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Devourer of Hope (Rastillions Minorus)
Attributed Author:
Initial Appearance:
Item Origins/Purpose:
SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE: Reference works and basic exposure alone may only provide the foundation for gaining a [mechanics based] advantage. To reflect the practice and experience to gain that benefit consistently, typically requires a cost in Character Points.
Common Knowledge: This tome of the Maleficent Minorus belonging to the Rastilion’s Diabolique collection tells the history of and ritualized pacts with Shezmu, a forgotten demon of old, buried “deep within the earth” from the most ancient times, those of Nakreha during the Celestine Age. Brief texts reveal the demon’s insatiable hunger for life-essence and blood, and his association with the underworld gave his cult (translated as ‘Earth-Blood’) their name and portrayed the demon with a willingness to rip reality asunder through means of the void. While the exact nature of its/his defeat is unclear, references to “the rising sun” are made – it is believed by many sages that a side effect of the Sun-Bane (imposed by the Lightbringers), had a detrimental effect on the demon’s followers somehow. Even in defeat, the demon’s torment of those finding their way the the underworld or his torture chambers are legendary; It is said Shezmu crushes them in a wine press and drinks their blood after swimming in it. The death of this creature is never recorded, but there has been no mention for thousands of years. No known cult has been discovered, nor even any reference in Celestine ruins, or temples of modern Nakria.
PRICE: Priceless
The Lightbringers pay handsomely for copies of the work, or proof of its destruction. It is referenced in other sources that up to 1000 silvers per page was once offered to a priest of Elancil who found a partial copy in Gladnorean.
Uncommon Knowledge
His power being diminished, his followers scattered and destroyed, he was pursued by his enemies which hounded him – his temples razed, and bases of power destroyed until he was trapped in sphere of radiance where he would forever writhe in agony. Most sages agree he was somehow captured and will likely never be heard from again –
except for the persistent tales and references to the book “Devourer of Hope”. The book was the project of the cult hoping to resurrect or restore Shezmu. It is supposed to contain a secrets he found the trick the curse of the Sun-Bane itself! Like his many failed schemes, it appears the book too was a failure… Shezmu is still unheard of.
Yet still… the book persists…
A few sources mention the cult of Shezmu, and the deity himself as one of the sources of vampirism in The Steel Realms. The history of the cult within the book seems to confirm this – there are rituals which can possibly make
the binder a drinker of blood.
Aside from the usual pact and essence loss, many of the individual powers also require some from of their own sacrifice. The price seems unusually steep in regards to other entities which may grant similar powers for less offering.
Item Statistics
[Incarna 5.0]General Requirements: Reading the tome requires competent literacy: Tor-quoimot. They may also try to use their empathy skill to commune with the book;
success will cause scanning the tome to speak to the reader in their native language. To understand more than the basic history of the book a pact must be made.
The reading of the book’s several passages on the torments of Shezmu, the descriptions or torture, pain, and the drinking of blood and its attendant ‘life-pulse’ which Shezmu feels to be a thrill unmatched
will cause the the reader to have to immediately make a SAN check. If they fail, they can try a total of three times before the tome is considered too draining to read. Each fail causes the loss of 2 SAN for 24 hours.
If they manage to read to the end, they must make a CHA check as if an attack and take damage using their Empathy skill level as base damage; then they may choose to make one of the pacts.
Each of the pacts is a different instance of the same ceremony.
The Ceremony of Hope Devouring: Upon entering the ceremony of binding, the binder immediately loses 1 essence permanently and spends 10-SAN days (min . 1) in an unfamiliar area with both hands placed upon the open book. The area around them will become steadily darker until it becomes dead black, only the outline of the binder and a red maw will be visible. While this is happening, the binder will lose 1 Health a day from not eating or drinking (though the book will sustain them enough to barely get by). The maw will spend the last day closing around the binder. During this time the binder is unaware of the outside world and unable to remove their hands. At the end of this time the binder makes a SAN check. Failure indicates any/all levels of Iron Will (if possessed) are removed, and the binder has 1 measure of permanent Disorientation and Malaise. Success means that the binder receives the trait Iron Will (level 1 or +1 level if already possessed).
Those with code of conduct: Evil, or Cold Hearted get a +2 to resist.
UNDEATH: Having read the basic volume, the reader MUST have actually been literate in Tor-quoimot. They must also possess a Cryptography skill at level 4+.
Hidden within its pages are secret messages and incantations. If the reader decodes and follows the instructions (including rewriting some of the tome in blood, on skin), and sacrifices half their or 4 Essence (whichever is greater –
this includes the 1 sacrificed in the ceremony of Hope Devouring) to Shezmu – binding themselves to him forever as their vampiric master, and in return he will grant the gift of undeath and the secret of vampirism. A failed cryptography check
means only 1 essence is lost, but the binder is transformed into a feral ghoul.
DARK BARGAIN: The reader will begin to understand in reading the voice of Shezmu and what must be done. The reader is offered a choice in the bindings they may partake of. The pact of
Dark Binding is the lesser of the pacts which may be made.
Requirements: and a Mana Sense + Empathy of 3 or greater.
Divine aptitude can negate the skill requirements with a single (fated) Conviction check (Lightbringers are prohibited).
TORMENT OF SHEZMU: The greater of the pacts imbues the pact-maker with great powers, but they must be afflicted with some of the torment Shezmu experiences, to relieve his own sufferings.
Requirements: and a Mana Sense + Empathy of 5 or greater.
Divine aptitude can negate the skill requirements with a single (fated) Conviction check (Lightbringers are prohibited); or, if possible,
the binder can build a Conviction of 1 as a cult member of Shezmu-Torment.
If the binder has the Sun-Bane trait already, it is reduced to
Sun-Torment; otherwise the binder aquires Sun Torment permanently.
History, Credit, & Testing
The Devourer of Hope was originally created by Ararbus Grenier as part of his Steel Realms campaign. It was created under the time of the 3.0 – 5.0 transition, in early 2013.