d20 Blackdirge Publishing None So Vile Disciples of Darkness I The Ravenous of Agramogg.pdf
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Disciples of Darkness I
The Ravenous of Agramogg
Written and Created by
Aeryn Rudel
Editing
Aeryn Rudel, John Ball
Graphic Design & Illustration
Erik Nowak
Playtesters
Andy Paras, Jason Lindgren, and Dwight Hulse
SkeletonKey Staff
Edward Bourelle & Art Braune
None So Vile: Disciples of Darkness is ©2006 Aeryn Rudel.
All rights reserved.
All illustrations and design are ©2006 Erik Nowak.
All rights reserved.
Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that material. Blackdirge
Publishing, and the Blackdirge Publishing logo are trademarks of Aeryn Rudel. SkeletonKey Games and the SkeletonKey Games logo are
Trademarks of Edward Bourelle and are used with permission. All rights reserved.
The following is designated as Open Game Content: all rules and stat blocks (but not the proper names of characters and places
or their backgrounds). To be clear, the None So Vile property is CLOSED. None of the character names, backgrounds, place names,
stories, or any other part of the None So Vile product is open content.
Published by SkeletonKey Games. • www.skeletonkeygames.com
info@skeletonkeygames.com
n
publishing
GAMES
None So Vile - Disciples of Darkness
impossibly huge, a towering mountain of doughy blubber and
sagging skin. Senneth guessed that Isked must weigh thirty
stone at least, an impossible figure for a duergar that stood
just a few inches over four feet in height. Isked appeared to be
naked, although his sex was completely hidden by the folds of
his own copious flesh. The skin of the duergar high priest was
the typical gray of his kind, although it was crisscrossed with
the white striations of hundreds of stretch marks, an indication
that his unwholesome growth had been a rapid ascent to his
current size.
But it was the shape of master Isked’s head and face that
were the most disturbing to Senneth, for they were only a short
step away from lunacy. The duergar’s mouth stretched far too
wide, the skin at the corners of his gaping maw cracked and
split. When Isked had spoken, Senneth had seen row upon row
of flat grinding teeth lurking in that vast slobbering orifice,
waiting to pulverize the duergar’s next meal—a meal that had
arrived shortly after the drow negotiator had been shown into
the audience chamber.
Two guards, both duergar of ungainly proportions, although
nowhere near the size of their master, had wheeled in a human
man strapped to a gurney. The gurney held the man secured with
manacles and leather straps, and though he struggled mightily
against his bonds the sturdy craftsmanship of the duergar held
him immobile. The gurney was pushed up to Isked’s throne,
where the giant high priest grinned grotesquely and snatched
up a gore-encrusted cleaver from where it rested beside his
throne. Then Isked rose, tottered forward on his nearly invisible
legs, and smashed the cleaver down upon the left forearm of the
unfortunate human. The flesh and bone separated with a thick
wet smack, and Isked pried his morsel loose from the few strands
of sinew that held it to its former owner with a single savage
yank. The human loosed an unearthly scream, but Isked hardly
seemed to notice as he tossed the severed forearm, complete
with hand and fingers, into his gaping, slobbering maw. The
duergar high priest had grinned with gluttonous pleasure as he
ground up the flesh, bones and all, causing a sticky film of drool
and blood to course down his myriad chins and splatter on the
stone floor.
This had gone on for nearly twenty minutes, and Senneth
had been too stunned to speak, let alone protest such a
barbarous display. The drow negotiator had never considered
himself squeamish, there was no place for such things in the
dark city of Leth’Vinak, but this was far beyond anything he had
ever seen, making even the torture rooms of Hespash Duun seem
commonplace in comparison. There was little left of the human
now, as Isked had devoured all of the man’s limbs before opening
up his body cavity with cleaver and pry bar to get at the morsels
inside. Once finished, the great bloated priest had settled back
into his throne, and his two guards had moved to stand at the
audience chamber’s only exit. The corpse of the human was
left where it was, leaking blood and other bodily fluids onto the
chamber floor in a steady pitter-pat of viscous drops.
The Ravenous of Agramogg
Senneth Urshaddon stared in mute horror at the blood
soaked spectacle that was unfolding before him. The drow
negotiator stifled his rising gorge by closing his eyes and
looking away, although the sounds, as well as the smell, still
assaulted his senses unrelentingly.
