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Home-brewed System Lord Compendium


TForbes

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Hi Everybody,

I thought it would be cool to make a repository of Home-brewed System Lords for prospective GM's to copy/ steal / draw inspiration from. Stargate has always had such interesting and nuanced bad guys that, honestly, I feel that almost any one of the System Lords shown or mentioned on screen could have had a whole season of development.

With this list, we can consolidate fully home-brewed creations with one-off villains from the show who never got their stories resolved on the screen.

 

So, if you are looking for a Main Baddie, your main baddie's underling, your main baddie's rival, the former ruler of a planet you're visiting, or the punchline for a more powerful Goa'uld's joke.... look no further.

 

 

Name: Heru'Pa (AKA Horus the Younger)
Historical Origin: Ancient Egyptian
Backstory: Younger brother to Heru'ur (Horus the Elder). Son of Ra and Hathor.

Following the death of Heru'ur, Heru'Pa capitalized on the fact that his brother had controlled the largest number of shipyards in the galaxy and was capable of building Hatak's are a speed no other System Lord could match. However, the main problem is the fact that most of the Jaffa loyal to the house of Ra joined Apophis. Leaving Heru'Pa without crews for his ships. Taking inspiration from his fathers preference of servants, Haru'Pa began to recruit and promote humans into the ranks of his forces. 

Story Hooks: 
- The SGP gets word of 3 new Hatak vessels due to be completed in the coming weeks. If they can be "commandeered" in the crucial time between when they are completed and when they are fully crewed... 
- There are a great many humans joining Heru'Pa's forces. Are they doing it of their own free will or is some kind of mind control in play?

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Given the existence of System Lord Yu, I'd be extremely tempted to turn Mortal Kombat's Shao Kahn into either one of his immediate vassals or a completing System Lord in his own right. Similarly a number of the franchise's characters and iconic costumes could be recreated as servants and rivals.

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I am using Susanoo (The Japanese god of sea and storms) as a System Lord in my home brew adventure.  SG1 encountered Amaterasu as part of a System Lord delegation during the series, and Susanoo is her sibling in the shinto religion.  Plus I borrowed heavily from an L5R adventure book in an one of my early episodes.

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9 hours ago, Nate Summers said:

I am using Susanoo (The Japanese god of sea and storms) as a System Lord in my home brew adventure.  SG1 encountered Amaterasu as part of a System Lord delegation during the series, and Susanoo is her sibling in the shinto religion.  Plus I borrowed heavily from an L5R adventure book in an one of my early episodes.

Oooh I really like this. I have a story I'd like to tell which involves ships/ sailors disappearing from the Bermuda triangle. (Hard coming  up with good ways to use human cultures from after the Stargate was buried) Maybe the same thing is happening in the Dragons Triangle. Susanoo sounds like the perfect Goa'uld to have found an ancient device which kidnaps ships using what appears to be huge storms. 

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1 hour ago, watchcrafter said:

I've cribbed Amun and Sekhmet from the Stargate SG-1: Unleashed mobile game that came out a couple a years ago.  Plus it comes with an easy macguffin you can tie the season around.

Is the game still accessible? Or could you give a quick summary of Amun and Sekhmey, plus the macguffin. I can't seem to find it online anymore. 

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39 minutes ago, TForbes said:

Is the game still accessible? Or could you give a quick summary of Amun and Sekhmey, plus the macguffin. I can't seem to find it online anymore. 

It's not and I never actually played it, but there are some playthroughs on youtube.  They're basically just standard Goa'uld, so you can give em whatever personality you like.  The macguffin is the "seven arrows of sekhmet" some sort of superweapon with seven parts that is never actually completed in the episodes of the game that was released, so you can do whatever you like with that as well

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  • 4 months later...

This thread has some great ideas! I do not know the story enough to expand on "canon" villains yet, but I did come across some potential antagonists while researching ancient Egypt's lesser pantheon members. Some of the top ideas for homebrew villains that I'm considering:

 

Chonsu (Khonsu), the Traveler. Reputation for healing abilities. Could be returning to Milky Way from a campaign among the stars or a knowledge-gathering expedition similar to the Ancients' ship, Destiny. As a plot twist, the "Healer" could also be revealed as a leading member among the Tok'ra.

 

Denwen, the Serpent-Dragon. Had power over flames and the strength to take on the rest of the Egyptian pantheon. Mirroring the myths, Denwen could have taken on the System Lords in the past, only to be defeated and exiled. Hearing of the Tau'ri victories against the System Lords, Denwen returns. Possible plot hooks could include Denwen reclaiming what was taken from him, or even waging unsanctioned wars against the Tau'ri to regain power among his people as a "savior of the Goa'uld."

 

Gengen Wer, the "Great Honker" who guards the "Celestial Egg." Gengen's story could resemble the Big Baddy who later proves that he was added to the story for comic relief, or to set players up for the real villain. Gengen could be an upstart Goa'uld aiming to make a name for himself that is majestic and feared... but whose efforts are seen as vain or ridiculous by his peers. (Next task, determine what the "celestial egg" could be in game terms: possibly a new weapon or an energy source?)

 

Kabechet, daughter of Anubis - Potential for a revenge story arc. "You killed my father, prepare your world for annihilation."

