Sidequest Saturday (Uralicans Uncut): Mad God’s Gateway

god sporesAfter the PCs have stocked up on xyrx crystals and are either on their way to the Ancestral Gateway or exploring the demiplane, flying out and across the endless void they spot 1d4 god spores with a DC 18 Perception check, enticed to approach the traps by the rare treasures and gems hidden within them. At least one of these mindless creatures drops an avaricious xyrx crystal during the conflict, at which point the cursed item takes hold of one member of the crew or party, leading them to chase down a possible stash of xyrx crystals by following more of the god spores.

The PCs can follow a trail of the god spores with a DC 25 Perception or Survival check, finding a cohesive line of the things arrayed towards an ancient interdimensional gateway; if the party attacks the god spores, the creatures do not actively resist them (though they still pose a danger). All told this takes the adventurers 4 hours of travel with the vessel moving at its normal pace to reach the portal that opens up in the skies above the PCs.

If the party didn’t follow this treasure trove of cursed loot and traps (or veered off course), more god spores appear, lining up in the sky from several different directions, all pointing towards the same ancient interdimensional gateway (noticed with a DC 22 Perception check), and filling up the air space both above and below the ship. Every hour a DC 18 Profession (sailor) check is required to navigate through the floating god spores without running into them; failure on the check means the PCs are engaged by 1d2+1 of the devious traps. There is a 45% chance that a lesser veinar [tomorrow’s Statblock Sunday! -MM] spills out of a god spore, immediately attacking the PCs.

When the party is within half a mile of the portal the god spores are attuned to, read the following:

Following the great gathering of treasure-laden spores in the void sky, you make out an enormous, semi-tangible limb extending from a great portal suspended in the air. The disfigured tentacle sways with an eerie rhythm, countless spores spewing from its decaying form.

The limb of the mad god is spewing forth torrents of god spores in every direction—the PCs need to close off this gate to keep Uklonjen from being overrun by the creatures. The god spores are ejected hundreds of feet from the mad god’s limb, and there is only a 5% chance each round that two of them are close enough together to engage the PCs.

mad god tentacleAs the party approaches the mad god’s limb, they feel their minds touched by darkness and light, warmth and cold, a soft sensation and a rigid accompaniment followed by contracting sensations of other worlds vividly rampant in their psyche. Deep within, the adventurers instinctively know that should they touch the limb itself, they are sure to lose their minds, or worse yet, die.

The mad god’s limb is impervious to damage, leaving the PCs with only one option: to push the thing back through the gateway. Six DC 20 Profession (sailor) checks are needed to ram the vessel against the mad god’s limb at the right angles, each taking a round to attempt. After the first attempt (successful or failed), 3 lesser veinars and a high veinar [again, tomorrow, folks! -MM] shuffle off from the otherworldy appendage, attacking the party. Each time the PCs move the limb, there is a 30% chance another lesser veinar joins the fray.

After the limb is finally pushed through the gate, a rush of wind tears though the sky, sucking in 90% of the god spores spread nearby before closing—the party is free to move normally, unmolested by the remaining creatures. A DC 30 Perception check as the gate closes reveals to the PCs that the decaying limb was only a small part of something bigger, an entity that engulfed the whole other side of the gate with layer upon layer of an unidentifiable substance that changed every moment, yet somehow remained the same all the while…


[Submitted by Tim Snow!]

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