Breaker of Prophecy

***TUESD&D GO AWAY***

To break prophecy is more than rejecting fate - it twists and warps reality, defying what was meant to be. Only that which does not value reality at all - a thing from that sea of chaos - could willingly embrace this knowing the full repercussion of this. And so it comes to our world, living in the deepest pit surrounded by it's imitators and hangers on. Nameless, it tempts mortals determined to defy what has been made for them by the weavers of reality. This unraveller of tapestries takes the form of a white worm the size of cities, writhing atop a sea of smaller reflections of itself.

It sends out servants to bring the desperate to subterranean lair (for the lower one is, the further they are from the reality enforcing sun) Once brought here, they are infected with shards of it's maleficent essence. This corruption allows them to hide in the corners of fate, avoiding the hand dealt to them, but also binds them to it's will. They will become swollen like a women heavy with child, and often need to vomit - but only worms will escape their gullet. These worms will infest and kill the populace, taint the land and sow the seeds of chaos.

d8	Reality twists and buckles…
1	Compress to a flat circle of space/time observable.
2	Kill the you of now to become the you of new-now. See all previous struggles of such.
3	The watchers press close – faces on surfaces on air grinning watching impossible.
4	All is an empty point of reference and now you see the connections – the real.
5	Engulfed by matter, time waits while you drown.
6	Stretch out on all possible planes to fill nothing before sharp contraction to everything.
7	The literal molars of reality grind you to paste and you cannot help but scream thanks to the astral dentistry.
8	Each organ votes on continued existence on this plane given the ability to ascend. They hate you, and so you stay. Every second.

Tearing of the Infesting Spirit

Infesting spirits are insidious, and rot their hosts like the foulest of plagues until the rotten core finally gives out. Only the foulest of warlocks would beckon such a thing from beyond, and even other spirits shun them for their abnormal interest in our world, and especially in us. They never manifest physically by choice, only when coaxed out using a purification ritual.

d6	What is required to purify the host?
1	The host must be drowned in sea water and then resuscitated. The spirit will slip out as a loathsome mockery of aquatic life, writhing tentacle and mad eyes. It should be killed by crushing before it slips out into the ocean, infesting the sea-life. It will promise great power if eaten, but this is a ploy to find a new host. Black cults are known to be led by individuals claiming to have made this bargain. Sailors speak of the evil whales said to carry the spirits and destroy ships for the sheer joy of it.
2	The host is to be smoked like a preserved meat. They will sweat, moan and cough until the spirit slips out as a violent orange liquid from any pore or orifice. This fluid must be contained in an airtight glass container. This spirit, if stored, will never again infect a host. It will be as an obedient dog if broken and trained, or so the heretics whisper.
3	The host should be hung as a criminal with a noose of thorned plants. If performed correctly, seconds before death a crow will claw its way savagely out of the dying victim. If allowed to escape it will seek a new host, so it is prudent to have a master-archer on hand. Witches are said to favour these terrible escapees as familiars.
4	The host should be kept in a stone tomb for 3 days without water nor food nor light nor company. At the end of this 3 days a terrible thing will stalk the tomb wearing the corpse of the host. It is physically shackled to this form, and destroying the monster destroys the spirit. It will use the tomb as a hunting ground, learning every possible ambush point. The sooner the physical shell is destroyed, the easier the task will be.
5	A child no older than 8 is to be made pleasing to the spirit using the foul symbols the spirits have taught the black-hearted summoners. The child should be kept in a glass cage will which intercept the spirit as it leaps from its current host to the child – if the cage is constructed correctly. If performed without this protection, the child will mature quickly (3 weeks) into a full adult with knowledge far beyond its years and a malign purpose. These possessed children are said to spell great calamity.
6	The host is to be restrained, and a blank book left before them. They should then be interrogated as to their nature, and the spirit they carry. After a relentless day of this question the spirit will leap for freedom. If correctly prepared, the blank book will contain the creature, and display its alien and terrible knowledge in a twisting and cruel script. These books are burnt, regardless of the baseless rumours of a library of such evil works being stored beneath the Inquisition Keep.

Invoking the Knife Demon

Knife Demons are the essence of function given form. A sleek body, much like that of a fish with a horrific blade instead of a face. The tail shimmers with its near-invisible edge, known for gracefully slicing flesh from bone. The side facing eyes are tiny, appearing more like tiny gems embedded in some exotic weapon than actual organs dedicated to sight. The entire creature is flexible, and cuts through the air with ease, appearing like some twisted fish swimming rapidly regardless of the lack of water. Average specimens are about the length of your forearm.

The speed of the thing is used in combination with blade structure, as the Knife Demon accelerates hard at the designated victim, smashing into them with horrific force. With a flick of its razor-tail (which usually inflicts further wounds) it flees, preparing another strike once significant distance is established. Wounds inflicted by the first attack appear like conventional wounds delivered by a pole-axe or similar weapon, whilst the tail-wounds appear as the work of some demented surgeon possessed with considerable scalpel-skill.

In additional to all this, Knife Demons are also able to camouflage themselves whilst still seeking their target – often appearing as a domestic animal whilst travelling. Once the target has been spotted, the assault begins. Knife Demons attempt to kill until killed or banished, and never re-assume their disguise.

