An Ahistorical Hex-Mas Crawl for Mid-Level Characters From the introduction: The year is 2 BCE. King Herod governs Judea as a client of the Romans. He is a madman who rules with fear and murder. His seers and wizards tell him that a time of great change is approaching, that a new king of the Jews will be born and lead to his downfall, heralded by a blazing star. This child will be born sometime soon, as the star reaches its zenith. Herod’s secret police and assassins are combing the countryside, slaying all infant boys between birth and two-years old.