Map Close-Up

Soundtrack for areas 37-42

Combat Music

Overview

Previous: Areas 1-6, Areas 7-12, Areas 13-18, Areas 19-24, Areas 25-30, Areas 31-36

37. Looted Arsenal

The chalcedony keystone is still inside the lock of this arsenal.

The floor of this triangular chamber is inscribed with clearly visible glyphs. Anyone who lacks the Clef Glyph activates the ward, producing an extremely intense blast of horrible, droning noise throughout the chamber. Those without the Glyph must make a Constitution save or be deafened for 1 hour and take 1d6 sonic damage per turn while the sound continues; those with fey or fiendish blood or other interplanar heritage suffer double damage. Spellcasters who fail lose 1 spell slot per round as the noise purges their brain of puissance. The only way to stop the sound is for the intruder to step outside of the ward.

Inside the arsenal, the walls are mostly bare, looted by some previous thief. A handful of crystalline orbs of softly glowing liquid – six in all – remain in their place in the carved niches along the wall. There is also a set of small, glyph-graven chimes made of iridescent metal on a dais in the middle of the room.

• The liquid is holy water.

• The anathemantine Countersong Chimes temporarily nullify the Song of the Carnophon, causing entities from Excessus damage when struck. Using an action, a creature can strike the chimes, requiring a Constitution save from all denizens of Excessus, or flesh-puppets produced by such denizens; on a failure, such creatures take 1d6 damage.

38. Broken Seal

A series of magical circles are inscribed on the floor of this chamber. A huge crack has broken them, gaping blackly in the middle of the room. The eerie music faintly audible near the entrance grows stronger.

• Close examination of the wards and an Intelligence check indicate that they must once have produced some form of antimagic zone. This would have functioned similarly to the one in area 27. However, the crack in the floor has made the seal non-functioning.

• Should someone fall into the rift, the full drop is 60 feet, leading down into area 100.

• A successful Wisdom check suggests that the music sounds mechanical in nature – like that of a clockwork music box.

• Listening to the music – the Song of the Carnophon – for longer than 10 minutes requires a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the listener has been afflicted by the Yearning, a desire to find the source of the music. Should they move out of earshot of the music (i.e. retreating from this area to elsewhere in the archive), they are haunted by memory of the music for one hour, during which time they have disadvantage on all ability checks and saves. On a success, the character’s soul has rejected the music and the darkness it represents; they need not save in future.

39. Dreamflesh Scroll Archive

Though most of the volumes in this lirbary have been removed, a handful linger on the shelves. Close inspection reveals that the texts are mostly scrolls and codices bound with Dreamflesh, the incorruptible hides of oneiroi from the Dreamlands. They shimmer softly and seem to murmur just beyond the range of hearing.

• Each text is worth 1d100 gp for its historical significance alone. There are only 20 texts remaining. Roll on the table below to determine their contents.

• A tiny Cult of the Frolic can be found in Hex among a handful of its richest citizens and a few renegade summoners in Fiend’s College. Should texts pertaining to Excessus be sold in the city, the Cult stops at nothing to seek out their origin and will pay handsomely for additional texts – triple the value of other collectors. Should they discover that a portal to Excessus exists in the Old City (see area 42) they will eagerly seek it out to gain entrance to its dark delights.

• Conjure Celebrant
  
  Cultist 3/Witch 3
  Duration: 7 days
  Range: 30 feet
  
  You inscribe a circle of glyphs drawn in the blood of someone who has taken at least three other sapient lives and light candles made from the tallow of those they killed. You then consume a teaspoon of Dreamhoney (worth 50 gp) and pronounce the name of the specific Celebrant you wish to summon, along with the requisite incantations. The Celebrant appears within the circle you drew; you must immediately make a spellcasting ability check opposed by their Charisma save. If you win, the Celebrant is contained within the circle until you dismiss it back to Excessus or release the ward and allow it freedom; any bargain you strike with it for its services must be honoured, though the Celebrant may attempt to subvert your conditions. If you lose, the ward fails, and the Celebrant is free to act as they please. Consequently, preparing entertainments or sacrifices to endear the conjuror to an unbound Celebrant is recommended.

40. Flesh-Puppets

The hall here is spattered with blood and dismembered body parts, the eviscerated remains of several goblins placed in a complex, abstract design, like some kind of monstrous artistic tableau. Their blood has been used to paint hideous sigils on the walls in a strange, sensuously curving tongue. Similar sigils are carved into the skin of the corpses.

• The language of the sigils is Phobish. An Intelligence check confirms that these are some sort of eldritch ward of reanimation.

• Anyone who disturbs the wards in any way automatically activates them; only by levitating over the crime scene or very, very carefully stepping past them with a successful Dexterity check with disadvantage can they be bypassed.

• If triggered, the wards cause the body parts to animate, floating in space and whirling around to recombine into patchwork amalgams of necrotic meat that bear no resemblance to their original forms, heads dangling obscenely between legs which are actually arms, limbs sprouting seemingly at random from sideways torsos.

• These cadaverous abominations try to prevent intruders from accessing the Eldritch Organ (area 41). There are 4 flesh-puppets in all.
  
  Flesh-Puppet: 2 HD (10 Hit Points), Bite (Str, 1d6) and Knife (Str, 1d4), Speed 20 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Undead (immune to poison, disease, mind-influencing effects), Str 10, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 8, Cha 4.
  
  • Mutilate: The flesh-puppets wield serrated knives. If they kill an enemy, they begin carving sigils into their flesh in Phobish, and then dismembering their fallen foes. This process takes 1 minute (10 rounds). If completed, they transform the corpse of their victim into a flesh-puppet, which reassembles itself into a grotesque new form.
  • Reassemble: If killed but not burned or otherwise destroyed, flesh-puppets can make a Constitution save each turn to reassemble themselves, returning to full Hit Points, over the course of one round. If the wards animating the puppets are dispelled, they cannot reassemble.

41. Eldritch Organ

A peculiar biomechanoid structure like a giant, living pipe organ stands in the middle of this chamber, several orifices at its top dilating. A control panel is evident in front of this mechanism.

• The Aklo control panel requires a simultaneous Intelligence and Dexterity check to operate successfully, as well as musical notation (see the Dreamflesh Scroll Archive, area 39, for examples of songs). Each song produces a unique effect.

• The volume of the Organ can be modified and extended chamber by chamber, from areas 37-42.

• The organ cannot be removed from this chamber and still function. Though it might be valuable as a curiosity, ripping it from its foundations would kill the living components.

42. The Carnophon (Containment Chamber)

Something bizarre has happened here.

An empty plinth stands at the centre of the chamber, whatever object it might once have displayed gone. A series of glyphs inscribed on the floor have been defaced, scrawled over with cruel sigils drawn in blood. This defacement, however, is not the strangest thing about the room.

The far wall of the chamber has disappeared. In its place are a series of curtains, like those which might conceal a stage at a theatre. A narrow gap can be perceived between them. The curtains are plush and red and seem to move eerily out of the corner of your eye, though when observed directly they are quite still. The eerie music emanates strongly from the gap between the curtains.

Slumped against one wall is the corpse of a cambion woman with lavender skin. She seems to be stuck in some kind of hideous time loop, wounds on her body flickering in and out of existence, opening and closing like mouths, her entrails unspooling and then winding themselves back into her abdomen, blood gushing from her mouth only to be sucked up once more into her lips. She lives and dies a dozen times every minute. Glyphs have been carved into her skin.

• The curtains, on close inspection, have a texture more like flesh than silk. They are warm to the touch. The gap between them is a portal to the pocket dimension of Excessus. Those afflicted with the Yearning will feel a palpable desire to pass between the curtains.

• If the Eldritch Organ’s Countersong reaches this room, or if the Countersong Chime is struck here, the opening to Excessus momentarily closes and the fleshy curtains writhe and quiver as if in pain, though they cannot be expunged.

• The cambion is Constantia Scrawlwell, one of the Gehenna Girls. She ran afoul of the Celebrant named Concatenatus and has been partially unfettered from time. Even if healed, her wounds reopen unless the effect is dispelled (it counts as a 3rd level spell). She carries a copy of the Ruby Keystone, which activates the Biomechanoid Sentinel in area 18. Born into poverty, she became a thief and later a courtesan, eventually becoming the paramour of Luxuria (area 21). She doesn’t particularly care about Vivian (area 30B) or Elizabeth (30C) but will search for Luxuria, who, among other things, is her ticket to wealth and polite society. She bears a Thief’s Mark, visible to others with the ancient hieroglyph, and speaks the Crowscant dialect of Thieves’ Cant.
  
  Constantia Scrawlwell, Cambion (Tartarean) Thief 1/Witch 1: HD 2 (1d8+1d6, Hit Points 11), Armour 1d3 (Spidersilk), Hand Crossbow (Dex, 1d8 piercing) or Rapier (Dex, 1d8 piercing) or Dagger (1d4, piercing), Speed 30 ft., Cambion (Infravision 60 feet, reduces fire damage by half, advantage on saves vs. fire), Str 6 Dex 12 Con 9 Int 8 Wis 9 Cha 18.
  
  • Backstab: When attacking an oblivious or surprised enemy or whenever a defender has disadvantage on defense rolls, Constantia adds 1d6 damage.
  • Darken: As a Tartarean cambion, Constantia can cast Darken once per day.
  • Spells: Glamer, Guise,* Jinx,* Maniacal Laughter, Reanimate Hand, Slumber.
  • Equipment: Bolt case (16 bolts remaining), 3 daggers, 2 hand crossbows, 2 vials of holy water, grimoire with above spells, purse with 23 gp and 76 sp, rapier, ruby keystone, spidersilk armour, thieves’ tools.

Map Close-Up

Soundtrack for areas 31-36

Combat Music

Overview

Previous: Areas 1-6, Areas 7-12, Areas 13-18, Areas 19-24, Areas 25-30

31. The Canopic Maze

This confusing series of chambers is linked together in ways that defy the conventional laws of physics. Each contains one or more of the canopic jars of Zothotep, gigantic urns sloshing with ancient alchemical reagents and the organs of the Hyperlich. The walls are adorned with hieroglyphs in an unknown tongue.

• The Fodder Clan use the Canopic Maze as a pantry; there is a 10% chance in each chamber of encountering 2d4 goblins with a bone ladder and spears fishing organs out of the canopic jars.

• Each chamber has six exits. If one departs from one “wall” of the maze, one ends up at the other side: so, for example, if one exits the southwest door in 31B, one would emerge at the northeast door in 31F. The exceptions are certain doors in chambers A, H, and F.

• The hieroglyphs on the wall are in Cinis, language of the Abject Imperium. If translated, they reveal themselves to be a series of a titles – Pharoah of the Lightless Sun, King of the Orchidaceous Realm, Archon of the Medusoid Throne, Grand Vizier of the Lunar Caliphate, Patriarch of Yawgmar, Witch-Pope of the Seventh World, and countless more. These are the many titles held by Zothotep during his long unlife.

• An Intelligence check confirms the identity of the various esoteric Unspeakable Ones whose images are borne by the canopic jars.

• Each jar is also labelled in Cinis, identifying the organ held within.

