CRESSIDA VALLIS A minor noble whose family emigrated from Illyria ahead of the Mharoti Empire’s conquest, Lady Cressida Vallis’s father was exposed as the head of a slaving ring and sentenced to execution. Unsatisfied with his punishment, the judge decreed that he would be excommunicated by all the temples of the Crossroads, as would his …
The Song Undying: Salamondre’s Second-In-Command Read More »
Salamondre Vacarro Salamondre was well known in Zobeck and elsewhere years before he founded his religion. As a bard, Salamondre was a renowned dirgist, having composed for and sung at the funerals of dignitaries, nobility, and wealthy patrons. And then the bard’s parents died suddenly, one after the other. His mother succumbed to a sudden …
The Song Undying: A New Cult, Its Leader, and a Terrible Relic Read More »
Environs of Niflheim A great plain of ice, devoid of plants and animals, the environment of Niflheim is inhospitable to life. In addition to the bone-chilling cold, dangerous foes lurk amid the twilit landscape. The worst of the dark souls confined to this place are transformed into tvierherjar (see Creature Codex) by Nidhogg. They do …
Harbingers of the Yawning Void: Hvergelmir & Niflheim Read More »
LEVELS 10–12 The Cursed Madstone. While cities have streets lined with temples and assorted apothecaries and doctors to deal with sickness, in rural areas and borderland settlements, those not lucky enough to have a healer in residence must rely on itinerant clergy or other wandering healers to come through. Those without clerical magic rely on …
Harbingers of the Yawning Void: Cult Activities and Adventure Hooks, Part 3 Read More »
Curse of Dissipation To enact this curse, the Harbingers will conduct a ritual to affect a thing or place already tainted by the Void—the lair of a creature associated with the Void, a battleground where Void spells were cast, or a spellbook containing Void magic—to direct the taint in a specific fashion. The curse afflicts …
Heralds of the Yawning Void: More Dangers from the Darkness Read More »
Insatiable Brood These ravenous beasts are always found in great, gnawing swarms. Each individual of a brood is a head, slightly larger than a human fist, with bulging black eyes and an enormous mouth lined with uneven, jagged teeth. Slimy tails trail away from the back of the head, and wasp-like wings protrude from where …
Heralds of the Yawning Void: Denizens of the Utter Black Read More »
NEW CULT SPELLS These spells have been developed by the cult. CURSE OF DISSOLUTION 4th-level necromancy (Void)Casting Time: 1 actionRange: TouchComponents: V, SDuration: Concentration, up to 1 minute You speak a phrase of Void Speech as you touch a creature. That creature must succeed on a Charisma saving throw or be cursed for the duration …
Harbingers of the Yawning Void: Dark Magics and Fell Relics Read More »
LEVELS 10–12 A major metropolis is in turmoil. The city-state is on the verge of total anarchy. A disease has broken out in the poorer sections and threatens to become a full-borne plague, even though those quarters have been locked under quarantine under threat of death. Doomsayers walk the streets, prophesying the end times. Suicides …
Harbingers of the Yawning Void: Cult Activities and Adventure Hooks, Part 2 Read More »
LEVELS 1–3 Outbreaks of seemingly senseless and motiveless violence are causing unrest in the city. Young people are coming home bruised and bloody, refusing to tell their parents how they received their injuries. Overseers puzzle over laborers arriving late to work with black eyes and limping gaits. Soon after, a series of seemingly random attacks …
Harbingers of the Yawning Void: Cult Activities and Adventure Hooks Read More »
For rank-and-file members of the cult, you can use the void cultist, and the void speaker makes an excellent cult leader (both found in the Creature Codex). The satarre destroyer and satarre mystic from Tome of Beasts 2 can function as more powerful members of the cult. The following NPCs can also be used as …
Harbingers of the Yawning Void: Followers and Minions Read More »
Leaders, Organization, and Goals The Harbingers of the Yawning Void accept any and all creatures into their ranks, so long as they carry the darkness in their hearts and yearn for entropy. However, the solid rank and file of the cult are the satarre. Leading these satarre are a handful of powerful individuals, mostly potent …
The Gyrfalcon Repository Built of whitewashed sandstone, this compound stands on a lonely plateau in the arid hills southwest of Corremel in Nuria Natal. The repository is about an hour’s walk from the main trade route. A prominent domed building rings a central garden decorated with statuary of the birds that give the place its …
Secrets of the Emerald Order: The Gyrfalcon Repository Read More »
THE APPROPRIATOR An appropriator is sent by the Emerald Order to obtain important information and items by any means necessary. The appropriator is as much a skilled merchant as professional burglar, and if one method fails, they will use the other to ensure the order has what it wants. A magic sigil, tattooed upon the …
Secrets of the Emerald Order: Agents and Operatives Read More »
The Emerald Order goes to great lengths to protect the knowledge they possess. Among the other secrets they have divined from the Emerald Tablet is the ability to create undying guardians through sacrifice. When creating a new repository for knowledge, senior members of the Emerald Order will take a willing volunteer and entomb them within …
The Emerald Order is a group steeped in magic. With the Emerald Tablets holding the secrets of the universe, the devout and high-ranking members of the order can glean much arcane knowledge from them. The order also creates and collects many strange and powerful magical items, often aided by the knowledge contained in the tablets …
The Emerald Order is one of the few organizations in Demon Cults & Secret Societies that is not actively malicious. There are certainly many evil members who pursue their studies in the order for personal power and gain; however, their overall goals are not necessarily evil. In the first installment, we provided you with an …
Secrets of the Emerald Order: Emerald Order Initiate Read More »
