Supplement #7
First Distribution: June 1, 1990
This supplement:
Heroquest Scenario: Black Fang's Temptation (Steve Maurer)
--------------------
From: steve@vicom.com (Steve Maurer)
Subject: Heroquest Scenario: Black Fang's Temptation
Heroquest Scenario
This is an example scenario for Heroquest. It is not the scenario
promised, as I haven't had the time to complete it. However, it does
show an example cult path (though not well known one). Much of the
danger in following this path is due to the secretive nature of the
Cult of Black Fang. Heroquest paths of more well known gods entail far
greater dangers, but are far better mapped (so allowing for greater
preparation).
The original plot for this scenario was gleaned from the writings
of Mike Mittmann (with permission), whose help in clarifying rules
issues has been indispensable. Thanks Mike!
Steve Maurer
steve@vicom.com
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Black Fang's Temptation
This is the first Heroquest of Black Fang, the legendary assassin
of Pavis. His Heroquesting carrier was short, as he called it quits
after his third quest (called "The Unnamed Spirit" by the cult). The
cult's knowledge of Black Fang's Temptation are contained in quotes at
the start of each header. GM notes are written in normal text following.
It is considered a heroquest of rather easy difficulty, but failure
usually spells doom for the quester.
1] The Entrance
"It is written, Incisor of the Fang, that Our Master first
entered Hell from the Puzzle Canal, by entering the deep mouth
grate, and taking the very last passage.
He was escaping from an army of bodyguards of Tzanthur,
ex-High Learner of the Wyrm's friends' empire, whose ex-living
body had just been left to feed fishes at the bottom of said canal."
GM's Notes:
Black Fang entered the heroplane (a portion of hell) from the
last of the three tunnels which enter the Truestone walls of Pavis.
The tunnels have been labelled by Pavis himself, with a saying
chiseled over each: "Here Lies Friends", "Here Lies The Enemy",
and "Here Lies Certain Death". Black Fang was forced to take
the last of these, because he was literally dodging arrow fire
as he entered the tunnel. (Note: these tunnels are also starting
points for Pavis Heroquests, and sometimes guards are sent to
patrol them)
The entrance is a perfectly chiseled 4" by 3" tunnel into
granite; it goes for 1/2 a mile, and becomes pitch black. Then
a soft bluish dweomer can be seen; these are the Truestone walls,
which the tunnel enters (the walls become Truestone). Just as
with the Block, whenever anyone touches these walls, all Rune
Magic is immediately drained. All spells with duration (including
sorcery) are also absorbed, but permanently enchanted objects
do not loose their dweomer. Also, like the Block, those who
touch these walls instantly roll any pending POW increase checks.
2] First Trial: Hell's Guardian
"Not much is known of his passage, but it is said if you desire
the greatest chances of success, it would be best to follow
the footsteps of the Master by also being chased by enemies,
fleeing for your very life. For by escaping death one can
defeat it as well."
GM's Notes:
The Truestone tunnel leads on for several miles, and starts
a steep descent. There is a curious disorientation as this
occurs. Time is weakening. The tunnel tends to amplify sound,
so that voices far away sound like they are close by. This
makes pursuers sound like they are only a few melee rounds behind.
Black Fang was chased even here. Because of this, when he
met his first challenge, he attacked immediately fearing that
he might be taken from behind. This is the only advantage that
fleeing for your life gives, but it is an important one.
The tunnel opens suddenly, into a larger room 20x20 feet (3x3 m),
carved from obsidian. It has an well chiseled open portal on the
other side, which is 4 feet (1.5 m) deep itself. There is a warrior
who stands in the portal, and a bleak landscape lays beyond him.
Nothing else is in the room.
This is a Shadow of Humakt guarding an entrance to hell. The
room is beyond time, so Divine Intervention is useless.
The shadow is not a particularly strong one (for Humakt),
and anyone following BF's path has an advantage because BF
overcame this shadow. However, the Humakti can kill any who
are too weak. All percentages given as specials:
"Death" (Guardian of Humakt)
STR 20 HP 25
CON 30
SIZ 20
DEX 20
POW 15
WIL 20
Runes: 50% Death, 30% Truth, 5% Air, 5% Illusion
Great Sword: 20% (or 2/3 cultists attack, whichever greater)
Spirit Dagger: 20% (special)
Sense Assassin: 10% (50% normal)
Geases: Wear no Armor
Never Ambush
Armor: 4 pts Shield/4 pts Protection (and loincloth)
Magic: All Humakti cult special Rune Magic (as many as needed)
The guardian will speak.