• The organs within endlessly regenerate themselves so long as the phylactery in area 34 is intact. If the contents are consumed, the jar will “refill” over the course of 24 hours.

• If the jars are broken, a consumed or destroyed organ regrows inside the Hyperlich instead.

• Samples of the Hyperlich’s organs (and his flesh from chamber 36) might be very valuable to the Académie Macabre or to Fiend’s College. Each decently sized unique sample (2 encumbrance) yields 200 guineas, another 50 gp for duplicate samples.

• If the Fodder Clan become aware of intruders, a hunting party of 8 goblins begins stalking the party through the Canopic Maze, performing hit-and-run attacks, laying ambushes, and generally making the lives of those in the Maze miserable.

• Consuming any of the organs requires a Constitution save to avoid gaining Corruption equal to the amount by which you failed (20 on a critical failure). Corruption has effects as tracked below. Fodder Clan Goblins have advantage on this save. Corruption reduces at a rate of 1 per day, reducing at double the rate for Fodder Clan Goblins. Detoxify reduces it by 1d12 and Heal Disease by 1d20. Eating a proper meal (and keeping it down) reduces it by 1d10 and drinking Holy Water reduces it by 1d4. As with Radiation (see area 4), these effects are cumulative.

31A. Cirrus

The lid of a huge jar is topped with a sculpture of a lamprey maw surrounding by squirming tendrils.

• The deity depicted is the Thousand-Suckered-One, god of change and adaptation, whose enormous temple looms large amongst Hex’s various basilica and cathedrals far above.

• Inside the jar, the curious, tentacular tongue of the Hyperlich twitches as if remembering the taste of ancient spells. Anyone who consumes the Cirrus gains 2 Charisma and gains facility with Aklo, Deadspeech, Diabolic, Deadspeech, and Lacunal for 24 hours.

31B. Metagigarium

The huge jar in this room is topped with a figure resembling a mass of folded, membranous wings.

• The jar containing the Metagigarium bears the image of the Star-Eater, a predatory Unspeakable One said to consumes whole galaxies, a deity of consumption and appetite.

• The metagigarium is an endlessly twisting knot of tissue, a gizzard like an optical puzzle made flesh. Anyone who consumes it gains the ability to eat any other substance, organic or otherwise, and find nourishment in it, for 24 hours. They become immune to ingested poisons for this time. This grants advantage on Constitution saves to keep a meal down.

31C. Apeiroviscera

Two large canopic jars have been placed in this chamber instead of one. One bears the semblance of a twisting worm, the other a bizarre tangle of jagged polyhedral shapes.

• The jar containing the apeiroviscera is topped with the semblance of the Pallid Worm, known also in Hex as Mordiggia, the Charnel Goddess, a deity of entropy, decay, and death.

• The entrails of the Hyperlich loop back on themselves endlessly and can be infinitely unspooled. Eating a meal’s worth of the apeiroviscera feeds the eater for three days.

• The jar containing mazelungs – moved from area 31D – bears a representation of the Cachinnation, an esoteric god of madness and impossibility, which some theologians hold is an avatar of the Antinomian.

• The ludicrously intricate mazelungs of the Hyperlich flutter and gasp if removed from their suffocating jar. They respirate not merely oxygen but a range of other energies and substances. If consumed, the mazelungs allow the eater to breathe in a vacuum, converting nebulous dark energies into fuel in a fashion analogous to oxygen. This ability persists for 24 hours.

31D. Mazelungs

The doors to this chamber are closed and sealed with sigils drawn in blood. These wards constitute a Wizard Lock inscribed by one of Greybreath’s predecessors. The shaman knows the passcode – a High Goblin phrase meaning “Bless the Unfortunate Ones.” She comes by and feeds the creature within once a week.

There is a sound of wrenching bones, of tearing flesh, of gashing teeth. The stench of skin gone bad, a cancerous reek. Shapes flutter. Something lurches towards you, scuttling on many legs, some hoofed, some clawed. A mass of appendages clutches the air, melts into bubbling flesh, reforms as a mass of tentacles. Mouths open and close like bubbles in liquid. The thing that mewls and cries and groans and lashes the air with its manifold appendages should not be, could not be. It cries out with an insatiable hunger.

• This is the result of a goblin who has succumbed to Fleshflux. When other goblins become too physically unstable due to rampant mutation, they are brought to this room, to be eaten by the creature – though, rarely, such a sacrifice has triumphed, killing and eating the horror within and so becoming the chamber’s new occupant.

• This chamber once held the mazelungs, now kept in 31C.

• If released, the Unfortunate One attacks the nearest creature, fleeing only if badly outnumbered and injured. It will rampage through the Canopic Maze and the rest of the Apocalypse Archive devouring all it comes across.
  
  Unfortunate One, 6 HD (30 Hit Points), Armour 1d4, 2d4 Grasping Appendages (Str, 1d8 + 1d8 Corruption), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Str 16, Dex 8, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 8.
  • Big: The Unfortunate One has a 10-foot reach.
  • Devour: If the Unfortunate One consumes a corpse, it gains Hit Dice and Hit Points equivalent to those of its victim. For every 3 Hit Dice it adds to its own, it gains another 1d4 attacks per round.
  • Ever-Changing: The Unfortunate One is immune to any magic that seeks to change its shape.
  • Regenerating: The Unfortunate One heals 1d6 Hit Points every round unless damaged by holy water.

31E. Pseudohearts

The jar here is topped with sculptures of strange, tumorous, protoplasmic forms. There is an occasional rhythmic thud from within.

• The deity depicted is the Progenitrix, sometimes nicknamed the Polypous Princess or Allmother in Hex, a deity of primal fecundity who, according to the myths of the Elder Species, produced all life throughout the multiverse, an act of tremendous beneficence and ultimate cruelty.

• Zothotep did not have a true heart, but rather thirteen pseudohearts, similar to a worm’s, distributed through his torso. These gnarled organs still beat in their canopic jar every few seconds. Each is about three times the size of a human heart. Anyone who eats one of the pseudohearts heals all current Hit Points and replenishes all spent Hit Dice. If they have a serious injury, that injury is healed.

31F. Ichor Nodes

The canopic jar in this chamber is topped by a sculpture of a monstrous, vaguely leech-like creature.

• The figure represented is the Unslakable Thirst, also known as the White Leech, said to be twin to the Star-Eater, one of the spawn of the Thousand-Suckered-One. It is rumoured to be the mate of the Titan Nyx, and to be the Father of All Vampires (though the brood of proto-vampiric specimens on Level Five of the Apocalypse Archive might contradict this myth). The Unslakable Thirst is a god of desire, instinct, and parasitism.

• Six pulsating orb-like structures convey eldritch fluid throughout Zothotep’s body, with one at this neck, four at his armpits, one at his groin. Eating an ichor node increases the Strength of the eater by 1 for 1 hour.

31G. Acroamatic Gland

A bizarre, spiralling design adorns the top of this jar.

• The deity depicted is the Endless Spiral, a deity of obsession and infinity.

• The bizarre spiralling organ in the jar belongs at the base of Zothotep’s skull. Consuming the acroamatic gland imparts a rush of esoteric knowledge. The Intelligence of the eater increases by 2 for 24 hours and grants advantage on Intelligence checks to keep spells from fading from memory. All spent spell slots expended are immediately replenished, spells returning to the mind of the caster. However, if the Constitution save against Corruption was failed, the eater suffers from a severe headache and disorientation, temporarily losing 2 points of Wisdom for 24 hours.

31H. Astral Eye

The jar in this room is topped with an inhuman, eyeless visage.

• The deity represented is the Eyeless Watcher, a supposedly omniscient being whose knowledge of the multiverse, past and present is absolute and total, allowing it to perceive all actions past and present. Its followers are typically profound fatalists.

• The astral eye is a curious blob of grey matter that occasionally flickers in and out of phase with this reality. It belongs in the deepest part of Zothotep’s brain. Consuming the astral eye increases the Wisdom of the eater by 2 for 24 hours and function as per the spell Ghostsight, allowing them to peer into layers of reality beyond those normally perceived. The next time they dream, the eater finds themselves in a disembodied state as per the spell Subtle Body, tethered to their body by a silver cord and capable of traveling to the Astral Void between planes, or to other planes of existence, shifting planes using a Wisdom check.

31I. Noculi

The jar in this room is topped with a faceless visage swathed in a fleshy cowl.

• The god depicted on the lid is the First Darkness (see area 10 for details on this Unspeakable One).

• The nine noculi are huge, jet-black eyeballs, each the size of an ogre’s head. They roll to and fro in the canopic jar. Eating one of the noculi grants a creature Infravision for 60 feet or extends existing Infravision for 60 feet. Then creature gains sunlight sensitivity, however, rolling with disadvantage on attack and defense rolls and on Wisdom checks in direct sunlight. If it already had sunlight sensitivity, it becomes more acute, direct sunlight leaving a creature completely blinded.

31J. Triencephelon Lobes

A tentacled, brain-like entity is depicted on the lid of this jar.

• This Unspeakable One is the Eldest Mind, a being of pure thought, perhaps the totality of thought itself, said to have come into being as the universe became conscious of itself.

• The gigantic organ equivalent to Zothotep’s brain is contained here. It brims with spells, synapses crackling with eldritch energy. Anyone who eats any of the triencephelon lobes has disadvantage on the usual save against Corruption and accrues double the Corruption they normally would on a failure. They temporarily gain one the spells Zothotep has memorized (see area 36 – roll 1d10 to determine). Spellcasters can attempt to copy this spell into a codex, grimoire, or spellbook with an ability check using their spellcasting ability, rolling with disadvantage since they do not have a written copy. In addition, they absorb a small amount of Zothotep’s consciousness.

• Anyone who absorbs a fragment of the Hyperlich’s mind will find that Zothotep begins speaking to them, urging them to revive him and promising lavish rewards. The Hyperlich proposes to make the character one of his disciples, an archwizard of incomparable power and eventually a lich in their own right. They will be given governorship over this world, dominion over all those within it, provided they swear fealty to the Hyperlich. Their wildest imaginings will be made a reality.

32. Throne Room

A gigantic throne fills most of this chamber, fashioned of glass or stone blacker than the emptiness between the stars.

• Strange, abstract shapes dance inside the reflections within the Throne of Zothotep, as if something were trapped inside.

• Climbing to the Throne requires a Strength check with disadvantage. The throne cannot be penetrated by pitons, and indeed is virtually indestructible save through powerful magic.

• If a solitary creature is seated on the Throne, they are capable of issuing commands as per the spell Edict. Those resisting the effects save with disadvantage.

• Moving the Throne of Zothotep would require magic to shrink it and transport it; it is currently Gigantic. However, it would be worth in the region of 10,000 guineas to buyers like Master Melchior’s School of Thaumaturgy & Enchantment, the Temple of the Thousand-Suckered-One, the Order of St. Monstrum, and a handful of others.

