The Apotheophage (Elder Evil, DnD 3.5)

'Grass feeds the cattle, who feeds the beast, who ends up warm on man's table. Man dies, and worms eat him and in turn feed the soil. Where do gods feature in this? What do they eat, and far more importantly, what could feed on them?'

It comes from no plane that scholars know of, and even beings from the Far Realm are not so terrible. This Elder Evil dwarfs many others in scope, from the ravages of Ragnorra to the bleaching scourge of Atropus. The Apotheophage is a being like no other, a parasite from beyond the ken of mortals, the mightiest wizards and even gods. Gods in particular fear the creature's attention, as it does not manifest directly on the Material Plane. As its name, the God Eater suggests, this eldritch form of life does not merely seek the souls of mortals, it seeks to infest the divine flesh of the gods themselves.

Background

 

The story of the Apotheophage is one that has been suppressed for aeons. The gods do not like feeling vulnerable, and there is nothing that makes them feel more vulnerable than a being that can subvert their ranks, portfolios and even their very essence, hiding within their forms, and feeding on their holy flesh like some divine tapeworm. Whenever the entity visits the regular cosmology of the great wheel, a god dies. Gods rarely even know they play host to such a malign influence until it is too late and the damage is irreversible. Like all Elder Evils, the Apotheophage has anathemic secrecy. It is safe from scrying, both from gods and mortal men, allowing it to do its insidious work within its host. (Knowledge Religion or the Planes, DC 25)

Those few beings who have attempted to study the creature's planar ecology have come to troubling results. Even in a place as cosmopolitan as Sigil, with the greatest minds and scholars of Abberations in the multiverse convene, the creature matches no being even dredged up from the furthest depths of the Far Realm. Mages who know whisper of something much worse, that the Apotheophage is something of a natural predator of the Divine, from a place wholly outside the known Multiverse. Because its prey are the gods themselves, the Apotheophage is immune to divine power of any kind, whether the natural abilities of the gods or divine magic. (DC 30)

The Apotheophage infects a deity, slowly turning its portfolio more and more bizarre, before it eventually devours the god from the inside out and vanishes again. Infected deities will act increasingly irrationally as the infection continues, as the Apotheophage feeds on their very essence, filling the God up with it's own malign influence. Clerics of the infected deity will mysteriously gain access to new domains, often related to filth, disease, sickness and worms. Many go mad and begin worshiping the Apotheophage itself. (DC 40)

One of the Apotheophage's many hooklike tendrils manifests within one of the main worshippers of its host, often the first one to come under the influence of its infection, as an aberrant monstrosity called the Umbilicum, which solidifies the being's connection to both the deity and its followers in that material plane, acting as something of an anchor, and a sympathetic link to the deity in question. When the Elder Evil feeds on a deity, it sends out Umbilica across all the planes of existence where the deity is worshipped, latching on to its main followers. The Umbilicum is a sensory organ, and is extremely sensitive. Destroying even one Umbilicum can send the Apothephage into a state of shock, where it will retreat back to the darkness whence it came, sparing the host. (DC 47)

The Apotheophage in the Campaign

 

The Apotheophage, despite its power influences the story slowly. The PCs may have heard tell of a dead god that had succumbed to some kind of divine ailment, and find that the agents of their gods try to cover the story up. As they gain more and more knowledge of the Apotheophage, they may begin wondering which of the deities currently active may be infected, and may be the next to go.

Timeline

EL 5: The PC's come across a town where the worship of a normally good deity has been subtly subverted.  This god, Pelor, or Heironeus for example may be staying true to the tenants of its religion, but include some strange rites and myths relating to disease and parasites. The PC's may choose to ignore it, but if they do investigate, they find that indeed the religion has been infiltrated by strange cultists, who worship the Apotheophage.

 EL 10 (Faint Sign): The PC's slowly but surely come to realize that this is not an isolated incident. The religion and church of the god has indeed been subverted by these strange, worm worshipping cultists. Thus far only those backwater temples and churches have been effected, but as they try to get to the bottom of the conspiracy, they find more and more worrying evidence that at least one cultist has infiltrated the high priesthood, and worse, may have been there for many years.

EL 14 (Moderate Sign): The public has slowly but surely turned against the religion, as more and more its followers become increasingly erratic. Signs from the deity have become oddly incoherent, and the overall feeling within its following is one of schismatic chaos. A High Priestess, who is carrying the Umbilicum within her, (possibly not the one the PC's were suspecting), steps forward, asking the faithful to participate in a ceremony that will unite them under their god's eye and allow them to commune with him personally. As this happens, she has become aware that the PC's are onto her and has sent one or more groups of assassins and other monsters to kill them.

El 18 (Strong Sign): The High Priestess is going to be taking part in a major ceremony soon enough, to commune with the deity, and through it, she plans to infest the other members of the priesthood. The PC's will naturally want to stop her, but an army of cultists and other monstrosities stand in their way. In addition, many horrid omens have happened, involving the god, who has by now gone more than a little insane from the horrendous worm gnawing at its guts. These signs, like high priests vomiting hordes of leeches to statues of the deity weeping blood and infected bile, and a strange sickness that infects those who have been healed by the deity's priests and paladins, have made the public rather suspicious of those following it. 

El 20 (Overwhelming Sign): The ceremony is completed, and the entire clergy has been exposed directly not merely to the mind of their deity, but to the eldritch horror of the Apotheophage. The church immediately collapses into utter chaos, as many of its priesthood, their minds raped beyond all reason, begin sacrificing their followers to the Apotheophage to bring about its final victory over their former god. As cities around the world erupt into chaos, and the deity dies, the spawn of the Apotheophage hatches within those who were infected. As the PC's confront the High Priestess, who fights them as best as she can. If she is defeated, the Umbilicum, sensing imminent danger, bursts forth from her body, growing exponentially and uncoiling as an enormous, nightmarish tapeworm. The Umbilicum fights the PC's, attempting to devour them or infest them with its spawn, and if it is destroyed, the Apotheophage reacts with an unholy, psionic scream, before leaving the deity and retreating back into the darkness. At a GM's discretion, this may mean that the deity has been saved or that the damage is too great.

Sign

 

The Apotheophage's sign, as it slowly devours its host is known as the Consumption. Swarms of minor parasites fill the bloodstream of those who worshipped its current vessel, as well as those infected by the magics of the god. This disease afflicts first clerics, then those directly affected by their spells, then finally, everyone who believes in the doomed god. Attempts to remove disease and restore the afflicted work during the Faint-Moderate sign level, but have a 50% chance to simply make the disease go dormant, ensuring it will surface again. From Moderate-onward, only greater restorations, miracles and wishes can cure the disease.

Faint: Clerics and paladins of the infected god must make DC 15 fortitude saves whenever they call upon the power of their god. If they fail the save, they immediately feel hungry, and are treated as if they haven't eaten for the whole day.

Moderate: The DC for resisting the consumption rises to a DC 18 check whenever the god's power is called upon, and the hunger is much more pronounced until sated. Clerics and paladins find strange, white, thread-thin worms in their bodily fluids. Clerics also gain access to the Madness Domain. People who have felt the power of the infected god in any way (even if they've been smitten or harmed by the god's power) find the same strange parasites swimming in their fluids.

Strong: Anyone with a direct connection to the infected deity is constantly hungry, and can only be sated while they are eating food. They are treated as distracted if they are not eating. This malady, and the worms, are now contagious whenever the deity's power is used directly on a person, with a 50% chance that the person will contract the same hunger. Statues of the deity now weep bile and blood from their eyes and mouths, that can also infect people. The worms in the blood are now thicker and hardier, and the infected feel a near constant wriggling under their skin. All those infected experience horrible nightmares of being eaten alive.

Overwhelming: Clerics and paladins can only now be sated by eating raw meat, and despite the deity's alignment, they lose none of their power or favor from this. Whenever someone calls upon the deity's power, they make a DC 25 fortitude check, and if they fail, they are sickened horribly, vomiting up dozens of white worms, as thick as fingers and often several meters long. Infected who go for more than a day without feeding their insane hunger take 1d6 points of constitution damage, which cannot be healed until they have eaten raw meat. If they are slain by this, the unfortunate victims burst open like sacks of gore as the worms eat their way out of their innards, and crawl away into the darkness to grow into more horrific abominations.

The Umbilicum Host

 

The major factor in the manifestation of the Apotheophage is the appearance of an Umbilicum host on each world that worships the deity in question. These function as extradimensional 'feelers,' implanted into the flesh of a victim that comes to know the power of the Apotheophage and comes to revere it. It is unknown whether it is the infection of a deity that leads to a being becoming the host to the Umbilicum, or whether the host is infected first and then provides a vector to infect the deity itself, but either way, the host becomes a formidably powerful opponent.