"I am DEATH, the Sword of Humakt. Only the Dead may enter
here. Submit to me, and I shall let you pass."
The Shadow will raise his sword and wait for a response.
It is important for anyone of the Black Fang cult to attack
quickly, before the Shadow can sense the cultist's "assassin"
nature. Every round, until combat has begun, the Humakti has
a 50% chance of Sensing Assassin (if the PC attacks immediately,
there is no chance). Once in combat, the Shadow will not use
his Sense Assassin ability.
If combat is begun without the Shadow sensing assassin,
the combat proceeds normally. If the Shadow notices the
assassin, he will say:
"You offend me, creature of Illusion and Death"
...and, in addition to normal combat, cast a Sever Spirit
every other round.
Note: the portal is so shaped that only one person may
attack at a time. Any magic attacks cast by someone other
than the direct challenger results in a Sever Spirit being
cast back instantly from the Shadow.
If the Shadow "kills" the PC, and has sensed assassin, he
now wills Death on him. If he succeeds, the character is now
dead, and not resurrectable.
If the Shadow "kills" the PC, and has NOT sensed assassin,
he now says the following:
"Dost thou still wish to enter Hell?".
If the character says yes, then the Shadow wills Death on
him, part his spirit, and sends him off to the halls of Judgement.
If the character says no, then the Shadow says:
"You have no choice, mortal one, for ALL paths lead here.
But you have fought well, and now is not your time. Swear
you shall never again attempt to violate the rule of Time
and Death, and I shall leave you go."
Doing so is an Oath, and because of the character's condition
when sworn, any violation of the Oath only allows the character
to resist at 1/2 POW; also, if killed by Oathbreaking, Chalana
Arroys will feel the link to Humakt, and not violate his will
by Resurrecting the oathbreaker, unless given a very good reason.
The PC is then allowed to heal himself, leave back by the tunnel
he came, to face whatever dangers were chasing him.
If the PC "kills" the Shadow, he has won. The Shadow wills
Death on himself, and a spirit parts from the corpse. The
Shadow says:
"You have briefly overcome Death, mortal one, but it shall
eventually overcome you."
The spirit leaves to the halls of Judgement. If the PC
is known to be an assassin, or starts looking to loot the body
before the spirit leaves, the spirit will try to take the two
Spirit Daggers from the body. Otherwise, the daggers will be
on the body for the PC to loot, if he so chooses.
Loot:
Iron Greatsword
2 Spirit Daggers
The blades of these daggers are normally invisible.
On the hero plane they are not. When struck against a
foe they do 1d6 "Magic Points" damage: Spirit Shield and
Spirit Block protect. If the user wishes, on a successful
strike, they may instead generate an automatic success of
any Spirit Magic spell against a target without POW vs POW,
but doing so destroys the dagger.
3] Second Trial: Rapid Descent
"After the Master defeated death at his own game, he found himself
on a black spire. The texts say little, but it is thought that he
must have suffered some humiliating defeat here, for he always spoke
at great length about his triumphs (which were many), but was not
willing to say much about this part of his journey."
The portal opens onto a cliff face, which descends several miles
to a black valley below. Everything is dark here, with a threatening
black sky, streaks of blood red piercing throughout. There is barely
light enough to see.
The cliff is a smooth sheer obsidian, utterly unbreakable. A Spot
Hidden (spcl) will reveal tiny, fingernail-sized holes in the obsidian.
The character is on the Pillar of Obsidian, one of the Seven
Pillars of Stone, and a major component of the broken World Machine.
On a Pavis heroquest, the quester must climb down (trivial for them),
and find the sequence into the central corridor of the Pillar.
A BF cultist must either climb down or leave, there are no
other choices.
With proper equipment (pitons worked on the spot to fit the holes
in the Obsidian pillar), it takes only a Simple Climb roll to walk the
face. Using only your fingers (as someone who is not a master artificer),
it takes 20 Normal Climb rolls (spcls) to descend without falling.
Black Fang didn't make it, neither should the character.
