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 )

Marduk

The chief deity of the pantheon is called Marduk by the Babylonians. He is the primary deity of the former empire and patron of the city of Babylon. Marduk is a general in the war against Chaos and judge of mankind in the Middle World. His priests claim that he slew Tiamat and Quingu to end the Age of Monsters and that his great city Babylon forms the axis of the Middle World. The cultists of Tiamat refute the first claim while theologians and astrologers of Nippur refute the second. Marduk’s clergy serve and enforce the law; his temples are courts and centers of government. More militant orders are dedicated to the eradication of chaos and its servants and act as crusaders, monster hunters, exorcists and vigilantes.

Alignment: Lawful

Center of worship: Babylon

Bonus Proficiency: Profession (law) or Righteous Turning

Weapon’s Allowed: blunt weapons such as: club/ rod, flail, mace, maul, quarterstaff, sling, warhammer

Armor Allowed: any

Bonus Spells: Sleep (1st )

Empire of Dust Deities

Forthcoming are several blog entries, one for each of those deities known throughout the Empire of Dust. The first paragraph briefly describes the god or goddess and the second describes the clergy, noting their general goals, activities and temperament.  Below these are listed several game-related specifications/ changes to clerics dedicated to the deity.  Note, these were designed for use with the Adventurer Conqueror King System.

Alignment: This is the cleric’s required alignment

Center of worship: where the temple hierarchy is headquartered or concentrated

Bonus Proficiency: Clerics of the deity receive this proficiency automatically as part of their
religious training and without spending a proficiency slot.

Weapon’s Allowed: These are the weapons with which the priest is proficient instead of those shown in the core ACKS rule book. The priest may use weapons other than these but with an attack throw no better than 11.

Armor Allowed: The priest is permitted to wear only armor up to and including what is listed
here. The priest may wear better armor but will only gain the AC of the best armor he is permitted to wear.

Bonus Spells: These spells are added to the cleric’s repertoire, but may only be cast per normal rules for knowing and casting spells (i.e. these are not bonus spells that can be cast above and beyond the cleric’s normal daily allotment).

City of Babylon

                                     

“The Gate of the Gods” is set upon the broad, languid Euphrates River and split in two by its flow, with high banks to contain seasonal floods.  She spreads out over 2,000 acres, surrounded by a deep moat and thick, high walls that protect her massive population.  Beyond these walls, cultivated fields of wheat, date palms and hundreds of other crops stretch beyond sight in all directions.  Within them lies a city of wonders: the great temple-ziggurat of Etemenanki; Marduk’s temple complex of Esagil; the grand palace complexes and famous Hanging Gardens of Old King Nebuchadnezzar; the grand Gate of Ishtar.

King Marduk-Baladan rules Babylon and its subject cities.  The opportunistic Chaldean chieftain successfully forged a coalition against the Assyrian governor about a year ago, stormed the city and expelled the Assyrian forces.  The foreign-born  king enjoys broad popularity within the city amidst vows to make Babylonia a great power once again.  King Baladan is supported from without by his Chaldean and Elamite allies.  He rules capably and makes overt homage to Babylon’s culture and imperial past.

People from all over the world frequent the numerous temples, gardens, palaces, amphitheaters, bathhouses and markets of Babylon.  It’s crowded and bustling interior is a maze of narrow lanes and alleyways divided into wards by the broader streets and canals that allow one to traverse the city more directly.  Babylon tenuously reigns at the center of a land rife with intrigue and adventure.

City Stats for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Settlement Population: 40,000+ families (metropolis)

Ruler: Marduk-Baladan, 14th level fighter

Market: Class I

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

Exports: grain, vegetables, preserved fish, bitumen (oil), cloth, textiles, beer, tools, armor/ weapons

Religions of Notes: Marduk, Ishtar, Adad

Adventure Hooks:  new construction exposes buried part of old city; cult of Tiamat threatens peace of annual "sacred marriage" ritual; mercantile adventurer seeks new or dangerous markets abroad; crime syndicate hires morally ambiguous recruits to conduct hijinks; temple of Marduk offers a quest to recover/ deliver artifact; King Baladan seeks information on distant Assyrian troop movements; minor noble hires extra muscle in preparation for a rival's move against him; a local merchant has imported a rare artifact and locked it away in a nearby warehouse...