Not just any being can become host to even a small shard of the Apotheophage's flesh. The being must have at least 12 hit dice, must be a devotee of the god that the Apotheophage is currently feeding on (at least a high priest or paladin) and must have the ability to channel the divinity of the deity in some way, be it laying on hands, turning, rebuking or smiting. The being can be any creature type, except for undead or construct. Only one Umbilicum host can be active on a particular world at once.

When the host is chosen, the parasite is implanted within them, and begins growing, subtly altering their minds and biology from within. The host's type immediately changes to aberration, it gains DR 15/Good, silvered and epic, and gains the regeneration and fast healing qualities. In addition, it gains the traits Anathemic Secrecy (EE) and Immunity to the Divine (EE). It also gains Elder Evil traits, and is considered to be under the effects of constant nondetection, true seeing, and tongues spells, caster level 20th.

If the Umbilicum host is attacked by any being that is currently suffering the effects of the Consumption, they immediately must make a DC 20 fortitude save or be incapacitated as the parasites within them will not allow them to hurt their master. Obviously, the touch, fluids and magic of the Host are tainted with the Consumption.

Breath Weapon: Bile

The Umbilicum Host can breathe a cone of corrosive bile, filled with writhing tapeworms at its victims.  Victims who are caught in the cone take 12d6 acid damage and must make a DC 25 fortitude save or be immediately infected with the Consumption.

Command the cattle

The Umbilicum Host can use Dominate Person on any person who is currently infected with the Consumption as a spell-like ability. If the victim succeeds its will save, it is immune to this ability for 24 hours.

The Flesh Rebels

Three times per day, the Umbilicum Host makes a victim suffering from the Consumption make a DC 20 fortitude save, and if it fails, it will immediately be affected as if it had gone a day without eating raw meat at the level given in the Overwhelming Sign.

If the Umbilicum Host is slain, at the moment of death, the Umbilicum senses imminent danger to itself and bursts forth from its hosts flesh, devouring the last of it, and uncoiling to fight the protagonists.

The Umbilicum

WIP at the moment.

Followers

 

Because of its unique nature, clerics may follow the Apotheophage, only while it is devouring a victim. They have access to the victim's domains, as well as Madness. The Apotheophage cares nothing for followers, but permits them to worship it while they are useful. Clerics of the Apotheophage are immune to the Consumption, but only have access to domains when the Apotheophage is infesting a deity.

Of special interest is the wretched Tsochari race (Lords of Madness), a race of annelid Aberrations that infest the flesh of mortal men. There is a growing schism in their usual unthinking devotion toward the Nine-Tonged Worm, with the heretics worshiping the Apotheophage. The Apotheophage's own opinion of the Tsochari is inscrutable, however, perhaps sensing a kinship between the creatures and itself, it seems to like Tsochari clerics and favor Tsochari worshippers.

- Kephn

Homebrew DnD Gods

So I've been thinking somewhat about Dungeons and Dragons, especially the pantheon of deities present in it. I'm quite a fan of making my own stuff up, as well as presenting things that are out of standard or out of the ordinary. I've created something of my own fantasy pantheon, which can be included as an attachment onto the basic DnD pantheon of your choice, or used as their own set of gods.

In my own DnD setting, the main evil god, Irrim Vik was also the creator deity and chief god of life. He's been dethroned, and barely kept imprisoned in the Positive Energy Plane by all the other gods ganging up on him, and now, the other gods are all in competition to be the new head god of the Pantheon.

Irrim Vik
Titles: The Dread Father, Father of the Gods, the Allfather
Home Plane: Positive Energy Plane
Power Level: Greatest
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Chaos, Evil, Life, Disease
Symbol: A six fingered hand with a fanged maw at its centre.

Irrim Vik was the first god of the world, the fountain of all life and the progenitor of every living being, mortal or immortal that ever lived. Being spawned as the apotheosis of the Positive Energy Plane, Irrim Vik suffused the world with life, endless, eternal and constantly changing, roiling and mutating. He created the other gods to watch over this world, add their own elements, and of course, to venerate their father. Taking his most beautiful daughter, the Autumn Queen as his wife, they ruled over a planet inhabited mostly by aberrations and other crimes against nature. Everything lived, and the whole world screamed in roiling madness.

The Autumn Queen was unhappy with this state of affairs, and conspired with Irrim Vik's opposite, the Anti-Presence, god of death, oblivion, peace and silence. Together, the Autumn Queen and the Anti-Presence introduced death and renewal into the world, allowing creatures who had lived too long the mercy of death and silence. It allowed the natural order to take shape, allowed creatures to flourish, and freed some space for new life and civilization.

Irrim Vik was furious at this 'perversion,' of this grand design, and after brutalizing his wife, he planned to open a permanent gateway into the Positive Energy Plane, permanently drowning the earth in endless, ceaseless life eternal. It was at his point when the Autumn Queen and the other gods had more than enough of the Dread Father, and all of them took him by surprise, betraying him and binding him in a cage in the Positive Energy Plane, behind thousands of guardians, wards and world-rending magics.

Of course, the power of the gods were as nothing but flickering candles before a star, and Irrim Vik's cage cannot hold forever. Even now the Dread Father turns his eyes to the planet, seeking followers, creating horrifying abominations to lay waste to the worlds of men and nature, and restore all to his image.

Worship: Irrim Vik is a god that cannot be openly worshiped anywhere, as even the most evil deities are terrified at the merest whisper of his name, and will quell any who seek to appease him. Irrim Vik is the strongest god imaginable, however, and for those brave enough to defy the other gods and help him return, he gives power both great and terrible. Clerics and paladins of Irrim Vik can hide their allegiance and channel Positive Energy, despite being evil, but as they grow in power and level, Vik will gift them with mutations and other changes, so that when they become powerful enough that the opinions of mortal men no longer matter, the mortal servants of the Dread Father are nightmarish fusions of flesh and steel, undying no matter what weaponry is turned on them, constantly growing and constantly regenerating.

Unlike many evil deities, Vik abhors death in all its forms, and while he sees the necessity of death for those who would stand in his way, he demands that his followers 'balance the scales,' bringing at least two new lives into the world for every life they remove. Irrim Vik's clerics are absolute masters of torture, and keep their victims clinging to life, even as they feed their pain to the Father. Dead bodies are used as incubators for seething hordes of maggots and disease, to spread the power of the Dread Father across the land.

Vik's clergy accepts all races and classes, as all living creatures owe their lifesblood to the Dread Father. All creatures who do worship him must be 'reborn' into his service, passing through a horrifying, womblike structure made of roiling, pulsing scar tissue, and usually emerging blessed with a mutation.

Relationships: Irrim Vik has no open allies, as all the gods fear and despise him. That said, he really doesn't need any allies, as he is far more powerful than any of them. If used with other settings, Irrim Vik would be mortal enemies with any god of death, such as Nerull or Tharizdun or Erythnul. He may well be in league with some of the Elder Evils however, especially Ragnorra, who may well be his child or consort (or both).

The Autumn Queen
Titles: Queen of Nature, The True Mother, The Lady of Dead Leaves
Home Plane: The Outlands
Power Level: Greater
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Animals, Life, Death
Symbol: A tree with red leaves

The Autumn Queen, commonly known as the strongest god currently in the world is a god of cycles, nature and renewal. She introduced the concept of Death into the world with the Anti-Presence, and by her hand, nature moves in cycles of birth, youth, age and death, moving into new life. She is commonly known as the True Mother of Life, for her role in allowing life itself to have shape and purpose, rather than being a roiling mass of madness as Vik would have wanted.

The Autumn Queen is a goddess paid homage to in at least every major city. Most cities will have a shrine to her, and it is customary to fill graveyards with trees to symbolize her creed of death feeding into new life. Druids revere her, and there are even some assassins guilds who kill on her name, believing that they help the planet by removing elements that do not nourish it.

Despite her gentle nature, the Autumn Queen despises anything that would subvert the natural order, and frowns upon human civilization enroaching upon nature and threatening the sanctity of the forest. In this aspect, she is also a goddess of disasters, and many see those as her wrath, striking down hubristic civilizations that dare to interrupt her grand design.

Worship: The Autumn Queen is worshipped in most places, especially as a goddess of healers, midwives, and those who care for animals and the dead. Many cities feature an Untouchable Grove dedicated to her, where animals and plants are granted free reign, and when storms or disasters threaten the city, citizens can try to appease her. Human sacrifice is not acceptable in most places, but places where people worship the Queen usually have no tabboo toward euthanasia, allowing the old and infirm to move on, feeding the eternal cycle of life.