Note: is is perfectly possible for PCs to (if they know how)
invoke the Air rune to fly; this assumes the PC both knows something
about Flying (former Orlanthi?), and has a strong WILL. Doing so
goes off the Path of Black Fang, however. The earth below is Krarsht
country, and VERY dangerous. Go to Krarsht Country following.
4] Third Trial: Wash and Rinse
"In the years of his life, and the Divinations after his death,
all that any have been able to pry out from him is a cryptic
saying: 'Never had I so envied women'. Make of it what you will."
When (if) the PC falls, the darkness will appear to rush up
and reach hungrily for the character. This has one benefit, and
many drawbacks. The benefit is that the character is largely
uninjured. The PC is hit by a freezing splash of water, and
tumbled madly around. Things will be pulled off the character by
the swirling waters, and unless the character resists, he will be
stripped naked by the roaring tumbling black waters.
This is the path of Ahlno ("Riptide"), the greedy one, a lesser
water god who loves treasure. This is a shadow of Ahlno before his
avarice extended to spirits, so he will not use his Will to drown the
character.
If the character attempts to resist, he may select as many items
he wishes to try to keep. Name an object (start with armor), if the
PC resists with STR, allow him to for one round. Next round, he
must roll STR x 3 to hang on, then STR x 2, then STR x 1, continuing
until the character has lost the object. Then the next object is
selected. Non-water magic items are the last to go; Spirit Daggers
the very last.
The character will loose every object, unless he realizes that
the water is intelligent, and will steal everything it sees. The
only way to keep any object is to CONCEAL (Hide Item) it from the
waters.
Do not give the player any hints or INT rolls about this. It is
much more difficult to reason, while being tossed around underwater,
than as a player. Even Black Fang didn't realize this until he lost
nearly everything.
Ahlno has a 25% Ransack "Spot Hidden" (spcl). If the PC makes his
Hide Item (spcl), Ahlno still has a good chance of noticing the attempt.
(Let's face it, it's hard to conceal something from someone that's
touching you all over.) Even so, the player cannot hide anything larger
than SIZ 1, and if male, can hide at most two objects (mouth, and
elsewhere); women can hide three (mouth, elsewhere, and elsewhere).
This is the cause of Black Fang's cryptic comment.
Because Black Fang hid a Spirit Dagger, his path "wants" this to
happen, and the PC gets special aid. The shadow of Ahlno cannot make
(special) his Ransack against either Spirit Dagger.
5] Fourth Trial: The Krarshtkid
"After he suffered, our Master was left only to his most
elemental resources, bereft of nearly all but his keen wit.
Here he met soon to be friend. Yet he remembered his own
first rule here, and was the better for it."
( Black Fang's first rule:
Trust little in your enemies; trust your friends even less. )
The character is thrown naked and shivering onto the shore.
Any Companions are nowhere to be found. They arrive earlier, later,
or some other time at the same spot. But they will probably never
meet each other until after the quest is finished.
There is a Great Krarshtkid progressing along the shore,
moving in great haste. Given the size of the Great Krarshtkid
(Size 50), some mistake it for Krarsht. The character must
hide from this waiting mouth lest he be eaten: BF is not yet
friends with this demon's mother.
If the PC Hides (spcl.), the thing walks by. If he is
seen, he will have one round to do something before being
eaten. He may either run, or hop back into the water. (Any
webbing will be ripped off by Ahlno, and the PC thrown back
on shore further down). Any attempts to talk will result
in immediate attack by the waiting mouth; most likely this
will result in his being eaten.
Great Krarshtkid
STR 50 HP 50
CON 50
SIZ 50
DEX 20
POW 20
WIL 50
Runes: 40% Chaos, 40% Fate, 40% Illusion,
Bite: SR 1 40% (spcl) 8d8
Spit: SR 1 20% (spcl) 4d6 Acid
Tongue: SR 1 25% (spcl) 1d6 Permanent POW (on POW vs POW)
The Giant Krarshtkid makes two attacks per round.
Spot Visually: 15%
Move 5"
If the PC is seen by the Great Krarshtkid, and runs tangentially
away, the demon will leave him alone. It may or may not be
obvious, but the thing is running from something.
6] Fifth Trial: The Spider
"Then he came upon a spider, but realized that, in his condition,
he could not hurt it before it hurt him. So he used the second
rule to his advantage."
