Gloamhold: Dagon, Shadow in the Sea

Worshipped by the insane and the deformed Dagon’s fell influence yet lingers in Gloamhold’s ancient halls…

Dagon's Sigil by Matt Morrow
Dagon’s Sigil by Matt Morrow

 

CE demon lord of Deformity, the Sea and Sea Monsters

Epithets: Shadow in the Sea

Symbol: A gold disk inscribed with sinister runes around an open octopus eye

Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil and Water

Favoured Weapon: Trident

Worshippers: Dagon is worshipped primarily by boggard, heretical sahuagin and skum, marsh giants and degenerate or insane coastal dwellers. Most of his worshippers are horribly misshapen, deformed creatures that interbreed with strange aquatic creatures. Others are warped by Dagon’s own terrible influence and have the deformed template.

Teachings: Dagon’s holy places are always in or near the sea. Therein his worshippers engage in strange and abhorrent practices and often also venerate the Great Old Ones. Followers of Cthulhu and Dagon are often allied.

Dagon rules an Abyssal ocean dotted with strange and terrible islands and scarred by deep ocean trenches filled with impossible sunken cities.

Holy Texts: Dagon’s worshippers follow no set, laid down doctrine. Dagon cares not exactly how his aberrant followers worship him as long as they worship him.

The Deformed Template

Deformed creatures have been horribly altered by their proximity to a place of power dedicated to the demon lord of deformity, Dagon. These blasphemous aberrations often worship the Shadow in the Sea, but creatures can also unknowingly acquire this template.

Creating a Deformed Creature

“Deformed” is an inherited or acquired template that can be added to any living corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A deformed creature retains all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted below.

CR: Same as the base creature.

Type: The base creature gains the augmented subtype.

AC: The base creature’s natural armour increase by +1.

Special Qualities and Abilities: A deformed creature rolls twice on the table below. Ignore duplicate rolls or results that makes no sense given the base creature’s characteristics.

  1. The creature’s skin is thick and leathery. Increase its natural armour bonus by an additional +1 and modify its abilities as follows: -2 Dex.
  2. The creature has powerful limbs and is particularly fast; increase all its speeds by 10 ft. and modify its abilities as follows: +2 Dex, -2 Wis.
  3. The creature’s sense are dulled, but it is of robust constitution. Modify its abilities as follows: +2 Con, -2 Wis.
  4. The creature emits a powerful stench and gains the stench ability with a radius of 10 ft. Creatures with scent can detect it at twice the normal distance.
  5. The creature’s legs are horribly misshapen and its land speed (and climb and swim speeds) are reduced by 10 ft. Modify its abilities as follows: +2 Str, -2 Dex.
  6. The creature is stronger, but clumsier than normal. Modify its abilities as follows: +2 Str, -2 Dex.
  7. The creature is blind, but gains blindsense 20 ft.
  8. The creature gains light sensitivity and low-light vision. Creatures that already have light sensitivity gain light blindness and darkvision 60 ft.
  9. One of the creature’s natural weapons is monstrously oversized and is treated as if it were one size category larger. Modify its abilities as follows: +2 Str, -2 Dex.
  10. The creature is slow-witted and gains Iron Will as a bonus feat. Its brain is relatively primitive. Modify its abilities as follows: -2 Int, -2 Wis.
  11. The creature has a hunchback. Modify its abilities as follows: +2 Str, -2 Dex.
  12. The creature’s eyes, ears and nose are freakishly oversized. It gains a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks and light sensitivity.
Cosmetic Deformities: A deformed creature’s body is often obviously warped and twisted by its condition. Roll once on the table below to flesh out such deformities.
  1. The creature drools uncontrollably.
  2. The creature’s limbs are twisted at unnatural angles.
  3. The creature’s facial features are bloated.
  4. The creature’s fur, skin or scales are a strange, otherworldly colour.
  5. Vestigial horns grow from the creature’s forehead.
  6. The creature’s body is riddled with sores and ulcers.
  7. Patches of thick hair grow all over its body.
  8. The creature smells terrible and is wildly flatulent.
  9. The creature’s skin becomes pallid and drawn tight across its skeletal frame.
  10. The creature is corpulent.
  11. Vestigial wings grow from the creature’s shoulders, but it cannot fly.
  12. The creature’s body is horribly scarred as if it had been burnt or wrinkled and puckered as if it had been immersed in water for a long time.
Abilities: Modify the base creature’s statistics as follows: -2 Cha.
Skills: A deformed creature gains a +4 racial bonus to Intimidate skill checks.

Published by

Creighton

Creighton is the publisher at Raging Swan Press and the designer of the award winning adventure Madness at Gardmore Abbey. He has designed many critically acclaimed modules such as Retribution and Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands and worked with Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Expeditious Retreat Press, Rite Publishing and Kobold Press.

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