Mysterium

MYSTERIUM : D&D 5e

The world is always in peril. Generally this peril is met head on by the Knights of the Golden Lion or by heroic adventurers like the Circle of Five, but it is peril nonetheless and what I am about to tell you in no way diminishes the seriousness of their threats. It would not be very productive to do what we do if the world fell to the likes of Lolth or Demogorgon now would it?

That being said, those Knights and Heroes of the Queen throw temselves against armies of orcs, villains such as the Lich Ulidea and her Undead Coven, and many other dangers like the Dwarves' Iron Movement in Nyaskarr. But even as these heroes move through the smaller towns, perhaps purchasing some supplies, perhaps even staying the night, they do not see the things that move about freely in the dark and hidden corners of such places.

That's where you come in. As a member of the Mysterium, you will be looking into, quite frankly, some freakish things. We are those who go into the small shadowy corners of the world seeking out evidence of them.

Who or what is them you ask? As well you should. They are the ones from Beyond. The Forgotten Ones, the Waking Nightmares, the Ancient Sleepers. The denizens of the Nightmare World of Talgorath. At least that's what we think the name of it might be from its cult that infects the world like a plague.

These ancient things are beyond description, their motives and orchestrations beyond understanding. Chaos and destruction follow in their wake, and madness, oh yes the worse and most terrifying kind of madness. Even the gods are said to fear them, the Gods from Elsewhere, and no one is able to completely remove them from the world.

But we do our best. We destroy their foot in our world where and when we can. We research their movements and actions in hopes to find out what their ultimate goals might be and desperately work to send them back to the Nightmare they come from.

That's what we do. And, now, that's what you do as well.

Cort of Belegrad, Mysterium Recruitment Master

The Setting

Queen Celesta is the third of her family to sit on the seat of rulership in Luedania and the first to be loved by all of her subjects. Her Knights, the Knights of the Golden Lion named for the giant lions that they are renowned for riding into battle - are very loyal to her and any one of them would die for the Queen who even helped to write their Knight's Code. The Great Heroes of our age were called by the Queen to end the plots of the Drow and Orcs alike, as well as the vile mechanization of the vile dragons and their queen, Tiamat. Even the Orc Clans of the Far North, having taken the North of Luedania after the Last War, respect the Queen and entered a treaty with her for their lands. It was the Queen's mother who discovered the footholds of the Ancient Sleepers in our world and those who would worship them and call on their alien power. The Queen's Eye, also known as the Mysterium was created once these plots were discovered and Queen Celesta has carried the tradition still, especially after her mother succumbed to madness and died in the Capital City of Versales' asylum.

Luedania has known peace for generations, the cities of this country sprawling spires and architecture that mixes the modern era of the land with the elegant woodland design of elven homes and the brick and mortar homes of the dwarven clans. Though som of the petty prejudices between the peoples of the world still persist, in the cities of Luedania especially in the Capital, it is far less than in other less civilized parts of the world. Still the movements and plots of the Forgotten Ones and the Cults that follow them keep the Queen awake at late hours wondering where the horrors from Beyond will show up next.

Beyond Leudania

The other reaches of the world are not entirely civilized or as "enlightened" as Leudania. The far land of Orothan still sees wars between the elves, the dwarves, and the goblin lords. The desert kingdoms of Harat are overrun by the Dead Pharaoh, Hanothep. But one must wonder what goes unchecked as the humans and demihumans of the outside world fight their petty wars.

The Cult of Nightmares

The largest and most organized of the cults that worship the Forgotten Ones is the Cult of Nightmares. These cunning and vile fanatics worship and harness the power of the Forgotten Ones ignoring the very fact that when a denizen fromt he Beyond shows it kills indiscriminately enemies and allies alike for the Forgotten Ones have no behavior that makes sense to the waking minds of mortals in our world. The cult purposefully or unwittingly continues to widen the affect of the Nightmare World on our own. To this end, they must be found out and remmoved like a malignant thorn.

The Mysterium and the World at Large

Most of the peoples of the world, human and demihuman alike, do not know of the Mysterium. It is a well kept secret to prevent the average person from having to panick over possible invasion of alien gods from an unfathomable plane. The Mysterium are also given a lot of leeway in operating how it sees fit. The Chief Council of the Mysterium keeps the checks and balances, protecting the organization from corruption or from threatening to pull down the curtain that protects the Mysterium's secrecy. Another reason for the organization's secrecy is to make it more unpredictable to the Cult of Nightmares and the other denizens that follow the Forgotten Ones.