( Black Fang's second rule: Conceal yourself; conceal your nature. )
As the PC is walking away from the Krarshtkid, he may see a 2 inch
spider walking down the same trail. To see the spider requires a
Spot roll (spcl). If this is missed, the character continues into
the Krarsht country (see below). Players who know to look for
something, or are specifically looking for a spider here, may get
additional chances, but only after suffering an encounter in Krarsht
country (See below). The Spider is not attempting to hide.
(Those who progress into Krarsht country may see the tracks of
the spider with a Critical Tracking roll)
If the PC sees the spider, he may examine it. It is small and
white, and looks soft. It has tiny glittering eyes, and appears to
be choosing it's way quite carefully among the rocks, and moving at
very fast pace (especially for a 2 inch creature). If the PC gets
closer than about 6 feet, the spider wil stop, and address the
character in a very high, very tiny voice:
"Have you seen any prey around here?"
Talking with the Spider will reveal the following: it hunts "demons";
it has poison which "stops" (kills) anything; it hunts Krarshtkids but
would not mind the PC's help; and it cannot help the PC in any other way.
Any question on how to get out or back will bring a slow wave of it's
head (like it is examining the PC), a soft tisking, followed by the
statement "I see no strand for you".
The spider is a shadow of the original that Black Fang met: a "Mender
of the Web", a lesser angel of Arachne Solarae, one of the deadliest
creatures save a god one can meet. The original was sent here to be a
victim of Black Fang, to aid him in his quest of becoming a non-Chaotic
assassin hero. (The ways of the Spider are complex). As this is only a
shadow, it is not as powerful as the original.
The original Spider's Venom incapacitated instantly, no matter what
the size of the creature. Only a master of the Infinity rune (a god or
superhero) may resist these effects. ( The original spear was lost upon
Black Fang's death; great will be the hero who recovers it for the cult. )
The shadow Spider's Venom is less powerful. It rolls d100 vs the
average of the target's SIZ and CON. If the roll is greater, the
venom causes complete paralysis. On the mundane plane, without instant
Treat Poison or a CONx1 roll, breathing stops and the character suffocates.
On the Heroplane, breathing can stop without necessarily killing the PC.
The Spider ("Mender of the Web")
STR 50 Hits: 8
DEX 80 Defense: 40% (spcl)
SIZ 1/2 Armor: 0
CON 30
INT 30
POW 60
WIL 60
Leap+Bite: 200% (spcl) 1d4 + instant incapacitation SR/1
Spin Thread: 50% (spcl)
Move 6"/Hop 12"
If the PC attacks, the spider bites the cultist, binds him
in it's unbreakable webs, drains him of blood, and will (eventually)
take his spirit off to be reincarnated (i.e. character is dead).
If the PC offers friendship, the spider will trust the PC in
relation to how harmless the PC appears. Those who flew down
from the Obsidian Spire are looked upon warily by the spider.
The spider will offer a reward for helping lead the way to its
escaping prey: "My thread is a very delicate and fine material,
and I would gift you with some".
7] Sixth Trial: The Combat
"And finally, he overcame them both, and bound them into his
service. This is the key to gaining a Spear of Poison, my son.
Incisor that you may be, you are nothing against the creatures
on the Plane of Gods. It is of greatest importance to remember
the third rule here, and strike neither too soon or too late."
(Black Fang's third rule: Only the strong and foolish attack
a wary opponent.)
Slowly, the Spider will catch up to the Great Krarshtkid, and
will do battle with it. There may be a number of encounters on
the way in Krarsht Country (See Below), but the Spider will easily
handle them all. This should not be underemphasized: the Spider
must act in most all ways friendly to the PC, so that if the PC
attacks the Spider, he is aware of how much he owes the creature,
how much a betrayal it is.
When the Spider reaches the Great Krarshtkid, the Spider will
ask for the PC's aid in fighting the Krarshtkid, distracting it,
and perhaps even asking some kinds of advice (for even the Spider
is vulnerable to the Giant Krarshtkid's acid spray).
If the PC wishes to stay back out of the fight, and is completely
stripped of all clothing, he must make a BASIC Oratory roll to
convince the spider he is incapable of doing anything. A PC who
shows a weapon must roll a Normal Oratory (special), and a PC
completely armed and armored (because he didn't fall) must Crit.
