Elder Evils

ENCOUNTER 9-3
142
T
HE OBELISK
Encounter Level 20 or 21
SETUP
The Worm that Walks is sealed within a great black obelisk.
It looms above the shattered and polluted ground,
pulsing with fell energy. Have the players place their
miniatures along a map edge appropriate for the direction
they are traveling.
If the PCs arrive at the obelisk at any time before the
Worm’s sign is overwhelming, Edwin is here preparing to
direct the sphere of annihilation into the well of many worlds.
Once Edwin completes this task, it takes 5 rounds for the
Worm that Walks to emerge.
When the PCs have placed their miniatures, read:
At the center of the island rises a great black
obelisk standing over 100 feet tall. Carved onto its
surface are bright green whorls and wriggling
lines shining with sick light. The ground all
around it is broken and wisps of ochre mist spew
forth from the depths.
If Edwin is here and has not yet placed the sphere of
annihilation inside the well of many worlds, read:
A robed figure stands before the obelisk, though
from its movements it’s clear something is not quite
right. The being turns, revealing a porcelain mask
in the shape of an elderly man’s face. You spot a
mass of writhing worms as they squirm through
the eyeholes. Behind the creature, hovering in the
air, is a ball of utter blackness.
If Edwin has already completed the ritual to release
Kyuss, read:
A robed figure stands laughing before the black
pillar. The markings flare with life and then fade.
The ground trembles, and spiderweb fractures
spread across the obelisk’s surface.
A great sucking noise rattles the earth as the air
around you rushes toward a gaping black hole at
the obelisk’s base.
After 5 rounds, read:
With a great shudder, chunks of stone fall away
from the obelisk and into the sucking hole. Buried
inside the rock is a squirming mass of maggots and
worms, all crawling with filthy roaches and bits of
old meat and bone. The thing pours out of the rock
into a growing pile and takes the vague shape of a
giant. Red eyes flare with malice as the maggots
diverge to form a mouth. From the depths you hear
rustling laughter.
Edwin Tolstoff CR 18
hp 155 (16 HD)
See page 132 for statistics.
Worm that Walks CR 20
hp 412 (25 HD); regeneration 10; DR 15/epic and good
See page 130 for statistics.
TACTICS
Edwin must direct the sphere of annihilation into the well of
many worlds. He must succeed on a DC 30 control check.
His check modifier, with the talisman of the sphere, is +36.
Edwin then fights the PCs until his master emerges.
He uses spells to cause trouble and prevent the PCs from
drawing too close to the shuddering well, using waves of
fatigue followed by insect plague.
He then casts a mix of offensive spells such as disintegrate,
enervation, wrack, and clutch of Orcus, targeting PCs
who seem to take an interest in the well of many worlds.
After 5 rounds, Kyuss bursts free, erupting from the obelisk
as a flood of worms and maggots that quickly assumes
the form of a giant humanoid. Edwin casts word of recall to
a place of your choosing and Kyuss attacks the PCs. The
Worm that Walks hammers at the characters with its slam
attack, using its worm-smite ability on the first round.
Kyuss then casts dominate monster on a melee combatant,
instructing the PC to turn against his comrades. Kyuss
fills out the next few rounds with maximized lightning
bolts, waves of exhaustion, widened chain lightning, and a
mixture of other offensive spells until he can use wormsmite
again.
If at any time Kyuss is reduced to 100 hit points or
fewer, he discorporates and slithers off to re-form 1d6
hours later.
Although the procedure Edwin uses to release the
Worm that Walks should succeed, it has other unforeseen
consequences. The sphere becomes a “black hole,”
annihilating everything in existence. If abandoned,
it picks up speed and power, drawing the island, the
waters, the air and everything else on the Material Plane
into its dimensional fissure, erasing all existence in
1d12+6 minutes.