Osirion (faction)

Osirion

(Organization)

Type

Pathfinder Society faction

Leader

Amenopheus, the Sapphire Sage

Alignment

Lawful neutral

Headquarters

Absalom

Goals

Power through Knowledge

Source: Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, pg(s). 9 (v1.1)

See also: Scarab Sages (faction)

For another meaning of "Osirion (faction)", please see Osirion.

The Osirion faction within the Pathfinder Society represented the interests of the Ruby Prince in Osirion's attempts to reclaim past glory through the recovery of ancient artifacts of power.

Background

Osirion was once the most glorious empire of Golarion. Pharaohs ruled as gods on earth, their monuments towered over even Thassilon's mightiest, and their armies could churn a kingdom to mud and blot out the sun on wings of death. Now, Osirion ages from millennia of foreign rule under the rulership of the youthful Ruby Prince Khemet III, who hearkens back to the ancient days of Osirion's glory. One year ago, Khemet opened the vast deserts of Osirion—long closed by the Keleshite overlords who held the nation as a satrapy of Qadira—to foreign exploration. Today the great treasures and arcane formulas of the living gods of ancient Osirion are unearthed for the entire world to see, and the ascendancy of the Land of Pharaohs is at hand. Most Inner Sea nations view Osirion as a relic from a bygone age. In truth, Osirion is a slumbering giant that, when awakened, could wash away all fledgling challengers with the power of its traditions. The Osiriani are wise people who look deep into the past for answers to present troubles. Their sense of history gives them a unique perspective on the ebb and flow of power in the political landscape of the modern Inner Sea. Many folk of Osirion are of old Garundi blood, bronze-skinned, and gifted with the noble bearing of the ancient pharaohs. It would take a special brand of fool to ignore this semblance of power and dismiss the Osirion faction as less of a threat than any of the other factions clamoring for control of Absalom.

Goals: Uncover the Power of the Past

In bygone ages, the pharaohs of Ancient Osirion created wonders beyond reason. They concocted potent arcane plagues to decimate their enemies and erected mighty monuments capable of entrapping the souls of deities. Let the other factions jockey for meager political fancy or table scraps like favorable economic sanctions. Osirion is interested in rediscovering the powerful artifacts of its heritage, and preventing their theft by aggressive powers such as Cheliax. Once these powers are returned to their rightful hands, no one shall dare breach Osirion's borders again.

Methodology: Hide Your Power, Lest the Enemy Seek to Take It from You

For centuries now, the other powers of the Inner Sea have regarded Osirion as an impotent nation of conquered people. Osirion wouldn't have it any other way. Since the Ruby Prince ascended the ancestral throne a few decades past, Osirion has been gathering its power and preparing to make a bid for supremacy on the Inner Sea. Most of the Osirion faction's missions involve quietly undermining the power of their enemies. Osirion agents in Absalom plant the seeds of dissolution with a whisper or a poisonous draught, never with a naked blade, and never with a witness. Just as most of the Great Emerald Sphinx is buried beneath the sands of Osirion's deserts, so is the nation's power carefully hidden in secret brotherhoods and spies loyal to the pharaonic throne. When Absalom sits firmly in Osirion's grasp, then Khemet III shall declare himself Pharaoh in the tradition of his ancestors and Osirion's Second Golden Age shall follow.

Leadership

In 4712 AR, Amenopheus was exiled from Osirion after the Ruby Prince was struck by a terrible wasting curse while handling a Thassilonian artifact; a Pathfinder Society agent brought the cursed item to his attention in the first place, drawing the Ruby Prince's blame to the Sapphire Sage.

Retirement

This faction was retired after the Year of the Demon. Osirion's interests are now represented by the revived Scarab Sages, of which Amenopheus is a member.