Showing posts with label Cthulhu Mythos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cthulhu Mythos. Show all posts

Friday, August 14, 2020

Bessie Love and the Silver Key (for d20 System and D&D compatible games)

Film historians and lovers of silent movies remember Bessie Love as a petite and radiant star who lit up the screen every time she appeared. However, she led a secret life that few ever knew about, and even fewer could ever imagine. 

   For 25 years, from 1925 until 1950, Bessie Love traveled throughout the world, battling all manner of supernatural evil, from worshipers of the Elder Gods through vampire cults and even a few demon-possessed would-be arch mages. She performed her heroics under the code-name Love Bug, and she typically wore a set of artifacts that gave her an edge in her battles, but sometimes she relied on her charm, wit, and unfailing courage to carry her through... and a pair of large sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat to hid her identity. (Click here to read about how Bessie Love became the Love Bug.)

In this post, we unveil Bessie's involvement with strange happenings that were famously fictionalized in short stories by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price. (As always, we translate this material for use in d20 System games, our own way of fictionalizing the fantastic.)


BESSIE LOVE AND THE SILVER KEY
By late 1932, Bessie Love had all but abandoned her acting career and had thrown herself completely into the battle against supernatural evils. She spent a few weeks in March of 1933 doing nothing but pouring through notes and a diary that had belonged to an evil sorcerer she had defeated, and she found repeated references to a house on the outskirts of Boston, Mass. that was either haunted or the location of magical gateways to other worlds. 
   The papers chronicled Archmage Alain Cartier, who fled from France to America during the 1690s and changed their name to Carter. Over the past two hundred years, the sprawling Carter family home and estate had been the sight of many strange events, which the sorcerer attributed to residual effects from summoning performed by the Carters, or to full-fledged gateways to other dimensions and the realms of Elder Gods. Within the past ten years, the most recent heir to the family fortune, Randolph Carter, had mysteriously vanished in 1922; people residing in the house had likewise vanished or suffered mental breakdowns, including associates of the sorcerer who had gone to investigate the house; and a reading of Randolph Carter's will in 1927 had been violently interrupted by some thing.
   After reaching out to the lawyers managing Carter's estate under an alias, Bessie traveled to Boston, spent a few nights in the house, and searched it using Dimond's Compass, an artifact she had acquired during a previous adventure that points toward the most powerful magical item or source in the general vicinity. When she first started using it in the structure, she thought either the entire manse was magical or the device was not working properly. She soon realized that several of the home's doors were enchanted, and with that awareness, she was able to locate a powerful magical artifact in the master bedroom--a key that had fallen behind a set of dresser drawers in the master bedroom.
  The key was a silver skeleton key that was six inches long, with a bow nearly the size of Bessie's palm that was shaped like an oddly tangled arabesque design. Resolving to start researching how this key might connect to the magic in the house, Bessie intended to spend one more night in the Carter House. As she slept, she had a strangely vivid dream. In it, she was on a windswept cliff, gazing down upon a sprawling city of domed palaces and twisting spires. Overhead was a sky that swirled with ever-changing, vibrant colors. A robed and hooded figure stood next to her, nothing but inky shadows within the hood where his face should be, and he held the silver key she had found in his gloved left hand. He handed her the key, stating that it would unlock portals that opened to other times and dimensions, and warned her that just as she could pass through to those other places, so could the beings dwelling there come through to our realm.
   When she woke up that morning, Bessie felt certain that her dream had been caused by her finding the silver key. She took it to one of the magical doors in the house and saw the key's ward and bits reshape itself to fit the keyhole. She inserted the key, picturing in her mind the landscape she had seen while sleeping, unlocked the door, and...
   Bessie found herself looking out onto a barren plain under the colorful sky from her dream. The door she unlocked should have led to an interior room deep within the house, yet here she was, looking at an alien landscape--and the wind blowing from it drove a chill through her body.
   She closed door, certain that she now understood the workings of the silver key and the enchanted doors throughout the house: Whoever turned the key decided where the door went--or maybe caused the door to lead to one of several possible locations, and beings could come and go from that location. She felt she now had an explanation for both the "hauntings" and the mysterious disappearances that had taken place in the house.
   To test her theory, she took the key to an immense, ornately carved set of double doors at the back of the house's study. They sported detailed images of medieval peoples and a village in a forest. She turned the key, expecting to see another landscape, but instead a crowd of angry, torch-carrying men, led by an armored, axe-wielding man, burst through the door even before she had fully opened it. 
   "Tis another witch," the armored man bellowed, pursing her as she scrambled backwards and away from the door. "We have found the path to their lair of deviltry!"


