Other Meteorites

misfortune,to their wearers.A black engram may be the result ofresidual Dark Plea contamination,a botched attempt by the memekeeper at reconstituting an engram,or simply the cast-offneurosis ofan alien refugee that was not properly purged from the Rune Sea.

Common Black

Engram: A large number ofdifferent effects are possible for an engram seeker afflicted with a black engram.Roll on the table below when someone gains a black engram (or the DM may decide on an effect not mentioned here).As with any other engram, an engram seeker may dive again to lose a black engram in favor of another type.

D12 Effect

1 Gain one wish. Upon use,the black engram evaporates and is gone. 2 Gain two negative levels (negative levels remain while the engram is worn—they can’t be removed, nor will they convert to level loss). 3 Gain 3,000 XP for as long as the engram is worn. 4 Gain a +2 bonus to Intelligence,Wisdom,and Charisma (forehead visibly swells). 5 Gain a –4 penalty to Constitution. 6 Gain a –2 penalty to Intelligence,Wisdom,and Charisma (forehead visibly shrinks). 7 Gain acid sensitivity (lose natural resistance or immunity,ifany);take extra 2d6 damage from any acid attack. 8 Gain cold sensitivity (lose natural resistance or immunity,ifany);take extra 2d6 damage from any cold attack. 9 Gain plasma resistance 20. 10 Grow third eye—an utterly black orb on forehead. Gain blindsight 60 feet. 11 Grow leathery wings and fly speed of50 feet (good). 12 Grow one size category larger (use the rules in the MM for advancing a creature to a larger size category).

Uncommon Black Engram: There is only one variety of uncommon black engram.Each ofthese engrams provides a benefit or misfortune as noted above,and in addition it Checklist saddles the character with a partially reconstituted mind Determine initial damage of generated from the engram.This shadow consciousness engram ark impact. attempts to affect its wearer’s actions,cajoling the seeker to Determine EMPeffects. return it to the Rune Sea.Each day ofcajoling requires a Determine length of local weather cooling. Will saving throw by the wearer against a DC equal to a Determine presence of acid rain. roll of1d20+5.On a failed save,the seeker is affected as if Determine presence of by a suggestion spell from a 12th-level caster and attempts changestorms. to return the black engram to the Rune Sea.Even rarer Determine extent of wildfires. black engrams may exist,but these are completely up to the Determine distribution of bombs DM’s desire to create,introduce,and balance against camand ark guardians. paign needs. Determine distribution of meteoritic iron and thaumeteoritic iron. Determine lava-cooling time in crater. Determine distribution of tektites in crater. Determine whether any NPCs have reached the engram ark first, and what their responses are.

An engram ark is ofcourse only one possibility for an object that is not “merely” meteoritic or thaumeteoritic in nature.Other strange objects,wrapped in a shell ofrocky material (like engram arks),share the outward appearances,destructive potential,and lingering after-effects of standard meteorites.But when adventurers come to look over the edge ofthe crater,they may find something more exotic than a mere hole.What could it be? The possibilities,and resulting adventures,are nearly endless.A few examples are given in the following list.Some ofthese examples are expanded upon in Chapter Eight:I Found it in the Crater. • Angel thrown down to earth for its vile deeds (see “Angel

Down” in Chapter Eight) • Chunk ofarcane machinery (see “The Machine” in

Chapter Eight) •Colossal celestial soldier fallen in battle •Crash-landed starship • Evil artifact disposed ofby another world (see “Onyx

Plaque” in Chapter Eight) • First-wave vessel ofinvading alien race • Frozen entity ofprehistoric origin • Green-glowing meteorite rock (see “Spiteful Clot” in

Chapter Eight) • Mis-materialized plane-traversing skiff • Mobile space (or planar) gateway •Part ofa dead god (see the Requiem for a God event book from MalhavocPress) • Piece ofsuperdense exotic matter • Pieces ofa crumbling moon • Space seed,sending forth rootlets (see “Fungus Fall” in

Chapter Eight) • Starfaring beast looking for prey • Undead heart