November 03, 2012

Ik'tik'buboe, the Drowned Sultan

Woo! That's a long absence! So sorry for the long dry spell here on Carapace King, but between a bunch of truly murderous projects at work and having a human child I've had trouble rubbing enough brain cells together to get content written down. I can't promise I'll get back to the regularity I was before, but I've got a few things to post soon. Now on with the gamestuff!

Ig is a land untouched by gods. Perhaps they existed once, but died and were consumed by the earth, for the ground itself holds power. The power that only clerics can call down in other worlds are available to anyone of inscrutable means should they hunt out places mystically attuned. It lies within standing stones and untouched forest glens and natural springs.

There are still ineffable powers at work in the world, but they take forms malevolent and alien. Humans call them the Seventy-Seven Lords of Decay. Often these "lords" are nothing more than a name to curse when some minor misfortune occurs, but others do exist. Falling somewhere between demon, spirit, and gremlin, each  has panoply over an aspect of the world with which to vex and war with civilization.

Ik'tik'buboe is one of these beings. It goes by many names across Ig, some call it the Drowned Sultan, others the Serene Face of the Deep. It exists to bring about perpetual deluge across the land. The crab, the salt marsh, and the hurricane are its domain. Where there is flood, it is there. Where there is sea, it is there. Where there is rain, it is there. Anyone on the edge of death in these conditions may be approached by an avatar of Ik'tik'buboe in the shape of an enormous crab with seven serene, human faces. It offers survival and power to those who swear fealty. These vassals must tend to the ocean's crabs and sow saltwater wherever they go. They are compelled to vandalize bridges, dams, and to never go out with head covered in a rainstorm.

Invoke Patron check results:
12-13: Ik'tik'buboe is barely deigns to listen to its supplicant. A acrid salt spray blasts into the caster's face for 3 rounds, -5 to hit.
14-17: The caster finds himself teleported to the nearest body of water large enough to hold him. Upside down.
18-19: Sudden cloudburst dumps a briny acidic rain 100' around the caster. It deals 1d3 damage per turn for 1d6 turns to anyone except the caster.
20-23: Hundreds of tiny crabs boil up from the earth. Each has a single serene human face. They cover the body of the caster and grant +5 AC.
24-27: The caster's dominant arm becomes a huge thorny crab claw, causing him to drop whatever he was carrying. It is +2 to hit and deals 1d8 damage.
28-29: Everyone within 30', except the caster, fall into the ground with a splash. It acts like water, and anyone who falls immediately begins drowning and descends 5 feet per turn. After 3 turns anyone affected finds themselves entombed in solid earth.
30-31: A bronze idol of Ik'tik'buboe appears out of nowhere and fights for the caster. It remains for 1d4+CL rounds. Bronze Idol: Atk 2 claws (1d8+2); AC 16; HD 5d10; MV 20'; SV Fort +10, Ref +2, Will +6; AL E.
32+: 1d4+1 bronze idols appear. See above.

Patron Taint
1: The caster's skin grows thick and calloused, as well as faintly mottled.  If this is rolled a second time his skin grows even thicker and deeply mottled. On the third time the caster's skin becomes distinct plates made of crab shell.
2: The caster is compelled to salt the nearest well, and must pass a DC 15 Will save to resist the command. The second time this is rolled the caster must pass a DC 20 Will save. After the third he must make the roll for every well he comes across.
3: The caster's face grows pale and rigid, slurring his speech. The face becomes progressively less mobile with repeated rolls. The third time the roll occurs the caster's face becomes a porcelain mask, rendering him mute.
4: a rain shower breaks out around the caster, lasting for 1d6 turns and making all actions have a -2 modifier.
5: When casting a spell any water in containers up to a gallon turn salty. The second time this is rolled it will affect amounts up to 5 gallons, and on the third time anything smaller than a pond.
6: A brood of tiny crabs pour out of the wounds of everyone within 20 feet.

2 comments:

  1. he is awesome - Christmas island crab plagues awesome vis reference - lo come the million chitinous ones, a sea of crawling claws!

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  2. Thanks! That kind of creeping alienness is exactly what I was going for!

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