Amnesia
LE Advanced Maelephant Fiend of Blasphemy 5/Fiend of Corruption 4
"Ours is a world with a forgotten past and a horrifying future. Bookless roam the lands, Insomniacs go mad as they refuse to accept amnesia, and the Sleepless grow stronger and stronger. Ours is a dark age, but while the mind is weak, the book is strong. Let us record and, through it, remember."
-Arun Shanian, addressing a group of Writers
Spoiler: Ascension of AmnesiaThey say that long ago, the being called Amnesia was summoned by a diabolistic dwarf. The greedy dwarf wished for someone to protect his treasures, and bound a Maelephant to facilitate this.
The devil's servitude was unpleasant. The dwarf would use Amnesia as a test subject for spells, insult him, or make him do horrible (even for a devil) things.
For 101 years was Amnesia bound. Then, at last, the contract expired and he was returned to his home plane. Seething with fury at the dwarf who dared humiliate him.
Aided by his infernal patron, Amnesia returned to the material plane. First, he subdued the dwarf, but that would not be enough. So many still knew of what the diabolist had done: all would have to forget.
And Amnesia made them forget.
Spoiler: Who are you?Ability scores (CR 10):
STR: 22
DEX: 14
CON: 22
INT: 18
WIS: 20
CHA: 16
At CR 13 and CR 17, constitution is increased by one.
Languages:
Common, Infernal, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven and Goblin.
Build table:
CR Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features 11 Maelephant RHD (10) +10 +7 +7 +7 Balance +5, Bluff +13 Concentration +13, Disguise +6, Diplomacy +13, Gather Information +13, Jump +7, Knowledge (Religion) +13, Listen +13, Search +13, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +13 Spot +13, Survival +13 Apprentice (Criminal), Enlarge Breath, Heighten Breath, Leadership Breath Weapon, Defensive Stance, DR 10/magic, Fast Healing 2, Frenzied Charge, Improved Grab, Keen Senses, Scent, Spell-like abilities, SR 17 12 Fiend of Blasphemy 1 +10 +9 +9 +9 Disguise +12 - Blood Oath, Locate Cultist, Undetectable Alignment, Spellcasting 13 Fiend of Blasphemy 2 +11 +10 +10 +10 Bluff +15, Concentration +15, Diplomacy +15 Ability Focus (Breath Weapon) Transfer spell-like ability 14 Fiend of Corruption 1 +11 +12 +12 +12 Bluff +16, Disguise +14, Diplomacy +16, Sense Motive +16 - Alternate Form, Fiend's Favor 15 Fiend of Corruption 2 +12 +13 +13 +13 Bluff +17, Disguise +17, Diplomacy +17, Sense Motive +17 - Mind Shielding, Suggestion 16 Fiend of Blasphemy 3 +13 +13 +13 +13 Bluff +18, Concentration +18, Diplomacy +18, Sense Motive +18 Craft Wondrous Item Sponsor Worshipper 17 Fiend of Blasphemy 4 +14 +14 +14 +14 Bluff +19, Concentration +19, Diplomacy +19, Gather Information +15 Sense Motive +19 - Scry on Cultist, Torture Cultist 18 Fiend of Blasphemy 5 +14 +14 +14 +14 Bluff +20, Concentration +20, Diplomacy +20, Gather Information +17, Sense Motive +20 - Mind Shielding 19 Fiend of Corruption 3 +15 +14 +14 +14 Bluff +21, Diplomacy +21, Listen +14, Search +14, Sense Motive +21, Spot +14 Extra Spell (Remove Fatigue) Mark of Justice 20 Fiend of Corruption 4 +16 +15 +15 +15 Bluff +22, Diplomacy +22, Listen +15, Search +15, Sense Motive +22, Spot +15 - Fiendish Graft, Major Creation
Spoiler: Forgotten magic
Spells per Day (including bonus spells)
CR 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 12 - 1+1 - - - - - - - - 13 - 2+1 1+1 - - - - - - - 16 - 2+1 2+1 1+1 - - - - - - 17 - 2+1 2+1 2+1 1+1 - - - - - 18 - 3+1 2+1 2+1 2+1 1+1 - - - -
Amnesia can prepare all spells on the Fiend of Blasphemy list, as well as Remove Fatigue.
Amnesia's domains are Charm and Dream.
Spoiler: Acts of the AmnesiacSpoiler: CR 11Spoiler: Diary of the WriterPresented are the final 13 entries of a notebook found in the western part of Yrevu Forest.
Entry 421
In the forest, I found some berries and the remains of some animal's kill. I think it was a deer.
I saw another survivor roaming the village two miles from here. She was poking around in the back of chapel near the pale red pillar, perhaps looking for some food. According to this book, I went there fourty-eight days ago, and found it empty.
Entry 422
I found a bird's nest with some eggs in it, and ate them with the remaining berries.
The survivor I saw yesterday, according to this book, must have been Bookless. I know that because I saw her today as well, looking for food in the same spot. It is pitiful to see.
Entry 423
Today, I went to the village to see if she was there again. She was, in the same place I saw her yesterday. Existence without memory: such is a Bookless's plight.
I wonder if I should kill her. Her existence is meaningless, after all. She repeats, without memory, purpose, or understanding. Can she even be called human? Why do we allow the Bookless to exist?
Entry 424
To answer 'myself', we do so because they are dangerous.
The Bookless do not remember, but they do reason. Over time, they realize they are doomed to lose and renew their memories forever. Some kill themselves, others go insane. Their answer to their inability to remember is to make each day the same.
Others again become truly dangerous. They seek only death and destruction, for death and destruction prove they were there. Sometimes, such monsters appear completely human until they notice you. That is why we do not contact them!
Entry 425
I wrote to myself yesterday. Am I going insane too?
What if I am? What if I experience only brief moments of sanity, during which I write those entries? What if entry 424 wasn't written yesterday, but a month ago? How would I know?
Entry 426
How would I know I wrote entry 424, or entry 425, or entry 1? Another survivor could steal my book while I sleep, then write down whatever they want. They could tell me I'm going to do something, and I'd do it without question. What if it's already happened? What if one of the old entries isn't mine?
Or even worse, what if someone takes away this book? I'd wake up with no memory, and no book to restore it. I'd become a Bookless, so seamlessly I might as well always have been one.
Or imagine this: a Bookless ambushes a Writer and kills him. The savage feasts on his corpse, then follows his trail to his camp and goes to sleep there. The next day, the Bookless wakes up, sees the Writer's book, and begins reading. The Bookless steals the Writer's memories, and is Bookless no more.
I just checked the past entries: nowhere does it say anything directly about me. No descriptions of my personality, my appearance... not even my gender! And are those first entries really something I'd write?
Entry 427
The last days were horrifying to read. Future me, please stop writing these things.
Entry 428
Entry 427 may be someone else's attempt to get me to stop thinking about these things. The sudden shift in tone is definitely suspicious.
The book is unreliable. I must stay awake.
Entry 429
It is strange reading a past entry and remembering you wrote it. I'm feeling tired, but the idea of retaking my memory empowers me. I shall not sleep.
Entry 430
I can do this. I will remember. I will not need this book anymore. Even now, I'm trying to write less in it.
Entry 431
Forget the past entries! Forget one to four hundred and twenty-seven! I don't need them! I am my own memory now!
Entry 432
I can hear something coming. Am I imagining things?
Entry 433
I woke up today: past me must have failed to stay awake. Did I really not sleep for five days? I feel remarkably awake. Maybe I slept an entire day? But why do I not feel hungry, then?
I went to the village today. The woman from entry 421-423 wasn't there. A fresh grave not mentioned in my description of the village in entry 381 stood next to it, though. Did she die? Who dug the grave? Did I?
...
...
No.
No.
That can't be.