33. Treasury

This chamber is filled with an eclectic assemblage of objects – the grave goods of Zothotep. These include:

• Shabti Golems: These six carven figures are each the size of an ogre, hewn from what looks like black bone. They evince a variety of grotesque forms, each a monstrous amalgam of appendages, tendrils, mouths, and eyes. They shift in shape when no one is looking at them. Should any of the grave goods be touched, the Shabti Golems animate to attack the thief. The Shabti Golems always know the location of the grave goods and will pursue thieves unerringly, returning all stolen treasures to the Treasury – though if treasure passes the Sacred Seal (area 27) the Golems will be unable to follow unless physically transported across themselves. Those who bear a piece of the consciousness of Zothotep from eating his triencephelon lobes or those who have a Corruption of at least 50 (the Shabti Golems “read” such individuals as Zothotep himself) are ignored by the Golems.  If a Shabti Golem is destroyed, it re-forms in 1 minute unless its individual pieces are permanently destroyed or somewhat kept from recombining – for example, by being thrown into an extradimensional space.
  
  Shabti Golem, 3 HD (20 Hit Points), Armour 1d4, 1d3 Claws (Str, 1d8), 1d4 Bites (Str, 1d6), and 1d2 Tentacles (Str, 1d10), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Construct (immune to mind-influencing effects, disease, poison), Str 14, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 8.
  • Attacks: A Shabti Golem has between 3 and 9 attacks per round: roll as indicated to determine how many of each attack it gets every round.
  • Big: Shabti Golems have a 10-foot reach.
  • Regenerating: Shabti Golems regenerate 1d10 Hit Points per round unless damaged by holy water.

• Box of Stasis: This gilded reliquary contains a pocket of frozen time. When the lid is closed, no time passes inside the box; when it is opened, time resumes. The box currently contains the mummified head of Xerxophon (see below).

• Exhumation Disc: This black disc, some 3 feet across (the size of a coin relative to Zothotep), is adorned with unwholesome hieroglyphic marks and carvings which depict an army of the dead climbing from their graves. If buried, the disc causes all bodies within a 500-foot radius sphere to reanimate as skeletons or zombies, clawing their way to the surface. These undead creatures attack mindlessly; those killed within range of the disc rise themselves. Command Undead and similar spells can exert control over those reanimated by the disc.

• Figurines representing the sovereigns deposed by Zothotep. There 700 of them. Each would be worth about 5 guineas to the right buyer.

• Mirror of Time Reversal: Anyone who gazes into this large mirror – big enough to serve Zothotep as a hand-mirror – will experience a kind of localized time-reversal as they look at their reflection. Wounds are healed, Corruption or Radiation removed, damaged equipment repairs itself, and the like, disappearing as the character peers into the mirror an amount of time equal to when a given injury or other effect occurred – so, for example, if a wound was inflicted ten minutes ago, looking into the mirror for ten minutes would heal the wound. However, a Charisma save with disadvantage is required each hour to also avoid losing memories of past time. If an entire session is “rewound” in this way, another Charisma save is required to avoid losing experience. If the mirror is shattered, those who looked into it must pass a Constitution save to retain its effects.

• The Mummified Head of Xerxophon, once a wizard-king in his own right, preserved in the Box of Stasis. His world, Gnossus, was conquered by Zothotep in the dim mists of time. The alien head can be revived using Speak with Dead and similar spells and contains a vast wealth of knowledge, with an Intelligence of 20 and advantage on any checks to recall arcane lore or identify spells. It also has versions of the following spells memorized: Pocket Dimension, Scry, Shadow Army, Volcanic Eruption. Xerxophon is cantankerous and deeply bitter. He longs for vengeance against Zothotep, and will trade his arcane knowledge for assistance in obtaining a body – if he is sewn to any roughly humanoid, decapitated corpse, he can use his power to attach to the corpse and reanimate it. He will stop at nothing to destroy Zothotep’s phylactery.

• Night Urn: This huge, jet-black urn is about five feet in height and seems to absorb all light. If opened, it slowly plunges the area around it into night, similar to a very powerful version of the spell Crepusculate, night spreading at a rate of 10 feet per round in all directions for every round that the urn remains open. It remains night so long as the urn is open and intact, night eventually spreading to blanket an entire planet. If shattered and the pieces left unattended, the urn repairs itself in 1 minute, though the spell is disrupted if the urn is destroyed.

• The Peridot Keystone, which is not originally part of the treasury but has been kept here. It can be removed from the treasury without activating the Shabti Golems.

• The Sanguineous Stone: This reddish-black stone the size of a human head permanently transmutes any liquid it touches to blood. This includes poisons and potions, although magical liquids have a 50% chance of resisting transmutation. Transmutation occurs rapidly, beginning with 5 cubic feet of liquid but expanding quickly. If immersed in an ocean or river an entire waterway can be contaminated over a period of times – days or weeks for a river, months for an ocean. If the Sanguineous Stone is removed the transformation halts but does not revert.

• Six ornate treasure chests containing coins and jewels plundered from throughout Zothotep’s dominion. These alien objects have no value as currency, but would be worth 1000 guineas per chest to the Museum of Magical Arts and Antiquities, independent collectors, or the Metamorphic Scholarium. Each chest is very heavy, with 4 Encumbrance worth of contents per chest.

34. Phylacterium

Hovering within a rectangle of glyphs is a massive polyhedral object whose exact contours defy humanoid perception. Its facets seem to shift and flicker in and out of reality. Looking at the object is painful, but one gains the impression of a jagged mass of intersecting angles and planes formed from glimmering crystal.

• Attempting to cross the circle without the Black Spiral Glyph activates a spell which reverses time and returns the consciousness of the trespasser to the moment they entered the chamber.

• Merely looking at the Phylactery is dangerous, requiring a Wisdom save to avoid 1 psychic damage per round and bleeding from the eyes, ears, and nostrils. Anyone with over 50 Corruption is immune to this effect.

• Touching the Phylactery is similarly ill-advised, requiring an immediate Constitution save to avoid 2d6 damage as the intruder is twisted and contorted by the reality-shifting field the Phylactery exudes. They gain Corruption equal to the damage sustained.

• Entering the Phylactery on the Ethereal Plane is even worse: Zothotep’s soul swirls within, a hideous, pulsating consciousness which will attempt to devour the spirit or anyone who touches it. Contact with Zothotep’s soul requires a Charisma save opposed by Zothotep’s (see area 36 below) to avoid 1d6 Charisma drain. A creature totally drained of Charisma is absorbed by the Hyperlich.

• No known magic has been devised capable of actually destroying the Phylactery. Any spell cast at the Phylactery requires a spellcasting check with disadvantage; on a failure, the spell rebounds and hits the caster instead. Although spells such as Annihilate appear to destroy it, the Phylactery is unstuck from time and so simply winds time backwards to avoid being destroyed. Theoretically, the Phylactery could be destroyed if it could first be anchored in time. If the Phylactery is taken into an Antimagic Zone, it rewinds time to avoid being placed there.

35. Antechamber

There is an intense cinnamon reek, barely disguising a fouler mustiness. A huge, desiccated, alchemically embalmed sphinx-like creature with a tentacled, skull-like visage and membranous bat-wings watches over this chamber – or it would if it weren’t slumbering, purring eerily, its tendrils twitching in its sleep.

• The mummified horror, the Cephalosphinx, wakes and attacks if it detects intruders unless the intruder recites the many titles of Zothotep without pause. It allows those who bear a piece of the consciousness of Zothotep from eating his triencephelon lobes (such as Greybreath and her disciples) or have a Corruption of at least 50 to pass unmolested. Most goblins will not venture into this chamber.
  
  Cephalosphinx, 5 HD (30 Hit Points), Armour 1d2, 2 Claws (Str, 1d8) plus Tentacles (Str, 1d10), Speed 40 ft., fly 40 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Undead (immune to mind-influencing effects, disease, poison), Str 15, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 10.
  • Big: The Cephalophinx has a 10-foot reach.
  • Mummy Mould: Anyone hit by the Cephalosphinx’s attacks must pass a Constitution save or become infected with Mummy Mould. Their wounds fester with musty spores, stiffening and slowly becoming undead. Natural healing ceases to function and magical healing is only half as effective unless the disease is removed, either by amputating infected limbs or through Heal Disease or similar magic. A fresh Constitution save with disadvantage is required each day. On a failure, the disease lowers the Hit Point maximum of the afflicted by 1. Three consecutive successes fight off the disease. A creature killed by Mummy Mould rises as a mummy in 24 hours, a puppet of the fungal infection.
  • Terrifying Gaze: The empty eye sockets of the Cephalosphinx bore into the mind of whoever the sphinx looks at. The target must describe their greatest fear and make a Charisma. On a failure, visions of this fear fill their mind and they are paralyzed with terror for a number of rounds equal to the amount by which they failed. The sphinx can only target one foe at once with this attack; if it breaks its gaze, the effect ends.

36. Tomb of the Hyperlich (Containment Chamber)

There is a 25% chance of finding Greybreath the shaman, a 25% chance of finding 2d4 of her disciples, and a 10% chance of finding both, offering thanks to the Hyperlich for allowing the Fodder Clan to feed on his ancient form and cutting flesh from his body to return to the village (area 30) as a kind of communion.

The translucent, crystalline structure that fills this chamber is not immediately recognizable as a sarcophagus – it’s simply too large. But then your eyes adjust, take in the massive, inhuman limbs, the snaking facial tendrils, the mummified alien flesh, the empty sockets gaping sightlessly from the fractured lid. A bone ladder is set against the side of the structure.

• Greybreath and her disciples consider this a holy place and conduct elaborate ceremonies here involving wild, ululating chants.
  
  Disciple, HD 2 (Hit Points 9), Armour 1 (Leather), Dagger (Dex, 1d4), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Fey (advantage on saves versus charm or magical sleep), Str 8 Dex 12 Con 10 Int 11 Wis 11 Cha 13.
  • Mutant Resilience: Disciples have advantage on saves against poison.
  • Nimble: Disciples may Run and Hide as a single action.
  • Sunlight Sensitivity: Disciples have disadvantage on attack and defense rolls and Wisdom checks relying on sight when in direct sunlight or its equivalent.
  • Small: Disciples have advantage on attack and defense rolls against Big creatures.
  • Spells (casts with Charisma): Apotropaic Circle,* Heal Wounds, Jinx,*Omen, Slime, Slumber,* Wound.*  *Currently prepared.
    
• If Zothotep’s ichor nodes, mazelungs, pseudohearts, and trincephalon lobes are returned to his body, the Hyperlich partially revives. He has disadvantage on all checks and saves unless his other organs have been similarly returned, he cannot cast spells without his cirrus, his astral eye, and his acroamatic gland, and without his noculi he is blind. If he lacks his metagigarium and his apeiroviscera he has disadvantage on Constitution saves. If all organs are restored, however, he will be returned to his full and former power.

• Should he be revived, Zothotep selects a creature to interrogate, demanding to know what world he is on and how long he has been dormant. He magically reduces his size to navigate the Canopic Maze and discover the boundaries of his cell. Should he discover that the goblins have destroyed his library, he will destroy the entire Fodder Clan out of vengeance. Although he cannot physically pass the protections the Librarians placed on his tomb, he will either take advantage of the Stonephasing doors to find an exit or use Possess to gain control of another’s body. If not stopped, he will eventually reach the surface, at which point he disguises himself as a mortal wizard to learn more of Hex and the planet he is on as he schemes to restore his empire to its lost glory.
  