Clerics of the Autumn Queen work to spread her word in civilized places, but most of her work is done by Druids. No one can ever start out as a Paladin for her, however, she will often choose druids or clerics who have served well to be elevated. Unlike most Paladins, they can continue to take levels in cleric or druid without losing their Paladin progression. Her most fervent servants are often reborn as Dragonborn or werebeasts.

Despite the fact that they usually focus on her more positive aspects, anyone who worships the Autumn Queen knows well that she embodies death as well as life. There are assassins that slay in her name, terrorists that destroy civilizations, ravenous beasts like the Tarrasque that rampage and cleanse areas that have become too overgrown and cancerous. Clerics and Paladins of the Autumn Queen choose which aspect they wish to embody when they take the class, and from then on will only be able to channel positive or negative energy depending on their choice.

The Autumn Queen hates the undead, constructs and aberrations, and commands her followers to seek them out and destroy them.

Relationships: The Autumn Queen is an ally of her Daughter, Allera, lesser goddess of happiness and community, though sometimes their goals do not align. She is also an ally of her uncle/aunt, the Anti-Presence, god of endings and Oblivion. She is a rival with her brother, the Dragon god Mordigauss, lord of science, civilization and artifice, though not mortal enemies with him. If used in other settings, she is an ally of other nature gods like Obad-Hai, the Dark Six in Eberron and perhaps even death gods like Wee Jas. As a supporter of natural selection and strength, she is an ally of both Tiamat and Bahamut, and even Lolth.

The Anti-Presence
Titles: The Black Shepherd, It Who Is Not, The Patient One
Home Plane: Negative Energy Plane
Power Level: Greatest
Alignment: True Neutral
Portfolio: Death, Void, Silence
Symbol: Empty space, in any form.

The being known as the Anti-Presence is believed to be the sibling of Irrim Vik, his shadow given quiet and subtle life. For every beginning there is an ending, and the Anti-Presence promises nothing other than the peace of oblivion and the eternal sleep of the grave. Despit its morbidity, the Anti-Presence is not an evil god. In its view, silence, death and endings are a welcome end to a stale life. It does not encourage murder (though does not mind it either) and sees all things as very slowly dying, whether they want to or not. This has earned it the title 'The Patient One,' as the Anti-Presence does not seek to encourage death and massacres, simply seeing those things as inevitable.

Many cities pay homage to the Anti-Presence by creating large, empty shrines, as the god is said to hold dominion over all empty spaces. It is prayed to by those who care for the dead, to ask that their souls be ferried to peace, and by those who usher in new life, to ask that the Black Shepherd stay its hand for at least one lifetime. Those who claim to have interacted with the Shepherd claim that it manifests as different kinds of silence, (a pregnant silence, an awkward silence, a calm silence) and holds no judgement to anyone, caring not for sinners or saints. It will reach out and help anyone who makes honest appeasement of it, and honestly does not care how one uses its power. Every invocation of the Shepherd brings all reality one tiny step closer to final oblivion, and that is all the Shepherd wants.

The Shepherd offers only one thing to its worshipers, and that is oblivion. After death, its followers can be assured that they will be annihilated, and experience the peace of true nothingness. This prospect is tempting, especially for those who have done great wrong and fear the hells, but also for those who are merely wary and want true peace. It asks only that its followers bring no new life into the world. People who pledge themselves to the Anti-Presence are rendered permanently sterile, as their vital spark is severed. The Shepherd doesn't mind them enjoying their lives on earth, but objects to them stalling the inevitable extinction, even by only one lifetime.

Worship: Clerics and Paladins of the Anti-Presence can come from all stripes, and all races, as oblivion and death is the ultimate legacy of all life. Clerics and Paladins, even good ones, can only channel negative energy. The Anti-Presence doesn't even mind the undead, as they too will die eventually, and before they do, they will take many lives first.

Prayers to the Anti-Presence are never spoken aloud, simply thought in quiet, empty places. Darkness is sacred and safe to those who ask, and the Anti-Presence can be called upon to bring silence, peace and stillness to madness, illness or other pain.

Relationships: The Anti-Presence is the opposite of Irrim Vik, but holds no great emnity or love for any other god. It occasionally helps the Autumn Queen, but for the most part is content to simply wait. In other settings, the Anti-Presence is the ally of any god that begets death, such as Nerull, Erythnul, Wee Jas and St. Cuthbert, however it will also lend its aid to those who seek to spread peace and mercy, such as Pelor and Obad-Hai. It may also be the only god that will gladly aid followers of Tharizdun and Rovagug.

Mordigauss
Titles: The Steel Dragon, Father of Artifice
Home Plane: Mechanus
Power Level: Greater
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Portfolio: Law, Machines, Knowledge, Fire
Symbol: A double headed, clockwork dragon.

Brother of the Autumn Queen, The Steel Dragon Mordigauss is the god that opposes the natural order of nature, seeing it as the domain of sentient beings to dominate, rule and abuse nature as much as they want. While unequivocally not the most pleasant god, Mordigauss is worshipped as the patron of sentient beings, the father of science, machines, and replicable artifice. He gives humans walls and weapons to fight their battles. He allows them to think in patterns, utilize repeatable principles and forces society forward. His methods and personality may be objectionable, but his results cannot be argued with. Along with the Autumn Queen, Mordigauss is the main contender for the throne of the heavens.

Dwarves and humans are the main worshipers of Mordigauss, and many cities feature immense statues made in the honor of the Steel Dragon, forged of precious metals and fully modular and capable of moving. Blacksmiths and artificers pray to him over their creations, and peasants pray to him to protect them from the wrath of nature and wild beasts. Towns and civilizations blessed by the Steel Dragon prosper, and by his breath of smoke, poison and smog, forests and animals that would threaten civilization choke and die. Mordigauss is not a nice god, however, and his credos emphasizes that the ends justify the means. Provided it creates a better future for all, Mordigauss encourages any pragmatic act, as long as it will lead to a more lawful, secure future. The pursuit of knowledge is sacred to worshipers of the Steel Dragon, and it is a mortal sin to destroy knowledge of any kind.

Mordigauss is rightfully feared by beings that live in ways that are not strictly 'civilized.' He has a special hatred for creatures of the Fae, who would keep humanity in the dark in order for them to play their games, and Mordigauss orders to destruction of any place holy to Fae creatures. It is believed that it is him who placed the curse of iron upon the Fae, that mortals may have a chance to fight them.  Elves dislike Mordigauss, but acknowledge that their civilization is built on his principles. For the most part, creatures that have cities and technology, but no interest in improving them are ignored by the Steel Dragon, for good or ill.

Mordigauss is often considered a traitor to other draconic deities, for favoring humans and other mammalian creatures, but they do not say this too loudly for fear of incurring his wrath. It is believed that currency is his creation to, and many dragons pray to him for a greater acquirement of wealth and prestige.

Worship: Clerics of Mordigauss usually take levels in Artificer, and most often are blacksmiths or clockworkers. His paladins form a specialized order, similar to the Silver Knights of Bahamut and the Talons of Tiamat, called the Clockwork Templars. Slowly, these people replace more and more of their bodies with prosthetics, becoming true Warforged or Dragonborn (a specialized type called Steel Dragonborn with a breath weapon of choking smog).  

Mordigauss, despite being a god of knowledge, has very little interest in Arcane or Divine magic, as those are usable only by a select group of mortals, and have no applicability to civilization as a whole. That said, he welcomes arcane and divine casters into his fold, and actually encourages them to breed among the populace, spreading dragon blood to more people, and allowing a greater percentage to become magical. 

Those who please Mordigauss can expect to be granted wondrous items and artifacts of great power, as well as ancient, forbidden knowledges. Despite all these positive aspects, however, Mordigauss still has a dragon's pride and bloodlust, and demands his followers seek knowledge and spread progress at any cost, encouraging them to harvest forests and despoil nature in order to achieve their goals. Sacrificing a Fae creature, or a servant of the Autumn Queen at one of his altars is a sure way to get his attention and divine favor. Other acts like burning forests and plundering ancient tombs also work.

Relationships: Mordigauss is a rival, though not mortal enemy to the Autumn Queen, his sister. He occasionally deigns to lend a hand to Allera, his niece, goddess of happiness and community. He is served by other gods who favor humans and dwarves. In other settings, Mordigauss is a close ally of Hextor and Asmodeus, gods of civilization and tyranny. He is also an unlikely ally of Moradin and an enemy of Obad-Hai, Corellon Loretheon, Erythnul and Gruumsh. Despite not favoring dragons, who have no interest in building civilizations, he has a neutral relationship with Bahamut and Tiamat.