   Fighting off the torch-wielding mob, and dodging wild swings of the armored man's axe, she made it back to the bedroom she was staying in--and the pistol she kept there. She shot the armored man in the chest as he lunged at her one final time--and he dissolved into a spray of colorful sparks and blinked from existence. The torch-wielding mob behind him panicked and fled back the way they came, setting drapes and bookshelves ablaze as they went. Bessie, meanwhile, gathered her things, barely escaping the Carter home as it was consumed by flames.
   Several days later, Bessie returned to the ashy wreckage that had once been a grand house, together with the attorneys for the estate. To her surprise, the ornate wooden doubles door still stood, stained with soot but otherwise untouched by fire, now tightly shut with the silver key still inserted in the lock. She bought it from the lawyers on the spot, and they were happy to not only put the troubles of the cursed house behind them, but to have some additional funds to distribute to the heirs.
   Bessie had the door and the silver key shipped to California where she teamed with psychic Dane Rudhyar to predict where the Silver Key might cause the door to open to. They identified and visited six different locations--both in the past and in the present. Bessie, however, found herself haunted by increasingly disturbing dreams, so she put the Silver Key inside a bag that made magical items inert. (Nicknamed Murphy's Pouch, it was another treasure she picked up during her adventures.) 
   When Bessie permanently relocated to England in 1935, she had the door from the Carter House installed in her home there, seemingly as just an object of art that went from the drawing room to nowhere but onto a solid wall... but if opened with the Silver Key, it was a portal to so much more.

Bessie Love
Bessie Love in 1937, posing by the door saved from the ruined Carter House


*-*-*
The rest of the text in this post is released under the Open Game License, and it may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2020 Steve Miller. 



MURPHY'S POUCH
The history of this item is unknown mostly unknown. Bessie Love recovered it Murphy's Pouch from the disintegrating body of a vampire she'd just defeated, and she named the item after him.
   Murphy's Pouch is to be a small purple felt pouch with gold-colored draw strings. It radiates faint Conjuration magic. If the pouch is opened, the magic radiation become stronger. When someone looks inside the pouch, it appears to be empty. If someone reaches into the pouch, they discover it is much larger than it appears--and the person's and arm can reach deep into an inky darkness that seems to writhe and pulsate at the pouch's bottom. Once the person pulls back, the pouch once again appears normal and empty.
   If a person is brave enough to feel around in the darkness, they will quickly grab one of the items it contains, and if the person knows what they are reach for, that particular item is found just about immediately. While the pouch was in Bessie's possession, she kept the following items in it: A folding knife with a silver blade, a fully loaded Baby Browning pistol, a vail of holy water, a vail of dried wolfsbane, a small gold cruxifix and the Silver Key.
   Using Murphy's Pouch: This item functions like a bag of holding, except it can only contain up to 12 individual items that each are no more than 5 inches in length, take up no more than 5 cubic inches of space, and which each weigh no more 5 pounds. Also, if a sharp object, or some other item, that could damage the integrity of the pouch's extra-dimension space, it vanishes without any effect. Similarly, any items beyond the maximum number of 12 that are inserted into the pouch vanish and cannot be retrieved.
   To retrieve an item from the pouch, the user must visualize it. Otherwise, a random item will be grabbed and retrieved from within the pouch.
   If player characters come into possession of Murphy's Pouch, the GM must make a list with 12 slots, numbered 2 through 12. Each item placed within it is assigned a number, and the GM should roll d26 against the table to see what object is found within if a character isn't seeking something specific. If a number is rolled to which no item is assigned, the next lowest numbered object is retrieved. When items are placed in the bag, the GM can either roll randomly to see where they are placed on the list, or he can merely fill the table in order from lowest to highest. If one item is removed and another is put into the pouch before it is returned, the most recent item takes its number on the table.
   Drawbacks: There are no drawbacks to using Murphy's Pouch, but magic items and artifacts placed within the pouch are treated as if they have ceased to exist. Any ongoing effects the items or artifacts may have been powering end. Once removed from the pouch, the items return to their normal functions.


