Forgotten Terror - The Tenth Facet

The wily lunatic is lost if through the
narrowest crack he allows a sane eye to
peer into his locked universe and thus
profane it.

- Colette, "Freedom"
Earthly Paradise

This region is most unusual. When the characters enter it, the Dungeon Master should read the following text aloud:

You float beneath a vast, churning sea of crimson fluid. At first, a shudder of horror runs through you at the thought that it might be blood. To be sure, it is warm enough and very much the right color. But the texture is wrong. This liquid is no more viscous that water, and it feels cold - almost cold.

The crimson sea, having no boundaries, should seem endless and open. Yet its very nature makes it feel tight and confining. The characters at first fear they are going to drown; following that, they must deal with a greatly reduced movement rate - a frustrating handicap when they find themselves immediately engaged in combat.

One of the first concerns of the heroes should be finding fresh air to breath, lest they drown in this strange scarlet sea.

The Dungeon Master might wish to refer (in the players' sight) to the rules governing drowning in the Player's Handbook. The Heroes should be given every reason to believe that they are on the verge of death. No effort to locate the surface is successful, for there is none to find.

In the end, however, the characters discover that they can breathe this mysterious fluid just as if it were fresh air. Once they realize this, they also suffer no penalties to speech or hearing.

Getting around the Tenth Facet is handled in accordance with the normal rules for aquatic movement, combat, and spellcasting. Basic rules appear in the Dungeon Master Guide; more detailed guidelines can be found in the AD&DR accessory Of Ships and the Sea, To summarize, an unencumbered character with the swimming proficiency moves at one-quarter his land movement rate. Gnencumbered nonproficient swimmers and lightly encumbered proficient swimmers move at one-sixth their land movement rates. All other characters sink at a rate of forty feet per round-and as this sea has no bottom, it is a long way down.

Shortly after the characters have come to terms with the environment, the Dungeon Master should move on with the adventure. The following description can be read aloud to set the stage for an encounter with one of this facet's strange residents:

As you drift amid the odd crimson wash, a motion cathces your eye. Looking closer, however, you see nothing. Just as you are about to dismiss the matter, you see it again. A shape is forming out of the red fluid itself, like an invisible thing slowly becoming visible.

If the heroes are sinking, the shape-and later, the creature-follows. (Each character should thus have an opportunity for combat.) The characters have one round before the shape takes its final form. During this time, they can make ready to attack, attempt to flee, or prepare a magical spell. After this round has passed, the Dungeon Master should read the following description aloud:

Although it is difficult to see clearly through the crimson sea around you, the figure has at last become visible. The body of the creature is a great globe that looks like a giant eye. It has the texture of a jellyfish, with a long slash of mounth filled with rows of needle-like teeth. Two lobsterlike claws extend below the body, snapping hungrily. A pair of tendrils rises above the gruesome orb, each set with another eye.

This creature (and others like it) is a manifestation of Chardath's madness. In game terms, it can be treated as an eye of the deep; statistics for these creatures appear in Appendix Two of this book.

Note one difference, however, between standard eyes of the deep and these monsters of Chardath's tormented mind. While one eyestalk of a typical eye of the deep can cast hold monster, this creature's corresponding eyestalk unleashes a variant of the fear spell. Each round, this eye can gaze upon one of the characters. That character must succeed at a saving throw vs. spell or be permanently infused with a phobia as if having failed a madness check. When a character is affected, the Dungeon Master should roll on the following table to determine the particular fear implanted in the character:

1d20 Roll		Phobia Implanted
1		Acrophobia (heights)
2		Agoraphobia (open spaces)
3		Astraphobia (lightning)
4		Eremiophobia (loneliness)
5		Homophobia (blood)
6		Hodophobia (travel)
7		Hydrophobia (water)
8		Keraunophobia (thunder)
9		Maniaphobia (madness)
10		Necrophobia (death and corpses)
11		Nyctophobia (night)
12		Ochlophobia (crowds)
13		Pathophobia (illness)
14		Phasmophobia (ghosts)
15		Phonophobia (noise)
16		Pyrophobia (fire)
17		Scatophobia (darkness)
18		Taphephobia (burial alive)
19		Toxicophobia (poison)
20		Traumatophobia (injures)

On the round that the creature completes its materialization, another one begins to appear. Thus, a new monster coalesces every three rounds, to a maximum of five creatures. During its formation, the creature cannot be harmed; only after it has come into existence can it be attacked.

The magical gem of this facet forms the iris of the first creature's phobia-inducing eye. If the eye of the deep has been slain or otherwise incapacitated, the heroes can collect this ten-sided stone.

As the first phobia-creature is materializing, the voice of Maleffluent returns. It provides the characters with the following statement:

"For all his power, my master is a weak man. He fears many things. This is the seat of his fears. Beware, however, for fear is a contagion not easily escaped. I hope that your courage is hardy enough to resists this inflection."

Once the first of the nightmare creatures is destroyed, its body dissipates back into the fluid from which it formed. At the spot where the great orb's body had been, however, a rippling shape remains in the liquid. This shape is not visible when looked at directly, however. Only in peripheral vision can one see these rings of turbulence. A new portal is created as each of the phobia creatures dies.

Swimming through one of these portals transports the characters into a conduit. (The Dungeon Master should cut sinking heroes some slack in maneuvering through a portal so they are not stuck in this facet forever.) The following table indicates the facets to which these conduits lead: