Black Scratch (3.5e Elder Evil)
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Contents
Black Scratch
Background
In religion, there is always a benevolent deity and his opposite. Sometimes he is called the deceiver, or the adversary, or even the devil. Amongst the abberations and true fey of the far realm, he is called Black Scratch, a blot of sanity in the comforting cocoon of madness that is the wild lands.
Like many so called elder evils, Black Scratch is a primordial entity born as the universe took its first breath. Unlike most, however, Scratch was not born into power. He was little more than a bit of sludge. A collection of cells barely bound together by a haphazard mishmash of proteins and amino acids. Conciousness. Sentience. Such things were unknowable concepts to the puddle that would eventually become the Elder Evil. All it had were the urges. The desire (if it could be called that) to survive.
And survive it did. Through the chaos that was the primordial age, Scratch thrived, consuming the other sludglings that sprang forth from the ooze. However, through some evolutionary chance, Scratch could do more than simply absorb the cells of what it consumed. It could also reorganize those cells to augment his own being.
He was the first to pull himself free from the primordial sludge in an insectoid form. The first to adapt into a reptilian semblance. The first to know. To learn. To reach the higher stages of evolution.
Through his peculiar cellular abilities, Scratch was able to attain a sort of immortality, perfectly regenerating his cellular structure over the eons, all while continuing to adapt.
By the time the eldest overdeities began to craft their "children", Scratch had evolved to a state beyond reckoning, beyond classification.... Beyond the omniscient capabilities of those deities to detect.
It was only after Scratch had consumed several lesser deities that the overdeities understood the threat they were faced with.
They studied the creature, and learned of its biological obsession with the reorganization of the inefficiency of other forms. Of its hatred of chaotic cellular assemblage.
And so a plan was concocted. A means to trap the creature in a cage of obsession. They created a plane of unbridled chaos. They created the far realm. Drawn by its chaotic energies and burgeoning life forms, Scratch was lured to the true center of the plane.
By his estimation, a mere four centuries would be enough to purify the Far Realm, and the energies and evolutionary advancements gathered there would allow him unprecedented freedom of movement throughout the blossoming multiverse. However, he underestimated the lengths the gods would go to secure their place in the multiverse they created.
The gods (a perfectly orderly bunch at the time) began to create lesser chaotic planes, and ingested the energies of those planes. The result of this was the births of the first gods of chaos. Although this in itself would raise the ire of Black Scratch, these gods in turn funelled their (newly changed) divine energies into the Far Realm, causing the rise of ever more powerful aberrations and fey.
To this day, the gods of chaos continue to devote energy to the Far Realm, in order to keep the plane in terrible madness. If Scratch stops his purification, then the chaos will break free of the far realm, forever tainting the purity he hopes to achieve (if it doesn't outright destroy the multiverse entirely), and if they cease channeling energy to the Far Realm, then Scratch will escape his "prison", consuming the multiverse in his bid to attain perfection.
Goals
To Black Scratch, the penultimate goal is perfect order throughout the multiverse. A form of existence in which all beings are thrall to his regime. In time, all will become what he is.
Knowledge (Religion) DC 33: Black Scratch is currently sequestered in the "center" of the Far Realm, feeding upon and reorganizing the chaos therein in order to grow his already substantial power.
Knowledge (Religion) DC 38: Should Black Scratch ever complete his purification of the Far Realm, he will move on to the lesser Chaotic Planes, not the least of which, the Abyss. It is thought by most Planar Scholars that if he were to reach that plane, he might be forever contained, as the tide of Chaos and Evil there cannot be stemmed due to its infinite nature.
Knowledge (Religion) DC 43: The Gods of Knowledge (and a scant few of their lesser servants) know the truth. The energies that constitute the Far Realm make up the bulk of Chaos in the multiverse. It is insanity personified. If Black Scratch were to ever master its power, then his reach would be limitless, and all other realms of Chaos would be mere snacks in comparison.
Black Scratch in the Campaign
Black Scratch's influence can appear in any campaign setting, as his reach is truly infinite (So long as he is not concerned with the Far Realm's Purification, that is). Examples of different realms where he might appear (and the results therein) are as follows.
The Forgotten Realms: Deep within the lands of the Uthgardt, a revolution is occurring. Formerly bloodthirsty Barbarians famous for their wanton pillaging have begun to formulate articulate, cunning strategies. At the center of it all, is a Powerful Barbarian Warlord who is uniting the various tribes not through sheer strength, but through the wisdom of his words and the brilliance of his battle plans. Elsewhere, the orcish hordes are amassing in unison the likes of which haven't been seen since the rise of Obould.
Greyhawk: The City of Greyhawk is in.... Peace? For once, there appears to be no troubles in the illustrious metropolis. Crime is at an all time low, and social dissidence is almost unheard of in recent years. However, there are those who would point out that centers of culture and creativity have been demolished, and the dulcet tones of a bard's song haven't been heard in taverns for several weeks. Something is amiss in the City, and the players must find out what.