THE SILVER KEY
The Silver Key was in the possession of a family of wizards who claimed to trace their linage back to ancient Atlantis. They have gone by many names over the millennia, but most recently, they had gone by Carter. Family legends are unclear as to whether the Key was created by a member of the family, or if it had been wrested from the grasp of an Elder God, but it had been a cornerstone of their magical efforts. For a thousand years, the skilled spellcasters and artisans of the family were famed for their explorations of other realities and their ability to build permanent doorways between this universe and others: No dimension was too remote or too alien for them to access. Although many of the extra-dimensional doorways they created could be opened through a variety of means, the Silver Key could also unlock them all.
   The last member of the Carter family to have attempted to understand and master his family's ancient practices, Randolph Carter, vanished without a trace in 1922. According to an elderly servant, he last saw him studying a large silver key, but no trace of it could be found either--until Bessie Love located it in 1933. Randolph Carter's fate remains a mystery.
   The Silver Key is, in truth, an artifact that is as old as the multiverse. It was created by the Outer God Nyarlathotep, as the dimensions were forming, so that he could travel through them easily. The Elder Gods wrested it from him and gave it to a group of their mortal servants, so that they, too, could travel between realities.
   Although the Key occasionally morphs into other shapes, depending on what being is holding it, it usually appears to be a brightly polished, silver skeleton key. It is six inches long and sports a bow roughly the size of a woman's palm, shaped like an odd tangle of arabesque characters. The key wards and bit are sharp and can be used to saw through rope or leather, or inflict shallow cuts on a person that are painful but not life threatening. It radiates a strong aura of Transmutation magic.
   Using the Silver Key: The Silver Key attunes itself to whoever holds it or keeps it on their person for longer than one round. The Silver Key allows its user to unlock gateways to other dimensions, planes of existence, and even other points in time. Such gateways are usually constructed to appear like normal doors, window shutters, or even manhole covers. When the Silver Key is used to open one of these, it instead gives access to far more remote places. (See "Enchanted Doors", below, for details.)
   A person who has been attuned to the Silver Key for six days or more can recognize an enchanted door by sight: The door will appear to glow as if it had been subjected to a detect magic spell. The further away the door takes those who pass through it, the brighter the glow. (An enchanted door that takes someone to the Council Chamber of the Ancient Immortals on Mount Fuji will not glow as bright as the one that can take characters to the City of Ulthar in the Dreamlands.)
   A character's ability to see enchanted doors is lost as soon as his or her attunement to the Silver Key ends. To become unattuned to the Silver Key, the character must either allow another person to hold it for more than a round, or place it in an extra-dimensional container like a bag of holding. The character's attunement to the Key is also lost if he travels to a different plane or dimension than where the key is.
   The Silver Key also opens any door that is secured through magical means, such as wizard lock, or with some form enchanted mechanism. It reshapes itself so that it can be inserted into any lock, and, once turned, the door opens. If the door has no lock, or is locked in a manner that does not feature a traditional keyhole, knocking on it with the Key will cause it to open. The Key has no effect if there is no enchantments securing it.
   The Key may also lets the person who is attuned to it for six days or more know where an Enchanted Door leads before opening it. The GM rolls a secret Wisdom attribute check for the character; if it is successful, the character may gain some insight about the door
   If the door leads to a single time and/or place, the character receives a mental flash of what lies beyond. If the door leads to. The player should roll a successful Wisdom attribute check to clearly understand the image. A failed roll results in a general sense of unease if some hellish place lurks on the other side.
   If the door leads to several possible places and/or times, the character sees a jumble of images in the mental flash. A Wisdom attribute check with a -2
   Drawbacks: For as long as the character is attuned to the Silver Key, he or she will have strange dreams. The first dream is always of a hooded figure who hands the character the Silver Key while issuing the following warning: "This key unlocks doors that may go to many places. The person who turns the key may determine where the doors lead. But beware. Once a door is opened, it becomes a portal that can be entered or exited. And do not pass through a door you have unlocked with the key, lest you are certain that you intend to cross the threshold with your complete body and soul--or you may lose one or both. And be aware: No mortal can pass through the Ultimate Gate intact."
   The dreams of the hooded figure occur every night. Some nights, the dreamer and the figure watch some of the worst moments of the dreamer's life unfold, with the figure saying that the Key could allow the dreamer to go back and change that moment. Other times, they witness horrible events that have yet occurred, with the figure likewise declaring that the Key could let the character stop the event from happening--if it used on the right door. On other nights, the dreams involve strange and nightmarish places and worlds that the dreamer can barely comprehend. As time wears on, the dreams even seem to start to bleed through to the person's waking hours, as he or she will sometimes seem to catch sight of the hooded figure out of the corner of his or her eye, or in distorted reflections on various surfaces, looming over his or shoulder--but the figure isn't there when the character turns to look.
   Every night the character has the Key, the GM should roll on the following table to see what dreams the character has and if his or sleep is restless enough to have an impact on the following day.