  Zothotep the Hyperlich, HD 20 (120 Hit Points), Armour 2d6, 2 Tentacles (Str, 2d6 + 2d6 Corruption) and Slam (Str, 2d6), Speed 40 ft.,Infravision 120 ft., Undead (immune to poison, diseasemind-influencing effects), Str 18, Dex 10, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 18.
  • Gigantic: Zothotep is Gigantic. Attacks against him by smaller creatures hit automatically. He has a 30-foot reach.
  • Undying: Zothotep’s body reforms after 1d6 days even if it is totally destroyed so long as his phylactery remains intact.
  • Maddening: The horrific form of Zothotep destroys the minds of those who behold it. Merely observing the Hyperlich once he is revived requires a Wisdom save. On a failure, creatures lose 1d6 Wisdom. They recover Wisdom at a rate of 1 per day if they successfully rest. If reduced to 0 Wisdom they become catatonic, shutting down completely to avoid the primal horror of the Hyperlich. This save must be repeated every round.
  • Spells (casts with Intelligence): Though his library has been destroyed by goblins, Zothotep has the following spells memorized – Annihilate, Conjure Many-Angled Obscenity, Freeze Time, Malediction, Possess, Puissant Projectile (3^rd level), Reanimate Cadaver (6^th level), Shadow Army, Shrink, Time Spasm (3^rd level)
  • Telepathic: Zothotep can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet.
  • Tesseract: Zothotep exists slightly outside of linear time. He takes an additional action at the start and end of each turn, before and after all other creatures act.

Map Close-Up

Soundtrack for areas 25-30

Combat Music

Overview

Previous: Areas 1-6, Areas 7-12, Areas 13-18, Areas 19-24

25. Bone Charms

A series of gruesome bone charms have been suspended from the ceiling of this chamber with spikes. Numerous skulls – human, goblin, gnome, elf, cambion, trollblood, and otherwise – are strung together like beads on some grotesque, osseous necklace. Each has been marked with a sinister sigil.

• The markings ensure that if the charms are disturbed, the skulls will all start simultaneously screaming, summoning the goblins in area 27 will investigate. Additionally, the shaman of the Fodder Clan (typically found in 30D, 31, or 36) will be alerted, hearing the screams in his mind. An Intelligence check on examining the glyphs can suggest this may be the effect.

• Bypassing the charms without disturbing them requires a Dexterity check. Small creatures have advantage and Big creatures have disadvantage on this check.

26. Fleshscribe

A sinister looking machine that reminds you of a scorpion crossbred with some huge, long-necked bird occupies most of this chamber. It has a long, biomechanoid appendage tipped with a series of glittering needles. This is perched over a slab with a series of spidery limbs crooked to either side. A small slot is evident at the base of the slab, something gleaming inside it.

• A program card for the Blood Glyph is currently in the slot. This can be removed, and a different card inserted.

• If someone climbs onto the slab, the spidery limbs spring forth to restrain them and the Fleshscribe begins its work, tattooing whatever glyph is inserted into the slab onto the creature. It takes a successful Dexterity save or Strength save with disadvantage to break free before this process is complete. The process is harmless, but excruciatingly painful, requiring a successful Charisma check to avoid crying out and alerting nearby creatures – likely the goblins in area 27.

27. Sacred Seal

The floor of this room has been inscribed with glyphs in an intricate concentric circles. However, it has been converted into a haphazard guardroom with the addition of crudely fashioned chairs and table cobbled together from pale wood, bone, and other odds and ends.

8 Fodder Clan goblins keep watch here at all times, though if they hear the bone charms screaming in area 25 or someone using the Fleshscribe, they will investigate such noises.

• These circles create an antimagic zone which reanimated creatures cannot pass without reverting to lifeless flesh. Conjured beings who enter the circles are banished with no save. Spells cannot be cast inside the circles. Magical beings such as Fair Folk, cambions, and the like must pass a Constitution saving throw or sustain 1d6 damage per round. The seal helps to keep Celebrants of the Frolic and Vessels of the Illumined at bay.

• Creatures marked by the Black Spiral Glyph (whose program card is in area 30D), which can be inscribed with the Fleshscribe (area 26), are immune to this effect.
  
  Goblin: 1 HD (3 Hit Points), Armour 1, Javelin (Dex, 1d6) or Dagger (Dex, 1d4) or Shortbow (Dex, 1d8), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Fey (advantage on saves versus charm or magical sleep), Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
  • Mutant Resilience: These goblins have advantage on saves against poison.
  • Nimble: Goblins may Run and Hide as a single action.
  • Sunlight Sensitivity: Goblins have disadvantage on attack and defense rolls and Wisdom checks relying on sight when in direct sunlight or its equivalent.
  • Small: Goblins have advantage on attack and defense rolls against Big creatures.

• The Fodder Clan are highly suspicious of all creatures, be they adventurers or other denizens of the Archive. They have a tentative alliance with the Baggage Clan of the lower levels and are currently in a feud with the Digger Clan.

• If they outnumber their enemies by 2 to 1 or more, they attack on sight, preferably taking enemies by surprise. If they outnumber foes by less or have equal numbers, they will fall back to this chamber and blow their horn for allies. If outnumbered, they flee to the Library (area 30).

• Descended from the servants of Emperor Soulswell, these goblins have been forced to adopt an ethos of extreme pragmatism to survive in the Apocalypse Archive. They honour those lost to the Archive’s many perils with great ceremony and consider self-sacrifice the highest honour. Abandoning a companion is considered not just prudent but respectful, allowing them the glory of a noble death. They revere and hate the Archive, which they see as an alternatively loving and sadistic god in whose entrails they dwell; to die within it is to become part of this deity. As described in Area 30, some want to return to the surface, while others would consider such flight a sacrilegious abandonment.

• The Fodder Clan exhibit a wide range of mutations, varying wildly from goblin to goblin, as a result of their diet. Use the table below to determine which they possess as needed. If keeping track of individual mutations becomes onerous, only give occasional goblins mutations with mechanical attributes. Some goblins may also have multiple mutations.

28. Hall of Murals

Intricate carvings cover the walls of this hall, which seem to be in a style distinct from the Librarians’, less organic and more angular. One wall depicts a menacing alien figure commanding armies of the dead and conjuring up awful entities from the void, conquering various spheres of the luminiferous aether – planets and stars and other celestial objects. The other represents an uprising of the living against the dead, storming the gates of the necromancer’s otherworldly palace after a battle in the heavens. The gigantic being is bound and then butchered, individual organs extracted from its body and placed in receptacles before the rest of the corpse is interred. The eyes of the being are always represented with glittering black stones.

• All of these carvings have been obscenely defaced with chisel, ash, blood, and gods know what other substances. Creatures which should be menacing and awful are defiled, with grotesque protuberances drawn on, comical moustaches, outrageous expressions, pieces chipped off, and the like.

• Inscriptions have been carved in High Goblin – a series of swear-words, pornographic utterances, lewd and scatological jokes, names, personal mottos, and the like.

• An Intelligence check with disadvantage identifies this as a figure of obscure legend: Zothotep the Hyperlich, Omniarch of the Black Spiral, Emperor of a Thousand Worlds. He is known principally through footnotes and references in Librarian texts, but those learned in Elder lore may know something of his reign, the so-called Aeon of Abjection. He is said to have ruled over many planets in an empire of the dead. His subjects were born into lives of darkness and toil, cut short at their prime to be transformed into zombie servants, or occasionally members of a necrotic nobility. Reputedly, a grand revolt of the living against the dead – some say aided by gods, or certain of the Elder Species – deposed the Hyperlich. His former slaves found they could not destroy his phylactery, and so to keep Zothotep from returning, they removed his brain and other organs, keeping them in canopic jars which they buried alongside the Hyperlich.

• The Eyes of Zothotep are gloomstones, a rare gem not native to this plane of reality. Each is worth 200 gp to gnomish gemcutters, diviners, and various wealthy collectors; they are prized as eldritch foci. There are 12 of these stones in all, which can be pried loose in an exploration turn.

29. Continuous Holy Waterfall

There is a 25% chance of finding 1d4 goblins of the Fodder Clan here with buckets to collect fresh water.

An endless waterfall cycles impossibly throughout this room through some trick of otherworldly architecture that makes the mind ache to observe. The water is crystalline, pure, and softly glowing. A narrow bridge passes through this waterfall. Both the floor and the ceiling of this room appear to be a black void.

• All water here is holy water and damages undead creatures and fiends for 4d6 per round. Cambions and others with fiendish blood can make a Constitution save for half damage, or may pass using some form of umbrella.

• Vampires and other creatures who cannot pass through running water are deterred by this system – including the Hyperlich, should he be awakened.

• The water endlessly regenerates itself and cannot be exhausted through mundane means; the impossible circuit seems to involve time as well as space. This allows the Fodder Clan a source of clean drinking water. However, if a portal or sufficiently capacious extradimensional receptacle was placed to interrupt the water flow, the water would eventually drain.

• If someone throws themselves from the bridge, they fall through the floor and reappear at the ceiling in an endless loop. For each instance of the loop, they take a potential 5d6 falling damage if the cycle is interrupted, to a maximum of 20d6. Similarly, if someone attempts to “ride” the waterfall, they are caught in an endless circuit of holy water.

30. Library of the Hyperlich

Countless pages from what must once have been an enormous library have been plucked from their tomes and sewn together into a series of patchwork huts, their frames fashioned from twisted bones and branches of white wood, roofs from paper, pale leather, and dried crimson leaves. These tatterdemalion structures sprawl throughout the cavernous chamber, some suspended above and connected with crude bridges, everything strung together with ropes of hair. Scurrying about this strange village are countless goblins, all of them dungeon-pale and wildly mutated. There is a smell of smoke and cooking meat and the chatter of numerous goblin voices, echoing endlessly.

Some of the key locations in the goblin village are detailed below.

• This the primarily settlement of the Fodder Clan, some 200 goblins, including children and other non-combatants.

• There are fifty huts which serve as simple dwellings, each for a goblin family.

• Patrols of 2d4 goblin hunters regularly make a circuit of the village. Intruders without a goblin guide to vouch for them will be attacked.

• The huts are made from the once-priceless library of Zothotep. Though the grimoires and folios of the lich once contained spells, they are now largely destroyed, recycled as building materials by the Fodder Clan. If a given hut is disassembled, the pages sewn together with gut and hair can sometimes be salvaged with an Intelligence check with disadvantage, each containing 1d4 spells; roll 1d6 for their level and 1d2 to determine if they come from the Wizard or Cultist spell list. A critical success salvages 2d4 spells. Of course, any attempt to damage the goblin village will be met with protest.

30A. Fortifications

A pair of rickety watchtowers with sharpened stakes at their base stand near the entrance of the chamber.

• In each tower, 4 goblin archers keep an eye on the entrance; due to their position, they have advantage on Wisdom checks to detect trespassers. Unless they recognize those who approach, they typically attack on sight with shortbows.

• Anyone charging or running through the area must make a Dexterity save or take 1d8 damage from the sharpened stakes.

