- Babylon 5
- Unbidden
- Two Fisted Tales
- Winter Runes & The Heart of Glass
- Victoriana
- Artifacts of the Arcane III
- The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho
- Forged
The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho
You can download a 7-paged PDF preview at the end of this page. The following illustrations and text are a sample from the preview.
In the ancient days of the world, Tsathzar Rho was an ambitious sorcerer of considerable power. He forged gates between worlds, bent demons to his will, and cultivated magical abilities the likes of which the world has not since seen. Yet, as the saying goes, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Tsathzar Rho mastered magics of the ninth circle, enslaved the demon-generals of the murkiest abyss, and shattered the Silver Gate of the Eighth World, yet still he desired more. While his successes grew his power, so too did they cultivate his arrogance. In time, he sought out power and magic beyond the reckoning of men, gods, and even the demons that whimpered at the mere mention of his name. He sent prayers and supplications to the Outer Gods, the Old Ones, the Lords of Infinite Emptiness, and other mighty beings that existed outside of planes. In his hubris, Tsathzar Rho believed he had the skill and cunning to bind such unspeakable horrors. Delving into texts judged ancient even in his distant epoch, he called forth the Keeper of the Gate and demanded that the Outer Ones appear before him.
In doing so, he sealed his fate for all eternity.
The Outer Gods did indeed answer Tsathzar Rho’s call, but they came neither to hear his appeals nor to witness his magic. Their very nature warped and twisted the fabric of reality, causing a tremendous explosion that disintegrated Tsathzar Rho’s tower and turned the region around it into an ashen waste. The local men and elves breathed a sigh of relief and continued with their lives, thankful that the tower’s ominous presence had been expunged from the horizon.
However, such an intrusion into the mortal realms could not pass without leaving a permanent stain on the fabric of reality. Tsathzar Rho and his vaults were not destroyed. Rather, they were drawn into the Outer Gods’ realm and forever altered to those dread beings’ needs. Before Tsathzar Rho had drawn their notice, they had never before cast their baleful glance upon the world. Now, the time has come for the Outer Gods to announce their presence and demand faithful prayers from the creatures of the world. The fabric of the planes has realigned, allowing Tsathzar Rho’s demesne to appear once again. Tsathzar Rho now sleeps within, preparing to enter the world as the Outer Gods’ prophet and high priest. As his spirit gains power, the world shall fall under the Outer Gods’ domain.
Yet not all hope is lost. The Outer Gods know little of the mortal realm. By happenstance or fate, their plans have spiraled beyond their control. Tsathzar Rho’s vault materialized within a mountain that long ago arose from the land. The sorcerer’s spirit lacks strength and stands upon the edge of oblivion. Only one portion of the Outer Gods’ plan of conquest has worked properly. The black chrysalis at the tower’s center exerted a reality-warping field of energy that transformed creatures into evil servants of Tsathzar Rho’s new form. A tribe of kobolds that lives within the caves where the vault materialized, along with the vermin and creatures that also dwell there, have been physically and psychically altered to defend the chrysalis and worship it as a god. When Tsathzar Rho is born, he shall find a small cadre of fanatics waiting to assist him.
Into this situation step the characters. The sudden change in the alignment and demeanor of the creatures in the cave has not gone unnoticed. A brutish ogre who lived there has begun to raid neighboring villages and waylay travelers. Previously, the ogre relied on extortion and intimidation to rob merchants and dominate the kobolds. The change has driven the creature mad, transforming it into a psychotic marauder. The characters are asked to track down this creature and slay it. In doing so, they discover that something is amiss. Further investigations lead them to the caves now altered by the coming of the Outer Gods’ prophet.
The caves consist of three levels. The first level, the outer caves, is inhabited by insects, rats, and other vermin that have been turned into evil, predatory creatures by the Outer Gods’ influence. They attack intruders and fight to the death. The second level consists of the kobold tribe’s caves. For years, these creatures subsisted on lizards and rats they hunted in the deep caves. Once a year, they supplemented their diet with a raid into the countryside, seizing a traveler or small band of merchants to add to their larder. Now, they are a bloodthirsty cult dedicated to the Outer Gods. They harbor dreams of conquest and epic blood sacrifices to appease their overlords. Tsathzar Rho’s vault is the final dungeon level, its remaining chambers and galleries having displaced the earth. Within its halls are the kobold’s leaders and the current avatar of Tsathzar Rho, first prophet of the Outer Gods.
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