Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The God that Sleeps Below

The god-creature hatched from an egg that fell from space a century ago. The heat of entry into the atmosphere and ensuing impact caused it to hatch. Upon hatching, the creature burrowed into the earth. It possesses a genetic memory, so the god-creature is aware of its heritage, homeworld, ancestors and language. It hopes to either escape this planet (unlikely) or attract others of its kind to this place so that it can mate, reproduce and expand its influence.

     A town has grown up around the spot where the creature hatched. It sent out psionic waves to the surrounding area, attracting a variety of creatures to itself. It finds the humans to be the most easily manipulated, so they are the most represented in the population. The entire town worships the creature, whom they believe is a slumbering god. They call it, “The Master of Dreams.” Of course, they are unaware of its true form and origins. Any who do suspect something is amiss are ostracized and often forced into exile.

     The alien being appears in their dreams as an angelic being with golden skin. It tells the townsfolk that it sleeps beneath the town in an exquisite tomb for an eternity and wishes to protect and serve those who live above. In light of this, a temple has been built in the middle of the town, with a large shaft descending into the bedrock. All manner of offerings are deposited into it. The great worm uses the offerings to curry favor with other sentient creatures it has encountered beneath the surface.

     The creature is telepathic, able to project its thoughts to others and to read theirs in turn. It also has considerable psionic capabilities that manifest in a manner similar to many magical abilities. (The creature can cast spells as a 9th level cleric.) Through repeated psionic manipulations, it can also unlock psionic powers in others. In this way, the creature can empower individuals who function as Clerics with a level limit of 3.

     The town is ruled by the great worm’s clerical order. Under their leadership, the town is law-abiding. Those who ask too many questions or who worship other gods are politely asked to leave. After a night in the town, newcomers will have pleasant dreams in which an angelic figure with golden skin and a flaming sword appears atop a white mountain. The angel promises safety and prosperity if they live in the town and pledge themselves to the clerical order.

     The worm often uses its spell-like abilities to benefit the town, occasionally using Raise Dead to restore life to its deceased followers. As a result, the citizenry is fanatic. Zealotry is often needed to repel those who are drawn to the town to investigate tales of the sleeping god and who hope to plunder its great wealth.

The God That Sleeps Below; Alignment: Neutral, Movement: 6o’ (20’ tunneling), Armor Class: 6, Hit Dice: 15, Hit Points 90, Attacks: 2 (bite, sting), Damage: 2d8/1d8, poison, Special Attacks: Spell Use, Spells: Level 1 - Cure Light Wounds x2, Detect Evil, Protection from Evil; Level 2- Know Alignment, Hold Person, Speak with Animals, Resist Fire; Level 3 – Animate Dead, Cure Disease, Remove Curse; Level 4 – Cure Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison; Level 4 – Raise Dead, Save: Cleric 15, Morale: 10 Hoard Class: XIX, XP Value 4,200 (1,500 HD, 900 swallow whole, 900 spell casting, 900 poisonous stinger).

     The body of the worm is 10’ in diameter and 100’ long. It has a poisonous stinger in its tail. The worm may attack with both a bite and its stinging tail in 1 round. Anyone stung by the tail must also succeed in a saving throw versus poison or die.

     If the worm’s bite attack roll is at least 4 higher that the roll needed to hit (or a 20 is rolled), a victim is swallowed. A being that is swallowed takes 3d6 hit points of damage per round inside the worm’s belly. The damage stops when either the character dies or the worm is killed.

16 comments:

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    1. Thanks! I wrote this three years ago and just remembered that I had it. Everyone loves alien worm gods!

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  2. Love. This.

    Totally goin' in the ol' sandbox. :)

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    1. "Your alleged 'god' is a 50' long alien worm!"
      "We'll, that may be true, but the clerics did heal my son after his foot got nearly tore off by a wolf."

      I am glad you like it. I figure that some interesting roleplaying and detective work could emerge in a town that a god from the stars.

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    2. Hell, I think it would make a great home base for a PC group. I love the idea of a paladin that serves the worm-god unwittingly. Plus, my setting of choice (Uresia) doesn't have any actual gods (with a couple fringe exceptions), so it's always nice to find a way to justify clerics in the setting, even if they're somewhat limited in their power. :)

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  3. I don't think there are enough worm gods these days. I do fancy them.

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  4. This is the kind of stuff I love to see. Alien space god-worms!

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    1. I wonder if one could ride it a la the sand worms of Dune?

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    2. Now I'm going to think how to mix this with Tierney's "The Worm of Urakhu".

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  5. Gods from space eggs? Excellent!

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    1. I think one of these might be right at home in your campaign somewhere, Trey. :)

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  6. Excellent!
    A question: why does it save only at 8th level? Since it seems to be pretty smart and intelligent, it should save at its 15 HD (half the hit die is for animals at least in Classic D&D.) Given its abilities, probably saves as Cleric 15 is appropriate.

    Cheers,
    Antonio

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    1. Thank you for the suggestion, Antonio. I made the edit. :)

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  7. What I like most about this is that even the first sentence is packed with inspirational stuff - I think you could develop a campaign just around those fourteen words.

    Great stuff!

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    1. Thanks, Jensan! Years ago I read an article in Dragon magazine about how Mind Flayers were seeding a world with their flora and fauna in a kind of fantasy terr-forming. I loved the idea and I think it inspired my thinking here.

      In other news, I finally figured out an entry for the hex crawl and will write it up, then mail it to you. :)

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