Population: 2,000 families (small city)

Ruler: Zu-Alani (8th level Fighter)

Market: Class IV

Imports: wood (common & rare), hides/ furs, metals (common & precious), gems, semiprecious stones, spices, ivory, silk

Exports: grain, vegetables, preserved fish, cloth, textiles, beer, tools, armor/ weapons

Religions of Notes: Marduk, Ishtar, Anu, Ninhursag

Adventure Hooks:  a group of pilgrims wish to travel to/ from Nippur, a secret lies buried beneath the ancient complex of the Ekur  temple, agents of the Cult of Enlil wish to disrupt Babylonian rule/ influence of Marduk...

Anu

God of the Heavens, Lord of the Upper Sky and husband to Ninhursag, the Earth Goddess. Anu affixes destiny to all things, inscribing it upon the Tablets of Fate. By his law and will the stars and planets move through the night sky. Once the central god of the pantheon, he is now a remote and inscrutable power that leaves the administration of the earth and mortal affairs to Marduk and the  younger gods. Anu’s worshipers form small urban cults that include his clergy, astrologers, diviners and magic users interested in these activities. While his center of worship remains in Nippur, the temple hierarchy there exerts little influence over the smaller cults found in any larger town or city.

Alignment: Lawful

Center of Worship: Nippur

Bonus Proficiency: Navigation or Prophecy

Weapon’s Allowed: club/ rod, dagger, mace, quarterstaff, sling

Armor Allowed: Up to scale mail and shield

Bonus Spells: Read Languages (1st ); Fly (3rd );Wizard Eye (4th ), Scry (5th )