Allera
Titles: The Maiden, The Protector of Life
Home Plane: Arborea
Power Level: Intermediate
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Chaos, Goodness, Life, Love
Symbol: A dove

Allera is the most popular goddess by far, the daughter of the Autumn Queen and Irrim Vik, heir to the legacies of both. It is impossible to hate Allera, and every god, even the evil ones like Mordigauss have a certain fondness for her. Allera is a protector of all life, and rejoices in birth, love and happiness. She is the light on the horizon, the beautiful dream that all hope for. In this aspect, she is the shining beacon that is gladly venerated by almost all mortal races.

Allera asks only one thing of her worshippers, and that is simply to do no harm. They are encouraged to do as they please, love, live, drink, dance and be merry, and Allera only asks that those who do wrong take responsibility for their actions. A loving and forgiving goddess, Allera knows the burden of growing up beneath a psychopath and a cold, unfeeling mother, and desires nothing more than to allow life, both new and old to know that it is cared for. Allera gives sanctuary to all who ask for it, and will heal anyone or anything. She forgives all sins if the repentance is sincere, and places where she is worshiped will accept any race, as long as they are given over to the ideals of goodness.

Despite not being as powerful as the Autumn Queen or Mordigauss, Allera has an incredibly devoted following. Her ultimate aim is to unite all races and cultures into her eternal love and goodness. The Autumn Queen and Mordigauss both aid her when it serves their purposes, and both of them have a certain degree of affection toward her, as much as they are able.

Worship: Allera is worshiped by all races and beings, but most prominently among humans and elves. She encourages her followers to live symbiotically with their environments, never taking too much, or sacrificing their own hopes and dreams for the sake of the natural order. She encourages mercy, forgiveness and rehabilitation, and her clergy boasts of many redeemed orcs, Drow and other villains.

Allera of all the gods has the most paladins by far. She sees goodness in almost every type of person and if she sees it, will give them to power to see their dreams fulfilled. Her Paladins stand are defenders of freedom, never allowing the tyranny of progress or nature to harm the common man.

Relationships: Allera is friendly with both the Autumn Queen and Mordigauss, however their interests do not always intersect. Allera is the only god who would try to see Irrim Vik redeemed, however she is in no way powerful enough or foolish enough to crack his cage open. In other settings, Allera would very much be an ally of Pelor and Saranrae either the lover or sister of Kord. She supports Ellistrae and Bahamut, and while she dislikes most evil gods and goddesses, will work toward their redemption before their destruction.

Azryx
Titles: The Barbed Spider, Lord of Discord
Home Plane: Pandaemonium
Power Level: Intermediate
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Chaos, Perversion, Madness, Aberrations
Symbol: A barbed spider with a spiral on its abdomen.

Azryx is a god that is commonly spoken of, but barely worshiped. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that people pray its attention does not fall on them.  Formerly a demon prince, Azryx turned against Irrim Vik when the other gods convinced it that it would be against the natural order for the chief god to fall, and it was only by Azryx's venom that Irrim was incapacitated long enough to be trapped. His elevation to godhood was one that was not met with great joy, but rather considered a necessary evil.

Azryx, as a god, embodies perversion, or anything that goes against what is acceptable. It revels in murder, rape and madness, and is considered the parent of those abstract entities that go against sanity and life. Wherever the breakdown of patterns and logic can be found, the Barbed Spider's eye is said to be watching, slowly picking apart the threads.

Azryx is not a popular god, and usually not acceptable to be venerated in civilized areas, but as a god chaos and misfortune, it is a popular god to pray to for the downfall of one's enemies. It is said that the best way to avert Azryx's baleful gaze is to give it a better target, the more good and innocent the better. Azryx delights in misfortune and chaos, however, so praying to this power is a dangerous prospect without proper sacrifice and appeasement. Generally, appeasement of Azryx involves committing acts that go against the recognized social or moral order, with greater acts required for greater service. Small acts of vandalism may be enough for a minor boon, but for great ones, Azryx requires the death or violation of multiple sentient creatures.

Open worship of Azryx as a civilization goes somewhat against Azryx's portfolio of chaos and misfortune, so any city that does openly worship the Barbed Spider will be given contradictory and self-destructive edicts until it tears itself apart. Azryx does not need an organized church, and as it detests order in all forms, it will gladly see them fall.

Worship: Worship of the Barbed Spider is conducted on one's own, and as it has no clergy, its clerics are rather uncommon and usually self-named. It is a popular patron for barbarians and rogues, however, as well as some evil aligned spellcasters and bards.

Paladins of Azryx are very rare, but where they exist, they are utter monsters, accepting its credos of utter perversion, madness and terror into every aspect of their beings. Where they walk, they spread chaos and destruction, and they revel in feeding the souls of the innocent to Azryx.

For all its evil and destructive power, however, Azryx has some positive aspects. It is seen as a god of monsters and chaos, and thus can be appeased to ensure misfortune strikes elsewhere. While its existence is objectionable to mortals, it is very much a necessary evil for the gods, and it will fight to ensure that the natural order remains violated, in other words, to ensure that Irrim Vik, the rightful leader of the gods remains bound.

Relationships: Azryx is not particularly friendly with any of the gods, due to being a former demon, though holds a perverse enjoyment for foiling the minions of Irrim Vik, one day hoping to usurp his portfolio and repopulate the world with aberrants and fiends. Its main enemies are the Autumn Queen and Mordigauss, however, as it knows it has no hope of challenging either of them, it focuses on foiling both their plans and annoying them thoroughly. In other settings, Azryx may be an ally of Lolth and other demon gods like Orcus, as well as other gods of madness like Erythnul. It would be a firm enemy of any god of order. It very likely has a good relationship with Olidamara.


- More to come when I flesh them out more.

- Kephn

Sympathy for an Antipaladin

Art by Boybogart, truly displaying the chibi cuteness of a champion of the dark gods.

I keep getting inspired by Spoony's channel on Youtube, especially the bits where he rants about RPG's. he touched upon a subject in a more recent video where he defined an Anti-Paladin in ADnD, and it reminded me just how much I loved the class.  I've recently been in a bit more of a DnD mood, having started being playing an Antipaladin in a 5th Ed game run by one of my friends, and being in the process of starting a Planescape game for one of my other friends. Antipaladins are a weird class, because they're something that's implied in the player's core book, and as Spoony mentions, something that probably leaped into the mind of every player and GM when he took a look at the Paladin class.

Paladins, are, as a class, one I like, and probably my favorite to play, but to be honest, I'm a lot more a fan of playing DnD more for the monsters and the storylines. When you think about it, most medieval fantasy worlds and heroes can be quite generic, as they probably had some pretty conservative cultures, and playing the guardian of that kind of status quo is cool, but it's not exactly mind blowing. Being an Antipaladin is something different. To be ordained as a champion of darkness literally means being singled out by a power most would consider 'evil' and being given powers that most would consider a curse. Even for most evil aligned people, that's a pretty big deal, psychologically speaking. To be an Antipaladin is to be an outcast, a pariah, and not a mere rogue or scoundrel, but a walking disruption of the natural order. Besides, the black armor looks bitching.

Playing the Dark Lord

Possible signs your paladin may be turning evil: Buying a full set of pitch black platemale.

Either as a player or a GM, there's an interesting appeal to playing an Antipaladin. As a GM, they are amazingly cool antagonists, stepping out from behind the horde of minions with an aura of near palpable evil and terror. There's something unbelievably cool and special about the relationship between the ordained champions of light and darkness, squaring off, especially if both of them are honorable and devoted warriors. While they may never see eye to eye, an Antipaladin may well be the only person who can understand the depth of responsibility and the burden on a Paladin's shoulders. As both of them square off, maybe bow and salute, you know they aren't just people, they're the forces of cosmic light and darkness facing off.

Portraying an Antipaladin as a player character is something that's even harder, because it means wrapping the player's mind around a completely alien outlook. By definition, the Antipaladin will not be a nice person, but as I've mentioned time and time again, being evil does not necessarily make you unsympathetic. Gods don't just pick any random asshole off the street to be the heir to their dark legacy, they pick true believers, people who really identify and agree with the god's philosophy. Remember that most people don't believe they're truly evil. Antipaladins are probably the biggest example of this, because they are fervent, fanatical believers that a world ruled by a demon, or some dark god would be better. To play this class properly, you really need to get into the mindset of someone like that, and that's why so few people can do it justice. 

