PDA

View Full Version : Dagon - Plots of the Prince of Darkened Depths



Callos_DeTerran
2010-11-15, 11:39 PM
Father Dagon, mightiest of the obyrinth lords, Prince of the Darkened Depths. It's known by many many names, but the simple fact of the matter is that Dagon seems eternal. He's been around since Pale Night was, watched the fall of the obyrinth race, and was there for the ascension of Demogorgon. A truly timeless entity. His penchant for looking into the future makes Graz'zt's plans look short-sighted and he knows more about the Abyss then possibly anything alive or dead.

But what to do with him?

Fancy language aside, this thread is all about Dagon. Ever since I read the first Fiendish Codex and the Demonomicon of Iggilwiv article on Dagon, he's tied with Demogorgon for my favorite demon lord. There's just something alien and terrible about him that has me chomping at the bit to use him in an actual adventure...but I'm not sure how. I've read a grand total of...no Lovecraft, never played CoC, and every example I've seen of Dagon's plots and schemes tend to take such a long-term view that the PCs would likely only be able to get involved at the very end game, trying to prevent the plan from blossoming instead of trying to interrupt the steps of it. That...doesn't seem conductive to good role-playing considering Dagon is an entity with lots of intelligence, knowledge, and know-how so most plans I think he might come up with are pretty air-tight. That, or the plot hooks given for him don't offer much help. So he has kuo-toa infiltrating sea-side villages and inter-breeding with occupants (ala Shadow over Innsmouth). Okay, that's awesome. But to what end?

He has mounts in his realm of Shadow Sea that hold almost normal cities, towns, and villages full of petitioners that he can destroy on a whim. But to what end? Sure, it could just be for the eviluz, but that's a boring explanation when I'm SURE there's a plot hook waiting to be used there.

People who try to attack him at his 'palace' can be ensconced in 'pearls' for all eternity if they aren't careful, forced to listen to Dagon's song for all time. Alright, that's pretty terrible a fate, but what if there was more to it then that. Every description of uses for souls that evil has involve tormenting/torturing it first for some purpose or another. I have an inkling this is no different. What use could Dagon have for a massive number of creatures/souls driven mad by centuries of imprisonment and exposure to him?

Here's the most important one...what sort of allies and minions would he have? The kuo-toa are a good start. Krakens seem like a good choice as well. There's even mention given to a species of obyrinth that serve as his messengers/soldiers in Shadow Sea. the last two are relatively high level though. What other sort of minions would an aquatic demon lord have since the sauhagin kill his followers whenever they can? I'm not too well versed on amphibous/aquatic creatures/plots. But this is important since fighting kuo-toa or mad cultists would get old after a while.

And another big question for the playground, Dagon's supposed to have forbidden knowledge about the Abyss itself. Heck, Shadow Sea might just have a rift leading right to the primordial matter of the Abyss in it...but how to show this knowledge? I mean...his stats just give him Revelation as an attack which is pretty good (1d20 Wisdom damage/drain is nothing to laugh at) but how else would you represent this forbidden knowledge? Introduce lots of unique demonic items/spells? Just use it as part of an over-arching plot and thus keep it unknown?

I'm asking for help and inspiration on how to use Dagon and his plots in a campaign. Because when it comes to aquatic adventures and monsters, my inspiration runs a bit dry.

Sucrose
2010-11-16, 12:37 AM
For minions: aboleths, perhaps? The Skum that come with them? The maddened souls could be used as berserker units against any new invaders.

Past that, i don't have many immediate suggestions.

faceroll
2010-11-16, 01:24 AM
Aboleths are LE, aren't they? And they come from before time, probably wriggling out of the plane of madness and aberrations. Dagon comes from the age of Misha the Wolf Spider and Leviathan the World Serpent, a time before mortals, as part of the living chaos that formed half of the Great Wheel. The obyrinths represent a fecund growth; the chaos of creation. They're a necessary part of the multiverse, and the Pact Primeval holds them in check. The Aboleths come from a place that is anathema to existence, a place whose inscrutable entities unravel the frail bubble of reality. I've always seen outsiders as inherently tied up in the Wheel, as they are literally representatives of physical laws. All their plans and plots ultimately further the laws they represent. Dagon's long reaching plots don't have ends- the means are the ends.

Tvtyrant
2010-11-16, 02:03 AM
But some Aboleths do worship Demogorgon and live on his realm (which is connected to Dagon's). However the main one here is that Dagon is beloved of the Kua-Toa cults. So you can connect them together; the Kua-Toa and a group of demons are working together to summon Dagon into the Prime Material Plane using human/humanoid sacrifices. When your players interrupt the ceremony it only summons the CR 9 Aspect of Dagon (for lower mid levels). Kill it and you find one of the Black Scrolls of Ahm telling you of Dagon's own, far more fiendish plot. You travel all over dealing with it, and finally kill him in his own layer/he actually gets summoned and you kill him there.

Just suggestions, but the Kua-Toa are into human sacrifice and generally dis-likable anyway, so they make good low level villains.

faceroll
2010-11-16, 02:16 AM
However the main one here is that Dagon is beloved of the Kua-Toa cults. So you can connect them together; the Kua-Toa and a group of demons are working together to summon Dagon into the Prime Material Plane using human/humanoid sacrifices. When your players interrupt the ceremony it only summons the CR 9 Aspect of Dagon (for lower mid levels). Kill it and you find one of the Black Scrolls of Ahm telling you of Dagon's own, far more fiendish plot. You travel all over dealing with it, and finally kill him in his own layer/he actually gets summoned and you kill him there.

I'd go a step farther and have it such that Dagon intends for the PCs to find that forbidden lore, spreading madness, chaos and blood in their quest. So when you end the adventure it ends in italics like a Lovecraft story where the heroes are confronted by some terrifying revelation.

Tvtyrant
2010-11-16, 02:19 AM
I'd go a step farther and have it such that Dagon intends for the PCs to find that forbidden lore, spreading madness, chaos and blood in their quest. So when you end the adventure it ends in italics like a Lovecraft story where the heroes are confronted by some terrifying revelation.

You could even have the weirder moment of:

As you approach the ocean you see nothing. There are no sea gulls, no waves, you stare in silence at the empty ocean that stretches on forever. The gate slowly closes behind you, but you cannot move, so entranced are you by the sight of the endless still ocean.