I'm going to open the grave. I'm going to open the grave, and I'll see a woman there, just a woman who I killed. I am a Writer. I am a Writer. I have always been a Writer. Entry 1 says so. I did not kill the Writer of this book. I am no Bookless. I stole no-one's memories.
I don't want to open the grave.
Amnesia doesn't need any class levels for his main trick! By stacking Enlarge Breaths on each other, then topping it off with a Heighten Breath, the devil can force everyone in an arbitrarily large area to make DC 27 fortitude saves or be subject to Maelephant breath.
What does said breath do? It suppresses all feats, skill ranks, class features, and (arguably) even innate spellcasting. It also wipes all of the victim's current memories and makes them forget all of their newly acquired memories the moment they sleep or rest. The duration? Permanent, of course.
Also note that while Neutralize Poison removes the condition, immunity to poison doesn't prevent you from being affected. Nor does immunity to mind-affecting. I did some searching, and it seems only undead and construct's blanket immunity to stuff that requires a fortitude save and doesn't affect constructs will protect you.
Now, you have a world of amnesiacs. They don't remember how to do their jobs (Profession is trained-only), they don't know who they can trust, and the few powerful individuals amongst them have forgotten their powers and can no longer use them. Basically, you just made the worldwide fabric of society collapse as a standard action, and can do it twice more today if necessary.
Should any adventurers attack Amnesia before he's affected the whole world, fleeing would be wisest. The fiend can Polymorph into a speedy bird and fly (in more than one way) while dropping a few Entangles and Blade Barriers to deter pursuers. A breath weapon can also be very efficient in stopping enemies.
Spoiler: CR 15Spoiler: Stories of the UnifiedThe half-orc awoke in a dark hut. He did not remember the hut. He did not remember the elf sitting next to him. He did not even remember his own name.
The elf turned towards the half-orc, and spoke:
"I have remembered for you, Eagleheart."
The elf began to tell stories. Some stories were sad, others happy. Some were about things that had happened a long time ago far away, others about things that happened a few hours ago, in the hut next to this one.
There was a story about how one day, a great cataclysm took place and wiped out civilization. Sixty survivors banded together and took off into the wilds. Their memories would slip away from time to time, but they would remind each other of their names and tasks.
Another story was about fools who refused to work together. They called themselves the Writers and entrusted their memories to bits of paper and ink. Things would never end well for the Writers.
One Writer had arrived at the last page of his book and was unable to write any more down. Every day, he'd wake up and think it was the same day, and over time he grew mad.
Another Writer stopped trusting his books. He tried to stay awake, but went insane and is now a wilderness-roaming lunatic.
Yet another Writer was replaced by an insane fool, who read the Writer's book and thought she was the book's protagonist.
The stories about the Unified, as the sixty survivors had decided to call themselves, were nicer. The Unified were proud and brave. They worked together and kept each other focused. Never did they let another stay awake and get mad. Never would they betray each other by entrusting their memories to books.
Eagleheart went outside and saw a village that matched the one from the stories perfectly. A few dozen wooden homes surrounded a communal fire pit. A dwarf and two humans were roasting a boar above it. They introduced themselves to Eagleheart and offered him some meat.
Eagleheart did not know what must be done, but he knew the others knew. He asked, and was told to go chop wood. Eagleheart did so, and was happy.
Then, as the half-orc had finished the job, he heard something in the bushes. Turning, his sharp eyes spotted a tall figure staring at him from the brush.
Eagleheart wanted to call out, but found he couldn't move. The figure approached him and softly touched his scalp with a slender finger.
Eagleheart began to speak. He told all the tales he'd heard upon awakening. He told of the Writers, of his fellow Unified, of the beasts in the wild. He told all, until at last the figure was satisfied. It gestured, and Eagleheart fell asleep.
When he woke up, the figure was gone. Eagleheart did not think it strange, for he did not remember it, or anything at all. He simply got up, looked around, and wandered off in the forest.
