TEXT: Written by MATT RIGGSBY
  Edited by NIKOLA VRTIS
  Cartography by MATT RIGGSBY
  GURPS, Pyramid, Warehouse 23, the pyramid logo, Hot Spots, The Incense Trail, and the names of all products published  
  by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license.  
  GURPS Hot Spots: The Incense Trail is copyright © 2020 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Additional art acknowledgments can be found on p. 2.
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  STEVE JACKSON GAMES
  Stock #37-0664 
  Version 1.0 – July 2020
  ®
  Hot Spots:
  TM
  THE INCENSE TRAIL
  TM
  GURPS System Design z STEVE JACKSON
  GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH
  GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH
  Production Artist z NIKOLA VRTIS
  GURPS FAQ Maintainer z  
  VICKY “MOLOKH” KOLENKO
  Chief Executive Officer z PHILIP REED
  Chief Creative Officer z SAM MITSCHKE
  Chief Operating Officer z SUSAN BUENO
  Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON
  Page Design z PHIL REED and JUSTIN DE WITT
  Prepress Checker z NIKOLA VRTIS
  
  CoNTENTS
  IntroductIon  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 2
  Recommended Works . . . . . . . . . .2
  About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
  Additional Art  
  Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . .2
  1 . GeoGraphy and  
  Land use  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
  Route Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
  Secret Reservoirs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
  Terrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
  2 . hIstory  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
  About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
  3 . economy and  
  cuLture  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
  Trade Goods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
  Frankincense and Myrrh . . . . .6
  Lesser Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
  Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
  Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
  Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
  Armies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
  Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
  Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
  4 . Gazetteer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
  Berenike Troglodytica . . . . . . . . . .8
  God Save the Queen . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Iram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Ma’rib . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Petra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Shabwa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
  Sumhuram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
  Yathrib . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
  map of the Incense  
  traIL reGIon .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .9
  5 . campaIGnInG  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
  Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
  Adventures and Campaigns. . . . .10
  Caravans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
  Building Kingdoms. . . . . . . . .10
  Wrath of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
   
  CoNTENTS ANd INTRoduCTIoN 
  2
  INTRoduCTIoN
  When Baron von Richthofen coined “the Silk Road” in the 
  late 19th century, he was neither the first nor the last to come 
  up with a name for a trade route. Other conduits for travel, 
  exploration, and the search for riches have been given equally 
  apt names: the Tea-Horse Road connecting Tibet and China, 
  the nigh-legendary Northwest Passage allowing a direct con-
  nection between Europe and Asia, and so on. One of the ear-
  liest is known as the Incense Trail. Like the Silk Road (and all 
  the other trade routes named for notable goods), it carried far 
  more than incense, though it did provide the outside world 
  with immensely lucrative supplies of frankincense and myrrh. 
  And even in the years of classical antiquity, it produced goods 
  which traveled across the hemisphere. The Incense Trail was 
  one of the first, if not the very first, trade routes developed 
  to carry valuable goods to multiple civilizations, and like so 
  many of the ones that followed, it combined exotic luxuries, 
  political intrigue, hostile environments, military conquest, 
  and potential riches for adventurers willing to brave all of that.
  RECommENdEd WoRkS
  No other works are necessary to use this setting, but it 
  ties into several of them. There’s considerable overlap with 
  GURPS Hot Spots: The Silk Road. The region is also adja-
  cent to societies covered by GURPS Egypt and GURPS 
  Imperial Rome.
  AbouT THE AuTHoR
  Matt Riggsby is trained in anthropology and archaeol-
  ogy, and, like the rest of his generation, toils in computers. 
  He works for an international medical software company and 
  lives with his lovely and talented wife, above-average child, 
  and several dogs who still get lost easily.
  May [the gods] curse anyone who 
  sells this tomb or who buys it or 
  gives it in pledge or makes a gift of it 
  or removes from it body or limb or 
  who buries in it anyone other than 
  Kamkam and her daughter and  
  their descendants. 
  – Inscription on  
  a Nabatean tomb
  Additional Art Acknowledgments
  P. 5: Haghe, Louis, lithographer, and Roberts, David, artist. El Deir Petra March 8 1839/David Robert. Published between 1844 
  and 1845. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/2002717535. 