“Are you not hungry, master Urshaddon?” a deep
slobbering voice asked, pouring forth like a tide of vomit from
the lips of Senneth’s host.
“No, master Doomtongue, I am not.” The slightly built
drow answered, swallowing a lump of bile and wondering
why on earth Matron Nyth’Rannyr had sent him to this gods-
forsaken abattoir.
Senneth Urshaddon had served Matron Nyth’Rannyr as
chief negotiator for fifty years. In that time he had cemented
alliances for his mistress with his primary weapon, one far
sharper and, if truth be told, deadlier than any blade. Senneth
Urshaddon was renowned for his skill with words, his almost
supernatural gift of diplomacy, and his shrewd and unyielding
ability to gain the advantage in nearly every contract
negotiation. His mistress had always chosen allies that were
at least somewhat compatible with her negotiator’s sense of
subtlety, but here he stood, in perhaps the most horrid place in
Leth’Vinak, awaiting the graces of a being that had no grasp of
anything even resembling subtlety.
What had possessed matron Nyth’Rannyr to seek an
alliance with the reviled cult of Agramogg the Devourer was
far beyond Senneth’s ability to comprehend. The vile group of
outcast duergar had recently been allowed to practice their
ghastly religion in the city, but all shunned them. Their leader
and high priest, the enigmatic Isked Doomtongue, had never
been seen by any living soul in Leth’Vinak, until now.
Isked lounged on a throne carved from a single piece of
granite, a massive and ungainly thing that failed miserably at
containing the high priest’s elephantine bulk. The throne sat
squarely in the center of a room that Senneth guessed must be
Isked’s audience chamber, a place where he could receive those
few unfortunate souls, such as himself, that had business within
the temple. The audience chamber was immense, a cavernous
space carved from the bedrock of Leth’Vinak. Its walls were of
worked stone, although every inch was covered with etchings
depicting the dread Agramogg, a mammoth, bloated figure
whose distorted head contained nothing more than a single
gaping maw lined with flat crushing teeth. Agramogg was
shown doing what he did best, devouring members of nearly
every sentient race Senneth could imagine, stuffing their bodies
into his great slavering mouth by the handful.
It was quite obvious that Isked Doomtongue sought to
emulate his god both in spirit and in body, for the duergar was
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None So Vile - Disciples of Darkness
“Well, if you’re not hungry, then let us get down to business.”
Isked rumbled, unfazed by his guest’s obvious discomfort.
Senneth breathed a sigh of relief, for here was territory
he understood. He could almost blot out the horrors of the last
twenty minutes as he focused on the negotiation ahead. “Yes,
of course Master Doomtongue, but first, my mistress has sent
along a gift.”
Isked raised one meaty eyebrow in curiosity. “Very well,
bring it forward.” He said, motioning Senneth to approach with
the wave of one flabby paw.
Senneth trembled at the thought of coming so close to
his bloated host, but he obeyed, producing the gem encrusted
dagger his mistress had sent along as a gift for her new ally.
“The work of our finest smith.” Senneth said, as he
advanced, holding the dagger in front of him. The stench coming
off Isked was indescribable, his titanic unwashed body thickly
encrusted with the leavings of meals such as the one Senneth
had just witnessed.
“Yes, Matron Nyth’Rannyr had promised something...tasty
to seal this alliance, and it seems she did not lie.” Isked said,
grinning wide to show the double row of flat crushing teeth that
filled his distended maw.
Senneth had reached the base of the throne, and as he
proffered the dagger up to his host, Isked suddenly sprang from
his seat in a great tide of sagging flesh to seize the drow in an
unbreakable bear hug.
“Yes! Something tasty indeed!” The great duergar cried,
crushing his “gift” to his body, and opening that great black
orifice to accept it.
Senneth loosed a muffled scream as Isked forced his entire
head into that vast slobbering mouth, and continued screaming
until the duergar’s iron muscled jaws clamped down on his skull,
pulping bone and brains with one savage bite. And thus, the
finest negotiator in Leth’Vinak met his end, his final negotiation
an unparalleled success.
The power of hunger can be absolute, a gnawing devotion
to gluttonous indulgence that can twist the mind and warp the
body. To some, hunger, and especially cannibalism, represents
the assertion of one’s will upon another, for reducing a sentient
being to nothing more than food is the ultimate act of tyranny.