Meanwhile, Amnesia walked into the village, his form that of Eagleheart. A villager directed the devil towards a hut, and Amnesia went there. A gnome was just waking up, and the fiend sat down and began to speak. Many of the things he said were tales he heard from Eagleheart, but a few were his own.
The gnome accepted them as truth, and so Amnesia's teachings began to spread.
Amnesia has taken some levels in Fiend of Corruption and Fiend of Blasphemy and can now assume a humanoid form, with its preferred shape being a tall mouthless human, and can cast spells (Sleep is especially fun when combined with his breath). At this stage, however, the devil won't be using them directly yet.
Instead, Amnesia will study the surviving humanoid settlements. With everyone constantly forgetting all they experience, Amnesia should have no trouble moving unnoticed. If a settlement is filled with promising cultists, it'll sneak information into whatever memory substitute they use to make them more pliable in the future. If the humanoids are hostile, or simply useless, Amnesia will manipulate them into killing each other.
Furthermore, should Amnesia decide to re-apply its breath weapon (to affect newborn children or tenacious individuals), it's now even harder to resist. With increased constitution from a Bear's Endurance spell and Fiend's Favor, combined with Ability Focus, the DC is boosted to 37. That means a 20th-level cleric with 20 wisdom and a +5 cloak of resistance still only has a 30% chance of making the saving throw. The chances of such an individual making all three saving throws in a day? Less than 3%.
Spoiler: CR 20Spoiler: Orders of the SleeplessFor five days they had been traveling now, stopping not once to rest. To rest meant to forget, and to forget meant to die. It was no different than to have your entire mind destroyed: the Unsleeping One had taught him such.
The headbands sustained them. They were pure white, with a small red gem set in them. All Sleepless had one: it was what allowed them to keep awake. No sleep meant no amnesia. No amnesia meant survival.
The Sleepless looked to his comrades to the left and right. One, a massive orc, had been blessed with two great batlike wings. The other, a slender human, was blessed too, but in a more subtle way. Deep in the halflings torso a worm slumbered.
The Sleepless refocused: their mission was most important. They had received instructions to wipe out a nearby settlement of Sleepers. All had to die, except for one: a gnome the Unsleeping One had meticulously described.
They reached the village. Comparing the humanoids visible to the numbers given by the Unsleeping One, the Sleepless deduced that about half the village had to be asleep right now. Another weakness of these beings: a third of their lives they spent comatose.
They struck swiftly. Four fell before their foes even realized they were under attack. The Sleepless prepared to bring his tentacled arm down upon another being, then noticed it was their target. He twisted his limb aside and struck the gnome on the shoulder, then watched it collapse in pain.
The village was quickly destroyed. A few fled into the forest, but the winged orc would overtake them with ease. The gnome was conscious but unable to move.
They waited for the orc to return, then left. The gnome screamed and cried, but this was not bad. Evening came, and the sobs fainted away. At last, the gnome fell asleep.
When he woke up again, the Sleepless were still traveling. The human took the gnome and began to tell him of the Unsleeping One's greatness.
The Sleepless was satisfied. Another soul saved.
With the few dangers to his absolute rulership eliminated, Amnesia begins to form a cult. With Atonement it turns its servants LE, and with Blood Oath and Scry on Cultist it can use them as expendable scouts.
A custom item that casts Remove Fatigue once per day and only works for LE creatures is only 2800 GP to make: easily affordable for a powerful devil. Amnesia can now equip its servants with those items, allowing them to remember its teachings. And there's obviously no reason it can't add a Charm Person or Charm Monster effect to these vital pieces of equipment...
Furthermore, Amnesia can use Fiendish Graft to slowly warp the cultists into fiendish monsters, all to better allow them to destroy their few remaining enemies. The lack of a GP limit on Fiendish Graft makes this stupidly broken (hello, 120000 GP Charming Eyes), but RAW it works perfectly.
Amnesia doesn't have to be present to expand its army either. A servant can travel somewhere, spread Amnesia's good word, then keep a few promising cultists awake with items of Remove Fatigue and return them to Amnesia for their proper introduction.
