Illus. by Daarken
RAGNORRA
CHAPTER 7
EL 10 (Faint Sign): Stories abound of healing springs and Meanwhile, Irthicax Vane makes his first move against the mysterious adepts who control them. Throngs of people flock PCs, sending Malshaper agents against them while they are to the springs to be cured. The PCs are asked to investigate, on this spying mission. The agents (typically 4th-level rogues perhaps by concerned authorities suspecting chicanery, or by and bards) are no match for the PCs, though their numbers a church or healing organization afraid of competition. increase with every attack. They are disturbingly disfigured, Upon arrival, the PCs quickly discover that the waters do with distended jaws, prominent or horned brows, protruding seem to have a curative effect, but the springs are plagued by teeth, or extra tongues. After each attack, more of the strange bizarre aberrations. The “adepts” at the healing springs are in rain falls. Greater swarms appear, along with ravaged corpses, some seemingly fallen from a great height. fact agents of the Malshapers. They watch the PCs and notify Irthicax Vane about their activities and effectiveness. After the last attack, the rains begin again. Then, an object EL 15 (Moderate Sign): Reports of “ghosts” circulate in falls from the sky, forming a small crater nearby. Malshaper small cities. These mysterious entities seem to be doing no corpses twitch with life, becoming aberrations that slither to the crater’s edge. A few moments thereafter, harm, but weird events occur soon after their appearance. Strange rain falls an impossible horror emerges—an aboleth for several days, often from a cloudmage (MM 9), which has enslaved the risen less sky. Doors swell and burst with Malshapers to serve as its “legs.” This varirats, roofs spawn spiders, and bats erupt ant aberration is capable of breathing air as from the sides of temples. The visitors well as water. EL 20 (Overwhelming Sign): Ragare Malshaper observers who report the PCs’ investigations to Irthicax Vane. norra, blazing with a miles-long tail of He warns his colleagues, who signal corrupted essence, slams into the him to take action. world. Most of her body is conAt the same time, powerful sumed in the impact, which creates undead appear in the cities and a superheated crater 30 miles in didestroy the swarms in an odd ameter. The explosion can be heard frenzy. If the PCs parley a thousand miles away, and with intelligent undead, the tremors are strong they learn that the enough to knock down sudden swarms buildings a hundred are a sign of a miles distant. corrupt form of The force and heat positive energy. of the collision spews Sages might pulverized earth into ask the PCs to be the atmosphere. This on the lookout for material, along with legends about the spores, ash, and fragappearance of a red ments of Ragnorra’s comet—a distant, body, forms a towheretofore unknown ering plume visible specimen has appeared across the continent. in the night sky. A twilight pall settles Ragnorra has arrived to remake the world in her image EL 17 (Strong Sign): over the world, and a The fiery comet is now deadly, corrupting residue easily visible at night and can even be discerned during constantly drifts down. Larger fragments of the elder evil’s body daylight. The undead are leaving the cities for unknown spontaneously generate aberrations, some quite powerful. destinations. Civil authorities want the PCs to monitor The surge of twisted life energy corrupts and kills the this exodus and learn if the creatures are preparing for a living, then raises them as aberrations again and again. major assault. Creatures that have Intelligence scores of 6 or higher become
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MALSHAPERS
Ragnorra has twisted life not just on the Material Plane, but also on the Ethereal Plane and Plane of Shadow. A handful of refugees from her prior ravages on these planes formed the Malshapers, a cultlike group dedicated to helping the Mother of Monsters perform her grotesque art. These fanatics believe they have a duty to guide Ragnorra to every suitable world. Scholars note, though, that they never target worlds on their home planes.
The Malshapers watch the Astral Plane for signs of Ragnorra’s ascent. Once they detect movement, they scout out a suitable location. They strew samples of native life along her likely path, then redraw the astral runes to lure Ragnorra to the target world. Fleshwarpers (Lords of Madness 189) are common among the Malshapers, as are psions uncarnate (EPH 149) and other students of shunned arts that warp body and soul.
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