  P. 7: Altar, ca. 232. Purchase, 1895, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, metmuseum.org.
  P. 10: Camel and riders, ca. 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D. From the Bequest of Lillie P. Bliss, 1931, the Metropolitan 
  Museum of Art, New York, metmuseum.org.
  
   
  GEoGRApHy ANd LANd uSE 
  3
  The Incense Trail (sometimes called the Frankincense 
  Road or similar variants) starts in the mountainous southern 
  coast of the Arabian Peninsula, beginning around the Dhofar 
  mountains of southwestern Oman and extending southwest 
  from there. The climate is hot and dry, though overnight tem-
  peratures inland can become very cool relative to daytime 
  highs. Much of the terrain is rocky desert, with small, scrubby 
  plants where any vegetation grows at all. There are, though, 
  dense pockets of forest on the coasts, watered by ocean fogs. 
  Runoff from rainfall, which mostly comes in the winter mon-
  soon, is naturally channeled through networks of wadis (sea-
  sonal creek beds). Frankincense and myrrh trees grow in 
  small, natively occurring groves near these wadis.
  Most of the early cities of southern Arabia were founded 
  at the mouths of major wadis. Dams, canals, reservoirs, and 
  cisterns are common to retain as much water as possible, and 
  the runoff often brings fresh silt with it, keeping the soil not 
  just moist but fertile as well. This allowed the development of 
  irrigation networks and cities with populations in the low tens 
  of thousands. In addition to an assortment of grains, the irri-
  gated fields produce such crops as figs, carob, and date palms.
  The desert environment mostly supports small herds of 
  camels, goats, and other hardy animals, driven by herdsmen 
  between oases and watering holes. Notable wild animals 
  include striped hyenas (usually scavengers, but willing to hunt 
  and kill when they have to) and a species of leopard.
  RouTE ovERvIEW
  During the early years of the incense trade, coastal sites are 
  vulnerable to pirate raids, so most goods are transported over-
  land to Mediterranean and Persian Gulf ports. Most caravans 
  travel up the western side of the Arabian Peninsula, following 
  trails 50 to 100 miles inland from the Red Sea. Most journeys 
  terminate at ports at Aqaba and Gaza. This main trunk of the 
  route is around 1,500 miles long. Along significant stretches, 
  it is as mountainous as the southern coast. One Roman author 
  recorded that it was divided into 62 stages, each of which took 
  a day to traverse (that puts them 20 to 25 miles apart, a long 
  daily haul relative to many other trade routes).
  A few routes branch east off the main trunk through the 
  Nafud and Rub’ al Khali deserts. Some go toward the southern 
  shore of the Persian Gulf and Basra, while others go north to 
  cities such as Damascus and Palmyra. In time, these routes 
  became more sharply defined with strings of caravanserais 
  and with towns that had fortified warehouses to protect valu-
  able goods. Much later, sea routes developed, making Aqaba a 
  more important port, but the land routes didn’t fall completely 
  out of use.
  TERRAIN
  For purposes of Survival skill, most of the Arabian Pen-
  insula requires Survival (Desert), though some areas require 
  Mountain instead. The environmental quality is often Very 
  Poor, with large stretches of Desolate. The south and west are 
  punctuated by patches of Typical and Good, though most of 
  those are inhabited and under cultivation. Rather than need-
  ing Survival skill in these areas, travelers can simply buy water 
  and provisions unless they’re truly desperate. (See GURPS 
  Low Tech Companion 3: Daily Life and Economics, pp. 4-5, 
  for more information on environmental quality and its effects 
  on using Survival.)
  CHApTER oNE
  GEoGRApHy  
  ANd LANd uSE
  Secret Reservoirs
  One possible contributor to the success of the 
  Nabateans, masters of the region in later antiquity, 
  was their careful maintenance of water supplies. 
  They are said to have dug bottle-shaped underground 
  cisterns, with narrow openings but deep reservoirs. 
  They also may have taken advantage of natural over-
  hangs and other sheltering landforms to conceal 
  wells and keep the water shaded and relatively cool. 
  They then left signs which would indicate to other 
  Nabateans that water was nearby but which would be 
  incomprehensible to or unnoticed by outsiders. The 
  Nabateans also built qanats (underground tunnels for 
  water punctuated by vertical shafts to the surface for 
  access). The qanats helped collect both runoff from 
  occasional rain and water from underground springs.