30B. The Feast Hall

The largest hall in the settlement always bustles with goblins cooking at the central hearth, smoke seeping through a chimney to stain the distant roof before being drawn into the ancient vents of the Old City. Within, long tables fashioned from pale wood and bones are arrayed. Dried mushrooms and pieces of meat are strung up in the rafters.

• 3d6 goblins can be found here at any given time, eating various creatures hunted throughout the Archive, heartfruit foraged from the Bloodwood, and of course the flesh of Zothotep the Hyperlich, gathered from the Canopic Maze (area 31).

• The Fodder Clan recently captured an adventurer, Vivian Dogmoon, one of the Gehenna Girls, an adventuring party who became separated inside the Archive. A powerfully built cambion woman with massive horns, she is bound over an open flame and being slowly roasted. Because of her cambion heritage, this process is proving very slow, to the goblins’ considerable impatience. She is somewhat less conniving than her companion Luxuria (see area 21) and will accept rescue with good grace, but will insist on searching for the rest of her party.
  
  Vivian Dogmoon, Cambion (Stygian) Guardian 1/Cultist 1: HD 2 (1d12+1d6, Hit Points 15), Armour 1d4 (Cuirass), Glaive (Str, 1d12 slashing, reach, two-handed) or Crossbow (1d12 piercing, reloading 1, two-handed), Speed 30 ft., Cambion (Infravision 60 feet, reduces fire damage by half, advantage on saves vs. fire), Str 11 Dex 11 Con 15 Int 8 Wis 14 Cha 10.
  • Murk: As a Stygian cambion, Vivian can cast Murk once per day.
  • Spells: Blood Boil,Create Unholy Water, Edict, Execrate*, Heal Wounds*, Ward Self. *Currently prepared.
  • Second Wind: Once per combat as an action, Vivian can regain 1d12 lost Hit Points.
  • Equipment: Bolt case (18 bolts remaining), crossbow, cuirass, codex with above spells, glaive, purse with 13 gp and 66 sp.

30C. Tannery Hut

The reek of urine hangs heavy in the air around the goblin tannery, where hides – largely from goblins themselves, but also from a variety of other creatures – are transformed into clothing and armour.

• 12 suits of leather armour sized for Small creatures can be found here, along with 4 goblin tanners.

• One of the Gehenna Girls, Elizabeth Lowchapel, had her skin flayed before the goblins ate her, and is in the process of being transformed into a suit of leather armour. If Vivian is rescued, she will try to get hold of Elizabeth’s remains so that she can be resurrected topside.

30D. Shaman’s Hut

The large hut of the Clan’s shaman is suspended on bony stilts. Within, various oddments of flesh curl and desiccate on hooks in a musty chamber that smells of a spice rack. A cauldron bubbles on a fire of pale wood.

• The hut contains 6 potions of Heal Wounds and 3 of Heal Disease.

• The Clan’s shaman is Greybreath, who tends to the goblins’ spiritual needs while providing medicines and other apothecarial assistance. She is old but spry, with a prominent third eye, the traditional mutation marking a shaman.

• As the shaman, Greybreath alone is entitled to eat of the canopic jar containing Zothotep’s Encephelon Lobes, the closest analogue the Hyperlich possesses to a brain. She has absorbed large amounts of Zothotep’s knowledge, and unbeknownst to the other goblins, a portion of the entity’s consciousness itself now resides in her mind, as it has for all previous shamans, an ever-present voice urging her to revive the Hyperlich by returning his organs to his body. At present, she holds such whispers tenuously at bay.

• Greybreath reveres the Apocalypse Archive and believes that it is the true home of the Fodder Clan, providing the goblins with all that they need. Should the Chieftain try to organize a return to the surface, she will bitterly oppose him, by force if necessary. She has three apprentices in training who will support her without question, and a sizeable number of Clan members hold her in sufficient respect that they might side with her in a struggle for power against Chieftain Batgobbler.
  
• The Black Spiral Glyph Program Card can also be found in Greybreath’s hut, in a place of honour like an idol.
  
  Greybreath, HD 4 (Hit Points 15), Armour 1 (Leather), Dagger (Dex, 1d4), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Fey (advantage on saves versus charm or magical sleep), Str 8 Dex 13 Con 10 Int 11 Wis 12 Cha 15.
  • Mutant Resilience: Greybreath has advantage on saves against poison.
  • Nimble: Greybreath may Run and Hide as a single action.
  • Sunlight Sensitivity: Greybreath has disadvantage on attack and defense rolls and Wisdom checks relying on sight when in direct sunlight or its equivalent.
  • Small: Greybreath has advantage on attack and defense rolls against Big creatures.
  • Spells (casts with Charisma): Apotropaic Circle,* Cobweb,* Darken, Detect Sickness and Poison, Heal Disease, Heal Wounds,* Jinx,* Omen, Slime,* Slumber,* Thunderclap, Wound. *Currently prepared.

30E. Hunting Lodge

2 goblin guards are stationed at the entrance of this tent.

Spears, daggers, javelins, and bows are stored here in significant numbers, crafted from bones, gut, and occasionally iridescent anathemantine. The hall is adorned with the skulls and bones of slain enemies from throughout the Archive and beyond, including the malformed skull of some ancient, nameless horror escaped from the Bestiarium on the second level, mounted above the entrance.

• There are about 50 spare weapons of each type listed above and 1000 arrows here. 1 in 10 of each of these weapons is anathemantine, traded with the Diggers below.

30F. Cesspit

An electrum-plated chest encrusted with glittering moon-jewels and black gloomstones stands to one side of the settlement, spattered with filth, its lid open. Several crude chamber pots fashioned from bisected skulls are piled nearby.

• Looted from the Treasury (area 33), this Extradimensional Reliquary weighs 50 lbs (consider this equivalent to 3 Encumbrance slots if someone tried to hoist this onto their back) but opens into an extradimensional space that can hold up to 1,000 lbs. The goblins use it as a kind of cesspit, periodically emptying its contents for use as fertilizer for the mushroom-farm.

30G. Mushroom Farm

A great heap of soil and dung sprouts thousands of mushrooms in one corner of the chamber.

• The mushrooms are hearty, but mildly poisonous if prepared improperly. If eaten raw, they require a Constitution save to avoid 1d4 poison damage and disadvantage on all Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks and saves for 1 hour.

30H. Clan Chieftain’s Hut

This large hut is positioned high above the others. It is adorned with the skulls of various creatures inside the Archive – phrenomorphs, oneiroi, even a Celebrant’s malformed head – as well as weapons and armour.

• The Fodder Clan’s current leader is Chieftain Batgobbler. Injured during a battle with the Digger Clan, the Chieftain lost both his legs, though he has four spindly arms which he uses to swing about the settlement quite capably. A ruthlessly pragmatic leader, he believes the future of the Fodder Clan must lie above, not below. He is a crack shot with an ornate, antique arquebus taken from the corpse of a dead adventurer, its barrel sculpted into a wyrm’s maw.

• The Chieftain keeps the Amber Keystone around his neck, which opens the door to the Stairs (area 13).

• Though the Fodder tribe typically try to capture and kill adventurers for their meat, hide, and equipment, under the right circumstances the Chieftain will forge alliances with the party, particularly if they bring back captives from the Bloodwood.

• Should the party be captured or enter into peaceable relations with the goblins, he will interrogate them as thoroughly as possible in limited Hexian to try and find out as much as he can about the world above. He can explain that the Archive periodically seals itself off from the surface entirely, the trapdoor (area 1) leading to blank stone; this is the first time in some decades that the Archive has been accessible for any length of time.

• The Chieftain would like the Frolic once more banished back to Excessus and the Illumined destroyed. However, he is loathe to see the Bloodwood harmed, as it provides a source of wood, food, and other materials to the Clan. Although they occasionally lose goblins to the Hemadryads, their sacrifice is considered not just acceptable but the manifestation of a sacred duty for those of the Fodder Clan. The only way to convince him to destroy the Bloodwood would be as part of a move against Greybreath’s faction, as a last resort to force the goblins to leave the Archive.

• So far, scouting expeditions to the surface have been highly limited, and Batgobbler is proceeding with extreme caution, but he believes the Clan has no future in the Archive, noting that the mutations afflicting his people are becoming more severe, with more and more succumbing to Fleshflux every year (see area 31D).
  
  Chieftain Batgobbler, HD 4 (Hit Points 20), Armour 1 (Leather), Shortbow (Dex, 1d8) or Arquebus (Dex, 2d12, reloading 2), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Fey (advantage on saves versus charm or magical sleep), Str 10 Dex 14 Con 10 Int 12 Wis 11 Cha 13.
  • Marksmanship: When the Chieftain uses the Aim action and then hits with a subsequent ranged attack, he adds 1d8. He does not have disadvantage when shooting at long range.
  • Mutant Resilience: The Chieftain has advantage on saves against poison.
  • Nimble: Greybreath may Run and Hide as a single action.
    Sunlight Sensitivity: The Chieftain has disadvantage on attack and defense rolls and Wisdom checks relying on sight when in direct sunlight or its equivalent.
  • Small: The Chieftain has advantage on attack and defense rolls against Big creatures.

Map Close-up

Soundtrack for areas 13-18

Combat Music

Overview

Previous: Areas 1-6, Areas 7-12

13. Stairs

The door to this area can be unsealed using the Amber Keystone, currently in area 30. A successful Dexterity check with disadvantage can unseal the door, but a failure results in exposure to raw puissance, a jolt of which is enough to liquefy a would-be intruder instantly, flesh running like tallow, dealing 4d6 damage or producing one of the wild magic effects on the table below.

Beyond the door, a yawning emptiness opens, far too big for any torch or light spell to illuminate fully. Ancient stone bridges lead to a winding central stair here at the hub of the Apocalypse Archive. Six doors around the edges of the room open onto the six levels of the Archive.

• The doors to levels 2 and 5 are sealed. Depressions beside them take the Carnelian Keystone (found in area 90) and Chrysoprase Keystone (found in area 70).

• The bridge to level 5 is badly cracked; this is obvious to anyone looking at it closely. If more than one medium-sized creature attempts to cross it, it will collapse, requiring a Dexterity save to avoid 3d6 falling damage.

• Any loud sound in this area produces tremendous echoes, alerting creatures near to the Stairs on their respective levels of nearby intruders.

14. Collapse

This corridor has partially collapsed, a huge piece of rubble blocking almost all of the passage. A tiny space is evident near the floor, just big enough that someone small and slippery might be able to squeeze through. A curious smell redolent of loam and iron seeps through the crack, along with a few creeping crimson vines and the snaking tendrils of what might be roots.

• A Medium creature can squeeze through with a successful Dexterity check. On a failure, they make no progress; on a failure of 5 or more, they are stuck.

• A Small creature can get through without great difficulty.

• A Big creature has disadvantage on this Dexterity roll. Bloodwood Trees cannot follow through this aperture.

• Any pursuing hemadryads will typically stop at the collapse unless truly enraged.

15. Maw of the Bloodwood

The ancient stones of the Old City have been utterly obscured by a thick blanket of pulsing crimson moss. The entire passage has been clotted with trees, vines, and foliage, a twisted bone-white wood with vivid, blood-red leaves. A dim, reddish light suffuses the passage, shed by some bulbous growth near the ceiling.