Take the 5th Ed game where I'm portraying an Antipaladin, I'm a worshipper of Hextor, god of Dominance and Fascism, and that's arguably the most 'sane' of the various evil deities of DnD. The character is as much of an idealist as any of the Paladins I've portrayed. He's devoted to a cause, that cause just happens to be militaristic order and oppression, but that's because he genuinely believes that the common man needs guidance. I'm not trying to excuse his actions or the actions of fascists everywhere, but he comes from a place that ultimately originates from good intentions. Evil has more meaning if it springs from good intentions, especially if you remember that even someone as black and white as an Antipaladin, is still first and foremost a person, a person with real feelings and dreams. Even the most unpleasant gods like Nerull and Erythnul and other such nasty deities HAVE to have something positive about them, or else no one would be stupid enough to worship them. Just like realistic heroes like Paladins need to have flaws to be interesting, the same holds true for villains. The best villains have some small points of light and hope inside them, and it just makes their vile acts that much blacker.

Flavors of Villainy

Antipaladins have come in many flavors since their inception in Dragon Magazine #30. Some of them are marauding dark knights that simply exist to spread chaos, plagues and death, acting more as walking plot devices than anything else. That's fine, but I felt that it really didn't delve into the myriad of possibilities that existed for the Antipaladin. In ADnD 2nd Edition, as all Paladins had to be Lawful Good, all Antipaladins had to be Chaotic Evil, a flavor I wasn't too big a fan of. Every time I run a game, I'm happy to allow Paladins and all their variants be whatever alignment they like, so long as they stay absolutely and unerringly true to the tenants of their deity. DnD 3.5 released my favorite two variations, the Paladin of Tyranny and the Blackguard. Blackguard was a prestige class (class you can take on top of another class), and I liked it a lot because it showed that champions of the dark gods can come from all walks of life, from Monks to Bards to Rogues. Anyone could summon up the power to call an evil outsider and become a Blackguard, and while fallen Paladins were the favorites of the dark gods, they aren't picky. 

The Paladin of Tyranny is probably my favorite of these classes because it represents everything I want out of an Antipaladin. Honorable, with a mission, just as true and unswerving as a true Paladin, and absolutely and irredeemably evil. Most Chaotic Evil Antipaladins (and the 3.5 variation Paladin of Slaughter) strike me as lacking in that level of discipline and commitment that it takes to be a champion and would be more suited to a rampaging barbarian or marauder class. The Oathbreaker Paladin of 5th edition is a nice return to form, being a mixture of fallen Paladin and a chosen badass of darkness, (and it's also the variation of mechanics I'm playing with), and while they do lose a few things flavorfully, they more than make up for it with the ability to smite goody-goody fluffy things way more times a day and way earlier than any of the previous variations did. 

Movies and Books and Stuff

Carnivale: I mentioned this one before in my post about Nephandi, but Carnivale is just as good a show now as it was then. With one of the two very sympathetic main characters being a champion of light and one a champion of darkness, it's an amazing exploration of the psychology of a supposed 'chosen one' and a fantastic, and at times chilling deconstruction. Not to spoil the show, but the one who ends up being the creature of darkness arrives at it through very reasonable and human means, and shows that the road to hell is very much paved with good intentions.

Star Wars (Preferably the good ones): Spoony mentioned this in his video, but Star Wars is probably the most iconic story of good and evil fighting that most of the current roleplaying generation has been exposed to. Everyone thought Darth Vader was fucking awesome when  he appeared, and everyone wanted to see Luke finally face off against him. The duel where Luke loses his hand is an exploration of that theme, as well as what it means to be the sole hope of their respective orders. Throughout the fight, both of them talk, and both of them try to reason with the other. Even without being his father (It's not a spoiler if it's past two decades old), Darth Vader gives off the impression of being like Luke many years ago, before he became the bitter burnout he is now, and understanding the young hero better than almost anyone else. 

Skyrim: Probably a pretty weird one, but I think this game is a great exploration of what it means to be pre-ordained to be someone not very nice. The Dragonborn may be a hero to the Nords, but Parthurnax flat out tells him that he has a dragon's soul, and it destined to destroy and conquer, being the same kind of being as the omnicidal dragon god Alduin. By the end of the game, the player has essentially usurped Alduin's place as lord of all dragons in Skyrim, and where they go now is up to them. In my opinion, while a bit flawed as an example, Skyrim shows a very sympathetic character, chosen to do great and terrible things, but ultimately earns the right to make his own path.

- Kephn

My Settings: Planescape

I haven't really updated this blog in a good long time, and that's because I haven't been roleplaying as much. My Vampire game was in good swing and has reached its close (I will potentially put recaps of that up if all the players are feeling fine about it) and soon, I will be GMing a one-man Planescape game with one of my best and most frequent players. I thought here would be a good idea to outline my personal Planescape setting, as every time I try to run a game, I try to create a unique and interesting world for my players to inhabit. This post is something of a work in progress, and as such, is a bit disorganized.

Just a warning, to those of you not familiar with the Planescape setting, this post will not make a huge amount of sense, however, a very brief overview, Sigil is a city in the DnD universe and the primary location of the Planescape setting. Known as the City of Doors, it's a city at the centre of the multiverse, where beings from all planes mingle. It is very easy to get to Sigil, and as almost everything is a portal, it is very easy to end up lost.


Outside of Sigil there are 17 planes, each adhering to a specific alignment (along with a true neutral wilderness called the Outlands, with towns that connect to various planes called Gate Towns). and home to some kind of native Outsider, be they Lawful Good angels to Chaotic Evil demons. Each one has their own ecology and politics, however, in Sigil, there is no war. Angels and demons and devils mingle freely, and while they don't get along, they are civil. The city is watched over by a mysterious being called the Lady of Pain, an omnipotent entity that keeps other gods out of Sigil and ensures that no one attempts to destroy it or conquer it.

Sigil, City of Doors

My interpretation of Sigil isn't much different from the published version with a few exceptions. For a start, I interpret EVERY setting within Dungeons and Dragons, and hell, Pathfinder and Magic: The Gathering as various different Prime Material planes. In my version of the setting, there is not merely one Prime, but an infinite number of them,  and thus, ANY character concept goes. Good Mindflayers, Evil Unicorns, non-angsty Drow, if you can think of it, there's probably a Prime where that's just how reality works. The only exception to this is Outsiders and the Outer Planes. There are no non-evil Devils or non-Lawful Inevitables, as there is only one of each of those realities. 

The implications of this are that a player can visit Goralon, Dominaria, Krynn, Eberron and any of an innumerable amount of fantasy settings, and even perhaps settings from other RPG's, like Vampire: The Masquerade and Warhammer 40k (though they had best be careful, as magic works very differently there). They can even meet themselves and find different versions of who they are, with different classes and different alignments.

The main difference from other DnD settings like Prime worlds is that Sigil is a very mutable place. Planes react to sentient beings, and operate on a weird kind of dream logic. Getting from one place to another is more than simply a quest from one point to another. It is a spiritual and mental journey as much as a physical one, and if one is unprepared to make that journey, the destination can never be reached.

Unlike Primes (creatures that come from Material Worlds) Gods and other Outsiders like Angels, Devils and Slaadi are not merely life-forms, but literal personifications of their native plane's alignment. In this sense, they lack the free will of Primers, despite having an incredible amount of power. A Devil is not simply averse to performing chaotic good acts, they are quite literally incapable of conceiving of any act that is not lawful or evil. Explaining it to the creature won't help, as they are simply incapable of thinking outside of their native paradigm.

One of the main areas in my Planescape game is the Pact, a bar that is something of my answer to the Smoldering Corpse Bar, a canon bar within the setting and the video game. The Pact is a bar for Fiends and mortals who wish to truck with them, and all the devils, demons and Yugoloths within the place are hungry and fully authorized to bargain for mortal souls. Run by the Chain Devil Eviscewrack, The Pact offers a truly unique service for mortals who truly despise each other, yet for one reason or another cannot kill each other. Mutually assured damnation, where both sell their souls to the same Fiend for the privilege of designing the others torture.

 

Gate Towns

 

For those unfamiliar with the Planescape setting, Sigil is not the only city in it. The Outland, the true neutral plane that sits between all the others, has small settlements called Gate Towns, each of which, contains a Gate to the plane which it is primarily influenced by. Most of the inhabitants share the alignment of the plane closest to them, however, if the towns ever align fully with it's plane's native philosophy, it is sucked into the plane and a new one arises. I have my own versions of all the Gate Towns in the Outlands, partially to simply be contrary, but mostly because I wanted to define the idea of towns allied to a certain alignment, with my own touch. Included among the 17 outer planar Gate Towns, I also have 6 Inner Planar gate towns that are built of a certain element, and lead to one of the elemental planes, or to the plane of positive and negative energy. I'll admit, I heard of the concept of Gate Towns before I actually got into the setting, so some of these are a bit similar to the ones in canon, however, I keep them mostly out of nostalgia and the fact that I think that some have their own valid secrets to share.