  Those who return suffer
  So let here this day be the final 
  encampment
  – Jordanian inscription
  
   
  HISToRy 
  4
  Southern Arabia exported its aromatic resins at least as 
  early as the second millennium B.C. The Egyptians imported 
  potted trees from the region, though the environment in Egypt 
  was not well-suited to the plants’ long-term survival.
  The Egyptians were one of many cultures interested in 
  the fragrant resins produced in southern Arabia. These 
  goods became prized throughout the Mediterranean and 
  into the Mesopotamian world, used primarily in religious 
  rituals. Money flowed into Arabia, and societies there trans-
  formed accordingly, from villages and nomadic tribes into 
  city-states and kingdoms. By the ninth century B.C. (and 
  possibly significantly earlier), the kingdom of Saba arose in 
  the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula.
  A variety of other states rose and fell in the region thereaf-
  ter; the notable kingdoms of Ma’in, Hadhramaut, and Qataban 
  appeared by the sixth century B.C. Control of the region 
  shifted over time: Ma’in was conquered by Saba in the sixth 
  century but retained a separate character as a tributary state. 
  The expanding kingdom of Saba even established a presence 
  briefly in the Horn of Africa. Ma’in successfully revolted in the 
  fifth century with the assistance of Hadhramaut. Hadhramaut 
  and Ma’in came under the rule of a single dynasty briefly in 
  that century but split apart again. Ma’in had its own period of 
  expansion, extending its control over most of the west coast 
  of Arabia during the fourth century (though Saba, which was 
  in the neighborhood, survived in a reduced state); Qataban 
  conquered Ma’in during the second. In the first century B.C., 
  a new kingdom, the Himyarites, appeared and slowly con-
  quered the entire southern end of the peninsula, to be con-
  quered itself by Axum in the sixth century A.D.
  The kingdoms of southern Arabia controlled the produc-
  tion of frankincense and myrrh, but they didn’t necessarily 
  control its distribution. Through the early centuries of the 
  incense trade, Ma’in handled most of the transportation. But 
  perhaps as early as the fifth century B.C. and certainly by the 
  fourth, the northerly part of the incense route came under 
  the control of a group of Arabs known as the Nabateans. The 
  Nabateans were initially nomadic herdsmen, which made 
  them well-suited to act as traveling merchants. They also 
  managed to take control of important points along the land 
  routes in northwestern Arabia and into the Levant, securing 
  the route with fortifications and towns of their own.
  The Nabateans proved remarkably flexible. They started as 
  fast-moving nomads controlling desert routes, despising farm-
  ers and not bothering with cities, but they soon adopted more 
  urban lifestyles and built their own settlements. As sea routes 
  developed, the Nabateans increasingly engaged in shipping 
  alongside taking caravans through the desert.
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  CHApTER TWo
  HISToRy
  
   
  HISToRy 
  5
  Control over the consumer end of the route changed 
  hands as well. The Roman Empire expanded into Egypt and 
  the Levant during the first century B.C. They established 
  increasing control over the far ends of the incense route as 
  well as ports around the Red Sea to increase trade and put 
  down piracy. In 26 B.C., a Roman military expedition even 
  tried to secure the loyalty of the kingdoms of southern Arabia, 
  either willingly or by force. However, it ended in catastrophe 
  for them; an unidentified illness swept through the Roman 
  troops, and they were forced to withdraw.
  The Nabateans, who were significantly closer to the 
  empire, also fended off Hellenistic Greek and later Roman 
  attempts to subjugate them. Scholars believe the Romans 
  were defeated by logistics as much as anything else. The 
  Nabateans had access to water reserves that the Romans 
  didn’t (p. 3), and so could hold off large armies. The Roman 
  Empire eventually absorbed the Nabateans in the early sec-
  ond century A.D., but the transition seems to have been vol-
  untary, with the Nabateans figuring it was better to be inside 
  the empire than outside.
  The incense trade was at its height during this period. It 
  has been estimated that half of Rome’s spending for exports 
  went through Arabia. But it wasn’t just for frankincense and 
  myrrh. Yemen and Oman were transshipment points for 
  goods coming west from the rest of Asia, with the Nabateans 
  taking their cut. Roman writers called the immensely wealthy 
  region Arabia Felix, or “happy Arabia.” And that trade went 
  both ways. The extended tentacles of the incense trade, like 
  the indirect relays of the Silk Road, reached beyond the Red 
  Sea and the Mediterranean world into Persia, India, and even 
  China by this time.
