The Tomb Keepers

Obsessed with both uncovering and protecting the secrets of the ancient past, a **Tomb Keeper's** job is never done. Following in the footsteps of ancient Zahn-tahet traditions, this order of historians and archaeologists spend their time combing through old texts, dusting off old relics or delving deep into ancient ruins.
A **Tomb Keeper** is expected to provide new knowledge to their faction wherever possible, but unlike other factions in the world of Vari, The Tomb Keepers faction as a whole do not trade their knowledge as a commodity, instead, individuals are expected to find and uncover secrets of the mysterious past, before returning the uncovered relics to the Tomb of Neferkare, to lock away the knowledge for all time. Some relics and tomes are kept within museums or vaults, and depending on their origin, some are put on display to the public, provided that the librarians of the faction can be certain that no harm will come of its presence. A walk through a Tomb Keeper museum is often like a walk through time itself, with mysterious items and artefacts that date back long before the severance, to ancient (often human) kingdoms and empires.

Ancient Zahn-tahet prophets claimed that forbidden knowledge would bring about the unmaking of the world and it is commonly believed by Tomb Keepers that they correctly predicted The Severance. Now, the Tomb Keepers seek to prevent history from repeating, by locking away any knowledge that might lead to the destruction of Vari. Unfortunately, this monumental task has no end, as The Tomb Keepers like everyone else do not know what caused the severance, only that it occured in the past. Any relics, times or knowledge of any kind from before or during the severance are to be locked away, forbidden from ever being studied by anyone but Neferkare herself.

Neferkare is worshipped by many Zahn-tahet as a deity, even though most know she is not. She is, ho

   wever, believed by many across Vari to be an undying Lich and the last remaining Zahn-tahet prophet from the age before the Severance, though none walk upon the world of Vari that have ever met Neferkare face to face. Many suspect she knows the secrets of the moments leading up to the Severance and in a desperate attempt to prevent the world from being destroyed, she wishes to lock away the knowledge and prevent it from ever being repeated. Others, such as the council of The Consortium, outwardly declare that Neferkare is an evil being and was partially responsible for events prior the severance, that she seeks the knowledge to finish what was started, and she must be stopped at all costs.

Thankfully for Neferkare, a spell so powerful that some have likened it to divine magic, seals her Tomb to protect her from intruders. Some claim it also prevents her from leaving. Only Neferkare's Anointed Skull Bearers may pass beyond this barrier, bringing her knowledge to seal away deep within her ancient, golden halls in the bowels of Naxus, within the Underdark, never to be seen again.

As bound by the Faction's Accord, **The Tomb Keepers** are responsible for the following remits:

* Finding and Securing Forbidden Knowledge
* Protecting Vari from Ancient Evils
* Studying the Past
* Prophesizing the Future

### Rank

* **Intern:** As a fresh recruit, an intern is expected to learn from or follow in the footsteps of their Librarian tutor. Not all Librarians teach their Interns in person, in fact some simply leave clues and riddles to locations where the Intern can find relics and ancient knowledge.
* **Archivist:** An Archivist has brought back at least one important relic to their Librarian, having contributed to the "Archive" that is the Tomb of Neferkare.
* **Librarian:** Responsible for several interns, a Librarian is an experienced teacher but also a well proven archaeologist or anthropologist. They bring relics to the custodians who will deliver them to the Tomb.
* **Custodian:** A custodian has provided the Tomb Keepers with a considerable contribution of knowledge. They are also responsible for guarding and transporting caches of knowledge and relics to Neferkare's Tomb.
* **Curator:** A Tomb Keeper may only reach the rank of Curator once they have been granted an "ancient skull" by the **Grand Conservator**. This skull is a gift from Neferkare herself, she alone is said to choose who is worthy of this blessing. Once they are an "**Anointed Skullbearer**", which is an ancient Zahn-tahet tradition, the Curator may then visit Neferkare's tomb and meet with her directly. She will look upon them with her own eyes, and grant them ancient knowledge if they are trustworthy. If they are not, she will consume them. The criteria for this decision is not clear at all. A curator is expected to assist Neferkare and the Grand Conservator directly.
* **Grand Conservator:** The mysterious Grand Conservator is the leader of the Tomb Keepers, but very little is known about them, except that they are responsible for the protection and conservation of Neferkare's Tomb and its hidden knowledge.

**Faction Benefits:**

Your chosen faction provides you will a set of additional starting equipment, in addition to that which is granted by your class. Including gold.

* A wooden case containing a map to a ruin or dungeon
* a bullseye lantern
* a rod of hand warming
* a set of archaeology tools including:
	+ a miner's pick
	+ a shovel
	+ a trowel
	+ an excavation brush
	+ a writing kit (small pouch with a quill, ink, folded parchment, and a small penknife)
	+ a journal
	+ a glass jar filled with cloth
* a set of traveler's clothes
* a walking stick (quarterstaff)
* a two-person tent
* a trinket recovered from a dig site
* a pouch containing 4 gp
* Feature: Historical Knowledge

**Historical Knowledge**

When you enter a ruin or dungeon, you can correctly ascertain its original purpose and determine its builders, whether those were dwarves, elves, humans, vrael, or some other known race. In addition, you can determine the monetary value of art objects more than a century old.

As deemed in the Faction's Accord, benefits are awarded for progression through the rank system of all factions in Vari.

* **Intern:**
	+ **Ancient Studies**: You gain proficiency in your choice of one of the following: Arcana, Religion, Insight, Investigation and Survival. You have advantage on checks made to locate the entrances to ruins or ancient buildings.
	+ If you can already cast at least one spell, you gain your choice of either the **Light** or the **Dancing Lights** cantrip, for which Intelligence is your spellcasting modifier. If you cannot cast a spell, see below. You gain proficiency in History plus your choice of one of the following: Arcana, Religion, Insight, Investigation and Survival. You learn the language Undercommon.
		- If you cannot cast a spell when you become an intern, you are instead given a **[ Drift globe ]** which can attach to the end of your walking stick. It will only function for yourself and has no monetary value.
	+ **[ Pole of Collapsing ]:** While holding this 10-foot pole, you can use an action to speak a command word and cause it to collapse into a 1-foot-long rod, for ease of storage. The pole's weight doesn't change. You can use an action to speak a different command word and cause the rod to revert to a pole; however, the rod will elongate only as far as the surrounding space allows.
* **Archivist:**
	+ **Further Studies:** You gain proficiency in your choice of one of the following: Arcana, Religion, Insight, Investigation and Survival.
	+ **[ Archivist's Loupe ]** This small magnification device is used to see small details of relics and gems more closely. It has higher magnification than a magnifying glass, and is designed to be held close to the eye. The focusing lens can be adjusted by twisting the end of the Loupe. This gives you advantage on investigation checks used to accurately determine the age or value of a relic, gem, art object or piece of treasure. Also, if you are inspecting a magical item with the Loupe, you learn its properties and how to use them, whether it requires attunement to use, and how many charges it has, if any. You learn wither any spells are affecting the item and what they are. If the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell created it.
	+ **[ Commune with the Mother** **]** A small black sphere that, when placed on the ground and rolled, will come to a sudden and complete stop. A phrase will enter your mind, answering the question you were thinking at the time you rolled the sphere. It used for seeking advice from the Mother of Spiders about artefacts, relics and so on, and works in a similar way to the commune spell using divination magic.
* **Librarian:**
	+ *Unknown*
* **Custodian:**
	+ *Unknown*
* **Curator:**
	+ *Unknown*