So I'm working on putting together a new Elder Evil for a Pathfinder game and I'm a little stuck on coming up with what it's sign would be.
The concept is that this entity was at the forefront of the conflict between the forces of Reality and the forces of the Outside during a war in which the barrier between the two was created. The Elder Evil was the leader of the Outside forces and was supposedly destroyed by the Gods.
Instead, a few cells of the Entity survived and ended up trapped in Reality. In order to survive and heal, it infiltrated its cells into living creatures and then letting its awareness fade away.
As time wore on the cells that contained pieces of the Elder Evil replicated and were passed on, with each division creating more and more. They were passed on to new generations and it eventually came to be that just about every intelligent mortal on the material plane had a piece of the Elder Evil in every cell in their body.
The effect wasn't exactly detrimental though. While the gods gave mortals life and the gifts of their domains, the Elder Entity provided the inspiration to combine those gifts and see things in new lights. It's existence helped guide progress to the point at which the campaign has reached.
When it wakes up, it will present itself as something similar to Legion from Castlevania, and the fate of humanity in Neo Genesis Evangelion as intelligent beings basically become the cells and pieces of it's own monstrous body.
I'm just not sure what to do about the signs on the way to that point. Suggestions?
I am fairly new to GM'ing myself so i appologize if my sugestion is a little to obvious to be called a sign.
You could have them run into some kind of cult that wants said evil to come about where they have been doing experiments on various citizens that were basically designed to speed up the process of turning them into the "cells" of the elder.
Obviously it would call for a few good k. (fill in the blank) checks and maby some talking with the nearest high priest. And if you wanted to spice it up a bit you could have the cultests set up a trap that fills the room with a gas that they use to mutate the experiments bodies. I always thought that a little bit of "oh crap we gotta find a cure" is a good way to turn up the drama a bit.
I'm reminded of a past campaign in which I had the gnomish race awakening to the existence of a new form of magic (based on classical philosophy/alchemy though using the psionics rules). An ancient and powerful dwarf psion wanted to emancipate the gnomes from their elven subjugation and so had built a great psionic construct to broadcast dreams to help guide the gnomes in the mysterious ways of this new magic. Most of the dreams revolved around various alchemical puzzles and riddles they were meant to solve as a part of their growing awareness; most prominent among these was a magic square [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_square].
During their waking hours the gnomes began to gather in small informal groups to excitedly discuss their shared dreams while trying to puzzle out the meaning and purpose behind them. As time passed the gnomes grew ever more obsessed with the dreams and their mysterious puzzles; whiling away their free time doodling magic squares and working their way through ever more elaborate mathematical/philosophical formulae. When their elven overlords began growing suspicious of these activities the gnomes became secretive. They started to congregate in the evenings in secret places to meditate and experience their dreams communally. In doing so the gnomes began to experience a growing collective subconscious. Eventually the congregations evolved into a sort of gnomish mystery cult split up into secret cells operating in tandem to solve the philosophical/alchemical puzzle. The end result? The gnomes began accessing and manifesting psionic powers and even succeeded in pooling their power together so as to create a psionic spellpool (accessible by taking levels in the Colourless Adept prestige class from Hyperconscious). Their group & expanding hivemind/spellpool became known as "the Gestalt".
I'm thinking that your awakening Elder Evil might initially manifest in a similar fashion. Initially it'd just be a series of shared dreams that a segment of the populace is experiencing. At first they're curious and excited to share their impression of it with each other. But as time passes those who are in the know grow more secretive around those who are excluded, who themselves grow more suspicious and fearful. An initial sign is that graffiti with subversive messages and cryptic symbolism become evermore commonplace. Eventually the Elder Evil can begin subtly guiding the actions of its legion members; discreet manipulations that further its own reformation. As Hyperion suggested, these activities could involve some sort of ritual which can awaken those with latent cells to the hivemind. They'd be doing this with the self-assurance that they're helping to share their "gift" with others less fortunate than they. The next sign (and the scariest of all) is when the Legion begins to emerge from the shadows to operate openly in the light of day; their numbers and influence so great that they have no need to fear reprisals. Eventually the Legion of the Elder Evil becomes an omnipresent juggernaut which threatens to establish a New World Order if the PCs don't intervene.