  That said, the Nabateans made a good deal for incorpo-
  ration into the Roman Empire just in time, because prosper-
  ity would not last. The market for the aromatics of southern 
  Arabia declined through later antiquity. Despite their Biblical 
  associations, Christians didn’t particularly care for frankin-
  cense and myrrh. Perfumes were still popular, but European 
  tastes in aromatics soon changed to other ingredients. The 
  declining economies of late antiquity didn’t help the trade 
  in luxuries either. Additionally, Muslims didn’t use a lot of 
  frankincense or myrrh. The old incense producers found 
  themselves with a shrinking market. Local demand for them 
  as a perfumes and medicines remained, but rarely much 
  elsewhere. The old overland trade routes were essentially 
  abandoned as the trade in aromatic gums became a nearly 
  forgotten specialty. Moreover, southern Arabia lost much 
  of its hold on seaborne trade as more ships from the east 
  entered the Persian Gulf instead of the Red Sea.
  Still, the old territory of Arabia Felix and the incense routes 
  of western Arabia didn’t drop out of history. The trail towns 
  became the heartland of Islam. Merchants from Yemen trav-
  eling down the east coast of Africa were key in catalyzing the 
  rise of Swahili culture in the next few centuries. And by the 
  early modern period, the old heartland of frankincense and 
  myrrh became the heartland of a tree product that a new gen-
  eration of societies couldn’t do without: coffee.
  
   
  ECoNomy ANd CuLTuRE 
  6
  The broad historical picture sees the rise and fall of dif-
  ferent kingdoms participating in luxury trades. But the fine 
  details of those trades are dependent on both the technical 
  nature of the production of the goods and the social struc-
  tures around the people doing that work, transporting the 
  products, and administering and defending everything.
  TRAdE GoodS
  Most people in southern Arabia make their living by farm-
  ing or herding, but the most lucrative products by far are 
  frankincense and myrrh, aromatic tree resins. A number of 
  other valuable products are also produced locally, and as time 
  went by, many other goods came through the region as part of 
  increasing trade with the east.
  Frankincense and Myrrh
  Frankincense is an aromatic resin produced by five closely 
  related species of trees native to Oman, particularly in the 
  Dhofar mountains. (The European name is French; it’s liban 
  in Arabic and levona in Hebrew). Myrrh (from the Arabic 
  murr) comes from several related species found farther south.
  The small, bushy trees are rarely more than eight feet 
  tall and have several twisty trunks. They grow wild in small 
  groves, the locations of which are jealously guarded by their 
  harvesters. They are tapped for resin in the spring. A har-
  vester scrapes a patch of bark off the tree, and the exposed 
  wood exudes a milky resin. This hardens in a few weeks and 
  is scraped off. A tree may be tapped two or three times in a 
  season, producing about a pound of resin altogether.
  The harvested resin comes in irregularly shaped “tears,” 
  rarely larger than a small coin. Frankincense ranges in yellow-
  ish shades from nearly white to deep amber, while myrrh is 
  darker with white streaks. Both resins are edible and used in 
  medicine and upscale cooking. The resins contain enough oils 
  to combust well, though they’re usually burned on coals in a 
  brazier. They produce a pleasantly aromatic smoke.
  One common use of frankincense in the region is as an 
  infumation offered to departing guests by their hosts. Tears 
  of incense are placed on smoldering coals in a burner shaped 
  like a small square tower. The smoke is wafted over the guest’s 
  hair and clothes, giving them a pleasantly perfumed scent.
  Lesser Goods
  In addition to the wildly popular aromatics, southern 
  Arabia produces some other valuable goods. These include 
  the spice fennel; a tree bark resembling cinnamon (though 
  sufficiently inferior to it that actual cinnamon eventually 
  pushed it out of the market); and indigo dye.