If the PC refuses the fight but hasn't convinced the Spider he
is incapable of doing anything, the spider will say: "Perhaps then,
you are a human worshiper of the Maw?". Agreeing is bad (the
spider attacks), disagreeing but not convincing the spider will
cause it to say: "Will you agree then to be bound, while I decide
about your true nature?" Again, disagreement is bad.
(If the PC is bound, he must roll his Escape Bindings (spcl) to
get out of the web the spider puts on him before it goes off to
fight the Giant Krarshtkid.)
The Spider, perhaps accompanied by the PC, attacks the Giant
Krarshtkid. If the PC is anywhere close, the Giant Krarshtkid
will split its attacks between the Spider and the Krarshtkid.
Otherwise, it will concentrate on the spider.
If the PC hangs back, or manages to survive the Giant krarshtkid's
attack, he will (if he so chooses) get a chance to attack. There
are rocks in the area for use as primitive weapons (and perhaps he
managed to conceal one from the Water God). What then, does he choose
to attack?
If the PC fails to attack, or attacks the Krarshtkid, the Spider
returns triumphant. It will then lead the character over the Water
by means of small threads, sling him in a web, and climb the Pillar
of Obsidian, putting the character back. The Spider will thank the
PC, and gift him with one silken thread. It will explain that the
thread may be used to tie one's fate to anyone elses, but "it is
not unbreakable, if you stretch it too far". The spider then leaves.
"Consolation Prize"
Thread of Fate
This acts like the Tie Fate spell from Arenia (the spider
goddess), except that it lasts forever. The effect disappears
either if one travels into the Heroplane, or either party
attempts outrageously suicidal actions.
If the PC attacks the Spider, but fails to kill it, or the PC
smashes the Spider before it has bitten the Giant Krarshtkid, the
PC will die (in one of a number of different ways).
If the PC attacks the Spider just as it is biting the Giant
Krarshtkid, he will void all but 8% (special) of the Spider's Defense.
If the PC merely hits, he must get 8 pts of damage through to
incapacitate the spider. The PC may then continue to crush the
Spider, to prevent it from healing.
8] Forging the Spear of Poison
The PC now has the two things absolutely necessary to forge
a Spear of Poison. He may have two other objects as well: the
Spirit daggers from the Humakti. These will make the job
infinitely easier.
First, the assassin will notice that the Teeth of the Giant
Krarshtkid are very Spear-like. There is one tooth that is
perfectly straight, the rest are slightly crooked; the PC must
roll a Spot to see this (spcl). If he takes a crooked tooth,
the spear will function in hand to hand combat, but not throw
accurately. The assassin must rip the teeth out of the
Krarshtkid to obtain his weapon.
Next, the assassin must bind the spirit of the Krarshtide
(within the Krarshtkid) into the Spear. If he doesn't attempt
this, the spear will last only for a few years, and then decompose.
Binding the Krarshtide requires a Spirit combat vs the POW
20; as a special incentive, the Krarsht spirit has lost none
of its ability to create a chaos wound, to drive the PC insane.
(Normally, it requires a use of the Spirit or Magic rune to force
spirit combat, but the Krarshtkid is more than willing to fight,
under the circumstances).
This combat can be avoided by simply stabbing the Krarshtkid
with the Spirit Dagger, and using its power to make a Spirit
Binding spell (destroying the dagger).
The crushed spider must then be bound into the point of the
spear. Again, if a dagger is expended, this is automatic.
Otherwise, the PC will have to invoke his Spirit or Magic Rune
to force spirit combat (invoking the Death rune will release the
spider's spirit to run away). Also overcoming the Spider's POW
is no mean feat (although the assassin can break off spirit combat
any time he wishes, and might be able to steal Magic Points from
either the Krarshtkid or from a saved Pow Storage crystal).
It is unlikely that the assassin will succeed against the spider
without a Spirit dagger, and will eventually have to continue the
rest of the quest without it.
9] Krarsht Country
"Then he moved across the land, seeking escape, but finding nothing
more than tunnels and pieces of the Hungry One, Krarsht the Eater.
The land was dangerous, but with the Spear of Poison he easily
defeated them all."
On the other side of Ahlno is the Chaos land, infested by Krarsht.