1d6      Dream/Effect
1.          A pleasing scene from the past. No effect.
2.          Visit to a strange place. No effect.
3.          Visit from a dead friend or relative with a dire message. 
             -1 to all saving throws and skill checks.
4.          Relive a horrible event from the past. -2 to all
             saving throws and skill checks.
5.          Visit to a strange, horrific realm. The hooded
            offers dire predictions about the future. -4 to all 
            saving throws and skill checks.
6.         Visions of monsters and monstrous people
            committing horrible acts. -4 to all saving throws 
            and skill checks.

For every four days the character owns the Key, +1 is added to the result of the d6 roll. A modified result of 6 or more is treated as a "6". The majority of the dreams should turn out to either be revelations of events that have happened--evil deeds that someone wants to keep hidden--or foretellings to brutality and tragedies that are coming. (The character can either learn of this through direct adventures, or through the news media. Eventually, the character will hopefully understand the he or she can act on the dreams, if he or she can tolerate them.)
   After 24 days of owning the Key, and being sent dreams, the character gains Foresight as a bonus feat.

FORESIGHT [Minor Power]
You have the ability to see a fraction of a second into the future.
   Benefit: You gain a permanent +2 adjustment to all initiative rolls.


ENCHANTED DOORS
Scattered throughout the world are enchanted doors that can be unlocked and passed through by using artifacts like the Silver Key. Some have existed since the time of Atlantis and the gods walked the Earth, others are more recent creations, such as the bulk of the ones in the Carter House.
   Enchanted doors are usually found at the end of blind alleys, corridors in buildings that serve no purpose, or on exterior or interior walls. In such cases, if the doors are opened without the Silver Key (or with whatever means the creator established for accessing the door's enchantment), the door opens onto a solid wall, or, at best, a shallow space or shelves just a few inches deep. If opened with the Key (which can open any enchanted door, always), the space behind the door instead becomes a dimensional portal that can take characters who step through it to other places, times, and even dimensions. Some enchanted doors lead to a single fixed locations, others take those who step through them to a random place.
   Although referred to as "enchanted doors", the enchantments that makes them can be placed on any item that covers an opening that allows beings to enter or exit a location, such as doors, window shutters, or drapes. The only requirement is that they must conceal what is on the other side when they are closed.
   When a character passes through an enchanted door, unless he or she is entering into another structure, there appears to be a free-standing door (or window, or whatever the door's physical component is) that more often than not appears to be surrounded by faintly glowing mist. The door remains open for 1d6+1 minutes, then the magic cuts off. Unless someone who passed through possesses the Silver Key or knows the ritual to open the door, characters are now stranded on the far side of the magical passageway. (Although the door is not visible to regular mortals if there is no physical part to it at a destination point, the bearer of the Silver Key, or a character using the true sight spell or similar abilities, can see a faintly glowing outline of the enchanted door. The Silver Key, or appropriate ritual, can still open it.)


