Elder Evils

will one day awaken and purify the world of all sickness and
filth. (DC 42)
The cults that worship the Hulks compete over the
possession of the Zoretha Scrolls, originally penned
millennia ago by a dwarf priest and war-scribe known to
history only as I Weep. Though I Weep’s insane ramblings
are difficult to decipher, they indicate that through evaluation
of the nightmares of hundreds of different beings,
he was able to discern the Hulks’ true purpose in this
world: The Hulks are forerunners of alien colonization
from a place called Zoretha. If awakened, the Hulks
will begin with the systematic eradication of all life on
the planet to make room for their own horrible alien
offspring, which they will give birth to when the time is
right. (DC 47)
GOALS
The Hulks need some kind of energy infusion to awaken.
For some reason, whatever alien race sent this colonization
unit to the world never saw fit to awaken its representatives.
The Hulks stand conscious but immobile until they can
either make contact with their home realm, wherever that
might be, or inspire mortals to create the circumstances
necessary to bring them to life again. (Knowledge [arcana]
DC 32)
Once awake, the Hulks will seek to purify the world.
Even among scholars and certainly among cultists of
the Hulks, the meaning of this purification is hotly
debated. The purification is necessary to make way for the
Children of Zoretha, the nature of which is also debated.
(DC 37)
In truth, the purification intended by the Hulks of Zoretha
is nothing less than the eradication of sapient life in the
world. If awakened, they intend to destroy all beings that
might conceivably one day compete for land or resources
with the Children of Zoretha. (DC 42)
Consisting of four females and one male, the five Hulks
of Zoretha will begin to breed and spawn when their purification
work is done, filling the world with their own foul
descendants. (DC 47)
THE HULKS OF ZORETHA
IN THE CAMPAIGN
The cults that worship the Hulks of Zoretha have been working
for years to raise their strange stone gods to life. Since
the Five are preparing to finally awaken, it seems as if they
are about to succeed.
Timeline
A possible campaign arc follows, complete with Encounter
Levels so that you can design adventures for the PCs and
include the various events that must occur to awaken the
Hulks of Zoretha.
EL 5: Soelma Nilaenish hires the PCs to discreetly retrieve
property that was stolen by a rival scholar. The property in
question is a copy of the Zoretha Scrolls (see sidebar), and
Nilaenish is concerned about the manuscript falling into
the “wrong hands.” Everything seems completely legitimate,
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THE ZORETHA SCROLLS
Scribed on an unidentifiable material that has somehow
endured the millennia intact, the now-crumbling Zoretha
Scrolls are not inherently magical, nor do they radiate magic
under the effect of a detect magic spell. The words contained
within the scrolls have a magical effect that occurs when
they are read. The scrolls are written in an archaic dialect of
Dwarven that can be read only by a speaker of Dwarven who
makes a successful DC 35 Knowledge (history) check. Even
then, the insane ramblings cannot be correctly deciphered
without a DC 40 Knowledge (arcana) check. The scrolls don’t
need to be understood to take effect; simply reading them
is enough.
Every hour spent reading the Zoretha Scrolls increases the
chance of forming a mystical link between the scrolls and the
nightmare beings that inspired them. The chances per hour are
cumulative.
Sign Intensity Chance Per Hour of Forming Link
None 2
Faint 5
Moderate 10
Strong 25
Overwhelming 100 (link is instantaneous)
a reader while awake. This has no effect on spellcasting but
causes Wisdom damage to be cumulative each hour until the
reader stops reading the scrolls.
Only one or two copies (in addition to the original scrolls)
should exist in a given game world, since making a copy requires
a scribe to voluntarily and permanently give up her sanity.
Copies are usually in book form. No written translation has ever
been completed.
Readers who maintain their sanity can learn from the Zoretha
Scrolls. With a successful DC 40 Knowledge (arcana) check, the
first 5 hours of reading reveals all the information contained in
the Background and Goals sections above. Each additional 5
hours (and another check) allows a reader to learn one of the
following facts:
1d8 Result
1 The five Hulks are connected with the elements.
2 The colors and basic appearance of the Hulks.
3 One of the three chants needed to awaken the
Hulks.
4 One of the six material components of the
awakening ritual. (All are rare and expensive and can
be clues to help the PCs fi nd the whereabouts of
NPCs if necessary.)
5 How to conduct the ritual.
6 The Hulks have breath weapons.
7 One Hulk is faster than the others and flies.
8 The location of the Hulks.
If a link is formed, it remains open until the reader stops reading.
While the link is open, anyone reading or touching the
scrolls is affected by the Hulks’ dark visiting malefic property,
but the sign can affect any character, and the nightmares plague
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CHAPTER 4
THE HULKS OF
ZORETHA
49