Babylonia Overview

Geography & Climate:  Babylonia presides upon a flat, alluvial plain defined largely by two great rivers,   Euphrates and Tigris.  To the north and east the Zagros Mountains form a formidable border; as does the desert known as The Indominatable Waste to the west and south. The climate is hot and semi-arid, with cooler, slightly wetter winters of sporadic rainfall.  The region directly about the rivers is humid and fertile, providing amply for agriculture and settlement.  Annual floods, though destructive, rejuvenate the soil with nutrients and allow for multiple, prolonged growing seasons throughout the year. Cities flourish here, chief amongst them the great city of Babylon itself.  Beyond the fertile river lands, the country becomes dry, particularly in the south and west where the great deserts have buried the antediluvian lands of Zahar.

Culture:  At this time Babylonia is approximately 1,000 years old, predated in the region by ancient Sumer and Akkad.  It’s culture is a rich and ancient one.  All the worthy arts, sciences, trades and philosophies are practiced or originated here.  The written word is cherished, as are the people who can wield it.  Warrior-kings forge dynasties through conquest and intrigue while rich priests exercise both temporal and spiritual power.  Astrologists carefully observe and confer with the stars and advise the elite on their machinations. Opulent houses of pleasure cater to the whims of the indolent and libertine. Mercantile trade is brisk and abundant, radiating out from and into the many riverine cities of Babylonia to neighboring Assyria, Elam and as far afield as Kush, Egypt, Meluhha and Khitai.  Babylon is arguably the world’s greatest city, boasting several hundred thousand residents and countless temples, parks, beer houses and palaces all within its massive brick walls.  

The story of Babylon is both the story of the Sumerian forebears who settled in millennia past and the successive waves of foreign conquerors who ultimately adopted and adapted to its ways.  Akkadians, Guti, Amorites, Kassites, Arameans, Suteans, Chaldeans and more have arrived and prevailed only to see their children become Babylonians in the end.  

The primary language of Babylon, Akkadian, is the lingua franca of Mesopotamia.  Its widespread use facilitates the flow of goods and ideas across the region.  Aramaic is slowly supplanting Akkadian in certain western quarters of Assyria and its client states; but the languages are related and most still speak the common Akkadian to some degree of proficiency.  Scholars must learn to read and write Sumerian, and priests will speak it aloud for ceremonial purposes.   Besides these, one can hear Elamite, Chaldean, the dialects of far off Persia, Media, Phoenicia and Meluhha as well as the rough tongues of Scythia and Cimmeria spoken within the marketplaces and ports of the region.  In dark, secret places the forbidden tongue of Zahar is intoned by sorcerers and cult leaders.

Politics:  Assyria has been the dominant political power in the region for centuries; Babylon has until very recently been its vassal state.  Civil war amongst the ruling Assyrian families and incursions from Egypt to the west and barbarian tribes to the north and east have weakened the hold King Sargon has on the region.  This past year the Chaldean malka (chieftain) Marduk-Baladan successfully led a coalition against Assyrian rule, throwing off the yoke of vassalage, and now presides as King of Babylonia.  Babylon has known countless kings from many tribes over the many centuries of its existence.  One does not conquer Babylon so much as inhabit it, and those who come to rule the city most often discover that it was they who were either destroyed or changed in end.

Neighbors:  Babylon’s immediate neighbors and oft-time rivals are Elam and Assyria.  Elam presides east of Babylonia, up against and including the southwest highlands of the Zagros Mountains.  Its people speak their own language and have a culture unique from their Semitic neighbors and the Aryan tribes to the east and north.  The capital of Susa was founded thousands of years ago at the watershed of the Karun river.   The Elamite people were contemporaries of the ancient Sumerians, their respective civilizations having risen almost side-by-side.  Over the millennia since, Elam has conquered and/ or been conquered by Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria.  Recently, King Kumbanigash joined with the Babylonian King Marduk-Baladan against Assyria.  The two allied nations now enjoy warm relations.  

Assyria is an Akkadian-speaking state which grew out from its ancient capital of Ashur, founded nearly 2,000 years ago.  Assyria was an early rival to and vassal state of Babylon that rose to prominence over eight centuries ago when Babylonia was crushed and its capital sacked by the Hittites.   The current Assyrian Empire loosely controls a large swath of land from Anatolia in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.  It has enjoyed several centuries of sustained growth and preeminence following the collapse of Egyptian, Hittite and Babylonian power in the region.  Recent rebellions within the ruling family and invasions from Egypt and Aryan barbarians, however, created the opportunity for Babylon and a coalition of smaller allied states to secede.  King Sargon II is currently afield, fighting the allied Cimmerians and Scythians, but should he prove victorious a confrontation with the Babylonian Coalition seems inevitable.