Directions in the Outlands are pretty difficult to come by, as there are no stable maps. One traverses the Outlands by setting a destination and, eventually, if the destination wants you there and you mean it no harm, you will find it. The various Gate Towns and Cities haven't killed each other yet because if the settlement rejects a traveler, that traveler will never come across it, instead wandering the hungry jungle of the Outland forever.

Gorre, the Meat Grinder (Abyss, Chaotic Evil): Gorre is a massive, nightmarish settlement built of iron, bones, patchwork and rags, and anything else that its denizens could get their hands on and pull apart. Industrial, slave powered factories constantly expel a thick haze of smog into the sky, and inside, everyone has their price. Civilization and culture in Gorre is very much a Mad-Max style rule by fear and power, where the strong enslave the weak and the weak kill each other to get scraps of food and clothing. Fashion usually favors bones, spiked armor and human skin. Preferably all of the above.

Atrocia (Acheron, Lawful Neutral Evil): Atrocia is a large, near impenetrable fortress, built of black steel and adorned with the heads of those who foolishly tried to invade. Soldiers of every kind march in inexplicably complex patterns across almost every public area. The entire city is uniformly grey and black, with some small hints of red where torture is performed on prisoners. Surveillance is everywhere, and dark Paladins await any who would break the innumerable laws. Atrocia is constantly training armies to take part in the wars on Acheron and every month, sends a new battalion through the Gate, from which no one has ever returned.

Vineweft (Arborea, Chaotic Good): The free elf village of Vineweft is a village created entirely of vines that hangs in the canopies of the Outland's forests. There is nothing artificial here, and the forest and the town itself provides for its people. Everyone and everything is welcome in Vineweft, and the villagers will have no problem with a person provided they do no harm. Every night, celebration and parties happen, to commemorate the passing of a day. Alcohol from every plane is available here, and there is no taboo on anything that does not harm another sentient being. Vineweft is probably the freest place in all the planes.

Oligarch, the Ivory Cage (Arcadia, Lawful Neutral Good): Oligarch is probably the safest place in the Outlands. A city with ancient Roman architecture, Oligarch is a place for conformists and those who feel that family comes first. Law enforcement is very much of the 'father knows best' kind, however, repeat offenders will find that the city has little tolerance for dissent. While the people of Oligarch are a polite and kind bunch, always willing to offer people the benefit of the doubt and offer sanctuary, they are distrustful of people who show that they can't fit in and more chaotically aligned guests would get a very stifling, prim and proper vibe from the place. 

Encephalon, the Iron Library (Baator, Lawful Evil): Ruled over by the Sensate Illithid Lich Thorthalix, Encephalon is a city built to resemble the contours of the human brain. A true Magocracy, nowhere in the mutliverse is the phrase 'knowledge is power' more appropriate. In Encephalon, a visitor can find records of almost anything from any plane, however, the jealous Alhoon and the other mages, archivists and adepts that rule the city insist that visitors leave behind one of their own memories for each piece of information taken, for just like the hellish domain of Baator, nothing in Encephalon is free. 

Wyldlight (Beastlands, Neutral Good Chaotic): A peaceful tribal village, Wyldlight is a place where man's relationship to nature is at its most idealistic and symbiotic. Hunters hunt, farmers farm, and no one upsets the balance with greed. Wyldlight is a place where there is no currency, and everyone simply shares, with the needy free to take and the prosperous generous with their resources. Wyldlighters expect all outsiders to adhere to these standards however, and anti-social behavior will merit retribution in turn.

Forgehome, the Twin Towns (Bytopia, Neutral Good Lawful): A place of industrious artifice, Forgehome is a mining town and that directly smelts everything it digs up and crafts it superbly. Largely inhabited by Dwarves, Forgehome mimics the plane that it connects to by selling its wares to Sigil and to the other Gate Towns, ensuring that everyone has access to good wares and equipment. Artifice is king and commerce a very distant second in Forgehome, however, and everything is judged by its artistic and pragmatic value rather than its value in coin. The culture, however, is quite intolerant of waste or laziness, and even visitors are expected to earn their keep.

Knifesong (Carceri, Neutral Evil Chaotic): Much like Carceri, no one who is in Knifesong wants to be in Knifesong, and yet, curiously, no one seems able to leave. Knifesong is a hungry town, that calls people with darkness in their hearts and keeps them there, forcing them to form a society to survive. Those not directly called by the town may leave at will, however may find themselves feeling rather dirty. The fetid swamps that lie just to the north of the town lend a healthy mist and a sense of decay to the urban environment, and naturally occurring undead lurk in the marshes.

Hearthgrove (Elysium, Neutral Good): Often called the happiest place in the planes, Heartgrove is a rural village built in the center of a wide open field, where the sun is in a state of perpetual rising. The horizons are always orange, the feeling in the village is majestic, and the citizens are welcoming to all, and are charitable and honest. A weird side effect of living in Heartgrove makes people more pleasant, opens their minds up and instills in them a feeling of family and community. Much like Elysium itself, very few people who enter Heartgrove ever have the will to leave, and will often find love and start a family. Life brims from every street corner, and there are no signs of decay or rot.

Bloodgulch, the Burning Pit (Gehenna, Neutral Evil Lawful): A settlement built around a massive, open crag in the rocky mountains, over a never ending stream of lava, Bloodgulch is primarily inhabited by people wishing to test their strength. Laws and traditions are passed on by word of mouth, and a strong warrior culture pervades. Bloodgulch is primarily inhabited by Hobgoblins, who's strong, militaristic culture permeates everything in the place with iron fisted brutality along with frothing, primal barbarism. People who find themselves on the wrong side of the law find themselves hurled into one of the lakes of flame, or if they're really unlucky, into the crag itself, which is a portal to Gehenna.

Blacksand Wastes (Hades, Neutral Evil): Blacksand is a ragtag desert settlement, constantly roving in an endless sea of blackened sand, under a starry night sky. Blacksand villagers are nomads, raiders and slavers who set up ramshackle huts wherever they can, made of anything they can find, and sell slaves, drugs and weapons to anyone who finds them. Oddly, the settlement can move, but wherever it does move to degrades very quickly into the same endless waste of black sand. The gate to Hades is a subtle one, and is accessed simply by following the north star along the desert until one finds oneself in the Gray Wastes.

Patchwork (Limbo, Chaotic Neutral): Of all the Gate Towns, Patchwork is probably the most peculiar and one of the most dangerous. Looking like a truly bizarre conglomerate of almost every type of city haphazardly mashed together, people walking the streets of Patchwork may find themselves in a Victorian cityscape, a crumbling necropolis, or even a futuristic metropolis. Angles don't add up in Patchwork, and from the outside, the city just looks like an enormous pile of scrap. Every single corner, nook and cranny in Patchwork leads somewhere else, sometimes to other planes, and sometimes to areas that don't seem to exist in reality. The portal to Limbo is ever changing, and can be exceedingly difficult to find. Other times, it seeks out people in the city and hurls them into the ever-changing wastes.

Metronomos (Mechanus, Lawful Neutral): Metronomos is a city almost without life. Filled with crude replicas of people, the clockwork city ticks onward, a gigantic clock set against the sky of the Outlands. Numbers dot every surface, and every single building and spire is built to perfect dimensions. The city is maintained largely by spiderlike drones, their legs like the hands of a clock. Every part of the city is suffused by an endless ticking noise, and it moves slowly but surely in impossible directions. The citizens of Metronomos never get tired and never need to sleep, however they find it hard to change their behaviors and ways of thinking after spending too long within the Clockwork City As a curious quirk, in Metronomos, a person can instantly know the time to the second, and the exact measurements of any object, simply by looking at it.

Outlands (Neutral): No city beyond Sigil itself. The Outlands are an eternal, massive pastiche of every possible outdoor environment, representing nature at it's most primal.