   The physical manifestation of an enchanted door can be destroyed using whatever means destroys a non-enchanted version of the door's physical manifestation. The magic gateway, however, remains, even if it now invisible and mostly inaccessible. A person bearing the Silver Key will be able to see these now formless dimensional apertures as magic auras hovering in the air, or overlaid on walls or floors if a new structure has been built where something else once stood.  He or she can cause these to open with the Silver Key, but otherwise such dislocated magic portals typically remain inaccessible to anyone but gods. (On the days of the Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice, All Hallow's Eve there is a 1% chance every hour of these portals opening at random and letting being pass back and forth for 1d6 minutes. At the exact moment of a total lunar or solar eclipses, there is also a 1% chance a gateway will open for 1d6 minutes.
   When open, such magical conduits from one place to another can be seen by all beings within a 5-foot radius of it, even those who cannot normally see. A frameless enchanted door appears like a brightly glowing streak of light on the same plane and of roughly the same size as the mundane portal it was once tied to. There is no way of telling where a disconnected enchanted door leads for anyone but a god or the owner of the Silver Key. Those stranded on the far side of a randomly opening enchanted doorway are stuck there until it opens randomly again, they find another way back to where they started from, or the Silver Key is used.

Using Enchanted Doors
We recommend that the GM should always have an adventure purpose and a destination for where an enchanted door can take characters. Nonetheless, for those who like to run adventures off-the-cuff, or who might need a little help in deciding the nature of an enchanted door, we offer this random table to determine where one might lead.

2d6     Nature of Enchanted Door
2         Passage to a demonic plane
3         Passage to an alien planet
4         Passage to the Dreamlands
5         Passage to a Home of an Elder God
6         Passage to the Past, same location
7         Passage to the Past, different location
8         Passage to the Future, same location
9         Passage to the Future, different location
10       Passage to the Home of a Great Old One
11       Passage to the Past, on an alien planet
12       Passage to 4d6 different places and times

--

If you feel like this post is ending suddenly, you're right. It's not so much that this idea is fully explored, so much as this post is getting really long. Maybe what we need to do is create an actual product... perhaps it could be called "Bessie Love and the House of Doors"? Is that something anyone would liked to see?


Meanwhile, you can click here to read more about The Secret Life of Bessie Love, as well as get more ideas and magic items for use in your d20 System games!

 

Monday, June 15, 2020

The Amulet of Leng (for the d20 System)

Scattered across the world, are many artifacts that are legacies of ancients gods who ruled over long-dead civilizations in bygone eras; or that have been carried here from other dimensions by the dread beings that dwell in them. One such item, which was stolen from the Dreamlands by the Witchkind, and which many have sought because they either wish to harness its power or to return it from whence it came, is the Amulet of Leng.

THE AMULET OF LENG (for the d20 System)
Carved from a piece of green jade, this circular amulet is roughly four inches across and half an inch thick. It is usually found attached to a leather thong or sturdy silver chain so that it can be worn around a being's neck.
    The front side of the Amulet of Leng features a winged, sphinx-like creature with face that combines both human and wolf-like features; the eyes and forehead human, but the nose and mouth are snout-like and vicious fangs protrude from it. The back of the amulet is engraved with the image of a humanoid skull with an abnormally large cranium. Beneath that image are three symbols that appear vaguely Chinese in origin, but the meaning of which can only be discovered through magic (such as a read languages spell) or a Arcane Lore / Knowledge (Arcane) skill check against a DC22 for each of the three symbols. (From left to right, the symbols mean Time, Immortality, and Annihilation.)
   If examined through means that reveals magical properties of an item (via spell or devices), the Amulet of Leng registers a strong aura of protection and summoning enchantments. Its exact functions cannot be determined through any means short of a wish spell, or by direct communication with a god-like being.

Powers
When claimed and then worn by a sentient being, the Amulet of Leng provides the following protections to the wearer.
   * Immunity to aging, from natural or magical sources
   * Complete immunity to damage from all blunt or edged weapons, as well as missiles and falling damage. (Natural weapons, such as claws and fangs, are not covered by this effect.)
   * 50 percent reduction of damage suffered from spells and other magical sources.
   * 25 percent reduction of damage suffered from natural environmental sources, such as vacuum, extreme heat and extreme cold.


Drawbacks
The Amulet of Leng only bestows its magical protection on characters who have claimed it as their own, either by receiving it as a gift, purchasing it, stealing it for their own use, or looting it for their own use. The protections gained from Amulet of Leng only last for as long as it is worn. Once removed, the wearer once again ages at the normal rate, suffers full damage from attacks, and so on. 
   The great benefits of the Amulet of Leng are outweighed by hidden dangers. They are as follows.
   * Every time the wearer goes to sleep, he or she has dreams of large wolf-like creatures, apparently made partially of flames, roaming an alien landscape dotted with ruined towers. The character feels like the creatures are searching--hunting--for something. As time passes and dreams continue, the character in the dream comes to the realization that they are looking for the Amulet of Leng. The character must roll a successful Fortitude Save (DC15) upon waking, or be fatigued during the day (per the Condition). Spells may be memorized or recovered as normal.
   * The GM keeps a running total of how much damage the character would have suffered if he or she had not been wearing the Amulet of Leng. Once that damage is equals or exceeds an amount that would have killed the character, the character is filled with a sudden, paralyzing fear and cannot take any more actions that round. He or she must roll a successful Will save (DC22), or be set upon by 1d3+1 Hellhounds (with maximum possible hit points)--the Hounds of Tindalos.
   The Hounds emerge from different corners in whatever area the character is in, one at a time in successive rounds until all our present. Each Hellhound rolls initiative on the round it arrives, and attacks the wearer of the Amulet. They only attack other characters if they come to the defense of their target. (If the character is outside, the Hounds emerge from angles made by branches, rocks on the ground, or other natural conditions.)
   If the wearer survives the attack of the Hounds, the Amulet is "reset" and the GM starts a new running total of hit points avoided. The new tally starts at -10, so the character can suffer "free" damage.
   If the wearer does not survive the attack, one of the Hounds tries to grab the Amulet with its fiery jaws and tear it from around the wearer's neck, but as soon as it and other Hounds dissolve into wisps of smoke and seem to evaporate. The Amulet of Leng remains with the mangled corpse.
   * When the character who has claimed and worn the Amulet of Leng takes it off, he or she must roll a Will save (DC18). He or she is filled with a sudden, indescribable dread and hears the sound of wolves howling in the distance. No one else can hear this sound.
   If the saving throw was successful, the character instinctively knows that unless he or she puts the Amulet of Leng back on, certain death is coming. If he or she does not put the Amulet back on within two rounds, 1d3+1 Hounds of Tindalos arrive and attack as described above. If he or she puts the Amulet back on, he or she hears a mournful wolf-howl fading into the distance.
   If the saving throw failed, the character is paralyzed with overwhelming fear for 1d2+1 rounds. Hounds of Tindalos begin to arrive at the end of first round and attack as described above. They continue to arrive, one at a time on successive rounds to a maximum of 8, until the possessor of the Amulet is dead, or until someone has put it on. If the possessor dies without wearing the Amulet, a Hound snatches it up and takes it with it when the Hounds dissolve into smoke and vanish.
   If the possessor of the Amulet of Leng took it off and survives the attack of the Hounds, he or she is free of the Amulet's magic... at least until he or she decides to wear it again.