I am fairly new to GM'ing myself so i appologize if my sugestion is a little to obvious to be called a sign.
You could have them run into some kind of cult that wants said evil to come about where they have been doing experiments on various citizens that were basically designed to speed up the process of turning them into the "cells" of the elder.
Obviously it would call for a few good k. (fill in the blank) checks and maby some talking with the nearest high priest. And if you wanted to spice it up a bit you could have the cultests set up a trap that fills the room with a gas that they use to mutate the experiments bodies. I always thought that a little bit of "oh crap we gotta find a cure" is a good way to turn up the drama a bit.
First of all, don't apologize for being a new GM. Fresh perspectives and ideas are what make this game run, and most people are more than happy for the help.
Besides, I was also trying to figure out what would help it wake up and you've just helped clinch it, since it clicks perfectly with another inspiration source for the overall entity (the Parasite Eve movie/novel).
I should have clarified a bit on what I meant by Sign though.
One of the last 3.5 books WotC put out was called Elder Evils, and it was about ending a Campaign with a bang. Basically entities so powerful that their mere waking up is likely going to cause a minor apocalypse that changes the world forever. There's an "undead moon" that sucks all life from the planet, and an entity that warps all life around it into what it wants. There are unkillable demon and devil lords that were cast out by their own, and an Aberration who's awakening blots out the sun and plunges the world into a permanent winter, to name a few.
Fun book.
Anyway, as they awaken they cause some form of change to the world/environment. For example, one of the sample ones they have starts with everything growing at an enormous rate. Crops grow at an enormous rate, bringing lots of food (Yay!) but other vegetation is causing issues because they're growing too quickly too (all the foot paths and game trails in the woods disappearing in a day). As time goes on creatures start warping into Pseudonatural creatures, lose the ability to sleep and go insane, and everyone starts to heal at a tremendous rate (but explode if they don't constantly harm themselves so the healing doesn't do too much).
The End Goal for this Elder Evil's Sign is that humanoids must make a saving throw or collapse into goo, which then flows off to become part of the Elder Evil, their mind, body and soul subsumed by it.
I'm just not sure where to begin with it and how to bring it to that point.
I'm thinking that your awakening Elder Evil might initially manifest in a similar fashion. Initially it'd just be a series of shared dreams that a segment of the populace is sharing. At first...
Hmm... good ideas... How did your campaign go?
The shared dreams are an idea, but I was thinking about a slightly less overt message from the EE. But you've given me a great idea with the ideas of subversion and the mobs and such. As something that is in humanoids and will use them to forge it's own body, it will want as many alive as possible for that time.
Signs
Faint: A swelling of peace and understanding occurs among humanoids, granting a small bonus to diplomacy and sense motive. Less fighting all over the world.
Moderate: (Unsure, but should have something that's becoming an issue and harming people and society. Possibly something to do with emotions calming down to a point where people start to care less and less about things that were important, possibly like a calm emotion spell.)
Strong: (Unsure, but has to be something that causes wide spread chaos and probably death. Possibly people all over the world simply sit and wait for "something" as a peaceful malaise falls over them, leading to no one taking care of food production/procurment, sanitation and other things like that. Some people mutate into some form of violent "Herald" creature.)
Overwhelming: Profit. The entity has awoken and beings to forge its body. Humanoids within the sphere of its influence must make a Fort save (say around 25) once an hour or completely discorporate. This aura increases exponentially per hour.
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What level are you going to run this at? Is it going to be a whole campaign from level 1 to 20?
It doesn't seem like your signs all point in the right direction.
If this creature is trying to reform and absorb I wouldn't think that you would have harmony at the first step and then chaos in the latter two. I see this as a large sort of cancer, something planted as a seed in all life and moving everything back to the collective. Maybe it starts off in the host slowly, even providing some benfits. It wants its seeds to live and not suffer the ravages of famine or war.
Maybe -
1st - Sense of harmony, age old conflict begin to end. Old red-hot rivalries end (to a point of concern to a few perceptive people). Food production is up, blights and plagues are down so it seems like prosperous times are ahead.