Dark Sun: In a world seemingly brimming with chaotic mutations and continent sundering events, a fascinating (And yet somewhat terrifying) event is occurring. Metal, once thought to be incredibly rare (The stuff of legends, surely), is now becoming commonplace. Almost as if the minerals that make up the metals are being arranged into the proper form. But by what? Indeed, the Sorcerer Kings are scrambling to find the cause (as well as collect as much of the stuff as possible).
Ravenloft: The Mists, once thought to be ever changing, ever moving, have seemingly vanished. Of course, several Vistani tribes(obviously gone mad from their vile practices)claim to have seen a massive Fog Bank moving slowly across the various Islands of Terror, on a direct collision course with Vechor, the land of the insane ruler Easan the Mad. Surely this bears investigating.
Description
Black Scratch can appear as whatever the Dungeon Master believes to be the perfect form for the event at hand. When dealing diplomatically with the rulers of various planes or kingdoms, Scratch might appear as a perfectly handsome man or woman in order to lull his foes into complacency (It's much easier to take a world if it's rulers agree that it's the best thing that could have every happened to them). Other times, he has been known to appear as a writhing mass of inky blackness seemingly floating in mid air, with countless spiny talons that reach out to claw at a creature before retreated back into the black pit that is his body.
Sign
The Reorganization
Black Scratch's influence is a subtle one (At least at first), slowly "purifying" the plane until all is uniform and orderly. In time, even the people seem to take on his traits.
Faint: Lawful spells and spell like abilities are cast at +2 Caster Level. Living creatures must make a will save DC 20 every day, or have their normal chaotic tendencies suppressed (although this does not change a creature's alignment, it might subtly affect their behaviour). A protection from Law effect neutralizes this effect.
Moderate: As faint, only spells and abilities that cause Morale Bonuses or Penalties (Such as Inspire Influence, or a Fear Spell) has a 20% chance of outright failure every time they are used. Chaotic creatures must make a will save DC 25 every day, or have their alignments move one step towards Lawful. A protection from Law effect neutralizes this effect. Other alignments are unaffected. The environment of the plane begins to change slightly, becoming a tad more orderly. Birds fly in formation, scattered rocks on a beachside seem to be arranged according to shape and colour by themselves, etc.
Strong: As Moderate, only that all compulsion, fear, mind affecting, and transmutation spells and abilities have their Save DC's reduced by 4, and the failure chance for using Morale Affecting abilities increases to 40%. Chaotic Creatures must make a will save DC 30 every day or have their alignments shift one step towards lawful. A protection from Law effect neutralizes this effect. More drastic environmental changes occur, with constellations in the night sky more closely resembling the shapes they are meant to represent, grass ceases to grow above two inches high, and full formed metal blocks begin to appear in areas with high mineral content in the soil.
Overwhelming: As Strong, only all creatures gain immunity to compulsion, fear, mind affecting, and Transmutation effects. The failure chance for using morale affecting abilities increases to 100%. Lawful Creatures must make a will save DC 40 every day or gain the Axiomatic Creature Template. An Axiomatic Creature who fails this save becomes a Thrall of Black Scratch. A protection from Law effect neutralizes the effect of becoming an Axiomatic Creature or Thrall of Black Scratch.
Malefic Properties
Anathematic Secrecy: Immune to all divine divination spells and effects.
Encounter Information
Although players can never face Black Scratch in combat, they might face his Avatars, who are perfection incarnate. Depending on the power level of your characters, they may face any number of these avatars of any level of power. Apply the Thrall of Black Scratch template to any such creature you wish to challenge the players with.
Thrall of Black Scratch
Size and Type: Animals or vermin with this template become magical beasts, but otherwise the creature type is unchanged. Size is unchanged. Thralls encountered on the Material Plane have the extraplanar subtype.
Special Attacks: A thrall creature retains all the special attacks of the base creature and also gains the following special attack.
Smite Chaos (Su): Once per day, the creature can make a normal attack to deal extra damage equal to twice its Hit Dice maximum 40 points) against a chaotic opponent. They gain an additional use once per day per 5 HD they possess. This ability replaces the axiomatic creature's smite chaos.
Special Qualities: A Thrall of Black Scratch retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following special qualities.
Maximum HP per HD Darkvision out to 120 feet. Resistance to cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10, and sonic 10. If the creature has 12 or more Hit Dice, these resistances increase to 20. Spell resistance equal to the creature's Hit Dice +10 (maximum 30). Linked Minds (Ex): Thralls within 300 feet of one another are in constant communication. If one is aware of a particular danger, they all are. If one in the group is not flat-footed, none of them are. No Thrall in the group is considered flanked unless all of them are.
If the base creature already has one or more of these special qualities, use the better value.
Abilities: All creatures are treated as if they had 18's in every ability score (Before racial modifiers)
Environment: Any plane.
Challenge Rating: Up to 3 HD, as the base creature +2, 4 to 7 HD, as the base creature +3; 8 or more HD, as the base creature +4.
Alignment: Always lawful (any).
Level Adjustment: --
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