  Imports
  As the period in question here progresses – particularly 
  toward the end of the first millennium B.C. – the Red Sea 
  becomes a conduit for goods from India and farther east, add-
  ing to the value of trade going through the hands of people 
  in southern Arabia. Some of these are other aromatics. For 
  example, bdellium comes from related species of trees in India 
  and the horn of Africa. Bdellium has sometimes been called 
  “false myrrh,” since it has a similar but inferior aroma. It is 
  occasionally used to pad out supplies of the more desirable 
  resin. Aloes (not to be confused with aloe, the succulent plant) 
  is a resin which comes from the heartwood of aquilaria trees 
  that have been infected with a specific fungus resulting from a 
  beetle attack. The trees are native to Southeast Asia and parts 
  of Indonesia, and perhaps 5% of them in an aquilaria forest 
  produce aloes. This is also a route by which East Asian prod-
  ucts like cinnamon and silk enter the Mediterranean world.
  SoCIETy
  Essentially everybody in the region belongs to nested social 
  units: a household, which is part of a lineage of siblings and 
  close cousins, which in turn is part of a clan, which is ulti-
  mately part of a tribe. Communities tend to be composed 
  mostly or entirely of members of a single tribe, if not a smaller 
  subunit. Such relations are an important support for mem-
  bers, but can also suppress conflict within the group (in ways 
  individuals might find unjust) to preserve internal cohesion.
  CHApTER THREE
  ECoNomy  
  ANd CuLTuRE
  All these cities are governed by 
  one monarch, and are flourishing. 
  They are adorned with beautiful 
  temples and palaces.
  – Strabo, Geographica 16.IV
  
   
  ECoNomy ANd CuLTuRE 
  7
  Society in southern and western Arabia is relatively egal-
  itarian. Those who live away from cities might listen to 
  respected elders and other people of note, but rarely accept 
  being ordered around. A tribe has leading members and fam-
  ilies, but few rulers. This feeling of independence, curiously, 
  appears to have led to a lack of craft specialization.
  But even civic hierarchies are relatively flat. There are 
  kings, but they are often elected and must contend with pow-
  erful advisors and legislative councils. One Roman author 
  relates that the king of Saba, while powerful, could not leave 
  the palace lest he be executed by stoning.
  This egalitarianism extends to some extent to the sexes. 
  Some tribes observe matrilineal rather than partrilineal 
  descent or allow women to divorce easily. In Nabatean soci-
  ety, women can trade and own property in their own name, 
  represent themselves in court, and are not segregated from 
  men. Men and women worship together, and some temples 
  have both priests and priestesses. A few women may even have 
  had notable political status, with at least one serving as regent 
  for the underage heir.
  Architecture
  Many settlements in southern 
  Arabia are composed of narrow, 
  tower-like buildings. They’re made 
  of mud brick around a wooden 
  frame, and can be up to eight or 
  nine stories. Air shafts within the 
  buildings allow hot air to rise, 
  providing good circulation. These 
  provide a lot of living space with a 
  small footprint.
  Palaces and temples through-
  out the region have a distinct style 
  of construction. Substantial stone 
  and earth platforms are laid down 
  first, and the building is assem-
  bled on top of that foundation. 
  This elevates the whole structure, 
  making it look more impressive.
  The actual trail has its own dis-
  tinctive pieces of architecture. One 
  is watchtowers set here and there 
  along commonly used routes. 
  These are similar to the tower-like 
  buildings of the southern Arabian 
  towns, but built of stone.
  The other is caravanserais. A 
  caravanserai is essentially a lightly 
  fortified courtyard. Typically, it 
  consists of a row of chambers 
  wrapped around an open square, 
  with a single gateway for access in 
  and out. This provides space for 
  animals to rest overnight and rooms to stay in for the members 
  of passing caravans. The caravanserai are usually equipped 
  with cisterns for water and staffed by locals selling food and 
  supplies. In time, small towns grew up around a number of 
  caravanserais. (See “Return to Ein Arris” in Pyramid #3/52: 
  Low-Tech II for a sample, fictional caravanserai, including a 
  map and suggested residents.)
  Armies
  While warfare is fairly frequent, armies are naturally fairly 
  small. Warriors tend to be lightly equipped. Armor is light-
  weight if worn at all. Soldiers mainly wield spears, and bows 
  are the preferred ranged weapon. Armies of the Arabian Pen-
  insula are very mobile, relying on camels and horses. Horses 
  are ridden into battle; camels typically get troops to the bat-
  tlefield, but the soldiers using them usually dismount to fight.