Dementos (Pandemonium, Chaotic Neutral, Evil): Dementos is a city that no one can ever seem to reach if they are fully sane. It takes a touch of madness, some crippling flaw that plagues a person to reach the Gate Town to Pandemonium, which appears otherwise as just a city, eternally in the distance. Even when it is reached, Dementos is a city that changes according to the perceptions and fears of its inhabitants. Enormous, black and grey buildings loom over citizens, and the streets are lined with the fearful, and occasionally covered in their mad graffiti. Dementos operates like a nightmare, and manifests the fears of its citizens with hungry abandon. In  the eternally twilight streets, incautious visitors may find themselves stalked by faceless strangers or sinking into a black morass of tar. No one knows who rules Dementos, an iron tower of spirals sits in the city center but no gate seems to lead to it. It is said that the Gate to Pandemomium is the town itself, and occasionally, people will go missing in its shadowy streets, never to return.

Runefyre (Ysgard, Chaotic Neutral, Good): Much like the plane of Ysgard, Runefyre is something of a strange settlement. Surrounded by a perpetual cold and snow, Runefyre is inhabited largely by boastful humans, elves and dwarven warriors. Surrounded by dangerous, terrifying monsters, the citizens of Runefyre are constantly hoping to prove themselves. While good natured, Runefyre is barely a society, and people are expected to take what they can, and are considered to own only what they are strong enough to hold. People are expected to be strong and the weak and meek very quickly find themselves trapped at the bottom of the social ladder.

Whirligig, The Frozen Cyclone (Air Plane): Whirligig is the first city that leads to an elemental plane to be established in the Outlands, and even compared to its inner planar brethren the city is spectacular. An immense cyclone, frozen by magic in the middle of the Outlands, the city of Whirligig is built of crystal and glass, twinkling along the walls of frozen air. Flight is an absolute necessity and even more land bound travelers find themselves hovering just a little. Citizens are extremely relaxed and flighty and don't like to be drawn into conflict. The immense gate to the Elemental Plane of Air lies at the very top of the cyclone, the farthest point from the ground.

Catacomb (Earth Plane): If Whirligig is the most extravagant of the inner planar cities, Catacomb is probably the most subtle. A subterranean series of tunnels, Catacomb is pitch black, and its citizens have adapted to its sightless environments,  navigating by touch and hearing alone. New tunnels are constantly being dug in Catacomb, by a force that no one ever sees. Legend has it that there is gold and gemstones buried in those dark tunnels, but that those who disrespect the town find themselves swallowed by inexplicable landslides, as if devoured. The gate to the Earth Plane is a simple tunnel that goes on forever, eventually depositing the traveler into the Plane.

Fuego (Fire Plane): Constantly burning, bright and melting, the city of the Fuego caught fire long ago, and the unknown, superhard and almost nonconductive metal melts slowly even as citizens wander the streets. A spiraling metropolis of silver and gold, Fuego sits at a constant temperature of 40 degrees celsius, uncomfortably hot, and the lower a person goes, the hotter it gets. People in Fuego tend to be irritable and on edge, as they are well aware that the city's architecture alters itself constantly. Constant work is done to repair and reshape parts of the city, to keep it in one piece, and the stubborn citizens insist that the city is the only thing keeping the Elemental Plane of Fire from pouring outward and devouring the Outlands. The gateway to the Fire Plane is a white hot furnace that sits at the city's heart, not that anyone can approach it without an immunity to heat. it is surrounded by a lake of boiling, molten metal and constantly devours more of the city as the desperate citizens feed it with more raw material to keep it sated. 

Cityport Maelstrom (Water Plane): Almost certainly the most inhabitable of the Inner Plane gate towns, Maelstroms is a city that exists in several luminous and magically solidified bubbles beneath Outland's vast oceans. Trade of all kinds goes on here, mystical, philosophical, and at its most base level, economic. Fluidity and adaptability are great virtues in Maelstrom, and the purpose of the city adapts to its needs, being a breezy resort town in times of peace and a near impenetrable fortress when in danger. Unlike many gate towns, who work against their denizens, Maelstrom works in the interest of its people. The Elemental Plane of Water sits in a single, mirrored bubble at the center of the city, and people who wish to enter must first wrestle past their own reflections.

Cyst (Positive Energy Plane): Cyst is a town that is among the strangest in all the planes, a statement that is really saying something when you think about it. Once a thriving city, the gate to the Plane of Positive Energy has prevented anyone from dying in this place, rather growing bulbous and tumorous with age before eventually fusing into the sediment and becoming part of the city. Everything in Cyst is covered by roiling, shuddering flesh, that moves and reacts to the  touch and can be molded to hold objects or people in place. Denizens of Cyst know true immortality, and all manner of incredibly violent passtimes have become commonplace. While injuries and wounds are healed almost instantly in Cyst, adventurers are warned not to remain there for too long. The walls quite literally drink spilled blood and people find the flesh of the city molding to fit them whenever they stay in one place too long. The portal to the Plane of Positive Energy is a large, beating heart at the city's center, connected to all other parts of the city by enormous, pulsing veins.

Morthos (Negative Energy Plane): Not a city at all in most people's estimation, Morthos sits, amid the dried and desiccated salt flats of the Outlands. A crumbling ruin with no breeze, the only notable thing about the Dead City is a single altar at its center. A visitor can bleed him or herself unconscious there, and only once their mind leaves their body do they perceive the true Morthos, a city built just outside of material reality, forged from ectoplasm and inhabited by ghosts. More a memory than a physical location, Morthos is a place of death, memories and mourning. The ghosts and wraiths that stalk the streets repeat actions eternally, however the one thing that can get their attention is a living visitor walking their streets. The Negative Energy Plane's portal is a black sun in the sky, which draws all things not touching the ground toward it. While visitors to Morthos are rare, most come back changed, and it is whispered that their bodies have been stolen by one of the many creatures that haunt the empty streets.

- Kephn

The Evil Within Review

Barbed wire and color red; get ready to see a lot of it.

So I've been itching to do this review for ages, to review one of the newest and more original Survival Horror works to come out in recent times, it's just taken me ages to finish the game. Shinji Mikami is no stranger to survival horror, having put out most of the original Resident Evil games, including the critically acclaimed and marvelously fun Resident Evil 4, as well as being the creative producer for some Suda 51 works like Shadows of the Damned and a co-writer for Killer 7. Now with credentials like that, to say my expectations were pretty damn high would be the understatement of the year. Having finished the game now, I can say that I enjoyed it thoroughly. It's not the most  original game in the world, and it's not flawless, but it definitely belongs to a long tradition of awesome action horror games like Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space, both of which I utterly adore. So without further ado, let's dig into the Evil Within.

Gameplay

 

Get ready to see scenes comparable to this a lot too.

 Now the gameplay is fun, but to be honest, nothing special. If you've played a Resident Evil game after number 4 or Dead Space, you've gotten a taste of the Evil Within's gameplay, and that's honestly not a bad thing. Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space are super fun, and I think third-person, over the shoulder shooters are probably my favorite of the shooter family, so there's nothing really wrong with that. I will say that it detracts from the survival horror a little bit, in that it disconnects the player from the character, but it still works, and makes the experience fun. I love that the inventory screen doesn't actually pause the game, merely slow it down, which is a nice compromise between Resident Evil 4 offering the ability to reload all your guns between one enemy's swing and another, and Resident Evil 5's game of trade the items while Plagas are preparing to use your brains for finger-painting.

The real thing that I think was painful is that this game is HARD. Really, really hard. Now, don't get me wrong, I've played really hard games before, System Shock 2 and Hotline Miami come to mind off the top of my head, but this kind of goes beyond regular Survival Horror hard of leading a conga line of flesh-hungry mutants around a corner so I can kill them all with a wrench and a prayer, this is 'fuck, let's reload my save for the fourteenth bloody time and try this bullshit boss again.' The bosses are probably the worst offenders here, with all of them being stupidly resilient and all have them having some kind of one-hit kill attack (I think), meaning that you will be fighting them a LOT. I played the game on normal, and the learning curve was pretty steep, however, I would say that by the end of the game, I was more used to it, and the game forced me to fight dirty, kneecapping my enemies and setting them on fire while they're down, and it made the whole thing feel more desperate.

Still, the instant deaths are annoying and there are a LOT of them. There are infuriating sequences and very, very few checkpoints, so if you're not the kind of person who can persevere through that sort of thing, this game will frustrate you very, very quickly.
 

Direction

 

This is where the game really shines, I think, because the art  and direction is utterly stellar. It's got this insane, over the top, visceral feel to it, that would be completely out of place in any other game, but works here. Enemies are twisted zombies wrapped in barbed wire. There are death traps like fans of rotating sawblades and giant brains filled with lobotomy needles and many, many more, like a beautiful love letter to splatter-punk horror and every slasher movie in the past two decades. The feel manages to be cerebral and visceral, dreamlike and also very, very real, and it's really cool when the game manages to juggle and swing drunkenly between these very disparate themes and make it all fit together wonderfully. 