2nd - More prosperity, there are talks that some nations may even work together or even merge. Decentralization of power in individual nations, kings step down. People are not turning towards nation or faith for guidance, but a sense of something that is guiding people. Great migrations to specialized or important areas - maybe even one area. Slowly at first but as the compulsions get stronger whole towns and cities are abandoned as people begin their pilgrimage.
3rd - The first major tribulations, areas where people are migrating to have little or no information coming out. PCs would have to start making strong efforts to resist the call and be controlled. Placed emptied by man and life are now slowly opening way to other things, things from the elder evils universe. These creatures don't just desire to kill sentient life, they need sentient life to leave and evacuate the world so they can exist. During this phase I could see some good explorations of towns or cities as they try to pick up clues on this new faith/cult/phenomenon.
4th - As you described, maybe have them join the host mass and body.
The irony here is that a creature like this does not want chaos or death. I wants life, all of it – every little bit of its essence drawn forth.
Anyway, just some ideas. I should know better to post in these kinds of threads but...ah well.
What level are you going to run this at? Is it going to be a whole campaign from level 1 to 20?
It doesn't seem like your signs all point in the right direction.
If this creature is trying to reform and absorb I wouldn't think that you would have harmony at the first step and then chaos in the latter two. I see this as a large sort of cancer, something planted as a seed in all life and moving everything back to the collective. Maybe it starts off in the host slowly, even providing some benfits. It wants its seeds to live and not suffer the ravages of famine or war.
Maybe -
1st - Sense of harmony, age old conflict begin to end. Old red-hot rivalries end (to a point of concern to a few perceptive people). Food production is up, blights and plagues are down so it seems like prosperous times are ahead.
2nd - More prosperity, there are talks that some nations may even work together or even merge. Decentralization of power in individual nations, kings step down. People are not turning towards nation or faith for guidance, but a sense of something that is guiding people. Great migrations to specialized or important areas - maybe even one area. Slowly at first but as the compulsions get stronger whole towns and cities are abandoned as people begin their pilgrimage.
3rd - The first major tribulations, areas where people are migrating to have little or no information coming out. PCs would have to start making strong efforts to resist the call and be controlled. Placed emptied by man and life are now slowly opening way to other things, things from the elder evils universe. These creatures don't just desire to kill sentient life, they need sentient life to leave and evacuate the world so they can exist. During this phase I could see some good explorations of towns or cities as they try to pick up clues on this new faith/cult/phenomenon.
4th - As you described, maybe have them join the host mass and body.
The irony here is that a creature like this does not want chaos or death. I wants life,...
That's perfect! The only things that I think I would add would be at phases two and three.
At phase two there would be the odd person who cannot reach the Destination enter into a blissful catatonia state that nothing could wake them from. I'd add this in simply because I know the PCs would already start to follow the people if only to find out what is going on.
At phase three the rate of catatonics would rise and there would be cases of early dissolution as those dying of disease or starvation (which would probably be rampant around the Destination) dissolve into "goo", which simply sits and waits for the Elder Evil to awaken. Those actually at the Destination are simply too "blissed out" on peaceful thoughts to notice or be concerned.
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Yeah, the part about the following people to the Destination could be a problem. When it first happens the PC will be all over it. In the early stages they can follow them, even reach their destination. After hanging around a bunch of people milling around plus some bad vibes the PC will feel that it is a dead end (at that time at least). In a way it could come off as a weird and powerful experience but the PC will grow tired of milling around with the blissful ones and get back to action. Let them get a couple of leads and move on.
Of course later on in the story if they come back things would be very different. I would suppose the sky, the landscape and what has happened to the people would be very different by the time they consider going back to the "center".
Depending on the PC levels and how long you want this to play out (long or short campaign) you could build it up slowly and yes as you suggested, have some weird spikes and bizarre things occur.
Some who are blocked from the destination could get violent; some who resist the call could get violent (think signals from above/mass mayhem encounters). Maybe trying to warn people incoherently.
Mid-way or nearing the end there will be major disasters. As most of the people leave those left behind will have: less food (production), less defense (encroaching and progressively deformed creatures) and all the problems that come with those things. Those who don't go will be almost as screwed as those who do. Civilization will start to come apart.