  Food
  A number of elements in modern Arab cuisine were pres-
  ent in antiquity. Wheat is the main grain staple, in forms 
  like breads, bulgar (cracked wheat), and freekeh (wheat har-
  vested while still green). Legumes (such as chickpeas), nuts, 
  and dried fruit (particularly dates and raisins) are also sig-
  nificant parts of the diet. The main meats are mutton, with 
  some beef and camel. Dairy products like yogurt and cheese 
  are widely enjoyed. With pastoralism a major lifestyle along 
  the Incense Trail, people of the region probably had more 
  meat and dairy in the diet than most 
  during this period. In contrast with 
  medieval and later Arabia, there are 
  no religious restrictions on wine (a 
  noted product of western Arabia), 
  and replacements like coffee and tea 
  are not yet available.
  Religion
  Through most of the period in 
  question here, the people of south-
  ern and western Arabia were poly-
  theists. The god ’Athtar (responsible 
  for rain and its related fertility) is 
  respected throughout the region 
  as the chief deity. However, most 
  worship is focused on local and 
  tribal gods rather than a remote 
  supreme deity. For example, the 
  major kingdoms of southern Arabia 
  each have their own notable deity. 
  The Hadramites worship Sayin, 
  the Minaeans worship Wadd, the 
  Qatabanians worship ’Amm, and the 
  Sabeans worship Almaqah. A variety 
  of deities exist below them, down to 
  family-level guardian and ancestral 
  spirits. In addition to the usual gifts 
  granted by the gods, oracles might 
  provide visions in return for blood 
  sacrifices and suitable prayers.
  Temples are often, though not 
  invariably, located outside cities 
  rather than in them. Temples serve 
  as centers of taxation. Fines and taxes are typically called for 
  in the name of the god and the local ruler. They might also 
  be used to claim sanctuary or as an auspicious spot to make 
  agreements. In the countryside, notable natural locations 
  might be regarded as sacred and perform the same functions 
  as a temple without any actual structure. Many such places 
  are the destination of religious pilgrimages.
  
   
  GAzETTEER 
  8
  While the Incense Trail has a lot of open space along its 
  way, there are also a lot of distinctive stops, some of which 
  may be surprisingly familiar to a modern audience. Here 
  are some of the more notable spots around the region. See 
  pp. 40-51 of GURPS Places of Mystery for additional infor-
  mation about desert cities in this region.
  bERENIkE TRoGLodyTICA
  This port on the west coast of the Red Sea is located 
  approximately opposite the town of Yathrib (and at about the 
  same latitude as the modern Aswan dam). Egypt’s Ptolemaic 
  rulers established the port in the middle of the third century 
  B.C. While the town’s surroundings are desolate, it has a good 
  sheltered harbor. More importantly, it has the advantage of 
  being about 150 miles away from an eastward bend in the 
  Nile. This relative proximity to the river made it a conduit 
  for trade between the Mediterranean world and the Indian 
  Ocean. Berenike became increasingly important as a port 
  during this period (along with Aqaba in modern Jordan).
  IRAm
  Iram is one of the mysteries of pre-Islamic Arabia. (The 
  city is also known as Iram of the Pillars or Ubar.) In the 
  Quran, it’s a wealthy, powerful city where the people reject 
  a prophet. The city is then consumed by a seven-day sand-
  storm. Iram appears in versions of A Thousand and One 
  Nights, Lovecraft made it a center of Cthulhu worship, and 
  T.E. Lawrence referred to it as “the Atlantis of the desert.” 
  The site of Iram is to this day unknown. Indeed, it’s not clear 
  if it was a kingdom, a powerful tribe, or purely legendary. 
  More recently, it’s been the subject of early searches for 
  archaeological sites via satellite imaging, which have turned 
  up a number of lost cities in the desert. Iram, if it does exist, 
  may be in the Dhofar mountains. This makes it a potential 
  producer of frankincense, explaining its wealth.
  mA’RIb
  Ma’rib was the capital of Saba for something on the order 
  of 1,000 years. The city at this time is home to a population 
  in the low tens of thousands. Several important temples are 
  located outside of the city proper.