The ground is pockmarked with pits, slime, and corruption. Curious
tunnels delve into the ground at odd angles, and the land seems to
stretch on forever.
The character really doesn't have a choice about travelling through
Krarsht Country, since it stretches in all directions away from the
Pillar of Obsidian. If the character is flies or travels long enough,
he will eventually realize that he is in an enormous tunnel. The Tunnel
of Krarsht.
Many things can be met in this land, most of them deadly. Here
is a small table of typical encounters:
2d6
2 The travelling Maw
3 The Land Tilts
4 Krarshtide
5 Krarshtkid
6 Cultist
7 Worm of Krarsht
8 Insane Ghosts
9 Sacrificial Altar
10 Broken Tooth
11 Chaos Crystal
12 A Stormbull Hero
"A Stormbull hero"
The PC meets a SB hero. He is suspicious. The PC must roll
Oratory or Fast Talk (spcl) to persuade him he's not Chaotic.
( Everything is around here; he smells Chaos everywhere). If the
PC succeeds he will give him one of his weapons. Otherwise he
will attack the PC.
"A Chaos Crystal"
The PC finds a Crystal made of the blood of Krarsht. It is
attunable. It has one of the following properties:
1d4
1 Gain a (free) chaos feature
2 Truenet (Pratzim) Spirit magic matrix (may cast free)
3 User's blood becomes acid: Potency 1d8
4 +20% Sense Law skill
These crystals may be sold for 10,000L to Krarsht temples.
"Broken Tooth"
The PC finds a broken tooth. It may be used as a crude club.
However, wielding it will make the user seem to be a Krarsht
worshiper to the Spider and/or Storm Bull.
"Sacrificial Altar"
The PC finds a large 6 legged stone alter. The top is made of
stone, and there appears to be a tooth-lined tunnel leading down
from the center. Anything thrown into the tunnel (or entering
it), is eaten by the alter (8d6 damage). Note that if something
of value is thrown in, the alter will offer up Krarsht runespells
in return.
"Insane Ghosts"
A number of insane ghosts, victims of Krarshtides, attack.
There are 1d4 which each have a POW of 3d6. If the PC is overcome
he turns insane and joins them. Note that ghosts are visible on
the spirit plane, and these may be a great source of Magic Points.
"Worm of Krarsht"
A worm of Krarsht is here. It is a small Krarshtide. Roll up
a Krarshtide, and halve all resulting numbers (round down). The
Worm will attack the PC, although it won't be too difficult for the
PC to run away, if he thinks about it.
"Cultist"
The ghost of a dead cultist is here. He is armed with Pratzim
and spells.
"Krarshtkid"
A Krarshtkid attacks by surprise from under the ground.
"Krarshtide"
A wandering Krarshtide spirit is here. It will seek to attack
the PC by surprise, and drive him insane.
"The Land Tilts"
The land suddenly tilts 45 degrees (bad if the PC is already
on a slope). The PC takes 1d100 damage. If the PC is crushed,
roll for runic-train Death to see if the PC voluntarily discorporates.
Otherwise, the PC may heal himself with spells or Will/Fertility.
"The travelling Maw"
A Maw, a great spirit of Krarsht, is here. It opens a pit around
the character. Unless the character can fly, he is consumed.
Note that while these appear to be "random" encounters, they aren't
really. They are static events which exist, and always will exist in
this place beyond Time. They lay like a minefield across the PC's path.
But if the PC follows the path of Black Fang perfectly, he will not
meet anything more dangerous than a Krarshtkid (easily dispatched by
the Spear), because Black Fang did not do so either.
10] The Hungry One
"Until finally, he came to the Maw of the Hungry one, and looked
upon the horror, greatness, and power of her.
He fell under her power, and would have been eaten, save that he
threatened her, and she became fearful. This is one of his
greatest feats, and it is not easy to repeat it, unless you follow
his footsteps exactly."
No matter what tunnel the PC takes (for everything is a tunnel here)
he will end up near the Maw of the Hungry One, for Krarsht is the chaotic
counterpart to Arachne Solara. She sits at the center of her woven web
of tunnels, which undermine the world (just as the Spider's Webs hold it
together), and waits for all she ensnares to come into her power.