Invoking a Knife Demon involves two major components – an item symbolic of the target and a hunting hound of the finest calibre. The sort of item required is highly personal, and the Knife Demon gives no indication of the target it has determined – only that the invocation has been accepted.  Items which have shown the most success are the jewels of the highly covetous, the holy symbols of the fanatically devout and the weapons of the bloodthirsty.

The hunting hound must be of an established pedigree noted for great success in the hunt. Gender of the dog is irrelevant, but it must have participated in at least one hunt. It is believed that the more hunts the hound has been involved in, the larger the Knife Demon. The skull of the hound must be crushed flat with a hammer, maul etc. whilst the invoker screams until they cannot speak. With this done, the Knife Demon, if the invocation was successful, will burst from the corpse of the hound. It will circle the invoker thrice before assuming its disguise and beginning the hunt. If the invocation was incorrect, such as the invoker still being able to speak or the hound not being of sufficient quality, then the Knife Demon will instead circle twice before brutally killing the prospective invoker.

HD – 2-5, increases by size.

AC – As plate, due to dodging through the air gracefully.

Speed – Flying in true form – As fast as a galloping horse of good quality.

                Animal form – As animal.

Attacks – 1. 1d10 mix of bludgeoning and piercing, whichever is most effective. This attack requires 15 foot distance to be successful. Allows for attack 2 to be performed.

2. 1d6 slashing, the razor tail leaves wounds which do not hurt for some time. Ineffective against plate.

Invocation to a Skin Weaver

Perhaps the least overtly hostile variety of invader spirit, the broad category of skin weavers are more than willing to bestow their gifts when invoked correctly – incorrect summons lead to rooms of corpses drained of all essence.

The Skin Weavers are willing to give their gift freely because it is a mutually beneficial relationship – those who take the gift carry the twisted progeny of the Skin Weaver until they die, whereupon something departs to find its parent.

Invoking a Skin Weaver is one of the more simple callings to an invader spirit, though still exacting in its demands. The entire ceremony must be performed inside. The one receiving the gift must be nude and anointed in the mixed blood of a human and two foxes. The bean of the Llangn plant must be burnt, and the choking fumes inhaled by the invoker. They must then speak the invocation itself, which is notable in which it is more of a promise than a command, as compared to most invocations which rely upon strict instructions and commands to coax a spirit to manifest.

With these steps followed correctly, a Skin Weaver will manifest. Appearances vary wildly, but common features include many long legs, compound eyes and emaciated forms. It will rest between the wall and roof, lurking patiently until it is noticed. An uncomfortable whisper will then converse with the invoker. The common trend in this communication is a blank refusal of there being any cost to the gift, laying endless praise upon the prospective recipient of the gift and a snickering at normal command and control methods. Once this exchange has occurred, the spirit descends and bestows its gift. Each spirit has its own method, some wrapping the gifted with webs, whilst others deliver a bite which seems to enact the change. The receiver will scream and wail and claw and fight back, but the spirit is inexorable once the agreement has been made. Those bearing the gifts deny any memory of the experience of receiving the gift. With this done, the Skin Weaver will happily leave.

Effects of the gift

D6	Description
1	Thin, metallic silver tracery seemingly sits just under skin level. It shifts every night, and it appears there are slightly more lines over time. You can feel the tracery all the time, and it is just slightly stiffer than your skin. It provides a +1 to AC, but is very visible. Those with the knowledge of invader spirits will instantly recognise this.
2	Warty, lumpy nodules a dark brown/red colour are chaotically placed all over your body. Small tendrils emanate from them, are they are visible under the skin. They slowly form a network over time. Whenever you are affected by a magical effect, benign or malign, make an additional save vs. magic. Upon success, one of the nodules erupts, causing excruciating pain and the loss of 5 hit points.
3	You can feel it move within your chest cavity. Something lives there now, coiling around your organs. It speaks to you in your dreams, showing you the terrible sea of chaos its parent calls home. Occasionally it tries to nudge you into certain actions, but with no obvious rhyme nor reason. Magic Users can use the thing as a familiar. The carrier is immune to disease and parasites, although they are unable to take meaningful action for a day after the thing cleanses you of the taint.
4	You grow copious amounts of body hair, far beyond human extremes – more like light fur. The hair is short, coarse and black, and incredibly uncomfortable for people to touch as it continuously pricks them. You will never suffer ill effects from cold conditions, and magical effects relying on the cold are at half-effectiveness against you. You leave a trail of discarded hairs everywhere you go.
5	You are entirely covered in scales, much like a snakes. You lose all hair on your body. The scales will match your original skin colour, although the occasional one will be off. You have to adapt clothing and equipment to ensure it does not rub your scales the wrong way, as this is a painful a deeply uncomfortable experience. You get a +2 to AC, but permanently have 1 point of encumbrance to account for your extra care/extra layers to avoid brushing your scales the wrong way.
6	A large, open wound is left on your body. It is raw and weeps constantly, although it does not hurt. The clear fluid it leaks can be used as a food source, as well as a substitute for water. It tastes slightly sweet, like honeyed water. It weeps enough to keep 2 people alive indefinitely. Those who use it as a sole source of nutrition slowly come to depend on it, and fight themselves unable to derive sustenance from actual food and drink. For each person addicted to the fluid, you can support an additional person per day on the wound – it flows more as more crave it.