The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis (loosely translated as "Book of the Dead"), also known as the Naturom Demonto, is an ancient, sentient tome of ultimate black sorcery. Bound in human flesh and inked in human blood, it acts as a gateway to the dark, chaotic dimension of the Kandarian Demons (or "Deadites"). This blog post picks right up 'Hail To The King Baby!' Ashley 'Ash' Williams From The Evil Dead Films For Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition
In Sword of Cepheus 2nd Edition, this book is not a mere passive spellbook; it is a malevolent, semi-sentient artifact that actively seeks to corrupt, possess, and destroy anyone foolish enough to unlock its secrets.
Artifact Statistics
Type: Eldritch Artifact (Unique)
Encumbrance: 2 items (Chunky, heavy, and bound with iron clasps)
Requirements: Literacy (Ancient Sumerian or Dead Tongue), Sorcery 1+ (to read safely; anyone reading without the skill automatically triggers a mishap).
Core Mechanics & Curses
1. The Trigger: Whispers of the Damned
The book is constantly looking for a voice to speak its words into the physical world.
Accidental Reading: If an adventurer attempts to translate or read the text aloud (intentionally or by playing a recorded reading), they must make a Formidable (10+) INT + Sorcery check.
On a Failure: The Kandarian Demon is summoned into the surrounding wilderness, immediately seeking hosts to possess.
On a Critical Failure (Natural 2 or Effect -4): A player character or nearby NPC is immediately targeted for possession (see Deadite Possession below).
2. Eldritch Spells Contained
A sorcerer who studies the book gains access to forbidden, high-tier Eldritch magic. The Necronomicon contains the following spells (standard casting time is 2D6 minutes, or 1 combat round if channeled):
Animate Corpse (Eldritch): Reanimates nearby remains. Unlike normal necromancy, the GM secretly rolls; there is a 50% chance the corpse is possessed by a hostile Deadite rather than obeying the caster.
Chains of the Forest (Arcane): Nature itself turns hostile. Trees, vines, and roots attack a targeted zone, trapping victims (treat as an attack with the Grapple trait).
Demonic Possession (Eldritch): The caster attempts to force a Kandarian spirit into a living target.
Temporal Rift (Eldritch): A chaotic portal opens, swallowing anything nearby and scattering them across time (or sending them to a desolate, ash-covered wasteland).
3. The Toll of the Flesh (Rapid Corruption)
The Necronomicon accelerates spiritual decay.
Study Toll: Merely spending a week studying the book grants 1 permanent point of Corruption.
Casting Toll: Every time a spell from this book is cast, the caster gains 1 Corruption (or 2 Corruption if channeled).
The Kandarian Mishap Table: If a sorcerer rolls a Critical Failure (natural 2 or Effect -4 or worse) while casting a spell from the Necronomicon, they do not roll on the standard Sorcerous Mishap table. Instead, roll on the table below:
| 2D6 | Necronomicon Mishap Effect |
| 2-5 | The Blood Tears: The caster's eyes weep blood. Apply a -2 penalty to all physical actions requiring sight for 1D6 hours. |
| 6-8 | The Laughing Woods: The surrounding environment begins to cackle and mock the caster. All characters within 100 meters must make an END or INT check (8+) to avoid being Shaken by terror. |
| 9-10 | Spontaneous Decay: One of the caster’s limbs (roll randomly) turns gray and begins to rot. It is treated as useless until amputated or cleansed with holy magic. |
| 11-12 | Instant Possession: The caster’s mind is temporarily shattered. A Kandarian demon takes control of their body for 1D6 rounds, attacking allies. |
Creature Profile: The Deadite (Kandarian Host)
When a human body (living or dead) is possessed by the spirits unleashed by the book, they become a Deadite. They are mocking, hyper-agile, and physically devastating.