Entry and Recruitment

Many of the members of the Mysterium have had some kind of encounter with the Forgotten Ones, the Cult of Nightmares, or other influences from the World of Nightmares and its denizens.

Some, however, are simply recruited for their unique skills or to fill in a niche that was sorely lacking in the Queen's Eye. Some few don't even encounter the Nightmare World until well after they have trained and been as prepared as a sane mind can be for the goals and missions of the Mysterium.

II. New Races - Spriggan and the Zelk

SPRIGGAN

"Hello my big green friends, I see that your people have left you all alone. I know how that is believe me. I also see the smirks on your ugly orc faces and I assure you you won't be laughing for much longer. I do apologize for what is about to come, I truly....ergh...do...."

Steelboot, Mysterium Enforcer, just before mushing two orc guards into jelly

Ages ago, the gnomes were enslaved by their captors the Femorian giants. In a desperate plan to break free, high priest and mages among the enslaved gnomes created the rituals that would make the first spriggan. This ritual gave the gnome warriors incredible strength and size. Eventually the war was fought to a point where the gnomes could at last break the yolk of their giant captors.

As the agesw went on, some of the children of these heroic gnomes inherited the power to change size and strength. Unfortunately, this so-called gift also came with it a short fuse and uncontrolled rage while in their giant spriggan forms. Scholars believe this is because of the giant blood used in the rituals that wormed its way into the gnome natures of the spriggan. As time went on, the parents of spriggan began to feel shame and the spriggan, themselves, became more ostracized among their gnome kin, becoming mercenaries or finding acceptance among those who didn't mind their brutish secret, mostly lesser loved folk like orcs, half-orcs, or ogres.

Sacrificing part of their very gnome nature, the spriggan fell from being heroes to being seen as brutish abominations, their uncontrolled rage and berserk nature in their giant form not helping matters any. In the newer ages, spriggan are loners mostly, or they are the bruisers among their peers, wading into conflict before their fellows catch up to them, still staying clear as not to become part of the bloodbath.

A Lot of Power in a Small Package

As a spriggan, you tend to look a lot like your gnome cousins, albeit a bit stockier and muscular for a gnome. But you have the power to burst into the form of a giant gnome, gaining another six feet of height and your muscles exploding into raw strength. All this raw physical power comes with a price, though. You also lose a bit of yourself becoming a storm of pure rage and brutality. You fight while in this form and do not do much else.

You are torn between two worlds in a way. As a gnome, you are drawn to magic and knowledge just like your kin, but you can never truly embrace or meet your full intellectual potential because of the hitchiker you have in your life in the form of a raging giant. You struggle with learning what you can, possibly finding ways to enhance or even better control the monstrous giant living inside you.

A Hunger for the Fight One thing your fellows can pick up on if hanging around you long enough is hat you differ from other gnomes by being always on edge. You seem to take offense at the smallest things and barely contain your anger over every slight or even the most minor insult even if its in fun. This creates a stressful life while around others to say the least as you try your best not to attack and kill your associates, family, and friends. As a spriggan, you learn to keep a lid on this and let it build up long enough to make your way to your actual enemies where you can unleash your fury.

Spriggan Names Spriggan tend to have the same names as their gnome counterparts, or alternatively they may adopt the names of other races who adopt or accept them.

Spriggan Traits Your spriggan character has the following traits.

• Ability Increase - Your Strength and Intelligence increase by 1.

• Age - Spriggan age much like their gnome kin, reaching adulthood at about age 40 and living slightly longer than gnomes due to their magical strength, reaching 450 to 500 years on average if their anger doesn't consume them and get them killed first.

• Alignment - Spriggan can be of any alignment though their very nature tends to lead them towards Chaos.

• Size - In their gnomish forms, spriggan stand 3' - 4' tall as their gnomish kin, but spriggan are much stockier and weigh in at closer to 70 pounds on average. Also, see Giant Spriggan Form.

• Speed - In gnomish form, you move at a walking speed of 25' (see also Giant Spriggan Form)

• Darkvision - Like your gnomish cousins, you are accustomed to seeing underground and in the dark. You can see in dim light within 60' as if seeing in bright light, and in darkness as if it is dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

• Languages - You speak Common, Gnomish, and Giant.