(The only exception is that it is possible for those who have mastered
flying, to reenter the Pillar of Obsidian, and exit. This option is
best taken by those who have not completed the other tasks as building
the spear.)
The Hungry One lives at the bottom of a huge pit, which Krarsht
Country eventually turns into. PCs following the path of Black Fang
will notice that the ground slopes steeper and steeper down, and that
the sky is becoming more visible as a ceiling. Those who walk through
one of the maze of tunnels below Krarsht country, will find it is a
side tunnel opening to the Maw.
Krarsht herself is the size of a small Dragon: about 1 kilometer
across. She is attended by many servants, and her power is obvious
to see. Constantly falling into her mouth from side tunnel chutes,
are various items, people, spirits, and oddments. These fall screaming
into her Maw, and disappear forever. Krarsht herself never chews,
but waits patiently, to be fed. She also never speaks.
Krarsht is also quite obviously wounded, great open gouges exist
all along her sides. These are the wounds of the Bull, and cause
continuing and eternal agony to the Hungry One.
When the PC sees Krarsht, he must roll a WILL x 1 roll to keep from
climbing down towards her. For a terrible curiosity seizes the
PC as to what the inside of her mouth looks like. What it would feel
like to become the food of a God, one's elemental components becoming
part of a true divinity. The PC will realize what this means, but
unless the WILL roll is made, he will be unable to break the compulsion.
Rerolls are allowed at WILL x 1/2, WILL x 1/4, down to 1%.
Krarsht will notice the PC as he approaches. She will eat him
unless he threatens to hurt her. While this may sound silly, Krarsht
is essentially cowardly. The PC must make an appropriate threat
to scare Krarsht into believing he has some (even absurdly slight)
chance of hurting her. She doesn't take chances.
This can be abstracted to a Fast Talk roll (special). The following
modifiers apply: PCs who posses the Intimidation (special Black Fang
cult skill) may use that instead at +10% (special) bonus, if the PC is
not under compulsion (+10%), if the PC has a functional Spear of
Poison (+40%), the Spear without the poison +5%, if the PC has
followed the path of Black Fang exactly +10%.
Example: Big Louie has made it to Krarsht, having assembled a
Spear of Poison, but not exactly following the path of
Black Fang (he didn't bind the Krarshtide into the tooth,
his spear will eventually fall apart). He has an Intimidate
of 120% basic. He is under the compulsion. His chance
is: (120 / 5) + 10 (for using Intimidate) + 40 (for the
spear) = 74% chance.
Note that the above need not be abstracted. Let the player try
to think up all sorts of deadly threats, and try to make them sound
believable. ( "You got a nice open wound there... want some poison
in it?" )
If the PC fails this roll, but had over a 70% chance of making it,
Krarsht will send up one of her Great Krarshtkids to fight the PC; to
see if he's just bluffing. If the PC wins, he gets a reroll at +10%.
Otherwise if he fails, Krarsht will attack. She may be injured
by the PC, but the PC will not return.
11] The Gifts of Krarsht
"So she released him, and offered him many gifts. But using
the first rule, he decided it would be best to take only the
very best, and leave the others alone."
If Krarsht doesn't attack, this means she has been impressed.
This means two things: first she doesn't want to fight, and second
she wants the PC to become her servant. The Hungry One is always
looking for new and better servants to do her will on the Surface
World. She satisfies these desires in order.
First, she provides the PC with an exit. Almost immediately, a
side tunnel is dug by a Krarshtkid near the PC, which heads away
from the body of Krarsht. Whatever compulsion to get near the
Waiting Mouth immediately disappears. So far as the PC can see, it
is remarkably straight (very unlike most Krarsht tunnels), and seems
head up. (Yes, it's an exit to the surface; it appears somewhere
within 50 miles/80 km of Pavis).
Second, Krarsht offers gifts. Krarshtkids and cultists lay
out various gifts: weapons, vials, pratzim, talismans. These
are the gifts of Krarsht. They are also all traps. Black Fang
took the best gift -- freedom -- and left all the others.
Each gift has a spirit within it. When touched, they each
impart a simple understanding of the power they give. To accept
a gift, all the use must do is allow the spirit to possess him.
The spirits will not attempt involuntary possession.