• The light streams thinly through the membranous leaves of a curious bulb-like structure, one that twitches and rustles as if something within were trying to escape. Indeed, the bulb contains a Plasma Cherub, one of the Illumined of the Final Star (see area 11), which has been captured by the Bloodwood to serve as an energy source. The bulb blocks the harmful effects of the light and thus does not increase Radiation. However, if the bulb (5 Hit Points, Armour 1) were destroyed, the Cherub would be released, flooding the passage with the infectious glow of the Last Light. Further references to bulbs through the Bloodwood all indicate a similar imprisoned Cherub.

• If any part of the wood is harmed, 1d4 Hemadryads will emerge from the trees within one minute to investigate: eerie white figures with skin of bone-coloured bark who move with an eerie grace. They have long hair like trailing vines or creepers, thickly veined.
  
  Hemadryad: 2 HD (8 Hit Points), Armour 1, Lacerate (Dex, 1d6), Speed 30 ft., Plant (immune to mind-influencing effects, double damage from fire, slashing), Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14.
  • Entangle: As an action, Hemadryads can use their long, vine-like hair to try and entangle foes so that trees or other Hamadryades may feed. This functions as an attack roll, but if it hits, the target is entangled and cannot move, and has disadvantage on defense rolls. They can attempt escape with a successful Strength check.
  • Feed: When a Hemadryad deals damage, she heals an equivalent number of hit points.
  • Treestride: As an action, Hemadryads can meld into a tree and reappear at any other anywhere within the Bloodwood.

• The trees of the Bloodwood are extremely dangerous. They can move, cutting off avenues of escape and attempting to split the party. They can also scent blood. Mostly the trees lie dormant, but one or more will attack given any of the following conditions: (1) the party is resting, (2) a party member is isolated, (3) more than three party members are below half of their Hit Points, (4) they are attacked, (5) or a nearby combat breaks out (1 in 6 chance of joining). Every round of combat in the Bloodwood, another tree has a 1 in 6 chance of joining the fray. There is a virtually inexhaustible number of trees in the Bloodwood. This makes prolonged combat in the Bloodwood effectively suicidal.
  
  Bloodwood Tree: 3 HD (12 Hit Points), Armour 2, Lashing Boughs (Str, 1d8) or Feed (Str, 1d6), Speed 10 ft., Plant (immune to mind-influencing effects, double damage from fire, slashing), Str 14, Dex 4, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 4.
  • Big: Bloodwood Trees have a 10-foot reach.
  • Blood Drain: When a Bloodwood Tree deals damage with its Feed attack, it heals an equivalent number of hit points. It can only Feed on creatures it or a Hemadryad have entangled.
  • Engulf: When a Bloodwood Tree hits with its Lashing Boughs attack, in addition to dealing damage it automatically entangles its foes. An entangled creature cannot move and has disadvantage on defense rolls. They can attempt escape with a successful Strength check.

16. Overgrown Library

There is a 25% chance of encountering apatrol of 1d4 Hemadryads here.

Though this hall is filled with shelves, they have been utterly overwhelmed by the riotous growth of the albino forest with its blood-red leaves. A few scattered pages of Librarian texts are strewn about the sanguineous undergrowth. Mewling sounds fill the air – multiple creatures, clearly in pain.

• Following the whimpers leads to a kind of grotesque glade, lit by two more red bulbs. Here, three twisted goblins are being slowly devoured, ensnaring by strangling vines and branches. The trees are literally growing into their bodies, tendrils snaking into their mouths, ears, and noses, or plunging into their veins and arteries, spreading subcutaneously. The forest clutches the goblins close, lichen spreading across the limbs of their victims. The trees blush as they feed.

• One of the goblins, Shroomnose, is strong enough to cry out for aid in the High Goblin tongue, an archaic Goblin dialect. She knows enough Hexian Common to have a broken conversation, though she speaks in a style and manner reminiscent of the Dank Ages. She and her companions can be cut free, though doing so brings 2d4 Hemadryads within one minute to the glade, who will defend the feeding trees.

• Shroomnose can explain (in High Goblin) that she belongs to the Fodder Clan of goblins, as distinct from the Digger Clan and the Baggage Clan, three goblin clans descended from the servants of Xavier Soulswell, who undertook a great expedition into the Apocalypse Archive centuries ago, abandoned inside the Old City after the trapdoor entrance shifted. Each served a unique purpose. Those who now call themselves the Fodder Clan were intended as trap-finders and distractions for the Archive’s guardians; the Digger Clan were employed when mining or demolition was necessary; the Baggage Clan carried loot from the Archive back to the surface. The Fodder Clan frequently go foraging for heartfruit in the Bloodwood. Shroomnose and her companions were part of one such party before being captured by Hemadryads.

• Shroomnose possesses the Onyx Keystone, which opens the Night-Bomb Arsenal (area 9).

• Apart from this, the goblins have little beyond their leather armour, javelins, and bone daggers, save for a small sack containing 6 harvested heartfruit (see area 18).

• Should the goblins be rescued, they can provide introductions to the Fodder Clan, potentially converting the otherwise-hostile inhabitants of areas 25-36 to allies.
  
  Goblin: 1 HD (3 Hit Points), Armour 1, Javelin (Dex, 1d8) or Dagger (Dex, 1d4), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Fey (advantage on saves versus charm or magical sleep), Str 8, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
  • Mutant Resilience: These goblins have advantage on saves against poison.
  • Nimble: Goblins may Run and Hide as a single action.
  • Small: Goblins have advantage on attack and defense rolls against Big creatures.
  • Sunlight Sensitivity: Goblins have disadvantage on attack and defense rolls and Wisdom checks relying on sight when in direct sunlight or its equivalent (including the light of the Final Star).

• Although the shelves are mostly overgrown, a handful of texts and other fragments can be scavenged, each worth 1d100 gp. There are about 100 of these texts and fragments in total, but each takes 1d10 minutes to find.

17. Broodtree

There is a 50% chance of encountering agroup of 1d4 Hemadryads here, feeding the Broodtree blood by kissing its knothole mouth, vomiting the blood into it like vampire bats.

At the centre of this chamber, illumined by no fewer than three crimson bulbs, a huge white oak is swollen with what appear to be something between acorns and embryos, their enormous, translucent shells veined with red. A large, vertical knothole, like a sideways mouth, gapes along the trunk of the tree. A console covered in Aklo glyphs sputters fitfully to one side, the conduits leading to the mechanism frayed and degraded.

• Inside the acorns, lithe forms are vaguely visible, coiled, slumbering, twitching occasionally and making the tree rustle. There are a dozen in total.

• Each acorn holds an immature Hemadryad with half the Hit Points of an adult. If one of the acorns is disturbed, the Hemadryad may emerge early, typically attacking out of ravenous hunger.

• If attacked, or if the acorns growing from it are harmed, the Broodtree will attack as per an Bloodwood Tree with double the normal Hit Points and attacks. Any such assault will immediately bring 2d4 Hemadryads to defend the tree within 30 seconds.

• Another page of The Book of the Bloodwood (see area 16) can be spotted with a thorough search. The page describes the same island continent consumed utterly by the Bloodwood. The wood produces gruesome pens of thorns from which it periodically releases captives so that the Hemadryads can hunt them down. The captives are nourished with heartfruit, which grows from trees that recently fed. A successful Intelligence check suggests that this is a kind of perversion of the natural ecological order: plants, which should be producers, have become consumers, whereas those who would normally fill this niche have effectively become something more like producers, blood-bags for the predatory plants.

• The console requires an Intelligence check with disadvantage to operate successfully, and power to it is fitful; on a failure, the console shocks the operator for 2d6 damage and may cause unpredictable magical transformations as raw arcane energy is channelled into their body. If Mend or equivalent were applied, power would be restored, removing this risk. If, however, the correct Activation Code is input, the console releases herbicidal gas throughout this chamber and areas 15-24, requiring all creatures to make a Constitution save or take 1d6 poison damage per minute, double to plant creatures.

18. Overgrown Machine

There is a 25% chance of encountering a patrol of 1d4 Hemadryads here.

A grove of white trees, illumined by another crimson bulb, emerges from the shattered bulk of some enormous, overgrown machine, its purpose now inscrutable beneath layers of lichen, dark loam, and spreading roots. The trees’ branches dangle heavy with strange, pulsating fruit. The vegetation has grown so thick here that it’s almost as if you have left the Old City entirely and passed into some otherworldly forest.

• On closer inspection, these fruit resemble humanoid hearts, and seem connected to the trees by structures as comparable to veins as much as stems. Plucking one leads to a small spurt of blood from the tree. The fruit taste sweetly of meat. Each nourishes the eater for a full day, restores 1d8 Hit Points, and functions as per Heal Disease.

• There are twenty of these heartfruit currently “ripe” on the trees (1 Encumbrance slot each), and another 30 that are less ripe (1/2 a slot each), healing only 1 Hit Point and lacking the other attributes of the fruit.

• Picking unripe heartfruit summons 1d4 Hemadryads within 30 seconds.

• The machine is a gigantic security biomechanoid designed to destroy the Bloodwood in the event of containment failure. It is currently deactivated, but a close inspection of the machine reveals a septagonal depression into which something might be inserted – namely the Ruby Keystone (currently in area 42).
  
  Biomechanoid Sentinel: 20 HD (100 Hit Points), Armour 2d10, two Buzzsaws (Str, 2d6) and two Flamejets (Dex, 1d8 fire, range 60 feet), Speed 40 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Partial Construct (immune to mind-influencing effects, advantage on Constitution saving throws and half damage from poison and disease), Str 18, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8.
  • Gigantic: The Biomechanoid is Gigantic. Attacks against it by smaller creatures hit automatically. It has a 20 foot reach.
  • Herbicidal Breath: As an action, the Biomechanoid can exhale a plume of virulent orange poison in a 60-ft. cone that deals 2d6 damage, and double to plant creatures, on a failed Constitution save to all those in the cone, opposed by its Constitution attack roll.
  • Regenerating: The Biomechanoidheals 1d20 Hit Points per round.

• If awakened, the machine will proceed to poison and incinerate the entire Bloodwood unless the Hemadryads and every tree in the forest manage to stop it; every Hemadryad in the wood (roughly 100 of them) will rally to try and bring it down. It ignores other organisms unless they attack it or attempt to enter the Heart of the Bloodwood (area 24).

Map Close-Up

Soundtrack for areas 7-12

Combat Music

Overview

Previous: Areas 1-6

7. Scripture of the Final Star

If anyone enters this room who does not bear the Shadow Glyph, magical sigils on the threshold – clearly visible – activate, and the shadow of everyone in the chamber not bearing the Glyph awakens to horrific unlife and attacks its owner. To receive the Glyph, one needs to input the correct program card (currently found in area 4) into the Fleshscribe (area 26).

Though far smaller than the adjoining hall, this chamber possesses a sense of sombre gravitas. Murals on the walls writhe with foreboding abstract shapes. At the very centre of the chamber upon a twisted lectern is a gigantic book with a golden cover, some four feet in height.