Giant Spriggan Form When encountering something you find even the least bit offensive or insulting, you must succeed in a Wisdom Check (DC 12) or take your giant spriggan form. Alternatively, you can also take on this form at will by focusing on a target to unleash the form on.

In giant spriggan form, you gain 7' of height and your Strength temporarily increases by 4, and you gain 15 temporary hit points. Your Movement is 40 while in this form and you are immune to any attack that would render you unconscious or asleep. You are also immune to Charisma based attacks as you fly into a blind berserker rage. In giant spriggan form you can use any melee weapon as if skilled but cannot use ranged weapons. Each turn you must attack the nearest animated thing to you if there is such a target and you can detect them. If not you attack the nearest inanimate object. You cannot communicate except by roaring one word at a time and only words that describe your anger such as "Kill!" "Maim!" "Hate!" Furthermore, you do not fall if reduced to 0 HPs while in spriggan form, but take one more turn of actions first.

A counter begins when you change into giant spriggan form at 5. On each of your turns, the counter is reduced by 1. When reaching 0, you return back to your gnomish form. When returning to your gnomish form, you must take a turn to recover and can take no other actions except to defend yourself. Of course defending yourself may just make you angry all over again returning you to giant spriggan form.

ZELK

The look of disgust. The sheer mistrust in your eyes. It is not new to us. We are used to those avoiding us and trying to avoid speaking with us. But the burden that the Zelk carry, the things we know and see makes your disapproval very small in the scope of the many worlds. If you are ever unlucky enough to see the true horrors in the shadow of this world, then I hope you have one of us with you to protect your life and your sanity.

Azaeli, Zelk Investigator of the Queen's Eye

The Zelk are refugees after a fashion. They have escaped another world in another plane of existence where the Ancient Sleepers fully awakened into their world and brought it to ruin. The Zelk escaped, but they did not escape completely intact nor do they resemble the noble and elegant peoples they once were. The Zelk are forever tied to the Nightmare World and the denizens from its shores. The close proximity to the Forgotten Ones has created a link that is forever a gift and curse upon the Zelk people.

Due to their ties to the Nightmare World, the Zelk have an unnatural "presence" even beyond that of their appearance. Most people feel a slight unease to the Zelk people and will go out of their way to give them a wide berth, not quite meeting their eyes and doing their best to avoid looking or talking to them. Event he Mysterium who a vast number of the Zelk serve, don't completely trust them and the Zelk, for their part, tend to understand even as more of them give in to the calling of the Ancient Sleepers.

The Zelk tend to be taller than the average human but with very sickly, frail and skeletal frames. Their cheeks and eyes are sunken. They have the pointed ears hinting at a sylvan race though they claim no relation to elves in their own world if there were even such a race. The gray skinned Zelk have eyes ranging from purple to green to red. Their hair tends to be black or almost black reds and blues. They also have a third eye that is kept closed most times except when they call on their frightening innate ability inherent in their people. When open, the third eye glows with a baleful light and their other two eyes glaze over as if with blindness. Energy, magic, and foul things are summoned into the world through their third eye, usually reeking havoc on their enemies in the process but also calling like a beacon to the Forgotten Ones who come to that beacon as a moth to flame.

The Ties That Bind The Zelk are connected to the Nightmare World and can feel its presence and influence even when they do not want to like a cold, dead appendage on the back of their necks. Though the Zelk learn to put this in the back of their mind like an unpleasant picture or memory, they still feel the presence of denizens from the Nightmare World and their touch on the world intensely the closer they get to them. When a Forgotten One or a place influenced by the Nightmare World are within half a mile of the Zelk, he or she becomes very uncomfortable and know that feeling, know that something awful is nearby. Zelk can tell the approximate distance of this horror as well as the basic direction if stopping to concentrate.

Zelk Names The Zelk's very lives are devoted to vanquishing the same nightmarish realms they are connected to. This is extended in their customs, rituals, and even in their very names. Often the names of the Zelk are a string of words that invokes a ward against the World of Nightmares.

Male Zelk Names: Algamar, Calthri, Coronos, Dargath, Gilgith, Igramon, Nargath, Slithari, Torr, Xargot Female Zelk Names: Behori, Elorim, Fremeth, Hiltari, Kalori, Lamenath, Priori, Ulani, Zeleem

Zelk Traits Your Zelk character has the following traits.

• Ability Score Increase - Your Intelligence and Wisdom are each increased by 1.

• Age - Zelk mature early in life, usually reaching adulthood at about 16 and they live to be 120 years on average.