Also, unstated, each spirit also brings with it "free"
initiation into the cult of Krarsht, the mark of Chaos, and a
start of the PC on a slow, unstoppable, transformation into a
Krarshtkid. The speed at which this transformation progresses
depends on how often the PC uses these abilities. Never using
any would bring it about in 100 years. Transformation occurs
inside out, so that the PC may first think them a benefit
(i.e. the PC gains STR, CON, POW, etc. first). The external
sprouting of legs and other effects of physical transformation
happens last.
Note: once he accepts a gift, the PC is effectively a
krarshtkid, and can be bound as an allied spirit by a runemaster
of Krarsht (via POW vs POW); such "disguised-krarshtides" are
very lusted after by priests and lords of Krarsht.
The Gifts:
Tooth of Krarsht
Possessor gains a 400% (base) bite attack; bite also
does user's CON in poison damage.
Claw of Krarsht
Possessor gains a 400% (base) fist (claw) attack; can
also be used to parry (as unarmed).
Tongue of Krarsht
Possessor gains the ability to drain permanent POW from
a victim. POW goes to the attacker up to species max.
Legs of Krarsht
Possessor may jump 120 meters in any direction, in
one melee round.
Soul of Krarsht
Whenever the Possessor attacks anything in spirit
combat, he may (upon victory) cause the victim to go insane;
he may attack with spirit combat instead of weapons, if he
can touch the victim.
Spit of Krarsht
Possessor may spit a Pratzm web of his CON x 2 Strength.
He must learn a skill to spit accurately however.
Mouth Of Krarsht
Possessor may eat anything up to his own size without ill
effects, much like a permanent Eurmal Swallow spell. User
may tunnel with this ability.
Blood of Krarsht
Possessor's blood becomes acid potency 20, but it does not
harm anything the user is wearing. All weapons which
do damage to the wearer are attacked by this acid.
Strength of Krarsht
Possessor gains +3d6 STR, and +3d6 CON; species maximum
on both also increase.
Secrets of Krarsht
Upon finding any Krarshtide tunnel, the user knows where
it starts, ends, and what other tunnels it connects to. This
allows a user to transport himself virtually anywhere he
wishes (if he doesn't mind walking).
If the PC refuses all these gifts, yet still remains, Krarsht will
offer one final gift: Heroism. This is a Soul Pact between her and
the PC, which will double all his stats, skill percentages, give him
all of the lesser abilities (listed above), and grant him automatic
Hero status among worshipers of the Maw. The drawback is that the
PC must follow the will of Krarsht at all times, and in fact, becomes
an extension of her. (i.e. the PC becomes an NPC)
If the PC refuses all these temptations, he gains one thing in
addition to escape: the "Respect of Krarsht". All Krarshtkids,
Krarshtides, and Initiates (or higher) of Krarsht will know that
the PC has faced the Hungry One and lived. This gives him a special
status in their eyes (chiefly awe and fear), and none will voluntarily
attack such a PC even by surprise, unless the PC directly attacks them.
12] Returning to the World
Following either triumphant return through the tunnels of Krarsht,
or cowardly retreat back through the opening in the Pillar of Obsidian,
the PC must come back through the Veils of Time.
As the PC turns to reenter the mundane world, he will see wispy
sheets woven of soft strands of thread in front of the entrance. The
material is not unlike the silk that the Spider produced, except for
one thing: with effort, the character can push through them. They
do not break, rather the PC actually penetrates them, as if they were
not there.
The more powerful ("god-like") the PC, the more difficult this
penetration is, the more substantial seeming the Veils are. PCs who
immediately chicken out of the initial encounter with the Guardian,
may not even be aware of them, lost in the glow of the Truestone.
PCs who have assembled the Spear will feel it clinging to the weapon,
and those who have been seduced by Chaos (accepting the gifts of
Krarsht), will have the most difficult time.
But for the moment, since the PC is such a minor hero, the veils
hardly cling at all. It merely takes a WILL x 5 roll to penetrate
them (you may reroll this Will roll as per standard Heroquest rules).
There is also a cost of temp-POW Magic Points: 1 for the PC, 10 for
each Spirit Dagger, 50 for each Gift of Krarsht, and 100 for the
completed Spear of Poison (defective spears only cost 50). PCs without
the Magic Points available may either leave various items behind, or
expend one permanent POW for 10 Magic Points to get through the barrier.
Steve Maurer
steve@vicom.com
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