• Shadow: 2HD (11 Hit Points), Drain (Cha, 1d4 Strength), Speed 30 ft., Infravision 120 ft., Undead (immune to poison, disease, mind-influencing effects), Incorporeal (half damage from non-magical, non-anathemantine attacks), Str 6, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12.
  • Strength Drain: Rather than dealing damage, Shadows drain the Strength of their victims. A creature reduced to 0 Strength is paralyzed. Strength replenishes with a successful rest.
  • Light Weakness: While in bright light, shadows have disadvantage on all ability checks and saves.

• Close inspection of the murals reveals that they depict a conflict of unfathomable scale involving what appear to be entire star systems, fleets of Librarian Voidcraft, interplanar portals, and inscrutable rituals.

• Those with a copy of the history of the Membrane Wars from the Voidskin Scroll Archive (area 6) will recognize the murals as a powerful artistic interpretation of that centuries-long struggle. Universes are filled with nothing but seething hyperintelligent plasma. The Librarians ruthlessly quarantine whole sectors of the galaxy and doom entire planets to endless night, bombing them with weaponized darkness to snuff out all trace of the Last Light, leaving them cold and lifeless husks that can be recolonized later. Light-devouring vortices cut off unthinkably large swathes of spacetime, prophylactic event horizons.

• The tome is the Scripture of the Final Star, a text which appears blank. To those with Radiation of at least 6, words in the Sidereal Speech are visible. The book takes the form of revelations given to various prophets on many worlds, delivered by the fiery Seraphim of the Final Star. Each revelation speaks of the glory of the Last Light – how, within its radiant bosom, all become one, souls mingling into the fiery infinitude of the deific sun in a blissful immolation. The Star charges its followers to spread its light – physical and spiritual – to every corner of their universe, promising eternal rewards and universal joy. Other gods, the Star maintains, are false idols, “Demiurges” of their respective universes who would seek to steal the souls of their adherents, depriving them of eternity in the atomic Heart Divine. To become one with the Final Star is to literally become God, to share in the dreams and raptures of every other soul that has been Illumined. The Scripture also contains a ritual for summoning a spark of the Final Star in the form of a tainted Sunlight spell. The Scripture is worth at least 500 gp to an academic library or private collector, but weighs 150 lbs.

8. Captured Beacon

A massive structure of grotesque glass like an immense lighthouse lens glistens in the middle of this room, set upon a low dais. It is the size of a small house. Its base is scorched and marred – it has obviously been transported from elsewhere. Close to its base, the blackened remains of two mutant goblins lie crumpled and empty. They appear to have burned from the inside out, with scorch-marks especially evident around their eye sockets.

• The star-spoor trail terminates at the goblin corpses.

• One goblin carries an anathemantine spear (1d8+1 damage, affects incorporeal creatures).

• An Intelligence check confirms that the Beacon is not of Librarian manufacture.

• Should a Cherub or Seraph enter the Beacon, the tainted light of the Final Star will completely flood the room as well as the Empty Darkness Bath (area 11).

• If this massive object could somehow be transported to the surface – it would have to be teleported or magically shrunk – it would be worth around 2,000 guineas to buyers like the Institute of Omens, the Museum of Magical Arts and Antiquities, or the Metamorphic Scholarium.

9. Night-Bomb Arsenal

The door to this arsenal is sealed. The Onyx Keystone (currently in area 16) is required, an octagonal stone placed into a depression to one side of the door. Picking the elaborate lock requires a Dexterity check with disadvantage; on a failure, the arcane mechanism deals 2d6 damage to the would-be intruder, jolting them with raw energy that can leave a thief’s hand a molten lump.

Like area 7, the arsenal is protected with wards requiring a Shadow Glyph to bypass without spawning shadows.

Within the chamber, numerous black orbs swirl with volatile eldritch energy in a series of carven niches.

• Should one be hurled with a range of up to 30 feet, it produces a 10-foot radius vortex of magical darkness. The area becomes difficult terrain, and any creature within must pass a Strength check simply to leave. The vortex deals 1d6 damage per round; Illumined also sustain an additional 2d6 damage. The vortex lasts for one minute.

• There are 30 night-bombs in total.

10. Shrine of the First Darkness

A gigantic idol of otherworldly stone looms at one end of this dim hall. Its exact anatomy is impossible to discern; its limbs are swathed in the folds of a vast stone cloak, including its head. There is something more to it than that – some perceptual slipperiness. The eye glances off the strange contours of the idol; it is impossible to take the whole thing in at once. Set at its base is a hexagonal altar stone with a smaller hexagonal depression at its centre.

• Upon entering this room, all light sources are extinguished. The Illumined cannot enter this space, and if forced here, they sustain 2d6 damage per round. Only those with Infravision can observe the contents of the chamber.

• A successful Intelligence check reveals that this idol represents the First Darkness, colloquially known in Hex as the “Shrouded Lord,” one of the Unspeakable Ones: primordial entities with whom the Librarians formed elaborate, quasi-religious pacts. The First Darkness rules over secrets and obscurity, a kind of elemental principle of anti-knowledge, absence, and lack. It reigned supreme before the universe existed in the primeval void, an eternity of limitless night and perfect nothingness which preceded time itself. As natives of Hex may know, the Shrouded Lord is worshipped in Hex above by certain hidden cults, and more generally by thieves, spies, and assassins.

• If someone offers a body part from someone they killed with their own hand in the hexagonal receptacle, they receive a blessing from the Shrouded Lord. Markings on the altar suggest the various body parts the First Darkness accepts. An Intelligence check with disadvantage reveals the details of one of the sacrifices. These are:

• Each character may perform precisely one sacrifice of each body part up to once a year. Attempting further sacrifices displeases the First Darkness, who confiscates a precious childhood memory, a name, a language, or a skill for one year as punishment for such avarice.

• A lectern stands empty here. It once held a copy of the The Rites of the First Darkness, but this has been plundered by the adventurer currently being digested by Bloodwood trees in area 21.

11. Empty Darkness Bath

An empty hexagonal depression is evident at the centre of this chamber. A hole lies at its centre, leading downwards. An enormous spout-like mechanism poised over the pit has been twisted and smashed. The entire chamber is bathed in the impossible colours of a shimmering, iridescent light emanating from two radiant whorls of unearthly plasma, crackling with electricity.

• Plasma Cherub: 3HD (12 Hit Points), Irradiate (Dex, 1d6 + 1d6 Radiation), Speed fly 30 ft., Incorporeal (half damage from non-magical, non-anathemantine attacks), Str 4, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14.
  • Infected Light: A Plasma Cherub sheds light in a 60-foot radius sphere; anyone who can see who is exposed to the light must pass a Constitution save or gain Radiation equal to the amount by which they failed (see Radiation effects in area 4).
  • Snuff: All light sources brought within 10 feet of a Plasma Cherub are sucked into it eyes, fuelling the light within. Magical darkness damages the Cherub for 1d6 per round with no save.

• The Darkness Bath is emptied, but its passage can be followed down to area 60.

• The spout is non-functional, having been deliberately sabotaged by the Illumined – the Bath cannot be refilled unless the spout is repaired.

• Those with a Radiation of at least 16 can perceive the true form of the Plasma Cherubim: they appear as monstrous foetal things with wings of abwhite fire and the grotesque faces of those whose corpses nourished them. They speak the Sidereal Speech and will welcome those with Radiation of 26 or more as Brethren of the Illumined, urging them to bathe in their divine light, the better to nourish the spark of the Final Star nascent inside them, “to become as we are, discarding your fleshly bodies to experience the holy ecstasy of the Last Light.”

• The goals of the Cherubim are as follows:

1. Spread the light of the Final Star to other Vessels.
   
2. Feed on the light and life-force of those they encounter.
   
3. Free the captive Cherubim being kept throughout those parts of the Archive infested by the Bloodwood.
   
4. Merge with ten other Cherubim to form a Plasma Seraph. The Vessels currently incubating Cherubim of their own are nearly sufficient for this number. The process of forming a Seraph takes 24 hours, during which time the Cherubim combine together in a frenzied fusion of plasma and otherworldly light, shedding bright, tainted starlight for 120 feet. While in this form, they are otherwise vulnerable to attack, so ideally they will have further Vessels on hand to defend them. Those with Radiation of at least 16 can perceive a Seraph’s true form: a twisted amalgam of intertwined forms melting and fused together into a charnel mockery, writhing shapes twisted into the semblance of a grotesque, many-limbed angel with dozens of shimmering wings.
   
   Plasma Seraph: 8HD (32 Hit Points), Irradiate (Dex, 2d6 + 2d6 Radiation), Speed fly 60 ft., Incorporeal (half damage from non-magical, non-anathemantine attacks), Str 10, Dex 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 16.
   
   Blinding: Anyone looking directly at a Plasma Seraph without eye protection must pass a Constitution save or become blinded for one round (blinded creatures fail all checks and saves involving sight, and their defense rolls have disadvantage). Attacking a Plasma Seraph without looking directly at it imposes disadvantage.
   
   Infected Light: A Plasma Seraph sheds light in a 120-foot radius sphere; anyone who can see who is exposed to the light must pass a Constitution save or gain Radiation equal to the amount by which they failed (see Radiation effects in area 4).
   
   Snuff: All light sources brought within 30 feet of a Plasma Seraph are sucked into it eyes, fuelling the light within. Magical darkness damages the Seraph for 1d6 per round with no save.

5. Disable the miniature black hole containing the Ember of the Final Star.
   
6. Breach the surface; spread the Word of the Final Star far and wide and extend the holy mission of the Last Light to every corner of this world, using Vessels to construct Beacons to spread the Last Light.
   
7. Consume this world utterly.
   
8. Spread to other worlds in this universe, converting all matter and energy in this reality into a version of the Final Star, an eternal conflagration of sentient alien luminescence.
   
9. Breach the boundaries between dimensions so that the original Final Star itself may be joined with the one in this universe and the membranes between worlds can be burned away.
   
10. Repeat this process in new realities to keep the Final Star from burning out.

12. Ember of the Final Star (Containment Chamber)

Bizarre machines that seem to be equal parts ancient organism sputter and wheeze throughout a chamber the size of the Cathedral of Saint Monstrum far above. At the very centre of the room, contained within a transparent dome as big as a church dome, swirls a ferocious black vortex, a terrible void of darkness. The biomechanoid apparatus seems to be sustaining this vortex; a console covered in glyphic letters operates the machine. Four shambolic revenants – two mutant goblins, two human, in the rotting remnants of expeditionary garb – are chewing on the fleshly components of the machine. Light blazes from their eyes.

• Every 1d10 minutes, the vortex partially loses power as the machine overheats. For one round, the miniature black hole being generated inside of the dome collapses, and the entire room is bathed in the iridescent horror of the Ember of the Final Star within. This is the result of the four Illumined Vessels slowly destroying the machine.

• Apart from destroying the containment mechanism, the only way to disarm it is to feed in the correct Deactivation Code into the console of Aklo glyphs. Should the Ember be released, it can be treated as a Plasma Seraph (see area 11) with twice the Hit Points which regenerates 12 Hit Points per round.