Deadite Host
STR 11 (+1), DEX 10 (+1), END 12 (+2), INT 8 (+0), EDU 5 (-1), SOC 0 (-3)
Life Blood: 23
Armor: 2 (Unnatural, rubbery flesh)
Skills: Athletics 2, Melee (Unarmed) 2, Deception 2, Gunbat/Archery 1
Combat: Claws/Bite (2D6 damage) or improvised weapons.
Special Traits:
Psychological Warfare: Deadites use the memories of their host to torment their loved ones. They can use a standard action to mock an opponent. The target must succeed on an INT check (8+) or suffer a -1 DM to all rolls for the rest of the encounter due to distress.
Unnatural Resiliency: Deadites do not feel pain and cannot be knocked unconscious by damage. They are immune to poisons, disease, and standard mind-altering magic.
Severed Limb Survival: Even if a limb is severed (via a slashing weapon or critical hit), the limb remains animated and hostile. A severed hand has STR 3, DEX 8, and will crawl to choke opponents (1D6-2 damage).
The Only Way Out is Dismemberment: A Deadite host can only be truly destroyed by reducing its Life Blood to 0 and explicitly dismembering the body (burning, hacking it to pieces, or using a heavy slashing weapon).
The Cabin at Deadman's Ridge
A thick, unnatural fog has swallowed the pine forests of the Grey Spine Mountains. High up on the pass sits Stone-Hollow, a vital iron-mining and logging outpost that has suddenly gone silent. The local baron hires the adventurers to investigate, offering a handsome bounty under a simple premise: find out why the ore shipments have stopped, and get the miners back to work.
The Setup
When the party arrives, they find no signs of an external siege—no burned palisades, no arrow-riddled doors. Instead, they find an eerie, absolute silence.
The outer gate swings lazily on squeaking iron hinges.
Half-eaten meals sit rotting on tables in the mess hall.
The draft animals in the stables have been violently slaughtered, their ribcages pried open from the inside.
The Hook
At the center of the mystery is Scholar Caleb, a disgraced academic from the capital whom the miners hired to translate "ancient tablets" they unearthed deep in the iron vein.
Instead of tablets, they found a stone coffer containing a book bound in leathery, scarred human flesh: the Naturom Demonto. Unaware of its true nature, Caleb read the opening Sumerian incantations aloud to an audience of curious miners.
Now, the unseen Kandarian force has claimed the hollow. The miners are no longer human.
The Grim Realities
To survive and resolve the situation, the adventurers must contend with several horrific challenges:
The Whispering Woods: The forest surrounding the outpost has turned actively hostile. Pine branches claw at backpacks, roots rise up to trip fleeing characters, and the wind carries the mocking, echoing laughter of deceased loved ones. Attempting to flee the valley requires a Difficult (10+) Navigation (or Survival) check; failure means looping right back to the slaughterhouse of Stone-Hollow.
The "Living" Deadites: The possessed miners retain their tools. Players will face Deadites armed with heavy wood-cutting axes (3D6 damage) and mining picks (2D6+2 AP 2). They will play dead, use the voices of crying children to lure characters into dark corners, and mock the party's deepest personal failures mid-combat.
The Ritual in the Mine: Deep in the damp, dark tunnels of the iron mine, Scholar Caleb’s body has been horribly mutated. Suspended from the ceiling by thick, thorny vines, his half-possessed, cackling form is clutching the book, continuously chanting to open a permanent rift.
The Choice
To stop the spreading plague, the party must retrieve the book. However, the tome cannot be easily destroyed by mundane fire or steel—burning it only causes the book to scream in agony while releasing a wave of choking, toxic black smoke (Hard END check to avoid suffocation).
The party must make a choice:
Dismember the Possessed: Wage a bloody war of attrition through the mines, hack Caleb to pieces, and risk taking the cursed book with them to find a high sorcerer capable of sealing it.
Seal the Mine: Use the mining guild's black powder reserves to collapse the entire ridge. This will bury the book and the Deadites, but it will also destroy the baron's valuable mine, forfeit their reward, and seal any surviving, unpossessed miners in a dark grave forever.
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