  Ma’rib is notable for a monumental dam just to the north 
  of the city. The dam is about 50’ tall and 2,100’ long. Blocking 
  a small river through which several smaller streams empty, 
  it creates a sizable reservoir. Attached canals make that 
  water available over an estimated 40 square miles of farm-
  land. The dam suffers a near-total collapse in the second 
  century B.C., which corresponds to a significant decline in 
  Sabean power and the consolidation of Nabatean control of 
  overland trade routes.
  pETRA
  Perhaps the most recognizable stop along the Incense 
  Trail, the city of Petra (Ramqu to locals) is in southern mod-
  ern Jordan near the border with modern Israel. It was estab-
  lished as the Nabatean capital by the second century B.C. 
  The city is built among steep cliffs with flat valley bottoms 
  between them, watered by a nearby wadi. The city is only 
  plausibly approachable from the south, which is protected by 
  a fortified wall.
  Petra is famous around the world for its rock-cut archi-
  tecture. It has a number of buildings in a Hellenistic Greek 
  style, including temples and an amphitheater, but which were 
  constructed by carving the facades directly out of the red and 
  pink sandstone cliffs. None of these structures goes particu-
  larly deeply into the cliffs, but they are visually striking on the 
  outside. (They resemble the Buddhist cave shrines of the Silk 
  Road in that way; see Silk Road, p. 40.)
  Petra is familiar to modern audiences as the site of the cli-
  max of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Both the rock-cut 
  facade housing the Grail and the long, narrow desert passage 
  Indy and his companions ride through in order to reach it are 
  quite real.
  SHAbWA
  Shabwa is the longstanding capital of Hadhramaut. 
  The city is a lopsided rectangle, about 600 by 350 yards at 
  its widest points, with stone, earthen, and wood archi-
  tecture. The wall has five gates into the city proper. The 
  royal palace is at the north center near one of the gates.  
  CHApTER FouR
  GAzETTEER
  God Save the Queen
  The kingdom of Saba is widely identified with the 
  Biblical kingdom of Sheba and, of course, the famous 
  Queen of Sheba. There’s no direct evidence of Saba 
  being ruled by a queen, but given what’s known about 
  other Arabian kingdoms of the time, it’s plausible. 
  Sheba was known for its wealth in gold, spices, and 
  other luxuries much as Saba was, and the queen was 
  a figure of considerable wisdom and power. Indeed, 
  some versions of her ascribe magical powers to her or 
  regard her as half-djinn. A sorceress-queen would be a 
  powerful patron or formidable enemy to adventurers.
  
   
  GAzETTEER 
  9
  A broad street (eight to 10 yards wide) connects the palace to 
  a substantial temple complex at the southern wall. The city 
  wall is part of a larger series of walls enclosing a region sev-
  eral times as large as the city proper, mostly to the north and 
  east. This larger walled area contains a couple of temples and 
  a defensive citadel on a high point a quarter mile to the east, 
  along with other structures.
  SumHuRAm
  This fortress, established in the fourth century B.C. a few 
  hundred yards inland from the sea, is one of the easternmost 
  points on the incense route. It overlooks the seasonal stream 
  of Khor Rori and provides secure access to shipping. The 
  fortress is an irregular, tilted rectangle, 200’ by 400’. It has a 
  complex gateway in the middle of the side facing northeast. 
  The turning entranceway requires those coming in to take 
  several right angles under the eyes of guards along the walls 
  of the surrounding buildings. This location is representative 
  of the kinds of fortified structures found along the Incense 
  Trail, combining a defensive position, access to transportation 
  routes, and fortified warehouses (which, in this place, are at 
  the southern corner).
  yATHRIb
  This town was settled at least as early as the sixth century 
  B.C. Control over Yathrib passed through many different 
  hands over the centuries, including the Minaeans, Babylon, 
  and Nabateans. Demonstrating the diversity of the region, it 
  also had a substantial Jewish population. Yathrib was ulti-
  mately renamed Medina after the rise of Islam.
  mAp oF THE INCENSE TRAIL REGIoN
  
   
  Campaigning 
  10
  The Incense Trail combines the difficult, dangerous terrain 
  of the Arabian desert with interactions between many tribes, 
  kingdoms, and empires. These encounters are given great 
  urgency by the enormous wealth passing through. Naturally, 
  there are adventures and campaigns to be made of that, and 
  where there are adventures, there must be adventurers.
  CharaCters
  Characters native to Arabia don’t have any 
  required traits, but there are a number of traits 
  which are common among them.