• Those with Radiation of at least 31 find that the Ember can speak to them, even while contained. Its voice is magisterial and soothing, at once sublime in its dreadful power and curiously comforting, reminiscent of the voice of a parent or trusted friend or mentor, a voice which crackles and flares as if the words were being formed from livid flames. When it speaks, the mind glows and warms; after a moment of excruciating agony, all pain is, for a moment, banished. It speaks in what will be apprehended as an archaic fashion and refers to itself in the majestic first person: “Warmest welcome, child of flesh and bone, Illumined by Our most divine and holy light. What has brought ye to this oubliette wherein We are most unjustly imprisoned?”

• The Final Star makes its case to one of the Illumined, pleading that they assist in its release. It claims only to want to spread its beneficence in the wider world, and that those touched by its light become one with each other, united in love for one another and the world. It promises an end to all war, strife, conflict, poverty, and pain, to all want and deprivation. It will overturn all hierarchy, end all oppression, and bring everything and everyone together, to embrace the Godhead within them and join in a universal Hypostasis, a mystic union of souls.

• One of the goblins has an anathemantine dagger.

• The human Vessels are former adventurers. Between them they carry 42 guineas, 86 silver pennies, a wheellock pistol, 20 bullets and shot, a Bag of Holding stuffed with 20 scrolls from the Voidskin Archive (area 6), 2 Potions of Healing, a set of thieves’ tools, an incomplete map of this level of the Archive sketching out areas 1-36, and a copy of the Lamentation Glyph Program Card.

Map Close-up

Soundtrack for areas 4-6

Combat Music

Overview

Next: Areas 7-12

Level 1

Stonephasing Doors

The first level of the Apocalypse Archive contains a series of doors which exhibit the phenomenon known as “Stonephase,” moving from location to location frequently. It is unclear precisely what purpose these doors served. They might be shortcuts, but some feel more like traps. Scholars believe they are the result of spatiotemporal decay, the gradual unraveling of the laws of physics within the First Library.

Phasing doors should appear (and disappear) whenever the Referee feels like throwing one in, according to the whims of the Archive. However, if you would like to randomize their occurrence, roll 1d20 every time the party enters an area; on a 20, one of the doors is present. Choose or roll on the following table to discover which door appears. Doors typically open upon being touched, unless otherwise noted, and typically only phase when unobserved.

Walls

Although the metropolis possesses a range of architectural styles and features, most of the walls of the Old City are formed from archaeolith, the so-called “First Stone.” They typically have a curiously organic appearance, as if the entire city were a gigantic fossil. Some believe that this is evidence that the Old City was “grown” rather than constructed by traditional means, and that the city may once have been a living organism. As evidence for this view, many xenoarchaeologists point to the still-extant biomechanoid structures throughout the First Library, which evince a similar design as the walls. The colour and hue of archaeolith varies, typically ranging from obsidian-black to sickly green. Damaging archaeolith is near-impossible with ordinary weapons, but sustained excavation is possible with the right tools.

1. Trapdoor Entrance

This six-sided trapdoor is caked with dust, a layer of grime concealing a series of impossibly intricate bas-relief carvings. Though abstract in design, the carvings seem to portray some nebulous disaster, presenting a stylized cityscape disintegrating before multifarious catastrophes. Earthquakes rend sinuously curving streets; massive tendrils extend from the sky to wrench spires from their foundations; twisting flames flicker across alien palaces.

• The edges of the trapdoor are strangely scorched and melted, and the carvings are gouged from the prybars of previous explorers. Sections of the carvings seem to once have been moveable but are now locked in place.

• The trapdoor requires a successful Strength check to open.

• Looking upon the carvings for too long inevitably produces a stinging headache and lingering nosebleed.

• If one listens carefully, the distant, muffled echo of what might be a scream resounds briefly against the inside of the door.

• Like many structures of the First Library and some of the doors within the Archive, the entrance to the Apocalypse Archive is afflicted with Stonephase. Unstuck from conventional spacetime, the trapdoor entrance to the Archive “roams” the city unpredictably, lingering for as little as a few minutes to as long as days. The door seems to be shy – possibly photophobic – and shows a preference for narrow alleyways, dank storage rooms, and other shadowy spaces, with a particular predilection for the labyrinthine rookeries of Corvid Commons, the wheezing side-streets of Catch-All, the dimmer corners of Gloomway, and the catacombs below the Gilded Graveyard. It is sometimes mistaken for a manhole cover or cellar-entrance.

• Should it be desired, the trapdoor’s Stonephase can be randomized. It has a 1% chance of shifting per day, including while the party is inside the Archive. They might emerge not where they started but in the cellar of a Fanghill mansion, a leprous alleyway in quarantined Catch-All, a thieves’ rookery in the Commons, a haunted crypt in the depths of Grey Hook, some other section of the Old City, and many other such locations.

2. Staircase

The carvings evident on the trapdoor entrance continue along the walls of the spiralling staircase, which extends deep into the earth, depicting ever stranger and more horrific catastrophes. The oozing monstrosity known as the Plasmic Woe, now contained in the Warded Ward, can be glimpsed flooding a continent with its amorphous bulk, expanding as it dissolves everything within its gelatinous, ever-growing body; a terrifying blankness pocks reality with bizarre lacunae; vortices open, pouring out otherworldly oceans that flood whole planets; carnivorous forests reclaim cities and devour all they find. The primeval steps are intermittently spattered with old bloodstains.

• Gazing too long at these carvings is hazardous and begins to corrode the mind. For every round the carvings are studied, a Wisdom save is required to avoid 1 damage and extensive bleeding from the eyes, nose, and ears. A success yields some hint as to the contents of the Archive – skim to one of the chambers marked as a Containment Chamber and briefly describe what its contents would do to the world were it unleashed.

• The exact length of the staircase varies with each expedition; traversing it requires 1d100 minutes, no matter the speed of those descending or ascending. Make a new roll each time the staircase is entered.

3. Dead Guardian

The thing that once guarded this vast, six-sided chamber of primeval stone is long dead, the mechanical components of its body still dangling from the ceiling like empty hooks in a colossal slaughterhouse, ancient metal malformed by fire and spellcraft. What might have been a skull swivels slowly to and fro, its many sockets now empty. It is difficult to picture what manner of alien flesh was once grafted to this anathemantine skeleton, but what little is visible of the floor beneath mysterious drifts of ash is stained from the slain guardian’s decomposition. Occasionally a spasm runs through the broken machinery, and the spindly appendages twitch like the legs of a dying spider. The whole thing brings to mind a monstrous chandelier, or a mobile for some gigantic child.

• Six doors are arrayed on the various walls of the chamber, five open, one firmly shut; simply discovering their number and location may take some time, given the sheer size of the anteroom.

• Adjacent to each of the doors are glyphs in the High Goblin language, daubed in blood. These read: “Evil Light,” “Woods,” “Nasty Music,” “Home,” “Up,” and “Down.” “Up” is adjacent to the staircase entrance, and “Down” is sealed. A nonagonal depression is evident beside “Down,” which fits the Amber Keystone (currently in area 30).

• A glimmer of sickly light can be glimpsed through the door labelled “Evil Light,” while eerie, discordant music can distantly be heard from the door labelled “Nasty Music.”

• Investigation reveals that mixed in amongst the ash are a number of fused, blackened bones. A successful Intelligence check suggests that these belonged to goblins.

4. Empty Shelves

The enormous shelves in this immense hall have been stripped bare, divested of every book, tablet, scroll-tube, and memory-crystal. Cobwebs and dust are all that remain. Something glimmers in the darkness deeper into the chamber. There is a faint smell of burnt hair and meat.

• Following the source of this light reveals that it radiates from the eye sockets of a twisted, pale corpse, that of a small, hunched creature with five eyes and too many digits on its hands. It looks like a goblin, but a horrendously mutated one; it wears leather garments and still clasps a bone spear. The creature’s skin is sizzling slightly, its veins scorched and black; a thin trickle of smoke seeps from its mouth, ears, and nostrils. The light that bleeds from the eyes of the goblin corpse is indescribable – a sickly, eldritch effulgence that should not be. As one approaches, the eyes twitch with a life of their own and begin to roam towards whoever nears.

• Apart from its armour and spear, the goblin carries a copy of the Shadow Glyph Program Card, which can be used with the Fleshscribe (area 26). This looks like a thin disc of iridescent metal inscribed with a peculiar sigil in Aklo, meaning “Shadow.”

• Cutting the goblin open reveals that its internal organs have all been hideously burned. If left untouched, the goblin rises as an Illumined Vessel within 1 hour.
  
  Illumined Vessel: 2 HD (8 Hit Points), Armour 1, Bite (Str, 1d6), Speed 20 ft., Undead (immune to poison, disease, mind-influencing effects), Str 12, Dex 6, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 6, Cha 4.
  
  • Infected Light: A Vessel sheds light in a 60-foot cone; anyone who can see who is exposed to the light must pass a Constitution save or gain Radiation equal to the amount by which they failed (see Radiation effects below).
  • Iridescent Blood: A Vessel hit with a melee attack sheds gouts of glowing blood. Its attacker must pass a Constitution save or gain Radiation equal to the amount by which they failed.
  • Snuff: All light sources brought within 10 feet of a Vessel are sucked into its eyes, fuelling the light within. Magical darkness damages the Vessel for 1d6 per round with no save.

• Anyone with eyes caught in the beams of the light must pass a Constitution save or become contaminated by it, gaining Radiation equal to the amount by which they failed (20 on a critical failure). A successful rest reduces a character’s Radiation by 1d10. Heal Disease reduces it by 1d100. Spells like Heal Wounds may provide brief respite from individual symptoms but do not lower Radiation. Anyone who dies while irradiated rises as a Vessel similar to the goblin after 1d6 hours, possessed by the light inside them.

• Those with Radiation of 6 or more can perceive trails of star-spoor leading from this chamber to area 6 and area 8, like a kind of glowing immaterial mucus imperceptible to those who have not been Illumined.

5. Darkness Bath

At the centre of this chamber, a hexagonal pool brims with darkness. No light can pass beneath the surface of this absolute blackness. Although the darkness looks liquid, it is immaterial, though deathly cold. A curious mechanism like a gigantic spout is evident to one side.

• Infravision cannot penetrate the magical Darkness.

• Anyone who enters the Darkness Bath sustains 1d6 damage each turn. For every point of damage sustained, they lose 1 point of Radiation. Any light source immersed in the darkness is snuffed.

• The bath is quite shallow, with sloping sides, but deep enough that quite a large creature could become fully immersed – 20 feet deep at its lowest point.

• At the very centre of the Bath is a plug which some groping hand might find. If pulled, the Darkness Bath drains, and a passage to Level 2 leads to the Atramental Tank (area 60). The spout mechanism refills the Bath.

6. Voidskin Scroll Archive

Spiralling shelves twist around themselves throughout this domed chamber. They contain a series of carefully rolled scrolls of black vellum, the substance scholars call Voidskin, thought to be tanned from the hides of the astral leviathans which drift in the gaps between planes. Something glows amidst the shelves.

• Wandering the whorl of the Scroll Archive are two more Vessels: sparks of the Final Star that have inhabited the corpses of mutant goblins similar to the one found amongst the Empty Shelves (area 4).

• The trail of star-spoor leads inside the stacks.

• Each scroll is worth 1d100 gp to collectors; though most have been looted, some 250 remain, often in hard-to-reach corners. Roll on the following table to determine the contents: