Elder Evils

FEATURES OF THE AREA
Blood Rock: Any roll of a natural 19 or 20 hits and threatens
a critical hit while the attacker stands in a blood rock square.
Feats or spells that enhance a weapon’s threat range don’t
modify blood rock’s effect. Only melee attacks are affected by
this terrain.
Worms: These spaces contain the worms of Kyuss. A character
moving through one of these spaces becomes infested with
a worm. The worm is a Fine vermin with AC 10 and 1 hit point.
It can be killed with normal damage or by the touch of silver.
At the end of the character’s next turn, the worm burrows into
its host’s flesh (a creature with a +5 or greater natural armor
bonus is immune to this effect). The worm makes its way to its
victim’s brain, dealing 1 point of damage each round for 1d4+1
rounds. At the end of that period, it reaches the brain, where it
deals 1d2 points of Intelligence damage each round until it’s
killed or it slays its host, which occurs when the victim’s Intelligence
is reduced to 0.
A remove curse or remove disease effect destroys the worm
while it’s within the host. Dispel evil or neutralize poison delays
the worm’s progress for 10d6 minutes. A successful DC 20
Heal check extracts the worm and kills it in the process.
A Small, Medium, or Large creature slain by the worm
rises as a spawn of Kyuss (MM2 186) 1d6+4 rounds later.
Smaller creatures rot away, while larger creatures gain the
zombie template.
Fissure: There are two types of fissures found on the
battlefield. Small fissures cost 2 squares of movement to
enter and increase the DC of Tumble checks by 2. Wide fissures
are 30 feet deep. It takes a DC 10 Climb check to climb the
fissure’s walls.
Characters ending their movement in a space containing a
small fissure or adjacent to a space containing a wide fissure
must succeed on a DC 25 Fortitude save or contract Kyuss’s
gift. The incubation period is instantaneous, and the disease
deals 1d6 points of Constitution damage and 1d4 points of
Wisdom damage.
Obelisk: Before Kyuss escapes the obelisk, the stone emits
an aura of madness in a 20-foot radius. Each round on its turn
a living creature remains in the area, it must succeed on a DC
25 Will save or take 1d4 points of Wisdom damage. This is a
supernatural effect. Once Kyuss escapes, the aura ceases.
Obelisk’s Shadow: A character in the shadow of the obelisk
takes a –2 circumstance penalty on Will saves.
Sphere of Annihilation: Until Edwin places the sphere into
contact with the well of many worlds, it functions normally (DMG
279). Once the procedure is complete, the resulting tear pulls
air, fine creatures, and debris toward it. After the first minute,
the effect intensifies, and all characters must succeed on DC
15 Balance checks. A failed check means the character falls
prone. A check failed by 5 or more indicates the character falls
prone and slides 1d2×5 feet toward the sphere. Each minute
thereafter, the Balance DC increases by 5. After 3 minutes,
flying anywhere within 100 feet is impossible, and such characters
are automatically sucked into the sphere unless they
succeed on a Reflex save against the Balance check DC.
ENCOUNTER 9-3
The bizarre circumstances of this ritual modify the
usual effects that occur when someone attempts to destroy
a sphere of annihilation. Casting a gate spell on the sphere
catapults everything within a 180-foot radius into an alternate
Material Plane. Touching the sphere with a rod of
cancellation causes the sphere to explode and deals 20d6×10
points of damage to everything in a 600-foot radius. At
your option, once the Worm that Walks has been dealt
with or has left the island, a divine power can intervene
to stop the catastrophe.
A gate spell or a rod of cancellation has the same effect if
used on the sphere before it reaches the well of many worlds.
If the sphere is sent to an alternate Material Plane, the obelisk
goes along with it (and probably the PCs as well). Edwin
will continue with his ritual, moving the sphere of annihilation
toward the obelisk. If the sphere is destroyed by a rod
of cancellation, Kyuss is set free after 10 rounds, but he takes
20d6×10 points of damage as though he had been in range
of the explosion.
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