Al Kathos

Al Kathos
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Culture Level	3
Ecology	Full
Climate & Terrain	Sandy desert, mountainous desert
Year Formed	586 BC
Population	6120
Races (%)	Human (100%)
Languages	Akiri
Religions	Akiri Pantheon, the Rotting Gods, the Lawgiver
Government	Despotism (Malbus and his enforcers), tribalism
Ruler(s)	Malbus
Darklord(s)	Malbus
Nationality
Analog	Arabia
Related Categories
Locations in Al Kathos
Transportation in Al Kathos
Inhabitants of Al Kathos
Former Inhabitants of Al Kathos
Flora of Al Kathos
Fauna of Al Kathos
Native Monsters of Al Kathos

Al Kathos is a desert domain ruled by a "ram-headed abomination" named Malbus who commands "legions of hellish minions" and "dines on the flesh of the mortals he captures." Among its notorious dangers are the Sand Singers, undead spirits who lure travelers to their deaths with "soft scents and honeyed tongues", and the "jackal-headed priests of the Rotting Gods."

Part of The Hub Cluster.

Al Kathos is a very poor and barren domain; the places Malbus controls are vigorously policed, but outside of the towns and a few trade routs the domain is essentially lawless, with all the tribesmen willing to turn bandit at a moment's notice. Worse than bandits also make their homes in the deep desert. The population is hot blooded and has a strong tendency for violence and criminal behavior. Not all are criminals by any means, but the poverty of the domain makes it necessary for some to steal in order to live. The Sand Singers, the wraiths of harpies of the desert, lure men to their death, while priests of Set find followers to their evil cult and capture others to sacrifice to him. There are about twice as many women born in this domain as men, as this taunts the lusty darklord and keeps the population up in spite of all the violence. In addition, Malbus is cursed with a fear of women; he fears the women he lusts after and is scared of that fact getting out.

Biology

Much of the domain has a sandy desert ecology, where essentially nothing grows. There are oases scattered throughout the desert, often marked by palm trees, and some places with marginally more water where one can find cacti, scrub brush, and hardy trees such as acacia. Watercourses are often marked by tamarisk bushes. Common fauna include biting insects, arachnids such as scorpions and tarantulas, numerous poisonous reptiles, many kinds of birds, and small predators such as desert foxes. Large animals are mostly rare, although herds of camels do wander the wasteland. Unnatural fauna include were-foxes and were-jackals.

Geography

add to me

Population Distrubtion

100% Human - 21000 men, 40200 women

Towns

• Mamatpolis, the Wounded City - 10000 (not counted in the domain population, since it's a different domain)
• Al Sakar - 1400
• Gar Sehbet - 1300
• Al Hat Shelut - 1220

Authority

Malbus rules the towns with a first of iron, save for the Wounded City, where the vizier Abd-al-Mamat holds sway. Outside of the towns and the city, the main authority figures are the sheikhs of the three principal tribes: the Sakar, the Sehbet, and the Shelut, who vie continually among themselves for power.

Language & Culture

The greater number of women than men has effected the domain strongly. Not only are virtually all men married, but most merchants have two wives and rich merchants and nobles have 4 or more. Although many men outside of the domain are envious of this fact, the men of Al-Kathos know there is a downside to it as well. Not only is it expensive to have four wives, the population's strong tendency to chaotic alignments frequently leads to quarrels between co-wives. As a large number of wives often equals a large number of children, the domain's tendency to chaotic alignments likewise leads to quarrels between these offspring. The large number of women does however provide numerous opportunities for political marriages. [This strikes me as a bit odd. If the person who wrote this reads this, could you explain why you made this a feature of the domain?] Malbus is a half Silat who has a curse to fear the very women he lusts after. The tension between his lust and fear is very strong and agonizing to him. The many women in the domain taunt him by their very presence; he wants to get close to them but cannot, as his fear of them grows stronger the closer they draw near to him. He hopes that by having them sacrificed to Bel he will overcome his fear but he will not.

Adventure Hooks

Malbus has been demanding "tribute" from all passing merchants and hitting them hard using followers of Set to do so. He sees himself as the "true ruler" of Al Kathos so considers them taxes instead of theft. The party is hired to get a caravan through despite attacks from bandits and followers of Set and their undead.

Wraiths have increased greatly in numbers the last few years due to the Sand Singers luring men to their deaths and then rising as wraiths. They are becoming a real menace. The Temple of Ra has put out a large bounty on wraiths and sand singers. All parties must be approved by the church in advance to make sure that they are up to the task and won't simply get killed by the wraiths and contribute to the problem. The party will have to undergo a series of tests before they are allowed to go for the bounty.

The daughter of a local merchant has been kidnapped. There is no ransom being demanded and he is worried she will be sold to Malbus to satisfy his lust as his fear of women is unknown to all, she will actually be sacrificed to him on an alter far from him, at least a mile away. The merchant loves his daughter greatly and will give the party a huge reward for rescuing her.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Tales of Ravenloft:The Judgement of Abd-al-Mamat
		Tales of Ravenloft:The Judgement of Abd-al-Mamat - pp157-173