Those that follow this belief are often nothing more than
mindless savages, but there are others, especially those that
serve the foul god Agramogg the Devourer, that have taken
the concept of cannibalism and gross indulgence to the most
vile extreme. These blasphemous creatures are known as the
Ravenous of Agramogg, and they serve their master with the
devotion a true glutton.
Becoming a Ravenous of Agramogg
The path of the devourer is not one embarked upon lightly,
and only the most ardent follower of Agramogg would even
attempt it. Madness is without doubt the most important
attribute for one whishing to devote himself to Agramogg, for
what being in his right mind could consider a course of such
damning evil and degeneration?
Most who become one of the ravenous of Agramogg are
clerics of the fell deity, and find the transition to the god’s
chosen servants an easy one. Those who wish to become one
of the ravenous often combine their clerical experience with
some martial training, with levels in barbarian being the most
common choice for the chaotic aligned ravenous. The typical
build for one wishing to embark upon the path of the devourer
is to take four levels of cleric and two levels of barbarian. This
allows the ravenous to meet all the entry requirements for the
prestige class, and grants him access to the barbarian’s rage and
wider skill array.
Most of the ravenous have above average physical scores
for a divine spellcaster, focusing on Strength and Constitution
over Dexterity. Wisdom will be high, usually in the 14 to 16
range, which makes for an able spellcaster but bars the ravenous
from accessing truly powerful divine spells. Many ravenous
have relatively low Intelligence scores, represented by their
single-minded devotion to their own gluttony. Charisma is often
very low, especially for higher level ravenous, whose body has
begun to resemble that of their dread patron.
Beyond the purely mechanical requirements needed for
entry into the ravenous of Agramogg prestige class, there is a
single rite that must be performed to set the ravenous upon his
way, and it is without doubt the single most heinous and awful
example of religious devotion among all the faiths in the world.
The rite is called the Ceremony of Devouring, and its simple
title well describes the manner in which the rite is performed.
To begin the Ceremony of Devouring, a fledgling ravenous
must obtain a suitable sacrifice, which must be a sentient
being and preferably a member of his own race. The sacrifice
is strapped down to a special altar, held immobile, and then
over the course of three full days is slowly devoured by the
Symbol of Agramogg the Devourer
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None So Vile - Disciples of Darkness
ravenous. The sacrifice must be eaten while alive, and only the
teeth and nails of the ravenous may be used to remove the flesh.
Liberal use of healing spells and potions keep the sacrifice alive
as long as possible, and it is believed a sacrifice that survives
more than three days is a direct sign of Agramogg’s favor on the
newly anointed ravenous.
Once the ceremony is complete, Agramogg grants the
new ravenous all the knowledge required to become one of his
chosen servants. The newly anointed ravenous is immediately
recognized as the will of Agramogg made flesh and afforded all
of the prestige and deference due his new station.
T
HE
R
AVENOUS
OF
A
GRAMOGG
E
NTRY
R
EQUIREMENTS
Hit Die: d8
Class Skills:
Concentration (Con), Craft (Int),
Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (religion) (Int),
Listen (Wis), Profession (Int), Search (Int),
Spellcraft (Int), and Survival (Con)
Skill points at each level:
2 + Int modifier
Alignment:
Chaotic Evil
Patron Deity:
Agramogg
Base Attack Bonus:
+5
Feats:
Great Fortitude
Skills:
Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks, Profession
(butcher) 3 ranks
Spellcasting:
Must be able to cast 1st level divine spells
Special:
In a ceremony lasting over three days, the
character must consume the entire body of a sentient
humanoid, keeping the victim alive as long as possible.
Base
Attack
Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save Special
Level
Spellcasting
+0
1st
+0
+2
+0
Meat is Murder, Curse of the
Ravenous I, Maw of Agramogg I
Autophagia 1/day
Scent
Curse of the Ravenous II,
Maw of Agramogg II
Necrophagia
+0
+1
+1
2nd
3rd
4th
+1
+2
+3
+3
+3
+4
+0
+1
+1
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
+1
+2
+2
5th
6th
7th
+3
+4
+5
+4
+5
+5
+1
+2
+2
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
Curse of The Ravenous III,
Maw of Agramogg III
Omniphagia
Autophagia 2/day
Curse of the Ravenous IV,
Maw of Agramogg IV
+2
+3
+3
8th
9th
10th
+6
+6
+7
+6
+6
+7
+2
+3
+3
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class
4
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