• Size - Taller than humans, averaging at around 7' , the Zelk nonetheless are very skeletal and appear to be frail, deceptively so, averaging around 55 lbs on average.

• Speed - You move at a walking speed of 30'

• Languages - You know Common and one other language of your choosing.

Opening the Conduit When you open your third eye, it unleashes the power of the Nightmare World onto those around you. The DM picks a random spell that is one level higher than your current level. The spell is unleashed on an enemy of your choosing. If there is no enemy around, then the spell is launched at a random person within range at the DM's discretion.

The spell acts exactly as the spell description accept that the appearance is that of something unworldly and horrific. Magic Missile by example might appear as tendrils with biting mouth at the end of them erupting from a portal before your third eye and attacking those within range of the spell. A lightning bolt may manifest as an eerie unnatural storm spewing green lightning, and so on. Furthermore, the target(s) of the spell catch a glimpse of the Beyond and are stunned for their next turn.

This power comes at a price, as you unleash your power upon your enemies, you also draw the Forgotten Ones. The nearest Forgotten One as determined by the DM knows your location as a source of power manifested from the Nightmare World and will go towards you. It will know where you are until you take a long rest At that point it will still move to your location where you began resting and will likely reek havoc on the area.

If you use the power more than once before you long rest, the Forgotten One (or a handful of cult members if the Dm prefers) will be able to follow until your second long rest. Though the power does not create a longer tracking time after this, it can draw more Forgotten Ones or cult followers.

III. New Classes - Gunner and Nightmare Hunter

Two new classes are offered for the Mysterium Campaign setting.

The gunner is a master of firearms, a sharpshooter who also happens to have a penchant for the art of sigils, magical symbols that can enhance the ammo of the great marksman. The gunner is as much into style and showing off as he or she is into hitting the target without fail. Gunners tend to enjoy a life of drink and gambling when they are not training their guns on their enemies. A gunner may take his marksman job seriously, being disciplined when not celebrating completing the newest mission for Queen and country, or a gunner might be a rogue who enjoys taking whatever he or she can at gunpoint and mowing down those in the way. Alternatively, the gunner might be a scholar or scribe whop happens to also have a penchant for firearms.

The Nigtmare Hunter is the result of the Forgotten Ones' foothold in the world. They are the scarred and tormented who have seen firsthand what the horrors from the Nightmare World are capable of. And they want to strike back, they want revenge, they want to strike back at the horrors from Beyond, but most of all they want to make sure that no one else suffers the way they have at the hands of this indescribable enemy. The Nightmare Hunter is one part investigator for the Queen and one part talented tracker and warrior, especially skilled in fighting the Forgotten Ones and cutting them off from the world. Utilizing a touch of dark magic as well in hopes of fighting fire with fire.

GUNNER

With the advent of dragon powder, it is no wonder that firearms became a weapon, albeit an expensive one. Nonetheless, over the ages those rose as great marksmen through the world's history. It was inevitable that someone along the way would decide to combine magic with these marvels of modern warfare.

Sigils are the result. With a little magic knowledge and a steady hand, the gunner can craft sigils into his or her ammo making the already deadly pistols and rifles even more so. The higher skilled gunner can even craft gun sigils into the weapons themselves making them permanently more powerful to use.

Gunners tend to be sharp of wit and mind as well as fast with their hands, often loving to gamble and game and become frequent visitors to local pubs and entertainment establishments. However, several gunners are also magically inclined and just happen to be just as good with firearms as they are with their magic studies. Still other gunners find a place with honor and duty and join the Knights of the Golden Lion to give their services as expert ranged fighters to the Queen's cause. Gunners can walk many different roads despite their reputations as trigger happy bar hoppers.

Magic and Gun Smoke

A gunner tends to be a learned individual even if just naturally clever and self taught. Gunners are also steady at hand not only for the sake of aiming their namesakes at the enemy but also for the talent required to etch sigils into ammo and weapons, themselves. Sigils are a very precise art that combines a writer's hand with an artist's to produce the correct symbols of magic and to be able to do so at a fairly quick pace during short periods of downtime.

Gunners who continue to study magic may be behind in the schooling of a true wizard but they are also leagues ahead of those who merely "dabble" in magic. The majority of gunners are happy enough to skulk the shadows and jump out to fire mystic gunfire down on their enemies but there are a few who take a path that guides them to a wider field of learning and magical knowledge.