The main props I'd love to give are to the enemy designs, which I really thought were the game's strongest point, and they looked really, really freakish even by the standards of our Silent Hill and Resident Evil desensitized world. My absolute favorite monster was Laura, this lovely lady here, who you fight about three times in the game.  

It's the hair that does it for me.

I'm from Singapore, and like many kids from Asia, I've been almost culturally conditioned to find waifish women in white with long, face covering black hair, utterly terrifying. Everything about Laura, from her insanely creepy, broken marionette-style movement, her incessant ragged breathing that she does as she chases you down, her ability to go from very slow to very fast with little warning, and her boss theme, which sounds like an auditory panic attack, is designed to make your skin crawl. Her one-hit kill move, which she uses more than any other attack is annoying as hell, and to be honest, not that scary, but it makes fights with her a lot more tense. She's pretty much every J-Horror movie from the Ring to the Grudge (she's essentially a ripoff of Kayako Saeki from the Ju-On franchise, down to the death rattle), but fuck, it works. Fortunately, she shares the same weakness every other woman I've ever met has. She really hates being set on fire.

Women, amirite?

Now, I can't talk about the direction of this game without getting to one fairly critical fact. Like Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space, it's not really survival horror. Now, I'm not one of those purists who think that anything that gives you the capacity to fight back disqualifies a game from being survival horror, I'm just saying, at the point the game gives you several grenades and a gun that literally shoots lightning, and tells you to kill a room with respawning waves of enemies, you can pretty much hand in your survival horror card. The Evil Within is many, many things, but one thing it really isn't is restrained. It's scary, don't get me wrong, but there's no sense of really, empty, creeping dread that I got from my favorite survival horror games like Silent Hill 3 or System Shock 2. 

I would say that the main problem I had with The Evil Within is that it can't decide if it's going for serious or tongue-in-cheek goofy. Resident Evil 4 pretty much jumped headfirst into goofy when it decided to introduce its supervillainous Spanish midget in a Napoleon outfit that talked like Speedy Gonzales, and while The Evil Within doesn't go quite that far, there are a lot of little details, like the immense guy wearing a safe over his head who kills with a meat tenderizer and a bag of nails and drops barb-wire mines that break the mood a little bit. Ruvik, our baddy sets up traps that would make Jigsaw cringe, and at times, the sheer amount of ludicrous, over the top insanity takes away from the atmosphere, like the bits near the end where the zombies start using military grade weapons and the final level, that drops all pretense and dumps the player into a Quake 3 arena to fight waves of respawning enemies. 

Speaking of goofy, this is where I need to talk about my favorite part of this game. It is simultaneously the most stupidly awesome and coolest weapon, as well as having absolutely zero in-game justification and being a huge mood breaker. This is the Agony Crossbow. 

Because survival horror and subtlety can suck my dick when I have a motherfucking crossbow that shoots LIGHTNING. This thing is a combination steampunk crossbow/speargun that can conjure magic bolts that do everything from freeze the enemy, set him on fire, explode (if you're boring), staple them to walls, electrocute them or poison them. This ridiculously versatile weapon is acquired pretty early in the game, and from there, every trap you disarm, Sebastian can Macguiver up more magic ammunition, until you're mowing down crowds of enemies like the Green Arrow went off his meds. How Sebastian gets this level of technical aptitude is completely unexplained, and it gets even funnier when he encounters a fairly simple electrical puzzle and complains that he's 'not an electrician,' which can happen right after stepping over the smoldering corpses of enemies char-grilled with home-made lightning. Now, again, don't get me wrong, the Agony Crossbow is fucking cool, and I used it as often as I could. It's just the kind of weapon I would expect to find in Quake, or Mortal Kombat, not a weird cerebral thriller like  The Evil Within. Ultraviolence has its place, no doubt, but when you're trying to put together a horror game, you really don't want to make the player feel overconfident, and every time I was loading up a new grenade spear and yelling 'WITNESS ME!' before I turned another crowd of zombies into paste made me feel that someone perhaps missed that memo.

Storyline

 

Again, I want to say that the game really stands out here. I'm about to spoil the shit out of the story, so if you haven't played the game, seriously, go play it before reading this next bit. Spoiling yourself for this game is a BAD IDEA, and literally cripples the experience, as so much is built on what you aren't seeing. Essentially, the entire game takes place in a machine that links minds, with Ruvik, wonderful mad scientist turned serial killer as the Game Master essentially. Within the machine, he can control reality, and while the rest of the characters are contributing (which is a nice excuse for why you keep finding guns and ammo), Ruvik is in control.

Now, I don't feel sympathy for bad guys often, especially in video games, since my main urge is re-purpose them fertilizer for getting in my way, but I actually did feel for Ruvik (even if my main character, Sebastian, didn't). He's an awesome villain with a tragic past and good, clear motivations for every nasty thing he does, and plays the entire cast like a fiddle, toying with them like a cat and very rarely losing his cool.

As you can expect, the storyline is really surreal, as the entire game takes place in this dreamscape, and while there is little sense of continuity, the idea of this huge mental battle happening ala Nightmare on Elm Street is a really powerful one. The main character has a similar tragic backstory and past, and all the characters are well developed and deep. I really didn't want Sebastian to die, and I wanted to protect my friends, even though I usually hate escort missions. I don't want to spoil it too much more, as I've already done that a lot, so play the game for yourself, but let me tell you, the story does not disappoint, and the few times I looked ahead to see what was going on , I deeply regretted the decision. 

Originality

 

Hmmmm...

 If there is one place The Evil Within shoots itself directly in the foot, it's here. If I was going to summarize this game in one sentence, I would either say 'Resident Evil 4, but scary' or less charitably, 'Resident Evil 4 meets Saw'. I don't know if you can plagiarize from yourself, but Mikami really did not do much more than remake one of his most famous games. The sets are almost exactly the same. The enemies are almost exactly the same. Even the level progression goes from a village fighting possessed villagers and a dude with a chainsaw and a mask to a castle, to a paramilitary cityscape. Other than the basic premise, and even that has strains of A Nightmare on Elm Street (with Ruvik being voiced by Jackie Earle Haley, who played Freddy Krueger in the phenomenally shit remake), almost everything in this game is lifted either from another survival horror game or movie.

Now....does that make it bad? No. Does it break the atmosphere? A little. There's a fine line between homage and plagiarism, and The Evil Within walks that line very closely. Resident Evil 4 is just the most obvious comparison to make, but there's loads of things. The safe-headed guy is a faster Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2, down to nicking his final boss fight. Laura, as mentioned earlier is Kayako Saeki from the Grudge/Ju-On, down to the distinctive breathing and constant teleportation. All the environments and traps wouldn't look out of place in Jigsaw's basement. The opening chapter is basically lifted from Outlast. Now, maybe Mikami was trying to reference horror movies and games and make The Evil Within something of a summation of Survival Horror up to that point, with the cityscape maps having small posters advertising 'White Fog' (probably a reference to Silent Hill) and 'Serbian Psycho.' If that's the case, that's cool, but it would have been nice to see something truly memorable and distinctive come out of this game, something that maybe someone else in the future could pay homage to, which the game seems to be building to, and sadly, never comes.

 

Overall

 

The Evil Within is fun. Really, really fucking fun. If you're looking for an action horror romp with an intelligent story, good characters, and fuckawesome weapons and art designs, you could do a lot worse than this. Still, it was bound to be unable to live up to its hype. Shinji Mikami is something of a celebrity in the survival horror community, and with his success, people were expecting something that would give them heart attacks on the spot, so obviously people were going to be disappointed. Still, for what it is, it's definitely a solid game, and scary as fuck. Just don't go in expecting a huge amount of originality or for it to go easy on you.

Rankings

Gameplay - 5/5- Easy to learn, hard to master, exactly as a game should be. Never becomes too frustrating or too easy. 

Story - 5/5- Keeps you guessing until the end, and has great characters and dialogue.

Atmosphere - 5/5- Like a bad dream or a nasty acid trip, combined with all the slasher films since the eighties.

Level Design -3/5- Levels were fun, but after the first, the locations started becoming more mundane

Originality -1/5 - Yep, I agree. Resident Evil 4 was a great game. Learn to let go.

Fun Factor - 3/5 - Undoubtedly fun, but super unforgiving. Get used to the various death animations, because by the end, you'll have them memorized.

Overall Rating - 4/5- Definitely one of the better Horror titles I've played in a long while, and it's really nice to see something come out that's not Silent Hill or Resident Evil, although to call this a departure from their example is hardly accurate.

- Kephn