 

Khenmu, the Great Potter - a Goa'uld ruler from the border planets. (On Earth he lives in a place called Elephantine; perhaps he relocated to a planet of the same name?) Khenmu masks his classic Goa'uld thirst for power behind a love for the arts, perhaps even protecting the occasional human culture to preserve its particular flavor of quaint, "primitive" artistic contributions. Khenmu could play on similar themes as Denwen (above) - revenge, prestige, self-glory. He could also be the harbinger of future doom - a Goa'uld general leading a border war (or defense) against yet another new threat to the galaxy.

 

Edited by mufasa_bk
Minor formatting; added BOLD to the names listed.
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  • 5 months later...

I'm still working on the details but a Goa'uld I'm creating for my campaign is:

Serqet. 

The goddess of fertility, nature, animals, medicine, magic, and healing venomous stings and bites. Often credited as the sister of Apep (or as we know him, Apophis). So she'll have a mix of Horus and Serpent Guard. I'm thinking of giving her (and her Jaffa) some weapons that have a toxin focus and some area effect, and/or ranged healing equipment. 

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  • 6 months later...

Working on a campaign involving the "Dread Lords", a trio of Goauld that the system lords imprisoned in sarcophagus' millennia ago. It was very much intended for a modern day stargate campaign where everything before it (what happened in the series) was true, but still give the Goauld a chance to be a threat again. In the campaign, the SG team would inadvertently 'resurrect' these dead gods.

Aten
Backstory: An offspring of Ra, Aten rose to power during the Goauld's waning years on Earth. As he came to prominence, he quickly became skilled geneticist, ever seeking the goal of creating the ultimate host. He succeeded in creating an incredibly powerful host for his symbiote, utilizing dozens of species, but most importantly Alteran/Lantean DNA. A feat that was thought to be impossible by the other system lords. His new form brought him increased intelligence, the physicality of the finest warriors, an increased healing factor, and the ability to tap into rare technology. With this, he was able to access a few pieces of ancient technology, vastly superior to what was available to the Goauld. Going from a goauld with little territory or importance other than being Ra's son, to a conqueror of prominence within mere months scared the System Lords more than anything. Upon meeting with Ra, Aten explained that he was the one system lord of all and that their efforts do destroy him were futile, as he had discovered ascension. It is unknown if this had any truth, if Ra believed the claim, or could not bring himself to destroy a progeny he respected, but a plan was enacted to capture rather than kill Aten. When him and his two generals rested in their sarcophagi, they were sealed away, hopefully forever, to keep the 'Dread Lords' from shifting the balance of power ever again

Amun
Backstory: As one of the Goauld constantly vying for power only to be cast off by the System Lords, Amun lived his life in the shadows of his greaters. He bided his time and built up armies secretly on worlds unknown to the System Lords, hoping for the right time to strike. In time, he slipped into the shadows, becoming only a whisper on his followers tongues and thought dead in the eyes of other goauld. He became known as the "Hidden One", orchestating attacks from the shadows in a constant attempt to unseat one of the System Lords. Upon a chance meeting with Aten, he was offered one of the geneticists new 'perfect' hosts in exchange for the loyalty of the considerable armies he had been amassing in secret. Amun agreed and joined under Aten to assault the System Lords for a chance to prove himself and take power from those that had cast him aside for so long.

Nephthys
Backstory: A Goauld Queen, Nephthys had a long history within Goauld culture and short lived history as a Dread Lord. While not a member of, she surrounded herself with the System Lords. As a Goauld Queen, she had influence, but was kept at the beck and call of the Lords for centuries. When Ra's son, Aten began to rise to power, she saw an opportunity to rid herself of the System Lords and become a prominent member of Goauld high society. She eventually fell in love with Aten, or at least the equivalent of love within Goauld psychology, and worked with him to create the new generation of Goauld symbiotes to become the next generation of Goauld and crush the old ways and power structures. This unfortunately failed, and once sealed away as one of the Dread Lords, her progeny in their larval state were burned and cast aside. The powers that be do not take kindly to the changing of the status quo.

Ma'Tal
Technology: Goauld Dread Lord Mothership
Backstory: The Ma'Tal was designed to counter to Goauld Ha'tak in nearly every facet of it's design. Born off of the design of a crashed vessel on a distant world of ancient origin, the Ma'tal had superior hyperspace capabilities, automated targeting systems, as well as a crude version of the ancients drone technology. Because of this, it could run on a crew of one, if needed, yet three thousand Jaffa could populate it's interior, assisting where needed and aiding in the invasion of planets.. According to Goauld records, only three were ever built. All were destroyed at the battle of Gre'tulak, when the armadas of the system lords overpowered one active version of the vessel and two that were still in construction.

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I love this idea and honestly i find that we are kinda missing a monster manual of sorts just having the core rulebook. Like there are so many things and enemies and everything that would benefit from being all in one place system lord's along with others that Stargate has shown

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  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/30/2022 at 10:17 AM, JDLeaf said:

I am currently developing a Goa'uld Pele for a Hawaiian/Polynesian based one-off. It involves a cultural anthropologist embedded with a group of local people who is overdue for check in. 

 

I misread that as "Goa'uld Pete" for a sec - now there's an idea!  Pete shows up at Sam's door for a reunion (or booty call)...only it isn't Pete....

 

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