Kyrzin

Anyone raised in the murky swamps of the west knows tales of the Prince of Slime. Those few who know his true name do not speak it. He is also known as the Bile Lord and the Lurker Within; members of the Gibbering Clans call him the Regent of Whispers. The ferry workers of the Glum River tell stories of the Prince of Slime’s children, which are great oozes that roam the bottom of the river. Those who follow the druidic traditions say that the Prince of Slime is a fiend who seeks to devour all natural things. Others say that one can learn secrets in his gibbering—secrets so wondrous that they blast the minds of most mortals who hear them. Some believe that death at the hands of his creations isn’t death at all but rather an escape from Dolurrh and the Keeper.

Kyrzin is a daelkyr, one of the lords of the Far Realm of Xoriat. He created the gibbering beasts and the mimics, and he has a great affinity for slimes and oozes of all kinds. While the daelkyr devoted most of their resources to destroying the vast goblin empire, Kyrzin focused his energy on the orcs of the west. He is an expert in biological warfare, and he can infect his enemies with parasitic oozes.

Kyrzin has a humanoid shape with the head and upper torso of a handsome male human; however, his body is composed of ooze and his human aspects are partially dissolved. He cannot speak, but his telepathic powers make this method of communication unnecessary; he is surrounded by a constant telepathic babble similar to the whispers of gibbering beasts. He can engulf enemies in living slime and inflict terrible diseases with a thought. Two separate legends describe his defeat and destruction at the hands of heroes; if they are true, it means that he can reconstitute himself after death in some manner

Kyrzin has spectacular and fearsome abilities, to be sure, but what makes him even more terrifying is the subtle weapon he has at his disposal in the form of far. In parts of the Marches, the common cold is known as the bile-curse or the Prince’s kiss, because in an earlier time people there feared that any trace of unusual mucus was an indicator of Kyrzin’s presence. They had good reason to be apprehensive, because Kyrzin has bred a host of parasitic oozes that can live within another creature.

A parasitic ooze can enter a host in two ways. A willing victim can allow a mature ooze to enter its body through the mouth. The more insidious way is for it to be transmitted along with another disease. Kyrzin can adapt almost any disease into a vector for infection; the primary signs of one of his infections are excessive mucus of unusual color and vivid fever dreams as the disease progresses. If the disease runs its course to the final state, it appears to pass completely, and the victim appears healthy; however, the victim now harbors a parasitic ooze.

Many kinds of parasitic ooze exist. The most invasive is the brain borer slime. This sentient ooze devours the brain of the victim and replaces it, assuming full control of the host. In the process of consuming the brain, the borer gains all of its host’s memories and skills. Small signs of the change include subtle shifts in body language, a difficulty displaying tender emotions, and quiet gibbering at night, but otherwise the victim can pass most tests any set to determine whether the victim is who he or she claims to be. If a borer’s victim is slain, the borer dies with it. Other parasites exert less control over the victim but can pose a greater physical threat. They project raw emotions to the host, causing anger or irritability, but they cannot control their victims. However, if the host is slain, the ooze emerges from the body 1 round later, acting on the host’s initiative count. As such, an encounter that appears to be an easy challenge against a number of minions can become an unpleasant surprise as a black pudding pours out of a corpse.

If commanded to do so by a brain borer or a priest of Kyrzin, a parasitic ooze can eat its way out of a living host. While doing so, it scores a critical hit each round against the host with its basic attack, and it emerges when the victim has taken damage equal to or greater than his or her bloodied value. Any sort of ooze can be adapted to this parasitic form, but it must be the same size as or smaller than the host. So, a Medium green slime could nest inside a normal human, but a Large gelatinous cube would have to hide inside a giant. If an adventurer is infected with a parasitic ooze, a Remove Affliction ritual can rid the character of it. Most parasitic oozes lack the ability to perceive such a ritual as a threat, so they don’t try to escape during this time. Nothing can keep the victim of a brain borer alive (the effect on the target is always death), but after the ooze is removed, the victim can be raised.

Before humans ever came to the Marches, the orcs were divided between the druidic practices of the Gatekeepers and the worship of the Dragon Below. Both traditions continue today. Even those who have become vassals of the Sovereign Host might offer a sacrifice to the Bile Lord when a child has fluid in his or her lungs, rather than trusting entirely to Arawai or Olladra.

Outsiders find it difficult to understand why anyone would worship the Prince of Slime. Many Marchers make offerings solely out of fear, hoping that through their devotions they can keep Kyrzin from rising, or that his wrath will pass over them when he returns. Such people aren’t truly cultists, but they can be pressured to assist agents of the Prince of Slime. Others see Kyrzin as a benevolent entity. In certain parts of the Marches, mold and lichen are valuable crops harvested as food or for their medicinal properties. Although the Prince of Slime might infect his enemies with disease, it’s also well known that the right molds can eliminate infections.