  Most people in the region (and, indeed, a great 
  many people anywhere) are likely to have relation-
  ships with their tribe, which might be expressed as 
  Allies (individuals or groups), Claim to Hospitality, 
  Code of Honor, Contacts, Contact Group, Patron, 
  and/or Sense of Duty. Duty is relatively uncom-
  mon in the politically less-structured countryside.
  Hierarchies are fairly flat among the tribes of 
  the countryside, with Status rarely greater than 2. 
  Influential members of society should instead have 
  substantial numbers of Allies and Contacts, and a good Rep-
  utation. However, even urban rulers don’t reach great heights 
  of Status. Most kings are Status 4, with Status 5 available 
  only to the most powerful regional rulers.
  The major kingdoms of the region speak closely related 
  languages, with others spoken by less settled peoples. Some-
  one who knows one can understand the others at one level of 
  fluency lower. For example, someone Native with Qatabani 
  understands Hadramitic at Accented level.
  Adventurers intending to travel with the caravans should 
  have Animal Handling, Riding (Horse or Camel), and Survival 
  (Desert). Packing is also a useful skill for such people but less 
  vital. “Reads Nabatean Well Signs” is a perk, providing +5 to 
  Survival rolls to find water supplies in the region. However, 
  it’s a carefully held secret, rarely available to non-Nabateans.
  The Incense Trail is TL2. It starts in the early Iron Age and 
  goes into a sharp decline around the time the Mediterranean 
  and Near East transition to TL3.
  adventures and Campaigns
  A number of campaigns can be built around southern and 
  western Arabia during these years. Here are a few of the more 
  obvious ones.
  Caravans
  The lifeblood of the southern Arabian economy is the car-
  avan routes from Oman to the Mediterranean. Someone has 
  to undertake the difficult work of seeing cargo-laden camels 
  from one point to the next. This requires a leader to organize 
  and guide them (and potentially improvise alternate routes), 
  guards to protect the group from bloodthirsty bandits, and 
  merchants to make the necessary transactions. A caravan 
  can also be a device by which to get adventurers from point 
  A to point B in a more interesting fashion than just riding 
  there themselves. They can get involved in lit-
  tle intrigues, be called on as neutral parties 
  in internal disputes, and so on. Conversely, 
  adventurers could be bandits, trying to fig-
  ure out new ambush sites along familiar old 
  routes and how to fence their loot. 
  For suggestions on the composition 
  of traveling groups of various sizes, see 
  Wandering 
  Caravan 
  Table 
  in 
  Pyramid 
  Dungeon Collection, pp. 84-85. For example 
  challenges a caravan might face, check out 
  the GURPS Caravan to Ein Arris adventure.
  Building Kingdoms
  Southern Arabia is full of indepen-
  dent-minded tribes, difficult geography, and 
  remote wadis capable of producing exceptionally valuable 
  aromatic resins. Add a charismatic (potential) leader who 
  can get local tribes listening to him, someone with decent 
  strategic thinking skills, and a hydraulic engineer to get 
  water collection in order, and you’ve got the ingredients nec-
  essary to start a pocket-sized kingdom. But it won’t be easy. 
  Locally, prospective rulers must wrangle the loyalty of the 
  people of the surrounding area and prevent small rivalries 
  from blowing up delicate alliances. Farther afield, they have 
  to defend their new kingdom from larger, more established 
  states who want the same frankincense and myrrh that the 
  new rulers are trying to capitalize on.
  And there’s another layer above that. Depending on the 
  year, the Romans, Ptolemaic Egypt, and various Persian 
  empires are lurking around the edges. All of them are looking 
  to increase their influence in the region, and they may even 
  want a local ally to use as a base of operations for conquering 
  the whole area. This may end up as a complex combination of 
  diplomacy, warfare, and espionage.
  Wrath of God
  This region is, literally, Old Testament (and Quranic) ter-
  ritory. There are sorcerers, sandstorms driven by angry dei-
  ties, and territorial gods. The aromatic resins of the region 
  are popular precisely because they’re excellent for getting in 
  touch with the divine. Along with all the wealth, powerful but 
  dangerous magic exists here. Adventurers could chase down 
  valuable esoteric wisdom, but risk their souls in the process.
  Chapter Five
  Campaigning
  
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/GURPS [multi]/4th edition/GURPS 4e - Hot Spots - The Incense Trail.pdf