Santicorn 2024 - Effects of Primal Darkness

For Secret Santicorn 2024, Vile Cult of Shapes asked for "effects of prolonged exposure of Primal Darkness on various surface dwelling species."

 

I decided to write two sets of results. One for player characters, and one for NPC hirelings, henchmen, and so forth. I leave it to the referee and players to decide what counts as Primal Darkness in their game, and what sets it apart from normal darkness, although I think if you get trapped underground at the end of an adventure, that should certainly qualify.

 

 

Some characters gain power from the darkness...

  

When a PLAYER CHARACTER is exposed to Primal Darkness, ROLL on the table below. On the first exposure, roll d4; on the second, d6; and so on, up to a maximum of d20. If you roll a result you've received before, immediately roll again using the next highest dice, and add +1 to each future roll.

 

1 Your skin, hair, and eyes become unnaturally bleached and pale. You look haunted and unsettling.

 

2 You become cold-blooded. Your skin is cold to the touch, and you always look sallow and wet. You no longer suffer any ill effects from the weather or the temperature of your environment.

 

3 You now understand undercommon, the trade language used throughout the underworld. You speak with a native's fluency.

 

4 You now revere one of the gods of the underworld. Any previous faith has been replaced by this heretical new piety. You are eager to acquire scriptures, icons, and other tokens of your newfound religion.

 

5 You begin to "hear" the emotions of others as whispers in your mind. This provides insight during negotiations. And thinking beings can no longer hide from or surprise you.

 

6 You receive a vision from the underworld. With absolute certainty, you know the location of a valuable treasure room, and a path d6+6 rooms long that leads there, starting from a previously unsuspected secret door in a dungeon room your party has already explored and can access easily.

 

7 You can no longer perceive colors, only shades of grey. But you can also see a faint aura glowing from any cursed or poisoned objects, emanating from unnatural creatures in ways that suggest the nature of their powers.

 

8 You grow gills and can breathe underwater. You can dive and swim as easily as you can walk. You need twice as much water each day as before, and suffer from exhaustion if you don't get it.

 

9 You now understand Aklo, the Deep Tongue, the language of underworld aberrations. You can eavesdrop on the servants of the deep, but are now vulnerable to their lords' commands, without the protection of your previous ignorance.

 

10 Hideous and grotesque sights no longer phase or disturb you. You can meet the gaze of creatures whose sight turns others to stone with equanimity, stare into the eyes of tyrants who suborn others as thralls without blinking. But the sight of your own reflection - in mirrors, glass, even water - turns you away in terror, as a walking corpse flees from a cross.

 

11 You have acquired a "pet" down below. It serves you as a familiar serves a spellcaster, but its true loyalty is one of the great powers of the deep, and it is always watching. The referee will decide your pet's form; its appearance is related to the entity it serves.

 

12 A physical third eye opens in your forehead. You communicate by broadcasting your thoughts, no longer deigning to speak aloud. You understand the hidden logic of underworld passageways. You can spot its secret doors and are no longer confused by its impossible architectural.

 

13 You have been crippled by the underworld. You are now an NPC under the referee's control, and you become an outcast in town, living in a hovel in the worst district. You survive by selling gossip and portents, rumors about what has happened recently in the underworld and eerily accurate predictions about what will happen next. Occasionally, you can do more, identifying or fixing or fabricating useful items - if you have the right material to work with.

 

14 You cannot bear to be outside in daytime sunlight, and you must stand apart and separate from any group carrying a torch or lantern. If you approach too close to fire, it burns you as though you were touching it.

 

15 Your hair and nails fall out. Your fingers and toes elongate; you grow webbing between them, and fins on your joints. Salt wounds you like acid, and any damage caused by heat is doubled for you.

 

16 You no longer understand common language of the overworld. Its words sound like discordant gibberish; the noise of it hurts your ears.

 

17 You can no longer be healed by the servants of the surface gods. You are an unclean thing in their eyes, and their faithful aspire to smite you. Holy things are deconsecrated by your presence. Animals shun you. 

 

18 A new eye appears in the palm of each hand and your normal eyes wither away. You can "see" the presence of other thinking minds, even in the dark and through weak barriers. You always know the way to the nearest exit to the surface. You cannot bear to hold things in your hands for long.

 

19 You are blessed by one of the great powers that dwell beneath. You gain one level. You know with certainty who your patron is, and what favor they want in return for the power they've bestowed. You know you will die if you don't complete the task they've given you.

20 You are lost to the underworld. You are now an NPC under the referee's control, and you become implacable enemy of your former friends, determined to trap them down with you in the dark, and to bring ruin to the dwellers above.

 

 

... and some are destroyed by it.

 

When an NPC COMPANION OR ASSISTANT is exposed to Primal Darkness, first ROLL MORALE. Being lost in dark is traumatizing, and even loyal friends may abandon the player characters after such an experience. 

 

Then, if the NPC is willing to continue adventuring, ROLL D10 on the table below. The referee should make this roll in secret. In all cases, the players will not know the effect of the darkness until it is revealed as a result of play during their next excursion. The NPC cannot explain their own condition to others.

1 They gain a level, making them stronger, and possibly unlocking new abilities and talents.

 

2 If they are exposed to darkness, even normal darkness, they need to check morale at the end of the session.

 

3 They are miraculously unaffected by their ordeal.

 

4 Whenever they're exposed to darkness, even normal darkness, they begin screaming in terror, inconsolable, until the light returns.

5 They have developed an all-consuming obsession. They spend all their downtime on it, and will interact with anything related to it while adventuring. If Lawful, they are obsessed with shrines and prayers to underworld deities. If Neutral, they self-medicate with any intoxicating substances they can find. If Chaotic, they're addicted to gambling, and spend all their money on games of chance.

 

6 The next time they're exposed to darkness, they vanish into the underworld, and are never seen again.

 

7 They are driven to protect others from danger. Whenever a player character would fail a saving throw, or receive a critical hit, or take lethal damage, they will interpose themselves and take the effects on themselves instead.

8 Whenever they're exposed to darkness, or all the player characters are asleep, they will steal a valuable item a player character they're closest to. The character won't discover the loss until the start of their next adventuring session, unless they reach for the item in a moment of need. 

 

9 They are paralyzed by the sight of violence. They can no longer fight or even defend themselves. They are helpless in combat, and though they may hold a weapon, they cannot use it.

 

10 Whenever they're exposed to darkness, or all the player characters are asleep, or they're alone with only one character, they will attack with murderous intent. (If this betrayal seems unimaginable, they have instead been replaced by a Doppelganger, and this is the moment of revelation. The real NPC remains a captive somewhere in the underworld, waiting to be rescued...)

 

 

 

And please check out A Swamp in Space to see "Gifts for the Adventurer in Your Life" - which wr3cking8a11 wrote in response to my own Secret Santicorn request!

 

You can also take a look at "Surreal Science Fantasy Adventure Seeds & More" - which Vile Cult of Shapes wrote for Kirt Dankmeyer of Orange Subterfugacious Raccoon.

 

Thanks to Archon's Court for organizing this year's exchange!