You know, there were some problems with the whole reborn as something strange and other in a new world that I did not think I'd have. On the other hand, despite the dietary requirements and some of the other things, well, it wasn't too bad. Mostly because of the whole reborn thing. THAT was the big one, as continued existence wiped away many of the downsides that otherwise dying had come with. Sure, in many respects I was a walking corpse fueled by the blood of the living but then you had to look at the positives to stay more or less sane.
Or at least, to avoid devolving into being a broody bastard. That would be an annoying thing to be, not least because my parents had been married. Okay yeah, there was being too much of a joker and not taking things seriously enough as well. Something that I would, hopefully, have a very long time to work on that. Because it wasn't like I wasn't getting some benefits from the whole thing, even if most of the better ones? Well, I had 'quests.' Or at the least, a set of long term goals that I would be paid for.
Quests
Night Warrior
Goal; Earn 5000 gold pieces (total value) as a mercenary, repeatable
Reward; Gain +1d6 sneak attack or Favoured Terrain or Favoured Enemy (this stacks)
Arabian Nights
Goal; Have sex with 1001 women
Reward; You gain Vampiric Dreamstalker as a bonus feat. Additionally, you may feed on others in their dreams, dealing Wisdom damage in place of Constitution. If they are drained to 0 Wisdom in their dreams, the Charm effect is instead permanent.
Blade of Egypt
Goal; Serve an Egyptian Dynasty for One Hundred years
Reward; Gestalt becomes active
The Shadow Consul
Goal; Own a Villa in Rome and control its criminal underbelly
Reward; The Genetic Deviant Template
The Blood of Kings
Goal; Obtain blood points from ten different kings or emperors of note
Reward; For every thirty points of Noble Blood you consume (Tier 2 counts as two, tier 3 as three), you gain Expanded Blood Pool as a bonus feat.
The Dead Shall Consume The Living
Goal; Raise a total of 1000 HD of Zombies, Ghouls and Wights (Spawn from Ghouls and Wights count at half the HD towards this total)
Reward; Gain Undead Mastery (Minor), Improving at Curomancer levels 10, 15 and 20
Vampire Eye Candy
Goal; Have the Bulletproof Beauty and Greater Vampiric Damage Reduction feats
Reward; Both feats and feats in their chain become bonus feats, and you may pick new ones to replace them. Additionally, by foregoing clothing entirely (jewellery may still be worn), your Greater Vampiric Damage Reduction is always active. Finally, undead you create gain a bonus to their Charisma equal to the Strength and Dexterity bonus from Undead Mastery.
Book Wyrm
Goal; Establish a library with at least ten thousand books (each submission will be judged)
Reward; A shape shifting dragoness librarian and guardian
You may Kiss the bride
Goal; Turn a Noble or Royal of note into a Revenant (Repeatable)
Reward; Whenever they gain EXP, you gain an amount equal to 10% of it. Additionally, they are all bisexual and fine with sharing.
Devour The Savage
Goal; Kill fifty 'barbarians,' Repeatable
Reward; 250 Mythos Points
Trample Lesser Crowns
Goal; Kill 'Barbarian' Chieftains, Repeatable
Reward; 1000 Mythos Points, +2 ability score of choice
At least, depending on the time involved. Because I WAS going to get gestalt open... as soon as I found out where I was. And when I was at that. Something you always wanted to find out when lost at night in a foreign land and time. Because sure, I had some survival skills. On the other hand? Dropping me off blind and expecting survival was generally the sort of thing you did as an experts test. And I was no where near that level.
Still, no time like the present to learn really!
Well, here was a delight! Civilization, and before sun rise! And a good thing that several of the local languages were downloaded into my head. Because I was fairly sure that the person I was talking to did not speak English. Of course, I lacked the funds to pay for things, but I ;learned enough of where I was that I had an idea of when and where. More as to the where to be honest than anything else. Of course, there remained the question of what to make for my host, a suitable thank you gift.
In a staggering sense of irony? While I knew how to extract iron from creek mud, that tended to take a while, and was not subtle in the least. So, an iron weapon to the first person I encountered, who had taken me in and allowed me to shelter from the light of the sun? I would make sure to him a kindness some day, when I was more able. You know, other than not sleeping with his wives or daughters and avoiding the death of any livestock. As it was, I merely required shade, and so would leave their food and water stocks untouched.
Of course, I did say I was a sorcerer, sundered from my powers as I had been tossed about on arcane winds, but still beholden to powers of the night. In truth, I'm just glad they did not think me a madman to slay out of hand, even as I offered to do what I could where the sun could not touch me. Granted, I think that was more the fact I had obvious visible fangs to go with very pale skin. Nothing that would make me use my limited supply of blood points of course, as while I may be a blood sucking and man eating monster of the night, that did not mean I had to be an asshole about it.
History at times, can change and be fickle. As a wanderer from an unknown land moved south towards Egypt, the threads of fate would start to subtly shift. Starting as little more than a bloody monster, the warrior of the night would come to meet the Pharoah Huni while the later was on campaign in the Sinai. While many at first dismissed him as mad man, he soon demonstrated potent supernatural powers in addition to bein a terrifyingly effective warrior so long as he did not need to fight under the eye of Ra-Amun.
And there was much that this foreign sorcerer, who some said was in truth a demon or god that had been greatly reduced in power could have demanded in return for the prestige of one with such visibly potent gifts. How glad it was, that all he required was a small set of apartments, some gold and the opportunity to go to war as needed. A blessing, and one that would serve well when Snefru took the throne and he was dispatched south ahead of the army, proving to be a most able scout and killer of men.