After he's eliminated all resistance, Amnesia can begin restoring the world to its former state, but this time lead by him. Using Lesser Planar Ally he can summon fiends that possess the skills to teach the second generation professions.
Once major cities have been retaken, Amnesia can reign supreme. The few who still resist the magic can easily be located and subdued or bound with Marks of Justice, the others will serve obediently.
Amnesia can then continue to expand his cult, supplying each person with an item of Remove Fatigue as they join the cult. The mutated, powerful Sleepless become the elite of society, with a lower class of ungrafted slaves beneath them. Because the breath weapon doesn't have to be used anymore once the world is Amnesia's, he can begin sponsoring clerics.
Spoiler: Applications of AmnesiaA few ways to use Amnesia in a campaign are presented here.
An Empty Home: The PC's return from an extraplanar voyage and discover a material plane ravaged by Amnesia. Society has collapsed, millions have died, and the remaining survivors roam the land in disorder. The PC's must find the source of the incident and eliminate it, then slowly begin curing the affected. Even then, restoring the world to its original state may take centuries.
Those Who Remember: The PC's are all undead or constructs who suddenly find most of the world's inhabitants have lost all memory of who they are and what has happened. Will they seek to undo this? Will they band together with their own kind? Or will they seek to become rulers over the amnesic masses?
Seduced... Fooled: The PC's have been faithful cultists of Amnesia for as long as they can remember (that is, a few years). During one expedition into unknown territory, a mysterious individual suddenly cures their memory loss, allowing the PC's to remember something that makes them hostile towards Amnesia. The remainder of the campaign will be focused on scavenging for useful items and fighting Amnesia's forces before finally fighting the fiend.
Saved From Oblivion: The PC's wake up, their minds blank, with nothing to guide them but a handwritten note saying: 'stay awake'. For several days they must travel through a hostile land, growing increasingly sleep-deprived. Eventually, they are found by one of the few priests who has survived the cataclysm and cured of Amnesia's breath.
Now, the PC's must work together with their new ally to avoid the entire world's destruction. And they must make haste, for Amnesia will soon breathe again...
Spoiler: Mad WorldI've been throwing some jargon around that may be incomprehensible to some. Allow me to explain the various factions in a world ravaged by Amnesia here:
Writers are those who seek to substitute books for their memory. They maintain detailed accounts of what occurs, then read those accounts every day to maintain a shred of sanity. The vulnerable nature of their accounts means they are liable to go insane.
Writers are typically solitary. Occasionally, they band together in small communities to share writing equipment, but such things are rare. After all: being near others makes your books much more vulnerable.
Insomniacs are people who, for whatever reason, decide to stop sleeping. They invariably go mad, then begin roaming the land as unsleeping lunatics. Many Writers end up as Insomniacs after realizing their books do not suffice as memory. A Sleepless who is banished for whatever reason may become Insomniac too, in a vain attempt to keep his memories.
Bookless is what the Writers call people who lack any kind of permanent record. They lose their memories when they go to sleep and renew them over the course of a day. Because this state doesn't allow for anything but simple survival, the Writers scorn these people. They, too, are vulnerable to insanity once they realize their situation.
The Unified are a small subsection of the Bookless. They share a collective memory kept alive by whatever members of their communities are awake. Mentally, they are most stable of all groups, but horrible things can occur once unwanted ideas are introduced to their 'hivemind'.
The Sleepless are a cult dedicated to Amnesia. Amnesia's headbands remove their need for sleep. These fanatics are often radically altered with grafts, symbionts, and other fiendish mutations.
The Unsleeping One is Amnesia by another name, which he uses when interacting with his cultists.
View Single Post
-
2016-08-22, 03:29 AM (ISO 8601)Titan in the Playground
- Join Date
- Jul 2007
- Location
- Terra Australis
- Gender
Amnesia 1 of 2
Last edited by Thurbane; 2016-08-22 at 03:30 AM.
Reply With Quote