The oldest cults, known as the gibbering clans or the Gibberers, are driven by a blend of madness and tradition. These ancient families are scattered across the Marches. The name comes from their practice of cultivating gibbering beasts. Every clan community has one or more gibbering beasts hidden away, and when a member of the community falls ill or reaches a certain age, that individual is ritually sacrificed to the beast. Members of a gibbering clan have wild eyes and a tendency to fall into ecstatic babbling trances, but they aren’t innately evil or united behind a single purpose; many of the clans have long-standing feuds with one another. The Gibberers believe that their souls live on in the beasts, and that in this way Kyrzin has given them the gift of immortality. Priests spend hours each day listening to the babbling of the clan beasts, and they claim to hear the words of their elders or of Kyrzin.

The most active cults are those established by brain-bored agents of the Prince of Slime. Brain borer cults are Kyrzin’s active forces and are supplemented by oozes and aberrations. Kyrzin’s cults employ dolgaunts, dolgrims, and dolgarrs; compared to the troops of other daelkyr, Kyrzin’s are noteworthy for having slick, translucent skin and for carrying parasitic oozes. Every brain borer cult is different, though, since priests seize on local tensions to stir passions. They are united by their fervor and frequently are enhanced by consuming psychoactive molds; followers are driven by wild visions and passions, as well as promises or goals that rarely make rational sense.

Those favored by the Lord of Bile wear and wield living tools crafted from protoplasm. These items are functionally equivalent to objects made from leather or steel, but their unusual appearance might be a hindrance in some locations, and the living nature of such an object can add interesting flavor. For example: “Your armor’s feeling gloomy today. It’s covered in a layer of condensation, and you think these are tears.”

Armor: Ooze armor can exist in any form; for instance, heavy ooze is thick and dense. The characteristics of specific magic armor can be related to the nature of the ooze. For instance, ooze armor in the form of sylvan armor has chameleon properties and provides a surge of adrenaline to enhance Athletics. Lifegiving armor and immunizing armor bond to the wearer’s nervous system to enhance healing, while slick armor is just that: slick. Imposter’s armor is especially common among Kyrzin’s cultists, and it transforms in a manner similar to that of a mimic.

Weapons: Weapons crafted by Kyrzin are built on a core of sinew and protoplasm. Dynamic weapons are common, shifting to new forms at the wielder’s command. Enhancements tied to poison or acid damage create their own venoms. Regardless of enhancements, Kyrzin’s weapons shapeshift in minor ways; the extra damage from a critical hit reflects the weapon literally digging deeper into the wound. Other Items: Eagle eye goggles bond with the wearer’s eyes. A periapt of proof against poison consumes venom before it can hurt the wearer. As long as the organic nature of the item is reflected in its flavor, any magic item can be used.

Kyrzin’s treasures should pose an interesting question for adventurers. These items are as powerful as those made of mundane materials, and nothing is innately evil about the object. Are adventurers comfortable wielding these living tools, though?

Kyrzin is an epic-level threat, and adventurers won’t be prepared to face the Prince of Slime until they are well on their way to achieving their epic destinies. So what role can Kyrzin play in a campaign? As with all of the daelkyr, Kyrzin is a force of madness. Ultimately his actions might lead to the destruction of the Gatekeepers, the breaking of the seals to Khyber, or a similar action that helps him in a concrete manner. Initial encounters with his followers, however, might appear to be entirely unconnected. Here are some possibilities.

• Adventurers passing through the Marches stop in an inn serving fine graymold stew. At night they hear whispers in the basement and face the gibbering mouther dwelling there. The innkeeper is horrified, since these creatures have slain generations of his ancestors.
• The gibbering clans have begun a campaign of aggression. They could target House Tharashk, push toward war between the Marches and Droaam, or intend to bar all foreigners from the Marches. The priests are being driven to this action by the voices they hear when listening to the gibbering beasts; they don’t know any larger reason for their actions.
• A mysterious fever is spreading in the villages of western Breland. The village elders refuse to let House Jorasco treat it, and the victims all recover (or seem to). Can the adventurers expose the brain borers behind this fever before the disease is successfully transformed into a plague that can be carried across Breland? Aberrant forces and parasitic oozes emerge to fight as needed.
• Brain borers can spread into any part of Khorvaire. A Tharashk clan begins smuggling a psychoactive mold into major cities, and the mold serves as a vector for brain borer infection. Can the adventurers expose this plot? How deep does it go into the roots of House Tharashk?