On a smaller scale you could have some very cool and disturbing scenarios as you hit the build up.
Some poor bastard who gets accelerated Elder Evil tumors developing prior to exodus/joining the main body - way ahead of schedule.
Imagine tracking down a lone serial killer type, who by all descriptions is changing with each eyewitness encounter. He is trying to resist the call and the changes and he knows that this thing resides in all life and is manifest in his body. The only way to stop it is to kill. Kill as much as he can before he kills himself.
They could fight this guy or even just chase him only to have him turn to sludge right before their very eyes as they capture/disable him.
Run some weird unrelated type encounters/mini-mods early on.
My best experience running horror scenarios is when the players start to place all the strange, inconsistent or unrelated stuff together. When the players slowly start to put the picture together -just by playing, not at the DMs urging - there is usually a strong sense fear and dread which hits them.
The simple stuff could be murders, thefts or even suicides as some sensitive accept or reject the changes which are happening. Some desperate types could even hire the party to help them out - Priest is only one left in his church, a father left and has not returned -was last seen by some loggers staring up at the night sky, etc.
With Horror gaming it is good to give them something, small victories and clues but they should not get the big picture till at least the halfway point or near the end. A series of seemingly unrelated encounters and investigations could tie it all up in a few days to a few years (depending on how long you want this to go) but let them make the connections.
Well, good luck on fleshing this thing out and always remember to be patient.
Getting away from the psychic awakening, you could have people start to notice that their children are starting to resemble one another, even if unrelated. There's an increase in the number of twin births, soon becoming the norm, and the number of cojoined twins rises steadily as the time comes.
Crazy cults start springing up exposing the joys of unification, run by insane surgeons who try to sew living people together, like in the Human Centipede movie.
Your PC's could end up fighting giant creatures made from living people stiched together.
Thought I would throw in a few ideas:
- Random boughts of mass hive-mindedness. When the PC's are talking to a minor NPC in a crowded area, like a merchant in a market, have everyone in site of the NPC's just drop what they're doing, turn around, and answer a PC's question in wide-eyed unison. Then they go about their business as if nothing happened.
- Unexpected allies: You could have an undead cult start making frequent assaults on the new religious movement thats cropping up all over the campaign world. When the PC's finally encounter the lich that leads them or some other key undead NPC, the paladins smite evils, clerics channel positive energies, and other common methods of killing undead start failing. Why? Because the same gods that are supporting the party are doing the same for the lich. This has the added bonus of your players potentially riding dracoliches in the end game.
-The Voices: Due to a strong mental link with everyone around them, the thoughts of others drive people insane. Have these people flip out at random points, and have them skim the memories and surface thoughts of the PCs. You can use this to reveal parts of character backrounds that the party either doesn't know or the character wants to keep hidden, causing the party to A) wonder how she knows these things, and B) start second guessing whether or not the rest of the party can be trusted. Bonus points if you get up and start banging your head against a players chest. They won't see that coming.
- One of US. Cult members start undergoing rituals to absorb other people into themselves, as "vessels of the gathering". Use a captured PC or important NPC in this ritual, and see if the rest of the party can save them.
It kind of reminds me of the Pax on Miranda from Serenity. It also reminds me a bit of that uber-xenophobic alien entity MorningLightMountain from Peter F. Hamilton's "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained" novels.
Faint: Bonuses to Aid Another, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive checks.
Moderate: All are affected by calm emotions and message.
Strong: Creatures become hive minds with all other creatures within 60 feet. Some hiveminds even develop pools of hit points amongst member creatures, like giant versions of swarms.
Overwhelming: Creatures join together into composite creatures, with humanoids transforming into Large 8 legged, 8 armed, 4 mouthed, 8 eyed freaks that use bardic music to buff themselves in horrible harmonies.
Are the characters effected by these things too? If so you could start off by giving them some interesting benifits or at least the option of them with a trait such as
Connected - You have a strong connection to others with this trait and can communicate as if casting the message spell as a free action with them.
This could then be "Upgraded" a few times in the game with better communication abilities such as comprehend languages and tounges, maybe even some teamwork feats...
... untill stage 3 sets in then comes the bad stuff :D