Elder Evils

Through these inscriptions, he discovered the incantation
to let him transcend mortality at a terrible price—the
lives of his congregation. For this prophet, no price was too
high, and on one bloody night he instructed his priests to
round up the followers and slaughter them all. When they
finished, Kyuss murdered the murderers. With the blood of
thousands staining his hands, he turned to the great obelisk
his servants had pulled from the earth and intoned the
words to begin his transformation. When he was finished,
he stepped into the stone, fusing his essence with the foul
rock, gaining and losing his divinity in one moment. He
was neither mortal nor god—he was something far worse.
(DC 45)
GOALS
Kyuss hungers for conquest. Trapped within his prison, his
fractured mind conceives and discards innumerable plots
to escape. No idea is sufficient to break his bonds, no trick
shrewd enough to let him slip free. Instead, he beats against
the walls and howls with a thousand voices. (Knowledge
[religion] DC 25)
Aside from the confinement he endures, his frustration
stems from the knowledge that, if he could break free, he
would set in motion the events to lead up to the last age of
mankind—the mysterious Age of Worms. Throughout his
long life, he has caught glimpses of this time when he is the
master, the lord and ruler of all things. He covets this end,
for he knows by achieving it he will rise in power and attain
the godhood he seeks. (DC 30)
THE WORM THAT WALKS
IN THE CAMPAIGN
The Worm that Walks is easy to incorporate into a campaign
because of its association with several lesser creatures such as
the spawn of Kyuss, the avolakia, and the ulgurstasta. Using
these adversaries helps plant the seed of Kyuss in your players’
minds so when you reveal the elder evil’s true nature, it’s a
logical resolution for the campaign.
TIMELINE
Use the following timeline as a guide for constructing a campaign
where the Worm that Walks figures in as a principal
villain. This campaign incorporates information found in
Exemplars of Evil. If you do not have this supplement, you can
substitute other characters and adventure hooks.
EL 3 (Faint Sign): Sealed away in his prison beneath his
family estate, Edwin Tolstoff urges his grandchildren to kill
their mother and become his servants. He uses his heirs to
release him from his vault (see Exemplars of Evil).
As this terrible act occurs, spawn of Kyuss (MM2 186)
appear. From old dungeons, ruins, and forgotten castles, these
undead spread through the land, and numerous rewards can
be claimed for defeating this new infestation.
EL 6: The characters find themselves drawn into a
murder mystery while spending some time in a large
city. They identify the killer as a wicked wererat whisper
gnome named Draen. This knowledge leads the characters
to the lycanthrope’s mistress, Katarin Tolstoff, who flees
to escape the adventurers. If the PCs follow her, they
come upon her family’s castle, where they face terrifying
obstacles and see a glimpse of what horror shall awaken
later in the campaign.
EL 9 (Moderate Sign): Weeks later, the characters are back
in the large city when they hear reports of citizens vanishing
from the streets, their homes, and even their beds. The
mood is sullen, and the locals are demanding that the mayor
do something about the kidnappings. Since the characters
were so helpful the last time they were there, the mayor
approaches them about his predicament. If the PCs become
involved, they track the missing citizens to a temple buried
below the city. There, a mad avolakia (MM2 28) infects the
captives with bright green worms to transform them into
spawn of Kyuss. Even if the PCs defeat this villain and thwart
its plans, rumors tell of similar disappearances occurring all
over the nation.
EL 12: Months later, the player characters come to another
city for training, rest, and to resupply. When one of the spellcasters
goes to the wizards’ guild to purchase magic items or
stock his spellbook, he finds the place is empty. Investigation
reveals that the place has been ransacked and the wizards
and staff have been transformed into undead horrors. While
fighting the undead, the PCs rescue a few survivors, who
provide a description of the thief: Edwin. They reveal that
although an assortment of smaller items were taken, the most
devastating loss was a well of many worlds.
EL 15 (Strong Sign): By now, the spawn of Kyuss have
infested the countryside, wreaking havoc with smaller
communities and besieging cities. Panic rules the land
and people take desperate measures to protect themselves
and their families. The Herald of Kyuss, at Edwin’s behest,
seeks out the PCs, posing as an NPC ally the characters met
earlier. He claims that the true culprit behind the unusual
phenomena is a powerful wild mage named Emirikol
the Chaotic. The Herald “believes” the wizard intends to
plunge a sphere of annihilation into the well of many worlds
and thus erase the world and perhaps all worlds. He asks
CHAPTER 9
THE WORM
THAT WALKS
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SIGN: INFESTATION
Vermin swarm out from Wormcrawl Island under the influence
of the obelisk.
The following guidelines apply to encounters involving the
PCs.
Faint: There is a 10% chance each week of encountering four
Medium monstrous centipedes or a centipede swarm (depending
on party level).
Moderate: As faint, but the check is once per day and the creatures
are three centipede swarms or six Gargantuan monstrous
centipedes.
Strong: As moderate, but the check occurs one every 1d4 hours
and the creatures are three purple worms or six remorhazes.
Overwhelming: As strong, but the check frequency is once
per hour and the chance increases to 20%.
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