Some ideas for the Golden Fleece

I watched the 2000 Hallmark version of The Argonauts recently and it inspired me to think about the Golden Fleece.

In the US version

In the US version, the nature of the Golden Fleece was never explored due to the line being cancelled. What was mentioned (see Gamemaster's Companion) is that a mortal Jason and the Nephilim Hercules traveled to the lost Atlantean colony Colchis—nevermind that at this point in the timeline that Atlantis has been extinct for 100,000 years!—where they entered the so-called Tomb of Prometheus and acquired the Golden Fleece. Jason was unable to decipher it before he was killed by an unknown assailant and the Fleece was lost. Its true nature remains unknown... until the PCs happen to rediscover it, anyway. The Knights of the Golden Fleece (see Secret Societies) are trying to recover it by investing in scientific research and development—although I have no idea how this helps them find the Fleece.

In the French version

The Quest for the Golden Fleece was given concrete rules in the third edition Gamemaster's Book. Like other quests, it was rated as a tradition with three levels A/C/M. To reach each level required some questing, and each level rewarded the PC with various gains. These gains were pretty boring one level boosts to the Simulacrum's Characteristics. But the interesting part was the journey itself. The PC had to retrace the journey of the Argonauts across both the physical Earth and the oneiric environments of the Akashas, while avoiding various enemies like the Knights of the Golden Fleece, Medea, and the Dragon of Colchis. Once the quester acquires the Golden Fleece and reveals its secrets, he achieves Agartha.

I'm not gonna recap all the French lore, but basically the Fleece is actually a KaIm named Ka-Noun. He was worshiped in Ancient Egypt as the god Khnum. (Ka-Noun, Khnum, get it?) Unlike other KaIm he was part Solar-Ka but was unable to share the secrets of solar magic with his brothers. At one point he split into two beings: his Solar-Ka became the Golden Ram and his Elemental Ka became the Dragon of Colchis.

According to Al-Mugawir, Apprentices of the Golden Fleece have accessed their Solar-Ka and may learn Qiyas.

In fifth edition

In the fifth edition supplement The Golden Fleece, a further distinction was made that divided the quest into multiple tracks based on the personal beliefs of the questers: the historical, the alchemical, the oneiric, and the nebulous. The historical explored the historical basis for the myth, the oneiric explored its imprint in the subtle planes, the alchemical understood the titular Golden Fleece as an alchemical formula that would transmute the quester into an Agarthan, and the nebulous believed that the others were false leads and the clues to the truth were scattered across the mundane and occult worlds. The nebulous lead can only advance 2 degrees before the quester realizes it's a false lead and switches to one of the others. Once the quester reaches 10 degrees in the Golden Fleece Quest Lore, the maximum possible, he realizes his Golden Fleece is a fake and gives up on the quest entirely. Then Medea shows up and sends him on the real quest.

It turns out that these were all false leads concealing the truth. The progress that the quester made so far was a waste of time. Indeed, these kinds of illusory quests can cloud the progress of all quests and may help explain why achieving Agartha is so difficult and rare. At the end, the questers meet Medea who sends them on the true quest briefly outlined in third edition; although the fifth edition version is structured radically differently with very little in common, unfortunately for any 3e fans.

Medea

Medea herself appears in two radically different forms between third and fifth edition. 

In third edition she's a high ranking member of the Mystes (think Black Star) who achieved immortality by being possessed by an Orichalc daimon. She's vicious and prevents questers from finding the Fleece due to her hatred of Jason for cheating on her. 

In fifth edition, she's a Selenim with a much nicer temperament who was unfairly demonized by the myths and actually directs the PCs onto the true quest after following false leads.

My ideas...

I'd actually like to go in the opposite direction with my campaign. Rather than one true way defined by the current French writers according to their current metaplot biases that will inevitably change again in the future, the Golden Fleece is multiple quests and none are more or less valid than any other. What matters is the journey, not the destination. The physical Golden Fleece was a decoy and the real Golden Fleece was inside the quester all along.

So if you want to recreate the Hallmark miniseries where Jason discards the Fleece as a trap and marries Medea, then the romantic path will be an entirely valid option for the PC. If your PC is an alchemist, then the Golden Fleece is an alchemical text that purifies the alchemist's Solar-Ka. If your PC is a Selenim questing for the Brozen Sublimation, then the Golden Fleece reveals the secret of transmuting BMK into SK. Et cetera...

In order to gain Apprentice rank in the Quest, which grants limited access to solar magic, the quester must research the Golden Fleece until he acquires what he believes to be the true Golden Fleece (not necessarily a literal golden fleece). Reading and understanding it awakens the quester's Solar-Ka and allows them to learn Qiyas, yet reveals that it isn't the true Golden Fleece but a copy of a fragment...

And those are my musings for today... hope you enjoyed!

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