Safely Removing the Amulet of Leng
A character can only safely remove the Amulet of Leng while submerged in the legendary Pool of All. While submerged, the character must make a Fortitude save (DC22). 
   If the save is successful, the character has a vision of a shadow-draped figure that offers him or her the opportunity to join the ranks of the Immortals or to leave the Pool as he or she entered, but free of the Amulet's magic. Whether the character chooses to be transformed and become an Immortal or not, he or she emerges with the Amulet of Leng in hand and free of its magic. 
   If the save fails, the character is transformed into an Immortal, as per the regular effects of the Pool of All, but is still liberated from the Amulet of Leng.

Destruction
While on this plane, the Amulet of Leng cannot be destroyed. It must be returned to the Dreamlands from whence it was stolen. Once there, it can be shattered with an magical weapon with a +1 or better enchantment.

--
The text from the "Powers" heading" through the end of the section labeled "Destruction" is released under the Open Game License. It may be reproduced in accordance with its terms. Copyright 2020 Steve Miller.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The Balls of Yog-Sogoth

The Balls of Yog-Sogoth are a pair of perfect spheres of a smooth, white, semi-translucent crystaline substance. One can be comfortably cradled in the palm of an average adult male human's hand. Each glows softly with a white light that originates from the orb's center. Legend holds that the balls were dropped from the elder god Yog-Sogoth itself, and so they are highly sought after by the cults devoted to the various aspects of the entity. No one really knows their true origin, however.

A cultist handling a Ball of Yog-Sogoth

POWERS OF THE BALLS OF YOG-SOGOTH
If subjected to a detect magic spell, the Balls of Yog-Sogoth radiate faint alteration and divination magic. No other magic short of a wish spell will reveal any additional information about the mysterious spheres. Seekers of knowledge must discover the power of the balls through their own experimentation, or by recovering and reading sacred scrolls possessed and jealously guarded by obscure cults, or perhaps an Immortal or two.
   To use the Balls of Yog-Sogoth, a user must old them in their hands. The balls function in different ways, depending on whether a user is handling one or two of them.
    One Ball: While cradling a single of Yog-Sogoth's balls, the character will receive a mental image of a magical item that is in his or her possession, or in the possession of a friend or ally. The charcter comes to know everything about the item as if he or she had cast an identify spell upon it. It takes 1d6 rounds for the vision to materalize. Once the user has realized this use of a ball, he or she can mentally picture specific items and gain information as if he or she had cast identify upon them.
   Drawback: For each item past the first that the user identifies within a 72-hour period, there is an increasing chance (10% on the second item, 30% on the third item, 50% on the fourth item, 70% on the fifth item, 90% on each additional items) that the user will collapse into a deep coma that lasts 1d6+1 days. Upon regaining consciousness, the character must roll a Fortitude save (DC18) or feel weakened to the point of suffering a -4 penalty to Strength and Constitution scores for 24 hours.
   Two Balls: While holding one of Yog-Sogoth's balls in each hand, the character can either envision a historical figure well-known contemporary figure, or someone with whom the character is personally acquainted, be it a friend or foe. After concentrating on the mental image of the person for 1d6+1 rounds, the character receives one of the following vividly detailed visions, as if he or she was present for the events and experienced them as the person did. (Roll 1d6 to determine which kind of vision.)

   1. The happiest moment of the person's childhood.
   2. The proudest moment of their youth.
   3. Their greatest achievement during their lifetime.
   4. The place the person felt most comfortable/spent most of their
        leisure time (if dead); where the person will be in exactly one day
        (if alive).
   5. The place where the person spent/spends the most time with the person
        they loved/love the most, as well as who that person is.
   6. The single event or secret that the person wants to keep hidden forever.

   Drawback: If the user tries to have more than one vision within a 72-hour period, there is an increasing chance (10% on the second vision, 30% on the third vision, 50% on the fourth vision, 70% on the fifth vision, 90% on each additional vision) that the user will collapse into a deep coma that lasts 1d6+1 days. Upon regaining consciousness, the character must roll a Fortitude save (DC18) or feel weakened to the point of suffering a -4 penalty to Strength and Constitution scores for 24 hours.
   Each additional vision within the 72-hour period is determined randomly, just like the first. If the same scene is rolled more than once, the user sees it from a different angle, perhaps even experiencing the scene as someone else did/does. Each reiteration reveals new details.

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