The Patriarch of Nightmares was once a mortal who upheld himself as a hero, a saviour of the downtrodden, and one who would bring peace to the realms. He was a fraud and a failure, who played upon the hopes of others to gain advantage. On his death, he was seized by waiting Devils and exalted to a position as one of the Ten Thousand Kings of Hell. He is now an unimaginably vast creature of terrifying countenance, feeding from the loss of joy, of hope and wonder. His curse is that he feels that pain as well, in what carefully perpetuated remains of his soul still last, and knows how much grief he brings to the world by his existence.
His realm is morphic, and those with strong wills can shape some portions of it nearby to them. He is its undisputed master, however, and when he rages, the entire realm rages with him, forming terrifying quakes and monstrous volcanoes of spuming vehemence. In form, he towers hundreds of feet tall, and bears glowing red eyes from his half-disc shaped head and all over his body. Those who he sponsors become masters of manipulation and inspiration, and bear his mark, a red eye peering from somewhere on their skin, which hurts to cover. Statistics: Within his realm, the Patriarch of Nightmare has the power to grant Wish at will once per round, but his gifts are always twisted and horrifying on consideration. His statistics are roughly those of a Pit Fiend, as he is rarely drawn to permanent confrontation, preferring to retreat if endangered. How you can use the Patriarch of Nightmare in your game: - The Patriarch's servants sow fear and worry through populations, focusing on the old and the young. Many are bards who spread tales that end leaving their listeners discomforted and disturbed, sometimes with overly-graphic descriptions of violence. The servants can then harvest these nightmares through use of trinkets they distribute, similar in form to "dream-catchers". Building enough fear and worry in the population can lead these nightmares to manifest in reality, further terrifying mortals and feeding the Patriarch. Most of all, the Patriarch's favoured food is the loss of hope experienced when a hero falls and fails, and so his servants often work to undermine those who would be champions of their people. - The Patriarch's followers often war with those of the Apostle of False Faith, who feels that the Patriarch of Nightmare encroaches upon her domain. By their squalling, either or both of their plots may come into the open accidentally, tipping off heroic adventurers who might stop them. - A powerful mage might flee by dimensional portal into the Hellrealm of Nightmare. Journeying after them will require faith and courage, as well as strong weapons to combat the devils which inhabit it. It may even involve having to bargain with the Patriarch himself for passage through his realm. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 23 January 2020. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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